Qiu Dafu thought of the first time Jiang Liu twisted her ankle. It had only been a few months, but it felt like a long time had passed.
"I'll carry you on my back."
Jiang Liu was a little embarrassed, "I can do it myself."
“Walking will only worsen your injury.” Qiu Dafu didn’t allow her to refuse and carried her on his back.
On the way, Jiang Liu lay on Qiu Dafu's broad back, feeling his strong heartbeat, and her fear gradually dissipated.
In the heavy snow, she held up her oil-paper umbrella and glanced behind her. "We're being followed."
"Find a way to shake them off." Qiu Dafu wouldn't let himself implicate Gu Qian.
Soon, we arrived at the inn.
Cuizhu was pacing back and forth anxiously when she suddenly saw the two people in the distance, and finally calmed down.
When she saw Qiu Dafu carrying her young mistress, the anxious light in her eyes softened.
However, when she heard that the young lady had twisted her ankle again, her eyes immediately turned concerned.
"Miss, please be careful when you go out in the future."
Back at the inn, Jiang Liu suddenly felt a throbbing in her head and a bit dizzy, coughing lightly every now and then.
When Qiu Dafu saw Jiang Liu's condition, he knew she had caught a cold.
He called over the waiter and instructed him to make some ginger soup.
Then, Qiu Dafu said to Jiang Liu, "You go back and lie down first, I'll go get some herbs."
Because Jiang Liu had injured her foot, he decided to buy her some more safflower medicinal wine.
Thinking of what had just happened, Jiang Liu shook her head and said, "No need, I'm just feeling a little unwell, it's nothing serious."
Seeing how much Qiu Dafu cared for Jiang Liu, Cuizhu felt a deep respect for him.
She said to Qiu Dafu, "I know Miss's health better than anyone. Let me handle the medicine. There's a pharmacy right ahead."
Jiang Liu shook her head again, "Cuizhu, I'm really fine."
That man had a lecherous look on his face. If he had laid a hand on Cuizhu, she would have been tortured beyond recognition.
She recounted her recent experience to Cuizhu, downplaying the major parts, and Cuizhu felt a wave of fear after hearing it.
It seems I'll have to be more careful when going out in the future.
Qiu Dafu stopped insisting and called the waiter over again, giving him more money and entrusting them with the task of buying and preparing the medicine.
He had just finished telling the waiter about buying medicine when he saw Chu Tian and his servant enter the inn one after the other. "Waiter, two superior rooms."
"Okay."
The waiter agreed and hurried off to serve them.
Qiu Dafu knew this would happen, and before the two of them could find him, he quickly entered Jiang Liu's room.
Seeing his serious expression, Jiang Liu quickly asked, "What's wrong?"
Qiu Dafu peeked through the crack in the door at the two people outside the inn who were preparing to eat. "They've come along."
Jiang Liu's expression changed, and Cui Zhu was somewhat frightened. "Miss, we can't stay here any longer, let's go quickly."
“No, if we leave now, we won’t be able to shake them off.” Qiu Dafu paused, then continued, “I’ll go outside and buy two sets of ordinary clothes.”
Jiang Liu loves red the most, but this red dress of hers is too eye-catching.
Jiang Liu disagreed, "If you go out now, what if those two have bad intentions towards you?"
Cuizhu stepped forward and said, "Let me go."
Jiang Liu wanted to argue, but Cui Zhu said that the two people had never seen her before, so there would be no danger if she went out like this.
After saying that, she quickly left.
After Cuizhu left, Jiang Liu pulled Qiu Dafu to sit in front of the mirror. "If we want to avoid being recognized, just changing clothes won't be enough. We also need to disguise ourselves."
"You're right."
Qiu Dafu let her do as she pleased.
Until Jiang Liu took off all his originally tied-up black hair and changed his hair, making him look ten years younger.
After finishing her makeup, Jiang Liu looked at the man in front of her carefully and nodded, "Not bad, just what I wanted."
Qiu Dafu looked at himself in the mirror. "It's your turn."
Jiang Liu removed her expensive hairpins and changed into simple peasant woman attire.
Qiu Dafu looked at Jiang Liu again; even with the simplest hairstyle, her temperament could not be concealed.
“That won’t do.” After he finished speaking, he took her rouge box, personally applied some acne marks to her face, and then smiled with satisfaction.
"That way, no one will recognize you."
Jiang Liu looked in the mirror again; she was exceptionally ugly.
Just then, the waiter knocked on the door.
Qiu Dafu walked to the door. When the waiter saw him, he thought to himself, "Where did that man go? Why is there another person in the room?"
"Sir, the herbs are being decocted; this is the medicinal wine you requested."
Qiu Dafu accepted the medicinal wine, said "thank you," and politely saw the waiter off.
He entered Jiang Liu's room again, lifted her trouser leg, and revealed her purplish-blue ankle.
"Sit still, I'll apply the medicine for you."
Jiang Liu wasn't a teenage girl, so she wasn't coy at all.
Qiu Dafu looked up, his previous restraint completely gone.
However, he felt that he was far from being worthy of Jiang Liu, so he needed to become stronger.
Jiang Liu thought to herself that Qiu Dafu, who seemed unapproachable, was actually quite thoughtful.
Her face flushed slightly. "Don't you mind that I've been married before?"
"What does it matter if I've been married before? It's me who has nothing."
"Who says you have nothing? You have family and brothers."
At that moment, Cuizhu pushed open the door and came in.
Upon seeing the two of them, she paused slightly. "Sorry, I've come to the wrong room."
Upon exiting and looking again, I realized I hadn't gone to the wrong place.
She went back in and looked carefully at the two people in front of her. "Miss, it really is you."
Jiang Liu smiled and said, "Very good."
Even Cuizhu didn't recognize them, which means their disguise was very successful.
Cuizhu suppressed a laugh, "Miss, even Master and Madam might not recognize you looking like this."
She unconsciously lingered her gaze on Qiu Dafu's face a few more times. No wonder the young lady took a liking to him. Putting aside his status, he was in no way inferior to Lord Tang.
To avoid being followed, Qiu Dafu and his two companions set off at dawn the next day, before daybreak.
Jiang Liu wore no makeup and was dressed as a peasant woman in plain clothes. Her wisps of hair covered most of her face, and no one would imagine that she was a high-ranking lady from a prominent family.
With Jiang Liu's help, Qiu Dafu's dark hair was half-draped, and he looked less dull and more energetic.
As dawn broke, Chu Tian and his servant woke up and continued to wait at the inn for Qiu Dafu and his companion to appear so they could follow them.
In the late afternoon, Huaiyuan finally arrived.
Following Cuizhu's directions, Qiu Dafu drove to the Jiang residence.
On the way, Qiu Dafu thought that since it was his first time visiting the Jiang family, he would naturally give them some gifts.
When the servants in front of the mansion saw Jiang Liu return, they hurriedly went to inform Jiang's father and mother.
Upon seeing her daughter, Jiang's mother remained stunned for a long time before recognizing her.
Seeing Jiang Liu looking travel-worn, she asked with concern, "Liu'er, why are you back at this hour in this snowy weather?"
And what happened to her daughter? How did she end up like this?
"I missed my mother, so I came back to visit. Mother, where is my father?"
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