Chapter 33

Shen Yu watched the tall and imposing figure of Xie Tingzhou walking ahead, and suddenly a thought struck her.

“Your Highness,” she quickened her steps, walking alongside Xie Tingzhou, “Among the group returning to Beijing—”

Her words abruptly halted as Xie Tingzhou suddenly coughed, a trace of blood appearing at the corner of his lips.

Xie Tingzhou raised his hand to wipe his lips and glanced sideways at her. “Are you afraid I’ll die on the way?”

The paleness of his face was accentuated by the blood, giving him a kind of shattered beauty.

Shen Yu believed he could charm the moon. Looking like this, even the moon would willingly come to him.

“Yes,” Shen Yu stared at him seriously. “I’m afraid no one will ever know the truth about the defeat at Yanliang Pass.”

It was the same in her previous life. Everyone thought Shen Zhong’an’s ambition caused the suffering of a hundred thousand soldiers and the people of Ganzhou.

Although she didn’t believe this explanation, she was far away in Shenyang and had no idea what had really happened at the border at that time. She could only vaguely marry someone and then die.

A sly smile appeared at the corner of Xie Tingzhou’s lips. He approached slowly, his gaze intense. “Then don’t let me die.”

Shen Yu hadn’t understood the meaning of his words yet, but his body suddenly lurched towards her.

She hurriedly tried to support him, feeling his scorching hot body almost overwhelming her with its weight.

Turning her head, she saw his pale cheeks resting on her shoulder, his eyes tightly shut, his breath burning hot.

Shen Yu sighed.

Was this man just trying to use her to avoid being abandoned while he fainted?

Perhaps the person who least wanted him to die was herself, because she was still waiting for him to clear the injustice of her father and brothers from the previous life.

Fortunately, she had practiced martial arts since childhood and was much stronger than ordinary women.

But after carrying Xie Tingzhou on her back in the snow for so long, she was almost at her limit.

Her legs were numb, moving only by feeling. When she stepped on uneven ground, she fell along with Xie Tingzhou.

Once that force was lost, it was difficult to regain it.

She tried to lift Xie Tingzhou’s arm over her shoulder and attempted to carry him several times, but failed.

Luckily, they were in the wilderness. Although there was nothing else, there were plenty of trees. She used the knife to cut a few pieces of wood, tore off her skirt to make straps, and fashioned a stretcher. Dragging him forward in the snow, one step at a time.

She dared not walk along the riverbank, fearing that the assassins would follow downstream. They could only continue in one direction.

After what seemed like a long time, the sky gradually brightened.

A cock crowed in the wind.

It was a small village, with a few farmhouses. Shen Yu hid the knife in the stretcher and dragged Xie Tingzhou to knock on the door.

The owner of the house was an old man who kindly let them in after hearing about their ordeal.

Shen Yu, of course, did not tell the truth, only saying that they were two brothers on their way to Beijing to find their relatives when they encountered a group of bandits. In a panic, they jumped into the water to escape, only to be washed downstream and finally arrived here after a night’s journey.

The farmhouse only had three small rooms and a kitchen.

The old man arranged them in one of the rooms and brought them two sets of his own clothes.

Shen Yu placed Xie Tingzhou on the simple wooden bed, which was filled with dry hay and covered with a thin mattress.

Xie Tingzhou’s clothes had long been dried by his body heat, then soaked with sweat again.

Shen Yu had grown up in a military camp and had slept on sweaty bedding in the barracks. Any thoughts of gender differences were meaningless in the face of life and death.

She practically stripped Xie Tingzhou naked. When she removed the last layer of clothing, she felt some resistance.

Turning Xie Tingzhou over, Shen Yu gasped.

In the darkness of the night, she hadn’t been able to see clearly, but now she realized that his back was stuck together with coagulated blood and flesh.

His back had a thin layer of muscle, taut and smooth.

However, a blurry wound disrupted this beauty. There were also some bruises scattered on his back, as if… as if caused by sharp rocks in the water.

This man could endure a lot. Even with injuries like this, he never changed his expression along the way, only saying the words “Then don’t let me die” at the last moment.

