Prince! The political conspiracy is not a play, the show is real

"I'll return it if I can."

Tao Yao was not to be outdone. She took Chu Huanjun's hand and threw it aside with all her might. She took off her clothes herself without him having to do anything.

She first ripped half of the tangled belts from her body, and the wide robe fell to her chest. Chu Huanjun had tied these belts with many knots around her waist and back, so Tao Yao couldn't untie them on her own.

Chu Huanjun stood by with a dignified air, watching Tao Yao with a playful look as she fumbled with the knots on her body, and asked awkwardly, "Do you need my help?"

Before he could finish his words, a piece of waist rope that had been bitten off was thrown from the side and hit Chu Huanjun heavily on the chest.

"Give it back to you! Give it all back to you!"

Tao Yao, angry as if she was biting off every part of her body she could, threw them all at Chu Huanjun's face and body.

"And this, I'll give it back to you too!"

Unable to untie the knots on her body, Tao Yao tore off one of the sleeves of her robe, spat into it, and then threw it at Chu Huanjun.

Chu Huanjun wasn't angry. She threw things at him, and he happily caught them one by one. When Tao Yao had nothing more to throw at him, he asked rudely, "Why don't you continue?"

Tao Yao glared at Chu Huanjun viciously: "Chu Huanjun, you are shameless."

"you're right."

Chu Huanjun gathered all the belts and sashes that Tao Yao had just thrown to him and hung them on his arms. He walked towards her with a tender and affectionate look on his face. He stretched out his long arms and was about to embrace the little white rabbit with messy fur in front of him, but was suddenly attacked by her.

Tao Yao opened her mouth wide, used all her strength, and used her teeth to make two bloody holes on Chu Huanjun's shoulders.

Chu Huanjun shrank his shoulders a little unexpectedly, but he was not afraid of the pain. He simply took advantage of the situation and hugged Tao Yao steadily. His big palm gently held the back of her messy hairy head and patted her lightly from time to time as if coaxing a child.

Tao Yao was still angry, and seeing Chu Huanjun being so shameless, she was ready to bite the two bloody holes again.

Before the teeth were put on, Chu Huanjun's gentle voice came to my ears.

"Yaoyao, come back with me."

Tao Yao was stunned for a moment, and her heart suddenly stopped beating.

What is he talking about? Is this a joke? Why go back with him?

"Back to where?"

"Return to the capital. I will protect you and treat you well."

Chu Huanjun's tone was surprisingly gentle, and this time, what he said didn't seem to be a joke.

"You know, my real home is not in the capital. Besides... I'm not living well in the Shi Mansion."

"Well... I know." Chu Huanjun pinched the soft flesh on the back of Tao Yao's neck as if to comfort her, and as if afraid of hurting her, he gently rubbed that place in circles with his palm, as if this could dispel the pain.

"Then don't go back to Shi Mansion. You can live in my house, eat, drink, have fun and sleep well every day." Chu Huanjun said again.

"I don't want to." Tao Yao answered quickly, "That way I won't be free."

"Why are you not free? I promise you, you can do whatever you want. I will never care about you as long as you are happy." Chu Huanjun also answered quickly.

"That's different." Tao Yao shook her head. "After all, the capital is under the emperor's feet, unlike the northwest desert. There's a huge gap between you and me in status. There's a world of difference between us.

You are the only prince of the Great Chu State, and the emperor has high hopes for you. But I am a little adopted daughter of the Shi family, with little influence and no one to rely on. Even if I disappear one day, no one will care.

If the two of us were to get together, your father wouldn't agree, and neither would my father."

Tao Yao paused, then continued, "I want to go to the desert. There's a vast, boundless world. All I need is one person and a horse. I can do whatever I want and go wherever I want. I can do whatever job I want based on my own abilities. I don't have to rely on others, and I can take care of my own food."

Chu Huanjun chuckled and said calmly, "You're dreaming. The Northwest Desert is not only vast and boundless, but also plagued by rampant bandits, miasma and epidemics in a harsh climate, scarce water resources, and barren land. It's not a good place to live."

Tao Yao said, "So what? The capital city has beautiful scenery, abundant water and fertile fields, but how am I living there? I live under someone else's roof, eating worse than a guard dog in a mansion. You won't understand what life is like."

Chu Huanjun didn't know what else to say. Tao Yao said she had no one to rely on in the capital. In fact, he wanted to tell her, why not try to rely on him? He was happy to let her rely on him, but she didn't seem to be happy about it.

The air was stagnant, and no one spoke again. Chu Huanjun finally let go, admitting defeat.

"Okay, in that case, I'll stick to what I said to you earlier at Chunfeng Tower. If you regret your decision today, feel free to find me anytime in the future. I'll always be waiting."

Tao Yao also smiled at him and said, "Then I will respond to you just as I did that day at Chunfeng Tower. I will do the same from now on and will never regret it."

"Yeah." Chu Huanjun smiled, picked up the folding fan on the ground, shook it, turned around calmly, and said, "Let's go."

At this moment, Tao Yao seemed to have suddenly remembered something and called out to him from behind: "Hey! Your clothes..."

Chu Huanjun didn't look back, but just raised the folding fan and waved it three times, meaning to tell her that he didn't want the clothes anymore.

Tao Yao just watched Chu Huanjun's back as he left, and suddenly couldn't help laughing - Chu Huanjun was always like this. Even though he was now a drowned chicken, shirtless and without even a piece of clothing to cover his body, he didn't have the slightest bit of decadent and embarrassed temperament, and was still so unique.

Tao Yao stood at the door of the dilapidated temple for a long time, and only after confirming that Chu Huanjun had indeed left did she return to the temple.

The bonfire was still burning brightly. Tao Yao suddenly remembered everything that had just happened beside the bonfire. She realized something belatedly and felt a sense of bitterness in her heart for no reason.

Yes, Chu Huanjun is right. What kind of relationship do they have?

Tao Yao sat back beside the campfire in a daze, and stretched out her cold hands to warm them in front of the fire. The warmth gradually rose up, and perhaps because she was not used to it, Tao Yao could not help but shiver all over.

The fur coat, hung by Chu Huanjun on a log by the campfire, was almost dry. Tao Yao took the coat off the log and held it close to her chest. Her fingers were enveloped in the warmth of the fur, and the chill immediately dissipated.

At this moment, a familiar call suddenly came from outside the temple.

"Taoyao!? Taoyao? Is that you?"

It was Lu Che's voice.