Chapter 47 Confession: Actually I like...
The wind and snow have stopped, and the mountains and forests have returned to silence.
The person who had delivered the second letter to the Pei family had already returned. As he returned, he saw his young master carrying a bowl of hot soup to his room. He couldn't help but jokingly say, "Young master, you already have a wife, why don't you ask your wife to get up and serve you?"
"Go away!" the young man sneered at him, "I'm happy to serve my own wife..."
The man chuckled and went into the main hall to report to the two bosses.
The door was pushed open, and the person on the bed looked at him anxiously like a frightened rabbit.
The boy walked to the bed with hot soup and said, "Eat something."
Shen Youran hadn't had a drop of water since last night. Although he was very hungry, he had no appetite. However, he could only take it obediently. Under the other person's gaze, he held the rough porcelain bowl and drank in small sips.
It's broth.
The meat was not cleaned properly, and there were no rich seasonings to suppress the fishy smell. It was only sprinkled with some coarse salt, which made it fishy and salty and very unpalatable.
What's more, her throat was sore from shouting last night that it hurt so much that when the hot soup passed through her throat, it felt like torture.
But she didn't dare not drink. She had to appear obedient and well-behaved, and not anger the only person here who still had a kind heart.
The young man did not stare at her all the time. Instead, he took a bow and arrow from the wall, wiped it carefully, and looked up at her from time to time.
As expected of a daughter of a wealthy family, he thought, even after being hungry for so long, she still ate so slowly and gracefully...
Shen Youran endured the pain in his throat and finally drank the whole bowl of soup.
She got down from the bed and timidly placed the bowl on the table. When she opened her mouth, she found that her throat was too hoarse to speak.
She tightened her throat and managed to squeeze out a hoarse voice: "Pei Huaian...what's wrong?"
"He's fine," the young man said nonchalantly as he polished the ebony bow until it shined. "Big Daddy and Second Daddy asked for so much ransom, we can't just not pay anyone back. He'll be able to leave in three days."
"Then can I see him?" Afraid that he would overthink it, Shen Youran tried her best to explain, "I'm not running away, I just want to see how he is doing."
The boy stared at her for a while, Shen Youran clenched his hands nervously, lowered his head and dared not look at her.
"Okay," he said, thankfully, without getting angry, "but I have to go with you."
The young man stood up, hung the bow back on the wall, then took down a dagger and held it in his hand.
Shen Youran's heart skipped a beat: "What are you doing with the dagger?"
"It's just a show, otherwise the guards won't let us in."
"oh."
From his room to the woodshed where Pei Huaian was imprisoned, she endured many malicious looks and ridicules along the way. She bit her lip and endured it silently, following the boy like a quail.
At the door of the woodshed, the two guards saw the young boss coming and didn't want to let them in, but when they saw that the young boss was playing with a dagger, they thought that he could calm down, so they let them in.
Before entering, the boy lifted the scarf around his neck, covering half of his face.
Since this Mr. Pei Qi will be released in three days, he must not be allowed to see his own face.
The door was pushed open, and two scarred men appeared in front of them.
Their faces and noses were bruised, their wrists were bound, their sleeves were stained with blood, and the ropes around their ankles were also stained with undried blood.
Shen Youran, who didn't cry last night when she was extremely scared, burst into tears when she saw someone familiar.
The young man frowned and turned to ask the two guards: "Why did you beat him like this?"
"We didn't fight," one of them said, "they just bumped into each other last night..."
"Do you think I will believe this?"
"Really," another person explained, "Last night the young lady screamed so hard that the two of them banged on the door like crazy."
The young man withdrew his gaze guiltily, and when he saw Shen Youran squatting down and pulling the cloth out of Mr. Pei Qi's mouth, he didn't dare to stop him.
"You Ran," Pei Huaian couldn't wait to ask her after the gag was gone, "Are you okay?"
Shen Youran also took off the black cloth in front of his eyes.
The boy scratched his head and acquiesced.
With his vision cleared, Pei Huaian immediately looked at the person in front of him. Seeing that she was unharmed, he said with a sense of relief, "I'm glad you're okay, I'm glad you're okay..."
Shen Youran cried even harder: "Are you stupid? Why did you chase me?"
