Tang Xiang Yang shook his head. He didn't want Liu Er to feel guilty. Seeing her, he understood how much bitterness she had endured.
Overwhelmed with love, Tang Xiang Yang gently grasped her hand, and the words slipped from his tongue: “Liu Er, come with me!”
“Go?” Liu Er froze. She understood what her beloved meant.
“Where would we go?”
Tang Xiang Yang: We'll leave Beizhou and go somewhere your family won't find us. I'll take care of you for the rest of my life. Do you want to follow me?
Lu Sheng Zhong had long since devised an escape plan.
But Tang Xiang Yang didn't want to do with her what Lu Sheng Zhong had advised. After all, he was still a man of high morals. Tang Xiang Yang thought he should ask for her opinion first. Only if she agreed, then they could leave. And if not, perhaps they should truly part ways now?
Liu Er looked at him seriously, not knowing how to respond.
Although she had run away, swayed by her feelings, she also knew the consequences of this escape.
The Shao family was powerful here. At the same time, the Shao family had rebelled against the Yan Kingdom and was hindering the Han Kingdom. Now they had their own army. And she herself had seen how troops could mow people down like hemp. She knew about the dangers lurking at every step in this world and knew her dangerous brother. Tang Xiang Yang was a simple scholar; how could he know all this? How could they possibly escape?
Even if they escaped, how would they live in this turbulent world? On what?
Tang Xiang Yang's spirits fell, and he asked:
“You don't want to?”
“No, I do!” Liu Er quickly shook her head: “Only, where would we run to?”
Tang Xiang Yang: We'll leave Beizhou and flee to a place where the Shao family can't reach you.
“All right!” Liu Er forced a smile and embraced him. The main thing was to be together.
After she agreed, Tang Xiang Yang was overjoyed. He held her tightly to him.
Only he didn't know that Liu Er, resting her head on his shoulder, looked perplexed. She didn't believe they would be able to escape.
She understood that Tang Xiang Yang was just an ordinary man. This was one of the reasons why she loved him and didn't want to upset him now.
“Do you want to take me as your wife?” Liu Er suddenly whispered into his ear.
Tang Xiang Yang nodded: “I do!”
“Do you want me?” Shao Liu Er gently whispered to his ear with her lips.
“Uh...” Tang Xiang Yang didn't understand her.
“Make me your woman.” Liu Er continued to whisper softly to him. She lifted her head, looked into his eyes, and then kissed him on the lips.
Tang Xiang Yang's eyes widened. He was startled and surprised.
Feeling her sweet, soft lips, sensing her scent and the closeness of her body, watching her kiss him with closed eyes, how could a young man full of vigor and energy possibly endure this? The blood immediately rushed to his head.
He immediately began to let his hands roam over Liu Er's body, only he didn't know what to do.
Liu Er herself pulled away from him, untied her sash, which loosened her garments, and then, without hesitation, undressed.
The two lovers, freed from their clothes, merged together and tumbled onto the bed...
When the initial pain subsided, feeling the weight of the rapidly breathing man still holding her, Liu Er stared at the ceiling. She, too, had dreamed of this for a long time. Only the Shao family had never given her the opportunity.
And if the Shao family found her, she would never have this chance again, and she certainly wouldn't be able to escape a second time. Not to mention Tang Xiang Yang. He might be killed on the spot.
She didn't believe they would manage to escape, which was why she decided to make the wood into a boat. (Meaning, what's done is done and cannot be changed). Only in this way could she defy her family.
Lu Sheng Zhong had hoped that Tang Xiang Yang would make her his woman so that the Shao family would acquiesce to it. But who could have known that Liu Er herself would muster the courage and compel Tang Xiang Yang to make her his woman? Lu Sheng Zhong couldn't have even conceived of such a thing.
After their first intimacy, they didn't really want to part from each other. Only, Tang Xiang Yang regained his composure and understood that the main thing now was to escape.
“Liu Er, we must leave Beizhou now!” Tang Xiang Yang said.
“Mm-hm!” Liu Er nodded, smiling. She would now follow him.
Although she didn't believe they would manage to escape, she was no longer very afraid of being caught by the Shao family. If anything, she would simply lay her cards on the table and somehow ensure his safety.
The two people got ready and left the house.
Tang Xiang Yang led Liu Er by the hand into the carriage. They sat down, and the carriage set off.
Tang Xiang Yang was on cloud nine. Shao Liu Er also looked at him intently, her face beaming.
And when she opened the carriage curtains, she asked:
“Xiang Yang, where are we going?”
