When Hu Feifan opened his eyes again, his whole body ached as if it were being burned by fire.

"Don't move! The medicine was just applied; be careful not to tear the wound open again!"

A soft, gentle voice, a faint, warm fragrance. Turning his head, Hu Feifan saw Qin Kou'er's gentle yet alluring eyes.

“Kou’er…”

Hu Feifan looked at Qin Kou'er and spoke with difficulty, but only these two hoarse words came out.

Qin Kou'er smiled slightly, nodded, and gently lifted the thin blanket for Hu Feifan again. "Alright! Don't think about anything, just focus on recovering!"

Hu Feifan turned his head slightly and looked at the elegant furnishings around him. "Where is this?"

"This is one of my villas. Don't worry, it's very safe here. The Third Prince's men won't be able to find you!" Qin Kou'er said, as she brought over a bowl of medicine from the side and gently blew on it. Her face was gentle and calm, showing no sign of anything amiss.

"The Third Prince?" Hu Feifan looked at Qin Kou'er in confusion. "I fell into the hands of the Crown Prince. What does that have to do with the Third Prince? It was the Emperor who sent the Crown Prince's Dragon Martial Army to capture me!"

Hu Feifan would never forget any detail of that night; it was definitely the Crown Prince's men who had captured him. The insignia was so obvious that everyone recognized him. Qin Kou'er paused, seemingly surprised. However, she quickly regained her composure, acting as if nothing had happened. She checked the medicine, making sure it was warm enough to drink, and then carefully helped Hu Feifan sit up. "It's time to take your medicine!"

Hu Feifan felt pain all over his body with the slightest movement, but he still managed to sit up with the help of Qin Kou'er.

Qin Kou'er quickly took the soft cushion and placed it behind Hu Feifan, then handed the medicine bowl to him.

Watching Qin Kou'er take such gentle care of him, Hu Feifan felt an indescribable joy and peace in his heart. It seemed that all the suffering he had endured was worth it, as long as she could stay by his side like this forever.

"Kou'er, thank you! You've been worried these past few days, haven't you?" Hu Feifan looked at Qin Kou'er, his eyes sparkling with affection and warmth.

Qin Kou'er smiled slightly, her eyes lowered, neither confirming nor denying, but simply pointing to the bowl of medicine and softly saying, "Drink it quickly! It'll get cold soon!"

Hu Feifan was slightly disappointed when he didn't hear the answer he wanted. But he knew that Qin Kou'er had risked her life to save him; who could say there wasn't deep affection involved?

Thinking of this, Hu Feifan immediately felt relaxed and refreshed, and with a flick of his head, he drank the bowl of extremely bitter medicine in one gulp.

After watching him finish drinking, Qin Kou'er called in the maid outside to help Hu Feifan rinse his mouth before lying down again.

After everyone had left, Hu Feifan spoke again, "Kou'er, how did you rescue me?"

Qin Kou'er knew that Hu Feifan would not be at ease until he got to the bottom of things, which was exactly what she wanted.

Sitting down next to Hu Feifan again, Qin Kou'er's soft voice rang out: "After you disappeared, I've been sending people to look for you. Lord Jiang has also been looking for you. It's just that I was a little faster."

Hu Feifan knew that Qin Kou'er was always more meticulous than others, so it was not surprising that she found him.

"You knew he was the Crown Prince's man? And you still managed to forcibly take me out?" Hu Feifan stared at Qin Kou'er with a smile, his gaze unfathomable.

Qin Kou'er smiled even more calmly, looking at Hu Feifan and saying composedly, "How would I know whose people they are! But no matter whose people they are, shouldn't I rescue you first?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Feifan was immediately moved and reached out to grasp Qin Kou'er's hand: "Kou'er, I'm so sorry to have troubled you! I really didn't want you to get involved in these things!"

Qin Kou'er's body stiffened involuntarily, but Hu Feifan did not notice.

Without making a sound, Qin Kou'er withdrew her hand, picked up a cup of tea, and fiddled with the teacup, asking with her eyes lowered, "Feifan, what exactly happened that night? How did you get arrested by the Crown Prince?"

Hu Feifan's eyes flashed, and he turned his head with a smile. "It's nothing serious. I just got into a misunderstanding while looking for Lord Shi. That's why the Crown Prince arrested me. But everything you just said was part of the Third Prince's conspiracy. What exactly happened?"

Qin Kou'er glanced at Hu Feifan; he was indeed lying about this matter. Hu Feifan's feelings for her were four parts genuine, three parts guarded, and three parts calculated.

"That's strange! Shi Da's head has been found right where you were arrested! I thought it was all the Third Prince's doing, after all, he was nearby and just tried to assassinate the Crown Prince!"

"What?"

This time, it was Hu Feifan's turn to be stunned.

Hu Feifan's mind was racing!

He had initially assumed that since Lan Linxue had captured him, the person inside that night must be the Crown Prince. But now it seemed completely wrong. Even if Lan Linxue wanted to kill him, she would never use the Emperor's Imperial Guards; that would be tantamount to announcing to the world that Lan Linxue was involved in Shi Mengjian's death! He was far too foolish for that.

However, if the person inside was the Third Prince, then everything makes sense. After all, everyone knows how important that account book is. And the Crown Prince's people were just preparing for his trip to Yangzhou and happened to run into him.

The Third Prince, whose men were watching the Crown Prince, decided to kill the Crown Prince as a precaution.

That must be how it is.

Just then, Jun Yannuo rushed in, "Sect Master! The Crown Prince is catching up."

---Aside---

It's a battle of wits between best buddies, ladies, please go and support them, thank you!

"Diamond Pampered Marriage: My Wonderful Wife's Crazy Desire to Marry" by Seagull

In reality, she has a fiancé worth hundreds of millions, but she is still a virgin.

Legend has it that he had a son and a daughter, but he was still a virgin.

In public, he was calm, reserved, and aloof. In private, in front of her, he was a complete and utter scoundrel.

In public, she is insightful, mature, capable, and decisive; in private, in front of him, she is like this:

"Oh, you can't even find the door. Don't tell me you're still a greenhorn." The woman looked disgusted.

"Shut up, you bastard! I'll kill you as soon as I find the door!" The man was sweating profusely with anxiety.

"Is your man sick?" The man looked at the glaring red on the bed with a wicked grin.

"You men are all sick!" the woman glared.

"He's not sick, but he's just hogging the toilet without doing anything."

"You're the latrine."

"I'm just a troublemaker at best," the man said with a wicked smile.