Every time the prince opens his eyes, he sees

His mind unconsciously recalled that He Yaoyao had always treated his wounds with such care and attention.

The air from her mouth always made him feel tingling, and every time, he...

Xie Qingchen's blood heated up and he dived down uncontrollably, finally gathering in a certain part.

This was the first time he felt out of control towards a woman other than He Yaoyao.

Lu Yaoyao, who is she?

She couldn't possibly be her. The two of them clearly didn't look alike at all.

However, the uncomfortable feeling in his chest still made him unable to control himself and he stepped forward to interrupt their love affair.

"What are you doing?"

A sinister voice interrupted the charming atmosphere between the two people, and Lu Yaoyao immediately let go of the hand that was holding Gu Huai's hand.

The feeling of skin touching skin suddenly disappeared, and Gu Huai felt an indescribable sense of emptiness and loss in his heart.

"See Your Highness."

Gu Huai came back to his senses as Lu Yaoyao saluted and followed suit, "Greetings, Your Highness."

"Get up." Xie Qingchen's expression was cold and gloomy. Anyone who saw him would think that he was in a bad mood.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

The two of them stood up in unison, which Xie Qingchen found annoying no matter how he looked at it.

"What are you two doing here secretly?" His questioning tone seemed to have confirmed the accusation that the two of them were disrespectful and had a secret meeting here.

Lu Yaoyao hurriedly explained, "Your Highness, I was drunk and came out for some fresh air. I happened to run into General Gu Huai feeding the cat, and we chatted for a while."

"Why are you so nervous? I don't mean to blame you."

Lu Yaoyao: “…”

A few years have passed, and Xie Qingchen has indeed changed a lot. Not only has he become more cold-blooded and ruthless, but he has also learned to be sarcastic.

"But if you two are truly in love, you could just ask the Emperor for an imperial decree granting your marriage. The Emperor, grateful for the Gu family's military achievements, wouldn't he agree to help you both? Why bother meeting secretly here, letting others see and talk about your misconduct?"

Gu Huai's expression remained unchanged, but sweat was already beading on his forehead.

Your Highness is blaming him for the unstable situation in the northern border, with the northern barbarians often causing trouble, and for him not putting state affairs first but indulging in love affairs between men and women?

"Your Highness, I made a mistake and I will never make it again."

"Okay, let's go back." Gu Huai admitted his mistake with a good attitude. Xie Qingchen's anger subsided a little, and his tone softened a lot. "If you two don't meet at the same time, even if no one catches you meeting secretly, people will guess that you two are having an affair."

After saying that, Xie Qingchen turned around and left first.

Lu Yaoyao and Gu Huai looked at each other and returned to the banquet table in tacit understanding.

After Lu Yaoyao came back, Concubine Shu asked her to perform her talents.

She had no intention of showing off and was also afraid of being recognized by Xie Qingchen, so she deliberately concealed her abilities, picked up a flute that was not very suitable for her, and played a piece of "High Mountains and Flowing Water".

Xie Qingchen's inner thoughts:

It is indeed very crude.

As the banquet was coming to an end, the palace maid beside Concubine Shu announced that the winner of the performance talent was Li Wan'er.

The Empress Shufei rewarded her with a set of peony flower headdresses before announcing the end of the banquet.

However, before Lu Yaoyao left the palace, she was stopped by the maidservant of Concubine Shu. "Miss Lu, Concubine Shu invites you to sit in Fuxiang Palace. She will personally send someone to escort you out of the palace later."

Why did Concubine Shu look for her?

Lu Yaoyao hesitated for a moment, then said gently, "Please lead the way, auntie."

……

An hour later, Lu Yaoyao left Fuxiang Palace.

The maidservant beside Concubine Shu said, "Does Miss Lu understand what the Empress means? From what I see, she is far inferior to Miss Li in every aspect."

Concubine Shu lazily raised her eyelids. "So what if Li Wan'er is talented and beautiful? The Crown Prince doesn't like her. On the contrary, the Crown Prince looked at Lu Yaoyao a lot more tonight. When she performed her talent, the Crown Prince also stared at her intently."

As she spoke, a trace of sadness crept onto Concubine Shu's still charming face. "If the Crown Prince no longer wants women, he will not be able to have children, and the throne will be without a successor. Sooner or later, the Emperor will consider deposing the Crown Prince and appointing someone else as Crown Prince. The royal family has many outstanding children."