Tang Xiang Yang smiled and replied:
“We'll head along the Pinglan River towards the Song Kingdom. Once we leave Beizhou, everything will be fine. When we reach the Song Kingdom, we'll decide what to do next there. Don't worry, I'll take care of you. A boat is already waiting for us by the river!”
Lu Sheng Zhong had already planned all this in advance. For as soon as the Shao family learned that Liu Er was missing, they would immediately suspect Niu You Dao. And then they would promptly send people towards the Yan Kingdom. Therefore, he intended to first proceed to the Song Kingdom, and only then, once everything settled down, could he contact Niu You Dao.
“There's a boat?” Liu Er was surprised. She didn't believe that Xiang Yang had arranged all of this. She knew Tang Xiang Yang well and didn't think he was capable of such a feat.
She asked with doubt:
“Have you thought everything through properly? It's about 50 li to the Pinglan River. Were you able to organize everything at such a distance in this amount of time?”
Xiang Yang smiled awkwardly:
“Liu Er, this time I asked a friend for help. If it weren't for my friend's help, we might not have met at all...” He then recounted everything about Brother Li and how they had met.
“Brother Li?” Liu Er became wary and asked: “Are you sure he can be trusted?”
Tang Xiang Yang vouched:
“Don't worry, he's reliable. He doesn't need anything from me; he just decided to help. We have a friendship of noble people. We don't seek profit.”
“What?” Liu Er wanted to ask him: “You've offended the Shao family in Beizhou, and now you're joking like this? He won't take anything from you, yet he agreed to take such a risk for your sake?”
However, she didn't say it. Their fate was now in Xiang Yang's hands, so she didn't want to tell him everything right away.
Tang Xiang Yang, moreover, was so joyful, constantly kissing her as if he had obtained all the gold under heaven. Liu Er also enjoyed this blessing, secretly worrying about Brother Li deep down.
She thought she needed to dissuade Tang Xiang Yang from trusting other people so readily.
They rode through the forest. Lu Sheng Zhong continuously urged the horses forward and observed the surroundings. He was ready to take Liu Er as a hostage at any moment.
Of course, he hoped to reach the Pinglan River safely. And once at the river, if troops arrived, he could hide in the water. He was confident of this...
The Ruler's Palace. Underground Prison. Shao San Sheng entered the prison again. Behind him followed a person in a black cloak and hat, beneath the brim of which a refined expression could be seen.
When they reached Shao Ping Bo's cell, Shao San Sheng nodded to the jailer, who opened the door and stepped aside.
Shao San Sheng approached Shao Ping Bo, who was sitting with his eyes closed.
“Eldest Young Master, Lady Su has arrived.”
Shao Ping Bo stood up, and Shao San Sheng stepped away, leaving space for the two.
The girl in the black cloak entered and removed her hat, revealing her beautiful face.
This was Shao Ping Bo's cousin, Su Zhao.
Shao Ping Bo smiled and asked:
“Sister Su, the Bird Kings flew a long way to the Qi Kingdom, how did you return so quickly? Were you already en route?”
Su Zhao smiled and said:
“As soon as I heard you were in trouble, I used state assets to fly here on a feathered mount.”
Shao Ping Bo furrowed his brows: “Nothing will happen?”
“Don't worry.” Su Zhao looked around at their surroundings and said:
“Have you gotten used to it?”
Shao Ping Bo: When one's heart is uneasy, the location no longer matters.
Su Zhao: I found out everything, Old Man Shao told me. That Niu You Dao, it turns out, is so dangerous. Fortunately, you also acted quickly. It seems neither of you will let the other go. Does that Tang Yi have such an influence on both of you? Do you think I'll just stand by and watch you two?
Shao Ping Bo sighed and said:
“Sister Zhao, you've overthought things. I have no interest in Tang Yi. Even without Tang Yi, we would have clashed with him anyway. She merely hastened our battles. Now, he is a mortal danger to me!”
Su Zhao: It seems you're not going to let him go. For all the time I've known you, you've never really valued anyone.
Shao Ping Bo: It's not that I won't let him go, but that he won't let me go. Believe it or not, in Beizhou, he found a loophole and suddenly attacked me. That's why I called for you. Sister Su, it might be hard for you to understand. But after our first encounter with him, we clearly understood each other. Two tigers cannot coexist on one mountain. Between the two of us, one will die, and the other will live!
Su Zhao calmly said: “Forgive my frankness, but you are no match for him!”
“....” Shao Ping Bo was speechless. He hadn't thought she would scorn him so.
“Sister Zhao has come to understand him?”