An instant of dead silence.
The courtyard sank into a long - lasting hush.
Song Wanchu felt as if she had stepped into thin air and fallen into an endless abyss. The terrifying sense of falling persisted, and persisted.
I don't know how long it took before she vaguely regained a sense of being alive. With panicked and helpless eyes, she looked at Liang Yuzhou.
He told the village head to go back and pretended that nothing had happened. Song Wanchu thought he wanted to cover up the fact that her elder brother accidentally killed Yu Rongbai.
She was wrong. Liang Yuzhou was always good at strategizing and calculating. Every move he made was carefully thought out to achieve his ultimate goal.
"Are you threatening me?" Shi Luohan pursed his lips tightly and held the hilt of his sword defensively with one hand.
At the same time, he didn't forget to look back at Song Wanchu and comfort her gently, "Wanchu, don't be afraid."
"You'd better save your breath and explain to the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review why Yu Rongbai became a corpse."
There was nothing but cold - hearted mockery in Liang Yuzhou's eyes.
"No, Liang Yuzhou, please don't..."
A chill ran down Song Wanchu's spine, and her mind almost stopped thinking.
She only had one thought left. Her elder brother killed someone for her. Her elder brother couldn't be in trouble.
"Why should I help a shameless man who stole my wife?"
In Liang Yuzhou's words, every sentence was about Shi Luohan's crime, but his eyes stayed on Song Wanchu from beginning to end.
Her body was trembling constantly, like a flower in the cold wind. Tears welled up in her eyes. She was extremely sad and terrified.
All these emotions were because she was worried about Shi Luohan.
Liang Yuzhou's eyes became even colder and more terrifying.
"I'm not afraid of going to the authorities. I don't regret killing this scumbag at all!"
Shi Luohan vaguely guessed Liang Yuzhou's intention. He only hated that his shoulders weren't broad enough to completely block Liang Yuzhou's crazy looks at Wanchu.
Song Wanchu grabbed Shi Luohan's arm tightly.
"No, elder brother, you can't go to the authorities!"
Her elder brother was still so young. He couldn't ruin his whole life because of her!
"I'll go. I'll go and surrender to Lord Shi and say that I killed him."
It was Yu Rongbai who had evil intentions towards her in the first place. It was reasonable for her to fight back and accidentally kill him.
Liang Yuzhou smiled faintly. Under the moonlight, the sarcastic curve of his lips became clearer. "You're a weak girl with a heart disease. Can you shatter a man's internal organs with one palm? Do you think Shi Jinglu is a fool?"
Shi Luohan rubbed Song Wanchu's hair gently, looking calm and composed.
"Wanchu, I'll take responsibility for my own actions. No matter what the price is, it's worth it."
He was willing to die for Wanchu.
In Liang Yuzhou's eyes, the two of them were looking at each other affectionately at this moment.
His eyes became colder and colder, filled with anger.
Song Wanchu sobbed uncontrollably and kept shaking her head.
She looked at Liang Yuzhou with tear - filled eyes.
"You can help my elder brother, right?"
He threatened her and watched indifferently. In fact, he was waiting for her to compromise.
"Why should I help him?" Liang Yuzhou retorted.
Song Wanchu felt a lump in her throat and said with difficulty, "I won't leave. Liang Yuzhou, as long as you help my elder brother cover it up, I'll come back to you and continue to be your noble concubine."
After saying this, her heart seemed to be hollowed out. The wind howled into her chest, and her flesh and blood were being churned.
Shi Luohan was a little angry. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Wanchu, wake up! How much effort did you spend to get rid of him? Are you going back to that cage again? It's not worth it for me!"
The corners of Song Wanchu's eyes were red. She sobbed and choked, "It's worth it for my elder brother. I'll do anything."
These words sounded like a passionate farewell to Liang Yuzhou's ears, extremely harsh.
His chest ached, and his internal organs trembled violently.
He forced Song Wanchu in this way. He admitted that he was despicable, but he still couldn't accept seeing Song Wanchu go all out for Shi Luohan with his own eyes.
He was so angry that he was crazy, and so jealous that he was dying.
His heart was seized by these intense emotions, but his face became even colder.
He was like an emotionless judge.
He stretched out his hand to Song Wanchu. "Come here."
It was an undeniable order.
"Liang Yuzhou, can you keep your promise?"
After making a difficult choice, Song Wanchu's heart was as calm as a wasteland after a big fire.
If this was her destiny, if she was doomed to be entangled with Liang Yuzhou in this life, then she accepted it.
As long as her elder brother was okay.
She mechanically took steps in Liang Yuzhou's direction.
"Don't go!" Shi Luohan wanted to hold her back.
Song Wanchu looked back and smiled faintly. A tear rolled down from the corner of her eye.
She didn't say anything. Her eyes told him that this was the final farewell.
Liang Yuzhou was impatient. He strode forward and put his arm around Song Wanchu's waist.
When she fell into his arms, he finally regained the sense of security of getting back what he had lost.
"Liang Yuzhou, you're despicable and shameless!"
Shi Luohan roared from his chest. "You took advantage of Wanchu's kindness and compassion. You forced her to submit to you. What did she do wrong for you to treat her like this and hurt her?"
He drew his sword and approached Liang Yuzhou defiantly. "I'll fight you to the death tonight. I won't let you touch Wanchu again!"
"Elder brother!"
A sad and beautiful tear rolled down from the corner of Song Wanchu's eye. "I'm willing to go back with him."
Shi Luohan stood still in a daze.
Liang Yuzhou sneered and pushed aside the tip of the sword.
It wasn't until a door closed in front that Shi Luohan came back to his senses.
He stood alone in the courtyard. A thick cloud covered the moonlight, and the thick night completely enveloped him.
...
Song Wanchu was sitting on the couch, still wrapped in Liang Yuzhou's robe.
She stared blankly as Liang Yuzhou took off his clothes, revealing his shoulders.
The blood had completely soaked the gauze.
"Does it hurt?" she asked hoarsely.
Liang Yuzhou calmly unwrapped the gauze. More and more of the wound was exposed. He frowned slightly. When he heard Song Wanchu's question, his hand paused for a moment.
"On the day of the spring hunt, when the grizzly bear's claws scratched my back, it hurt as much as you do now."
Song Wanchu's tone was flat without any ups and downs, like a puppet that had lost all emotions. "I changed fourteen basins of bloody water in the tent. I bit the pillow so hard that it was torn, but all I could think about was that you had won the prize and your chance of being made the heir would be greater."
Liang Yuzhou slowly raised his head. In his originally calm black eyes, there was a raging storm.
He thought that Song Wanchu risked her life to win the prize for him just to repay the kindness he had saved her from the grizzly bear six years ago.
He was afraid that once the debt of gratitude was repaid, Wanchu would think they owed each other nothing.
He was afraid of losing this bond.
He didn't expect that Wanchu's mind was so simple. She just wanted to help him increase the chance of being made the heir.
The wound on her back was so deep, but he had never asked her if it hurt...
"Liang Yuzhou, what did you do? You used the prize I won with my life to plead for Yu Jingnian so that your cousin could return to the capital and reunite with you."
Suddenly, Song Wanchu laughed. "Liang Yuzhou, you don't love me at all, but you want to trap me tightly. Why?"
Liang Yuzhou's eyes were trembling. His voice was hoarse. "Who says I don't love you?"