I was startled and instinctively stood up, the owner of that voice was none other than Nan Chengyao.

  Su Xiu gave me a faint glance, then turned her head to nod slightly at Liao Mo, and Liao Mo immediately turned around and walked straight towards the withered forest.

  I took a deep breath, turned my gaze away without looking at him, and calmly opened my mouth to say: "Miss Lianmò, the one trapped in the stone array is the Third Prince. I'll go with you."

  The words were spoken to Liao Mo, but the person he wanted to tell was Su Xiuzhen behind him.

  The corner of Lian Mo's mouth curled up into a cold and sarcastic arc: "Who in this world doesn't know that the husband of the princess is the renowned Southern Dynasty's Third Imperial Prince, Nan Chengyao? Why must the princess still flaunt it again?"

  I let out a soft sigh, and didn't say anything more to her, nor did I care about Su Xiuyi's reaction behind me. With my eyelashes slightly lowered, I walked step by step into the depths of the withered forest.

  Behind, the deep pool of water is quiet and serene, the snow-covered land is dark green, beautiful as if in a dream, but I step by step away from it, towards the front, the direction of reality and fate.

  As they slowly approached, I could see that there were about a dozen or so people trapped in the stone array. Suddenly seeing me, perhaps greatly exceeding their expectations, even Pan and Nan Xiangyao had a moment of stunned silence, staring at me motionlessly.

  A moment later, it was Yun who made the first move. The light in his eyes shone brightly, and the excitement between his brows was almost manic, something I had never seen before. He took a step forward, about to rush towards me, but this again triggered the stone array, and a large stone flew straight at him. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and barely avoided it. Before he could even steady himself, he hastily shouted at me:

  "Second sister, there's something strange in this pile of stones, don't come over!"

  I quickly scanned the momentum and position of the stone array, now that it had been triggered, it would be even more complex and difficult to navigate than when I first entered. I saw that the birth gate at the Kun position was faintly visible, already forming a vague closed formation. Without hesitation, I didn't have time to explain, I just raised my voice and spoke to the people in the stone array: "Follow the direction I say, don't stop."

  "After that, I didn't have time to notice their reaction, and could only closely watch the direction of the stone array while trying my best to speak clearly: 'Take three steps to the left, then seven steps forward, don't stop, keep walking, five steps to the left, then retreat nine steps, come out from between the third and fourth stones on the right.'"

  It wasn't until they all safely exited the stone formation that I finally relaxed my tense nerves, and felt even more powerless in my originally weak body.

  He took a step forward and grasped my shoulders, his grip so tight that it hurt and I couldn't help but furrow my brow. But I knew he must have been scared out of his wits this time, even if he was still shaken now. My brother, usually optimistic and resilient, was trembling slightly even in his voice at this moment.

  "Second sister, how could you do this?! Why didn't you wait for us to return?! Do you know what it felt like when I and the third prince arrived at Qingmu Cliff, watching from afar as you fell off the cliff but couldn't do anything about it?! Do you know what our emotions were like when we searched all along the cliff but couldn't find even a glimpse of your shadow?! Every tree, every withered grass heap, every rock - we didn't dare overlook any of them. We knew that searching aimlessly was foolish and wouldn't be of much use, but we just couldn't bear to stop! For four whole days, do you know how we spent those four days?! How could you do this?!"

  I had never seen such a look on his face, my heart slightly sour, but I couldn't say anything, forcing myself to curve the corners of my lips into a gentle smile, and then slowly turned my gaze to look at the owner of those dark, deep eyes behind him.

  Even when I was concentrating on the formation of the Congenital Stone Array just now, I could feel his gaze not leaving my body for a moment, just like the deep stare at this moment.

  He didn't speak, and after the outburst, he still didn't take another step forward, just quietly looking at me like that. The light and shadow hidden in his dark eyes made my heart tremble slightly.

  I slightly lowered my eyelashes, then raised them, forcing a faint smile on my face. I walked quietly to his side, looked up at him, avoiding his dark eyes like the night, and opened my lips to say softly: "Letting Your Highness worry, your concubine..."

  The words were left unspoken, as he pulled me into his arms and held me close. At first, it seemed like there was still a hint of uncertainty and hesitation, but then slowly, his arms tightened around me, trembling slightly, as if he wanted to embed me into his body.

  I didn't expect him to make such a move, but inadvertently saw that his entourage of subordinates all lowered their eyes in tacit agreement, not looking or moving, only the expression on their faces was inevitably slightly awkward.

  His face was slightly red, the hand that was pressed against his chest clenched into a fist and exerted a slight force to push him away, but he completely ignored my resistance and instead tightened his arm even more.

  For a moment, I was at a loss, not knowing what to do, and he still didn't say a word, just holding me tightly like that, his warm and slightly disordered breathing brushing against my neck, making me numb all over.

  The two bodies fit closely together, and in the daze, it gave me a kind of illusion, as if I was his lost and recovered treasure, so he would use such force, without avoiding people, and also unwilling to let go for a long time.

  It wasn't until much later that he slowly relaxed his grip on me, his dark and profound gaze carefully scanning my eyebrows, eyes, shoulders, neck, and entire body, as if to confirm whether I was truly safe and sound.

  "Your Highness, I..."

  I felt a little uneasy under his gaze, just as I was about to say something, he raised one finger and lightly pressed it against my lips. Then, looking into my eyes, he said, "I don't want to hear you call yourself 'concubine' again."

  Slightly rough thumb, slowly and slightly seductive rubbing my lips, the numbness and slight itching sensation made my cheeks warm, instinctively wanting to avoid it.

  He had just made a move, but was quickly pinned down by his swift grasp on her slender waist. The icy indifference and clarity in his eyes seemed to be slowly fading away, and then those dark emotions that I couldn't understand surged up uncontrollably. My heart was also trembling uncontrollably, and subconsciously wanting to escape, my body began to struggle restlessly.

  The clarity in his eyes re-emerged, seemingly more restrained, yet with a few more resolute and unyielding undertones. He stretched out his hand, holding me even tighter, and though it was a sigh of resignation, he didn't allow for any refusal or turning back.

  "I won't let you leave me again..."

  Before he had even finished speaking, he couldn't help but lower his head and kiss me, my mind went blank in an instant, I had never been so intimate with him in front of others before.

  My cheeks were burning as if they were about to bleed, struggling incessantly, but my whole body was powerless, and I could only let him control my body with ease.

  I slightly tilted my head, closed my eyes, and somewhat passively accepted his entwining yet powerful kiss, which carried a hint of temptation and comfort. My raven-black long hair danced in the snowy wind, only held up by his arm wrapped around my waist, or else I would have collapsed.

  It wasn't until a cold, slightly mocking female voice entered his ears that he realized how much time had passed.

  "It's not only that the affection between them is deep, but also why did he let her put herself in danger, falling off cliffs and getting poisoned, implicating others. The majestic third prince of Southern Dynasty, unexpectedly turned out to be so incompetent!"

  I suddenly startled and took advantage of Nan Chengyao's slight relaxation, struggling free and turning around.

  At a glance, I saw Su Xiu standing quietly behind Ling Mo's snowy white clothes.

  He didn't say anything.

  Faint ink and blue shirt, cold quiet and clear.

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