Chapter 18

Jiang Zhaoli was startled, and her clenched palms slowly loosened. She said: "Yin...Yin Su? Why are you here?"

Yin Su: "I saw Madam Jiang leaving the house alone, and I was really worried, so I followed her all the way."

He asked tentatively, "Will Madam Jiang not blame me for acting on my own?"

Just as Jiang Zhaoli was about to shake his head, he heard several people laughing for no reason, mocking and ridiculing him: "So you are the son-in-law that the Jiang family recruited. You are indeed a skinny pretty boy as the rumors say."

"You stinking gigolo, why are you so arrogant? You really bring shame to us men."

"You want to be a hero and save the beauty? Let's see if you have the ability today."

The dirty words were simply insulting. Jiang Zhaoli's brows instantly filled with anger. She frowned, strode forward, and slapped the people who were sneering: "You are so rude, I don't mind correcting you."

"You dare to say something nonsense again?"

Yin Su was stunned, his eyes moved slightly as he looked at Jiang Zhaoli, with a flash of confusion in his eyes. Was she standing up for him?

Several people were stunned by the sudden slap. They covered their faces and stared at the beautiful figure in front of them in disbelief, their eyes gradually turning vicious.

"You bitch, you have no shame. You dare to hit me? I think you want to die." The man bared his teeth, veins bulging, and wanted to reach out to teach Jiang Zhaoli a lesson.

Yin Su's expression frightened, and he instantly rushed in front of Jiang Zhaoli, grabbed the other's wrist with his right hand, and exerted a little force with his fingers, and the bones made a slight "creaking" sound. The man's face was as pale as paper, and beads of sweat the size of beans dripped down his forehead. He was so painful that he couldn't even speak.

Yin Su threw him hard, and he flew out like a kite with a broken string, fell straight against the wall, and bounced to the ground. The man covered his chest in pain, spit out a mouthful of blood, and fainted.

When they saw this, alarm bells rang in their hearts. They stepped back and distanced themselves from Yin Su.

Yin Su stared at them with a sneer, a barely perceptible flash of bloodlust in his eyes. How dare a group of minions act so presumptuous in front of him?

Jiang Zhaoli was so stunned watching from the side that she even forgot to react. She knew that Yin Su was an expert in martial arts, after all, she had seen it on the day of the marriage proposal. But she didn't expect that he was not only an expert in martial arts, but also so strong that he could throw the man out with just a raise of his hand.

Could it be the internal force that was rumored? When she was a child, she heard her father say a few things about people in the martial arts world. If they exerted a little force with their palms, the person being forced would fly several meters away.

But how did he, a man adopted and raised by a hunter, develop his inner strength?

Last time, the wet nurse sent someone to investigate, and there was indeed nothing wrong with Yin Su's background. There was only one possibility, and that was that a master had guided him. However, this possibility was very small and could not convince others at all. She herself did not believe it.

A man suddenly stepped forward, took out a short blade from his sleeve, and stabbed Jiang Zhaoli fiercely.

I only heard Yin Su say "be careful", and then I heard the "hiss" sound of the knife blade piercing into the flesh, which was as terrifying as if it was right next to my ear.

The man was instantly terrified. The dagger dropped to the ground with a clang. He stepped back repeatedly: "How is this possible? It's obviously fake. It's not me... It's not me."

Yin Su lost his balance and fell on Jiang Zhaoli.

Jiang Zhaoli's eyes flashed with disbelief, and then anxiety. She reached out to support Yin Su, not daring to touch the bright red patch on his arm. She said in a trembling voice, "Yin...Yin Su, how are you?"

Yin Su smiled faintly: "As long as Madam Jiang is fine, that's all."

Jiang Zhaoli supported him and walked out of the alley little by little. She almost fell down several times, but she managed to stabilize herself each time. Many people saw her, a woman supporting a bleeding man walking on the street, and they did not dare to step forward to help, for fear of getting into trouble themselves.

She struggled to walk to the clinic step by step, tears welling up in her eyes.

An indescribable fear suddenly surged in her heart, as if an invisible hand had strangled her throat. Even breathing became difficult. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead. She was afraid that something had happened to Yin Su, and that he would bleed to death.

Fortunately, the place was not far from the clinic. After Jiang Zhaoli sent Yin Su to the clinic, she collapsed on the chair, feeling so scared that she almost let out a sigh of relief after hearing the doctor say that there were no vital injuries.

