"I can't go on anymore..." Yanyue leaned on a tree for support as Beichen navigated the forest ahead of her. After they ventured out from the cave, her eyesight became blurry, and her head seemed to spin. The numbness got worse as the time ticked. Her temperature had not dropped, and the body aches only increased with more movements.
She lost control of her body and almost toppled backward. Luckily, Beichen had a fast reaction and caught her in time.
"Get on my back," he ordered.
Yanyue shook her head and rejected steadfastly, "I don't want to. I will never let myself owe you."
He frowned but did as she wished. But, when he freed her, she was not stable yet and almost wobbled over. And he caught her again, though he didn't intend to; his body acted much faster than his brain.
In one swift move and as gently as he could avoid hurting her stomach, Beichen carried Yanyue on his back without asking. For a woman like her, using brunt force was the best way.
"I don't want you to carry me... Let me down!" Yanyue resisted, her voice weak and breathless.
Beichen said flatly, "If you don't have my child, I will not bat an eye even if you were to bleed to death on a sidewalk."
Yanyue became more agitated. "Then, just let me die! Anyway, you don't love me, so why should I have your child?! Go and have one with your beloved woman, and make sure the child is yours this time!"
She tried to wriggle down his back, but Beichen wouldn't let her. Instead, in an attempt to stop her, he slapped and squeezed one side of her butt cheeks, resulting in a sudden scream from her.
"Move one more time, and I'll do something worse than this," Beichen warned.
Yanyue was too weak to protest any further.
Anyway, you owe me more so just this once... I will borrow your back, Yanyue resolved.
She was defeated and exhausted as her eyelids slowly settled. She found a comfortable spot and rested her head. The warmness emitting from the man's broad back gave her a sense of security.
It's surprisingly comfortable here...was the last thought she had before she dozed off from the fever.
*
"I, Jun, seek the Goddess of Corydalis to bear witness to the vow, that from now on forth, I shall be loyal to and devote my life to the only love of my life, Lucianne Ai Scarlette."
The man took a poppy flower and placed it on the woman's ear.
"Goddess of Corydalis, I, Lucianne Ai Scarlette, vow to be loyal to and love only one man, Jun, for the rest of my life until death do us apart."
The two people kneeling on the poppy field gazing towards the vibrant silvery moon looked lovingly at each other as they kissed to solidify their vows.
"I love you," Jun said, caressing Lucianne tenderly on the back.
"Me too," the woman confirmed emotionally. "I've always been alone all my life, and I didn't believe that I could have today. Jun, please tell me this is real, that I'm not dreaming."
Jun pecked his new wife's lips, and then he put his forehead against hers.
"You're not dreaming. You can lean on me from now on."
With that, he gently laid her down on the ground, crushing the poppy flowers underneath them. Then, he took in her lips with care, engulfing even her hitched breaths. The kiss turned passionate as he sought to open her mouth and stuck his tongue inside to worship hers.
"Jun!" Lucianne cried in a burst of satisfaction from the smooth penetration. She didn't know when he had taken off his clothes or hers, but when he joined her, the world became just him and her.
Jun groaned in pleasure as he explored her tightness. Suddenly the hands lovingly brushing her cheeks found her neck. "Ai Ai, I... I will kill you."
"Die!"
Lucianne's eyes widened, shocked at the betrayal, as she fought to breathe. She tried to pry his hands away from her neck, but he was too strong and she was not successful. Her body began convulsing as she ran out of air.
"Ah!" Yanyue woke up from a nightmare that felt surreal. She touched her neck and was relieved by the coldness of it.
"Yueyue, are you okay?"
She finally noticed the person keeping watch over her for two days after falling unconscious.
"Jason...how you are here?" She took a look around her. She seemed to be in a hospital room. "Why am I here?"
Jason sat next to the bed and replied, "You are in the city of Napo because you're sick."
Yanyue glanced around the room again as if looking for something.
Jason said, "My brother is not here."
"He went back to the base and village to take care of the remaining stuff there."
Yanyue realized that she was too obvious. "I wasn't looking for him. I just wonder how I got here...and why are you also here? And what is with the protective gear?"
"Don't rush. I will explain everything slowly." Jason sighed, "You were sick, so my brother flew you to the nearest city, which is Napo, for treatment. You... were diagnosed with pneumonia and have been unconscious for the past two days now. As for why I'm here: I was filming in the area when I got a small injury from the shoot. My manager insisted that I come to the hospital, so I did, and by chance, I saw my brother carrying you in at the entrance. When my brother left, I stayed because I didn't want you to be here alone."
"I see," said Yanyue warmly. "But, I have pneumonia?"
"Yes, but don't worry. The doctor comes to check on you every couple of hours. You are the princess consort, so they won't let anything happen to you."
Just as Jason finished saying that, Yanyue began coughing. He was flustered and quickly handed a cup of water to her.
"The doctor said that you must drink plenty of fluid to help you recover faster."
"Thank you," Yanyue said as she received the cup and took a sip.
"My grandma is extremely worried about you. She almost tore off her tubes to fly over to see you," Jason commented.
Yanyue still felt only a great attachment to Grandma Lu in her current state even though the previous Yanyue was very close to the old lady. Nevertheless, she owed great thanks to the old lady for treating her indiscriminately all this while.
