Chapter 91: Embrace

Mrs. Li gave orders to the household servants, overseeing the handover of duties, all of which required some time. But that’s a story for later.

Continuing, he mentioned that Lu Chengxiao returned to the inn to escape, blocking Liu Yu outside the door.

Concerning Lu Chengxiao being ambushed, Liu Yu was truly unsure about what medicine he had been given and in what dosage. Regardless, she was deeply concerned. When Liu Yanan returned, she informed her own elder brother of the situation.

No one expected such an ordinary visit to lead to such an incident. Upon hearing this, Liu Yanan’s expression turned particularly grim. Although the details of his father and uncle’s past troubles were not elaborated by Wei Shi, the three siblings of the Liu family knew some of it.

Immediately, they inquired about the location of a medical clinic and brought an elderly doctor.

At that time, Lu Chengxiao’s room was tightly locked, and Liu Yu returned to her own room. Accompanied by the doctor, Liu Yanan went to knock on Lu Chengxiao’s door.

Fortunately, the cold water had some effect. Lu Chengxiao heard Liu Yanan saying that they had already summoned the doctor from outside the door. He came out directly from the bathtub and opened the door.

His clothes were soaked through, but fortunately, it was summer, so he didn’t suffer any harm from the cold water. After changing into dry clothes and receiving acupuncture from the doctor, as well as brewing some medicine in the inn’s kitchen, he drank a large bowl of medicinal soup and felt much better.

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As long as they cared about their sister, as older brothers, they couldn’t just ignore such incidents. However, the acupuncture needles were still on Lu Chengxiao’s body, and the doctor was still waiting next door. They naturally didn’t rush to ask questions. Moreover, if Lu Chengxiao wanted to explain, he didn’t need them to ask. He would explain to Liu Yu himself at least, if not to them.

Seeing that it was about time to remove the needles, the old doctor got up to remove them. Such illnesses were not common, especially among men. Most of the time, after relieving the poisoning, it would be fine.

After a few instructions, the old doctor was about to take his leave. Babao hurried to see him off and paid the medical expenses.

Only Lu Chengxiao and the Liu brothers were left in the room. Lu Chengxiao felt a bit awkward for a moment and said to Liu Yanping and Liu Yanan, “Today’s matter involves a woman’s reputation. Please allow me to explain to Yu’er alone later. Is that okay?”

Liu Yanping also understood the relationship between the Lu family and the Li family of Yuanzhou. If it was related to the Li family, Lu Chengxiao’s consideration for their reputation was understandable. Besides, they didn’t know what had happened exactly. It wasn’t appropriate to judge. Lu Chengxiao had this attitude and would explain to Liu Yu himself, which was enough.

He nodded and said, “Alright, Yu’er should know about it. Just hope you won’t deceive her.”

With these words, he meant that Lu Chengxiao should explain clearly the relationship between him and the person who drugged him today. Ultimately, he was afraid that besides Liu Yu, he might have entanglements with other women. If that was the case, they might have to reconsider the marriage.

“That’s natural.”

Lu Chengxiao didn’t want to wait any longer. He put on his coat, tidied himself up, and went to find Liu Yu.

Liu Yu had been in her room all along. She heard the commotion of Babao seeing the doctor off outside, and she was hesitating whether she could go out. Then she heard a knock on the door and hurried to open it, only to see Lu Chengxiao, whose complexion had already returned to normal.

Thinking of the situation just now, she felt awkward and didn’t know what to say for a moment. She bit her lip and asked, “Are you feeling better now?”

After asking, she wanted to bite her tongue. Why did that sound so strange…

Lu Chengxiao watched as her earlobes turned slightly red, a hint of amusement sparkling in his eyes. “I’m already fine, thank you for having Yanan help in summoning the doctor.”

Liu Yu nodded, not daring to continue the conversation. Lu Chengxiao smiled and said, “Perhaps you could let me in, and I’ll explain today’s events to you.”

“Oh, okay.” Liu Yu snapped back to reality and hurriedly invited him inside. To avoid suspicion, the door of the compartment was left open.

It was a suite. Upon entering, there was a table and chairs for receiving guests. Lu Chengxiao waited for her to come to his side before they walked in together. When they reached the table, instead of sitting down, Lu Chengxiao did something unexpected—he took her hand.

Liu Yu’s heart skipped a beat, and she nervously tried to pull away, but Lu Chengxiao held on.

“Yu’er.”

The name Yu’er, which he had murmured countless times in his heart when he was unconscious, now he didn’t want to change it back even when he was conscious. His voice was very soft, as if only the two of them could hear it in this room.

Liu Yu had heard many people call her that before, from Wang Shi to the girls she used to play with in the Liu family village, and even her elder uncle’s wife and several male cousins, as well as Uncle Lu’s family. It was clearly a familiar term of address, but coming from Lu Chengxiao, it carried a different kind of tenderness.

Her hand finally stopped struggling, allowing him to hold it.

A wave of joy surged in Lu Chengxiao’s heart, as if it could envelop his entire being, even tainting the air with sweetness. However, for Liu Yu, it felt hot, whether it was her ears or the hand held by him. It was a mixture of nervousness, sweetness, and a softness as if all her strength had been drained away.

She waited for Lu Chengxiao to say something, but he gently pulled her into his arms, and his free hand wrapped around her shoulders unexpectedly.

