Chapter 140: Heaven and Earth Are Torn Asunder
Li Min De didn’t speak anymore. With a cold face, he took off her blood-soaked shoes. "We need to apply medicine. Bear with the pain—"
However, Li Wei Yang noticed the injury on his shoulder. She suddenly remembered that when she had opened her eyes after the earthquake, he still had her pressed tightly under him, his unkempt hair hiding a pair of eyes that were full of worry. But like her, his heart was like a beating drum... Now, the clothes that covered his shoulders had long been torn, exposing a section of skin with a criss-cross of bloody gashes, and the wounds were hideously turned inside out. As it turned out, when he had fallen off the horse, he had injured himself......It was a long time before she could make a sound: "...Why didn’t you apply medicine?"
Li Min De replied straightforwardly: "It’s not necessary for this kind of superficial injury. Your ankle is more important—" He only had one bottle of medicine on him, and he couldn't waste it carelessly.
Li Wei Yang’s heart suddenly ached: "It’s my fault. I shouldn't have taken you with me—"
Li Min De frowned: "You want to take a risk by yourself by not bringing me?"
Li Wei Yang stared at him in a daze until he finished the bandaging. When he raised his head, he saw that she was still watching him. His heart stirred, but he didn’t stand up. He only lowered his voice and asked, "Then you... and Tuoba Yu... what’s that all about?"
This was the thorn buried the deepest in his heart these days, one he couldn’t pull out or come out and ask.
Li Wei Yang was stunned and wanted to compose some cock and bull story, but in the end just said honestly: "I don't like him, and I have also never liked him. Moreover, I'm not going to help him again. Even if you look at it and feel I was helping him—"Looking up and seeing Li Min De actually smiling, she thought that the words she had spoken subconsciously were boring. She couldn't help pushing him, "Still not getting up—" Only then did she notice that the wound on his shoulder was more serious. With a cry of alarm, she hastily pushed him away to carefully look it over, but Li Min De took her hand and held it firmly. His hands were sticky with sweat, as if making up his mind about something, and opened his mouth to confess: "I—"
"You also need to apply medicine—what if you get a re-infection!" Without waiting for him to finish, Li Wei Yang hurriedly yanked her hand away. Li Min De stilled and shut his mouth.
Fortunately, Li Min De’s injuries were superficial ones. Only after Li Wei Yang looked them over did she let out a sigh of relief. When she raised her head, he found that he had been staring at her eyes without blinking, looking at them, like...her heart started accelerating for no reason, and she couldn’t say what she was originally going to.
This guy, it always seemed like there was no way to deal with him.
He wasn’t Tuoba Zhen, so he wasn’t an personal foe; he was not Tuoba Yu, so he wasn't an ally, nor was he Jiang Hua, so he wasn’t a mortal enemy. So in the end, what is he? A relative? A person who would sacrifice his life and protect her? Were there relatives like that? Only then, did she notice that his breath was too close. With unprecedented pressure, it made her indescribably panicked. Her heart thumped fiercely, and her face became burning hot. She could only lower her jet-black eyes, not looking at his face.
Hah, what should she do? The first time, she took the initiative to avoid his meaningful gaze. Li Wei Yang only felt that this situation was extremely bad.
"I like you, and it doesn't concern anyone else under heaven. Even you can't stop me." Li Min De seemed as if he was talking to herself.
"I like you. For you, I can disregard everything. I like you. No matter how bitter or difficult it is, I want you to be happy."
Li Wei Yang suddenly raised her head and stared at him blankly. At this moment, his handsome face was as distinct as a carved sculpture, and under his raised eyebrows were a pair of calm and steady eyes that could make people’s hearts race. At this moment, he was staring at her unblinkingly, as if the person in front of him would disappear if he blinked.
"I can get injured for you, get hurt for you, die for you, and disappoint everyone under heaven for you. I couldn’t care less about those things. I only want you to smile for me, remember that you have me by your side, remember I love you. So I don't regret accompanying you here. Even if I died here today, I would not regret it."
Li Wei Yang stilled. He spoke so seriously, like a vow, causing her heartbeat to unexpectedly start to lose its equilibrium. Massaging her heart, she warned herself not to be persuaded by a few words. He was so young, so handsome. There were countless girls who were head over heels for him, not at all lacking her one person. She was also not that type of seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl, who would disregard everything and rush headlong into something for the sake of a beautiful young man. There was no stronghold she couldn’t overcome and would not be shaken by anything. She was a person who existed for revenge. Love, this kind of thing, hearing about it was fine, but it mustn't be taken seriously.
"Min De, I already said—" It took a long time before she restrained the throbbing of her heart, and spoke one word at a time.
Li Min De suddenly smiled and tossed aside the empty medicine bottle. He stood up, and overturned like it had been a joke: "I loathe saying these words the most, so I’ll only say it once. Since you heard it, let’s leave it at that. I will never annoy you by saying it again. Just treat it as if—I never said anything!” After he said this, he walked in front of her and crouched down. Without turning his head, he said, “The sky’s going to be dark soon. Even if they don’t find us here, if we keep heading south, we can find the road to go back. Let's go."
