Chapter 8 Chapter 8 You Must Protect Me
Su Guanzhang wanted to explain, but he had already keenly noticed a strange smell in the cell. He was startled and hugged Xuan Jinyu tightly without saying a word.
In the four cells, except for the seven young children and Xuan Jinyu who knew nothing about martial arts, the rest were from military families. They were also martial artists themselves, and they all quickly realized that there was someone in the dark.
Su Sheng said in a deep voice: "Sister Tong, Sister Yan, Sister Wen, go back to your mother. Brother Qi, take your brothers back to grandfather."
The three little girls heard the caution and caution in their grandfather/great-uncle's words, and obediently left the prison door, groping their way back. Soon they were surrounded by the familiar scent of their mother.
Qi Ge'er and his three younger brothers followed the direction of their grandfather's voice and quickly returned to his side, leaning against the wall vigilantly.
Xuan Jinyu's heart trembled.
In the endless darkness, it seemed like there was a tiger lurking, ready to pounce and tear them to pieces at any time.
When the rustling sounds of the children's footsteps stopped, the entire death row was left with unbearable silence, and the sound of their breathing was barely audible.
Xuan Jinyu didn't notice anything, she only felt the tenseness of Su Guanzhang's body and the solemnity in her father-in-law Su Sheng's words, and she couldn't help but look up.
Instinctively, she felt extremely uncomfortable with the silence.
"It's nothing." Su Guanzhang pressed her head back to the side of her neck, held her in his arms and slowly sat up. His whole body was as tense as a bowstring ready to be released at any time to deal a fatal blow to the enemy.
The silence was finally broken.
Su Sheng, who was in the cell across the street, had already confirmed the safety of the seven children and continued, "Why don't you show yourself, sir?"
The answer he got was dead silence.
Even Xuan Jinyu couldn't help but hold her breath.
No one moved, and Su Guanzhang's hand around her waist remained motionless.
I don’t know how long it was before a weak breeze blew by, rushing towards the death cell passage.
Not long after, the jailer who had been lying on the ground without moving for a long time finally opened his eyes, muttered something, got up sleepily, and relit the torch.
This time Su Sheng didn't ask him to put out the fire.
Xuan Jinyu didn't hear what he was muttering, but Su Guanzhang had heard it.
What the jailer said was, "How did I fall asleep? Strange."
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Imperial Palace.
That is the main hall and the rear hall.
With a "pop", the small and exquisite wine glass in the emperor's hand was crushed into pieces by his bare hands.
Anger quickly enveloped him, and Sheng Yu stared gloomily at the kneeling secret guard. "What do you mean by 'nothing gained'? Huh?"
The secret guard lowered his head and did not answer.
"Answer me." The crisp sound of shattering rang out again, first a "click", and then the "pa ta" sound of porcelain being thrown to the ground.
Then a faint smell of blood spread.
People who practice martial arts have very sharp senses, especially this familiar smell that they often smell.
The secret guard finally raised his head slightly, stretched out his hands and made a gesture.
The only people in the hall were Sheng Yu, the secret guard in front of him, and the eunuch Wu standing beside him.
The secret guard continued to gesture something.
Eunuch Wu couldn't understand, nor did he dare to understand, but he was not surprised at all that the secret guard before him didn't speak, only gestured. It was as if he was already accustomed to what was happening before him.
The secret guard stopped what he was doing and continued to keep his hands hanging down at his sides, maintaining a respectful and harmless posture, expressing his absolute submission.
But Sheng Yu was still furious.
How dare they, how dare they?
They've clearly reached the point where both parties have signed the divorce agreement, and they're still in prison, yet they're still like this...
He seemed to see a man and a woman embracing each other in the darkness, whispering to each other...
Anger filled his heart, making him feel restless and almost losing his mind.
He looked at the secret guard coldly for a full cup of tea.
It lasted so long that Eunuch Wu relaxed his breathing, thinking that he was going to kill the secret guard in front of him, that a low, dark and angry roar was heard.
"Stand back."
Now that the visitor had disappeared, Su Guanzhang slowly relaxed.
Xuan Jinyu noticed the change in him and looked up into his eyes. "Has the person who just came left?" she asked in a low voice, with fear in her voice.
Su Guanzhang said "hmm" and kissed her on the forehead, "Don't be afraid."
Their eyes met, and he saw the fear in her eyes slowly disappear.
The children were not affected by what happened just now. They continued to play and played hide-and-seek behind the adults, laughing from time to time.
Xuan Jinyu listened to the noises of her nephews and nieces playing, and her heart gradually calmed down.
She reached out and took Su Guanzhang's hand around her waist, moved it down, and then stopped. That was where their child was conceived.
"In this cell, we are still husband and wife. You must protect me."
The slender and soft palm touched the broad and warm back of the hand. Xuan Jinyu looked into his warm yet tender eyes, and there was a hint of grievance in her voice - the tone she usually used when she acted coquettishly with him when they were in love.
Su Guanzhang's heart trembled, and he held her obedient and motionless hand with his backhand, "Okay."
He slowly leaned over, his warm breath tentatively falling on her face. Seeing that she showed no sign of resistance, he couldn't help but lower his head and kiss her.
After more than a month, they were finally able to live together again, although in such a simple environment, surrounded by elders, sisters-in-law and children.
Xuan Jinyu was kissed deeply by him, her heart was slightly moved, her eyelashes trembled, and her eyes unconsciously swept across the plain curtain covering the bed, and grabbed the clothes on his back.
The next day.
The jailer was followed by a girl in simple clothes. The two of them silently put the food boxes into the cell one by one, changed the water in the washbasin, and replaced the toilet inside.
