Chapter 42 Making her willing

Whoosh—

A gentle breeze swept through the dense forest, and a feathered arrow swiftly and accurately pierced the throat of a running rabbit. The rabbit, lying on the ground, struggled a few times with its hind legs before falling completely silent.

The red-armored guard responsible for collecting the prey stepped forward, grabbed the rabbit by the ears, ran to the front of the cavalry, and raised his hands high.

The King of Wu bowed and said, "Father's archery skills are superb; he hits the target every time."

Emperor Xuan looked pleased and waved his hand behind him, "I'm getting old, not as good as I used to be. My arm can't take it after only a few draws.

He put it behind his back, let out a sigh with one arm hanging down, and said, "This world still belongs to you young people."

The Crown Prince spoke up at the opportune moment, "Father is in his prime, and his children still need more guidance from Father."

King of Wu: "Your elder brother, the Crown Prince, is absolutely right."

Emperor Xuan smiled and pointed to a patch of grass a hundred meters ahead, saying, "What do you think is that?"

The bushes suddenly rustled, and shadowy figures could not be seen clearly inside.

The King of Wu raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight filtering through the treetops, squinting as he looked. "Father, it's too far away; I can't see very clearly."

Pei Yu, who was behind the three, looked over upon hearing this. His eyesight was much better than that of an ordinary person, and he could vaguely see that the thing was very large, its entire shape hidden behind the grass, and it seemed to be yellow.

Emperor Xuan rode forward first, his cheerful voice carried on the wind: "It's a big one, let's see who can hunt it down first!"

Pei Yu gripped the reins tightly and followed closely behind, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings, he had a feeling that something was not right.

As they got closer, the rustling from behind the bushes grew louder. In no time, a huge creature emerged from behind, its body covered with black and brownish-yellow stripes, its paws wide—a formidable and imposing insect.

"Your Majesty, it's a tiger!"

Emperor Xuan not only did not slow down his horse, but instead sped up and charged forward, steered with one hand, saying, "Whoever can hunt down this tiger today, I will bestow upon him the Ferghana horse."

Upon hearing this, the crowd behind him immediately cheered, and the whips cracked loudly. The tiger noticed the commotion, stood still for a moment, then turned and ran towards the dense forest behind it.

The Crown Prince slowed his horse to keep pace with Pei Yu. "Cousin, why aren't you going?"

Pei Yu kept a close eye on his surroundings. When he looked up again and saw that Emperor Xuan and Prince Wu had already rushed into the dense forest, his pupils contracted. He spurred his horse forward and urged the Crown Prince behind him, "Your Highness, stay close to me."

The main force had gradually entered the dense forest. The forest was lush with branches and leaves, and the large insects moved extremely fast, always heading towards secluded spots. The formation of the guards protecting Emperor Xuan was broken by the terrain, and in the blink of an eye, they were separated from him.

King Wu followed closely behind Emperor Xuan, straining his lower abdomen to tighten the horse's belly, quickly drew his bow and pulled the string, shooting an arrow through the belly of the galloping tiger.

Emperor Xuan turned around and praised, "Excellent archery!"

The King of Wu smugly put away his bow, but when he looked up again, his expression suddenly changed. "Father, stop immediately!"

Emperor Xuan looked back and saw that the tiger, which had been fleeing for its life, was now enraged by the arrow and turned to charge at them, its fur stained red with the blood from the arrow in its abdomen.

In just a few breaths, the tiger had already rushed in front of them. The dense forest was narrow, and the King of Wu's horses were right behind them. Emperor Xuan could not turn his horse around for a moment and could only watch helplessly as the tiger opened its blood-red mouth and pounced.

call out--

A powerful arrow pierced the tiger's right eye, causing the galloping tiger to fall to the ground in pain, giving Emperor Xuan a moment to catch his breath. He immediately gripped the reins and turned his horse around. Just then, the Akhal-Teke horse beneath him went berserk for some reason, rearing up and neighing, throwing Emperor Xuan off its back.

