The Crown Princess looked down at the hand that was holding hers, and felt the warmth from his palm. Her cheeks flushed slightly. She hesitated for a moment, but did not pull away, letting him hold her hand like that.

Having avoided the guards along the way, and already able to see the outline of the new Eastern Palace in the distance, Zu An suddenly stopped: "The Eastern Palace must be heavily guarded now. It will be difficult for me to sneak in if I take you back."

"Of course we won't go through the main gate. Come with me," the Crown Princess said softly, then took her hand and led her to a well.

"Is anyone around?" The Crown Princess looked around and asked again, still feeling uneasy.

Zuan shook his head: "The closest ones are over thirty meters away, and there are courtyard walls and trees in between, so they can't see this side."

"That's good." The Crown Princess breathed a sigh of relief and took Zu An's hand, saying, "Jump down with me."

Zuan was somewhat puzzled, but the Crown Princess had already lightly touched the ground with her toes and jumped down into the well first.

A thought struck him, and he followed.

Just as he was about to fall into the water, a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed him. Only then did he notice an inconspicuous stone platform on the wall at the bottom of the well, where the Crown Princess was standing.

"This is the Crown Prince's secret escape route. You can evacuate as soon as possible if you encounter danger." After pulling him up, the Crown Princess gently turned a mechanism on the side, opening a stone door.

Zu An nodded secretly. He had seen similar situations many times in those period dramas before. He couldn't help but wonder, "Then why didn't you escape through the secret passage when there were assassins in the palace last time?"

The Crown Princess replied, "Last time, the incident happened so suddenly that the Crown Prince and I were outside and didn't have time to go inside."

Zuan was relieved and looked around. The secret passage was taller than a person, and the walls were faintly inlaid with luminous pearls, so he was not worried that it was too dark to see the way.

Sensing the secret passage winding upwards, the two walked for a while before the Crown Princess suddenly stopped: "My palace is just ahead."

Zuan cupped his hands in greeting: "Now that I have safely brought you here, I shall take my leave."

Unexpectedly, the Crown Princess reached out and grabbed him, saying, "Come inside with me first; I need your help with something."

Zuan: "???"