The Beauties of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 137

"yes!"

The lieutenant obeyed and rushed out like a whirlwind. Wanlan stared blankly at the dark sky outside the tent, clutching Zhao Dezhao's clothes tightly, "Zhao Dezhao, go save Zehua..."

Zhao Dezhao pursed his lips, his face tense, picked up the long sword from the table, and pulled her outside. Lan Wu had already prepared two horses outside the tent. The three of them hurriedly mounted their horses and galloped south.

Volume Six: The Rise and Fall of the Song Dynasty, Chapter 117: The Bluebird's Affectionate Watch (2)

Wanlan kept telling herself that although the casualties in this battle were terrible, Zhao Jiong had escaped despite being injured, so Zhao Defang should be fine too.

However, when Zhao Dezhao led her to Zhuozhou in the early hours of the next day but they did not find Zhao Jiong and the others who were supposed to be resting there, she panicked.

Is she too confident?

Why didn't they come to Zhuozhou? What went wrong on the way?

Just as Wanlan was in a panic, Lan Wu, who was in charge of questioning, returned. He first glanced at Wanlan, who was pale and stunned, before looking at Zhao Dezhao and saying, "The guards in the city all said that they had not seen the Emperor come here in person."

"No……"

Wanlan stared at him in horror. "Impossible! There must be some mistake!"

Turning back and grabbing Zhao Dezhao, she cried out urgently, as if grasping at a lifeline, "Zhao Dezhao, let's go back to find Zehua! They must be stuck on the road! Take me to him... take me..."

"Lan'er!"

Zhao Dezhao had no choice but to grip her shoulders tightly to stop her uncontrollable trembling. His cold brows were furrowed tightly. "The Liao army will catch up here soon. Not only can we not turn back, but even Zhuozhou is in great danger! I must take you away!"

"I won't leave!" she screamed, struggling beneath his grasp. "I won't leave until I find Zehua! Let me go!"

"Lan'er!"

"Zhao Dezhao!"

Wanlan's eyes reddened. She realized that no matter what she did, she couldn't break free from the man's grip. Having long lost her composure, she was like a madwoman at this moment.

“I’m telling you! This war between Song and Liao was destined to be a defeat from the very beginning! I can also tell you that my uncle was hit by two arrows, and the wounds are extremely deep, and they will recur every year! I know all this clearly, so I didn’t care at all from the start, but I knew nothing about Zehua! Because of my ignorance, I was afraid that I would miss every opportunity to protect him! Please let me go… It’s okay if you don’t want to go with me, I’ll go by myself, just let me go…”

She practically shouted what she said, but it was incredibly fast. Zhao Dezhao and Lan Wu, who were standing to the side, were both astonished, but their grip on her hands didn't loosen in the slightest.

Lan Wu was unaware of Wan Lan's true background, so he was only astonished and bewildered.

But Zhao Dezhao knew.

After processing Wanlan's rapid-fire words, his face suddenly turned deathly pale. He immediately tightened his arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace, and raised his eyes to command Lanwu:

"Pass down my order: defend Zhuozhou City to the death! Have Lord Song Ya select some energetic soldiers, quickly prepare them, and accompany me to find the Emperor and the Prince of Qin in half an hour!"

"Yes!" Lan Wu accepted the order, turned around, and ran out.

The small room suddenly fell silent.

Feeling the still trembling body in his arms, Zhao Dezhao's cold brows softened. He silently hugged her tighter, patting her back repeatedly with his large hands, hoping she could calm down.

This woman can be as dignified as a lady from a prominent family, occasionally displaying a somewhat aggressive indifference, yet she can also be as gentle as the most tender woman in the world.

No matter which version of her she was, she was always calm and composed, or occasionally lost her composure, but she would never have acted as wildly and erratically as she did today.

She really loved Defang very much, didn't she?

"Lan'er".

He still uses the original title.

"Lan Wu will stay behind to protect you. I will go out with Lord Song Ya to help you find De Fang."

He finally pushed her away from him with some reluctance, his deep eyes fixed on her still somewhat dazed face, and solemnly instructed: "The soldiers left to guard the city should be able to hold out for a few days, but if there is any emergency, you must obediently follow Lan Wu all the way south."

Wanlan, her eyes slightly damp, stared blankly at him. "But—"

"I promise you, I will deliver Defang to you safely, but on the condition that you follow my instructions."

When did he develop feelings for this woman that he couldn't let go of? He wasn't quite sure himself.

Perhaps it was only after learning that the real Lan'er had disappeared that he transferred his feelings, which he had nowhere else to rely on, to this woman. Or perhaps, after all these years of entanglement, what he thought was hatred for this woman was actually another emotion that he had never wanted to admit.

He really didn't know what it was, and he didn't want to know.

Since she possesses the beauty of his beloved and is deeply in love with his dearest younger brother, he will protect her happiness no matter what.

"Zhao Dezhao, you...you must be careful." (Wen-Ren-S-H-U)

He smiled with delight at her kindness.

He slowly released her, and as he turned to leave, he suddenly glanced at her worried eyes and asked the question he hadn't been able to answer the night before: "Why did you ask the Imperial Uncle for a pardon for my sake? Do you know something?"

She knew everything that happened in the Song Dynasty, so did she also know what happened to him?

Wanlan gradually calmed down. Looking into his deep, curious eyes, she asked, "If you lose your goal, does your life lose its meaning?" "What?"

Zhao Dezhao was somewhat taken aback. "What do you mean?"

Wanlan blinked. "Would you... get so upset about someone or something?"

Speechless.

This was the first time Zhao Dezhao had ever been so dumbfounded.

"When you said you couldn't see things clearly... you wouldn't mean—"