Chapter 292 Willing to Marry You Through the Three Letters and Six Rites
Xiao Yeming, dragging his broken body, finally staggered into the courtyard gate of Tingzhuxuan.
There are only fifty steps left ahead.
In other words, he only needs to endure five more blows to be done.
Behind that tightly closed door was the person he was determined to see, no matter what.
Sister Lu.
I am coming.
The twenty-fifth blow! Slammed hard into the center of his back!
This attack almost shattered the last bit of true energy he had managed to muster.
His body swayed violently, his vision went black, and a mouthful of blood welled up in his throat, but he swallowed it down.
However, a smile curved his lips.
He came in!
He finally stepped through that door!
The twenty-sixth blow!
The twenty-seventh blow!
With each heavy blow from the stick, his bones felt like they were about to break, and he staggered as if he were about to fall.
His face was ashen, but his eyes remained fixed on the door.
Corridor.
Shu Linglang gazed at the blood-soaked figure still staggering forward under the blows, her brows furrowing slightly, her voice tinged with disbelief and coldness: "Could it be... that he really survived?"
Upon hearing this, Aunt Ji's eyes flashed with a cold light. She immediately strode into the courtyard and said to the head guard in a deep voice, "His Highness has ordered that the force be increased! He must not be allowed to touch that door!"
The head guard understood immediately.
Although his hands were cracked and his arms were numb, he was even more eager to win the top credit in front of the Grand Princess.
He gritted his teeth, channeled all his strength into his arms, raised the Water-Fire Cudgel high, and fiercely chopped it down towards Xiao Yeming's chest and abdomen!
"puff!"
With a muffled thud, Xiao Yeming could no longer suppress his anger and spat out a mouthful of blood.
He fell forward violently to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
For a moment, the courtyard was completely silent.
Some of the guards instinctively looked away, their faces showing reluctance.
The servants who were watching from afar also sighed inwardly.
Pu Cao gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, gazing at the figure lying motionless on the ground, thinking to herself, "In this world... there really are such people who are so devoted to love that they disregard their own lives... May Heaven protect him and let him pull through..."
Inside the side room.
Lu Zhaoruo was covering her mouth and nose with her sleeve to resist the poisonous fragrance.
Suddenly, the sound of heavy blows from a stick came from outside the window, followed by a suppressed groan of pain!
It's a man's voice!
Her heart clenched suddenly, and a thought flashed through her mind: Could it be him?
Before you can think it through, your body acts before your mind can.
She turned around abruptly, her gaze quickly locking onto the only window connecting her to the outside world. Above the window paper was an inconspicuous ventilation hole, and below the hole sat an incense burner with wisps of smoke rising from it.
Chance!
She stumbled and lunged toward the table by the window!
"Clang!"
She knocked the incense burner to the ground, scattering sparks and ash everywhere.
The old woman guarding the window was caught off guard and let out a soft gasp. However, she had no time to care about what was happening inside the room, because she also saw the Grand Princess and Junjun arrive in person, as well as Xiao Yeming from the Xiao family and more than twenty guards.
Such a display.
She was terrified.
Taking advantage of this brief moment, Lu Zhaoruo immediately pressed her eyes against the small ventilation hole, eagerly peering outside...
The next moment, her breathing suddenly stopped!
The scene in the courtyard was cruel and brutal.
Xiao Yeming struggled to his feet, each tremor causing the congealed and undried bloodstains covering his body to flutter.
Just as he swayed and looked up, a pale bolt of lightning tore through the night, illuminating the world with a bright white light.
She saw it clearly!
His dark robes were soaked in dark red, clinging tightly to his body, and blood kept trickling from the corner of his mouth.
His once handsome face was now as pale as paper, with only his eyes, like the last two sparks in the ashes, fixedly staring in the direction of her door.
He was dragging his broken body, staggering step by step, toward the steps.
On either side of him, more than twenty guards wielding fire and water sticks followed closely.
Her gaze swept across the courtyard, and the two elegantly dressed figures under the eaves came into view—Grand Princess Shu Linlang with a cold and indifferent expression, and Lady Yunxiu with a smug and cruel smile on her lips.
I see!
She instantly understood that Xiao Yeming had ventured into this dangerous place alone to save her, and had been tortured to this extent!
A sharp pain suddenly gripped her heart, a thousand times more intense than the corrosive fragrance!
She abruptly raised her hand and covered her mouth tightly, but it was no match for the excruciating pain that overwhelmed her.
What merits does she possess... what merits does she possess to deserve his devoted treatment?
He silently protected her all the way, willingly letting her use him and paving the way for her, even cutting off a finger for her without any regrets... And now, facing this almost torture-like beating, he still forced his crippled body to walk towards her step by step, leaving bloody marks!
All the memories of the past—his silent protection, his restrained affection, and the unwavering gaze he gave her from the pool of blood—were like molten lava, instantly shattering the last bulwark in her heart.
It turned out that long ago, without her even realizing it, her heart had already completely fallen for him.
Tears streamed down her face, burning her cheeks.
It was no longer just gratitude and guilt, but a heart-wrenching love and a deep, unbearable tenderness!
But.
She couldn't understand it at all. Why was he so unwilling to marry her, even though he clearly loved her so much?
Xiao Yeming finally moved down the steps.
Step 290, strike 29!
He stood ramrod straight, waiting for the twenty-ninth blow, his eyes fixed on the door that was just inches away.
