The Empress was furious.
She truly hadn't expected her son to become so enraged upon learning that Chu Qianli had participated in the selection for the Xuan Prince Consort.
He had lost control of his temper, smashing everything he could in his palace!
She couldn't appease him with kind words, and in the end, even the Empress trembled with anger.
"Her, no matter how beautiful she is, she's a used shoe. What do you want her for?"
"If you truly like her, Mother can arrange for her to be brought to your bed for your pleasure. Is it worth you causing such a commotion for her?"
Feng Qihuo kicked a chair, his anger unyielding.
"Your son means no offense!" he gritted out, not looking at the Empress.
The Empress knew her son well; she had given birth to him and was aware of his fiery temper.
He truly didn't mean to offend her. It was just that he had received news that Chu Qianli had successfully entered the selection through Elder Qin, and his rage had nowhere to vent.
Thus, his own palace became the target of his fury.
But even with his past temper, her son had never lost control to this extent.
Now, for that woman Chu Qianli, her son had truly gone mad!
"Her, you must understand that even Prince Xuan is looking for a consort who can help him."
"You cherish a woman that he discards. In this regard, you are already inferior to him..."
"Mother!" Feng Qihuo's face darkened.
The Empress knew that what her son hated most was being told he was inferior to Feng Yexuan.
She wouldn't say it again.
The Empress softened her tone, "Her, you can play with Chu Qianli, that girl. Mother won't interfere, alright?"
"But, you should also choose a consort who is useful to you! After Prince Xuan's selection is settled, Mother will propose to your father to give you..."
"Your son currently has no desire to consider personal matters!"
Feng Qihuo's face was filled with irritation. He flicked his sleeves and said, "Mother, you don't need to worry about this matter. Your son will take his leave first!"
With that, he turned and left in a furious rage.
"Your Highness..."
Looking at the mess on the floor, Nanny Ni said with concern, "It seems the Prince is truly infatuated with Chu Qianli. This old servant watched the Prince grow up. When has the Prince ever cared so much about a woman?"
"This Empress knows!"
The Empress clutched her handkerchief, almost crushing it!
"This Empress cannot let him continue to be so obsessed!"
She looked out the window at the bright scenery, but her eyes were filled with gloom. "Chu Qianli must die!"
...
"Your Highness, it's been more than half a day, and the sun is so strong. Why don't we go back first?"
The Prince had only recently recovered from his serious injuries. Although he appeared fine on the surface, Leng Ji had been with him every day and knew that the Prince's vitality had not fully recovered.
After staying outside for so long, even the guards standing by were sweating. Leng Ji feared that if the Prince continued to wait, his old injuries might recur, which would be bad for his health.
Feng Yexuan merely picked up his cup and slowly drank his tea, ignoring him.
"Your Highness, the tea has gone cold. Your subordinate will fetch you a fresh cup."
Leng Ji reached out to take his cup.
Unexpectedly, Feng Yexuan's eyes darkened.
The chilling aura immediately caused Leng Ji to retract his hand.
The Prince didn't want to leave, didn't want to change his tea, and insisted on sitting here, even having a casual meal for lunch.
Was he truly so concerned about his future consort?
"Your Highness..."
"Are you very idle?" Feng Yexuan frowned, his expression impatient.
This person was too noisy!
Leng Ji could only lower his head and retreat a short distance behind him. He glanced sideways at Liu Jin, who was sitting not far away, drinking tea and eating snacks.
This fellow was here to serve the Prince, but after arriving, he only focused on drinking tea and enjoying the scenery.
He wasn't paying any attention to the Prince at all!
Leng Ji couldn't help but walk over and snatch the cup from him. "May you choke on it!"
Liu Jin looked up at him, a wry smile on his face. "What did I do to offend you?"
"Don't you see the Prince's face has been a little pale? Don't you know to advise him?"
The previous injury was truly severe.
In less than ten days, for anyone else, they would likely still be in bed recuperating.
The Prince's physique was naturally incomparable to ordinary people, but he shouldn't be so careless with his health!
"You should advise the Prince to go back and rest!" Leng Ji urged.
Liu Jin sighed lightly, shook his head, and looked towards the exit of the dense forest.
"If the Prince were willing to listen to advice, he would have gone back long ago. Why wait until now?"
"You know the Prince's temperament. If you can't persuade him, what good would it do for me to try?"
"You are a physician! Patients are naturally willing to listen to physicians!"
Liu Jin chuckled, "Unfortunately, our Prince is not an ordinary patient."
Looking at the exit of the dense forest again, Liu Jin beckoned, "You sit down and eat something too. Let's see who else gets carried out later?"
As soon as Liu Jin finished speaking, indeed, more girls were carried out by the guards who had gone in to search.
Each of the girls carried two Cloud-Piercing Arrows.
Once they were injured, could no longer proceed, or wished to give up, they would immediately fire the arrows.
The guards stationed around would see the signal and carry them out.
The one being carried out at this moment was the daughter of an official.
As she was being carried out, she was still crying, "This is too much! Why would they do this to me? Your Highness, Princess Feiyan stole my horse! Princess Feiyan is too much, sob sob..."
No one paid attention to her.
Being thrown from a horse and injured, then carried out, meant elimination.
Regardless of the reason for the fall and injury, elimination was elimination.
The reason was not within Prince Xuan's consideration.
After an unknown amount of time, someone finally emerged from the dense forest.
Yu Linglong was the first to come out.
Despite traversing mountains and crossing ridges, she was still radiant and showed no signs of dishevelment.
In fact, there seemed to be no dust on her at all. Anyone who didn't know would think she had merely gone in for a casual stroll.
Yu Linglong, holding the token she had obtained, walked up to Feng Yexuan. "Yexuan, I'm back."
Feng Yexuan said nothing. Leng Ji immediately stepped forward and took Yu Linglong's token with both hands.
Yu Linglong bit her lip, her eyes dimming slightly.
For some reason, ever since Prince Xuan had his engagement with Chu Qianli broken off, he had become colder and more difficult to get along with.
However, she didn't mind.
Yexuan was just recovering from emotional pain. But seeing his indifferent attitude towards Chu Qianli, Yu Linglong had reason to believe that his wounds would heal soon.
During this time, as long as she performed well in front of him, Yexuan's heart would eventually fall upon her.
Leng Ji glanced at the token and said, "Your Highness, this is indeed the token belonging to Miss Yu."
Feng Yexuan responded with a faint, cold "En." As Leng Ji was about to say something to Yu Linglong,
Suddenly, someone else emerged from the dense forest.