He Lan Tianxia

Several more days passed without incident. During this time, besides playing with turtles, Murong Junlan had several cricket fighting bowls brought over, but the woman showed no interest. After breakfast that day, the woman suggested going for a walk, and Murong Junlan immediately agreed. However, upon hearing that she wanted to go to the Cliff of Broken Hearts, Murong Junlan felt a pang of unease. Yet, he still felt an irresistible allure to the Cliff of Broken Hearts; the place that had brought him his beloved concubine was indeed shrouded in mystery. Since the glass lock was in his hands, he wasn't worried about the woman escaping. Therefore, Murong Junlan instructed Jiang He to bring over two fiery red rabbits.

Under a bright, sunny sky, three people, two horses, and an eagle galloped freely across the grassland. After about the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, the three arrived at the edge of Broken Heart Cliff. The ancient trees were still verdant, the vines abundant, the cliffs precipitous, and the ravines perilous, but today the bottom of the cliff was shrouded in mist, a scene of ethereal beauty.

Dismounting, the woman cheered, "Your Highness, I rolled all the way from here that day!" Murong Junlan sighed, rubbing his forehead. The woman continued, "Your Highness, you were the one who caught me in your net that day and threw me to Jiang He." Murong Junlan pretended not to hear. The woman turned to look at the serious-looking Murong Junlan and deliberately said loudly, "Your Highness, have you lost your memory again?" Jiang He couldn't help but chuckle, but Murong Junlan glared at him coldly, startling Jiang He into immediately stopping his laughter. The woman suddenly added, "So Your Highness's amnesia is something you chose." This seemingly unintentional remark unexpectedly reminded the prince of his own actions, becoming his excuse for his increasingly shameless behavior.

The woman stood on the edge of the cliff and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Old monk, old monk, can you hear me? I want to go back—" The echo of "I want to go back" immediately reverberated through the valley. The woman touched her neck—where was the glass lock? Only then did she belatedly realize that the glass lock was missing. Murong Junlan secretly rejoiced that he had hidden the glass lock well; otherwise, his princess might have truly rolled away at any moment.

Suddenly, a hidden arrow shot out from the depths of the clouds. "Watch out!" Murong Junlan initially wanted to throw out a thin rope to catch it, but the arrow was aimed at the woman. If she missed, it would be dangerous; if she caught it, she feared the arrow would bounce back and injure her. In desperation, Murong Junlan decided to catch the arrow with her bare hands. This would have been a trivial matter for Murong Junlan, but little did she know that several more hidden arrows were heading straight for the woman. Murong Junlan abruptly pushed the woman towards Jiang He, shouting, "Protect the Princess!"

If Jiang He protected the woman and Murong Junlan stayed behind, they could escape smoothly once they got on the Red Hare. However, the woman glanced back at Murong Junlan halfway down the hill. What she saw made her panic; an arrow was flying towards him. "Your Highness, be careful!" she cried, turning to block the arrow. Murong Junlan was shocked. "How could you be so foolish?" Seeing the arrow about to strike, Murong Junlan had no choice but to push her away with a palm strike. But then another arrow shot towards her from behind. With no other option, Murong Junlan leaped forward to protect her.

"Your Highness, be careful!" Jiang He exclaimed in alarm.

Suddenly, the woman seemed to find a surge of strength and forcefully pushed Murong Junlan aside, blocking the arrow with her side. With a hiss, the arrow struck the woman's shoulder.

"Princess, be careful."

"Yan'er, be careful."

The two men were shocked, for the woman slipped and fell towards the cliff. Murong Junlan leaped forward, grabbing her hand with his right, but she had already fallen. Murong Junlan desperately clung to a rock at the edge of the cliff with his left hand, but the rock shifted. Jiang He tried to rush to her aid, but an arrow shot towards him, forcing him to dodge. In that instant, the rock in Murong Junlan's left hand rolled towards the cliff, and Murong Junlan and the woman fell into the depths of the clouds and mist.

"Your Highness—" came Jiang He's hoarse cry from the cliff. Just then, a fierce eagle swooped down, plunging into the depths of the clouds. Seeing that he was outnumbered, Jiang He took two Red Hare steeds and went back to fetch reinforcements. On the way, they encountered the Empress Dowager and the Emperor's Imperial Guards. Hearing that the prince had fallen off the cliff, the Imperial Guards split into two groups: the majority went with Jiang He to rescue him, while the other small group rushed back to report the news.

It should be noted that the Empress Dowager and the Emperor's guards were here because they received news that the Prince and the woman had gone to the Cliff of Broken Hearts. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor were preparing to send someone to assassinate the woman, but unexpectedly, someone beat them to it and forced the Prince to fall off the cliff as well.

The Emperor was furious when his son fell off the cliff. He immediately led the Imperial Guards straight to the Cliff of Broken Hearts.

Only a few hidden arrows remained on the cliff; there were no other clues. The Emperor immediately ordered a search, determined to find Prince Murong Junlan.

