The person Wen Yu dispatched had successfully infiltrated Jiang Yichu’s side. When Jiang Yichu learned that Yan Que had actually defected to Pei Song and, by staging a false assassination and rescue, returned to Wen Yu’s side, she was extremely shocked. Back then, Prince Lian had Yan Que serve as the guard captain to escort Wen Yu to Southern Chen, clearly trusting him greatly. Yet Yan Que ultimately became Pei Song’s dog. The more Jiang Yichu thought about it, the more she worried for Wen Yu.

There were so many Former Liang old guard who had gone to Pingzhou—no one could be certain whether there were others among them who had also defected to Pei Song.

But no matter how anxious she was, she couldn’t think of a way to help Wen Yu for the time being. The person Wen Yu sent had consoled her more than once. Before Wen Yu dispatched her, she had repeatedly instructed that Jiang Yichu’s safety must come first, telling her not to take risks trying to gather intelligence.

Jiang Yichu agreed verbally, but the worry in her heart never lessened. For Wen Yu to have reached her current position, she didn’t need to imagine to know the twists, turns, and hardships involved. Moreover, even now, Wen Yu still concerned herself with her and A Yin’s safety, and when she had capable people available, she immediately sent them to Jiang Yichu’s side.

Jiang Yichu felt pained. As the eldest sister-in-law, she had been unable to protect Wen Yu at all. Instead, it was that girl of barely eighteen years who, after Luodu’s fall, hurriedly rushed to Southern Chen for a marriage alliance, and after Fengyang City fell, single-handedly propped up the collapsing edifice of Great Liang.

Previously, when she herself was in dire straits, it couldn’t be helped. But now her circumstances had stabilized considerably. No matter what, she had to do something for Wen Yu.

Soon, Jiang Yichu found an opportunity.

Pei Song had suffered consecutive defeats on the battlefield and was also wounded. The military camp’s conditions were limited, so during his convalescence he wasn’t staying at the camp but had found a residence in a nearby town.

Jiang Yichu was brought along with him. When the servants summoned her to Pei Song’s room, though she felt resistant, she also understood that being able to see her daughter once every ten days was obtained by complying with Pei Song’s wishes. Angering him would benefit neither her nor her daughter.

Moreover, she now wanted to help Wen Yu gather some intelligence. The only place where she could access military and governmental affairs was at Pei Song’s side.

After Jiang Yichu followed the servant woman over, she had just entered when she smelled the pungent odor of medicine. Pei Song sat before the bed, his upper body covered only by an outer robe, exposing his solid chest and abdomen and the gauze wrapped around his left shoulder. He held a military text in his hands, reading.

The servant woman bowed her head respectfully: “My lord, the person has been brought.”

Only then did Pei Song lift his gaze from the book in his hands, dismissing the servant woman with a smile on his face: “Elder Sister has come.”

Jiang Yichu kept her head half-lowered, neither looking at Pei Song nor speaking—a silent resistance.

Pei Song had long grown accustomed to this. After the servant woman closed the door and left, he looked at Jiang Yichu leisurely: “Elder Sister doesn’t seem to feel sorry for me being injured at all.”

After the door closed, the room dimmed. Only the gauze window behind Pei Song’s bed let in some light. His entire person was bathed in that shaft of daylight, yet he had not a trace of refined elegance. Even though his face wore a smile at this moment, it only made one feel his perversity.

Jiang Yichu’s hands clasped tightly within her sleeves: “My lord has always had heaven’s protection.”

Hearing these words, Pei Song couldn’t help but laugh aloud. His thoughts were always difficult to fathom. His sudden hearty laughter at this moment only made a chill run up Jiang Yichu’s spine.

When Pei Song seemed to have laughed enough, he finally stopped, looking at Jiang Yichu with ambiguous meaning: “From this, it seems Elder Sister is worried about me after all?”

Without waiting for Jiang Yichu to respond, he continued: “Then I’ll trouble Elder Sister to help me wash and change my dressing.”

