Chapter 114
Wang Shuhuai's eyes unconsciously fell to the ground, his palms stroked the ends of her hair again and again, and he tried to hide her in his arms. Blood flowed down the corners of his lips and dripped onto her shoulders, staining her moon-white clothes red. He called her name over and over again in a hoarse and low voice, and his empty heart was finally slowly filled with her responses.
Xie Yunchu felt his tall body shaking, as if pressing against her, and then she raised her eyes, and saw a chin covered with stubble, a thin face with sunken cheeks, and prominent cheekbones. His eyes were covered, and his expression was haggard, as if he had experienced a great destruction. Xie Yunchu's eyes were stung by the white gauze, and she pulled Wang Shuhuai's clothes and asked painfully,
"What's wrong with your eyes? Tell me...what happened?"
Wang Shuhuai shook his head, his voice very weak, "It will be fine soon, don't worry..." He still held her in his arms, unwilling to let her go even a little bit.
At this time, Lengshan came out carrying the unconscious Xie Yunyou. Seeing that the fire on both sides was about to spread, he hurriedly urged, "Master, let's leave quickly."
The guards escorted the two of them away.
Soon Gao Zhan and his men rushed up, carried Kong Wei and Granny Shen away, and at the same time followed Xie Yunchu's instructions to take away all of Kong Wei's treasures.
Just as Gao Zhan was about to ask the guards to carry Prince Xin's body, suddenly a string of fire shot out from the cracks in the ground and hit Prince Xin's body. With a loud bang, Prince Xin's body was blown to pieces. Gao Zhan realized something was wrong and immediately ordered all the soldiers to leave the villa. After everyone had retreated outside the water, explosions were heard from underground. The entire villa was shrouded in smoke and fire and slowly collapsed.
Half an hour later, Wang Shuhuai and others were transferred to a camp ten miles away.
The military doctor quickly removed the nails from Wang Shuhuai and bandaged his wound. During this time, Xie Yunchu found Gao Zhan and asked him what happened.
"Tell me, what's wrong with Shu Huai's eyes?"
The two of them stood outside the tent under the shade of a tree and talked. Gao Zhan looked at the mountains in the distance with thick smoke rising from them, shook his head and sighed deeply, and told her everything that had happened since Wang Shuhuai discovered her disappearance until today.
"We can't find any evidence that you were taken away by Prince Xin. Everyone told him that you were dead, but he just didn't believe it. He traveled in the wind and rain, didn't sleep for days and nights, and ruined his body. After you got into trouble, he acted like he had lost his soul, and acted crazy. He didn't allow anyone to hold a funeral or mention your death. From the time you left until today, he hasn't attended court..."
Xie Yunchu stood there stupidly, her heart feeling empty, as if the ocean tide was washing over her and waves were lapping against her again and again. She didn't know how long she had been standing there. Perhaps her feet were numb and her tears had dried up. She heard someone inside say "wake up", and she ran towards the tent.
When she entered, she saw the man on the couch with an obviously panicked expression, raising his arms and feeling around. She knew Wang Shuhuai was looking for her, so she rushed over, grabbed him, and placed his large hand on her chest, "I'm here..."
Everyone in the tent left.
Wang Shuhuai lay on the soft pillow without moving, holding her tightly with both hands, muttering and looking in her direction.
The gauze in front of his eyes had been taken off, and his whole face was clearly exposed in front of her. There was no part of him that matched the handsome man in her memory. He was skinny, with black and white hair on his temples, and a lot of white hair. He looked much older, and the bloodshot eyes had not yet faded. His eyes were lifeless. Xie Yunchu saw it, and felt pain in her heart. She buried her head in his palm and cried.
"How did you...how did you get yourself into this state? How can I dare to recognize you..."
Wang Shuhuai didn't take it seriously at all, with a smile in his eyes. He gently rubbed her cheek with his fingertips, noticing her delicate and soft skin. He was afraid that his rough fingertips would hurt her, so she shrank back a little. Xie Yunchu noticed it and insisted on pressing his palm on her cheek, not allowing him to retreat. Tears flowed down through his fingers. Wang Shuhuai put his long arms through the back of her neck and pulled her into his arms. Xie Yunchu leaned against his uninjured right shoulder, not caring about the soldiers outside, and simply moved onto the bed and leaned on his arms.
Wang Shuhuai had just applied medicine on his left shoulder and didn't dare to move. He leaned his head against her hair and felt the fear in his heart. Hearing his wife sobbing in his arms, he comforted her softly, "Don't be afraid, I'm fine. As long as you're fine, I'm willing to die..."
Wang Shuhuai was indeed prepared to exchange his life for another's. As long as Xie Yunchu left, Gao Zhan would bombard the entire Kongming Villa, leaving no survivors behind.
