Chapter 116
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Despite Xinyue’s dissatisfaction, she was also taken aback and looked uncertainly at Chu Lishu. “Is it true?”
Chu Lishu naturally waved his hand to indicate there was no need for such formalities. He turned to Xinyue, gave her a faint smile, and, coupled with his unquestionable good looks, managed to cast a charm. While Xinyue wasn’t entirely captivated, she couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy, wondering if she had indeed been biased with the prejudice of seeing him as a rival.
“Well, I might have had a bad tone just now. I apologize,” Xinyue said, attempting to ease the tension.
Lin Qingyang felt that although Xinyue could be as willful as a spoiled young lady at times, she had a kind heart, was reasonable, and knew how to admit her mistakes. These qualities alone made her likable.
Lin Qingyang smiled and poured tea for Xinyue. “If you really don’t want to leave, you can stay a few more days. If you’re in a hurry to go, you’re welcome to visit anytime. As long as you’re here, we’ll always welcome you.”
Xinyue was immediately touched. She took a sip of tea and tried to persuade Tagan to stay a few more days. However, Tagan was unusually insistent on this matter, as if there was some unavoidable reason behind his decision.
Feeling frustrated, Xinyue turned her anger towards Tagan. However, Tagan seemed accustomed to her temper and simply ignored her. Since they were leaving the next day, Tagan decided to treat them to dinner that evening as a thank-you for their help.
Xinyue immediately suggested taking a boat ride, something they had wanted to do yesterday, but the boats were fully booked, so they left without trying. They had mentioned it while drinking last night, and it seemed to be something she really desired. After all, the Western Moon Country had fewer rivers, and things like boat rides were not something they would commonly encounter.
Tagan seemed hesitant about being close to water, but seeing Xinyue so enthusiastic and considering it was their last night here, he agreed.
They arrived in the evening, so there were available spots on the boat. Having a meal on the boat provided a unique experience, and Xinyue’s mood quickly changed. Excitedly, she dragged Lin Qingyang around, wanting to see every angle of the river from the boat.
Chu Lishu, this time, allowed the two to leave without saying much. He turned to ask Tagan why he wasn’t moving. Tagan awkwardly replied, “Where I come from, there’s little water, and even fewer people know how to swim. I almost drowned when I was a child, so I’ve always been afraid of water.”
Chu Lishu continued chatting with Tagan about other things until the not-so-abrupt sound of birdsong reached their ears. Chu Lishu stood up with a smile, saying, “The food is getting cold; I’ll call them back. Just stay here.”
Tagan nodded gratefully.
Chu Lishu went to find the others. Just as he found the pair enjoying the sunset at the stern, there was a commotion at the bow, followed by a scream.
Before the three could react, some of the guards who had followed Tagan rushed over, saying they needed to protect Xinyue. Xinyue’s face changed, and she ran towards the bow.
In the chaos, Lin Qingyang heard a sentence, “There are assassins.”
Lin Qingyang immediately wanted to go over, but Chu Lishu stopped him. “They have guards; it won’t be dangerous. You can go but stay at a distance to avoid getting involved. They’ll need to focus on protecting us if something happens.”
Lin Qingyang thought, You arranged for the assassins, didn’t you? To keep a safe distance, how can I let you play the hero? If a little act is needed, and you get injured, at least I can help in time. Thinking this, Lin Qingyang couldn’t help but say, “You too, be careful. Your luck isn’t great; don’t get yourself hurt again.”
Acting is fine, but don’t get injured like the incident with the Fourth Prince.
Chu Lishu nodded, and the two approached the bow against the fleeing crowd. There were indeed glaringly dressed assassins, but in terms of numbers and martial skills, they were evenly matched with Tagan’s guards. How could this play out as a hero saving the beauty?
Lin Qingyang kept a close eye on Xinyue’s situation, thinking about the timing for Chu Lishu to intervene. However, the more he observed, the more something seemed off. “Why does their martial arts feel…” Lin Qingyang couldn’t quite put it into words, as he hadn’t practiced martial arts, but something felt amiss.
“They are all Western Moon assassins; their martial arts techniques are different from those in our Great Zhou,” Chu Lishu explained as if he knew what Lin Qingyang was wondering.
