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

Liu Zhiyi was in so much pain that she couldn't sleep well to begin with. This woke her up immediately.

In the darkness, she saw a dark figure slip through the open window and quietly climb in.

He was so frightened that he didn't dare to breathe. He reached for the sleeping pills in his pocket and heard the man's familiar voice.

"It's me, don't be afraid, young lady."

These commotions also woke Shen Ningzhu up.

She instinctively sprang to her feet, raising her hand to block Liu Zhiyi. "Who are you? Who sent you? What is your purpose?"

The man was tall and slender, with an imposing presence.

Although his features were obscured, his aura of authority was undeniable. (Image of Song Hanchuan) Liu Zhiyi grabbed her arm and comforted her, "Don't be nervous, I've seen this person before. I saved his life today."

The man accepted it as well.

“What you say is true, young lady. I fell ill today and was on the verge of death. It was you who happened to pass by and saved me.”

"My people were in a hurry to take me back to see a doctor, so they left in a rush."

"After I got back, I had them investigate the girl. I originally wanted to send her a consultation fee, but I never expected that she would suffer because of me."

I feel truly guilty, which is why I have come tonight to offer this life-saving medicine as a token of my remorse.

Shen Ningzhu was somewhat puzzled.

"Why didn't you carry the life-saving medicine with you? Why did you have to rely on someone else to save you?"

Furthermore, "There's no one else here, so why are you still wearing a mask?"

Climbing up a woman's window in the dead of night, dressed like a lump of coal and wearing a mask, he didn't look like a good person at all. Shen Ningzhu was skeptical of what he said.

The man in black awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "I... forgot to bring it. I didn't want to be so unlucky as to have a seizure, so..."

Shen Ningzhu: ……

This guy is tall and handsome, and looks like he's got both literary and martial skills, yet he still makes such a basic mistake?

He was truly impressed that she could forget something so serious. After thinking for a moment, he grabbed the pills and handed them to Liu Zhiyi. Seeing her eyes light up and she nod, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He suddenly felt a little embarrassed and said,

"I apologize, the situation is special, that's why I'm being so cautious. Please forgive me if I have offended you."

The other party shook their head, indicating that it was nothing to worry about.

"By the way, I'd like to grant Miss Liu a wish today. You're currently imprisoned; would you like my help?"

The two best friends looked at each other.

Shen Ningzhu hesitated. This person appeared very suddenly, and they knew nothing about his identity or background. They couldn't just blindly trust him because he took out a pill, could they?

What if we've just escaped one danger only to fall into another?

Then Liu Zhiyi cautiously asked, "Um, if I said we want to leave the Crown Prince's residence, do you have a way to help us?"

A flicker of surprise crossed the other person's eyes, but they still nodded firmly, "Yes."

Shen Ningzhu was shocked: This guy is awesome, he even dared to steal the Crown Prince's woman, I have to kneel down in admiration.

Liu Zhiyi felt a little embarrassed.

"Wouldn't this be too much trouble? After all, the other party is the Crown Prince. What if it implicates you..."

"It's alright, don't worry. Just tell me exactly how you want to leave."

Liu Zhiyi: "Fake death."

“It’s about faking death to escape,” Shen Ningzhu explained.

The other party nodded.

"I need to make proper preparations for this matter. It will probably take some time. I'll have someone find two female corpses that resemble the two women in build."

"We can make arrangements once we find it."

Before leaving, the man left Liu Zhiyi a specially made jade whistle, telling her that if she needed anything, she could blow it and he would come to see her that night, and then he departed.

Hope was rekindled in the hearts of the two best friends.

Shen Ningzhu got out of bed and brought over some boiled water, which Liu Zhiyi then used to swallow the pills.

Shen Ningzhu: "Xiaoyi, do you know this person?"

Liu Zhiyi: "I don't know, but the pill he took out is extremely precious, it can be said to be priceless."

And you and I, besides our beauty, have nothing else. Surely the other party wouldn't be so blinded by lust as to use such a precious pill to deceive us with their desires?

That being said.

But... daring to oppose the Crown Prince and being able to casually give away such precious pills, one must be of extraordinary status.

Liu Zhiyi: "Zhuzhu, we've already broken ties with Jiang Qingyi. After today, she will definitely do everything in her power to kill us."

And she had done the Crown Prince a great favor, so he ultimately protected her more.

They couldn't stand staying in the Crown Prince's residence any longer.

Shen Ningzhu sighed.

For now, the only option is to escape the Crown Prince's residence. As for what happens next... we'll just have to wait and see.

After figuring things out, the two happily went back to sleep.

Separated by a wall from the small courtyard, Song Hanchuan stood tall and elegant, quietly in the shadows at the corner of the wall.

Qingyun, standing to the side, muttered unhappily.

"Master, aren't you a little too concerned about that girl? You only saw her once at the palace banquet, why would you give away your life-saving elixir?"

Do you know how rare that elixir is?

The man said calmly, "She also saved my life."

Qingyun rolled her eyes speechlessly.

What kind of life-saving is that?

He had the medicine but refused to take it, and even deliberately triggered a relapse to get someone to save him—is that supposed to be a life-saving favor? It was clearly a chance encounter deliberately orchestrated by his own master, wasn't it?

Unexpectedly, this led to the girl being punished.

Come to think of it, this whole thing is his fault.

It was because his intelligence was wrong that... Thinking of this, Qingyun felt extremely guilty and dared not speak anymore.

After a long silence, Song Hanchuan said calmly, "Let's go back."

……

The moon was bright and the stars were few; I slept without a dream.

Little did they know that if it weren't for that packet of powder, they might have already died in the mouths of poisonous snakes that night.

Jiang Qingyi didn't sleep all night. Every time she waited, the snake she put in disappeared without a trace, and there was no movement in the room. Furious, she smashed a room full of precious ornaments.

After daybreak, I heard that the Crown Prince had already entered the palace.

Jiang Qingyi instructed her servants to carefully dress her up, intending to go to the abandoned courtyard to investigate.

She couldn't believe that so many poisonous snakes hadn't harmed those two lowly maids. How did they manage to do that?

……

Shen Ningzhu and Liu Zhiyi were still fast asleep in bed when a scream pierced the sky, so loud it was deafening.

Shen Ningzhu suddenly sat up, but Liu Zhiyi quickly covered her mouth and shook her head at her.

After a brief period of chaos, the courtyard returned to silence. Only then did Liu Zhiyi release Shen Ningzhu, her smile chilling.

"See? Someone got their comeuppance."

Shen Ningzhu: ? ? ?

Liu Zhiyi explained that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Jiang Qingyi must have been bitten by a venomous snake.

"Hmph, I knew she had no good intentions. Yesterday, she tried every means to persuade His Highness the Crown Prince to let us stay, and even hinted that His Highness should send us into this abandoned courtyard."

I suspect she had ill intentions, so when the others weren't looking, she flicked a powder that snakes and insects like onto her.

Liu Zhiyi has always been extremely vengeful since childhood, and she certainly didn't take the beating she received yesterday for nothing.