It was a cool summer night in the wilderness. The Yan army's camp was just fifty miles east of Anling. It would only take two hours to go back and forth on horseback.
At this moment, Yu Shu was in the commander's camp. Changping Prince's subordinates had placed her in a temporary tent and sent soldiers to guard the door to prevent her from leaving. She did not walk around casually. She just sat quietly on the simple wooden bed and closed her eyes to rest.
For today, she had already thought of a perfect plan. Lu Hong and Xu Qing each led a team of black-robed guards. One team hid around Baochang Street to protect her family in case of chaos in the city. The other team stayed behind to guard the Celestial Commissioner. Loneswan secretly followed behind her, waiting for her signal. Once the situation changed, she could escape at any time.
She could not be blamed for being so cautious. Xia Jiangmin's nightmare foretold her death, so she had to be on guard.
In the middle of the night, she heard the rustling of footsteps. Yu Shu opened her eyes. A moment later, she heard someone standing outside the tent shouting, "His Highness has returned to the camp. Please come with me."
Yu Shu stood up and slowly tidied up her appearance. She smoothed out the creases in her skirt, gathered up her lapels, and gently combed her hair. Then, she hid her slightly trembling fingers in her wide sleeves and slowly walked out.
"Lead the way."
The guard had been instructed in advance, so he did not dare to neglect her. He secretly glanced at her and took a torch to light the way. He reminded her kindly, "There are potholes on the ground. Please be careful of your steps."
"Thank you." Yu Shu nodded slightly. She was a man of few words. She appropriately showed the restraint that a helpless and captured minister of a subjugated country should have.
After walking for more than a hundred steps, they met two groups of patrolling guards. They came to the outside of a large tent. The guard who led the way for her reported inside. When he heard the response from inside, he retreated and let her enter alone.
"Please come in, Your Highness."
Yu Shu's footsteps paused for a moment. She folded her sleeves in front of her abdomen and strode into the tent. The curtain closed behind her. Suddenly, she felt a ball of light in front of her. She raised her head and saw a man sitting under the lamp. His eyes were bright and full of expression as he stared at her. His handsome face was a little darker than she remembered, but his eyes had not changed. They were still bright and sincere, giving her the illusion that these five years of separation was just a dream. When she woke up from the dream, he had never left.
Yu Shu's apprehensive heart suddenly calmed down. She lightly pursed her lips, and just as she was about to speak, she saw the person in front of her move. In the blink of an eye, a shadow covered the sky and covered the earth. When she came back to her senses, she was already tightly wrapped in a pair of iron arms against his broad chest. The tight embrace made it hard for her to breathe, let alone speak half a word.
"Ah Shu, Ah Shu …" Xue Rui called her name softly over and over again, and his throat was filled with thick feelings that could not be melted away. Even the moment he breached the gates of the capital city and captured the Da An Emperor wasn't as joyous and excited as this moment when he regained what he had lost.
Yu Shu could not stop smiling. She raised the corner of her mouth and silently twisted her neck. Naturally, she rested her head on his shoulder and eavesdropped on his heartbeat.
After a while, Xue Rui realized that she was silent. Only then did he loosen her a little. Looking down at her, the first thing he saw was the red mark on her eyebrows. Then he saw her calm expression. It was hard to tell whether she was happy or angry.
He suddenly felt that something was wrong, but he was not willing to let go of her. Instead, he hesitantly asked, "Are you not happy?"
Yu Shu coldly snorted and raised her head to look at him, "What is there to be happy about? I am an important official of the Imperial Court and you are a general of the enemy country. You broke through my capital gates, captured the Emperor and kidnapped me here. Aren't you trying to humiliate me? "
Xue Rui was stunned for a moment. He was at a loss and said, "Ah Shu, how can you say that? Do you have some misunderstanding towards me? Didn't we agree that I will come back to pick you up and marry you openly? You … Don't tell me you have forgotten? "
As he said this, his heart turned cold. He recalled her cold and distant appearance at the city gates in the evening. His big hand grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. He touched the back of her neck, "Could it be that you were also hit by the silver needles and lost your memory?"
Yu Shu shrunk her neck and slapped his hand away. She turned her head to hold back her laughter and said sarcastically, "Who would have thought that the famous Prince of Changping is actually a madman with a mouth full of nonsense. When did I get to know you, and when did I ever have an engagement with you? "
Hearing this, Xue Rui felt dizzy and his ears were ringing. He felt that even if the sky fell down, it would be nothing more than this.
Yu Shu seized the opportunity to push him away. She took two steps inside and started sizing up the spacious bedchamber. She was stepping on a half-old felt carpet, and a simple long table was neatly stacked with military reports and texts. Brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were all present, and there were a few candlesticks. However, she couldn't see a tea table or incense table, and there wasn't even an incense burner. The bed not far away was also made of ordinary wood. Other than the armor on the clothes rack, there was only a set of travel clothes. It could be seen that Xue Rui, the Grand Marshal who led the troops, lived a rather poor life. It was rumored that the Yan army was thrifty but they did not rob or plunder the people's wealth. It turned out to be true.
On the other side, Xue Rui recovered from his shock, and he stared at Yu Shu's back once more before he felt that something was off. Even if she's lost her memories, isn't she a little too calm?
"Ah Shu."
"Hmm?"
