Chapter 36: The Crown Princess is in trouble!

When Yunzhu opened her eyes again, she was no longer outdoors.

The bed beneath her was cold and hard, and the room was pitch black; she could see nothing but a sliver of moonlight from the window.

She opened her mouth, wanting to call out to Ayan, but found her throat was terribly thirsty.

In her confusion, she heard the sound of a door being pushed open, followed by Ayan's excited, trembling voice: "Princess, you're awake?"

Yunzhu moved her fingers, enduring the dryness and tearing of her lips, and asked weakly, "Where is this place?"

“Princess, this is a farmhouse by the roadside!” Ayan, suppressing her tears, knelt before Yunzhu’s bed and said, “Princess, you’re finally awake! You scared me to death! You suddenly fainted on horseback, and I was so afraid something might happen to you, so I rode along looking for farmhouses until I finally found one that was willing to lend us their house…”

So that's how it is.

Yunzhu slowly raised her hand and stroked Ayan's face to comfort her, but suddenly, her hand froze in place. She remembered that before she fainted, she seemed to feel a pain in her lower abdomen.

She suddenly grasped Ayan's hand and said anxiously, "Ayan, what about my child..."

"The child is fine, and you are fine too. It's just that riding horses today is really tiring!" Ayan replied.

They were lucky. There were few doctors in the village, but by chance, there was a female doctor in the village who was good at gynecology. The farmer's wife helped to find her, and after examining Yunzhu, the doctor told her that she was fine.

Yunzhu finally relaxed.

At this moment, Ayan also lit the kerosene lamp by the bedside.

Yunzhu was then able to see the entire room.

This is a very simple farmhouse. Apart from a bed and a trunk for clothes, there is nothing else in the house. Only a sickle for harvesting wheat seeds and a raincoat for keeping warm in the rain are hanging on the wall.

Yunzhu's small bed was set up opposite these utensils. As soon as she sat up, Ayan finally saw her dry, chapped lips and hurriedly went outside to pour her a glass of warm water.

She brought the warm water to Yunzhu's lips and told her to drink it slowly.

Are the pursuers still coming?

After drinking the water, Yunzhu's throat finally felt better, so she asked Ayan about what had happened during the day.

Ayan shook her head, and Yunzhu remained silent.

When she first ran away, she complained that Xiao Mingzhang didn't come looking for her, but now that he's actually here, he looks like he's going to kill her.

Xiao Mingzhang... Xiao Mingzhang...

Were those people sent by Xiao Mingzhang? Or were they the work of Prince Huan and the Ying family? Or perhaps, it was all planned by the entire family of three?

Yunzhu didn't know.

Ayan put down her cup and said bitterly, "No matter who it is, they are still people from the Huan Prince's Mansion. Does that young master still want to get away with it? In my opinion, the princess should not be greedy for him even a little bit more!"

“I have no greed!” Yunzhu retorted instinctively.

But she stared blankly at Ayan's angry face, and soon lowered her head guiltily.

Yes, at this point, Yunzhu should no longer make excuses for herself. The danger of today's situation is such that both she and Ayan can be considered to have survived a catastrophe.

It's true that she still has feelings for Xiao Mingzhang, and it's also true that she once fantasized that Xiao Mingzhang would come looking for her. But now, even if not for herself, for Ayan and the child in her womb, she should give up completely.

"Ayan... I'm sorry..." Yunzhu lowered her eyes, and large tears suddenly fell down, pattering onto the bedding.

Ayan hurriedly cupped her face in her hands: "What does this have to do with the princess? The princess has done nothing wrong. Even if she was moved, she was deceived by that man surnamed Xiao! Princess, you have done nothing wrong!"

Yunzhu looked at Ayan with a dazed expression.

The kerosene lamps in the countryside were dim, giving no illusion of the palace where the night was as bright as day. But as she looked at Ayan, as she looked at her, she felt that for the first time in so many years, she could see a person's face clearly through her tears.

She leaned on Ayan's shoulder and gradually broke down in tears.

Ayan remained silent, simply holding her princess in her arms. After the princess had cried enough, she brought hot water and a handkerchief to wipe away her bitter tears.

“Princess, you’ve cried too much these past few days. He doesn’t deserve it, he really doesn’t deserve it. From now on, let’s not cry anymore, okay?” Ayan held Yunzhu’s hand and looked up at her.

Yunzhu nodded.

Okay, after today, she will never cry again. She knows, she knows completely, that Xiao Mingzhang is not worth it, and that their entire Huanwang Mansion is not worth it.

She will never shed another tear for them.

That night, Yunzhu and Ayan once again slept together on the same bed.

Although it was a hard, unreliable bed in the countryside, it turned out to be the most peaceful sleep they had had since they had escaped for so many days.

The cicadas chirped softly in the trees, occasionally pausing. Under the bright moonlight, fireflies seemed to hover around the window, their green light flashing and lingering among the flowers, birds, and grass.

Yunzhu slept soundly and woke up feeling refreshed the next morning.

She and Ayan sat in the sunlight outside, seriously planning their future.

Since the Huan Prince's people were able to intercept them on their way from Luozhou to the Western Regions, it means that their entire itinerary has been guessed by now. At this point, no matter how they disguise themselves, it will be useless.

