Translated by: Tinker
The mountain path was shaded by trees. The carriage was traveling on a bumpy road. They took the road that were not known to most people. No travellers were in vicinity except for them. The sound of rolling wheels was accompanied by the rustling wind and the swaying leaves.
The carriage suddenly stopped halfway. The coachman in the carriage suddenly screamed. He yanked the rope to a halt. He stared at the murderous man in black in front, and could not speak clearly, "Master...Master, ahead.."
The man didn't wait for the driver to finish his speech. A cold light flashed, and the sharp blade had cut his throat.
With a sneer, the men in black immediately came to the carriage with swords.
Zhao Nanyu didn't panic, and flew over the sword tip that was coming to him. He noticed he had a long sword in his hands and had no idea where this came from.
He laughed at the men in black, seeming not worried that he could get away from this predicament.
Zhao Nanyu was surrounded, their knives pointed straight at him. These people had made poison vows to take his life.
They are trained dead men, and they were either going to die or not.
The sword was stretched and the crossbow was drawn.
Zhao Nanyu had long known that the road to Quzhou would not go smoothly. No one in Dali Temple wanted to take over the mess of the murdered governer Quzhou. The old emperor seemed to deliberately gave this case to him.
Quzhou could be a regarded as a cold place with high mountains and long rivers. It was normal for officials to protect each other. The magistrate that replaced the previous was cunning. Within three months, he had cleared a group of local merchants and small officials around him.
It's not impossible to deal with the embezzlement of offcials and businessmen.
Zhao Nanyu, who went to investigate the case, naturally would not be welcoming. If he found something, Quzhou's officials would have to be replaced again. So the people behind the scenes certainly didn't want him to arrive in Quzhou alive.
After the intense swords clashing, Zhao Nanyu's white clothes were splashed with bright red blood. He was like an asura in hell. He looked at the lying corpses who came to kill him. His body was also stabbed with many wounds, so he was only able to stand with the support of his sword. He was fortunately not hurt badly.
Zhao Nanyu's knees fell straight on the stone road with a sound of a 'bang'. His brow wrinkled with pain. He gasped for breath and endured the sharp pain from the wound. He didn't emit any sound.
Suddenly, he heard a voice coming from the grass. Zhao Nanyu squeezed the sword handle in his hand, thinking it was the fish that had leaked from the net. He was ready to raise the sword and kill him.
A young girl with a round face wearing pink clothes suddenly rushed out with a medicine basket in her hand. The girl's appearance was not excellent compared with other beautiful women. She knelt down in front of Zhao Nanyu, frowned, and looked at the wound on him. "Are you okay? "
Zhao Nanyu still held the sword handle tightly, and there was cold light in his eyes, "It's okay."
The girl stared at the man in front of her. She had never seen such a beautiful man since she was born.
Although there was blood on his face at the moment, it did not hinder his excellent appearance.
The girl swallowed her saliva, bit her lower lip and said, "You are injured. I have medicine here. I can help you. "
Zhao Nanyu lowered his eyes, raised his eyelids again, and looked at her coldly. His eyes were obviously murderous. He spit out a word, "Go away."
The young girl was not discouraged and did not give up. Even though her eyes were red, she pretended to be strong. "I am not a bad person. I just want to save you. If you bleed like this, you will die."
Zhao Nanyu only felt that she deliberately squeezed her voice and pretended to be aggrieved, which made him nauseous. He laughed in a low voice and his smile coul penetrate people. "Go away, or I will stab you to death with a sword."
The girl was so scared that her face paled. She didn't doubt the truthfulness of his words, and was very aggrieved that she bit her lower lip. She looked at him pitifully, but saw the killing intention in his eyes were even worse. She quickly stood up and ran away.
***
All of these... Song Luan, who was far away in the capital, naturally didn't know. She thought the man and the woman had fallen in love at first sight! She didn't expect that the female lead would become a cannon fodder so easily.
She was busy cooking, and had time to think freely after making good dishes that her son loves to eat. Song Luan felt that something had changed since her fainting, just like when she saw Huai Jin today. Many plots that she had not read in the book were all drilled into her brain, which caused her to feel some pain.
The more she thought about it, the more painful it became. Song Luan simply chose not to think of this anymore.
The sky in the distance gradually darkened. After the sun went down, the weather suddenly became cold. Song Luan went back to the house and added a piece of clothes. Later, she went to the room to wake up her son.
After entering the room, she found that the child had woken up. A four-year-old child, who was still sleepy, didn't know want to do. Despite his refusal, Song Luan dressed his clothes one by one and patted his head, "How was your sleep?"
Little Zhao nodded honestly, "Good."
He seldom sleeps long during naps. But everytime he sleeps in his mother's room, his sleep would become particularly sweet.
Song Luan found that she really liked the child more and more. Her patience became better in front of him. "I'll take you to wash your face, and then we can have dinner together, Okay? "
She would always ask questions when talking to children. She wanted to fully respect her child's opinions. No matter what she asked, there was always only one good answer. He never contradicted nor refuse.
