Pei Jingheng tightened his arm around her shoulders, then chuckled softly. "I was severely wounded at the frontier. The Emperor, my father, was worried and summoned me back to the capital immediately. However, too many people wanted my life along the way, so I had no choice but to separate from the troops escorting me and travel in disguise, crossing mountains and ridges to return to Shengjing."
"Severely wounded?" Shen Mingshu frowned and reached out to press her fingers against his wrist. "Let me see."
Pei Jingheng did not pull away. He lowered his gaze to the red thread binding their wrists, and a faint glimmer stirred in the depths of his dark, somber eyes.
Chapter 17