What Bad Intentions can the Yandere Crown Prince have?-Chapter 262 - 258: The Girl in the Woods

Tang Xiaobai looked at the faint grievance in his eyes, caught between tears and laughter: "If it were me, I wouldn’t forgive you either!"

He leaned in a little closer and whispered, "If it were you, would you be angry with me for this long?"

Tang Xiaobai glanced at him askance: "That’s hard to say!"

His lips curved slightly: "But I wouldn’t bully you!"

Tang Xiaobai couldn’t help but laugh: "You do admit you’re bullying my Cousin Hui!"

He let out a "humph," and said, "I just don’t like him always keeping tabs on you, acting as if he’s something to you."

"He is something to me!" Tang Xiaobai rubbed her forehead, "Isn’t he my cousin? My father personally instructed him to take care of me!"

"If not for him, the Duke would have instructed me."

What dangerous thoughts these are? Tang Xiaobai furrowed her brows and said, "If Cousin Hui isn’t around, it would be someone else, anyway it has to be—" She suddenly got stuck.

How to conclude this?

Anyway, it has to be someone from the Duke Yan Mansion? Can’t say it that way either.

Tang Xiaobai paused for a moment, thought, and continued, "Anyway, it has to be someone from my family!"

As the words left her mouth, she realized they were inappropriate.

But at this moment, the young master’s beautiful eyes were already shining like stars, leaving no trace of earlier awkwardness or dissatisfaction.

"You’re right," his lips couldn’t help but lift, "It should be Cousin Hui taking care of you!"

Tang Xiaobai turned her face away: "Just eat your food!"

"So, we’ve agreed to go into battle together?" His voice of inquiry sounded as if it were right beside her ear.

Tang Xiaobai dodged, not giving an answer.

"Is it agreed?" he pursued further.

She was actually convinced earlier.

Indeed, staying at the rear may not be safe, and going with the army might not be dangerous.

But being asked like this, she couldn’t readily agree.

There was a feeling that agreeing so easily made her seem obedient and compliant.

She wasn’t like that!

She was several years older than the young master!

"Sister?" This call was truly right next to her ear, rustling and tickling.

Here it comes again!

With some exasperation, Tang Xiaobai glared at him.

Since childhood, whenever he had a request, he’d play this trick.

When they were little, it would make him blush awkwardly, but now he uses it skillfully!

His beautiful eyes held a faint smile, full of allure.

How could she be someone easily charmed?

Tang Xiaobai cleared her throat, and when she spoke, it was still hesitant: "Uh... I’ll think about it again..."

...

In the afternoon, they resumed their journey, heading east.

Passing through a complex mountainous forest, they got a bit lost.

Li Mu was unbothered by being lost, but seeing Tang Xiaobai’s slight furrowed brow as she stopped to note the terrain, he remarked, "We still need a guide."

This suddenly reminded Tang Xiaobai, and she turned back to tell him, "I ran into Lv Xia—a Mr. Lv—earlier." She briefly explained the situation. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Li Mu said, "The previous inspector of Shuozhou had some acquaintance with the eldest young master, who recommended Lv Xia to the Inspector Mansion of Shuozhou."

Tang Xiaobai sighed, "Regardless of everything, Mr. Lv has done us a great favor, and we shouldn’t shortchange him."

Li Mu was slightly displeased, "When have I shortchanged him? He’s the one refusing to accept anything; he’s unwilling to work for me!"

Tang Xiaobai was momentarily stunned, then understood: "He probably doesn’t want to get caught up in court politics; if it’s something beneficial to the country and people, he’d likely still be willing," she pondered and asked, "I noticed Lv Xia has stayed around here for quite a while; he should be familiar with the area. Do you need someone to guide your troops?"

Seeing her talk so much about Lv Xia, Li Mu felt a bit annoyed and flatly said: "Lv Xia has only been in Shuozhou and Yunzhou; it’s not his turn to be a guide for the northern expedition!"

Tang Xiaobai’s eyes brightened: "Then he can guide me!"

"If you need a guide, just find a local; why insist on him? He’s still concerned with maintaining his scholarly status; he might not agree to help you."

"No, he won’t!" Tang Xiaobai said, "Before we parted, Mr. Lv even mentioned that I could seek him for help if needed."

Li Mu frowned, "I can guide you too!"

Tang Xiaobai was amused by him: "Are you very familiar with the area?" she said, pretending to look around.

If the young master were familiar with this place, they wouldn’t be lost right now.

"I can go around first and then guide you," Li Mu stubbornly said.

Tang Xiaobai burst into laughter: "Don’t... don’t be so childish, hahaha..."

As she was laughing, she caught sight of a figure in the woods out of the corner of her eye.

"Is there someone over there?" she asked while turning her head to look.

She had just started to move when Li Mu covered her eyes.

"What’s the matter?" Tang Xiaobai asked.

Li Mu held her eyes from behind, his arms naturally wrapping around her, as if embracing her.

The little girl nestled quietly in his arms, without any struggle, her entire being speaking of trust.

Li Mu smiled gently and said softly, "The person is ugly, not worthy of your sight."

She laughed at that, affectionately scolded: "Stop fooling around!"

But she didn’t continue questioning nor asked him to remove his hand.

Clearly, she sensed something.

Indeed.

Li Mu had spotted the person in the woods before she did.

Someone hanging from a tree, not knowing if dead or alive.

He was pondering how to get her away when, on the other side, Mo Ji retrieved the person from the tree, bringing news: "Not dead!"

Li Mu breathed a slight sigh of relief and removed his hand.

When Tang Xiaobai regained her vision, she saw Mo Ji carrying someone, emerging from the woods like a flash of light, and was by her side in the blink of an eye.

The person was indeed being carried, and when they arrived, they were casually tossed to the ground, somewhat roughly.

Perhaps this roughness woke the person up.

With a weak murmur, the newly rescued girl began to cough violently.

"Get some water for her!" Tang Xiaobai instructed.

From the looks of it, her throat might have been injured by the hanging.

After drinking some water, the girl shakily lifted her head.

The moment Tang Xiaobai saw her face, she was stunned.

It was still a young girl, around seventeen or eighteen.

Tang Xiaobai was not struck because she was exceptionally beautiful or resembled someone.

How to describe it?

The most innocent face she’d seen in this world was Gu Ning.

But Gu Ning’s ruthlessness makes her quite unparalleled, so her demeanor isn’t the most typical.

Now, she saw the quintessential innocent demeanor!

Those watery eyes seemed ready to shed a perfect tear at any moment.

The way she looked at you was enough to mentally compose a tragic drama.

Though this girl’s looks couldn’t be called exceptionally beautiful, her demeanor was remarkable!

Tang Xiaobai pursed her lips, carefully choosing her words: "Miss... why seek despair? Is something troubling you?"

In the deep woods, such an extraordinary maiden’s appearance was too strange!

As if some important plot was about to unfold!

Her current feeling was like encountering a hidden task NPC, afraid that a wrong word might fail to trigger a hidden plot.

Fortunately, after she asked these questions, a perfect tear glistened down the maiden’s cheek, as if signaling the beginning of the hidden storyline.