Chu Huaixu smiled. When Song Ting took his wine cup, he took the other's. When the latter tried to take it back, he stopped him with a look.
"I'll have one more drink, the last one."
Song Ting pursed her lips and gave in.
With the white jade wine cup to his lips, Chu Huaixu tilted his head back slightly and drank the wine in one gulp.
Her eyes were like stars, her lips like peaches, and she possessed a charm that even the lightest ink could not capture.
Song Ting felt a dryness and burning sensation in her throat, and could only drink one cup of wine after another to relieve the heat in her body.
He felt incredibly shameless, as if he could be easily captivated by this person's every glance and gesture, no matter the time.
Then comes that intense urge, a desire to be inseparable from the other person at all times.
"Once we've killed all the Turks, we'll leave here and go to Jiangnan, okay?"
Chu Huaixu's eyes were filled with a gentle smile: "Commander, do you no longer desire wealth and honor?"
"No more, I don't want any of it..." Song Ting was already a little drunk. He took Chu Huaixu's hand, pressed it against his face, and rubbed it against him pleadingly. "I only want you, this little dog only wants you..."
Half an hour later, the commander, who had said he would finish the whole table of food, got drunk after drinking a pot of Luofu Spring wine and was dragged and helped into the house by Chu Huaixu.
The person on the bed was fast asleep, oblivious to everything. Chu Huaixu stood by the bedside, the smile on his face long gone, his eyes half-closed and his expression sorrowful.
"Song Ting." He called out softly, his voice trembling slightly, a tremor he himself was unaware of.
The person on the bed frowned and uttered a muttered word. Surprisingly, they were calling his name.
Chu Huaixu chuckled softly, took two steps forward, sat down on the edge of the bed, and looked at the person on the bed with a complicated expression.
He wasn't worried that Song Ting would suddenly wake up; a pot of Luofu Spring wine wouldn't knock Song Ting out, but a pot of wine with added ingredients would be a different story.
Song Ting.
Song Qingxiang.
Chu Huaixu called the name of the person in front of him again and again in his heart. With each recitation, his heart ached more.
He had always believed himself to be a wandering soul in the world, whose sole purpose was revenge.
It was intense hatred that sustained him, allowing him to endure the humiliation and abuse in the Drunken Spring Pavilion, the pain of damaged meridians, and the torment of poison entering his heart...
To this end, he did not hesitate to negotiate with the wicked, and did not hesitate to use the lives of a few innocent people as bait to provoke conflict and war, causing more innocent people to lose their relatives, homes and even their lives.
He clearly wanted to force himself to be ruthless and indifferent.
But I still can't do it.
These days, he can't eat anything, not entirely because of the poison, but also because he is always plagued by nightmares at night.
He dreamt of his family, of Chu Mingshu who suffered innocently, and of the nearly one hundred lives lost in Sishui Town. Among them were several familiar faces, such as the little girl named Xiaobao who praised his good looks, the owner of the pastry shop, Uncle Wang of the fruit shop, and Sun Erniang of the wonton shop...
They were all so good, so innocent, yet they died on his path of revenge.
There's also Song Ting.
He often dreamed that Song Ting stood in front of him, with a sharp cloud-patterned dagger stuck in his chest, and bright red blood flowing continuously from his chest, falling to the ground and pooling into a thicker and more glaring pool of blood.
In the dream, Song didn't say anything, she just looked at him, her dark eyes no longer filled with love, but with a chilling coldness and endless disappointment.
Snap. Snap. Snap...
Later, the sound of blood dripping onto the ground tormented him day and night.
This person always says that he pulled him out of the darkness, that he gave him warmth and light, and that he ferried him to shore.
Little did he know that Song Ting was the same to him. Since the fall of the Prince's Mansion, he had lost everything and had been living in the darkness. It was Song Ting who stood firmly behind him, protecting him with everything she had.
His little dog was so foolish, bearing everything alone for a promise, even when he wanted to kill him or humiliate him, he didn't utter a single complaint or reveal a single word of the truth.
She just stays at home, waiting for him to come back.
How could there be such a person?
Chu Huaixu raised his hand and touched the cheek of the person in front of him. From the brow bone to the eyes, and from the nose to the lips, he carefully traced and felt every detail, as if he wanted to engrave the person's appearance in his heart and remember it forever.
Finally, he slowly bent down and placed a very light and shallow kiss on Song Ting's lips.
"I'm so sorry, it's the Prince Duan's Mansion that owes you something, I'm the one who has let you down..."
"From now on... don't live for me anymore, my... little dog."
...
There is an alley on the southeast side of the side courtyard of the Song mansion, and a carriage is currently parked in this alley.
A man dressed in black sat on the hood of a car, frowning as he stared into the dark alley, unconsciously flicking his riding crop.
I don't know how long I waited, but finally a figure appeared at the entrance of the alley.
The man, draped in a pure black cloak, slowly walked towards the carriage, seemingly carrying something in his arms—a living creature.
"Third Young Master." It was Zhou Tong, whom the waiter had mentioned missing for a long time.
At that time, Chu Huaixu was unaware of everything Song Ting was carrying and thought that Zhou Tong had met with misfortune. When the truth came out, he realized that Zhou Tong had been under house arrest by Song Ting for a period of time and even knew the truth before him.
"Let's go," Chu Huaixu said. "Thank you for your trouble."
"Young master, there's no need for such formalities." Zhou Tong lashed his whip on the horse's back and drove the carriage toward the city gate.
Because of the rebels, the city gates were under martial law, heavily guarded day and night. When they saw a carriage coming from inside the city, the guards dutifully stopped it and questioned, "Who are you? Why are you leaving the city at this hour?"
Zhou Tong was prepared. He took out the waist token of the Gu family and handed it to the city guards. He said very politely, "Sirs, I am from the Gu family. The person sitting in the carriage is my master's close friend."
"We're going to suppress the rebels tomorrow, and my master wants to take my close friend with him, so he ordered me to take him out of the city first..."
After saying that, he winked, giving a knowing look.
The city guard was a shrewd man; he immediately understood the meaning behind Zhou Tong's words. Everyone said General Gu was a refined and elegant gentleman, but it turned out he was also a greedy and lustful fellow! He even had to bring his lover along to the battle!
The city guard coughed twice as if to make a sound, and said to the person inside the carriage, "General Gu is very fortunate, but it is our duty, please forgive us!"
He made a move to lift the curtain.
Zhou Tong took out a few silver ingots and stuffed them into the man's arms: "Gentlemen, my young master is weak and has caught a cold recently. Please be lenient and let us out of the city gate. My general will surely repay you handsomely in the future!"
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