In front of Li Rui's eyes flashed the mory of her asking her father again to let her go the village for a few months where Master Wong lived because she had heard that he had collected information about many plants that had dicinal herbs and hence she wanted to go and see if she could learn anything from it.
Her father, of course had refuse to let her go. She had been disappointed but after Li Zhan's incident she never asked him for the sa thing again so she had went back to her courtyard to busy herself with her books.
However, it was very sudden when the next day her father ca and told her that she could leave but only for a month and she would have to take the soldiers with herself.
She had refused as she didn't want anyone to recognize herself as General Li's daughter.
This had made her father worry but she had assured him that she would go there with so other identity and would never tell her real na to anyone.
After much effort, she had been able to make him agree for a month and fifteen days in addition.
However, she was to take two soldiers, Li i and Li Hua with her.
"He saved my life."
Li Rui told Xi Ying who looked at him for the elaboration. He rembered silently how General Li had said to him that the attacks had stopped for a few years as she told him how she t Gu Li and how afterwards he and his master taught her swordsmanship.
The attacks never stopped. It was just that she never let General Li know about them.
Xi Ying's eyes were deathly cold. He wondered how cruel Zhao Wang Lei was to send people to kill a child who had not crossed even the age of ten.
Even Youxio had that limit of the age of children.
And the most outrageous thing was that Li Rui has never seed to harm him in any way for him to do all this.
"Rui…"
He suddenly held his wife's face in between his hands. As he looked at his wife's clean black eyes, he felt his heart aching at the re thought of her life being in such a constant danger …since her birth.
At so point of her life, she must have been afraid …very much afraid that now she no longer seem to have any fear of death.
"Have you ever wondered who is doing all this?"
Li Rui eyelashes lowered and she seed to be in a deep thought as she whispered
"Many tis. I noticed it after Li…Li Zhan's death."
Li Rui swallowed as she continued
"It started after a few months of her death when father started to take out of Li Manor."
At that ti, his father was trying to cheer her up. That's why he would take her out in evenings thinking that it would brought back the cheerful smile on her face.
But the darkness of Li Zhan's death was too dark at that ti for any light to scare away that darkness.
"I was attacked on one of the evenings outing. Father saved but he got injured in the process. After that, he didn't allow to step out of Li Manor. However, he assured her that it was just so normal attack.
"It had been difficult for to go out of Li Manor for that one and a half month after that attack. I thought that I was hidden very well but then I was attacked again…and that too twice. Once when I was on my way to the village and the second ti when I was staying there. The first ti …it was the soldier who was sent to protect by Father. He attacked when I was alone with him but I …I killed him. I pushed him down the mountain we were on to collect so herbs."
Li Rui's eyes were blank when she said the last few words.
It was the first ti she had killed soone. For the subsequent nights, she had been unable to sleep.
"Why did you not go back after the first attack?"
Xi Ying said imdiately, His heart was beating fast inside his chest as he imagined whatever she told him. How he wished to be there for her when she was going through all this!
Li Rui smiled but the smile was full of a strange sadness.
"If I had let anyone know about the attack…Li i, Li Hua or Father then I would have never been able to step out of Li Manor. It had been suffocating too much …so much that I could endure the fear of my life being in danger but I couldn't bear the thought of going back to those four walls of Li Manor again."
Xi Ying exhaled sharply as if hoping that the stuffiness he was feeling inside his heart would reduce to so extent.
Li Rui continued.
It was the first ti she was sharing what she had felt inside her heart at those tis and sohow …it felt nice.
"After I returned safely, Father allowed to go out again when I asked him. I went to so other village to learn more and then I was attacked again. By that ti, I was sure that they were not normal attacks. They wanted my life…my life precisely. But after I had learnt swordsmanship it beca easier to protect myself. Slowly, they would no longer send only one person to kill …the people started to increase and with that I got better at my swordsmanship."
But at the cost of putting your life in constant danger.
Xi Ying thought silently inside his heart.
"I wondered who this person was. What wrong I have done to him? Elder Brother had been investigating from a long ti …since he ca to know of this. But he only got so results after I married. It was Princess he told . I thought the sa. But on the day of this banquet, I was attacked again Ying…Princess could not send them right? She was already asked to stay inside her chambers. She didn't have any way to send them. It was then I realized that it could not be her. And then Senior Brother told that it was …His Majesty."
Xi Ying saw how confused Li Rui looked when she finished.
His thumb caressed the soft skin of her cheeks gently. He could feel her strength. He could feel how strong and fearless those difficult circumstances had made this woman.
And he felt very proud of her!
"I will find out. We together will find out everything."
He whispered as he leaned his forehead against hers.
"And I shall not leave him alive after I find this out."
He finished with a kiss on her forehead.
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