Chu Qianli woke up to find herself lying on the grass on the mountainside.
A loose robe was draped over her, warm and carrying a man's distinct scent.
"Ye..."
No, why was she thinking of calling out her Fourth Imperial Brother's name?
Had she gone foolish and lost her mind! Was her Fourth Imperial Brother's name something she could just blurt out?
Chu Qianli tapped her head and slowly sat up, her whole body feeling weak and soft.
She seemed to have had a very long dream, a dream where a man had been protecting her.
It was so clear, so real, as if it hadn't been a dream at all...
She rubbed her slightly sore eyes and then, in earnest, opened them.
A pair of cold, sharp eyes were staring directly at her, unblinking.
"Great Hero?" Chu Qianli was startled.
He was so close, she was almost scared back into lying down.
Seeing the man in black kneeling beside her clearly, Chu Qianli finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She instinctively shifted back a few inches before looking up again, meeting his gaze.
"Great Hero, what's going on? How did we... end up here?" Weren't we just fleeing for our lives?
Yes, they had been in the imperial palace, dodging those Fusang ninjas.
How had they suddenly ended up sleeping in a place like this?
Chu Qianli quickly looked around.
Feng Si's cold voice, tinged with sarcasm, rained down from above:
"If there were Fusang ninjas around, would you still be alive and well?"
"I... what happened to me?" She tapped her head again.
It seemed they had safely left the palace, and Feng Si had saved her.
But why had she fainted earlier in the palace?
"I also want to ask, what exactly is wrong with you?" Feng Si's voice was still calm and indifferent.
However, Chu Qianli could tell there wasn't much blame in it.
He snorted coldly, "Why did you suddenly faint? Are you... injured anywhere?"
But he had just examined her carefully, and there were no obvious wounds on her.
Of course, during the examination, he had inadvertently taken some liberties.
But there was no need to mention such things.
It wasn't as if he hadn't seen before.
Since she was his person anyway, looking a little more wouldn't hurt.
"I'm not injured." Chu Qianli herself was also very confused as to why she had suddenly fainted.
At the time, she had felt that smelling his scent had made her thoughts chaotic, and her consciousness had begun to blur.
After that, she had fainted.
Chu Qianli's slender fingers landed on her wrist pulse. Although a doctor couldn't cure themselves, she could diagnose most common ailments.
She released her fingers and looked up, meeting Feng Si's indifferent gaze.
Chu Qianli shook her head; her body was fine.
Where was the problem?
Could it be that being in Great Hero Feng Si's embrace had made her faint due to his masculine charm?
What a joke!
"Great Hero, I need to find General Wei Qiong."
"She is currently at the Prince of Ding's manor."
Chu Qianli's eyes lit up, and suddenly, even he seemed to grow taller and more imposing in her eyes.
Of course, he was already very imposing; she just hadn't dared to appreciate it!
"Great Hero, you... you are truly omnipotent!"
... Half an hour later, they arrived at the Prince of Ding's manor.
As they had no horses, and the Great Hero inexplicably didn't want to use his Qinggong, they had walked rather slowly.
If they had ridden horses, it would have taken about the time it takes an incense stick to burn.
However, the Prince of Ding's manor and the imperial palace were still quite far apart.
Looking at the layout of the Prince of Ding's manor, Chu Qianli immediately understood why it had been built in this location.
"The back mountain here can lead directly outside the city."
A hint of surprise flashed in Chu Qianli's eyes: "So, can I understand this to mean that in the woods from the back mountain to outside the city, they have their own army?"
After arriving in Dragon City, she had been directly taken to the imperial palace and had no time to observe the environment of Dragon City properly.
No wonder Long Ziyue had said that as long as they reached the manor, they would be safe.
So, this manor was truly impregnable, with very formidable defenses!
"With their own army, the Empress might not dare to act rashly against the people in the manor."
This was why, for so many years, the Empress, knowing that the Prince of Ding harbored ambitions, had not decided to act against him as long as he hadn't made any particularly restless moves.
Once an action was taken, it would not be a trifling matter, and Dragon City would inevitably fall into chaos!
"Half of the command of these troops is in Wei Qiong's hands," Feng Si said calmly.
"So, after Wei Qiong left this time, the Emperor immediately brought the Prince of Ding into the palace?"
Chu Qianli thought about it, but one thing still puzzled her: "The Prince of Ding has his own army..."
"The Deputy General couldn't find her token, and Long Ziyue went to Beiming Kingdom. She has no one to use by her side."
Standing on the hilltop now, one could clearly see the outline of the entire Prince's manor.
In the rear, as expected, there was a large encampment.
Judging by the formation, it was likely at least a hundred thousand troops.
As for how many were outside the city, she didn't know for sure yet.
To have a hundred thousand troops stationed within the imperial city, what emperor in any dynasty could tolerate this?
Even Feng Yexuan's army could only be stationed outside the city, not directly within it.
This was an absolute threat to the emperor.
It was evident that the situation of the two factions confronting each other in the Longteng Kingdom had existed for a long time, not just a recent development.
"Let's go down," Chu Qianli looked at Feng Si.
Feng Si didn't speak and walked to the edge of the slope.
Chu Qianli understood his meaning; he thought her Qinggong was poor and wanted her to go first.
Perhaps fearing she would roll down the slope, he could still chase after her and catch her.
Chu Qianli felt a bit resentful. Was her Qinggong really that bad?
This Great Hero looked down on her too much!
However, she didn't say much and immediately tapped her feet, leaping up.
She went down the slope.
The Great Hero walked behind her, emitting no sound.
Chu Qianli realized then that the Great Hero's Qinggong was truly beyond her comparison.
If he wanted to track her, with his restrained aura, she would never be able to detect him.
Indeed, they were not on the same level.
Without further thought, they reached the Prince's manor.
Chu Qianli leaped over the high wall. After taking only two steps, a clear, cold voice sounded from not far away: "Who trespasses into the Prince's manor?"
A chilling aura instantly closed in!
This manor was filled with masters!
Before the other party could make a move, Chu Qianli immediately said, "I am Chu Qianli from Beiming Kingdom, invited here by Princess Pingyue."
The chilling aura reached her and stopped instantly.
A tall, slender man in black.
The man then looked up at Feng Si on the high wall and said in a deep voice, "Is this person your friend?"
"He came with me, just out of the palace."
Chu Qianli stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "I want to see General Wei Qiong!"