For a day and a night, Cui Yunchu was cold and hungry.
She even somewhat envied the unconscious Shen Xiabai. With his eyes closed, whether he lived or died, he didn't have to endure the hunger and freezing cold.
As time went on, Cui Yunchu felt increasingly miserable. In the end, she wished she could press her entire body against Shen Xiabai.
She couldn't help but sigh and say, "I am truly smart."
As the saying goes, Heaven never seals off all exits. Without the right conditions, she, Cui Yunchu, would create them. As someone who had died once and come back to life, how could she be so easily taken away by the King of Hell?
It was just that... she was truly terribly hungry.
Cui Yunchu's gaze swept over Shen Xiabai a few times, only to quickly withdraw it each time.
"When I was a child, those servants couldn't starve me to death even after three days. It hasn't even been that long, this is nothing." Cui Yunchu forced herself to close her eyes.
Fortunately, by evening, the rain finally slowly stopped.
Having no other choice, Cui Yunchu paced back and forth on the stone ledge, attempting to find a sliver of hope for survival.
However, this stone ledge was suspended in mid-air. She could neither climb up nor go down, and there was absolutely no food to be found.
Could it be that her, Cui Yunchu's, life was truly going to end here?
Just as she was in despair, a faint sound suddenly reached her ears. Her expression turned serious, and she immediately leaned over to look down.
She seemed to see specks of light slowly moving.
"Help! Help! I'm over here!"
Cui Yunchu shouted at the top of her lungs. Even though her throat was unbearably painful, she pushed herself, using all the strength in her body to roar.
Nearly half an hour passed, and her voice was almost completely gone. Meanwhile, the specks of light at the bottom of the cliff slowly moved further and further away.
Were they not here to save her?
Cui Yunchu slumped onto the ground, tears streaming down her face. The plunge from hope to despair was too much for her heart to bear.
But while she didn't manage to call for rescue, she did manage to wake up the unconscious Shen Xiabai once again.
Just as Cui Yunchu was about to shuffle back, she met Shen Xiabai's sharp eyes. Only this time, his hostility was completely withdrawn, and he looked quite calm.
"When... when did you wake up?"
This man's vitality was incredibly tenacious. He didn't die even after all this, and waking up abruptly like this, Cui Yunchu was almost scared to death by him instead.
Shen Xiabai did not speak; his gaze fell on the clothes Cui Yunchu was wearing.
Those were his clothes.
Shen Xiabai naturally remembered that she had stripped him of his clothes.
Cui Yunchu followed his gaze and looked down, then immediately shrank back a little.
"Well, you had a fever, and your clothes were drenched. I was afraid you'd freeze to death, so I was warming them up for you."
She blushed at her own words, feeling extremely awkward.
But Shen Xiabai still didn't say anything. He slightly lowered his eyes and looked at his tied hands.
His brows furrowed, and his eyes turned cold and dark.
"Oh, I couldn't drag you, so tying you up made it easier to exert force."
Shen Xiabai, "..." Wasn't he the one who moved himself over in the end?
But he merely glanced at Cui Yunchu and didn't say anything else, only stating, "Untie it."
His throat was dry and hoarse, sounding like grinding sand, incredibly unpleasant to the ear.
Cui Yunchu hesitated a bit.
But seeing Shen Xiabai looking so sick that he couldn't move, she still went over and untied him.
As soon as she untied him, she saw Shen Xiabai take out a small porcelain bottle from the sleeve of his inner garment, open the lid, and quickly pour its contents into his mouth.
"..."
"..."
Cui Yunchu's eyes followed his movements, staring blankly, completely dumbfounded.
"What... what did you just eat?"
Shen Xiabai glanced at her and actually gave an answer, "Medicine."
"What medicine?"
The wind blew Shen Xiabai's messy hair, fluttering it across his handsome and cold face, showing no intention of answering her at all.
Cui Yunchu, however, continued to press, "What kind of medicine?"
Shen Xiabai coldly curled his lips, turned the porcelain bottle in his hand upside down, and shook it forcefully.
"It's gone."
Gone!!!
Cui Yunchu felt as if she had been struck by lightning, staring blankly at Shen Xiabai's face, which held a hidden sneer.
A moment later, acting like a bandit, she reached out to grope Shen Xiabai, starting from his sleeves and going down...
However, Shen Xiabai was not unconscious like before, allowing her to handle him as she pleased.
With a dark face, he grabbed Cui Yunchu's wrist. A hint of murderous intent seemed to flash through his eyes.
Cui Yunchu was very familiar with this; after all, that sword strike was deeply etched in her memory.
