Xiao Jue punched Lou Yan in the face, causing Lou Yan to stumble.
When he looked up again, the corner of Lou Yan's mouth was broken, and blood slid down the corner of his lip.
"Lou Yan!" Xiao Jue glared at Lou Yan and said through gritted teeth, "What did you promise me?"
Lou Yan stood in the room with his eyes lowered and said nothing.
"I saved you when you were kneeling on the ground like a dog and letting others bully you. Your mother was seriously ill, and it was I who sent people to treat her to save her life." Xiao Jue said word by word: "You promised me.
I will be loyal to you from now on and will never betray you. But what did you do?"
Xiao Jue picked up Lou Yan's collar and said angrily: "I didn't know when did a humble servant become the current third prince and my blood brother?"
Lou Yan's face turned pale and he was forced to raise his head slightly by Xiao Jue.
"I...have not forgotten. What I said before still counts." Lou Yan finally said, "No matter what my identity is, I will fulfill my promise, be loyal to you, and never betray!"
"You fart!" Xiao Jue punched Lou Yan in the face again: "You concealed your identity and approached me because you wanted to recognize your father, right? Lou Yan, how dare you use me?"
Lou Yan: "I didn't..."
"Do you think I will believe it?" Xiao Jue threw Lou Yan away and said coldly: "I was not careful for a moment and got into your trap. But Lou Yan, what if you recognize your father?
Those born of lowly people are equally lowly.”
Lou Yan: "..."
Lou Yan looked at Xiao Jue who was furious and suddenly realized that maybe this was Qin Zhen's purpose?
But why?
He raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, and after Xiao Jue finished cursing, he said softly: "Your Majesty already knows about the Crown Prince, and he asked Your Majesty to return to the capital with the Dragon Guard."
Xiao Jue gave him a cold look, waved his hands and walked out of the room.
Qin Zhen stood at the door, saw Xiao Jue, and bowed calmly: "I have met His Highness the Crown Prince."
Xiao Jue looked at Qin Zhen intently for a moment, and in the end said nothing, and hurried to the mountain gate. Outside the mountain gate, Yuan Chu had prepared the bicycle frame, and was just waiting for Xiao Jue.
Lou Yan came out of the house one step later, raised his eyes, and met Qin Zhen's eyes.
Lou Yan walked up to Qin Zhen in a few steps and looked down at her: "Is this what you want? To make the prince and I turn against each other."
Qin Zhen's eyes fell on the wound at the corner of his lip, and she muttered: "It's a very cruel attack."
Lou Yan: "What?"
Qin Zhen took out a bottle of wound medicine and put it in Lou Yan's hand and said, "How can you, the dignified third prince, have such a wound on your face? Just wipe it, and it will be cured before you return to the capital."
Lou Yan clutched the bottle of wound medicine tightly, feeling a heavy breath in his chest that was difficult to relieve.
Qin Zhen looked at him and whispered: "Xiao Jue is not worth your life for him."
"What about you?" Lou Yan asked almost urgently: "Why are you doing all this?"
Qin Zhen didn't answer. She just told him to apply medicine on the corner of his lip to avoid the injury, and then turned around and left.
Lou Yan stared at Qin Zhen's back, feeling heavy in his heart.
He has been hanging out in the market since he was a child. In order to get a piece of food, he has seen all the warmth and coldness of human beings, and has seen many different kinds of people. He has developed the ability to see people. Even Xiao Jue seems to him to be simple and good.
Got it.
But he was the only one who couldn't see through Qin Zhen.
She is just a little girl of sixteen or seventeen years old. She is the treasure in Qin Hong's palm. She should be innocent and ignorant of the world. But Qin Zhen seems to have gone through many vicissitudes and has a maturity that should not be expected at this age.
Her body is even more full of contradictions.
Lou Yan could feel her kindness towards him, but in the end, he was plotted and exploited by her again and again.
Lou Yan raised his hand and rubbed his eyebrows, feeling that dealing with Qin Zhen was a bit more difficult than dealing with the current emperor.
——
That night, Qin Hong began to organize.
The old, weak, women and children were all settled, and those who wanted to leave were given enough money to make them worry-free for the rest of their lives. Those who were willing to stay and continue to follow Qin Hong went to the capital together. From now on, even if they had registered military status, they could have a bright future.
.
In the final integration, six thousand people were left.
Early the next morning, Qin Hong took these 6,000 people and prepared to set off for the capital.
Lou Yan took Qin Hong's family members to escort the prince back to the capital first, while Qin Hong followed Yuan Chu with his army.
Qin Zhen was sitting on the carriage with the window open and her eyes outside for a long time.
"Miss, what are you looking at?" Yan Yu sat under her and stuck his head out, following her line of sight and looking out.
When he saw it, he couldn't help but exclaimed: "That's not Lou... isn't it the third prince? Why isn't he riding a horse?"
Outside, Lou Yan followed the prince's carriage, waiting beside him like the attendants.
The dignified third prince, who has a horse but does not ride, actually walks along the carriage like a servant.
Yan Yu whispered: "The trip to the capital will take as fast as three to five days or as slow as ten days. Does the third prince have to walk all the way back?"
Qin Zhen felt irritated as she listened to Yan Yu's words, and said angrily: "If he wants to leave, just let him go."
Yan Yu heard Qin Zhen's impatient tone and immediately shut up, not daring to say anything more.
Qin Zhen leaned against the car window, her eyes always falling on Lou Yan.
The hem of the brocade robe he was wearing was stained with mud, and there were beads of sweat on his forehead, which made him look a little embarrassed. However, his tall back was straight and he took every step very steadily.
The more Qin Zhen looked at it, the more she felt suffocated, so she simply closed the window with a bang, keeping her eyes out of sight.
Until nightfall, the team stopped and set up camp.
Qin Zhen jumped off the carriage, but Yan Yu was nowhere to be seen.
She walked around in a circle but couldn't find anyone, so she simply stopped looking. When she was about to go back to her tent to rest, she saw a figure walking out of the main tent not far away and walking slowly towards a secluded place.
Qin Zhen stared at the man's back for a moment, then finally couldn't hold it back and followed him.
She followed the figure away from the camp, and finally stopped on a hillside.
The man sat on the ground with his back to him, looking up at the stars in the sky, wondering what he was thinking.
Qin Zhen stared at the back figure for a moment, and suddenly felt that she was sick. She stayed up in the middle of the night, why did she follow him to this wilderness?
Thinking of this, Qin Zhen turned around and wanted to leave.
"Following me all the way, what do you want to do?"
The person with his back turned opened his mouth and successfully kept Qin Zhen behind.
Qin Zhen turned around, walked around to the man in a few steps, looked at him condescendingly, and said, "Lou Yan, are you a fool?"
Lou Yan raised his head and looked at Qin Zhen quietly.
"You are the third prince, not his dog," Qin Zhen said word by word, "You no longer have to obey his orders and look at his face."
Lou Yan tilted his head slightly, thoughtfully: "Are you caring about me?"
"You're thinking too much," Qin Zhen sneered and said, "I just can't see a fool hanging out in front of me."