The King of Wu bared his teeth and glared, "Father!"

Just as he was about to abandon his horse to save the man, the crazed Akhal-Teke horse charged at him violently, knocking him and the horse to the ground.

A sharp pain shot through his tailbone. His lower leg slammed into a sharp tree root on the ground as he fell, piercing his leg. King Wu clutched his leg and fell to the ground, a cry of pain stuck in his throat. He saw the hoof of a horse raised high in front of him, about to crush his body.

The expected pain did not come. King Wu felt as if he was lifted up by a gust of wind. He opened his eyes and saw Pei Yu lying on the horse's back, his lips tightly pursed. Pei Yu twisted him to the side of the horse with one hand, shaking off the raging Akhal-Teke horse behind him. His arm strength was astonishing.

The Crown Prince led his men to rescue Emperor Xuan, who had fallen to the ground, and protected him as they retreated.

Pei Yu used one arm to pull the King of Wu up and placed him behind him, then turned around and shouted, "Hold on tight!"

The frenzied Akhal-Teke horse followed closely behind Pei Yu, neighing incessantly. Its body was flushed red, and its sweat splattered on the ground like blood. It was extremely fast and caught up with Pei Yu's black horse in the blink of an eye.

King Wu hugged Pei Yu tightly around the waist and gasped, "They've caught up."

Pei Yu didn't reply. He handed the reins to the King of Wu behind him, drew the ring-pommel sword that was bent on the other side of the horse's belly, aimed at the branch that had come across the road ahead, exerted his strength in his waist and abdomen, and leaped up in the air like a cheetah. He hooked one leg on the branch and cut off the head of the wild horse that was chasing closely behind him with one stroke.

Blood splattered on Pei Yu's face, and the smell reminded him of the distant Dai County, the lush grasslands there, and the battlefields of war.

Pei Yu rolled to the ground, wiping the blood off the blade with one arm. In front of him, the enraged worm, covered in blood, had disrupted the formation of the guards surrounding Emperor Xuan and the Crown Prince, and was finally killed by the stab when it was exhausted.

At the same time, other faint noises could be heard from the dense forest.

Seeing that the danger behind him had passed, the King of Wu collapsed onto his horse, Wuzhui, and fainted. Wuzhui was extremely intelligent; it carried the person on its back to Pei Yu and swayed its tail.

Pei Yu patted its head, signaling it to carry the King of Wu back to the main camp first. The commotion in the dense forest grew louder, and the figures hidden behind the branches emerged. There were about thirty of them, all dressed in black and masked, strong and tall, with bright, sharp blades in their hands.

Pei Yu leaped to Emperor Xuan's side in a few bounds and reported, "The people have all been caught."

Emperor Xuan, his earlier expression of shock vanished. He stood with his hands behind his back and surveyed the scene. The men in black had already surrounded them. "How is the Prince of Wu?"

Pei Yu replied, "When he fell, his calf was pierced by a sharp piece of wood on the ground, and he lost too much blood. I have already sent Wuzhui back to the camp."

Emperor Xuan nodded and patted the Crown Prince, who was standing in front of him with a nervous expression, "Go to the back."

The crown prince looked troubled, gripped his longsword tightly, and swallowed hard. "Father, I will protect you."

Emperor Xuan didn't waste any words with him. He took the long sword from the Crown Prince with one hand and pulled him to the back. His agile appearance was completely different from when he had fallen off his horse and couldn't straighten up.

The crown prince looked bewildered, glancing at Emperor Xuan in front of him, then at Pei Yu beside him, and at the approaching assassin with a gleaming blade. He obediently shut his mouth.

Emperor Xuan twirled his longsword, planted it in the ground, and shouted at the group of assassins, "Having come this far, aren't you going to show yourself?"

No one answered.

Emperor Xuan was not angry. He waved his hand and laughed, "Very well, let's do it."

