The night was as thick as splashing ink, and Zhou Zhenzhen and Shen Yanbai walked on foot in the mountains and forests where they couldn't see their fingers. Zhou Zhenzhen took the lead, as if she was not tired, but Shen Yanbai followed behind her out of breath.

"Miss Zhou, we've been gone for several hours, let's take a break. I just can't walk! Shen Yanbai sat on the ground and said nothing, unwilling to move.

Zhou Zhenzhen really stopped, turned around and rolled her eyes helplessly.

"His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince is still a man, and his physical strength is so poor, it's a shame." She scoffed, and said, "If you want to rest, I still have to hurry." ”

Hearing this, Shen Yanbai was not happy, and hurriedly got up to block the way.

"Miss Zhou, what you said is not right! I'm reserving my strength, and if something happens to me, I won't even have the strength to escape. ”

Zhou Zhenzhen staggered his gaze, "What the Fourth Highness said is reasonable, then His Highness will rest here, I'll go first." ”

"Don't, don't!" Shen Yanbai stopped Zhou Zhenzhen.

"Miss Zhou, let's take a rest, it's getting late, and we'll leave tomorrow."

"It's been a day since we disappeared, isn't Your Highness really worried that your family will look for us? Presumably, my father and eldest sister are already anxious at this moment. ”

Shen Yanbai lowered his eyes, and his voice, which was still full of energy, instantly softened. He no longer stopped Zhou Zhenzhen, but found a tree and sat down with his back against him.

"That's right. You have parents and sisters at home, and they must be very worried, but I am different, and I am alone. It's because I'm too slow that Miss Zhou is delaying her home, you don't have to worry about me, hurry up and find the mountain road to go home, I have to rest. ”

Zhou Zhenzhen looked at him with a decadent and pitiful appearance, as if she saw herself when she was young.

At that time, Jinling City was broken, and her family was ruined by thieves, and she had to wander around with Aunt Qing in order to survive.

Now looking at Shen Yanbai like this, that feeling of homelessness came to her heart at this moment.

Shen Yanbai lowered his head and drew circles on the ground with branches. Zhou Zhenzhen looked at him deeply a few times, but turned around and left without saying anything.

……

As the moon rose in the middle of the sky, Shen Yanbai seemed to be leaning against the tree and was drowsy. Shivered several times by the cold wind of the night, but did not raise his heavy eyelids, but hugged himself and shrunk into a ball.

Zhou Zhenzhen's hurried steps appeared in front of him again, but seeing that he hadn't even lit a bonfire, he was really helpless.

She walked over slowly, crouched down beside him, and brought the grilled fish stuck in a branch close to his nose. Shen Yanbai was really attracted by the aroma of grilled fish, and although he slept soundly, he finally couldn't bear the hunger and woke up.

"Awake?"

"Grilled fish !!"

He was shocked, and hurriedly took the branch and sniffed the fragrance.

Zhou Zhenzhen smiled rarely, and said, "Don't smell it, eat it quickly." ”

Shen Yanbai grinned and took a hard bite, the fish was still a little hot.

"Eat slowly, I won't rob you, I haven't eaten enough."

She shook the remaining two fish in front of his eyes, and Shen Yan's white eyes were almost straight.

"You hit all this?"

"Or else? It's still God's way to see that you are pitiful and falling. "Zhou Zhenzhen has always had a poisonous tongue.

Shen Yanbai smiled stupidly, looking at Zhou Zhenzhen with adoration, and his eyes were full of little stars. He has never met a capable little lady like Zhou Zhenzhen!

Zhou Zhenzhen handed him the ungrilled fish in her hand, "Take it, I'll make a fire." ”

Shen Yanbai smiled and took the strip of cloth from the skewer fish and took another bite of the grilled fish.

The bonfire was raging, and the two sat around to keep warm. Shen Yanbai ate all the two grilled fish alone, and finally had a full stomach.

"Miss Zhou, why don't you eat it?"

"I'm not hungry."

"That's right, not all of you who practice martial arts will be able to open the valley, I heard that you can't starve to death without eating."

"Where do you hear the rumor that we don't skip meals but eat less and eat more. Where is there anyone who really doesn't need to eat? ”

Shen Yanbai also felt reasonable after hearing this, and nodded seriously in agreement.

Zhou Zhenzhen looked at him and shook her head helplessly.

"But I'm a little curious, why do you know why you are a woman practicing martial arts? Practicing martial arts is tiring, and ordinary men can't stand it. ”

"After I am a military general, if I don't have martial arts, wouldn't I lose face in my family."

"But Miss Zhou doesn't know martial arts, and people don't say it's embarrassing."

Zhou Zhenzhen flew over and gave me a cold look, "Your Royal Highness the Fourth Prince, are you deliberately raising the bar with me?" ”

Shen Yanbai noticed her unkind gaze, and his back was cold and he denied it again and again, "No, no, no!" No such thing! Good martial arts! If you have martial arts, you are naturally not afraid of being bullied! ”

Although he admitted it in time, he still received a few cold glances from Zhou Zhenzhen, and suddenly felt unwell, wiped the oil on his mouth indiscriminately, and buried his head deeply.

Zhou Zhenzhen broke a few branches to add a fire, thinking about something in her heart. Shen Yanbai finally mustered up the courage to talk to Zhou Zhenzhen again.

"Miss Zhou."

Zhou Zhenzhen raised her eyes.

Shen Yanbai pursed his lips and twisted, "You...... Is it really the daughter of General Zhou? I don't think your father and daughter look any different. “

Zhou Zhenzhen frowned, Shen Yanbai felt bad again, and hurriedly explained.

