“Can you still walk?”
Perhaps sensing her fear, the man did not move any closer. He stopped about a step away from her. His eyes were dark as ink, and with his expressionless face, he looked somewhat intimidating.
Yet An Jin could tell that his voice had been deliberately softened.
He was probably afraid of frightening her.
At first, she had held some resentment toward him because of the original story. But after hearing the System’s explanation, the last traces of her prejudice had vanished.
The tragedy in the original tale was nobody’s fault.
It was simply fate playing a cruel joke.
Adjusting her thoughts, she replied softly,
“I can.”
During her desperate escape, she had lost her hairpin somewhere along the way. Her hair was now completely disheveled. Even without a mirror, An Jin knew she must look a mess.
She bit her lower lip, feeling embarrassed.
But things became even worse.
When she pushed herself up using the tree for support, she discovered that a branch had torn her dress open. Part of her inner garment was exposed.
In this era, exposing one’s underclothes was no different from exposing underwear.
Mortified, she hurriedly tugged at the torn fabric, trying to cover herself.
Unfortunately, the damage was too severe.
The more she pulled, the more skin and fabric became visible.
Knowing the man was standing nearby watching, she did not even dare raise her head.
Her panic grew until tears welled up in her eyes.
Then suddenly, something settled over her shoulders.
Startled, she looked up.
The man had approached without her noticing.
He removed his cloak and draped it over her.
His tall frame made the cloak enormous, almost completely wrapping her within it.
“Get up.”
His voice was low and calm.
“This place isn’t safe. I’ll take you out of the forest.”
The crisp, cool scent unique to him surrounded her.
Holding the cloak’s ties, An Jin felt her cheeks growing warm.
She secretly glanced at him again.
Gong Yue was wiping the blood from his sword with strips of cloth. After cleaning it, he carefully rewrapped the blade and tucked it away.
“Ah!”
The moment she took a step forward, a sharp pain shot through her ankle.
She cried out involuntarily.
Fortunately, she caught herself against the tree before falling.
Gong Yue, who had only gone a few steps ahead, turned around.
His brows furrowed as he looked at her, as though facing a troublesome problem.
An Jin’s eyes immediately filled with tears.
Enduring the pain, she forced herself to take a few more steps.
“I… I’m fine.”
Her voice trembled with unease.
She was terrified he would decide she was too troublesome and leave her alone in the wilderness.
Without saying a word, Gong Yue strode back toward her.
Then he held out his sword.
“Take it.”
“What?”
The young woman stared at him in confusion.
She did not understand.
His expression remained unchanged.
“Take the sword.”
Then he added,
“I’ll carry you.”
An Jin’s eyes widened.
How could that be acceptable?
She was an unmarried young lady.
How could she allow an unrelated man to carry her on his back?
Yet…
She glanced at the darkening sky.
Conflict filled her eyes.
If she continued walking, she would never leave the forest before nightfall.
She didn’t even know the way back to the Yao residence.
More importantly, she feared that if she refused, he might truly abandon her.
“Al… alright.”
She nodded with difficulty and accepted the sword.
In response, Gong Yue crouched down in front of her.
With no other choice, An Jin climbed onto his back.
Her arms circled his neck.
The next moment, she felt his warm hands supporting her beneath her knees.
Her entire body stiffened.
She bit down hard on her lower lip to suppress a startled cry.
This was the first time in either of her lives that she had been so physically close to a man.
A delicate blush spread across her pale face.
Like rosy dawnlight falling upon fresh snow, she looked breathtakingly beautiful.
Unfortunately, there was no one around to witness it.
“I… I’m the Third Miss of the Yao family.”
She spoke quietly.
“Could you take me back home?”
Even if they left the forest safely, a young woman traveling alone was hardly secure.
She could only hope that he would help her all the way.
The faint fragrance drifting from her body reached his nose.
Gong Yue’s brows drew together slightly.
“Mm.”
His brief answer immediately eased her worries.
Relaxing, she rested against his shoulder.
From the corner of her eye, she could see the clean lines of his jaw.
His back was broad and sturdy.
Combined with his calm and dependable presence, he gave people an instinctive sense of security.
For the first time, An Jin thought she understood why Yao Wei had been willing to abandon everything and elope with him.
By the time they reached the capital, the sky had nearly gone dark.
Inside the Yao residence, a figure leaped silently over the courtyard wall.
Gong Yue landed lightly on the ground.
After placing An Jin carefully on the steps beneath a corridor, he immediately turned to leave.
“Wait!”
He paused.
Looking down, he saw a slender, pale hand clutching the corner of his robe.
The sight was oddly dazzling.
An Jin sat on the steps in a small bundle.
