The escort agency's carriage traveled through the mountains and forests, continuing to move towards the downtown area of ​​Qingyang City.
The wind shuttled through the mountains and forests, and in the wind were mixed various sounds, from the rustling of leaves, from the calls of birds and animals, from the footsteps of passers-by, and -
"Help, help." Just as they were about to get out of the forest, a faint cry for help was heard.
"Listen, it sounds like someone is shouting for help." The first person to hear the voice was Li Qiuxue. She stopped and carefully identified the direction from which the voice came, and then walked in that direction.
An old woman was sitting on the ground, and she seemed to have tripped over a stone. Next to her was a medicine basket, and the herbs in the basket were scattered all over the ground. The old woman was shouting for help while trying to pick up the herbs back into the basket.
"Grandma, what's wrong with you?" Li Qiuxue stepped forward to help the old woman pick herbs and asked the reason.
The old woman is a lonely old woman living in the mountains. She originally had a partner, but he passed away a year ago. The old woman has neither children nor grandchildren. She occasionally goes up the mountain to collect herbs and sells them at the market to buy food. Recently, the weather is cold and damp, and the old woman has bone pain. She fell on the road and couldn't stand up.
"Xue'er, what's going on?" Li Bai Ze, who followed, asked about the situation.
"Dad, this old lady's foot is injured and she can't walk for the time being. I want to take her home."
"Where do you live, old man?"
"I live in this forest, in a small wooden house three miles ahead." The old woman pointed in the direction, which was exactly the opposite of the escort agency. Li Baize was a little embarrassed because sending the old man back would delay his return trip.
"Dad, Shao Qin and I will take Grandma home. You guys continue on your way. We'll catch up with you after we've settled Grandma down."
"Daddy is worried about leaving you alone." Li Bai Ze was a little worried at first, but he soon saw something from Li Qiuxue's pouting mouth.
This girl wanted to get rid of them and be alone with Chu Shaoqin. It's true that girls can't be kept around when they grow up!
"Okay, you guys send this old lady back, and then catch up with us." Li Baize compromised, looking at Li Qiuxue's satisfied smile, he turned and left the forest. The other people from the escort agency also followed him and continued on their way back to the escort agency.
Chu Shaoqin carried the old woman on his back, and Li Qiuxue walked in front of him carrying the medicine basket. The two of them walked one after the other in the direction indicated by the old woman.
"Mother-in-law, my name is Li Qiuxue, and his name is Bai Shaoqin. Do you think we are a good match?" Li Qiuxue pointed at herself and then at Chu Shaoqin.
The old woman glanced at Chu Shaoqin's profile and couldn't help laughing.
"You two are a perfect match, talented and beautiful."
"Yes, I also think we are a good match."
Chu Shaoqin got goose bumps all over his body as he listened to their conversation.
There was a fence outside the old woman's wooden house, and inside the fence were many shelves filled with herbs. When Li Qiuxue and Chu Shaoqin walked into the fence, a strong smell of herbs hit their noses.
"Miss Qiuxue, please help me get the herbs on the second shelf in front of the door." After the old woman sat down, she pointed to the shelf outside the door.
Li Qiuxue turned around to look for herbs, and the old woman grabbed Chu Shaoqin's hand and asked him to stay: "I saw you didn't say a word all the way, do you look down on this little girl?"
“…”
"I think that girl is pretty good, innocent, kind and helpful." When the old woman said this, Chu Shaoqin's mind was full of the scene of Li Qiuxue abusing him, and he couldn't help but smile so much that the corners of his mouth twitched.
"Grandma, I found it. Is this it?" After searching for a long time, Li Qiuxue finally found the herb her grandma mentioned. She trotted over with the herb in her hand, a happy smile on her face.
Chu Shaoqin was a little dazed when he saw her smile. Maybe she was really innocent and kind, and was just being rude to him. Thinking of this, Chu Shaoqin had a headache.
Li Qiuxue helped the old woman take off her shoes and socks. She massaged her feet and applied medicine to her.
Chu Shaoqin stared at her blankly, and felt that she was cuter than ever at this moment, and this kind of cuteness emanated from her bones. Chu Shaoqin's heartstrings were moved, and he also squatted down to help.
On the other side, when Li Baize returned to the Zhengda Escort Agency, the guard at the door was missing. With an ominous premonition in his heart, he hurriedly led everyone into the house. The door of the house was closed as they entered, and it was closed by several soldiers who had been guarding behind the door. The other people in the escort agency were tied up by the soldiers and knelt in the open courtyard.
