Sui Sui just nodded: "Okay."
Ruan Yuewei glanced at her, then at Huan Xuan, tears welling up in her swollen eyes again. With only one horse, it was only natural for him to send her back to the palace as soon as possible. Why did he seem to owe that concubine some debt
She couldn't stay in the forest for a moment: "Third brother, let's get on the horse."
As she spoke, she pulled the reins of Little Black Face. Little Black Face snorted suddenly, turned his head, and raised his hooves. Frightened, Ruan Yuewei quickly let go of her hand, stepped back several steps, and looked at Huan Xuan aggrievedly: "Third brother, this horse is so fierce..."
Huan Xuan then remembered that the black horse only recognized Lu Sui Sui as its master, and even he couldn't touch it on weekdays - naturally, he didn't want to ride it either. He turned around and said, "Lu Sui Sui."
Sui Sui had no choice but to stand up and walk to the front of the horse, touch its head, and comfort it softly: "Be good, Little Black Face. I know you are waiting for me here specially. There is really no horse more obedient than you in the world..." Big Black Face was also very obedient, but Big Black Face was the eldest, so he could only give in to the youngest.
This dark horse was strange. It seemed to understand what people said and calmed down immediately after she coaxed it with kind words.
Sui Sui nodded to Huan Xuan.
Huan Xuan said to Ruan Yuewei, "Get on the horse."
Ruan Yuewei had just been frightened by the horse and was still a little scared. She walked to the front of the horse and tentatively pulled the reins.
The little black-faced boy turned his head and saw the stranger coming again. He immediately became agitated and touched its ears: "I'm sorry, please send them back first. I'll brush your fur and give you a bath later, okay?"
Little Black Face loves cleanliness, and she would brush and bathe him anytime and anywhere. She has a good technique, and the horse likes it very much, so she just does this to coax him.
However, the speaker was not sincere and the listener was interested. Ruan Yuewei felt extremely humiliated and bit her lips hard, almost unable to hold back and said she would not ride the horse. But thinking that if she did not ride the horse, she would have to stay in the dark forest and who knows if anyone would find this place until dawn, she swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue and took the reins with gritted teeth.
But she encountered difficulties when mounting the horse. With her weak arms, she could not mount the horse by herself normally. The black horse was much taller and bigger than her horse. Moreover, she was exhausted from hunger and cold at this time, so there was no hope. However, there was no stepping stone for her to step on in the forest, so she looked at Huanxuan, and Huanxuan said to Suisui, "Help the Concubine to mount the horse."
Sui Sui lifted Ruan Yuewei up. Ruan Yuewei put her right leg on the horse's back and stepped on Sui Sui's right arm with her left leg for leverage before sitting on the horse.
Sui Sui was unexpectedly stepped on the wound by her, and his face turned pale in pain and cold sweat rolled down his face.
Huan Xuan saw this, frowned, jumped on his horse, took off his quiver and placed it across the two of them.
It was inevitable that there would be physical contact between the two of them riding together, and a quiver in between was better than nothing. He said to Ruan Yuewei: "Please forgive me, Concubine Dowager."
Ruan Yuewei felt a burning sensation from her neck to her cheeks to her ears. Her heart was beating like a rocket in her throat. She whispered, "We have to make decisions in an emergency. Don't worry about it, Third Brother."
Huan Xuan glanced at Sui Sui and was about to say "wait for me", but he saw Lu Sui Sui touching the horse's head and kissing the little black face: "Good horse, be careful when walking at night, I'll wait for you to come back."
Huan Xuan's lips moved slightly, but he didn't say anything.
After the King of Qi and the Crown Princess left, Sui Sui and the guards walked forward for a while, found an open space in the forest, picked up some branches and dead leaves, and made a fire.
The guards were all injured to varying degrees, but they had just been in a hurry to leave the place of trouble, so they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The guards of the Eastern Palace and the Princess's Mansion suffered heavy casualties. There were more than forty people when they arrived, but only five survived. One guard of the Princess's Mansion was particularly seriously injured and had developed a high fever.
Thinking of the tragedy just now, they still shuddered.
The guards in Prince Qi's palace were in better condition. Except for Guan Liulang who was hit by an arrow in the leg, the injuries of the others were not serious.
The guards carried medicine with them and had experience in treating external injuries. They were all surrounding the fire to treat their wounds.
Sui Sui was scratched by the wolf's claws but was not treated in time, so the wound and sleeve were stuck together. She pulled out the dagger and warmed it over the fire, then patiently cut the cloth that was stuck to the wound.
Fortunately, she dodged in time, the wound was not deep and the blood had already coagulated, but the skin and flesh were rolled up, and the whole arm was stained red with blood, looking a little hideous.
