Chapter 85 I Like You

Chapter 85 I Like You

Jiang Ru dared not imagine what would happen if she hadn't followed Pei Wu and later discovered that Pei Wu had been assassinated.

Even if Pei Wu was alright, Jiang Ru didn't want to find out that Pei Wu had narrowly escaped death many days after the assassination attempt.

Her gaze towards Pei Wu was stubborn; she had cried too much today, and the bloodshot in her eyes hadn't faded yet. As always, Pei Wu couldn't do anything about her. Almost uncontrollably, Pei Wu raised his hand and touched Jiang Ru's head, saying, "It was my fault. I shouldn't have said those things."

Pei Wu never made any assumptions before, because no matter how many assumptions he made, the matter was already settled.

But with Jiang Ru, he wished for an "what if"—if Jiang Ru hadn't followed him, perhaps he wouldn't have witnessed such a bloody scene, nor would he have come into contact with such a dark conspiracy.

However, Jiang Ru told him that she was willing, she was willing to go through everything with Pei Wu, she didn't say she was afraid, she just wanted to be with Pei Wu. He shouldn't say anything sarcastic to such a brave Jiang Ru.

Already injured, he still had to use his hands to comfort Jiang Ru. Jiang Ru immediately grabbed Pei Wu's hand and tucked it back under the covers: "Don't move."

Pei Wu let her do as she pleased. After Jiang Ru put his hand back and covered him with the blanket, the old doctor outside started calling Jiang Ru. He had to go back to his village, so Jiang Ru had no choice but to go and see him off.

As she left the room, Jiang Ru told Pei Wu, "Go to sleep."

Pei Wu hummed in agreement, and only after Jiang Ru's figure left the room did he slowly close his eyes.

He had been holding back his sleep earlier because Jiang Ru was there, but now that the door was closed, he was overcome by drowsiness and finally fell asleep.

After sending the old doctor back to his hometown and rushing back, it was already completely dark. Only by the light of the moon could Jiang Ru barely see the road. She made it back safely after a series of close calls.

When they returned to the farmer's house, the meal was already prepared. Only an elderly couple lived in the house, so they kept their meals simple. They only cooked a pot of porridge and boiled two extra eggs for Pei Wu and Qian Yu.

Pei Wu was still asleep. He had finally fallen asleep, so Jiang Ru didn't wake him. She quickly finished her porridge and went to the room to keep Pei Wu company.

She leaned against Pei Wu's bedside, looking up to see his profile. Pei Wu was sleeping soundly beside her. It had been a long time since she had been able to spend so much time with him in such a quiet and carefree way. This was a rare and heartwarming moment for Jiang Ru.

On impulse, Jiang Ru moved her head closer to Pei Wu, so close that she could almost see the fine hairs on his face. Taking advantage of the fact that Pei Wu was still asleep, Jiang Ru whispered, "Pei Wu, I like you."

After saying this, Jiang Ru's face instantly flushed. She had always seemed very outgoing since she was a child, but in reality, she was just pretending. Whenever she had to express her feelings, she would always hesitate and feel shy for a long time.

While Pei Wu was sleeping, and after experiencing such a thrilling event, perhaps out of fear of losing him, she finally secretly told Pei Wu her secret.

Even if Pei Wu didn't hear it, the fact that Jiang Ru was able to say it was already a significant improvement.

After expressing her feelings, Jiang Ru continued in a very soft voice, "So you must live, I want to be with you."

She thought Pei Wu should be easy to pursue. With his introverted and old-fashioned personality, girls would definitely be unable to resist him. As long as she flirted with him and was a little bold, she would definitely be able to win him over.

Especially since Pei Wu had been intimate with her, Jiang Ru argued forcefully, "You hugged me and held my hand, you have to take responsibility for me."

She made no mention of the fact that she was the one who initiated the hug with Pei Wu, nor of who held his hand first.

You have to understand, in this era, such intimacy between men and women is something only husband and wife can do. Pei Wu can't even be considered her brother; they are clearly distant relatives and could be in a romantic relationship.

Therefore, since Pei Wu is already with her, he cannot date other girls; he has already been taken by Jiang Ru.

She spoke with such righteous indignation, yet only dared to say it when Pei Wu was asleep. Jiang Ru felt she had said enough. She looked up at Pei Wu, the corners of her mouth turned up, and stared at him without blinking. After thinking for a moment, she added, "You must not die, or I will be a widow."

After her rebirth, her wishes for Pei Wu grew. At first, she just wanted him to stop courting death, but now she hoped that Pei Wu would be safe and carefree and that he would be happy.