However, she would leave this place sooner or later, so it was not good to form too close a relationship with anyone. There was a bitter taste in her mouth as she thought about the inevitable future. Four years was enough to make her develop warm feelings for some people.
"When did grandma wake up? Is her condition all right now?" she asked.
"Grandma woke up right after you left for the northern territory. The doctor is keeping her in the hospital to monitor her symptoms. They said that she can get up to walk around in a couple of more days."
Yanyue gave a hopeful smile and said somewhat emotionally, "I'm glad that she is out of danger now."
Jason sighed in agreement with her. "Grandma has always been strong and stubborn. She said that she would not die before seeing her grandchildren..."
"Grandma...I may do something sorry to her in the future," Yanyue confessed ambiguously.
"How can you do something wrong to her? I believe that you will never do anything to sadden her spirit. Even if you do, she will never be angry with you. Sometimes, I think that she loves you more than her grandchildren," Jason said logically and laughed a little at the end.
Yanyue was full of guilt for her future self and smiled sympathetically in response. "I owe her a lot..."
"My grandma has always seen you as her granddaughter. She loves you so much that she does not want you to repay her. Everything she does is out of her goodwill."
"Yes, Grandma is a kind person. If only she was my real grandma," she sighed. "I feel bad for giving her so many problems regarding Beichen and me. It is partly my fault that she has become the state she is now. If I can have a good life with Beichen, perhaps, grandma's illness wouldn't have been agitated."
Jason defended fiercely. "No, don't blame yourself, Yueyue. Everyone knows how much you love my brother. It is his loss for not loving you back and treating you coldly. Grandma is more or less angry at him, not you. She knows that you are doing your best for this marriage."
Yanyue slightly shook her head.
"I just think that I was stupid and naive because I knew he didn't love me, but I went along with the marriage. This whole union between us was a mistake from the beginning, and there will be no future for him and me."
"Even if my brother doesn't care about you, Grandma and I are here," Jason assured her.
Yanyue was thankful to have known Jason. She didn't know if she would have survived before regaining her memories without him. Shen Yanyue before was a pushover and could not defend herself due to love and the so-called childhood promise. So, it was fortunate that she had someone reliable like Jason by her side.
"Yes, I know," she said gratefully as a response to Jason's assurance.
Visiting hours were over, so Jason had to leave, not forgetting to promise that he would come again the next day. Yanyue nodded her head and waved goodbye.
Over the next few days, she followed the doctor's advice, taking all her medications and drinking more water than she had done before. Soon, the viral infection was going away, and she was slowly recovering. A week went by since her admission.
*
"It was my incompetence that I couldn't capture him," said Captain Sean with his head lowered in disdain because he couldn't defeat the opponent.
Beichen's eyebrows furrowed, and one could tell that he was disappointed. If one of the top captains could not overcome the enemy, then it meant that the rebel force was more powerful than they had previously observed.
Captain Sean raised his head and continued, "He might be an ex-military officer...of the highest ranking."
Beichen's expression became deep as he listened with more intent.
Captain Sean gulped before saying again, "When I approached him with hand-to-hand combat...he was able to defeat me so quickly because he used one of the legendary martial arts techniques employed by the Zemin clan..."
"That's impossible," Beichen commented in suspicion. "The Zemin clan was exterminated when my father took over the throne almost three decades ago."
But Captain Sean insisted, "I couldn't be wrong about what I encountered, Your Highness. Perhaps, this rebel group can withstand our forces for so long because they can learn something formidable that requires extremely crazy energy and life force."
"That may be possible. As intelligent as my brother is, he couldn't find the mastermind behind the rebels. If the leader behind them has ties to the Zemin clan, then we would have to be careful. The Zemin clan was once the central governmental force behind Yilongguo's Special Military Operation, so we can't eliminate the possibility of an internal ally helping them."
"You mean there might be a traitor in the government?" Captain Sean asked incredulously.
Beichen nodded. "The Zemin clan has historical ties to the creation of the nation. They served the country in the dark with their unique martial arts. And every dirty job fell onto them. Then, until a couple of decades ago, their views were becoming very extreme until it was threatening the very nation they vowed to protect. So, a small group of ministers forced them to disband. But, their influence has not completely diminished. But due to strict control and effort, those remaining supporters went into hiding. If they are behind the rebels, and someone is protecting them from the shadows in the guise of our government, then that could mean serious trouble."
Captain Sean paused, thinking what the trouble could be. "Do you mean that they could stage a total insurrection behind the scenes?"
Beichen became silent, and it was all that was required to answer the Captain's question. After a moment of deep contemplation, he finally said, "Prepare the soldiers to go back. This issue might be bigger than we can handle with just a few of us. I will personally report our speculation to the King."
Captain Sean saluted and departed to handle the soldiers. Beichen stood up from his seat and also prepared to leave. But he didn't go straight to the capital.
He had gotten updates on the woman's development through private phone calls that the primary doctor gave him. Though he had no feelings for Yanyue, he had to make sure she was okay. If anything happened to her, he wasn't sure how that would impact his grandma. At most, she would become critically ill again, and he didn't want to see his grandma on death's bed. So, Beichen flew to Napo on the fastest route to see for himself that the woman was not in danger.