Jiang Yichu’s form stiffened slightly. She kept her eyes lowered on the floor tiles: “I’m clumsy and not skilled at such things. Lest I harm my lord, it would be better to have the physician change it for you.”

Pei Song’s smile faded from the corners of his mouth, speaking as if greatly troubled: “What should I do then? Wei Qishan has begun counterattacking Mo Prefecture. Since Elder Sister cares so much about that child, to prevent any accidents during wartime, perhaps I should first have someone send her to You Prefecture. It’s just that it will be much more difficult to see her afterward, which would cause Elder Sister to worry.”

As soon as Jiang Yichu heard him mention her daughter, her face immediately paled: “Don’t touch A Yin!”

Pei Song’s face showed a smile again as he looked at Jiang Yichu: “Then I can only trouble Elder Sister. The medicine is in the left drawer of the desk.”

Her daughter was Jiang Yichu’s weak point. Even with a thousand kinds of unwillingness, at this moment she could only step toward the desk.

After reaching the desk, Jiang Yichu didn’t glance at the memorials and letters Pei Song had piled in the corner. Following his words directly, she opened the drawer, took out the medicine, and walked toward the soft bed.

Pei Song had been observing Jiang Yichu imperceptibly all along. If Gongsun Chou hadn’t previously given him the letter intercepted from Jiang Yichu, he might have believed that Jiang Yichu, forced to remain by his side, had no thoughts beyond unwillingness.

But precisely because he knew this, the smile at the corners of Pei Song’s mouth grew even more unbridled. He was an evil spirit crawled out from hell—base and sinister. If Elder Sister could also be sufficiently cunning and ruthless, wouldn’t they be even more suited for each other?

As Jiang Yichu walked back with the medicine and caught sight of Pei Song’s smile, she only felt her heart grow cold, afraid he had noticed something.

But thinking carefully, when she took the medicine, she had only used the corner of her eye to glance at those letters on the desk. It shouldn’t arouse his suspicion. Thus she steadied her mind and stood before Pei Song with lowered eyes: “I’ll change my lord’s dressing.”

Pei Song stopped reading. He casually tossed the book aside and sat sprawled on the bed. Even without raising her head, Jiang Yichu could sense his gaze constantly resting on her face, making her uncomfortable all over.

She glanced at the gauze on Pei Song’s body faintly stained with blood, steeling herself to step forward and unwrap it. Perhaps out of fear, her fingertips were terribly cold, while the skin her fingertips inadvertently touched was scalding hot.

Jiang Yichu could even feel the breathing falling on the crown of her head growing heavier. She dared even less to raise her head. Her hands unwrapping the gauze trembled slightly. With difficulty, she managed to unwrap the gauze and wanted to remove it from Pei Song’s body, but he was still wearing his outer robe, making it difficult to reach around from behind.

Jiang Yichu’s lowered long lashes trembled twice as she tried to use a calm voice: “I need to loosen my lord’s clothing.”

Pei Song didn’t make things difficult for her, spreading his arms to let Jiang Yichu remove his outer robe.

Without the outer robe blocking it, Jiang Yichu quickly removed all the layers of gauze, catching sight of the wound on Pei Song’s body that nearly spanned his entire shoulder, extending to his chest and crusted with dark scabs. Her long lashes fluttered twice again, her face deathly pale, barely maintaining control as her hands shook while taking the medicinal powder to reapply it to Pei Song.

As she was applying it to the shoulder area, Pei Song used his uninjured hand to grasp Jiang Yichu’s wrist.

Jiang Yichu’s entire body shook violently, keeping her head lowered to avoid meeting Pei Song’s gaze: “The medicine isn’t finished yet. Please, my lord, don’t make things difficult.”

Pei Song lifted Jiang Yichu’s chin. Seeing the teardrops clinging to Jiang Yichu’s lashes, the mockery in his eyes receded, replaced by a look Jiang Yichu couldn’t understand. He asked softly, “Why is Elder Sister crying?”

Jiang Yichu didn’t answer him. Two more clear tears simply rolled from her eyes.