Pei Huaian wanted to say that he thought Shen Yunshu was kidnapped and that was why he came after her, but then he changed his mind and realized that even if he knew yesterday that the person in the carriage was her, he would still choose to follow her.
She is his sister-in-law and his good friend, he will not ignore her.
He heard the two shrill screams last night and guessed what she had experienced, but he couldn't break open the door or save her.
He hoped she would survive and prayed that she would not become depressed.
Poor girl, her voice is hoarse from shouting.
Fortunately, fortunately she is still alive.
"Leisurely..."
"Um?"
"My father has money, he will definitely redeem us all." Pei Huaian's hands were tied, and he couldn't wipe her tears. "Don't cry, do you remember what I told you?"
Although he didn't say what it was, Shen Youran knew: "Remember, I kept repeating that sentence of yours last night."
"Your sister is still waiting for you to come back, as are your father, your mother, and my eldest brother. They are all waiting for you. Nothing else matters. Staying alive is the most important thing, understand?"
Shen Youran never thought that one day he would talk to her about some profound principles like his elder brother.
Then she thought about how he misunderstood her and thought he was afraid she would be upset. She couldn't help but burst into laughter and said, "I know I won't commit suicide."
"That's right, Qingwu and I are here with you, don't be afraid."
Shen Youran pursed her lips and tried not to cry anymore: "Don't be afraid, the ransom will arrive in a few days and you can leave. After you go back, you must live a good life with my sister, study hard, and don't always make my sister worry..."
"Why are you suddenly saying this?" As if leaving a last will, Pei Huaian's heart tightened and his expression froze, "Chen Youran, keep these words to yourself and tell your sister..."
"She can't leave." The boy said it for her.
"What do you mean?" Pei Huaian looked at the young man who spoke, "Didn't you say that if we pay the ransom, you will let one of us go back? I can choose not to go back, just let her go."
The young man chuckled and said, "She's mine now. She has to follow me from now on."
"Bullshit!" After a moment of shock, Pei Huaian cursed, "You bunch of turtle bastards! What's the point of bullying a weak woman? If you have the guts, leave me here. Let her go, let her go..."
"Oh, you still have the energy to curse?" The young man pulled Shen Youran up and dragged him out, instructing the guard, "Just give them some water, no need to give them food..."
"Yes." The two men went in and silenced the man who was still cursing...
*
Mmmmm…
Shen Yunshu pulled the cloth from Lu Yi's mouth, looked at him coldly, suppressed her anger, and asked him again: "Where is the third sister?"
Lu Yi's upper body was tied to the bedpost, and his legs above the knees were tied to a stool. Two pieces of hard wood were stuffed between his calves and the stool, forcing him to lift his feet up.
Although this method seemed insignificant, it made him break out in cold sweats due to the pain.
However, even so, he still refused to give in: "A Shu, I don't know where my third sister is. You are imprisoning me like this and lynching me. You are committing a crime..."
Shen Yunshu didn't have time to talk nonsense with him. Seeing that he was still being stubborn, she picked up another piece of wood.
Xiao Ci took it from her: "Let me do it."
When the third wooden block was stuffed under Lu Yi's legs, Shen Yunshu blocked Lu Yi's mouth again.
"If anything happens to my third sister, I'll sacrifice my own life and make sure you're buried with me..."
Unable to bear the pain of his legs being pulled and torn, Lu Yi finally spoke out: "Thirty miles east of Chaoyang City Gate, Qingsong Mountain, Songlin'ao..."
Pei Huaijin and Xiao Ci looked at each other, left Shen Yunshu and two guards to watch Lu Yi, and immediately rushed back to the Dali Temple to mobilize people and rushed to Qingsong Mountain.
However, Qingsong Mountain was too big, and the bandits were very good at hiding their tracks. Pei Huaijin and Xiao Ci led their men to search for two days and one night, but they still couldn't find the so-called Songlin'ao.
When they went back and continued to interrogate Lu Yi, Lu Yi also said that those people had set up a maze in the mountains and forests, making it difficult to find the entrance and exit. Every time he went in and out, there was someone to lead the way.
In the blink of an eye, it was the third day, and the Pei Mansion received another letter, which stated the time and place for paying the ransom.
