Chapter 4

Chapter 4

His features were cold and sharp, with thin lips and a straight nose. His voice was deep, and his presence was overbearing.

Zhao Pingyan remained calm and composed.

I thought she was facing off against an enemy.

When I went over to look, I realized she was just swooning over his looks. I was speechless.

I didn’t expect that out of the three of us, the hostage would be the first to speak.

“Brother, I’m here.” Yuwen Chen paused, looking at me first. “This is my brother, Yuwen Xuan.”

Then he looked at Yuwen Xuan. “She is the daughter of the Zhenbei General, Song Yu.”

I was truly at a loss for words.

Did I need you to introduce me? I’m freaking reborn; I know who he is, okay?

Besides, the way you introduced me is so weird. It’s not like we’re meeting the parents…

Also, why didn’t you introduce the third person?

I poked Zhao Pingyan.

Zhao Pingyan blinked. “I am Princess Zhao Pingyan of the Southern Dynasty.”

Me: “…”

I wasn’t telling you to introduce yourself!

I gave the princess a hard pinch. “Stop flirting! We’re running for our lives!”

Zhao Pingyan snapped back to reality and drew the dagger from her waist, holding Yuwen Chen hostage.

“Your brother is our protective talisman for our journey south. No matter how good-looking you are, I won’t give him back to you.”

I massaged my temples in frustration.

Princess, would you die if you didn’t mention how handsome he is?

Yuwen Xuan curled his lips, but there was no mirth in his eyes.

“My brother is a meritorious official of Great Yan. No matter how beautiful the Princess’s dreams are, I won’t let you take him away.”

Ah, what a tense and thrilling bit of flirting.

I sat down next to Yuwen Chen, both of us propping our chins in our hands, maintaining the same spectator pose.

Zhao Pingyan’s expression changed instantly. While her eyes remained fixed on Yuwen Xuan, she slid the dagger down Yuwen Chen’s neck-and plunged it ruthlessly into his chest.

She didn’t let go of the hilt. Instead, she continued to apply pressure, forcing the sharp blade inch by inch into his flesh.

Yuwen Chen let out a muffled groan of pain. He didn’t say a word, but he suddenly gripped my hand tight.

“Ah-let go! That hurts like hell!” I screamed for him.

Because of me, his attempt to act tough failed.

He let go of me helplessly.

I said awkwardly, “Uh, that… I’m your spokesperson. No need to thank me.”

Zhao Pingyan gripped the dagger tight and twisted it in his flesh, her tone nonchalant.

“Ten years ago, I heard that the hostage the Yan State was supposed to send was the lowly Second Prince. But the Fifth Prince volunteered to take your place in that miserable task.

“Now that the Second Prince’s status in the Yan State is no longer what it used to be, he must feel a lot of heartache for this younger brother.”

Her voice stopped, and she suddenly yanked the dagger out.

Yuwen Chen was pulled forward by the force, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

“My style has always been erratic. If I am to die, I will certainly drag him down with me.”

Yuwen Xuan refused to respond. Zhao Pingyan sneered and, without looking back, swung her hand to stab again-

“Enough.”

“Brother!”

“Zhao Pingyan, look where you’re stabbing before you do it! You stabbed me!”

Three voices rang out simultaneously.

Someone was stopping her, someone was calling for help, and someone was complaining.

It made my image look quite bad.

I clutched my stabbed arm and collapsed into Yuwen Chen’s arms, looking pitiful.

Zhao Pingyan looked back at me, cleared her throat with a fist to her mouth, and continued to challenge the man.

“See that? If pushed too far, I’ll even kill my own people!”

Yuwen Xuan was completely defeated.

Not letting any members of the Southern Dynasty royal bloodline escape was the Yan Emperor’s command.

Yuwen Xuan did not have the authority to let Zhao Pingyan go.

He could only promise us that he would take us to the Yan Kingdom Palace and guarantee that no one would mistreat us.

Zhao Pingyan was dismissive. “Just by your word? You can guarantee we won’t be bullied in the Yan Territory?”

Yuwen Xuan looked us over with cold eyes and said word by word, “I can guarantee you will not be… insulted… by anyone whose status is below mine.”

He put heavy emphasis on the word “insulted.”

The Yan Army had not only imprisoned the Southern Dynasty’s imperial clansmen but had also stormed the inner palace, abducting concubines and female relatives.

The fate of these people could well be imagined.

Zhao Pingyan’s expression turned grim; she seemed to want to bargain further.

Yuwen Xuan smiled and casually tossed an object into the carriage. It happened to roll to my feet.

It was a white jade Twin Fish Pendant.

I froze for a long time, clutching the jade pendant in my palm, my fingertips trembling uncontrollably.

“This belongs to the Crown Prince…”

Zhao Pingyan’s figure also stiffened slightly.

So, the Crown Prince had fallen into their hands.

“The Princess may not fear death, but you should consider the consequences of killing Yuwen Chen. Won’t your kin be the ones to suffer for it?”

With the Crown Prince as a weakness, Zhao Pingyan had no choice but to agree to Yuwen Xuan’s terms.

We changed course for the Yan State.

Four people, two carriages, heading north with the army.

Yuwen Chen would rather die than stay in the same carriage as Zhao Pingyan.

So, Yuwen Chen and I shared one carriage.

Zhao Pingyan and Yuwen Xuan shared the other.

Every day, I had to bandage Yuwen Chen’s wounds and change his medicine.

He looked down at me, searching for a topic to talk about.

“When were you reborn?”

“The day I went to the palace to find you.”

He gave a soft “mm” and his lips curved slightly.

I blurted out, “This injury… the Princess and I harmed you. You can certainly hold it against me.”

I said it because I could feel how good Yuwen Chen was being to me-too good.

In my past life, after I confessed to him and before Zhao Pingyan found out, we also had a few days of tender affection.

But now, compared to then, Yuwen Chen’s feelings for me were even stronger.

He’d been stabbed viciously in the chest and still clenched his teeth, refusing to utter a single word.

But when Zhao Pingyan accidentally stabbed me, he panicked.

There was a national blood feud between us. In the end, we weren’t walking the same road.

Yuwen Chen, however, took my words as concern.

He seemed to be in an excellent mood as he gently rubbed my hair.

“It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt much,” he said, comforting me instead.

I stood up while he remained seated.

I steadied his shoulders and leaned in to wrap gauze around his back.

Yuwen Chen was caught off guard by the proximity of my chest as I leaned over him.

He immediately turned his face away. His breathing grew heavy, and with the rise and fall of his chest, the wound split open again.

My hands froze. I backed away two steps, flustered.

“Yuwen Chen, when I said I loved you that night, it was only a move to survive.”

He lowered his head even further and suddenly brushed my hand away, refusing my help.

He reached behind his back himself, struggling to wrap the gauze.

It was as if he was angry with me.

By the time he finished bandaging the wound, half an hour had passed.

Only then did he speak.

“You don’t like me? Is it because you have someone else you like?”