As Xiang'er stepped down from the carriage, she saw Yan Ning being choked by You Yuanzhi and her feet gradually lifting off the ground. She pulled out a dagger from her sleeve, threw away the hilt, and held it in her hand before running straight toward You Yuanzhi.
A cold glint pierced You Yuanzhi's eyes. He released Yan Ning and began to fight with Xiang'er. Xiang'er had a dagger in her hand, and You Yuanzhi, not wanting to harm the child in her womb, retreated all the way. Seeing that Xiang'er still wouldn't give up, he chopped off Xiang'er's right arm holding the dagger with his palm. The dagger flew out of Xiang'er's hand and stuck into the tree where the reins were tied, severing the reins.
The horse, startled, lurched the carriage wildly toward where Yan Ning was standing. Yan Ning tried to dodge it, but with a river on one side, she had no choice but to run to the roadside. Her flowerpot-shaped shoes got tangled in vines, and she fell to the ground. The horse, as if determined to be Yan Ning, charged toward her.
Ignoring the approaching carriage, Xiang'er ran to Yan Ning to help her pull the vines off her feet. A huge horse's face appeared before them, and both of them closed their eyes in despair. A neigh rang out in the forest, but the horse's hooves did not fall.
Yan Ning and Xiang'er both opened their eyes and saw that You Yuanzhi had reined in the horses. No longer flustered, Xiang'er and Yan Ning quickly pulled away the vines, and Xiang'er helped Yan Ning to rest under a nearby tree. Then she went to retrieve the dagger stuck in the tree and searched for the hilt of the knife she had thrown away in her haste at the spot where the carriage had first stopped.
You Yuanzhi found the knife handle before Xiang'er could and handed it back to her. Xiang'er took the handle, said "thank you," put the dagger away, and returned to Yan Ning's side without saying another word.
Yan Ning knew that the dagger was given to Xiang'er by Fukang'an. Looking at the silent Xiang'er, she felt guilty because she had just misunderstood her disloyalty to Fukang'an and didn't know what to say.
Temu was a man of few words, obeying only You Yuanzhi's orders. You Yuanzhi sat in the carriage, fiddling with the reins, and remained silent.
The four of them fell silent. The soft chirping of birds in the woods and the rough breathing of the horses gradually grew louder.
Night fell in the forest, and You Yuanzhi had Tie Mu light a fire beside Yan Ning and Xiang'er. Although it was April, the city outside was as cold as early spring, with the summer heat not yet intense.
Xiang'er felt a slight pain in her lower abdomen from the previous violent movements and leaned against Yan Ning's chest. Her body was covered in a mixture of cold sweat and sweat.
You Yuanzhi wanted to take her to the city to see a doctor, but Xiang'er stopped him. She knew her body; the pain was just from the fight and nothing serious. You Yuanzhi had finally gotten out of the city, and Xiang'er didn't want him to be caught and taken back because of her.
Yan Ning helped Xiang'er pull You Yuanzhi and Tie Mu's clothes tighter, afraid that she would catch a cold again. In her anxiety, Yan Ning couldn't help but say, "It's all my fault. If I hadn't insisted on coming with you, we wouldn't have been kidnapped and brought to this desolate place!" After saying that, she glared fiercely at You Yuanzhi.
Seeing Yan Ning's complaints, You Yuanzhi smiled but didn't take her seriously. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he rushed to Yan Ning and asked urgently, "You said Fukang'an didn't know you went to the prison with Xiang'er?"
Yan Ning, unaware of You Yuanzhi's drastic change in mood, obediently nodded. Xiang'er, her forehead covered in sweat and her voice weak, said, "I already told you, the General doesn't know that Yan Ning came out with me!"
The flickering flames cut through You Yuanzhi's solemn expression; he punched the flame with his bare fist. He assumed that Xiang'er had persuaded Fukang'an to bring Yan Ning here in order to gain his trust, and that Xiang'er had just told him, upon boarding the carriage, that Fukang'an was unaware that Yan Ning had come with her. You Yuanzhi even thought she was trying to use this opportunity to plot something with Fukang'an.
You Yuanzhi wore a smug, defeated expression. He understood Fukang'an's intentions. Fukang'an thought that he and Xiang'er still had feelings for each other, which was why he had Xiang'er personally go to the prison to rescue him and put on such a clumsy show for him. In reality, he wanted to let him and Xiang'er elope.
From You Yuanzhi's expression, a mixture of joy and pain, Xiang'er gradually realized why Fukang'an had made her repeat the same trick. She struggled to her feet from Yan Ning's embrace, watching You Yuanzhi's advancing figure retreat step by step.
“I am his concubine, how can he tolerate me going with you! In his heart, am I not even worthy of making him angry?” Under the cover of night, You Yuanzhi could not see Xiang’er’s appearance, but from her sorrowful voice, which sounded like shattered jade porcelain, You Yuanzhi also felt heartbroken for Xiang’er’s infatuation with Fukang’an.
You Yuanzhi's eyes shone brightly and resolutely in the woods where moonlight couldn't penetrate. "I will love the child in your womb as my own! I'm willing to leave the Mingqi Sect and take you to Jiangnan, the place you've always wanted to go. We'll live in seclusion there, never again concerning ourselves with the affairs of the world!"
"Smack!"
A loud slap startled Yan Ning, making her stand up.
Xiang'er's roar came from behind the darkness, "This is Fukang'an's child! It has nothing to do with you! I, Li Xiang'er, was born Fukang'an's person, and I will die Fukang'an's ghost!" A silence followed, with only two lines of tears in Xiang'er's eyes letting people know that she was still alive.
Yan Ning gleaned some information from You Yuanzhi and Xiang'er's scattered conversation, but it was so vague and elusive that she couldn't quite grasp it.
Taking advantage of the darkness and Xiang'er's grief-stricken and dazed state, You Yuanzhi knocked her unconscious, intending to take her away first and then discuss the rest. Yan Ning followed You Yuanzhi, who was carrying Xiang'er, saying, "You can't just forcibly take her away like this! With Xiang'er's personality, she definitely won't be alive when she wakes up!"
A cool breeze blew gently, and dewdrops dampened their skin. Wearing only his nightgown, You Yuanzhi held Xiang'er tightly in his arms. Yan Ning was right, but if Fukang'an came after them in search of Yan Ning, Xiang'er would be even less likely to leave with him.
Having made up his mind, You Yuanzhi put Xiang'er on the carriage and said to Yan Ning, "I am determined to take Xiang'er away! This is my last chance!" He then told Tie Mu to drive the carriage and jumped on himself.
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