Chapter 46: Don’t Be Afraid
It wasn’t exactly an outsider either.
The moment the warm, delicate body pressed against him, Xuan Rui seemed to sense it, his entire frame stiffening.
Skin against skin, the bedding gradually warmed, and both their bodies grew heated.
After a long while, the man’s body finally stopped shivering, his broad, solid chest pressed against the petite figure as they nestled together for warmth.
Climbing, entwining, like seaweed in the deep sea.
When Li Youqing woke, the sky was already bright, sunlight streaming through the window lattice to fall upon the stern face of the man beside her.
Outside, snow fell heavily, but beneath the quilt, it was like warm spring.
Li Youqing touched his forehead—the fever had subsided. To avoid awkwardness, she wanted to get up before he woke.
But the moment she shifted, the man’s arm suddenly tightened, pulling her waist firmly against him.
“What are you doing—” Li Youqing couldn’t bear it, glaring at him displeased.
Like a giant beast stirring from deep slumber, the man took a heavy breath and directly lowered his head to seal her lips.
Li Youqing wanted to push him away but feared aggravating his wounds. With her hands pressed against his shoulders, she continuously made muffled, whimpering sounds.
Yet all resistance was futile; she was like a kitten held greedily in the jaws of a wild wolf.
She hadn’t expected him to be so strong after his fever broke. Li Youqing felt stifled and hot, this sensation terrifying her, instinctively clamping her legs tightly together.
Finally finding a gap, she trembled as she protested, “Xuan Rui, wake up!”
The man, with closed eyes, had nearly devoured her on instinct. Only when she called out did he regain some clarity.
Opening his eyes, he discovered he was completely naked, and worse, the woman beneath him wore only thin inner garments.
Xuan Rui couldn’t help but hold his forehead, his temples throbbing with pain, completely unable to recall what had happened last night.
Had he really, in his daze, taken her?
His mind was still foggy when his left cheek suddenly met a slap. Lowering his gaze, he saw the little creature looking at him with an accusatory expression.
Only then did he realize his hand was in an inappropriate place and immediately moved it away, explaining to her, “I’m dizzy, it wasn’t intentional.”
Though somewhat remorseful inside, his gaze still drifted downward uncontrollably—
With another “smack,” he was slapped again.
Li Youqing grabbed the quilt and retreated backward, furious. “You are utterly insolent!”
Xuan Rui’s still-dazed mind was jolted awake by these two slaps. Sitting up, he said seriously, “Last night, did we already—”
“Don’t flatter yourself!” Li Youqing felt on the verge of collapse, covering her ears as she shouted, “Nothing happened!”
Just then, urgent calls from a woman came from outside the door.
Hearing this, Xuan Rui’s expression changed. Turning, he pressed the furious Li Youqing back under the quilt.
“Ah—” She only had time to let out a startled cry before her head landed against his abdomen, her cheek pressed against his firm muscles, nearly dying of shame from the humiliating position.
As she was about to struggle, she heard the sound of the door being pushed open, followed by an unfamiliar man’s voice, freezing her movements.
Through the quilt, she felt a large hand on her head, pressing her downward.
Uncertain who had entered, she could only obediently lie against him, not daring to move a muscle.
The man who entered was elderly, his voice booming as he stormed in and angrily shouted, “You unfilial son! How dare you not hand over the princess yet!”
Upon hearing these words, Li Youqing felt her blood run cold. Immediately after, she heard Xuan Rui respond in a low, firm tone, “Father, the princess has long been mine.”
“You reckless brat, what did you say!” Lu Zhan had rushed over, only to be met with this shocking scene.
Could the other person under the covers possibly be—
Li Youqing tightened the quilt around herself, gradually rising from his lower abdomen. Her willow-like arms wrapped around his waist as she frowned and said, “Xuan Rui, don’t you dare try to hand me over to someone else.”
Xuan Rui glanced at her exposed, snow-white shoulders, then pressed her back into his embrace with a large hand, his tone stiff as he said, “Father, could you please step outside for a moment? And have Lady Kang bring two sets of clothes—yesterday’s were torn and unwearable.”
By the bedside, men’s and women’s clothing lay scattered across the floor, a clear testament to what had transpired the night before.
Seeing his daughter so attached to him, Lu Zhan was dumbfounded.
In just these few days, a romantic bond had formed between them, and it had already progressed to this stage.
Recalling how he and Shu Fei had also been unable to restrain themselves back then, leading to the current situation, he let out a heavy sigh, turned, and left.
Only then did Xuan Rui pull back the quilt. The little thing was curled up pitifully in his arms, as if afraid of being abandoned, and his heart softened involuntarily.
Cupping her buttocks with his palm, he lifted her up, leaned down to kiss her lips, and said gently, “Don’t be afraid.”
She remained silent, the corners of her eyes red, like a frightened little rabbit. His arms gradually tightened around her, as if trying to meld her into his very being.
By the time the two had changed clothes and pushed open the door, the courtyard outside was already filled with the prince’s soldiers.
Zhenbei Wang, Lu Zhan, looked on with a heavy heart as the two emerged hand in hand from the room. He took a step forward, only to see the young princess shrink back and hide behind Xuan Rui.
“Princess, you’ve endured much hardship on this journey. I have already arranged accommodations. Please return with me.” The thought of his daughter being taken advantage of by that wolfish young man pained Lu Zhan deeply, and his gaze toward Xuan Rui was sharp as flying daggers.
