Hibiscus as a Painting

Chapter 189

Zi Jin suddenly came to her senses and comforted him, "Qingzhen is no longer safe. Master's wife should go back to Rouge Valley with Master and wait for me. I can't rest easy if he goes alone."

Qiu Baifeng said, "How can your master and I feel at ease if you go alone? I will go with you."

Zi Jin smiled slightly: "Don't worry, Master's wife, I'm just following secretly and won't act rashly. Besides, Master is injured and needs your care. You should go back to Rouge Valley and wait for me."

Qiu Baifeng glanced at Zi Jin with some concern, frowned and considered for a long time before taking out her purse: "Use these loose silver coins on the road... Be careful in everything."

Zi Jin took Qiu Baifeng's purse, tied it carefully around her waist, and then chuckled, "Master and Mistress are waiting in Rouge Valley. Once I catch that runaway fool, I'll give him a good beating."

Qiu Baifeng straightened Zi Jin's clothes and tapped Zi Jin's forehead: "You still have the mind to joke at a time like this? Go on your way... Be careful on the road."

Zi Jin tied the golden whip back to her waist, chuckled at Qiu Baifeng, and then disappeared into the night with a few leaps.

Qiu Baifeng frowned as she watched Zi Jin's disappearing figure, her heart still uneasy. She leaped up, her toes barely touching the ground, and sped towards Qingzhen.

Love and hate leave no trace, deep affection is hard to wait for; the descendants of the gods, three generations of marriage and resentment, flowers bloom and wither in their time (Part 1)

Flowers bloom and fade in their time (Part 1) Because Prince Anle's body was unusually weak after taking half an antidote, the carriage moved unusually slowly. Inside the carriage, Prince Anle kept staring at Sikou Xunxiang, who was sitting with his eyes closed, and hesitated several times before speaking.

After a long while, Sikou Xun slightly opened his eyes: "Le'er, do you want some water?... Or are you feeling unwell?"

Prince Anle shook his head slightly, lowering his eyes little by little, his long eyelashes obscuring them. After a long while, he said, "Why didn't you send someone to secretly... her... you..." He licked his dry lips, a bitter smile appearing on his lips, but he didn't finish his sentence. He slowly closed his eyes, concealing the worry and complexity in them.

Sikou Xunxiang smiled faintly as he tidied Anle Wang's hair, which was damp with sweat. "Le'er, don't worry. Right now, ordinary people can't touch her. Don't be anxious, Le'er. I didn't want to put you in a difficult position. Since you say that child belongs to our Sikou family, then he belongs to the Sikou family. I've given her and that child a proper status, so... after I leave, they won't make things difficult for you."

Prince Anle suddenly opened his eyes and stared blankly at Sikou Xunxiang: "Brother... are you still leaving?"

Si Kou Xunxiang looked into Anle Wang's eyes and said in a low voice, "Le'er... you are no longer a child. I can't stay with you forever. Chen Kingdom was originally meant to be left to you by your father. As for that child... if you like him, then keep him. But as for the throne, Le'er, you still need to consider it carefully. After all, this country is what your father has worked his whole life to obtain."

Anle gripped Sikou Xunxiang's clothes tightly, her whole body trembling uncontrollably, her face growing increasingly pale: "Now that you have her... you feel that this empire and I are just a burden... is that it? Brother... do you know... how cruel you are? You are clearly the eldest son of the Sikou family, this empire is your responsibility, and that little mute girl was my first... Brother... can you really bear to treat me like this? Can you really bear to treat me like this? The Sikou family... the Sikou family now only has the two of us left, can you really be so heartless as to abandon me? Are you really going to abandon me?"

Sikou Xunxiang slowly lowered his eyes and gently patted Prince Anle to comfort him, saying, "Le'er, don't think too much. Now you just need to rest and recover. Although you are feeling a little uncomfortable right now, you will feel much better after tonight. Go to sleep for a while."

As Prince Anle looked at Sikou Xunxiang's lowered eyes, he slowly closed them, a mocking smile appearing on his lips.

The carriage moved extremely slowly, covering only a little over a hundred li by the morning of the second day. Qi Yongyue, observing the distance, understood that Sikou Xunxiang was intentionally delaying, but he did not expose him. The Crown Prince had already anticipated this when he gave them the time, and since Sikou Xunxiang had cooperated so readily, he did not need to force them further.

