Chapter 13 You Hide From Me Xu Congjing laughed, "What have you misunderstood? ...

Why would Xu Congjing be here in the desolate mountains of Jingzhou? In a moment, Lou Yanxu remembered that Qing Guan had asked for disaster relief in Suzhou, and judging from this situation, it must be him.

Peeking through the small corner, she saw Xu Congjing standing straight in front of the door, quite a handsome figure. After a moment, she pulled Qingrui's hand back, "Put down the curtain, let's hurry up and go."

She held the teacup, lost in thought, realizing that she had felt a little flustered when she saw him.

Qingrui didn't understand, but didn't say much.

When they were almost at the border of Ezhou, Sheng Yan's carriage stopped, and Qing Rui lifted the curtain and stepped out. When she returned, her face was gloomy.

"They found that Miss Weng's carriage was stuck in a puddle and she had sprained her ankle, and the young master was taking care of her."

Lou Yanxu's fingertips twitched, and she finally understood Sheng Yan's thoughts. His unusual behavior of staying by her side was actually to find an excuse to meet with his wife in secret.

But to everyone's surprise, Minister Weng also let his daughter do as she pleased.

After a short delay, she had no choice but to get out of the car to check. Sheng Yan was pressing on Weng Chuchu's feet through her embroidered socks. When he saw her approaching, he spoke gently, "Chuchu is also visiting relatives in Suzhou. Why don't we let her come with us so we can look after each other?"

Before she could answer, Weng Chuchu's face showed distress. "I'm sorry to trouble you, Sister Yanxu."

When had Sheng Yan ever spoken to her in such a gentle tone? Lou Yanxu knew perfectly well what was going on, but she didn't want to make things ugly, so she nodded expressionlessly.

The group took the opportunity to rest for a while. Qingrui washed her hands in the stream and muttered to herself, "The main wife is still here, yet she's being all lovey-dovey with some nobody. What kind of behavior is this!"

Although Lou Yanxu was used to Sheng Yan's way of doing things, she was also half angry at the moment, so she left Qingrui alone.

Half an hour later, the two still showed no sign of leaving. Anxious, she stood up and said, "Why don't you stay and take care of Madam Weng? My grandmother is in a hurry, so I'll go ahead."

"What do you mean by this?" Sheng Yan frowned, his voice growing sharper and his expression colder. "I was just helping Chu Chu out when she was injured, and that's enough to make you jealous? Who gave you the right to be like this!"

She froze for a moment, then took a deep breath. "I had no such intention..."

"Alright! It's just a side trip. We'll find a doctor for Chuchu and then head back as fast as we can." He turned his head away, his tone quite harsh.

"It is my duty to take care of Miss Weng, and I have no jealousy or anger. It is just that the situation is urgent and my grandmother is in danger, so I must hurry and not delay for a moment."

He insisted, "Finding a doctor won't take much time."

Lou Yan and Xu Ning stood there for a moment, unable to bear the thought of reasoning with him, and gritted their teeth to order, "Qingrui, pack your things, let's go."

"This is outrageous!" Sheng Yan rushed forward to grab her hand, but she fell to the ground. Looking down at her, he said, "A woman's husband is her heaven after marriage. If I don't let you go back now, you can't go back!"

For Lou Yanxu, her only relative in the world was her grandmother. If anyone caused her grandmother's death, she would not care who it was, Gao Yue or Ni Chen, but would fight them all.

Having exhausted all attempts to back down, in a fit of anger, he blurted out without thinking, "Then just divorce me!"

Qingrui gasped in surprise and helped her mistress to her feet.

Even Sheng Yan was momentarily surprised. He wondered, how could he just divorce his wife for no reason? That would be criticized by the world.

Seeing Lou Yanxu turn to leave, he strode forward and grabbed her sleeve, "Don't go!"

Lou Yanxu shook off his hand. Just then, a gust of wind rose around them, and the two of them were stunned, both feeling something was amiss.

Sure enough, a few bandits emerged a moment later and came slashing at him with their knives.

"Brother Yuanzhuo, save me!"

Weng Chuchu ran in the other direction, but Sheng Yan turned around and started running towards her.

The master and servant fled for their lives, but a bandit with a thick beard chased after them, laughing incessantly behind them.

Lou Yanxu's hands trembled, she gritted her teeth and dared not breathe, she just held her breath and ran forward.

The wind picked up, rustling the withered leaves in the forest. The two ventured into the woods, and with just a quick glance back, they saw that the bandit was only a step away!

