Chapter 302

Chapter 302

The wild wolves that had chased after them now encircled the edge of the pit above, their eyes blood-red, fangs bared and dripping with saliva, their expressions reduced to pure primal savagery, ready to leap down and tear into their prey.

Su Yi raised a hand to smooth her hair, tucking a few loose strands behind her ear. She tilted her head slightly, glancing upward for only a moment before lowering her gaze again, as if it were barely worth noticing.

Those blood-red eyes and bared fangs, driven by an animalistic frenzy, suddenly seemed to sense the oppressive presence of something far more terrifying—a fear and submission rooted deep in their ancestral memory, overpowering the wild instincts imposed upon them by outside control. With tails tucked, they slunk away and scattered.

The Eldest Prince, riding high on confidence, had been determined to one-up the Crown Prince in front of the Emperor. At first, everything had gone smoothly, but then, out of nowhere, his horse had begun to go berserk.

If it had been a simple matter of the horse bolting, the Eldest Prince could have managed—or at least, he could have abandoned the horse and jumped off, risking injury but avoiding being thrown and trampled.

But it wasn’t just the horse that had gone mad. The prey he had been hunting didn’t flee—instead, it turned on him, howling and calling in reinforcements. The rabid pack chased after him relentlessly, scattering his guards and leaving him utterly exposed.

Just as the Eldest Prince was at his breaking point, fate proved the saying true: when it rains, it pours. Even a trap that had already been triggered somehow zeroed in on him—and him alone.

The horse, now completely uncontrollable, swerved hard at the last second to avoid the trap, its instincts for self-preservation kicking in. But the sudden jolt sent the Eldest Prince flying, still gripping the reins, unable to steady himself before he was hurled off.

And so, the scene unfolded as it had.

Su Yi had done nothing but watch as the Eldest Prince tumbled down—not even bothering to move the hunting trap out of his way. Her attitude was one of blasé indifference, as if to say: life and death are fated, wealth and honor decreed by heaven.

After all, it wasn’t her who had dug this pit. She was just happened to be here too.

Su Yi leisurely sat down, nonchalantly shielding herself from the dust kicked up by the fall. She had no desire to get all dusty.

After a moment’s thought, she rested a hand on her ankle and applied slight pressure. A faint *click* was drowned out by the Eldest Prince’s howls of pain.

She even remained silent, not interrupting to let him get it out of his system, lest her presence choke off his venting and leave him stifled. Let him scream for a while.

Su Yi truly believed she was being considerate.

Though the Eldest Prince was not yet a full-grown man, he was already striving to embody the image of a *baturu*—a hardened warrior who shed blood, not tears.

Even if he couldn’t help crying out in pain, he wasn’t the type to keep wailing indefinitely.

So it wasn’t long before he forced himself to endure the pain, gritting his teeth and focusing on his surroundings.

His eyes swept over the pit, assessing his predicament, and he almost overlooked the figure sitting there—until he did a double take, his jaw nearly dropping.

“You—! How are you—?! Here?!” He dropped all decorum in his shock.

The abrupt movement sent a white-hot jolt of pain through him. A strangled groan escaped his lips as sweat poured down his face, his boyish features contorted in agony.

The Eldest Prince, Yin Zhi, had never imagined that aside from himself—Rong Noble Consort would also be in this pit!

And worse, she had clearly been here longer than him. She looked as unbothered as if she were picnicking, not a trace of disarray about her, which only made the Eldest Prince’s expression darken further.

Didn’t that mean she had witnessed his entire humiliating descent?!

The thought made his face turn even uglier. At this age, pride was everything—and to have his worst moments seen by Rong Noble Consort, who was not only at odds with his mother but also had past conflicts with him over the Crown Prince, was unbearable.

His already-pale face flushed through a kaleidoscope of colors—green, white, purplish-red—like a shifting palette, momentarily eclipsing the pain of his injuries.

“I arrived a little earlier than you,” Su Yi said airily, as if this were some happy accident.

The Eldest Prince nearly choked.

*Arrived a little earlier?!* They were both stuck in a pit—how was it that Rong Noble Consort looked completely unscathed?!

The other party remained untouched by hardship even in such circumstances, the corner where she sat seemingly less gloomy because of her presence—not at all like someone in dire straits.

Instead, she appeared as if she had simply taken a casual break from a leisurely outing, forming a stark contrast to him.

As for him, his horse had gone mad, he had been chased by ferocious beasts in a desperate escape, and then he had been flung into an already triggered trap, disoriented from the fall and unlucky enough to be caught in a bear trap—no word could capture this level of misery!

Su Yi spoke gently, "Are you alright?" Her tone carried a hint of concern, though her gaze merely swept over the Eldest Prince's leg injury before shifting away.

It was truly just empty pleasantries—just going through the motions.

