Lu Ziyuan immediately knelt on one knee: "Father, how can you say such a thing? Your son will never abandon you and run away alone! If you can't walk anymore, your son will carry you on his back. We will definitely get out of here. Please don't give up."
After saying that, he gestured for the emperor to get on his back, as if he wouldn't leave until the emperor did.
The Emperor sighed and let Lu Ziyuan carry him away. After all, no one wants to wait to die, let alone the Emperor himself.
At this moment, he was filled with regret, regretting that he hadn't brought more personal guards with him and insisted on hunting alone with Lu Ziyuan. As a result, he not only harmed himself but also implicated his son.
...
As darkness fell and the snow gradually subsided, Lu Ziying finally gathered his soldiers and set off to search for them.
However, Zhong Muyu found it strange that Lu Ziying had assigned his personal guards to other teams.
He personally led the search team. After the soldiers set off, Zhong Muyu also secretly left the crowd, brought a horse, and planned to go find it himself.
She was worried about the Crown Prince.
Finding people at night is more difficult than during the day, especially since it gets dark early and the sky is overcast at this time of year. Fortunately, there was no wind. After the snow subsided, Zhong Muyu was able to see her surroundings clearly with her night vision goggles.
Night vision goggles, drones, compasses... Zhong Muyu took out everything she could find. If it weren't for the fact that the mountains and forests were difficult to traverse, she would have liked to just drive the car and flatten the mountain.
Technology is especially important in times like these. Zhong Muyu sat on his horse, watching the thermal images transmitted by the drone bit by bit, and finally found their trail.
Body temperature drops rapidly at night, and both Lu Ziyuan and the Emperor were injured and their physical strength was at its limit. The Emperor, in particular, was listless and had heavy eyelids.
But he absolutely couldn't fall asleep at a time like this, so he could only force himself to stay awake, feeling the world spinning around him. Just as they stopped to rest, a whooshing sound appeared above them.
"What is it?"
The emperor tensed up instantly. The journey had been too dangerous, and he was terrified of encountering any more ferocious beasts.
Lu Ziyuan also became alert, but when he saw a red dot floating on the tree branch, a smile finally bloomed on his frozen face.
It's Zhong Muyu! Zhong Muyu spotted him!
An excited Lu Ziyuan couldn't help but wave in that direction.
This terrified the Emperor. He couldn't see the swaying shadow clearly to begin with, and Lu Ziyuan's sudden agitation made him wonder if he was hallucinating or if something strange was happening to him.
After all, according to legend, mountain spirits love to possess people.
"Yuan'er? Yuan'er, are you alright? Don't scare me..."
Lu Ziyuan then remembered the emperor who was resting against the tree trunk. He quickly ran over and said excitedly, "Father, don't be afraid. We'll be alright soon. Please rest for a while."
After saying this, he cleared a space for the emperor to sit down, and the two of them sat close together to keep warm.
"Yuan'er, aren't we going to continue?"
"Please conserve your energy and leave later."
Lu Ziyuan didn't want to reveal the high-tech details to the Emperor, so he glossed over it.
Upon discovering their trail, Zhong Muyu immediately spurred his horse and headed towards their destination.
The people arranged by the Crown Prince were scattered to search. Zhong Muyu skillfully avoided them and, using the fastest speed, finally found Lu Ziyuan and the Emperor.
"Lu Ziyuan! Father!"
Upon seeing them, Zhong Muyu took off her night vision goggles and waved a flashlight in front of them.
She jumped off her horse and ran over. When the Emperor saw her, he was very surprised: "You are... Yuan'er's princess? What are you doing here?"
“Father, I was just as worried about you, so I avoided everyone and came to find you myself.”
Although the emperor was weak, he still scolded her: "Nonsense! Aren't you, a woman, afraid of encountering any danger? This is really too reckless."
Zhong Muyu smiled and said, "It's alright, and I was the first one to find you. If we had waited for others, it would have taken a long time. His Highness the Crown Prince brought a large number of people to search the mountain."
Lu Ziyuan said, "Father, let's not talk about this now. Please get on your horse."
"Yes, you're all injured. Here are two cloaks I brought. Put them on quickly!"
Zhong Muyu draped the cloaks over the two of them, and then helped the Emperor onto his horse.
"Father, I also brought some dry food and hot water. Please have some."
Zhong Muyu took out some dry food and a thermos and handed them to the emperor. Although he had been walking all day and was very hungry, the emperor only drank some water and did not eat much, perhaps because he had caught a cold.
Zhong Muyu was puzzled. As soon as he touched the Emperor's hand, he immediately said, "Oh no! Father is ill. We must go back quickly!"
Lu Ziyuan asked, "But this horse can't carry three people. How far is it from here to the palace? Will we be able to walk back like this?"
"We still have some distance to go. Let's speed up. We'll definitely see the soldiers coming to search and rescue along the way. We won't be gone for long."
Zhong Muyu then took out a thermos and some dry food for him. After Lu Ziyuan finished eating and drinking, Zhong Muyu touched the wound on his hand with heartache.
"It's nothing, just minor injuries."
"That's no small injury. Do you think I didn't see it? That was a scratch from a wild beast, wasn't it?"
"Hmm, but I don't feel anything anymore, it doesn't hurt."
"Wouldn't that be even more troublesome?"
Zhong Muyu felt extremely distressed. She knew without a doubt that they were facing a life-or-death situation that day.
Concerned about the Emperor's illness, the two walked very fast. Before long, they saw scattered torches ahead. Zhong Muyu waved her flashlight vigorously, and the people came over.
"It's the Emperor! And His Highness Prince Ling and his wife!"
"Your Majesty, I am late in coming to your rescue! Please forgive me!"
The people who came were all the emperor's personal guards, except for Lu Ziying. As soon as they arrived, they all knelt on one knee, looking like they were begging for forgiveness.
The Emperor weakly waved his hand: "Enough of this, take us back quickly."
"Yes, Your Highness, Your Highness, please mount this horse."
After the two mounted their horses, the commander of the personal guards realized something was wrong and couldn't help but look at Zhong Muyu: "Why is the Princess Consort of Ling here too?"
Zhong Muyu said, "Of course I was worried about the Emperor and the Prince, so I came to find them in person. The Emperor is sick, and we can't delay for a moment. Fortunately, I found them first with food, so they were able to travel this far to meet up with you."
The commander of the personal guards clearly didn't believe it, but the Emperor said, "She's right, that's indeed the case..."
The emperor was in a daze, yet he still had the mood to talk to people. The group quickened their pace and finally encountered Lu Ziying's men just as they were about to leave the mountains.
He seemed to have been wandering around the outskirts of the mountains and forests. When he saw the emperor, he was first surprised, then ran over and asked him about his well-being, showing great concern.
Lu Ziyuan said, "Father is injured and ill. Let's go back first, and we can talk about the rest later."
Lu Ziying was even more surprised: "Ah? Then let's hurry back and ask the imperial physician for treatment!"
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