Xie Yunchu hit him lightly, "Don't say such things."
Qi Wei had been guarding this area for the past two days, wandering around Kongming Villa disguised as a woodcutter. In the past, he had been lurking in the mansion of Prince Xin, and he could recognize eight out of ten of Prince Xin's confidants. One day, he happened to find a familiar-looking man frequently entering and leaving a shop in the town, and once he went in, he would not come out for half a day. Qi Wei found something strange, and when Wang Shuhuai arrived, he and Lengshan rushed in with their men, and arrested everyone in the shop. As expected, they found a secret passage on the stove in the back room, and then followed the trail to Kongming Villa.
While Xie Yunchu and Wang Shuhuai were resting in the tent, Gao Zhan came to the small tent where Xie Yunyou was resting. Xie Yunyou was sitting on a stool, stroking the back of his swollen head, with a depressed look on his face. Gao Zhan walked over with a smile, squatted in front of him,
"How is it? Are you feeling unwell?"
Gao Zhan was very fortunate that Prince Xin did not commit the cruel act of killing Xie Yunyou, allowing Xie Yunyou to accompany Xie Yunchu.
Xie Yunyou was still upset about being easily subdued by Prince Xin.
"Brother Gao, I want to learn from you when I get back."
Gao Zhan laughed and patted him on the shoulder, "Okay, get ready, we are going back to Beijing, your father is still waiting for you."
Xie Yunyou thought of his dying father, heaved a long sigh, stood up and said, "Please tell my sister and brother-in-law that I will ride back to Beijing first."
Gao Zhan hurriedly called him back, "Your brother-in-law has claimed that you are recuperating at home. Remember to hide your whereabouts when you return to Beijing."
"I understand." The brother and sister have been missing for so long that there must be some gossip, so he has to consider the sister's reputation.
Xie Yunyou immediately went out and asked the guards for a horse. Gao Zhan also selected some people to escort him away.
Xie Yunchu was eager to return home and was anxious to see his two children. The army reorganized for half an hour, leaving Gao Zhan to sort out the front and rear, while Lengshan prepared a large and sturdy carriage to escort the couple back to Beijing first.
The wound on Wang Shuhuai's shoulder was not big. After applying the medicine, the pain was not obvious. He had thought everything through when he came. He asked Xia An to take Xie Yunchu's daily clothes and take a carriage to Nanyang to pick her up. At this moment, the master and servant were sitting in another carriage, hugging each other and crying. Xia An told her everything about the family.
"After you left, my son-in-law was scared to death. Everyone advised him to give up, but he refused and insisted on investigating. Thanks to your persistence..." Xia An was still scared when he thought about it, and choked up several times, "That Liu from the Nan Mansion actually gossiped in front of the mistress and the master, saying that she would reconcile after a year. My son-in-law was furious when he heard it, and almost strangled Liu to death. In a rage, he sent the mistress and the master back to their hometown..."
"I am afraid that others will not be able to take good care of my brother and sister, so I always keep them by my side. During the day, I take the two young masters to the government office to check your whereabouts, and bring them back at night to coax them to sleep. I never leave them for a moment..."
Xie Yunchu listened for a while and unknowingly his clothes were wet.
She asked Xia An to clean her body, changed into her own clothes and returned to Wang Shuhuai's carriage.
Wang Shuhuai was also washed and changed into a clean white shirt by Minggui who came with the car. Xie Yunchu got in the car and without saying a word, he snuggled into his arms, pressed his lips against his warm heart, without saying anything.
Wang Shuhuai stared at her intently, but could only see her outline and could not clearly identify her features. He felt as if a pale face was swaying in front of him, and he felt particularly relieved.
Xie Yunchu stared at him with his bright eyes blinking, and covered his eyes with both hands, and asked softly, "From now on, just take good care of yourself and recover as soon as possible."
Wang Shuhuai didn't care about these at all. He reached out and held her in his arms, caressing her hair with his lips. "As long as you are here, I don't care about anything."
Xie Yunchu glared at him, and said coquettishly, "No, you are so ugly now, I still like your original appearance..."
Wang Shuhuai was stunned by this sentence. His eyes were dull to begin with, and after hearing this, his eyelashes drooped slightly, not knowing what to say.
He had never cared about his appearance in his life, nor had he imagined what he looked like in Xie Yunchu's eyes. Now that his wife openly thought he was ugly, Wang Shuhuai felt a little anxious and nervous. He froze for a moment, then stroked his cheek.
"Really ugly?"
Xie Yunchu was afraid of hitting him, so he leaned against his neck and said nothing.
This is equivalent to default.
