So satisfying! The Great Demon King wiped out everyone equally!

Seeing that the guards of the Crown Prince's residence refused to back down, Prince Ning's eyes flashed with a ruthless glint. "No need to waste words with them. Today, we must capture Xiao Yunzhou to rid the world of this scourge for me, for the court, and for all the people. Whoever captures Xiao Yunzhou will be richly rewarded."

Upon hearing the order, Prince Ning's soldiers surged toward the Crown Prince's residence like a tidal wave. Clearly, having experienced several life-or-death battles, Prince Ning's soldiers quickly took control of the Crown Prince's residence.

However, after searching the entire Crown Prince's residence, they found no trace of Xiao Yunzhou. Prince Ning immediately ordered a city-wide search and commissioned the creation of a portrait of Xiao Yunzhou, which was posted throughout the city. He also declared that anyone who discovered or reported Xiao Yunzhou's whereabouts would be richly rewarded.

Before they could surround the Crown Prince's residence, Cang Lan acted decisively, quickly fetching ropes and swiftly tying Zhao Linglong and Xiao Yunzhou together. Then, he casually took one of the Crown Prince's fine horses and quietly left through the back gate.

With a swift movement, Canglan leaped onto the horse's back.

Zhao Linglong, standing behind him, stared at the unconscious Xiao Yunzhou, her face filled with anxiety and terror. She clutched Xiao Yunzhou's clothes tightly, crying out, "Yunzhou, wake up! Yunzhou, you can't die!" Then, she turned and glared at Canglan on horseback, shouting, "Zhao Linglong, I'm your own sister, and Xiao Yunzhou is your brother-in-law! How could you treat us like this?"

Before he could finish speaking, Canglan suddenly lashed out with his whip, the whip drawing a graceful arc in the air and making a crisp sound.

The horse shot off like an arrow. As it galloped past, the gust of wind it created knocked Zhao Linglong and Xiao Yunzhou to the ground.

Zhao Linglong felt herself being suddenly knocked to the ground, followed by a piercing pain from her arms and cheeks.

In that instant, she could almost hear the screeching sound of her skin being rubbed against the rough ground. Every time she was dragged a little distance by the horse, the muscles in her arms and legs felt as if they were being cut by countless sharp blades at the same time, and the burning pain quickly spread throughout her body.

Without turning his head, Canglan cracked his whip again, and the horse galloped away, leaving only flying dust and Zhao Linglong's desperate pleas for mercy.

To those around them, only a dashing figure rode out of the city at breakneck speed, disappearing from sight in an instant.

Canglan dragged Zhao Linglong and Xiao Yunzhou out of the city and sped all the way to a secluded manor. She threw the two into a dark room, channeled some magic into Xiao Yunzhou to ensure he was barely alive, and then left without looking back.

After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Yunzhou slowly opened his eyes, feeling excruciating pain all over his body. Every inch of his skin burned with pain, especially the wound from the knife, which was also throbbing. His body felt as if it were about to fall apart.

Zhao Linglong, standing nearby, was in much better condition than Xiao Yunzhou. Seeing Xiao Yunzhou awake, Zhao Linglong burst into tears of joy, her eyes brimming with tears. "Yunzhou, you're finally awake! I thought... I thought you'd never wake up again. Waaah..."

Xiao Yunzhou asked weakly, "Where is this?" Zhao Linglong choked up and said, "Zhao Linlang locked the two of us here, and then she left."

Immediately, Zhao Linglong hurriedly explained, "Yunzhou, I absolutely did not collude with Zhao Linlang. I knew nothing about what she did. You must believe me."

Xiao Yunzhou's expression was gentle as he reached out and placed Zhao Linglong's head on his shoulder, trying to hide the impatience in his eyes. He slowly said, "Linglong, it's all my fault. I misunderstood you just now and said many hurtful things, but I have never doubted your love for me. If we get out in the future, I will definitely cherish you."

Zhao Linglong was deeply moved by Xiao Yunzhou's words and leaned lightly on his shoulder. But unseen by her, Xiao Yunzhou's eyes were filled with disgust and impatience.

He, the Crown Prince, has fallen to such a state. If Zhao Linglong hadn't resembled Chen Yan'er, would he have even looked at this fool?

He's still locked up here by that bitch Zhao Linlang. If he weren't still unaware of where he was being held and if this stupid woman still had some use for him, he wouldn't have bothered with her at all.

Now he can only feign affection for her, taking advantage of her relationship with Zhao Linlang's sister. Once they get out, he will definitely tear those two to pieces.

Meanwhile, Zhao Linglong was still immersed in Xiao Yunzhou's confession. She stroked her belly with a happy expression, her eyes filled with maternal love, and said softly, "Yunzhou, do you know? We're having a baby in our bellies. This child is very strong. When Zhao Linlang brought him back just now, I was so worried that something might happen to the baby, but nothing happened at all. It seems that our child is really looking forward to coming into this world."

Although Xiao Yunzhou felt utterly disgusted, he wore an expression of immense joy on his face. "Linglong, once we get out of here, I will definitely petition my father to make you the Crown Princess, and our child will be my eldest son. In the future, I will also make you the Empress, and our child will be the Crown Prince."

Zhao Linglong's face lit up with surprise. "Really? Yunzhou, you're so good to me."

Xiao Yunzhou reached out and hooked Zhao Linglong's nose, his face full of doting affection, but there was no warmth in his eyes. "Of course it's true."

"By the way, Yunzhou, if Linlang comes later, you must apologize to him properly. I believe you must have had your reasons for doing this. As long as you explain your reasons, Linlang will definitely understand you. I will definitely beg him to let us out then."

Just as Xiao Yunzhou and Zhao Linglong were immersed in their feigned tenderness, they suddenly heard a series of crisp clapping sounds, "Clap! Clap! Clap..." The sound seemed particularly abrupt in the enclosed space, and the two looked in the direction of the sound.

Immediately afterwards, the door was slowly opened, and Cang Lan led Chen Yan'er in.

Cang Lan sneered, "Look at you, what a pair of star-crossed lovers! One of you will stop at nothing to achieve your goals, wiping out entire families; the other is blinded by love, disregarding the hatred of your own kin. Your loving relationship is truly disgusting."

The moment Xiao Yunzhou saw Chen Yan'er, his eyes flashed with surprise, then turned to shock. He questioned Chen Yan'er, "Yan'er, how could you be with her?"

Upon seeing Chen Yan'er, Zhao Linglong immediately recognized her as the woman from Xiao Yunzhou's study—she was indeed extremely beautiful. Alarm bells rang in Zhao Linglong's mind, and her face turned extremely pale. "Yunzhou, who is she?"

Chen Yan'er looked at them coldly, her tone full of anger: "What, are you surprised that I'm still alive? Xiao Yunzhou, you sent people to kill me, but now you're pretending not to know me. How utterly hypocritical."

Xiao Yunzhou's eyes flickered as he tried to explain, "Yan'er, what do you mean by that?"

Cang Lan snorted coldly, interrupting him: "Now that things have come to this, there are only the four of us here, so stop pretending. Didn't you send people to kill Chen Yan'er? You even said you wanted her to leave peacefully. If you didn't say that, then who did I?"