The small Chang Le Restaurant suddenly fell into silence. The leader of the black-clothed men suddenly burst out laughing crazily, “Come on then!” As soon as his voice sounded, the other 12 black-clothed men formed a circle quickly. Liu Jue sighed. This way, his men would not be able to capture a prisoner. He said in a deep voice, “Shoot the arrows!”
The soldiers loosened their hands and arrows flew off the strings into the black-clothed men. The 12 black-clothed men swung their swords desperately to protect their leader. Suddenly, there was a loud roar and four of them leapt onto the shoulders of the others to form a human shield against the arrows. Liu Jue was stunned for a moment and the leader had already separated from them. Using their strength, he jumped into the air and with a few rapid actions, he flew over the courtyard wall as light as the floating snow. Turning his head, he slashed through the surrounding soldiers with a few swings of his sword, then ran into the forest. Those who remained were instantly shot by the rain of arrows, having committed suicide by taking poison the moment their leader had fled.
Liu Jue was shocked from seeing this and did not know where this man had come from, with his martial arts skills that were not inferior to his own. He had been worthy of having 12 elites die to save him. Not long after, the black-clothed force that had gone to chase him had come back to report, “That person jumped into the Han River from the cliff of the West Mountain.”
Liu Jue pondered this deeply for a moment, then said, “Return to the residence. Ask General Tian Xiang to reinforce the guard tonight and have the east, west, and south garrisons on standby at all times.”
The soldiers evacuated the restaurant. Only Liu Jue and his black-clothed force remained in the courtyard. Having had their acupressure points released, Seventh Mistress, Xiao Yu, and Madam Zhang and her family were crying in a complete mess. Ah Luo felt her legs weaken and sat down on the ground all of a sudden. She felt a warmth, as Liu Jue had untied the big banner and threw it onto her.
Ah Luo looked up. Liu Jue’s face was like ice, glaring at her fiercely. She pulled the banner closer, feeling the coldness. From his height, Liu Jue looked down at Ah Luo’s trembling body. He could not help gritting his teeth.
Ah Luo lowered her head with a somewhat guilty conscience, yet refused to submit and whispered, “No need to be anxious.”
“Anxious? You were anxious to tell the enemy the value of their hostages!”
Ah Luo stood up slowly and looked at Liu Jue directly, “I am not like your subordinates that you can manage so well, nor am I like you, staying inside the barracks all day and knowing what to do against the enemy! Being naturally composed when dealing with an attack! How can I not be anxious? Even if I can be calm, I am not cold-blooded. Yes, you had your plans and if I had not said anything, perhaps they would not have known how important the people they caught were. If I could suppress my thoughts so deeply and not panic when the tide is up to my neck, then that would be Your Highness overestimating me! However, in the end, I was not calm enough and destroyed your plans. So I walked over and if worse came to worst and I could not separate them, then you could just shoot us all at once!”
When Liu Jue heard the last few words, he felt a ** violent anger in his heart along with a burst of aching and it took him a few breaths to calm down. He was not blaming her for not being calm. Seeing her threatening with a sword while retreating towards the black-clothed men, his heart felt tight. Yet she had still been calm and let him order her to be shot to death with them! He stared at Ah Luo painfully. She really did not understand his heart. She did not know that he had been deeply in love for her in the past three years, thinking about her crazily. She actually thought that he could kill her! Liu Jue’s eyes blazed and at this moment, he really wanted to kill her.
Ah Luo felt a burst of cold air emanating from Liu Jue’s body. His pair of eyes seemed to want to swallow her alive. She was a little afraid of him when he was like this. She pulled the big banner close again and tried to stop her voice from trembling as much as possible, “I would not blame you in the slightest, really. Even if you had ordered the arrows to be shot, I would not have blamed you. If it had been me, it would have been the same. You were right. But if I could do it again, I would do things the same way.”
Liu Jue was already very angry. She did not blame him, yet why could she not understand his heart? If anything had happened to her at that time, Liu Jue shook his head, not daring to think any further. How could she dare to scare him like this?! He suddenly reached out and pressed Ah Luo’s acupressure point, causing her to soften, then picked her up and leapt onto his horse. He ordered, “Take Seventh Mistress and that maid home.” With a squeeze, the horse galloped towards the generals’ residence.
Unable to move or speak, Ah Luo stared at Liu Jue with wide eyes. Seeing that his face was dark and that he would not look at her, she sighed. She truly did not blame him and felt very touched. Liu Jue probably knew her whereabouts ever since she arrived at Lin Nan City. Those two people had defended her desperately and one of them had lost their life. Without the people that he had sent, it was likely that she would have died quickly in the hands of the black-clothed men. She was not a fool. If it were not for Liu Jue’s orders, how would those two people have saved her with their lives?!