The doctor stroked his beard and said quietly, "He shouldn't move around right now, or he'll hurt his wound. I'll apply medicine and bandage him later. Miss, you'd better hire a carriage and take him back lying down."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhaoli immediately stood up and placed a silver ingot on the wooden table with a slight "bang" sound. Her voice was trembling, as if she had not yet recovered from the shock. "Then I'll trouble the doctor to treat him first. Use the best medicine. If the silver is not enough, please tell me. I'll go find a carriage now."

After Jiang Zhaoli left, the doctor looked around and closed the door to isolate himself from the noise outside. He leaned against the door, tore off his beard and hood, and his black hair came into view.

It was Zou Yuan.

Zou Yuan walked to Yin Su's side with his arms folded, his brows filled with lingering sorrow: "Didn't you say you were going to pretend to be injured? How did you really get stabbed? If it weren't for my good acting skills, I would have been exposed just now. You... Can you do this?"

Seeing his slow manner, Zou Yuan hesitated and said, "Ah Su, I think your behavior towards Miss Jiang Er is a bit over the line. You...you are not in love with her, are you? You must not do that. You will hurt her. Have you forgotten Li Ke eight years ago? How did she die?"

Li Ke was the woman Li Xingzhi met when he was on a mission. He was saved by Li Ke, and the two gradually fell in love with each other as they got along. Later, his master found out and captured the powerless Li Ke. He then killed her with a knife in front of everyone as a warning.

No matter how Li Xingzhi begged for mercy, his master remained unmoved.

That was a warning to them that if anyone dared to commit the same mistake, this would be the outcome.

Yin Su sneered, his eyes as cold and calm as a cold pond. He gently wiped the blood off his arm and said, "First of all, I'm not Li Xingzhi. Secondly, which eye of yours saw me being emotional? Everything I did was to get the defense map of Luo City."

Zou Yuan frowned, "In that case, why don't you use my plan and just knock Miss Jiang unconscious and hide her, then find a girl with a similar figure to pretend to be her and attend the annual flower banquet prepared by Lord Luo? Even if you are exposed, the only person to be held accountable will be Miss Jiang. Isn't this much better than taking risks alone?"

Yin Su said nothing.

Zou Yuan pressed on: "Last time, we planned that the carriage got out of control and you would go to rescue City Lord Luo. In the end, you went to rescue Miss Jiang Er and City Lord Luo was injured. The plan failed. This time you didn't listen to the plan and insisted on doing it your own way. Do you know that if your actions are known to the master, neither you nor I will survive."

Yin Su's brows turned cold and he glanced at his face lightly. Zou Yuan was startled and realized that he had said something wrong. He immediately touched his cold neck, coughed lightly, and closed his mouth.

What a stingy man, I can't stand being criticized.

Yin Su pulled his lips and said, "You don't have to worry about this. Just follow my instructions. I have my own way."

Zou Yuan curled his lips: "What can you do? Isn't it just to deceive Miss Jiang Er's trust so that she will take you to the flower banquet during the Mid-Autumn Festival? What if you can't go then?"

"I really don't understand why there is a shortcut but instead of taking the long way."

Yin Su interrupted coldly: "Shut up."

Zou Yuan: "Okay, okay, I won't say anything. I'm reminding you, but you're blaming me. Anyway, you know it yourself."

"Hey, it's time now, Miss Jiang Er should be back soon, I better glue the beard back on first."

Jiang Zhaoli found a slightly larger sedan that had room for one person to lie down. She asked a few people to carry Yin Su to the carriage, and she sat inside the carriage to accompany Yin Su.

Looking at the pale man lying there, and the bandaged arm, Jiang Zhaoli felt a sudden prick in his heart for some reason, with mixed feelings in his heart: "Yin Su, why did you risk your life to save me?"

What on earth could make him willing to do this? After all, he was still telling her yesterday that the best thing was to stay alive, but today he was desperate to block the knife for her. If the heart was stabbed, it would be fatal. Hasn't he thought about all this?

Yin Su twitched his pale lips. He seemed to raise his hand, but dropped it halfway. He said weakly, "Madam Jiang, you are overthinking again. It's just a simple favor from me."

Jiang Zhaoli murmured, "Is it just a piece of cake?"

