Chapter 148: Damned Earth Escape Technique

He Lingfeng looked at her smug and proud expression with amusement, a flash of mischievous laughter dancing in his eyes. Suddenly catching her off guard, he captured her slightly pouting lips.

Jin'er was startled and instinctively tried to pull back, but he quickly pressed the back of her head, leaving her no escape.

With slightly heavy breathing, He Lingfeng passionately kissed and sucked on Jin'er's alluring, tender lips, as if he wanted to swallow her whole in one go. Not until she was breathing hastily and raised her hands to beat against his chest did he reluctantly release her.

"See if you dare to be smug now," He Lingfeng said with gloating amusement, watching Jin'er flush red and pant continuously.

Jin'er glared at him, then suddenly leaned forward and bit down hard on his shoulder.

"Ah!!!" He Lingfeng let out a miserable howl, and in an instant, countless hidden guards flashed out from various corners at the sound.

Maintaining her biting posture, Jin'er rolled her eyes from side to side before breaking into an awkward, smiling release of her grip, raising her head. "It's nothing, nothing, haha, you guys go back to what you were doing." As she spoke, she lightly patted the spot she had just bitten.

He Lingfeng barely managed to adjust his somewhat distorted face and waved his hand, saying, "It's nothing, all of you withdraw."

At these words, nearly ten hidden guards who had surrounded the couple vanished in a flash...

Jin'er pouted in mild depression, secretly fretting that He Lingfeng seemed to have added quite a few hidden guards around him. It appeared that if she wanted to escape smoothly and quietly, she really needed to learn the Earth-Egress Technique first.

Just as this thought crossed her mind, Jin'er felt her body lighten. Coming to her senses, she realized she had been scooped up into He Lingfeng's arms and was being carried toward the bedchamber.

"What are you doing? Put me down!"

"To punish your tyrannical behavior toward your husband just now, your husband must exercise his disciplinary duties," He Lingfeng said with righteous confidence.

"What disciplinary duties? I never gave you any such authority. Put me down!" Jin'er complained in annoyance.

"Let me remind you. If you are gentle right now, I will be gentle later, and vice versa," He Lingfeng said with a wicked smile. By this time, he had already carried Jin'er into the room and closed the door with his foot.

"You!" Not to mention, Jin'er genuinely feared times when he wasn't gentle...

Seeing her pucker her lips and glare at him without making further trouble, He Lingfeng chuckled softly, lowered his head, and kissed her pouting lips.

His kiss was extremely gentle, brimming with deep affection and tenderness, almost melting Jin'er entirely.

As he kissed her while carrying her onto the bed, Jin'er's resistance completely vanished. Her body temperature rose steadily under He Lingfeng's gentle yet provocative caresses, and her passion gradually brimmed over...

After the intimacy, He Lingfeng gently held the person in his arms, watching her quietly as she nested contentedly against his chest to sleep. An indescribable sense of happiness and fulfillment filled his heart.

Jin'er... Could we always stay like this forever, alright?

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The next morning, Jin'er locked herself in the study once again to delve into the *Art of Earth Egress*, while He Lingfeng went to see the Earth Emperor to arrange the matter of the one hundred thousand taels of gold.

Although the Earth Emperor found it somewhat puzzling, he had given his word after all. Moreover, his precious son's health was now more robust than ever and he had married her, so the emperor did not press further and directly ordered people to make the arrangements.

By evening, He Lingfeng accompanied Jin'er to the palace gates along with the convoy transporting the gold. The moment their group appeared, Chu Yifan and the others emerged from their hiding spots.

Judging by the formation, there were several dozen people, and every single one of them looked like an expert. Seeing this, Jin'er finally felt a sense of relief.

"Be careful," Jin'er walked over to Chu Yifan and Ying'er, still unable to resist giving a word of caution. Originally, she could have requested the imperial guards to escort them, but after all, they were part of the rebel army and their whereabouts must never be exposed, leaving them to rely entirely on themselves.

"Rest assured, there are others in the shadows, nothing will go wrong," Chu Yifan said as he raised his eyes to look at He Lingfeng not far away, noticing the frown and hostility with which He Lingfeng was staring at him.

At this, Chu Yifan hooked the corner of his lips into a slanted smile and suddenly leaned close to Jin'er's ear to whisper, keeping his gaze fixed on He Lingfeng's face.

Seeing He Lingfeng's teeth-grinding expression, as if he could barely restrain himself from charging over, Chu Yifan straightened up again, nodded at Jin'er, turned around with a wave of his hand, and slowly departed with the procession.

In truth, he had merely told Jin'er about several contact points and secret passwords between the Metal and Earth kingdoms. Although he needed to prevent others from overhearing, the surroundings were filled entirely with his own people, and whispering to her was completely unnecessary. For some reason, watching the Earth Crown Prince struggle to suppress his rage filled him with an indescribable joy, haha!

Yet, on second thought, this fellow was also rather pitiful. It was clear he was deeply fond of Jin'er, but alas, the beauty in his arms was about to fly away.

Ahem! Why did it feel like he was still gloating after all...

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"Jin'er, why is there a bump on your forehead??" Near noon, when He Lingfeng went to the study to call Jin'er for lunch, he discovered a red, fleshy bump sitting right on her fair forehead. Stricken with instant heartache, he questioned her while searching for ointment to apply.

