Chapter 195 It Was My Fault Before
Seeing this, the ruthless bandit shouted at the cliff edge, "Die!"
Whenever he and his four brothers arrived at a new place, they would kidnap several shopkeepers' children and demand money from them.
They had only been arrested for a short while when this guy brought his men in and caught them completely off guard.
It caused the deaths of his brothers on the spot.
Now, seeing Xie Yanzhi fall off the cliff, he grinned, about to burst into laughter.
A cold arrow flew from behind and pierced his chest.
He groaned, his body went limp, and he fell down as well.
Yuan Qing led his men to the edge of the cliff, but there was nothing there at a glance.
He turned to the guards behind him and shouted, "Quick! Go down and find them!"
At this time, Prefect Zhou also arrived with his yamen runners. Upon learning that Xie Yanzhi had fallen off the cliff, he immediately ordered his men to go down the cliff with Yuan Qing to search for him.
Xie Yanzhi and Shen Qingnian fell off the cliff together and into the icy pool.
Seeing that Shen Qingnian was about to faint, he endured the excruciating pain and pulled her ashore.
He lay exhausted on the grass by the pool, his chest heaving violently.
Shen Qingnian lay on the ground coughing for a while before she recovered. She turned to look at Xie Yanzhi and then looked around.
The area was covered in dense forest, and not a single bird could be seen. Shen Qingnian realized that the two of them were in a deep mountain.
She looked at Xie Yanzhi and said, "Why didn't you let go when I told you to?"
Now, both of them are trapped here!
Xie Yanzhi propped himself up on his arms and sat up, asking in return, "I told you to stay in the car, why did you insist on getting out?"
“I heard Nuonuo crying…” Shen Qingnian’s voice trailed off.
If she had stayed in the car, she wouldn't have been taken hostage, and the two of them wouldn't be stuck here.
You should believe me.
Xie Yanzhi looked at her, his tone softening slightly, "I am Nuonuo's father, I will definitely not let anything happen to him."
Shen Qingnian turned her face away and didn't say anything more.
Just then, several wolf howls came from afar, long and mournful.
Upon hearing that voice, Shen Qingnian trembled involuntarily.
Xie Yanzhi pointed and said, "Go hide over there."
Shen Qingnian followed his hand and saw that it was a cave.
She slowly got up and walked towards the cave.
But then Xie Yanzhi said, "I can't leave."
Shen Qingnian turned around and saw that Xie Yanzhi was limping when he stood up, supporting himself on his legs.
She then remembered that when she fell, Xie Yanzhi had used his own body to hit the cliff in her place.
I suppose I injured my leg back then.
A complex emotion welled up in her heart. She bit her lip, quickly stepped forward to support him, and walked towards the cave.
Seeing this, Xie Yanzhi smiled slightly.
Before it got dark, Shen Qingnian gathered some dry firewood at the cave entrance and lit it with a tinderbox, finally bringing some warmth to the cave.
She wrapped her soaked clothes tightly around herself, her lips were blue from the cold, and her body trembled slightly uncontrollably.
Xie Yanzhi didn't see anything wrong with it.
He took off his clothes and put them by the fire to dry.
Shen Qingnian caught a glimpse of his bare upper body, her ears instantly turning red. She quickly turned her head away, hugging herself tightly to one side.
A moment later, a garment was draped over her head, covering her entire body.
Xie Yanzhi's voice came from above: "Quickly change, take off your wet clothes and dry them."
Shen Qingnian lifted a corner of her clothes to look at him, her eyes full of vigilance.
Xie Yanzhi understood what she meant, turned around and said, "Change it, I don't want to look at it."
In the past, he would never have turned around so easily; he might have even taken the opportunity to tease her and see her embarrassed.
But when he thought of how she had abandoned her child to leave him, a bitter feeling welled up in his heart.
Shen Qingnian watched his retreating figure, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.
He didn't take advantage of the situation?
She didn't want to wear his clothes, but for Nuonuo's sake, she had to live well.
So he gritted his teeth, quickly took off his wet clothes, and put on Xie Yanzhi's clothes.
"Okay," she said softly.
When Xie Yanzhi turned around, he saw her pulling at her clothes, trying to cover her exposed knees.
He suddenly noticed a light pink scar there, the one left from when he made her kneel down to feed him tea, which resulted in him being cut by broken porcelain.
His eyes darkened, and without saying anything, he turned and walked out of the cave.
Shen Qingnian was stunned, wondering what crazy thing he was going to do next?
She peeked out and looked into the cave for a while, then saw Xie Yanzhi walking back with a vine in his hand.
Xie Yanzhi was pleased to see Shen Qingnian's figure flash past the cave entrance.
It seems she's still a little worried about him.
Xie Yanzhi walked up to Shen Qingnian and stuffed the rattan cane into her hand.
Shen Qingnian looked on in surprise, wondering what he was going to do.
“I was wrong before. I shouldn’t have made you kneel on porcelain shards, and I shouldn’t have forced you to go out and beg, causing you to be pointed at and gossiped about.”
Shen Qingnian tightened her grip on the rattan cane, her fingertips turning white.
“Take it,” Xie Yanzhi’s voice was slightly hoarse, “I’ll take it no matter how many lashes you give me.”
"I just hope that after you hit me, you won't be angry with me anymore."
Shen Qingnian looked at his bare back, recalling the excruciating pain of kneeling on the broken porcelain shards and the humiliation of being watched and mocked, and her eyes instantly reddened.
She raised the rattan cane and lashed it hard across his back, leaving a red welt instantly.
Then she threw the cane on the ground: "After all, you've never hit me."
"But for that one kneel, I'll give you this lash!"
"Then we're even!"
Upon hearing this, Xie Yanzhi turned to Shen Qingnian and asked, "Are you calm now?"
"Will you forgive me?"
Shen Qingnian said coldly, "But I will not easily forgive you for the bullying and humiliation you have done in the past."
"Why are you bullying and humiliating me! Just because I'm a merchant's daughter and have a lowly status?"
As if talking to herself, she squatted on the ground, and tears finally rolled down her cheeks.
"I just wanted to open a small shop, enough to support my mother and me. Why should you have someone burn my shop down with just a word?"
Seeing her crying so hard, Xie Yanzhi stood up and reached out to support her shoulder, his eyes filled with self-reproach: "It's all my fault!"
"How about I give you all the shops under my name?"
"No need." Shen Qingnian pushed him away forcefully and took a step back.
"I only hope that I will have nothing to do with the Crown Prince from now on."
Xie Yan stepped forward and encircled the person: "I don't want us to be completely unrelated."
"Shen Qingnian, I will definitely respect and love you from now on. Please take a look, okay?"
"Master!"
Just then, Yuan Qing's voice came from the cave entrance.
He led several guards in and rushed in. He looked up and saw his master shirtless, with a particularly glaring whip mark on his back.
Was Master beaten by Miss Qing?
Upon closer inspection, the girl was only wearing the master's undergarment, her face streaked with tears, looking as if she had been wronged.
Yuan Qing's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that his master had resorted to force against Miss Qing after his attempt to make peace failed?
The other guards were also stunned by what they saw. After exchanging glances, they quickly and tactfully turned away.
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