Chapter 148: She Was Unwilling

Li Yuxi looked at Li Mohan as if he were looking at a complete madman.

Li Haoran had already sent assassins to kill him, yet he was still willing to personally help this very enemy ascend to the throne!

As the guards hauled the corpses out of the courtyard one by one, bustling back and forth, Li Yuxi naturally found it inconvenient to speak further.

With a flick of his sleeve, he strode off to find Chu Bing.

He was completely done with whatever Li Mohan wanted to do!

Once the courtyard had been cleared, Chu Bing and Li Haoran emerged with the children.

Having been cooped up in that room for over half a month without seeing the sun, most of the children instinctively shielded their eyes with their hands, timidly cowering behind Chu Bing and Li Haoran, not daring to look at anyone else—especially the guards clutching swords.

"Eldest Brother, Second Brother, Chu Bing and I are going to take these children back to the city first. Will you two be coming along?" Li Haoran asked, his expression entirely natural as he warmly invited Li Yuxi and Li Mohan.

Li Yuxi let out a cold, sarcastic laugh. "Who says Chu Bing is going anywhere with you?"

His gaze fell upon Chu Bing, carrying a faint, dangerous edge.

Chu Bing subconsciously shrank back. After all, Li Yuxi was hardly a reasonable person; he was a total lunatic, and she had no idea what kind of madness he might pull.

The smile on Li Haoran's face instantly faded.

His eyes turned icy. "Second Brother, stop joking around. You are wandering out here alone and already facing hardships, yet you still want to drag Miss Chu into this? Isn't that just making things difficult for a young lady?"

His words sounded exceptionally pleasant, sending a trace of warmth through Chu Bing's heart and filling her with newfound courage.

She took a deep breath, looked straight into Li Yuxi's eyes, and said, "Li Yuxi, you can forget it. I am not going anywhere with you!"

She tightened her grip on the small hand she was holding; she still had to escort these children back safely, and no matter what, she could not let herself fall into Li Yuxi's hands.

A sharp glint flashed across Li Yuxi's eyes as a cold sneer curled his lips. He lifted his foot and strode directly toward Chu Bing.

Chu Bing instinctively stepped back, and then... two tall figures blocked her path.

It was Li Haoran and Li Mohan.

Both of them stared coldly at Li Yuxi, making no effort to conceal their hostility toward him.

"Second Brother, Miss Chu said she doesn't want to go. If you dare to lay a hand on her, don't blame me for being impolite." Li Haoran's gentle and amiable facade vanished completely, leaving his brows dark and gloomy.

Li Yuxi's gaze shifted back and forth between him and Li Mohan before a mocking smile finally touched his lips. "Have both of you been bewitched by a mere woman?"

"Second Brother!" Li Haoran frowned, his expression turning unimaginably grim. Even Li Mohan's eyes grew progressively colder.

For them, Chu Bing was their absolute reverse scale, the one thing that must not be touched.

Paying no mind to Li Haoran's anger, Li Yuxi stepped right past him and called out to Chu Bing, "Chu Bing, I'll ask you this once: are you coming with me or not?"

"Not going!" Chu Bing answered without a moment's hesitation, her tone so firm and swift that Li Yuxi was left somewhat humiliated.

Li Yuxi let out a cold laugh. "Fine, don't live to regret this!"

As if she'd ever regret it, ghost willing!

If she hadn't been worried that he would rely on his formidable martial arts to forcefully snatch her away, Chu Bing wouldn't have even bothered to waste a single word on him.

Li Yuxi swept his gaze over the three of them once more, a bizarre smile twisting his features before he turned and strode away.

As soon as his figure vanished from the small courtyard, Li Mohan and Li Haoran turned to look at Chu Bing.

Chu Bing let out a long breath of relief and offered a grateful smile. "Thank you both for just now."

Li Haoran smiled gently. "You're welcome. It was Second Brother who had no business being so overbearing."