Lou Yanxu slipped and fell, and from afar she saw Sheng Yan protecting Weng Chuchu in his arms while he himself took a knife. The glint of the blade made Lou Yanxu close her eyes slightly, and when she opened her eyes again, a dark shadow loomed over her, and Qingrui stood firmly in front of her.

She pushed Qingrui away, her body stiffened and unable to move under the sharp blade, so she could only close her eyes and endure it, her fingernails digging into her palms.

Unexpectedly, she felt no pain. The thug's knife was kicked away and lay beside her, a drop of cold sweat falling onto her collarbone.

She stared blankly as Xu Congjing ran towards her. When another bandit saw his accomplice trapped, he immediately flew over. She instinctively grabbed him and hid behind him, peeking out half an eye to watch him kick the villain away.

Yun Lu drew his sword and rushed forward to protect his master. His dozens of followers were all brave and fierce. Seeing the situation, the bandits took advantage of their familiarity with the terrain and fled.

Lou Yan breathed a sigh of relief, but her limbs went weak and she collapsed into Xu Congjing's arms. She bit her lip to bring herself back to her senses, then got up and bowed deeply to express her gratitude.

She thought she had escaped meeting Xu Congjing before, but she didn't expect that she still couldn't escape this time.

The group then decided to travel together, but a problem arose. Qingrui, with her sharp eyes, exclaimed, "Wife, the carriage has broken down!"

Wen Jie silently observed the group. He saw Yun Lu hiding behind Lou Yanxu and pressing his chin towards Xu Congjing. He cursed Xu Congjing inwardly for his scheming.

Don't think he didn't see it; Yun Lu took advantage of the chaos to move the axle!

In the desolate wilderness, Lou Yanxu had no other choice. After hesitating for a moment, she had to soften her tone and say, "Could it be that my husband rides in one carriage with my cousin or Situ, and I ride in another with Madam Weng?"

Unexpectedly, the first to refute her was Weng Chuchu, "I wanted to go with Sister Yanxu, but my foot injury makes things very inconvenient. What should I do?"

Upon hearing this, Sheng Yan disregarded the traditional separation of men and women and readily agreed, "I'll ride in the same carriage as you so I can keep an eye on you."

"But we are men and women, and it's not appropriate for us to have physical contact. How can this be?"

"How could outsiders understand the bond between us, brother and sister? There's no need to pay attention to those gossiping people."

How can a man and woman from different fathers and mothers be siblings? These two are good at making things up.

Lou Yanxu knew that Sheng Yan was unreliable, but to leave her to another man like this was still an eye-opener for her. So she turned her gaze to Wen Jie and pleaded, "Cousin, would you be willing to take me in for a while? I will hitch another ride when we reach Ezhou."

Xu Congjing's face immediately turned pale, and he glared at Wen Jie.

"It's not that I don't want to give my younger brother and sister-in-law a ride, but I have a severe cold and I'm afraid they'll catch it." Wen Jie understood, touched the tip of his nose, covered his mouth with his hand, and coughed several times. "Xu Situ's carriage is much more spacious, so why don't we ride with him?"

The dire straits of the General's mansion were still vivid in her mind, and Lou Yanxu really didn't want to be alone with Xu Congjing, so she insisted, "I'm not afraid of being infected..."

"Does Madam Lou have a problem with me?" Xu Congjing asked with a feigned smile, his eyes concealing a dangerous glint.

"I didn't mean that." She was worried that saying too much would arouse suspicion, so she stammered for a long time without being able to give a reason, and could only sigh and compromise in her heart, "Then I will trouble Situ."

Lou Yanxu clenched her fists and glared hatefully at Sheng Yan. She watched helplessly as she got into her future brother-in-law's carriage. Where did that leave her? But the latter turned his head away, acting as if it was none of his business. In any case, if Sheng Jin found out, she would be the first one to make fun of her.

She stepped onto the bus on a stool, and a wave of warmth washed over her. She sat up straight in the corner.

"Is Lady Lou avoiding me?"

Lou Yanxu glanced over briefly, then replied respectfully, "Situ is kind and righteous, and everyone flocks to him; how could I possibly hide from him?"

"Everyone is rushing to do it, why don't you?" Xu Congjing picked up the fire tongs to add charcoal, his sharp gaze seeming to pierce into her eyes.

Her hand tightened in her sleeve. "I am but a merchant, I dare not disturb your peace."

"Whether they are merchants or nobles, it makes no difference to me."

"?" He meant he hoped she would come closer without disturbing her.