Jiang Ru thought to herself, "If I could be reborn, I would want both me and Pei Wu to be happy."

Thinking this, Jiang Ru touched Pei Wu's hand, which was hidden under the covers, through the blanket. Perhaps she couldn't control her strength, because Pei Wu woke up when she touched him and opened his eyes.

His dark eyes first looked down to see who had woken him up. The moment he saw that it was Jiang Ru, Jiang Ru immediately withdrew her hand and pretended to be innocent.

Pei Wu's gaze moved upwards again and landed on Jiang Ru's face.

Jiang Ru pursed her lips, her eyes darting around, clearly having done something wrong. Pei Wu asked, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Ru immediately stood up: "Are you hungry? I'll get you some rice."

She rushed out the door, giving Pei Wu no time to ask any questions, leaving only her back view.

The room door was a wooden door, which she slammed shut with great force, making a creaking sound that echoed in the quiet night, striking Jiang Ru's rapidly beating heart. Pei Wu stared at the door trembling in the wind, his eyes flashing slightly before he quickly lowered his eyelashes.

The porridge had already cooled down, but the fire on the stove was still burning. Jiang Ru reheated the porridge and carried the still steaming porridge into the house.

Her face, which had been slightly flushed, was no longer so red after being blown by the cool breeze outside. Holding a full bowl of hot porridge, Jiang Ru said casually, "Let me feed you."

Pei Wu shook his head to indicate that he didn't need to. He had difficulty getting up, not that he couldn't, but he was afraid of aggravating his wound. So Jiang Ru had to help him. However, this time, Pei Wu didn't want to lean on Jiang Ru's chest. Jiang Ru scolded him for being fussy while finding him a pillow to cushion his back so that he could sit more comfortably.

After he finished his bowl of porridge, Jiang Ru peeled an egg for him and said, "Eat."

Pei Wu did not refuse and finished eating it bite by bite.

Jiang Ru tidied up the dishes and chopsticks, and helped Pei Wu wash up briefly before going out to the courtyard to tidy herself up.

Everything was ready. It was past midnight, and one oil lamp was still lit. Jiang Ru extinguished the last lamp, and the room went completely dark. Then she lay down on the floor.

Farmers don't have extra bedding, so they borrow it. They just spread a layer of straw on the ground and cover themselves with a thin mattress to sleep.

Pei Wu's gaze followed her. When he saw Jiang Ru lying on the ground, Jiang Ru mistakenly thought that he was staring at her because he didn't want to share a room with her, so she glared at him and said, "Stop looking at me. The conditions aren't good, so we can only share a room."

To everyone's surprise, Pei Wu said, "The ground is cold, let's switch."

Upon hearing his words, Jiang Ru nearly choked. She looked up at Pei Wu in shock: "Are you trying to make me feel guilty?"

Pei Wu is so badly injured, how could she possibly take his bed and leave him to sleep on the floor? No one would do something like that, but Pei Wu really dares to think that way.

Pei Wu, however, felt that what he said made a lot of sense, and even went so far as to lie: "I can sleep anywhere."

"Don't even think about it." Jiang Ru glared at him. "I've never seen anyone like you. You're injured and still not behaving yourself. Go to sleep."

After being scolded like that, Pei Wu seemed to have really become obedient and stopped saying anything more.

Jiang Ru was also sleepy. Although the weather had gotten warmer, it was still cold at night. The floor was indeed hard and cold, but it was still within a tolerable range. She wrapped herself tightly in the blankets and looked up at the roof beams.

The old mud house had poor lighting; once the lights were turned off, the house would be completely dark, so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, and Pei Wu on the bed couldn't see anything at all.

Their room only had one small window, and because the window was so old and worn, it was jammed and couldn't be opened, resulting in no natural light in the room, especially at night when it was impossible to see anything.

So Jiang Ru turned her head and stared at Pei Wu without restraint, even though she couldn't see him clearly.

After staring for a long time, Pei Wu suddenly spoke.

Jiang Ru, mistakenly thinking he had discovered her peeping, trembled with fright and quickly closed her eyes, pretending to be dead. Fortunately, Pei Wu hadn't discovered her peeping, but instead said, "If the ground is cold, you can sleep on the bed."

Previously, Pei Wu had refused to even share a room with her, but now he was actually taking the initiative to suggest it, which surprised Jiang Ru: "Didn't you refuse before?"

Pei Wu seemed speechless, and after a long while he finally said, "It's not good to sleep on the ground."