Was he going to carry her? ! Li Wei Yang stilled and realized soon after that this was the best way. Her feet couldn't walk yet. If they travelled slowly on foot the whole way, they wouldn’t be able to find anyone even if they walked until dawn. With no other choice, she placed her hands on his shoulders. He carried her, letting her soft body lean against his broad back.
It was fortunate that she didn't have to look at his face again. Li Wei Yang softly let out a sigh, which brushed past his ears and elicited a peculiar shiver from him. Li Min De stood abruptly: "Then we are off."
He carried her securely and ran ahead at a brisk pace. Whether it was acting as if nothing had happened was fine or confessing, he was unable to control his emotions and couldn’t help it. How could he be willing to make things difficult for her? There was no one who was more dear than her. For the entire way, he only wanted to walk together with her, merely wanted to carry her like this, and let her confidently depend on him wholeheartedly! It didn’t matter what price he had to pay!
For a whole hour, Li Min De didn't say a word. Li Wei Yang sighed inwardly. She felt that she had been too blunt and hurt the other party's feelings and whatnot. After all, although he was always like confession, confession, his heart wasn’t made of stone, which couldn’t be injured. Maybe she should be more tactful in her speech. After all, he was acting for her sake wholeheartedly.
Li Min De did not know that he had the label of “had his feelings hurt” attached to him. The reason for his silence was precisely due to him thinking about whether his performance just now was too intense. Although he had said what was on his mind, everything had to be done step by step. This confession style that freaked people out needed to be improved for next time. Of course, the timing of the next one needed to be chosen well. His sorry appearance now was not composed or elegant enough. It would be difficult to move the person on his mind.
The two, thinking about two completely unrelated problems, lapsed into silence.
After Li Wei Yang's long sigh, she eventually heard someone calling her name. She said quickly: "Put me down."
Li Min De did as he was instructed. He had just barely put the person down, when he saw Li Yuan Heng anxiously hurry over with a group of people.
"Xianzhu! It’s good that you’re alright!" Li Yuan Heng looked at Li Wei Yang with remorse. "When the earthquake happened, I saw Li gongzi rush towards you, so I went to save He Chang first."
Li Wei Yang nodded and said, "I'm fine. I don't know if Princess He Chang—"
"My sister was thrown from her horse and accidentally broke some of her ribs. I already ordered someone to send her back without delay." Li Yuan Heng replied immediately, "The brother and sister you brought with you were looking for you everywhere. In the end, it was thanks to their luck that we were able to find the right direction."
Li Wei Yang also saw the sorry looking brother and sister pair, and let out a sigh of relief when she saw that they were uninjured.
"Xiaojie, are you hurt anywhere?" Zhao Yue quickly rushed over.
Li Wei Yang whispered: "It isn’t urgent. It's an ankle injury so it's a bit inconvenient to walk."
Li Yuan Heng was worried when he heard this and promptly said: "Back when I hunted in the grasslands, I would wrap my injuries by myself. Let me have a look." After saying that, he was going to go over and lift open Li Wei Yang's skirt.
Li Min De's face changed colour, and he blocked the way: "There’s no need anymore. This isn’t appropriate.”
Li Yuan Heng stilled. He smiled mockingly and switched to say, "I'm sorry. I was anxious for a moment. Finding a doctor after we return would be fine. Let’s hurry back to the city now. The earthquake from earlier caused a lot of damage. I'm afraid that every family must have suffered losses."
Li Wei Yang nodded and didn’t say much more, and the party hurried back into the city.
Along the way, Li Wei Yang personally witnessed and heard a lot of news. For example, hundreds of people had already gathered outside of Puji Temple’s largest gate, all of them refugees. For example, many buildings in the princely mansions had fallen apart. For example, dozens of rice shops and private banks in the capital had been robbed. For example, there were some who wanted to profit from others misfortune by charging into the ruined homes... Fortunately, the capital’s magistrate entered the palace without delay to make a report and mobilized the imperial guard. For the time being, the situation was under control. But the way Li Wei Yang saw it, clearly the worst was yet to come.
Originally, she had thought that this disaster only occurred in the vicinity of the capital. But in fact, when they arrived in the city, she heard Li Yuan Heng say: "I heard that this disaster covered more than half of Da Li. It was very severe!"
"Oh, then what about Mo Bei?" Li Wei Yang asked suddenly.
Li Yuan Heng shook his head and said, "As far as I know, nothing happened to the north."
"Oh." Li Wei Yang nodded lightly. "Then... in the south?"
Li Yuan Heng frowned, not knowing why an unmarried girl like Li Wei Yang was worrying so much. He muttered: "For the time being, no news has come from the south." Li Wei Yang didn’t open her mouth again and lapsed into silence.
Finally arriving at Li manor, Li Wei Yang saw that the front gate was still in one piece and felt a little relieved.
"Xianzhu has made it home. There must be a lot of matters to handle. I will go first and pay a visit in a few days," Li Yuan Heng said straightforwardly.
Li Wei Yang nodded and watched him leave swiftly. Li Min De snorted behind him, completely impatient.
