Lin Ning did not know what to say; she felt her cheeks grow warmer with her ears. ‘What do I say?!’ She thought, feeling as though her heart was beating too loudly. ‘Why are you beating so loud?! Stop!’ She shouted in her head.

“Young miss!” Hearing Xia Ling, she had pushed Cao Peizhi back and laid back down while her back was turned towards him. Cao Peizhi, on the other hand, was upset that their conversation was cut short and looked to Xia Ling, who had entered into the room with Hun Cuifen.

“Young miss, you need to eat.” Hun Cuifen had personally told them what to include in the food for Lin Ning. Looking at the two, Hun Cuifen and Xia Ling were confused about the two.

Cao Peizhi got up from the bed; just when he was about to leave, he had stopped. “Please think about it.” He said lastly before leaving the room.

Hearing him say before leaving, she slightly opened her mouth while touching her lips. ‘Am I going crazy?’ She thought and then hugged the blanket close to her.

“Young miss, it’s time for you to eat something. You haven’t properly eaten anything since you’ve arrived.” Hun Cuifen urged Lin Ning to eat something since she had been unconscious for five days. “Being unconscious for five days is not a good sign. You must have been very worried and stressed throughout this trip. We need to make sure that you are in top condition.”

Lin Ning heard Hun Cuifen say while sitting up to eat her food. She could not help but still think about what Cao Peizhi said. ‘Am I thinking incorrectly? More than friends or siblings?’

“Young miss, are you going to tell him about you know?” Hun Cuifen had been wondering when Lin Ning would tell Cao Peizhi about what she had been working on for him.

“I’ll tell him soon.” Lin Ning still felt her beating heart that felt unsettled from earlier.

***

Cao Peizhi had gone out; he sighed as he went over to his horse that was being fed. “Did you feed him?” Asked the soldier who was taking care of the horses.

“Yep, I’ve just finished feeding them. Do not worry.” The soldier said, continuing to feed the last few in the stalls.

“Peizhi, there you are.” Yi Changpu had been looking for him all morning, being unable to find just as he was about to give up. “Where have you been all morning?”

Yi Changpu wrapped one of his arms around Cao Peizhi’s neck; both looked at one another, which made it seem like this would be a serious conversation. “Was there anything that I should know?” Being dragged into Yi Changpu’s tent, he did not know what was happening.

“It seems as though the Ma State has been bringing in more of their people into the Zhao State. They have been infiltrating through with letters being passed around secretly. I’m surprised that they wanted to attack us this time.” Yi Changpu explained the current situation between the Ma State and Zhao State.

“Have you seen what is written in the letters?” Cao Peizhi decided to ask about the letters that were being exchanged.

“En, I’ve managed to steal one.” Yi Changpu handed Cao Peizhi a letter, opening it before giving it off. Reading the letter, he could recall the letters that his mother used to write to teach him. “Crown Prince, these letters…” Looking up to Yi Changpu, he held a serious look since both could recall what their mothers had taught them. “So, it seems as though the Ma State may not have been the one who is causing all the misunderstanding.”

“En, it seems as though the Zhao Emperor and Empress are causing quite the trouble for all of us.” Yi Changpu felt as though he should have known that it was the two of the worst people that revolved in his life. ‘It seems as though they are still trying to bring more trouble and watch from the side to see how I suffer.’

“What are you going to do?” Cao Peizhi then asked. Yi Changpu stood there, leaving the room in silence to find out what had been happening this entire time.

“It seems as though I need to start my plan.” Yi Changpu had been through many life and death situations but nearly lost his best friend. He also had a woman in his heart now; he needed to start protecting them. Cao Peizhi did not know what Yi Changpu was thinking, but he had hoped that the Zhao Emperor and Empress would not discover it.

***

Taking a walk outside, Lin Ning tied her blindfold once more as she wanted to see the wolf that had saved her. “Cuifen, where is the wolf?” Facing Hun Cuifen, she wanted to know where her wolf friend was with hopes that nothing too severe had happened.

“The wolf is in another tent, but she is in a cage.” Hun Cuifen decided to take Lin Ning’s hand to lead her to the tent where the wolf was.

“Oh, the wolf is a female?” Lin Ning did not even know the wolf’s gender.

“En, the wolf is a female, so if you plan to keep her, then give her name.” Entering the tent, Lin Ning opened her eyes to see a blue color that turned yellow.

‘Oh, sad and happy.’ Seeing the color change so soon, she assumed that it was the wolf. The wolf started to wag her tail as she lightly whined and walked over to Lin Ning with three legs. Lin Ning had knelt down to pet the wolf but realized that the wolf did not have a right front leg. “Cuifen?” She called out to Hun Cuifen, who knew that she would have to explain the situation.

“The wolf managed to survive her wounds from the assassin’s sword, but the wolf’s right front leg was infected because it had gone too far. I had to remove that limb, or else she would have died. She also only has a right eye to see through.” Hun Cuifen did not know what the wolf had gone through, but it was clear that the wolf would never be able to return to the wild.