Caiyu rushed in so hastily that she slipped and knelt down beside the bathtub.
Their faces were so close that their noses almost touched.
Song Yinghuai looked at her anxious face and his breathing quickened.
He blinked, and a glimmer of joy welled up in his eyes.
It was like a spring gushing out from the parched ground, moistening and expanding.
Finally, it filled his whole heart.
His heart pounded wildly, and his mind went blank.
She did care about him after all, didn't she?
Caiyu was momentarily stunned when she met his gaze and saw that he was sitting safely in the bathtub.
The next moment, she came to her senses, turned her head and tried to get up, saying in a low voice, "I thought you'd fallen—"
Before she could finish, Caiyu couldn't help but let out a startled scream. After a dizzying spin, she was dragged into the bathtub!
A deafening splash rang out.
He grabbed Caiyu's wrists with one hand and lifted them up, then wrapped the iron chain of his shackles around her hands twice. He covered her body, his strong and slender figure easily suppressing her struggles.
Caiyu was stunned by the pressure. Frightened, panicked and angry, she opened her mouth and said, "My lord... Mmm!"
Song Yinghuai lowered his head and captured her plump lips.
He bit, tore and sucked...
There seemed to be no desire in the man's eyes, only despair.
Caiyu wanted to beat Song Yinghuai to make him stop, but her wrists were locked by the iron chain and she was floating in the water, unable to move at all. Only her eyes were filled with fear.
What on earth was Song Yinghuai going to do?
In the narrow bathtub, they were tightly pressed against each other, binding each other firmly.
A moment later, Song Yinghuai released her lips. His breathing was rapid, his chest heaving violently. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at her intently.
Caiyu was extremely scared.
She had been intimate with him so many times that she knew exactly what this man's look meant at this moment.
He had endured for so long, but finally he couldn't bear it anymore!
"My lord... Please let me go..." Caiyu pleaded in a trembling voice.
This was different from the past.
She was now betrothed, and they shouldn't have any more intimate contact.
Her only wish was for him to live.
But at this moment, she was being steamed by the hot water in the bathtub and had just been kissed passionately by the man.
Her face instantly bloomed with a pink glow like a lotus emerging from the water, and even her eyes were glistening.
Her voice was so pleasant. To the man who hadn't touched her for two years, her trembling voice was like celestial music, making him lose control.
Song Yinghuai's eyes were as fierce as a wolf's, yet full of despair.
His breath was hot, spraying on Caiyu's cheek. His voice was also unsteady:
"Yuer... We're almost in Pengcheng. Once we enter the territory of Jinling, I won't be able to escape. Won't you really come with me? Or, I can go with you too."
Caiyu's heart was pounding wildly.
She knew that Song Yinghuai was telling the truth.
Once they entered Jinling, there would be the young emperor's personal guards everywhere. Although the 100,000 imperial troops had once served with Song Yinghuai, they were after all imperial troops in the capital. In the end, military orders were like mountains, and they only obeyed the young emperor's orders.
If he didn't escape now, he would really have no chance!
But how could he force her like this?
Force her to compromise with his life?
Caiyu choked with sobs. Tears rolled down like pearls, and her voice got stuck in her throat for a long time.
It took her a great deal of courage to squeeze out a word with great hesitation, "I..."
Song Yinghuai had been numbed by her continuous rejections these days. Seeing her open her mouth, he didn't dare to listen anymore. He quickly sealed her lips with another kiss.
A hot big hand tore at her clothes.
Caiyu was startled and struggled violently again.
"Fine, you won't come with me, and you won't let me go with you..." Song Yinghuai murmured madly in her ear, "Rather than being beheaded in public by the young emperor in the capital, Yuer, why don't you just fulfill me!"
He was going to die anyway.
He chose to die in the arms of the woman he loved!
What?
Caiyu was stunned for a moment. The next moment, as if she understood what Song Yinghuai was going to do, she started to push him desperately:
"No! No! I agree... Mmm!"