Li Wei Yang didn't say much anymore. She held onto Zhao Yue's hand as she resisted the pain in her ankle and entered Li manor. Standing at the entrance of her home, she perceived the rocks littered all over the ground and realized that the place was not without damage. She noticed the housekeeper who came out to welcome her with trepidation. Li Wei Yang's face remained calm, but her hands clenched involuntarily: "How is Lao Furen? What about Qi Yiniang and Fourth Shaoye?"
"Replying to Xiaojie, at that time, Lao Furen was playing with Fourth Shaoye in the garden. A corner of the pavilion suddenly collapsed. Lao Furen used her own arms to shield Fourth Shaoye. She received a slight graze but nothing too serious. Qi Yiniang already carried Fourth Shaoye back. Fourth Shaoye was scared and kept crying. Fortunately, Furen was there at the time. She was the first to notice that something was wrong and called out, even rushing into the pavilion. If it wasn’t for her pushing Lao Furen and rescuing Fourth Shaoye, and it would have been a terrible thing." The housekeeper recounted the entire matter thoroughly.
There wasn’t a shred of expression on Li Wei Yang's face as she listened quietly. So long as the people were fine. However, that Jiang Yue Lan would go as far as to save Min Zhi—this was something she didn't expect. "How is the damage at home?" Li Wei Yang walked all the way to He Xiang Courtyard. She needed to pay a visit to Lao Furen first rather than Qi Yiniang’s place because it was her duty as a granddaughter.
"Laoye’s antique porcelain, paintings and calligraphy suffered the most damage." The housekeeper stammered, "The rest is still alright."
Although the house hadn’t collapsed, all those precious porcelain and antiques had directly fallen off the shelves. When people saw the contents of each room in complete disorder, it made their scalps go numb. Thinking of Li Xiao Ran's frightful expression, the housekeeper couldn't help but tremble from head to toe.
Li Wei Yang nodded and finally entered Lao Furen's courtyard with Li Min De. When she reached the doorway, she heard the sound of weeping and her heart tightened. She lifted the curtain hurriedly and went in.
As soon as she stepped in, she heard Lao Furen’s stern rebuke: "What are you crying for! Shut your mouth!" The crying stopped abruptly and became a low sob.
Listening to her so full of energy, Li Wei Yang finally relaxed and promptly raised her voice: "Lao Furen, are you alright?"
Li Lao Furen raised her head and saw that it was Li Wei Yang, and moreover she came back in one piece. She finally relaxed her unresolved worries, saying: "Everyone is fine. We only lost a few possessions. Look, she’s become a ghost from crying.” Saying so, Lao Furen shot a hard glare at Second Furen.
Second Furen sat in a chair and carefully wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief: "Lao Furen, I also don't want to either, but half of my house caved in."
At this time, Jiang Yue Lan said: "I can divide my own yard out for brother-in-law’s wife. I only have a few people, and we can't use up such a large courtyard."
Everyone in the room turned towards her. Jiang Yue Lan had been shut inside the courtyard. Later, the household had been busy entertaining guests, always like this closed off and unpresentable. Li Xiao Ran still let her out, but never acknowledged her again. The family also did not regard her as a person. Suddenly hearing her speak at this moment, Second Furen’s crying stopped unconsciously, and she exchanged a look of dismay with Second Xiaojie next to her. The two of them looked doubtful. After Jiang Yue Lan met with misfortune, they did not bully her less. Why was she suddenly so kind? Could it be that she had some sort of objective?
Seeing Second Furen’s skeptical expression, Jiang Yue Lan said lightly: "What’s more, Second Xiaojie is about to get married and needs a clean room. I can make some space in the eastern wing." She didn’t do this to claim credit but because it was advantageous to her own situation. Her situation nowadays was quite difficult. She absolutely could not do stupid things again!
Li Wei Yang glanced at Jiang Yue Lan and said, "I’ve heard about today’s incident from the housekeeper already. I still need to thank Mother for saving Lao Furen and Fourth younger brother." In fact, if Jiang Yue Lan was smart, she should hope that Lao Furen would die a bit earlier, Li Min Zhi even more so.
A smile emerged on Jiang Yue Lan's pale face, and she said, "I raised him for several days in any case, so I couldn’t just look on and watch him die." Saying this, she herself didn't understand why she had rushed over. It was simply baffling. When she saw Li Min Zhi's little smiling face, she could not help but take action.
Li Wei Yang smiled and stopped talking. She turned to ask Lao Furen: "How is Father?"
Li Lao Furen’s face fell: “This time, the capital suddenly experienced an earthquake, and many houses collapsed. Even His Majesty’s palace was not spared and suffered a huge loss. I heard that His Majesty suffered a great shock. He immediately got people to set up an altar and declared that all the aristocrats and ministers had to go to kneel together."
Li Wei Yang raised her brows. Although natural disasters were unavoidable, everyone instinctively believed that it was the emperor himself who committed a wrong, to the extent that the gods descended to fault him. There was that evening where a handful of fires had scared the emperor silly. Suddenly right after, there was an earthquake. With this act, it was even more likely the emperor felt that God was meting out his punishment.
