An ordinary carriage was running towards the north of Xichu at a steady speed. The person inside the carriage lifted the curtain and leaned out to look behind the carriage. What could not be concealed in her eyes was the deep reluctance and strong nostalgia. Why was her heart still filled with lingering sadness before she even left Xichu?

"Don't look, be careful of the wind and sand that might blind your eyes." A man's hand came from behind her, pulled down the curtain to block the scenery outside, and at the same time held her in his arms to prevent her from having any wild thoughts.

Qi Jingyuan gently embraced Rong Rong, being careful not to touch her wounds. He patted her shoulder with one hand and said softly, "We'll come back when we have the chance! Besides, Rong Yunhe has promised to go north often. I'll definitely let you two meet again then!"

Hearing the cautiousness and anxiety in Qi Jingyuan's words, Rong Rong felt a sweetness in her heart, yet also a hint of heartache. She nestled in his arms and nodded, "I know, I just feel sorry for Grandma. After all, it's because of me that Grandma takes medicine and lies in bed all day, unable to move. And Yun He, needless to say, he's the one who suffers the most. Not even twenty years old, he has to shoulder the responsibility of supporting the Rong family, and now he has to find ways to deal with Emperor Yugan. There's also..."

Having said that, Rong Rong stopped talking and didn't say anything else, but she felt very uncomfortable in her heart.

Now she has left, leaving this mess to her elderly grandmother and young brother. I am afraid that Concubine Rongxian in the palace will not have a good life either.

Thinking of this, how could Rong Rong not feel sad? Everything started with her. But now, for the sake of her own feelings, she had thrown everything to others.

Thinking of this, Rong Rong raised her head and looked at Qi Jingyuan. The calmness in her eyes faded, and a layer of confusion covered her beautiful eyes. With a hint of uncertainty, she asked Qi Jingyuan, "Is this the right thing for us? If I hadn't saved you back then, none of this would be here today."

She is still Concubine Rong in the palace, and the Rong family is safe at least in the short term. At least she can hold on until Yunhe grows up and not fall into the dilemma she is in now.

How could Qi Jingyuan not be aware of the conflict in her heart? As early as when he was in Puguo Temple, he knew her hesitation. The Rong family occupied a huge weight in her heart. It was impossible to eliminate the Rong family from Rong Rong's heart.

Qi Jingyuan raised his eyebrows slightly, concealing the hostility in his eyes. With unparalleled gentleness and patience, he slowly spoke, "Silly girl, how many times do you want me to say this? Even if you didn't save me four years ago, I would still snatch you away. I know that the Rong family is special to you, and I will do my best to protect the Rong family."

Seeing Qi Jingyuan actually intervening in Xichu's affairs for her, Rong Rong half-closed her eyes, shielding her gaze with her long, curly eyelashes, and nodded softly, "I'm just worried that Yunhe will do something stupid because of me."

That day, when she opened her eyes and saw Yunhe standing at the head of the bed, she noticed the change in his expression. Such a deep look, like that of a shrewd old man, appeared between Rong Yunhe's brows, making Rong Rong very worried.

"The Rong family and the Chu family are close, I believe he won't make any big mistakes!" Qi Jingyuan tidied her slightly messy hair and hugged her tighter.

The person he could only admire from afar was now in his arms, and Qi Jingyuan was deeply moved. Being able to hold Rong Rong openly like this was a dream of his, a dream that had filled him with longing. Now that this dream had come true, he didn't feel it was real. Only by holding her tightly could he tell himself that he finally truly had her.

Seeing the thin blanket covering her slip off her shoulders, Qi Jingyuan, fearing a cold wind would blow into the carriage, immediately reached out to pull it up for her. A faint smile appeared in his eyes, and he said with some regret, "Now I am somewhat grateful to Qi Jingxuan! If he hadn't ambushed me at the hunting competition, causing me to be injured and flee to the Rong family's restaurant, I'm afraid I wouldn't have met you so soon!"

Hearing this, Rong Rong's eyes lit up with a smile. She closed them contentedly and slowly continued, "My grandmother took me to the north to inspect shops in order to train me. I didn't expect that there, she would save you from your injuries! Fortunately, you escaped to the Rong family's restaurant. Otherwise, with Qi Jingxuan's ability, if you had gone to an ordinary shop, he would have found you long ago!"

At this point, Rong Rong felt somewhat fortunate for the Rong family's status as an imperial merchant. If it weren't for the protection of the Western Chu court, how could Qi Jingxuan give the Rong family face? He would even kill the waiter at the Rong family restaurant.

She sighed softly. Rong Rong had always felt conflicted about the title of 'Imperial Merchant'. That title had ruined Concubine Rong Xian's life, and she herself hadn't escaped the fate of the palace struggles either.

However, because of this identity, the Rong family enjoyed many conveniences when doing business in Xichu, and few bandits would openly target the Rong family.

Rong Rong frowned slightly and couldn't help but smile bitterly. She told herself in her heart that the past was the past. From now on, she would be both a person of Western Chu and Northern Qi. She should not be immersed in the past. For the sacrifices made by the Rong family for her and for the loyalty of the King of Chu and his wife, she should live a better life.

