Good Ending: She Swears She Will Not Let Him Die!

Chapter 198: Chapter 197: Night Visit

In the still of the night, the sound was abrupt yet distinct.

Du Yunluo was puzzled. Who would be knocking on the window in the middle of the night?

Although Princess Nanyan had mentioned that a message could come at the third or fourth hour of the night, the messenger would surely knock on the door, not the window.

However, since this was the Royal Palace, it was unlikely that any criminal would dare commit mischief in the dead of night.

Holding an oil lamp, Du Yunluo walked to the north window. Without opening it, she asked, ”Who’s outside?”

The lamplight cast a shadow on the window, and Du Yunluo heard the person outside chuckle softly and call, ”Yunluo.”

The familiar voice made Du Yunluo’s hand tremble, nearly toppling the oil lamp.

She placed the lamp aside and pushed open the window, wanting to ask him if he knew what hour it was and what he meant by coming to knock on her window as a princely heir!

It was one thing to avoid talking during the day, but at night, if discovered, even if they were an engaged couple, it would still spark gossip.

No matter how thick-skinned Du Yunluo was, she had to care about such rumors.

If word reached Mrs. Zhen, she’d undoubtedly scold her with a feather duster. If it spread to the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion, wouldn’t she once again find herself in disfavor with Madam Wu and Mrs. Zhou before even marrying in?

Her mind raced with thoughts, but upon opening the window and seeing Mu Lianxiao’s familiar smile, Du Yunluo found herself speechless.

She truly missed him, yearned for him...

The two stood separated by the window, the oil lamp illuminating half of Du Yunluo’s face from behind.

The lamplight made Du Yunluo’s cheeks look as smooth as jade, her eyes bright, long eyelashes fluttering slightly, casting an arc-shaped shadow under her eyes. Her hair, freshly washed, was loosely tied with a simple ribbon, revealing her round earlobes.

This version of Du Yunluo was even more beautiful than during the day.

Mu Lianxiao couldn’t tear his eyes away, staring at Du Yunluo with a burning gaze.

Du Yunluo’s face flushed, yet she didn’t avoid his gaze and asked softly, ”What did you come to tell me?”

Mu Lianxiao propped a hand on the window frame, leaning slightly forward, ”Were you worried?”

”I...” Du Yunluo started, recalling him riding off, the conversation she had with Nanyan and Huang Jie, and hummed softly, ”Yes, I was worried.”

With a soft, tender voice admitting worry, Mu Lianxiao knew Du Yunluo was straightforward but didn’t expect her to show concern so openly. His heart stirred with guilt and tenderness, wanting to reach out and brush her forehead. But as he lifted his hand from his side, he quickly lowered it.

Du Yunluo, sharp-eyed, noticed immediately and widened her eyes, asking, ”What happened to your hand?”

At this hour, the palace gates were closed. If Mu Lianxiao dared to climb the wall to see her, surely he wouldn’t be afraid to reach out to her?

Just brushing her forehead—it’s not like he hadn’t done it before.

Mu Lianxiao pursed his lips without answering.

Du Yunluo became more certain, reaching out to grab Mu Lianxiao’s right hand. The window was just that big, and as she lunged forward, her upper body practically fell onto him, causing him to quickly steady her.

With his left hand.

Du Yunluo glanced at the hand supporting her shoulder and pouted, ”What happened to your right hand?”

By this point, Mu Lianxiao knew he couldn’t hide it, so he said, ”Just a small injury, it’s nothing serious.”

Du Yunluo didn’t believe him. Just as she was about to speak, outside footsteps sounded like those of a night patrol palace attendant.

With sharp ears, Mu Lianxiao heard it too and gestured for silence, whispering, ”I’ll head back first.”

Du Yunluo blinked, unwilling to let him slip away when they hadn’t even exchanged many words, nor did she understand the extent of his injury.

”Come in,” Du Yunluo said, stepping back two paces.

Mu Lianxiao was taken aback, but seeing Du Yunluo’s confident demeanor, he couldn’t help but smile. With his left hand, he supported himself on the window ledge and jumped in lightly.

Du Yunluo circled around him to close the window, imitating him by placing her slender fingers over her lips and signaling for silence: ”Jin Ling is asleep in the room opposite; don’t frighten her.”

If Jin Ling heard a man’s voice in the room, she would probably scream.

Du Yunluo looked at Mu Lianxiao, who was dressed in black, his hem damp with the night’s dew. His right hand’s injury was not visible from the outside; it was unclear whether the arm, wrist, or palm was hurt.

This time, Du Yunluo didn’t dare to reach out and grab him, fearing she might accidentally touch the injury: ”Where exactly are you hurt?”

Mu Lianxiao raised his right hand, rolling up his sleeve to reveal a bandaged arm: ”Just a minor injury.”

”Hmph.” Du Yunluo snorted softly.

Who was he trying to fool? If it were truly a minor injury, why was the entire arm wrapped up, almost like a rice dumpling?

Mu Lianxiao’s sleeves were narrow and could only be rolled up to his elbow. Du Yunluo surmised that the upper part of his arm might also be injured. Otherwise, if only the lower part were hurt, Mu Lianxiao wouldn’t be unable to lift his hand at all.

Du Yunluo chose not to expose him further—she couldn’t possibly force him to strip off his clothes to show her the injury, could she?

Pretending ignorance, Du Yunluo asked, ”How did you get hurt?”

Mu Lianxiao touched his nose and said, ”Got injured on the hunting ground.”

Such a simple answer naturally wouldn’t suffice, and Mu Lianxiao knew it, so he recounted the events in detail to Du Yunluo.

With the flood situation severe in De’an, he had come directly to report to the Holy Emperor at the hunting ground. The Emperor had intended for him to rest a night at the traveling palace before heading back to De’an the next day.

Unexpectedly, soldiers reported that Li Ke and his companions couldn’t be found, prompting Mu Lianxiao to set out on horseback to search for them immediately.

The hunting ground was vast, and with night having fallen, even with torches, visibility was poor.

The search lasted over an hour before Mu Lianxiao caught a cry from Li Ke, giving him a direction.

It was deep within the forest, and horseback was less efficient than feet.

Mu Lianxiao charged in with a torch, spotting Li Ke and others engaging with a blind old bear from a distance, while an injured guard lay on the ground, gasping for air.

That old bear stood three people tall, a one-eyed beast with a fiery temper. Li Ke and his group had tangled with it for quite a while, managing only one injured guard amidst their struggle. Escaping easily was simply impossible.

Thankfully, Mu Lianxiao arrived soon followed by several guards, allowing them to subdue the old bear with combined effort.

In the process, Mu Lianxiao injured his arm and Li Luan hurt his leg. Fortunately, they were merely surface wounds, having not affected tendons or bones.

Upon returning to camp, the Imperial Physician dressed their injuries. Princess Nanyan attended to Li Luan, even considering sending someone to deliver news to Du Yunlo.

”And then you told the Princess that you would come yourself?” Du Yunluo eyed Mu Lianxiao.

Mu Lianxiao coughed lightly, a hint of red on his cheeks: ”No, I just said I’d relay the message to you.”

It was fortunate that Li Luan was injured, keeping Nanyan busy for a while; otherwise, she’d surely laugh at her until the end of time.