Li Qiongyu intended to take her to the military camp in Jixian. Ye Luan feigned illness, forcing them to stop at a nearby villa.
Upon arriving at the villa, she first washed up, ate heartily, and then rested.
Li Qiongyu came to see her but was turned away.
He stood in the courtyard, sheepishly rubbing his nose, and shouted.
"Don't even think about running. Go back with Ah Zhan. He'll treat you well."
The candlelight in the room extinguished.
This woman is truly heartless.
Li Qiongyu turned back to the guards. His usually carefree face revealed a chilling expression. "Guard well. If anyone escapes, bring me their heads."
"Yes."
Ye Luan was confined to the detached courtyard. She could sense many hidden guards around.
She took a pot of wine and went to find Li Qiongyu.
He was standing by the fish pond in the garden, feeding the fish. Dressed in a flamboyant red robe, his handsome face was adorned with a smile, as beautiful as peach blossoms.
"Oh, you're finally willing to come out."
Seeing her, Li Qiongyu's captivating peach blossom eyes filled with spring's ardor.
"I've been kept in the room. If Xiao Chi Zhan comes, he'll think I mistreated you and kill me."
Ye Luan chuckled softly. "He must hate me for leaving the capital. He won't beat you."
Li Qiongyu smiled sheepishly and scratched his head without speaking.
"Have some?"
"Sure."
The two walked into a nearby flower pavilion and sat down to drink.
Li Qiongyu had a low tolerance for alcohol. After a few cups, he pouted aggrievedly and started complaining.
"Don't blame me—"
Ye Luan slowly stood up and poured him a cup of sobering tea.
"I don't blame you. You're friends, so naturally, you'll side with him. Here, have some tea."
Gulp, gulp, after a cup of tea.
Li Qiongyu felt increasingly dizzy. "Hic!"
Seeing this, Ye Luan's eyes grew slightly colder. She gently coaxed him, "Let me help you back to your room. Don't catch a chill."
"Oh."
Along the way, Ye Luan supported him, memorizing the layout of the villa.
After sending him back to his room, she called out to the outside. "Go find a doctor."
Deputy General Du, who was guarding the door, frowned. "What's wrong?"
"He has a rash on his hands and face. It looks like an allergic reaction."
Hearing this, Deputy General Du was about to send someone to find a doctor, but the urgency from inside made him suspicious. He pushed the door open.
"What's going on?"
Behind the screen, Li Qiongyu was scratching himself uncomfortably.
Seeing this scene, Deputy General Du dared not delay any longer. He quickly said, "Take good care of him. I'll go find a doctor."
Ye Luan nodded anxiously.
Once the man left, her expression turned cold. Looking at the dazed Li Qiongyu, she picked up the teacup from the table and poured the water from the porcelain bottle into it.
"Don't blame me. It'll be fine after you drink this."
She forcefully fed him the antidote and then took out a black pill. "Open your mouth."
After everything was swallowed, the groggy Li Qiongyu soon fell into a deep sleep.
Ye Luan breathed a sigh of relief. This pill would make him sleep for three days and three nights. By the time he woke up, she would have long since slipped away.
Back in her own residence, she knocked out Xiao Qing, the maid serving her, took her clothes, and put them on.
When night fell, she heard the commotion coming from the front, a hubbub.
She then hid the knocked-out Xiao Qing on the bed, covered her with a quilt, and swaggered out of the room.
She walked with her head bowed towards the back door of the villa.
The old man guarding the door saw her and quickly asked, "It's so late, where are you going?"
"My young master is ill, and I'm going to town to fetch a doctor."
The old man didn't suspect anything and went to open the door.
Just as the door was opened, several hurried footsteps rushed from behind, shouting to stop her.
"Stop, stop—"
Ye Luan was startled. Without looking back, she kicked open the door and sprinted out.
The hidden weapons in her hand flew out. Several extremely fine silver needles whistled through the cold wind and pierced the chasing soldiers.
But the commotion was too great. Before long, the sky was filled with firelight, and many hidden guards chased out.
Ye Luan ran swiftly. Her dark figure moved through the night as if no one was there, like a fast fish, slipping away smoothly.
Deputy General Du, who rushed over upon hearing the news, was shocked.
"Chase, chase, chase! If you can't catch them, bring me your heads."
Inside the inner chamber, Li Qiongyu had woken up after taking the medicine. He pushed the doctor away and got out of bed.
"Where is she? Where is Ye Luan?"
"She ran away."
Li Qiongyu was so angry that he flicked his robe and chased out frantically.
She actually drugged his tea.
He had no defenses against her; he had been too careless.
"Hurry up and chase! Where are the hidden guards? What the hell are they doing? They don't even know when someone escaped."
He cursed a few times and quickly went to chase after her.
However, he didn't expect that as soon as he stepped out of the door, he would encounter Xiao Chi Zhan, who was galloping on horseback, covered in dust. He wore a snow-white robe, his clothes fluttering in the wind.
A large group of people followed behind him.
"Damn it, why are you so fast?"
Li Qiongyu stared at the person who had suddenly appeared here in shock.
Xiao Chi Zhan's face was gloomy, and he had no time to respond to him. "Where is she?"
"She ran away. Hidden guards are chasing her ahead, heading into the mountains."
"Useless!"
Xiao Chi Zhan cursed and immediately rode his horse away at full speed.
Li Qiongyu casually kicked someone aside, leaped onto a horse, and chased after them.
"Xue Ren, weren't you in Luzhou? How did you get here so quickly?"
Xue Ren's face was cold. "We've ridden to death more than a dozen horses."
After receiving news about Miss Ye, the Prince began his journey day and night. This place was remote, and the waterways were impassable, so they could only travel by land.
But the Prince was like a madman, not resting, rushing towards this direction day and night.
The night was dark and heavy.
The desolate moonlight fell on the mountains. The autumn night wind felt like a sharp knife, causing pain.
Ye Luan ran until she was almost out of breath. The pursuing hidden guards and soldiers were relentlessly close behind.
She leaped and hid in a large tree. The hidden weapons in her hand shot out, wounding the leading soldier.
"Chase, there—"
Damn it.
Ye Luan cursed softly. The entire villa was surrounded by hidden guards, guarded tightly. They probably discovered that the person on the bed was a fake and realized she had escaped.
She knew her plan was very flawed, but she had no choice. If Xiao Chi Zhan arrived, she would be doomed.
She could only take a gamble.
"My Lord, slow down—"
My Lord?
Ye Luan was startled and looked back.
In the moonlight, the snow-white robe was cold and thin. The man with red pupils and white hair was staring at her from a distance, his deep eyes as if frozen.
The way he looked at her was as if he were looking at a dead person.
Ye Luan's entire body felt as if it had fallen into an ice cellar. Her hands and feet instantly grew cold, colder than the moon overhead.
She didn't even have time to think before turning to run.
A terrifying and chilling aura suddenly spread around. Her cool, slender hand was fiercely gripped, causing her piercing pain as she fell to the ground.
"My darling, you've run so hard."
A sinister yet gentle voice slowly circled her. That familiar terrifying aura tightly enveloped her, and the intense red swept through her entire nervous system.
Ye Luan's back trembled.
Xiao Chi Zhan bent down to her ear, his voice filled with a vile and shameful glee.
"I've caught you. I've finally caught you."