The Imperial Guards immediately sealed off Broken Heart Cliff. Then, the Emperor mobilized all five thousand elite Imperial Guards from the palace, surrounding the cliff so tightly that not even a bird could fly in. However, Broken Heart Cliff was high and densely forested, making the search difficult. A whole day passed without any news, not even the assassin who had tried to kill the prince could be found. The Emperor then dispatched another ten thousand Imperial Guards, but after several days of searching, there was still no trace. A month later, the Emperor finally couldn't hold out any longer and returned to the palace, ordering the Imperial Guards to continue the search. The Empress Dowager, having no other recourse, could only go to the temple every day to burn incense and pray for protection.

Meanwhile, Murong Junlan and the woman fell off the cliff, only to find themselves halfway down, stuck in a large pine tree in the middle of the precipice. The woman was terrified. Just then, she saw an eagle swooping down. She opened her mouth to utter a single word, "Tu," but Murong Junlan immediately covered her mouth. "My dear young mistress," he thought, "if the enemy discovers they're stuck here now, there'll be no escape from a hail of arrows."

Was the arrow poisoned? When Murong Junlan was treating the woman's arrow wound, he noticed the skin around it was turning black. He panicked, trembling with nervousness. He ripped open the woman's clothes and immediately began sucking the poisoned blood with his mouth. The woman, thinking he had done something inappropriate, slapped him across the face. Murong Junlan didn't dodge, focusing only on sucking the blood, and took the slap head-on.

"The arrow is poisoned. Don't move if you don't want to die," Murong Junlan said domineeringly. As they fell, Murong Junlan held the woman's hand, helping her to sit on a large tree. He then sat on the trunk himself. However, the arrow had wounded the woman's right shoulder, making it difficult to treat. He coldly said, "You can turn around or lie down. If the poison isn't completely drained, you'll soon be unable to move. There's no antidote here." Murong Junlan spoke coldly from behind the woman.

Turning around while perched on a tree overlooking a bottomless abyss is difficult; she could only lie back. Murong Junlan took out a pill and placed it in the woman's mouth, saying, "This is wound medicine, not an antidote, but it's better than nothing." Then, in a seemingly reproachful tone, Murong Junlan said with heartache, "Why were you so foolish as to shield me from an arrow?"

"Your Highness, a snake!" the woman suddenly cried out. A snake darted down the cliff and lunged at her, nearly causing her to fall. "Careful!" Murong Junlan grabbed the woman's shoulders and pulled her close, using one hand to push the snake away. The snake shuddered from the blow, but it still risked its life to pounce on the woman's wound and bite her before slithering up the rocks and disappearing behind a blade of grass.

Murong Junlan was shocked. He shook the woman with all his might and in despair, shouting almost frantically, "Yan'er, Yan'er, you can't be hurt, you absolutely can't be hurt, you have to hold on, you must hold on, you can't abandon me."

The woman said weakly, "Your Highness, I don't think I'm dead yet. Stop shaking me, or I'll fall and really die."

"She can still speak?" Murong Junlan steadied himself and saw that the woman's face, which had been half-black, was gradually regaining its color. Murong Junlan turned the woman's face back to examine it carefully several times, then gently patted it, asking uncertainly, "Are you really alright?"

"I'm not dead. I'm still alive, but I'm about to faint," the woman replied weakly.

"Yan'er, my beloved concubine, are you alright? How could you be alright? You were bitten by a poisonous snake."

"Your Highness..." The woman really fainted.

"Yan'er, don't sleep! Yan'er, you can't sleep!" Murong Junlan was terrified and lost control. He held the girl in his arms tightly, tears streaming down his face. "How could you be so foolish as to shield me from an arrow?"

When the woman woke up, she found herself lying in Murong Junlan's arms. Murong Junlan was roasting a pheasant, and the place looked like a stone cave.

"You've been sleeping for five days and five nights." Murong Junlan looked haggard, his eyes bloodshot, clearly having not slept a wink. "I thought you were ignoring me." Murong Junlan was actually happy inside, but the way he said it made it sound different.

"Your Highness, I'm hungry," the woman said softly.

"Then get up and eat something. If you don't get up, the chicken will burn." Murong Junlan still didn't move.

The woman struggled to her feet, tore off a piece of meat, and wolfed it down; it tasted delicious. But as she ate, she realized something was wrong. Why wasn't Murong Junlan moving? She then realized that Murong Junlan had probably been holding her for too long, and his body was numb and unable to move. Looking at him, she realized he thought she wouldn't wake up and hadn't eaten anything for days; now he was practically swaying. Immediately, filled with anger and frustration, she tore off a piece of chicken and shoved it into Murong Junlan's mouth.

"You idiot, who will protect me if you faint?" Then she helped Murong Junlan move his numb limbs. It took a long time for Murong Junlan to regain his senses. He swallowed the chicken in his mouth, then pulled the woman back into his arms and held her tightly. The woman didn't push him away, and soon Murong Junlan leaned against her back and fell fast asleep.