When they returned to the general’s residence, he carried Ah Luo into the inner hall. Yet he did not release her acupressure points, and instructed the maids, “Give her a bath and clean her up!”
Ah Luo watched helplessly as he put her down and left. Then a few maids came over and took off her clothes. Ah Luo’s face reddened and closing her eyes, she began to curse Liu Jue in her heart. She already said that she did not blame him and had already told him her reasons, yet he still embarrassed her like this! Since she could not move anyway, she let them toss her around.
After she calmed down, all the events of the night revolved before her eyes like a carousel. If those black-clothed men were from the Chen empire, then they wanted to attack from both inside and outside simultaneously. Seeing the small restaurant, they must have wanted to take shelter there and wait for the appointed time. The black-clothed men had mentioned that there were still 20 hours before the operation tomorrow. 20 hours! Ah Luo felt a great urgency and she inwardly calculated the time. Was it not tomorrow evening around 9-11pm? If the leader of the black-clothed men escaped and they pushed it forward, then time would be tight. She did not know when her acupressure points would be released, nor when Liu Jue would come. Ah Luo told herself to calm down. She also was unsure of what Liu Jue’s attitude would be and from the looks of it, he seemed seriously angry. She originally did not care at all about the war between the two countries. Yet after just a single day of fighting, she wished that Liu Jue would not lose all the same.
When the maids had finished manipulating Ah Luo around, they laid her down on **. Ah Luo slowly thought about everything that happened. She closed her eyes and a faint smile appeared on her lips. Did he care about her?
After Liu Jue had finished his work, he hurried into the room and saw Ah Luo lying softly and weakly on **, face still flushed red from having just come out of the bath. He paused for a moment. She really was beautiful. Liu Jue stood quietly, watching her for a while and saw her move in a smile. The fire that had been suppressed in his heart for so long was reignited, and he could not help but say coldly, “You can still smile?”
Opening her eyes, Ah Luo looked Liu Jue up and down carefully. She had not seen him in years, and had not had the time to look at him well on the mountain tonight. Now that she could see him well, he still had that chiselled face with a great deal of calmness between his brows. It was just that he now resembled an ice-cold man. She blinked and her smile deepened.
Seeing that she still dared to smile so arrogantly while being unable to move, Liu Jue became more and more furious, “You should laugh. You still managed to avoid being cut by anyone with your amateur martial arts, you really are lucky!”
Ah Luo stared at him and rolled her eyes. In her heart, she said that this was not what she had meant, she had wanted to take the black-clothed men by surprise. Having been unable to move for a long while, she was already very uncomfortable. She could only lie there, listening to his lecture and just closing her eyes.
She could still smile and roll her eyes? Liu Jue’s anger stemmed from more than one reason and had been nervous ever since seeing her put herself in danger. Until she smiled, he suddenly thought of how she dared to set the bridge on fire and hide her tracks for two to three years, not allowing herself to be captured without putting up a fight and could not help being ready to act at any given time. When he saw her loosen her hair and take off her coat, he inwardly understood that she wanted to distract the black-clothed men. A win was a win, yet the win had come with a frightening experience.
“Closing your eyes and ignoring me?” Liu Jue’s tone became dangerous, with the words forced out through his teeth. He held Ah Luo’s chin with one hand.
What was he doing? Ah Luo was startled and opened her eyes quickly. There was a raging storm in Liu Jue’s eyes and Ah Luo thought to herself, if you will not let me move or talk, what can I do?!
Liu Jue saw her eyes open and let go of her chin, moving down to her neck. Her neck was so slender that he could snap it with one hand. Liu Jue paused, his fingers stroking the skin on Ah Luo’s neck, the delicate touch making him reluctant to move away. Recalling her in the thin silk clothes trembling in the wind, he hated it so much. She actually undressed in front of so many thieves! Liu Jue became angrier the more he thought about it! His hand moved and tore off the belt at her waist. Finally, a trace of fear appeared in Ah Luo’s eyes. A layer of glistening indignant tears welled up.
Liu Jue’s hand stopped moving, his cheeks **, then he stood up and with a flick of his hand, he released Ah Luo’s acupressure points.
Ah Luo had not expected to be able to make a sound and called out with an “Ah!” Feeling that her acupressure point was released, she struggled to sit up and pulled her clothes closed, angrily saying, “** Thief!”
Liu Jue was so angry that he laughed, thinking of how he first met her in the flower forest and how she had scolded him just like this. His heart was sore and aching. After all that trouble he took in waiting for her to come back to his side, she was unexpectedly scared half to death. When Ah Luo ran away three years ago, he hated her, was angry at her. Yet the tenderness and longing within these three years had softened his heart.
