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墨書 Inktalez
As he saw Xia Muxin emerge from the group of disheveled men, his anger flared up, causing him to overlook her feelings.
With a hint of annoyance flashing through his mind, he strode towards Zhaoxia Muxin's tent.
"Hey, Senior Brother, you’re out early today!"
Just as he approached the tent, Qingyue happened to come out. Noticing Shen Muhan's tense expression, she smiled and asked. However, when she glanced behind him and didn’t see Xia Muxin, a trace of confusion crossed her eyes. Shen Muhan didn’t respond; he merely cast her a faint glance, a flicker of hurt in his gaze. Embarrassed, he rubbed his flat stomach and said:
"Um... did she go make breakfast?"
After eating Xia Muxin's cooking, he felt he could never enjoy any other flavors again. Besides, it wasn’t a bad thing for her to stay here; at least she could cook for them. After all, she had no skills in combat, and if a fight broke out, self-preservation would be an issue.
Of course, she couldn’t hide the fact that the Retired Emperor had arranged a marriage between Shen Muhan and Su Xiuning from Qingyue. Qing Zhan had already sent her word about it. Leaving this place would be easy, but she didn’t want to. Xia Muxin had ruined her Lotus Pond, and she wanted to see her downfall as well.
Shen Muhan’s unease and sorrow were evident to her. But such was fate; just like how her parents had died at the hands of Second Senior Brother. She hated it but couldn’t fight against him.
On one side was the safety of countless citizens of Tianli Kingdom; on the other was her beloved. Choosing between them was difficult. However, as long as her brother didn’t marry Xia Muxin, she would feel at ease.
Because she simply disliked her.
At most, she would only forage for wild vegetables and cook.
Shen Muhan remained silent, but upon hearing Qingyue’s words, he understood that Muxin wasn’t in the tent and turned towards the kitchen.
"Senior Brother, you..."
Watching him leave without a glance back, Qingyue stomped her foot in anger and shouted at his retreating figure, but the words were swallowed by the appearance of Rong Li.
"I don't know what grievances you have with Xia Muxin, but she is someone I must protect. No matter who it is, if they harm even a single hair on her head, I will pluck every hair from their body."
Rong Li stood five steps away from Qingyue. Though his body was still weak and his face unnaturally pale, his words were icy cold. As he spoke, his gaze was complex as he looked in the direction Shen Muhan had gone.
He had heard plenty of rumors in the military camp, all targeting Xia Muxin, while Miss Su, Su Xiuning, was praised to the skies. Whether out of pity or something else, he simply did not want that damned girl to get hurt.
Moreover, he had noticed the tension between the two during dinner last night. He had gone to find Xia Muxin afterward, but she was not in her tent; she probably wanted some peace and quiet. He hadn’t disturbed her then. This morning, he intended to check on her but overheard a few words from Qingyue that inexplicably ignited his anger.
Qingyue did not expect that this damned Third Prince would defend that wretched girl Xia Muxin so fiercely. She shot him a cold glare, huffed, and left with a flick of her sleeve.
Meanwhile, Shen Muhan headed straight for the kitchen. Upon entering, he saw soldiers bustling about and casually pulled one aside to ask:
"Have you seen Xia Muxin?"
In the entire military camp, Xia Muxin's name had become well-known—not just because of her contributions over the past few days but also because she was the woman constantly by Shen Muhan's side.
Moreover, news had already spread in the capital that the esteemed Regent was tied down by a country girl. Many believed this girl practiced witchcraft and that the Regent was merely enchanted by her for the time being. Until he was stripped of all positions and even sacrificed the lives of many for her sake, at that moment, Xia Muxin had become a criminal in Tianli Kingdom.
But who would have thought that all of this was instigated by Su Rong and the Retired Emperor? With the Zhao Family meddling further, the situation escalated to an uncontrollable level. Perhaps this was why the Xia Family had suddenly vanished without a trace.
The soldier trembled at Shen Muhan's current aura of menace and stammered in response:
"I... I haven't seen her."
Shen Muhan felt a chill in his heart as he pushed the soldier aside and strode out of the kitchen.
First, he went to find Shen Muqing and asked the soldiers on duty, but they all shook their heads in ignorance. Growing anxious, he turned and headed towards the spot where he had dug up horseshoes yesterday, hoping she had gone to look for food again...
