The Wife of a Loyal Servant - Chapter 41

Ling Yu’s heart nearly stopped in fright. She set her son, who had just woken and was rubbing his eyes, down on the ground and threw herself toward Cheng Shaotang. “Shaotang!”

Only when she drew close did she realize that the man was covered in wounds. The cuts, still seeping blood, stabbed painfully at her eyes. Just that one glance was enough for her to imagine the brutal fight he must have endured.

She struggled to support him against herself. Lowering her head, she saw that her own hands were already smeared with blood.

Xiao Shitou groggily opened his eyes. After a moment, he realized that the person in his mother’s arms was his father, and immediately ran over on his short little legs. “Daddy!”

Ling Yu’s hands trembled as she searched herself for medicine. Her money pouch, handkerchief, and her son’s sweat towel. She tossed them to the ground one after another, yet could not find even the slightest bit of medicine.

“Why didn’t I bring medicine with me? Why didn’t I…” She was so frantic she was nearly in tears, overwhelmed with self-blame, unable to spare any attention for her son, who had run over.

Xiao Mu, still worried about Cheng Shaotang, who was injured yet had insisted on going to find his wife and child, hastily finished bandaging Zhao Yun. As he was about to apply medicine to Chu Liang, Chu Liang urged him instead, “I can do it myself. Go check on Brother Cheng—his injuries are no light matter either.”

Xiao Mu had been waiting for those very words. Without hesitation, he handed over some of the medicine he carried and then hurried after Cheng Shaotang.

From afar, he watched Cheng Shaotang enter a concealed mountain cave and quickly followed. Just as he reached the entrance, he heard a woman’s anxious, self-blaming voice from inside, choked with tears, interspersed with a child calling for his father.

His heart clenched. He quickened his steps and went inside, where he saw Cheng Shaotang unconscious, leaning against Ling Yu.

“Sister-in-law! Brother Cheng!”

Ling Yu looked up at the sound and recognized Xiao Mu. “Come quickly—he’s badly injured, covered in blood, and I didn’t bring any medicine…”

“There’s no need to worry, Sister-in-law. I have medicine here.” Xiao Mu comforted her as he and Ling Yu worked together to lift Cheng Shaotang to a clean spot and began examining his injuries.

Cheng Shaotang’s chest, left shoulder, arms, back, and legs showed swelling, bleeding, and bruising. Some wounds were from sword strikes, some from heavy punches, and others from kicks. He was covered in injuries—an alarming sight.

Ling Yu bit down hard on her lip to keep herself from crying out loud. Her vision gradually blurred; she wiped at it haphazardly with her sleeve, pressed her lips tightly together, and carefully cleaned his wounds.

Even Xiao Mu’s hands trembled slightly as he applied the medicine.

Xiao Shitou also saw his father’s injuries. His small mouth puckered as if he wanted to cry, or rush over, yet in the end he stood there, aggrieved and unsure, neither crying nor moving.

By the time the two of them worked together to move the three severely injured, Cheng Shaotang and Zhao Yun, with his servant, onto the boat they had arrived on, a rainbow had already appeared in the sky after the rain.

Ling Yu forced herself to suppress her fear and helped Xiao Mu bury the assassins’ bodies one by one. Looking at the different ways they had died, her hands shook uncontrollably as she dug the graves.

It wasn’t that she had never seen dead people before, but she had never seen deaths so horrifying. Especially one assassin whose neck hung limp, clearly killed by having his neck twisted apart while alive.

What kind of terrifying strength would it take to snap a person’s neck like that?

Xiao Mu silently finished dealing with the last body, then tied the small boat he had come in to the larger boat carrying Cheng Shaotang and the others. Unable to help himself, he looked back at the deserted village, now fallen once more into silence, the worry on his face deepening.

When Ling Yu returned to the boat, her face pale, she saw her son sitting obediently beside the unconscious Cheng Shaotang. His small hand would occasionally reach out to gently touch the scarred face, as if afraid of hurting his father, only brushing it lightly before quickly pulling back.

“Xiao Shitou…” she called in a hoarse voice.

Hearing her voice, the little boy ran over and hugged her leg, calling out in a muffled voice, “Mommy!”

Ling Yu sat down with him in her arms. Xiao Shitou nestled against her and asked sweetly, “When will Daddy wake up to be with Xiao Shitou?”

“Daddy is very tired. Let him sleep a little longer, okay?” Ling Yu gently stroked his slightly cool face and said softly.

“Okay…” the little boy nodded obediently.

The more obedient he was, the more heartbroken Ling Yu felt. Thinking of the repeated frights he had endured these past few days, she felt a mix of sadness, heartache, and regret.

She shouldn’t have taken him out that day. If she hadn’t taken him, he would surely be safely at home now, not living in fear with her like this.

“Xiao Shitou, are you scared?” she asked softly.

The little guy nodded and then shook his head, hugging her neck softly, “With Daddy and Mommy here, I’m not afraid!”

Ling Yu sighed and hugged him for a while before gently instructing, “Mommy will go and make something delicious for Daddy, all the uncles, and Xiao Shitou. Xiao Shitou, stay here and take care of Daddy, don’t run around, okay?”

“Okay!” Xiao Shitou nodded vigorously, responding crisply.