He turned around and looked into the courtyard. The trees full of red flowers that he had rushed to bloom for her arrival burned brightly in the dark blue night. Yet it was like his heart was being grilled on a fire in the chilly wind, suddenly cold and suddenly hot. In the end, the scorching heat resisted that icy coldness. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
Ah Luo watched Liu Jue’s straight back, his muscles seemingly taut as though he was using all his strength to control himself and not be angry with her. She inwardly sighed again. She opened her mouth, yet could not say anything. Liu Jue did not dare to look back for fear of seeing the face that disappointed him. Ah Luo lowered her head, feeling all kinds of emotions in her heart.
Finally, Liu Jue sighed lightly. At this moment, Ah Luo suddenly remembered that she had not told him the information yet and without waiting for Liu Jue to speak, she said anxiously, “I heard the black-clothed men say that they would act at night around 9-11pm.”
Taken aback, Liu Jue turned around, “How do you know this?”
“I knocked out a black-clothed man and changed into his clothes, then followed them out into the house where I heard them say this.” Ah Luo hurriedly explained the situation that had happened at that time. Hearing this, Liu Jue’s heartbeats quickened again. He gritted his teeth and said, “You really are brave!” He felt the lingering fear. It was fortunate that he had men from the Ming forces follow her. Otherwise, he would not even know where she would have died before he arrived.
This was not the time to worry about her as being on guard against the Chen Army was the most important thing. He forcibly suppressed his anger that was on the verge of exploding. He threw a sentence at her coldly, “You just stay here for a while.”
Ah Luo knew that he was going to be busy, yet she could not help asking, “What about my mother and the others?”
Liu Jue did not even turn his head back and replied in a cold voice, “Do you still have the right to make decisions? If you want to see your mother again, be more honest!” After saying this, he left quickly.
As soon as he left, Ah Luo thought that Liu Jue really was furious. She was also tired and did not want to think about what Liu Jue would do with her and her mother. She would consider this after sleeping and regaining her energy.
Having been nervous, fighting until she was out of strength, and weary with exhaustion, Ah Luo slept until noon the next day. She opened her eyes, the room bright from the snow reflecting the daylight. She got out of bed and a maid brought hot water to wash her face. Ah Luo sat in front of the mirror and seeing the maid combing her hair, she quickly stopped her and said, “Comb a men’s hairstyle.”
The maid replied cautiously, “The general threw away all of Miss’ male clothing, and all he sent were skirts and robes.
Ah Luo was helpless and said, “Then just comb a long ponytail, no need to coil it up.”
After changing her clothes, Ah Luo looked at herself. It had been a long time since she had worn a skirt and robe. The clothes that Liu Jue sent fit very well, except the skirt reached her feet so walking was not as convenient as when wearing men’s clothing. The maid brought a few small dishes and a bowl of hot porridge and Ah Luo did not hesitate, it was important to fill her stomach.
Having eaten to her heart’s content, she stood up satisfied and headed to the door. The maid said carefully, “The general ordered that if Miss goes out, then she cannot even think about seeing her mother again.”
Ah Luo was stunned and secretly cursed Liu Jue for threatening her with Seventh Mistress. Yet she could not lose her temper and with a smile on her face, she said, “It is too boring to stay in the room. I will just go for a walk in the courtyard. If you are worried, how about you follow me?”
The maid shook her head, “The general has ordered that Miss cannot leave the room at all. There is a member of the black-clothed force guarding outside the door.”
Ah Luo was at a loss for what to do. Thinking about it, she calmed down again, “Find me some books about Lin Nan City. Anything on local customs or local journals will do. It is fine if they are about the Chen Empire too.”
Seeing that Ah Luo had given up on the idea of going out, the maid agreed repeatedly. Not long after, she came back with a stack of books and said with a smile, “It seemed that the general knew Miss would be bored and had already ordered for this. As long as Miss does not leave the room, Miss will be satisfied as much as possible for whatever she wants to eat or play.”
Ah Luo sighed. It seemed like Liu Jue was determined to put her under house arrest. This time, she truly could not escape. Thinking about it, she could eat well, drink well, sleep well, have all her requests granted, and there was no danger. It seemed that Liu Jue would not pack her and Seventh Mistress up and send them back to the Minister’s residence in Feng City. Until the war was over, she would have to stay here. Only when the war was over would he have time to pay attention to her. She would not ask about Seventh Mistress and the others, it would be enough to know that they were well. Quietly, she slowly read the books.