She immediately tried to retreat, but her wrist was held tightly.
"What... what are you doing?" Cui Yunchu said, "If you... won't give it, then don't. I just won't ask for it."
Cui Yunchu's voice had already taken on a crying tone.
She had tried so hard to survive, she didn't want to die.
Shen Xiabai's voice was cold and ruthless, "Who sent you to harm me, Prime Minister Cui, Grand Tutor Tang?"
Cui Yunchu froze.
"What do you mean?"
Shen Xiabai sneered, "Eldest Miss Cui, you really are the most unfavored one in the Cui family. To get rid of me, they were actually willing to send you to your death?"
Even if Cui Yunchu were stupider, she understood now.
He meant that her crashing into his carriage was a deliberate plot to kill him.
Cui Yunchu moved her wrist, which hurt terribly. With red eyes, she said, "Are you crazy? If it was to harm you, how many servants are there in the Cui and Tang households that couldn't be used? Why would it have to be me?"
"Naturally, it's because I am an official of the imperial court. If it were a servant, they would fear the court's investigation. But by sacrificing you, the Cui and Tang families could use coincidence to deceive everyone."
Not to mention, what he said actually made sense.
Cui Yunchu was almost convinced by him herself.
"But I had many chances to kill you. Did I do that?"
Shen Xiabai's gaze was tinged with disgust as he glanced at the clothes on Cui Yunchu's body.
"Eldest Miss Cui seems to value her life very much?"
Nonsense.
"If you wanted to die, why didn't you leave the medicine for me just now?"
"." Shen Xiabai said, "That's exactly it. Perhaps your father kept you in the dark and deliberately orchestrated this trap."
"." Sowing discord, despicable, shameless, and low.
Cui Yunchu glared at him fiercely, "My father is not that kind of person."
Shen Xiabai gave a cold sneer, his eyes full of disdain.
"I have survived this disaster. Eldest Miss Cui had better pray that what you said is true, otherwise..." His eyes were full of threats.
Cui Yunchu had a clear conscience, "Don't you manage the Department of Punishment? If we can get out of here, you can investigate however you want."
Shen Xiabai frowned instead, "Shut up."
His voice sounded worse than a eunuch's.
Cui Yunchu had even forgotten about the cold by now, her blood rushing with anger. Seeing that Shen Xiabai showed no signs of fainting again, she was even more certain it was the effect of that pill from earlier.
Why didn't she find it? It was truly losing a great deal to save a little.
But even if she had found it, Cui Yunchu wouldn't have dared to eat it. Who knew if what he carried on him was poison?
Cui Yunchu sat cross-legged opposite Shen Xiabai, glaring at him.
Shen Xiabai remained silent, but reached his hand out to her.
He wanted his clothes.
Cui Yunchu refused, wrapping the robe tightly around her body.
He had already taken his medicine, why was he still fussing over a piece of clothing?
"Leave me a way to survive," Cui Yunchu said pitifully.
"Hand it over."
A gust of wind blew, and Shen Xiabai felt a chill on his legs. His face, which had regained some normal color, suddenly turned dark again, flushing with a brownish-red hue.
He crossed his legs.
Cui Yunchu naturally looked down, and a large expanse of bare skin caught her eye.
She hadn't noticed before, but whether it was snagged by a branch or something else, those already torn pants now had an even larger gaping hole.
The pants were already quite loose... Cui Yunchu tilted her head and unconsciously looked inside.
Suddenly, her head was pushed back hard, making her stumble. "You..."
"Shameless," Cui Yunchu finished for him, rubbing her forehead. She sat up straight again, though she scooted back a bit.
It wasn't like he was a pure, untouched maiden. "Pretentious."
Cui Yunchu curled her lip and muttered.
In the storybooks, that was exactly what a frivolous man would say after his advances were rejected by a woman.
Hmm... and there was also that shameless scoundrel from the Wang family. Cui Yunchu considered herself quite experienced and knowledgeable in these matters.
Shen Xiabai's face had already turned ashen.
As if intentionally trying to provoke him, Cui Yunchu said, "I saw it, but there's no way I'm taking responsibility."
To be fair, although he had a bit too much leg hair, his skin was genuinely fair, and his legs were strong and powerful.
...As for those last two words, Cui Yunchu had experienced them firsthand.
If it weren't for the medicine taking effect, Shen Xiabai would have definitely fainted from anger again.
"Cui Yunchu, you're courting death." Shen Xiabai gritted his teeth and stood up, but he overestimated his physical condition. His legs gave out, and he lunged forward.
Cui Yunchu blinked, realizing it was too late to dodge.
