Best friends dressed up in ancient times to become mistresses? You run, I run too!

The other party simply smiled dismissively.

"Don't worry, that girl went to the well to fetch water this evening, slipped, and fell in. She's probably bloated by now."

Shen Ningzhu felt a chill run down her spine.

I knew that Madam Li was not someone to be trifled with, but I never expected her to be so ruthless.

Soon, with Madam Li's help, Shen Ningzhu successfully left the magistrate's residence. However, it was too late, and the city gates were closed, so she could not get out.

Madam Li had actually planned to have someone escort her out of the city, but she refused.

On the surface, she said she was afraid of causing trouble for Madam Li, but in reality, it was because she knew that Jiang Yanche would deal with Jiang Xuanyan at the city gate the next day.

It's likely that by this time, a tight net had already been laid near the city gates. If she went there, not only would she not be able to get out, but she would also walk right into the trap.

So she decided to find a place to hide first and see how things went tomorrow.

Little did they know that at that very moment, a group of people from the capital broke through the night and sped out of the city.

The leader had a stern face, and the coldness in his eyes was even more intense than the night.

Madam Li was very generous, giving her ten taels of silver for travel expenses, some steamed buns and pastries, a kettle filled with hot water, and a few pieces of coarse cloth clothing for servants.

With these, Shen Ningzhu could manage to stay overnight even without a hotel.

So she decided to find a quiet place, preferably a dilapidated temple or something similar.

After walking for a long time, she actually found it.

But once inside, they discovered there was already someone else there.

The moment their eyes met, Shen Ningzhu screamed in terror, her eyes nearly popping out of her head. To be precise, that person wasn't even human anymore.

The forehead bone protrudes outward, and the eye sockets are deep-set.

His cheeks were almost devoid of flesh, making him look like an alien.

He was emaciated, except for his pair of beautiful peach blossom eyes, which were clear and bright, but his gaze was somewhat dull, as if he had experienced countless hardships and vicissitudes.

Hearing the noise, the man's sharp eyes instantly turned to her warily, and when they saw her clearly, they were both stunned.

"you……"

"you……"

The two spoke at the same time, then stopped together.

After a long pause, under the cold moonlight, Shen Ningzhu finally remembered that the person was Chu Xiong, the eldest son of the Prime Minister's mansion, whom she had met once three years ago.

Three years ago, she heard that the Prime Minister's residence had been ransacked. She never expected to run into him here. Looking at his ragged appearance, if it weren't for his outstanding eyes, Shen Ningzhu would have mistaken him for a beggar.

How could a proud son of heaven have fallen to such a state?

Shen Ningzhu was so shocked she couldn't speak, and she felt a deep sense of unease.

"Why are you here?"

Chu Xiong's voice was hoarse, no longer as clear as before, as if he had suffered many hardships and was very old. He asked a question softly.

Shen Ningzhu didn't know whether he was friend or foe, so she made up a few things to fool him, and then asked,

"And you, how did you become like this?"

Seeing that she was far away and clearly seeing the wariness in her eyes, Chu Xiong smiled bitterly.

"You don't need to be afraid. My legs are crippled and I have difficulty moving. I won't hurt you."

Shen Ningzhu was shocked. Her gaze slowly moved down to his strangely curved legs, and she immediately believed his story.

But she didn't ask for the specific reason; instead, she found a clean place to sit down. Chu Xiong didn't ask her why she was there either.

At this moment, she slowly closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

It was a cool night, and the dilapidated temple was drafty. Shen Ningzhu felt a bit cold, so she opened her bundle and took out two dresses to cover herself.

But after a while, she realized that these things didn't block out much, and she was still shivering from the cold.

Hearing that she was uneasy, Chu Xiong slowly opened his tired eyes and said in a deep voice,

“There’s some firewood in that corner over there, go and get some. I have a tinderbox here, take it and start a fire, once it’s burning, it won’t be so cold.”

Shen Ningzhu glanced at him and did as he said.

By the dim light of the night, she noticed that there was a lot of firewood piled up there, all neatly stacked in the corner, with a lot of dry grass for starting fires next to it.

He glanced at Chu Xiong in surprise.

Soon, the fire was lit, and the temple became bright. Shen Ningzhu warmed her hands in the fire, feeling the warmth spread through her fingertips to all parts of her body, and her stiff limbs finally felt much better.

Turning around, he saw Chu Xiong hugging his shoulders tightly, curled up in a corner with his eyes closed, resting. After thinking for a moment, he said thank you.

The other person hummed in response, but then fell silent.

Shen Ningzhu found some thick firewood, added more to the fire, and went back to her spot to sleep.

With something on her mind, she didn't sleep well that night. She added firewood several times during the night, and finally, she made it to dawn.

When he opened his eyes, Chu Xiong was not there.

Shen Ningzhu didn't care about anything else. She went out to find a stream, washed her face haphazardly, and returned to the dilapidated temple. She took out a steamed bun and slowly ate it.

The temple was quite far from the city gate, and she had no idea what was happening there now. She didn't dare go out and ask around, afraid of being caught and taken back again.

Without her as a hostage, Jiang Yanche is no match for Jiang Xuanyan.

Just as she was thinking this, a faint sound came from the doorway. Shen Ningzhu paused in her chewing, picked up her bundle, and quickly hid behind the statue.

Peeking through the crack to observe what was happening outside.

It turned out that the person who entered was Chu Xiong. He supported himself with his hands and crawled forward little by little on the ground, with a bundle of firewood and a wood-chopping knife tied to his back.

His forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat.

Upon entering and finding no one there, he didn't think much of it. He slowly moved to the place where the firewood was piled up, took the firewood off his back, and began to stack it up little by little.

Shen Ningzhu slowly walked out after making sure no one else was around.

Chu Xiong was taken aback for a moment, then smiled slowly and continued with his work.

After finishing his work, he took out a few washed wild fruits from his sleeve, handed a few to Shen Ningzhu, and kept a few for himself.

Shen Ningzhu took it in a daze, and seeing that he had already wolfed it down, she couldn't help but move her lips.

But in the end, I still didn't get the answer.

He also started eating wild fruits, just like Chu Xiong did.

Shen Ningzhu had never seen that fruit before, so she didn't dare to eat too much and only ate a small one as a symbolic gesture.

Then he took out a steamed bun from his bundle and handed it to Chu Xiong. Seeing Chu Xiong looking at him with a puzzled expression, he immediately said awkwardly,

"Thank you for taking me in last night and for letting me use so much of your firewood."

"Oh, right, and... the wild berries from earlier were also delicious. Thank you. Consider this steamed bun a token of my appreciation. Please don't refuse."

Chu Xiong looked at the wild fruit in his hand, then at Shen Ningzhu, and smiled faintly.

Even after more than three years apart, she still can't lie.

Only she could say that these bitter and astringent wild fruits are delicious.

Chu Xiong didn't take the cake, but instead asked the first question they'd had since they met.

"Are you in trouble? Is it temporary or permanent?"

Shen Ningzhu said, "It's temporary. I estimate we'll see the outcome in a few days at most. Then I can go home."

Chu Xiong glanced at her package.