Yin Su asked vaguely, "What did Madam Jiang say?"

Jiang Zhaoli looked out the window at the street scenery and replied lightly, "Nothing."

After returning to the mansion, the news of Yin Su's injury spread throughout the entire Jiang Mansion in an instant. Everyone envied their deep relationship and their willingness to risk their lives for Jiang Zhaoli, saying that they were people worthy of trust.

Grandfather and second and third aunts sent people to bring many supplements to Yin Su for his health, saying that he had lost too much blood and needed to replenish his qi and blood.

Jiang Zhaoli stared at a table full of supplements, including ginseng, deer antler, bird's nest, longan, etc., and fell into deep thought.

Yin Su was recuperating on the couch in the inner room, and she found two skillful servants to take care of him. She didn't want to stay in the courtyard, nor did she want to face Yin Su alone. She felt very upset, with a lot of things on her mind but no one to talk to.

After thinking about it, she decided to go to Nalan Courtyard to find her elder sister to resolve the confusion in her heart. In the entire Jiang Mansion, only her elder sister was of the same age as her, only two years younger, and she could talk to her about her true feelings.

Besides, the elder sister is preparing to get married, so she should understand some things better than her.

The door to the house was open. Jiang Yulin was sitting at the wooden table embroidering a wedding dress. She lowered her head slightly, a smile on the corners of her lips, and her fingers were moving flexibly between the needle and thread and the fabric. She was almost done.

Jiang Zhaoli stared at her in a daze. Was it because her elder sister was marrying the man she loved that she was so happy when embroidering the wedding dress?

Sensing the shadow, Jiang Yulin raised her little face and saw her coming. She was startled, then immediately put down her needlework and went to meet her. She took Jiang Zhaoli's hand and led her into the house, saying as they walked: "Second sister hasn't come to my room to talk for a long time. I think something is bothering you."

She smiled carefully, her eyes and eyebrows were gentle and moving: "Let me guess, is it a matter of love?"

Jiang Zhaoli nodded ignorantly.

Jiang Yulin smiled and joked: "Although I haven't left the courtyard, I have heard from my third sister about you and Brother-in-law Yin in the past two days."

"Is Second Sister confused about something?"

Jiang Zhaoli nodded: "Big sister, I don't know why I have been feeling mixed emotions these days. I want to know why he risked his life to save me. What is more important than his own life?"

Jiang Yulin poured her a glass of water and pushed it in front of her: "Have you asked him?"

Jiang Zhaoli nodded, casually holding the cup in his hand, his eyes filled with confusion, and murmured, "He said it was a piece of cake."

Jiang Yulin: "Second sister, you have to know that everyone's life is very important. He is willing to sacrifice his life to save you, which means that he already regards you as an important person in his heart."

Jiang Zhaoli raised his little face in surprise: "Is... is that so?"

He considers me important?

Jiang Yulin looked at her and shook his head helplessly, "Let's change the angle. For example, second sister, how do you feel when you see Brother-in-law Yin? Do you like Brother-in-law Yin?"

Jiang Zhaoli was puzzled, and there seemed to be some confusion in his eyes: "Like...what does it feel like to like someone?"

Jiang Yulin looked at his innocent second sister and shook his head helplessly: "He risked his life to save you a few days ago. How did you feel and what did you think?"

Jiang Zhaoli recalled for a moment: "I felt as if my heart was stabbed by a needle. I was worried that something might happen to him."

Jiang Yulin smiled, as if he finally understood: "My silly sister, this is love. When you like someone, you are often the least aware of it, but when he is hurt or in danger, the emotions you express will not lie."

After hearing Jiang Yulin's explanation, Jiang Zhaoli stared blankly at the clear water in the cup. She could vaguely see her beautiful face in it. After a moment, the face in the water suddenly turned into Yin Su's smiling face, and he called her affectionately, "Madam Jiang."

Jiang Zhaoli was startled, came to his senses suddenly, and pushed the cup away.

Jiang Yulin looked surprised: "Second sister, what's wrong with you?"

Jiang Zhaoli jumped up, her face still in panic. She shook her head and said, "Nothing, big sister. I'll go back first. I still have some account books to read. I won't bother you anymore."

Looking at her hurriedly leaving, Jiang Yulin shook his head helplessly.

Her second sister must be worried.