AUBTN -Chapter 115 The Eve of the Great Battle

A sharp scream, tinged with tears, rang out.

Yu Qing didn’t even think. All thoughts of a young lady’s decorum, all fear of facing the current Prime Minister, were thrown straight out of her mind.

Without hesitation, she rushed in front of Lu Yan.

Smack!

Though the slap had been pulled back somewhat, it still grazed Yu Qing’s arm heavily, knocking her body sideways.

But she didn’t retreat even a single step.

Yu Qing spread her arms wide, firmly shielding Lu Yan behind her.

Lu Yan froze completely.

He stared blankly at the figure standing in front of him.

So small, so slender, her body trembling slightly.

Yet she stood there so resolutely, like a mountain, blocking all the wind, rain, and harm for him.

No one had ever protected him like this.

Ever since his mother passed away, all the biting winds and cold blades of this world had been borne by him alone.

And now…

“Yu Qing…” Lu Yan’s voice trembled slightly as he instinctively reached out, wanting to pull her over to check her injury.

“Don’t be afraid!” Yu Qing shouted loudly without turning her head.

“With me here, no one can bully you!”

“Not even your father!”

Lu Zhixing’s hand froze midair.

The fury that had filled his chest suddenly extinguished when he saw the scene before him.

He looked at the woman in front of him—her face stubborn, trembling with fear yet refusing to step aside.

Then, past her shoulder, he saw the look in his son’s eyes—something he had never seen before.

A tenderness so cautious, yet so cherishing.

It was an expression Lu Zhixing had never once seen in Lu Yan’s eyes.

Slowly, Lu Zhixing lowered his hand.

The night wind lifted the hem of his robe, making him look especially desolate.

For twenty years, he had schemed and calculated, advancing step by step—for the glory of the Lu family, for their unshakable position in court.

Yet in the end, even his only son regarded him as an enemy.

“Good… very good.”

Lu Zhixing closed his eyes, his voice dry and hoarse.

He looked deeply at Lu Yan. His gaze was complex and difficult to read—there was unwillingness in it, yet also a faint trace of… relief.

“Since you’ve already made up your mind.”

Lu Zhixing turned around, his back appearing slightly hunched in the darkness.

“Then take care of yourself.”

There was no more arguing, no more persuasion.

Those final four words sounded like the last farewell between father and son—or perhaps the final prophecy for the inevitably brutal political struggle to come.

With heavy steps, Lu Zhixing walked out of the waterside pavilion, disappearing into the thick darkness.

Only after the sound of his footsteps completely faded—did Yu Qing suddenly deflate like a punctured balloon. Her legs went weak, and she nearly lost her balance.

“Oh my god, that scared me to death, it really scared me to death…”

Patting her chest, she gasped for breath. The fearless determination she’d shown earlier had vanished completely, and tears streamed down her face like they cost nothing.

“That old man’s gaze just now was terrifying, like he was going to swallow me alive… wuwuwu…”

A sharp pain shot through Lu Yan’s heart as he suddenly wrapped his arms around her from behind.

His arms tightened, as if he wanted to press her into his very bones and blood.

“You fool.”

He buried his head in the crook of her neck. Scalding tears slid down his cheeks and dripped into Yu Qing’s collar.

“Why did you rush out like that? If that slap had really landed…”

“Even if it did, I still had to block it!”

Yu Qing sniffed, then turned and hugged him back. Standing on her tiptoes, she clumsily tried to wipe the tear marks from his face.

【Even though I’m really afraid of pain, I’m even more afraid of seeing you stand there alone, getting hit with no one by your side.】

【Lu Yan, you’re not some unwanted child. You have me.】

Hearing her thoughts, Lu Yan felt as if something had slammed hard into his heart. It turned unbearably soft and sore, as though a large piece of it had collapsed.

“…Mm.”

He held her tightly. In this cold winter night, amid the ruins of a broken relationship, he had finally found his only shelter from the storm.

“I have you.”

Not far away, beneath the covered corridor—

Shen Jue withdrew his gaze, slowly turning the jade thumb ring on his finger.

“Looks like that old man Lu may be muddle-headed, but not completely beyond saving.”

Su Hewan stood beside him, pulling her cloak tighter around herself as she exhaled a puff of white breath.

“For him, this might be the best ending. At least he doesn’t have to personally hold a knife to his son’s throat.”

She turned to look at Shen Jue, her eyes bright.

“Now that the Lu family’s path is cut off, from now on, Lu Yan really only has us.”

Shen Jue chuckled softly and reached out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, the gesture natural and intimate.

“People like us were always meant to walk on the edge of blades. One more person makes no difference.”

He lifted his head to look at the pitch-black sky, his gaze gradually sharpening like a blade.

“Since Prime Minister Lu’s path won’t work, Zhao Shuo will probably make his next move soon.”

“March Third.”

Su Hewan softly spoke the date.

“It’s coming soon.”

“Hiss—!”

The fearless heroine from earlier, who had faced death without hesitation, now let out a pig-slaughtering scream the moment someone lightly touched her arm in the warm chamber.

“Ow, ow, ow! Be gentler! Lu Yan, are you trying to murder your wife?!”

Yu Qing’s eyes brimmed with tears as she curled up in the grand armchair. Her once fair and tender arm was now swollen and red, a shocking sight.

Lu Yan nearly dropped the jar of ointment in his hand. This commander of the Imperial Guard—who normally wouldn’t even tremble while holding the embroidered spring saber—now had his forehead covered in fine beads of sweat.

“I’m sorry. I… I used too much force.”

Flustered, he held the medicated cotton in his hand, unsure where to start.

【This hurts way too much! Just now my adrenaline was through the roof so I didn’t feel it, but now it feels like my bones are about to crack!】

【Waaah… even though that line ‘even your dad can’t do it’ just now was unbelievably cool, this kind of physical damage really isn’t suitable for a fragile college student like me!】

Hearing her thoughts, the pain in Lu Yan’s eyes nearly overflowed.

He took a deep breath, his movements becoming unbelievably gentle.

“Bear with it. The medicinal wine has to be rubbed in properly, or the bruising won’t fade.”

From the side, Shen Jue couldn’t bear watching any longer. Holding a teacup, he spoke coolly:

“Alright, Commander Lu. If you keep using that embroidery-level strength, the bruise won’t disappear even next year. How about I have the Eastern Depot’s interrogators help you? They’re very skilled with their hands.”

Su Hewan shot Shen Jue a helpless glance. Taking the tea from him, she handed it to Yu Qing—conveniently shutting someone’s sharp tongue up in the process.

“You should talk less. In that situation earlier, Qingqing was protecting Lord Lu.”

Yu Qing, still hissing in pain, didn’t forget to roll her eyes at Shen Jue.

“Lord Supervisor, someone like you who’s been single for ten thousand years—no, wait, someone who just escaped being single—wouldn’t understand the kind of love where two people run toward each other. This is called romance. Romance, you know?”

Shen Jue snorted, his thumb lightly rubbing the rim of the cup, though his gaze drifted almost imperceptibly toward Su Hewan beside him.

“Romance? Turning yourself into something that looks like a purple sweet potato spirit—very romantic indeed.”

Su Hewan remained perfectly composed, directly ignoring the childish bickering between the two of them and steering the conversation back on track.