Qiu Su landed on her back, her head ringing from the fall. Ignoring everything else, she scrambled to her feet, limping forward. She'd only taken a few steps when someone grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her onto a horse. Qiu Su's eyes widened, but they were unfocused. Instinctively, she raised her hand to stab, but someone grabbed her wrist and snatched the dagger away. Qiu Su screamed, reaching out to grab it, but someone else restrained her, pinning her hands behind her back.
"Susu, it's me. Don't be afraid, it's me. Good Susu, don't be afraid, it won't happen again."
The horse beneath her galloped on relentlessly, her earlobe seemingly held in its mouth, constantly kissed, licked, and caressed, offering comfort. Qiu Su slowly made out the person before her, her eyes filled with despair. She suddenly bit his arm, tears instantly welling in her eyes.
Author's Note:
52
52. You should meet someone...
He Zhuo couldn't tell whether he felt relieved or disappointed. He rode towards them from afar, hearing Qiu Su's scream, and his heart ached as if he could suffocate. She was always so reckless. This wasn't Qingyuan Mountain; this was a battlefield, a real battlefield, and yet she still stubbornly pretended to be calm and magnanimous. Who needed her sense of righteousness? Wasn't she the one who hated the righteousness that Magistrate Qin placed upon her? She would feel heartbroken over losing a tael of silver, but treated her own life as worthless.
Una looked at her with eyes like a wolf, a wolf spotting its prey on the grasslands. He actually set a condition for her to go to Wusun; the outcome was predictable. The moment He Zhuo saw Qiu Su fall from her horse, he only wished his horse were too slow, and that he didn't have wings to fly over and catch her. Seeing Pei Yuan, leaning low on his horse, galloping over from the other side and pulling her into his arms, he felt both relief and pain.
He Zhuo felt ill; his chest was still pounding, yet he felt suffocated. He slowly stopped his horse and looked at Pei Yuan. Yes, it was Pei Yuan. Although he had lost a lot of weight, his flamboyant white outfit and the way his eyes narrowed when he was fierce told him that Pei Yuan was back, Qiu Su's husband was back.
Una stared at the bloody mess on his mount's rump, his lips pressed into a thin line. A man who had grown up on the grasslands cherished nothing more than his horse, yet this woman treated it like trash, hacking and slashing at it indiscriminately.
Hmph, what a reckless woman!
The horse's eyes were brimming with tears. Wu Na patted its head and whispered something in its own language in its ear. He Zhuo snapped out of his daze and saw him mount his horse, only to turn and chase after it. He quickly spurred his horse to block his way, cupping his hands in greeting, "An hour has passed. Is General Wu Na also going to break his promise?"
Wu narrowed his hawk-like eyes, gripped the whip in his hand, laughed twice, patted the horse beneath him, and turned back.
Pei Yuan carried Qiu Su directly back to the camp, avoiding General Qin's troops. Qi Xiu was talking to Mu Yu, the old military doctor in the camp; they seemed to be old acquaintances. When Qi Xiu saw Pei Yuan carrying Qiu Su, whose eyes were closed and lips were tightly pursed, he shook his head and whispered to Mu Yu, "She has the same stubbornness as Madam, and when she's stubborn, she's fearless. She even secretly robbed a caravan by herself. But deep down, she doesn't have Madam's courage, and she's quite petty."
Mu Yu stroked his beard. "Seems pretty lazy."
Pei Yuan glared coldly at Qi Xiu, but Qi Xiu wasn't annoyed. However, seeing that Qiu Su's ankle was swollen high and her bare foot revealed a bloody heel, he suppressed his smile and told Pei Yuan to put her on the bed. Mu Yu quickly instructed the servant to boil hot water and help Qi Xiu clean the wounds on Qiu Su's hands and feet.
Whether Qiu Su was unconscious or not, she remained silent as the wounds were cleaned. Qi Xiu glanced at Pei Yuan, who was sitting to the side with a dark expression, placed the remaining medicated oil on the bedside table, and gestured to Mu Yu, saying, "Your Highness, please check if there are any other injuries. We are not in a position to examine the ones on your body."
Pei Yuan nodded, his gaze fixed on Qiu Su's back as if he wanted to tear two holes in it. He didn't know what had happened, but she had been foolish enough to break free from He Zhuo's protection and run away alone. The sheep that slack off are always the first to die; the moment Pei Yuan pulled her onto the horse, he felt like he wanted to crush her waist.
Foolish woman! How audacious of you!
Pei Yuan silently lifted Qiu Su by the waist and removed the armor she was wearing. He reached out to untie her belt, but Qiu Su rolled over and pressed the knotted part of the belt under her body.
"Your Highness, please return. I will administer the medicine."
The moment Qiu Su saw Pei Yuan, she felt an overwhelming surge of grievance and burst into tears in his arms. On her way back, she seemed to have thought about many things, yet also about nothing at all. She imagined many ways they would meet again: a tragic one, like him in bright yellow robes standing on a high platform, and her among the soldiers, standing at the emperor's feet; a more sentimental one, like him holding Zhu Yuan, smiling and saying to her, "Long time no see"; a more cold one, like the two meeting again five years later on the streets of Pingcheng, nodding and passing by; a more dramatic one, like meeting on the street, her with another, and him with a beautiful woman in his arms, not recognizing each other, his child pointing at her and saying, "Oh, Daddy, look, what a dark-skinned person!"
