Chapter 9

After that day, I did not see Pei Xuan again.

But more and more soldiers patrolled outside my door.

I tried to run. Every time, I was discovered before I could get near the tent’s entrance.

I heard my guards whispering to one another.

Lu Yan had already led his men out. Three days had passed without any news.

Trapped in the tent, worn down in body and mind, and tormented by worry for Lu Yan,

I slowly felt my old illness return. Careful treatment had once brought it under control, but my anxious thoughts stirred it again.

My cheeks burned. I developed a high fever.

It felt as though a block of iron had been forced into my skull, cold and painful. I was so ill I could barely remain conscious.

I did not know how much time passed before hurried footsteps rushed to my side.

Someone crouched down, taking my wrist in one hand and touching my forehead with the other.

I could feel my wrist shaking.

My head was so muddled that it took me a long time to understand.

My wrist was not shaking. The hand holding it was.

Someone helped me sit up and gathered me into his arms.

When the dizziness passed, I slowly opened my eyes.

Lu Yan’s taut, sharply defined jaw came into view.

Above it were his bloodshot eyes, fixed intently on me.

I blinked. Suddenly, tears rolled down my face.

“Husband.”

My voice was very faint.

“You’ve finally come to save me.”

I had worried for so long. Been frightened for so long.

At last, Lu Yan was before me.

He was safe. He was all right. Thank goodness.

Thank goodness.

The Pei family fell.

Several hundred people throughout the household were convicted along with them.

When Pei Xuan was dragged away to be executed, he was still laughing.

“Lu Yan, you ungrateful wretch. You heartless bastard.”

“I promoted you. I trusted you. And you conspired with others to bring down my family.”

Lu Yan’s face was expressionless.

“I earned my honors on the battlefield, one enemy head at a time. Anyone in your position would have promoted me.”

“You, on the other hand, sometimes deliberately let other men take credit for my victories, to force me to pledge myself to you.”

Pei Xuan stopped laughing. His eyes turned vicious.

“Why make so many excuses? You did it because I took Lin Shunian from you.”

“That lying bitch told me she’d only used you. Yet the two of you plotted together. Quite a touching devotion.”

Lu Yan kicked him.

He held nothing back. The force knocked Pei Xuan to the ground, blood spilling from his mouth at once.

“You have no right to speak of her.”

Pei Xuan wanted to laugh again, but the pain left him without the strength.

Before he died, he looked at Lu Yan.

“You made yourself someone else’s dog to bring me down. What a pity. You may look glorious now, but you’re only a blade in another man’s hand.”

“I lost. I accept that. But your end may be no better than mine.”

“I’ll wait for you below. I’ll wait to see you brought low.”