Pei Wu himself had slept on the floor before, and for several years at that, so he knew that it was uncomfortable to sleep on the floor. He could tolerate it himself, but he always felt uneasy about letting Jiang Ru sleep on the floor.

To reassure Jiang Ru, he also promised, "I'm a good sleeper and won't disturb you. I only take up a small space. If you're worried about me touching you, I'll put a partition in between."

Listen to this, he's such a considerate older cousin, worried that Jiang Ru will get cold sleeping on the floor, he doesn't even care about himself.

Jiang Ru's tone rose slightly: "But I'm a restless sleeper. I might kick or stomp on you at night, and I might even touch your wound. Aren't you afraid?"

Pei Wu's voice was muffled, but he told Jiang Ru in a not-so-low voice, "It's nothing."

This time, Jiang Ru was speechless. She remained silent for a long time, then gritted her teeth and said, "Go to sleep. I told you I want to sleep by myself."

Pei Wu was shut down by her words and gave a muffled reply. It was unclear whether he agreed or not. Jiang Ru suspected that if he could get up, he would have already taken Jiang Ru's bed on the floor. After all, he was the kind of person who would rather suffer himself than let his cousin suffer.

Because Jiang Ru refused to sleep in the bed, Pei Wu could only sulk to himself, completely unaware that Jiang Ru, who was still angry with him, had already fallen asleep and was breathing evenly.

Pei Wu felt frustrated and sulked for a while. Jiang Ru, who was on the ground, sighed and said, "Alright, don't be angry anymore. Get well soon so I can go to bed."

Unexpectedly, Jiang Ru was still awake, and even more unexpectedly, Jiang Ru knew that he was still angry. Pei Wu could only reluctantly respond again before finally agreeing to go to sleep.

When he was awake, the wound would throb with pain, but when he fell asleep, the pain became less noticeable. After being persuaded by Jiang Ru, Pei Wu stopped fighting back and soon fell asleep.

Jiang Ru was frightened and exhausted today. As soon as she lay down, her eyelids closed heavily. If it weren't for Pei Wu, she probably would have fallen into a deep sleep long ago. Only when the breathing next to her became steady did Jiang Ru feel at ease and drift off to sleep.

Jiang Ru slept until the sun was high in the sky. When she opened her eyes, she sat on the ground and stretched. When Pei Wu opened his eyes, he saw Jiang Ru with messy hair and her arms outstretched, looking quite dazed.

Jiang Ru rarely carries herself with any burdens, but seeing her so unkempt in front of the person she likes still makes her heart sink.

However, upon further reflection, she realized that Pei Wu knew her too well, and her current appearance was nothing compared to how disheveled she had looked. After all, Pei Wu had seen her in much worse condition. So she quickly composed herself and gave Pei Wu a bright smile.

Pei Wu smiled at her, his gaze gentle and warm. Jiang Ru jumped up and ran to the courtyard to wash up.

Fei Yan got up much earlier than her and had already heated up breakfast and medicine. Seeing that Jiang Ru was still washing her face, he carried the water into the room.

Yesterday, Jiang Ru took care of Pei Wu all day, and Fei Yan couldn't even lend a hand. Today, Jiang Ru and the others got up too late, so he finally found a chance to use his skills.

Upon entering the room, Fei Yan found Pei Wu already awake. He noticed a warm smile on his master's face, which made Fei Yan, who usually only saw Pei Wu's serious face, hesitate for a moment before stepping into the room.

Fortunately, after he appeared, Pei Wu returned to his usual aloof demeanor, and Fei Yan finally felt more at ease.

After taking care of Pei Wu's washing up and breakfast, Jiang Ru also finished washing up. She walked into the room and looked at the two busy people. Fei Yan kept his eyes straight ahead and helped Pei Wu finish his medicine before standing aside.

Jiang Ru's job was taken away, so she could only scoop herself a bowl of porridge and sit in the room, slowly drinking it while glancing at the other two from time to time.

After a while, Pei Wu asked, "Have you noticed anything amiss?"

Fei Yan said, "These assassins are all suicide squads; we won't find anything out about them."

The fact that they were willing to assassinate us, and that they didn't care about their lives at all, suggests that they were just expendable pawns, and that the people behind them never intended for them to return alive.

Logically speaking, given all this fuss, the fact that they still couldn't kill Pei Wu suggests they were simply too confident in themselves and didn't expect Pei Wu to survive.

