"May I ask your name, young lady?"

Seeing that Li Youran was looking at him quietly without saying a word, Xu Hu mistakenly assumed that Li Youran had feelings for him, so he tentatively asked her.

"My name is Li Youran." Li Youran curtsied to Xu Hu and said, "Please send me back as soon as possible, so that my family will not worry."

"Please rest assured, young lady, we will send you back when we go out to shop in a few days."

For some reason, when Xu Hu looked into Li Youran's eyes, he couldn't bring himself to refuse her.

However, he was reluctant to let Li Youran leave just like that, so he said those words as if possessed.

"Er Gouzi, go and call Xiao Taohong here, and tell her to serve Miss Li."

Xu Hu turned to Er Gouzi and said something. After receiving Xu Hu's instructions, Er Gouzi hurriedly left again.

"Young Master Xu, my servant came to the fortress with me. Please take good care of him."

"That's natural, that's natural."

Xu Hu, the archer, stammered as he spoke to Li Youran.

"I... I still have some things to attend to. If you need anything, please feel free to ask."

Li Youran nodded without saying a word, then turned and went back to her room. Xu Hu was slightly stunned, and only after Li had closed the door for a long time did he jog away.

"Your Highness, there are strongholds on every hilltop of Wolf Tiger Mountain. Searching them one by one would be too time-consuming."

As Chief Huang spoke, he clasped his hands in a fist salute and continued speaking to His Highness the Second Prince.

"I'm afraid this will delay the best time for rescue."

The Second Prince frowned as he looked at his wife, who was also frowning.

"Send a message by carrier pigeon to the nearest prefecture or state requesting assistance."

After the Second Prince finished speaking, he turned to another guard beside him and said...

"Leave only two guards to secretly protect the Second Prince's wife, and the rest of the guards will go to each competition venue to check if there is any trace of the princess."

The bodyguards around the Second Prince left quickly after receiving the Second Prince's orders.

If it were an ordinary soldier, he certainly wouldn't be able to sneak into the mountain stronghold alone, but the Second Prince's bodyguards were different. They were highly skilled in martial arts and could appear and disappear without a trace.

The Second Prince first sent his personal guards to search for Li Youran as a precaution, and then requested reinforcements. If they were unable to rescue Li Youran, they would send troops to attack the mountain stronghold.

Where is Tang Lei?

Seeing the Second Prince's arrangement, the Second Prince's wife's panicked heart calmed down. She knew just how powerful the Second Prince's bodyguards were.

She turned to look beside her, wanting Tang Lei to come along too, but Tang Lei was nowhere to be seen.

"Little Peach Blossom, why is there such a woman by your leader's side, yet he has never married her?"

While cracking sunflower seeds, Li Youran looked at Xiao Taohong with a gossipy expression and said...

"Miss, you may not know this, but when the Third Miss was young, Lihua almost pushed the Second Miss off the cliff. If it weren't for the old master stopping her back then, Lihua would have been dead long ago."

Xiao Taohong glanced outside the door, then whispered the story to Li Youran.

When Xu Hu and Xu Erya's father was alive, he rescued a mother and daughter from the mountain.

To repay the old man's life-saving grace, Zhao Sanniang married him, and her daughter also became the second young lady of the village.

Zhao San Niang's daughter, Li Hua, has liked Xu Hu since she was a child. However, Xu Er Ya hates Xu San Niang for taking her mother's place and usually dislikes Li Hua, forbidding Xu Hu from being with Xu Li Hua.

Although it is unknown what Xu Hu is thinking, he has never been with Li Hua over the years, but he has also never married.

“Our young lady believes that our master is bewitched by Pear Blossom, which is why he has never married. She always thought of bringing a beautiful woman back to the mountain village from the foot of the mountain so that Pear Blossom would give up completely. That’s why we brought you up the mountain.”

After hearing what Xiao Taohong said, Li Youran finally understood.

"If you ask me, maybe your boss is interested in Pear Blossom, but your young lady is standing in the way, which is why your boss isn't with Pear Blossom."

Upon hearing Li Youran's words, Xiao Taohong nodded with a pout, looking completely in agreement.

"Make way for me, let me in."

"Second Miss, the head of the family has given instructions that no one is allowed to enter."

"Are you blind? Others aren't allowed in, but the Second Miss isn't?"

As Pear Blossom's maid, Xiao Cui, spoke, she slapped Er Gouzi, who was guarding outside the door, loudly, and then forced her way in.

"Little Peach Blossom, look at how you fawn over her. Don't forget she's just a prisoner. The boss won't keep her."

Xiao Cui looked at Xiao Tao Hong with a cold eye and said.

Just as Xiao Cui'er was speaking, Li Hua looked at Li Youran with a scrutinizing gaze.

She had never seen such a beautiful woman, more beautiful than any of the women she had intercepted on the mountain before. Pear Blossom frowned deeply; she knew Li Youran was a formidable opponent, and perhaps Xu Hu would indeed keep her here.

"Look at that seductive face, maybe the brothers in the fortress will like it."

As Lihua spoke, she began to walk around, carefully examining Li Youran.

"She's got a great figure, with a prominent bust and buttocks. The brothers in the village have been waiting for this for a long time."

"Second Miss, Miss Li is a distinguished guest here."

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