It was at 5 p.m., just as the sky was getting dark. The location was not in a valley or on a mountain, but in a dilapidated temple in the wilderness.
The Pei family did not raise the ransom of 200,000 taels, but only a little over 130,000 taels. However, Pei Huaijin guessed that since the robbers had planned it in advance, they must have known the Pei family's financial situation and knew that they would not be able to raise 200,000 taels, so they would definitely not bring all the people out obediently. They still had to find their lair.
It was also at this juncture that someone found a few crane feathers in the mountains.
Previously, the snow in the forest had not melted, and the crane feathers blended with the snow, so they did not notice it. However, the sun was shining brightly in the past two days, which melted the snow, and the ground returned to its brown color, revealing the white feathers.
As more and more crane feathers were discovered, Pei Huaijin and others followed them and finally found the so-called Songlin'ao.
Smoke was rising from the depths of the forest, indicating that there were people living there.
It’s really well hidden.
In addition to the people from the Dali Temple, Pei Huaijin asked for several elite soldiers from the army, and Liang Xu also brought several good friends from the archery team to help them rescue people.
*
After noon, the boss ordered his men to drag the two boys out of the woodshed and take them to the agreed location in exchange for ransom.
The man who had been hungry for three days and two nights still had strength at this time. He secretly broke free from the rope at some point. As soon as he was brought out, he tore off the black cloth on his eyes, spit out the contents of his mouth, and when one of the men was not paying attention, he snatched the dagger from the other man's hand and put it against his own neck.
"Where's Shen Youran?" he shouted, "Let her go, or else, don't even think about using me for ransom!"
Seeing him like this, the boss laughed angrily: "You are just a hostage, and you dare to negotiate with us?"
"Either release her and leave me, or release us both?" Pei Huaian saw that he was unmoved, and suddenly stabbed himself with his backhand, "Are you going to release her or not?"
Pei Huaian didn't know martial arts, and although Qing Wu did, he had been hungry for so long that he had no strength left and couldn't beat anyone.
Now Pei Huaian can only gamble with himself. If they insist on not letting Shen Youran go, then he will fight to the death and make sure they can't get the ransom.
Blood slowly flowed out along the blade, soon soaking the front of his clothes.
When the boss saw that he actually dared to stab him, he finally looked at him in the eye.
Originally, they wanted to kidnap the wife of Mr. Pei Qi, but they got the wrong person, and the ransom of 100,000 taels became unknown.
Now that Master Pei Qi is in their hands, the chances of getting the ransom are naturally greater.
I heard that he was the only son of the third branch of the Pei family. If he really died here, not only would he not get the ransom, but he would also provoke revenge from the Pei family.
"Go and bring that young lady here."
"yes."
When Shen Youran was brought over, the young man followed with a face scarf tied around his neck.
Seeing the knife stuck in Pei Huaian's chest, Shen Youran was horrified: "Pei Huaian, what are you doing?"
"Come here," Pei Huaian supported his shaky body and called her, "Come to me."
Shen Youran was firmly grasped by the shoulders, unable to break free. Seeing this, Pei Huaian could only stab the knife deeper and shouted to the boss, "Let her come over!"
The boss's face turned pale, and he closed his eyes tightly. He didn't dare to let go until the man holding Shen Youran understood.
Shen Youran ran to his side and was protected by him and Qing Wu.
She never expected that Pei Huaian, who seemed cynical and naive on weekdays, would actually hurt himself to save her.
"Lu'er," the eldest boss looked at his son, "this young lady can't be kept anymore. I'll find you a better one in the future."
Half of the boy's face was hidden under the veil, and only his pair of sharp, dark eyes were fixed on Shen Youran, not knowing what he was thinking.
Fortunately, he didn't say anything to stop me in the end. He just lowered his eyes slightly and said, "I'll listen to my dad."
The boss ordered the three of them to be taken away.
Pei Huaian took two steps and fell to the ground due to excessive blood loss.
Shen Youran and Qing Wu held him up, one on each side: "Pei Huaian, hold on a little..."
The dagger was still stuck in his chest, and no one dared to touch it. Once it was pulled out, it would only cause more blood to flow.
The people escorting them thought they were walking too slowly and wanted to throw Pei Huaian onto the horse.
"No! He's injured and can't stand any more bumps!"