The assassins, wielding knives, charged forward simultaneously. The guard, who had just been torn to pieces by the giant insect, held his knives in both hands, his stance extremely stable, and fought the assassins to a standstill.

Emperor Xuan patted his sleeves and sat on a large rock to watch the battle. The once quiet dense forest had long been broken by the sound of clashing weapons, and the greenery was stained with crimson. Even the air was thick with the sticky smell of blood.

Pei Yu looked around and noticed the motive not far away. He drew his sword, leaped out of the encirclement, and slashed down with his sword. The person behind the tree was extremely alert and dodged the blade, running backward.

Pei Yu swung his long sword and threw it to block his path, closing in on the figure to engage in combat.

Emperor Xuan, who had been observing, stood up, stared at the man fighting Pei Yu, and pulled the Crown Prince aside to ask, "What did you see?"

The Crown Prince replied with difficulty, "Today, Father Emperor deliberately set a trap to lure the snake out of its hole."

"Whom did I summon?"

The crown prince initially wanted to say he didn't know, but seeing Emperor Xuan staring at him sharply, he looked at a dead assassin with a panicked expression and said, "These people are tall, their curved swords are made of fine iron, and they have totem tattoos on their bodies. Could they be... Xiongnu people?"

Emperor Xuan nodded in satisfaction, gesturing for him to look at the man fighting Pei Yu. The man was the only one among the group of assassins who was small in stature and was wielding a short dagger. During the fight, Pei Yu had already torn off his mask, revealing him to be a Han Chinese.

A chill ran through the Crown Prince, and he trembled as he said, "There are actually people in the court colluding with the Xiongnu."

Emperor Xuan snorted coldly, "How many people in the court could have let these thirty-odd Xiongnu people into the pass and brought them to the Ganquan Palace?"

The crown prince wisely refrained from responding.

As they talked, the main force, arriving a step behind, had already surrounded the assassins, killing twenty-one and capturing nine alive. Over there, Pei Yu restrained the assassin's hands, swept his leg and slammed him to the ground, then punched him in the face, knocking him unconscious, and dragged him like a corpse before Emperor Xuan.

Emperor Xuan stared at him for a moment, his brows furrowed. He had seen this man before.

After the assassins were all subdued, the noisy forest returned to silence. Pei Yu lowered his head to clean the bloodstains on his long sword, his long eyelashes obscuring his eyes, and no one knew what he was thinking.

After a long while, Emperor Xuan finally looked away from the Han man and ordered him to be taken away and kept under strict guard.

He stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Pei Yu, and smiled slightly, "Yuan Xi, are you alright?"

Pei Yu had a wound on his arm, caused by a sudden attack during his fight with the Han people. Blood was seeping onto the black sleeve of his tight-fitting clothes, but the owner of the arm did not care at all. He simply tied the wound with his hairband, lifted his eyelids and said indifferently, "I am fine."

Emperor Xuan chuckled, "Your ability to lie through your teeth is getting better and better."

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince immediately rushed forward, grabbed Pei Yu's arm, and gasped, "Cousin, you're injured! Where's the physician?!"

Pei Yu let the Crown Prince drag him away, looking down at the physician cleaning and bandaging his wounds. He had seen the tattoo on the back of the neck of the Han man during the fight; it was proof of his status as a member of the Pei family's guards.

Pei Yu confirmed that this person did not exist after he took over the Pei family army, so there was only one possibility: this person was his father's bodyguard.

Five years ago, in the battle of Dai County, Pei Qing's personal guards all died alongside him, and his own guards also perished in Dai County. Yet today, they have mysteriously appeared here, and are even colluding with the Xiongnu.

What exactly happened during the Battle of Nie County?

The assassination attempt on His Majesty was a major event. After the news reached the camp, the Empress immediately organized the women to leave the palace. At the same time, the garrison camps on both sides of Ganquan Palace quickly assembled, surrounding the area and eliminating the infiltrated Xiongnu spies one by one.

