While Lu Ziyuan was plastering the streets with wanted posters for Su Zhirou, Su Zhirou had already successfully left Yuanqi with the help of Wu Zhao's men.

She had long guessed that Wu Zhao was a Xi Rong person, but when she saw the magnificent palace and the groups of maids, she still became curious about Wu Zhao's identity.

Just then, a maid came to report: "Our master is waiting for you, please come in, young lady."

Following them, Su Zhirou arrived at a room where she saw Wu Zhao, dressed in gorgeous clothes, sitting on a tiger-skin chair inlaid with jewels.

The guard, Dillon, announced, "Your Highness, Miss Su has arrived."

Su Zhirou was very surprised: "Prince? You are the prince of Xirong?"

"Are you surprised? To be precise, I am the crown prince of the Xirongzonghan tribe."

Su Zhirou pursed her lips and remained silent. She had heard of the Zonghan tribe. The Xirong people were cruel and bloodthirsty, and they were not on good terms with each other. As a result, they were scattered into many tribes of different sizes, and the Zonghan tribe was the largest of them. It was also the one that had always been at odds with Yuan Qi.

No wonder Wu Zhao said that even if you go out, you might not be able to live well. If you fall into a place like this, you will die a terrible death if you are not careful.

Just as Su Zhirou was deep in thought, Wu Zhao got up and came to her, his large, calloused hand stroking her cheek and then lifting her chin.

Su Zhirou stared directly into those cold, unfathomable eyes and felt a shiver run down her spine.

Wu Zhao sneered: "You are much braver than when we first met, not bad."

Su Zhirou forced herself to calm down: "I know you won't save me for nothing. Just tell me what you want me to do."

"No rush. To be precise, it's not that I want you, but that Shadow Witch thinks you're a good talent and asked me for you."

"Shadow Witch?"

Su Zhirou then remembered the woman who taught her illusion magic, but if the Shadow Witch wanted her, why wasn't the Shadow Witch here?

Seemingly sensing her thoughts, Wu Zhao said, "I will find time to take you to see her, but before that, I need to find you a suitable identity so you can stay. In this palace, Yuan Qi people without an identity only have one way out: death."

After saying that, Wu Zhao grabbed her by the neck and roughly threw her onto the large bed next to him.

Startled by the pain, Su Zhirou cried out, "What are you doing?"

Wu Zhaofu said, "You shouldn't be wronged by the status of my favored concubine."

Su Zhirou was startled. She had only thought about surviving and taking revenge, and had never intended to become anyone's concubine.

A moment of resistance turned Wu Zhao's expression cold: "Or are you still thinking about that Lu Ziyuan?"

Su Zhirou could tell that if her answer did not satisfy Wu Zhao, she would definitely be thrown back into that prison, or even suffer a worse fate.

Thinking of this, Su Zhirou revealed a seductive smile and wrapped her arms around Wu Zhao's neck: "How could I still think about a man who wanted to kill me? You gave me a chance to be reborn, so I am yours now."

Wu Zhao smiled with satisfaction: "Then serve me well and make me happy."

He knew perfectly well that Su Zhirou wasn't sincere, but to him, so much sincerity was useless.

To please Wu Zhao, Su Zhirou went to great lengths, spending over an hour trying to please him. Finally, Wu Zhao finished dressing and threw a token at her.

"Take this to the snowy mountain pass in the northwest tomorrow. The Shadow Witch is there, and she will tell you what to do next."

Su Zhirou picked up the token; at least, her life was completely saved.

...

As the weather grew colder, Zhong Muyu became less inclined to go out. In addition, Lu Ziyuan, fearing retaliation from Su Zhirou and her group, forbade Zhong Muyu from leaving the mansion. So, she moved some of her belongings to Xiuyu House and shared a study with Lu Ziyuan.

That day, Lu Ziyuan came to the study as soon as he returned. Zhong Muyu felt a cold wind blow in her face. She rubbed her arms and saw Lu Ziyuan hug her from behind.

A chill enveloped her, and Zhong Muyu shivered: "Don't come close to me so suddenly when you come back, it's very cold."

"Won't you get warmer if you hug me for a while? I'm cold too."

"...If you're cold, go light the stove, or I can find you an electric heater."

Zhong Muyu was about to get up when she was pressed down again: "No need, just stay here for a while."

Lu Ziyuan often relies on her like this now. Although Zhong Muyu has no choice, she also enjoys it. But right now, she is racking her brains over a design draft and is so frustrated that she is going crazy.

Seeing the few crumpled pieces of paper on the ground, Lu Ziyuan asked, "Are you in a bad mood? Can't think of anything?"

"Hmm, I really can't think of anything."

Zhong Muyu rested her head on her hand, looking resigned to her fate.

"If you can't figure it out, then don't bother. The Prince's Mansion isn't short of money. Don't ruin your health over something like this. There are more people catching colds in the city lately, and I don't want you to get sick too."

"It's a cold. You should be careful. Although it's not a serious illness, it's still very uncomfortable when you're sick."

Not a serious illness?

For ordinary people, a cold is a serious illness, and many people die from it every year when the seasons change.

Lu Ziyuan said, "Many people die from colds every year. This is no small illness. Do you think no one gets colds where you live?"

"Yes, but in my time there were already effective medicines, and the medicines were cheap, so a cold was not considered a serious illness."

"That would be wonderful. I really want to see the world you've lived in."

Zhong Muyu smiled and didn't say anything more. She had no intention of going back now.

At this moment, Lu Ziyuan took out a box and placed it on the table in front of Zhong Muyu: "Open it and take a look."

Another gift?

Zhong Muyu opened it with some skepticism, and saw a delicate silver necklace inside. The three chains were decorated with crystals, and a transparent stone the size of a fingernail was set in the silver base in the center.

This style is clearly an imported product.

Lu Ziyuan said, "I bought this from another foreign merchant. It was my fault that the hairpin broke last time, but the merchant said that this thing is very hard and absolutely cannot be broken."

"Unbreakable? So this stone is a diamond?"

"They call them diamonds, and it's said that very little is produced there, and they're only used by royalty and nobility as ornaments."

Zhong Muyu was shocked. She had never seen such a large natural diamond in her entire life!

Yuanqi doesn't produce diamonds, so it's quite remarkable that Lu Ziyuan was able to obtain one.

However, to say that the output is very low would be a lie. Of course, Zhong Muyu wouldn't pour cold water on things at this time. She smiled and picked it up, asking Lu Ziyuan to help her put it on.

Is it pretty?

Lu Ziyuan was very satisfied: "It looks good. My wife looks good in anything."

"You're so cheeky. This necklace doesn't really go well with this outfit, in my opinion..."

Now that you mention it, I wonder if Yuan Qiren would like a European-style dress?

Zhong Muyu suddenly had an inspiration and immediately began to draw on the paper.