Lu Yuan stood rooted to the spot, looking at the sobbing Song iqin, unsure whether to go or stay.
After a mont’s thought...
Lu Yuan pursed his lips and walked toward Song iqin.
"Alright, alright, stop crying. I didn’t say anything that bad. Can’t you just hurry up and go? Just run a little."
Kneeling in front of Song iqin, Lu Yuan’s tone softened considerably.
And as Lu Yuan’s tone softened, Song iqin’s grew even softer.
Looking at Lu Yuan, who had co back for her, Song iqin pouted, her face full of grievance as she whispered:
"I sprained my ankle...
I can’t walk fast..."
This Song iqin was nothing like the proud woman from a mont ago.
Now, her voice was soft, and tears were streaming down her face.
Where was the noblewoman from an official family now? She was just like the girl next door.
Hearing her words, Lu Yuan looked down to check.
"My right foot..."
Song iqin murmured softly, obediently extending her right leg toward Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan took off her shoe and sock to take a look.
Tsk.
’How did it get this swollen?!’
’This woman is sothing else.’
It was this swollen, yet she hadn’t made a peep and had kept pace with him for several minutes.
If Lu Yuan hadn’t turned around to shoo her away, Song iqin probably would have never said a thing.
If she’d kept walking like that, her foot would have been ruined.
"Why don’t you carry down the mountain...
I’ll ride the horse back myself... I won’t hold you up..."
Song iqin looked at Lu Yuan and spoke softly.
Without saying much, Lu Yuan turned around. After Song iqin climbed onto his back, he stood up and set off.
However, he didn’t head down the mountain but continued upward.
"Forget it. Aren’t you scared? Besides, you can’t ride fast on your own, and with your foot like this... I’ll just take you back later."
To be honest, it was actually faster for Lu Yuan to carry Song iqin.
This way, the round trip would only take thirty or forty minutes.
If he let Song iqin ride back by herself, it would be even more trouble if she got lost in the mountains.
Song iqin hugged Lu Yuan tightly. After a few seconds of silence, she whispered sweetly in his ear:
"Thank you... you’re a good person...
All my life, I’ve hated being a burden... and now I’ve beco one myself...
I’m sorry..."
Her sudden apology extinguished the last embers of Lu Yuan’s anger.
It was like...
It was like ordering takeout. You’re starving, practically dying of hunger, but the delivery guy is over ten minutes late.
And the longer you wait, the angrier you get.
You start thinking, ’When my food finally gets here, I’m going to give this driver a terrible review. The absolute worst!’
’I’ll write a ten-thousand-word rant!’
But when the driver finally hands you the food, apologizing profusely and explaining what happened...
All your anger suddenly vanishes.
That was more or less how Lu Yuan felt now.
He had been genuinely angry, but with Song iqin’s soft apology and pitiful expression...
Lu Yuan wasn’t angry anymore.
Instead, thinking about how swollen her foot was and the harsh words he’d just said...
He felt a little ashad.
At this thought, Lu Yuan glanced down at Song iqin’s small, fair, delicate foot.
Her right foot was still bare.
After taking off her shoe and sock, Lu Yuan had forgotten to put them back on for her.
In the dead of winter, leaving her delicate foot bare for forty or fifty minutes could lead to frostbite.
Still, it wasn’t worth going back to retrieve the shoe and sock now.
So, Lu Yuan simply undid a button on his shirt, near his stomach.
Then, he carefully tucked Song iqin’s small foot inside his clothes.
He ward it up for her while gently massaging it.
If you were to say Song iqin was a burden, well, she was.
But then again, she hadn’t really held him back much.
The n she brought were genuinely useful; they had managed to block off most of the Xingzi.
The only problem was that, for so reason, Song iqin had drawn a blade and charged out to fight the Xingzi herself.
If it weren’t for that one move...
In reality, if Song iqin had just stayed in the carriage with her Mansion Guards protecting her, she would have never been captured.
As Lu Yuan jogged along, lost in thought...
Song iqin, who was on his back, her face flushed crimson, stamred:
"G-Good man...
Y-you... stop touching it...
W-When we get back... I’ll... I’ll let you eat my foot..."
Lu Yuan: "????"
’What??’
’Eat her foot?’
’What does she an, eat her foot?’
Lu Yuan, completely bewildered, turned to look at Song iqin. "What are you talking about?"
Song iqin’s face was beet red as she said:
"Z-Zhao Qiao’Er told everything...
She said you don’t sleep at night... that you’re always holding Liyan’s feet and eating them... that the room is full of smacking sounds all night long..."
Lu Yuan: "???"
Instantly, Lu Yuan’s face turned as red as a beet.
He gritted his teeth. "Why... why would she tell you everything...?"
Song iqin, her face still red, whispered in a voice as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz:
"There’s nothing we can’t say to each other..."
Lu Yuan, blushing furiously, ground out, "I’m giving you a massage!!
You sprained it, rember?!
What’s this nonsense about ’eating feet’? What kind of crap are you talking about?"
But Song iqin replied, incredibly shy and ek:
"B-But... I sprained my ankle... W-Where are you rubbing...?"
Lu Yuan: "..."
He had been preoccupied with his thoughts while hurrying along, and he hadn’t been paying attention.
His actions had beco subconscious.
He wasn’t massaging Song iqin’s ankle. Instead... he was grasping her delicate foot and... exploring it...
’Oh, mother... Now even jumping into the Yellow River couldn’t wash clean...’
"I-If you really like it that much... I... I’ll let you eat my left foot, okay...?"
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