The Incident

Lu Tong Xiao's arms held the soft fragrant body above him. During his time in Xin, the reminder of this mild sweet fragrance had kept him up for nights. Only he knew how he had spent those sleepless nights, occupied in her thoughts.

Under the calm front, his scorching eyes traced every inch of Bai Yu Yan's face as if he was silently trying to etch it to his memory. Her face was so close to him that he could even count the long lashes gently covering the pair of bright eyes.

All these days when he was away from her, there were so many things in his heart that he wanted to say to her but seeing her clear bright eyes which seemed to hold many secrets, Lu Tong Xiao didn't know where to start. In front of his wife, everything else appeared meaningless.

Just this person alone was important.

"What is playing inside my wife's mind?" asked Lu Tong Xiao as his thumb gently brushed against her cheek.

Bai Yu Yan looked at the man's serious face as if he was genuinely asking the question. But the subtle curl hanging on his lips made her realise that he was actually teasing her.

Suddenly, Bai Yu Yan smiled like a flower. Sliding her finger across Lu Tong Xiao's face, she asked, "Your Excellency have you heard this saying? Saving beauty by the day and playing hooligan by the night!"

Lu Tong Xiao slightly raised his brow. He could detect a faint anger in her voice that she was trying to hide with sarcasm.

The hold on her waist tightened as he said, "Although this lord has never played hooligan with anyone but if you say so, with my wife, it does not seem like a bad idea. In fact this lord has every right to do it."

Seeing he was focusing on the less important part, Bai Yu Yan saw it as Lu Tong Xiao evading the topic. Without a care, she rolled her eyes and pushed at his chest, trying to get up. She didn't see any point in continuing the conversation.

However, the man didn't think they were done yet. His both hands locked behind her shoulder without any intent of letting her go.

"You are angry," he said. And it was not a question.

"I am not. Your Excellency, let go of me," struggled Bai Yu Yan while being careful of his wound but to no avail. His hands were like a pair of strong iron chains, binding the two of them together.

Lu Tong Xiao had never had to coax anyone in his life. Without him having to say a word, the people he knew would drop to their knees themselves, getting angry at him was an outlandish matter. So this situation was rather novel for him.

Suddenly, Bai Yu Yan heard a hiss and a sharp intake of breath. Her movements immediately came to a halt and her guilty eyes looked at him with anxiousness.

"What happened? Where does it hurt?" she asked with nervousness. She wanted to slap herself for using force on the injured man.

"It's okay. Don't move," said Lu Tong Xiao with furrowed brows like he was in pain. Seeing this, Bai Yu Yan really didn't move anymore. As she obediently sat without causing any trouble, she missed the smile on the man's face.

Even in this state, his movements were like a panther. Under her guilty conscience, he had already pulled her down to the wide bed and onto the soft mattress. Only, his wound made it difficult for him to gather her in his embrace. Still, he was already satisfied with having this person beside him.

Bai Yu Yan lied sideways beside Lu Tong Xiao with her body turned towards him. Lying on his uninjured part, Lu Tong Xiao leisurely hung his arm on her waist and looked at her in the eyes.

Realizing his hand could easily make a circle around her waist, his brows furrowed. Was this woman not eating properly these days? It seems he has to monitor her meals from now on, he thought.

Even his languid appearance was so naturally graceful.

Without taking her eyes off of him, she directly asked, "Will you tell me now about what happened?"

Bai Yu Yan's face clearly told him that if he evaded the topic, she would not care about him anymore.

Lu Tong Xiao sighed and ran his fingers on her back. Remembering the incident of that day, he recounted, "When we were returning from the south border, there were a group of men waiting to ambush us on the way. That place is notorious as the hunting ground of the bandits. Due to the terrain of the south, it is very easy for the bandits to loot the travellers, especially the nobles. And because of their number, even the bodyguards are unable to do anything against them."

"So you were attacked by the bandits?" asked Bai Yu Yan, raising her head to look at the man.

Looking at her serious little face, Lu Tong Xiao smiled and shook his head, "We had thought that at the beginning. They were in usual commoner's clothes with half their face covered up. No one would think otherwise looking at their appearance. But when they started attacking, I realised that it was not the first time I was fighting these people."

Bai Yu Yan's hand was clutching the cover underneath. She raised her upper body a little in excitement and asked, "You had fought them before? Did you know who they were?"

With male lead halo, Bai Yu Yan had thought that Lu Tong Xiao had an easy life without any obstacles. But now, her perception had changed towards the man. And because there were no such scenes in the story, she was even more curious about what happened in reality.

Lu Tong Xiao pulled down the agitated woman to the bed and continued embracing her while saying, "Do you remember the last time I was injured? They were the same group of men. And their martial art is not like those of the normal bandit. They were trained in martial arts and were much stronger than the regular soldiers."

When the group had surrounded them, while Lu Tong Xiao and his men had to fight them, he had strictly instructed Princess Xin An Rou to not take even a step outside the carriage. No matter the number of people on the other side, he and his men were enough to take care of them all.

However, Xin An Rou had stubbornly come out with her sword saying she could lend them a hand in defeating those men. For the first few minutes, she was still able to fight them, however, after a certain time, Lu Tong Xiao had to fight the men on his side while defending the attacks for the Princess.

Lu Tong Xiao looked at Bai Yu Yan's worried face. Her brows were scrunched up together and she appeared to be seriously thinking about something. He deliberately left out that part to not agitate her further. Although he was only fulfilling the duty assigned to him by the Emperor, her earlier sarcastic statement gave him a feeling that it could lead her to misunderstand his intention.

Bai Yu Yan's hand unconsciously touched the jade pendant on her chest. No one in Xin kingdom would dare to attack their Prime Minister, much less Lu Tong Xiao. Knowing that they were the same group of people, Bai Yu Yan felt the matter was not so simple. Her decision to leave the book halfway was gnawing at her heart. If only she knew what would happen, she would have been able to help Lu Tong Xiao, she thought while giving a long sigh.

"What is troubling my wife? Aren't I fine now, en?" asked Lu Tong Xiao as he lifted her chin to look at her face properly. His heart rippled looking at her biting on her lips, making his eyes turn ink dark.

"Maybe this husband can do something to ease my wife's trouble?" He met Bai Yu Yan's eyes with all seriousness. On the other hand, his fingers tenderly caressed her cheeks, not giving her a chance to think about anything.

Although his whisper was causing a tingling sensation in her ear, Bai Yu Yan raised her brow at the man, silently telling him what he was getting at.

"Come a little closer, I can't speak too loud."

Just as Bai Yu Yan was an inch away from him, Lu Tong Xiao's eyes glinted like that of an eager predator. His solid chest rumbled with a low victorious chuckle as the naive prey was caught off guard.