dispute
"Your Highness, something terrible has happened! A group of thieves have surrounded Miss Ming's carriage and are robbing it!" A-Gui reported to Wei Qiao from the carriage window.
"You stay in the carriage." Wei Qiao left Xi Chun with these words, then lifted the carriage curtain, drew his sword, and strode out of the carriage.
Ming Chuqing had gone to Songyue Nunnery to offer incense today and was on her way back home. Unexpectedly, she was spotted by a group of thieves on the way, who were about to attack her on this deserted stretch of riverbank. Besides the coachman, she only had her maid, Cuiju, with her. Ming Chuqing was terrified. She was considering whether to exchange clothes with Cuiju, push Cuiju out, and escape when she heard other voices outside the carriage.
She carefully lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and discovered that the person who came in was Wei Qiao.
The bandit leader was Mao Cun, a notorious mountain bandit in the Jiangbei area. A few months ago, his Qinglong Village was wiped out by the government, forcing him to leave the mountain and gather a group of desperados to resume his robbery activities. Ming Chuqing's carriage was ornately decorated, and she had few servants. He had his eye on her after she left Songyue Nunnery. Unexpectedly, before he could even succeed, he encountered a formidable opponent.
"Who are you? I advise you not to meddle in my grandfather's business." Mao Cun said to Wei Qiao, who was standing in front of the carriage, with a crooked mouth.
"Release them and get out of here, or I might spare your life," Wei Qiao said coldly.
Mao Cun and his gang were illiterate and couldn't see the "Zhao" character fluttering above Wei Qiao's carriage. Although they could tell Wei Qiao's carriage was luxurious, unlike those of ordinary wealthy families, they couldn't quite pinpoint the difference. After all, every carriage he'd robbed over the years had been lavishly decorated. Realizing his brothers didn't fully trust him yet, and that he needed to shed blood to win them over, Mao Cun disregarded the fact that they were under the emperor's nose and drew his knife, slashing directly at Wei Qiao.
"Brothers, charge!" With Mao Cun's order, more than a dozen thieves rushed forward.
Wei Qiao only brought two guards with him on this trip. Although they were highly skilled in martial arts, their numbers were too small, and they fought the group of desperate men to a standstill, neither able to gain the upper hand. Wei Qiao's martial arts were far superior to Mao Cun's. Mao Cun took a sword strike and stumbled backward, crashing into the carriage of Prince Zhao. As he braced himself against the carriage frame, wondering whether to escape, he came face to face with Xi Chun, who was lifting the curtain to look outside.
What a beauty! Mao Cun's eyes lit up.
Hearing the sounds of fierce fighting outside from inside the carriage, Xi Chun, worried that Wei Qiao might get hurt, carefully lifted the curtain to observe the scene outside, only to be met with the thief's vicious eyes.
Wei Qiao ordered the guards to protect Ming Chuqing's carriage and horses, but Xi Chun's side had no one else protecting her except for Shui Xian, who was huddled with her.
Mao Cun shoved Shui Xian aside, grabbed Xi Chun by the collar and dragged her out of the carriage, then held a large knife to her neck.
"Stop!" Mao Cun shouted in Wei Qiao's direction. Half of his brothers had already been killed, and if Wei Qiao continued killing, he would most likely die here too. He couldn't die; he wanted to use this beauty to make a deal with the other party.
"Your Highness, it's Miss Xichun!" Agui exclaimed in surprise.
In an instant, everyone's eyes were focused on Xichun in front of the carriage.
Wei Qiao turned around and realized that Xi Chun had been taken hostage by the thieves. Looking at Mao Cun's shifty eyes, he knew that he would not harm Xi Chun.
"Continue!" Wei Qiao shouted. So A Gui and Zhao Yu, who had stopped, picked up their swords and continued to fight the thieves.
Seeing that Xichun posed no threat to the other party, Mao Cun became furious and said to Xichun, "Beautiful lady, it seems that the person you're with doesn't care about you much. In that case, you'll have to see some blood to pay tribute to my broadsword!" With that, he was about to slash the knife at Xichun's neck.
