Seeing that he remained motionless, Qin Chu seemed a little impatient and frowned slightly: "Aren't you cold?"
The eldest prince wanted to say that he wasn't really cold, but then he remembered that Qin Chu had lost so much blood and probably would be cold, so he didn't hesitate any longer and snuggled into Qin Chu's arms.
The other person's body temperature instantly transferred to me, and a familiar arm wrapped around me again.
When Qin Chu first found him, Qin Chu would hold him like this every night when he went to sleep, but he felt that arm was like a chain, and he racked his brains trying to figure out how to escape.
But now, knowing that Qin Chu didn't want to hurt her, the embrace behind her suddenly had a reassuring feel to it.
From childhood to adulthood, he had never experienced such a pure, uncomplicated embrace. His father had never given it to him, nor had his mother, let alone any of the various people he had encountered.
The eldest prince felt a little uncomfortable and couldn't help but want to move around, but he was afraid of aggravating Qin Chu's wound, so he could only obediently curl up in his arms.
Nothing happened that night, and Qin Chu woke up before dawn.
He checked the wound on the back of his neck, found nothing seriously wrong, pulled up his collar, and bent down to wake the child in his arms. To his surprise, he saw that the eldest prince was already awake, his eyes wide open and showing no signs of sleepiness.
Qin Chu stared at the slight shadow under his eyes for a moment, but ultimately said nothing and continued leading his men on their way.
Noah brought good news to Qin Chu: "Sir, the war in the north has indeed started again. This time it is the Xiongnu who have invaded, which has just caught up with the period of truce between the two countries."
But Qin Chu frowned: "How much time is it? If I get to the border from here now, I'll probably be late."
Noah let out a soft "yelp": "This time I risked ruining my image by making this dying emperor sit up in a daze. I left you an imperial edict, appointing you as General of the Cavalry, to lead troops alongside the Grand General. I will have my trusted confidant deliver the edict to the county town ahead, and you can go and get it."
"However, you must be careful. You and the First Prince are both wanted criminals now. Even if you have an imperial decree, it will probably be very troublesome if you are caught."
This actually did Qin Chu a great favor.
Having followed Qin Chu through several cities, the eldest prince did not know where Qin Chu was going, but he did not ask.
He knew Qin Chu wouldn't harm him, and that was enough. He didn't have anywhere he wanted to go; his only goal was to escape his pursuers and survive.
He'll stay with Qin Chu now that he's willing to, and he'll leave whenever Qin Chu no longer wants him.
They traveled quickly, avoiding government troops, and hardly stopped in the previous small towns. However, Qin Chu stayed in this northern city for two days, even taking him for a stroll through the market.
This city may not be as bustling as the capital, but it still has plenty of small stalls and vendors selling their wares.
They got up very early and strolled through the market right at breakfast time, the air filled with the aroma of breakfast.
Qin Chu led the horse slowly forward. He sat on the horse and had the same view as the adults, just able to see the steaming hot buns that had just come out of the steamer by the roadside, as well as the fried dough sticks in the oil pan.
His stomach growled slightly, but the eldest prince didn't show anything, simply looking away.
He knew they were having a hard time, because he had left his belongings at the Prime Minister's residence, leaving them without travel expenses or provisions. If they were in the wild, Qin Chu could always find some pheasants and rabbits to eat, but as they traveled north, the mountains and forests had become increasingly desolate.
They only ate one meal yesterday.
After wandering around the market for a long time, the eldest prince couldn't help but look at the food in the children's hands as they ran past.
If Qin Chu wasn't there, he could go and snatch the things back.
However, after weighing the food and Qin Chu's options, the eldest prince ultimately remained obediently seated on his horse and did not move.
Chapter 61, Fourth Story (7)
When Qin Chu finally left the market, he bought a flatbread.
The pancakes were fried until golden brown, with minced meat sandwiched in the middle. The eldest prince had been staring at them subtly for a long time. He couldn't help but swallow, and his stomach rumbled again.
He watched as Qin Chu took the wrapped fried dough from the stall owner, broke off a small half and handed it to him, and put the other half into his bundle.
The eldest prince took the small half of the fried cake and quickly ate it all, but after finishing it, he became even hungrier.
At first, the hunger was bearable when there was no food, but once you ate a little something, the rapidly growing hunger became unbearable.
The eldest prince forced himself to look away from the remaining half of the cake in Qin Chu's hand.
They had no money and very little food. Qin Chu was older than him, so it was only natural that he ate more. Besides, the eldest prince knew that Qin Chu didn't actually like taking care of him.
When Qin Chu first brought him back to the military camp, Qin Chu completely forgot about feeding him. It wasn't until a day later, when he fell down from hunger, that Qin Chu remembered he had someone else who needed to be fed.
But from then on, Qin Chu never let him go hungry again.
He shouldn't ask for too much; Qin Chu doesn't owe him anything.
He won't kill him, and he'll protect him; that's enough.
After spending the night at the Prime Minister's residence, the eldest prince no longer harbored any suspicion towards Qin Chu. In fact, it could be said that in this world, he only trusted Qin Chu, and only Qin Chu would not harm him.
However, he could not use this reason to expect Qin Chu to treat him kindly, or even give him the precious food.
Before leaving the city, Qin Chu bought another bag of hard candy from a candy stall, but he also put it in his bundle.
The eldest prince withdrew his gaze, lowered his head, and fiddled with the reins in his hands.
He thought to himself that he wasn't exactly a lovable child, and Qin Chu had seen through him long ago, so it was only right that he didn't give it to him.