Slowly relaxing her frown, Rong Rong smiled softly and said, "Your attitude was extremely bad back then. You were afraid that I would hurt you, and you even pointed a sword at my neck, not letting me get close."

"At that time, I was moving from the Imperial Palace to the Prince's Mansion. In order to show my father his love for his younger brother, Qi Jingxuan sent ten beauties to the Prince's Mansion. Therefore, in my mind, the more beautiful a woman is, the more dangerous she is. What's more, you are so beautiful that I can't help but think so! Who could have known that you were the eldest daughter of the Xichu Rong family, and that the eldest daughter would appear in a small town!" A trace of helplessness flashed across Qi Jingyuan's eyes, but he was glad in his heart that he was seriously injured at the time, otherwise he would have accidentally killed Rong Rong!

"Yes, the first time I saw you, you were covered in blood, but you looked ferocious and full of hostility. Your eyes were full of vigilance, and you wanted to fight for the life of anyone who approached you. You were so hateful!" Nestled in Qi Jingyuan's arms, Rong Rong stretched out her right hand from the thin quilt, covered his hands that were around her body, and interlaced her fingers with his, never leaving him.

"Extremely hateful?" But after hearing Rong Rong's initial evaluation of him, Qi Jingyuan raised one eyebrow, and the tenderness in his eyes suddenly turned into hatefulness. He lowered his head to look at Rong Rong, but found that she had her eyes closed tightly, but the smile at the corner of her lips could not be concealed and spread across her cheeks, making Qi Jingyuan couldn't help but lower his head and give her a light kiss on the cheek.

"You..." Rong Rong didn't expect Qi Jingyuan to do this. She immediately opened her eyes with a hint of shyness in her eyes.

But Qi Jingyuan raised his hand, gently stroked her still red and swollen cheek, and whispered: "I will definitely take revenge for you, and will never let you suffer any injustice! Rong'er, this time when we go to Northern Qi, you will go directly back to the Prince's Mansion with me! Although Qi Jingxuan's eyes are fixed on the Prince's Mansion, I don't trust anywhere else. I can't watch you from afar and be powerless when danger occurs!"

Rong Rong raised her head and stared into Qi Jingyuan's serious eyes. She knew that he must be still in shock from what happened this time. If she left Xi Chu, she would have nowhere to go. Where else could she go if not following him? Gently lowering her eyes, Rong Rong softly replied, "Okay!"

"That's good! Leave the next thing to me! I will make them pay for their blood debt with blood!" Holding Rong Rong in his arms again, Qi Jingyuan's slightly narrowed eyes shot out an extremely cold light.

Prince Chen's Mansion.

"Your subordinate greets the prince." Ning Feng received the news and quickly returned to the study to find Prince Chen.

Jiang Muchen was studying the map of Western Chu on his desk. When he heard Ning Feng come in, he slowly said, "Get up and answer the question. What happened?"

Ning Feng stood up, raised his eyes slightly to glance at Prince Chen, and replied: "In reply to your Highness, preparations have already begun."

Jiang Muchen listened and nodded slightly, tapping the table with his fingers. His sharp eyes swept across the territory of Western Chu on the map, memorizing all the cities firmly in his mind and going over everything in his heart.

"Is the Concubine Dowager getting used to life in the Imperial Mausoleum? Have the Emperor's men given her any hardship? Has he been harsh with her food?" After a pause, Jiang Muchen asked about Concubine Yuande. After all, she was his mother, so Prince Chen couldn't help but care about her. Furthermore, it was because of him that Concubine Yuande disobeyed the Emperor's order and went to the Imperial Mausoleum.

"In reply to Your Highness, the Concubine Dowager is doing fine for the time being!" Ning Feng replied quickly.

After hearing Ning Feng's answer, King Chen nodded and turned his gaze from the map in front of him to Ning Feng. He was about to ask Ning Feng to go downstairs to prepare other things, but he found that Ning Feng was still standing in the study. Although he had his head half lowered, he was obviously hiding something in his mind.

"What else?" Ning Feng's hesitation might be related to him. Jiang Muchen put away the map and focused all his attention on Ning Feng, waiting for him to answer his question.

Ning Feng was struggling with whether or not to speak out about this, but before he could make up his mind, Prince Chen's sharp gaze swept over him, forcing Ning Feng to bite the bullet and speak, "Your Highness, I just received news that the Princess of Chu is pregnant. Right now, the Fuguo Mansion, the Rong Mansion, and the Yunxiang Mansion are all rushing to offer their congratulations."

After he finished speaking, Ning Feng immediately shut up, because the temperature in the study dropped instantly. It seemed that the prince must have been angry after hearing that Princess Chu was pregnant.

However, Jiang Muchen did not vent his emotions in front of Ning Feng. He only heard him coldly order: "Prepare well for the early stages and proceed according to the plan when the time comes. There must be no mistakes."

"Yes." Ning Feng quickly agreed and then left the study to prepare.

Little did he know that as soon as he left the yard, the sound of porcelain being broken was heard in the study.

－－－－－－Digression－－－－－－

I'm not used to the local climate, I have skin allergies, I get a headache and want to vomit after being exposed to the wind. People with poor health can't afford it...