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

Chapter 45 Each with their own thoughts

"You all suspect that Lu Xun is the traitor." Xiahou Ying's gaze swept across everyone's faces, his tone flat and devoid of any extra emotion.

Silence permeated the tent, carrying a subtle flavor amidst the varied expressions on everyone's faces.

"Does Your Highness mean to clear the name of that criminal?" Suddenly, a middle-aged deputy general from the northern garrison, sitting in the far corner, spoke up. He looked at Xiahou Ying without any hesitation, his face showing a hint of displeasure.

"I had no such intention. However, without conclusive evidence, perhaps none of you here can remain unscathed."

Xiahou Ying responded calmly, his dark eyes, as clear as the cold moonlight, fixed on the deputy general with a hideous scar across his face, his expression composed.

After hearing this, the man stopped speaking, but instead snorted coldly and looked away, clearly dissatisfied with his answer.

With a slight pursing of his lips, Xiahou Ying looked at Shen Xin: "Commander Shen, why did you pinpoint the traitor to the Prince of Beidi?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Xin hesitated for a moment before finally responding somewhat awkwardly: "To my shame, we won a great victory against the Mongol army the day before yesterday. In our high spirits, the soldiers drank wine, only to find that someone had drugged it. When we woke up the next day, we found ink stains on our bodies, and Lu Xun was nowhere to be found. On the same day, we received an urgent report that the Mongol army had broken through two of our border passes in succession. If we had not held Luming Pass to the death, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

After hearing this, Xiahou Ying pursed his lips, then stood up and said, "It's getting late, everyone should rest early."

After saying that, he walked out of the tent and walked several dozen steps before whispering to Wei Jun, "Tell Cat's Eye to keep an eye on them."

In the Yuelai Inn in Santong County, Yin Quan was looking at the stars through the window. As she looked, she made out the outline of Xiahou Ying in the starry sky.

Behind her, Lian Hongling was intently wiping the porcelain bottle, occasionally glancing up at the figure leaning against the window.

"Hongling, what's in those bottles?" Suddenly, at that moment, Yin Quan turned around and looked at her.

"The secret medicine of Dongling, I use these to control the Loulan poisonous bees."

"Hmm..." After staring at the colorful bottles for a while, Yin Quan suddenly stroked his chin thoughtfully and said, "Controlling poisonous bees... Is there anything that can control people? Like hallucinogenic mushrooms?"

"Controlling people? I haven't thought about that, but if the dosage is right, I can probably concoct one."

"You can produce it?" Yin Quan's eyes widened.

“If you need it, I can make it right now.” Lian Hongling nodded.

"Then I'll have to do it!" With her eyes crinkling with laughter, Yin Quan's expression suddenly became very obsequious.

If it really could control people, how wonderful it would be to use this thing to control Xiahou Ying to dance a striptease and sing love songs to her...

That night, Xiahou Ying and Wei Jun did not stay in the Northern Garrison Camp, but returned to Santong County overnight. When they arrived at Yuelai Inn, a faint glimmer of dawn was already appearing on the horizon.

As Xiahou Ying turned the corner on the second floor of the inn, he immediately spotted Yin Quan, who was leaning against the door of his room. He frowned, and in a few steps, he was in front of her, picking her up in his arms.

"You're back?" Blinking her sleepy eyes, Yin Quan smiled and hooked her arm around his neck.

"You waited all night?" Pushing open the door, Xiahou Ying looked down at her, a hint of helplessness and tenderness appearing on his handsome features.

"It wasn't that long, I did sleep..." she said, finally unable to hold back, and yawned.

Burying her head against Xiahou Ying's chest like a kitten, Yin Quan murmured dreamily, "You've been gone all day. Did you miss me? Did you look at any pretty girls? It's okay if you don't answer. You're so proud anyway, I won't force you..." Suddenly, Yin Quan raised her head, cupped his sharply defined, handsome face in her hands, and said, word by word, "I...missed...you!"

Hearing her words, which were a mix of seriousness and joking, Xiahou Ying's cold eyes suddenly softened.

"You can sleep here for a while." He whispered as he placed her on the couch. Just as he was about to pull his hands away, she hooked her arms around his neck and pulled him down.

With his hands on either side of her, Xiahou Ying gazed into her clear, dark eyes, his thin lips pursed.

The faint, sweet fragrance emanating from her body lingered in his nostrils. The distance between them was less than half an inch, and their breaths became unbearably hot with each passing second.

"I miss you so much, Xiahou Ying. I'm really thinking about you." Suddenly, Yin Quan spoke, staring at him intently, her beautiful eyes slightly narrowed, and a bright, firework-like smile playing on her lips.

“I know you’re very capable, and I have a lot of confidence in you, but I’m just worried about you. I’m worried you’ll get hurt, worried you’ll encounter some kind of ambush, so I waited for you at your door. I wanted to see you the moment you returned. Xiahou Ying, I think I’ve been bewitched by your beauty. You have to take responsibility.” After saying that, she let go of his hand, her gaze fixed on his eyes, her bright, starry eyes shimmering with an alluring charm.

"How do you expect me to take responsibility?" Looking at Yin Quan, Xiahou Ying moved his thin lips slightly, his voice low and husky yet extremely magnetic. He sighed softly, leaned down and moved closer to her. A strange blue seemed to appear in his dark eyes, which were shrouded in a hazy light, like a slowly flickering flame.

