"Royal brother?" Gongyang Jiezhen called softly, with a hint of hesitation and temptation in her tone.

Bai Yuheng's body trembled violently, as if struck by thunder. He slowly turned his head and looked at Gongyang Jiezhen with a somewhat evasive look. He forced a smile and said embarrassedly, "Jiezhen, I didn't expect to meet you here... What a coincidence!"

He tried hard to suppress the astonishment in his heart, and quickly stepped forward to Gongyang Jiezhen's side, deliberately using his tall figure to block the sight of the imperial sister.

However, just as Bai Yuheng passed by Hua Rongsheng and Ye Maochun's wife and husband, he hurriedly cast a look at Hua Rongsheng, suggesting that they leave as soon as possible.

Hua Rongsheng understood Bai Yuheng's intention instantly, but her heart was full of doubts - how could this Mr. Bai know Xia Houjing's companions?

Despite her suspicions, Hua Rongsheng had no time to question the reason. She feigned composure, helping Ye Maochun down the stairs as if nothing had happened. She didn't even bother to respond to the waiter's warm greetings as she hurried out of the inn.

As soon as they left the inn, Hua Rongsheng immediately found a carriage. After Ye Maochun sat down, she anxiously urged the coachman to set off, asking her to drive south, away from this small town, so as not to be caught by Xia Houjing again.

On the other hand, Gongyang Jiezhen, who had never seen Hua Rongsheng's wife and husband, was immersed in the joy of the reunion of brother and sister. She just thought that Bai Yuheng was surprised that the two of them would meet here, and did not suspect anything.

"Jiezhen is also very happy to see my royal brother here." Gongyang Jiezhen swept away the depression that Hua Qingcheng had felt when she was halfway through speaking, and immediately pulled Bai Yuheng out of the inn and went to a private room in a tavern to have a drink.

The two of them toasted each other, and Gongyang Jiezhen told Bai Yuheng about Xiahou Jing's failed rebellion. Bai Yuheng nodded slightly, feeling touched.

Gongyang Jiezhen filled Bai Yuheng's glass with wine again, sighed, and said, "Royal brother, although our plan failed, you can no longer stay in Laifeng Kingdom. Otherwise, once your identity is exposed, you will be imprisoned. Therefore, you should return to Lengyue Kingdom with me as we agreed before."

"Okay." Bai Yuheng smiled slightly and nodded in response. However, in his heart, he was silently praying that Hua Rongsheng and her husband would leave as soon as possible...

As night fell, Gongyang Jiezhen brought Bai Yuheng back to the inn.

At the dinner table, Hua Qingcheng saw Bai Yuheng sitting next to Gongyang Jiezhen and couldn't help but sneer, her tone full of sarcasm: "I didn't even know that Senior Sister Yuzhen had such a gentle, elegant, and handsome brother!"

Bai Yuheng glanced at Hua Qingcheng indifferently without saying a word. He just silently picked up the water on the table and drank it in one gulp as if drinking wine, to suppress his inner irritability.

"'Abstain from sex', there are so many wonders in this world, and there are so many things you don't know!" Xiahou Jing raised the corners of her mouth slightly. Seeing Hua Qingcheng's depressed look, she felt particularly happy and even ate an extra bowl of dinner.

"That's right." Xiahou Yu also echoed, looking at Hua Qingcheng with eyes full of gloating.

After everyone had dinner, Xiahou Jing took them on a boat that had been prepared in advance and continued heading north towards Youzhou.

Night fell, and the river was pitch black, with only the lights of the boats swaying in the wind. The river flowed silently, like a sleeping dragon. The dark night wind blew coldly, brushing Bai Yuheng's face with a slight chill.

He sat quietly on the deck, feeling melancholy, his gaze fixed on the river and the distant sky. The river shimmered faintly in the darkness, as if countless pairs of eyes were watching him. In the sky, the North Star twinkled like a brilliant pearl, but it couldn't illuminate the haze in his heart.

"Why, Master Bai, are you feeling guilty about all the lies you've told?"

Hua Qingcheng strode over to Bai Yuheng and sat down next to him. Her words were as cold as ice, and her eyes were as sharp as knives, piercing Bai Yuheng directly. She felt a nameless fire in her heart, like a fishbone stuck in her throat.

A bitter smile played on Bai Yuheng's lips. He turned to look at Hua Qingcheng and said softly, "My Lady, how can one choose one's own birth? Many times, one is forced to do things against one's will, and what one does is not of one's own will..."

"Bai Yuheng, although I appreciate your past efforts, I have already made it clear to you that if I learn that you have done anything detrimental to the Laifeng Nation, I will show no mercy!"

Hua Qingcheng looked at Bai Yuheng with a complicated expression for a while, then stood up from the deck and turned away angrily.

However, because Gongyang Jiezhen and others were also on the boat, Hua Qingcheng ultimately did not tell Bai Yuheng about how Bai Yuheng had saved her from danger many times.

Bai Yuheng gazed at Hua Qingcheng's receding figure. His eyes, once as bright as the stars, dimmed in an instant, his heart filled with anguish. His thoughts drifted like the surging river. The silence of the night only magnified his inner loneliness and anguish.

At the same time, Hua Rongsheng and his wife, who had hired a carriage, started their journey in the evening. After three hours of bumpy ride in the carriage, they were getting farther and farther away from the town where they had stayed before.

Although Hua Rongsheng and Ye Maochun regretted not recognizing their daughter, escaping was the most important thing at the moment, because they knew very well that only when they were safe could Hua Qingcheng be free from the control of Xiahou Jing and her daughter.

Hua Rongsheng finally calmed down and realized that the carriage they were riding in had already deviated from the wide and flat official road and went into a dense forest covered with weeds.

A sense of crisis immediately surged within Hua Rongsheng. She quickly patted Ye Maochun, who was dozing beside her, awake, and lifted the carriage curtain. Confusedly, she asked the driver, "Sister, are you taking the wrong road? Why does this road... seem to be getting further and further off?"

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