With her deceased husband as her dowry, would Your Highness dare to marry her?

Pei Jinxuan had never seen such a scene before. He steadied himself, bent down and checked the pulse of a maid at his feet. It was warm and still moving.

What happened?

Where's Amo?!

Pei Jinxuan straightened up, quickly scanned the area, and hurriedly ran towards Liufang Garden.

In Liufang Garden, several large earthenware pots were simmering medicine. Suwen and Siqi lay on the stone steps. Amo, who was supposed to protect Lin Ci, was nowhere to be found, leaving only snake corpses scattered all over the ground.

A cup of tea sat on a small tea table in the garden. Pei Jinxuan stepped forward and touched the cup; the tea was still warm.

A white jade hairpin lay at his feet. He bent down and picked it up. The hairpin was cold to the touch, and a small plum blossom was carved at the end. It belonged to Lin Ci.

Pei Jinxuan held the hairpin in her palm, her gaze passing over the desolate Liufang Garden and looking towards the back gate.

A figure suddenly landed; it was A-Mo, his clothes stained with blood, his shoulders still heaving, clearly having just escaped a fierce battle.

Amo knelt before Pei Jinxuan, sword in hand, panting heavily as she rapidly made hand gestures: [Eight assassins have broken into the backyard, each one highly skilled. The yard is teeming with snakes; chaos reigns.]

After making the hand gesture, he looked up and scanned the tragic scene in the courtyard. His face turned pale, and after searching around again without finding Lin Ci, his heart sank completely.

Pei Jinxuan frowned, suppressing his anger and not blaming him, but said in a deep voice, "You've fallen for their trap."

Amo looked ashamed and lowered her head slightly. "I'll go find her."

At this moment, Suwen and Siqi, who had been lying on the ground, woke up one after the other, their first words being a terrified scream, "Snake! Snake!"

Immediately afterwards, shouts came from elsewhere, rising and falling, turning the whole courtyard into chaos.

Lin Ci was indeed prescient, having given everyone in the household medicine to clear heat and detoxify beforehand. Although the snake venom was potent, no one was killed.

Where will Ke Lin Ci be taken?

Pei Jinxuan closed his eyes and quickly visualized the city's terrain in his mind.

To the south lies the market, a place crowded and chaotic, making travel difficult for vehicles and horses.

The imperial palace is to the north; Xuanjing would never willingly walk into a trap.

He had already set up hidden sentries in the direction of the Liang Prince's Mansion, and if there had been any unusual activity, news should have come by now.

Only the west side. The bamboo forest on the outskirts of the city is secluded and quiet, making it the easiest place for people to hide and the fastest way to leave the city.

He suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as knives and swords.

"Amo, select a squad of light cavalry and come with me to rescue them. Be quick!"

Pei Jinxuan put the hairpin into his pocket, leaped over the wall in a few steps, went straight into the stable, mounted a Ferghana horse, gave a soft shout, and rode away in a cloud of dust.

**

Lin Ci was shaken awake.

The wheels rolled over the gravel, the car jolted violently, and her head hit the side of the car, a dull pain spreading from the back of her head.

Lin Ci struggled to open her eyes, her vision blurred for a moment before gradually clearing. Above her was an unfamiliar car roof, beneath her was a hard wooden board, her mouth was stuffed with a wad of coarse cloth, and her wrists were painfully constricted by the cloth strips.

She tried to move her fingers, but the strips of cloth were tied so tightly they dug into her flesh, as if sucking her blood.

The interior of the car was dimly lit, and the air was filled with the scent of sandalwood and a faint, fishy smell.

Lin Ci closed her eyes, forcing herself to calm down.

Don't panic, or you won't be able to do anything.

She tried hard to recall how she had fallen for Xuanjing's trick—was it the cup of tea the maid brought, or the small snake that landed at her feet?

Snakes... Oh right... There are a lot more snakes in the yard. I wonder if Pei Jinxuan has had any trouble.

If nothing had happened, Pei Jinxuan should have realized she was missing.

Will he chase after me regardless of everything?

She suddenly became unsure whether she wanted him to come or not.

Since Xuanjing dared to abduct her, he must have left himself a backup plan.

