Chu Qianli’s eyes snapped open and she sat up.
Her leg hurt terribly!
Her ankle had been injured during their escape.
But she hadn't told Fulong, enduring the pain as she continued to walk.
She didn't want to burden anyone.
Now, with the surroundings peaceful, she moved her foot and immediately felt the sting of pain.
Was she in a room, on a bed?
“Fulong!” she called out.
Fulong immediately replied from outside the door, “I’m here! May I come in?”
Chu Qianli let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness, Fulong was alive.
It seemed that everything she had seen before fainting was real.
That man had truly come.
It wasn't a dream.
“Come in, I’m dressed,” Chu Qianli said, raising her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead.
Fulong’s voice came through the door, “I’ll get you a basin of hot water to wash up.”
Before long, he entered carrying a basin of hot water.
As Qianli tried to get out of bed, Fulong quickly said, “Your foot is injured, be careful.”
Only then did she notice that her ankle had already been bandaged.
“Thank you.” She glanced at the bandaged area and carefully lowered her leg from the bed.
“This… this wasn’t my doing,” Fulong said with a faint smile, helping her down from the bed.
He guided her to the table so she could wash up.
Chu Qianli was a little puzzled. If it wasn't his doing, then who…?
Impossible, that man wouldn't personally do such menial tasks. He probably found a doctor to treat her.
Chu Qianli didn't dwell on it.
After washing up, she looked up and saw that it was still dark outside.
She asked, “Where are we?”
“We’re back in Thousand Years City. In a little over an hour, the sky will break.”
Chu Qianli tugged at her lips, wanting to ask something, but for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to.
“How are you feeling?” Fulong asked, seeing her pale face. She seemed to be alright now.
“I don’t know if this medicine would work, so I gave you a pill. But it seems to have worked.”
He took out a medicine bottle and placed it in front of Chu Qianli.
It was the one she had given him back at Black Wind Ridge.
Chu Qianli couldn’t help but ask, “Was it really Prince Xuan? I think I saw him before I fainted. Where is he now?”
“It was His Highness. I believe, in this world, no one else but Prince Xuan could have safely brought us out of that situation.”
Fulong let out a long breath, still feeling a lingering fear as he recalled the events.
They had thought they wouldn’t survive.
But then, Prince Xuan had descended like a divine being.
He had never met anyone so capable. Even as a man, he had to admit that the moment Prince Xuan appeared, he felt a sense of security.
That man was simply too powerful.
So powerful that as long as he was present, one could feel at ease.
To feel a sense of security from another man, Fulong would never have believed such a thing possible before.
But now, he had no choice but to believe it.
Prince Xuan was truly the most powerful being he had ever encountered.
“Miss Chu…”
Chu Qianli glanced at him.
Fulong smiled and said, “From now on, I’ll call you A’Li. The name ‘Li’er’ is too intimate, I can’t bring myself to say it.”
But the name “Miss Chu” felt too distant.
Although they hadn't known each other for long, they were already friends.
Chu Qianli smiled and nodded.
Fulong’s expression turned serious. While Prince Xuan was out on business and hadn't returned, there were things he needed to remind Chu Qianli of.
“When you return, report truthfully. The Emperor will not let go of such a useful pawn. But if you don’t report, I fear the Emperor will make things difficult for the Duke.”
Chu Qianli knew this well. That was why, after waking up and finding herself safely away from Black Wind Ridge, she had been contemplating this very issue.
However, she hadn’t yet devised a plan.
“Fulong, we’ve faced death together. I know you are loyal to the Emperor, but you cannot betray me.”
“What do you want?” Fulong asked.
“I haven’t thought of it yet…”
“Have you ever considered seeking Prince Xuan’s help?”
Fulong had hesitated to suggest this earlier because he wasn't sure of the exact nature of Prince Xuan’s relationship with her.
He seemed to recall hearing that she was no longer Prince Xuan’s consort.
That the Prince had demoted her to a concubine.
Fulong had also assumed that Prince Xuan wouldn't care about a mere concubine, but now he knew he was terribly mistaken.
“Prince Xuan personally came to Black Wind Ridge to rescue you single-handedly. That alone shows how important you are to him.”
Chu Qianli didn’t refute this, nor did she agree.
Her relationship with Feng Yexuan was complicated and hard to define.
Most importantly, she couldn’t bear to remain by Feng Yexuan’s side in a humiliating manner.
But she wasn’t strong enough yet to rescue her grandfather on her own.
“I don’t know why His Highness demoted you to a concubine. The only possibility is that the royal family cannot allow the daughter of a singer to become Empress in the future.”
Fulong looked at Chu Qianli.
If she were an ordinary woman, he would have advised her that even if she couldn't be Empress, she could at least be a noble consort.
But looking at Chu Qianli’s clear, bright eyes that held a determined gleam, Fulong couldn't bring himself to say it.
She was no ordinary woman. She would never agree to be a mere consort.
“I don’t know who you truly are, but I know you’re unwilling to compromise yourself.”
“What if I told you I’m not from this era, would you believe me?”
“I would believe you.”
“You believe me?” This statement made Chu Qianli pause in surprise.
How could he believe it so easily?
Fulong smiled faintly, “Are you going to tell me you’ve possessed someone’s body from another era?”
“You’re willing to believe that?” Could things really be this simple?
“Why wouldn’t I believe it? I’ve never seen your things before. I don’t believe in prophecies. You use tools I don’t understand.”
And then there were the words she’d blurted out at the time: “your era.”
She and they were not from the same era.
After facing death, Fulong realized that if he opened his heart, it wasn’t so difficult to believe certain things.
It seemed, not so hard to accept.
“Also, although I don’t know what secrets you hold, I know that you produced those things suddenly, not that you found them.”
She possessed too many things, items that couldn't possibly be carried around casually.
Yet, she could produce them at any time.
This woman was truly enigmatic.
“Then, if I told you I was a ghost, would you believe me too?” Chu Qianli felt a desire to laugh.
“You can’t be a ghost, can you? You have legs, a shadow, and you breathe.”
Fulong looked at her seriously, finally concluding, “Well, you’re human, not a ghost.”
Chu Qianli almost burst out laughing.
But at that moment, she suddenly felt a strong urge to share her secrets.
“Don’t blink. I’ll show you my so-called secret.”