Lin Qingyang quickly grasped the situation, but his expression immediately changed. As talented as Chu Lishu might be, he couldn’t have brought a group of Western Moon assassins to act in this play. What was going on?
Could it be… there really were assassins targeting Tagan and Xinyue? Remembering Tagan’s hesitation and urgency to leave earlier, it was clear that something was amiss.
It seemed that as the timeline progressed, the plot had changed again.
However, Chu Lishu remained very calm, as if he had known about this all along. Could it be that Tagan had mentioned it to him privately? No, Tagan, being a prominent figure, wouldn’t be so naive. After all, even when traveling with his subordinates, he went incognito, trying not to attract attention.
So, Chu Lishu had investigated and discovered that someone wanted to kill them. He took advantage of the situation and used those assassins, just like the incident with the Fourth Prince?
No… the assassins arrived neither too early nor too late, precisely during their farewell dinner. This coincidence felt like the male lead intentionally leaked their whereabouts to the assassins. Right, last night when they were drinking, Xinyue mentioned the boat ride, and the male lead overheard.
So, was all of this calculated by the male lead?
Lin Qingyang found it hard to believe, but soon he noticed clues from the perspective of an onlooker. Some assassins almost succeeded when the conditions were in their favor, or when there was an imbalance in strength, they tended to make mistakes due to excessive force.
Lin Qingyang couldn’t help but glance around, thinking that Lu Yi or Lu Shi should have already set up an ambush, helping to adjust the situation.
Just as the number of enemies dwindled and Tagan’s people were heavily injured, the remaining assassins desperately attacked Tagan and Xinyue.
“Stay here and don’t move.” Chu Lishu immediately cautioned Lin Qingyang, then picked up a fallen knife from the ground. “Those people are at the end of their strength. I’ll go help block them.”
Lin Qingyang only had time to shout a quick “be careful” before focusing his attention on Xinyue’s side, helping Chu Lishu by keeping an eye on the situation around Xinyue, and spotting any lurking dangers to provide timely warnings.
The next moment, Lin Qingyang was dumbfounded. Chu Lishu didn’t even spare a glance at Xinyue. Instead, he charged toward Tagan and happened to slash one of the assassins attacking him.
Lin Qingyang: … What happened to the hero saving the beauty?
On the other hand, Xinyue was in imminent danger, barely managing to roll away, but accidentally falling off the boat.
Tagan shouted, instructing his men to quickly rescue Xinyue. It was evident that Xinyue couldn’t swim.
Lin Qingyang also called out to Chu Lishu, indicating for him to pay attention to Xinyue’s situation. Surely, he would go into the water to save her. However, the response from Chu Lishu was a shouted, “Don’t move!”
The assassins took advantage of the situation, attacking while Tagan’s men were busy rescuing Xinyue. They had to fend for themselves, but fortunately, Chu Lishu fought desperately to shield them, barely holding their ground.
In the end, Tagan, despite his injuries, managed to momentarily control the situation. With a well-coordinated effort, Chu Lishu swiftly struck down the assassin. However, Tagan ended up in a disheveled state, falling backward. Chu Lishu couldn’t catch him in time and had no choice but to jump into the water to save him. Just before leaping, Chu Lishu glanced at Lin Qingyang, and his expression immediately changed. Lin Qingyang was no longer in the original spot.
After jumping into the water, Chu Lishu quickly rescued the sinking Tagan, who was afraid of water. Upon turning around, he saw that Lin Qingyang had already pulled Xinyue to the surface.
Chu Lishu, noticing Lin Qingyang scanning around, frowned disapprovingly, scolding him with his eyes for not following orders. However, Lin Qingyang returned the glare, likely blaming him for taking unnecessary risks. This left Chu Lishu with no choice but to suppress his irritation.
The passing boat rescued them. Tagan’s people didn’t know how to swim, so despite jumping in to save others, they were ultimately pulled back onto the boat by the sailors from the pleasure boat.
Most of them had swallowed a few mouthfuls of water, struggling to regain consciousness. However, Xinyue was unlucky. She was the first to fall into the water and appeared to be in a state of drowning.
