Before Lu Jinchen could react, Gu Chengzhi had already ridden far away. He shouted loudly, "Hurry up, Lu Jinchen! Let me tell you, she's my only sister. You must bring her back alive!"
The spring gale made the tree branches rustle. It took Lu Jinchen a long time to shout back, "I will!"
In less than half an hour, Lu Jinchen had reached Qianyue Pond. There was a dense forest ahead, and it was not easy for horses to pass through. He dismounted and took the topographical map from the secret guard. Frowning, he took a look.
"I'll go in alone. You stay fifty meters behind and try not to be discovered."
The secret guard responded.
"Big brother."
Lu Jinchen turned his head in surprise and saw Lu Jinxuan in black clothes. Her body and face were dirty, looking rather disheveled.
Lu Jinxuan rushed over in a hurry and waved at Lu Jinchen. "Big brother, this is a plot by the second brother and Qi Manyan. The thing in Cangshan is just to arrest you. They want to charge you with hiding a criminal official. But it's different here. Qi Manyan has set up layers of traps. She wants your life!"
Lu Jinchen frowned. "Why are you here?"
Lu Jinxuan was so anxious that she shed tears. She reached out and grabbed Lu Jinchen's sleeve. "Big brother, I overheard their conversation. But no matter how you fight, we're supposed to be a family. Big brother, don't go. Please don't go!"
Lu Jinchen shook off her hand. "You shouldn't have come here."
Lu Jinxuan suddenly knelt on the ground and hugged his leg tightly. "Big brother, I don't understand why this is happening, but I don't want you to die. What will we do if you die? Father will be sad, and I'll be sad too..."
Lu Jinchen bent down, grabbed her hands, and pulled her away. Frowning sternly, he said, "Lu Jinxuan, whether you're sincere or not, if you dare to stop me, I'll never care about our sibling affection. Moreover, you're the daughter of our enemy!"
Lu Jinxuan was so frightened that she trembled, but she still tried to hold onto him. "Big brother, if you do this, father... No, big brother, I know those rumors are false. You're clearly father's son, big brother..."
"Get out of the way!" Lu Jinchen kicked her away and quickly walked into the dense forest.
Lu Jinxuan sat there stupidly on the ground, at a loss.
The maid came over and helped her up. "Princess, let's go back to the mansion first. Didn't the princess consort say that these things have nothing to do with you?"
"She's my brother!" Lu Jinxuan clenched her fists stubbornly. "They all think I'm ignorant, but it's clearly them who are wrong... Lianxin, hurry up. Come with me."
The maid asked, "Where are we going?"
Lu Jinxuan said, "To find my father. He got the news from the capital and has been eager to come back. He'll be back in these two days. Hurry up. Let's ride there."
The maid said anxiously, "But you don't know how to ride a horse."
Most noble ladies in the capital know how to ride a horse to some extent, but Lu Jinxuan fell off a horse when she was a child. Since then, the princess consort has not allowed her to get close to horses.
At this moment, she didn't care at all. She quickly turned around, urged the coachman to untie the horses, and mounted one. The original fear of horses had completely disappeared.
There was only one thought in her mind, which was to get her father back quickly. Only when her father came back would the family return to normal, and so would the palace.
Lu Jinchen walked carefully into the depths of the dense forest. Sure enough, he saw a simple courtyard. In the middle of the courtyard, there was a lonely house.
As he walked over, several assassins jumped down from above. Daggers and flying knives stabbed straight at Lu Jinchen's face.
It was just a small trick. Lu Jinchen dodged them easily. But when he entered the courtyard, a dark mass of things rushed towards him.
Lu Jinchen quickly dodged, but there were still bloodstains on his body. Even when he retreated outside the courtyard, it was useless. Taking a closer look, these things were actually bats, and each of them had a sharp blade on it.
The bats seemed to have been hungry for a long time. Now that Lu Jinchen was bleeding, their attacks became even more rapid.
It took Lu Jinchen a lot of effort to finally subdue these modified bats. Because he was already injured, after this, he was on the verge of collapse. He knelt on the ground, propping his body up with his sword, and it took him a long time to recover.
There was a sound of the door opening in front. Lu Jinchen slowly raised his head. What he saw was not the fierce beast or the thug he had expected, but Qi Manyan.
Qi Manyan was wearing a long red fur coat. The coat was a bit short, and the light-yellow dress inside also seemed a bit small and didn't fit well. She had double buns on her head. Generally, girls after reaching adulthood don't dress like this.
Lu Jinchen frowned and looked at her warily.
Qi Manyan gave a charming smile. "Brother Jinchen, do you still remember that at the peach blossom banquet held by Concubine Shu four years ago, you praised me for looking so good in this appearance?"
Lu Jinchen pursed his lips and didn't say a word.
Qi Manyan smiled bitterly. "How could you remember? At that time, it was just that the Crown Prince praised me for being charming and then asked you. You said that my dressing that day was truly more charming than the flowers..."
Lu Jinchen frowned. He had never gotten close to other women. If there was someone he was close to, Qi Manyan was indeed the one who had grown up with him since childhood. At that time, he still lived in the prince's mansion and thought that Lady Shu was sincere to him. He didn't really care or reject Qi Manyan's occasional visits to the mansion.
Of course, he would never comment on a woman's appearance in public. What Qi Manyan was saying now was probably just something he said casually when urged by the Crown Prince when he was with several princes.
Qi Manyan walked up to him, untied the long fur coat, and showed the tight-fitting dress inside. She had grown up, and her figure was curvy. Such an ill-fitting dress tightened her plump chest very tightly, showing a woman's charm.
Lu Jinchen averted his eyes. "It's cold. Miss Qi, please put on your clothes."
Qi Manyan asked, "Don't you like to look anymore? Brother Jinchen, am I beautiful?"
Lu Jinchen still didn't look at her. He just asked, "Is Liyue here?"
Qi Manyan threw the fur coat away and walked over to hug Lu Jinchen. "When we're together, don't mention others, okay? I'm cold, Brother Jinchen. I'm so cold. Can you hug me and make me... warm up?"
The moment she got close, Lu Jinchen grabbed her and pointed his sword at her neck with the other hand. "Where is Liyue?"
Qi Manyan was not afraid at all. She laughed even more happily. "Brother Jinchen, are you going to kill me for her? Are you really willing to kill me? I'm Yan'er who has grown up with you since childhood. Have you forgotten that Yan'er accompanied you..."
Her tone changed from charming and innocent to cold. "I accompanied you for so long, but I'm not a fraction of Gu Liyue, right? Lu Jinchen, do you think I'll let her go? Lu Jinchen, let me see how fast your sword is!"
After saying that, Qi Manyan bumped her neck into the sword.