"His Majesty certainly doesn't think it is his own fault. He feels that he is taking responsibility for mistakes in place of the officials." Lao Furen’s face was filled with worry. "He took the princes, noblemen, the prime minister, the officials in charge of the Six Ministries, and even called many of the chancellors to the emperor’s palace. All of them are kneeling along with him. Now by this time, they’ve kneeled for one or two shichen. I'm afraid your father’s body can't bear it!"
Li Wei Yang held back the smile in her heart. Inside her head, she thought it was good if Li Xiao Ran could kneel for eight or ten days. Better still if he kneeled until his legs were crippled and could never crawl up again. That would unload some of her resentment. But on her face was an identical anxious expression: "Yes, we should prepare some ginger soup a bit earlier." She glanced at Jiang Yue Lan, but she saw the disapproval on her face and couldn't help but smile. Nowadays, the one who hated Li Xiao Ran the most was not herself but this Li Furen. Not to mention wastering her youth, Li Xiao Ran also completely abandoned her at a critical time. The enmity between these two had grown enormously.
After observing Li Furen, Li Wei Yang went around to Qi Yiniang’s place, resisting the pain in her ankle to comfort the frightened mother and son pair. Then, she returned to her yard. When she saw that Bai Zhi and Mo Zhu were in tears waiting for her, she could not help jumping in fright.
Li Min De was dumbfounded: "What are you two doing?"
Bai Zhi sobbed: "Nubi... nubi was afraid that Xiaojie—"
Afraid she wouldn't come back? Li Wei Yang thought her fate was sturdy. How could she die outside just because of this? With a smile on her face, she comforted: "No harm done. See, didn’t I come back safe and sound?"
Bai Zhi and Mo Zhu nodded repeatedly, but still could not control their bawling. Li Wei Yang didn't say anymore and was supported back into the house, but her ankle was already swollen. Li Min De ignored Bai Zhi's startled gaze as he took off her shoes and massaged her foot tenderly: "I told you to come back and rest first, but you insisted on running over there. I said it was no problem if I just went."
In front of Li Wei Yang’s eyes were a pair of gentle and unfathomable eyes. Concern and reluctance to let go were written in them. Even if he knew he was kind to her, but really looking at him like this made her heart soft. However, she still could not accept it!
Li Wei Yang's brows tightened, and now she really knew what pain was. She bit down on her pale lips as beads of sweat trickled down her forehead: "You don’t know how to wrap it. Let Bai Zhi do it." It really hurt to death. There was no way to stop the pain with good looks alone, Li Wei Yang added in her heart.
He was indeed all thumbs and probably made it more painful for her. Li Min De’s face flushed before releasing his hand. Li Wei Yang quickly shooed him away: "You’re injured yourself. Still not hurrying to find a doctor to take a look?"
She couldn’t look at his eyes anymore. If she looked, it would only cause her willpower to fall apart.
Li Min De stood up and retreated to one side: "I'm fine." Bai Zhi took over his task, and said carefully: "Xiaojie, you need to see a doctor. This ankle is severely swollen."
Li Wei Yang thought that this was not caused by Li Min De. He wouldn't forcibly bandage it. She might as well do it by herself—
Li Min De sat down on one side, his eyes still fixed on her, but what he said was: "Now you can tell me your plan, right?"
When Li Wei Yang saw that he was unwilling to leave, she no longer dissuaded him. She smiled and said: "Such a big incident occurred. Our original plan will need to be adjusted."
Li Min De frowned: "You mean this earthquake? Will it change the situation?"
Bai Zhi's movements were gentle and effective. Li Wei Yang breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Of course, if only Da Li is affected and Mo Bei and Nan Jiang are fine, it’s hard to guarantee that there won’t be a war. Even if there is no large-scale war, the looting of burning houses definitely won’t be few. There are also the troublemakers in various regions—"
Li Min De immediately thought of the key point: "Are you afraid of the Jiang family coming back?"
A cold smile formed on Li Wei Yang's lips: "Something that you and I can think of, do you think they also wouldn’t? Duke Jiang is afraid that he will not come back. Moreover, the rest of the Jiang family is also waiting for him to be restored to his former post. After all such a major event occured, the emperor will reconsider the mourning period for a parent. Unique circumstances require unique solutions. There have been instances of this before."
Amusement flashed in Li Min De's eyes: "You’re saying that we have accompanied this Fourth Prince of Mo Bei to put on a play for the past few days. Should we put it to good use?"
Li Wei Yang's smile was full of mockery: "Yes, there is no free lunch in this world. Asking me to accompany him on a hunt, he always needs to send me a little return gift. I am afraid that he will shed blood sorrowfully—"
Bai Zhi and Mo Zhu glanced at each other, and it became more and more unclear what Li Wei Yang was thinking... How could it be so easy for the Fourth Prince of Mo Bei to shed blood sorrowfully. How could it be that easy!
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－－－
Editor: What do you want to do?
