Normally, Yao Youqing would be very embarrassed to make such intimate gestures with Wei Hong in front of outsiders, but right now she has forgotten all of that. Her eyes and heart are only on the person in front of her, this broad-chested man who is as solid and reliable as a big tree.
The moment she threw herself into his arms, all the fear and anxiety of the past few days vanished, leaving only belated grievances and the joy of reunion.
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she nestled in the man's arms, sobbing softly, "Your Highness, I've finally seen you..."
Even though she's been doing better these past few days than when she was first kidnapped, and Liancheng has been taking good care of her, she still doesn't dare to relax for a moment, fearing that she might be tricked again at any time. So she doesn't even dare to sleep too soundly, afraid that she'll wake up to find herself taken somewhere else.
She was constantly on guard, always on alert, and always watching the direction she was heading, all because she wanted to see Wei Hong as soon as possible, and now she finally did.
Wei Hong held his beloved wife, whom he had lost and then regained, tightly around her, his chin and lips gently brushing against the top of her head.
"It's my fault, Ning'er, it's my fault. I failed to protect you properly and made you suffer."
He had boasted that he would protect her and their children in the future, and how long has it been? He had already let her go through such a terrible ordeal.
He couldn't even imagine how she had gotten through these days, or how terrified she must have been facing those wicked people.
"Cough, cough!"
Seeing them embracing each other so intimately, Liancheng deliberately coughed twice to interrupt them.
"Your Highness, please explain to the Prince what happened first, or he'll shoot me to death with a hail of arrows."
As soon as Yao Youqing left their side, the Jingyuan Army immediately grabbed the bows and arrows on their horses, drew their bows, and stared at them menacingly, waiting for them to do anything reckless so they could fire a hail of arrows at them and turn them all into pincushions.
Upon hearing this, Yao Youqing glanced at them and straightened up slightly from Wei Hong's embrace.
"I don't know what happened either..."
She recounted her experiences from the time she was kidnapped until now, including how she escaped, how she met Xiao Guaiguai, how she met Liancheng, and how Liancheng had been helping her run around these past few days.
"Yes, yes, it's not easy for me either."
Liancheng replied from the other end.
"I myself am being chased, and I have to escape with your queen. We were almost caught several times."
Wei Hongli ignored him and said to Yao Youqing, "You must be exhausted these days. Wutong Town isn't far from here. I'll take you there to rest, and we'll go back to Cangcheng after you've rested."
Yao Youqing nodded obediently and then asked, "What about Aunt Zhou and Qiongyu? How are they?"
"They're all fine, just worried about you. I'll have someone send a message back to let them know you're alright, then they'll be relieved."
Yao Youqing nodded again: "Don't forget to tell your uncle and aunt as well, they must be very worried about me."
"good."
The two chatted back and forth, as if they had completely forgotten about Liancheng.
Although Liancheng was not happy, he knew that Wei Hong must be angry right now, so it was best not to provoke him. He stayed quietly to the side like a chicken, and only followed them at a distance when they headed to Wutong Town.
Wutong Town is very large. After entering, Wei Hong and his group went straight to a spacious mansion in the east of the town.
Liancheng felt the route was somewhat familiar, and when Wei Hong stopped in front of the house, he felt even more familiar with it.
"Isn't this my house?"
He walked over and said.
He owned many properties in Nan Yan and Daliang, and this courtyard in Wutong Town was one of them.
So, when Wei Hong said he wanted to rest in Wutong Town, he meant he wanted to rest at his house.
Wei Hong ignored his words, glanced at him sideways, and said, "Open the door."
Liancheng: "..."
So, they want to stay in his house and they're so self-righteous about it, as if they're going back to their own home?
Liancheng was so angry his liver hurt. He raised his finger to point at him as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, under the gaze of his bloodshot eyes, he withdrew his hand, scratched his head, and said to the person next to him, "Go knock on the door!"
He had known Wei Hong for many years and knew when he could and couldn't mess with him. For example, when he looked like he hadn't had a proper rest in a long time and might suddenly turn violent and kill someone at any moment, he absolutely couldn't mess with him.
The servant obeyed and went to knock on the door. Soon the gate opened.
Wei Hong led Yao Youqing inside, making it feel just like his own home. He let Liancheng stay in the front yard while he led Yao Youqing to the main courtyard in the back.
Liancheng gritted his teeth and forced a smile, then had his servants lead them inside.
After they left, he noticed the servants staring at him and angrily said, "What are you looking at? I'm not afraid of him! It's just that he has women around him who are behaving in a subservient manner!"
The servant quickly lowered his head and looked away: "Yes, yes, when the princess was recuperating, the young master gave her the best courtyard. Now that the prince has come, it is not appropriate for the princess to stay in the front courtyard with him, so she will naturally have to go to the inner courtyard."
Liancheng scoffed and glared at him: "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and clean the house!"
His most frequently used items are all in the main courtyard. There are fewer things in the front courtyard, so he has to rearrange them to make himself comfortable.
The servant obeyed and left. Liancheng withdrew his gaze and instructed another person, "Have someone keep an eye on things in the inner courtyard. If the prince is looking for me, tell me immediately. Don't delay."
The servant agreed, and Liancheng went to rest for the time being, but he waited until sunset and still did not see Wei Hong.
...
After Wei Hong arrived at the main courtyard, he immediately asked Li Dou to take Yao Youqing's pulse to see if she was alright.
After carefully taking her pulse, Li Dou replied, "The princess is in good health. It seems that Cheng Yu, who is by the young master's side, did indeed give her a thorough examination."