Upon receiving news of Pei Yu's injury, Madam Pei was restless. She instructed the maids in the courtyard to boil water, fetch the physician, and prepare soup. In addition to ordering the maids around, she also gave special instructions to Huiyin on how to accompany Pei Yu back later.

Huiyin was still waiting for news from the Empress when she heard this and was stunned. Pei Yu was injured. Was it serious?

She recalled Pei Yu's smiling face as he left, and the money pouch in her arms began to burn, searing her heart and making her restless.

When Pei Yu returned to Yingfeng Pavilion, it was already late at night. After returning to the outer palace, he first went to the death row to interrogate the Han man who had been captured, only to learn that Emperor Xuan had ordered that no one could see him without his written authorization.

This action brought his doubts to a peak. In recent years, the Xiongnu had repeatedly invaded the border, each time plundering the weakest points of the city's defenses and then immediately retreating. The border guards had never caught anyone.

He and Emperor Xuan had long suspected that someone in the court was colluding with the Xiongnu and had plotted this scheme for three months. They finally managed to capture an important criminal, but Emperor Xuan wanted to get rid of him because of this and forbade him from being involved in the case again.

Who exactly is that Han Chinese man, and who in the court is colluding with him? Why is Emperor Xuan preventing him from handling this case again at this time? Is it related to the battle of Dai County five years ago?

As soon as Pei Yu entered the hall, Madam Pei, along with Pei Yan and He Jiaying, surrounded him, showering him with concern and asking about his well-being.

Huiyin lagged behind them, standing behind Madam Pei and observing Pei Yu. He had his head bowed, a smile in his eyes, as he comforted Madam Pei. The white cloth strip on his arm was unusually conspicuous, and his clothes were covered with bits of grass.

She heard Pei Yu comfort Madam Pei with a few words, coaxing the three of them away, before turning to her and saying, "I'm all sweaty; I'd like to take a bath."

Huiyin nodded, helped him into the house, and instructed Yanniang to boil water.

As soon as Pei Yu entered the room, he took off his outer garment, leaving only a plain white inner garment with bloodstains on the sleeves.

Huiyin stepped forward, picked up the dirty clothes from the ground and put them aside, poured a cup of tea for Pei Yu, and asked, "How did assassins manage to infiltrate Ganquan Palace?"

Pei Yu took the tea and drank it all in one gulp. He sat wearily on the brocade mat and said softly, "It's nothing serious, don't worry."

He didn't want to talk about it, so Huiyin didn't ask any more questions. She took a damp cloth and handed it to Pei Yu, saying, "Wipe your face."

Pei Yu slightly raised his right arm, his brows furrowed. "I can't lift it."

Huiyin glanced at him, then squatted down beside him and carefully wiped the dirt off his cheeks. As she did so, Pei Yu lowered his head in agreement, his long eyelashes drooping slightly, his clear black and white eyes staring straight at her, as if trying to pierce a hole in her face.

Huiyin felt a little uncomfortable and raised her hand to cover his eyes. There was a dried bloodstain on his chin. She moved closer and wiped it with some force.

Their breaths mingled, and Huiyin felt the skin beneath her hands growing hotter and hotter. Pei Yu's lean thighs pressed tightly against her waist, slowly tightening, pulling her into his embrace.

Huiyin struggled to her feet; the distance was too close, so close that the gap between them was no bigger than a fist. She released her hand from Pei Yu's eyes and braced herself against his shoulders to fight.

"The water is ready, you may go."

Pei Yu lazily got up, walked up to Huiyin, leaned close to her earlobe and said in a low voice, "I hurt my hand, you have to help me."

"I...I'll find someone to help you." Huiyin clutched her sleeve, avoiding Pei Yu.

Pei Yu stood still, his tone teasing: "My mother just told you to take good care of me. You're quite the two-faced one."

Huiyin blushed, using her hands to support his increasingly close body, and said with difficulty, "I can't."