Chu Bing smiled back, her eyes flickering toward Li Mohan.

Actually, she had a mountain of things she wanted to say to him, but Li Mohan maintained a stern, unyielding expression, looking as though he wanted nothing to do with her. She had no choice but to swallow her words and keep quiet.

"Miss Chu, Eldest Brother, everything is packed and the carriages are all set. Let's get moving so we can return early and spare Father any worry." Catching the longing in Chu Bing's eyes, a trace of gloom flickered across Li Haoran's gaze, though the smile on his face only grew more sincere.

Li Mohan nodded, cast a sideways glance at Chu Bing, and strode off.

Chu Bing instinctively wanted to chase after him, but her hands were tightly grasped by the children, leaving her to watch helplessly as Li Mohan walked away.

Li Haoran's guards had made thorough preparations; aside from the carriages, they had also brought along various medical supplies and healing ointments.

It wasn't until Chu Bing led the children outside the village that she realized Li Haoran had prepared three carriages in total.

A dozen or so children were barely squeezed into two of the carriages, leaving the final carriage completely empty...

"Miss Chu, you had quite a fright just now. You should go rest inside the carriage; Eldest Brother and I can ride horses," Li Haoran said, looking at Chu Bing with genuine concern.

Chu Bing bit her lower lip and didn't agree, because she had just noticed that a large patch of Li Mohan's shoulder was stained bright red with blood, clearly indicating he was injured.

If he rode a horse with such a severe wound, it would undoubtedly worsen his condition.

Li Mohan stood quietly beside a horse, his expression aloof as he gazed into the distance, lost in thought.

Chu Bing looked at his profile, hesitated for a moment, and then walked over with a hardened resolve.

"Eldest Young Master, you're injured. You should come ride in the carriage with me."

Li Mohan turned his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over her before he spoke in a cold, indifferent tone, "No need."

So he really was angry.

Panic welled up in Chu Bing's heart. Disregarding the fact that Li Haoran was watching them closely, she reached out and tugged at Li Mohan's sleeve, a hint of coquetry in her voice as she pleaded, "Eldest Young Master, stop being mad. I managed to save so many children this time around; instead of praising me, you're giving me the cold shoulder. It's going to break my heart."

She usually had a strong and stubborn personality, rarely displaying such feminine softness, but the sound of her voice instantly softened Li Mohan's expression despite himself.

In the end, he simply couldn't bear to stay mad at her.

He lowered his gaze to look at her. "Who told you to go out running around with him?"

"I clearly instructed you before I left not to wander around everywhere, and you gave me your word."

Knowing full well that Li Mohan cared most about his rivalry with Li Haoran, she had still deliberately gone out into town with him!

Guiltily darting her eyes away, Chu Bing muttered under her breath, "I—I was just so bored, wasn't I? You know how strictly Uncle Zhao watches me; I'm not allowed to go anywhere every single day and can only stay cooped up in that little courtyard. I was sick of it ages ago."

A trace of grievance laced her tone, and her bright eyes clouded over with melancholy.

Old Zhao truly wished he could take advantage of Li Mohan's absence to drill Chu Bing relentlessly on proper maidenly deportment, and was practically on the verge of hiring a formal etiquette instructor!

Seeing her like this, Li Mohan found himself unable to scold her any further.

He knew Old Zhao's temperament better than anyone.

With a look of exasperated affection, he gave her a glare that carried zero intimidation, which only served to completely reassure Chu Bing.

If Li Mohan were genuinely furious, he wouldn't even be acknowledging her.

She firmly tugged on Li Mohan's arm, pulling him toward the carriage while saying with a beaming smile, "Even if you want to punish me, let's wait until we get back to the estate."

Pointing at the wound on Li Mohan's shoulder, she softly added, "You're hurt and it's inconvenient for you to ride a horse. You really should come ride in the carriage with me."

Looking into her pleading eyes, Li Mohan ultimately hadn't the heart to refuse and gave a silent nod.