"What?" Ye Qingcheng was taken aback.
"If the Regent's Estate isn't safe enough to protect you, I truly don't know where else you could go to recuperate," he said, looking at her.
She sighed and said, "This concubine isn't saying the estate is unsafe..."
"Then stay put obediently and don't always think of leaving my side."
Did this woman understand his feelings for her at all? Why did she always want to leave?
Ye Qingcheng felt a little wronged. "Your Highness is scolding this concubine again."
Xiao Wangye knitted his brows, his expression softening slightly.
"If you were more obedient, I wouldn't treat you this way," he said.
After a pause, Xiao Wangye continued to emphasize, "I don't ask much of you. The most important thing is that you are not allowed to leave my side. Can you remember that?"
She thought to herself, if I say I can't remember, won't he lock me up?
She felt that if she really said that, Xiao Wangye would indeed lock her up; he was that kind of person.
Therefore, the not-so-foolish Ye Qingcheng nodded with a smile, "Your Highness is so good to this concubine, how could this concubine think of leaving you?"
"Don't you think I'm unreasonable?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
"How could that be! Who said that? Be careful not to let me meet them. If I do, I'll give them a good beating. Our Prince is such a good person, how could he be unreasonable?" Her skill at lying and bluffing had reached new heights through practice and refinement.
She said these words, and Xiao Wangye listened.
Even though he knew she was just talking nonsense, Xiao Wangye was still uninhibited and didn't feel anything was amiss.
Thus, he hadn't anticipated Ye Qingcheng's actions that night.
That night, Ye Qingcheng stealthily got up and retrieved several sleeping bugs she had obtained from Gu Qingyuan, the young master of the Marquis's estate, a few days prior.
She carefully placed the sleeping bugs on Xiao Wangye, watching him for a moment.
She lowered her voice and said, "Your Highness, I'm truly sorry, but I had no choice but to leave. It's not because I don't like you, nor because I want to leave you."
Sighing, Ye Qingcheng leaned in and kissed Xiao Wangye's cheek before turning him over and getting out of bed.
She rode her horse alone, fleeing the Regent's Estate and the capital.
Along the way, only the bright moon and gentle breeze accompanied her. Ye Qingcheng couldn't help but ask herself if she felt any remorse towards Xiao Wangye by leaving like this.
She thought about it seriously and concluded that she did.
However, in another aspect, she used to live a carefree and unrestrained life. Recently, in order to complete her so-called mission, she hadn't experienced anything as thrilling as riding a horse at full speed for a long time.
Therefore, Ye Qingcheng felt more excitement than anything else.
However, her excitement did not last long.
Just as she exited the capital and entered a forest, the horse beneath Ye Qingcheng suddenly stumbled, throwing her a considerable distance.
She got up, gritting her teeth, rubbing her backside as she walked over and crouched down to examine the horse. She wanted to know what had happened to the horse.
By the faint moonlight filtering down from the horizon, Ye Qingcheng was utterly astonished to find that the horse's eyes were wide open, and it was completely lifeless.
The horse had died suddenly.
Ye Qingcheng found it strange again. Why were there always people dying suddenly around her lately? First, it was an unknown woman by the privy in the tavern, then a young servant in the tea house, and now it was the horse.
Would she herself die suddenly at some point?
Ye Qingcheng no longer dwelled on it. She stood up and looked around.
This was a forest outside the city, with scattered houses. However, as it was late, most of the houses were dark, and their occupants were asleep.
Not wanting to disturb the households with their lights out, she picked a house with its lights still on and knocked on the door: "Is anyone home? Is anyone there?"
There was no answer.
Ye Qingcheng found it strange. She pressed her ear to the door and listened carefully for a moment, finding not a single sound from within the house.
She found it even stranger.
Ye Qingcheng reached out and placed her hand on the door, pushing it gently as she spoke politely: "Excuse me, I'll just come in to take a look. If I've offended you in any way, I'm truly sor..."
Before she could finish saying "sorry," Ye Qingcheng's mouth fell open involuntarily, her expression one of extreme shock at the sight before her.
The entire room was indeed lit by candlelight, shining brightly.
But the people in the room were all dead, either slumped over the table or lying on the floor. Everyone was motionless, their bodies covered in blood.
Ye Qingcheng sensed no sign of life from these people; it was truly a room full of dead bodies!
Ye Qingcheng instinctively looked down at herself and was surprised to find that her entire body was covered in blood!
She could no longer contain her fear and let out a scream: "Ah!"
The situation was too bizarre, and Ye Qingcheng's fear was more intense than ever before. She bolted out the door and fled in panic.
She didn't know how many days it had been since she had been hiding outside the city.
During these days, Ye Qingcheng had been in a daze. Her skirt hem had been torn by sharp branches that night when she escaped, her hair was a bit messy, and her face was smudged with dust, but she paid no mind to it.
She would hide under eaves for a night and then forage for wild fruits in the forest during the day, or if she was lucky, someone who recognized her or was kind-hearted would bring her some roasted or cooked meat or delicate pastries.
However, Ye Qingcheng was still too embarrassed to freeload and generally chose to fend for herself.
One day, Ye Qingcheng was trying to jump up and pick the fruit from a tree branch. She jumped several times but failed to succeed.
The branch was too high, and Ye Qingcheng clearly couldn't reach it.
She felt a bit dejected and glared at the fruit for a moment, sticking out her tongue. "If I can't have you, I don't want you. I'll find something else."
Just then, an arm reached out from behind her, effortlessly plucked the fruit from the branch, and then offered it to her.
Ye Qingcheng was not unfamiliar with these hands.
She did not take the fruit. Looking at the man standing before her, her eyes welled up, and she said, "Your Highness."
Xiao Wangye frowned, his expression looking rather haggard. Hearing her call him, he gave a wry smile. "It's hard on you that you still remember me."
"Of course, I remember. How could this concubine forget you, Your Highness?" she said, looking at him.
"Then why did you leave that day?"
And in his heart, he blamed himself.
Hearing Xiao Wangye's question, she lowered her eyes. "Didn't this concubine tell Your Highness? This concubine wanted to find a place to recuperate properly."
"And this is what you call recuperating?" he asked, frowning and staring intently at her.