Doomed to be Cannon Fodder

Lin Qianzi leaned on the chair, pushing herself to her feet and trying her level best not to fall over. However, her thoughts were actually running along the lines of, I’m not going to let this brute of a man succeed! I’m going to run away when I can!

Long Heng had his men take her away with a wave of his hand, and she actually considered making a break for it right then, but Long Heng had already informed his subordinates that they had to stay by her side no matter where she went. This was how the noble Miss Lin ended up being guarded day and night by men clothed in black. Someone even stood outside when she went to the latrines. To her, it felt like the deepest pits of humiliation, but she could do nothing about it. It was at times like these that she remembered how Luo Yunzheng respected her, and wished that he would appear to beat these men away and save her from this indignity.

What she didn’t know was that Luo Yunzheng had been secretly following them all along. However, he was already heavily injured, and the past few days had taken a toll on his energy. It wasn’t the right time to take action, not to mention that those guards around her were Long Heng’s hidden guards, so they wouldn’t be easy characters to deal with. Therefore, he could only wait for her to return to the Lin Manor first. It’d be a simple thing to abscond with a girl from a civil officer’s home!

And so, he followed Lin Qianzi back to the capital.

Long Heng, on the other hand, was quite conflicted. His woman could finally get out of bed after a day, but he had begun to have issues controlling his thoughts when he stood next to her. He hadn’t ever felt that way before! But it wasn’t something that he could blame her for. Look at the depths she’d gone to to save her chastity! His heart softened whenever he thought of her actions. This was another feeling he’d never had before.

“How is Madame Xiu?” Song Jiaoyue finally couldn’t help himself anymore. He’d thought these two were more than husband and wife in name a long time ago. At the very least, his friend treated her well. It was obvious from his actions of trading his wife for her that she held a special place in his heart. But since she was, why weren’t they together?

“She’s fine.” Long Heng wasn’t the sort to talk about family affairs in public, so his response was rather noncommittal.

Song Jiaoyue frowned. She’d suffered through so much but still had been able to make it back safely. Why was he so unconcerned about this? In actuality, that wasn’t the case, rather it was that Long Heng wasn’t skilled at expressing himself. Song Jiaoyue knew of his temper, but somehow wasn’t letting go of things today. “If you can’t bother to find the person who harmed her, I can do it for you.”

Song Jiaoyue just couldn’t bear to see anyone hurt her.

“No need. They’ve already revealed themselves tonight. The information she brought back with her tonight was useful.”

“You...!” Song Jiaoyue’s face drained of color. “Did you purposefully use her to attract their attention, even knowing how dangerous this was?” Was this why you brought her here? To prove how much you loved her so that those people would take action, which resulted in her disfigurement and almost being sullied by other men?

Long Heng frowned. He hadn’t intended that at all, since Duan Yunying had always appeared harmless. Who knew he’d behave so differently this time? Or, rather, without the catalyst Bai Xiangxiu, they probably would’ve remained in hiding for a while longer.

“Much credit goes to her in this matter.”

After all, if it hadn’t been for her, they wouldn’t have been able to lure out the concealed enemy, even if this hadn’t been his original intention.

This wasn’t how it appeared in Song Jiaoyue’s ears however, and he also happily made up the reason why she was still a virgin. How would he not know of his friend’s aversion to women? He’d thought that his friend would take a while to settle into life before he could put down his enmity towards women, but who knew that he’d accept Bai Xiangxiu so quickly? Song Jiaoyue had originally thought that it was because Bai Xiangxiu was too perfect.

But now it appeared that he really had been overthinking things. This man didn’t feel anything for her at all, particularly as she was a beauty. He hated beauties, and that Song Jiaoyue was well aware of. If he’d gone down this line of thought earlier, he would’ve understood why Bai Xiangxiu had had feelings for him earlier. It was because Long Heng only felt something for her on the surface. Who knew how cold and distant he was in private?

Therefore, she didn’t love him, and that was why they still hadn’t done anything. Long Heng had used her trust and tenderness to accomplish a great deal of things, such as pleasing the old madame and luring out enemies in the dark.

“Hah! I’d never thought that you were so good at acting.” Song Jiaoyue laughed softly, but the grip on his fan tightened imperceptibly. Had he known that Long Heng needed a shield upon his return and that she had seemed to be a prime target to him, he should’ve accepted her and taken her out of the manor. But now she was hurt, and he had turned her down. He had to admit, ever since rejecting her, the girl with the extremely high sense of self esteem hadn’t approached him even once. Perhaps there was no place in her heart for him anymore! Or perhaps she was resigned to being used by Prince Li.

Bai Xiangxiu actually approached when Long Heng was mulling over Song Jiaoyue’s words. Although she was safe on the bed, she still felt that there was too much at play around here, and Long Heng had yet to explain a few things to her. For instance, where was the doctor who’d kidnapped her? Why had he sent the female lead away; had that been for her? The more she thought, the more questions she had. If that was the case, they might as well head back to the manor first!

However, she’d forgotten that it was the third day of having the Three Days of Inebriation poison inflicted on her. The poison had a three day cycle, reaching its highest potency on the third day. The effects would then dissipate slightly, building to a peak again on the next third day.

Thus, the two men within felt their stomachs tighten as soon as she set foot inside their room. Heat rushed over them, particularly Song Jiaoyue, as he’d been through something similar before. His mouth felt dry and his tongue too thick for its abode. He hastily gulped down a cup of tea to mask his discomfort, but grew thirstier the more he drank. There was even a scar on her face! Although it didn’t affect her appearance, it shouldn’t have made her this attractive.

Yet regardless of what he tried to distract himself with, he couldn’t calm his heart. He really, really wanted to have her.

Sweat was already beading on Long Heng’s forehead. Some things weren’t meant to wait. He’d wanted to wait for her to recover completely, but the desire exploding out of him was about to drown him. “Why are you here?”

He suddenly wanted to hide her and not let any man see her. For all his faults, Long Heng’s skill in martial arts was unquestionable, and his intuition was as keen as a wild animal’s.

“Your Highness, I wanted to ask when we were returning to the manor. This concubine can make preparations as soon as possible.” She ducked her head sheepishly after speaking.

What the two men with vastly different personalities noticed however, was her snow-white nape and soft, sweet voice. The next thought to follow was, is she scared?

Long Heng swiftly drained his teacup. “Make your preparations, we’ll leave in the afternoon.”

This place was quite bizarre. It was probably better for them to leave as soon as possible. He would be able to have her as soon as they returned to the manor.

“Wait, we leave tomorrow.” Never mind, he couldn’t wait another second!