Wen Han listened to Yan Xi Jun's cold hum, and glanced at her sideways. He kindly advised: "Don't underestimate him too much. If he really doesn't let you out of the palace, I'm afraid you'll never be able to leave the palace for the rest of your life."

  Yan Xijun hung her head in distress, and Wen Han's words were not unreasonable either. These past few days, she had been constantly thinking of a good strategy to leave the palace. However, no matter how hard she racked her brains, she couldn't think of a feasible plan. Relying on her own meager strength, escaping from the palace seemed like a distant dream.

  "Don't be too heartbroken either. As long as Master helps you, you can still leave the palace." Wen Han comforted.

  "Alas." Yan Xijun let out a soft sigh. This was exactly what she was annoyed about at the moment.

  "Alright, Ganquan Palace is here. You can go back by yourself. I won't be able to accompany you there." Wen Han said, pointing at the palace not far in front of them. Then, he didn't even wait for Yan Xijun's response before leaping into the air and disappearing into the dark night.

  Yan Xijun stood there in a daze for a while before taking steps towards her own palace. She had just stepped into the courtyard when she was pulled by someone to under the flower tree in the yard.

  "Ah~" Yan Xijun couldn't help but let out a soft shriek. She stared at the hand that was pulling hers in shock.

  "Shh, it's me." Chu Cheng Ming furrowed his brow and then covered Yan Xi Jun's small mouth that was about to scream.

  Familiar sound. Yan Xijun immediately lifted her head and saw Chu Chengming looking down at her with his head bowed. He nodded hastily, but was startled in his heart. How did he end up here?

  Chu Cheng Ming finally let go of his hand covering her small mouth.

  "How did you get here?" Yan Xijun furrowed his brow and asked after catching his breath. He was indeed arrogant, killing someone in the imperial palace and still being so calm, not to mention escaping early.

  Look at her displeased eyes, Chu Chengming suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. He asked with some annoyance: "What's wrong with you, don't you like me showing up here?"

  Yan Xijun raised her eyes and looked at him, then fell silent. It seemed that saying she disliked him was not quite right, but saying she didn't dislike him also felt a bit contradictory.

  Her silence further ignited the anger in his heart. Chu Chengming's hands tightly grasped her shoulders, his eyes reddened as he growled: "You don't like me anymore."

  His shoulder was grasped by him and felt numb. Yan Xijun clenched his teeth tightly, shook his head slightly and said, "Nothing."

  "So why didn't you look happy to see me tonight?" Chu Cheng Meng asked coldly, his eyes fixed tightly on her, unwilling to miss any subtle expression on her face. His hands were still grasping her shoulders, but the force in them was no longer as strong.

  Yan Xijun let out a soft sigh and after remaining silent for a moment, finally spoke up. "I saw everything you did tonight."

  "Huh." Chu Cheng Ming was momentarily stunned and didn't come back to his senses until later, when he finally understood the meaning behind her words. He let go of his grip. With a gentle tone, he wrapped his arms around his chest and asked: "Where did you go tonight?"

  Fuguo Palace

  One person.

  "She hesitated again, and Yan Xikun still didn't reveal the conversation between her and Wen Han. She was afraid that if she revealed it, Chu Chengming would force her to recount their conversation, so she didn't want to stir up more trouble."

  Silence. Chu Cheng stared at her silently.

  "Actually, no matter what wrong things Gu Qingrou has done, she doesn't deserve to die." Yan Xijun didn't like the silent atmosphere, so he broke the silence and spoke up for Gu Qingrou.

  "You're wrong. She shouldn't have betrayed me." Chu Chengming said emotionlessly: "Also, she shouldn't have poisoned you."

  "I knew her little scheme a long time ago. She didn't succeed in poisoning, did she?"

  "I don't care. Anyway, I won't let anyone hurt you." Chu Chengming said domineeringly.

  After hearing his domineering words, Yan Xijun was indeed 'touched'. He did this for his own safety, but unfortunately, she didn't like others using such methods to protect themselves.

  "Alright, let's not talk about these annoying things anymore. It's late, you should head back quickly." Yan Xijun looked around worriedly and said: "You killed someone in the palace tonight, it's not a good idea to stay here for long. Let's go quickly."

  "It's alright, don't worry." Chu Cheng Ming smiled and suddenly reached out to pull her over. He looked at her deeply. "Jun Er, I came to take you out of the palace tonight. Are you willing to follow me?"

  "Out of the palace." It really came quickly.

  Yan Xijun really wanted to leave the palace immediately, but she didn't forget what Gu Qingrou said that night. She had been thinking about it for so many days. She was indeed not worthy of Chu Chengming. She shouldn't drag him down with her.

  Yan Xijun shook her head at him.

  "Why? Chu Chengming was puzzled and shouted: "The child in your belly is already gone, why are you still afraid to leave the palace with me?"

  As soon as the child was mentioned, Yan Xijun's bright and shiny eyes dimmed again, and he fell silent.

  "Could it be that you really can't bear to part with him?" Chu Cheng Meng looked at her with a pained expression, his heart aching. He should have thought of this earlier. That person was the most revered and noble man in the world. What woman would be willing to give up on him? He was truly foolish for fantasizing that she would abandon wealth and glory, then follow him out of the palace to live an ordinary life.

  It turns out that everything was just one's own foolish fantasy. The other party had never agreed to anything.

  Chu Cheng's dark and gloomy eyes pierced through Yan Xijun's heart, causing her to hastily shake her head and explain: "You misunderstood me. I don't miss him at all. I'd rather leave him as soon as possible, leave this luxurious prison."

  "In that case, why don't you follow me out of the palace?" Chu Cheng Meng asked in puzzlement.

  Yan Xikun let out a soft sigh, raised her eyes and asked him: "Ming, don't you care about my identity? I'm no longer an innocent 'girl'. I used to be the emperor's concubine, already served as his 'woman'. Don't you really care at all?"

  It's just like Gu Qingrou said. How many men in this world don't care about the chastity of their beloved women?

  Chu Cheng thought for a moment, then said: "Saying that I don't care is impossible. However, I have deeply fallen in love with you. The one I love is the person you are now. Those past mistakes, I will slowly forget. I don't want to give up on you because of these wrongs. As long as you leave the palace with me, I can pretend that none of this ever happened."

  "Thanks for your magnanimity and tolerance. Although you can do it, but I couldn't. Forgetting all this, although I also want to forget, but this is fundamentally something that cannot be forgotten."

  Yan Xijun gently pushed him away, took a step back, and bowed his head: "Ming, I'm sorry. I'm not worthy of you, so I can't leave the palace with you."

  Chu Cheng tightly hugged her and said with deep feeling: "Don't say anything more, except for you, no one else is worthy of me, I really don't care about what happened in the past, you shouldn't take it to heart either."

  "But I..." Yan Xijun struggled to push him away.

  Chu Cheng Mo no longer spoke, but instead used his actions to express his true feelings. He not only didn't let her struggle free from him, but instead held her even tighter. Then he leaned down and swiftly 'kissed' her soft pink lips.

  His 'kiss' was awkward and 'messy'. Yan Xijun's mind went blank when he was being kissed. Afterwards, she slowly reacted. Being kissed by him in such an awkward yet gentle way, her heart still felt a hint of sweetness. So, she tried to respond to him.