You Are My String Of Fate

2.19 || Virtuous to One's Husband

When Hou Feihong, Hua Mulan, and a few of his men arrived in front of the gorge, Liu Qirong was sitting on the ground, her trembling body obscuring a man's corpse from their sight. Only his dark boots and covered head could be seen, all around the the two was blood.

Hua Mulan's heart moved.

As a woman, looking at the numerous marks on Liu Qirong's body, as well as how her dress had been torn into shreds, how could she not know what had happened?

Liu Qirong's eyes glazed over, mumbling incoherent words to herself. The woman did not seem to realize their presence.

For a woman, no matter how wicked she was, to be defiled was as good as death.

"Ro... Rong'er... ," Hou Feihong croaked hoarsely, stepping slowly towards Liu Qirong. Liu Qirong just had to tilt her body slightly to the side, and she would be free-falling to the bottom of the gorge.

Hua Mulan had probably never seen Hou Feihong look as flustered as he was. Hou Feihong was always courageous on the battlefield, and always a gentleman with his graceful bearing when he was not donning his armor.

Liu Qirong slowly lifted her head, her pupils slowly contracted and were gradually focused on Hou Feihong. Then she jerked backwards, causing a few pebbles and loose stones to drop from the edge of the cliff. The male corpse was just a nudge away from falling as well.

Hou Feihong and Hua Mulan screamed at the same time, "Don't!!"

Liu Qirong's previously heart-wrenching gaze turned calm once more. She straightened her neck and lifted her chin slightly, as though her body was not riddled by black and blue bruises and her torn dress was not showing a lot of skin a woman would normally hide.

Although she looked battered, and the blood on her lower skirt would tell any dumb person what exactly had happened, she currently looked absolutely pure and beautiful.

Hou Feihong swallowed hard.

Hua Mulan thought, this woman truly deserved to be called as a Phoenix.

Liu Qirong's voice was hoarse, but she did not tremble or stutter anymore, "Lord Husband... ."

Hou Feihong showed a relieved but pained expression. He took a step forward, but immediately stopped when he saw the bloody short blade in Liu Qirong's hand.

Hou Feihong's face was pale, "Rong'er, don't be harsh!"

Liu Qirong let out a small smile, as heart-breaking as it was captivating. Even Hua Mulan, as a woman, could not deny the other person's charm. Hua Mulan truly felt pity towards Liu Qirong. If Liu Qirong was not as beautiful, would she even be tortured and defiled like such? A woman must be strong and able to defend herself, just like what Hua Mulan had done.

"Lord Husband," Liu Qirong glanced at the male corpse behind her, "This man... has taken possession of me. I cannot be with Lord Husband anymore."

Her words confirmed everyone's suspicion.

For some reason, Hua Mulan thought Liu Qirong's smile was as tender as dew, as though the corpse had not given her the biggest humiliation of her life when he was still breathing. Hua Mulan thought, it was most likely Liu Qirong had received an unfathomable mental blow.

Hua Mulan could not think of anyone else who dared to cause such an offense, "Is... that the Second Prince?" After all, Hou Feihong did not manage to catch the Second Prince when the latter escaped a few days ago, "Did... you kill him?"

Upon hearing her, Hou Feihong's face turned ugly, his expression looked like he wanted nothing more but to tear the male corpse apart. Liu Qirong acted as though she did not hear what Hua Mulan had said.