Chapter 132: Chapter 132

Jun Ning rolled her eyes dramatically, then quickly pulled the Crown Prince into a nearby haystack. Once they were securely hidden, she finally spoke, "Are you not aware of our current situation?"

A bunch of black-clad men were chasing them, intending to take her back for a reward?

If they ended up losing their lives, the reward would be meaningless, wouldn’t it?

The crown prince had been momentarily blinded by the prospect of an unexpected windfall, but Jun Ning’s reminder brought him back to his senses.

"Right, the priority now is to lose those people chasing us."

"Stay hidden!" The Crown Prince pressed Jun Ning’s head further into the haystack, "I’m not worried about myself, but especially you, you must not get found by them."

With that push from the Crown Prince, Jun Ning’s head hit the haystack in front of her, covering her head in dust.

She suspected that the Crown Prince did it on purpose, showing disdain for her disguising as a man, and intentionally treated her this way.

She wasn’t disguising as a man; she was a woman.

Jun Ning coldly snorted, reluctantly imitating the Crown Prince’s actions by pressing his head into the haystack, "My dear Crown Prince brother, you must hide well too."

Not only was the Crown Prince covered in dust, but he also got bits of grass stuck in his hair, "You..."

He almost lost his temper and ended up hitting his weird brother who was cross-dressing.

The little brat dared to lay hands on him?

It was the approaching black-clad men that made the Crown Prince temporarily abandon such thoughts.

"Where are they? How did they suddenly disappear? We clearly saw them heading this way just now!"

"Could they be hiding somewhere?"

"Should we look around?"

The black-clad men exchanged a few words, glanced around, and began searching.

When one of them reached the haystack where Jun Ning and the Crown Prince were hiding, a gleam of cunning flashed in his eyes.

He couldn’t help but wonder if Jun Ning and the Crown Prince were hiding inside this haystack in front of him?

After all, this haystack was large and was the easiest place to hide. Google seaʀᴄh 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵※𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮※𝓷𝓮𝓽

He stroked his chin lost in thought for a moment, then slowly approached with the long knife in his hand.

Jun Ning and the Crown Prince, hidden inside the haystack, watched nervously as the black-clad man came closer, holding their breath and watching him with heightened vigilance.

Seeing him getting closer and closer, the Crown Prince’s right hand pressed against the sword at his waist.

There was no way he would hand over Jun Ning; he was prepared to fight. Even if two hands couldn’t beat four, he would still fight.

However, just as the black-clad man got close enough that he could have uncovered the haystack to see Jun Ning and the Crown Prince, his companion suddenly shouted.

"It seems they went that way, everyone, keep chasing forward."

"For the reward from the Marquis, we absolutely cannot let them escape."

Hearing that, the black-clad man didn’t hesitate and turned to leave.

Both Jun Ning and the Crown Prince let out a sigh of relief inside the haystack.

Once the black-clad men were completely gone, Jun Ning and the Crown Prince emerged from the haystack, brushing off the dirt clinging to them.

The inside of the haystack was filthy, full of dust and bits of grass, and after hiding there for so long, they were quite dirty and looked very disheveled. Even after brushing for a long time, they still couldn’t clean themselves completely.

Since the Crown Prince wasn’t planning to investigate the case of missing children today anymore, he collected Jun Ning, hoisted her onto his shoulder, and left the black market, intending to find an inn to stay in.

Originally, he didn’t need to stay in an inn; he could have returned to the Crown Prince Mansion.

However, the Crown Prince Mansion was on the east side and the black market on the west, and the distance was too far apart. Besides, it was already very late; if he went back, the Crown Princess Consort would have to get up in the middle of the night to deal with matters, so it was better not to return.

Moreover, he still wished to continue investigating the case of missing children. Therefore, staying near the black market was best.

He randomly picked an inn to stay in.

Coincidentally, the inn the Crown Prince chose was the same one Jun Ning had stayed in before, and they were also received by the same snobbish innkeeper.

Right now, Jun Ning was carried on the Crown Prince’s shoulder, her face and body were dirty. As it was dark outside, and the candlelight in the inn wasn’t very bright, the innkeeper didn’t recognize that it was Jun Ning on the Crown Prince’s shoulder.

The innkeeper glanced at the Crown Prince, saw how dirty and disheveled he looked, and said, "We don’t serve beggars here." Waving them away, "Move along, move along."

Crown Prince: "......"

He, the dignified Crown Prince, was mistaken for a beggar?

"Idiot." In a fit of anger, the Crown Prince flung a large ingot of silver at the innkeeper’s face. The silver seemed to have a mind of its own and hit the innkeeper directly.

The Crown Prince mocked, "I can afford a stay here."

Though the silver hitting his face hurt like hell, nearly making him curse, the innkeeper saw the sizable silver ingot that fell to the table in front of him and his anger dissipated immediately.

He pocketed the silver, greeting the Crown Prince with a beaming smile, "Master, would you be dining or staying?"

"Staying," the Crown Prince responded coldly, his expression extremely sour.

The innkeeper wasn’t discouraged by this and glanced at the child on the Crown Prince’s shoulder, continuing to ask cheerfully, "Will you need one room, or two?"

"One room," the Crown Prince said, "a superior room."

"Right away, sir. I’ll arrange it immediately."

The Crown Prince added, "And prepare a tub of water; I need a bath."

After leading the Crown Prince and Jun Ning to a superior room upstairs, the innkeeper quickly prepared and brought up a tub of water.

The Crown Prince had already taken off his cloak and was in the process of removing his shirt. Jun Ning glanced over and hastily said, "... I-I won’t stay in the same room, I need to get another room."

Afraid that Jun Ning might slip away when he wasn’t paying attention and with her, the silver he just got, the Crown Prince quickly pulled Jun Ning back as she was about to dash out of the door, "No leaving, you can stay with me."

Jun Ning, her little face seriously earnest, said, "Men and women shouldn’t be so close."

"What men and women shouldn’t be close?" the Crown Prince chuckled incredulously, "Hah, are you really a woman? Have you lied to yourself so much you’ve started to believe it? Forgotten your true identity?"

Jun Ning’s real identity, naturally, was that of the eighteenth prince.

"How am I not a woman? I really am one," Jun Ning wondered, "When I speak the truth, why does no one believe me? Do I really look like a liar?"

The Crown Prince pulled Jun Ning into his embrace and said, "Come on, you might deceive others, and they might believe you, but if you’re trying to fool me, try again in a few more years."

From the moment Jun Ning appeared in front of Emperor Yongning and caught his eye, his identity background, and everything about him had been thoroughly investigated by the Crown Prince with meticulous detail.