Chapter 164 Understanding, Shen Chu's cry was the most beautiful.

By the bright lights of the salt field, the whip marks on Pei Yuan's back were exposed.

Shen Chu's pupils involuntarily contracted slightly.

Five bloody whip marks, crisscrossing each other, were a shocking sight.

Two of them were deeper, with the skin turned outwards and bloodstains blurred.

It's amazing that he endured it all without saying a word for so long.

For the first time, Chen Chu felt a pang of regret for saving someone's life.

She dampened a handkerchief and gently wiped away the bloodstains, asking softly, "Does it hurt?"

Pei Yuan shook his head, "It's just a minor injury, it doesn't hurt."

But when Shen Chu noticed that his skin suddenly tightened and his body trembled slightly when he wiped the two deepest whip marks, Shen Chu realized that his skin was tense and his body was trembling.

fraud.

Didn't you say it wouldn't hurt?

She gritted her teeth, "I will definitely return these five lashes to the steward, no, I will return them to him twofold."

Pei Yuan chuckled softly.

Chen Chu's eyes inexplicably stung, and she whispered, "I'm sorry."

Pei Yuan frowned slightly, noticing something was off about her voice.

"You're not going to cry, are you?"

Chen Chu's voice was muffled, "No."

Pei Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly, and after a moment scoffed, "Liar."

Her voice was clearly trembling, but she still said she hadn't cried.

Tsk, he still cares about me deep down after all.

After wiping away the bloodstains, Chen Chu crushed the hemostatic herbs she had gathered and sprinkled them on the wound.

Fortunately, the salt field was located in a mountain valley, surrounded by many plants such as Bletilla striata, Panax notoginseng, and Sanguisorba officinalis, all of which are good medicines for stopping bleeding.

Feeling Shen Chu's soft fingertips gently circling around the wound, a tingling sensation, as if someone were gently brushing his heart with a feather, caused Pei Yuan's breath to catch in his throat for a moment.

He suddenly recalled the first time he met Shen Chu.

When he chased after Wang Yao, he startled Shen Chu's carriage, and Shen Chu rolled out of the carriage, landing on Li Chengxuan.

Shen Chu jumped up and stopped him, insisting that he apologize and pay compensation.

Apologize?

He squinted at Chen Chu, his gaze disdainful. "You don't know who I am?"

Shen Chu was stunned for a moment, and Li Chengxuan next to her called out tremblingly, "Sixth Prince."

Upon learning his identity, Chen Chu became even angrier. She picked up a pen, ink, paper, and inkstone from the ground, and on the spot wrote a magnificent article that insulted him without using any vulgar words, which she then threw in his face.

This was the first time he had ever seen someone argue using writing, so he couldn't help but glance at Chen Chu a couple more times.

At that time, Shen Chu was dressed in a blue robe, and his eyes were exceptionally bright because of his anger, like a soldier about to charge into battle.

He thought Shen Chu was just a bookworm who had gone stupid from reading too much.

Later, at Jingguo Temple, he inadvertently witnessed Shen Chuli swiftly and ruthlessly kill his stepmother's guards.

He thought Shen Chu was as cold-blooded and heartless as he was.

After several encounters, he witnessed Shen Chu's intelligence, wit, and cunning.

And today's compassion.

Although he did not agree with Shen Chu's actions, Shen Chu's words still shocked him at that moment.

Shen Chu is like an interesting storybook, ever-changing and multifaceted, drawing him ever closer.

I keep wanting to explore, to discover what unknown aspects he might have.

He couldn't control himself, and yet he enjoyed it immensely.

"What is Your Highness thinking about?"

Noticing his sudden silence, Shen Chu asked in a low voice.

Pei Yuan curled his lips, "Thinking about you, a child abandoned in a Taoist temple since childhood, you must have suffered a lot of scorn and cold looks, right? Why do you still sometimes have an almost foolish kindness?"

Shen Chu's eyes flickered slightly.

