Chapter 45 "I can".
Xie Linyuan woke up. Although he was seriously injured, he had at least survived.
The entire general's mansion was shocked. Their general was so badly injured, barely clinging to life and unconscious, but after this Miss Su went in for a short while, their general woke up the very next day!
So they all said that this Miss Su was simply a goddess descended from heaven, and that it was her divine power that woke up their general.
Every time Su Muying heard these comments from her subordinates, and saw the way they looked at her as if she were a goddess, she felt it was all absurd and could only smile faintly.
She did nothing that night. Xie Linyuan suddenly woke up, thinking she was leaving. He fell to the ground covered in blood and crawled towards her. She had no choice but to stay with him for the night.
Anzhou needs him. He's been self-harming and abusing himself all the time, and Su Muying doesn't want to provoke him any further and make him teeter on the brink of death again, so she doesn't bring up the matter of leaving or not leaving anymore.
Now that Wu Zizhuo's army is taking advantage of the situation to launch an attack, war is imminent, and she has nowhere to go.
If Anzhou falls...
Su Muying did not want to leave Anzhou.
Even after Su Muying promised Xie Linyuan she wouldn't leave, Xie Linyuan still couldn't believe it. Although he acted like a normal person during the day, silently eating and drinking medicine, he no longer harmed himself with a knife.
Sometimes when Su Muying passed by, she would come in and check on his condition. He would just lean against the headboard, silently drinking his medicine, no longer crawling on the floor covered in blood, begging her not to leave.
Her long hair was half-tied up with a conspicuous red ribbon, and her face was paler than snow. Occasionally, she would look up at Su Muying, her light and airy gaze filled with vulnerability and infatuation.
Looking at him like that, Su Muying felt a pang of sadness and couldn't bring herself to say anything harsh or hurtful. She just stiffly said, "Take good care of yourself," and then left.
During the day he appears to be a normal person, no longer going crazy, but at night, after Su Muying's room lights are turned off, he becomes a snake crawling in the dark again.
His injuries had healed considerably after these days of rest, and he moved nimbly and silently into her room.
After sneaking into her room, Xie Linyuan wouldn't do anything. He would just carefully and quietly walk to her bedside, then tremblingly lift the hanging gauze curtains to confirm that she was indeed still there.
Little Nian'an slept obediently on one side, holding his mother's hand the whole time.
Xie Linyuan's wandering heart immediately settled down.
His eyes were almost shining in the darkness as he crouched down and stared at her intently.
As if afraid she would find out, he didn't dare to look at her for too long. After a while, he would get up, tuck her in, and then leave quietly.
Xie Linyuan thought Su Muying was unaware, but in fact, Su Muying opened her eyes after he left.
She stared blankly out the window, and suddenly she remembered that long ago, he had also stood by her bedside in fear, like a ghost covered in water, night after night, to make sure she was still there, still alive.
Su Muying lowered her eyes, half of her face covered by the blanket.
If only I had known then what I know now.
Xie Linyuan, what exactly are you afraid of?
——
It was a clear and sunny spring day, the anniversary of Su Muying's parents' death.
Su Muying was about to go to pay respects to her parents when Xie Linyuan, dressed in white, appeared in front of her. Even in the sunlight, his face, still showing signs of illness, appeared somewhat fragile.
Su Muying looked up at him.
Xie Linyuan lowered his head, his lips pale in the sunlight. His overly vibrant face looked as if he had just recovered from a spring rain, his injuries still healing. He appeared pale and sickly, like a landscape painting shrouded in mist.
Su Muying's long eyelashes fluttered as she looked him up and down, her brows furrowing slightly.
I don't know if he was faking it.
He was very energetic when he practiced swordsmanship in the yard.
"Can I go with you?" He lowered his head, his gaze level with hers. Su Muying could clearly see the color of his pupils in the sunlight, and she could also see herself.
Su Muying simply looked up at him without saying a word.
Xie Linyuan bent even lower, his half-tied hair hanging down, shimmering with tiny specks of light in the sunlight.