"I accidentally took a fall just now, haha..." Jin'er laughed awkwardly, inwardly wanting to pull her hair out in frustration.

She didn't know whether the marble was too hard or her own martial cultivation was insufficient. She had spent the entire morning studying the Earth-Egress Technique, thinking she had mastered it, only to find out... Wuwuwu... It hurt her to death!!

"Hey! Be gentle, be gentle... It hurts..." Jin'er sniffled and let out startled cries of pain from time to time, frightening He Lingfeng so much his hands shook.

"You silly girl, how can you manage to fall and get such a huge bump in a completely flat study..." He Lingfeng said helplessly while trying to apply the ointment as gently as possible, his words overflowing with heartache and tenderness.

Jin'er pouted, feeling too guilty to say anything in response. It seemed the Earth-Egress Technique could not be practiced for the time being; she would have to wait until the injury on her head healed.

On second thought, given her current strength, even if she were discovered by the night patrols, she should be entirely capable of making a clean getaway. Yes, that's settled, she would just slip away directly when the time came! She was now desperate to return to Flower Mist Island to uncover the truth about her own seal, and she didn't want to stay even a single day longer.

"All done." He Lingfeng finished bandaging Jin'er, but seeing her lost in thought, he asked in puzzlement, "Jin'er, what are you thinking about? So deep in thought."

Recovering her senses, Jin'er looked up and flashed him a sweet smile. "I was thinking that tomorrow morning you should release Qingyue and Shiyuan."

Hearing this, He Lingfeng's brow furrowed, and his expression instantly shifted from clear to overcast.

"A gentleman's word is as good as a team of four horses, you mustn't go back on your word," Jin'er arched an eyebrow and said.

"I didn't say I wouldn't release them," He Lingfeng pouted. After pondering for a long while, he raised his eyes again and asked, "Jin'er, if one day I were in danger, would you worry about me like this?"

"What kind of danger could you possibly be in? It's already good of you not to drag others into danger," Jin'er said with a faint smile, her gaze avoiding him.

"Are you still angry with me?" He Lingfeng tightened his brow, asking with a mix of tension and sorrow.

Sensing her arm being gripped tightly by him, Jin'er hurriedly smiled and said, "No, I was just joking with you." Seeing his skeptical look, she had no choice but to lean forward and take the initiative to kiss his lips.

After a bout of kissing, He Lingfeng's tense heart was finally softened by her, and he stopped dwelling on the issue.

The next morning, at the imperial palace gates.

"You may leave!" As soon as the guard captain gave the word, several other guards untied Qingyue and Shiyuan, removing their bindings.

"Leave? But we still have friends inside the Crown Prince's palace," Qingyue shook his slightly numb arms and frowned.

Even now, he could not understand why the Crown Prince had suddenly arrested him and Shiyuan, transferred them to a different place for confinement, and was now abruptly releasing them.

"What friends?" The guard captain impatiently shoved the two of them. "If you're told to leave, then leave, why so much nonsense?! Want to get locked back up again??"

Qingyue raised a hand to swat the captain's hand away, saying angrily, "I want to see Jin'er, the divine female doctor from the Crown Prince's residence!"

At these words, all the guards broke into expressions of disdainful amusement. "Is the noble Crown Princess someone you can see just because you want to?! I advise you to leave obediently, don't force us to resort to force!"

"Crown Princess??" Qingyue and Shiyuan's expressions changed in unison, their eyes filled with utter disbelief.

"That's right! The divine female doctor married our Crown Prince three days ago. If it weren't for the fact that you are friends with the Crown Princess, you probably wouldn't even be able to leave today!" Before the guard captain's voice had faded, Qingyue had already struck out with a palm blow, causing the captain to scramble out of the way in a panic.

Immediately afterward, Qingyue rushed toward the palace gates with a furious expression, his billowing long hair seeming to declare his master's rage. At the same time, Shiyuan pushed off the ground and charged forward at lightning speed.

"Stop them!!" At the guard captain's command, the guards at the palace gates drew their sabers in unison and met Qingyue and Shiyuan. For a moment, the sounds of blows, kicks, and clashing steel filled the air, continuously attracting patrolling guards from inside the palace to come to their aid, plunging the scene into absolute chaos.

"Stop right there!!" A crisp, melodious, yet overwhelmingly authoritative shout rang out, causing everyone to instinctively halt their movements and turn in unison toward the source of the voice.

There, surrounded by a throng of palace maids and guards, stood an extraordinary couple of peerless beauty, both exuding a natural nobility. The young woman among them furrowed her brow slightly, wearing a look of displeasure.

After a fleeting moment of shock and bewilderment, all the soldiers hastily bowed in unison and saluted, "Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince, greetings, Your Highness the Crown Princess."

Amidst the bowing crowd, two figures—one clad in black and the other in white—stood in a daze, their eyes unblinkingly fixed on the person addressed as the Crown Princess, their chests feeling as though they were being carved apart by a dull knife.

How could it be? How could it possibly be true!??

"All of you withdraw." At Jin'er's single command, the soldiers retreated in unison, standing by not far away to await further orders.

[Today's update ends here]

/////Extremely, extremely grateful to baby [choomama] for the successive and generous tips. The little fox is endlessly grateful. No more words needed, an extra chapter is offered! At the same time, thanks to babies [Ziyulanxin] and [Ningan Love Novel] for the red packets. Thank you for your support and deep affection, big hugs~~~~~~~/////