"It's him! He's the one who killed our people." The soldier who escaped death a few days ago pointed at Li Bai Ze, who brought hundreds of soldiers and surrounded the escort agency densely. Li Bai Ze looked up at the attic roof, and archers were crawling on the halls and halls.
"What do you want to do?"
Li Baizawa opened his arms to stop his companion who was about to rush forward to save the people.
"Hand over Chu Shaoqin and I can spare your lives." The leader sitting on the chair raised his lips and smiled. He moved his fingers and several subordinates put knives on Xiao Li's neck.
"We don't have the person you're looking for here."
"It seems that the lives of your family are not as important as the life of a fugitive." The leader snapped his fingers, the big knife fell, and Xiao Li's head rolled to Li Bai Ze's feet.
"Xiao Li!" The man tied in the yard struggled, and Li Bai Ze tightly grasped the big knife in his hand, struggling in his heart.
Chu Shaoqin is now with Li Qiuxue. If he tells them where Chu Shaoqin is, it means that his daughter will die with Chu Shaoqin. But if he doesn't tell them, then the other people in the escort agency will become scapegoats. On one side is his daughter, and on the other side are the people in the escort agency. How should he choose?
"Still refusing to speak? Then kill another one." The leader said with a smile, waved his hand, and the soldier swung his sword and killed another person. Those were brothers who had been through thick and thin with Li Bai Ze. They saw the pain that Li Bai Ze was in, but no one said a word.
"Still refusing to tell me?"
"I'll fight you!" Li Baize finally drew out his sword and stabbed the soldier to death before his sword fell. The leader, who seemed not panicked, showed a creepy smile, and the elite soldiers behind him surrounded him. Another group of people rushed out from all directions of the escort agency and started a fight.
When Chu Shaoqin and Li Qiuxue settled the old lady, it was already late. The old lady asked them to stay overnight and set off again at dawn. Chu Shaoqin also thought it was unsafe to be on the road in the middle of the night, so he persuaded Li Qiuxue to stay for one night.
Li Qiuxue looked at the dim sky and had to agree. That night, Li Qiuxue felt uneasy and couldn't fall asleep.
The next day, they said goodbye to the old woman and returned to Qingyang City. When the people in Qingyang City saw them, they all hid away, as if they had encountered a plague god.
Li Qiuxue originally thought that they were afraid that she would play a trick on them, but many people on the street were talking about the Zhengda Escort Agency. Li Qiuxue was worried that something might happen to the Escort Agency, so she quickened her pace and walked home.
The door of the escort agency was tightly closed, with two seals on it. Li Qiuxue tore off the seals and pushed the door open. The moment the door opened, she felt the blood in her body freeze. The escort agency was full of corpses, and a foul smell rushed towards her. Corpses were lying in various corners of the house, and the blood on their bodies had dried up and blended with the dark red on the ground. Feather arrows were stuck in the corpses, and flies and mosquitoes were flying all over them. For a long while, Li Qiuxue couldn't accept the scene in front of her, stumbled back a step, and fell into Chu Shaoqin's arms.
Chu Shaoqin was speechless when he saw the piles of corpses on the ground.
"Daddy? Daddy!" Li Qiuxue ran into the mansion like crazy, looking for Li Bai Ze among the pile of corpses. She cried and kept turning over the corpses lying on their backs to see if it was Li Bai Ze.
She searched all the bodies and finally saw Li Baize sitting on a chair in the hall. He was supporting himself with a big knife, as if he was sitting there. Li Qiuxue ran in that direction, but was tripped by the threshold and fell heavily.
"Qiuxue." Chu Shaoqin, who had been following Qiuxue, hurried forward to support her. She stood up and pushed Chu Shaoqin away, then quickly ran to Li Baize.
"Daddy, daddy, wake up, what happened? Why is this happening? Wasn't everything fine yesterday? Daddy, open your eyes. Daddy, don't leave Xue'er alone. Xue'er only has you as her relative. Daddy, daddy..." Li Qiuxue burst into tears. She grasped Li Baize's arm helplessly and burst into tears. Li Baize's sword tilted down and his body fell towards Li Qiuxue.
"Daddy, what's wrong with you? Daddy..." Li Qiuxue burst into tears. When her mother passed away, she was still young and ignorant. She just cried and asked her mother why she didn't come back. But now, she knew clearly that her last relative in this world was also leaving her. Her heart felt like it was torn apart and could never be healed again.
"Xue'er..." Holding on to his last breath, Li Baize vaguely heard Li Qiuxue's voice. He opened his eyes with difficulty, and coughed up blood as he spoke.