Before she turned seven, she lived a carefree life, lovingly cared for by her parents and brothers in Liangzhou, with her brother Zhan taking great care of her.

My uncle and aunt always wanted a daughter, but they had four sons in a row.

She was the only daughter among the grandchildren of the Ning'an Marquis's family, and upon returning to the capital, she was pampered by her grandparents and uncles and aunts.

The only year she truly suffered was when her family was destroyed and she became a beggar.

After being adopted by her master, she was loved by her fellow disciples. Her master taught her to read and write, taught her martial arts, and took her to travel the world to broaden her horizons.

She was unfortunate, but also fortunate to have met her master.

She couldn't say these things to Pei Yuan, so she said vaguely, "Although the Taoist temple is austere, I promised my master that no matter what I go through, I should always keep a kind heart."

Pei Yuan was somewhat taken aback.

Having experienced the ups and downs of life, one is still willing to maintain inner clarity, being worldly-wise but not cynical.

Shen Chu accomplished what he couldn't.

"Stop talking about me, Your Highness. How did you get these wounds on your back?"

After applying the medicine, Chen Chu glanced at his back and noticed that beneath the whip marks, there were many crisscrossing scars on his back.

The color is light, and it looks like an injury sustained many years ago. It appears to have whip marks and signs of caning.

Pei Yuan snapped out of his reverie and said calmly, "Someone else did it."

"Is it the Crown Prince, Prince Heng, or the Third Prince?"

Pei Yuan paused, his voice cold, "They all exist. A child without a mother is as worthless as an ant, and anyone can trample on him."

Shen Chu gasped.

Shen Chu recalled that he had mentioned the incident of Consort Yu dying from premature birth and postpartum hemorrhage.

He was not even ten years old when Consort Yu passed away, was he?

Without a mother's protection, how much suffering must a child endure in the cannibalistic palace to grow into the person they are today?

No wonder he hated the Third Prince to the bone and never showed any kindness to the Crown Prince and Prince Heng.

"Doesn't His Majesty care?"

Pei Yuan's lips curled into a mocking smile. "Father has eighteen sons and daughters in total, and he can't even remember each of their names."

He paused for a moment and said in a low voice, "I spent two years avenging my mother and another year standing before my father."

I showed him my value, and he gave me the Flying Eagle Guard.

Chen Chu felt extremely depressed.

Compared to her, Pei Yuan's life was far too difficult.

He couldn't feel the kindness of those around him; even his father, who should have sheltered him from the storm, decided how much protection to give him based on his worth.

He could only survive through his own arduous struggle.

At that moment, she suddenly understood why Pei Yuan was so calm when the old man was being beaten.

How can you expect someone who's been getting soaked in the rain to hold an umbrella for someone else?

She hadn't experienced Pei Yuan's suffering, yet she could accuse him of being cold-blooded and ruthless.

Shen Chu sincerely apologized for her previous words, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have criticized Your Highness."

Pei Yuan suddenly frowned, "Why didn't you call me?"

Chen Chu's feelings of guilt were interrupted, and she asked blankly, "What's your name?"

Pei Yuan patiently asked, his voice tinged with anticipation, "Call me Sixth Brother, didn't we agree on that?"

Shen Chu hesitated, "But there's no one else here, just the two of us, so we don't need to act, right?"

Pei Yuan said in a serious tone, "Even if there are no outsiders, you must follow the rules. Once the rules become second nature, no one will be able to find any flaws in your behavior."

That makes sense.

Chen Chu pursed her lips and called out in a low voice, "Sixth Brother."

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "Mm."

Her voice was naturally warm, and when she deliberately lowered it, it only carried a touch of gentle charm, like the chirping of birds in the night.

The princes and princesses in the palace who were younger than him all called him Sixth Brother.

But Pei Yuan thought Shen Chu's voice sounded the best.

Suddenly, he frowned slightly. "Someone is coming this way."

Shen Chu quickly draped a coat over him.

The bushes behind her were parted, and she turned to look at the person who had come.