Qin Chu went out that evening, leaving his bundle behind. The eldest prince obediently did not rummage through it or steal any candy from it.
After Qin Chu returned the next day, they continued their journey, but at a noticeably slower pace.
Qin Chu didn't quite understand the route.
He dragged Noah out, but all Noah gave him was the official road leading to the border. The army was taking this road, but they had set off earlier than Qin and Chu, and it would be difficult to catch up with a child behind them.
By the time he reached the border battlefield via this route, the battle would have probably been raging for a month.
Qin Chu wanted to take the shortcut shown on the map, but he didn't know the specific route. Seeing that he was about to reach a remote and sparsely populated area, Qin Chu stopped nearby to think of a solution.
There aren't many residents around, but there are a few children playing in front of the door.
After watching for a while, Qin Chu took the initiative to walk over to the children.
The eldest prince's gaze immediately followed Qin Chu. He was somewhat curious because Qin Chu had always been aloof and indifferent, and he had never been particularly warm or friendly with anyone except the soldiers in the military camp.
When he was first brought to the military camp, he heard others teasing Qin Chu all day long, wondering how someone with his personality could take care of a child.
Sometimes, looking at Qin Chu's cold and indifferent demeanor, he would think that perhaps it wasn't that Qin Chu disliked him, but that he might just not like all children and wasn't good at getting along with them.
Qin Chu stopped not far from the group of children, crouched down at a distance that wouldn't make them wary, and waved to them.
The group of children were clearly wary of strangers, but after a while, a little girl skipped over and stopped in front of Qin Chu.
"Brother, you're not from our village, are you?" the girl asked.
"I'm just passing by and wanted to ask you, what place is it if I go north along this road?" Qin Chu pointed in the direction he was about to go.
“We can’t go there. People here don’t go that far, otherwise they won’t be able to come back.” The little girl quickly waved her hand, and then added, “My grandma said that if we go north from here, we’ll reach Cangqingzhou.”
Cangqingzhou was a place forcibly occupied by the Xiongnu, and their military camp should have been stationed not far away.
This was not wrong, as Qin Chu had expected. He looked north and pondered for a while. Remembering that the little girl was still in front of him, he reached into his bundle, took out a piece of candy, and handed it to the little girl.
The little girl smiled broadly: "Thank you, brother!"
Watching the little girl run back, Qin Chu turned back to his horse and looked up to meet a pair of dark, reddish eyes. Before he could see them clearly, those eyes quickly lowered and looked away.
Qin Chu paused for two seconds, then turned to refill the water bag. Thinking he hadn't misjudged the situation, he returned to the child and asked, "What's wrong?"
The child looked up at him, then quickly lowered his head again, his eyes seeming even redder.
Qin Chu: "..."
Everything was fine just a moment ago, wasn't it?
The eldest prince couldn't help but turn his head to look at the girl who had run away. Her cheeks were puffed out, clearly from eating candy. Through the curve of her cheeks, he could even see the candy move from one side to the other.
She is eating candy.
The eldest prince gripped the reins tightly. He wasn't upset because the girl had candy, but because the candy was given to him by Qin Chu.
He lowered his head and blinked rapidly, trying to convince himself that it was right for Qin Chu to give candy to other children.
Because that girl wasn't as bad as him. She helped Qin Chu with directions and would sweetly call him "brother Qin Chu." Adults all liked children like that.
And he...
The few times he called Qin Chu "brother" were all attempts to lower Qin Chu's guard, to deceive Qin Chu, and to escape from Qin Chu's side.
Qin Chu wouldn't give him the candy; he bought it for other children.
So... Qin Chu is very nice to other children, but he just dislikes him.
The eldest prince suddenly realized that trusting someone was a terrible thing.
If things were still the same as before, he wouldn't care whether Qin Chu gave candy to others or whether Qin Chu disliked him. He could secretly steal everything from Qin Chu's bundle when Qin Chu wasn't looking.
But now, there's nothing he can do.
He remembered what Qin Chu had done at the Prime Minister's residence, and the warmth he felt around the campfire, so he couldn't do anything.
Holding the reins tightly, the eldest prince heard Qin Chu say again, "The road ahead is a bit dangerous."
He looked up at Qin Chu, who continued, "You can choose not to come with me; I'll leave you at a nearby farmhouse."
The eldest prince tightened his grip on the reins, unable to describe the feeling in his heart.
Do you dislike him before, so now you want to get rid of him?
Mingming had previously thought that if Qin Chu was willing to let him stay, he would follow Qin Chu; if Qin Chu wanted him to leave, he would leave.
But facing this problem so soon, even knowing that the person in front of him didn't like him, the eldest prince still subconsciously said, "I'm not afraid of danger."
Seeing this, Qin Chu said no more.
He was actually a little hesitant. Keeping the eldest prince by his side would be the safest option for the child. Qin Chu hadn't considered the child's feelings before, but seeing his pale face just now, he suddenly thought of this.
Seeing that the eldest prince was still not in high spirits, Qin Chu couldn't figure it out, so he asked Noah for advice.
Noah: "Have you reflected on how many words you've spoken to him since you found him?"
What does this have to do with speaking?
Isn't this child also quiet?
Qin Chu mounted his horse, but surprisingly paid no attention to the child sitting in front of him.
Unless there were ulterior motives, the eldest prince was usually quiet and unlike other children, which made Qin Chu happy to have some peace and quiet. But the situation was clearly different now; the child was hanging his head, looking like a wilted eggplant.
After hesitating for a while, Qin Chu started making conversation for the first time in his life.
He asked the child in his arms, "What's your name?"