Chapter 8: Catch the Chicken
Shen Yuexi carried a bucket into the cave and said as she walked, "Husband, I'm so lucky today. I found a bucket by the stream."
Xiao Zhuo was adding firewood to the fire. He turned around when he heard the sound, raised his eyebrows, and glanced at her face.
Of course, Shen Yuexi knew what he was looking at. She had been filthy all the way, but now that she had washed clean, revealing her original complexion, she looked like a completely different person.
The original owner was a natural beauty. Although she was a little thin, it did not affect her graceful appearance at all. Despite the torture she suffered during exile, her beauty was not damaged.
In this era of blind marriages, this was probably the first time Xiao Zhuo saw her appearance clearly.
She placed the bucket next to the fire as if nothing had happened, sat down next to Xiao Zhuo with confidence, smiled brightly at him, stretched out her cold hands and rubbed them in front of the fire, feeling the rare warmth.
Ever since she came here, she had been neither human nor ghost, like a stray dog. It was not until this moment that she felt that her suffering body and mind had been healed.
Although it was a cold shower, it felt so good to wash off all the dirt.
As I was enjoying it, I suddenly smelled an aroma in my nose, like roasted earth, but with the unique aroma of food.
She turned her head and saw Xiao Zhuo holding up a blackened, steaming ball of earth.
What is this?
Before she could even ask a question, Xiao Zhuo had already thrown the ball of dirt to her: "Here."
"Wow! It's so hot!"
Shen Yuexi took it subconsciously, and it felt hot the moment she touched it. She threw it out with both hands, and the ball of earth fell to the ground and cracked, and a fragrant hot steam gushed out from the crack.
Xiao Zhuo picked up the things that fell on the ground, placed them on a few leaves and said, "Hold the leaves in your hands and they won't be hot."
"What is it?" She held the soil ball in her hands and carefully peeled off the steaming soil shell with a knife. She saw that there was a layer of brown shell underneath the soil shell, which had been broken into pieces, revealing the tender white egg white inside.
It's pheasant eggs.
With a smile on her face, she used the back of her knife to hit the earthen shells that wrapped the eggs, breaking them into pieces.
Whether something is good or not depends on what it is compared with.
Compared with the steamed buns that were covered in mud, cold and hard, the eggs were definitely a feast for the eyes.
Xiao Zhuo turned around and dug out a hot pheasant egg from the charcoal pile next to him.
"Delicious," she took a big bite and gave a thumbs-up in praise, "I didn't expect that you, as the crown prince, would do such a thing."
If most of the eggshells and the soil crust hadn't been stuck together, she would have eaten the eggshells too.
Pure natural, pollution-free, the most delicious food in the world.
After a delicious meal of roasted eggs, they both felt exhausted and fell asleep on their thatched beds.
In the dim light, Shen Yuexi heard faint footsteps.
Is Xiao Zhuo getting up?
She opened her sleepy eyes, looked across the cave, passed the fire with wisps of blue smoke, and noticed the light coming through the cave entrance. It was sunlight.
It felt like I had just closed my eyes for a moment, but it was already bright outside.
Xiao Zhuo was beside her, already up and looking towards the top of the cave. When he saw her wake up, he immediately lowered his head and put his finger to his lips, silencing her.
Looking at Xiao Zhuo's nervous expression, Shen Yuexi immediately felt that the situation was not good. She gently squeezed Xiao Zhuo's hand to show that she already knew.
A man's voice with an irritable tone came from the top of the cave. Although separated by rocks, it could be heard clearly.
"Has the whereabouts of the deposed crown prince not been discovered yet?"
Shen Yuexi was shocked. It turned out that the pursuers had not left at all. They just waited until dawn because it was inconvenient to search on a rainy night.
Thinking about how she almost screamed out loud just now, she felt a little scared.
Fortunately, Xiao Zhuo was alert enough. If he had run away, he really didn't know whether he could successfully escape these people's pursuit.
At this time, another somewhat reserved man's voice rang out: "Sir, they are in this woods anyway. I guarantee that they have definitely not left..."
"Stop swearing and let them go find him. If we let the deposed crown prince escape, we'll all be in big trouble."
Shen Yuexi sat up gently and looked at Xiao Zhuo nervously.
They didn't expect that the enemy was right outside the cave, above their heads. What should they do now?
Xiao Zhuo noticed her nervousness, held her slender hand, and motioned her to go with him.
Before he could move, he heard another voice from above his head.
This time, the reserved voice began: "Sir, the deposed Crown Prince is still your Majesty's biological son after all. Why does your Majesty act this way? Deposing and exiling him is not enough..."
"Shut up," an irritated voice shouted. "Your Majesty's will is not something you or I can arbitrarily speculate on. We are only following orders. If we see the deposed Crown Prince and the deposed Crown Princess, we will kill them without mercy."
"Yes, yes." The restrained voice replied.
Kill without mercy.
Unexpectedly, this emperor was so cruel and ruthless. Exiling him was not enough, he actually sent people to hunt down the prince and even spared her.
Shen Yuexi held Xiao Zhuo's hand tightly and looked at the arrow wound on his right shoulder with concern.
Although the arrow had been pulled out and the bleeding had stopped, the wound was still there. If the enemy discovered them, how could Xiao Zhuo defeat them alone?
Xiao Zhuo held her hand tightly, raised the steel knife in his right hand, and slowly moved along the cave wall towards the cave entrance.
An irritated voice said, "I'll go check over there. You two search this area. Remember, if you find the deposed crown prince, don't engage him. Send out the alarm immediately."
After that, footsteps were heard overhead, gradually fading away.
Shen Yuexi felt a headache.
This is trouble. Given Xiao Zhuo's current condition, even if he can kill one, he probably won't be able to stop the other from shouting for help.
There were many enemies, one of them was weak and the other was seriously injured.
She looked at Xiao Zhuo and saw that he had a cold brow and a stern expression. He was holding the steel knife tightly, alert to every move outside.
It seems that as soon as the other party does something wrong, the matter will be ended immediately.
The reserved voice above said, "Once we get down this hill, you go look by the stream while I search the nearby grass."
"Yes." Another voice sounded.
Shen Yuexi followed Xiao Zhuo quietly to the cave entrance. She looked out over Xiao Zhuo's shoulder.
Through the thick grass, she could vaguely see a man in black, his back to the cave, casually cutting through the grass with a steel knife. Another person was a few meters ahead of him, walking towards the pool where she was bathing.
This cave is hidden behind dense grass, and it is difficult for ordinary people to notice it unless they look closely.
Shen Yuexi stared at the man in black, folded her hands and prayed in her heart: Don’t see this.
Perhaps it was because she prayed too hard, or because she was lucky, but the man in black casually glanced at the bushes, sheathed his knife, and called out to the person in front of him, "Hey, wait for me."
Shen Yuexi was overjoyed. This way, she and Xiao Zhuo could sneak out together and avoid being ambushed in this small cave.
Xiao Zhuo obviously knew that the opportunity had come. He was half-kneeling on the ground and was slowly getting up.
At this moment, there was a sudden "cluck" sound, and a pheasant with bright feathers jumped out of the grass, more than one meter high, spread its wings and flew into the cave where Shen Yuexi and Xiao Zhuo were.
"Catch that chicken!"
The man in black cried out in surprise and turned around.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com