The cousin is beautiful but ruthless.

Lin Zi definitely won't let her go now, and if she goes, she'll be the first suspect if something goes wrong.

Without evidence, it's really troublesome to do anything.

Shen Hanyu wiped her hands, finding the matter extremely troublesome.

The firelight illuminated her face, revealing a hint of sorrow in her brow.

As the campfire burned out its last glimmer of light, Miao Cui escorted Shen Hanyu to her tent.

"Young lady, it's windy at night, please take care of yourself."

The wind picked up again at the hunting grounds. Shen Hanyu nodded and told Miaocui to be careful when she kept watch at night.

Shen Hanyu couldn't sleep soundly, constantly thinking about her past life.

The next morning, she sat up, exhausted, and asked Miao Cui, "Did anything happen last night?"

Miao Cui shook her head and said no, everything was peaceful last night and nothing happened. She only vaguely heard Xiao Ran and Zhou Yurong arguing, but it subsided quickly because Xiao Ran was summoned away by Empress Wang.

Shen Hanyu straightened her clothes, washed up, and went outside.

The weather was just as nice as yesterday, but Shen Hanyu's mood had become a little heavy.

Wei Ming came to find her early in the morning. Shen Hanyu rolled her eyes and said to Wei Ming, "Let's play pitch-pot with Yuxiu today. We already won prizes yesterday, so we don't need to go hunting in the forest anymore."

Wei Ming, without suspicion, nodded.

"Okay, let's go find her later."

Ji Yuxiu did not refuse their invitation and stayed to prepare for the pitch-pot game.

Seeing that the group was about to head into the woods again, Shen Hanyu and Ji Yuxiu stood together and talked for a while.

"Has there been any accidents at the hunting grounds?"

Ji Yuxiu smiled and said, "How could there be any accidents? We checked this place several times before we came. It's normal for you to have such worries since it's your first time participating in a spring hunt. You'll get used to it. Besides, this time His Highness the Crown Prince is personally in charge of organizing it, so nothing will go wrong."

Shen Hanyu nodded, her mind heavy with thoughts. She hoped so; things had changed before, and she hoped this time would be the same.

Unfortunately, Heaven did not hear Shen Hanyu's prayers. About an hour and a half later, those who had entered the forest suddenly ran out in a panic.

"Your Majesty, the prey in the forest has suddenly gone berserk!"

Li Jiangui frowned. Li Jing, who was standing next to Li Jiangui, stood up. He was in charge of everything for the spring hunt, and if anything went wrong, he would also be implicated.

"Tell me what happened."

Li Jing asked the messenger to tell him what had happened in the woods, and then arranged for someone to go and check the woods first.

It turned out that when those people entered the forest and went deeper into it, they noticed that the prey was acting strangely, and the prey started chasing them as soon as they saw them.

Someone inside has been injured; he was sent out to deliver the message.

"I can't believe such a thing could happen."

Li Jiangui looked displeased. There had been no incidents during all these years of hunting, but it had to happen at this time.

"Father, it is my fault for failing in my duties."

Li Jing took the initiative to admit his mistake.

Li Jiangui waved his hand, about to say something, when a cold arrow came flying towards Li Jiangui's back.

By the time Li Jing and Princess Yongning realized what was happening, the arrow was already very close to Li Jiangui.

"Father!"

Li Jiangui sensed it, but he remained standing still.

Ding--

The sword steadily blocked the arrow, and a group of people dressed in tight-fitting clothes appeared and protected Li Jiangui.

Li Jiangui turned around, and several men dressed as guards, carrying swords and knives, rushed towards them from the hunting grounds.

From the other side of the woods, several frenzied prey rushed out, and the hunting grounds immediately descended into chaos.

Ji Yuxiu looked at Shen Hanyu and Wei Ming.

"Follow me, I'll take you to a safe place."

Several more arrows streaked across the sky and landed among the crowd.

"Protect the Emperor—"

Ji Yuxiu protected the two of them as they walked back. She gripped her sword, kicked over a thief who was trying to kidnap Wei Ming, and surveyed the surroundings with a fierce look in her eyes.

"General Ji, my third brother hasn't come out of the woods yet. I'd be grateful if you could help him. I'll send someone to take these two young ladies to a safe place."

Li Jing appeared out of nowhere. Seeing that it was Li Jing who made the request, Ji Yuxiu nodded and handed Shen Hanyu and Wei Ming over to Li Jing.

"I'll be back soon."

Ji Yuxiu mounted her horse and disappeared from their sight.

For some reason, Shen Hanyu suddenly felt very flustered.

Wei Ming held Shen Hanyu's hand. The Crown Prince sent several people to escort them back, and then he went to find Li Jiangui.

The people from the Marquis's residence have disappeared somewhere, and General Weiyuan is not nearby either.

Miao Cui looked tense, watching the movements around her.

Many people lay on the ground, their fates unknown. Shen Hanyu took a deep breath.

"Let's hurry up."

The remnants of the previous dynasty have already stormed in. There are quite a few of them, and they want to capture the children of high-ranking officials and nobles to vent their anger. Shen Hanyu knows how cruel those people are, so she dares not linger here for too long.

The two ran very fast, but the thieves who rushed in had already noticed them.

Wei Ming pressed her hand to her chest. "Oh no, those people are catching up with us."

Shen Hanyu glanced at it, bent down to pick up the sword from the ground and held it in her hand. She noticed that Wei Ming's face was a little pale.

A long knife was thrown between the two of them. Shen Hanyu dodged it to the side, breaking out in a cold sweat.

She looked up at the person who had come, and her blood seemed to freeze.

This was the person who captured her and Liang Ruoxue in her previous life and almost tortured her to death.

The man waved his hand: "Capture them alive."

The guards sent by the Crown Prince blocked their way, so Shen Hanyu and Wei Ming quickly continued running.

Wei Ming felt so nauseous she wanted to vomit, but she could only hold it in.

"We absolutely cannot let him catch us."

Wei Ming heard Shen Hanyu suddenly say this.

However, their escape speed was naturally no match for those who practiced martial arts, and they were quickly cornered.

It was only then that Shen Hanyu felt something was strange. After running for so long and passing so many camps, she hadn't encountered a single person who could help her.

An idea flashed through her mind, but she didn't grasp it; now was not the time to think about such things.

Wei Ming was truly frightened; she gripped her sword protectively in front of her, just like Shen Hanyu.

They were surrounded by their men, and faint screams could be heard coming from afar.

At this point, Shen Hanyu calmed down. There were four people in total, but the leader had been stopped by the Crown Prince's guards and couldn't get through. There was still a glimmer of hope.

We have no choice but to give it a shot.

She and Wei Ming exchanged a glance, and Wei Ming knew what she was thinking.

She remained calm, knowing that destruction was the only way to build something new, and that this was the only way to survive.

The four men seemed surprised that these two seemingly harmless girls would have the courage to charge at them wielding longswords.

They dodged the sword first, intending to capture the two men alive, which they could then use as bargaining chips.

But in that brief moment, Miao Cui and Wei Ming's maids pushed them aside, their longswords fell to the ground, and the four of them lifted their skirts and broke through the encirclement.

"damn it."

Someone behind her cursed, and Shen Hanyu's face turned serious. Something was wrong, very wrong. Why was there no one on their side? Where had all the imperial guards from the hunting grounds gone?