It's also possible that the mastermind behind it didn't necessarily want Pei Wu's life, but rather wanted to give him a warning. If that's the case, then the person behind it is truly despicable.

Pei Wu said, "I sent a letter to Lord Song a few days ago. He knows I can arrive today. If I fail to return, he will send someone to look for me. At the earliest, someone will come to meet us the day after tomorrow."

Jiang Ru couldn't help but interject, "What if the assassins still won't give up? What if they send someone else to assassinate us?"

That's a possibility, but then Fei Yan spoke up, saying, "I concealed our whereabouts yesterday, so we can't find us in a short time."

If we really want to find him, we need to send more people. Otherwise, we'll alert them. Unless they really want Pei Wu dead, we'll have to think twice before trying again if we fail the first time.

At this moment, Pei Wu spoke up, "It's alright, don't worry."

These words were spoken to Jiang Ru. Although Jiang Ru still felt that something was amiss, she felt relieved after Pei Wu said those words. She believed everything Pei Wu said.

Thinking about it this way, Song Pingzhang is still quite reliable, and Pei Wu can trust him without worry at any time.

Jiang Ru didn't expect it to happen so quickly; Song Pingzhang's men arrived that very night.

Late at night, Jiang Ru and Pei Wu were already sound asleep when Fei Yan suddenly opened the door, his face serious: "My lord, a group of people is approaching us."

Jiang Ru was so frightened that she immediately sat up and hurriedly tried to help Pei Wu up. If the assassins had caught up with them again, they had to leave as soon as possible.

Without time to think, Fei Yan carried Qian Yu on his back, while Jiang Ru helped Pei Wu. Just then, Pei Wu heard a strange sound coming from afar.

The sound of birdsong echoed through the mountains, cooing for a long time, sounding particularly mournful in the desolate mountains. Pei Wu raised his hand to stop Jiang Ru's movements and said, "There's no need to go any further."

Jiang Ru froze. She had just helped Pei Wu to his feet when she heard his words, and was immediately astonished: "Why?"

Do they think they can't leave and are planning to wait here to die?

However, Pei Wu quickly explained, "It is Lord Song."

Jiang Ru loosened her grip on Pei Wu's hand slightly and hesitated before asking, "Really?"

Pei Wu nodded: "That bird-like sound just now was a secret signal that Lord Song and I agreed upon."

Hearing this, Jiang Ru breathed a sigh of relief. She helped Pei Wu back to bed, gave him a pillow, and helped him sit up. Qian Yu was also put back in the bedroom by Fei Yan. It was a false alarm, and everyone was still calm.

Before long, Song Pingzhang's men arrived outside the courtyard. The leader was dressed in a brown military uniform embroidered with ochre-yellow thread. Song Pingzhang had actually mobilized the Imperial Guards.

After the leader of the Imperial Guards knelt down on one knee, he first gave his name, saying that his name was Chu Wei, and then explained that Song Pingzhang knew he was in danger, so he specially sent him to find Pei Wu.

To prove their identity, they also brought out Song Pingzhang's token.

Pei Wu confirmed it and instructed them to keep watch, and to return to Bianjing first thing tomorrow morning.

Then, Pei Wu heard a few sounds that seemed to be struggling coming from the next room. He tilted his ear slightly and, after listening carefully, said helplessly, "This farming family has been kind to us, so don't make things difficult for them."

Chu Wei agreed and told the two guards who had been blocking the door to come back and not to offend the old man.

They had already offended him, yet they were still pretending to be good people.

Jiang Ru was dumbfounded. She felt that these people were acting too arrogantly and disregarding others. After all, the two old people had taken them in, yet they were so fierce to them.

The crowd quickly dispersed like the receding tide. The palace guards were originally there to protect the emperor's safety, yet Song Pingzhang had such ability to even bring them here. However, Pei Wu did not raise any questions, so Jiang Ru did not ask either.

After everyone left, Jiang Ru immediately sat down next to Pei Wu. She had a lot to say, but she was afraid of being overheard by people outside, so she just winked at Pei Wu. Pei Wu shook his head at her, and she understood, so she kept quiet for now.

After being disturbed like this in the middle of the night, Jiang Ru didn't sleep well, drifting in and out of sleep several times before finally waiting for dawn.

Not long after dawn, Chu Wei said that the carriage was ready and he was coming to send Pei Wu onto it.

More than twenty people came on this trip, and the house was completely filled with horses and people. The two old people were terrified last night and dared not go out today. Pei Wu asked Jiang Ru to help him to the closed door. Although the people inside could not see him, he still bowed to the people inside.