The boat they were currently traveling on was the very one that had belonged to the fake boatman couple. Although it had weathered a violent storm and the cabin was now in complete disarray, its spacious interior made it suitable for everyone to recuperate, so Ling Yu and Xiao Mu decided to continue using it.

She had also learned from Xiao Mu that the real boatman couple had long since died at the hands of those assassins. After hearing this, she was unable to speak for a long while.

If those assassins deserved to die, then what about the boatman couple? What had they done wrong? The struggles between royal nobles ended up forcing innocent civilians to bear the consequences, just like the common people who suffered through war in her previous life, just like this boatman couple who lost their lives in vain in this one.

She subconsciously glanced toward Zhao Yun, still lying unconscious on the bed on the other side, the short-lived crown prince who, at this point in her previous life, should already have been dead.

If in this life he managed to preserve his life and successfully ascend the throne, what would he bring to the people?

Once the boat had gradually stabilized, Xiao Mu took some time to check on the three injured men and played with Xiao Shitou for a bit. As he stepped out of the cabin, he ran into Ling Yu on the deck and finally couldn’t help asking the question that had been troubling him all along.

“Sister-in-law, who exactly are those two people? Why were you traveling with them?”

That day, Cheng Shaotang had only hurriedly asked someone to pass on a message, telling him to inform his family that he was safe. He hadn’t explained clearly what had happened, only saying that he had urgent matters to attend to and was temporarily unable to return home.

“Also, why were there so many assassins chasing you? Did you offend someone? I could tell that each of those assassins was highly skilled. To be able to deploy so many at once, the person behind it must be no ordinary individual.”

Ling Yu fell silent for a moment, then shook her head. “You should wait until they wake up before asking those questions. All I can tell you is that they are not people we can afford to provoke. It would be best to proceed with caution in all things.”

Xiao Mu looked at her suspiciously, but in the end did not pursue the matter further.

Cheng Shaotang was the first to wake. As soon as he opened his eyes, he realized he was lying on an unfamiliar bed. He moved slightly, only to pull at his wounds, the pain making him instinctively knit his brows.

He lay still and waited for the pain to subside. Turning his head slightly, he saw Ling Yu slumped beside his pillow, asleep from exhaustion.

That face he knew so well now looked noticeably thinner. Perhaps there were matters she could not put out of her mind. Even in sleep, her delicate brows were tightly furrowed.

As if sensing something, Ling Yu slowly opened her eyes in the next moment and immediately met his gaze, filled with concern.

“You’re awake?!” Ling Yu exclaimed, both startled and overjoyed. She had not expected him to awaken even earlier than anticipated.

It was then that Cheng Shaotang learned he had already been unconscious for a full day and night—and that his condition was still the better one, as Zhao Yun and his servant had yet to regain consciousness.

“The doctor said their lives are not in danger. It’s just that their injuries are too severe, so they likely won’t wake for a while. Still, there’s no need to worry too much. Both of them are in excellent physical condition and are martial artists. They should regain consciousness before long.”

Seeing that he was still concerned about Zhao Yun and his servant, Ling Yu quickly explained.

Cheng Shaotang fell silent for a moment, then sighed and asked, “Where are we?”

“This is a manor within the jurisdiction of Luoping Town. Xiao Mu deliberately rented this small courtyard so you could recuperate.” She paused, afraid he might be displeased, and hurriedly added, “Your injuries were truly too severe, and staying on the boat was inconvenient. It was my idea, I thought it best to let you recover a bit before setting out.”

Cheng Shaotang gazed at her for a long while, then suddenly grasped her hand and said hoarsely, “I’m sorry. I made you worry.”

Ling Yu felt a sting in her nose. She wanted to tell him never to abandon her and their child like this again. But the words reached her lips only to be swallowed back. Instead, she turned his hand over and gently pressed it to her cheek.

What use would those words be? Even if he sincerely agreed now, when the moment truly came, could he really stand aside and watch others die? If he could, then he would no longer be the “loyal and righteous man” she knew.

She had married precisely such a man. She should have known this all along.

Shortly after noon the following day, Zhao Yun and Chu Liang also woke up, one after the other.

Waves of excruciating pain coursed through his body, yet Zhao Yun’s eyes gleamed with excitement and ecstasy.

He was alive! He hadn’t died! He was alive and well!

This realization spurred him on, making him completely oblivious to the agony of his wounds.

Nothing could bring him more joy than being alive.

“Master, you…” Chu Liang, noticing his unusual expression, called out worriedly, supporting his injured body.

“I’m fine, you don’t need to worry!” Zhao Yun interrupted him, then saw a strange man supporting the heavily injured Cheng Shaotang as they slowly entered.

He immediately instinctively reached for his longsword, but grasped only air; his ever-present sword wasn’t on his bed.

“Who is he? Why is he with you?!” He stared sharply at Cheng Shaotang, his face grim as he demanded an explanation.

“Master, this is…” Chu Liang tried to explain, but was interrupted before he could finish.

“I didn’t ask you!”

Even before, when he asked about Xiao Mu, Cheng Shaotang’s heart skipped a beat.

Although they were fortunate that Xiao Mu arrived in time to save their lives, Xiao Mu’s appearance was ultimately due to Cheng Shaotang contacting him secretly, without Zhao Yun and his servant’s knowledge.