Yang Gu said, “We’re postal soldiers. We’re going to—”
Before he could finish, he saw A’Fu, huddled in A’Le’s embrace, fling off the fur robe that had just been draped over her.
“Who needs your clothes?” she shouted, glaring fiercely at the man. “Who asked you to save me!”
Everyone froze.
“A’Fu,” Zhang Gu said in shock. “What are you saying? You nearly drowned.”
“Even if I drowned to death, I wouldn’t need him to interfere,” A’Fu shouted, standing up dripping wet, teeth chattering, shivering, tears streaming down. “This is between me and A’Jiu. You had no business meddling.”
Everyone froze again.
A’Jiu was momentarily stunned, then seemed to realize something. His body stiffened, his expression changed, and he tried to retreat.
But he was still a step too slow.
A’Fu rushed over and threw her arms around his waist, crying, “I’m willing to die for you. Even if I die, I’m still yours.”
Zhang Gu and the others looked as if they’d seen a ghost.
A’Le, sitting on the ground, also gaped.
Only Tie Ying showed understanding—so it was young lovers meeting in secret, seeking life and death together. He curled his lip disdainfully. What a shame the heir’s kindness in saving her was treated like a donkey’s liver and lungs.
Xiao Xun showed no anger. He smiled slightly and turned his gaze away.
……
……
The riverside seemed to instantly sprout many guards. They lit bonfires, erected tents, provided strong liquor to ward off the cold, and even brought bathing tubs.
Yang Gu watched with amazement. This kind of traveling arrangement was rare even in the capital.
But the earlier incident had been too shocking. In a moment of distraction, the young man was surrounded by guards and withdrew, preventing further conversation.
The young man entered a tent to wash, change clothes, and warm himself. The guards formed a solemn and vigilant perimeter around the tent, making it awkward to disturb him.
However, although A’Fu’s attitude had been quite improper, the young man didn’t take offense. He even provided her with a tent fully equipped with a bathing tub, hot water, and clean robes.
A’Le pleaded and cried, finally persuading A’Fu to enter the tent to wash and change.
“What prominent family lives around here?” Yang Gu muttered, then turned to see A’Jiu. Thinking of what had just happened, he asked with complicated feelings, “What’s going on with you two?”
A’Jiu kept his head down, wiping the water from himself—having been embraced by the soaking wet A’Fu, he was thoroughly drenched too, but no one gave him a tent or new clothes.
“Don’t say ‘you two.’ I haven’t said anything,” he sneered. “I don’t mean anything at all.”
Zhang Gu was about to say more when A’Le ran out from the tent, walked to A’Jiu’s side with her head lowered.
“Young Master A’Jiu,” she said quietly. “My little sister asks you to come in. She has something to say.”
A’Jiu gave a mocking laugh. “I’m not going.”
A’Le fell to her knees with a thud, crying, “Please, young master. She’s my only sister. If anything happens to her, I won’t be able to live either.”
A’Jiu spat, about to say something, when Zhang Gu slapped him on the back.
“Go in and clear things up with her,” he muttered.
The other postal soldiers also urged him chaotically. A’Jiu flung his sleeve and strode toward the tent.
Everyone watched his retreating figure with complicated expressions.
“Who would have thought A’Jiu and A’Fu were actually—”
“We really didn’t see this coming. A’Jiu clearly dislikes A’Fu, and A’Fu is afraid of A’Jiu.”
“Right, A’Fu often said A’Jiu bullied her. Ah, could that kind of ‘bullying’ be that kind of bullying—”
“We’ve all been together. We never saw them alone.”
“Oh, I know now! A’Fu always goes to fetch water before dawn, and A’Jiu is often missing at that time too. Turns out they were meeting secretly—”
“How old is A’Fu? A’Jiu really had the heart to lay hands on her!”
“What a beast!”
……
……
A’Jiu lifted the curtain and entered. The tent was filled with braziers, and with the hot water in the bathing tub, it was quite warm.
The girl had changed into clean robes and sat by the brazier drying her wet hair, slowly sipping a bowl of ginger soup in her hands.
Hearing the sound, she lifted her head from the bowl, her large dark eyes looking at him.
“So now your identity is no longer the pitiful child who lost her mother and traveled thousands of miles to find her father,” A’Jiu raised an eyebrow and said coldly. “But rather an infatuated person willing to die for a handsome, brave, and kind postal soldier?”
A’Fu couldn’t help herself—she burst out laughing.