Several months have passed, and Gan Qiongying has not sent him any further news since she sent that letter.

Now all the neighboring countries know that the Crown Prince of Jinchuan is lavishly selecting concubines, but Gan Qiongying has not appeared at all.

Not a single message came through. It was impossible for her to be unaware of this within Nanzhao territory… Li Hua thought resentfully, she must not care.

Or perhaps she had seen through her own blatant tricks, watching it like a joke about someone struggling to survive under the weight of their obsession.

Watch him become so overjoyed by receiving a letter from her that he does foolish things; watch him crave her to the point of madness, yet be completely helpless.

How long is she going to make him wait? Or is she going to make him wait indefinitely?

Li Hua waited until she began to hate her.

He vowed that as long as she appeared by his side, as long as she appeared in front of him, he would never let her leave him again, even if it meant death!

Li Hua even had a golden cage built so that whenever Gan Qiongying appeared or dared to come back, Li Hua would lock her up inside.

From now on, I will raise her like a bird, keeping her by my side. Even if she grows wings that can soar, I will never allow her to fly again!

However, Li Hua returned to the palace this time to arrange what Zhongli Zhengzhen was going to do next. After arranging it, he was going to the northwestern border of Nanzhao.

His men sent word that a suspicious person was frequently in contact with Chen's army in the Northwest.

Li Hua suspected that the person was Gan Lin.

Wherever there is sweet rain, there will be Gan Qiongying.

Li Hua is going to personally catch her lark and put it in a cage.

Li Hua rode his horse back to the main courtyard of the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace. The main courtyard was full of his people, and it was like a watershed of power.

Once inside the main courtyard, the simultaneous appearance of both princes would not cause any panic among the people.

Li Hua has thoroughly purged the people here several times, and no one dares to utter a word, nor does anyone dare to spread the news of what happened in the main courtyard.

Even Zhongli Zhengzhen and his foolish crown princess usually lived in the side courtyard, while only Li Hua and his most trusted people lived in the main courtyard.

Li Hua rode on a tall horse and entered through the main gate of the East Palace. At first, he walked on the main road, but as he walked, Li Hua became a little impatient.

He closed his eyes and thought of the shadow guard he had captured in Qinzhou a couple of days ago, but the shadow guard refused to say anything except, "So you are the prince consort."

Li Hua couldn't bring himself to do it, which made him extremely frustrated.

I rushed back these past few days because I heard that someone in the court was trying to find out about the Crown Prince. Li Hua had to settle everything before he could go to the northwest of Nanzhao.

It's quite a distance from this main road to where he's resting.

Li Hua returned exhausted after traveling day and night. Turning to those around him, he said, "You may all disperse now. After you have rested, gather before my palace tomorrow morning."

After saying that, he pulled on the reins, turned the horse around, and took a shortcut, heading straight for his residence in the main courtyard from the small path behind the East Palace.

However, not all of Li Hua's people dispersed; there were still others following him. These were Li Hua's personal attendants and guards.

They followed the horse along a side road, but before they could even gallop along it, they encountered a sedan chair.

The sedan chair stopped at the remote back entrance. A group of people surrounded the sedan chair, and soon a woman with a veil covering her head came out and handed her hand to a nanny beside her.

At this moment, Li Hua and his companions had already ridden their horses to the side of the sedan chair.

Originally, as long as they rode past, no one would ask who was in the sedan chair. Li Hua had already given instructions that as long as Zhongli Zhengzhen did not collude with court officials to try to escape, all his requests should be fulfilled as much as possible.

In his absence, he was the master of the Eastern Palace. Apart from not being allowed to do things that Li Hua did not permit, some of Li Hua's people were now at Zhongli Zhengzhen's command.

However, Zhongli Zheng would meticulously compile every move into a letter, sending one to Li Hua's desk every day.

Li Hua was dressed in soft armor with a straight back and long hair tied high on her head with a golden crown, looking every bit the part of a phoenix with the blood of dragons and the marrow of phoenixes.

The sound of horses' hooves striking the ground was very clear, and Gan Qiongying had already heard it, but she didn't pay attention to it. She couldn't see anything at the moment; it was pitch black everywhere, and her head was covered.

Moreover, this is the backyard, and not many lights are turned on in the backyard. It's barely enough to see anything, but it's all blurry and unclear.

Gan Qiongying placed her hand in the old woman's hand and followed them forward.

Just as the two were about to pass each other, a gust of wind blew by, causing Gan Qiongying's veil to flutter but not fall off. Her long skirt, however, was lifted by the wind and caught by Li Hua's peripheral vision.

Li Hua tilted his head slightly.

Realizing that it was the direction of Zhongli Zhengzhen's courtyard, Li Hua's attendant shrewdly reined in his horse and asked, "Who is it?"

The old woman supporting Gan Qiongying immediately stopped. Having moved around in the main courtyard, she naturally knew who the real master was.

They had already been trained very well, and the two mistresses in the courtyard would greet Zhongli Zheng with respect, calling him "Your Highness the Crown Prince".

However, he would not rashly greet Li Hua upon seeing him.

If it's not an unavoidable head-on collision, then she'll call him "Master." Otherwise, she'll just tell them to pretend they didn't see her.

He didn't like being called the Crown Prince.

He wasn't used to being called the Crown Prince; he preferred to be called the Imperial Son-in-Law.

But nowadays, no one calls me by that name anymore.

As soon as the guards beside Li Hua asked a question, the old woman immediately stepped forward in a state of fear and trepidation.

He replied, "Young General, this is the concubine that His Highness the Crown Prince specifically requested to take as his concubine a few days ago."

Li Hua frowned slightly upon hearing this. Zhongli Zhengzhen... did he think Wen Xueling wasn't noisy enough?

Besides, those women weren't actually meant for him to take as concubines.

Li Hua sat on her tall horse and turned her head to look at the figure whose head was covered by a veil. The figure looked somewhat helpless because the nanny had suddenly let go of her hand.

The light was extremely dim, and the quiet and oppressive atmosphere of this dimly lit backyard made one want to go to a bright place as soon as possible.

But Li Hua only glanced in that direction before freezing on his horse.

The earth cracked open and lava erupted, like seawater flowing backwards towards the sky, and the blood in Li Hua's body flowed upwards.

Suddenly, it was as if thousands of shattered lights flashed before his eyes, like countless stars falling to earth like shooting stars.

Li Hua's pupils trembled violently at the sight of his figure, faintly outlined by the night breeze.

It suddenly magnified amidst a thunderous, overwhelming blow.

I searched for her a thousand times in the crowd, and suddenly, turning around, I found her... right there where the lights were dim.