Shen Youran tried to protect him, but she was a weak woman, and was pushed to the ground by the gangster whose arms were thicker than her legs.
The man reached out to pull the knife from Pei Huaian's chest...
Suddenly, his body stiffened and a feather arrow appeared behind him.
Then more feather arrows came flying through the air.
Along with the white feather arrows, there appeared dozens of officials in black uniforms. They ran over with swords in hand, and the ivory plates on their waists swayed in the mottled light and shadow of the forest.
The bandits did not expect that the police would find their lair directly, so they immediately raised their knives to protect themselves.
It is difficult to guard against hidden arrows, and soon several people were shot to the ground by them.
The eldest boss reacted the fastest. He took a step forward and picked up Shen Youran from the ground, blocking him and his son, and ordered his men: "Retreat, retreat quickly!"
Pei Huaian rushed over, hugged the boss's legs, and tried to drag him away, but he was kicked away by him.
The eldest boss threw Shen Youran onto his son's horse, climbed onto another horse, and fled in another direction.
However, he had not run far when he saw soldiers in armor appearing in front of him.
The boss cursed. There was no other way to go and he could not ride forward on horseback. He had to abandon his horse, cut through the thorns blocking the way with a long sword, and continue to escape with his men.
However, no matter how agile they were, they could not outrun the well-trained elite soldiers, not to mention that they were dragging Shen Youran with them.
Just as they were about to be caught up, the second in command suddenly grabbed Shen Youran from the young man's hands and held a knife to her neck: "Brother, Lu Ge'er, you two can run away. I'll stop them."
The second in command was already injured and couldn't ride a horse. He knew he couldn't escape, so he decided to sacrifice his own life in exchange for their survival.
"Second Dad..." The young man was reluctant to leave, but was quickly pulled away by the eldest dad who acted decisively.
The soldiers coming to rescue them soon caught up with them.
"If you dare to take a step forward, I will kill this young lady!" The long sword shone coldly and pressed heavily on Shen Youran's shoulders.
Shen Youran didn't dare to move.
The soldiers were forced to stop.
In the dense forest not far away, Pei Huaijin and Xiao Ciliangxu stood together, looking at the kidnapped white figure, both with solemn expressions.
Liang Xu is the most skilled archer in the archery team. He never misses his target and shoots wherever he points.
However, at this moment, when he saw Shen Youran being held hostage in front of him, the hand that had tightened the bowstring did not dare to let go.
The man holding Shen Youran hostage kept moving, and Liang Xu's left hand holding the bow kept adjusting the angle. He was really not sure whether this arrow could accurately hit the bandit or Shen Youran who was being used as a shield.
"Master Pei, Master Xiao, I..." Liang Xu's arm, holding the bow, trembled slightly, and a layer of sweat broke out on his forehead. "No, I'm not sure."
Pei Huaijin's brows were furrowed, and his face was illuminated by the sunlight in the forest, sometimes bright and sometimes dark.
He suddenly looked at Xiao Ci: "Brother Xiao, help me put on a show..."
After hearing his plan, Xiao Ci walked out.
The sharp blade on Shen Youran's neck moved closer. The second-in-command who held her hostage was very cunning. He knew that there was an archery expert in the dark, so he hid behind her and hid himself tightly.
But he also knew that he was doomed, so he waited until his elder brother and the others got far away, and then he would take the young lady with him to die together.
But at this moment, a cold rebuke came from behind the soldier.
"What's going on? Didn't I tell you to chase the robbers? Why are you standing here like idiots?" Upon hearing the voice, the soldiers separated and lined up, and a cold-faced man in a green official robe walked out from among them.
One of the soldiers clasped his fists and explained, "Sir Xiao, it's not that I don't want to chase him, but he has a hostage..."
"What hostages? Where are the hostages?" Xiao Ci glanced at Shen Youran, looking quite indifferent. "The Pei family said that as long as Master Pei Qi is safe, it's all that matters. Now that Master Pei Qi has been rescued, why don't you hurry up and chase those villains?"
The soldiers looked at him in surprise.
The person behind Shen Youran, upon hearing these words, instinctively stuck half of his head out, wanting to see who this person was.