Xiao Qin: Kill Li Yuan Heng! Kill Jiang Hua! Kill the Jiang family! Oh roar roar roar roar roar roar roar roar roar roar roar
Editor: So scary (⊙o⊙)
Li Min De didn’t speak anymore. With a cold face, he took off her blood-soaked shoes. "We need to apply medicine. Bear with the pain—"
However, Li Wei Yang noticed the injury on his shoulder. She suddenly remembered that when she had opened her eyes after the earthquake, he still had her pressed tightly under him, his unkempt hair hiding a pair of eyes that were full of worry. But like her, his heart was like a beating drum... Now, the clothes that covered his shoulders had long been torn, exposing a section of skin with a criss-cross of bloody gashes, and the wounds were hideously turned inside out. As it turned out, when he had fallen off the horse, he had injured himself......It was a long time before she could make a sound: "...Why didn’t you apply medicine?"
Li Min De replied straightforwardly: "It’s not necessary for this kind of superficial injury. Your ankle is more important—" He only had one bottle of medicine on him, and he couldn't waste it carelessly.
Li Wei Yang’s heart suddenly ached: "It’s my fault. I shouldn't have taken you with me—"
Li Min De frowned: "You want to take a risk by yourself by not bringing me?"
Li Wei Yang stared at him in a daze until he finished the bandaging. When he raised his head, he saw that she was still watching him. His heart stirred, but he didn’t stand up. He only lowered his voice and asked, "Then you... and Tuoba Yu... what’s that all about?"
This was the thorn buried the deepest in his heart these days, one he couldn’t pull out or come out and ask.
Li Wei Yang was stunned and wanted to compose some cock and bull story, but in the end just said honestly: "I don't like him, and I have also never liked him. Moreover, I'm not going to help him again. Even if you look at it and feel I was helping him—"Looking up and seeing Li Min De actually smiling, she thought that the words she had spoken subconsciously were boring. She couldn't help pushing him, "Still not getting up—" Only then did she notice that the wound on his shoulder was more serious. With a cry of alarm, she hastily pushed him away to carefully look it over, but Li Min De took her hand and held it firmly. His hands were sticky with sweat, as if making up his mind about something, and opened his mouth to confess: "I—"
"You also need to apply medicine—what if you get a re-infection!" Without waiting for him to finish, Li Wei Yang hurriedly yanked her hand away. Li Min De stilled and shut his mouth.
Fortunately, Li Min De’s injuries were superficial ones. Only after Li Wei Yang looked them over did she let out a sigh of relief. When she raised her head, he found that he had been staring at her eyes without blinking, looking at them, like...her heart started accelerating for no reason, and she couldn’t say what she was originally going to.
This guy, it always seemed like there was no way to deal with him.
He wasn’t Tuoba Zhen, so he wasn’t an personal foe; he was not Tuoba Yu, so he wasn't an ally, nor was he Jiang Hua, so he wasn’t a mortal enemy. So in the end, what is he? A relative? A person who would sacrifice his life and protect her? Were there relatives like that? Only then, did she notice that his breath was too close. With unprecedented pressure, it made her indescribably panicked. Her heart thumped fiercely, and her face became burning hot. She could only lower her jet-black eyes, not looking at his face.
Hah, what should she do? The first time, she took the initiative to avoid his meaningful gaze. Li Wei Yang only felt that this situation was extremely bad.
"I like you, and it doesn't concern anyone else under heaven. Even you can't stop me." Li Min De seemed as if he was talking to herself.
"I like you. For you, I can disregard everything. I like you. No matter how bitter or difficult it is, I want you to be happy."
Li Wei Yang suddenly raised her head and stared at him blankly. At this moment, his handsome face was as distinct as a carved sculpture, and under his raised eyebrows were a pair of calm and steady eyes that could make people’s hearts race. At this moment, he was staring at her unblinkingly, as if the person in front of him would disappear if he blinked.
"I can get injured for you, get hurt for you, die for you, and disappoint everyone under heaven for you. I couldn’t care less about those things. I only want you to smile for me, remember that you have me by your side, remember I love you. So I don't regret accompanying you here. Even if I died here today, I would not regret it."
Li Wei Yang stilled. He spoke so seriously, like a vow, causing her heartbeat to unexpectedly start to lose its equilibrium. Massaging her heart, she warned herself not to be persuaded by a few words. He was so young, so handsome. There were countless girls who were head over heels for him, not at all lacking her one person. She was also not that type of seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl, who would disregard everything and rush headlong into something for the sake of a beautiful young man. There was no stronghold she couldn’t overcome and would not be shaken by anything. She was a person who existed for revenge. Love, this kind of thing, hearing about it was fine, but it mustn't be taken seriously.
"Min De, I already said—" It took a long time before she restrained the throbbing of her heart, and spoke one word at a time.
Li Min De suddenly smiled and tossed aside the empty medicine bottle. He stood up, and overturned like it had been a joke: "I loathe saying these words the most, so I’ll only say it once. Since you heard it, let’s leave it at that. I will never annoy you by saying it again. Just treat it as if—I never said anything!” After he said this, he walked in front of her and crouched down. Without turning his head, he said, “The sky’s going to be dark soon. Even if they don’t find us here, if we keep heading south, we can find the road to go back. Let's go."