If Pei Jinxuan catches up and falls into an ambush, then she... would rather he not come at all.

Lin Ci gritted her teeth and forcefully suppressed the thought. Now was not the time to think about these things; she had to figure out her situation first. She held her breath and focused, hearing the sound of horses' hooves and birdsong; if she smelled carefully, she could smell the damp scent of grass and trees mixed with the fragrance of bamboo leaves in the air.

Are they heading out of the city?

Lin Ci quickly thought of a solution, but unexpectedly the carriage stopped, and he didn't know what was going on outside.

"Lady Lin is awake."

A pure and ethereal voice came from above.

Lin Ci's heart skipped a beat. She looked up and saw Xuan Jing sitting cross-legged on the futon behind her. His eyes were lowered, and a gentle smile played on his lips.

It turned out he had been there all along, but he was deliberately holding his breath.

"Well……"

Lin Ci tried to speak, but only managed to utter muffled, distorted sounds.

Xuanjing turned his head slightly, as if listening to her movements.

A moment later, he slowly bent down and began to touch her cheek.

Lin Ci suddenly turned his head, and his hand fell into empty air, hovering for a while.

"I apologize for any offense," Xuan Jing said softly. He gently pulled the gag from her mouth away with his fingertips.

Lin Ci gasped for breath, her mouth as dry as if it had been sanded. She swallowed hard to moisten her throat, then turned over, pressed her forehead against the wooden board, and slowly propped herself up until her back was against the carriage wall.

With great effort, Lin Ci finally managed to sit up straight. She closed her eyes for a moment, regulated her breathing, and forced herself to calm down.

"How did Master Xuanjing end up doing kidnapping?" She raised her eyes, her smile mockingly laced with sarcasm.

Xuanjing did not answer. He sat cross-legged again, his hands forming a mudra on his knees, his posture dignified, just like the clay-sculpted, gilded Buddha in the main hall.

Lin Ci frankly stated, "High monks don't need to chant scriptures anymore. You don't have a certificate of ordination, so why bother pretending?"

Xuan Jing slowly opened her eyes. Her empty eyes were like a stagnant pool, devoid of joy or sorrow.

"You interrupted this humble monk's recitation of the Rebirth Mantra." He paused. "If Prince Jing'an stands on the road to the Yellow Springs, he won't be able to find the Gate of Hell."

Lin Ci felt as if an invisible hand had pulled her heart to her throat, her scalp tingled, and her mind went blank for a moment.

"Your breathing is disordered." Xuan Jing turned her head slightly towards her, her smile pure and untainted. "You care about him so much, won't Song Xuan be angry?"

He knows Song Xuan?!

Lin Ci looked at Xuan Jing in surprise. Xuan Jing's delicate face was smiling slightly, but a hint of mockery still slipped out from the corner of his lips, as if he was laughing at her embarrassment.

wrong.

Don't let him lead you by the nose.

Perhaps it was all a trap from beginning to end.

Lin Ci took a careful breath to calm herself. After a moment, she lowered her head, forced a smile, and said, "Song Xuan is dead."

Xuan Jing frowned slightly, seemingly puzzled. "Can't the dead be resurrected? Didn't Ghost Hand teach you the art of resurrection?"

"If even my master couldn't do it, how could I possibly accomplish it?"

Xuan Jing was even more confused. "Then why did you bring Song Xuan's remains to the Jing'an Prince's Mansion? Shouldn't the dead be laid to rest?"

Lin Ci sneered, "You've spent too much time in the Buddhist temple, so naturally you don't understand the seven emotions and six desires of ordinary people. I can't bear to part with him, and I want to be with him forever."

Xuan Jing slightly curled the corners of his mouth, picked up the prayer beads in his hand, one by one, very slowly. The Bodhi beads clinked together, making a crisp sound, like his heartbeat, or like he was calculating something.

"Let's assume everything you said is true." He tilted his head, his smile carrying a childlike innocence that sent chills down one's spine.

Lin Ci leaned against the carriage wall and asked in return, "And what about you? Why do you stay by Prince Liang's side? Could it be that you also find something you can't bear to part with in him?"