She felt something was off, but couldn't quite put her finger on it. Turning her head, she saw him about to brew bitter tea, but just as he was about to roast the tea cake, he stopped and replaced it with purple bamboo shoot tea.

She pondered for a moment, recalling the sweet cakes he had sent her earlier, and couldn't help but become suspicious. So she casually asked, "How does Master know that I usually eat sweet cakes after taking medicine, and how does he know that I don't drink bitter tea?"

When she first tasted bitter tea as a child, she found it unbearable and could not stand it for even a moment. After that, she would frown every time she smelled it.

Xu Congjing was confident he would deny it, but after a long silence, he finally uttered a sentence after grinding the tea: "If you want to know, there are ways to find out."

Lou Yanxu shuddered, almost thinking she had misheard. Why did he want to know her preferences?

After a moment, feeling slightly embarrassed, she said in a hard voice, "Situ, please don't say such things that could be misunderstood."

As the water boiled like fish bubbles, Xu Congjing looked up, her eyes shimmering with a smile. "What have you misunderstood, sister-in-law?"

"!"

He was usually mild-mannered, but now his demeanor revealed a hint of malice. Lou Yanxu found the address "sister-in-law" extremely awkward. Whether he meant it or not, she dared not speak further and pretended to be dead.

When they arrived in Ezhou, the city was already brightly lit. The group found an inn to stay in. Lou Yan, fearing that she would be with Xu Congjing, lied and said she had no appetite, so they ate at different tables.

She was embroidering by lamplight inside the room, occasionally glancing towards the door and yawning. When she saw Qingrui push the door open and enter, she jumped up with joy to greet her.

"Wife, the sesame cakes are here. Eat them while they're hot." Qingrui rushed in and handed over the sesame cakes. "That stall is so lively. These are the last two. If we're any later, we won't be able to buy any more."

Lou Yanxu shoved one of the items into Qingrui's hand, "Here, have a taste!"

"Thank you, Madam!" Qingrui took the door lock with one hand and locked it with the other.

Lou Yanxu chewed slowly, but Qingrui was an impatient person. She ate one pancake, but her master still had more than half left.

"I'm so tired and my body aches. Please rub it for me." After she finished washing her hands, Lou Yanxu sat on the drum stool and gestured to her. She swallowed a mouthful of food and smiled with satisfaction. "I ate this once when I passed through Ezhou with my father. I've been craving it ever since. I'm so glad I got to eat it now."

Qingrui moved nimbly, her mouth never stopping, "So that's why you didn't sit with the young master and the others, my lady. I thought you were avoiding Minister Xu."

Lou Yanxu stopped talking. "Why would you think that?"

"When you first saw Minister Xu, you only wanted to leave as soon as possible, and then you were very reluctant to get into his carriage, so I thought you probably didn't want to see him."

"I really don't want to see him," she murmured to herself. This person was too unfathomable, seemingly able to see through everything about her, which always made her feel uneasy about being controlled.

Just as they were lost in thought, someone knocked twice on the door. The two men looked at each other, both on high alert.

"Who's outside?" Qingrui asked.

"It's me."

Lou Yanxu recognized Xu Congjing's voice and nearly dropped the sesame seed cake in her hand in a panic, instinctively hiding her hand in her sleeve as well.

She opened the door. "May I ask what brings Minister Xu to visit?"

"You haven't had dinner tonight, are you hungry now?" He produced a roast chicken from behind him, lowered his eyes and hesitated for a moment before saying, "The young master asked me to send this."

The steaming roast chicken emitted a fragrant aroma, and Lou Yanxu, who had only eaten half a sesame seed cake earlier, couldn't help but swallow hard.

Sheng Yan wished he could abandon her, so how could he care whether she lived or died? She knew that the roast chicken was bought by Xu Congjing, but in order to avoid owing another favor, she pretended not to know.

"Thank you, Situ."

The two stared at each other for a moment. He stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze falling on her slightly oily lips. He chuckled to himself, "This place isn't very safe. We'll make sure the doors and windows are secure tonight."

"yes."

Lou Yanxu secretly hoped he would leave soon. At that moment, the window at the end of the corridor was blown open, and a cool breeze blew in. She felt uncomfortable and her nose was itchy. She couldn't help but bend over and sneeze. When she came to her senses, her whole body was stiff.

It turned out that the half-eaten sesame seed cake in his sleeve had rolled off and landed right at Xu Congjing's feet.

She watched him pick it up unhurriedly, and wished she could dig a hole and disappear into it.