Was he going to carry her? ! Li Wei Yang stilled and realized soon after that this was the best way. Her feet couldn't walk yet. If they travelled slowly on foot the whole way, they wouldn’t be able to find anyone even if they walked until dawn. With no other choice, she placed her hands on his shoulders. He carried her, letting her soft body lean against his broad back.
It was fortunate that she didn't have to look at his face again. Li Wei Yang softly let out a sigh, which brushed past his ears and elicited a peculiar shiver from him. Li Min De stood abruptly: "Then we are off."
He carried her securely and ran ahead at a brisk pace. Whether it was acting as if nothing had happened was fine or confessing, he was unable to control his emotions and couldn’t help it. How could he be willing to make things difficult for her? There was no one who was more dear than her. For the entire way, he only wanted to walk together with her, merely wanted to carry her like this, and let her confidently depend on him wholeheartedly! It didn’t matter what price he had to pay!
For a whole hour, Li Min De didn't say a word. Li Wei Yang sighed inwardly. She felt that she had been too blunt and hurt the other party's feelings and whatnot. After all, although he was always like confession, confession, his heart wasn’t made of stone, which couldn’t be injured. Maybe she should be more tactful in her speech. After all, he was acting for her sake wholeheartedly.
Li Min De did not know that he had the label of “had his feelings hurt” attached to him. The reason for his silence was precisely due to him thinking about whether his performance just now was too intense. Although he had said what was on his mind, everything had to be done step by step. This confession style that freaked people out needed to be improved for next time. Of course, the timing of the next one needed to be chosen well. His sorry appearance now was not composed or elegant enough. It would be difficult to move the person on his mind.
The two, thinking about two completely unrelated problems, lapsed into silence.
After Li Wei Yang's long sigh, she eventually heard someone calling her name. She said quickly: "Put me down."
Li Min De did as he was instructed. He had just barely put the person down, when he saw Li Yuan Heng anxiously hurry over with a group of people.
"Xianzhu! It’s good that you’re alright!" Li Yuan Heng looked at Li Wei Yang with remorse. "When the earthquake happened, I saw Li gongzi rush towards you, so I went to save He Chang first."
Li Wei Yang nodded and said, "I'm fine. I don't know if Princess He Chang—"
"My sister was thrown from her horse and accidentally broke some of her ribs. I already ordered someone to send her back without delay." Li Yuan Heng replied immediately, "The brother and sister you brought with you were looking for you everywhere. In the end, it was thanks to their luck that we were able to find the right direction."
Li Wei Yang also saw the sorry looking brother and sister pair, and let out a sigh of relief when she saw that they were uninjured.
"Xiaojie, are you hurt anywhere?" Zhao Yue quickly rushed over.
Li Wei Yang whispered: "It isn’t urgent. It's an ankle injury so it's a bit inconvenient to walk."
Li Yuan Heng was worried when he heard this and promptly said: "Back when I hunted in the grasslands, I would wrap my injuries by myself. Let me have a look." After saying that, he was going to go over and lift open Li Wei Yang's skirt.
Li Min De's face changed colour, and he blocked the way: "There’s no need anymore. This isn’t appropriate.”
Li Yuan Heng stilled. He smiled mockingly and switched to say, "I'm sorry. I was anxious for a moment. Finding a doctor after we return would be fine. Let’s hurry back to the city now. The earthquake from earlier caused a lot of damage. I'm afraid that every family must have suffered losses."
Li Wei Yang nodded and didn’t say much more, and the party hurried back into the city.
Along the way, Li Wei Yang personally witnessed and heard a lot of news. For example, hundreds of people had already gathered outside of Puji Temple’s largest gate, all of them refugees. For example, many buildings in the princely mansions had fallen apart. For example, dozens of rice shops and private banks in the capital had been robbed. For example, there were some who wanted to profit from others misfortune by charging into the ruined homes... Fortunately, the capital’s magistrate entered the palace without delay to make a report and mobilized the imperial guard. For the time being, the situation was under control. But the way Li Wei Yang saw it, clearly the worst was yet to come.
Originally, she had thought that this disaster only occurred in the vicinity of the capital. But in fact, when they arrived in the city, she heard Li Yuan Heng say: "I heard that this disaster covered more than half of Da Li. It was very severe!"
"Oh, then what about Mo Bei?" Li Wei Yang asked suddenly.
Li Yuan Heng shook his head and said, "As far as I know, nothing happened to the north."
"Oh." Li Wei Yang nodded lightly. "Then... in the south?"
Li Yuan Heng frowned, not knowing why an unmarried girl like Li Wei Yang was worrying so much. He muttered: "For the time being, no news has come from the south." Li Wei Yang didn’t open her mouth again and lapsed into silence.
Finally arriving at Li manor, Li Wei Yang saw that the front gate was still in one piece and felt a little relieved.
"Xianzhu has made it home. There must be a lot of matters to handle. I will go first and pay a visit in a few days," Li Yuan Heng said straightforwardly.
Li Wei Yang nodded and watched him leave swiftly. Li Min De snorted behind him, completely impatient.
