Once they got further away from Prince Huo and his followers, Mingyue was no longer able to hold her laugh . "I did not expect Prince Huo could be," Mingyue coughed when she saw the princess' warning gaze . She bit on her cheek to stop herself from laughing . "Your Highness, where are we going next?"

Princess Lingchen pulled the reins, and the horse finally slowed down . She looked at the sky and said, "It's still too early to return to the camp . " She turned to Yang Yun and continued, "Let's find a stream to wash up and rest . "

Yang Yun nodded and guided the group towards the nearby stream . Once they unmounted their horses, a few soldiers and servant took the reins to feed their horses and rest .

The crown princess headed towards the stream with Mingyue following closely while the elite squad stood not far away from the princess to guard . Princess Lingchen crouched next to the creek and started to wash her hands .

"I guess Prince Huo is now out of the race," Mingyue commented as she sat beside the crown princess .

The princess let out a snort . Prince Huo's words just now made her cringe . It was as if thousands of ants crawling on her body . She could not handle a situation and chose to flee away . It was a good thing that Prince Huo decided not to follow her, or else, she would not know how to face him .

"I'm guessing that Prince Huo is not prince number five," The Princess said to Mingyue .

Mingyue laughed . She turned around to look at the path with worry . The Spring Hunt was organized so that the Princess could get to know the princes and perhaps marry one of them . But it seemed that other than Prince Huo, the other princes does not seem that they were interested in pursuing the princess .

"Stop worrying . We have plenty of time . The Emperor is organizing a feast tonight . There's still time to get to know the princes," Princess Lingchen said . Then, the two girls looked up when they heard footsteps approaching them .

"Your Highness," Yang Yun bowed . "What is your plan now?"

"I've caught a deer . That's good enough," Princess Lingchen said . "We still have a lot of time left . Let's stay here and rest . We'll return to the camp after a while . "

Yang Yun bowed again before he went to his teams to brief them of the princess' intention . The two girls sat down beside the stream to cool down as the servants started to unpack their stuff to prepare a quick meal for the princess .

Princess Lingchen removed the binding around her wrist and let Mingyue examined her pulse .

Mingyue took a while to check on her pulse . After a while, she removed her fingers from the princess' wrist and smiled . "Everything seemed fine . "

"Of course . I have the best physician looking after me," Princess Lingchen commented .

"Your praise humbles me," Mingyue said as she helped to tie the binding around the princess' wrist . When she was done, Mingyue went through her knapsack and took out a package . Then, she handed a small loaf of bread to the princess . "Eat this," Mingyue said . "It will be a while before they prepared lunch . "

"Thank you," The princess grabbed the bread, tore it into small pieces, and popped it into her mouth . Soon, the sweet and savory, b.u.t.tery taste spread into her mouth .

Princess Lingchen took a deep breath and enjoyed the peaceful scenery before her . It has been a while since she gets to relax and enjoy view such as this . As the Crown Princess, Princess Lingchen was always made to stay in the palace . Furthermore, the poison in her body forbade her from moving around too much or else the poison in her body would react again .

The princess leaned on the tree trunk and closed her eyes to rest . It was then that she sensed something was amiss . The Princess sat up when she noticed Mingyue's rigid body . "What is it?" The guards started to move towards her .

Mingyue placed a hand on the small dagger around her waist and frowned . "There's a heavy stench of blood," Mingyue said . "Someone's heading towards our location . "