The crisis at Peizhou Dam had just been resolved, and Lu Jingze, without even having time to change out of his soaked armor, rode back to the city.

Rain dripped down his chin, mingling with his sweat.

For some reason, for the past half hour, his heart felt as if it were being tightly gripped by an invisible hand, the pain almost suffocating him.

"Your Highness!" A guard rushed out of the woods beside the official road, his voice hoarse, "We've found the old physician!"

Lu Jingze reined in his horse and spun around sharply, the horse's hooves carving deep furrows in the mud.

In a clearing in the woods, the old doctor slumped against a broken tree, his lower body numb, pinkish blood foam constantly oozing from the corner of his mouth.

"Your Majesty... has been kidnapped..." The old doctor's withered hand gripped Lu Jingze's wrist, his nails scraping against the metal with a harsh sound.

Lu Jingze felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and his ears were ringing.

He knelt down on one knee and helped the old man up: "Which direction did they go? How many people were there?"

The old doctor was speechless, and his pupils gradually began to dilate.

Suddenly, he convulsed and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Lu Jingze gently closed the old man's wide-open eyes, but his fingers still trembled uncontrollably.

He took off his scarlet cloak and covered the corpse with it, his eyes burning with rage as he stood up.

"Send the order!" His voice was as cold as ice. "Block all major roads leading from Peizhou to other places. Deploy 300 Xuanjia Guard light cavalry to search all carriages along the way!"

In the torrential rain, Lu Jingze personally led the search team.

An old farmer said he had seen a covered horse-drawn carriage going east, while a peddler said he had seen a similar carriage going west.

The clues were a jumbled mess, like a fog deliberately laid out by someone.

......

On the official road, a luxurious carriage was traveling at a leisurely pace.

The carriage curtain was slightly lifted, revealing a handsome profile.

Zhou Yun'an gently embraced the woman in his arms, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead from time to time.

"Xiuxiu, just bear with it a little longer." His voice was gentle, but his fingers were secretly pinching Wang Xiuxiu's pulse point. "We'll be out of the city soon."

Wang Xiuxiu's eyes were unfocused, and her raven-feather-like eyelashes trembled slightly.

The drug Zhou Yun'an gave her made her alternate between drowsy and lucid; at this moment, she was in a state of half-dreaming and half-awake.

In a daze, she saw Lu Jingze's concerned face, but something felt off—his eyes were too cold, like the pupils of a venomous snake.

"Zhou..." she tried to move her lips, but a finger pressed down on them.

"Shh, Xiuxiu, you've mistaken me for someone else." The fake Prince Jing chuckled, leaning down to whisper in her ear, "Lu Jingze should be frantically searching for you in Peizhou right now."

He deliberately lifted the carriage curtain, letting Wang Xiuxiu see the wanted poster posted on the roadside tea stall—it prominently featured Zhou Yun'an's portrait.

Wang Xiuxiu's pupils suddenly contracted.

She tried to struggle, but found she didn't even have the strength to lift her hand.

The medicine Zhou Yun'an gave her not only numbed her body, but also made her mind feel like it was soaking in thick honey, requiring great effort to think of anything.

"Don't rush, the real show is just beginning." Zhou Yun'an took out a silver bell from his sleeve and gently waved it in front of her eyes. "Tell me, what do you think Lu Jingze's expression will be when he finds out I took you to Mingzhou after going to such lengths to search for you all over the world?"

The ringing sound penetrated her eardrums, and the toxins in Wang Xiuxiu's body began to surge again.

"Who's in the carriage? Why are they leaving the city?"

Zhou Yun'an lifted the carriage curtain, revealing most of his face covered by a human skin mask.

Xiao Cheng, who was beside him, handed over a plaque representing his identity.

A soldier outside the carriage exclaimed in surprise, "It's His Highness Prince Jing's carriage! Let him pass!"

Zhou Yun'an lowered the carriage curtain, turned to look at Wang Xiuxiu, and said, "Do you see? The people he protects can't distinguish between the real and the fake."

"Once we leave Yunling Pass, the roads are wide and interconnected. Even if Lu Jingze had extraordinary abilities, he would not be able to find us."

A tear slid down Wang Xiuxiu's cheek.

She was in excruciating pain and filled with hatred, yet she was utterly helpless.

In the dead of night, the carriage stopped in the desolate wilderness.

Zhou Yun'an went to arrange accommodation, while Xiao Cheng stood guard outside the car.

Wang Xiuxiu reached out with difficulty to touch her hair bun, but found nothing.

"Looking for this?" Zhou Yun'an's voice suddenly rang out in the darkness.

He walked into the carriage, holding the ironwood hairpin, its tip gleaming coldly in the moonlight. "Looks like you're still not giving up."

He bent down and gently placed the hairpin back into Wang Xiuxiu's hair, his movements as tender as a true husband's: "Keep it. When you see Doctor Chen, perhaps you'll actually have the strength to pick it up."

After saying that, he fed a pill into Wang Xiuxiu's mouth.

Wang Xiuxiu felt a chill run through her body, and the hooting of an owl could be heard in the distance.

Under the same moonlight, Lu Jingze was leading his men at high speed along the mountain road.

Unbeknownst to him, the distance between him and Wang Xiuxiu was growing ever wider...