But Li Youqing didn’t even want to look at Zhenbei Wang. Clinging to Xuan Rui’s arm, her face pale, she said, “General Xuan, let’s go.”
“Princess, wait—” Lu Zhan waved a hand, and the guards behind him immediately stepped forward to block their path. Fuming, he turned to Xuan Rui and said, “You’ve caused enough trouble. Return to the prince’s residence with me!”
Li Youqing looked at the old man with disgust, recalling Shu Fei and the Sima Family’s schemes. A chill ran down her spine.
Summoning her courage, she stepped forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Xuan Rui and declared resolutely, “If you insist on pushing me, I would rather die here today!”
With that, she made a move to snatch the Mystic Iron Sword from Xuan Rui’s hand.
Both men were horrified. Zhenbei Wang, aware of her aversion to him, stood frozen, not daring to make a sound.
Xuan Rui’s expression darkened as he grabbed her wrist and said sternly, “What are you doing, acting so recklessly!”
Scolded by him, Li Youqing’s eyes immediately welled up with tears. “I don’t want to see him!” she said, her voice filled with grievance.
“Alright, alright, I won’t force you,” Zhenbei Wang conceded. Knowing the princess’s temperament, he dared not push her too far before they had a chance to reconcile as father and daughter.
He had finally found his daughter—he couldn’t afford to let anything go wrong now.
Suppressing his displeasure toward Xuan Rui, Lu Zhan led his men several steps backward, ultimately watching helplessly as the man led the little princess away.
~
Xuan Rui intended to bring Li Youqing back to the Zhenbei Army camp. Though they encountered no further obstacles along the way, he knew the prince wouldn’t let them off so easily.
Especially after he had seized Ming City and crushed the Red Feather Army—Zhenbei Wang must have lost all trust in the Zhenbei Army.
Aware that they were being followed, Xuan Rui deliberately took the main road with Li Youqing and chose a comfortable inn to stay in, planning to let her rest properly for the night.
After nightfall, he lit calming incense by the bedside and waited until she was sound asleep before going out alone to negotiate with Zhenbei Wang.
Lu Zhan had anticipated his arrival and was waiting in the room just across the corridor.
As soon as Xuan Rui entered, he received a heavy blow from the other man, reopening the wound on his arm. Unfazed, he stated calmly, “Even if you wish to acknowledge your daughter, you cannot ignore the princess’s own wishes.”
“That is a matter between father and daughter—an outsider like you has no right to interfere!” The scene from that morning had dealt him too heavy a blow; now, everything about Xuan Rui grated on his nerves.
Xuan Rui let out a cold laugh, swept aside the hem of his robe, and sat down with an air of nonchalance. “I wouldn’t say I’m entirely an outsider.”
The words nearly made Lu Zhan spit blood in fury.
If only he had known that the boy he brought back all those years ago would turn out to be an ungrateful wolf—he should have disposed of him early, instead of letting him grow into a scourge who now stirred up trouble among the armies and harmed his precious daughter.
Lu Zhan took a deep breath to calm himself, then pulled out a pre-drafted document from his sleeve and tossed it to Xuan Rui. “Take a look.”
Xuan Rui opened it, skimmed through it with a roguish glint in his eyes, then tore it to pieces and tossed the scraps at his feet.
Infuriated by his defiant attitude, Lu Zhan pointed at him and scolded, “How dare you treat this so lightly—tearing it up as you please!”
“If you truly intend to punish me by military law, there’s no need to go through the trouble of presenting this.” Xuan Rui’s gaze drifted past the window toward the room where the little princess was staying and said indifferently, “I killed Meng Yi with my own hands, but if I’m to face military discipline for that, I won’t accept it.”
Lu Zhan slammed the table and stood up, rebuking him, “Xuan Rui, I summoned you repeatedly, yet you refused to return and instead fought the Red Feather Army out there! Do you still respect military law? Do you still respect me?”
Without even lifting his eyelids, Xuan Rui leaned back, still looking toward the opposite room, and replied lazily, “When the Red Feather Army arrived at the city walls, wasn’t that your arrangement? If Meng Yi hadn’t died, and I—the commander of the Zhenbei Army—had been the one to fall, would you have been satisfied?”
“Nonsense! If you hadn’t stubbornly refused to return, ambitious to claim Ming City for yourself, why would I have resorted to this?”
Over the years, Zhenbei Wang had watched the fierce general he had personally promoted grow increasingly uncontrollable, and he was gradually losing his grip.
If he could no longer control him, it would be better to eliminate him—
The urge to kill surged again, hard to suppress. But just then, a noise came from next door.
As Lu Zhan moved to check, the man opposite had already rushed out in large strides.
He followed into the corridor and saw the little princess, who had just woken and found no one there, weeping sorrowfully in that unfilial son’s arms.
He couldn’t help but think that if he were to truly court-martial the man, the first to oppose it would undoubtedly be his own daughter.
That rebellious son was right about one thing—if I truly wanted him dead, I wouldn’t have produced the official documents earlier. I could have simply ordered his command stripped and his head severed.
Now that Emperor Jian has awakened, and the Imperial Tutor is about to lead the expedition against the northwest, I ultimately cannot bear to abandon Xuan Rui—this formidable general.
To conquer the northwest, one must wield the sharpest blade and command the fiercest wolf.