Seeing Xiao Qiao standing motionless, Chunxiang helped her up. Xiao Qiao, like a marionette, bent down and exited the carriage.

Despite the brazier inside, the carriage couldn’t completely ward off the bitter cold outside. Having sat in the carriage since early morning, Xiao Qiao’s legs and feet were slightly numb. As soon as she touched the ground, her legs wobbled, and she nearly lost her balance. Without a word, Wei Shao raised his arm and drew her into his embrace. He then removed his thick cloak, still warm from his body, and in one swift motion, wrapped it around her from head to toe. He then led her inside.

The travelers sleeping on the floor of the inn’s main hall didn’t see Xiao Qiao’s appearance. They only saw a tall man swiftly passing by, tightly holding someone completely covered by a large cloak, heading towards the inner hall.

They knew it was a woman. Although her face was covered and her figure hidden, a section of her skirt hem was visible beneath the cloak. The fabric was luxurious, with exquisite embroidery of interconnected cornus branches along the edge. A subtle fragrance lingered in her wake.

The main hall was initially silent. After the couple disappeared from view, people gradually began to cough and turn over, and some even smacked their lips enviously, wanting to discuss the romantic scene with those nearby. However, they fell silent when a group of robust men suddenly poured in from outside, clearly the couple’s attendants.

……

Wei Shao’s strides were long from the start. At first, Xiao Qiao, supported by him, could keep up. But as he walked faster, her steps became unsteady. If not for his arm around her waist, she would have fallen countless times.

At the door, Wei Shao dragged Xiao Qiao in with one step. Her face was covered, unable to see clearly, and with no warning from him, her feet caught on the threshold. She fell completely into his arms, half-carried and half-dragged inside. Feeling his grip loosen on her waist, he released her.

Without his support, Xiao Qiao fell face-first onto the bed.

Her drowsiness from the carriage and the daze upon first seeing him had long since vanished.

Xiao Qiao let out an “Ouch!” and pushed away his cloak covering her face, revealing her slightly dizzy head. She turned to him angrily and shouted, “What are you doing? Don’t I have legs to walk on my own?”

Wei Shao stared at her, suddenly pulled her over, flipped her, and pinned her to the edge of the bed. Before Xiao Qiao could react, with two sharp “smacks,” Wei Shao raised his hand and spanked her bottom.

Her skirt had layers, filled with soft silk for warmth. But even through the silk, her bottom still felt a stinging pain.

It showed how hard he had struck.

These two slaps completely stunned Xiao Qiao. At first, she lay motionless. After a while, she slowly turned her head, eyes wide, and said word by word to the man who had struck her and was now glaring at her: “You… hit… me? You hit me?”

Her voice was full of disbelief, with a hint of grievance and indignant humiliation.

After speaking, she rolled off the bed.

“You hit me? You hit me!”

Remembering the humiliating scene of being inexplicably spanked, Xiao Qiao’s cheeks flushed red. She continued to shout incoherently while her fists rained down on his shoulders and chest like raindrops.

Wei Shao stood facing her by the bed, his eyes fixed on her, allowing her fists to continuously pound his chest. As she gradually became out of breath and her punches grew weak, his tightly drawn expression finally began to soften. Suddenly, he reached out and pulled her tightly into his embrace, lowering his head to her ear and saying hoarsely, “Had enough?”

Xiao Qiao, still angry, though exhausted, refused to let him embrace her comfortably. She shouted “No, no!” and struggled fiercely. One of her fists accidentally struck his arm, causing him to hiss in pain. Only then did she remember feeling something strange when she hit him earlier as if something was wrapped around that area. She paused briefly, finally stopping her struggle, glanced at his arm, and snorted, asking, “Injured again?”

After her question, seeing that he didn’t respond but continued to stare at her, slowly, he grinned at her, his expression full of joy.

Xiao Qiao’s back hair suddenly stood on end. Then, led by him, they both fell onto the bed.

This room, newly vacated by the innkeeper’s son who had just married last year, was separate from the front guest rooms, with a small courtyard in between, making it relatively quiet. The furniture was also new, with a pine wood bed frame. However, one of the joints must have been loose, as when they pressed down, the bed made a slight creaking sound.

Wei Shao kissed her. Forcefully kissed her. The kiss was extremely intense, as if he wanted to suck her tongue off, almost as if he wanted to swallow her whole.

Xiao Qiao was still full of anger, and this kind of kissing held no attraction for her; it was simply torture. She refused to let him kiss her. But he insisted. Pinned down by him, she was like a fawn under a tiger’s paw. After being forcibly kissed for a moment, she managed to free one arm and struck at his injured arm.

This time she did it on purpose. Wei Shao must have felt the pain. His body paused slightly, and he finally stopped.

Xiao Qiao seized the opportunity to break free from his embracing arms, crawled up, and huddled against the wall on the inside of the bed, glaring at him.

Wei Shao rubbed his injured arm and gave a wry smile. Then, he slowly sat up, leaning against the headboard, turning his face slightly to meet her gaze.

