Chapter 174: Heartless, or Not?
Bai Xiangxiu too, felt that she’d have no idea what would happen if she kept entangling herself with Yu Kuang. Most importantly, he wasn’t even a supporting male character, so she didn’t know anything about him and was constantly constrained by what she could do. Thus, she spoke up to help Song Jiaoyue and persuade Yu Kuang at the same time. “Furthermore, aren’t you being chased by a.s.sa.s.sins right now? It’s not easy to take care of them if you bring me along. Why not take care of your own matters first?”
Yu Kuang’s gaze seemed to relax somewhat. Truly, his personal enemies weren’t easy to deal with. Moreover, all of them were killers who were willing to cast away their own lives. After some hesitation, he said, “Then tell me the address, I’ll find you later.”
“The Song Family near the northern gates of the capital city.” Song Jiaoyue offered his own address without the slightest hesitation, but Yu Kuang obviously didn’t believe him. He kept his stare leveled at Bai Xiangxiu.
Bai Xiangxiu was afraid of him going to the prince’s estate as well, so she repeated, “The Song Family near the northern gates of the capital city…”
Then she glanced at Song Jiaoyue with a guilty conscience. Please don’t blame me if anything happens!
Yu Kuang naturally knew what kind of people the Song Family were. There was always one official in charge of wulin affairs in the capital, and that person usually hailed from the Song family. It looked like this Luo Yunzheng was making enemies for the wulin left and right. He couldn’t be allowed to connive others any longer.
Yu Kuang was different from Yu Shū. His feelings for Bai Xiangxiu weren’t as deep–or rather, he’d only persisted in seeking her hand in marriage because he and his alter ego shared the same body. But when there was business to take care of that took precedence. Thus, he bid farewell to Bai Xiangxiu and turned away. However, he came to regret his decision very soon. Only a few nights had pa.s.sed before he a.s.similated all of his other memories. When that was done, he realized that she was likely the only person in the world who could look at Yu Shū without a hint of disdain. Moreover, he’d never be able to pay her back for all the things she’d done for him.
Of course, these are all stories to be told in future.
Now that Song Jiaoyue realized he was with the object of his long-time affections, he became a little nervous. He saw that her foot was injured and her clothes in tatters and asked, “There’s a small town up ahead. Can you hold out until we walk there?”
This man wasn’t Yu Kuang. Because Bai Xiangxiu suddenly recalled the issue of the pastries with heart filling in them, she was fl.u.s.tered as well. Immediately, she nodded to say she’d be all right. But after taking a single step, she discovered her foot was too numb and pained to go any further.
“Ah…” Her tears nearly overflowed. She was sure that her foot was crippled.
Only then did Song Jiaoyue’s heart felt a bit more at ease, because he was wondering why Yu Kuang had been carrying her all that time. Now that he thought about it, if her foot wasn’t suited for travel, then it was only right that she should be carried. Still, he was still a little timid, and walked over to ask, “How about I support you as you walk?”
Bai Xiangxiu had no choice. She couldn’t just stand here unmoving forever. Furthermore, she couldn’t stand still for long, either, because the injuries on her back were still hurting. Thus, she nodded her head and forced out a smile. Song Jiaoyue didn’t notice any of this in his excitement. He slowly walked over to support her little hand. Although she was a little dirty, it did nothing to hide her beauty, especially her soft and supple body as it leaned against his. He felt a strong urge to protect her.
Song Jiaoyue had held women before, but none of them had been as soft and lithe as Bai Xiangxiu. Her slender waist and refined posture really sent every man’s heart into palpitations. His heart never stopped thumping along their entire journey. He couldn’t help but feel that a single move from her would drive him into doing something irrevocable. And yet she did a very such thing when she lost her footing and tumbled to the ground.
He quickly picked up her and carried her into his arms. “Are you alright?”
“Mm, thank you. But you can put me down now!”
Why is it no problem for Yu Kuang to carry her, but a big problem for him? Song Jiaoyue didn’t put her down, but stared straight ahead and purposely pressed her head to his chest. Then he asked with an extremely calm voice, “Why weren’t there any hearts in your pastries?”
She knew he’d asked her sooner or later, but they were under such questionable circ.u.mstances currently. She didn’t even had anywhere to hide, so what was she to do? She grew fl.u.s.tered before she blurted out, “Weren’t yours heartless in the beginning as well?”
Song Jiaoyue was quick to reply, “That was because of your status, so that’s why I…”
Who knew that she’d grow more and more enticing to his eyes from then on? He’d been regretting it ever since. “That’s still my status now. Moreover, the prince and I now…”
We’ve already done that. She couldn’t say those words, so she simply said, “He treats me very well.”
“If he treats you well, why would he be marrying that Miss Lin so soon?” Song Jiaoyue suddenly felt a burst of anger. If it wasn’t for this, he wouldn’t have come looking for Bai Xiangxiu on his own without even Long Heng’s prompting.
When he recalled the day that Long Heng had found him to tell how Bai Xiangxiu had disappeared, he remembered his heart had been burning with impatience. He’d never felt so worried before. Thus, he simply grabbed a horse and went to look for her. He never expected to run into her just like that. But he was very clear of the reasons behind the search. Because Long Heng had to get married, he was probably worried that Miss Lin would feel uncomfortable if he went searching on his own. Thus, he had this so-called favored concubine sent away.
“He…” Bai Xiangxiu was speechless for a second, because she really had grown angry over the news. There was no helping it, though. She actually harbored feelings for that man? But he ended up treating her well on one side while busying himself with marrying another woman on the other. Although he might not truly love Miss Lin, Bai Xiangxiu still found this hard to accept because she was a modern woman.
That’s why she wanted to escape. That’s why she wanted to go back to the prince’s manor, to her Winter Garden, to the present.
Song Jiaoyue felt her hands tighten their grip on his clothes and couldn’t help but blame himself for bringing up the topic. “Alright, don’t overthink things. Let’s find a place to rest first.”
She’s covered in injuries. We should find a place and have a doctor look her over. Just like Song Jiaoyue said, there really was a small town up ahead. They settled down in the two biggest rooms of the local inn before summoning a doctor and female nurse to give Bai Xiangxiu a thorough examination.
They said that there were no major problems. As long as she rested quietly in bed, she’d recover quickly. All the other injuries were superficial wounds at most, so they’d heal within a few days.
Only then did Song Jiaoyue set his worries at rest. He really felt that Bai Xiangxiu was p.r.o.ne to injuries. Right at this moment, he heard the nurse say, “Sir, the scars on your wife’s back are really quite frightening. How did a woman come by such injuries?”
She was only curious. No matter how she saw it, this Bai Xiangxiu was a woman of the boudoir. What kind of person could have left such heavy injuries on her back?
Song Jiaoyue felt his heart spasm with pain before he gave a bitter smile. “That was because of my negligence.”
The female doctor didn’t probe after seeing him thus. She left him some medicine, accepted her consultation fee, and departed.
Song Jiaoyue then returned to the rooms to take a look at Bai Xiangxiu. If it was possible, he’d take this woman and disappear into the capital city entirely. But he couldn’t. He still had the Song family, which was his responsibility. Still, this didn’t mean he would lose her, because she was only a concubine. If Long Heng really disliked her, he should agree to hand her over as long as he spoke up, right? A t.i.tle like favored concubine would be forgotten and faded after a couple of years. No one would object if he brought her into his manor then.