Mistakenly Connected to the Jade Flower Branch

Duo Yi jumped up and lunged at Nan Fei, knocking him back two steps and almost causing him to fall.

Duo Yi hugged him, crying and laughing at the same time, wiping her snot and tears all over his clothes: "I thought you were gone... I thought you were a liar..."

Nanfei held the lamb leg high and shushed, "People outside are looking for us..."

Having not eaten all day, Duoyi took several big bites of the lamb leg before asking, her words slurred, "Where did you go?"

Nanfei sat opposite her, eating a pancake slowly and deliberately: "I heard wolves howling last night, so I went out to check..."

Duo Yi thought he was scared and comforted him, "The desert wolves don't hurt people..."

Nanfei chuckled: "I see a lot of white bones by the edge of the woods..."

Duo Yi, with unwavering loyalty, said, "...You come with me. I'm not afraid of wolves; I'll protect you..."

Duoyi wolfed down his food, even letting out a burp after he was full. Nanfei unconsciously swallowed, got up, scooped a ladle of water from the water vat by the cliff, drank a ladleful first, and then scooped another ladleful for Duoyi.

Duo Yi tilted her head back and finished drinking the water, then threw the ladle into the water vat. She rubbed her round belly, remembering she needed to ask more questions: "Why were you gone all day? What were you doing with my things? Where are my clothes?"

Nanfei opened the package, took out a set of clothes belonging to a herdsman's girl, and gave them to Duoyi, explaining briefly: "The horse was eaten by wolves, so I threw your things there. You'll have to make do with these clothes..."

Duoyi took the clothes and glared at him: "That's it?"

Nanfei nodded.

Duo Yi jumped over and grabbed his ear, saying fiercely, "Tell me more details..."

Nanfei grabbed her hand, crying out in pain, "I'll talk, I'll talk, please be gentle..."

The two children were playing and fighting. Nanfei simplified the story and recounted what had happened.

Nanfei picked up some human bones and threw them by the woods, tore Duoyi's maid outfit into pieces, and scattered her sword, token, and jewelry there...

He hid in a tree and howled like a wolf, attracting a pack that devoured the horse. When the soldiers arrived and found a scene of blood and bones, they simply assumed the two children, having lost their way while fleeing, had stumbled into the wolves' clutches and deserved their fate…

The soldiers picked up their belongings and went back to report. Nanfei hid in the tree until almost dark before sneaking down. He tore his clothes to shreds, found a herdsman, and said that he had encountered a pack of wolves and gotten separated from his family. He bought two sets of clothes and food before returning home.

Nanfei tried to keep it simple, but Duoyi imagined many things. She looked at the boy in front of her, who was even shorter than her, feeling both admiration and fear.

Nanfei was exhausted after a long day. Seeing that she couldn't sleep, he continued telling palace stories while yawning. This time, he was telling the story of Prince Ning's elopement.

Duoyi gradually realized the seriousness of the situation and couldn't sleep well at night. In her dreams, Batu surrounded the cave completely... Nanfei had flown away and would never return... Her mother was crying...

Hearing a noise in the middle of the night, she opened her eyes and saw Nanfei gnawing on the lamb leg she had left over.

Nanfei must be craving meat since there's no meat to eat in the camp. She doesn't have much silver with her, and she doesn't know how long it will be before she returns to Dongyang, so she can't be extravagant…

Duoyi quietly closed her eyes, her heart churning. Such a good child, he would also be a good husband in the future. She would just consider herself a princess sent for a political marriage!

Duo Yi calmed down and slept soundly for the rest of the night. When dawn broke, Nanfei was gone again. But she was no longer worried; she went into the woods, hunted some wild rabbits, roasted them, and waited.

Duoyi was still young then and didn't think things through so thoroughly. Even ordinary families have the three letters and six rites for marriage, and the rites for a princess sent for a political marriage are even more complicated. What she did could only be called treason and collusion with the enemy.

Nan Feitian returned just before dark, carrying two wild rabbits. The two men looked at each other's rabbits and laughed.

Nanfei said that there were already rumors that the Dongyang slaves and Princess Duoyi had been killed by wolves...

On the third day at dawn, when Nanfei was about to go out, Duoyi had already woken up. Duoyi wanted to go with him, but Nanfei refused.

Nanfei said, "Batu may not believe these rumors, and the two of us together would be too conspicuous."

Duo Yi said, "If he doesn't believe you, it's dangerous for you to go out alone. You might as well stay in the cave."

Nanfei said, "This cave might not be safe. If I'm not here and someone comes looking for us, just say you were kidnapped and brought here. If I am, we're both finished."

Duo Yi suddenly panicked and grabbed him, saying, "Then you have to come back. If you leave me alone, I'll... I'll die here..."

Nanfei was surprised that she had this idea: "Of course I will come back. I want to take you back to Dongyang with me."

Duo Yi watched him walk away, wondering blankly: Who is taking whom back to Dongyang?

Fearing that things might go wrong if they waited too long, Nanfei returned that night with two horses. The two disguised themselves as sisters and set off again under the cover of darkness…

Duo Yi was familiar with the northern desert and carefully avoided sentries and checks along the way, almost being exposed several times.

When the two returned to Fengzhou unharmed, Batu had already received the definite news and ordered Borrent to send troops to the Duoyan tribe overnight.

Upon returning to Bianjing, Nanfei immediately provided Duoyi with a new sword, hairpins, and clothes...

The gold filigree gourd earrings, inlaid with white dragon pearls, are rare treasures. Nan Fei somehow found out about them and stole them from Old Madam Nan's dowry to buy them as compensation for Duo Yi.

Nanfei spent a lot of money in a short period of time, and Nanhua was the first to notice something was wrong. The matter was quickly exposed, and Master Nan was furious.

Nanfei knelt before Old Madam Nan and wrote a guarantee that he would deduct money from his monthly allowance and repay it when he grew up and earned money...

Before they even grew up, Yuan Feng proposed marriage and gave many valuable gifts, finally settling the debt.

At that time, Nanfei was still a child, pure and kind-hearted, and filled with gratitude and guilt for Duoyi, who saved him from his arranged marriage. He simply felt that if he couldn't give her anything else, he should try his best to make up for it with money.

Duo Yi's original willowherb and pearl earrings were already quite valuable; he couldn't afford to replace them with something too cheap...

Later, it was no longer just a matter between the two children, and the course of events was beyond their control. Nanfei had no choice.

Duoyi knew he had no choice. Many times she considered hurting him, but struggled because of the roast lamb leg, and gave up because of the gourd earrings.

Tears rolled down Nanfei's face, disappearing into Duoyi's hair, silently: ...In this life, I'm sorry...In the next life, wait for me...

Luo An's stance was clear: the eldest princess had indeed liked him and had indeed drugged him. He was a doctor; such petty tricks couldn't possibly escape his notice.

As for who the child's father is, since the princess doesn't say, no one knows. Luo An didn't reveal it, but Nianyao could roughly guess that even the princess herself might not know who the child's father is.

Luo An descended the mountain to become a traveling doctor because he had stayed in the Heavenly Palace for too long and wanted to travel around. It had nothing to do with the Grand Princess; it was just a coincidence, nothing more. Luo An was sometimes not very polite to the Emperor, so how could a mere Grand Princess possibly take him seriously?

Luo An disdained to lie about such things, and Yaochi naturally believed him. Believing was one thing, and being unhappy was another; these were two separate matters.

There was a shallow but noticeable scar on Luo An's handsome face, like a flaw on a perfect piece of porcelain. Nian Yao had somehow overexerted herself, causing her wrist to swell. Luo An bandaged it up dramatically.