Chapter 54 Chapter 54 Why are you pinching me?

Blood relationship is the closest relationship in the world, but sometimes it can also cost lives.

Nan Xu didn’t know anything about the Zhao family. She didn’t want to know before, and now she’s unwilling to ask herself.

She was waiting for Duan Wenpei to tell her everything in person one day. Even if not everything, at least he would tell her who he really was.

That way, she could be sure that this man with cold eyes had fallen in love with her and was no longer satisfied with being a fake couple.

She thought she would have to wait a long time, but unexpectedly, surprises often happen at moments she least expected.

On the way back to the city, Nan Xu and Duan Wenpei rode the same horse. Feeling the warmth on her back, she moved forward somewhat uncomfortably, trying to keep some distance from the person behind her.

Duan Wenpei thought she was finding the smell of blood unpleasant, so he held her waist with one hand and untied her blood-stained coat with the other, throwing it onto Liu Hui's horse. "It doesn't smell bad now, just bear with it for a while."

The horse that Nan Xu was riding seemed to be frightened and ran away. The royal guards brought by Duan Wenpei were all men, and with Yin Ruizhu joining the team, Nan Xu had no choice but to share a horse with him.

Nan Xu heard him say this, knowing he had misunderstood, and felt even more uncomfortable. She couldn't help but look back at Yin Ruizhu, who was sitting alone on her horse, and said in confusion, "I can ride. Why don't you take those horses and give me one? I can even walk behind and keep Ruizhu company."

Yin Ruizhu was abandoned by Zhao Huaian.

He was no match for Duan Wenpei and could only escape across the river by himself. Yin Ruizhu was left on the shore like a burden.

Although she didn't suffer any physical pain, Nan Xu was very worried about Yin Ruizhu's listless appearance. She didn't know how she had been living these days. Nan Xu had a lot to say to her.

Because looking back, her upper body was almost entirely pressed against Duan Wenpei's legs. The dirt road was bumpy and uneven, and he had to spur the horse while preventing her from falling. Duan Wenpei almost forcibly straightened her body, loosely half-circling her, and refused, "No."

Nan Xu felt that he was a bit overbearing. "What's wrong with me? Ruizhu can do it. Don't underestimate me."

Duan Wenpei was almost amused by her childish words. He raised the whip in his hand and whipped the horse, and the horse trotted briskly.

His magnetic voice also trembled.

"Those Shu horses are not as docile as those raised in the Bo Mansion. You can't control them with your horsemanship skills."

Looking at the pitch-black road ahead, Nan Xu curled her lips. Just as she was about to retort, Duan Wenpei cut her off with his next words, "The horse Miss Yin is riding is the most docile among Zhao Huaian's group of horses. I also asked a Royal Guard to help her lead it. Plus, Miss Yin is a good horseman, so there's nothing to worry about."

To put it bluntly, doesn't it mean that she is not good at riding horses?

This explanation is worse than no explanation.

Nan Xu saw that he showed no sign of stopping, and knew her chance at riding was over. She gave up her stubbornness, relaxed, and muttered to herself, "If you don't want to ride, then don't. I don't even want to ride that Zhao An's horse. Those Shu people are not only ugly, but also barbaric. Really, hey, why are you pinching me?"

Someone twisted her waist, neither lightly nor heavily. It would be an exaggeration to say it was a twist, it was just a rub at most. However, she was unhappy about the horse riding incident, so naturally she had nothing good to say.

The horse crossed a small dirt slope, and the person on the horse also swung up and down like a swing. Seeing the silence behind him for a while, Nan Xu realized that what she had said just now was not appropriate. Just as she was about to explain, she heard Duan Wenpei's voice faintly, "Do you hate people from Shu?"

Nan Xu quickly corrected him, "That's not what I meant. I just hate Zhao Huaijue and Zhao Shi'an and their gang." After saying that, You Jue felt uneasy and followed up with, "I don't hate you, so don't overthink it."

After being together for so long, she found that Duan Wenpei was actually quite sensitive and thoughtful.

Duan Wenpei heard her little thoughts and smiled lightly, "I didn't say you hate me, why are you so nervous?"

Nan Xu felt uncomfortable with his laughter and said stubbornly, "That's hard to say..."

The crisp rebuttal disappeared in the wind, but Duan Wenpei was in a surprisingly good mood, so good that his chest was shaking with laughter. Nan Xu's body felt a little numb because she had been keeping a distance for too long, and when he smiled like that, she almost lost her composure and slipped into his arms.

She bit her lip in annoyance, bent her elbows and rushed backwards, but just as she reached an uphill section, she lost her strength and slipped into his arms. She immediately struggled to get up, but was tightly held by the arms that came from behind.

The aura from Duan Wenpei enveloped him.

"Actually, it's not surprising if you hate me, because I have the same blood as them."

The moist and warm breath hit the back of her neck, and a tingling sensation spread from her shoulders and neck over her ears to the top of her head. Nan Xu stared straight ahead, unable to recover for a long time.

Duan Wenpei noticed the changes in her body and thought he was hurting her, so he quickly loosened his grip a little, still holding her in his arms. "We still have a long way to go back to the city, and the road will be bumpy. You'll feel more comfortable in my arms."

Nan Xu gasped twice, barely audible, tilted her head, and regained her voice. "What's the matter with that?" She continued, "The same blood? Could it be..."