"Dad, you're still alive, that's great, I'll take you to see a doctor right now, you'll be fine." Hearing the voice, Li Qiuxue hurriedly grabbed Li Bai Ze's hand and tried to help him up. But Li Bai Ze seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, and no matter how hard she tried, she failed in the end.
"Xue'er, no need. Daddy is dying." Li Bai Ze was barely breathing. He looked at the entire escort agency being wiped out, his face bleak. "Daddy can't protect the people in the escort agency, and he has no face to live in this world. But Daddy can't bear to leave you. Daddy still wants to see Xue'er again."
"Daddy, Xue'er won't allow you to say anything stupid. You will be fine. Xue'er won't allow Daddy to leave. Not allowed." Li Qiuxue sobbed and shook her head, fearing that he would die in the next moment.
"Shaoqin, I leave Xue'er to you. Take good care of her for me." Li Baize tightly grasped Chu Shaoqin's wrist, as if he had used up all his strength. After seeing Chu Shaoqin nod heavily, he smiled, closed his eyes, and slowly loosened his hand that was holding Chu Shaoqin's wrist, and fell to the ground dully.
"Daddy—" Li Qiuxue screamed hysterically, and finally fainted from the shock.
The news of the Li family being wiped out overnight spread like wildfire in Qingyang City. Some people said it was because they had offended the court, some said it was because they were harboring criminals, and some said it was because they had disobeyed the wishes of the Emperor Chu Fu. People in the city had always disliked Li Qiuxue, and now that she was the only one left in the Li family, no one cared about her.
Li Qiuxue wanted to give a grand funeral to the 80 people in the escort agency, but all the money in the family was taken away by the soldiers. Their family had nothing but an empty house. Li Qiuxue wanted to borrow money from other escort agencies, but they drove her out. Without Li Baize's support, she was worse than a street rat. At that moment, she felt deeply helpless. Chu Shaoqin didn't want to see her being bullied, so he took her away and stopped her from running around to borrow money.
Later, Chu Shaoqin borrowed a cart and spent three days pushing all the people in the escort agency to the forest for burial. Because they had no money to carve a tombstone or build a mourning hall, they had to cut wood themselves, make a wooden tombstone, and carve the names of the deceased on it.
After the 83 people of Zhengda Escort Agency were killed, Li Qiuxue seemed to have changed. She was usually lively and active, but suddenly she became quiet. When Chu Shaoqin talked to her, she just nodded and shook her head. Li Baize's death seemed to have a great impact on her. Chu Shaoqin felt very guilty, but he couldn't tell her the reason for all this.
"Xue'er, you haven't eaten for a few days. If you continue like this, your body will collapse. Can you eat something?" Chu Shaoqin bought a few steamed buns from the market and handed them to Li Qiuxue who was kneeling in front of the grave. Since Li Baize died, Chu Shaoqin called Li Qiuxue Xue'er. Li Baize liked to call her that when he was alive, and he didn't want her to never hear others call her that again.
Li Qiuxue, dressed in mourning, said nothing. She shook her head and continued to guard Li Bai Ze's tombstone.
The early spring rain came down suddenly, soaking her clothes. Chu Shaoqin hurriedly found an umbrella and held it over Li Qiuxue's head. He was worried about her health, but he didn't know what else he could do for her. Now everything she suffered was because of him, and he couldn't abandon her no matter what.
"Xue'er, your father definitely doesn't want to see you like this. He will definitely feel bad."
"My father is gone, and my heart aches." Li Qiuxue finally spoke, and a line of tears fell. She could no longer cry, but it was heartbreaking.
"I will stay with you, Xue'er, you still have me." Chu Shaoqin squatted down, grabbed Li Qiuxue's shoulders, and forced her to look at him. Li Qiuxue's scattered pupils gradually focused, she looked at Chu Shaoqin who was drenched by the heavy rain, and suddenly pushed him away like crazy, roaring angrily.
"It's all your fault! It's all your fault! If you hadn't wanted to stay at my mother-in-law's house overnight, I wouldn't have been unable to get back, and I wouldn't have been unable to save my father. It's all because of you. You killed my father. Give me back my father's life, and give me back the lives of the eighty-three people in my escort agency!" Li Qiuxue sobbed, kneeling in the rain-mixed mud, crying.
She didn't know who to blame, who to hate. Overnight, she went from being a doted on young lady to an orphan. It seemed impossible to adapt to such pain.
Chu Shaoqin did not answer. He staggered to his feet and stood silently behind Li Qiuxue.
He knew very well that he was the culprit, but he dared not confess and could only let the guilt and torment consume him.
