The cousin is beautiful but ruthless.

As darkness approached and it became so dark that one could not see their own hand in front of their face, Pei Du got up again.

"I'll go gather some firewood and light it; that way, at least we can keep wild animals away."

Pei Du still carried that precious sword, which was the prize from the first day of the hunt.

Shen Hanyu hurriedly stuffed a few wild fruits into her mouth, saying that it would be more efficient to eat them together.

Seeing Shen Hanyu's fear, Pei Du nodded and went to gather some dry grass and firewood nearby.

Making fire by rubbing sticks together is a very time-consuming task. Pei Du held the stick and rubbed it for a long time when he heard Shen Hanyu exclaim in surprise.

"It's smoking!"

She brought the hay up, lit it, and the faint firelight illuminated Shen Hanyu's face. Pei Du watched, his heart filled with tenderness.

The fire finally caught fire, and Pei Du slowly added firewood to it.

"Let's wait until dawn before we leave. It's been so long, those people shouldn't have chased us here."

Those guys weren't familiar with the paths in the hunting grounds, which is why Pei Du dared to light a fire at this time to drive away the wild animals.

Shen Hanyu nodded, her eyelids beginning to droop.

She had been on edge all day, and now that she was relaxing, she started to feel sleepy.

The firelight was warm and comforting. In her drowsy state, she chewed on a wild fruit, trying to clear her head.

But a sudden wave of drowsiness completely enveloped her. Pei Du gently caught Shen Hanyu's head with one hand and slowly moved over, letting her lean against him.

He crushed the herbs he found while gathering firewood and applied them to Shen Hanyu's scalp.

A dreamless night.

Shen Hanyu lay on the hard stone slab, her whole body aching from the pressure. When she opened her eyes, she was momentarily confused.

"woke up?"

Pei Du brought back water as usual. Shen Hanyu got up, and her confused mind gradually became clear.

She rubbed her temples, quickly rinsed her mouth, and prepared to leave with Pei Du.

"A night has passed, it should be over outside by now, right?"

Shen Hanyu said somewhat uncertainly, recalling that the matter was suppressed quite quickly, without taking more than a few days.

Pei Du estimated that it was about time; the Imperial Guards might have already started searching for the missing people in the hunting grounds.

With that thought in mind, both of them felt at ease.

But Shen Hanyu started to worry about other things.

"If the Crown Prince's men find me..."

Pei Du also thought of this: if the Crown Prince really wanted to kill Shen Hanyu, and Shen Hanyu was found by the Crown Prince's men first, even if she died here, the blame could still be placed on those thieves.

This is also a good approach.

"Do not be afraid."

Pei Du patted the sword at his waist.

Shen Hanyu followed behind him, and looking at Pei Du's tall figure, she felt much safer.

The sound of hurried footsteps came from the woods where they were. Pei Du frowned, told Shen Hanyu to hide first, and went to a higher place to take a look.

Shen Hanyu held her breath and looked around.

Who could be coming? The Imperial Guards or the Crown Prince's men?

This concerns Shen Hanyu's life; she doesn't want to die without having changed anything and without knowing why.

The footsteps grew closer, and Pei Du jumped down.

“They are the Imperial Guards. I’ve seen the leader before; he’s not one of the Crown Prince’s men.”

Shen Hanyu was finally relieved. Just as she was about to say something, Pei Du suddenly left quickly.

The Imperial Guards appeared before Shen Hanyu, and Shen Hanyu looked at them.

The man in the lead looked at Shen Hanyu's disheveled appearance and was about to ask her something when Shen Hanyu spoke up, "I am Shen Hanyu from the Marquis of Anping's residence, and I come from Suzhou."

Shen Hanyu introduced herself, and the Imperial Guards naturally knew who she was.

"Miss Shen, it's safe outside now. Please come back with us."

Shen Hanyu nodded. She was protected in the middle and glanced back. Pei Du had probably left so that outsiders wouldn't see them going back together.

When Shen Hanyu was sent back, she saw many injured people along the way.

The turmoil was quite serious. When Miao Cui saw Shen Hanyu, she quickly ran over.

“Girl—” Miao Cui wiped away her tears, her face covered in bruises.

Shen Hanyu shook her head: "I'm fine. How is Wei Ming?"

"We were hit by arrows, but thankfully we survived. It was Princess Yongning who saved us."

Shen Hanyu breathed a sigh of relief, knowing they were alright, she could finally relax.

Ji Yuxiu rushed over.

"I only found out about your accident when I got back. If I had known, I should have found more people to take you back. I didn't think it through."

Ji Yuxiu's face was full of guilt. Li Jing's order was given suddenly, and she had no choice but to obey it, so she did not do a good enough job.

"It all happened so suddenly, it's not your fault."

Shen Hanyu offered Ji Yuxiu a few words of comfort, but suddenly saw Li Jing walking towards her.

She clutched her clothes, trying to make her expression look less strange.

Li Jing was still as kind as ever, with an apologetic look on his face.

"I am so sorry to have put you and Miss Wei in danger."

Shen Hanyu tugged at the corners of her lips. With Li Jing like this, she really couldn't help but think about him.

She was also puzzled as to why Li Jing would try to kill her like this.

However, Li Jing is the Crown Prince right now, and she is just a relative from the Marquis of Anping's household who came to seek refuge. It is far from the time for things to turn sour.

"I didn't expect the thieves to appear from that side. If it weren't for the men His Highness left for us to stop them, I'd probably be a corpse by now."

Shen Hanyu smiled gratefully, her attitude sincere.

After exchanging a few polite words with her, Li Jing went to inquire about Wei Ming's condition.

After Li Jing left, Ji Yuxiu noticed that Shen Hanyu was covered in a cold sweat.

"Where are you injured?"

Shen Hanyu leaned against Miaocui, and Ji Yuxiu quickly called the doctor to examine Shen Hanyu.

When Liang Fangrong heard that Shen Hanyu had returned, she rushed over.

She stopped at this side of the tent, unsure of what to say.

Their relationship was worse than when they had that argument, which made Liang Fangrong very upset.

Miao Cui came out and saw Liang Fangrong standing at the door. She turned to the side.

"Would you like to go in and see the young lady, Madam?"

Liang Fangrong nodded and went inside anyway.

Shen Hanyu only suffered some superficial injuries. While she was getting her wounds bandaged, she learned about the situation of the others from Miaocui.

Unlike their previous life, Liang Ruoyan and Liang Ruoxue were with Li Jun. They were found by Ji Yuxiu, and although they weren't seriously injured, they were quite frightened.

Liang Ruochu was with Liang Fangrong at the time, and the two of them were quite lucky; they managed to hide without being found.

As for the others, those who are injured or otherwise in need, they are all staying here in the camp to rest.

The captured prisoners were handed over to Li Jiangui for disposal.

Shen Hanyu couldn't help but wonder if the Emperor could find any clues since the matter wasn't handed over to Li Jing but was handled personally.

But Li Jing is, after all, Li Jiangui's son.

Shen Hanyu held her head in her hands, feeling somewhat agitated.

When Liang Fangrong walked in, she saw Shen Hanyu looking distressed.

"Auntie?"

Shen Hanyu looked up and met Liang Fangrong's gaze.

Liang Fangrong sat down, and the two remained silent for a moment.

"I came to see you," Liang Fangrong said dryly. "Where have you been all night?"