Her hair remained messy.
Her glass-like eyes sparkled softly.
She looked obedient and gentle, almost like a kitten waiting for its owner’s affection.
His fingers twitched slightly.
The distance in his gaze only deepened.
“What is it?”
Now that she was safely home, An Jin felt much braver.
Looking directly into his eyes, she said,
“Thank you for saving me.”
“I want to repay you.”
“You can have gold, silver, jewels, whatever you want.”
In her mind, the future villain’s tragic childhood stemmed from the mismatch between her parents’ backgrounds.
In the original story, Yao Wei had repaid her savior with her heart.
But if she repaid Gong Yue with money instead, then they would owe each other nothing.
Someday she would marry a suitable nobleman of equal status.
The future villain would then be born into a proper family and never walk the same dark path.
[Host, please don’t try to be clever.]
The System interrupted mercilessly.
[If the villain is never born, the mission will fail.]
Ah?
An Jin instantly felt guilty.
Gong Yue glanced at her once.
Then he gently pulled his robe free from her fingers.
“No need.”
The words had barely left his lips before he vaulted upward.
In the blink of an eye, he disappeared.
An Jin’s lips drooped unhappily.
Only after his figure vanished completely did she finally look away.
What a strange man.
He appeared cold and unapproachable, yet he was surprisingly considerate.
He had saved her life.
He had even taken the trouble to carry her home.
Yet he wanted nothing in return.
Even after learning her identity, he had shown no reaction whatsoever.
An Jin could not understand him.
Eventually, she returned to her embroidery tower.
After washing up and changing clothes, she headed toward the main courtyard.
Her parents still did not know she had returned.
“Master, please!”
Madam Yao knelt on the floor, her face full of anxiety.
“Let’s report this to the authorities. Wei’er still hasn’t been found. If we wait any longer, something terrible may happen!”
Minister Yao sat at the head of the room with a dark expression.
The constant pleading had worn down his patience.
He slammed his hand on the table.
“If we report this, what will happen to my reputation?”
“I’ve already sent guards to search for her.”
“If anything has happened to her, she only has herself to blame!”
The more he spoke, the angrier he became.
His finger trembled as he pointed at his wife.
“Couldn’t she stay quietly in her embroidery tower?”
“This is all because you spoiled her!”
Still unsatisfied, he grabbed a teacup and hurled it toward the floor.
“Father?”
An Jin happened to step inside at that exact moment.
The cup nearly struck her.
Tea splashed onto the hem of her skirt.
She froze awkwardly in the doorway.
“Wei’er?”
Madam Yao’s lips trembled.
She stared in disbelief at the daughter who had supposedly been abducted by bandits.
“Mother.”
An Jin stepped forward.
The moment she heard her daughter’s voice, Madam Yao completely lost her composure.
She rushed over and pulled her into a fierce embrace.
“Wei’er! My Wei’er is back!”
After crying for some time, she finally released her daughter and began examining her anxiously.
“Are you hurt?”
An Jin obediently held out her injured hands.
“Just a few scrapes.”
“And I twisted my left ankle a little.”
“A little?”
Madam Yao nearly panicked.
“Quickly! Send for the physician!”
Holding An Jin’s injured hand, she called for servants in a flurry.
Meanwhile, Minister Yao felt somewhat guilty after realizing his daughter had heard his earlier remarks.
Still, he was relieved she had returned safely.
Seeing that his wife was asking everything except the important questions, he finally spoke.
“I heard you encountered bandits.”
“How did you escape?”
“A swordsman saved me.”
An Jin answered honestly.
“He was the one who brought me home.”
Madam Yao immediately clasped her hands together in gratitude.
“Heaven truly protected us.”
“Did this hero come with you? We must properly thank him.”
An Jin remembered his decisive departure and shook her head.
“I tried.”
“He didn’t want any reward.”
“A benefactor who expects nothing in return.”
Madam Yao sighed.
“He must be a truly honorable man.”
“Enough.”
Minister Yao interrupted their conversation.
His gaze sharpened.
“Wei’er, did those bandits do anything to you?”
An Jin knew exactly what he meant.
Taking a breath, she replied,
“The swordsman arrived in time. Nothing happened.”
Only then did Minister Yao finally smile.
Stroking his beard, he said,
“Good thing we didn’t report it.”
“Otherwise your reputation would have been ruined.”
“And next year’s embroidered-ball marriage selection would be impossible.”
An Jin remained silent.
Minister Yao was a selfish man through and through.
After such a disaster, his first concern was not capturing the bandits or protecting others.
It was his reputation.
And whether his daughter’s value in marriage negotiations had been affected.
