Chapter 531. Embrace (2/2)

What had happened? Everyone else didn’t have a single scratch on them. It was only his little lass who had her clothing all messed up, her hair in disarray, and a wound on her face. Judging by the injuries on the dead tiger, did he even need an explanation now? If the little lass hadn’t raised two wolves, she…Zhu Junyang didn’t even want to go down that line of thought!

“Just how were you two protecting your master?!!” Zhu Junyang vented his entire temper on the two maidservants. He had spent a lot of time snatching them out of the hidden soldiers’ ranks, but they had decided to act like they were young misses instead? Their master had gotten injured yet not a strand was out of place for either of them! This was a crime that could not be forgiven within the hidden soldiers’ ranks…

Chunhua and Qiushi trembled as they knelt down in front of their infuriated previous master. For them, their master’s safety and well-being was more important than their lives. If they were unable to protect their master, then they would be tortured within the hidden soldiers’ hidden chamber. Even if they didn’t die, they would still lose a layer of skin. These two female bodyguards, who had just reached the age of sixteen, didn’t even dare to beg for mercy and could only wait in despair for their punishment.

“Zhu Junyang, just why are you scaring them? The scratch on my face is only from a branch that I brushed past, that’s all. Only the skin got broken, and I don’t even need to put on any medicine in order to have it heal without a scar!!” Yu Xiaocao explicitly expressed her disapproval of the prince’s way of handling things. These two maidservants had already been given to her. As their mistress, she hadn’t even said a word, so why should someone who was irrelevant butt in? Was that really proper?

Zhu Junyang immediately stowed away his temper when he saw that she had gotten angry. He gently clasped her small face in one hand and inspected the cut on her cheek as he gently said, “Are you sure it happened because a wayward branch hit you and not because the tiger’s claws had narrowly missed you?”

Yu Xiaocao pretended to be completely carefree as she replied, “With Little Black and Little White around, even if another tiger appeared, I wouldn’t be hurt at all! This was the first time I had seen a tiger in person and was a bit flustered. When I was turning around, I wasn’t paying attention and had brushed past a branch that had thorns on it. That’s all.”

Zhu Junyang, on the other hand, saw through her bold façade and discovered the fear within her. He gently pulled her into his arms and felt her body still trembling slightly. He hurriedly tried to comfort her and his voice became even more gentle as he soothed, “Don’t be scared! This prince is here now! Our Xiaocao is so awesome that you can even calm me down when I’m in a rage. How could a tiger be counted as anything in front of you?”

During the moment she was pulled into his warm embrace, Yu Xiaocao felt tears come to her eyes. However, after she heard Zhu Junyang’s subsequent words, she burst into laughter. She remembered the scene at the Wu Family’s residence. The prince had completely lost control of himself and had destroyed the area, making it look like an earthquake had just passed through. At that time, he was ten times more fierce and scary than a tiger. Despite that, she had confronted him in that state and hadn’t felt the least bit afraid the entire time. Perhaps she unconsciously knew that he would never harm her, right?

She sniffled a few times and then used a spoiled tone to complain, “When the tiger ran towards me, I was so scared! I was afraid that if I died, what would you do in the future? I also wondered if Sir Su would be able to subdue you in the future should you lose control without me!

“The only person in the world who is able to control me is you. Thus, you absolutely cannot have anything happen to you. Otherwise, this prince will also go down to hell with you…”

Zhu Junyang tightened his arms around that slim and weak little figure and gave her a kiss on the head. Relief was entwined with a bit of sweet happiness——the little lass had only thought about him when she was in imminent danger. Zhu Junyang had finally comprehended the true meaning of ‘happiness’ at this moment.

“And then what happened?” Zhu Junyang quietly asked.

Yu Xiaocao returned his hug. His embrace made her feel very warm and safe inside. It was as if a sailboat that had endured the stormy waters of sea had finally gotten back to the tranquil safety of the harbor. She had a home now for her heart.

“Next? What do you mean what’s next??” Yu Xiaocao’s voice sounded quite stuffy as her head was buried into his chest. It was a sound that brought pure pleasure to his ears.

“You said that the tiger leapt towards you. So what happened next?” Zhu Junyang gently patted her back with extremely soft movements. It was as if the girl in his arms was a weak and precious little infant.

Yu Xiaocao blinked her large eyes a few times at an angle where he couldn’t see the expression on her face. Anyone who knew her would know instantly from looking at that face that her following words were not to be trusted. Sure enough, she concealed the little divine stone’s contribution and pushed Little Black and Little White out instead, “Then…naturally Little White came by at just the right time and bravely appeared between me and the tiger. It managed to engage the tiger and pull it away from me to battle it. Following that, Little Black also ran over. If it wasn’t for the fact that I wanted the tiger pelt, Little Black and Little White would have long torn the tiger to pieces by working together!!”

Zhu Hanwen was silently listening at the side as Xiaocao described how the two wolves had fought the fierce tiger. He gazed at Little Black and Little White with a look of pure admiration in his eyes. He esteemed their strength and boldness and admired their loyalty towards their master. Although he would have luckily gotten away today, if it wasn’t for the two wolves, then he would have had to sacrifice Official Yu’s life. The loss would still be great. His imperial father would lose one of the best ways to strengthen and enrich the country, and he would have to bear the guilt and shame towards the Yu Family for the rest of his life. Furthermore, it was likely that he would have to bear the loss of losing Royal Prince Yang, who was a brilliant general...

“Official Yu, you are my savior! Expressing my gratitude for such a boon is not enough. This prince will remember your deeds in my heart for the rest of my life!” Zhu Hanwen had an extremely solemn look on his childish little face and his eyes were filled with gratitude.

[1] Wu Song (武松) - Also known as Wu the Second. He is one of the well-known characters in Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. He slays a man-eating tiger after drinking 18 bowls of wine.