Keep your voice down. Are you trying to look glamorous dressed as a forced lover?

Li Qingyan's last impression was Tang Fei's heart-wrenching screams, and a familiar voice rushing towards her.

It seems to be Ji Mingzheng.

But Ji Mingzheng's leg is crippled, and he doesn't like her.

As she was swallowed by the river, Li Qingyan thought she was probably imagining things.

But just as she was about to be swallowed by the river, her hand was grabbed.

The water surged violently, and her soaked clothes, heavy as lead, were dragged down, but her hand never let go, still gripping her tightly.

Until everything went black and she completely lost consciousness.

It's unclear how long Li Qingyan was unconscious before she finally regained consciousness.

All that could be heard was the soft murmur of flowing water. When I opened my eyes, I was greeted by towering, steep cliffs on both sides and the blue sky above.

The sky was a beautiful blue; if it weren't for their misfortune, even this narrow, deep ditch would have possessed a unique beauty.

At the bottom of the ditch, there was a pool of still water. The surface of the water was unusually calm, with no turbulent waves, only a thin stream flowing slowly along the cracks in the rocks.

Once Li Qingyan confirmed that she was safe, she slowly sat up and her gaze fell on the figure in front of her.

"Ji Mingzheng." It really was him, and the fish roasting over the fire smelled quite delicious.

Ji Mingzheng turned around, then quickly turned his head back as if he had been burned: "You're awake."

Li Qingyan looked down and saw that she was wearing his outer robe, but no inner clothes, only her undergarments. As she stood up, a patch of fair skin was revealed.

Li Qingyan touched it; her clothes were almost dry from her body heat. Ji Mingzheng spoke as if he had eyes in the back of his head.

"Your clothes should be dry by now."

Li Qingyan's inner and outer garments were drying on a nearby rock. She got up to touch them; they were still slightly damp, but almost dry.

"I took them off with my eyes closed, just because I was worried you'd catch a cold if you kept wearing wet clothes."

Ji Mingzheng explained.

Li Qingyan finished dressing: "You can take your clothes off with your eyes open, I have no objection."

Upon hearing this, Ji Mingzheng fell silent.

Li Qingyan didn't like to hide things, so she asked directly, "Didn't you dislike me? Why did you jump down then?"

No one knows how Ji Mingzheng got her ashore and then cleaned up everything while dragging his crippled leg.

"As I said, protecting His Highness is my duty."

Ji Mingzheng looked at Li Qingyan, who was squatting beside him and staring straight at him, and looked away uncomfortably: "What are you looking at?"

"Check if you're injured."

Li Qingyan not only looked at it, but also examined it with his hands: "If you are injured, you have to tell me. You can't hide it from me."

"No injuries, just some minor scratches, just like Your Highness's."

Li Qingyan looked at the back of her hand, her palm, and the scrapes on her elbow: "That's good."

I also have them on my legs and body, but thankfully they're not heavy.

Li Qingyan looked up and saw that the surrounding stone walls were straight up and down, and the top of the cliff was extremely high off the ground, with only a narrow sliver of sunlight filtering through, making the bottom of the ravine look somewhat dark.

"Is this no longer the bridge where we fell? Is Tang Fei alright?"

If that were the case, they should have been rescued long ago.

Tang Fei had tried to stop her earlier, but I don't know what happened to him.

"No, we were swept into the rapids and finally thrown to the bottom of this ditch." Seeing that she was awake, Ji Mingzheng was concerned about Tang Fei, and his tone was a little stiff: "Tang Fei is fine, he was held back by Heng Wang's men."

"That's good."

It's such a pity that someone with potential, a future king, was found and then this happened.

Ji Mingzheng noticed that Li Qingyan cared, and then saw her constantly smelling the fish.

Seeing that the fish was almost done grilling, I impatiently handed it to her directly.

"Give."

Once you've eaten, shut up. You're just saying things he doesn't want to hear.

Because Ji Mingzheng was on horseback, he had already crossed the bridge and was completely safe when it collapsed. However, when he saw Li Qingyan fall, he acted faster than he thought. Even though he couldn't grab her, he followed her without hesitation and fell into the river below the bridge.

He doesn't regret his choice to this day, but seeing her acting so casually, he just wants to shut her up with a fish.

"It smells pretty good." Li Qingyan took a bite, then held it to Ji Mingzheng's lips: "You should have some too."

The river water was clear, and the fish didn't smell fishy. However, it would be difficult for Ji Mingzheng to get his hands on them, especially since he was still wet.

"No need, you eat."

One fish isn't even enough to fill a tooth gap, so it's better to give it to her. When he was on the march, sometimes he didn't have time to eat for two or three days, and sometimes he would just eat some dry rations. He was used to it.

"No, you eat too."

Li Qingyan persisted.

Ji Mingzheng insisted, "I'll let you eat it."

Rescue will definitely come, but it's uncertain when. He finally caught one and needs to replenish her strength.

In the past, he could easily catch or insert several, but now... he didn't want to lose face or behave indecently in front of her.

And it's better for him to eat and drink less, since it's not convenient...

Li Qingyan pursed her lips. Ji Mingzheng had saved her, caught fish, and started a fire, so he was already exhausted.

Too lazy to say more, she directly threatened, "If you don't eat, I'll feed you with my mouth."

"you……"

Ji Mingzheng's face flushed red: "Do you think I'm afraid?"

His heart pounded wildly as he glared at Li Qingyan and said fiercely, "Li Qingyan, don't talk nonsense when you're alone with a man and a woman. You should know how wicked men can be. Aren't you afraid they'll take advantage of you?"

Li Qingyan thought to himself, the fourth challenge has begun, and there are only the two of them here. In the end, he might be the one to help her pass the challenge.

"I was just talking nonsense, go ahead and eat it if you dare! I'm not afraid to tell you the truth, now you should be afraid of me!"

She had already planned it out; if he refused, she would force herself on him, determined to get past the fourth hurdle.

Ji Mingzheng: "..."

Li Qingyan's makeup was gone, and her hair was a bit messy, but it made her eyes look even brighter, and the eagerness in her eyes was very obvious.

"Do you even know what you're saying?!"

He was furious. Did she know that this would make him overthink and even act recklessly?

Ji Mingzheng bit down hard on the fish, but when he saw Li Qingyan smile, he suddenly realized that he and she were eating the same fish, and the part he had just bitten into was the one she had eaten from.

Ji Mingzheng had no time to appreciate the taste of the fish in his mouth. He tried to restrain himself, but his gaze kept sweeping over her pink lips.

Her biting motions became increasingly fierce, as if she were eating herself, not the fish.

The fish was quickly devoured.

Even though there was nothing left, he couldn't resist taking a bite of the last bit of fish because he saw her lips had touched the twig. He stared straight at her and swallowed it whole.