Ma Zhongshun looked over and was shocked: "Brother Lu..., your arm is so injured, why didn't you tell His Highness..."
Song Jiu slapped him on the back of his head: "You are the only one with a big mouth!"
Sui Sui smiled lightly: "It's just a minor injury."
She took out the medicine, uncorked the bottle with her mouth, sprinkled the powder on the wound, then tore off a piece of her clothes and bandaged the wound in no time.
There was still some medicine left, so she gave it to the guards of the Eastern Palace. They were badly injured, and the little medicine they brought might not be enough.
Ma Zhongshun also came to his senses. With only one horse, His Highness would definitely take care of the Crown Princess first. What would it matter if he said it? It would only add to his sadness, and even if he broke his legs and bled all over the ground, he would probably just have to wait here.
But he couldn't help but admire this Lu Niang. If an ordinary girl had such an injury, she would have fainted either from the pain or the fear. But she cut the wound herself, applied medicine and bandaged it herself without even frowning.
It's a pity that this person can only serve as a substitute for others.
Ma Zhongshun sighed secretly, and took out two oil-paper bags from his arms like a magician, and spread them in front of Sui Sui like treasures. When he opened them, he found that they were jerky meat and candied fruits.
"Brother Lu, are you hungry? Eat something to fill your stomach."
He then untied the wine bag from his waist and said, "This jug of wine has not been touched yet, it's clean, please, Brother Lu."
Song Jiu kicked him and said, "What a little brat! I told you to lead the horse but you lost it, but you hid the food and drink well!"
Sui Sui couldn't help but laugh and took the wine bag: "I'm not hungry, you guys can eat the meat jerky."
As he spoke, he pulled out the stopper with one hand, tilted his head back and took a big sip, then handed it back to Ma Zhongshun and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand: "Thank you."
Being able to drink a sip of wine at this time is like extending half of my life.
Ma Zhongshun said, "Brother Lu is a really straightforward person." Then he passed the wine bag down.
The guards from the Eastern Palace and the Princess's Mansion also drank some wine. Ma Zhongshun saw that they were shivering and looked quite pitiful, so he gave them some food.
Originally, the two groups were sitting on opposite sides, but because of Ma Zhongshun's wine and meat, they gradually became familiar with each other. "
"Why did you provoke the wolves?" Song Jiu asked curiously, "Look at the wolf corpses on the ground, there must be two groups here, right?"
Generally speaking, wild animals will not attack humans without warning, and wolves are sharp and cautious animals. They will not act rashly when facing thirty or forty people with torches and weapons.
The guards looked at each other in bewilderment. Normally, they were servants and should not criticize the Queen Mother. However, servants were also human beings. Seeing their familiar companions fall one by one, who would not feel resentful
A guard from the princess's mansion couldn't help but speak up and told the whole story. Although he spoke cryptically, everyone understood that it was the Dowager Concubine who screamed and turned around and ran, which aroused the wolves' hunting instinct.
Guan Liulang had been leaning against a tree trunk with his eyes closed to rest, but when he heard that, he opened his eyes and asked the two East Palace guards, "Who is leading this team?"
A guard said sadly, "It's Deputy Commander Qi."
"Qi Dongrong," Guan Liulang nodded solemnly, "he's a bastard."
The two East Palace guards finally couldn't bear the pain any more. The two grown men burst into tears and kept wiping their tears with their sleeves.
The guards at the Princess's residence also started to cry. Everyone felt sympathetic and silently put down the meat jerky in their hands.
When the crying gradually subsided, Guan Liulang poured the remaining wine in the leather bag onto the ground and said, "Let's get out alive first, and bring people to carry them back in the morning."
After a pause, he said, "Everyone hold on tonight, two people each guarding the fire."
There were seven people whose injuries were relatively minor. He divided them into four groups and took over two of them himself.
Originally he didn't include Lu Suisui in the calculation, but she took the initiative to say, "I'll take the second turn."
It was almost midnight at this time. The first half of an hour was when people felt tired and exhausted.
Guan Liulang looked at her hesitantly.
"My injuries are minor," Sui Sui said, "Let them rest."
Guan Liulang was silent for a while before saying, "Okay, I'll go with you."
After a fierce battle, she lost a lot of energy. She leaned against a tree and closed her eyes to rest. Before she closed her eyes, it was time for her to go on duty.
She rubbed her eyes and sat up. Guan Liulang also woke up, and the two added some dead branches to the fire.
Compared to the lively and outgoing Song Jiu and Ma Zhongshun, Sui Sui and the calm and steady Guan Liulang have never been very familiar with each other.
The two of them had been through life and death together this time, but they still had nothing to talk about.
Sui Sui used branches to raise the flames, then put the branches down and sat with his knees hugged.