This situation did not last long. One day, Li Qiuxue came back from a walk on the street with red eyes and clenched fists. She said to Chu Shaoqin: "I finally know what kind of trouble the escort agency has gotten into!"
Chu Shaoqin was stunned when he heard this, thinking that Li Qiuxue had finally figured out that he was the culprit. He was about to admit it, but then he heard her say, "I ran into people from other escort agencies on the street today, and they said that our family was exterminated because we offended the emperor. Daddy has never done anything illegal. I don't know why this tyrant targeted our escort agency, but I must avenge this!"
"Yes... they told you in person?" Chu Shaoqin asked with some guilt.
"No." Li Qiuxue shook her head. "I happened to meet them when I went to buy daddy's favorite pastries, and overheard them." After saying this, Li Qiuxue lowered her head sadly.
Seeing her sink into sadness again, Chu Shaoqin couldn't help but hold her hand: "Don't be sad, I will help you."
Li Qiuxue looked up upon hearing this and stared into Chu Shaoqin's eyes, her face full of trust and gratitude.
Seeing this, Chu Shaoqin felt even more guilty and could not tell the truth.
He was afraid to see her disappointed expression. Although he didn't know how this misunderstanding came about, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. If possible, he was willing to lie to her for a lifetime and take care of her for a lifetime...
Finally finding the enemy, Li Qiuxue seemed to have found light in the darkness, and was given the motivation to move forward. With a determined light in her eyes, she said in a deep voice: "Dad, I will definitely seek justice for you!"
At this moment, she had only one thought in her mind, which was to go to the capital and kill the dog emperor for revenge!
In order to prevent the Li family from being invaded, Li Qiuxue and Chu Shaoqin packed up and locked all the doors before leaving, and then buried all the keys under the pear tree in the backyard. Only the two of them knew where the keys were hidden.
There is a mountain called Longshan between Yandu and Qingyang City. There are many bandits on Longshan Mountain. Even soldiers dare not provoke the bandits on the mountain. Chu Shaoqin originally wanted to take a long detour to avoid the bandit den on Longshan Mountain, but Li Qiuxue was unwilling to take a long detour and felt that it would waste time, so she decided to take a shortcut. Chu Shaoqin could not persuade her, so he had to follow her up Longshan Mountain.
There were no inns or shops along the way, and their food and water soon ran out. In order to reach Yandu alive, the two picked fruits from the mountains when they were hungry and drank spring water when they were thirsty.
On the third day, they encountered a group of bandits bathing in the stream. When the bandits saw two people coming out of the jungle, they quickly dived into the water.
When Li Qiuxue squatted down to scoop water with her hands to drink, a shirtless bandit emerged from the bottom of the water with a splash. He grabbed Li Qiuxue's hand and pulled her into the water. Li Qiuxue was caught off guard and fell into the water with a splash. When Chu Shaoqin reacted, there was nothing else in the stream.
"Xue'er, Xue'er!" Chu Shaoqin looked around. The sunlight fell on the water, making the water mottled. Not far away, there were several fish-like shadows gradually swimming away, and there was a white shadow in the middle of those shadows. Chu Shaoqin took a deep breath, jumped into the stream, and chased the group of shadows.
Li Qiuxue couldn't swim, so she fainted after being underwater for a long time. When Chen San took her out of the water, she was as quiet as a kitten, sleeping quietly on his chest.
Chen San is the leader of the Longshan bandit den. Although he is a bandit, he has his own code of conduct. He never robs poor people, nor kills or burns people. He will help others when he sees something he doesn't like. Under his leadership, the brothers on the mountain are also law-abiding. There is nothing missing on Longshan except a wife.
Chen San never kidnapped women, but he felt an inexplicable throbbing when he saw Li Qiuxue under the water.
"Crack!" Li Qiuxue, who was choked by the water, suddenly coughed a few times and woke up. When she opened her eyes, she saw Chen San holding her. His skin was dark and smooth, like a loach. Under his sword-like eyebrows with murderous intent, his eyes were like deep pools. There was a scar on his right face, which made him look a little scary.
"Young lady, are you awake?" Chen San's voice was very gentle, but given the scar, his face always seemed gloomy.
"The wife of the bandit leader has woken up!" Upon hearing this, the bandits following Chen San began to make a noise. They were all shirtless, wearing bloomers, and their bodies were dripping with water.
"Young lady? The wife of the bandit leader?" Li Qiuxue thought for a while before realizing that she was tied up by the bandits. She struggled and beat Chen San's chest. Chen San tightened his arms and hugged her tighter. Then he threw her over his shoulders and carried her towards the room.
