Substitution
Han Qing had to endure the pain of broken bones while also protecting Jin Yuanyuan, so his speed was inevitably slower than Ye Yi's. In just two breaths, Ye Yi caught up with Han Qing.
In such a critical situation, Han Qing dared not let go of Jin Yuanyuan. He had a gut feeling that if he let go, he would regret it for the rest of his life. With this belief, he gritted his teeth and raised his right hand to fight Ye Yi, and surprisingly, he did not fall too far behind.
Yoruichi's thinking was clear: as long as she got rid of the troublesome man in front of her, she could bring Kim Won-won to her master. Therefore, the methods she used became increasingly ruthless.
Although Han Qing's martial arts skills were superior to Ye Yi's, his disadvantage was obvious. When he was protecting Jin Yuanyuan, Ye Yi found an opening and struck him in the chest with a palm strike. Blood trickled from the corner of Han Qing's mouth, staining his clothes red.
As Jin Yuanyuan tilted her head back, a drop of blood splattered under her eye, appearing from afar like a scarlet beauty mark, adding a touch of allure to her already stunning beauty.
Yoruichi was stunned by Jin Yuanyuan's beauty, and her attacks on Han Qing visibly slowed down. Jin Yuanyuan was completely unaware of this. She gently wiped the blood from the corner of Han Qing's mouth and said with deep remorse, "Brother Han, please let me go."
Taking advantage of Yoruichi's momentary daze, Han Qing distanced himself from her and said resolutely, "Unless I die, I will never let you go."
On the other side, after Jin Xiaoxiao finished bandaging Ji Yun's wound, she looked up and saw Jin Yuanyuan wiping away the bloodstains from Han Qing.
Jin Xiaoxiao paused for a moment, then whispered to Jin Minzhi, "Brother, I agree to this marriage."
Jin Minzhi witnessed Han Qing's unwavering devotion to her aunt, and although he admired Han Qing's character, marriage between two families has always been arranged by parents and matchmakers. Jin Minzhi gently patted Jin Xiaoxiao's head, "Xiaoxiao, don't talk nonsense. Your aunt's marriage will be decided by your grandmother."
Ji Jun suddenly interjected, "He can hold on for another ten breaths."
Ji Yun's reminder made Jin Xiaoxiao and Jin Minzhi realize their terrible situation.
Half of the main guards defending against the men in black on the left front had already fallen, while on the right front, Han Qing, carrying Jin Yuanyuan, struggled to hold off Ye Zhou, and the men in black clearly had the upper hand.
Jin Xiaoxiao turned to look back. When she left the city, she had Bai Guo deliver a message to Yue Jia, asking him to send someone to meet her. But there wasn't a soul in sight on the wide road. It seemed she couldn't count on Yue Jia. Disappointed, Jin Xiaoxiao turned back.
Three men in black suddenly appeared behind Han Qing. Seeing this, Ye Yi stopped, blocking Han Qing's retreat. Han Qing seemed to sense something and looked up ahead, only to see Yue Xiao, with a sullen face, walking towards them surrounded by men in black.
Yue Xiao looked at the two embracing each other, his face extremely ugly, and shouted angrily, "How dare you lay a finger on what is mine! Han Qing, if you know what's good for you, let her go, and I might spare your life."
Yue Xiao implied that Jin Yuanyuan was his possession, which angered Han Qing. He sneered, "You're the one who's not a thing! Yuanyuan is the best girl in the world, and I'm not letting go of her." As he spoke, Han Qing deliberately tightened his grip on Jin Yuanyuan's waist.
Hearing Han Qing call her "Yuanyuan" repeatedly, Yue Xiao's face grew increasingly gloomy. He lowered his eyelids slightly and ordered, "Kill him." Then he lifted his eyelids and added, "Don't hurt Yuanyuan."
Upon hearing this, the men in black approached Han Qing together. Jin Yuanyuan looked up at Han Qing anxiously, her mouth slightly open as if to speak, but Han Qing asked in a hoarse voice before she could, "Yuanyuan, if there is an afterlife, would you be willing to marry me?"
Jin Yuanyuan blushed upon hearing this, but she stubbornly replied, "The next life is uncertain; I only care about this life."
Han Qing sighed in disappointment. He knew Yue Xiao wouldn't hurt Jin Yuanyuan. Before the man in black got close, he released his left hand and pushed Jin Yuanyuan away.
Jin Yuanyuan glared angrily at Han Qing, thinking, "How stupid!"
Han Qing was so focused on fighting the man in black that he didn't notice Jin Yuanyuan's expression and missed a chance to express his feelings to his sweetheart.
Crouching behind the tree, Jin Xiaoxiao watched Han Qing fight fiercely, covered in blood, and thought, "Is the power of the plot really that strong? Is it inevitable that non-official couples will have a bad ending?"
Ji Yun's ears twitched, and he said, "There are many people coming on the official road."
Jin Xiaoxiao and Jin Minzhi turned around at the same time and saw a cloud of dust rising not far away. The clattering of hooves grew louder as Yue Jia led dozens of armored cavalrymen over like divine warriors descending from the sky.
When Yue Xiao saw that the person leading the attack was Yue Jia, he knew that he would be leaving empty-handed today. He cursed under his breath and made a retreat gesture. The men in black immediately stopped fighting and stood behind him.
"Whoa—"
Yue Jia pulled on the reins when he was only three steps away from Yue Xiao. The horse came to a sudden stop and let out a loud neigh. The dust kicked up by the horse's high hooves covered Yue Xiao's face.