This response left the Eldest Prince speechless. Wasn't it obvious whether he was alright or not?

"I’ll manage!" The Eldest Prince, drenched in sweat from the pain, still stubbornly insisted. He spat out 'Consort Rong' like it left a bad taste.

After all, his mother had said that Rong Noble Consort, relying on the Emperor's favor, acted willfully and arrogantly, not only leaving the imperial harem neglected but also treating his mother with outright disdain. Thus, the Eldest Prince held not a shred of goodwill toward her.

Last time, it was clearly the Crown Prince who had disrespected him first, yet she had still sided with the Crown Prince to win over the Emperor—absolutely infuriating!

"Alright, then carry on." Su Yi replied softly, her tone conveying a blunt 'Oh, you’re good? Great.' attitude—so straightforward it didn’t even bother with polite pretense. This bluntness gave the future Prince Zhi a firsthand taste of what it felt like to be emotionally bulldozed.

It was the feeling of being utterly crushed.

When Su Yi decided to end a conversation, she could give you heartburn in seconds—to the point where even Kangxi would feel exasperated.

She wielded the gentlest smile and the softest tone to deliver words that completely contradicted them, hitting people where it hurts—no mercy.

Plenty had grievances against her, and some had even banded together or separately lodged complaints—all to no avail.

Kangxi’s stance was essentially: *If she burns me, you’re getting scorched too.*

Pure 'misery loves company' energy.

Due to his status, the Eldest Prince naturally had to avoid the Empress and Imperial Consorts as much as possible, leaving him little opportunity to confront Su Yi directly. Most of his impressions came from hearing his mother vent during visits, ensuring his opinion of Rong Noble Consort remained unfavorable. Still, he dared not openly display his displeasure, though inwardly he often felt indignant on his mother’s behalf.

Eager to prove himself before the Emperor this time, the Eldest Prince had gone all out. Just when he had managed to pressure the Crown Prince into accepting a competition, everything went sideways.

And now, he was powerless against Rong Noble Consort.

Despite being in excruciating pain, the Eldest Prince stubbornly maintained his composure in front of Su Yi.

He tried to act unfazed, but it was futile—the pain from his other injuries paled in comparison to the searing agony in his leg. The continuous blood loss left him deathly pale, his vision swimming as he clenched his teeth, hanging by a thread.

Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to sit up, almost toppling over as the movement jolted his injuries. Barely catching himself with his hands, he took a moment to steady himself before reaching for the bear trap, attempting to pry it open. Under normal circumstances, his strength would have made this effortless.

But now, battered and disoriented from the fall, weakened by blood loss, and on the verge of fainting, his usual strength had dwindled to a mere fraction. Instead of opening the trap, he only succeeded in wrenching his wound, the pain tearing a ragged scream from him.

For someone his age, enduring this much was already remarkable. His face was ashen, his body drenched in cold sweat—he was a picture of misery.

Su Yi watched with a faintly pained expression, murmuring, "Wow. Rough day."

Yet she remained firmly seated, didn’t budge.

Su Yi: *Just wait for your father to show up. Rescues are a group discount deal.*

After observing for a while, her interest waned, and she prepared to close her eyes and lean back—until the Eldest Prince suddenly looked up, locking eyes with her.

That gaze...

Uh-oh.

The usually robust and spirited voice of the Eldest Prince was now weakened by his frailty, his pride noticeably weakened. "Consort Rong... could you... help me remove this..."

He spoke. He actually spoke.

The words clearly didn’t come easily.

Just moments ago, he had been digging in his heels, but now he couldn’t keep up the act. Even this single sentence was uttered with great effort, showing how rarely the Eldest Prince ever lowered his head.

After all, when he was outside the palace, he was waited on hand and foot by his entire household. Only upon returning to the palace did he suffer the blow of realizing the Emperor favored another son more, pushing him to outshine the other at every turn.

Now, not only had his plans gone up in smoke, but he had also fallen into a hunting trap and was severely injured.

There was no telling when the guards would track them down. If he remained like this, who knew if his leg would heal right—what if it left a permanent disability?

At this thought, the Eldest Prince’s expression grew even grimmer. With only this one person present, after much deliberation, no matter how unwilling he was to bow his head, he had no choice but to relent this once.

Right now, the Eldest Prince felt as though he was biting his tongue for survival, seething inwardly—his expression betrayed as much.

But was Su Yi the kind of do-gooder who would immediately rush to help someone the moment they humbled themselves in their misery?

She had already watched him roll straight into the bear trap. Did the Eldest Prince really think his half-baked groveling would move her now?

Though, admittedly, he did seem about to keel over from blood loss.

"What did you just say?" Su Yi responded with the tone of someone who had zoned out, as if she hadn’t quite heard him.

Give me a break—they were in the same trap, where even slightly raised voices echoed.