The moment he leaned out, a feather arrow pierced through the pine forest, whistling sharply, and hit him accurately between the eyebrows.
The person behind her fell to the ground with a thud, and the blade brushed past her side and fell with a clang.
Shen Youran collapsed to the ground.
Behind her was a bandit twitching in near-death convulsions. In front of her, the soldiers ran past her, continuing to chase the fleeing people. The Lord Xiao from earlier walked up to her, helped her up, and explained to her, "What I just said wasn't true. I was trying to trick him into showing up..."
The young lady in front of him was so scared that her face turned pale, with tears in the corners of her eyes. Her body was shaking uncontrollably, but her eyes were dull and she didn't react at all. She must have been terrified.
There were hurried footsteps behind him, and the next moment, the young lady in front of him was hugged tightly in someone's arms.
Xiao Ci retired after completing his mission, but he still had to go back to deal with the bandits who were captured alive.
Pei Huaijin held the back of the head of the person in his arms, pressed her into his arms again and again, and wrapped his arms around her tighter and tighter. There was no tenderness in his movements, only the fear of losing and regaining.
"Fortunately, you are still here..."
Shen Youran's cheek was pressed against his chest, and the familiar smell enveloped her. She could even clearly feel the drum-like heartbeat in his chest.
Every night, when she fell asleep in his arms, she could hear his heartbeat.
The fear, helplessness, and grievance that had been pent up for many days finally came out at this moment. She grabbed his collar and cried without restraint: "Why did you come so late? Why did you come so late..."
Her hoarse, almost collapsed voice and her disheveled hair without any hairpins or hairpins all showed how much pain she was suffering.
"I'm sorry, I'm late again..." Pei Huaijin stroked her hair. Apart from kissing the top of her head over and over again, he really didn't know how to soothe the trauma she had suffered in the past few days.
Shen Youran wanted to cry her heart out, but when she thought of Pei Huaian, she quickly pulled herself out of his arms and cried so hard that she couldn't even speak coherently: "Pei Huaian...how is he?"
Pei Huaijin then remembered that there was a knife stuck in his seventh brother's chest.
"Let's go back and take a look."
He picked her up and walked back, stepping on the thorns on the ground.
Pei Huaian fainted temporarily due to blood loss and hunger.
Liang Xu checked his wound and said to them, "No vital injuries, but he is very weak now..." Then he asked someone to remove a door panel and lift Pei Huaian up.
They brought enough people today, so Xiao Ci asked them to send the person to the hospital first and leave the rest of the matters to him.
Liang Xu also led his men out of the forest with Pei Huaijin and the others.
On the way to the clinic in the carriage, Pei Huaian woke up for a moment.
He leaned on Pei Huaijin's shoulder. Perhaps because of the excessive blood loss, his consciousness became a little blurry. He half-opened his eyes and looked at the two of them: "Brother, Youran, am I going to die?"
"Don't say that. It won't happen."
"But why do I feel... my body is cold... my hands and feet are cold too," Pei Huaian's voice became weaker and weaker, "I think I'm going to die..."
After hearing this, Shen Youran hurriedly took off her crane cloak, covered him with it, and said with tears in her eyes: "Pei Huaian, you will be fine, we will be at the clinic soon..."
Seeing her crying like this, Pei Huaian thought even more that he would not survive. He had been hiding something in his heart for a long time, but if he didn't say it now, he was afraid that he would never have the chance to speak again: "Brother, Youran, I have something to say..."
Pei Huaijin lowered his eyes and glanced at him: "Stop talking, save your energy."
Seeing that his elder brother didn't want to listen, Pei Huaian had no choice but to tell Shen Youran: "Youran, let me tell you, actually..."
"Seventh brother..." Pei Huaijin saw that he looked like he thought he would die soon, and guessed that he was about to say something he shouldn't.
"Actually, I like..."
"Seventh brother, stop talking..." Pei Huaijin really didn't want to hear his younger brother confess his love to his wife.
"I like your sister..."
Pei Huaijin: ...Hmm?
"I've liked her for a long time," Pei Huaian slowly closed his eyes, "Remember... tell her for me..."
-----------------------
The author has something to say: Brother: Youran, actually I like...
Brother: Stop talking!
Brother: I like your sister...
Brother: Get up and say a few more words!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
