Marrying the Crown Prince

Ding dong, ding dong...

Li Zixiao frowned.

She shook her head in annoyance, slowly opened her eyes, and saw a mosquito net that had been washed until it was somewhat faded...

She struggled to sit up, rubbed her forehead, and then remembered—she had gone out for a stroll yesterday and ended up encountering a vanguard team from an enemy country.

I really don't know whether to call this luck good or bad.

Fortunately, his disappearance will inevitably alert the entire Zhenguo Duke's mansion, so the spy from Beiling Kingdom's trip was in vain.

The bad thing is that I've disappeared.

She tried hard to recall, but couldn't remember who had saved her at the last moment yesterday...

That back view was truly...

Li Zixiao shook her head self-deprecatingly, banishing the thought from her mind.

"Dong dong!"

"Dong dong!"

It's a knock on the door.

"lady?"

"I wonder if Madam has woken up?"

Judging from her voice, she is a cheerful young woman in the prime of her life.

Li Zixiao glanced around at herself, and after confirming that her clothes were presentable, she quickly opened the door.

The woman was carrying a basin of water, with a clean towel draped over the rim.

When she saw that Li Zixiao was safe and sound, a look of joy appeared on her face. "Thank goodness, Madam, you're finally awake. Are you feeling unwell?"

Hearing this, Li Zixiao was a little confused, as if she had slept for many days.

Despite her doubts, she didn't show them on her face. "You're too kind, benefactor. Thank you for taking such good care of me these past few days. My name has the character 'Shun' in it, so please just call me by my name."

At this point, Li Zixiao paused before continuing, "I wonder how many days I've been unconscious?"

“It’s neither long nor short. Lady Shun slept for a whole day, which really scared us.” Fangrong replied, “Since Lady Shun told me not to be so polite, then you don’t need to keep calling me your benefactor. We’re not much different in age. If you don’t mind, you can just call me Rongniang.”

Li Zixiao nodded, stepped aside to make way for the other person to enter the house, and said, "In that case, I won't stand on ceremony."

Fangrong came in carrying a basin of water.

Li Zixiao followed beside her, watching her put the things on the shelf next to her.

She asked, "Although sleeping for a whole day is indeed quite long, it shouldn't have frightened you. But do I have any serious injuries?"

That shouldn't be the case; I didn't feel uncomfortable at all.

Although he fell into a coma because he had been slashed in the hand with a knife, he did not feel any discomfort when he woke up.

Because, to Li Zixiao, Rong Niangzi's claim that she had frightened them seemed rather strange.

“Oh dear, Lady Shun, you have no idea,” Fangrong said immediately with great emotion upon hearing Li Zixiao’s words, “your husband is really fierce. You’ve been unconscious for so long, and his face was terrifying!”

Hearing this, Li Zixiao roughly understood.

Someone must have saved me, but because I was unconscious, I had no choice but to stay at a fellow villager's house.

So, was the dress I'm wearing changed by this unknown young man, or by the woman in front of me, Lady Rong?

Of course, these minor details are insignificant when it comes to matters of life and death, so Li Zixiao didn't dwell on them too much.

Thinking it over, a hint of apology and shame appeared on her face. "I'm so sorry to have troubled you all, but I just don't know... where has my husband gone?"

“Shun Niangzi, don’t worry, he went to work in the fields with my husband.” Rong Niangzi said as she wrung out a handkerchief and handed it to Li Zixiao. “Judging by the time, he’ll be back in another hour.”

Li Zixiao took the handkerchief, wiped herself briefly, then rolled up her sleeves and went with Rong Niangzi to the tree outside to sew shoe soles.

Li Zixiao naturally didn't know what to do, but Madam Rong smiled and said, "Madam Shun, you don't need to do anything. Just stay here and talk to me."

From the moment she saw Li Zixiao, she knew that this person came from a wealthy family, and asking her to do these things was probably asking too much of her.

Li Zixiao nodded slightly after hearing what Rong Niangzi said.

“These things are all for the army to use, and military households come to collect them every now and then.” Rong Niangzi said, her hands never stopping.

After watching for a while, Li Zixiao also picked up the tools and tried to do it herself.

Seeing that she wasn't putting on airs, Madam Rong readily and patiently began to teach her.

After about half an hour, Madam Rong and Li Zixiao put the things away together.

Li Zixiao rubbed his sore neck and smiled apologetically, "I can't compare to my wife. I can't take it after only a short while."

Madam Rong didn't mind. "I've been doing this since I was a child, and I'm used to the hard work. It's your first time doing this, so you've already done a great job."

"It's almost time; it's time to prepare lunch."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"There are some."

So when Wang Da and his companion returned with their farm tools, they found the two of them at the stove, one burning firewood and the other cooking.

Hearing the voice, Rong Niangzi looked up. "You're back? Just wait a little longer, it'll be fine soon."

Li Zixiao also looked over curiously and immediately recognized which one was the real farmer—Wang Da.

As for the young man next to him, he must be the one who saved him.

Thinking of this, Li Zixiao nodded slightly to him as a greeting.

Upon seeing this, the other party quickly bowed and made a gesture of respect.

Wang Da looked at it and couldn't help but laugh, "You scholars are just different from us roughnecks."

Huo Cheng didn't argue, and followed Wang Da to put away the farm tools.

Four people, a plate of green vegetables, a plate of pickled cabbage stir-fried with meat, a few oat buns, and a pot of plain porridge.

After a simple meal, they cleaned up the dishes and rinsed them, and Mr. and Mrs. Wang kindly gave them some space.

Seeing that no one was around, Huo Cheng bowed again, "This humble general has arrived late to rescue Your Majesty, please punish me, Princess."

“When traveling, keep things simple. General, there’s no need for formalities.” Li Zixiao reached out and helped the man up. “As for the blame, we can discuss that later. What’s important now is how to get back.”

"This subordinate has inquired..."

Li Zixiao interrupted him, "Since you're going to hide your identity, then stop calling yourself 'this humble general' and 'princess' all the time."

Huo Cheng was speechless.

He pursed his lips before continuing, "Yes, Mo... I understand."

"What's your name? What's your rank in the military?"

"Huo Cheng, appointed as Xuanjie Colonel."

Xuanjie Xiaowei, a rank of eighth grade official.

Do you know where this is?

"Yes, this place is under the jurisdiction of Yuancheng, but it's at least a dozen miles away from Yuancheng, and the mountain roads are rugged with many forks in the road. I'm afraid..."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Zixiao added, "I'm afraid it's impossible for us to walk there ourselves."