Shen Yiru happily followed behind Lou Xingzhou without a single complaint.
When they had nowhere to stay at night, they made do in the forest. Lou Xingzhou would give his outer robe to Shen Yiru to prevent her from catching a cold at night.
"Lou Xingzhou, the roasted rabbit meat you made is so delicious. You're amazing!"
Lou Xingzhou watched Shen Yiru sitting beside the bonfire, happily munching on a rabbit leg. For some reason, he felt an indescribable sense of contentment in his heart.
"If... Watch out!" Before Lou Xingzhou could finish his sentence, he saw a group of black - clothed men rushing out from one side. He knew they must be after him.
"Run! Get out of here!" Lou Xingzhou pushed Shen Yiru away.
"Lou Xingzhou!" Shen Yiru watched Lou Xingzhou fighting alone. She wanted to help but was afraid of being a burden to him.
"Lou Xingzhou, be careful!" Shen Yiru saw an arrow flying towards Lou Xingzhou's back. But Lou Xingzhou didn't notice. Without thinking, Shen Yiru rushed over and used her body to block the deadly arrow for him.
"Puff..."
Hearing the sound behind him, Lou Xingzhou turned around and saw Shen Yiru taking the arrow for him.
"Shen Yiru!" Without hesitation, Lou Xingzhou stopped fighting, picked up Shen Yiru and ran. The black - clothed men behind chased after them relentlessly. Soon, Lou Xingzhou found there was no way ahead.
He looked at the pursuers behind him, then at Shen Yiru in his arms. Without hesitation, he jumped off the cliff. When the black - clothed men caught up, they only saw Lou Xingzhou holding Shen Yiru and jumping off.
"Jumping off such a high cliff, they must be dead. Let's go back and report."
At the bottom of the cliff, they were caught by a tree on the cliffside.
Lou Xingzhou looked down. There was a river below. Jumping into the river, they still had a chance of survival. But if they didn't jump, looking at Shen Yiru, her injury couldn't wait. She had to be treated as soon as possible.
Without further hesitation, Lou Xingzhou jumped off the cliff with Shen Yiru in his arms. In mid - air, he adjusted their position and fell rapidly with Shen Yiru in his arms.
"Splash - "
Lou Xingzhou's back hit the water hard due to the impact and he fainted. But before losing consciousness, he still held Shen Yiru tightly in his arms, afraid that the current would separate them.
"Grandpa, look, there are two people in the river."
"You stay on the shore. Grandpa will go down to save them. Do you hear me?"
"Okay." The five - year - old child obediently replied.
When Lou Xingzhou woke up again, he was in a dilapidated house. He moved his body and found himself sore all over.
Shen Yiru! Lou Xingzhou struggled to sit up, trying to get out of bed to find Shen Yiru. But before he could get up, he fell back.
"Cough... Cough..."
"Brother, you're awake? Grandpa! This brother is awake." The five - year - old child shouted loudly to call the old man.
"Have you seen the girl who was with me?"
"You mean the girl who was shot by an arrow. She was seriously injured, but we've already called a doctor to see her."
"Where is she now?"
"She's in the next room. I'll help you over."
Lou Xingzhou saw Shen Yiru lying on the bed, pale - faced. His heart ached.
"You silly girl, you must get better soon. When you're better, we'll be together, okay?" Lou Xingzhou stroked Shen Yiru's face with a tenderness that Shen Yiru had never seen before.
"Uncle, can we bother you for a while?"
"Hey, of course you can. There are only me and my grandson in this family. You can stay as long as you like."
"Thank you, Uncle."
In the following days, Lou Xingzhou took care of Shen Yiru personally.
When Shen Yiru opened her eyes, she saw Lou Xingzhou holding a towel and wiping her face. Seeing her awake, Lou Xingzhou was a bit slow to react.
"You..." Are you okay?
"Yiru, you're finally awake. Why are you so silly? Why did you block that arrow for me? Do you know how dangerous that was?"
Lou Xingzhou hugged Shen Yiru tightly. If you paid close attention, you could even notice that he was slightly trembling.
"I'm fine. I just didn't want you to get hurt at that time. Look, I'm okay."
"Shen Yiru, let's be together."
"... What did you say?" Shen Yiru stared at Lou Xingzhou in disbelief with wide eyes. "If you're just with me out of guilt because I blocked that arrow for you, you don't have to do this."
"I like you as a person. I'm greedy. I want your heart to like me too." So you don't have to compromise for me.
"I didn't think that way. Actually, I've had a crush on you since you left the capital with me. I just never said it out. Shen Yiru, I'm serious about you."
"Let's settle down in this village from now on. We'll cultivate a piece of land and raise some chickens and ducks. We'll live a simple life, okay?"
Listening to his words, Shen Yiru was already in floods of tears. She never thought she would finally wait for this day.
"... Okay... I'm willing. Lou Xingzhou, let's live here." No matter what kind of life it was, she was willing to live with him as long as he was by her side...
After they recovered from their injuries in Uncle's house, they built a house next to Uncle's and lived a life of working at sunrise and resting at sunset every day.
"Ouch, A Ru, slow down. You're pregnant. Be careful!" Yuan Yuhan followed A Ru with a bitter face, carefully afraid that A Ru might accidentally fall.
"Yuan Yuhan, I want to go out! I want to go out! I'm going crazy staying in the mansion. If you don't let me out today, I'll sneak out when you're not around some other day. I'll make you anxious!"
"Don't, don't... A Ru, I'll take you out today. But you can't run around. If you're tired, you must tell me."
"Got it. You're so wordy."
Since A Ru got pregnant, her temper had become more and more irritable. She was dissatisfied with everyone, especially Yuan Yuhan. She would often pick on Yuan Yuhan. But Yuan Yuhan never complained. He even enjoyed it.
Yuan Yuhan took A Ru walking and stopping all the way until they came to Jing Xinche's mansion. "Come on, Yuan Yuhan, let's go and have a look at the mansion of the Marquis of Zhongning."
"Hey, A Ru, slow down!" This ancestor...
When A Ru came in, she saw Lian'er throwing a tantrum at Hong Yi, and Hong Yi was at a loss trying to comfort Lian'er. Actually, it wasn't a big deal. But if there wasn't the shiny - headed Master Kongtong watching the show beside them, A Ru wouldn't have bothered to get involved.
"What are you looking at?"