"Kiss me..." Suddenly, she giggled and tapped Xiahou Ying's forehead with her index finger, her lips opening and closing in the direction her finger slid: "Here, here, and... here..." Her finger stopped on his angular yet very soft thin lips, her eyes sparkling, her red lips slightly parted.

"Okay." As he spoke, Xiahou Ying's gaze darkened, and his thin lips landed on her smooth, white forehead, slowly sliding down her jade-like skin, past her high nose bridge, and finally reaching her slightly moist lips.

A spark seemed to ignite in my mind, coursing through my entire body. The light, tentative kiss suddenly spiraled out of control, like a thunderbolt striking the earth, igniting a wildfire in an instant.

Yin Quan never imagined that Xiahou Ying, with his cold and aloof nature, could be so irresistible when he fell in love.

Is it because they are usually too restrained that when they finally erupt, they are the hardest to control...?

When they came to their senses, their clothes were almost completely removed. She looked up at his bare chest, panting, her fingertips tracing the lines of his firm, muscular body, a smile playing on her lips.

"I like your eight-pack abs."

Her warm fingertips caressed his abdomen, causing a slight itch that went straight to his heart, making his throat dry. He had no choice but to grab the hand that was moving around restlessly.

Looking down at the two bright red straps of her bodice beside her delicate collarbone, Xiahou Ying frowned slightly, as if he was hesitating or suppressing his emotions.

He had never realized that her skin was so radiant and exquisite in the pale golden sunlight, as lustrous as jade, and as smooth and delicate as the finest silk when touched in his palm, captivating his heart.

Seeing his slightly stiff expression, Yin Quan raised her arm and moved it behind her neck, but unexpectedly, he grabbed her wrist at that moment.

“Now is not the time.” With that, Xiahou Ying straightened up, picked up a garment from the ground, and covered her with it, saying, “Put this on. You can sleep here; I will stay with you.”

After saying that, he quickly put on his robes and returned to his original aloof and otherworldly appearance, like a pine tree untouched by worldly affairs.

Suddenly sitting up, Yin Quan's brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly. The lingering drowsiness that had been lingering was instantly vanished because of Xiahou Ying.

"Xiahou Ying!" she cried out mournfully.

To suddenly stop at a time like this, looking at the whole world, there is probably only one oddball like Xiahou Ying!

Yin Quan was not only resentful, but also somewhat annoyed.

"Is there something wrong with me or with you? Did you have to stop at a time like this?!" Yin Quan roared. The dress that he had been covering her with had slipped off. She jumped off the bed, wearing only a bright red bodice, and blocked his way, her face full of displeasure.

Looking down at her, Xiahou Ying first took the clothes she had abandoned on the couch, and then put them on her one by one. He said in a deep voice, "I don't want you under these circumstances..." As he spoke, he stared intently at her, a hazy light appearing in his dark pupils, a light that held a trace of determination.

"You are irreplaceable to me. I don't want to treat you so casually. I want... to make you my lawfully wedded wife." After tying her sash, Xiahou Ying cupped her thin cheeks in his hands.

"Never mind, never mind, I'm relieved to hear you say that. You bastard, I almost thought you couldn't do it..." As she said this, Yin Quan suddenly slammed on the brakes and cautiously looked up at him. She saw that his originally gentle expression had suddenly been clouded by a shadow, and even his facial features had become gloomy.

"Um...it was a slip of the tongue...you love me so much, you won't mind, right?" Yin Quan tugged at Xiahou Ying's sleeve and muttered under her breath.

Grasping her wrist, Xiahou Ying's thin red lips suddenly curved into a wicked smile, sending chills down her spine.

With a hand gripping her waist, Yin Quan shuddered and stammered, "Xiahou Ying, a gentleman uses words, not fists, you..."

Before she could finish speaking, Xiahou Ying silenced her with his lips, silencing her.

Whether due to exhaustion or some other reason, Yin Quan, lying in Xiahou Ying's arms, quickly fell into a deep sleep.

After gazing at her for a moment with his hands behind his back, Xiahou Ying turned and walked out of the room, instructing Pang Ban, "Don't let her leave this place." He then turned to Wei Jun and asked, "Are Ghost Slayer and Owl Rider ready?"

"Reporting to Master, I am ready to serve at any time!" Wei Jun nodded.

"Good. The soldiers in the Northern Garrison are mostly wounded and the food supplies are severely insufficient. They can only last for seven days at most. After yesterday's observation, that traitor will definitely make a move. Pang Ban, send two seven-man teams of the Ghost Slayer Crimson Group to guard this place. Wei Jun, you come with me into the camp. If that traitor is cornered, he may do something desperate and do something that will lead to certain death. We must not let him harm the soldiers or even innocent civilians."

"Yes!" Wei Jun and Pang Ban both responded, their voices low but firm.

After speaking, Xiahou Ying turned his gaze toward the closed wooden door, his eyes suddenly becoming deep and unfathomable.

Two seven-member teams from the Demon Slayer Crimson Clan, plus Pang Ban...

It should be able to protect her completely.

After yesterday's investigation of the Northern Garrison, he has almost narrowed down the traitor to one person, but there are still many unclear doubts.

Thinking of this, Xiahou Ying pursed his lips, put his hands behind his back, and walked forward.

Tonight, I fear, will be a sleepless night.