57. Chapter Fifty-Seven
In the early autumn twilight, the last rays of the setting sun slanted into the foliage of the forest, like a pale golden veil tinged with a slight chill.
When Yun Lie arrived, following the bird's song, he saw Luo Cuiwei sitting on a large rock in the distance.
Since their grand wedding in late June, the two have been almost inseparable, from the capital to Linchuan. Before this moment, Yun Lie thought he had seen all of Luo Cuiwei's faces.
But at this very moment, he suddenly realized that none of the faces she had shown him before or after their marriage included the face of the eldest daughter of the Luo family, who had once held the patriarchal authority of the "richest man in the capital."
As far as the eye could see, that delicate and sweet slender body, which was always under the mandarin duck quilt in the quiet of the night, was now sitting upright with a majestic air, her waist straight as a pine tree.
That face, which had been languid and sweet with a smile this morning, now held a serene and unfathomable expression that inspired awe.
The plain blue brocade narrow-sleeved half-length dress she wore was one he had personally dressed her in that morning before he left. Originally just an elegant and dignified casual outfit, it was transformed into a majestic armor-like garment by her cold and hard demeanor at that moment.
She had never shown him such a cold and hostile side before.
Thinking of the mess Song Jiuyuan had made with his foul mouth, Yun Lie's chest tightened with pain, his heart pounded like a drum, and he was restless and agitated.
He's really been wronged to death.
His wife was by no means an ordinary girl at heart; she was a girl who was used to making decisions in the blink of an eye and was not afraid of winning or losing.
If she hadn't carefully explained the misunderstanding, she definitely would have abandoned him and left.
Every word and sentence must be correct.
Even the breathing and pauses when speaking cannot be wrong.
We absolutely, absolutely cannot let her have even the slightest doubt in her mind.
Yun Lie slowed his pace, his throat bobbing as he tried to calm his panicked mind and sift through his chaotic thoughts to find the right words.
Just as he was tense to the point of almost moving in unison, he suddenly heard that familiar, delicate voice utter a chilling, sharp sentence—
"Stand there and don't move."
These five short words, without any display of martial prowess, exuded a chilling sharpness that could freeze one's blood.
Yun Lie felt as if molten iron had been poured under his feet, and he was stuck to the spot.
It felt like something suddenly burst out of my chest.
The pain was unbearable.
****
The Linchuan army soldiers who were ordered to search the mountains had just been rotated out of the front-line defense zone yesterday and were taking a short rest in the village.
They had received an urgent order from Prince Zhao, relayed by Xiong Xiaoyi, the military commander of the central army, and rushed up the mountain without having time to change into the sand-cloth armor of the Linchuan army. So they were wearing all sorts of clothes.
Faced with Luo Cuiwei's intimidating aura, the entire team looked at each other, at a loss for what to do.
After a long silence, someone finally spoke up, forcing a smile, "Your Highness, we are indeed here on Your Highness's orders to find you..."
"What? His Highness Prince Zhao's orders are orders, but the Princess Consort's orders are just empty words?" Luo Cuiwei rested her right hand on her bent knee, her left hand behind her back on the large rock, her bright eyes sparkling as she gazed at the cold river.
"Didn't you just say that His Highness would come soon after the whistle was sounded?"
The entire team of soldiers seemed to wake from a dream, scratching their heads and looking around.
A sharp-eyed person finally spotted Yun Lie, who was half-hidden in the shade of the trees. For a moment, they forgot about etiquette, pointed in that direction, and turned back to look at Luo Cuiwei with excited eyes.
"There it is! There it is!"
Luo Cuiwei looked in the direction the man was pointing and saw the familiar tall figure. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief and slowly concealed the sharp, cold thorns around her.
"Alright, His Highness has come to fetch you personally, so you can go back now," Luo Cuiwei waved her hand, a faint smile appearing on her lips, her face once again welcoming everyone with a smile. "I'm so sorry to have troubled you all with this trip. I'll treat you to some meat tomorrow as an apology."
****
The soldiers bid farewell to Luo Cuiwei and Yun Lie, then sent out a bird-like whistle to their comrades in other directions, signaling "Found, retreat!" before quickly retreating and disappearing from sight.
Yun Lie stepped out from the shade of the trees, his limbs stiff as he moved toward Luo Cuiwei, feeling his face stiff and numb.
He stopped in front of her and saw her looking up at him with a blank expression. Yun Lie's throat bobbed several times, and his thin lips seemed to be sewn shut, unable to open them for a long time.
His mind was in complete turmoil, and he couldn't decipher what her expression meant. All the careful explanations he had carefully considered earlier were wasted, and he couldn't utter a single word.
"you……"
As soon as Luo Cuiwei spoke, he was caught off guard and shivered.
Under her increasingly surprised gaze, Yun Lie knelt down on one knee, half-squatting in front of her, so that she no longer had to strain to look up.
Then, he tremblingly reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders. Seeing that she did not push him away, he suddenly pulled her into his arms.
His movement was sudden and forceful; Luo Cuiwei was caught off guard, and her delicate nose slammed into his hard chest. The pain instantly brought tears and stars to her eyes.
"Yun Lie!" Luo Cuiwei, nestled in his arms, endured the pain and called his name in a soft, slightly annoyed voice.
Yun Lie was unaware of what "good deed" he had done. Hearing the anger in her voice, which seemed to be an accusation, he panicked and held her even tighter.
"Weiwei, you have to believe me! I'm innocent! Song Jiuyuan is talking nonsense! I never even considered taking advantage of the Luo family!"
It was written in one go, without needing to pause.