Cai Yu was taken aback, a bitter look crossing her lips.
They could never go back to the past.
He and the princess were the perfect match, and she could never let down Brother A Li.
"I can't go with you," Cai Yu said in a low, muffled voice. "Your Highness, we can't go back."
Song Yinghuai's Adam's apple bobbed violently. He wanted to refute Cai Yu, but he managed to suppress the urge.
He simply stared intently at Cai Yu's lowered head.
He reached out his big hand through the railing and gently stroked her hairpin, saying softly,
"Okay, I won't force you. It's still thousands of miles to the capital. I'll wait for you to change your mind."
Cai Yu suddenly looked up, her face anxious. "You're not going to escape?"
Song Yinghuai's fingertips trembled slightly. He turned around and sat back down, smiling. "I won't force you, but I'll wait for you. So don't force me to escape either."
"You're crazy!" Cai Yu couldn't help raising her voice.
The soldier on night watch immediately stood up alertly. He held up a torch and shone it in their direction, growling in a low, wary voice, "Who's there?!"
The torchlight illuminated Cai Yu's stunningly beautiful face. The soldier was stunned for a moment and blurted out,
"Miss Cai Yu?"
The fiancée brought by General Sheng Jiangli had lived in Jizhou City for so long that many soldiers in the Southern Army knew her.
He looked at Cai Yu and then at Song Yinghuai, completely at a loss.
There were rumors that the three of them had a complicated relationship.
It seemed the rumors were true.
General Sheng's fiancée was chasing after the prisoner cart of the Prince of Yan...
Cai Yu nervously tightened her grip on the dagger in her hand. Her eyes stared fiercely at the soldier.
But Song Yinghuai calmly reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder, soothing her. "It's okay. Don't be nervous."
He turned to look at the soldier and said gently, "My friend, please do me a favor. She just came to see me."
The soldier swallowed hard, looking at them in disbelief.
One was the girl cherished by General Sheng.
The other was the god of war they privately respected.
He struggled inwardly for a moment.
Suddenly, he turned around with the torch and strode away.
"You should go first. It's not safe to stay here," Song Yinghuai urged her. "The sound you made just now alerted more than just that little soldier. Leave quickly."
Cai Yu had no choice. "I'll try to bring you some food again tomorrow."
"Okay," Song Yinghuai smiled, watching her beautiful figure disappear into the snow. He wished he could engrave her image in his heart.
For seven consecutive days.
Winter had set in. The escort team was moving slowly, and the wind and snow were getting heavier.
Li Muge lazily stepped out of the luxurious carriage. Holding a tobacco pipe, he asked, "How's the Prince of Yan? Has he begged for mercy or food?"
The soldier lowered his head and replied, "Reporting to my lord, no."
No?
Li Muge's face darkened. He quickly walked towards the prisoner cart.
Inside the cart, the man sat upright with his eyes closed, looking a bit thinner due to the wind and snow.
His back was straight, his lips pale but not chapped.
Li Muge angrily turned to look at the others. "Did you secretly give him food and water?"
The team leader quickly knelt down and pleaded innocence. "My lord! I definitely didn't!"
Li Muge didn't believe it.
Song Yinghuai wasn't a hermit who could fast. How could he still be so energetic after seven days without food or water?
"Damn it!" Li Muge flung his sleeve and left. He secretly gave instructions to his personal guard. "Keep a close watch tonight. See who dares to be so bold as to bring food to the Prince of Yan!"
After Li Muge left, Song Yinghuai slowly opened his eyes, a hint of anxiety in them.
It was bound to be an eventful night. If Cai Yu fell into Li Muge's trap, how could he save her?
He hoped that the girl would be smart enough not to come today.
The bitter north wind howled like a sharp blade over the wilderness. The cold call bird let out a miserable cry like that of a baby in the depths of the forest. The sky was filled with swirling snowflakes.
The guards shivered in the cold night and snow, secretly cursing Li Muge for being so crazy.
He had assigned them such a task!
It wasn't enough to torment Song Yinghuai. Now they were also being dragged into it.