The boatman who rescued them shouted, “Not good! The girl is drowning. Who is her close companion? Hurry, give her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation!”
“Hello, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.” Here comes the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation again. It’s really an often-used plot twist in novels.
Lin Qingyang directly looked at Chu Lishu, feeling like he might be angry… This wasn’t going well; the hero-saving-beauty plan seemed to have completely gone off track. So, he shifted his gaze to Tagan, who was struggling to crawl over. Clearly, Tagan didn’t have much strength left. Surprisingly, after scanning around, Tagan fixed his gaze on Lin Qingyang.
Tagan’s thought process was straightforward. Since it involved saving someone and there were no women around, if they had to choose someone, the man favored by Xinyue naturally became the top choice.
“Young Master Lin, you…”
Before Tagan could finish his sentence, he witnessed Chu Lishu squatting down with a serious face, finding an angle, and throwing a punch.
Xinyue: “Ugh!”
Everyone: …
Lin Qingyang: Not again!!!!
Watching Chu Lishu’s serious expression and Xinyue’s discomfort, Lin Qingyang couldn’t help but feel speechless. Was this the fate of the male lead with his harem? Every time there was a scene requiring mouth-to-mouth, the male lead turned it into a violent act.
With that punch, Xinyue would probably be in pain for several days. Chu Lishu really seemed to lack the understanding of being gentle and considerate.
On Tagan’s side, he didn’t seem willing to investigate the assassins’ matter. He didn’t even inquire about their identities. The authorities treated it as a typical case of revenge, a private grudge. Since the victims didn’t file a report, they could only deal with the bodies.
As Tagan and his group were all injured, Lin Qingyang took the initiative to bring them back to his residence for treatment. Chu Lishu agreed with this decision, which eased Lin Qingyang’s concerns. If Chu Lishu also agreed, it meant there shouldn’t be any danger at the moment. Otherwise, Chu Lishu wouldn’t allow him to bring the injured people home.
Tagan brought quite a few people with him, and Lin Qingyang’s courtyard had enough servants to take care of them. Additionally, there were experienced physicians and medicine attendants available for their injuries.
However, Lin Qingyang’s courtyard had limited guest rooms. In the end, Chu Lishu generously offered his own courtyard and ended up staying with Lin Qingyang.
It was a temporary solution, and there was no other choice. So, when Chu Lishu calmly lay down on the same bed with him, Lin Qingyang couldn’t find the words to say.
He couldn’t help but feel that Chu Lishu had become less guarded around him recently. Could this guy have forgotten his secret admirer persona? Or maybe he knew but didn’t care, assuming that his “secret admirer” wouldn’t sneak around doing anything suspicious?
But Lin Qingyang quickly gave up on these thoughts. After all, everyone was exhausted that day. They tended to their injuries, changed clothes, and briefed the eldest sister and Nanny Ding. Lin Qingyang collapsed on the bed and soon fell asleep.
Lin Qingyang slept until it was bright outside, and when he turned his head, Chu Lishu had already gotten up.
Upon waking up, Lin Qingyang learned from Shuncai that Tagan and his group had gotten up even earlier and were waiting for them to come and talk.
So, after waking up, Chu Lishu went there first.
Lin Qingyang, on the other hand, took his time getting up, giving Chu Lishu enough time to work his persuasive magic.
Now it seemed that Chu Lishu had chosen the hero-saving-hero strategy, establishing a camaraderie with Tagan to gain his trust. It completely left Xinyue out of the equation.
Lin Qingyang’s emotions were complicated. After getting ready, he went to visit the little princess first.
Originally, recovering from near-drowning injuries would be quick, but seeing the little princess lying there unable to move, it seemed that the abdominal injury was more severe.
When Lin Qingyang saw Xinyue trying to get up, he quickly pressed her down and said, “I’m sorry… does it hurt a lot?”
Xinyue was indifferent, “Yes, it hurts a lot. But he was really rough, all for the sake of saving someone.”
Fortunately, Xinyue didn’t blame Chu Lishu. It seemed that the favorability mission still had hope.
After chatting for a while, Chu Lishu and Tagan arrived.
