“Whether I am willing or not, why does it matter to you? I have a reason to stay in the Luo family,” Xie Chong interrupted before she could finish her sentence, “Didn’t Mrs Luo ask me what I wanted to do? If you leave the Luo family, this Xie will continue to keep your secret. Your blood is much more precious than the Xuande furnace.”
Zhou Qing could not understand why Xie Chong was doing this. She stared at the man in front of her and could not help but ask, “Earlier, I told the Commander that even if I returned to the Luo family, I would not delay the herbal blending. Why are you acting like this?”
Xie Chong took out the silver fragrance ball from his sleeve. The egg-sized object in his palm was constantly rotating. Zhou Qing took the silver ball, she really smelled the thick scent of blood. Her eyebrows furrowed as she poured out the herbal coal and the other materials inside it, and then slowly wiped it with a handkerchief.
“In the past, Mrs. Luo only came to the door every three days. Now that this official’s condition has worsened, it would be better to come to the door every day. Otherwise…” Xie Chong’s words were both pleading and threatening. Zhou Qing simply could not refuse his request, and finally could only nod. In this way, she was bound to move out of the Luo family. Otherwise, as a daughter-in-law, if she went to someone else’s house every day – even if Luo Yu did not get angry – the neighbors would still gossip.
The carriage slowly moved forward, and neither of them spoke. After entering the city gate, Zhou Qing lifted the curtain and glanced outside, and found that they were not going in the direction of the herbal store, but somewhere else.
“My lord, this is?”
“Mrs. Luo is wounded. Although it is not serious, the wound must be treated as soon as possible. Otherwise, I am afraid there would be something wrong.” Xie Chong said indifferently.
Hearing this, Zhou Qing could not help but feel a bit guilty. The Commander was doing it for her sake and had saved her life today, but because of their conversation, she always felt somewhat odd, and could not help but be a bit defensive.
“Many thanks, My lord.”
Lightly humming in response, Xie Chong did not say anything else. The carriage soon stopped in front of the medical center. The man deftly jumped off the carriage, and then extended his hand to support the woman, and brought her in.
The injuries on Zhou Qing’s body were not serious. The wound at the neck had already scabbed over, and the palm was only scratched.
The young medicine boy looked at the cold and solemn-looking Jin Yi guards and was scared out of his wits, but the old doctor had seen a lot and was still able to remain calm, and also advised, “Don’t let the water touch the wound for a few days. Wait until it heals. After that, it will be fine.”
Leaving the medical center, Zhou Qing rushed to Xie Chong to give her thanks, “Even if I want to move out from the Luo family, there are some things that must be resolved first. I will have to trouble you today.”
After saying that, she did not get into the carriage, and walked directly to the Luo household. Xie Chong stood in place, black eyes staring at the woman’s slender back, and his lips were pursed into a line.
The mountain bandits were all captured by the Jin Yi guards. Luo Xinyue, like the rest of the pilgrims, took the opportunity to escape. She quickly ran back to their house. Thinking that Zhou Qing may have lost her life, she was both scared and excited. Her body was constantly trembling.
After drinking a bowl of water, Mother Luo heard the commotion and walked out of the house. Not seeing Zhou Qing, she felt a little strange, and could not help but ask, “Where is your sister-in-law? Didn’t you go to the Puji Temple together?”
Luo Xinyue squeezed out a few tears and cried, “Mother, there were bandits in the Puji Temple. This daughter took advantage of the chaos and escaped, but Zhou Qing did not have such good luck. She was held by the bandits with a knife to her neck. In the end, whether she is dead or alive, whether she can come back, I can’t be sure…”
Mother Luo previously prayed that Zhou Qing could give her a grandson. Now that she was being held by the bandits, those beasts would eat people without spitting their bones. That woman’s beauty was incomparable and very eye-catching. How could she escape their clutches?
Ruthlessly slapping her thigh, Mother Luo wailed at the top of her lungs. Seeing her mother’s miserable appearance, Luo Xinyue’s eyes revealed a trace of satisfaction. However, there was no flaw on her face, and would just constantly sigh.
Before she could dry her tears, a slender figure suddenly appeared at the door. Although her dress was covered with dust and dirt, and her palms and neck were wrapped in white cloth, she was especially calm – not the least bit wretched. A stark contrast to the panicking Luo Xinyue.
“You– How did you come back?” The woman’s voice was sharp and very harsh. Zhou Qing had a cold smile on her face as she slowly walked forward.
“Does Xinyue not want me to come back? Also, you first pushed me to the mountain bandits, and then slandered me as the County Princess. The reason for that, isn’t it that you want to put me to death?”
Hearing this, Mother Lou stared at her daughter with utter disbelief. She could never imagine that Xinyue would do such a ruthless thing. Zhou Qing was pregnant with Luo Yu’s blood!
“Sister-in-law, I know you’re not happy with me, but you can’t spout nonsense against people! If I really had the intention to harm you and let you fall into the hands of those mountain bandits, you would have died a long time ago!” Luo Xinyue’s face was pale as she retorted back, unwilling to give up.