Pei Song wiped away those tears with his index finger, bringing them to his own lips to taste the flavor of the tears on them. Looking at Jiang Yichu, his expression became strange, as if even he himself didn’t believe Jiang Yichu would cry for him. He asked with less of his previous flippancy: “Is Elder Sister feeling sorry for me? Or are you frightened by the wound?”

As he spoke, he glanced down at the wound spanning his chest and shoulder, smiling dismissively: “Wei Qishan is indeed still sharp. However, this wound won’t take my life. Elder Sister, don’t cry anymore. It pains my heart.”

That phrase about his heart paining was as flippant as the smile at the corners of his mouth, with not a shred of credibility.

Jiang Yichu, however, seemed unable to bear it any longer. She closed her eyes but still couldn’t stop her tears, saying, “Qin Huan, stop.”

It had been almost several years since anyone had called him by this name. Pei Song was slightly stunned, then said with undiminished smile: “I don’t understand Elder Sister’s meaning.”

Jiang Yichu opened her eyes, looking at him with undisguised sorrow: “What the Qin family suffered back then, you’ve already gotten back tenfold, a hundredfold. Several clans have been exterminated, the Wen imperial family has also been slaughtered to near extinction, Great Liang’s realm is shattered—isn’t this enough?”

Pei Song looked at Jiang Yichu somewhat mockingly: “Does Elder Sister think I should now surrender and let Wei Qishan and Hanyang slaughter me as they please?”

Jiang Yichu couldn’t speak. She simply felt, upon seeing the wound on Pei Song’s body, that he would sooner or later die in the warfare he had single-handedly stirred up.

She hated the person before her who had destroyed her family, yet she couldn’t bring herself to hate the neighborhood youth she had once regarded as a younger brother.

The night the Qin family was raided, flames soared to the sky. The desperate cries still made her heart ache to recall them. The blood that flowed from the Qin Manor’s gate hadn’t dried even by the next day.

She understood Qin Huan’s hatred, so she felt that since he had taken his revenge, he should let go of this hatred and stop.

However, Pei Song’s words just now also made her realize how laughable her words were. He was now everyone’s target. Whether it was Wei Qishan seeking power and profit, or Wen Yu avenging the extermination of her clan, neither would let him go.

Jiang Yichu’s face grew even paler, her eyes full of pain.

The mockery on Pei Song’s face slowly faded. He stared at Jiang Yichu for a while, saying, “Elder Sister truly feels sorry for me?”

This realization seemed to improve his mood. He raised his hand to wipe away the tear stains on Jiang Yichu’s face: “I’m very happy.”

Jiang Yichu turned her head away, trying to avoid his touch. Pei Song grasped her other hand, but guided her hand to press against another round scar on his shoulder. He looked at Jiang Yichu: “Last time I protected Elder Sister and took an arrow. When Elder Sister saw this arrow wound, she also cried like today. I thought it was because I was about to die, so Elder Sister felt sad for me. So even seeing me injured, Elder Sister will also feel sad?”

His body was scalding hot. Hearing him mention that arrow scar again, Jiang Yichu’s hand seemed burned by that scar and she wanted to break free. But Pei Song pressed that hand of hers firmly—no matter how she struggled, it was futile.

When Pei Song exerted more force with his hand, Jiang Yichu was directly pulled to fall into his embrace.

With one hand braced against his chest, Jiang Yichu still struggled. Soon both her hands were captured by Pei Song. Tears continuously slid from the corners of her eyes down her temples. She said, “Let go.”

Just then, an assassin’s voice suddenly came from outside: “My lord, the nail we planted in Pingzhou has sent an urgent report.”

Hearing this, Pei Song’s expression seemed to change. He finally released the hand restraining Jiang Yichu’s wrists, saying to her: “Elder Sister will slowly come to understand her own heart. I can wait.”

No longer bound, Jiang Yichu quickly stood up.

Pei Song also summoned the assassin in at this moment. Jiang Yichu tidied her slightly disheveled hair and hurriedly left. In the moment she brushed past that assassin, she used the corner of her eye to glance at the envelope of the letter in the other’s hand.