The Princess Cannot Escape: The Cunning Prince Is Not to Be Messed With

Chapter 286 Besieged by Wolves in Front and Tigers Behind

Xiahou Ying's mother's eyes were filled with sorrow. "In order to save him, I had to enter the palace and marry a man I didn't like. I thought I was saving him, but I never thought I was harming him. He cried blood every day and died soon after being bedridden. But I didn't know that and I was pregnant with the emperor's child."

"Is he Xiahou Ying?" The woman nodded, her gaze softening. "Before that, I realized I couldn't stay in this world for long. To save me, the Emperor searched the world for miraculous remedies, and finally, his efforts were rewarded when he found an ancient secret formula: to recast the four divine artifacts to preserve my spirit."

Yin Quan had always thought that the creation of the Four Divine Weapons was Xiahou Ying's mother's idea, but now it seems that it wasn't. If it was the Emperor, meaning that the Emperor truly loved Xiahou Ying's mother, then why did he treat Xiahou Ying that way?

"But when the weapon was being forged, I was pregnant. If I wanted to save myself, I would have to abort the child. I couldn't bear it, so I gave birth to the child. Giving birth to Xiahou Ying exhausted my spirit. I thought I was going to die. Unexpectedly, the father of Ni Shixuan, the forger of the divine weapon, used the divine weapon to decompose and store my soul. But they knew how to keep my soul, but they didn't know how to bring me back to life."

"Ni Shixuan's father?" Yin Quan always felt that this person was hiding too much. She hadn't investigated the funeral book case further, but everything that was happening now seemed to be intricately connected to Xiahou Ying's mother. Perhaps things were far more complicated than Xiahou Ying's mother knew.

"For so many years I've been sealed within this divine artifact, waiting for someone to awaken me. I long to see my child again, but after all these years, my heart has died. Fortunately, I've finally found you. The moment you put on the ring, I sensed that you were also from another world. I'm both happy and sad." Her gaze towards Yin Quan was quite meaningful, and Yin Quan smiled bitterly.

“I know you’re happy that someone finally has a chance to wake you up, but you’re sad that your child has also fallen in love with someone from another world, someone who could disappear at any moment.”

“You’re very smart. No wonder the baby likes you so much.” Yin Quan lowered her eyes. “Actually, I can’t sleep peacefully every day either. I’ve really fallen in love with Xiahou Ying. I want to stay here. I want to live with him for the rest of my life, but I think no one understands that helplessness better than you.”

Xiahou Ying's mother smiled and stroked Yin Quan's hair. "Silly child, since you've fallen in love, don't regret it. Ying'er is a good child, and you are a good child too. I'm very relieved to entrust him to you." Yin Quan threw herself into the woman's arms, and all the worries and grievances of the past few days turned into tears. She simply let out a good cry.

Until she was sobbing uncontrollably, Yin Quan climbed out of her arms, embarrassed. "I'm sorry... I... seeing you reminded me of my mother." Xiahou Ying's mother was taken aback for a moment and then smiled. "Strictly speaking, I am indeed your mother-in-law, aren't I?" She then winked at her playfully.

“Um…you can tell me how to help you collect your soul and how to keep you.” She shook her head. “Whether I stay or not is no longer important. What’s important is that you must stay. I can see that the baby can’t live without you.” Yin Quan blushed. She was really embarrassed to be told this by her mother-in-law.

“However, this matter is extremely dangerous. It is going against the will of Heaven, so one wrong step will lead to utter ruin, or even to the fate I have, where my soul is scattered and I live forever in the cracks of time and space.” Yin Quan’s heart skipped a beat. “Didn’t you say you had found a way to stay?”

Xiahou Ying's mother shook her head, "Although we've found a method, we haven't actually implemented it, so I can't guarantee whether it will work or not. What if it fails..."

"Even if I fail, I will still try." Seeing Yin Quan's resolute attitude, Xiahou Ying's mother was somewhat surprised. "You silly child, don't you want to go back to the world you are in? Don't you want to see your mother and your friends again? Just treat everything here as a dream."

“I used to think the worst that could happen was that I would just go back to where I lived, and everything would feel like a dream I shouldn’t have had. I thought that I could just go back to my normal life. But in the cycle of reincarnation, I realized that was impossible. I can’t live without Xiahou Ying. Even if I lose him, I still have friends and family. But if he loses me, he will have nothing left. I can’t leave him alone to go back to that lonely corner. So no matter what the outcome is, I have to try.”

Yin Quan's words deeply moved Xiahou Ying's mother. She hardened her expression and said to Yin Quan, "Since that's the case, even if I can't stay, I'll help you stay. There will definitely be a way. When you get back, find Ni Shixuan's father and tell him about me. He will naturally help you." Yin Quan nodded. "I have one last request. Could you let Xiahou Ying meet you as well?"

Xiahou Ying's mother's expression darkened. "I also want to, but now... it's not the right time. Could you please pass on a message to him?" Yin Quan nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. "Why are you being so polite with me? I'd pass on the message even if you said just one, I'd say a hundred."

"Tell the baby that I love him, I love him so much, and I'm sorry for leaving him alone in that cold palace. If I could, I would rather he live the life of an ordinary person, working at sunrise and resting at sunset, living with the person he loves most." Yin Quan was somewhat moved; perhaps this was the most beautiful wish a mother could have.