Duan Wenpei heard her voice was a little hoarse, and thought it was because she caught a cold from the river breeze at night, so he held her in his arms again.

"Yes. Zhao Huaian and Zhao Huaijue are my half-brothers."

Nan Xu was slightly stunned. She didn't expect him to say it so bluntly. Instead, she didn't know how to respond.

"So, your real name... is Zhao Huaizhou?"

She had been holding this sentence in her heart since she came back from the Big Buddha Temple. It turned out that it was not that difficult to ask it out loud.

Duan Wenpei answered briskly, "Yes, Wenpei is my courtesy name, Huaizhou is my given name. Thirteen years ago, I was Zhao Huaizhou, the third son of the Zhao family."

The secret buried deep in his heart was revealed, and the person he told it to was his wife. Duan Wenpei felt a secret excitement and comfort in his heart.

This long-lost feeling was the first time since his mother's death. The indifference in Duan Wenpei's eyes was covered with a layer of lacquer-like black veil. The scattered torch light reflected in his eyes, as if it wanted to lift the black veil and burn away the indifference.

Nan Xu listened quietly to his strong heartbeat and stayed with him in silence.

After a long time, on the dark suburban road, the man's magnetic and low voice told a sad story.

The man in the story is Zhao Mingcheng, the current head of the Zhao family and Duan Wenpei's biological father.

Shu was not completely cut off from the outside world. There were many mountains and hills there, with fine minerals and medicinal materials. The Zhao family relied on their unique ox-horse carts to go out of Shu regularly every year to do business.

One year, Zhao Mingcheng, the eldest son of the Zhao family, secretly followed the team out of Shu. The young man walked and stopped here and there, and when he came to the south of the Yangtze River and took a boat tour of the Jiuqu River, the weather suddenly changed and a strong wind blew, overturning the boat he was on into the river. Since then, he has disappeared without a trace.

The Zhao family couldn't find him anywhere, and just when everyone thought he was dead, he came back with a pregnant woman.

Having said this, Duan Wenpei paused because his throat was a little dry.

Nan Xu, entranced by what she had heard, quickly added, "Could this pregnant woman be your mother?" She clapped her right hand against her left, as if she had glimpsed some profound secret. "Let me guess. Your father must have drifted down the river somewhere and was accidentally rescued by your mother. To thank your mother for saving his life, your father married her. But then, that doesn't make sense. If he wanted to marry your mother, he had to meet the elders of both families before discussing the marriage. How come your mother was already pregnant when they returned?"

Duan Wenpei looked at Nan Xu with admiration, but unfortunately he could only see the top of her dark and messy hair.

"You guessed right. Mother found my father in the river at the east end of the county. At that time, my grandfather was anxious to find a son-in-law for my mother. That day, my mother went out to meet the young man that my grandfather had chosen. There was only one difference: when my mother found my father, he had already lost his memory."

Nan Xu suddenly realized that it made sense.

The rest of the story is very clichéd. The only daughter of a wealthy businessman in the county falls in love with the handsome Zhao Mingcheng at first sight. Zhao Mingcheng has lost his memory again and doesn't know who he is or where he is. He slowly sinks into the arms of the wealthy businessman's daughter and naturally becomes the wealthy businessman's son-in-law.

But this son-in-law was not an ordinary person after all. Even if he lost his memory, he would still remember that day. When Zhao Mingcheng remembered everything, he would naturally not be willing to be just the son-in-law of a small county merchant. He took his pregnant wife and traveled through mountains and rivers to Shu and returned to the Zhao family.

Nan Xu sighed and lamented that the amazing stories in the picture book were indeed not lies.

Still confused, Nan Xu asked him softly, "And then? Since you've returned to the Zhao family, that should be a good thing. Why did you come out on your own at such a young age? Also, why did your brothers want to kill you? And that Qin... No, there's another question. Why are you the third child in your family?"

She still remembered what Zhao Huaijue said in the mountains behind the Big Buddha Temple. The word Qin came out of her mouth, and she felt that she was asking a question she already knew the answer to.

This one was obviously Zhao Mingcheng's later wife. Suddenly, she remembered that Duan Wenpei seemed to be the third son. Could it be that he married her before he disappeared? In the torchlight, Nan Xu's eyes shone like stars. She couldn't wait to hear Duan Wenpei's explanation face to face.

But he saw dozens of riders galloping towards him. In the light of torches, Nan Xu saw Cheng Guang, the prefect of Jingzhao, and Li Zhan, who was supposed to be recuperating in Li's mansion.

*

Cheng Guang had never hated his nephew as much as he did now.

You said your face was as pale as a ghost. It would have been fine if you came to apologize on behalf of your mother, but why did you insist on following Nan Xu when you heard that she had left the city?

What would happen if the princess heard about this in public?

I asked you to submit to the princess but you refused, yet you have the energy to look for your childhood sweetheart?

Cheng Guang felt that he could now empathize with Princess Jingyi's cruelty.

Not to mention chopping him with a sword, even beating him to death wouldn't be too severe!

Looking at Nan Xu and Duan Wenpei who were riding on the same horse towards him, Cheng Guang leisurely looked at Li Zhan who was pale beside him.

In his peripheral vision, Li Zhan's hand suddenly tightened, and veins on the back of his hand bulged.