Without a word, Pei Yu grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the bathroom. "You don't need to do anything, just stay with me."

Upon hearing this, Huiyin stopped struggling. She followed Pei Yu a step behind and obediently entered the bathhouse with him.

Steam rose, and Huiyin began to feel hot and sweaty. She leaned against the bathtub, holding Pei Yu's injured arm in both hands, her face turned to one side, and the tips of her ears turned red.

The sound of Pei Yu stirring the water reached her ears; it was a very small and ordinary sound, but it was amplified infinitely in the narrow bathroom.

Huiyin's arm was a little sore, and she turned her head to ask, "Are you done?"

Pei Yu leaned against the edge of the bathtub, his face damp with moisture. His lips were a much darker color than usual, making him look as if he were drunk, his eyes shimmering.

His voice was hoarse: "Okay, wipe it for me."

Huiyin was unaware of him. She took the clean handkerchief he offered and reached out to wipe the water droplets off his body. When she met Pei Yu's deep eyes, she suddenly jumped, as if she had been gently struck by something, causing a ripple.

She threw down the handkerchief and took two steps back, saying, "Wipe it yourself."

He thought Pei Yu would be relentless, but he was surprised to find him so agreeable today. He raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "Fine."

The next moment, Pei Yu stood up straight from the bathtub, exposing his entire body to Huiyin. He casually rested one hand on the tub, holding a plain handkerchief in his injured hand, and bent down to wipe the muscles of his abdomen.

His entire body was taut from the bending over, with not an ounce of excess fat, and his abdominal muscles were sculpted into the terrifying part of his lower body.

Huiyin was caught off guard and her eyes were blindfolded. She couldn't say anything. A surge of heat rushed from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, making her face and ears turn red.

Pei Yu saw her stumble and run out, and heard her angry and embarrassed voice shouting, "Shameless!"

With a smile on his lips, he picked up a clean undergarment from the side, put it on, and walked out barefoot, leaving several deep water marks on the yellow wooden floor.

Pei Yu followed Huiyin back to the inner room. The inner room was unusually quiet, with only a few hanging curtains swaying slightly. He slowly sat down by the low table and said in a low voice, "The physician said that because of the hot weather, my wound needs to be dressed twice a day."

He unwrapped the bandage with one hand, leaving the gruesome knife wound exposed to the air, causing the bottles and jars on the table to rattle.

A moment later, a figure peeked out from behind the curtain. Huiyin walked out expressionlessly, took the medicine from Pei Yu's hand, and her face was tense, an expression Pei Yu had never seen before.

Knowing he had angered her, Pei Yu was unusually embarrassed. He reached out and touched Huiyin's shoulder, "Are you angry?"

Huiyin slapped his hand away, her expression unchanged, and said coldly, "If you say another word, you're out."

Pei Yu felt a strong urge to kiss her as he looked at her. He lowered his head and leaned close to Huiyin's face, murmuring, "Huiyin, we are husband and wife."

Huiyin put down the medicine, glanced at him a few times, and clearly sensed the meaning he was conveying. She reached out to undo her belt, and soon took off her outer skirt, revealing her fair and delicate skin underneath, and below her collarbone, her curves were rounded and full.

She reached behind her back to untie the small belt, but a large hand gripped it, preventing her from moving.

Huiyin's eyelashes trembled, and she looked up, puzzled. Pei Yu still had the same expression as before, with desire in his eyes, but he did nothing. He stopped her from taking off her clothes and picked up her outer skirt from the ground to put it on for her.

He bandaged the wound on his arm, cupped Huiyin's face in his hands, forehead to forehead, uttered a few unclear words, and then went to get bedding to make a makeshift bed on the floor.

Huiyin sat there, thinking about what he had just said. He had said that she had to do it willingly.

She turned around and saw Pei Yu had laid out a mattress on the floor and lay down directly on it, covering his eyes with one hand, seemingly lost in thought.