"You are very good at riding and shooting." Guan Liulang said suddenly.
Sui Sui raised his head and saw his resolute and angular face glowing red in the firelight.
Sui Sui smiled.
"Your Highness..." Guan Liulang frowned, looking miserable, as if saying the following words was more difficult than giving birth to a child, "Don't be sad..."
He scratched the back of his head and said with difficulty: "Your Highness still has your mother in his heart..."
Sui Sui was originally fine, but was amused by his expression: "Thank you, Commander Guan, I'm not sad."
Guan Liulang looked at her in surprise and immediately looked away.
Although there is a difference in status, the relationship between His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi and the Crown Princess is special. He became someone else's substitute and was abandoned when something happened. People are all made of flesh and blood. How can he not be sad
Sui Sui just picked up the branches and poked the fire, staring at the fire in a daze.
She was indeed not sad, and there was nothing worth being sad about. It was like taking ten cents to buy a Hu Bing, you couldn't expect others to give you a jade disk.
She still smiled: "Thank you."
…
The black horse was as swift as the wind. Huan Xuan was anxious and kept urging the horse to gallop forward. Ruan Yuewei was shaken so much that her bones were almost broken.
She leaned back weakly, but the quiver behind her was in the way.
Before she could lean on the man's chest, something hard suddenly hit her back. It turned out to be Huan Xuan supporting her body with his scabbard.
"Hold on a little longer." the man said coldly.
After all, Ruan Yuewei was a lady from a wealthy family. After being rejected once, she didn't dare to lean on his chest again, but having his arms around her made her feel distracted.
Huan Xuan's body was filled with the sweet and fishy smell of blood, which diluted his original scent, but surprisingly it was not unpleasant. Instead, it showed his masculinity and made people feel safe and at ease.
He finally came, and when he heard that she was in trouble, he immediately risked his life to save her. With someone treating her like this, what else could she ask for
Ruan Yuewei suddenly felt that the terrible experience of this night was all worth it. If she had not been in danger, how could she have been able to be alone with him at this moment
She looked at the winding mountain road ahead and murmured in an almost inaudible voice: "I really hope this road will never end..."
Huan Xuan remained silent. Ruan Yuewei knew he had heard her. She lowered her eyes, her lips slightly curved, and she said in a dreamy voice, "Sanlang, do you remember when we were little and rode horses together in the palace?"
Huan Xuan was in no mood to reminisce about the past with her at the moment. He just wanted to send her to the palace as soon as possible and go back to find Lu Suisui.
The little she had learned about boxing, kicking, and swordplay was only learned at the last minute. If she really encountered danger, she would be in great danger. The guards were also injured and might not be able to protect him.
Ruan Yuewei didn't get a response for a while, so she turned her head and looked at him: "Sanlang? Don't you remember?"
Huan Xuan frowned and said, "What happened in the past is done in the past."
Ruan Yue was startled, tears welling up in her eyes: "But... you didn't even care about your own life and rushed to save me..."
Huan Xuan pursed his lips and said, "You and I grew up together in the Queen Mother's Palace, and we are as close as brothers. Moreover, you are both the Queen Mother and my second sister-in-law. Saving you is my duty, so don't worry about it."
He paused and said, "If any of my relatives were in danger, I would do my best to rescue them."
Wasn't this "brotherly" remark exactly what she said when she rejected him at the Baqiao Bridge? Now he returned it to her exactly the same way.
Ruan Yuewei covered her mouth and cried bitterly: "You still blame me, don't you? I didn't know at that time... If I had known earlier..."
Huan Xuan said coldly: "I have long forgotten those things, please forget them too, sister-in-law."
Ruan Yuewei was about to say something when she heard faint horse hoof sounds in the distance, which sounded like a large group of people.
"Maybe the imperial guards have arrived." Huan Xuan felt relieved.
Ruan Yuewei's face changed. She originally thought that they could still walk together for a long time, but she didn't expect the guards to come so quickly.
She still had a lot of things in her heart that she hadn't had time to say, and she was afraid that she would never have such an opportunity again.
Huan Xuan pulled the reins and looked down the cliff. He saw dots of fire on the mountain road below, moving towards the mountain. There were at least dozens of people. When they came a little closer, Huan Xuan recognized the flag of the Yulin Guard.
He immediately dismounted, took out his whistling arrow and shot it into the air.
The guards noticed the movement and galloped towards them at full speed.
When they got closer, Huan Xuan found that there were two groups of people coming, one was the Yulin Guards, and the other was the guards of Wu'an Palace. Zhao Qinghui, the hereditary son of Wu'an Duke, actually brought all the guards with him to look for the Queen Mother.
Zhao Qinghui saw Ruan Yuewei on the horse from a distance, kicked the horse's belly, and hurried forward: "Cousin, are you okay?"
