Chapter 229: Untitled

Tan Yaoxian shook his head. He did not think she had implicated him in anything. So long as he could see her, any grievance he suffered was worth it. He truly did not want to be separated from her again.

Emotion surging, he took her soft hand in his and blurted, "Liuer, come with me!"

"Go?" Shao Liuer froze for a moment. Seeming to understand what he meant, she asked, "Where can we go?"

Tan Yaoxian said urgently, "Leave Beizhou. Go somewhere your family can't find you. I'll treat you well for the rest of my life. Will you come with me?"

As for Lu Shengzhong's idea of "cooking the raw rice into cooked rice," Tan Yaoxian had long since thrown it to the back of his mind.

For one thing, he simply could not bring himself to deceive Shao Liuer into doing something so despicable and shameless. Nor did he have any filthy thoughts of that sort now. All he wanted was to take her away and never be separated from her again. Shao Liuer stared at him blankly, not knowing how to answer.

She too had been impulsive in love, and she had been the one to take the initiative first, but she was more rational than he was.

The Shao family had weathered one upheaval after another, betraying the State of Yan for the State of Han and now commanding troops as a power unto themselves. She had personally witnessed that entire process. She had seen the cruelty of great armies slaughtering one another, seen human lives fall in swathes like worthless grass, seen blood flow in rivers. She knew what danger meant. Her breadth of experience was not something Tan Yaoxian, a sheltered scholar, could compare with.

She knew very well that Beizhou was under the Shao family's control, and her elder brother in particular was no simple man. How could escape possibly be so easy? Especially for two lone young people with no real abilities of their own. How were they supposed to flee? Even if they did escape, how were they supposed to survive in this chaotic age?

Disappointment showed faintly in Tan Yaoxian's eyes. "You don't want to?"

"No. I do!" Shao Liuer hurriedly shook her head. "But where can we go?"

Tan Yaoxian said, "Leave Beizhou. Go somewhere your family can't find you."

"All right!" Shao Liuer forced a smile, then suddenly opened her arms, wrapped them around his neck, and rested her head against his.

When she agreed, Tan Yaoxian was beside himself with joy. He held her tightly as though he had gained the entire world and could die without regret.

He had no idea how troubled Shao Liuer looked with her face against his shoulder. She truly did not believe the two of them could escape.

She understood Tan Yaoxian's simplicity as well, but that was one of the things she liked about him. She had agreed despite knowing they were unlikely to escape because she did not want to hurt him.

"Would you marry me?" Shao Liuer suddenly murmured beside his ear.

Tan Yaoxian nodded hard. "I would!"

"Take me," Shao Liuer whispered, biting her lip.

"Hm?" Tan Yaoxian stared at her blankly, confusion in his eyes.

"Let me be your woman." Shao Liuer murmured the words into his ear, then raised her head from his shoulder and met his gaze.

Tan Yaoxian's eyes widened in astonishment, utterly shocked. Shao Liuer was the one who released him. She reached for her own sash and loosened it herself.

She did not want to be separated from Tan Yaoxian, but she also understood very clearly that escaping the Shao family this way was no lasting solution. It would not be long before the Shao family discovered what had happened.

Once the Shao family found her, she feared she would never be allowed to see her dear Tan again in this lifetime. Worse, she might even bring mortal danger upon him.

She did not believe the two of them could escape, and she knew that once the Shao family found her, they would never give her a second chance to get away. So she chose to make their relationship an accomplished fact before facing the Shao family.

Lu Shengzhong had wanted Tan Yaoxian to "cook the raw rice into cooked rice." Tan Yaoxian had not done it. In the end, Shao Liuer herself decisively took the initiative instead, something Lu Shengzhong probably would never have dreamed of.

Their first intimacy left neither wanting to part from the other, but Tan Yaoxian had now calmed down. Taking Shao Liuer away was the important thing. Only then did he remember Lu Shengzhong's instructions.

"Liuer, we're leaving immediately. We'll leave Beizhou!" Tan Yaoxian said firmly.

"Mm." Shao Liuer smiled and nodded, letting him have his way.

She still did not believe they could escape, but now that their relationship had crossed that threshold, she felt at peace. Whether they succeeded or failed no longer mattered much to her. She would let her dear Tan try. If they fell into the Shao family's hands, she would step forward and make the truth clear. There was no need to say anything now that would discourage him or prove how foolish his plan was. The two hastily packed a few things and left hand in hand.

Tan Yaoxian never let go of her hand, not while helping her into the carriage, not while climbing in after her, and not after they sat down together inside. His face was filled with longing for the happiness ahead. Shao Liuer likewise gazed at him without looking away, sweetness filling both her face and her heart.

Only once the carriage began moving and rocking over the road did Shao Liuer lift the curtain to glance outside. Turning back, she asked, "My dear Tan, where are we going?"

Tan Yaoxian answered with high spirits, "We'll take a shortcut to the Pinglan River, then travel by water straight downriver into the State of Song. Once we're inside the territory of the State of Song, we won't have to be afraid anymore. The important thing is to get out of Beizhou first. We can find a way to establish ourselves afterward. Don't worry. There's a boat waiting for us by the river. I've arranged everything!"

