As night fell, Shangguan Yun still sat motionless by the campfire. His bright eyes were fixed on the dancing flames, lost in a daze.
Wu Luoluo had been waiting for a long time, full of concerns. Finally, she couldn't hold back and stepped forward. "My lord, it's cold at night. You should rest early." During those nights when they were hiding in the Ouyang Mansion, he always slipped into the quilt quietly after she fell asleep. Now, camping in the wild mountains, he had been sitting there absent - mindedly for over an hour. She was afraid his body had been chilled by the wind!
"Alright, you go to sleep first." Shangguan Yun's voice was as cold and clear as jade. The faint sorrow between his eyebrows made Wu Luoluo feel a pang in her heart.
Wu Luoluo didn't say anything more. She slowly climbed into the carriage, took off her clothes, and got under the quilt, still a bit worried.
Actually, Wu Luoluo originally wanted to stay in Phoenix City for a few days to inquire about the whereabouts of her master's wife. She wondered if her master's wife had recovered from the cold last time and where she was living now. With Senior Brother Wang Jiu's death, where could a lonely woman like her master's wife go? But her lord had been talking nonsense during the day and insisted on leaving. Flustered, Wu Luoluo could only nod in agreement and hastily took him out of Phoenix City.
Wu Luoluo tossed and turned in the quilt, unable to fall asleep. She thought to herself: Master's wife should be safe, right? She should have some money on her. At the very least, she had the gold hairpin that Senior Brother gave her. That should be enough for her to go to the capital to seek refuge with her relatives.
What worried Wu Luoluo even more was her lord's physical condition. He once had a chaotic pulse and surging qi and blood in the pharmacy. After a splitting headache, he fainted for a long time. Today, just like that day, he was shivering all over, his body icy cold, and he kept calling out that woman's name.
At this thought, Wu Luoluo's nose turned sour, and she almost shed tears. She had exhausted all her efforts to save him! She was willing to freeze herself just to keep him warm. But it seemed that her lord had never cared about her good intentions!
After the medicinal bath, all the pores on his body were open. Could he be exposed to the wind and cold? Stubbornly sitting in the wind like this meant that all the acupuncture, medicinal baths, and medicine over the past half - month had been in vain! It meant that all her hard work had gone up in smoke! If this continued, his body would only get worse day by day.
The more Wu Luoluo thought about it, the more heart - wrenching it felt. Her lord had told Ouyang Yuqing that he would take her back to the capital to get married. He had also said that he liked her and wanted to take her home. But the person he was always thinking about was clearly not her, but another woman! When he was shivering in his nightmare, he kept calling out another woman's name.
And what was she, Wu Luoluo, in her lord's heart?
Maybe it was because they had spent a night together after being drugged that night. His upbringing, morality, and principles forced him to marry a woman he had been intimate with.
Wu Luoluo shed tears silently, soaking a corner of the quilt. Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching. Startled, she quickly reached out to wipe away the hot tears from the corners of her eyes and closed her eyes to pretend to be asleep.
Shangguan Yun got into the carriage, gently took off his clothes and shoes, and slowly got under the quilt. He knew that Wu Luoluo wasn't asleep. Suddenly, he reached out and hugged her tightly from behind.
Shangguan Yun hugged her very tightly. His face was pressed against Wu Luoluo's neck, so cold that she shivered all over. Just as Wu Luoluo was about to reach out to tuck the quilt in for him, she heard Shangguan Yun choke with sobs. "Luoluo, she's dead..."
Wu Luoluo immediately realized that the "she" Shangguan Yun was talking about was Miss Wei Dongling, the one he had called out hundreds of times in his coma. She never thought that Miss Wei was already dead. No wonder her lord was so out of sorts after learning the news!
Hearing Shangguan Yun's heavy nasal voice, Wu Luoluo felt a dull pain in her heart. She reached out and gently stroked his hand.
"Luoluo," Shangguan Yun choked. "Do you know? That day, she and I fell into the ice layer of the Tianhu Lake together, but your grand - uncle only saved me..."
"Luoluo! I wish it had been her who was saved that day instead of me..." Shangguan Yun's hot tears rolled down. Wu Luoluo felt a wetness on her neck. Startled, she knew that her lord must be in great pain at this moment, but she couldn't say a single word of comfort.
In her heart, wasn't she also in great pain?
Shangguan Yun was in a daze and sad for most of the night. It wasn't until the second half of the night that he finally fell asleep in Wu Luoluo's arms.
Seeing that he held her tightly and didn't let go even in his sleep, a bitter feeling welled up in Wu Luoluo's heart, and she couldn't fall asleep.
On the second day of the second lunar month, the snow stopped. Shangguan Yun and Wu Luoluo, who had been camping in the wild for several nights, finally drove their carriage all the way to the war - torn Jiangcheng.
The once prosperous Jiangcheng had never recovered after being ravaged by the Northwestern Iron Cavalry. A large number of original residents sold their houses and lands and moved out with their families, leaving the city empty and desolate.
Shangguan Yun looked at the desolate scene in front of him with pity in his eyes. Weren't the Iron Cavalry supposed to be confronting the Xue Family's Army of the Heavenly Dynasty in Hanzhong? Why did they come west to attack Jiangcheng?
Wu Luoluo pointed to a wisp of curling smoke in the distance. "Someone is cooking over there. Let's go and take a look!"
Shangguan Yun nodded, and they drove the carriage towards it. When they got closer, they found that there was actually a lively area in the city. These seemed to be the people who had stayed in Jiangcheng during the war with nowhere to go, and some original residents who had quietly returned to rebuild their homes after the war.
Wu Luoluo and Shangguan Yun chose an inn to stay in. After a short rest, they went to the market. They bought some dry food such as rice, noodles, and dried meat to take back. The journey to the capital was long. With their slow pace and the need for a medicinal bath every day, it would take at least half a month to get there. It was better to prepare more dry food for emergencies on the way.
After the medicinal bath at night, Shangguan Yun stood by the window with his hands behind his back for a long time. Wu Luoluo had seen him listless all the way, and she felt sad too. She simply went downstairs to get some strong liquor and carried it up. She pulled Shangguan Yun's sleeve and pretended to be relaxed. "My lord, I've heard that the liquor here is quite famous. Since we're idle and can't sleep on this long night, why don't we get drunk tonight!"
He clearly shouldn't be exposed to the wind, but he insisted on doing so every night. No matter how many times she advised him, he just wouldn't listen. He was so stubborn that it made her angry! So she might as well get him drunk with liquor. Anyway, a cup of this strong liquor would warm up his whole body, and it wouldn't do him any harm.
Shangguan Yun looked back at her. His jet - black eyes were full of shock. He replied speechlessly, "No, it's not appropriate, is it?" In his life, he had never met anyone who dared to persuade him to drink. Wu Luoluo was the first.
"Why not?" Wu Luoluo put down the wine jar, reached out to close the wooden window, shutting out the howling cold wind. She pulled Shangguan Yun's hand and murmured, "Come on! Come on! It's rare to get drunk in life!"