Ruan Yuewei was also surprised when she saw him: "Why are you here?"
After a pause, he glanced at Huan Xuan and said, "I'm fine, thanks to the timely rescue by the King of Qi."
Zhao Qinghui's face darkened and he bowed to Huan Xuan: "Thank you, Your Highness."
The fact that the King of Qi saved his second sister-in-law should have nothing to do with him, but Huan Xuan didn't hear it at all. The moment he saw Zhao Qinghui, he was just surprised. It was not safe to hand Ruan Yuewei over to the Yulin Army, but with Wu'an Gong Shiwei around, there was no need to worry.
They were cousins, so even if they had to ride on the same horse in an emergency, it would be acceptable. And with Zhao Qinghui's deep affection for Ruan Yuewei, he would send her back to the palace safely no matter what.
Huan Xuan bowed to him and said, "Thank you, my Lord, for sending the Crown Princess back to the palace."
He was so generous that Zhao Qinghui was surprised: "Where is your highness going?"
Huan Xuan said: "My guards are injured and are still in the forest."
He was too lazy to talk to him, and said to the leader of the Imperial Guards: "Send out half of your troops and follow me to rescue people."
…
Sui Sui and Guan Liulang were guarding the fire. It was late at night and the woods were chilly. She had lost a lot of blood and still felt cold sitting by the fire. She could only take turns warming her hands and feet over the fire.
As the hour was about to pass, she suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves in the distance.
She looked at Guan Liu, and before she could speak, Guan Liu asked, "Did Lu Niang hear the sound of horse hooves?"
Sui Sui nodded, and the two immediately put out the fire with the prepared sand and woke up everyone. Everyone held the hilt of the knife vigilantly.
The sound of horse hooves was getting closer and closer. From the sound, there were about twenty or thirty people, obviously coming towards them. If it was the guards, it would be fine. But if they were attacked by the enemy again, I'm afraid even she wouldn't be able to escape.
Just then, a horse neighing was heard not far away.
"It's the little black face!" Sui Sui felt relieved immediately, only to find that cold sweat had broken out in the palm of his hand holding the knife.
Accompanied by the rustling of leaves and the sound of cheerful horse hooves, the little black-faced boy rushed out from the bushes.
Huan Xuan pulled the reins, jumped off the horse, and hugged Sui Sui in his arms, his heart pounding in his chest.
He was worried the whole way, thinking about what to do if something happened to her. Only when he saw that she was safe and sound did he feel relieved.
Sui Sui was held tightly in the man's arms, feeling the heat in his chest and hearing his frighteningly fast heartbeat.
"It's okay," Huan Xuan didn't even bother to look down on her blood and sweat. He kissed her hair and patted her back. "It's okay. I'm back."
Sui Sui didn't throw herself into his arms and cry in fear, nor did she blame him for leaving her behind. She just nodded: "I'm fine, is the Crown Princess safe?"
Huan Xuan then let go of his hand and nodded, saying, "The Yulin Guards are right behind us. Get on your horse and go back to the palace first."
The two men walked towards the little black-faced man, one in front and one behind.
Huan Xuan looked down at her arm wrapped in a cloth and frowned, "Are you hurt?"
"It's just a minor injury, nothing serious." Sui Sui said casually.
Huan Xuan remembered that Ruan Yuewei had stepped on her arm when she got on the horse, and his heart skipped a beat.
"You and I ride on the same horse." Huan Xuan said.
Sui Sui nodded: "Let the little black face have a rest too."
Huan Xuan checked the condition of the guards, asked the Yulin Guards for a few horses, and arranged for the injured to mount the horses.
Sui Sui was about to mount his horse when he suddenly heard a faint, barely perceptible sound of a bowstring amid the noisy neighing of horses and people.
Her heart trembled, and without time to think, she almost subconsciously pounced on Huan Xuan who was not far away, trying to push him away. Unfortunately, she was extremely tired, and her reaction was not as good as usual. She was a moment late after all.
She heard a feather arrow breaking through the air and then piercing into her flesh with a "chi" sound. She felt a sharp pain in her left chest and cold sweat broke out. Everything around her became distorted and hazy.
The sound by her ears became distant and near, as if someone was calling her name. The voice was extremely familiar, as if it came from her dream. She tried to open her eyes, wanting to see the face in front of her clearly, but the face was like in the water, swaying and changing, and she couldn't see it clearly.
She raised her hand and wanted to rub her eyes, but immediately dropped it weakly.
She finally saw his face clearly.
"Your Highness..." She smiled, with satisfaction in her eyes, as if she had fulfilled a long-cherished wish, "This time... I finally..."
Before she finished her words, she sank into the darkness beside her.