That dog official was lying comfortably in his tent, enjoying who knew what.
Inside the prisoner cart in the wind and snow, the man also kept his eyes open, his knuckles unconsciously tightening.
Suddenly.
A pig-like scream came from the tent!
The guards in the snow were stunned for a moment, then rushed towards the tent. They were immediately shocked by what they saw.
Li Muge was locked in a "kiss" with a snake.
Li Muge was grabbing at his own face. The snake was hanging from his lips like an elephant's trunk, swaying as he tried to shake it off, but it refused to let go.
The tent was flapping in the wind. Song Yinghuai could vaguely see what was going on inside through the gap in the tent. He couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
Then, a smile crept onto his lips.
She was making progress.
Then, Cai Yu climbed out from behind the prisoner cart and stuffed some food inside. "Your Highness!"
Song Yinghuai turned his head and saw the girl with a dirty nose lying in front of the railing. His heart softened.
He picked up the food and held it in his hand without eating. He asked softly,
"What naughty thing did you do?"
Cai Yu pouted. "I was just doing justice... I spent a long time digging in a tree hole in the forest today and finally found a hibernating snake. While his personal guards were all outside waiting for me, I quietly sneaked into Li Muge's tent."
Song Yinghuai smiled. "You stuffed the snake into his tobacco pipe?"
The hibernating snake was always lazy and didn't want to wake up no matter how Cai Yu messed with it.
But Li Muge's tent was warm. It didn't take long for the snake to wake up. When Li Muge lit his tobacco and burned the snake, the snake got angry. It stretched out its head and bit without thinking.
"Ah, it's a pity that the snake I found wasn't very poisonous," Cai Yu nodded. "Hurry up and eat. The snake is having a good time with Li Muge. He won't have time to bother you. Eat quickly!"
Song Yinghuai took a bite of the food. His eyes were filled with nostalgia. "You once used a snake to trick me too."
The excited look in Cai Yu's eyes suddenly dimmed. She said in a low voice,
"That was all for the Crown Prince's mission. Your Highness, please don't mind."
"I don't mind," Song Yinghuai grabbed her hand. "Yuer, I'm really glad that you kept trying to pester me back then. In fact, I thought you looked like Miss Lan San the first time I saw you, so I kept you..."
Cai Yu looked up, as if she had heard something new.
He kept her because he thought she looked like Miss Lan San?
When did he have such a deep impression of Lan Jinshu?
"Your Highness, we met when we were kids. I remember," Cai Yu tried to pull her hand back. She said in a low voice, "It was just a brief encounter."
So she had never thought that she was very important to Song Yinghuai.
There was Lu Baiwei, who had grown up with him, and Xu Buyue, who admired him and had a noble status.
Compared to them, the little affection they had when they were young seemed insignificant.
Song Yinghuai tightened his grip on her hand and refused to let go. "It may have been just a brief encounter for you, but for me, it's a lifetime of memory."
Cai Yu's struggling hand paused. Then she heard Song Yinghuai say,
"I once said under the city tower before leaving for Yan that if I was lucky enough to survive ten years later, I would come back to marry you. I've always remembered it and I won't go back on my word."
Cai Yu stood there, stunned.
That day on the city wall of the capital, the wind was strong. She hadn't heard clearly.
Cai Yu hesitated and said, "...Didn't you say that you would come back to buy me candied haws in ten years?"
At this moment, the girl didn't look smart at all.
Her cute, dazed look almost made Song Yinghuai lose his composure.
"Candied haws?"
Song Yinghuai's eyebrows twitched.
Then he took a deep breath and smiled. "Okay, candied haws. I'll buy you whatever you want."
"My silver is yours, my properties are yours, and my person and my heart..."
"All for you."
Song Yinghuai's fingertips trembled slightly. His heart skipped a beat. He carefully tempted her again,
"Yuer, I'll listen to you from now on. I swear to you that I'll never lose my temper with you again, I won't hide anything from you, and I won't stop you from doing what you like."
"Will you come with me?"