Eye contact
Outside, the executioner's screams could be heard, shrill and piercing. Emperor Huan Wang stroked his ring and listened with half-closed eyes.
After about half an incense stick of time, it became quiet outside with only the sound of rain. Ji Yuan opened the curtain and came in. His robe was half wet, and it was unclear whether it was from blood or rain.
"Dead?"
"He's dead. I've already sent people to hunt down the remaining assassins. I'll ask them to keep a few of them alive."
Emperor Huanyu nodded, raised his eyes to look at the people below him, stared at Fu Huaiying for a long while, and then raised his hand to let her go.
Fu Huaiying retreated and opened her umbrella only after leaving the tent. The rain was getting heavier. There was only a pile of corpses and bloodstains that had not been washed away by the rain in the open space.
She stood there for a moment, then went back to her tent. The moment she opened the curtain, she saw Da Hu sitting on a chair and wiping his hands.
"Can you change your clothes?"
Da Hu nodded, "Yes, there were many injured people, and a lot of clothes were thrown away, mixed together, and it's hard to find them."
"Done?"
"Um."
"It's muddy outside, don't get your boots dirty."
Da Hu looked up and smiled at her, "It was all done by those assassins. What does it have to do with us? Many assassins also ran into the bamboo forest. I think they were forced into a desperate situation and wanted to drag others to their deaths. I have no problem with that."
Fu Huaiying looked at her and suddenly smiled, "You are getting smarter and smarter."
"The young lady didn't bring a maid with her. Can I help you change your clothes?"
Fu Huaiying sat down, drank a sip of water, and shook his head, "No, you take a rest, I can do it myself."
She took off her clothes, got into bed, pulled the quilt over her, closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Fu Huaiying can sleep, but there are always people who can't.
Wen Shuangye threw the teacup, "Get out! Get out! Useless thing, how could you not find a good person!!"
Fu Liusong's face was gloomy. "Shut up, what are you making a fuss about? Didn't Chu Yan go to look for him? His Majesty is still here. Is it fun to make such a fuss?"
Wen Shuangye raised her foot and kicked forward. She was the daughter of a military general and had practiced martial arts since childhood. She was very strong. The kick was so powerful that she almost made the man bleed.
"If anything happens to my Rou'er, your Fu family, the entire Fu family will be buried with her!!"
Fu Liusong staggered to his feet, "You're crazy! What nonsense are you talking about! Shut up!"
Wen Shuangye was furious, and all she could say was curse words. "Am I crazy? Who is crazy? It's you! I do all the bad things, and you, on the other hand, have all the good things except for the reputation of being henpecked!!"
Fu Liusong was furious. There were probably so many people outside that they couldn't hear everything clearly.
He raised his hand and slapped Wen Shuangye, "Shut up!!"
Wen Shuangye was only concerned about her daughter, and was so angry at the moment that she rolled up her sleeves and started fighting with him.
Fu Huaiying listened to the noise outside and felt like laughing and angry at the same time.
Da Hu came over and covered her ears, "Girl, go to sleep."
Fu Huaiying sat up again, "Forget it, I can't sleep anymore. Is there anyone outside? I'll go check on Yan An."
Although the pill could save him from death, if he got infected and developed a fever, his life would be in danger.
She lifted the curtain. It was still dark outside. Lin Yan'an's tent was very close. She walked over with an umbrella. He Feng was still guarding outside the tent. When he saw her coming, he immediately lifted the curtain.
"Fu Zhibi, come in, the master has woken up."
Fu Huaiying was a little surprised. How could he be in such good health? He woke up so quickly? If it were someone else, it would take at least three to five days.
There were candles burning inside, so although it was a little dim, at least you could see people clearly.
Lin Yan'an leaned on the bed with his eyes closed, his brows furrowed, as if in great pain.
Fu Huaiying stepped forward, took out a handkerchief from her sleeve, and wiped the cold sweat off his face.
Lin Yanan suddenly opened his eyes and saw the person coming. His eyes softened a little, "Why are you here? It's raining heavily outside. It's not good to walk outside. You'll catch a cold easily."
Fu Huaiying looked at the cloth wrapped around his body, then looked at his pale face, and said softly: "Does it hurt?"
Lin Yanan shook his head. "It doesn't hurt. Why didn't you put on any clothes when you came out? It would be bad if you caught a cold."
"You should take care of yourself first."
She raised her hand and placed it on Lin Yan'an's forehead, and breathed a sigh of relief that he didn't have a fever.
"Master, the medicine is here."
He Feng came in with a bowl of medicine, bowed, then bent down and handed the bowl to Fu Huaiying with both hands.
The latter was a little dazed, but took it subconsciously.
He Feng immediately stepped back, lifted the curtain and went out so as not to disturb them. He was secretly pleased with himself, thinking that he was a very considerate and good servant.
Lin Yanan's face darkened, "... Huaiying... Sister... I didn't teach you that..."
His explanation sounded a bit pale, but Fu Huaiying still believed it. He Feng was his personal bodyguard and was very lively. It was probably due to his personality, not Lin Yan'an's instruction.
"I know."
She scooped a spoonful of medicine, blew on it gently twice, and handed it to Lin Yan'an.
Lin Yan'an was stunned and just stared at her blankly, feeling as if he was still in a dream.
"Don't be stunned, drink the medicine."
Lin Yan'an lowered his eyes and drank the medicine she handed him, his eyes slightly moist. In his previous life, he often went to the battlefield and had many wounds on his body. Occasionally, the injuries were serious and he would have a fever. Huaiying also fed him medicine in this way.
