Heiraten - Kapitel 48
Shen Yun laughed and let go: "Nineteen, you're a fierce female hooligan."
She departed like a joyful lark, dazzling and radiant.
Shen Yuntan felt an extraordinary sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. Holding her hand and gazing at her, he felt as if he could look at her for a lifetime. He stretched, went to the backyard, caught a chicken, and prepared to show off his skills to Nineteen, to tell her that this husband was definitely worth the effort!
Shen Yun plucked the chicken feathers, simmered a pot of fragrant chicken soup, picked some vegetables from the yard, and stir-fried them casually.
As it was nearing noon, and guessing that Nineteen would be back soon, he set the table, preparing to give her a surprise.
From noon until evening.
From dusk until the stars shine brightly.
Tang Shijiu did not return.
Tang Shijiu will never come back.
Tang Shijiu slept soundly in a swaying carriage. Shen Yun was so happy that he forgot he had offended the Tang Clan the day before, that he was in the territory of Jinhu Manor, and that although Tang Shijiu was skilled in martial arts, he was still a novice.
She thought she had chosen a very good carriage; the carriage was beautiful and clean, and the horse was fat with round hooves. Uncle Bai was somewhat intelligent and hadn't been burned to death in the fire at the Brocade Medical Clinic, but he had run away and disappeared. They needed a new horse.
However, Tang Shijiu didn't know that it wasn't that she had chosen that carriage, but rather that the carriage was waiting for her.
The driver was a thin young man who coldly watched as Tang Shijiu happily boarded the carriage and then fell into a deep sleep amidst the Tang Clan's special incense. Shen Yuntan should be very familiar with that incense, which is called Hundred-Day Crisp.
The horse's hooves did not head south towards the villa, but instead went west, crossing mountains and valleys, taking Tang Shijiu further and further away from Shen Yuntan's side.
When she opened her eyes, it was already late at night, and she could see the bright moonlight through the carriage window. Tang Shijiu secretly tried to circulate her inner energy, but to her dismay, she found that she couldn't even muster a single breath of true energy. Naturally, she knew she had been ambushed. Crying, screaming, and beating were useless, so she might as well close her eyes and circulate her inner energy for a few cycles, hoping that she could detoxify herself someday.
Presumably calculating that she would wake up around that time, the boy driving the carriage turned around and handed her a steamed bun. The boy was wearing an extremely large straw hat, which concealed half of his face. In the moonlight, only his clean-shaven chin was visible.
Tang Shijiu didn't refuse. If she wanted to kill someone, she would have done it long ago; there was no need to poison him with a steamed bun. The steamed bun wasn't hard, obviously bought today. She put it in her mouth and chewed it carefully, thinking about the bearded man and whether she would ever see him again.
The carriage traveled westward, but the young man driving showed no signs of fatigue. Nineteen had slept all day and wasn't tired at all. She tried to raise her inner energy for a long time without any improvement, and eventually gave up. She drew back the curtains to look at the stars and the hazy moon outside.
It felt like a dream, not real.
She so rashly left the sect where she grew up and ventured into the world alone. She so rashly snatched a man and was forced to become his wife. She so rashly didn't love Xu Ziqing.
However, she knew.
Falling in love with Shen Yuntan was not a rash decision.
The man who couldn't do martial arts, the middle-aged man who was always sick, gradually and unknowingly invaded her life and won over her heart.
Yesterday they were holding hands and trimming the candle wick together, but today they are forced to separate. Things changed too quickly, catching her off guard.
The young man driving the carriage stopped in front of a dilapidated inn, jumped down first, lifted the curtain, and gestured invitingly. His refined manners and quiet demeanor inexplicably endeared him to many. Although he had been kidnapped inexplicably and without cause, Nineteen didn't dislike him.
Having been in the carriage for so long and having been given the "Hundred Days' Sweet Treat," she felt dizzy as soon as she stood up. However, the moment she swayed, the young man moved with lightning speed, catching her and carrying her half-supporting, half-carrying her into the inn.
His voice was clear and bright, like that of a child whose voice hadn't changed: "Innkeeper, could you please provide a superior room for my brother and me?"
Brother and sister?
Nineteen chuckled, "More like siblings!"
Her smile caused her to blush instantly, revealing half of her fair face beneath her straw hat.
Tang Shijiu's heart itched for a long time, and he guessed that there was probably another handsome young man under the bamboo hat!
She had been eagerly awaiting his removal of the straw hat's string. The young man quietly took off the hat, turned back, and gave her a shy smile.
"Miss Tang, I'm ugly, don't be afraid."
If he hadn't turned around, Tang Shijiu would have definitely thought he was just being polite.
However, he turned around, and Tang Shijiu knew that the child was not lying.
The lower half of her face was as clear and smooth as jade, her skin as delicate as a celestial beauty. However, the upper half was a gruesome sight, as if ripped apart by a ferocious beast, the flesh torn open, one eye missing, leaving only a dark, hollow frame. The other eye was intact, but the surrounding skin was also grotesque and repulsive.
Even with his reminder, Tang Shijiu couldn't help but show a slightly frightened expression.
The boy forced a smile and said helplessly, "Sorry, I scared you."
His tone was sincere, tinged with helplessness and inferiority. Tang Shijiu's heart softened, and she raised her face to look directly into his only remaining eye.
His eyes were jet black, so pure and innocent that they instinctively made the equally innocent Tang Shijiu think he was a good person.
"It was a little scary at first glance, but it's not so scary after a second look!" Tang Shijiu raised his hand and gently patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm very brave. I can't be easily scared except by cockroaches."
When she patted his shoulder, the boy stiffened but did not flinch. "Thank you, Miss Tang. My name is Tang Yu, and I am an assassin from the Tang Clan. I'm here to protect you as you return to the Tang Clan."
Tang Shijiu gave a light "Oh." She had already guessed in the carriage that the one who was at odds with her was most likely this sect that shared the same surname as her, so she wasn't particularly shocked when Tang Yu said it.
"When you Tang Clan introduce your assassins, are you always so open and natural in stating your clan?" However, she couldn't help but wonder, "Shouldn't assassins be mysterious and keep their identities hidden? Are assassins these days all so straightforward?"
Tang Yu said seriously, "They're all like that, only I'm not."
"Why?"
Tang Yu said, "Because I'm lazy, too lazy to lie. Anyway, if necessary, I'll kill them all, so naturally no one will know what I do."
He said it so casually, yet for no reason, it gave Nineteen goosebumps.
Tang Yu clearly sensed Nineteen's discomfort and said, "Don't be afraid, I won't kill you."
"Uh, thank you." Actually, he had no idea why he should thank her, but if Tang Yu wanted to kill someone right now, Tang Shijiu would indeed be powerless to resist.