Ruan Jiu slowly opened her eyes.
Wasn't she having a meal in the governor's mansion?
How did she fall asleep?
She propped herself up to sit and rubbed her temples.
Suddenly seeing the person sitting on the chair, she was startled.
"How did you get here?!"
"This is my room," Xiao Wang said coldly.
Hearing this, Ruan Jiu looked around in a flurry.
This was indeed not her room.
Frowning, she asked, "How did I end up in your room?"
Xiao Wang folded his arms and leaned back, "Liang Jingzhuo misunderstood our relationship, drugged you, and sent you to my room."
"Drugged me?"
Ruan Jiu was so frightened that she immediately checked her clothes.
"Don't worry. I've already sent for the imperial physician to examine you."
Only then did Ruan Jiu heave a sigh of relief.
However, given Xiao Wang's character, shouldn't he have thrown her out?
But now was not the time to think about such things. It would sound so scandalous if the news got out that an unmarried man and woman had been alone in a room!
So Ruan Jiu immediately got up and prepared to leave.
"Wait."
Seeing that Ruan Jiu was about to leave, Xiao Wang immediately stopped her.
Ruan Jiu stopped and looked at Xiao Wang suspiciously, "Does Your Highness the Crown Prince have anything else to say?"
Xiao Wang motioned for Ruan Jiu to sit down.
Then he said, "If we want to figure out the secret on the Cliff of Despair without arousing Liang Jingzhuo's suspicion, I've got a good idea."
Ruan Jiu saw a glint of cunning in Xiao Wang's eyes and a faint sense of unease welled up in her heart.
But she still asked, "What's the good idea?"
"Liang Jingzhuo rushed to Xiling Village so quickly today. It's obvious that he has eyes and ears everywhere. If we go straight to the Cliff of Despair, he'll surely find out.
Instead, we can play along with his assumption and let him continue to think that there's an amorous relationship between us.
Then we can use the pretext of sightseeing to make him let down his guard."
Xiao Wang raised his eyebrows slightly, seemingly quite satisfied with his own idea.
But Ruan Jiu didn't think so.
She immediately exclaimed, "No! This is clearly a bad idea! If this gets out, it'll ruin my reputation!"
Moreover, if Xie Jingchu, that jealous man, found out, who knew what he might do.
Xiao Wang's eyes darkened and he said coldly, "Do you feel wronged at the thought of pretending to be my lover?"
"Of course I do!" Who do you think you are!
But she only dared to mutter the last sentence in her heart.
After all, the man in front of her was the Crown Prince.
However, seeing the expression on her face, Xiao Wang knew that this woman must be cursing him in her heart.
He took a deep breath, "This is the fastest and most effective way."
Ruan Jiu frowned.
This would indeed make Liang Jingzhuo let down his guard without alerting him.
But...
Seeing the hesitation in Ruan Jiu's eyes, Xiao Wang continued, "Don't worry. I'll explain it to Mr. Xie later."
Hearing this, Ruan Jiu gritted her teeth, "Okay, I agree."
In the following days, Xiao Wang accompanied Ruan Jiu everywhere to sightsee.
Liang Jingzhuo couldn't help sighing that sending Ruan Jiu to Xiao Wang's room was indeed a wise decision.
In this way, Xiao Wang's mind was all on Ruan Jiu.
Naturally, he wouldn't have the time to look for his mistakes.
Seeing that Liang Jingzhuo had let down his guard, Ruan Jiu and Xiao Wang also decided to go to the Cliff of Despair to find out the truth.
There were strict guards below the Cliff of Despair. Fortunately, they learned from Granny Zhou that there was an unknown path to the cliff.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have known how to avoid Liang Jingzhuo's eyes and ears.
As they climbed higher, the temperature on the mountain became lower and lower.
Ruan Jiu exhaled white puffs of air, looked up at the white snow on the mountaintop, and frowned. She thought to herself that she should have never come up.