It's a bit dazzling.
He explained, afraid she might misunderstand, "It's not safe outside the city. I'll just follow behind you and won't do anything."
Su Muying remained silent, staring at him for a long time. When she was sure she couldn't see anything in his eyes, she nodded.
Let him be.
Su Muying really didn't want to upset him again.
Su Muying then left the city with Xie Linyuan and went to her parents' graves.
Today is a beautiful day; the spring breeze is gentle, and the sunshine is warm, bringing a sense of comfort to people.
Since she returned to Anzhou, she often comes here to talk to her parents.
The area around the cemetery was very clean and tidy, with no weeds. Unidentified wildflowers swayed in the wind in front of the graves, and locust trees in full bloom overhead fell like snowflakes when the wind blew.
After Su Muying finished offering incense, Xie Linyuan also knelt down with a thud and offered incense as well.
Su Muying was startled by the sound of him kneeling. She saw him kowtow again after offering incense.
The sound of his head hitting the ground was heavy, and when he raised his head, there were already bloodstains on the ground.
Su Muying's eyelids twitched suddenly.
After Xie Linyuan kowtowed, he raised his face, revealing streaks of blood on his forehead, which did not appear frightening in the sunlight.
He looked at her, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
He smiled, the spring sunlight filtering through the locust blossoms overhead and falling on his face.
The light and shadows danced across his face with the wind, the light spots shimmering and giving his pale face a sudden air of spiritedness.
His voice came as the wind blew.
He raised an eyebrow and asked her, "Ying'er, what do you want?"
He suddenly asked her this question.
Su Muying was stunned.
He spoke casually, a smile playing on his lips, as if he were asking a joke, but deep within his dark eyes shone a resolute determination that sent shivers down one's spine.
It seemed that he would do whatever she wanted.
Su Muying looked into his eyes. Suddenly, a strong wind rose, carrying flower petals that blew endlessly.
She looked around and saw a gentle breeze and clear skies, a scene of vibrant spring. This place had not yet been affected by the war, and Wu Zizhuo's army had not reached this area. In the distance, there were a few scattered houses with wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys.
If... the scenery of this world could always remain like this, if ordinary people like them could always live such peaceful lives, if her parents could also live like this...
How wonderful.
This is what Su Muying has always wanted.
The country was unstable, the court was corrupt, and rebels rose up everywhere. Anzhou was captured by the rebels, and her parents died in the war while trying to protect her.
She always remembered her parents' dying words: no matter what, she had to live well.
She always remembered those words.
So she went north to the capital and entered the Xie family with that so-called marriage contract.
All of this is difficult to explain and cannot be fully understood.
Later, she returned to Anzhou to pay respects to her parents and had Xiao Nian'an by her side. She wanted to stay there forever, to live this kind of life, to accompany her parents, to plant flowers and read books, to brew wine and grow vegetables, and to raise Xiao Nian'an to adulthood.
All she ever wanted was this.
A peaceful world, a stable and secure human realm.
Can he give her these?
Is this the Xie Linyuan he is?
Under the swaying spring sunlight, petals fell one after another. Su Muying raised her head, looked into his eyes, and gazed into his depths.
She didn't know what she saw in his eyes, but when a petal fell between their gazes, Su Muying blurted it out as if possessed.
"I want peace in the world, I want stability on earth, I want people like us to no longer suffer from the ravages of war, I want no one to die tragically like my parents in the war, I want Anzhou to not be looted, there to be no more fires, blood, and the cries of people everywhere..."
As the wind blew, Su Muying's voice seemed to tremble, and the raging fire seemed to burn before her eyes.
That fire was a nightmare she could never shake off.
"Can you give me what I want, Xie Linyuan?"
Xie Linyuan walked up to her, raised his hand, and his cool fingertips touched the corner of her eye, wiping away the tear that she herself did not know when it had fallen.
The girl was stunned. Xie Linyuan brushed aside her wind-blown hair and laughed.
"I can."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