"However, it is winter now, and the princess caught a chill that day. Although she seems to be fine now, she still needs to be careful to keep warm, otherwise her body will not be able to withstand repeated exposure to the cold."
"It's like water dripping on a stone. One or two drops won't show any abnormalities, but over time and with repeated occurrences, it's inevitable that traces will be left."
Yao Youqing nodded: "Cheng Yu said the same thing. He also told me not to always sit indoors and rest. When the weather is nice, I should go out and run around, move around and get some sun. This will be better for my health."
"Yes, pampering your body too much is actually bad for your health. It's better to move around a bit."
Wei Hong nodded, confirming that Yao Youqing was alright, before letting Li Dou leave. After he closed the door and left, he picked Yao Youqing up again, placed her on his lap, and buried his face in her neck.
He held her silently, his weary body suddenly freed from a heavy burden, pressing all his weight onto her.
Yao Youqing felt a little heavy, but she didn't move away. She supported his heavy head with her own body and patted him gently with her soft little hands.
"Your Highness must have had a long and arduous journey searching for me these past few days."
One sentence brought tears to Wei Hong's eyes.
He straightened up, pulled the girl's hand to his lips and kissed it: "It's no trouble. I'm your husband. It's only right that I look for you when you're missing."
"Besides, it was my fault for not protecting you properly, which led to this disaster. If I hadn't been so careless and had kept more people around you, this wouldn't have happened."
Yao Youqing shook her head, her expression somewhat somber.
"Who would have thought His Majesty would do such a thing? Come to think of it... it's me who implicated the Prince."
If it weren't for the need to find an opportunity to abduct her, His Majesty wouldn't have deliberately sent the prince away.
Wei Hong was slightly taken aback and gently stroked her cheek.
"You guessed it?"
Yao Youqing lowered her eyes: "It's not hard to guess."
Because everything was too coincidental.
Wei Hong sighed softly and hugged her tightly again.
"That's not how it works. If I hadn't agreed to the arranged marriage out of spite, none of this would have happened."
She might already be the Empress of Liang, the most favored woman in the harem. Then Wei Chi would naturally not come to her to snatch her away, nor would he cause her to live in fear for so many days.
Yao Youqing looked up and blinked her bright eyes.
"Does the prince regret marrying me?"
These words sounded familiar, like when he asked her before if she regretted marrying him.
Wei Hong knew she was trying to make him happy, so he chuckled and gently rubbed her forehead.
"Marrying Ning'er is the luckiest thing that has ever happened to me."
Although he liked Yao Youqing, he still maintained a certain air of superiority and rarely spoke so frankly.
Firstly, it's because that's his personality; he's not used to using sweet words.
Secondly, because Yao Youqing is Yao Yuzhi's daughter, even though he knew they were completely different people and repeatedly told himself to treat them differently and not to confuse them, he was still reluctant to directly admit his feelings to her.
There was a sense of resentment in his heart that he couldn't quite explain, which made him feel awkward even when he treated her well, and he was unwilling to express his feelings.
But all those little annoyances disappeared because of this accident, or perhaps they are still there, but have become insignificant.
Compared to those things, the person in front of him was more important.
Yao Youqing smiled and leaned into his arms: "Marrying the prince is the luckiest thing that has ever happened to Ning'er in her life."
Chapter 82 Host and Guest
The servants boiled hot water for the two of them to bathe. Usually, whenever Wei Hong was with Yao Youqing, he would always pester her to bathe with him.
But he hadn't properly washed himself in almost half a month, and he was filthy, so he told Yao Youqing to go first, and he would wait for her to come out before going himself.
Yao Youqing nodded and went into the bathroom. After taking a bath, she came out and heard a snoring sound. When she got closer, she found that Wei Hong, who had been sitting on the edge of the bed, had fallen asleep on the bed. He hadn't taken off his clothes and shoes, and his legs were still hanging out.
She tiptoed over, looked down at the sleeping man, and reached out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind his ear.
Although she had been stranded for some time, since meeting Liancheng and his group, she had at least been provided with food and clothing, and had enough time to rest. Although she didn't know when she could return to Shangchuan, she knew that she was heading in the right direction, so she was much more relaxed than when she was first kidnapped.
But the prince still had no news of her, and he must have been worried about her all the time. This worry would only grow bigger and bigger as time went on, and he might have been even more anxious than she was.
Yao Youqing took off his shoes and socks and tried to move his legs onto the bed.
But the man was fast asleep and showed no intention of moving up with her. She tried for a long time but couldn't move up, so she had to go outside to find someone to help her.
Cui Hao hadn't had a proper rest in a long time either, but he was still a bit better off than Wei Hong, at least he wasn't like him who couldn't even close his eyes during rest time.
This house belongs to Liancheng. They couldn't possibly live in the front yard themselves and have Wei Hong and Yao Youqing be served by Liancheng's servants in the back yard, so they all came in as well, living not far from the main courtyard. He even lived directly in the side room.
When Yao Youqing came out looking for someone, he had just finished showering and was drying his hair. Hearing the noise, he casually tied his hair up, put on an outer shirt, and came over to help.
He first helped Yao Youqing move Wei Hong to the bed, and then asked the servants to bring water so he could simply wash his face.
Yao Youqing took the damp handkerchief and said, "I'll do it."
As she spoke, she sat down on the edge of the bed and gently wiped Wei Hong's face clean.
The once handsome man was now disheveled from days of running around searching. His cheeks were sunken, his eyes were dark-rimmed, and he had grown a long stubble on his chin, which looked like it hadn't been trimmed in a long time.