"Let me go, where is Shaoqin? Where did you take Shaoqin? Let me go, Shaoqin, save me, Shaoqin..." Li Qiuxue struggled. At the critical moment, her mind was full of Chu Shaoqin.
Chen San suddenly became angry. He threw Li Qiuxue down and grabbed her hands and pressed them against the stone wall.
"From today on, you can only call me Chen San, you can only call me by my name, you are not allowed to call me by any other man's name!" Chen San looked down at her wrist, and saw the word "Xue" engraved on the bell on her wrist. He added, "From now on, I will call you Xue'er."
"Report to the leader! We just caught a man who came out of the waterway. What do you think we should do with him?" At this moment, several bandits escorted Chu Shaoqin, who had just emerged from the water, to Chen San.
Chen San glanced at the person who made the report, let go of Li Qiuxue, and walked towards the few people.
"Shaoqin, save me." Obviously Li Qiuxue also saw Chu Shaoqin. She was about to run towards him, but the other two bandits quickly pulled her back.
"Are you Shaoqin? Do you know her?" Chen San walked up to Chu Shaoqin, stretched out his hand to lift Chu Shaoqin's chin, and looked at his appearance.
"A pretty boy." Chen San let go of her hand and sneered, "You like him?" Without waiting for Li Qiuxue to answer, he made a cold decision, "Drag him away and kill him."
"If you dare to kill him, I will fight you to the death!" Li Qiuxue retorted.
She kicked her legs, but was held back by the bandits around her and could not reach Chen San.
"You can't kill me!" Chu Shaoqin said fearlessly with a firm look in his eyes.
"Why can't I kill you?" Chen San asked back with interest, "Give me a reason not to kill you." As he spoke, he put on the tiger-skin coat brought by his subordinates, and his bandit-like air became even stronger.
"Xue'er and I are husband and wife, and she is pregnant with my child!" Chu Shaoqin thought quickly and deliberately looked at Li Qiuxue.
Li Qiuxue hastily responded, "If you kill my husband, I will bite my tongue and die with my child!"
Chen San frowned, obviously irritated by their concerted actions. Has he seen enough of these "fake couples" tricks? However, this time it was about Li Qiuxue, and he was jealous and shouted, "Go! Lock them up first!"
"Yes, leader!" The bandits under answered loudly, and very tactfully locked Chu Shaoqin and Li Qiuxue in different cages.
When Li Qiuxue was pushed into the cage, she was wet all over. After she was locked in, Chen San asked her if she was willing to go to his guest room to rest. However, the stubborn Li Qiuxue turned away and sat in the corner of the cage without saying a word.
Chen San was really angry and loving about this. He didn't believe that he couldn't tame this wild horse, so he decided to kill her stubbornness first, so he turned his head and left the cell.
On the other side, Chu Shaoqin looked towards Li Qiuxue's cell from time to time, comforting her softly, while thinking about how to leave.
At first, Li Qiuxue responded to him a few times, but then her voice gradually became smaller and smaller until it disappeared completely. Chu Shaoqin thought she was just tired and fell asleep, so he stopped calling her. After all, Li Qiuxue had not slept well since the escort agency was destroyed. Although she didn't say it, he could see it.
In the middle of the night, Li Qiuxue was shivering with cold. She didn't know how she fell into a deep sleep during the day, and now she was woken up by the cold again.
She rubbed her hands hard to warm her body, then stood up and jumped on the spot. But the dungeon was ventilated, and the more she stretched her muscles, the colder she felt.
"Xue'er, what's wrong with you?" Chu Shaoqin asked after noticing the movement from Li Qiuxue.
"It's so cold here." Li Qiuxue replied shivering.
Hearing this, Chu Shaoqin remembered that her clothes and hair were wet.
She hasn't had a good rest recently and the cell is damp, she will definitely get sick!
"Xue'er, call Chen San over and agree to let him stay in the guest room. Change into dry clothes first, otherwise you will get sick." Chu Shaoqin said anxiously.
"I won't!" Li Qiuxue refused without thinking, "If you don't leave, I won't leave either. I want to stay here with you. Chen San can't do anything to us!" After saying that, she continued jumping on the spot.
After hearing this, Chu Shaoqin was both moved and helpless, and his guilt became even greater.
"Xue'er, stop jumping. This will be counterproductive." He looked at the pile of straw in the cage. "Go and cover yourself with the straw in the corner. This will reduce the loss of temperature."
Li Qiuxue did as she was told, but when she lifted the straw in the corner, she found that only the surface layer of the straw was dry, and the rest was damp.