His father seldom asked his opinion. He always made the decisions before asking him.
Little Zhao used to think that he only liked his father. Now, he liked both his father and mother very much. It would be nice if this would stay like this all his life.
He held his mother's hands and asked what was in his heart, "Mother, will I have brothers and sisters in the future?"
He was not afraid of being alone, but he was still a chilld after all. He would occasionally envy his cousins who gathered to play together. He also wanted to have brothers and sisters so that they could play together. He would work hard to protect them in the future.
Song Luan didn't know how to answer him. She thought sadly, how good would it be if the male lead and the original owner were a loving couple. But the husband and wife were not normal people. The man was cruel and ruthless, and the original owner was also vicious and heartless.
She was looked at by her son's soft and cute eyes, and her soft heart turned into a pool of water directly, "There will be some."
Nonsense. Probably not.
At the end of 'The Powerful Minister', she didn't see Zhao Nanyu and other women had children. Even the female lead didn't have the honor. Based on Song Luan's many years of experience with an overbearing male lead, she reasonably speculated that the reason why Zhao Nanyu didn't want another children was because he was reluctant to let the female lead pass the ghost gate, or let her suffer pain.
Little Zhao's eyes curved with a smile and said seriously, "I will be a good brother."
Song Luan was amused by him. "Brother is very powerful."
The little child blushed red, and it reached his ears. They were very hot.
Song Luan made him blush, and laughed. She thought that if she really had a chance to stay away from the male lead in the future, she would be very reluctant since her son was sensible and obedient.
In the evening meal, Song Luan wished to put all the delicious food on the table into the stomach of her son. She fed him until he was full. She really didn't understand how the original owner was able to watch this child break his legs.
Not all stepmothers were cruel.
Thinking of this, Song Luan was more fond of her son. She fed him and played games with him. After an hour, she told the servants to fetch water and plan to personally give him bath.
Little Zhao's little hand clutched her skirt, refused to let her take off his clothes. He blushed and wanted to take a bath by himself.
Song Luan could not resist him, so she went away unease. She waited outside and called his name from time to time, for fear that he would choke the water and not make a sound.
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Zhao Nanyu was not at home, so her son lived with her this time. She wanted to do what she always wanted. At night, she asked the people in the front yard to bring over little Zhao's pajama and bedding, and let him sleep in her room for one night.
When preparing the bed, Song Luan caught a glimpse of the jade pendant that she had put beside her pillow. She carefully picked it up and thought about it. After all, this was Zhao Nanyu's treasure, and it was the only relic left by his mother. It was better to lock it in the cabinet so as not to make mistakes.
In the absence of Zhao Nanyu, Song Luan had a very happy life. She ate two bowls of rice every day. The days were very good.
Third lady Zhao seemed to know that they had finally shared the same room again. She was very pleased. She called her to talk several days in a row. Because of this, Song Luan met Zhao Wenyan several times, but the two brother and sister in-laws did not greet each other when they met, pretending to be worse than strangers.
Zhao Wenyan didn't hate this sister-in-law so much than before. He heard that she stayed at home safely for a while, didn't go out to make trouble and didn't disgrace his second brother. She was willing to give her husband a good face.
But Song Luan couldn't see him at all in her eyes. She regarded Zhao Wenyan as a younger brother who was ignorant. After he came out of the shock of being defeated, she didn't plan to communicate with him.
When Zhao Wenyan saw that she ignored him, he became strangely sullen, thinking that women were fickle.
When the meal was half eaten, he threw his chopsticks away and left his mother's yard in a huff. Third lady Zhao felt that his son had been really spoiled by her. He was already old and still had a child's temper.
It took another half a month for Zhao Nanyu to come back from Quzhou.
He came back later than expected. Song Luan heard that something happened on the way. She guessed nervously that maybe the female lead appeared, and the two were chirping on the road and got delayed.
However, when Zhao Nanyu's carriage stopped at the door of his residence, the curtain of the carriage opened, and he was the only one who came down from it.
Song Luan was confused. Hey, what about the female lead???
She looked around for a long time and didn't see a woman!
Why was the female lead gone?!!
Zhao Nanyu's face was sickly white and coughed several times. He looked at her funny and asked, "What are you looking for? "
Song Luan shook her head. "Nothing."
Zhao Nanyu beckoned to her, "Come here, give me a hand. "
She ran over and said, "What's the matter with you? Are you hurt?"
Zhao Nanyu coughed several more times, his pale face turned red gradually, his face was weak, and he made a low hum.
Song Luan's mind circled. The plot had not changed! But the female lead?
Zhao Nanyu clenched her wrist and glanced over her with a light tone, pretending to ask casually, "Why aren't you wearing the jade pendant I gave you?"
Song Luan was dumbfounded. That is, the most precious jade plate of the man who kills without a thought, was given to her? She didn't believe it.
"That jade pendant is too precious. You'd better keep it yourself." She said weakly.
Zhao Nanyu stopped, pinched her hand, and smiled, "Put it on around you with a red rope, okay?"
It was clearly said with a gentle tone, but her scalp tingled when she listened.