Suzhen’s whole body stiffened. Though the person before her indeed looked like Xuanwu, this embrace, this familiar scent – she almost didn’t hesitate before blurting out: “Lian Yu, Lian Yu.”

She was an extremely strong person. Before her father’s nemesis, she could pretend to be dying, but no matter what they did to her, she never cried out in pain, let alone shed tears. Now, however, she couldn’t help sobbing quietly: “I thought I’d never see you again.”

Seeing her face and body covered in bloody wounds, yet her first question was about his wellbeing, Lian Yu’s emotions reached their breaking point. He wished he could immediately rush out and kill Wei Chenghui. Now hearing her tears, his heart nearly shattered with pain. He held her tightly, constantly kissing her hair and cheeks: “I’m the one who wronged you, making you suffer. That old traitor Wei Chenghui – someday I’ll cut him into a thousand pieces and give him no peaceful death!”

Though Suzhen was locked in his iron-like arms, touching her wounds painfully, being in his embrace brought complete peace and joy. She didn’t want him to let go, but the three words “Wei Chenghui” suddenly shocked her. She immediately pushed him away: “How did you get here? Were you also captured by him… No, no, I heard you won a great victory. He couldn’t possibly capture you. Are you crazy coming to his lair?”

She was both angry and furious: “You’ve seen the person. Go – you still have armies to command…”

Hearing her speak like this, Lian Yu felt his mouth full of bitterness. Even when Quan Feitong had defeated him and cost him troops, he’d never felt such pain. Something stuck in his throat like a fishbone. Thinking of something, he blamed himself terribly. He quickly untied her from the post, kissed her lips, and said gently: “Shh, don’t speak. Let me treat your wounds first. That old bastard!”

He smiled viciously, then picked her up and placed her on a chair by the table. Taking out a medicine bottle he’d prepared, he carefully applied medicine to her face, then opened her clothes to treat her other wounds.

Some wounds on her body had festered. Each one he saw made his eyelids twitch violently. This was the person he could never bear to hit no matter what she did to him!

His knuckles gripping the porcelain bottle nearly snapped.

“Lian Yu!” Suzhen was frantic as an ant on a hot pan. She now understood – her worst fear had come true. Her face turned deathly pale: “He made you come, didn’t he? He’s really using me to threaten you!”

“It was Xuanwu who came. Lian Yu didn’t come.”

The man gazed lovingly at her wounds while saying quietly: “Zhen’er, listen. I risked coming today to tell you – no matter what happens, you absolutely cannot think of suicide again.”

Speaking to this point, his originally gentle hand inadvertently pressed harder. Suzhen cried out in pain, staring at him in shock, meeting his deep, angry eyes. She inexplicably felt guilty – clearly between them, she had always been the more stubborn one! Clearly, she was doing this for him…

“Do you know what I thought when I saw the words you left in the palace? I nearly went mad, do you know? Listen to me – if you dare kill yourself, I’ll accompany you. What Great Zhou, what responsibility – none of it will matter to me anymore. Without you, even ruling the world would be meaningless!”

His eyes blazed with fury and deep love, each word decisive without a trace of hesitation.

Suzhen had always believed he could die for her, but compared to Great Zhou, that would be more important, so she didn’t want to become his burden.

If you truly love someone, you never want to become their burden, regardless of your capabilities. But you will do everything in your power. She didn’t want to die and feared death, but she was willing to die for him.

That was all. Just that.

But now she learned that in his heart, she was as important as his country – she was also his country.

Tears rolled down fiercely, falling onto his warm palm.

She choked with sobs and leaned down to embrace him.

His hand forcefully stroked her hair, his voice gently falling by her ear.

“Do you know? All these days, I’ve been regretting. I hate that I didn’t love you enough and personally harmed you. I always knew I’d eventually have to fight Quan Feitong and other hidden forces. If I’d loved you enough, when you left initially, I shouldn’t have used every means to find you. I should have let you leave far away with hatred for me. No matter what, that would be better than my being unable to give you certain happiness, better than you encountering danger.”

“But I truly couldn’t control myself then. This was the first time in my life I so desperately wanted to possess… When I saw you leaving, I couldn’t help searching for you.”

“Yesterday when I saw Wei Chenghui’s letter saying you were severely injured, I wanted to kill him and also kill myself…”

His strength was so great she could barely breathe, but his hands trembled slightly. Suzhen felt both joy and pain. She held his head, saying word by word against his neck: “Lian Yu, I don’t regret coming back with you.”

