Yun Chu Ling

Chapter 112: Elder Brother Has a Cloak

After Chu Yi shot two bandits in succession, he dismounted from his horse and walked toward his son.

Unexpectedly, someone had already embraced Yu Ge'er faster than he could.

Seeing the woman holding Yu Ge'er, he vaguely felt that Yu Ge'er's eyebrows and eyes bore some resemblance to the woman before him.

Wait, Changsheng looked even more like Lady Xie—her eyes, nose, mouth... as if carved from the same mold...

An absurd thought surfaced in Chu Yi's mind. Could it be...

Just as he was lost in thought, the bandit with an arrow in his eye suddenly grabbed the long blade beside him and swung it toward Yun Chu's direction.

Yun Chu swiftly turned around but failed to evade completely. The long blade grazed past her waist, and the bandit, as if gone mad, continued to slash wildly.

Chu Yi's eyes darkened. He raised his foot and delivered a fierce kick, then picked up the long blade and cleanly slit the bandit's throat.

Immediately, the flesh around the wound on the bandit's neck turned black.

"Lady Xie, the blade is poisoned!"

Chu Yi scooped up his terrified son and handed him to a guard nearby. He then turned to Yun Chu and said, "Lady Xie, I must beg your pardon."

Before Yun Chu could comprehend what was happening, the man lifted her horizontally into his arms and carried her into the nearby wooden hut that had not caught fire.

Had she not known this man well enough and understood he was not the dishonorable type, she would have already drawn her hairpin to stab him.

"Lady Xie, that blade was coated with potent poison," Chu Yi explained briefly. "There are no physicians on the mountain. I will first suck the venom out for you, and then we can descend for proper treatment."

Yun Chu immediately opened her cloak.

Her clothing at the waist was torn, revealing a long gash. The flesh appeared as if stained with black ink, a sight that made one's heart tremble.

She hadn't initially felt much pain from the wound, but upon seeing the gruesome injury, her entire body began to weaken.

She had only been reborn for a little over two months. There were still so many things left undone—how could she die like this?

"Your Highness is of the imperial family, esteemed and noble. I dare not let this poison harm your body," Yun Chu said. "I humbly request that Your Highness find someone else to assist."

Her body had been ruined on her wedding night long ago. Concepts like purity and chastity held no meaning for her.

Chu Yi saw desolation in her eyes.

It wasn't that she didn't care about her virtue—rather, there was no need for her to care...

He had heard that Lord Xie and Lady Xie shared a deep bond as a loving couple. How could she be so indifferent to her own purity?

But now was not the time to dwell on this. Chu Yi spoke again, "Lady Xie was injured protecting Yu Ge'er. By extracting the poison from your body, I am merely repaying this life-saving grace."

Having said this, he bent down.

Yun Chu instinctively flinched.

A woman's chastity was like a cage, confining her within. No matter how little she cared, she couldn't ignore the innate resistance in her heart.

"Lady Xie, do not be afraid."

The man's large hand pressed against her waist, followed by a soft sensation and a scorching warmth that spread from her waist to her limbs.

She closed her eyes and commanded herself to calm down.

To survive, the poison must be sucked out promptly. Otherwise, by the time they descended the mountain, it might be too late to save her.

She would pretend—pretend that the man before her was just any guard, pretend she didn't know him. Then, it wouldn't feel so difficult to endure.She began recalling the events of her past life, one by one, over and over again... Finally, the sensation at her waist disappeared.

Yun Chu opened her eyes and met Chu Yi's face. His lips had turned completely black.

"Lady Xie, the remaining poison is minimal and poses no further threat to your life," Chu Yi said after rinsing his mouth three times with water and spitting it out. "Regarding today's matter, let it remain between you and me. Please..."

"Bang!"

Before he could finish his sentence, the wooden door was kicked open.

"Chu'er!"

Yun Ze rushed in frantically, but froze completely upon seeing the scene inside.

It was one thing for Prince Pingxi and Chu'er to be alone together in a room, but Chu'er's clothes were disheveled, revealing half of her waist. If not for the hideous scar on the exposed skin, he might have misunderstood the situation.

Seeing Prince Pingxi's blackened lips and the pool of black poison on the ground, he immediately understood what had happened.

Yun Chu quickly grabbed the cloak and wrapped it tightly around herself.

Being seen in such a state by her own brother was somewhat embarrassing.

Yun Ze maintained his composure as he stepped forward, cupping his hands respectfully. "Thank you, Your Highness, for saving my sister's life. The Yun family will never forget this kindness."

"Lady Xie saved my son's life. This is the least I could do," Prince Pingxi replied calmly. "Official Yun, let's not waste time. Please take Lady Xie down the mountain for treatment. I happen to know of a female physician who could be summoned to treat Lady Xie's wound."

"I happen to know that female physician as well, so there's no need to trouble Your Highness."

Yun Ze walked over to Yun Chu and tried to pull off the cloak she had tightly wrapped around herself.

Not understanding his intention, Yun Chu held on desperately.

Yun Ze lowered his voice, "Your big brother has a cloak too."

Yun Chu awkwardly released her grip.

Yun Ze removed the cloak and swiftly draped his own garment over Yun Chu before turning to Prince Pingxi. "Thank you, Your Highness."

Chu Yi took back his cloak. Besides the scent of blood, he could faintly detect a unique feminine fragrance.

He had noticed this scent earlier while clearing her poison—a familiar fragrance...

Yun Ze picked up Yun Chu and carried her outside.

A soft sedan chair awaited them, and he carefully placed her inside.

The entourages from the Prince of Pacifying the West Manor and the Yun family quickly descended the mountain together.

At the foot of the mountain, Yun Ze bowed to Chu Yi, and the two parties went their separate ways.

Chu Hongyu, weak and leaning against Chu Yi, stared intently at the Yun family's carriage. "Father, why didn't we bring Mother back to the manor for treatment?"

"She is not your mother," Chu Yi said. "Her surname is Yun. She is Lady Xie. She can go to the Yun residence or the Xie residence, but she cannot come to our manor."

"That Xie... whatever his name is... treats her terribly. I overheard the Xie family servants saying that for many years, that Xie fellow never visits her room..." The little boy bit his lip. "That man definitely doesn't like Mother... doesn't like Aunt Yun at all. Aunt Yun must be living a very difficult life..."

A shadow crossed Chu Yi's eyes.

It was said that the Xie couple shared a deep affection—could the rumors be untrue?

Yun Chu was taken directly back to the Yun residence by Yun Ze. They summoned a renowned female physician from the capital to clean her wound, apply medicine, and bandage her waist.

After taking her medicine, Yun Chu fell asleep and didn't wake until the sun was high in the sky.

Ting Feng and Ting Xue attended to her as she drank her medicine.Just after Yun Chu finished her medicine, her sister-in-law Liu Qianqian walked in with a smile and said, "Last night, your elder brother went to the Xie family and learned that the carriage you were riding in had an accident, causing you some injuries. These next few days, you should rest well at the Yun residence to recover."

Yun Chu nodded. Ever since learning the truth about her wedding night, she truly had no desire to return to the Xie family for the time being.

"Well..." Qianqian coughed lightly before speaking, "For us women, chastity is important, but when it comes to life and death, chastity is nothing. You mustn’t dwell on what happened last night."

Yun Chu couldn’t help but chuckle.

To comfort her, her refined and scholarly sister-in-law had actually uttered such crude words.

In truth, after a night’s sleep, the events of yesterday seemed to have mostly faded from her memory.