Chapter 13

◎This injury shouldn't interfere with the wedding night.◎

Jiang He has been completely ignoring this matter for the past few days, and Yuan Ge thought she had long forgotten about it.

"A concubine is not worthy of my attention." Jiang He paused, her tone cold. She tightened the reins, nimbly mounted the horse, and looked down at Yuan Ge and Ji Xue, instructing, "I will return to the manor on my own. Ji Xue, you come with me. Yuan Ge, you take the carriage back first."

Before Yuange could react, the Akhal-Teke horse carried Jiang He away from the horse farm at an extremely fast speed, and Ji Xue also followed using his lightness skill.

After Ruiming's instruction, Xue Lingyu finally learned most of it. Although she still blushed when talking about it, she was no longer as shy as before, and now she really looked like a concubine.

"Thank you for your trouble, Young Master Xue. I have almost finished learning these days. Today is your special day. A sedan chair from the Jiang family will carry you into the mansion shortly," Ruiming said respectfully, bowing his head.

Everything that needed to be warned has been done. The house is guarded by Jiang family guards, so even if Xue Lingyu wanted to escape, it would be impossible.

"Could you please pass on a message to Lord Jiang? I heard that my mother will be exiled soon, and I want to see her one last time." Seeing Ruiming's troubled expression, Xue Lingyu naturally understood his worries, and then quickly said, "Please rest assured, my father is still here. I will not try to run away. I just want to see my mother. The Jiang family can also send guards to accompany me, so it won't delay my entry into the manor."

Ruiming shook his head and sighed, "Young Master Xue, it's not a matter of whether it's difficult or not, but Lord Xue should have already been escorted to the outskirts of the capital by now, and even the lord can't help him."

Xue Lingyi was once a very prestigious figure, a first-rank duke from a distinguished family with generations of noble lineage. Naturally, many people were watching her after she fell from power, so the news of her exile was not a secret.

There were even quite a few people who wanted to sabotage things inside, because once you leave the capital, your life or death is in the hands of fate.

The news struck Xue Lingyu like a bolt from the blue; she immediately lost all color in her eyes and staggered back two steps.

This time, he was unable to see his mother one last time.

Seeing how heartbroken he was, Ruiming was powerless to help and could only leave quietly, closing the door behind him as he went.

Riding a horse is naturally faster than a carriage, but Jiang He's direction was not the road back to the capital. Instead, she went in the opposite direction and continued towards the eastern suburbs.

Xue Lingyi had been imprisoned for so long, and this was her first time seeing the light of day. Coupled with her weak physical condition, she ran out of strength after only a few steps. Logically speaking, since she was now powerless and without influence, the soldiers responsible for escorting her would certainly not treat her with courtesy, and she was more likely to be beaten. However, this was clearly not what she had expected.

She vaguely sensed something was amiss. These officers and soldiers seemed to have received instructions from someone, and they treated her with a degree of respect. They even only put one layer of shackles on her, and the injuries she sustained in prison were treated with medicine.

She had some doubts in her mind, and when she had walked more than 20 miles to the eastern suburbs, she finally got the answer.

Su Yawan had been waiting here with his trusted men for the escorting officers and soldiers. Xue Lingyi's crime was not a major one, but the connections between the crimes were complex and intertwined, so exile was the most lenient punishment.

Xue Lingyi recognized Su Yawan at a glance. She stopped in her tracks, and the soldiers behind her saluted Su Yawan. They saw through the hidden secret at a glance.

She was treated so well because it was the officers and soldiers assigned by Su Yawan.

Xue Lingyi squinted at Su Yawan: "So it's Lord Su, the Prefect of Jingzhao. It seems that all of this was instructed by Lord Su."

Su Yawan left the capital secretly today, dressed in plain clothes. She smiled at Xue Lingyi, cupped her hands and said, "It is my honor that Lord Xue still recognizes me. It seems that Lord Xue is still as charming as ever."

Her lack of denial confirms it.

Xue Lingyi became even more wary: "Lord Su, what exactly are you plotting by secretly showing me such favor? You should know that the Xue family is no longer of any use to me."

Having reached this point, Xue Lingyi no longer dared to trust anyone.

Su Yawan chuckled: "I have no ulterior motives, nor was this my original intention. I was just asked to do this. Some people do not want Lord Xue to stop here, and I believe that Lord Xue's family also hopes to reunite with him."

When her family was mentioned, Xue Lingyi couldn't help but feel pain in her eyes. She wondered how her ailing husband and only son were doing. The imperial edict stated that the male relatives would be reduced to slaves, so their future would likely be difficult.

She was worried and heartbroken, but now she couldn't even save herself.

"Only by taking good care of yourself can you have a chance to make a comeback in the future. After this experience, Lord Xue must have realized who the villains are and who the good guys are."

These words struck a chord with Xue Lingyi.

Xue Lingyi's lips trembled slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but suddenly the sound of approaching hooves could be heard, sounding like four or five people. This was not in the original plan, and Su Yawan immediately became alert, instructing the soldiers:

"You take Lord Xue with you and go ahead."

She looked at Xue Lingyi: "Lord Xue, please forgive me for not being able to send any more."

The officers and soldiers immediately led Xue Lingyi forward. Along the way, there would be people to help her, so Xue Lingyi would not suffer any hardship.

The sound of horses' hooves drew closer. Su Yawan had only brought two trusted confidants with him today for convenience, which wouldn't be of much use if something really happened.

Just as she was pondering the identity of the person who had arrived, the sound of hooves suddenly ceased. She waited a moment, and just as she was about to go and investigate, a familiar figure gradually appeared in her sight amidst a long neighing of a fine horse.