"Girl..."
"Muxin..."
"Xia Muxin..."
All along the way, he kept calling out Xia Muxin's name, but no matter how loudly he shouted, there was no response. He wished so desperately that she would be standing on the edge of the field with a clean horseshoe in hand, smiling and waiting for him. Then, regardless of whether he agreed or not, she would force it into his mouth and make him say it was delicious.
He had always been troubled by thoughts of the world and its people, but what did it matter to him? Just because his surname was Shen meant he had to protect the common folk and become a slave to the royal family? Without Muxin, what did it matter if he were a Regent? What good was ruling the world if he lost the only joy in life? Living like a puppet held no meaning.
This area was desolate, with no trees in sight, so he could see far ahead. Suddenly reminded of Rong Li, Shen Muhan gathered his energy and flew directly towards the military camp.
*
Xia Muxin felt that she had rested enough and her heart had calmed down considerably. Below her, smoke was rising from cooking fires, carrying the aroma of food. She rubbed her protesting stomach and decided to come down. Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced her chest, and she grabbed a nearby branch to prevent herself from falling.
However, the pain in her chest did not subside; instead, it intensified. She believed she did not have heart disease, yet at this moment, it was unbearable.
She clenched her teeth tightly as beads of sweat formed on her forehead like pearls, with a hint of darkness mixed within them.
Her body began to tremble.
Suddenly, raindrops the size of beans poured down like a torrential downpour, crashing through layers of dense leaves and hitting her back with a bone-deep pain.
Before her eyes flashed a face that looked exactly like hers, grinning savagely, with a trace of blood at the corners of its mouth. In its hand was a heart, dripping with fresh blood, as if it had just been ripped from a body. Suddenly, a strange whisper echoed, and the woman bit into the bloody heart.
"Don't..."
Xia Muxin reached out, trying to grasp something, but ultimately could not hold on. How could she be so disgusted? No, this couldn't be her. Tears mixed with the rain, blurring her vision. The heart had already been bitten into, and she spat out a mouthful of black blood before her eyes closed and she fell to the ground.
Shen Muhan rushed toward the military camp like the wind. Just as he stopped, heavy rain began to pour down. He quickly darted into the nearest tent but caught a glimpse of a shadow out of the corner of his eye. In an instant, his eyes widened; he leaped forward and scooped up the small, drenched figure into his arms.
"Muxin..."
When he saw who was in his arms, his voice trembled as he called out to her, holding her tightly against him before leaping into their tent.
Xia Muxin was completely soaked. Shen Muhan didn't care about anything else; he quickly stripped her down and wrapped her in blankets. The rain had washed away the blood at the corner of her mouth, so he didn't notice anything unusual about her.
Using his internal energy, he dried her hair before opening her small bundle. However, inside there were no women's clothes—only ordinary men's garments. Without thinking too much about it, he changed her into the men's clothes.
Once she was dressed, he noticed that her face was abnormally pale. Shen Muhan's heart tightened painfully as he grasped her hand tightly, as if making a vow:
"Muxin, I was wrong. I shouldn't have lost my temper or taken it out on you."
But Xia Muxin kept her eyes tightly shut, breathing evenly as if she were truly asleep.
Suddenly feeling an abnormal heat in her palm, Shen Muhan reached for her forehead and discovered that she had a fever. He turned around to fetch his medicine box and gave her some cold medicine to reduce the fever.
But after a little more than half an hour, her fever not only persisted but fluctuated between hot and cold, back and forth, while she kept her eyes tightly shut, showing no signs of awareness.
Shen Muhan kept gently patting her cheek, softly calling her name, but no matter how he called, she showed no intention of waking up.
He then checked her pulse again, but found nothing unusual. Though anxious, he felt a sense of relief; at least he had located her.
He tidied up the medicine box and then prepared hot water to wipe her down, instructing the staff below to brew some tea to bring over.
Before long, the tea arrived, but the person delivering it was Rong Li.
"What happened to her?"
Rong Li placed the tea on the table beside him and looked at the unconscious Xia Muxin. A flicker of concern passed through his eyes as he asked in a low voice.
Shen Muhan did not turn to look at him; he simply replied calmly, "She caught a chill."
"No, I don't want to eat. Please, don't make me eat."
- End of Chapter -
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