He then said, “What happened last night was an offense by a junior. You two have been kind to us, and our actions were an act of repaying kindness with enmity. I do not ask for your forgiveness, but I am truly sorry. I have prepared a gift of thanks for you both. I apologize for the trouble I have caused you these past few days.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the tightly closed door opened.

Two elderly people with gray hair came out of the house and immediately saw the bag of silver that Pei Wu had placed on the table. They had been frightened last night, and it would have been better if they hadn't kicked Pei Wu and the others out that very night. However, when they heard that Pei Wu had left a thank-you gift, the usually simple and honest people still mustered up their courage and came out.

The old man picked up the money, his hand trembling slightly, and handed it to Pei Wu, saying, "We've already given you the money; we don't need it."

Pei Wu raised his hand to push the money back, thanked them again, and then gestured for everyone to leave.

The money was left to the two elderly people, who helped each other and watched everyone leave.

The day before yesterday, when Jiang Ru and her family first stayed here, Jiang Ru remembered that her mother-in-law asked her if she had offended someone she shouldn't have, and said that if they really had nowhere to go, they could stay here from now on and not have to leave, as it was very dangerous outside.

They didn't know Pei Wu's identity; they only felt sorry for Jiang Ru and the others, who had been ambushed and ended up here.

Both of them were very warm-hearted. Jiang Ru bowed to the two elderly people before turning away.

The house was halfway up the mountain, and it was still quite a distance to go down from here. Jiang Ru and Chu Wei helped Pei Wu down the mountain.

The carriage was parked by the roadside. To take care of Pei Wu's injured body, soft cushions were laid inside the carriage, and even the inner walls of the carriage were fitted with cushions. This carriage was considered top-of-the-line and had a large space. It would be very comfortable to sit in, but Pei Wu could only lie down now.

After lying down, Pei Wu seemed much more cramped. Jiang Ru attributed this to the fact that Pei Wu was too tall and big. Fearing that Pei Wu's wound might tear on the way, Jiang Ru found a comfortable lying position for Pei Wu, which left her with very little room to sit.

However, Jiang Ru didn't care. This posture was a little tiring, but not unbearable.

There were actually spare carriages, but Jiang Ru wanted to be with Pei Wu, so she had to squeeze into this one. Besides, she was always afraid that something might happen. If something went wrong while she was in the same carriage as Pei Wu, she could carry him on her back and escape quickly.

Pei Wu noticed that she was uncomfortable sitting there and tried to move to the side. Jiang Ru quickly pressed down on his leg. It wasn't that she wanted to take advantage of him; it was just that Pei Wu's leg was right next to her hand, and she could touch it easily.

Pei Wu's leg muscles were very firm and felt somewhat hard to the touch. After touching them, Jiang Ru was silent for a moment, then awkwardly withdrew her hand and glanced guiltily at Pei Wu's face.

Seeing that Pei Wu didn't seem to care, she smiled again, making no mention of how she had touched Pei Wu earlier, and instead lectured him: "Don't move."

There was a small stool in the carriage, which was not comfortable to sit on, so Jiang Ru simply sat on the stool and bent over to lie next to Pei Wu. She only occupied a small space, with her head resting next to Pei Wu's waist. She could see Pei Wu's face by turning her head.

She looked as if she were leaning against Pei Wu's chest. Pei Wu's waist and abdomen were stiff, and he dared not move at all. His wound seemed to hurt even more.

Jiang Ru nestled beside him, like a small, warm, furry animal, and looked up at Pei Wu with her round, almond-shaped eyes. She asked, "Is it okay for me to sit like this?"

She could have sat next to Pei Wu, but she chose this awkward position instead. Pei Wu's Adam's apple bobbed twice. Feeling somewhat resigned and helpless, he asked, "Can you get up?"

Jiang Ru was puzzled, her eyes widening slightly: "Why?"

Pei Wu said, "You're like this..." He paused for a long while, "...I can't lie down comfortably."

"Where?" Jiang Ru seemed genuinely confused. "But I didn't run into you."

Pei Wu's lips moved, trying to find a way to refute Jiang Ru's words, but he couldn't bring himself to say it after several attempts. In the end, he could only turn his head away from Jiang Ru, his ears turning slightly red, and awkwardly tell her, "Then you can sit here."

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Author's Note: Jiang: With just a little trickery, my cousin will be captivated by me.

The comments suggest the clothing imitates Song Dynasty style, although the differences between Song and Tang styles aren't significant; it can also be considered a Tang Dynasty style.