When Qu Jinshu woke up, the cave was already bright.
She frowned and searched the surroundings for Zhao Jingxing.
Finally, she spotted him curled up pitifully in a corner.
She raised a hand and touched her face. It was completely smooth.
Where was her human skin mask?!
Oh no! It must have fallen off when she went out in the rain to look for medicinal herbs last night.
She glanced outside. The sun was just beginning to rise, which meant dawn had only just broken.
Even if Zhao Jingxing had woken up during the night, he wouldn’t have been able to recognize her real appearance without a torch.
She quickly picked up the damaged human skin mask and took out her spare one. After carefully putting it on and making sure it was firmly in place, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It wasn’t time for her to reveal her true identity yet, so she would have to continue wearing Qu Zhao’s face.
She strode toward Zhao Jingxing.
It had been dark last night, so she hadn’t gotten a proper look at his real appearance.
Now that she could finally see him clearly, she couldn’t help drawing in a sharp breath.
It was said that Consort Li had once been the most beautiful woman in Xiling. Zhao Jingxing must have inherited all her finest features.
There was an air of natural heroism about his brows. His eyebrows were dark as ink, thick and well shaped, rising slightly at the ends. Their contours were as firm as mountain ridges, yet they retained a touch of gentleness.
His nose was straight and well defined, his facial features sharply outlined, and his face had perfectly balanced angles. His skin was fair, yet carried a healthy glow.
Hearing the noise, he gradually woke up and rubbed his eyes. His gaze still held traces of sleepiness and confusion, and his pupils like amber.
When he noticed Qu Jinshu looking at him, he shrank his neck and gave her a timid look.
“Your Highness, don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you.” Qu Jinshu reverted to her original voice, making it much gentler.
To become a perfect substitute for Qu Zhao, she had been required to make her voice sound almost exactly like his.
Her father had ordered her mother to make her train her voice with special medicinal preparations from a young age.
Her mother, had once been a renowned woman of the martial world, exceptionally skilled in all kinds of arts and techniques.
Yet such an outstanding woman had willingly degraded herself for a man, becoming an unacknowledged mistress without status or title. She had even trained her own daughter to become nothing more than a tool for pleasing others.
In her previous life, Qu Jinshu had regarded her mother as the only person she could rely on.
Whenever she so much as disobeyed her mother’s wishes, her mother would threaten to take her own life.
As a result, Qu Jinshu had gradually become nothing more than her puppet.
Remembering those days when the medicinal substances had ravaged her throat, leaving her writhing on the floor in agony and nearly costing her life, hatred churned deep in Qu Jinshu’s eyes.
Pulling herself back to the present, Qu Jinshu reached out and touched Zhao Jingxing’s forehead.
His temperature had returned to normal, and a smile finally appeared on her face. “Your Highness, you’re all right now. There’s no need to be afraid.”
Only then did Zhao Jingxing slowly raise his head to look at her. His glass like eyes were filled with nervousness.
He bit his finger and remained silent.
Qu Jinshu didn’t expect him to become close to her, either. She simply said softly, “I’ll go outside and check on the situation.”
However, just as she stood up, she heard someone shouting outside.
“Your Highness! Your Highness!”
It was Lin Zhong’s voice!
She quickly walked out.
The moment Lin Zhong saw her, tears nearly sprang to his eyes. “Lord Qu! Thank goodness you’re safe!”
Heaven knew how terrified he had been when he returned to their original location and found bodies scattered all over the ground.
“Where is His Highness?”
“His Highness is fine. Don’t worry.”
Lin Zhong hurried into the cave and, sure enough, found Zhao Jingxing safe and sound.
He nearly burst into tears of relief. “Good, good! As long as His Highness is safe! As long as His Highness is all right!”
At last, he could give the Empress Dowager an explanation!
“Lord Qu, I deeply admire your martial arts skills and courage. If it weren’t for you, Prince Jing would have been in grave danger.”
Lin Zhong was about to bow deeply to Qu Jinshu in gratitude.
She quickly reached out to support him. “There’s no need to thank me, Lord Lin. I was only doing what I should.”
“There’s something else I’d like to ask, Lord Lin. Do the Emperor and the Empress Dowager know that Prince Jing was attacked and went missing?”
“Of course they do! The Emperor personally assigned me the Imperial Guards and ordered me to bring Prince Jing back safely. Our men have been searching the entire forest. Thank goodness, thank goodness we’ve finally found him!” Lin Zhong said, patting his chest in relief.
So the matter had already become a major incident. That was good.
A satisfied look flashed across Qu Jinshu’s eyes.
“Lord Lin, His Highness has been through quite an ordeal. Please take him back as soon as possible.”
“Right, right! Lord Qu, you’re absolutely correct.”
…
By the time Qu Jinshu and the others returned to the main camp, the eunuchs, palace maids, and imperial physicians whom the Empress Dowager had stationed there were already rushing toward them.
Caught in the commotion, she was pushed aside and left standing outside the crowd.
But there was no longer any need for her to stay. No one here would be bold enough to attempt another attack on Zhao Jingxing.
Besides, she had something else she was more concerned about than staying by his side.
Looking past the crowd, Qu Jinshu spotted He Xiujun kneeling in front of the Emperor’s tent, his back perfectly straight.
The lower half of his trousers was stained with patches of blood. The arrow had pierced almost all the way to the bone, and he hadn’t even had time to treat the wound.
“Lord Qu, I’ve avenged you! He Xiujun is utterly irresponsible. How could a general abandon his post in the middle of battle? When we questioned him about why he was in such a hurry to leave, he refused to give us an explanation!”
Lin Zhong came over to Qu Jinshu’s side and cursed viciously while glaring at He Xiujun’s back.
He had stopped addressing him as General He and was now calling him by his full name.
That alone showed just how much he despised the man.
As for where He Xiujun had been so desperate to go, Qu Jinshu knew better than anyone.
She looked into the distance and spotted Qu Ya standing there.
She wore an elegant, understated dress, its hem decorated with exquisite embroidery. The seamstresses had worked day and night for an entire month to finish it.
The hem fluttered gently in the breeze. With its white sash cinching her slender waist, she resembled a delicate white flower blooming in spring, like a willow swaying gracefully in the breeze.
In this life, she had escaped being left with a limp.
That was what He Xiujun had risked punishment to accomplish!
He truly did love her.