After the two left, the food box was opened and the aroma of food filled the entire cell, but Xuan Jinyu still did not wake up.
Xu Yu Niang asked her son quietly, "How is Jinyu? Why hasn't she woken up yet? Was she frightened yesterday?"
In her opinion, a spoiled daughter-in-law from a family of civil officials should be like an orchid raised in a greenhouse, being cared for and protected, instead of suffering in this silent death cell with them like she was now.
What's more, she was pregnant and should have been more cautious, but she was troubled by them yesterday and must have been quite frightened.
Su Guanzhang had already checked his wife's pulse and was well aware of the situation, so he replied, "No problem, this is a normal reaction during pregnancy."
Seeing that his mother was still worried, he added, "Don't worry, mother. I will take good care of her."
Care? How could he take care of someone in this death row?
Xu Yu Niang glared at him unhappily.
"Your current treatment is entirely due to the care of your mother-in-law. You don't have to feel guilty when you say this."
Su Guanzhang was silent.
He couldn't refute his mother's words.
For the first time, he felt endless regret in his heart. If not...
He was thinking that if he had not hesitated yesterday and signed the divorce agreement earlier and sent it to Jingzhao Prefecture for stamping, she would not have followed him into this prison.
It was he who implicated her and caused her to suffer.
As soon as Xu Yu Niang finished speaking, she saw a look of regret on her son's face, who always had a cold expression, and she was stunned for a moment.
She had never seen this look on her youngest son.
Madam Su had long noticed the conversation between the mother and son, and walked over when she saw them. "Don't take everything on yourself."
She rarely gave serious advice to her younger generation, but only at this moment did she gently hold her young grandson's hand and say to him, "Zhang, you've been smart since you were a child. You should know that none of this is your fault."
Su Guanzhang just nodded without saying anything.
Xu Yu Niang also realized what was happening. She was so used to arguing with her son that she had forgotten where she was. "Mother believes in you. No matter how hard it is, you can take good care of Jinyu."
"Let's go back! Mother thinks Jinyu has woken up."
Without his mother's reminder, Su Guanzhang had already seen the graceful figure slowly sitting up behind the curtain.
When he walked behind the curtain, Xuan Jinyu was fully awake, with her right hand on her lower abdomen.
He discovered that ever since the Xuanfu doctor announced that she was pregnant, she would often place her hand there intentionally or unconsciously, as if to confirm something, or as if she simply wanted to touch the unborn baby.
She cares so much about the child.
Su Guanzhang's heart trembled, thinking of his mother-in-law's dissatisfaction when she discussed with him during their wedding that they should wait until she was older to have children, and her joy when he promised on New Year's Day not to take contraceptive pills anymore.
He sat down next to her and placed his hand on her abdomen, then placed it on the back of her hand.
"I'm sorry," he said, a hint of heartache in his tone.
He knew what she had heard at the banquet yesterday, and he even planned to stir up her anger which had already dissipated.
"I haven't taken the contraceptive pills. I haven't taken them since the day we agreed to have a baby three months ago." Su Guanzhang whispered in her ear.
The child was already over two months old, meaning he had only stopped using contraceptives for half a month when she became pregnant. They had also had a wonderful time during the New Year holidays.
He didn’t take the contraceptive pills… Xuan Jinyu was stunned, “Then yesterday…?”
Su Guanzhang looked into her eyes, feeling a pang of sadness in his heart. He forced a smile and said, "I didn't eat yesterday either."
Didn’t eat, or didn’t have time to eat?
Xuan Jinyu suddenly didn't want to know anymore.
Just as she had told him last night, in this cell, their relationship could still hold on and maintain the appearance of being intact.
"I'm hungry." She could already smell the aroma of the meal.
Maybe it was because she was pregnant, but she was particularly hungry today, as if she hadn't eaten for a long time.
"I'll get you some water to wash." Su Guanzhang picked up the loose hair on her cheek, then turned and walked out of the curtain, as if he didn't notice Xuan Jinyu's hesitation and inquiry just now.
Fortunately, she didn't explore it.
Otherwise he didn't know whether to continue telling her the truth.
The new emperor hadn't given up his desire for her, and the Su family hadn't yet resolved its current crisis. He suddenly felt a surge of fear. He had already implicated her once, and he was afraid of cutting off her escape route again.
The stove on the small square table had gone out. Su Guanzhang reached out to check the temperature of the copper pot and took it down.
"The conditions are simple, so you have to bear with it." Xuan Jinyu rinsed her mouth and wiped her face. Su Guanzhang took out the handkerchief in his arms, soaked it in water and wrung it half dry, and said this while wiping her hands personally.
Xuan Jinyu felt his tenderness and her eyes fell on the handkerchief.
The towel brought by the jailer was a bit rough and not as soft as the one in his arms. Xuan Jinyu had also used her own towel to wipe her face just now.
She quickly recognized that the handkerchief was a gift from her; she had embroidered it for him on a whim in the first month of her marriage when they were in love.
She was delicate and never wanted to be burdened. That was the first handkerchief she made for him willingly, and it was also the last one.
Because after he received the handkerchief and took her to bed to express his love and pleasure, she dreamed at night of her master who had not appeared in her dreams for a long time.
No one knew, except her parents and her third brother, that the female teacher who had taught her since she was a child was burned alive in front of her. And before she died, she was still smiling at her, smiling, asking her to remember the last thing the teacher had taught her with her life.
From then on, she often thought of the flames that shot up into the sky that day and the teacher's smiling face.
Then, the sweet and loving relationship between her and Su Guanzhang was cut into pieces by her own hands.
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