Yao Youqing had been instructed to stay close to him, and she was now inseparable from him. Seeing his face darken and about to get angry, she quickly grabbed his sleeve: "Brother Hong..."
Her voice was soft and timid, and her watery eyes looked at him pleadingly, hoping he would bear with it.
Hearing the timid "Brother Hong," Wei Hong glanced down at her slender white fingers tugging at his sleeve, but ultimately said nothing.
While talking to the bandits in front of him, Cui Hao kept his ears perked up, listening intently to the sounds coming from the other side. His heart was in his throat until Wei Hong said "my sister," at which point he finally relaxed.
The bandit realized he had misspoke and quickly apologized, saying, "Sorry, sorry, I misread it."
After saying that, he glanced at Yao Youqing twice and said, "This... doesn't seem like it."
The two of them, one tall and strong even with a slight hunchback, looked like a small mountain, while the other, delicate and timid, hid behind, completely enveloping them. They didn't look like they were born from the same mother.
However, it is indeed possible that they were not born of the same mother. Those wealthy merchants, like officials, loved to take concubines. Who knows which beautiful concubine gave birth to this young lady? Look at her delicate and fair appearance, she looks very tempting.
The bandit thought to himself, but dared not reveal his intentions too obviously, and quickly looked away.
Wei Hong had already sensed some ill intent in his eyes, so he pulled Yao Youqing behind him to completely block her from view, and glanced at the bandit's weasel-faced, sharp-mouthed face: "If you had a younger sister, would she look just like you?"
The bandit was taken aback by his retort and was somewhat annoyed, but thinking that this was a fat sheep, he held back and changed the subject with a forced smile.
"Where is your father? Why didn't we see him with you?"
"I'm getting old and my health isn't good, so I didn't want to leave my hometown and stayed here."
This was the prepared answer, and Wei Hong answered it offhand.
The bandit nodded, perhaps thinking of his own situation: "That's how it is with these older folks; they'd rather die in their hometown than come out."
"If you ask me, it's just being old-fashioned! You can't think straight! If you can't live here, why not move somewhere else? Why insist on dying there? When you die, you're just buried in the ground anyway. What difference does the soil make?"
Wei Hong didn't listen to anything else, except for the word "pedantic." He turned to look at Yao Youqing and nodded, "Indeed pedantic."
Yao Youqing was frightened and hid behind him, not daring to make a sound. But when she heard those two words, she couldn't help but raise her head: "You're not allowed to talk about Father like that."
He frowned slightly as he spoke, and although his voice was still soft and gentle, he was clearly unhappy.
She knew the bandit was talking about his own father, but Wei Hong must be referring to her father.
Wei Hong snorted lightly: "You didn't say anything wrong."
Yao Youqing pursed her lips, loosened her grip on his sleeve, and glared at him angrily.
"Father is just... just an upright person who doesn't like to follow the crowd like others."
Wei Hong looked down at the sleeve she had flung away, and his expression darkened.
Are you getting angry at me?
Yao Youqing: "...Yes."
yes?
Wei Hong looked at her stubborn little face, and his expression gradually tightened.
The bandit hadn't expected that his casual remark would cause the brother and sister to quarrel, so he quickly tried to smooth things over: "Hey, young ladies don't travel around often, they only know how to be filial to their elders, they don't understand the thoughts of us men, don't take it to heart."
Wei Hong: "What business is it of yours if my husband and I are arguing? Get out!"
After he finished speaking, a hush fell over the surroundings.
Yao Youqing: "?"
Cui Hao: "??"
Mountain bandits: "???"
Chapter 28 Coming-of-Age Ceremony
The silence did not last long, only a brief moment.
The next moment, Wei Hongyuan stretched out his arm and pulled Yao Youqing into his arms.
Meanwhile, the Jingyuan Army, who had just been chatting enthusiastically with those bandits, killed the nearest bandits with lightning speed, without even letting them make a sound.
With one hand still on the shoulder of the bandit he had just sworn brother to, Cui Hao used the other hand to plunge a short knife that had somehow slipped from his sleeve into the bandit's abdomen. In the blink of an eye, he made three stabs in three different places, then let go, turned away with some disgust, and carefully checked his hands for any bloodstains as he walked.
The bandit collapsed to the ground a few steps after he had taken the first step, his face blank with surprise and disbelief. The short knife stuck in his stomach twitched and trembled with his body's spasms, and blood kept gushing from the wound.
Cui Hao walked up to Wei Hong, looked at him helplessly, and sighed, his expression indescribable.
He knew that the prince didn't take this bandit suppression seriously at all, but this was far too insignificant.
At least try to put on a proper act in front of the princess, okay? Otherwise, how will he continue his performance?
Although they could catch the bandits using other methods, if they could do it without fishing, how could he explain to the princess why he brought her all this way?
Cui Hao was exhausted and waved his hand to have the nearby corpses cleaned up.
The accompanying Jingyuan Army quickly carried the body away. From the killing to the removal of the body, it only took a short while. The process was neat and orderly, showing that they were very experienced.
Zhou's mother and the others were terrified. They cried out in alarm when the Jingyuan Army was killing people, and then immediately surrounded Yao Youqing.
Only after all the bodies had been moved did Wei Hong release his grip and hand the person in his arms to them: "Take her to the car."
Although the body has been moved, there is still a lot of blood on the ground, which needs to be cleaned up for a while.
Zhou's mother nodded, and together with Ding Shou, they escorted Yao Youqing to the car, shielding her from even the bloodstains.