After drinking a bowl of medicine, Fu Huaiying's hands felt sore. Lin Yan'an seemed to see what she was thinking. He pulled her hand over and slowly pressed it for her.
Fu Huaiying looked at his serious expression and suddenly felt a little dazed. Since the first time she met him, she had been constantly and forced to accept all his love, but she had never been loved like this before, so she didn't know how to respond.
She slowly raised her hand and gently placed it on Lin Yan'an's pale face, stroking his jaw. She stared at him for a long time before she spoke slowly, "What do you like about me?"
Lin Yanan met her confused eyes and smiled, "If you ask me, I don't know. Maybe it was love at first sight."
"Then...in the previous life you mentioned...how did we meet?"
"We first met at Yongding Pass. At that time, I was there to handle reconstruction matters..."
Lin Yan'an recalled the day when snow was falling all over the border. He saw a woman getting off the Wen family's carriage outside the city gate. She was wearing a fox fur coat, her face was pale, and her eyes were red.
At first he thought it was a girl from the Wen family and felt sad for her. Her brother had died in mysterious circumstances and her entire family was about to be executed. Later, he was relieved when he heard that her surname was Fu.
He remembered that Huaiying at that time had a resolute face and braved the wind and snow to retrieve Wen Chuyan's body hanging on the city wall.
The people in the city didn't know the reason, they only knew that she was a family member of a criminal. The guards in the city also wanted to vent their anger, so they allowed the people to throw stones at her and insult her, but she stood in the wind and snow, without an umbrella, and remained motionless.
A man pulled a cart and carried away Wen Chuyan's body.
He thought she was very strong, but in the middle of the night, he heard her crying on the coffin. He still remembers Huaiying's suppressed sobs.
“…Brother…wake up…wake up…I…I…what should I do…what should I do…”
At that time, he didn't know what he felt in his heart. He always felt uncomfortable, but he couldn't describe it. His reason told him not to eavesdrop, but he couldn't move his feet at all.
The crying sounds inside were intermittent, and the snow outside was falling continuously, landing on his shoulders, melting into water, and it was freezing cold.
He was like a bystander, watching the pain and helplessness of others, and the snow covered him into half a snowman.
The crying inside stopped abruptly. He hesitated, retracted his legs, stepped in again, retracted them again, and stepped in again. He repeated this for a long time before he mustered up the courage to go in.
The words of comfort were stuck in his throat, and the person inside had already fainted on the ground. His hand was one step faster than his heart, and when he came to his senses, the person was already in his arms.
He was afraid of damaging the girl's reputation, so he didn't dare to carry her back. He could only take off his clothes, cover her with them, sit in front of her, and block the wind for her.
The first thing Fu Huaiying did when she woke up was to return his clothes to him, and the second thing she did was to say thank you.
She had come to retrieve the body. She came without any noise and left without any fuss, so when they met for the first time, she only said thank you and you're welcome.
Fu Huaiying listened to his story with some curiosity, "You want to marry me after just one meeting? Don't you think it's too hasty?"
Lin Yan'an shook his head. "I don't think so. I wanted to marry you out of selfish motives. I wanted to know if you would risk your life to pick me up if I died."
Before Fu Huaiying could open her mouth, he continued, "After you married me, when you mentioned the Yongding Pass incident, you said it was treason, and there was nothing to say. But tears still welled up in your eyes. I knew you still liked him..."
"But I'm luckier than him. I got to marry you, but he didn't."
…
Wen Chuyan returned at dawn the next day. He was soaked from head to toe, and looked exhausted and filled with sadness.
Wen Shuangye hadn't slept all night. Seeing him like this, she felt bad, but she still rushed forward, "Chu Yan... Huai Rou... Where's Huai Rou? Where's Huai Rou?"
Wen Chuyan closed his eyes in reluctance and said nothing.
Fu Huaiying walked out. The rain outside had not stopped yet, so Dahu immediately held an umbrella to shelter her from the rain.
Wen Shuangye tugged at his sleeve and yelled, "Where's Huairou?! Tell auntie, she's fine, right?!"
Wen Shuangye pulled him and stared into his eyes, wanting to get a positive answer.
Wen Chuyan just shook his head slightly and said nothing.
Wen Shuangye collapsed to the ground, the rain soaking her. She raised her hands to cover her face, and trembling sobs came out from between her fingers.
Wen Chuyan lowered her eyes, with redness at the corners of her eyes, but the rain was so heavy that she couldn't tell whether it was rain or tears.
When Fu Huairou was carried back, she was covered with a white cloth. Wen Shuangye supported herself to stand up and staggered over. Her throat seemed to be strangled and she could not make any sound.
She lifted the white cloth, revealing Fu Huairou's pale and cold face. There was an arrow stuck in her throat, and her eyes were still open, as if in disbelief and fear.
Fu Liusong gave a wink, and the maid beside him immediately came forward with an umbrella. Wen Shuangye roared and pushed the maid away, then knelt on the ground, holding her daughter's pale face and crying inconsolably.
Fu Huaiying stood not far away, her crimson official robe was particularly conspicuous in the heavy rain, as red as blood. She just stood there quietly, watching Wen Shuangye wailing in the heavy rain, watching her scream in pain, completely losing her previous arrogance.
Wen Shuangye raised her head, and the hatred in her eyes seemed to solidify into substance, piercing through Fu Huaiying's body like a knife.
Lin Yan'an held an umbrella for her and suddenly moved it down, trying to block Wen Shuangye's gaze for her. Fu Huaiying just raised her hand lightly and pushed the umbrella back to its original position. She looked at Wen Shuangye coldly, just like the look she had when they were young, except that the one she was kneeling on the ground with hatred was now looking at Wen Shuangye.
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