The words "caring about people" seemed to awaken Fu Ling, and a look of sudden realization appeared in her light gray eyes.

She couldn't figure out why Xiao Chengyou always seemed to deliberately keep a distance from her. Whenever she deliberately seduced him, he would appear so uncertain.

She once thought that Xiao Chengyou was disgusted with her, but in front of outsiders, he could be considered protective of her, and his unwavering attitude of protecting her from the wind and rain was more awkward than caring for the princess. Of...debt.

It is normal for a man of this age to have several love affairs. I am afraid that Xiao Chengyou had already found a woman he liked in the border area, but now he was forced to marry her as his wife when he returned home. He guarded his beloved lover like a jade, across the screen. Communication over long distances is perfectly normal.

Fu Ling bit his lip and didn't speak for a long time.

The soldiers came to cover up the water and the earth. She wanted to find an opportunity to see the real content of the letter.

Early on the next morning, Fu Ling dismissed the attendants and went to the stables of the General's Mansion alone.

She couldn't break into Xiao Chengyou's study without reason, and soon she remembered an unfinished brush she had made not long ago when she was not leaving the house. She had originally intended to give it to Xiao Chengyou. Now she only needed to go to the stable to collect some horse hair to complete it.

The general's mansion was larger than Fu Ling had expected. The way to the stable went around a remote and gloomy backyard. The towering old trees dimmed the surroundings. In the silent air, a chill penetrated the clothes and clung to the body like a mushroom that could not be shaken off.

As I was almost at the stable, I heard a scream, followed by a man's whispered threat and a woman's struggling and begging for mercy. For some reason, it sounded familiar.

She calmed herself down and walked towards the corner of the wall. She was still some distance away from the figure and could only see the vague back, but the knife in the man's hand was clearly visible.

There was no one around Fu Ling, so she couldn't help but become vigilant. After hesitating for a moment, she heard the sound of struggling becoming more intense. For a moment, it reminded her of her mother's voice when she was bullied in the years before she left the house.

Fu Ling hesitated for a moment, then his heart softened, he picked up the stones on the ground and threw them over.

With a "thud" sound, the stone hit the man on the back. The man was in pain, and his hand holding the woman suddenly relaxed. The woman took the opportunity to escape immediately.

"Who's there?" A sinister voice sounded, and the man came looking for him with a knife.

Fu Ling saw that the woman had run away and left in a hurry. Fortunately, she was flexible and although she was not familiar with the road, she gradually got rid of the man holding the knife.

But the next moment, the man seemed to have discovered her traces, and the footsteps behind him suddenly became violent!

Thinking of the big knife, Fu Ling took a breath and saw that there was a sloppily built courtyard not far away, with the door half closed. She didn't care so much, and immediately rushed in and quickly closed the door.

The rules of the courtyard are not like those for servants to live in. There are weeds everywhere and it is quiet and deserted.

He thought it had been deserted for a long time, but as soon as Fu Ling walked around the corridor, he suddenly saw a thin figure standing under the eaves.

It was a boy of seventeen or eighteen years old, holding a book and reading it carefully.

The thin gown on his body was a little old from the wash, and his long black hair was hanging down unrestrainedly, making his handsome face even more pale as paper, exuding a sickly aura.

Fu Ling didn't have time to think about how there could be anyone living in this courtyard. Seeing that the young man in front of him was about to scream, he quickly stepped forward and covered his mouth with his hands very quickly.

The man holding the knife was tall and tall, but the person in front of him was extremely thin. Together, they couldn't resist even two attacks, so they had to hide themselves first.

The boy's voice didn't come out, but he was pushed back two steps by Fu Ling. The book in his hand fell to the ground, his back pressed against the door frame, and he looked up at her in shock.

He had a pair of extremely gorgeous eyes, and his slender red phoenix eyes were particularly eye-catching on that clear and sparse face. Being restrained by Fu Ling, he did not struggle, but looked at her with his eyebrows slightly drooped, and his whole person looked very... Gentle and harmless.

The sound of footsteps stopped not far away, and Fu Ling felt extremely nervous. But after a while, the footsteps just lingered by the door, without pushing the door in, and gradually went away.

Only then did Fu Ling let go of the boy in front of him.

"Thank you," she said in a moment of impatience, but now she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, "I was just being rude."

Fu Ling pursed his lips slightly, raised his eyes and looked around, and found that there was no servant serving him, and there was only the desolate courtyard with the sound of cold wind.

She couldn't help but feel doubtful, "May I ask you..."

The boy's skin was extremely pale, and there was an imperceptible blush at the end of his eyes.

He didn't care about her rudeness just now, nor did he ask her why she was avoiding him. He just stayed silent for a moment and said calmly:

"It's just an insignificant person, girl, you don't have to worry about it."

After he said that, he turned away, obviously not wanting to talk to her too much.

Fu Ling did not ask further questions, but lowered his body to pick up the books that fell on the ground.

She recognized that this was a bibliography for the scientific examination. When she was a child, her eldest sister had taught her a lot with this book. There were many notes written by young people in this book. The thin gold body was neat and elegant, and there were many notes. The words written down were quite insightful, and Fu Ling couldn't help but feel a little lost in his thoughts for a moment.

"If nothing happens, girl, please come back." The young man's voice interrupted Fu Ling's thoughts. Perhaps he had been standing in the wind for a long time. He subconsciously raised his hand to touch his pale lips and coughed softly. Voice.

Fu Ling hurriedly handed the book back to the young man's hands. She looked up at the poorly dressed young man in front of her who seemed to be sick. She was stunned and quickly guessed his identity.

"Heavy?" Fu Ling asked.

Although this courtyard is simple and simple, it is obvious that the person who can live here alone has some status. There was no trace of this young man at yesterday's family banquet. I could only overhear the sentence "The third young master said he was ill and couldn't come."

She didn't know much about Shen Sheng. She only knew that his mother was a widow whom the general accidentally met drunk. The woman was a bit old and from a humble background. She even had a son with her ex-husband. After becoming pregnant with Shen Sheng, she became her concubine. After entering the mansion, he was never welcomed by the old lady, let alone living under someone like Chen Yuxiao.

Shen Zhong had been weak and sickly since he was born, and he was also a solitary person, so he became a marginal figure in the general's mansion. Fu Ling had expected that they would have a hard time living in the mansion, but he was still shocked to see him now. As the only illegitimate son in the general's mansion, he actually lived such a simple and shabby life.

The young man didn't say anything, but just looked at her mysteriously, with a gentle gaze, yet with a kind of distance that kept strangers away. After an unknown amount of time, he nodded gently.

"Do you know where the stable is?" Fu Ling had just taken a detour and was not sure about the direction, so he asked the person in front of him.

Shen Zhong pointed out the direction of the stable to her. He was very attentive and quickly guessed her identity. A faint smile appeared on his lips, "When the Crown Princess goes out, it is safer to take the road along the lake."