Yet Su Yi outright claimed she hadn’t heard him clearly.

Under normal circumstances, the Eldest Prince would have seen red and left.

But he was out of options—his stubbornness had run its course.

Veins bulged on the Eldest Prince’s forehead, a clear sign of his barely restrained temper, as he repeated himself once more.

This time, it sounded more earnest, though strained.

Before, it had been more like, *Are you telling me what to do, hmm?*

"Then come over here," Su Yi replied gently, her voice oozing fake sweetness.

It was as if, in the next moment, she might play the saint.

But that was all it was—an illusion.

What kind of saint would ignore an injured person’s condition and expect them to move on their own?

The Eldest Prince wondered if he’d heard right.

Like this? Was he supposed to go to her?

Could he even move right now?!

Shouldn’t Consort Rong be the one coming over?!

But with circumstances as they were, the Eldest Prince swallowed his anger and spoke again, "I... find it difficult to move at present. May you cut me some slack."

This time, his words were a token surrender—but his tone still carried a barely veiled order: *Don’t push your luck.*

This isn’t good at all.

Su Yi looked a bit dazed and confused, “Isn’t this your problem?” Smoothly passing the buck.

Agreeing to lend a hand and asking you to come over yourself don’t conflict at all.

After a moment’s thought, Su Yi slightly furrowed her brows, touched her ankle, and said weakly, “I also hurt my leg in the fall. I can't move right now.” She leaned back limply, wobbling like a fragile flower about to topple.

Instant frail act.

It was somewhat of an explanation, to keep the Eldest Prince from fuming himself into a faint—though she felt he could still argue a bit more.

People sometimes feel like they're about to faint the next second, but in reality, they're still clutching at straws, barely clinging to consciousness.

Hearing this, the Eldest Prince almost blurted out, “Your injury’s nothing like mine?!”

Besides, Noble Consort Rong looked perfectly put together, while he was bleeding profusely!!

Just moments ago, his mind had been foggy, but now his blood boiled, his vision no longer dark but instead blinded by fury.

But the last shred of rationality told him that if he said that, her comeback would just wind him up further.

Perhaps this was how one's tolerance lowered—starting with no good impression of Su Yi, filled with nothing but prejudice, yet now, her "awfulness" didn’t seem so unbearable after all.

So the Eldest Prince said nothing and began painfully hauling himself along.

Su Yi wore an encouraging expression, like a mom cheering on her toddler’s wobbly walk. See? You’ll never know your *limits* unless you try.

The Eldest Prince wanted to punch something. Never had he felt so irate—even when facing the Crown Prince, he could retort. But now, his face, once white as a sheet, was flushed with suppressed fury.

Under Noble Consort Rong’s gaze, the Eldest Prince gritted his teeth and shuffled forward, stubbornly refusing to admit defeat, unwilling to let her look down on him again and again.

Sweat dripped from his forehead into his eyes, stinging and blurring his vision. What would normally be just a few strides now felt agonizing in every way.

When a hand suddenly appeared before him, he had to blink hard to make sure it wasn’t a hallucination.

Did she suddenly grow a heart?

The Eldest Prince, now a fledgling tough guy, inexplicably hesitated before reluctantly taking it.

Her hand was even smaller than his. Was he out of his mind to expect Noble Consort Rong, who looked so delicate, could actually pull him up with any real strength?

Then—his vision blurred, his head spun, and before he knew it, he was yanked forward.

Yanked over like a ragdoll.

“No—?!”

The word choked into a garbled squeak, swallowed back into his throat.

Before he knew it, he was sitting beside Noble Consort Rong.

The Eldest Prince was stunned, gaping at her freakish strength, when suddenly he let out another strangled yelp.

The bear trap on his leg had been flung aside, landing with a dull thud.

Before he could get a word out, his collar was snatched up like a turnip, his inner robe roughly tugged until it ripped free with a loud tear, half of it yanked out.

The Eldest Prince was completely stunned, instinctively wanting to hug himself in shock. "How dare you!" he roared.

And the very next moment, Su Yi made him scream even louder.

While hastily bandaging his still-bleeding leg, she applied extra force, calling it "pressure to stop the bleeding."

The Eldest Prince was in such agony that he began biting his own fist.

Su Yi performed a rough, haphazard wrap-job using the torn inner garment she had yanked out earlier, manhandling the wound like rubbing medicated wine into a bruise—brutal but effective.

After all, his outer robe was embroidered with extravagant gold thread, and using it would’ve been like scraping the wound with a blade.

By the end, the Eldest Prince was drenched in sweat, weak and utterly drained, with no strength left to resist.

"There, all done now," Su Yi said gently, patting his shoulders soothingly—though in truth, she was wiping the blood off her hands onto his clothes.

Her caring tone didn’t stop her from wiping her bloody hands on his clothes.