Wang Shuhuai's breathing became increasingly unstable, and his already panicked heart became even more confused.
"Yun Chu, you... give me some time, I will recover." He stumbled.
Xie Yunchu felt relieved after hearing this. He had lost half of his life this time. If he was not taken good care of, it might leave a source of trouble.
Afraid of hurting his sore spot, she motioned for him to lie down, and the two of them snuggled up together.
Cuddling seemed not enough, and could not soothe a heart that had been weathered by the separation of life and death. Xie Yunchu raised her eyes in his arms, her gaze caught his lips, and she gently leaned over. The hem of her skirt spread over him, and her full and soft body fell on his chest. She hovered above him, trying to take it, and pressed her palm against his, slowly flattening his ten fingers, and then inserted them through, feeling his taut lines.
Wang Shuhuai seemed like a drowning man who had found a ray of hope, or caught a mouthful of clear spring water when on the verge of death. Because it was too precious, he dared not make any unnecessary movements and passively endured her shallow caress and her random yet extremely delicate nibbling.
The remaining fear in his mind lingered for a long time, and his tense nerves did not relax. Every small movement of Xie Yunchu seemed to beat a drum in his heart, and his heart beat so hard that it almost trembled.
However, at this moment, the person on him suddenly stopped, blinked and asked him,
"Don't you have anything to ask?"
Wang Shuhuai's consciousness was blank for a moment, not used to her sudden withdrawal, and he asked hoarsely, "What?"
"Why don't you ask me how I'm doing in the villa?" Xie Yunchu looked at him quietly, his tone was faint, and there was even a meaningful smile in his eyes.
Wang Shuhuai was so smart that he quickly understood what she meant. He sat up suddenly, not caring about the wounds on his body, and held her tightly in his arms, not daring to leave a gap. "Silly girl, how can you ask that... How can you ask that?"
He gritted his teeth as he spoke each word, bloodshot in his pupils that stung his eyes.
At this moment, my whole body was shaking violently, and I wished I could take out my heart and give it to her.
Xie Yunchu was frightened by his reaction, "I was wrong, I was wrong, lie down quickly..."
Wang Shuhuai refused and insisted on holding her in his arms. Xie Yunchu was really worried about hurting the wound, so she had to lie down on his back while pressing him down.
Wang Shuhuai held her in his arms for a long time before he calmed down.
Xie Yunchu told him everything about the villa, not for explanation, but to let him know that she was fine. Wang Shuhuai felt relieved after hearing that.
He was afraid that his girl would suffer.
"…I failed to protect you. Everything is my fault…"
No matter when or where in the future, he will always put Xie Yunchu first and will never leave her again. People often don't know what is important or unimportant until they experience it.
Xie Yunchu thought about how to explain herself after being away for so long, and asked Wang Shuhuai for advice. However, Wang Shuhuai gently combed her messy hair and said softly,
"If I can't handle this matter well, I'd be unworthy of being your husband."
"A few days after your accident, I claimed that you were found and were recuperating in my house on the pretext of being blind..." Wang Shuhuai told her all his plans for the month.
Xie Yunchu felt completely at ease. This was the advantage of marrying a capable man. She didn't have to worry about anything.
The couple slept in each other's arms that night. Because Wang Shuhuai was injured, the carriage did not dare to go too fast, and did not arrive at Xie's house until the next night.
Dou Keling and Xu Shiwei had already left Beijing. The first wife was detained and had not been released. Only the third and fourth wives, Wang Shuqin, Zhou Min and others were in Chunjing Hall. When they saw her, they all hugged her and cried for a long time.
Nanny Lin and others covered their faces and sobbed.
Ke Jie'er and Wei Ge'er finally waited for their mother to come back, and the two children fell into their mother's arms and cried loudly.
Xie Yunchu was hugging this one and kissing that one, and he couldn't take care of everything.
The Third and Fourth Ladies saw that Xie Yunchu looked good and there was nothing unusual on her face. They guessed that Xie Yunyou protected her very well and felt relieved.
"Those who survive a great disaster will be blessed in the future."
Wang Shuhuai was helped to the inner room. The Third Madam knew that the couple had something to say, so she took the Fourth Madam and others away. Wang Shuqin asked Xie Yunyou and was relieved to learn that the siblings were fine.
Xie Yunchu was exhausted and was escorted to the bathroom by his servants, where he took a thorough shower.
After everything was cleaned up and they returned to the inner room, in the dim light, the two children snuggled in Wang Shuhuai's arms, one on each side. She walked over with a smile, and perhaps because they smelled the fragrance of their mother, the two children quickly woke up and turned to throw themselves into Xie Yunchu's arms. The cot was very large, enough for a family of four to sleep.