She didn't want him to die!
She had lost!
She agreed to go with him!
However, her voice was swallowed again. Their lips were glued together, and their heavy breaths intertwined.
She felt a coolness in front of her body, and then it was covered by the steam of the hot water.
Through the hazy steam, she clearly saw Song Yinghuai's eyes as if he was going to his death.
The man's body was like an iron wall, immovable and deaf to her cries. He let her fearful tears pour out, and gave his life to her...
Regardless.
—
"Sheng Jiangli!"
"Stop for me!"
In the valley outside Pengcheng, Xu Buyue followed closely behind the man's black cavalry, chasing after them on horseback relentlessly.
The man in front finally slowed down and turned his horse around.
Xu Buyue's white horse galloped like a shooting star in front of him. Without greeting, she raised her long spear and stabbed!
Sheng Jiangli clicked his tongue and dodged the spear sideways. He crossed his scimitars and blocked the spearhead.
The sharp tip of the spear stopped just in front of his nose.
Sheng Jiangli said with a half - smile, "Your Highness, you've chased me for hundreds of miles. Aren't you tired yet?"
"I won't be tired until I kill you!" Xu Buyue pushed the spear forward forcefully, but unfortunately, the other was not only a man but also much more skilled than her.
The spear in her hand was stuck in the double - moon scimitars and couldn't move at all.
Sheng Jiangli laughed softly, "We're in Pengcheng now. Your Highness, why don't you hurry up and join the Xu family's main force to occupy Pengcheng? Instead of doing your proper business, why do you keep chasing me?"
"If you keep chasing me, I'll think that Your Highness is smitten with me at first sight."
"Scoundrel!" Xu Buyue had never been teased like this before. Her face immediately turned bright red with anger, "I'll cut out your tongue!"
She pulled her long spear like a madwoman. Seeing that she really couldn't pull it out, she suddenly let go and grabbed the whip instead, then lashed it at Sheng Jiangli!
Sheng Jiangli gasped and said with a laugh, "The most poisonous thing in the world is a woman's heart!"
With a shake of his scimitar, the long spear flew out and hit the rock, sparking a long trail of fire.
He quickly grabbed the end of the whip with his hand and pulled it towards himself, "Your Highness is really the most perseverant woman I've ever met. I sincerely admire you!"
Xu Buyue didn't want to lose her only weapon, so she refused to let go. As a result, she was pulled into the air by the man and jumped up along the whip.
The woman in mid - air saw that she couldn't stop herself. Looking down, she saw the man on the ground holding a scimitar. She was terrified!
If she fell like this, the scimitar would pierce into her body and she would be split in half in an instant!
Xu Buyue's face turned pale. She let out a scream in mid - air and closed her eyes, not daring to look!
The man on the ground saw her panicked look and laughed softly. He clamped his horse's belly.
The horse lifted its hooves and took a step back.
"Thud!"
Xu Buyue landed right on the horse's back and fell into Sheng Jiangli's arms.
Xu Buyue was still in a state of shock when she heard the man's teasing voice above her head, "I said Your Highness wanted to throw yourself into my arms, didn't I?"
Xu Buyue's body stiffened, and her killing intent was soaring.
The man lazily pushed her and said, "Your Highness, why don't you get off the horse? Do you really miss my strong embrace?"
Such a glib tongue!
Xu Buyue got angry again. She suddenly turned her head and raised her hand to hit him, "I!"
Her lips brushed against the man's smooth chin, and both of them were stunned.
Xu Buyue could hear the sound of her own heart pounding with anger.
In a split second, Sheng Jiangli threw her out, "Your Highness, see you never!"
Before Xu Buyue could react, she felt herself flying into the air again. She let out a miserable scream and fell to the ground.
Dizzy, she watched the man gallop away towards the outside of Pengcheng. She gritted her teeth and roared:
"Sheng Jiangli!"
"Don't fall into my hands!"
"If you do, I'll cut you into a thousand pieces!"
"Aaaah... Spit!"