Li Qiuxue didn't want to listen to Chu Shaoqin's advice anymore, and covered herself with the wet straw without saying a word. Fortunately, it was dark at night and Chu Shaoqin couldn't see clearly.
"Shao Qin, I want to ask you a question." After wrapping herself up, Li Qiuxue said softly, "You don't leave me, is it because of my father, or because you like me too? If it's just because of responsibility, I don't need you to stay with me..."
"Xue'er, what are you talking about? Of course I like you..." When Chu Shaoqin said this, he was shocked himself.
I don't know when his feelings for her changed from exploitation to love.
He liked her independent way of doing things, her fearless character, and her courage to love and hate... She had long touched his heart, making it impossible for him not to fall in love with her.
"Shao Qin, sing a song for me. I want to hear you sing." Li Qiuxue smiled after getting a satisfactory answer. She leaned against the wall and smiled.
"I, I'm not very good at it..." Chu Shaoqin's face turned red, feeling shy and embarrassed. "How about I play a tune for you?" After saying that, he reached into his clothes, took out a leaf from inside his clothes, put it between his lips and started to blow.
Listening to the melodious tune, Li Qiuxue slowly fell asleep. In her dream, her father was still counting stars with her lovingly...
The next day.
Chu Shaoqin woke up early and went to the cage and called "Xue'er", but no matter how he called, Li Qiuxue did not respond to him. Chu Shaoqin realized that something was wrong and shouted: "Hurry up! Help!"
This place is not like the royal or official prison. There is no one guarding the door. Chu Shaoqin called for a long time before someone came. The person who came took a quick look at Li Qiuxue and then rushed to report to Chen San. After seeing the unconscious Li Qiuxue, Chen San immediately carried her out.
Chu Shaoqin was locked up in prison and unable to follow. He was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. With the help of the sunlight, he could see clearly that only a thin layer of dry straw was used by Li Qiuxue to keep warm last night.
Thinking of the words "I want to stay here with you", his heart was burning, and he guessed why Li Qiuxue stubbornly covered the straw. She was afraid that he would persuade her to leave first!
The waiting time was not long. It was not that Li Qiuxue woke up, but that Chen San sent someone to release him.
On the way, the two people guarding him sneered and said that the "wife of the village chief" was still calling Chu Shaoqin's name when she was unconscious, and if Chen San didn't release Chu Shaoqin, she would not treat the disease. Only then did Chen San release the person.
Hearing the voice of "Village Leader's Wife", Chu Shaoqin frowned slightly.
How ugly!
Chen San ordered the women in the village to change clean clothes for Li Qiuxue, and asked his subordinates to go down the mountain to ask a doctor to treat her. After learning that Chu Shaoqin was released, Li Qiuxue fell into a coma again.
She kept murmuring "Daddy" in her sleep, Chen San sat beside the bed and stared at her, Chu Shaoqin was locked outside. After a while, the invited doctor came hobbling in with a cane.
Before entering the house, the doctor glanced at Chu Shaoqin who was standing at the door.
Chu Shaoqin was stunned, opened his lips slightly, but said nothing.
The doctor came out after a while. She gave the bandits a few prescriptions and left. Not long after, Chu Shaoqin heard the sound of porcelain breaking in the room. Chen San ordered someone to open the door and bring Chu Shaoqin in.
"Give me a reason not to kill you." Chen San drew his sword and put it on Chu Shaoqin's neck.
"If you kill me, it will be two lives. Even if Li Qiuxue marries you, she will still hate you." Chu Shaoqin seemed to see something from his eyes. The mother-in-law must have lied to him.
"Then tell me, how should I deal with you?"
"If you really like Xue'er, give her the right to choose. I can see that you are not that kind of despicable person, otherwise you would have used force long ago. Xue'er has suffered a lot, and I think none of us want to see her unhappy." Chu Shaoqin looked at Li Qiuxue lying on the bed with extremely gentle eyes while speaking. Chen San was stimulated by his eyes, and his man's self-esteem arose spontaneously.
He didn't want to be that kind of villain. Women should be held in the palm of their hands, not suffer humiliation.
"You use the method of provoking me quite well." Chen San retracted his sword and sneered at Chu Shaoqin.
Chu Shaoqin didn't answer, but asked: "Can I see her?"
"Go ahead." Chen San was quite satisfied with Chu Shaoqin's ability to know when to advance and when to retreat, and he nodded in agreement.
Chu Shaoqin walked to Li Qiuxue's bedside and looked at her carefully. He was not a doctor, so he didn't know how Li Qiuxue was doing now, but he thought she was getting better. But when he saw her like this, his heart ached.