Liu Yu’s heart skipped a beat again. Instinctively, she wanted to step back, but he held her gently. “Just for a moment.”

Liu Yu stayed still, feeling a warmth spreading throughout her body.

Lu Chengxiao leaned his face against her shoulder, his breath brushing against her ear, and his voice was so soft, almost a whisper, “Yu’er, I’m a little scared.”

Scared of what, Lu Chengxiao didn’t dare to say.

For some reason, he had a feeling that if something really happened today and he refused to compromise, the Liu family, Liu Yu, and even the Lu family might not want him anymore. Perhaps, there was no longer any possibility between him and Liu Yu.

Just this thought alone brought a surge of panic.

Lu Chengxiao’s throat moved, and unable to help himself, he held her a little tighter, as if only by doing so could he prevent the hollow panic in his heart from spreading endlessly.

“Yu’er, I’ve only ever liked you.”

“I only like you, in the past, present, and future, there is no one else, and there will never be anyone else.”

His voice was very soft, but it carried a sincerity that could be felt, as well as a sense of cherish, perhaps even a fear of losing her.

Liu Yu didn’t say anything, but the hand hanging by her side trembled slightly. Finally, after a few times, those hands lifted up, and with gentle caution, they wrapped around the young man’s waist.

Lu Chengxiao’s body stiffened, his breath becoming slightly uneven, followed by a surge of joy, and he held Liu Yu even tighter.

He wanted to hold her tighter, fearing that she might be hurt, but if he couldn’t hold her tighter, the overwhelming joy, excitement, and infinite happiness surging in his heart seemed to have nowhere to go.

Even such an embrace was careful, protective, and cherished, requiring some force, daring to use some force, but also carefully considered in every thought and action, like an instinct as natural as breathing.

Yet precisely because of this, it made people feel a thousand emotions, a myriad of sweetness.

Liu Yu’s eyebrows curved like a crescent moon, and the corners of her lips couldn’t help but turn upwards, hiding the smile that had just bloomed in the corner of her mouth.

The slight weight on her shoulder seemed to carry a magical charm, anchoring itself in Lu Chengxiao’s heart.

The young man’s eyes were filled with laughter, and his cheeks lightly touched her hair.

If possible, Lu Chengxiao wished time would stop at this moment, so he could hold her like this forever. However, it was impossible. After countless thoughts in his heart, he finally let go of her.

Their eyes met again, and with a smile exchanged between them, the need for explanations seemed less important.

However, Lu Chengxiao still gestured for Liu Yu to sit down. As Liu Yu poured tea for him, Lu Chengxiao began to speak, “My adoptive father has a daughter named Yunbi, who is three years younger than me.”

Liu Yu smiled as she poured tea for herself as well, then placed the teapot back on the table, quietly listening to him speak.

“I have been studying at the Yuanzhou Academy for three years, and Zhongjue is my classmate. Because we are sworn brothers, our relationship is closer than with other classmates. Occasionally, I would be invited to the Li family, but I usually spent most of my time in Zhongjue’s study, rarely going elsewhere. I didn’t see Miss Li often, and even when we did, we didn’t exchange many words. Therefore, I never thought much about her.”

“This time, when I went there, Zhongjue was not there, so I was led to the study by his servant to wait for him. The tea had been tampered with when I sensed something was wrong, Miss Li entered the courtyard.”

Even though Liu Yu had been calm just now, hearing this, she couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous.

Lu Chengxiao met her gaze and said, “At that time, I was hiding in the study, and when I looked outside, I saw that she seemed to have been pushed in as well.”

Liu Yu raised an eyebrow.

Lu Chengxiao continued, “Perhaps she’s not entirely innocent either. When I was debating whether it was more appropriate to leave or to lock the study door, her maid locked the door from the outside. Miss Li, I saw, didn’t seem to want me to discover that she had come in. In fact, she seemed to want to leave.”

“And then?”

“And then…” Lu Chengxiao felt a bit embarrassed. “The drugs started to take effect, and I didn’t dare to stay at the Li family’s house any longer, so I jumped over the wall and ran away.”

Liu Yu hadn’t expected the situation to be like this at all. Her eyes widened slightly as she imagined the Li family’s girl inside the courtyard gate, her maid outside the gate, and Lu Chengxiao leaping over the wall. A smile unexpectedly crept up on her face, but she quickly realized it wasn’t appropriate to laugh at this moment, so she bit her lip and turned her head away to suppress it.

Seeing that she wasn’t upset, Lu Chengxiao continued, “This matter concerns a woman’s reputation, so I won’t go into detail with your second and third brothers. I’ll just explain it to you. The specifics of what happened are still unclear, and I don’t know if we’ll ever find out. But after today’s incident, I’ll try to avoid any further dealings with the Li family.”

It was a promise, born out of genuine fear.

Liu Yu nodded, then thought for a moment before asking, “Shall we go look for a dyeing workshop ourselves this afternoon?”

Lu Chengxiao considered it and nodded. “Alright, I’ll go discuss with your second and third brothers.”

Since he couldn’t stay in Liu Yu’s room for too long, they both walked out together. Liu Yanping and Liu Yanan were in the courtyard, but before Lu Chengxiao could speak to them, someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

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