"Whoosh..."
An arrow struck Liu Zhenghui right in the back.
Gu Liyue hadn't even reacted yet when Liu Zhenghui fell on top of her, lifeless.
Liu Qinting let out a scream. Then she saw a man on a fine horse. He seemed like a god descending from the sky, with an arrow still nocked on his bow.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
Three arrows were stuck in Liu Zhenghui's back.
Lu Jinchen didn't even glance at Liu Qinting. He lifted the completely dead Liu Zhenghui off. On the ground, Gu Liyue was covering her clothes, with blood all over her face and body.
Her clothes had been torn open, revealing her fair shoulders, which were then stained red with fresh blood, a sight that was extremely shocking.
Lu Jinchen took off his upper - garment and wrapped Gu Liyue in it. He picked her up and softly asked, "Where are you hurt?"
Only then did Gu Liyue react. Her tears welled up even more. Without bothering to answer, she just buried her face in his arms and wailed loudly.
Lu Jinchen's guards arrived quickly. They surrounded the place tightly and also arrested Liu Qinting.
Lu Jinchen held Gu Liyue in his arms and didn't move. He stared directly at the corpse on the ground. After a long time, he said again, "Liyue, don't be afraid. I'm here. Let's go back first and see where you're hurt."
Gu Liyue then shook her head. "I'm not hurt... I... I killed someone..."
Lu Jinchen held her hand. He could feel her whole body trembling, but he could also tell that she should not be injured. The wounds on the man on the ground's back were from the arrows he shot. One of the man's eyes was covered and still oozing blood. It seemed that Gu Liyue had done that.
He felt a bit relieved. "It wasn't you. I killed him. Liyue, don't be afraid. He's already dead."
Dead?
Gu Liyue looked up in a daze. Meeting Liu Zhenghui's terrifying face, she started crying again. She shook her head and said, "No, I killed him. I just stabbed the jade hairpin into his eye like this. Jinchen, I killed someone. What should I do? I killed someone!"
"He deserved to die. You did a good job!" Lu Jinchen said in a low voice. "Liyue, you must remember that being soft - hearted towards the evil is being cruel to our own people."
He picked Gu Liyue up. When he was about to get on the horse, Gu Liyue grabbed him.
"Jinchen... The jade hairpin..."
The jade hairpin had rolled into the grass nearby, covered in fresh blood.
Lu Jinchen paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Don't take it."
But Gu Liyue insisted on pushing him away. She got up by herself and slowly walked up to the jade hairpin. She picked it up and wiped it with her clothes. The bloodstains couldn't be wiped clean. She looked at it and didn't do anything else. She just carefully put the jade hairpin into her sleeve.
"This was the first gift you gave me. I can't lose it."
Lu Jinchen asked, "Aren't you afraid?"
Gu Liyue fell silent. Only after getting on the horse did she whisper, "Will being afraid make everything as if it never happened?"
Lu Jinchen's body trembled. He held Gu Liyue even tighter.
Lu Jinchen carried the blood - covered Gu Liyue all the way to the entrance of the Marquis Mansion. Outside the mansion, he met Jiang Che who was escorting Feng Lanqing over. They all looked at each other in surprise.
Jiang Che ran over nervously and asked, "What's wrong with Liyue?"
Lu Jinchen was expressionless. He motioned for his attendant to go and call someone, and then carefully carried Gu Liyue off the horse.
Not all the bloodstains on Gu Liyue's face had been wiped off. She was wearing Lu Jinchen's outer garment, which was so big that it made her look even more haggard. She forced a smile at Jiang Che. "Thank you, Young Master Jiang. I'm fine."
How could this look like she was fine? Jiang Che could tell from Lu Jinchen's reaction that something must have happened to Gu Liyue. Immediately, he felt annoyed. "It's my fault. I should have sent you back first."
When the whole Gu family got the news, they were extremely worried. When Gu Liyue entered the main hall, the old master of the Gu family also came out. He supported his granddaughter and looked her up and down, asking in a hurry, "What happened? Lu Jinchen, Jiang Che, why are you here?"
Jiang Che briefly told what had happened today and kept apologizing. "I should have sent Liyue home first and then figured out how to deal with that man. I didn't expect to be negligent for a moment and let the evil man take advantage of the situation."
He didn't even expect that there would be a follow - up to this incident.
Lu Jinchen hesitated for a moment, then bowed and said, "General Gu, it's my fault. I... was worried about Liyue, so I placed two people beside her."
Jiang Che's eyes widened. "You placed two people? No, if you placed people, how could she still be in danger? First, that Feng Lanqing harassed her and kept saying that he wanted to marry Gu Liyue. And then... No, if you placed people, how could something still happen to her? Is she injured?"
The old lady of the Gu family and Mrs. Qin also became anxious. "Injured? Is Liyue injured?"
Gu Liyue quickly shook her head. "No, Grandmother. I'm fine. I'm just a bit scared. I..."
Her face was pale, with a large amount of bloodstains on it. How could this look like she was fine?
The old lady held Gu Liyue's face in her hands, her eyes turning red. "Silly girl, this is home. What can't you say? You have so much blood on you and still keep saying you're fine?"
Gu Liyue's lips were still a bit trembling. After a long time, she gritted her teeth and said, "Grandmother, I'm really fine. It's just... I killed someone."
She was extremely scared. She had held the jade hairpin and stabbed it hard into Liu Zhenghui's eye. A hole had been stabbed in Liu Zhenghui's eye, and black - looking blood was gushing out. He was so terrifying. He was like a man - eating devil.
Gu Liyue held the blood - stained jade hairpin, and tears poured out. "Grandmother, I killed someone."
The old lady hugged Gu Liyue tightly. "Liyue, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. It's okay. Did you act because that bad guy wanted to hurt you?"
Gu Liyue sobbed and nodded.
The old lady let out a sigh of relief. "It's okay. You were just defending yourself."
Lu Jinchen bowed and said, "She only injured him. I killed the man."
The old master of the Gu family pondered for a moment and then said, "Now is not the time to discuss this. Since we've caught the instigators, we should question them properly. Jiang Che, what's the name of the man you caught?"
"Feng Lanqing."
The old lady's heart skipped a beat. Just now, she had only been concerned about her granddaughter and hadn't listened carefully to what Jiang Che had said about that man. Now that it was clear, wasn't Feng Lanqing Gu Liyue's former fiancé?
Lu Jinchen nodded and said, "Feng Lanqing was Liyue's former fiancé. He had an affair with Liyue's cousin, which eventually forced Liyue to break off the engagement. I once met him in Cangyun County. He's really not a good person. He looked down on Liyue very much in his words."
The old lady was first surprised that Lu Jinchen had actually met Feng Lanqing, and then she was happy. Liyue's former engagement couldn't be hidden. Since Lu Jinchen knew about it and still treated Liyue well, it meant that he had feelings for Liyue in his heart.
Lu Jinchen continued, "The evil man I shot and killed is named Liu Zhenghui. The one beside him who bullied Liyue with him is named Liu Qinting. These two are siblings, and they are Liyue's cousins from her maternal uncle's family. Moreover, that Feng Lanqing is exactly Liu Qinting's husband."
Hearing this, the old master of the Gu family's gaze darkened terribly. "The Liu family has quite a lot of nerve. Originally, no matter what, they were at least related to Liyue, so we didn't take harsh measures against them. It seems that we were too soft - hearted!"