As she spoke, she suddenly stopped talking, closed her eyes, twirled the Buddhist beads in her hand, and silently recited the scriptures for a while before saying, "I hope this Lu Yaoyao can help me achieve my wish."

"But if the Crown Prince really falls in love with Miss Lu, does Your Majesty really want her to enter the Eastern Palace? Putting aside whether her status is suitable, just considering her current reputation, even if she marries down, she won't be able to find a good in-law."

Concubine Shu suddenly opened her eyes, her gentle features shrouded in a cloud of darkness. "Of course, she can't aspire to be a principal consort, but if she knows what's good for her, I can let Chen'er reward her with the position of a concubine in recognition of her contributions."

Lu Yaoyao sat in the carriage on the way home, holding the token given to her by Concubine Shu, which allowed her to enter and leave the palace at will, as if it were a hot potato.

If she was conquering Xie Qingchen and could get such a token, she would definitely be happy for three days.

But now she wants to capture Gu Huai, so what’s the use of having such a sign?

I have to find a way to return the token. It would be best if she is forced to hand it over so that Concubine Shu can't blame her.

"System, please help me check Xie Qingchen's schedule in the past few days." Lu Yaoyao called the system urgently.

After a quick search, the system replied, "There will be a good opportunity tomorrow. Xie Qingchen will be ambushed by an assassin when he comes out of the Ministry of Justice."

……

That night, the moonlight was as cool as water. Xie Qingchen came out of the Ministry of Justice and boarded the carriage waiting outside the Prince's Mansion.

The personal guard Qingfeng immediately jumped onto the carriage and acted as the coachman.

The carriage drove quietly for a while, and Qingfeng suddenly smelled an unusual scent.

"Your Highness, there is an ambush." ​​He shouted and suddenly tightened the reins.

Dense rain of arrows came from all directions, and in the blink of an eye, the carriage was shot into a sieve.

Qingfeng jumped off the carriage, rolled on the ground, drew the soft sword from his waist, and fought with the black-clothed men who were surging like a black tide.

Three of the men in black entangled him, and the other two men in black who looked like the leaders approached the carriage.

They looked at each other, and one of them stabbed into the car with a sword.

"Bang..." A dark figure broke out from the roof of the car, and the black-clothed man's sword missed.

Xie Qingchen hung on the roof with one foot, his expression grim, "Who are you? How dare you assassinate me?"

He hadn't experienced this in a long time.

The two leaders of the men in black did not answer. They pointed their toes and attacked Xie Qingchen with their cold swords with sharp edges. Other men in black also joined the battle.

They are well-trained and powerful, and it is obvious that they came prepared.

Xie Qingchen fought with them for a long time and only managed to kill four or five men in black.

Then, while Xie Qingchen was beginning to feel tired and distracted, several men in black threw out five-clawed hooks. The five-clawed hooks drew tracks in the air, like a tightly sewn net. Xie Qingchen was unable to dodge in an instant and was hooked on the shoulder by one of the five-clawed hooks.

The sharp iron hook dug into his flesh, leaving five bloody marks.

Xie Qingchen frowned, gripped the five-claw hook with his fingers, and pulled it out directly.

If he didn't do so, he would be dragged over by the man in black holding the rope.

Blood splattered, and the pain of the flesh being torn out by the five-clawed hooks was no different from being cut into pieces by slow slicing.

Seeing that he was injured, the men in black attacked more fiercely.

When Xie Qingchen was in great danger, the sounds of hurried horse hooves and wheels came closer and closer, and an exquisite carriage stopped at the edge of the battlefield.

"You guys, go and help." A small and beautiful face popped out from the carriage, and Lu Yaoyao shouted anxiously.

Several guards around the carriage rushed over immediately.

With the help of the Lu Mansion's guards, Xie Qingchen was able to breathe a sigh of relief. He saw Lu Yaoyao in the Lu Mansion's carriage.

Just as he was about to speak, he heard Lu Yaoyao say to the carriage driver, "Turn the carriage around and go quickly."

Xie Qingchen: "..."

Lu Yaoyao called back reinforcements and looked at his own guards who were still fighting the men in black without too many casualties. He couldn't help but sigh:

She is the only daughter left by her cheap father Lu Jinglin, so he is still willing to spend a lot of money on her.