This time, after Tagan solemnly expressed his gratitude to Lin Qingyang, he openly revealed his and Xinyue’s identities. Lin Qingyang naturally pretended to be surprised.
As West Moon Country was a small nation with relatively low status, Lin Qingyang, as a noble young man, didn’t need to show excessive humility. A touch of respect in his usual demeanor was sufficient.
Watching Chu Lishu assist in explaining on the side, it was evident that these two had already clarified everything.
At this moment, Xinyue learned that there had been assassins targeting Tagan all along, and there were even attempts to capture her. This was related to the internal power struggles within West Moon Country. That’s why Tagan was anxious to bring Xinyue back, considering it would be safer.
This time, Xinyue was no longer wilful. When Tagan mentioned leaving the next day, she nodded in agreement, although she couldn’t help but feel reluctant, especially after Lin Qingyang had just saved her.
Xinyue made a request for Lin Qingyang to create a painting as a farewell gift. This was something Lin Qingyang had already agreed to, so naturally, he agreed.
In the following day, Chu Lishu and Tagan engaged in intimate conversations about the struggles in West Moon Country. Chu Lishu offered advice to Tagan on how to gain power and gave various strategic suggestions, earning Tagan’s admiration and gratitude. They quickly reached a level of trust and camaraderie.
And Lin Qingyang focused on painting for Xinyue, accompanying her in conversation.
Xinyue looked at Lin Qingyang in front of the painting table, feeling restless. She sensed that if she didn’t confess, she might regret it in the future.
So, when Lin Qingyang finished the painting, inviting her to come over and see if she liked it, Xinyue gathered her courage.
Approaching Lin Qingyang, Xinyue glanced at the painting. She was amazed that the depiction of her on the canvas was even more beautiful than herself, filling her with an indescribable power. She then pulled Lin Qingyang closer.
Turning his head, Lin Qingyang looked at her and asked, “Do you like it?”
Xinyue felt as if she were being asked if she liked him. She nodded, her face blushing but looking directly at Lin Qingyang, she said, “Brother Lin, actually, I…”
Suddenly, there was a creaking sound at the door, indicating someone leaning against it.
Xinyue immediately stopped talking and, together with Lin Qingyang, turned to look at the door. There, they saw Chu Lishu leaning casually against the door, a smiling face as he looked at them.
“Cousin, have you finished the painting? Tagan said he wanted to pack up early and asked Xinyue what she planned to take with her.”
“Oh, we’ve finished the painting. Take a look…” Lin Qingyang shared his artwork happily.
Chu Lishu walked over, but his gait was somewhat peculiar. Even when standing next to Xinyue, he supported his waist.
Lin Qingyang, with a puzzled expression, asked, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
“Uh… I’m fine.” Chu Lishu spoke softly as if he didn’t care. Lin Qingyang was a bit puzzled and was about to ask more questions when Chu Lishu began to comment on the artwork. When it came to professional matters, Lin Qingyang’s attention was immediately diverted.
However, Xinyue did not let it go. Just a moment ago, when Chu Lishu pointed to a certain part of the painting, his body leaned in involuntarily, and the collar of his clothes opened slightly due to his posture.
Xinyue naturally stepped back, wanting to create some space. However, what caught her eyes were Chu Lishu’s slender and fair neck. It wasn’t intentional peeking, just that her line of sight naturally fell on it. Under this inadvertent observation, Xinyue was dumbfounded, and her face turned red.
Because she saw… she saw… obvious marks, quite a few of them.
Thinking back to Chu Lishu’s peculiar walking posture and the clear gesture of supporting his waist, something she often witnessed at the Golden Phoenix Pavilion, she naturally understood what had happened.
Last night, they slept together, so… Xinyue’s eyes turned red immediately.
Lin Qingyang was listening to comments when suddenly, Xinyue beside him burst into tears and ran out.
Lin Qingyang looked bewildered and turned to Chu Lishu, asking, “What happened? Is my painting not good, or does she have some taboo?”
Chu Lishu gave a faint smile, “It’s probably just the thought of parting soon that made her unable to help feeling sad. The emotions of little girls tend to change quickly; don’t worry too much about it.”
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