After coming to a stop, Yue Jia looked around and saw that only Han Qing was pale and injured. He immediately felt relieved. He sat leisurely on his horse, enjoying Yue Xiao's frustrated expression, and apologized to him with a smile: "Second brother, my riding skills are not good, please forgive me." He pointed with his riding whip at the men in black behind him and asked: "Second brother, are you also going hunting with so many people? Why don't we go together?"
Yue Xiao smiled insincerely and said, "I won't disturb your enjoyment, brother. Farewell." After saying that, he left without looking back, leading the man in black away.
Jin Xiaoxiao watched Yue Xiao leave, and before she could even feel happy, she heard her aunt cry out, "Brother Han!"
Jin Xiaoxiao turned around and saw that Jin Yuanyuan couldn't support Han Qing, whose body had gone limp, and they both fell to the ground.
Everyone ran towards them.
On the other side, just as Yue Xiao led his men onto the official road, they were met head-on by a long caravan.
Seeing the menacing look on Yue Xiao's face, the driver bowed and apologized to him tremblingly.
Yue Xiao was seething with anger and had nowhere to vent it, so he swung his whip and lashed the coachman’s face hard.
The coachman screamed, and the carriage curtain was lifted, revealing a young man whose entire body shone with golden light.
Under the sunlight, his radiance was even brighter and more dazzling, forcing Yue Xiao to raise his hand to shield his eyes.
"Why did you whip him for no reason—" After seeing Yue Xiao's face clearly, the young man's displeasure turned to surprise, "Eh, Second Young Master Yue!"
Yue Xiao paused slightly with his raised hand, shifted his upper body slightly to make sure his eyes wouldn't be blinded, and then casually lowered his hand to examine the person standing on the carriage. The more Yue Xiao looked at him, the more familiar he seemed, but Yue Xiao couldn't remember who he was.
The young man waited for a long time without Yue Xiao speaking. Realizing that Yue Xiao didn't remember him, he smiled and reminded him, "Second Young Master Yue, have you forgotten me? We met once half a year ago in the market. Your purse was stolen." Seeing that Yue Xiao still didn't remember, the young man simply revealed his name: "Second Young Master Yue, even if you don't remember me, you must remember my sister, right? My name is Jin Yuantang."
Yue Xiao remembered that their last meeting was because Yuan Yuan had rejected him. Thinking of that unpleasant experience, Yue Xiao's eyes darkened, but then a new idea came to him. He waved his hand and said, "Take him away."
Jin Yuantang was grabbed by the collar and dragged away by the man in black. Jin Yuantang protested loudly, "Hey, let go, don't pull me!"
While Jin Yuantang was captured by Yue Xiao, Han Qing was taken to a nearby manor by Yue Jia.
The doctor has examined Han Qing and left a prescription for his treatment.
Jin Yuanyuan personally prepared the medicine and brought it to Han Qing.
Han Qing was flattered and sat up to take the medicine bowl, but the movement was so big that he gasped in pain.
Jin Yuanyuan quickly stuffed the medicine bowl into Jin Minzhi's hands, and she bent down to gently push Han Qing back onto the bed.
"Don't move, the doctor said you need to rest."
As Jin Yuanyuan leaned forward, a slightly bitter medicinal fragrance mixed with a pleasant aroma wafted into Han Qing's nostrils. Han Qing's throat bobbed, and for some reason, he suddenly felt that the weather was really hot today.
Jin Yuanyuan turned around to take the medicine bowl from Jin Minzhi's hand, but Jin Minzhi stepped aside and said politely, "Aunt, General Han is our Jin family's benefactor. He asked me to serve him his medicine."
Jin Xiaoxiao looked up at her brother. Although her brother was polite on the surface, Jin Xiaoxiao inexplicably felt that her brother was cursing in his heart. Jin Xiaoxiao shuddered, grabbed Ji Jun's hand, and decisively slipped out.
As soon as I stepped outside, I saw Yue Jia walking towards me with a serious expression.
"Your Highness, what has happened?"
Yue Jia handed a note to Jin Xiaoxiao. Jin Xiaoxiao took a closer look and immediately cursed inwardly, "What a jerk of a male lead."
"Xiaoxiao, how is your grandmother's health?"
Jin Xiaoxiao looked up at him. Although she didn't understand why he asked that, she answered truthfully, "Grandmother's health is still quite good."
Yue Jia nodded. "That's good." Then he smiled sarcastically. "My brother seems to have gone mad. He handed this letter about switching people directly to Old Madam Jin."
Jin Xiaoxiao took a deep breath, suppressing the raging anger within her, and returned to the door, calling out to the inside, "Brother, come out for a moment."
Jin Minzhi had just reached the door when Jin Xiaoxiao pulled him aside. "Brother, something's happened at home." She handed Jin Minzhi a note and suggested, "Let's go home first and leave Aunt here to take care of General Han."
Jin Minzhi gripped the note tightly and nodded in agreement to her suggestion.
The brother and sister returned to the Jin family home without stopping and went straight to the old lady's courtyard.
Grandma Jin, looking tired, propped her forehead up with her hand. When she saw the brother and sister coming together, she perked up and said with a smile, "Come on, come here quickly. Grandma has some delicious snacks here."
Madam Jin served the two siblings snacks one by one, saying, "Eat them while they're still warm, they won't taste good when they get cold."
Jin Xiaoxiao put the pastry into her mouth, and the warm and sweet taste filled her mouth. For some reason, her nose tingled and she almost burst into tears.
Jin Xiaoxiao blinked hard to suppress this unfamiliar emotion. After a long while, she calmed down and looked up, meeting her grandmother's eyes, which seemed to see through everything.
Grandma Jin patted her head and said softly, "Good child, you should go back now."
The brother and sister exchanged a glance and obediently left their grandmother's courtyard.
As autumn winds rise, the leaves reluctantly leave the branches and return to the embrace of the earth.
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