Qiongyu followed behind, trembling. She wanted to get in the car, but the thought of the murder she had just witnessed made her want to vomit. She quickly ran to the side, squatted under a tree, and began to dry heave.
This was the first time she had ever witnessed murder in her life; it was terrifying…
Yao Youqing sat in the car, her hands and feet were cold, and her forehead was red.
Her hands and feet were cold from fright, and her forehead was red from being pushed into Wei Hong's arms.
Zhou's mother had never witnessed murder before, but being older, she was much more composed. She poured a cup of hot tea and handed it to her to warm her hands.
After a moment of hesitation, Yao Youqing asked in a trembling voice, "Aunt Zhou, are those bandits... all dead?"
Mrs. Zhou nodded: "They were all bad people, they deserve to die."
“I know,” Yao Youqing said, “but… what about the remaining bandits? We haven’t found them yet. If they harm more people…”
She lowered her eyes, and her eyes reddened.
Mrs. Zhou quickly interjected, "This isn't your fault, it was just now..."
It was the prince who let it slip, and it was also the prince who started the trouble.
She sighed helplessly and swallowed back what she was going to say, saying, "We'll ask Lord Cui if he has any other ideas later."
The prince and the young lady just had a quarrel, and probably neither of them wants to talk to the other for a while.
Unexpectedly, after the Jingyuan Army had cleaned up all the bloodstains, Yao Youqing came to Wei Hong alone.
Wei Hong was standing on the riverbank, gazing absently at the opposite bank, when he heard a noise nearby. Without turning around, he knew who it was.
He didn't speak or turn around; he stood there silently.
Yao Youqing approached and stopped, speaking softly, "Your Highness."
Wei Hong didn't respond, and she didn't silently walk away just because he didn't answer. She continued, "I want to ask you, what grudge do you have against my father, and why do you hold such a deep grudge against him?"
Wei Hong tightened his grip on his back, his gaze darkened, and his face tensed again, but he remained silent.
"Before the wedding, I asked my father once, but he didn't tell me..."
“Of course he won’t tell you,” Wei Hong finally spoke up, “because he feels guilty and dares not tell you!”
Yao Youqing was slightly taken aback: "...But Father is an upright man..."
"It's precisely because he's upright, so uprightly pedantic! That's why..."
His forehead veins bulged, his eyes were slightly red, and his gaze was fierce, but he stopped when he saw the pale face of the woman in front of him, who was terrified by him, and did not continue speaking.
Once some things are said out loud, they stand like a wall, a boundary more distinct than the difference between the front and back yards, and difficult to cross.
Wei Hong took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed the anger in his heart.
"It's none of your business. Don't ask anymore, and never ask again."
Yao Youqing lowered her head, her eyes red: "I am his daughter, how could it be none of my business? If it really was none of my business, why would the Prince have agreed to marry me in the first place? The reason you agreed back then was actually to spite Father, wasn't it..."
“I don’t know what happened between you, but since the late emperor’s decree of marriage is irreversible, I am willing to marry into this family so that no one will be in a difficult position.”
“But Your Highness… after all, my father raised me and has cherished me like a precious treasure for over a decade. How can I pretend I didn’t hear you speaking ill of him to my face?”
"If you tell me what exactly happened between you two, I might be able to mediate a little, but since neither of you will tell me, I'll never know, and there's nothing I can do..."
She became more and more aggrieved as she spoke, and a few tears welled up in her eyes.
Wei Hong wanted to say that it was impossible to reconcile them, that they could never be reconciled in a lifetime, but looking at that face, he couldn't bring himself to say it. In the end, he forced a smile and replied, "I won't say anything to his face in the future."
This was the biggest concession he could make; it was practically an apology to him.
Yao Youqing knew she wouldn't get any more information, so she choked up and asked another question: "What about the bandits? What if we messed things up and the other bandits got away?"
This is what she's most worried about right now. The thought of those bandits fleeing because of her argument with Wei Hong, and possibly harming other passersby, makes her burst into tears, her lips trembling as she sobs uncontrollably.
Wei Hong had never comforted a woman before. Seeing her crying like this, not knowing what to do with her hands and feet, he finally frowned, took out his handkerchief, and stuffed it into her hand.
"Don't cry. I'll have someone pretend to be another group of bandits. They'll think their own people were killed by other bandits, so they'll naturally come out to take revenge."
Yao Youqing looked up and hiccuped, "You can do that? Your Highness, you're so clever."
Looking at her still red but clear eyes, Wei Hong felt as if something had bumped into his chest, a light and itchy sensation, and awkwardly turned his gaze away.
He didn't know whether to say she was carefree or what, guessing that he had agreed to marry her on purpose to spite Yao Yuzhi, yet she still married him without crying or making a fuss.
Without complaint, resentment, or anger, he readily agreed when he asked her to help him under the pretext of suppressing bandits.
Looking at the river in front of him, Wei Hong felt the pent-up frustration in his heart slowly dissipate with the flow of the water. When Cui Hao sent someone to call them, he went back with Yao Youqing.
...
Those bandits were eventually wiped out by the Jingyuan Army, without taking too long because of the previous events.
On the way back, Wei Hong happened to see Zhou's mother having someone cook a bowl of longevity noodles for Yao Youqing, and only then did he realize that it was her birthday and the day she came of age.
Coming of age is a major event for girls. If they are not married, their families will usually hold a grand coming-of-age ceremony. Even if they are married, they will still celebrate in a lively manner.
However, Wei Hong hadn't paid attention to Yao Youqing's birthday before, so he naturally didn't know that she was turning fifteen today. He simply spent her fifteenth birthday with a bowl of noodles.