Xie Yunchu let down the curtains and lit a glass lamp outside. The colorful light came in through the window screens. Xie Yunchu hugged the two children and coaxed them to sleep. Ke Jie'er grabbed Xie Yunchu's clothes and clenched her fists tightly, not daring to relax for a moment. Her long black eyelashes cast a shadow under her eyes. Xie Yunchu saw that she was asleep and was about to put her down, but Ke Jie'er shook her little body and quickly woke up. She raised her ignorant eyes and met her mother's gentle eyes. Her eyelids drooped again.
Xie Yunchu had no choice but to continue holding her in his arms.
Er Ge'er held Xie Yunchu's other arm obediently. The little child's eyes were never fully closed and he was not sleeping well. Xie Yunchu felt distressed, so he hummed their familiar lullaby. With his mother's constant comfort, the child finally fell asleep completely.
Just as Xie Yunchu stretched and was about to put the child down, he suddenly heard a sobbing sound.
Looking over, Wang Shuhuai was sitting on his knees beside the mother and her two children. He looked over and tears welled up in his eyes.
Xie Yunchu was stunned. He had seen him kill with determination and success, he had seen him win people's hearts with his gentle smile, he had seen him keep people at a distance with coldness, he had seen him handle things with ease and not take all the troubles in the world seriously. But this was the first time he saw him cry.
"Shu Huai, what's wrong with you?" Xie Yunchu quickly put the child down and moved in front of him.
Wang Shuhuai didn't know what happened. He didn't cry when he heard the news of her death, didn't cry when he jumped off the cliff and felt her pain, didn't cry when he searched for her for seven days and seven nights without finding any trace, and didn't even cry for joy when he was sure that she was taken to Kongming Villa by Prince Xin.
On the contrary, at this moment, looking at the peaceful scene in front of him, he felt as if he was in another world. The fear that had been pent up in his heart surged up, and his innate calmness and composure finally collapsed. Wang Shuhuai looked at his wife who was lost and found, his collar wet with tears.
Xie Yunchu sighed, comforted the younger one, then the older one, and quickly straightened up and hugged him in his arms.
"Shu Huai, I'm here. I'm here."
In the next few days, Xie Yunchu was busy meeting guests. Shen Yi and others came to visit her in a hurry. The sisters had endless things to say to each other. When the officials in the capital heard that Xie Yunchu had recovered her sight, they all came to visit her. Xie Yunchu met them openly. The most important thing on the first day was naturally to go to Xie's house to visit her parents. Xie Hui was barely rescued and was now conscious. Looking at the siblings, he just kept crying and couldn't say anything.
Xie Yunchu hugged Madam Ming and cried for a long time, then comforted Old Lady Xie and others, and then went to visit Madam Xiao not far away next door. When he was hesitating whether to deliver a message to the Jiang Mansion, he met Qiao Zhiyun in the main hall of the Xiao family.
Xie Yunchu was stunned for a moment when he saw her. Qiao Zhiyun had obviously lost weight and looked haggard, totally different from the glamorous Governor's wife in the past.
"How did you..."
Before Xie Yunchu could finish her words, Qiao Zhiyun suddenly rushed over and hugged her in her arms.
"Chu'er..."
The mother and daughter rode in the same car back home. Qiao Zhiyun didn't say much on the way. She was relieved when she heard that everything was fine. It was impossible to eliminate the estrangement of nearly 20 years. It was only life and death that broke that layer of worry, allowing the two to face each other more honestly. When Qiao Zhiyun hugged her tightly, Xie Yunchu also hugged her back gently, "It's all over, it's okay..."
After sending Qiao Zhiyun back home, Xie Yunchu turned around and got into another carriage.
In the past few days, no matter where Xie Yunchu went, Wang Shuhuai followed him. Except for going to the palace to pay homage to the emperor, he never left Xie Yunchu. The memorials from the cabinet were still sent to him as usual. Two clerks accompanied him to handle government affairs. By the time Xie Yunchu got into the carriage, his official business had been almost done.
The wounds on his body had healed, but his one eye had not yet recovered. After a few days of recuperation, Wang Shuhuai looked much better, and Xie Yunchu also looked much better. As usual, he was embraced in his long arms. Xie Yunchu stroked his handsome face that was gradually recovering, and was secretly puzzled.
It has been five days since they returned to Beijing, and the couple has not had sex yet.
In the past, every time we met again, it was like a passionate love story with endless lingering love.
This time it was strange, Wang Shuhuai hadn't touched her yet.
He slept with her arms around him every night, and kissed her from the tips of her hair to her lips, over and over again, as if she were some rare treasure, and he would not go any further. What happened to him? Could it be that the trauma was too severe and he could no longer bear it?
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