"Why did you go to Longshan?" Chen San suddenly asked.
"Revenge." After Chu Shaoqin carefully tucked in the corners of the quilt for Li Qiuxue, he turned and walked towards Chen San. He then told him the whole story of how the Zhengda Escort Agency in Qingyang City was wiped out overnight.
Hearing this, Chen San felt even more distressed for Li Qiuxue. Although he sympathized with Li Qiuxue's experience, he could not accompany her to seek revenge like Chu Shaoqin did.
He is a bandit, and he has a large number of brothers who trust him. Each of them believes in him wholeheartedly. No matter how much he loves a woman, he will not leave the mountain for her, let alone kill the king for her. Perhaps what he can do for her is to let her choose whether to stay or leave. If she chooses to stay, he will definitely give her a warm home...
"Shaoqin..." Li Qiuxue murmured Chu Shaoqin's name, and Chen San sat down on the bed first.
Li Qiuxue opened her eyes and saw Chen San's scarred face. She was startled for a moment, then she suddenly pulled the quilt and shrank to the corner of the bed, saying, "What do you want to do? If you dare to touch me, I will hit my head and die here!"
"Haha, you are really stubborn!" Chen San felt bitter in his heart, but he still laughed out loud. "Don't worry, I won't do anything to you. But I will keep you here to play for a few days. When the time comes, you can choose whether to leave or stay."
"Really?" Li Qiuxue looked at Chen San questioningly, as if she couldn't understand why he suddenly changed his mind after she woke up.
"I am not the kind of person who would break my promise." Chen San said with a smile, "You can live here as if it were your own home for the next few days. The doctor said that your body needs to be recuperated. If you feel bored, you can mobilize my men as you like, but you cannot leave the mountain without my permission, understand?"
Chen San's words made Li Qiuxue even more confused, but before she could respond, Chen San suddenly seemed to remember something and said unwillingly, "You are pregnant, so be careful."
After Chen San left the room, Li Qiuxue looked at Chu Shaoqin blankly. Chu Shaoqin whispered to her that the doctor was the old woman they had saved before.
"We have to find a way to leave here." Li Qiuxue said after hearing this.
"Let's not leave in a hurry." Chu Shaoqin retorted, "Chen San has no ill will towards you. You can use this to find out the details of the bandit's nest. Maybe Chen San can help us when necessary." Chu Shaoqin analyzed carefully and leaned close to Li Qiuxue's ear to whisper to her.
Li Qiuxue nodded in approval as she listened and decided to do as Chu Shaoqin said.
Ever since Chen San invited Li Qiuxue and Chu Shaoqin to stay as guests in the bandit's den, bandits in the den were often inexplicably hit by various traps, and the owner of the trap also took the opportunity to understand all the terrain patterns of the bandit's den.
Li Qiuxue, who lost her family not long ago, was still in a low mood, but her savage character had not been restrained at all. Within three days, the bandits in the entire bandit den ran to Chen San to complain, begging him not to marry such a wife, and the brothers could not bear it. Every time Chen San heard such complaints, he could not help but smile. He liked Li Qiuxue's fearless character, and he really wanted to keep her in Longshan forever.
It’s a pity that Longshan can’t trap this bird like her.
Chen San told Li Qiuxue that she could regard this place as her home, and he would never let outsiders bully her. In his bandit den, Li Qiuxue could continue to be a willful young lady, and as long as she was willing to stay, he was willing to protect her for the rest of her life, so that she would be carefree and away from hatred.
But Li Qiuxue told him that no matter how hard he tried, her relatives would not come back. She couldn't continue to be willful and domineering. She needed to learn to grow up alone, and growth meant experiencing more things instead of being cared for all the time.
She had not yet let go of the hatred in her heart, nor had she let go of her love for Chu Shaoqin, so she could not stay in Longshan and act on her own.
Chen San sighed and looked up at the starry sky. At that moment, he suddenly realized that the woman in front of him not only did not belong to him, but also did not belong to anyone else. She was unique and belonged to herself. Even Chu Shaoqin could not completely control her.
"How about I become your relative?" Chen San said with a bitter face.
"Do you still want to take me to be your wife?" Li Qiuxue took a step back vigilantly, and Chen San shook his head.
"Would you like to be my godsister? If you are willing, this will be your home in the future. Whenever you want to come back, I will always welcome you."
After Chen San finished speaking, he finally saw Li Qiuxue smile. She nodded hurriedly, her eyes red, and gave him a hug like a family.
Chen San also smiled with relief. This hug was enough...
The next day.
