Looking at the bandit only one step away from her, Su Nansheng felt a bit deaf. The sounds of the scuffle around her instantly went silent. All she could feel was the pounding of her heart in her chest.
Su Nansheng gritted her teeth and raised her arm. The sleeve arrow shot out as expected, but it missed.
The bandit bared his big yellow teeth and stretched out his big hands towards Su Nansheng's neck.
Seeing that the bandit was already right in front of her, it was impossible to shoot the sleeve arrow again.
"Su Nansheng, duck down!"
In a daze, it seemed someone was shouting at her. At the same time, a warm stream of something spurted onto Su Nansheng's face.
"My lady!"
Bitao's shout came from afar, not very clearly audible.
Su Nansheng blinked. A pungent, sweet smell drilled straight into her nose. It was the smell of blood.
Following her line of sight, Su Nansheng saw that her right hand was gripping the handle of a dagger, and the sharp blade was completely buried in the bandit's chest.
Blood trickled down the handle like a stream. Su Nansheng instantly let go.
The bandit's body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Looking at the bandit's wide - open eyes, Su Nansheng's knees went weak, and she involuntarily took two steps back.
There was an itchy feeling on her face. Something was dripping down. When she touched it with her hand, it was slippery. It was blood.
Su Nansheng looked blank. In a daze, she saw He Xun running towards her, and behind him a bandit raising his knife.
"Get down!"
Su Nansheng roared at He Xun and at the same time raised her sleeve arrow.
It missed again!
Hearing her shout, He Xun dodged to the side to avoid the bandit's sneak attack. Then he stabbed his sword into the bandit's back. The long sword pierced through the bandit's chest, and the bandit immediately lost his breath.
He Xun kicked the bandit's body hanging on his sword away and took a quick step to Su Nansheng. He grabbed her arm and felt around her shoulders and back.
"Are you hurt?"
He Xun's handsome face loomed large in front of Su Nansheng. His warm breath fanned across her face, overriding the warmth of the fresh blood.
Only then did Su Nansheng gradually start to hear the sounds around her and feel the heat of He Xun's palm.
"My lady, are you okay?"
Bitao rushed to Su Nansheng with a crying voice and pushed He Xun aside.
"Master told you to duck down just now. Why didn't you listen? What if that knife had hurt you!"
Only then did Su Nansheng notice that there was a tip of a knife sticking out of the bandit's neck on the ground, and blood was still gurgling out.
Just then, a deafening thunder roared from the mountain. A thick yellow smoke shot up into the sky, spreading in the air and blotting out the sun.
"Listen up, you bandits! Our Prefect has already taken control of your lair, and your leader has been wiped out by General He. If you want to live, throw down your weapons and kneel on the ground. Otherwise, you'll be killed without mercy!"
Xu Yi stepped on a bandit's body with one foot and pointed at the dead bandit leader on the ground with one finger. His expression was grim, and his killing intent was overflowing.
The air froze for a moment. Then the bandits who had been fighting desperately just now quickly reacted and scattered in all directions.
The yamen runners formed a counter - attack and quickly chased after the fleeing bandits.
Seeing this, Bitao let out a sigh of relief. She took out a silk handkerchief from her bosom and raised her hand to wipe the blood off Su Nansheng's face.
But as soon as her hand was raised, she was pulled back by a huge force.
Bitao glared back angrily, only to see Feiyu looking serious and righteous as he said:
"Come with me to chase the bandits."
Bitao frowned. How did she remember that she was just a maid?
But even though she thought so, Bitao still followed Feiyu to chase the bandits.
He Xun looked at Su Nansheng's still somewhat dazed face and silently sighed. He regretted bringing her here a bit.
He wiped the blood off Su Nansheng's face with his sleeve. The blood had already cooled, and Su Nansheng's face was also cold.
"He deserved to die."
"I know. I just didn't know blood could be so hot."
Saying this, Su Nansheng couldn't help but touch her face. There was no blood there anymore, but the burning temperature seemed to still remain.
He Xun pulled her hand down and pointed at the sleeve arrow that had fallen to one side, saying:
"Lucky you didn't get down."
Su Nansheng followed He Xun's hand and then remembered her shout just now. She silently touched her face again, her voice muffled:
"It was so chaotic just now. No one should have heard it, right?"
"Like a dragon's roar, powerful and imposing."
He Xun's answer completely shattered Su Nansheng's hope. She searched around for the carriage that had just run away.
Help! Let her get in and hide quickly!
He Xun watched Su Nansheng's actions and a smile appeared on his lips.
...
When He Jin returned to Bitao Courtyard, his expression was a bit unnatural.
As soon as he entered Bitao Courtyard, he heard that Su Hele had fallen ill due to over - work and excessive worry in recent days.
Looking at Su Hele's almost transparent white face and her still frowning eyebrows even in sleep, He Jin turned around and went to the main courtyard to find Chen Wanrong.
A Le had just made a small mistake. Why did they torture her like this?
But when he got to the main courtyard, he found out that the concubine had already pleaded for mercy with Chen Wanrong, and Chen Wanrong had already waived the punishment for A Le.
Seeing He Jin's expression, Su Hele struggled to sit up. Her face was still pale.
"Husband, does the concubine not believe that I'm really sick? She's shallow - minded. I don't blame her."
Hearing this, He Jin frowned and said in a low voice:
"That's not the case. The mistress has waived your punishment. You don't have to kneel in the ancestral hall tomorrow."
A look of disdain flashed across Su Hele's eyes. She never intended to continue kneeling anyway.
"Husband, don't cover up for the concubine. Although she has always been biased against me and tortured me to my sickbed, I'm magnanimous and won't argue with her."
Just waiving the punishment wasn't enough to satisfy Su Hele. She also wanted He Jin to know that Concubine Li was a narrow - minded and vicious woman.
Under normal circumstances, her magnanimous attitude would surely win He Jin's praise for her and his annoyance towards Concubine Li.
But this time, He Jin just frowned at her and then said:
"Although the punishment has been waived, don't go out for a while. Take good care of your illness."
After saying that, He Jin turned around and left.
Not hearing what she wanted, Su Hele frowned slightly:
"It's getting late. Where are you going, husband?"
"To Yurong Courtyard."
Su Hele's eyebrows relaxed, and a proud look appeared on her face. Although it wasn't obvious on the surface, she was happy that He Jin had finally listened to her.
It was good to go and warn Concubine Li. Let's see if she dared to torture her in the future.
...
"The reason I wanted to discipline her was because she was dragging down your official reputation. But before I could even set the rules, I had to plead for her instead. But since she's your wife, I don't want to make things difficult for you."
Concubine Li looked at He Jin with a smile and spoke sincerely.
He Jin was already feeling guilty for wrongly blaming Concubine Li. Hearing this, he felt even more ashamed and said:
"It's still the concubine who understands me. It's my fault. I've been so busy with official business recently that I haven't come to pay my respects to you often."
Although she knew that He Jin's words were just an excuse, Concubine Li was smart enough not to argue. She just said gently:
"I asked the doctor from the Liu Mansion when he came to diagnose her. The Su family hasn't conceived yet. You haven't forgotten what you promised me, have you?"