Seeing that he was just a few steps away from the door, Yunxiu was consumed by jealousy and hatred, which burned like poison in her heart. She could no longer contain herself! She rushed into the courtyard and snatched the water-and-fire stick from the head guard's hand! Although she was a woman, she was skilled in archery and horsemanship from a young age. With full strength in her arms, she pointed the tip of the stick directly at Xiao Yeming and angrily questioned him: "Xiao Yeming! I will ask you one last time! Choose her, or choose me?"
Xiao Yeming didn't even glance at her. His blood-stained lips moved slightly, and his voice was hoarse: "Lu Zhaoruo. In this life, I will only choose her."
Inside the side room.
Lu Zhaoruo heard this answer clearly, and tears streamed down her face.
"Good! Good! You're very good!"
Yunxiu's face was contorted with hatred. She let out a shrill cry, swung the stick with both hands, and with all her might, fiercely swept it towards the back of his left knee!
"Snap!"
A crisp sound!
Xiao Yeming's left knee snapped, and he slammed heavily onto the cold stone steps.
A metallic taste rose in his throat, but with an inhuman will, he used his hands to support himself on the ground and dragged his broken leg up another step!
One step, two steps... He actually dragged his broken leg and crawled the last ten steps, finally making it to the top!
The cattails that had been watching from afar finally breathed a long sigh of relief.
General Xiao... ultimately made it through.
The guards in the courtyard were also secretly moved, all deeply shocked by the indomitable will that lay amidst the bloodshed.
Under the corridor, Grand Princess Linlang's face was ashen: "This is truly... something I never expected."
Aunt Ji lowered her head and whispered a reminder: "Your Highness, there is only one more blow to strike."
Yunxiu watched helplessly as Xiao Yeming actually managed to crawl to the door, losing all her reason! She gripped the stick tightly, channeling all her hatred into her arms, and slashed down desperately at his right knee, the only thing supporting his body!
If she can't have it, no one else can!
Even if we can't take his life today, we'll break both his legs and make him a complete cripple!
Now!
Inside the room, Lu Zhaoruo saw Yunxiu's desperate attack clearly through the crack in the window, and her heart trembled instantly! All the pent-up fear, anger, and excruciating heartache erupted!
Disregarding everything, she took a half step back, channeled all her inner strength into her toes, and kicked hard at the door that imprisoned her!
Boom!!!
A loud bang echoed through the courtyard!
The bolt snapped, splinters flew everywhere, and the heavy door swung open with a loud crash!
The moment the door opened, time seemed to stand still.
Inside the door, Lu Zhaoruo staggered out, her face streaked with tears.
Outside the door, Xiao Yeming was struck hard and fell to his knees.
He happened to kneel down in front of her.
She happened to witness him kneeling.
Before the dust settled, their eyes met in the air.
His face was covered in blood, but the moment his eyes met hers, he managed to force a reassuring smile.
At that very moment, "whoosh!"
The torrential rain, which had been building up all night, poured down from the dark sky like a burst dam!
The guards below the steps were soaked through by the sudden downpour.
The autumn rain was icy cold, making their teeth chatter and them shiver.
Yunxiu, standing beside Xiao Yeming, was drenched by the rain pouring down from the roof, even though she was on the edge of the eaves. Her gorgeous dress clung to her body, her hairpins were askew, and her carefully applied makeup was smeared by the rain, revealing her true face twisted with jealousy, making her look particularly ferocious.
Corridor.
Aunt Ji was so startled by the earth-shattering thunder and torrential rain that she trembled and instinctively took half a step back.
Only the Grand Princess Linglang remained motionless in place, like a cold statue.
She watched indifferently as the couple reunited in the rain, her daughter's hysterical disarray, and the panicked crowd in the courtyard.
However, a hint of bewilderment flickered in her unfathomable eyes.
This scene was so familiar... So many years ago, on a rainy night, she seemed to be around the same age... She opened that door herself, and outside, the man who had once made vows of eternal love to her was kneeling in the rain, covered in wounds...
However, he ultimately betrayed himself.
Fragments of memories flashed through my mind like lightning, carrying with them the pain and coldness of bygone years.
But in just a moment, she forcefully suppressed that slight daze, and her eyes regained their usual sharpness and coldness.
Xiao Yeming remained kneeling on the ground. Seeing that Sister Lu ignored him, the pain in his body seemed insignificant.
Those eyes, which were always as deep as night, were now as clear as if they had been washed by the storm, reflecting a resolute light.
He no longer tried to hide it, no longer used that deliberately lowered voice.
A clear, open voice, carrying the calm and sincerity of someone who has survived a catastrophe, clearly cut through the sound of rain and reached her ears, as well as the ears of everyone behind her: "Madam Lu."
He gazed at her, his words clear and distinct, as if swearing an oath before gods and Buddhas: "My heart is as clear as heaven and earth."
He paused briefly, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed the surging blood in his throat. When he spoke again, there was no hesitation in his voice: "I have come here today for only one thing: to betroth you to me."
Silence reigned under the eaves, except for the torrential rain pouring down behind us.
Looking into her tear-filled eyes, he said, word by word, "I am willing to marry you with proper ceremony and formal marriage according to the three letters and six rites."
"In this life, I will never betray you."
"Madam Lu..."
He asked softly, yet with the weight of a vow, "Are you willing?"
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