"Tell me your true identity." Chen San stood in the open space for martial arts practice and turned around to ask Chu Shaoqin behind him.
He didn't let Chu Shaoqin idle these days. Whenever he was free, he would bring Chu Shaoqin here to practice archery and whip. Chen San hoped that Chu Shaoqin could become strong enough to protect Li Qiuxue. In this way, even if Li Qiuxue finally chose to leave Longshan, he would be relieved.
Chu Shaoqin hesitated for a moment, but in the end did not tell him his true identity, and lied to him just like he lied to Li Bai Ze. Chen San smiled angrily, seemingly not satisfied with this lie at all.
"I heard that the current emperor also has a twin brother, and, for some reason, the prince suddenly disappeared. And what a coincidence, the missing prince is also called Shao Qin, but he is Chu Shao Qin. Tell me, how can there be such a coincidence in this world?"
Chu Shaoqin clenched his fists and frowned, as if an undercurrent was churning in his heart.
"I don't want to investigate your identity, but I hope you can protect Li Qiuxue in the future and not let her suffer any grievances." Chen San put his hands on the wooden railing and took a deep breath.
Although he and Li Qiuxue had only known each other for a few days, it seemed as if they had known each other in their previous life. He continued, "I will send you to Yandu tomorrow. This is all I can do for you. You should be careful about what happens next."
"Chen San, thank you."
"I'm a bandit. You don't need to thank me. You should thank Li Qiuxue. I helped you because of her." Chen San turned and walked to Chu Shaoqin, patted his shoulder, and passed by him.
Three days later, Chen San and several of his brothers drove a carriage full of goods into the city. Li Qiuxue and Chu Shaoqin hid under the partition of the truck, and if you didn't look carefully, you wouldn't be able to find out that there were other people in the car.
When the carriage entered the city, the soldiers guarding the gate stopped him and checked the goods in the carriage. The carriage was full of food and goods. Chen San claimed to be a businessman who came to the city to do business and gave some small change to the soldiers guarding the gate.
The soldiers looked at each other, hid the change in their waists, and tacitly allowed them to enter the city.
Chen San parked the carriage in an alley where no one passed by. Several other bandits sitting beside the carriage jumped down. Together, they unloaded the goods in the carriage and pried open the partition. The two people who could only lie sideways under the partition leaned against each other. Chu Shaoqin put his arm on the side of Li Qiuxue's ear, fearing that the carriage would bump against her head.
"I can only take you here. You guys take care of yourself." Chen San reached out and pulled Li Qiuxue out. He lowered his head and kissed Li Qiuxue on the forehead. "Sister Xue, just come find me when you need me in the future."
Li Qiuxue nodded, but was quickly pulled back by Chu Shaoqin.
"I will take good care of my wife, don't worry." Chu Shaoqin smiled, but there was something called hostility in his eyes. He and Chen San looked at each other, like two fires burning together.
After a while, Chen San smiled and left with his subordinates in the carriage.
Chen San left for only a moment, and Chu Shaoqin turned around and kissed Li Qiuxue on the lips. Chen San, who caught a glimpse of this scene from the corner of his eye, frowned slightly. He clearly saw Chu Shaoqin looking at him intentionally. Although Chen San was unhappy, he pretended not to see this scene and continued to move forward until he disappeared at the end of the alley.
"Shaoqin, you..." Li Qiuxue looked at Chu Shaoqin in surprise. He seemed like a different person. There was an unmeltable tenderness on his lips, but it also seemed like a joke.
"Can't you give my little lady a kiss?"
"Who... who is your little wife?" This time, all of Li Qiuxue's domineering and rudeness was hidden behind her blushing face. She was like a shy little girl, at a loss in front of the person she loved.
"Didn't you admit it when we were in the bandit's den?"
"That was to save my life..." Li Qiuxue's voice was as soft as a mosquito, and she seemed to have forgotten that she had once said that she loved Chu Shaoqin.
"So what you said before about liking me was also fake?" Chu Shaoqin pretended to be relieved and continued, "Since it's fake, I can rest assured to marry another woman."
"You..." Li Qiuxue's pink face turned red with anger. She originally wanted to pull Chu Shaoqin by the collar to teach him a lesson, but she used too much force and Chu Shaoqin hit her lips hard when he was pulled over.
She took a breath nervously, staring at Chu Shaoqin with wide eyes, looking stunned. When she was about to push him away, Chu Shaoqin's hand on her waist naturally tightened.
In the dark alley, two figures overlapped under the setting sun. Chu Shaoqin lowered his head slightly and kissed Li Qiuxue deeply, as if this moment could last forever...