Li Wei Yang didn't say much anymore. She held onto Zhao Yue's hand as she resisted the pain in her ankle and entered Li manor. Standing at the entrance of her home, she perceived the rocks littered all over the ground and realized that the place was not without damage. She noticed the housekeeper who came out to welcome her with trepidation. Li Wei Yang's face remained calm, but her hands clenched involuntarily: "How is Lao Furen? What about Qi Yiniang and Fourth Shaoye?"
"Replying to Xiaojie, at that time, Lao Furen was playing with Fourth Shaoye in the garden. A corner of the pavilion suddenly collapsed. Lao Furen used her own arms to shield Fourth Shaoye. She received a slight graze but nothing too serious. Qi Yiniang already carried Fourth Shaoye back. Fourth Shaoye was scared and kept crying. Fortunately, Furen was there at the time. She was the first to notice that something was wrong and called out, even rushing into the pavilion. If it wasn’t for her pushing Lao Furen and rescuing Fourth Shaoye, and it would have been a terrible thing." The housekeeper recounted the entire matter thoroughly.
There wasn’t a shred of expression on Li Wei Yang's face as she listened quietly. So long as the people were fine. However, that Jiang Yue Lan would go as far as to save Min Zhi—this was something she didn't expect. "How is the damage at home?" Li Wei Yang walked all the way to He Xiang Courtyard. She needed to pay a visit to Lao Furen first rather than Qi Yiniang’s place because it was her duty as a granddaughter.
"Laoye’s antique porcelain, paintings and calligraphy suffered the most damage." The housekeeper stammered, "The rest is still alright."
Although the house hadn’t collapsed, all those precious porcelain and antiques had directly fallen off the shelves. When people saw the contents of each room in complete disorder, it made their scalps go numb. Thinking of Li Xiao Ran's frightful expression, the housekeeper couldn't help but tremble from head to toe.
Li Wei Yang nodded and finally entered Lao Furen's courtyard with Li Min De. When she reached the doorway, she heard the sound of weeping and her heart tightened. She lifted the curtain hurriedly and went in.
As soon as she stepped in, she heard Lao Furen’s stern rebuke: "What are you crying for! Shut your mouth!" The crying stopped abruptly and became a low sob.
Listening to her so full of energy, Li Wei Yang finally relaxed and promptly raised her voice: "Lao Furen, are you alright?"
Li Lao Furen raised her head and saw that it was Li Wei Yang, and moreover she came back in one piece. She finally relaxed her unresolved worries, saying: "Everyone is fine. We only lost a few possessions. Look, she’s become a ghost from crying.” Saying so, Lao Furen shot a hard glare at Second Furen.
Second Furen sat in a chair and carefully wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief: "Lao Furen, I also don't want to either, but half of my house caved in."
At this time, Jiang Yue Lan said: "I can divide my own yard out for brother-in-law’s wife. I only have a few people, and we can't use up such a large courtyard."
Everyone in the room turned towards her. Jiang Yue Lan had been shut inside the courtyard. Later, the household had been busy entertaining guests, always like this closed off and unpresentable. Li Xiao Ran still let her out, but never acknowledged her again. The family also did not regard her as a person. Suddenly hearing her speak at this moment, Second Furen’s crying stopped unconsciously, and she exchanged a look of dismay with Second Xiaojie next to her. The two of them looked doubtful. After Jiang Yue Lan met with misfortune, they did not bully her less. Why was she suddenly so kind? Could it be that she had some sort of objective?
Seeing Second Furen’s skeptical expression, Jiang Yue Lan said lightly: "What’s more, Second Xiaojie is about to get married and needs a clean room. I can make some space in the eastern wing." She didn’t do this to claim credit but because it was advantageous to her own situation. Her situation nowadays was quite difficult. She absolutely could not do stupid things again!
Li Wei Yang glanced at Jiang Yue Lan and said, "I’ve heard about today’s incident from the housekeeper already. I still need to thank Mother for saving Lao Furen and Fourth younger brother." In fact, if Jiang Yue Lan was smart, she should hope that Lao Furen would die a bit earlier, Li Min Zhi even more so.
A smile emerged on Jiang Yue Lan's pale face, and she said, "I raised him for several days in any case, so I couldn’t just look on and watch him die." Saying this, she herself didn't understand why she had rushed over. It was simply baffling. When she saw Li Min Zhi's little smiling face, she could not help but take action.
Li Wei Yang smiled and stopped talking. She turned to ask Lao Furen: "How is Father?"
Li Lao Furen’s face fell: “This time, the capital suddenly experienced an earthquake, and many houses collapsed. Even His Majesty’s palace was not spared and suffered a huge loss. I heard that His Majesty suffered a great shock. He immediately got people to set up an altar and declared that all the aristocrats and ministers had to go to kneel together."
Li Wei Yang raised her brows. Although natural disasters were unavoidable, everyone instinctively believed that it was the emperor himself who committed a wrong, to the extent that the gods descended to fault him. There was that evening where a handful of fires had scared the emperor silly. Suddenly right after, there was an earthquake. With this act, it was even more likely the emperor felt that God was meting out his punishment.