That too had been Lu Shengzhong's idea. He worried that once the matter was exposed, the Shao family would immediately suspect Niu Youdao's side. The route toward the State of Yan would be the first to be blocked, and any pursuers would most likely head in that direction. So he decided to make a detour toward the State of Song instead, where the chances of success would be greater. The rest could be left for Niu Youdao's side to arrange later.

"A boat waiting?" Shao Liuer looked rather surprised. She studied Tan Yaoxian from head to toe as though she could hardly believe it.

Truthfully, she believed she knew this man well. She knew exactly what sort of person her dear Tan was. Since when had he been capable of arranging something this thorough?

Puzzled, she asked, "You arranged all of this? The Pinglan River must be fifty li from here. You made arrangements dozens of li away?"

Tan Yaoxian gave an embarrassed smile. "Liuer, I won't hide it from you. This time I asked a friend for help. If not for his advice and planning, I'm afraid you and I wouldn't even have been able to meet..." He explained how he had met and come to know Brother Li, concealing nothing from beginning to end.

Brother Li? Shao Liuer became faintly wary. "Are you certain this man can be trusted?"

Tan Yaoxian nodded and assured her, "Don't worry. He's absolutely reliable. He's helping me without asking anything in return. There's nothing he could gain from me anyway. Our friendship is one between gentlemen, with no profit or interest involved."

Nothing he could gain? Shao Liuer very much wanted to ask him whether he thought offending the Shao family in Beizhou was some sort of joke. A man had met him for the first time and was willing to take this kind of risk to help him, despite gaining nothing from it?

Shao Liuer wanted to speak, then stopped herself. She did not know how to criticize him. In the end, she slowly leaned into his embrace and let him hold her, though a layer of shadow had settled over her heart.

Tan Yaoxian kept lowering his head to kiss her. He was plainly delighted, as excited as though he had obtained the most precious thing beneath Heaven.

Shao Liuer enjoyed his affection as well. Yet because of this "Brother Li," she could not put her mind at ease. A faint thread of worry remained lodged in her heart.

She was thinking about how to persuade her dear Tan not to trust this friend of his without provoking his resentment.

In the wooded hills beside the road, Lu Shengzhong secretly raced alongside the speeding carriage, concealed among the trees. He kept constant watch on the surroundings, ready to seize Shao Liuer the moment anything went wrong, either taking her hostage or breaking away decisively.

Naturally, the best result would be to reach the Pinglan River without incident. Once they boarded the boat and entered the surging great river, even if pursuers came after them, he could dive into the water at any time and escape. Catching him in a great river would not be easy. On that point, he was fairly confident...

Inside the Provincial Provincial Inspector's Residence dungeon, Shao Sansheng entered once again. Beside him walked someone enveloped in a black cloak, hood pulled low so the face could not be seen.

When they reached the cell holding Shao Pingbo, Shao Sansheng gave a signal. The jailer opened the door, then withdrew with the guards to give them privacy. Inside, Shao Pingbo sat quietly in a chair with his eyes closed, resting. He slowly opened them and looked over.

Shao Sansheng stepped forward and reported in a low voice, "Eldest Young Master, Young Mistress Su is here."

Shao Pingbo rose. Shao Sansheng excused himself and left, giving the two of them space. Only then did the black-cloaked figure outside enter the cell. She raised her head, revealing half of a lovely face, then lifted a hand and pushed back her hood. Her features were alluring and radiant. It was Shao Pingbo's older cousin, Su Zhao.

Shao Pingbo smiled. "Sister Zhao, even a Goldenwing takes quite some time to reach the State of Qi. How did you get here so quickly? Were you already on the road nearby?"

Su Zhao smiled. "I heard your situation was urgent, so I used the organization's resources for private business and commandeered one of its flying mounts."

Shao Pingbo frowned slightly. "Won't that cause trouble?"

"You don't need to worry about that." Su Zhao looked around the cell. "Can you stand living here?"

Shao Pingbo said, "My mind isn't at peace. Where I live makes no difference."

Su Zhao nodded. "Old Shao just told me the details. I truly hadn't expected that Niu Youdao to be so vicious. Fortunately, your reaction wasn't slow either. But while we're on the subject, what exactly is the point of the two of you locking horns to the death? Is Tang Yi really that attractive to both of you? Where does that leave me?"

Shao Pingbo sighed. "Sister Zhao, you're thinking too much. I have no interest in Tang Yi. Even without Tang Yi, I would have crossed hands with him sooner or later. Tang Yi merely brought it forward. That man will inevitably become a grave threat to me in the future!"

Su Zhao said, "From the sound of that, you don't intend to let him go. You normally keep the larger situation in mind. Rarely do you haggle so relentlessly over a single person."

Shao Pingbo said, "It isn't a question of whether I'll let him go. He won't let me go. Believe it or not, even now, somewhere inside Beizhou City, he still has people waiting for a chance to strike at me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have asked you to come all this way. Sister Zhao, perhaps it's hard for you to understand, but I do. Ever since the first time he and I crossed hands, we both understood it perfectly well: one mountain cannot hold two tigers. Between him and me, only one can live!"

Su Zhao said calmly, "Forgive me for being direct. You're no match for him."

Shao Pingbo fell silent. He had not expected to be dismissed so bluntly. After a moment, a rather forced smile appeared. "Do you know him very well, Sister Zhao?"

[End of Chapter 229]