"I don't mean anything else, I'm just curious."

"If His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince is so curious, why don't you ask my father yourself and ask him why he didn't make me like him."

"I don't dare! Your General's Mansion obeys His Majesty's holy order, I am a person from the East Palace, and although Your Majesty is a prince, he is already wary of the East Palace. If I have anything to do with your General's Mansion at this moment, I don't know how miserable I will die! ”

"You mean that Your Majesty is at odds with the East Palace? Discord with the Prince? But if you don't get along, how can Your Majesty hand over the military rations corruption case to the East Palace for inspection? ”

"It is precisely because of discord that Your Majesty will hand over this mess to the prince, and the responsibility of this inspector should be the matter of the household department, and it will not be the turn of the East Palace. In the final analysis, His Majesty wants to use this matter to knock on the East Palace. It's just that I was unlucky and became a pawn in the game between the East Palace and His Majesty! ”

A hint of calculation flashed in Zhou Zhenzhen's eyes, and she asked sideways, "Then how are you going to investigate this case?" Are you willing to be used as a gunman by them? ”

Shen Yanbai held his chin and looked at the warm bonfire in front of him, "What can I do if I am unwilling, where do I have the right to say no." ”

"That's right."

"I don't have any big wishes in my life, I just want to end the hostage days as soon as possible, and then return to Yanjing with the girl I like. I'm going to open the largest inn in Yanjing and eat all the food in the world! ”

Zhou Zhenzhen listened to his words patiently, and asked curiously: "As a prince, you never thought of entering the officialdom?" ”

Shen Yanbai put his hands on the back of his head and lay down comfortably. Looking at the dark curtain in front of him, he replied in a daze: "The kind of place in officialdom is not suitable for me. I'm used to being idle, I just want to have enough food every day, warm clothes, and a plain life, which is enough. ”

Zhou Zhenzhen smiled lightly, "It's also a good ambition, then I will wish His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince a wish in advance to come true." ”

Shen Yanbai looked at her with a smile, "Chengqing Jiyan." ”

The moon has moved west, the bonfire in front of him is gradually extinguished, and Shen Yanbai doesn't know when he has fallen asleep. Zhou Zhenzhen took off the cloak on her body and covered him, squatting beside him and not knowing what she was looking at, her eyes were dim.

Eventually, she got up and walked away without a trace.

……

The next morning, Shen Yanbai was woken up by a cold wind in the forest. He got up in a daze and called Miss Zhou, but no one responded to him.

It took a moment for his brain to shut down before he came to his senses, glanced at the cloak he was wearing, and got up. There is no longer Zhou Zhenzhen around.

He searched along the mountain road for a long time, but there was no trace of his own walking. Until he was found by the soldiers of the East Palace, he never saw Zhou Zhenzhen's figure. This matter inevitably fell into his heart, and it became an inexplicable matter.

Zhou Zhenzhen, who left Shen Yanbai, had already left Shangjing on horseback overnight and went straight to Huzhou. At that time, he had entered the dock to Huzhou.

It was just dawn, and the wharf was full of merchants and local vendors. Busy coming and going.

Zhou Zhenzhen dismounted, hurried overnight, changed two horses, and was a little tired. But she walked on the dock with all her strength, tied her horse to the side, and walked down the high slope to the water's edge.

"Boatman, is this a ship to Huzhou?"

The boat boss put aside the anchor, glanced at Zhou Zhenzhen, waved his hand again and again, and said, "Don't carry individual passengers, the girl should find another home." ”

Without waiting for Zhou Zhenzhen to say more, the boss of the ship had already boarded the ship, and ordered the sail to sail.

Zhou Zhenzhen stood at the ferry, and could only find her target again.

But after several inquiries, none of the shippers were willing to give her a ride, so she helplessly supported her forehead and watched the merchant ships in front of her leave one after another.

She stood there like a sculpture, blowing the cold wind, and finally stared at the small merchant ship at the end.

She took out a purse from her bosom, weighed it in her hand a few times, and then strode over.

The boat boss was leaning against the pillar of the ferry to pick his teeth, and when he saw Zhou Zhenzhen coming, he only looked up and down a few times, and glanced away with the same disdain as the previous shipwrights.

Zhou Zhenzhen had expected this, and she calmly took out a gold ingot from her purse. The captain of the ship was instantly thrilled when he saw such a golden light.

"The girl is going to Huzhou?"

"Yes, it's just that I asked back and forth all morning and said no."

The boat boss stared straight at the gold ingot with a pair of eyes, and swallowed his saliva, "Okay, okay!" The girl is going to Huzhou, and we happen to be on the way! ”

"Really?"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Zhou Zhenzhen smiled indifferently and made a false move, and the hand of the boat boss, who was already ready to receive the gold, spun again.

She looked at the boat boss and asked sincerely: "Ask the boat family about something." ”

"You say what you say!"

"In the past month, there have been people dressed in rivers and lakes who have chartered ships to transport goods?"

"This ......," the boat boss thought carefully, "oh! Yes! Just half a month ago, more than a dozen people with knives transported dozens of boxes of goods into Huzhou. ”

Zhou Zhenzhen thought for a moment, as if she had figured out something, and threw the gold ingot to the boat boss very casually.

"The boat is refreshing! When are we leaving? ”

"Now! Immediately! Right away! ”

The boss of the boat got the money and followed behind Zhou Zhenzhen, anxious like a monkey, practicing and beckoning his subordinates to start the boat.

Stepping on the deck, Zhou Zhenzhen's ears finally stopped the sound of the ship's boss's chatter. She looked at the endless lake with a distraction, knowing that this trip was not suitable and perhaps it was dangerous.