"His Majesty certainly doesn't think it is his own fault. He feels that he is taking responsibility for mistakes in place of the officials." Lao Furen’s face was filled with worry. "He took the princes, noblemen, the prime minister, the officials in charge of the Six Ministries, and even called many of the chancellors to the emperor’s palace. All of them are kneeling along with him. Now by this time, they’ve kneeled for one or two shichen. I'm afraid your father’s body can't bear it!"
Li Wei Yang held back the smile in her heart. Inside her head, she thought it was good if Li Xiao Ran could kneel for eight or ten days. Better still if he kneeled until his legs were crippled and could never crawl up again. That would unload some of her resentment. But on her face was an identical anxious expression: "Yes, we should prepare some ginger soup a bit earlier." She glanced at Jiang Yue Lan, but she saw the disapproval on her face and couldn't help but smile. Nowadays, the one who hated Li Xiao Ran the most was not herself but this Li Furen. Not to mention wastering her youth, Li Xiao Ran also completely abandoned her at a critical time. The enmity between these two had grown enormously.
After observing Li Furen, Li Wei Yang went around to Qi Yiniang’s place, resisting the pain in her ankle to comfort the frightened mother and son pair. Then, she returned to her yard. When she saw that Bai Zhi and Mo Zhu were in tears waiting for her, she could not help jumping in fright.
Li Min De was dumbfounded: "What are you two doing?"
Bai Zhi sobbed: "Nubi... nubi was afraid that Xiaojie—"
Afraid she wouldn't come back? Li Wei Yang thought her fate was sturdy. How could she die outside just because of this? With a smile on her face, she comforted: "No harm done. See, didn’t I come back safe and sound?"
Bai Zhi and Mo Zhu nodded repeatedly, but still could not control their bawling. Li Wei Yang didn't say anymore and was supported back into the house, but her ankle was already swollen. Li Min De ignored Bai Zhi's startled gaze as he took off her shoes and massaged her foot tenderly: "I told you to come back and rest first, but you insisted on running over there. I said it was no problem if I just went."
In front of Li Wei Yang’s eyes were a pair of gentle and unfathomable eyes. Concern and reluctance to let go were written in them. Even if he knew he was kind to her, but really looking at him like this made her heart soft. However, she still could not accept it!
Li Wei Yang's brows tightened, and now she really knew what pain was. She bit down on her pale lips as beads of sweat trickled down her forehead: "You don’t know how to wrap it. Let Bai Zhi do it." It really hurt to death. There was no way to stop the pain with good looks alone, Li Wei Yang added in her heart.
He was indeed all thumbs and probably made it more painful for her. Li Min De’s face flushed before releasing his hand. Li Wei Yang quickly shooed him away: "You’re injured yourself. Still not hurrying to find a doctor to take a look?"
She couldn’t look at his eyes anymore. If she looked, it would only cause her willpower to fall apart.
Li Min De stood up and retreated to one side: "I'm fine." Bai Zhi took over his task, and said carefully: "Xiaojie, you need to see a doctor. This ankle is severely swollen."
Li Wei Yang thought that this was not caused by Li Min De. He wouldn't forcibly bandage it. She might as well do it by herself—
Li Min De sat down on one side, his eyes still fixed on her, but what he said was: "Now you can tell me your plan, right?"
When Li Wei Yang saw that he was unwilling to leave, she no longer dissuaded him. She smiled and said: "Such a big incident occurred. Our original plan will need to be adjusted."
Li Min De frowned: "You mean this earthquake? Will it change the situation?"
Bai Zhi's movements were gentle and effective. Li Wei Yang breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Of course, if only Da Li is affected and Mo Bei and Nan Jiang are fine, it’s hard to guarantee that there won’t be a war. Even if there is no large-scale war, the looting of burning houses definitely won’t be few. There are also the troublemakers in various regions—"
Li Min De immediately thought of the key point: "Are you afraid of the Jiang family coming back?"
A cold smile formed on Li Wei Yang's lips: "Something that you and I can think of, do you think they also wouldn’t? Duke Jiang is afraid that he will not come back. Moreover, the rest of the Jiang family is also waiting for him to be restored to his former post. After all such a major event occured, the emperor will reconsider the mourning period for a parent. Unique circumstances require unique solutions. There have been instances of this before."
Amusement flashed in Li Min De's eyes: "You’re saying that we have accompanied this Fourth Prince of Mo Bei to put on a play for the past few days. Should we put it to good use?"
Li Wei Yang's smile was full of mockery: "Yes, there is no free lunch in this world. Asking me to accompany him on a hunt, he always needs to send me a little return gift. I am afraid that he will shed blood sorrowfully—"
Bai Zhi and Mo Zhu glanced at each other, and it became more and more unclear what Li Wei Yang was thinking... How could it be so easy for the Fourth Prince of Mo Bei to shed blood sorrowfully. How could it be that easy!
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－－－
Editor: What do you want to do?
Xiao Qin: Kill Li Yuan Heng! Kill Jiang Hua! Kill the Jiang family! Oh roar roar roar roar roar roar roar roar roar roar roar
Editor: So scary (⊙o⊙)
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Translator: joeyburbz
Editor: Chau
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