After being reborn, I hugged the villainous boss tightly.

When He Ye stumbled and staggered to the general's mansion, the gate was already completely surrounded.

She was greatly alarmed and hurriedly ran into the mansion.

Ye Qizheng stood in front of the hall and coldly ordered, "Search carefully for me. If you find anyone from the General's Mansion who dares to hide Fu Jingyuan, arrest them and take them away with him."

Lotus Leaf arrived at the hall and saw that the mansion had been ransacked, with vases and water jars all smashed and the flowers and plants in the courtyard trampled to pieces.

Madam Gu simply sat indifferently in the main seat, her eyes calmly watching the soldiers smashing things around her, as if everything they were smashing had nothing to do with her!

He Ye ran to her in a panic, tears streaming down her face.

"Madam, Miss has been captured by Ye Fan!"

"what?"

Gu's previously indifferent face immediately turned panicked. She stood up and asked sharply, "Where are they now?"

Lotus Leaf sobbed uncontrollably, shaking her head frantically, "I don't know, but yesterday Miss was beaten by Ye Fan for a long time, and her hand was even... pierced by Ye Fan..."

Even Fu Jingyuan was injured by the men he brought.

Upon learning that her precious daughter had been injured, Madam Gu's eyes immediately turned vicious. She walked out and shouted, "All of you, stop right now!"

Ye Qi, who was still immersed in grief, looked at her fiercely upon hearing this.

"Gu family, do you intend to defy the imperial decree?"

"You keep saying that Fu Jingyuan killed your son, but why do I hear that he kidnapped and injured my daughter!"

"Don't talk nonsense! It was clearly your daughter who bullied my son in the palace, and now she's tricked him out of the city and killed him!"

Madam Gu sneered, looking at him with disdain: "Doesn't your own son know his own worth? He spends all his time eating, drinking, having fun, gambling, and frequenting brothels. He clearly got himself into trouble, but he insists on blaming my daughter and nephew!"

"..."

Ye Qizheng was speechless for a moment. He was furious and took out the imperial edict: "Even so, the emperor has already issued an edict to punish Fu Jingyuan. I advise you to hand him over immediately!"

Madam Gu coldly looked at the imperial edict in his hand: "If you can petition the Emperor, so can I!"

As she said this, she looked at Ye Qizheng with a firm gaze.

"If Fu Jingyuan killed Ye Fan, I will make him pay with his life; but if not, I will definitely stab a hole in Ye Fan's corpse!"

With that, she called to He Ye, "Let's go into the palace!" and strode towards the door.

Seeing them leave, Ye Qi roared, "You spout nonsense! There's not a single good person in your General's Mansion! If you can't find Fu Jingyuan, I'll burn down the entire General's Mansion!"

……

Half a month later, under Ye Zhuxi's meticulous care, Fu Jingyuan gradually recovered, and his wounds began to heal.

Except for not being able to engage in strenuous exercise, he can now walk normally.

While feeding him, Ye Zhuxi frowned. She noticed that Fu Jingyuan had been getting thinner and thinner lately, and even his face, which she had painstakingly maintained, had become much thinner.

"Big brother, you've lost weight!"

Without thinking, Ye Zhuxi reached out and touched his handsome cheek.

As Fu Jingyuan felt the warm and delicate touch on his face, his eyes darkened, his brows furrowed slightly, and a look of surprise appeared in his deep eyes!

Before he could speak, Ye Zhuxi suddenly put down her hand and stood up: "I saw a lot of fruit behind the mountain a few days ago. Brother, wait for me, I'll go pick some to nourish your body."

After saying that, she turned and ran out.

Fu Jingyuan leaned weakly against the rock, his gaze fixed on Ye Zhuxi's retreating figure, lost in thought.

He always remembered how Ye Zhuxi protected herself on the cliff edge; her fearless appearance was always etched in his mind.

During the two weeks he spent at the bottom of the cliff, he tried to find evidence of Ye Zhuxi's insincerity towards him, but all he found were her caring eyes and subtle care.

She was clearly a pampered young lady who never lifted a finger, but now she was searching for food all over the mountains just to survive.

If he had previously suspected Ye Zhuxi of having ulterior motives, he now believed that she genuinely wanted to be good to him—no, to be precise, she was trying to "please" him!

Remembering how he had asked Ying to find someone who knew witchcraft, he believed that he would get the answer he wanted after returning this time!

……

After waiting for a long time, until it gradually got dark, Fu Jingyuan still hadn't seen Ye Zhuxi. He suddenly had a bad feeling.

He gritted his teeth, stood up, and walked towards the cave entrance. It was quiet outside, with only the sound of a gentle breeze.

His deep eyes dimmed for a moment, and ignoring the throbbing pain from his wound, he lifted his foot and walked towards the place where Ye Zhuxi had left.

Ye Zhuxi looked at the unfamiliar road in front of her and frowned deeply. She didn't know how long she had been walking in this peach blossom forest, but she just couldn't get out of this forest.

As darkness approached, and remembering that Fu Jingyuan hadn't eaten much all day, she became even more anxious. Coupled with her fear, her eyes instantly filled with glistening tears.

"Ah~"

Not noticing the tree roots under her feet, she tripped and fell, her knees hitting the ground hard.

The fruit she had held in her clothes all rolled to the ground. Ignoring her sore knee, she got up and hurriedly picked up the fruit.

Just as she was wiping away her tears and picking them up one by one, a figure suddenly appeared in front of her.

Looking at the familiar hem of her dress, she felt a warmth in her heart. When she looked up, she met Fu Jingyuan's cold gaze.

His handsome face was expressionless, his thin lips were tightly pursed, and he looked at her as she was crawling on the ground picking things up, his brows slightly furrowed.

When Ye Zhuxi saw him, she felt even more aggrieved, and tears welled up in her eyes.

She looked at the man pitifully and softly called out, "Big Brother..."

Fu Jingyuan, who had been feeling frustrated because he couldn't find her, instantly relaxed after she called him "Big Brother".

He lowered his eyes, a complex light gleaming in his dark pupils, and after a long while, he reached out his hand to her.

Ye Zhuxi stared at her outstretched hand, slightly stunned.

Before she could react, Fu Jingyuan bent down and helped her up, looking her over and asking, "Are you alright?"

Ye Zhuxi swallowed her sob, shook her head with tears welling in her eyes, and whispered, "It's nothing, I was just scared!"

As she spoke, she tilted her head and asked him, "How did you find me, brother?"

“Footprints!” Fu Jingyuan glanced down at the soil on the ground: “There are your footprints on the ground!”

It had just rained yesterday, and the soil wasn't dry yet, so she left two footprints on the path she walked.

Fortunately, she had these markings; otherwise, it would have been very difficult for Fu Jingyuan to find her.

Looking at the setting sun at the foot of the mountain, he took Ye Zhuxi's hand and walked back.

This is the wilderness; you never know what might happen next. Let's go back to the cave first.