The scorching summer sun felt like it was burning everyone, and the guards were exhausted from a night's journey. In contrast, King Anle looked much better after a night's rest. Finally, at a water source, King Anle ordered a short rest, giving everyone a chance to catch their breath.

Prince Anle sat under the shade of a tree, gazing thoughtfully at the carriage beneath. Having traveled only a little over a hundred li, Prince Anle could already see that his elder brother was utterly exhausted. Since the latter half of the previous night, Sikou Xunxiang had slept soundly, only waking in the early morning, his brow furrowed with undisguised fatigue and discomfort. The temperature had gradually risen along the way, and although Sikou Xunxiang's body remained cool, beads of sweat constantly appeared on his forehead. He tried his best to wipe them away discreetly, but to no avail.

Prince Anle understood the consequences of Sikou Xunxiang breaking through his acupoints that day, but he hadn't expected it to be so severe. Losing all his martial arts skills was bad enough, but why was he so weak? Prince Anle felt a tightness in his chest, an indescribable bitterness and pain in his heart.

Jin Yu, carrying a pot of water, glanced at Qi Yongyue, who was pretending to sleep with his eyes closed in the distance, and quickly walked towards Prince Anle. He respectfully handed the pot of water to Prince Anle and whispered a few words to him in a low voice.

King Anle suddenly opened his eyes, glanced discreetly into the depths of the woods, then turned to Jin Yu and asked loudly, "Is the stream in the distance still clear?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the water is crystal clear."

King Anle slowly stood up: "Go find me a robe, I need to take a bath."

"The stream water is too cold, and Master is still recovering from a serious illness..."

"Go when I tell you to!" King Anle said impatiently.

Qi Yongyue opened his eyes and glanced at Prince Anle walking towards the woods, then turned over and continued to feign sleep.

"Le'er." Sikou Xunxiang's voice came from inside the carriage.

Prince Anle paused, turned and walked towards the carriage, asking in a low voice, "Brother, what's wrong?"

"Although it's the height of summer, the stream water is still a bit cool. Just wash up quickly and don't stay too long."

King Anle said, "I understand. I haven't slept all night. Don't worry about these things. Get some sleep first. We'll continue our journey after this hottest period is over."

"Okay, go ahead."

Jin Yu, holding the robe in his hands, followed closely behind Prince Anle. Only when they reached the depths of the woods did he speak again: “My lord, the Emperor has abandoned the young lady for your sake, willing to exchange his wedding for the antidote. The young lady has been following us so closely; she must be filled with resentment. I hope you will kindly comfort her and let her return first…”

Prince Anle suddenly turned around and glanced at Jin Yu sideways: "If I find out that you've been talking nonsense to her, I will definitely cripple you!"

Jin Yu silently lowered his head: "Yes."

Zi Jin clutched the few silver ingots in her purse, groaning in despair as she held her stomach. She hadn't seen a single teahouse along the way, and even with the silver, she was still going to starve.

Zi Jin plunged her face into the water and gulped it down for a while. She was hot and hungry. Would she get heatstroke?

Before the King of Anle even got close, he saw Zi Jin with a bitter face, clutching a small purse in her hand. Her night clothes were already half wet, with the sleeves rolled up high and her arms hanging down.

"What kind of behavior is this!"

Startled, Zi Jin almost reflexively leaped up and fled across the water to the other side.

King Anle stared blankly at Zi Jin, who had reached the other side in the blink of an eye. The joy and complex emotions that welled up in his heart upon seeing Zi Jin were instantly replaced by shock.

Zi Jin only saw the person approaching when she reached the other side of the river. She frowned, looked at the person who was standing there in a daze, and then turned and walked further away.

"Half a year has passed, and things have changed quite a bit. I'll have to deal with you first!" Seeing Zi Jin's indifference towards him, King Anle felt an indescribable rage. He suddenly leaped up, flew to the other side, and attacked Zi Jin's back.

Zi Jin suddenly turned around, her dark eyes icy cold. She drew her golden whip from her waist and, almost instantly, attacked Prince Anle with all her might.

Prince Anle dodged to the side, lightly touching the ground with his toes, easily avoiding Zi Jin's attack.

Zi Jin frowned slightly, turned around, and lashed out at Prince Anle's vitals. Prince Anle was slightly taken aback and narrowly avoided the whip, but even so, his waist was still heavily slashed by the end of the whip.

Prince Anle clutched his waist, quickly took two steps back, and stared blankly at Zi Jin.