Hearing Liu Jingyue's inner thoughts, Ye Xi was also taken aback and subconsciously turned to look at her.
But this was not the time to be in a daze.
The prey at hand was about to slip away. How could the Holy Master be willing to let that happen?
He fought back Chou Sigong and Lu Qiong with all his might and then sent out all his hidden weapons straight towards Ye Xi and Liu Jingyue.
The two were caught off guard. The sharp silver needles whistled through the air and instantly pierced into their arms.
The pain made them both grunt involuntarily and they both tumbled to the ground.
"Madam!"
Lu Qiong and Chou Sigong shouted in alarm and rushed over together to help Liu Jingyue.
The Holy Master's target was Ye Xi, so he didn't have time to care about them. Like a phantom, he flashed to Ye Xi's side and reached out to grab her arm.
In the blink of an eye—
A flash of silver cold light. A fierce sword aura suddenly came from behind Ye Xi, aiming straight at the Holy Master's vital point from a tricky angle.
The sword intent was murderous, full of the master's fierce anger as if he wanted to cut the Holy Master into pieces.
The Holy Master was so intent on grabbing Ye Xi that he couldn't dodge in time. He was stabbed in the left shoulder by Yi Yuan, who had arrived later, full of anger.
Mian Xiao followed closely and raised his sword to slash at the Holy Master's neck.
Chou Sigong from behind also rushed up at Liu Jingyue's signal.
The three of them instantly engaged in a fight.
Yi Yuan retracted his long sword and turned around to hug Ye Xi.
"Xiaoxi..."
Yi Yuan murmured.
The familiar smell and the soft touch of the body in his arms made Yi Yuan's eyes involuntarily turn red.
The force on her body was so tight that Ye Xi could hardly breathe. She could feel Yi Yuan's suppressed fear and trembling.
The uneasiness and longing that she had held back for so many days now poured out in this familiar embrace. But she had no strength and couldn't speak. She couldn't hug Yi Yuan back or respond to him.
However, this moment of tenderness lasted only for a short while. The Holy Master, who was fighting with Mian Xiao and Chou Sigong, saw that the situation was not good and was about to slip away.
How could Yi Yuan let him succeed? He carefully placed Ye Xi aside and gently instructed:
"Wait for me for a while. I'll catch someone and come back."
After saying that, he looked at Ye Xi, who was smiling and nodding, with reluctance, kissed her forehead lightly, and then flew away with his sword.
Knowing that he couldn't take Ye Xi away today, the Holy Master was so angry that he almost spat out blood. He had calculated everything, but he didn't expect Liu Jingyue to appear out of nowhere and mess up all his plans.
But no matter how unwilling he was, the situation was a foregone conclusion. For now, the only thing he could do was to escape first.
After all, as long as the green mountains remain, there will always be firewood. He had acted so hastily before because he had been looking for Ye Xi for so long. Once he finally confirmed her whereabouts, he was afraid that something might go wrong again, so he was eager to take her away. Anyway, the day was not yet here. Since he really couldn't take her away today, he might as well wait a little longer.
Thinking of this, the Holy Master simply waved his sleeve and threw out the poisonous smoke in his sleeve. Taking advantage of the moment when the others stopped to cover their noses, he turned around and leaped away.
"Mian Xiao!"
Yi Yuan shouted coldly:
"Chase!"
Liu Jingyue also shouted:
"Sigong, follow!"
The two responded respectively and chased after the Holy Master one after another.
Yi Yuan was afraid that something might happen to Ye Xi, so he didn't go with them.
At Liu Jingyue's sincere invitation, he picked Ye Xi up by the waist and went to her carriage with Liu Jingyue, who was supported by Lu Qiong, to take a temporary rest.
After everyone got on the carriage, Lu Qiong treated the wounds of Ye Xi and Liu Jingyue inside the carriage. Yi Yuan stood outside the carriage and thanked Liu Jingyue seriously:
"Thank you, Madam, for what happened today."