Maintaining the dignity of a patriarch, he declared,
“From now on, stay in your embroidery tower and finish your wedding robes.”
“You are not allowed to leave.”
His daughter had once been praised personally by the Empress Dowager as being “unmatched in beauty and gifted in both grace and intellect.”
Even noble families and dukes had shown interest in her.
She would undoubtedly secure an excellent marriage.
And with that marriage, his own political career would advance even further.
He would not allow anything to jeopardize that future.
Madam Yao looked distressed.
“Master, Wei’er just came home…”
Minister Yao waved dismissively.
“No one is to argue.”
“Take the young lady back.”
The embroidery tower had been built two years earlier.
Its exterior was grand and beautiful.
Its interior, however, was cramped and oppressive.
Several candle stands.
A carved canopy bed.
A single table.
Those furnishings occupied nearly all the available space.
Resting atop the table was a half-finished wedding gown embroidered in bright red silk.
The ceiling felt low.
The room felt suffocating.
The moment An Jin stepped inside, she felt as though the walls were closing around her.
Flickering candlelight illuminated her pale face.
Looking at Madam Yao, she whispered,
“Mother, I don’t want to stay here.”
She could not endure such an environment for even a single day.
Yet the real Yao Wei had endured it for over two years.
Once, Yao Wei had lived like any other noble daughter.
She could accompany her family on outings.
She could buy cosmetics and jewelry she liked.
She could attend spring gatherings and poetry meetings with friends.
But everything changed after a palace banquet two years earlier.
She ceased being a daughter.
She became a commodity.
A stepping stone for her father’s ambitions.
When she was thirteen, she attended the banquet with her family.
At that time, Minister Yao had only been a vice minister.
By sheer fortune, Yao Wei somehow caught the Empress Dowager’s attention.
In front of all the noble families and officials’ wives, the Empress Dowager personally praised her.
“Unmatched in beauty and gifted in both grace and intellect.”
She also praised Minister Yao for raising such an exceptional daughter.
After the banquet, the Yao family’s status soared.
Matchmakers nearly wore down the threshold of their residence.
Many proposals came from powerful noble families.
Minister Yao liked every one of them.
At the same time, he feared offending any of them.
Unable to choose, he eventually copied an old custom from a previous dynasty.
When Yao Wei came of age, she would choose her husband through an embroidered-ball ceremony.
Soon afterward, the embroidery tower was built.
And within it, a young woman’s finest years were imprisoned.
Even the recent trip to Lingshan Temple had only been granted after Yao Wei begged relentlessly for permission.
Madam Yao dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief.
Avoiding her daughter’s pleading gaze, she said softly,
“Wei’er, accept your fate.”
“Your father is doing this for your own good.”
“There is less than a year left.”
“If you choose a good husband, you’ll live a blessed life afterward.”
An Jin said nothing further.
A deeper sadness settled in her heart.
A woman was expected to obey her father before marriage and her husband afterward.
She could tell that Madam Yao had little influence in the household.
There was nothing she could change.
“This is the finest wound medicine.”
Madam Yao carefully handed it to her.
“If you apply it every day, it won’t leave scars.”
“The physician also said your ankle is only lightly sprained. A little medicated wine will heal it.”
She continued giving detailed instructions one after another.
An Jin listened quietly.
The heaviness in her chest grew stronger.
There was no doubt that Madam Yao loved her daughter.
But her love was not enough to oppose her husband.
Nor was it enough to challenge the oppression placed upon women in this era.
After Madam Yao left, An Jin was alone in the tiny embroidery tower.
The half-finished crimson wedding dress sat on the table.
Under the dim candlelight, it looked strangely sinister.
Like a monster waiting to devour someone whole.
An Jin quickly looked away.
Exhausted, she collapsed onto the bed.
[System, do I really have to follow the plot?]
[For now, yes.]
The System answered.
[You’ve completed the first key event perfectly. You successfully met Gong Yue.]
[Next, all you need to do is elope with him.]
An Jin sighed.
[He doesn’t seem to like me very much.]
[And aren’t martial artists supposed to value freedom? Why would he want to drag around someone as troublesome as me?]
[You’re overthinking it.]
The System sounded certain.
[Gong Yue has traveled the martial world for many years. He’s witnessed countless deaths. Many people have died by his own sword.]
[The fact that he chose to save you already makes you different from everyone else.]
For some reason, An Jin suddenly remembered the warmth of his hands supporting her legs while carrying her through the forest.
Thinking about how she would one day elope with that man…
How she would even bear his child…
A strange feeling stirred in her heart.
She couldn’t quite describe it.
But one thing was certain.
She did not dislike the thought.