Yu Shu was lamenting the hard life of the Prince of the Great Yan when she suddenly heard him calling her from behind. She answered subconsciously and was immediately hugged by him from behind, causing her back to hurt. She heard him whispering into her ear through clenched teeth, "Don't worry, don't worry.
"You heartless liar. How dare you tease me like this. I missed you so much that I missed you so much. I only hate myself for coming late. I really want to dig out my heart and show it to you so that you don't torture me anymore. "
He had not said sweet words for a long time but when he saw her, he couldn't help himself. If his subordinates in the army heard these words, they would think that their Prince of Changping was possessed by a playboy.
Yu Shu snickered endlessly in her heart. Her Grand Insight Technique had already reached perfection, so how could she be unable to discern whether what he said was the truth or a lie? She was only deliberately putting on a cold face for him to see how sincere he was.
"You only say that you missed me. Do you think I'm living well? These five years are neither long nor short. Without a few words from you, how would I know if you have a change of heart? I can only predict your safety every day, but I can't feel at ease. "
She sighed and made his heart wrench. He hugged her tightly and said, "If I have a change of heart, I will be struck by lightning."
Yu Shu smiled, "I will remember this. If you go back on your words, I will cast a spell to summon lightning to strike you."
When she laughed, Xue Rui laughed along with her, and his arms slid down to hold her hand before leading her to sit on the long couch. After that, he turned around to retrieve the candlestick and placed it at the head of the bed before bending his knees and half kneeling before her. He held her hands together in his palms and raised his head, and his burning gaze descended onto her face.
"Let me take a good look."
Yu Shu smiled and let him look at her. Her palms gradually became wet with sweat, but she didn't want to pull away. They looked at each other in a daze as if they wanted to make up for the thousands of days and nights that had passed.
The night candle was yellow. At first, Xue Rui thought that the fireball between her eyebrows was a meticulously painted flower. His heart moved and he raised his hand to touch it. However, when his fingertips touched the protruding cinnabar, he was shocked to find that it was a bone-deep scar.
He lost his smile and held her tightly with his other hand. He said with a trembling voice, "You have suffered."
In the past five years, in order to not implicate Yu Shu and prevent her from being caught, he often asked Jin Ke to go to the capital to inquire about her news even though he didn't send a word. He knew that she almost married Jing Chen. He knew when she was promoted. He knew that she took over the position of Celestial Commissioner from Zhu Muzhao. He even knew that she adopted an unknown adopted son. Naturally, he also knew that she went to kidnap the bride and was captured by his grandfather. She was tortured in the prison of the Ministry of Justice and later escaped from death.
Jin Ke had seen Yu Shu several times from a distance. He didn't see the scar on her forehead, so he thought that the rumors about her disfigurement were false. When he replied to Xue Rui, he lightly mentioned a "rumor".
When he saw her today, Xue Rui knew that it wasn't a rumor. He was used to all kinds of punishments when he was in the Supreme Court. At a glance, he knew that she had been tortured in the death prison. Her skull was pierced by the Soul Luring Awl, which was why she had such an unforgettable scar.
Yu Shu was telepathically connected with him. She didn't need to explain more. She asked him in reply, "Don't you hate me for harming the Xue family? Don't you hate me for relying on the enemy who killed your father?"
If he had any hesitation, he wouldn't be worthy of her entrusting her life to him.
"Have you forgotten that it was me who taught you to do everything possible to save your life? How can I hate you?" Xue Rui seemed to have seen through the knot in her heart. He clasped his fingers with hers and said softly, "I'm thankful that you can live well."
Moreover, Xue Lingnan brought this upon himself. If it wasn't for Yu Shu's drastic measures, the Xue family's fate would be even more miserable.
Yu Shu's heart tightened and then relaxed. Her eyes quickly regained their vigor. She secretly thought that this person had never disappointed her. He was really an ideal husband.
She cleared her throat and said, "Don't worry. I've secretly brought Aunt Xue and Sister Jin Xun out of the Clean Water Nunnery on Mount Emei. They are now living in a quiet place. When you have settled down here, I'll bring them back to reunite with you."
Xue Rui looked ashamed, "My son is really unfilial. Fortunately, I have you to help me."
As for Xue Lingnan, he died in prison in the third year of Chongzhen. Since she did not mention this, he did not ask again.
Yu Shu saw that his legs were numb from squatting. She pulled his hand and made him sit on the bed. She sat down with him and had a long talk. The two of them talked for half the night. They talked about the past and poured out their hearts.
At dawn, Yu Shu unknowingly fell asleep in Xue Rui's arms. All these years, she had always been a light sleeper, so even the slightest movement of grass in the wind would wake her up. At this time, the officers and soldiers in the camp had woken up early to train. Shouts of orders came from afar, accompanied by the sound of clashing weapons and the sound of drums. In such a chaotic environment, she actually slept exceptionally well.
Xue Rui saw that she did not show any signs of waking up. He carefully withdrew his arm. He was not greedy for this moment of warmth. There were indeed many things waiting for him to personally arrange. While she was sleeping, he could do it. When she woke up, he could accompany her.
Xue Rui did not summon any guards. He quietly dressed himself and walked out of the tent. He put on a stern face and ordered his guards to not allow anyone to trespass. Regarding last night's incident, if there is any criticism, he will be severely punished.
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