"Don't worry, I will definitely pass on the message." Yin Quan felt the surrounding scenery begin to blur. "Good child, the Ancient Spirit Pearl can help you get through this for a while, but if you want to stay, you must find four divine artifacts. The secret of the divine artifacts is only known to Ni Shixuan's father..." Xiahou Ying's mother's body grew weaker and weaker until everything went dark.

Yin Quan heard an anxious call in her ear, and when she opened her eyes, she saw Xiahou Ying holding her in a disheveled state.

They were still on the high platform, but the scenery around them had changed drastically. The springtime scenery was gone, replaced by a cold, gloomy wind. Gu Lounan and Jing Yu were both injured. Looking at the desolate scenery around them, Yin Quan rubbed his eyes and asked, "Where are we?"

"This is what happened after the light of the Ancient Spirit Pearl faded." Yin Quan looked at the mess on the ground, which showed how fierce the battle had just taken place.

Fortunately, although they were all seriously injured to varying degrees, none of them were seriously injured. Gu Lounan was the most seriously injured, with severe burns on his entire arm, especially his palm, which was unrecognizable. Yin Quan felt sore all over and raised her hand to rub her shoulder. She then noticed that the ring on her finger had changed, with an emerald added to it.

"what is this?"

"If I'm not mistaken, it's the Ancient Spirit Pearl." Yin Quan stared wide-eyed at it closely. Wasn't that the one from the crown Fu Sheng was wearing? Was this really the Ancient Spirit Pearl?

Although they had narrowly escaped death, Yin Quan couldn't contain her excitement and hugged Xiahou Ying tightly. "That's great! Your poison can finally be cured!" Xiahou Ying's lips curled into a rare smile. This woman always wore her emotions on her sleeve.

Seeing Gu Lounan's disappointed expression, Xiahou Ying felt inexplicably happy and coughed lightly, "Let's go out first, it's not safe to stay here any longer." Yin Quan nodded, and Gu Lounan pitifully leaned closer, "Little Quan Quan, don't you even look at me? I almost burned my hand because of you."

Yin Quan glanced at it and then saw that Gu Lounan's injuries were indeed very serious. "Where's the wound medicine? Didn't we bring some external wound medicine with us when we went out? Hurry up and apply it. It smells like roasted pig's trotters. I'm craving it." Gu Lounan was touched by the first part of her words, but why did the smell seem a little off to her later part?

Seeing Jing Yu's forced smile, Gu Lounan was determined to kill both Xiahou Ying and Jing Yu to silence them.

Although they were exhausted, they were overjoyed. After all, they had escaped death, which was considered lucky. The maze around them dissipated, and a stone gate that looked like the outside world was not far ahead.

The four of them helped each other to their feet and walked towards the stone gate with uneven steps. Just as they were about to reach their destination, two figures suddenly appeared in front of them. Yin Quan looked closely and smiled. Could this be the rhythm of wish fulfillment?

"Ni Shixuan, what brings you here? I happen to have something to discuss with you!" Yin Quan said, and was about to walk towards Ni Shixuan when Xiahou Ying stopped her. Gu Lounan smiled wryly, "Little Quan, is Ni Shixuan the only person you can see? Can't you see the troublesome person next to him?"

Yin Quan then turned her attention to the person next to her, and suddenly felt a chill in her heart.

"Lord of the Underworld... Hehe, how have you been?" Mingyue sneered. "Miss Yin, I should thank you. Without you, how could Qiongji and I have ended up like this? But it is also thanks to you that we were able to obtain this Ancient Spirit Pearl. You owe Qiongji a life, so why not repay it with this Ancient Spirit Pearl?"

"Huh? I mean, you're so weird. When did I ever owe Qiongji a life? We got the Ancient Spirit Pearl, so don't even think about stealing the fruits of the people's labor." After saying that, he stuffed the ring into his pocket, as if afraid that someone would snatch it away.

"Not give it? With your current fighting strength, you probably can't refuse even if you want to." Just then, a cold laugh came from behind Yin Quan. "You're just a village girl from a remote area who dares to make such a boast. You really don't know what's good for you. This Ancient Spirit Pearl is something that I, the Valley Master, have my eye on. Don't even think about it."

Yin Quan turned around and saw Chongyang perched on a large tree that would take two people to encircle. He had his legs crossed, a leaf between his teeth, and leaped down from the tree, tossing the leaf to Yin Quan. He patted Yin Quan's head like he was petting a pet. "Well done, you didn't disappoint me." Xiahou Ying's eyes flashed with a dangerous light.

Yin Quan had thought that reinforcements had arrived, but now, seeing Chongyang's determined look, he was probably not someone to be trifled with. Yin Quan had truly experienced what it meant to be caught between a rock and a hard place.

“I think we need to go out and have a proper discussion, okay? Since we’re all trying to save lives, why make things so tense? How about we prioritize them according to their urgency? You have to wait in line to see a doctor, right?” Yin Quan kept rambling on, but Ming Yue had no patience for it.

Her eyes flashed, and she made a move to snatch it, but Chongyang naturally wouldn't give her a chance. The two fought on the spot, and it was quite a lively scene. Xiahou Ying looked at Ni Shixuan and adopted the posture of a prince.