Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The bridal escort team could not find a courier station to stay at tonight and could only sleep in the wilderness.
They set up two tents. One was for Princess Tao Ran, and the other was for the Ninth Prince of the Chen Nation, Han Chengxi. The others from the Chen Nation spent the night in the carriage.
Xiao Juan arranged for the Eagle Guards to bury the pot and cook.
Princess Tao Ran carried a food box to Xiao Juan and said eagerly.
“Brother MO Zhu, you should be hungry, right? This is a snack I brought from the palace. It’s delicious. Try it.”
Xiao Juan refused calmly. “Thank you, but there’s no need.”
“We’re so familiar with each other. You don’t have to be polite to me.”
As Princess Tao Ran spoke, she opened the food box, picked up a pastry, and brought it to Xiao Juan’s mouth.
“I’ll feed you. Don’t worry. I washed my hands. They’re clean.”
Xiao Juan raised his hand and mercilessly waved the pastry to the ground.
“I told you, I’m not eating.”
With that, he turned around and walked away.
Princess Tao Ran looked at the pastry on the ground and her expression turned extremely ugly.
Before she left the palace, Noble Consort Shu had someone send her knockout powder.
She thought that as long as she could knock Xiao Juan out, she could pretend to sleep with him. Even if nothing happened between the two of them, it was enough to implicate Xiao Juan.
At that time, he could only marry her.
In order to make Xiao Juan take the knockout powder, Princess Tao Ran tried her best to coax Xiao Juan to eat along the way. However, be it tea or pastries, as long as it was something she gave him, he would not even touch it.
This made all her plans fall through.
Princess Tao Ran turned to look at Xiao Juan and realized that he was eating his own dry rations and water.
He had been like this all the way, eating only the food he had brought.
She heard that Yu Niaoniao had prepared the food for him.
Princess Tao Ran’s fingers turned pale as she held the food box. She was crazy with jealousy.
The food she gave him was swept to the ground, but the food Yu Niaoniao gave him was savored carefully as if it was a treasure.
From this, it could be seen how different their statuses were in his eyes.
It was not an exaggeration to say that there was a world of difference.
Princess Tao Ran took a deep breath and told herself to calm down.
At this point, the knockout powder would definitely not work.
She could only use her ultimate move.
She was about to return to the tent when she bumped into Han Chengxi.
Startled, she stepped back quickly.
Han Chengxi reached out to help her.
“Are you all right, Your Highness?”
Princess Tao Ran shook off her hand and said angrily, “Stay away from me!” With that, she walked towards the tent.
Han Chengxi looked at her slender back and curled his lips into an ambiguous smile.
After dinner, Xiao Juan casually found a tree and flew up with Qinggong.
He sat on the branch with his back against the trunk and bent one leg over it. He wrapped his arms around the No Return Saber and closed his eyes to rest.
By midnight, everyone was asleep. The camp was silent except for the soft rustling of leaves as the evening wind stirred them.
Suddenly, Xiao Juan opened his eyes silently.
He sat up slightly and raised his hand to push aside the leaves in front of him. He looked down and saw Princess Tao Ran walking out of the tent.
She was alone and had no maids or guards.
Xiao Juan watched her walk deeper into the forest.
Seeing her walk further and further away, Xiao Juan jumped and landed steadily on the ground.
He called out to Princess Tao Ran twice.
However, Princess Tao Ran acted as if she did not hear him and continued walking.
Xiao Juan was in charge of escorting her to the Chen Nation, so he had to ensure her safety along the way.
He called over two Eagle Guards who were in charge of the night shift and asked them to follow and take a look. He did not want anything to happen to Princess Tao Ran.
The two Eagle Guards chased after Princess Tao Ran.
The three of them quickly disappeared into the thick night.
Xiao Juan waited for almost half an hour, but he did not see Princess Tao Ran return or the two Eagle Guards.
He had a bad feeling. He immediately called everyone in the camp and mobilized them to go out and look for her.
Xiao Juan could not stay idle. He personally entered the forest and searched for Princess Tao Ran.
Suddenly, he saw a corner of a shirt flash past from the corner of his eye!
Xiao Juan immediately used his Qinggong to chase after him. Soon, he caught up to him.
The other party was the missing Princess Tao Ran!
Xiao Juan grabbed her arm to stop her from running around.
“Why are you running around in the middle of the night?!”
Princess Tao Ran cried until her face was covered in tears. “I feel terrible. I don’t want to go to the Chen Nation. I don’t want to marry an old man. Brother MO Zhu, please take me away!”
With that, she plunged into Xiao Juan’s arms and hugged his waist tightly, unwilling to let go.
A faint fragrance entered Xiao Juan’s nose.
Instinctively, he pushed her away.
“Stop fooling around! You agreed to the marriage yourself. How can you go back on your word? Go back with me obediently now!”
Princess Tao Ran refused to give up and pounced on him again.
“Brother MO Zhu, I really like you very much. For you, I can do anything. Please take pity on me and stop pushing me away, okay?” Xiao Juan took a step back and easily dodged her.
She missed and fell to the ground.
Xiao Juan had no intention of reaching out to help her.
He stood watching her coldly, waiting for her to get up on her own. unexpectedly, sne could not get up ror a long time.
Xiao Juan felt that something was wrong.
He bent down and reached out to grab Princess Tao Ran’s arm.
“Hey, are you okay?”
The night in the mountains was very cold, but Princess Tao Ran was dressed very lightly. She was wearing a tube top dress and a light gauze smock.
Through the thin gauze, Xiao Juan could clearly feel that Princess Tao Ran’s temperature was very high.
The next moment, he saw Princess Tao Ran look up, revealing a tear-stained face.
Her cheeks were abnormally flushed, and her eyes were misty. Her lips were slightly parted, and she kept muttering. She looked drunk, and her body kept squirming.
The light muslin smock she was wearing outside slipped off, revealing a large area of snow-white skin.
What was worse was that Xiao Juan felt his body heat up.
At this point, if he still didn’t know what had happened, he would have wasted all his years of experience working on cases.
Xiao Juan quickly let go of Princess Tao Ran’s arm and took two steps back.
“What spices are you using?”
In order to be sure, Princess Tao Ran used almost all the spices Noble Consort Shu had given her. Not only did she sprinkle spices on her clothes, shoes, and socks, but she also soaked herself in spices.
She maximized the effect of the spice, but she did not expect it to be so powerful..