Ayan didn't know what she and Yunzhu could do now that things were like this.

"She's treated like a wanted criminal!" Ayan had never been treated like this in her life. All she wanted was to go back to the grasslands, so why was it so difficult?

"It's alright, we'll find a way sooner or later," Yunzhu said, squeezing Ayan's hand tighter.

Ayan immediately became more obedient.

They sat together on the haystack in front of the house.

Yesterday, in a moment of desperation, Ayan found this village near the official road. She carefully searched the village and found a kind-looking old woman, asking her to lend her a temporarily abandoned empty house.

The old woman said that the room they stayed in last night originally belonged to her son and daughter-in-law, but the harvest in Jeju was not good last year, so they went to Nakju City to find work as soon as spring arrived.

The distance from here to Nakju City is about the same as the distance to Jeju City.

Yunzhu propped her head up and stared for a long time at the withered grass that was still yellow and barren in Jeju in April. Finally, a few thoughts seemed to gradually emerge in her mind.

—

Yunzhou

The guards in black returned to Prince Huan's residence and knelt before Prince Huan, Xiao Shao.

The leader said, "We have cornered the Crown Princess near Jeju Island, and as the Prince instructed, we have made sure to cover her up completely, without giving ourselves away!"

Xiao Shao's expression remained unchanged; he simply asked, "Was she injured?"

"No," the guard said. "His Highness specifically ordered that no one be injured, so we didn't go all out. The Crown Princess and her maid reacted quickly and hid in the mountains, but we lost some horses instead."

"Hmph." Xiao Shao snorted heavily and stopped talking.

Yan Qian, who was standing to the side, then added, "Alright, you can go and collect your reward later. But remember, you must not mention this trip to anyone, especially not the Crown Prince..."

"Understood!" The guards bowed their heads tightly, indicating their utmost loyalty to the Prince Huan's residence.

After the guards left, Yan Qian turned to Xiao Shao and said, "Your Highness, it seems the matter has been resolved."

"Really?" Xiao Shao frowned, but he still felt that things might not be that simple. "I didn't expect that she could actually get pregnant with Mingzhang's child. If I wasn't worried that Mingzhang would completely turn against me if he found out, I would really want to kill her on the spot."

"Absolutely not!" Yan Qian exclaimed in alarm upon hearing this, and advised, "In my opinion, this is enough. The Crown Princess believes that the Crown Prince truly intends to kill her, and she is heartbroken and will certainly not return to the Central Plains. As for the Crown Prince, with Your Highness watching over him, the two are destined never to see each other again. If we push him too far, not only will the Crown Prince turn against Your Highness, but if the Western Regions find out, it will be very difficult to explain!"

"Are we just going to stand by and watch her return to the Western Regions?" Xiao Shao asked. "Won't the Western Regions find out everything anyway?"

"So what we need to do now is to prevent the Crown Princess from returning to the Western Regions." Yan Qian's few words revealed the ultimate goal of this plan.

Xiao Shao's pupils contracted sharply, but in an instant, he suddenly realized what was happening.

Yes, since she knew there would be an ambush by the Huan Prince's mansion on the way back to the Western Regions, if Mu Yunzhu were smart, she should have stayed in the Central Plains instead of thinking about returning to her motherland.

"As long as the Crown Princess is still in the Central Plains, finding her will not be difficult, nor will keeping an eye on her. Your Highness, rest assured, we will definitely keep a close watch on the Crown Princess until the day you ascend the throne!"

Upon hearing these words, Xiao Shao finally revealed a confident smile.

Now that the biggest threat has been eliminated, in a few days, the Prince Huan's residence will announce that the Crown Princess has passed away.

As long as Mu Yunzhu is not around, Xiao Shao thought that all the courageous strategists would return, and those who were far away in the Jinling court would also return to his side one after another. Everything that belonged to him would come back, and he would finally get everything he wanted.

Seeing Xiao Shao's expression, Yan Qian continued, "When the time comes, once our great cause is accomplished, if the Crown Prince still thinks of his wife, Your Highness can bring her back. She is a woman from the Western Regions. She may not be able to be the Crown Princess, but she can be a concubine. After all, she is now pregnant with the Crown Prince's child, which is also Your Highness's flesh and blood."

"What's so special about these exotic creatures from the Western Regions?" Xiao Shao's lips turned cold again upon hearing Yan Qian's words.

His stiff beard trembled, like a majestic military saber, and Yan Qian immediately dared not say anything more, standing respectfully to the side.

Just when the two thought that they had everything under control, suddenly, a guard dressed in black rushed over.

Just then, a guard standing far away outside the main hall of the Prince's mansion said to Xiao Shao, "Something terrible has happened, Your Highness! The Princess Consort is in trouble!"

Xiao Shao's brow furrowed, and he asked, "What is it?"

The guard pointed in the direction of Jeju and said in a trembling voice, "Jeju, the villages near Jeju have been suffering from a long drought and haven't had any rain. This morning, a big fire broke out in the fields and burned down several houses by the fields, which happened to be the ones where the Crown Princess stayed the night before!"