Wanruo turned pale with fright, broke free from his hand, took two steps back, and the dagger fell to the ground.

He approached her, a sinister smile flashing in his already mad eyes, and whispered in her ear: "I've given you a chance. If you can't kill me, don't even think about escaping in this life."

Wanruo's breathing stagnated and her face turned even paler. She subconsciously wanted to step back, but he grabbed her wrist. He raised his hand and slashed her neck with a knife, knocking her unconscious. He then took her by the waist, lifted her up horizontally, and turned around to leave.

Li Jingzhao was still in shock after falling to the ground, his face stiff, and he didn't care about the blood flowing from his neck.

Until the servant helped him up: "Your Highness, are you okay?"

Li Jingzhao finally came back to his senses and touched his neck, his hands were covered in blood.

"Quickly call the imperial physician!"

The scene suddenly became chaotic.

Su Yan was still frozen in place, watching Xie Xianyu carrying Xu Wanruo away from him. He finally couldn't help but curse, "What a lunatic!"

At this time, something big had already happened in the hunting ground.

The Prince of Jin led the cavalry battalion into the hunting ground without authorization, intending to rebel. The imperial guards rushed into the hunting ground to protect the emperor and captured the Prince of Jin on the spot. The emperor was furious and personally interrogated the Prince of Jin and his ministers who were guilty of treason in the palace.

Xie Xianyu was naturally indispensable for the trial of such a major case. He put Wanruo in his tent, changed into a clean robe, ordered someone to guard her outside, and went straight to the palace.

When Wanruo woke up again, it was dark. When she opened her eyes and saw the roof of the yurt, she looked around in confusion, and only then could she see the furnishings clearly with the help of a dim candlelight in the tent.

She was in Taihang Mountains, the royal hunting ground. No need to guess, she knew this must be Xie Xianyu's tent.

She propped herself up and sat up from the bed, wanting to get out of bed and go outside, but as soon as she stood up, there was a sudden "ding-ling" sound, her left foot was pulled, and she fell heavily onto the bed.

She turned around in surprise and saw an iron chain tied around her left ankle.

Someone outside the tent seemed to hear some noise, and the tent curtain was opened. It was Cuizhu who came in: "Cousin."

Wanruo pointed at the chain that bound her: "What is this?!"

Cuizhu whispered, "Don't be afraid, young lady. This is the young master's fault. After all, this is the royal hunting ground. Today, there has been another major incident of treason. The young master is worried that there are still rebels on the run. If you run around, you might get hurt."

Wanruo's face looked very ugly. Who was she speaking to with such high-sounding words?

Cuizhu saw that she looked unhappy and quickly comforted her: "Don't be angry, young lady. When the young master comes back soon, he will definitely untie you. The young master cares about you and doesn't want you to suffer any injustice. Otherwise, he would not specially ask me to take care of you."

Cuizhu was a maid in the inner house, only responsible for the affairs of Songhe Garden and never left the house. This time on the autumn hunt, only Qing'an accompanied her.

But this afternoon, Qing'an came back home on a fast horse and brought Cuizhu with him, saying that it was the young master's wish for her to serve his cousin.

"Miss, how about we have dinner first?" Cuizhu spoke cautiously.

Wan Ruo scowled: "I don't want to eat."

Cuizhu advised again: "Young lady, please stop being stubborn with the young master. I'm afraid he is really angry this time. You should just be submissive and serve him obediently, and don't make him angry."

Wanruo fell back onto the bed, buried her head with the quilt, and didn't want to say another word.

Cuizhu was helpless and could only place the food and tea on the bedside table: "The girl should go to sleep first. If you are hungry, remember to have some food."

Then he quietly retreated.

It was not until midnight that Xie Xianyu finally returned home under the stars.

After all, the case of Prince Jin's treason was a major case, and it was being tried by the emperor himself, so it was bound to be delayed. The quarrels between the two factions in the palace gave him a headache.

As soon as they arrived outside the tent, Qing'an, Fuxian and others immediately saluted.

"Is she awake?" he asked.

Cuizhu whispered, "He woke up once, and now he's probably asleep again."

"Have you eaten yet?"

Cuizhu shook her head.

His eyes were heavy, and he lifted the curtain and strode in.

There was only a faint candlelight in the tent, and the dim light illuminated a small bulge on the bed. She buried herself in the quilt.

But he heard her breathing, obviously she was not asleep.