Xi Chun glanced at Wei Qiao, who was guarding Ming Chuqing's carriage in the distance, closed her eyes, and resignedly awaited the arrival of the executioner's blade. At the critical moment, two guards from the mansion attacked Mao Cun from the left and right. Mao Cun was stabbed by the two men and died face down next to the carriage.
Xi Chun was still standing there in a daze when the guards grabbed her clothes and dragged her back to the carriage. "Miss, don't be afraid. The prince ordered us to protect you."
Shuixian was so frightened by the terrifying scene that she burst into tears. Only when she heard her crying did Xichun come to her senses. She took out a handkerchief to wipe Shuixian's tears while waiting for the final result outside.
Before long, Zhao Yu killed the last bandit. Except for A Gui, who had been slashed in the arm, the others were unharmed. Wei Qiao was about to return to the carriage to comfort Xi Chun when he heard Cui Ju shout that the young lady had fainted. Without thinking, he boarded the Ming family's carriage and saw Ming Chu Qing lying unconscious in the arms of a maid.
"Return to Magistrate's residence," Wei Qiao instructed the coachman outside.
The still-shaken coachman immediately picked up the reins and urged the horse on. The horse galloped forward, and A-Gui and Zhao Yu had no choice but to follow the magistrate's carriage away.
Xi Chun stayed in the carriage until the Mingfu carriage disappeared from sight, and only after a long time did she order the guards to drive back to the Zhaowang Mansion.
While changing Xichun's clothes, Shuixian noticed a ring of blood around her neck, which must have been left by the thief who held a knife to the girl's neck. With red eyes, Shuixian applied ointment to Xichun and carefully bandaged her wound with a white cloth.
Xi Chunxin was preoccupied with the fact that she was pregnant with Wei Qiao and had boarded the Mingfu carriage to leave, so the pain in her neck didn't bother her much.
After letting Shui Xian go down to rest, she waited in the room for Wei Qiao's return.
As dusk fell and the moon hung high in the sky, as the candles on the candlestick burned out their last sliver of light, and as the morning light of the next day rose and the sun began to rise, the sky gradually darkened.
Wei Qiao did not return.
Xi Chun felt as if a piece of her heart had been ripped out. She thought he liked her as much as she did, but in reality, he only treated her as an amusing plaything. Ming Chuqing was the one he was most concerned about in times of crisis.
Wei Qiao returned to Prince Zhao's residence in the afternoon. Ming Chuqing had fainted from fright the previous day, and he had been left at the Ming residence overnight. Seeing her awake today, he finally felt relieved and left.
In the Chaoxia Courtyard, Shuixian changed the strip of cloth around Xichun's neck and gently applied ointment to her neck with her fingers. Looking at the red mark on her neck, Shuixian felt very distressed. "Miss, you must apply this ointment every day, otherwise it will leave a scar and look bad."
Xi Chun didn't respond to Shui Xian's words, but turned her head to look at the swing in the yard. As she looked, Wei Qiao's figure suddenly appeared in her line of sight.
"What happened?" Wei Qiao asked hurriedly when he came in and saw Xi Chun applying medicine.
Shui Xian harbored some resentment towards the prince for abandoning the young lady yesterday, and muttered, "Doesn't the prince know? This is where the young lady was injured by thugs yesterday."
"Narcissus, you may leave."
Narcissus pursed her lips, packed up the ointment, and took her leave.
Xi Chun got up and poured Wei Qiao a cup of tea, then asked him, "How is the eldest daughter of the Ming family?"
"She's alright now. Chu Qing fainted yesterday from fright, but after drinking the calming soup, she's fine today," Wei Qiao said.
Seeing that she kept avoiding his gaze, Wei Qiao got up and sat down next to her, put his arm around her waist, and lovingly touched the red marks on her neck.
“Xichun, yesterday’s incident happened suddenly, and Chuqing fainted. I can’t just ignore it,” Wei Qiao explained.