“Aren’t you going to ask how I encountered you here?” he asked slowly after a moment.

Xiao Qiao said, “I don’t want to know!”

Wei Shao said, “I came south specifically to meet you.”

Xiao Qiao was stunned, then pouted: “It must be Grandmother who sent you to fetch me. I know you’re unwilling. It’s troublesome for you.”

Wei Shao shook his head: “I wanted to come and meet you myself.”

Xiao Qiao glanced at him sideways.

“I…” Wei Shao seemed to hesitate, pausing halfway through his sentence.

“Missed you terribly. Missed you to the bone,” he said, staring at her, slowly enunciating each word.

Never imagining he would say such things, and seeing him say it so seriously and solemnly.

Xiao Qiao couldn’t help but be surprised, and also felt awkward all over.

Seeing him finish speaking and staring at her unblinkingly, her cheeks gradually began to burn. She turned her face away uncomfortably, avoiding his gaze, and mumbled, “I don’t believe you. Using honeyed words to deceive people!”

Wei Shao, gazing at her now blushing face, unconsciously softened his voice even more: “When have you ever heard me use sweet talk to deceive women? I truly wanted to see you as soon as possible.”

Xiao Qiao glanced at him from the corner of her eye, her beautiful, delicate pointed chin still held high, not uttering a sound.

Wei Shao said, “You don’t know when I returned to Yuyang from the Shangdang campaign, I left the main army halfway, rushing day and night, managing to get home about ten days early. When I arrived home, it was already midnight. The first person I wanted to see was you. When I entered the room, I discovered you weren’t home. For those few nights, I couldn’t sleep well. I kept thinking about you, and during the day I couldn’t focus on anything else. I missed you desperately.

Grandmother must have noticed, so she told me to go fetch you. I immediately headed south, again traveling day and night, nearly killing several horses, finally reaching your home in Dongjun, only to find you had already gone to Lingbi. I rushed to Lingbi, encountering several obstacles along the way, and when I arrived, I heard you had already started your journey back north.

Unwilling to give up, I chased after you again, without rest, finally catching up to you here, only to encounter the Yellow River frozen over. At first, I thought you had already crossed the river and I was stranded on the south bank. In my heart…”

He frowned, letting out a long sigh: “Fortunately, it was just a false alarm. It turned out you were traveling slower than me. I finally managed to catch up with you.”

This time, Xiao Qiao was truly surprised. She stared at him, stunned for a moment.

“You are the first woman I have ever treated this way,” Wei Shao finished, leaning against the headboard and opening his arms towards her: “Come here!”

His posture seemed as if he was waiting for her to fly into his arms.

Xiao Qiao was caught between laughter and tears by his behavior, her face and ears burning, her heart pounding like a deer. After just two beats, she suddenly remembered the scene when they first met, and immediately flared up again. She swatted away the arm he was extending towards her and angrily said, “Then why did you hit me…”

The words “bottom” were too embarrassing to say out loud. She bit her lip and stared at him with dissatisfied eyes.

Wei Shao said, “You call that hitting you? It was just a reminder! I was out on a military campaign, life, and death uncertain, and you left for Yanzhou without a word to me! And I chased after you all this way, through wars and chaos, fearing you might encounter danger on the road, wishing I could reach you sooner. When I finally saw you, how could you be so cold towards me? You truly have no conscience!”

Xiao Qiao’s voice had already softened, but her attitude still refused to relax. She snorted, “I don’t believe what you’re saying! Last time you deceived me first. Why were you still angry with me before leaving Yuyang?”

Wei Shao stared at her intently. Suddenly, his brows furrowed slightly, and he raised his hand to cover his injured arm, his face showing extreme pain.

Xiao Qiao was startled. She initially didn’t want to care, but seeing him appear to be in such great pain, she finally couldn’t harden her heart and asked, “What exactly happened to you on the road? Is your arm severely injured?”

Wei Shao nodded: “When I went to Lingbi to find you, I encountered your sister’s husband. There was a misunderstanding, and we fought. He injured me.”

Xiao Qiao was shocked and quickly asked, “How did you end up fighting? Is he alright?”

After asking, she saw Wei Shao staring at her, his face darkening again. Realizing her slip, she quickly amended, “How bad is your injury?”

Only then did Wei Shao say, “He’s fine. I was fine too. It’s just that these past few days, in my rush to catch up with you, I haven’t had the chance to properly tend to the wound. Now it’s starting to hurt again…”

Xiao Qiao looked at him.

“Come here, help me look at the wound!” he said, reaching out a hand to her again.

Xiao Qiao bit her lip, at first remaining motionless. Seeing his hand persistently extended towards her, hanging in mid-air, she hesitated for a moment before finally crawling slowly towards him. As she neared him, Wei Shao grabbed her arm and pulled her onto his chest, letting out a long sigh.

Xiao Qiao struggled only slightly before yielding, quietly lying on his chest, listening to his heart beating “thump-thump” next to her ear, slowly closing her eyes.

Wei Shao remained motionless at first, then suddenly flipped over, completely pinning her beneath him, and lowered his head to kiss her again.