I Take You Home

Xiao Zetian tightly wrapped Su Li in his cloak and galloped wildly on horseback.

Su Li closed her eyes, as if all the strength in her body had been drained, her expression blank.

"A Li, we're almost home," Xiao Zetian's voice floated above Su Li's head.

Su Li opened her eyes and realized that Xiao Zetian was actually riding a horse, bringing her back to Haizi Village.

When they were still some distance from the village, Xiao Zetian looked at Su Li's disheveled hair, sighed softly, and turned the horse to circle around from the other side of the village.

Su Li had been abducted by several men in front of everyone last night. Now, in her current state, she couldn't be seen by the villagers, or who knew what rumors would spread.

As they neared the village, Xiao Zetian let the horse walk freely, gently holding Su Li, and said, "A Li, remember when I taught you to ride a horse?"

In Su Li's mind, memories of her and Yuanbao riding horses surfaced; they were still on horseback...

Suddenly, a look of disgust appeared on Su Li's face as she coldly said, "Back then, General Xiao must have already regained his memories and was playing around with common women."

Xiao Zetian's voice faltered, and he muttered, "I didn't, A Li, it's not what you think. I planned to tell you after breaking off the engagement with Princess Mingyu, but who knew such a thing would happen midway."

Su Li closed her eyes again, her expression blank. Xiao Zetian didn't know if she heard or believed him.

At this moment, Xiao Zetian's full attention was on Su Li; he didn't notice that by the roadside, Tang Shi and Zhang Zhaocai, mother and son, were hiding in a bush, discussing how to hide the large sum of money the noble young master had given from Zhang Zhuzi.

"Hey, Zhaocai, look, isn't that Su Li and Yuanbao!" Tang Shi looked into the distance, eyes wide. When she saw Su Li's messy hair and torn clothes peeking from the cloak, her mouth dropped open as if she could fit an egg in it.

"Oh my heavens, last night Su Li was abducted by several men. Seeing her like this, she must have been violated! Oh dear, this cuckold situation, I can't believe Yuanbao is still able to endure it! If I were Yuanbao, I definitely couldn't!" Tang Shi's eyes rolled wildly as she immediately started scheming, coming up with several bad ideas. She quickly said to Zhang Zhaocai, "Zhaocai, let's hurry to the village and tell everyone that Yuanbao rescued Su Li from those men, and that they're almost home. Tell everyone to wait at Su Li's doorstep!"

Tang Shi said this while pulling Zhang Zhaocai along. The two of them crouched low and quickly took a shortcut back to the village.

The village was in chaos today. Most villagers had participated in the fire-fighting efforts last night and knew about Su Li's kidnapping. Many were moving around the village, checking for news and concerned whether Su Li had been rescued.

Tang Shi entered the village and began loudly announcing, "Good news, everyone! Su Li has been found! She's on her way home now! Su Li has helped us earn silver and built a school for the village. She's our great benefactor. Now that she's safe, we should go see her!"

Tang Shi's words sounded righteous, and the villagers all agreed.

The village chief looked at Tang Shi with rare admiration and said, "Tang Shi, you've really improved. Not easy!"

Tang Shi chuckled and said, "Of course! I'm really 'concerned' about Su Li! Come on, let's hurry to see her!"

So most of the village rushed to Su Li's doorstep in a hurry. Tang Shi stood at the front, squinting into the distance, then suddenly screamed and pointed in one direction, "Look, Yuanbao and Su Li are back!"