Just then, Xiao Wang suddenly took off his cloak and handed it to Ruan Jiu.
"Don't freeze to death."
Ruan Jiu was startled at first and then waved her hands repeatedly, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is precious. You should keep it for yourself."
Ling Feng, Xiao Wang's personal bodyguard beside them, almost couldn't help laughing when he heard this.
The Crown Prince had been trained in the military camp since childhood. How could he sound like a delicate young master from Miss Shen's words?
Xiao Wang stared intently at Ling Feng and glared at him.
Ling Feng was so scared that he quickly suppressed the smile on his lips.
Then, Xiao Wang directly stuffed the cloak into Ruan Jiu's arms, "If you don't want it, just throw it away."
After saying that, he continued to climb up.
Ruan Jiu looked at the cloak in her arms and pursed her lips.
She'd better put it on, or she was really afraid that she would freeze to death here.
The Crown Prince's belongings were truly extraordinary.
After Ruan Jiu put it on, her body instantly warmed up. Even if she were to lie and roll in the snow at this moment, she probably wouldn't feel cold.
When she got back, she must study what this cloak was made of.
Finally, they reached the mountaintop.
But there was nothing but a vast expanse of white around.
Had they thought wrong?
Xiao Wang's frown deepened.
Just then, Ruan Jiu pointed into the distance and exclaimed, "Look over there!"
Xiao Wang looked in the direction Ruan Jiu was pointing.
It seemed to be a cave entrance.
However, the area outside the cave entrance seemed different from other places.
The whole place was covered in heavy snow, but there was none outside the cave entrance.
So they immediately walked towards the cave entrance.
Ling Feng stepped in first and reached out to touch the stone wall.
He exclaimed, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, this place is warm!"
Hearing this, Ruan Jiu and Xiao Wang also immediately stepped forward.
They found that not only was the stone wall warm, but the temperature inside the whole cave was also a few degrees warmer than outside.
No wonder there was no snow here.
Ling Feng asked in confusion, "Why is this place warm?"
Ruan Jiu's mind raced.
"Could it be that they're privately manufacturing weapons inside?!"
Xiao Wang's eyes instantly turned cold. He had also been thinking the same thing just now.
The warm cave and the missing army.
One thing after another all pointed to this.
Ling Feng exclaimed, "Then let's hurry down the mountain and arrest Liang Jingzhuo!"
"Don't be hasty," Xiao Wang waved his hand. "Let's go in first and see if it's really what we think."
He had read in a book that there was magma on some mountains, which could also make the stone walls hot.
If they weren't privately manufacturing weapons inside, arresting Liang Jingzhuo would only alert him.
Then he said to Ruan Jiu, "You wait here."
Still feeling worried, he took something out of his bosom and put it in Ruan Jiu's hand, "This is a signal arrow. If there's any danger, shoot it immediately."
Ruan Jiu took the signal arrow and nodded seriously.
Immediately afterwards, Xiao Wang and Ling Feng went into the cave to investigate.
After a while, Xiao Wang seemed to be shrouded in gloom, and the veins on his forehead bulged.
He never expected that Liang Jingzhuo would actually dare to privately manufacture weapons in Shuozhou!
Was it Liang Jingzhuo who wanted to rebel?
Or was it the person behind him?
Just as Xiao Wang was walking out of the cave entrance, he was stunned by what he saw!
All his secret guards had appeared at the cave entrance, while Liang Jingzhuo and his subordinates were kneeling neatly in the snow.
The scene was in a complete mess. It was obvious that there had been a fierce fight.
It seemed that Liang Jingzhuo had brought his men here soon after they went in.
Fortunately, he had given the signal arrow to Ruan Jiu before going in, so the secret guards could arrive in time.
Otherwise, he might have lost his life today!
Thinking of this, Xiao Wang squinted his eyes. Already gloomy, his eyes now showed even more fierceness.
Suddenly, he noticed that a familiar figure was missing among these people.
He asked in a deep voice, "Where is Ruan Jiu?"