Xi Chun felt a bitter taste in her mouth, but still smiled and said, "I know."
She knew that Ming Chuqing was different in his heart. Even though they weren't officially married, she was someone he wanted to protect. After all, she was his future wife.
That night, Wei Qiao stayed at Chaoxia Courtyard as usual. Xi Chun was asleep, facing the wall. Wei Qiao reached out to pull her into his arms, but Xi Chun brushed his hand away and moved her body further in. Wei Qiao thought she was tired, so he didn't think about it anymore and quietly fell asleep.
For the next few days, Xichun resisted his touch in bed. He didn't understand why, and that night, when she had her back to him again, he pulled her tightly into his arms against her will.
Wei Qiao skillfully removed her clothes, caressed her delicate skin, and kissed her red lips. After his desire was satisfied, he held her contentedly, wanting to say some sweet words, but heard her soft sobs.
Xi Chun didn't want to cry, but tears still flowed uncontrollably.
Seeing her huddled up, trembling slightly, Wei Qiao felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head; his earlier excitement and passion vanished completely. Did making love to him really cause her so much pain? Or did she still have feelings for someone else, like Miao Wendao?
Xi Chun cried for a long time, from soft sobs to silent tears. She remained motionless, facing the bed wall, pretending to be asleep. Wei Qiao, however, could clearly sense that she hadn't fallen asleep at all; she was crying the whole time. Her tears soaked the pillow and also soaked his heart.
The fourth watch gong sounded, but neither of them had fallen asleep. Xi Chun saw that Wei Qiao had his eyes closed, so she carefully stepped over him, got out of bed, went to the table to drink a glass of water, and when she came back, he pulled her into his arms.
She cried out in surprise, but he kissed her lips fiercely, lingering and grinding them, filled with intense jealousy as he wanted to leave his mark on her body.
He was domineering and forceful, and Xichun only felt pain. Her nails dug deeply into his back, and he, provoked by her, became even more unrestrained and reckless. Unable to bear it any longer, Xichun clung to his shoulder and bit down hard, only releasing her mouth when she tasted the sweet metallic taste of blood in her mouth.
"Xichun, why?"
Why are you so cold to him? Wei Qiao pinched her chin, not daring to look at her pained eyes. He closed his eyes and kissed her lips, swallowing the blood that had just stained her mouth. And as if in revenge, he lightly bit her lip with his teeth, leaving a wound.
She wanted him to suffer, and he wanted her to suffer too.
Only when he sensed that she couldn't breathe and her chest was heaving violently did Wei Qiao pull away from her lips.
"Xichun, stop thinking about Miao Wendao. You are mine," Wei Qiao said coldly to her.
From the moment he rushed to the Imperial Archives that night, he made up his mind that no one could ever take her away from him.
Jiang Xichun can only be his.
Hearing him mention Miao Wendao, Xichun felt even more indignant. By what right did Wei Qiao have to deprive her of the happiness that was within her grasp and trample on her love?
She was furious and slapped Wei Qiao hard across the face with all her might.
"You are not worthy to mention Brother Miao."
Brother Miao would never disregard her wishes like this, nor would he want to be with her while thinking of another woman.
Wei Qiao's face stung with pain as he gripped the hand Xi Chun had just used to slap him. He said resentfully, "I knew it! I knew you still had feelings for Miao Wendao. You hate me for ruining your marriage to him, don't you? He's the one you want to marry, isn't he?"
"And what about you, Wei Qiao? Don't you ever think about the eldest daughter of the Ming family? You want to keep me by your side, but the person you want to marry is still her. I come from a lowly background, so you've never thought about making me your wife, have you?"
"Let me tell you, Wei Qiao, in my eyes we are no different. I will treat you the way you treat me. If you are thinking of someone else, don't expect me to be devoted to you for the rest of my life."
Xi Chun bit his hand hard, and he released her grip in pain. She pushed him back forcefully, then curled up at the foot of the bed, hugging her knees and staring coldly at him.
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