"Princess!"
"Yuanyang!"
Chu Junyi quickly chased after her, grabbed Li Xinyue's arm, and pulled her into his embrace. He rested his chin on her head and lovingly stroked the back of her head.
"Princess, I was wrong. I won't tease you anymore. If you're still angry, you can hit me a few times to vent your anger?"
Although he said so, Chu Junyi held Li Xinyue tightly and was reluctant to let go.
He remembered the picture of her crying heart - rendingly and digging through the ruins regardless of her status. His heart was filled to the brim. A mixture of love and heartache welled up, and he tightened his arms around her.
The sun shone brightly, the birds chirped, the mountain breeze was refreshing, and the woods were lush. Although the air was filled with a strong smell of smoke, it did not affect the spring - like beauty here.
Li Xinyue was forced to press her cheek against his chest. Her gaze fell on his Adam's apple, watching it bob up and down.
She even forgot to be angry. Instead, strange thoughts came to her mind. Since she couldn't break free, should she try to hug him back?
Thinking so, her slender hand stealthily reached out and lightly rested on his waist. Her palm felt a bit of the fabric of his clothes and his body temperature.
Li Xinyue's heart suddenly raced.
"Princess."
She was so startled that she quickly withdrew her hand. However, the movement was too large, and Chu Junyi, who hadn't noticed these details before, saw it clearly.
He burst into a happy laugh, covered her hand with his big one, wrapped it around his waist, and hugged her tightly.
Li Xinyue resigned herself to closing her eyes and stopped resisting. But her heart beat faster and faster, and her face blushed involuntarily. The words in her mouth were itching to come out.
"Chu Junyi."
"Hmm."
Li Xinyue paused for a moment, too embarrassed to continue. It was all because he had replied with a "hmm".
"I won't say it."
"If you don't say it, you're not allowed to leave." You can figure it out for yourself!
Li Xinyue turned her head guiltily and looked at the surrounding woods.
By now, she could no longer deny her feelings for him. But the road ahead was tough, and they might not end up together. First of all, she had no say in her own marriage.
Moreover, he didn't meet any of the requirements to marry a princess.
Secondly, his own future was also full of hardships.
The struggles among the noble families could often turn the world upside down and change the ruling dynasty. Not to mention a mere individual like him.
Their union seemed so weak.
She didn't want to die yet. She wanted to live a long life.
"Chu Junyi, I will give you a helping hand."
"Princess Yuanyang has never taken care of anyone before. This time, she is willing to take care of Lord Chu. But you have to pave your own way in the future. Also, I will deliberately keep a distance from you to survive. If you can't accept this, change your mind as soon as possible. I won't blame you."
"Your Highness means..." Chu Junyi's pupils dilated. Thinking that the long - awaited answer was finally coming true, he looked at her in disbelief. "Do you agree?"
"Sort of... But Father Emperor..."
"As long as you agree. I remember all the requirements for marrying a princess. So I will find a way to ask His Majesty for the imperial edict of marriage."
Throughout the dynasties, princesses were either used for political marriages or sent to other countries in peace - making marriages. So he understood her difficulties.
As long as he climbed high and fast enough, he would surely be able to reach her.
"Now you don't have any burdens in your heart?" Chu Junyi asked.
"Not anymore." After saying it out, she really felt much better. "But your burden..." would be heavier. She looked up at Chu Junyi.
Chu Junyi hugged her even tighter. "It doesn't matter. Then we can meet secretly. We can be like the previous long - princess. Moreover, I'm confident that this relationship will be made legitimate."
When Li Xinyue heard the words "this relationship", her face blushed even more, and her heart felt guilty.
She always felt that they were doing something sneaky.
But this feeling and mood were very wonderful. It seemed that she had never been so happy as today.
She glanced at Chu Junyi and couldn't help laughing. The overbearing Princess Yuanyang's smile was so charming that it could topple a nation.
Chu Junyi also laughed. His smile was gentle and elegant, like a warm spring breeze. Finally, he showed some of the refined and gentle qualities of a scholar.
The two of them held hands. They were a perfect match. They ran down the mountain.
But they didn't know that at this moment, Murong Xiu had been waiting for them for a long time.
Watching the two of them smiling at each other and walking hand in hand, Murong Xiu's heart sank. He almost crushed the silver bracelet in his palm.
Li Xinyue's smile froze on her face. She subconsciously let go of Chu Junyi's hand.
It's better not to provoke him.
After all, she was the one who had initiated the matter, and now...
The guilt in her heart was like the incoming tide, almost drowning her.
Chu Junyi stepped forward quickly and exchanged a look with Murong Xiu. Without saying a word, he took all the blame on himself.
If Murong Xiu wanted to blame someone in the future, he could come at him. Don't make things difficult for the woman.
Murong Xiu struggled to suppress his grief. Coming back to his senses, he bowed his hands and saluted Li Xinyue.
"I'm late to rescue Your Highness. I hope the Princess will forgive me."
Li Xinyue choked. It took her a long time to squeeze out two words, "Dispense with the courtesy."
The mountain breeze blew, making their clothes flutter. The gradually setting sun cast three long shadows, showing their respective sadness and loneliness.
Finally, the soldiers began to return to the team one after another. The noisy voices broke the awkwardness here.
The three of them looked in the direction of the sound in unison. Seeing Murong Xiu and Li Xinyue, Lieutenant Xiao trotted over and saluted respectfully.
"Report to the Crown Prince and the Princess. All the bandits have been annihilated. The bodies of the bandit leader and the treacherous merchant Bai Hong have also been found. There are a total of 352 corpses at the scene, and no one survived."
Murong Xiu said, "I see. Thank you, General Xiao, for your hard work."
"For the remaining matters, Lord Fu should know what to do, right?"
Named, Fu Chengyuan trotted forward nervously, sweat on his forehead. He bowed to Murong Xiu with his hands at his sides, and then turned to Li Xinyue.
When facing Li Xinyue, Fu Chengyuan was extremely nervous. He wanted to take a peek but didn't dare. He was so flustered that he didn't know what to do.
Li Xinyue gritted her teeth and laughed out of anger. "Uncle, do you recognize me now?"
Her uncle bent down in fear and didn't dare to answer.
Recalling the stupid things he had said and done in front of Li Xinyue these days, he really wanted to go back in time and slap himself.
But it was too late to regret now.
What was even more troublesome was that because of his feud with Chu Junyi, the Princess would surely report it to the Emperor. Then he would really be finished.
However, no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't think of any way to stop the Princess from complaining.
Now he was on the verge of collapse, feeling dizzy and as if everything was not real.
Li Xinyue talked to Murong Xiu and Lieutenant Xiao about some details of this case. Then she gave Fu Chengyuan a long look.
She really wanted to remove his official position, but this was the power of the court and the Emperor. So she had to report it to the Emperor after entering the capital. For now, she could only let him act recklessly for a while.
But thinking of the several boxes of gold and silver buried on the mountain by the Fu family and the fire in the Fu family's old mansion, she thought that it must be extremely painful for Fu Chengyuan.
She had finally vented some of her anger. So she decided to let it go for the time being.