The farmhouse had rudimentary conditions, so they could only bandage the wound simply.

Shen Yu slept fitfully, waking up every time to feel Xie Tingzhou’s forehead until his fever subsided before allowing herself to sleep again.

As twilight fell, Xie Tingzhou gradually woke up from his stupor.

The evening light pierced through the cracks in the door, shining directly on his face.

He stared at the beams of the roof, his thoughts gradually returning.

He tugged at the quilt covering him and only then realized that something was wrong.

As he moved, a soft body pressed against him.

The quilt slipped off, revealing a flamboyant face, black and white patches, sleeping soundly next to him.

Xie Tingzhou stiffened. This was the first time he had ever shared a bed with another man.

But this man…

He lowered his head to look carefully.

This man actually had a good appearance, with eyelashes as thick as raven feathers and delicate features, it’s just that his complexion…

Just as she was thinking, the man opened his eyes.

Shen Yu woke up in a daze and saw Xie Tingzhou’s face close to hers as soon as she opened her eyes.

There was only this narrow wooden bed in the room, and she was so tired that she had to sleep with him.

She blinked and suddenly sat up from the bed.

Xie Tingzhou’s nose suddenly hurt as he was hit by her head, and the pain woke him up completely.

“Sorry.” Shen Yu looked at Xie Tingzhou, who was holding his nose with a face full of resentment, and said apologetically, “Are you feeling better?”

Xie Tingzhou, with a huff, closed his eyes and didn’t want to answer her.

Now he understood. He and Shen Yu were simply doomed. First, they fell into the water, then she cut him with a knife, and now his nose might not even be safe.

“Where is this?” Xie Tingzhou asked.

Shen Yu got out of bed to pour him water and honestly replied, “A farmhouse. Grandpa took us in.”

Xie Tingzhou said, “You’ve become siblings just like that after just meeting?”

Shen Yu handed him the water and muttered softly, “It’s because I’m charming.”

Xie Tingzhou: “…No.”

There was a sound of a dog barking outside.

Shen Yu ran to open the door and saw the old man coming back with the dawn, holding two wild ducks in his hand.

“Grandpa, you’re back.”

The old man smiled when he saw her, “Xie Tingzhou, wake up. I caught two ducks. I’ll cook them for your brother tonight.”

Shen Yu nodded with a smile, “Thank you, Grandpa.”

Preparing to help, she remembered there was a guest in the house.

Turning around, she saw Xie Tingzhou looking at her. With a bowl in his hand, he lazily leaned against the bed, making the shabby farmhouse seem like a paradise.

“Brother?” Xie Tingzhou raised an eyebrow.

Shen Yu said, “Had to do it, or else it would be hard to explain.”

“I don’t mind,” Xie Tingzhou said, looking at the bowl in his hand. “But both my brothers ended up in a bad way, because…”

He looked at Shen Yu, “They’re all dead, or crippled if they’re alive.”

Shen Yu had heard some rumors. The Prince of Beining had few heirs. Originally, there were four sons, but only Xie Tingzhou, the last seedling, remained.

Externally, it was said that they died of accidents or illness, but Shen Yu knew there was probably more to it.

In an ordinary family, if there were a few acres of land or a couple of storefronts, there would still be disputes over inheritance, not to mention a noble family like Xie Tingzhou’s.

Take the current Emperor Tongxu for example. He had more than ten sons, but only six or seven survived.

But that wasn’t what Shen Yu was concerned about.

She calmly pointed to the clothes on the bed, “You’re too tall to fit into Grandpa’s clothes. I dried your inner clothes, and the torn parts… I sewed them for you. You’ll have to make do for now.”

“I’ll go help,” Shen Yu turned and left.

“Wait,” Xie Tingzhou said.

“Yeah?”

“Wash your face.”

Shen Yu’s body stiffened. Could he have found out?

Instinctively, she began to explain, “I always got teased in the army for being effeminate, not looking tough enough, so…”

“Not looking tough enough can be solved by blackening your face?” Xie Tingzhou looked her up and down, “Eat more and grow taller.”

Shen Yu: “…”