Su Yawan couldn't help but exclaim, "Jiang He?"

She quickly stepped forward and said helplessly, "You still came along because you were worried."

Su Yawan had sharp eyes and noticed that Jiang He had her hands behind her back. She immediately sensed something was wrong. She wanted to look at Jiang He's hands, but after catching a glimpse of a trace of blood, she was avoided by the other party.

Su Yawan immediately guessed most of it, but Jiang He said indifferently, "Merchant families are the wealthiest, how could they not learn a few tricks? If they were ever kidnapped, they could save money and save themselves."

"This isn't how you help the Xue family! You're doing this all by yourself...you're putting in both money and effort, and you won't even tell the Xue family! You're just asking for trouble!" Su Yawan said, exasperated.

“I have guards with me, and this hand injury was just from training horses at the East Suburbs Horse Ranch.” Jiang He covered her hand with her wide sleeve, her tone even more relaxed. “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything that doesn’t pay off.”

No matter what Su Yawan did, she couldn't change her mind. And now that things were done, she could only swallow her anger and calmly analyze, "Someone in the capital wants to kill Xue Lingyi. Her crime is not so simple. If we follow this line of investigation, we might be able to find the person behind it all."

Jiang He pursed her lips and remained silent.

"How many losing deals have you made now?" Seeing that Jiang He was unmoved, Su Yawan sighed, "Never mind, I'll always help you anyway. But your injury shouldn't be a problem for our wedding night, right?"

Only Jiang He herself knows the extent of her injuries.

Su Yawan knew she couldn't persuade her, but if the other party was Xue Lingyu, she felt that even if Jiang He was dying, she would definitely get up and perform the wedding ceremony.

Jiang He ignored all the teasing remarks. The eastern suburbs were not a safe place either, so the two of them walked back towards the capital.

The two chatted as they walked, and Su Yawan couldn't help but ask, "I heard that the Zuo family's banquet is in three days. Uncle Jiang seems to be very fond of Zuo Ji, the youngest son of the Prince Zuo. He will definitely take you to meet him then. Have you thought of a reason to refuse?"

Jiang He paused for a moment before realizing what was happening, then raised an eyebrow and said, "Tsk, I just remembered that the Zuo family sent me a separate invitation."

This action seemed as if they were afraid Jiang He wouldn't go.

Are you going?

"Why not go?" Jiang He smiled, subtly concealing the beads of sweat that seeped out from the pain. "We should at least get to know each other better. Besides, the Jiang family is so wealthy and powerful that I can marry as many wives and concubines as I want."

Behind her seemingly nonchalant words, Jiang He quietly concealed her innermost thoughts.

Because she had been delayed in the suburbs for some time, Yuange had already returned to the Jiang residence. She waited for most of the day but still hadn't seen Jiang He. Although there was no danger with Xue following her, the concubine had already entered the residence and was waiting in her room.

She almost reported it to the lord, but Jiang He finally returned to the mansion before nightfall.

"Miss." Yuange stepped forward to greet her, but sensed something was amiss.

Jiang He grabbed her hand, and Yuan Ge could clearly see that her sleeve was covered in blood. She looked at Jiang He in surprise, but Jiang He's face was only a little pale, and she shook her head at her.

"Pretend nothing happened." Jiang He suddenly looked up and asked, "Where is everyone?"

"The person has already arrived at the manor. The lord handled everything himself, and there are no problems with the procedures. We are just waiting for your return."

Jiang He didn't say anything after hearing this.

Yuange carefully helped her up the steps, lowering her voice to say, "Miss, please be careful. Let me help you inside."

When they returned to Liushui Xiaozhu, Yuange used scissors to cut open Jiang He's sleeve. It was clearly a knife wound, but fortunately it didn't expose the bone, only the flesh, which she could handle on her own.

"Isn't Xue with Miss? With him around, no one should be able to hurt you." Yuange applied medicine to Jiang He, moving as slowly as possible to avoid causing her pain.

She endured all the pain along the way, and even Su Yawan didn't notice. Jiang He was naturally not afraid of pain. She lowered her head and said to Yuan Ge, "I will settle Xue An in the eastern suburbs. I will leave things to him to handle. Let him stay outside for the next few days."

"You must not let my father and mother know that I was injured. It was just an encounter with bandits in the eastern suburbs. It's nothing serious." Jiang He's tone was calm and firm.

Yuan Ge knew that Jiang He didn't want to tell the truth, so she nodded.

Night fell, and the wind blew quite hard, constantly rattling against the window. Xue Lingyu, dressed in a crimson wedding gown, sat on the bed, his hands resting on his knees, unable to help but curl up. Every quarter of an hour he waited was filled with tension and trepidation.

Today, he was indeed carried into the Jiang residence through a small sedan chair via a side gate, and after being brought into this room, he was ignored.

Jiang He also doesn't seem to be in the manor, otherwise why would she not show up for so long? But this may be a good thing, at least tonight will be a peaceful night.

Just as Xue Lingyu was feeling sleepy, footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.

◎Latest Comments:

[I'd like to point out a bug in "Jiang He" for the author~]

[We're just saying, the female lead is so easy to please.]

Beautiful, beautiful!

【come on】

【squat】

It has to be sweet, absolutely sweet!

I wonder when the male lead will start to develop feelings for the female lead.

[Hopefully, the two of them can clear up their misunderstandings soon and start a sweet romance.]

[Sprinkling flowers]

The author has really piqued my interest!

[Finally accepted]

-over-