No matter how many ways they could have met, Qiu Su never imagined it would be under these circumstances. No, rather, no matter how it happened, Qiu Su never imagined she would be so cowardly as to cower in his arms and weep uncontrollably. What would he think? Even she herself felt she was simply lamenting her grievances, even expressing her longing.
Pei Yuan scooped Qiu Su up and held her tightly in his arms. Qiu Su suddenly opened her eyes and said coldly, "Let go!"
Pei Yuan glanced at her coldly, then lifted his leg and sandwiched her legs between his, grabbed her arms with one hand, and deftly unbuckled her belt with the other.
Qiu Su's face flushed red, and she said fiercely, "Men should not touch each other, Your Highness. What are you doing?"
Pei Yuan raised an eyebrow, glanced at the tent entrance, and said, "General Ji, could you speak a little louder? Or, General Ji, could you tell me where else you have bruises?"
"Your Highness need not trouble yourself!"
"Hmph, I enjoy seeing the wounds on stupid women caused by their foolishness."
Qiu Su felt a lump in her throat and hurriedly turned her head away.
"Pei Yuan, I'm no longer the young mistress of the Pei family." Qiu Su's voice was tinged with vulnerability. "Please let me go."
Pei Yuan lowered his eyes, turned Qiu Su over so she was lying on his lap, pursed his lips, and pulled open her clothes. He looked at the bruises on her back and ground his teeth. The bodice was wrapped too tightly, but because of that, the middle of her back should be intact, only the upper part was bruised. Pei Yuan slipped his fingers inside the bodice and tugged at it gently, pursing his lips as he said, "Doesn't it hurt? Sigh, I feel so bad."
Qiu Su remained silent. Pei Yuan poured out the medicinal oil, rubbed it in his hands to warm it, and then applied it to her face with considerable force.
Thud...
Qiu Su looked at the tear that had soaked the oilcloth, blinked, and coughed. "Put me down like that, it hurts."
Pei Yuan readily complied and let her lie face down on what was supposed to be a bed. It wasn't really a bed, just something raised slightly off the ground. With her lying down like this, Pei Yuan could only kneel. But that was fine; if Qiu Su struggled again, he could simply pin her down with one leg. Sure enough, Qiu Su didn't stay still. As soon as she touched the bed, she tried to roll over, but Pei Yuan quickly stretched out his leg and pinned her down, chuckling, "General Ji has improved quite a bit; your movements are much more agile now."
As they were talking, the mountain lord ran in. He first ran to Pei Yuan's side and rubbed his hand against him, then stared at Qiu Su for a moment, let out a low whimper, jumped over and lay down on her head, nuzzling her head and humming incessantly, his big tongue licking her back and forth.
Pei Yuan glared at the mountain lord, who was lying face-to-face with Qiu Su, whimpering incessantly. Qiu Su kept her head down and remained silent for a moment, then suddenly looked up and asked, "Xiao Qiu, where's He Zhuo?"
Xiao Qiu looks remarkably like the Mountain Lord, inheriting his beauty and arrogance. However, after following Pei Yuan for nearly two years, the Mountain Lord's arrogant temperament has been completely softened. Especially when facing Mo Mo, no matter how much he rides, pulls, and scratches her, she always quietly lets him smear cement on her, her eyes always soft and watery.
At this moment, the mountain lord looked at Qiu Su with such tenderness. Seeing her raise her head, it shook its ears, let out a soft whimper, and snuggled forward, nuzzling her face until its eyes welled up with tears. Qiu Su, seeing large tears streaming down its face, was so shocked that she opened her mouth wide and forgot to speak.
She had raised it since it was a puppy, and she never knew it could cry.
Qiu Su laughed and vigorously rubbed its head with her bandaged hand. The mountain lord looked at Pei Yuan and, seeing that he did not stop it, moved forward and squeezed directly into Qiu Su's chest, letting out two low whimpers.
"Where are the yellow peaches?" Qiu Su couldn't help but ask.
"I brought Momo with me."
Qiu Su looked puzzled, but Pei Yuan's expression softened. "My son."
Qiu Su's face turned pale. "Congratulations, Third Prince. Zhu Yuan, are you alright?"
"I don't know." Pei Yuan stared intently at Qiu Su, noticing that the excitement, despair, grievance, and sorrow he felt upon first meeting were gone from her eyes, leaving only a calm and indifferent expression. He sighed and said, "Su Su, I've thought about you for one year and seven months."
Qiu Su stopped Pei Yuan from applying the medicine, grabbed a sheet to wrap her back, and looked at him with cold eyes, saying firmly, "Third Prince, there's no need for you to do it. I mean it."
Pei Yuan paused, and seeing that she had truly recovered, he put down the medicated oil, sat down on the ground, and said gently, "Does Su Su hate me?"
"Your Highness is too kind," Qiu Su said, burying her face in the mountain lord's neck again.
"Susu, there's someone you need to meet."
Qiu Su frowned, then reluctantly turned her head and pressed herself against the bed to get up. Pei Yuan wanted to help her, but hesitated and withdrew his hand.
Qiu Su finished dressing, tidied her hair, looked at her feet, and frowned.
“He’s a very important person.” Pei Yuan sighed. “I told him you are a very beautiful person, someone who would treat others with all her heart, no matter who is hypocritical towards her. You saved his life when he was very young.”
Qiu Su frowned more and more deeply.