“You didn’t love me insufficiently. When I begged you to let me go, you eventually released me. Later when I encountered danger and we met again, you risked your life to save me. I also couldn’t let you go, which is why I returned with you. If we truly seek the root cause, perhaps this is fate – like when I met you at fifteen, thinking you were just a brief memory from the journey, never knowing I’d later come to the capital and appear before you.”

“Lian Yu, I’ll remember your words, and you must remember mine. I won’t seek death again. I’ll wait for you to find a way to save me, but you absolutely cannot retreat one step before Wei Chenghui because of me. If someday I must die, you must live well, just as you arranged for me to leave during wartime, hoping I’d live well. You still have relatives who love you, most loyal brothers and friends, and ambitions – unlike me. I’ll be proud of you.”

“Having experienced this unforgettable time, though too brief, I’ve experienced what ordinary girls never experience in their entire lives. I have no regrets – I have truly lived.”

She wanted to cup his face, to smooth the brow that had been tightly furrowed since he entered. But he suddenly straightened and frantically kissed her mouth!

Lips and tongues intertwined as she received his passion, her breathing nearly suffocating. She felt pain mixed with happiness. Finally, he suddenly pulled away, his sharp eyes still burning with deep heat and reluctance.

“I must go. Wait for me – I’ll certainly find a way to rescue you and Zhuque.” he said.

“Good.” She nodded, smiling slightly in reply, not letting him see any sorrow.

He left extremely quickly, reaching the door in an instant. She remembered something and softly called him: “Lian Yu.”

“What is it?” He didn’t turn around, seemingly afraid that one look back would make him unable to resist running to her side, unable to leave.

“Can I ask you – if possible, could you also rescue Ji Fufeng?”

He was startled: “He’s Quan Feitong’s man. Zhen’er, you can’t be soft-hearted toward your enemies. If not for him, you wouldn’t have been captured!”

“Don’t speak of rescue – if he falls into my hands, I’ll have him torn apart by five horses!” His voice was full of ruthlessness.

“He’s not only Quan Feitong’s man but also my brother… Leng Xue.” Suzhen smiled bitterly.

“You said…” Even accustomed to storms, he paused for a long moment, but finally said “good.”

“Wait for me.” Finally, he opened the door.

In the slight backlight, he looked at her deeply once. She slowly nodded. His footsteps quickly disappeared. She clutched the bottle he’d left on the table to her chest.

Several times, words reached her lips – she so wanted to tell him they had a child of their own. She wanted to ask if he’d be happy.

Naturally he’d be happy, overjoyed. She could decide for him – he’d be happy.

She believed they’d reached consensus: she wouldn’t have such thoughts again, and he couldn’t force her. If he ultimately couldn’t rescue her and Wei Chenghui wanted to kill her, he absolutely wouldn’t retreat and must live on. She would certainly wait for him until the last moment.

She couldn’t guarantee her own life or death. Giving him doubled joy now would mean doubled pain later.

Sorry, little lotus seed. She looked down at her still mirror-smooth belly, choking with sobs.

Walking through Wei Manor filled with soldiers, Lian Yu kept his lips tightly pressed. From the side, his jawline was sharp and fierce as a blade. Qinglong and Bai Hu dared not ask about Suzhen’s condition – first, this wasn’t a place for conversation; second, he certainly wouldn’t want to discuss that person called Li Huaisu. She was his heart’s pain.

“Oh no, how could you let it get lost? Hurry and catch it, or Miss will skin you alive. That rabbit was a gift from General Chao to Miss. Now that he’s captured with unknown fate, Miss is so heartbroken she won’t eat or drink – don’t you know?” A girl’s anxious voice came.

“Yes, yes, I know.” Another girl replied fearfully.

The voices came from ahead. Lian Yu suddenly stopped, gave the two a meaningful look, then leaped from the corridor where they stood, hiding behind artificial rocks beside them, slowly peering out to observe.

The two were greatly puzzled. This sounded like two Wei Manor maids catching an escaped rabbit. At most, their mistress was Wei Manor’s young lady Wei Wuxia. But so what?

While they wondered, Lian Yu suddenly reached out and pulled the two maids in. Moving like lightning, before they could react, he’d sealed their acupoints.

The two maids stared in terror at the three strange men and women before them, unable to cry out or move.

“Listen, I won’t harm you. I only want to give advice: when your miss hears news of General Chao’s death, tell her that if she wants her husband to return from the dead, come to this artificial rock secretly. If you want your miss to be happy and receive rewards, remember today’s events must never be mentioned to anyone – not even a word. Otherwise, not only will there be no reward, but mortal danger.” The extremely ugly-faced man before them spoke slowly.