"Xiaoxi is as important as my life to me. Madam saving her is like saving me. I will definitely repay this kindness."
"I don't know Madam's name. Do you have any wishes? As long as I can do it, Madam can just ask. Don't be polite."
Yi Yuan's words were truly sincere. Even Lu Qiong, who was most disdainful of love affairs, turned to look at Ye Xi.
Liu Jingyue looked at Ye Xi beside her with a complicated look in her eyes. Ye Xi's eyes were as bright as glass beads and were looking at her. Liu Jingyue's mind was in turmoil and she didn't know how to speak for a moment.
She wanted to say that she just happened to pass by and helped out by the way, so there was no need to worry about it; she wanted to say that she was extremely lucky that she had been a bit more suspicious today and saved Ye Xi. She was happier than Yi Yuan; she wanted to say that this was really her own flesh and blood that she had carried for ten months and almost died to give birth to!
But she couldn't.
And she wasn't qualified to either.
Her Yingying... for so many years, so many years... had suddenly appeared in front of her like this. But she didn't even dare to reach out and touch her head.
It seemed as if there was a ball of cotton stuck in her throat. She couldn't swallow it or spit it out. It made Liu Jing's nose sour and her eyes turn red.
"I... my surname is Liu,"
Liu Jingyue avoided Ye Xi's gaze and tried her best to look calm on the surface;
"I later married into the Yun family and became Yun Weisheng's wife. Your Highness the Prince of Yu'an can just call me Madam Yun."
"Let's not talk about the reward for now. I'd like to ask about the two of you first."
Maybe she felt that it was a bit inappropriate to speak in such an elder-like way with her current identity, so Liu Jingyue added:
"You two know that I've been on the border all year round and know very little about the affairs in the capital."
"I only recently heard that Ying..."
She almost said the wrong thing. Liu Jingyue paused and glanced at Ye Xi beside her and said:
"I heard that because of some things, Miss Ye had an accident and was kidnapped. Your Highness is so affectionate that you personally led people to look for her as soon as you woke up from a serious illness. As for the rest, I know nothing."
"Just today is such a good opportunity. I'd like to ask Your Highness: How did you and Miss Ye meet? Are you engaged? I'm not well-informed on the border. I heard that Miss Ye's parents treated her badly. How did the two of you get engaged?"
"Your Highness is truly sincere to Miss Ye. I've seen it with my own eyes. But I don't know how sincere this sincerity is? How long will it last? How many concubines does Your Highness plan to take in the future?"
As she said this, she turned to Ye Xi. She endured and endured before finally suppressing the urge to touch her face. She just lovingly smoothed the stray hair beside her ear and said:
"Why did you fall in love with the Prince of Yu'an? You must have attracted a lot of jealousy in the capital."
Liu Jingyue's series of questions left everyone a little stunned.
It sounded strange for a person who had just met for the first time to ask such questions full of a mother's loving care.
Ye Xi remembered the "Yingying" she had heard in Liu Jingyue's heart before. Her heart skipped a beat.
A guess suddenly flashed through her mind. Involuntarily, she moved towards Liu Jingyue, trying to get closer to her to hear what she was thinking in her heart and see if it was consistent with her guess.
But Liu Jingyue probably felt guilty in her heart, so she subconsciously avoided Ye Xi who was moving towards her.
Ye Xi was stunned. Before she could turn her thoughts around, she heard Yi Yuan's voice outside:
"It's a long story, but Xiaoxi and I are indeed engaged. It's just a little different from the usual engagement by the order of parents..."
Yi Yuan briefly told the unimportant parts of how he and Ye Xi met and supported each other. Then he said seriously:
"I won't hide it from Madam Yun. Before I met Xiaoxi, I had already made up my mind to live alone for the rest of my life. Later, when I met Xiaoxi, I just felt that the world was interesting."
"Having her in my life is enough for me. As for concubines and maidservants, not only in this life but also in the next life, I will never have any."