Huiyin got up and walked to the bedside, staring at the lower half of the person's face on the floor, tracing his features. Her gaze traveled from his face to his body, finally settling on the contours of his body. She turned her head away somewhat awkwardly, her toes tapping lightly on the floor unconsciously.

"Why don't you come to bed and sleep with me?"

Pei Yu's ears twitched. He withdrew his hand and looked at Huiyin on the bed. She was half-turned, her hands tightly gripping the quilt, looking very uncomfortable. Her soft hair was draped behind her head, and her skin was as white as ice and jade.

Pei Yu lazily propped up his legs to cover his lower body. "I'll sleep on the bed, where will you sleep?"

Huiyin was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "It's cool in the mountains at night, let's all sleep in the beds."

Pei Yu's mind raced, and without a moment's delay, he got up from the ground, went to Huiyin's side, and pulled her onto the bed.

Huiyin froze, afraid to move. She could feel Pei Yu's body pressed tightly against hers, with no gap between them. That hard, hot thing was impossible to ignore.

"you……"

"Don't move, let me catch my breath." Pei Yu hugged Huiyin tightly, burying his head in her shoulder and inhaling her subtle fragrance. At this moment, his restless heart finally settled down, finding a moment of peace.

Huiyin nestled in his arms, their hair intertwined, making it impossible to tell who was who. She could hear Pei Yu's strong heartbeat, smell his delicate fragrance, and feel his warmth. She felt as if she were floating in a cup of tea named Pei Yu, neither rising nor falling.

After a long while, the thing pressing against her lower back slowly calmed down. Pei Yu rolled over with her in his arms and placed her on the bed. "Did you do the thing in Guangling?"

Huiyin's body stiffened, and she nodded slightly. "It's me."

"The aphrodisiac incense in the incense burner has been dealt with. Next time, be careful to clean up the mess before you do it, so that no one can find out."

Huiyin's heart, which had been pounding with anxiety, finally settled down. She turned her head in confusion, "Aren't you going to scold me?"

Pei Yu raised an eyebrow. "Why would I scold you for no reason? You did a good job."

He patted her head and whispered, "Go to sleep."

Huiyin closed her eyes, forcing herself to fall asleep. The sorrow in her heart was densely wrapped around her, and every expression and action of Pei Yu tonight kept playing in her mind.

She heard even breathing behind her; Pei Yu was already asleep. Huiyin patted her head, clearing her mind of the jumbled thoughts, and closed her eyes to sleep.

After a while, she opened her eyes again in the darkness. Her usually calm heart was now restless. Huiyin turned to look at Pei Yu, who was sleeping soundly, and felt a surge of anger. Otherwise, why would she have been disturbed and unable to sleep tonight?

She kicked Pei Yu, but he didn't move. She got even angrier, propped herself up, pinched his face, and grabbed his nose to stop him from breathing. Only after successfully seeing Pei Yu's furrowed brows did her anger subside a little. She let go and obediently went back to sleep.

She had just lain down when someone pressed against her from behind, wrapped their arms around her waist, pulled her close, and whispered in her ear, "Are you not angry anymore?"

Huiyin froze. "You're pretending to be asleep?"

Pei Yu let out a soft hum, brushed aside her soft, long hair, and took the soft flesh behind her neck into his mouth, giving it a series of delicate kisses.

"I was really asleep, but you kicked me and that woke me up."

Huiyin was kissed on the back of her neck, as if someone was tickling the soles of her feet with feathers, making her curl up and arch her back to avoid Pei Yu's kiss.

Pei Yu hadn't planned to do anything. He moved slightly away, patted the person in his arms' bottom mischievously, and said with a smile, "If you can't sleep, how about we do something else?"

Huiyin felt as if she had been electrocuted, rolled to the innermost part of the bed, covered herself with the blanket, and mumbled, "I'm going to sleep."

Pei Yu gazed at her retreating figure under the moonlight, sighing inwardly. He had offended her so badly back then, and now he had no choice but to suffer the consequences.