Self-Sacrifice

Without a second thought, Xi Cui rushed forward, grabbing his arm and pulling him away from the horse's hooves.

She used all her strength to roll aside, but due to momentum, she could not stand firmly, taking two steps back and falling to the ground along with Wei Dansheng.

The white horse galloped past like a whirlwind, kicking up a cloud of dust that obscured their vision.

Xi Cui fell flat on her back, a sharp pain radiating from her spine, while her body felt as if a mountain were pressing down on it, nearly suffocating her.

"Get... get off." Xi Cui spat out the coarse sand in her mouth, pushing hard against the weight on her body.

The dust gradually dispersed, and she finally saw the scene before her clearly.

Wei Dansheng was looking down at her.

The distance between them was a mere finger's width, their noses almost touching.

Xi Cui could even clearly see her own startled face reflected in Wei Dansheng's blue eyes.

Under the shining sun, his pupils seemed to be traced with a thin golden arc.

He placed one hand on the ground, holding her in his arms, his green cassock falling over her, brushing against her coldly.

Wei Dansheng continued to look down at her from above, the golden arc in his eyes seeming to flow slowly.

The round white Buddhist beads fell against her neck, rolling over her skin, a cold sensation instantly piercing through her flesh and seeping into her limbs.

Next were his fingertips; he reached out his other hand and slowly wrapped it around her neck.

His golden eyes, like the vertical pupils of a venomous snake, were cold. Xi Cui was completely unable to react, frozen in place.

What was Wei Dansheng doing?

His eyelashes drooped, and his five fingers slowly tightened.

Breathing instantly became difficult.

Her vital gate was gripped tightly by him. Just when Xi Cui felt he might truly want to choke her to death, he suddenly withdrew his hand and pulled his body away from her.

With the pressure on her neck and body gone, Xi Cui coughed twice and looked toward him.

He had already stood up as if nothing had happened, even extending a hand to pull her up.

As the yellow sand settled, people finally rushed over to check on their situation.

Xi Cui touched her neck in a daze. Although Wei Dansheng had not used full force just now, she could feel that he truly wanted to kill her.

Just like when he had slit her throat with a piece of broken porcelain.

He had indeed harbored murderous intent.

A patch of snow-white neck was reflected before him, like a freshly peeled sweet water chestnut.

White to the point of cloying.

Delicate and soft, as if with just a little effort, he could snap it.

This murderous intent only flashed through his heart for an instant before he let it go.

Soon, the two were surrounded by others who had rushed over. Wei Dansheng raised his eyes, suppressing the light rising in the depths of his gaze.

No one expected such an incident to occur on the polo field. Fortunately, the white horse was quickly controlled and led away. No casualties occurred.

The only ones affected were the two unlucky souls, Xi Cui and Wei Dansheng.

Gao Ying ran over, drenched in sweat, along with Chu Luoxin.

Seeing that Xi Cui was fine, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

Madame Cui, wife of the Marquis of Anyang, hurriedly rushed over to personally inspect their condition. Seeing that neither of them was injured, she let out a long sigh of relief.

Recalling the event, she still felt a lingering fear.

If anything had happened to Wei Sanlang and San Niang of the Gao family at her place, she truly would not know how to explain it.

"You were truly too reckless this time." She wrung her handkerchief, letting out a long breath, still not forgetting to lecture her. "What if you hadn't pulled him away in time?"

To her surprise, the woman in front of her remained calm.

"I didn't think too much at the time, I only thought of saving him."

Madame Cui cast another look at San Niang, a trace of admiration flashing in her eyes. Seeing her like this, she indeed resembled her elder brother.

"Dansheng," Madame Cui glanced at Wei Dansheng standing nearby, "why are you standing there in a daze? Why don't you come over and thank Lady Gao for saving your life?"

Hearing Madame Cui's words, Wei Dansheng stepped forward as bidden, clasping his hands in a respectful salute, his expression looking extremely sincere: "Thank you for saving my life, Lady Gao. Once I return, I will certainly light an ever-burning lamp before the Buddha for you, tending to it day and night, to pray that you will be free from illness and disaster, and enjoy peace and happiness in the future."

Looking at his seemingly sincere expression, Xi Cui felt for the first time that she was about to lose her grip on the urge to curse in her heart.

Who was the one who wanted to choke her to death just now when no one was looking!

Concerned that both were shaken, Madame Cui did not keep them any longer and ordered a maid to lead Xi Cui and Wei Dansheng to rest.

Returning to the tent, she met Gao Ying. Gao Ying told her that her virtue of sacrificing herself to save others at a critical moment had already spread everywhere.

At this moment, no one thought about what happened at the banquet anymore, let alone believed the rumor that Gao San Niang was cowardly and lacked opinion.

How could someone like Gao San Niang be cowardly?

If this was considered cowardly and afraid of trouble, then where were the so-called heroes?

"This time, you've taken all the spotlight," Gao Ying laughed, taking pleasure in her situation. "Xia Miao will surely be green with envy."

Gao Yiyu represented the face of the Gao family. Although she disliked Xi Cui, since Xi Cui had brought honor to the family, she was naturally pleased. Her attitude toward Xi Cui became much gentler and more attentive, even personally pouring a cup of tea for her.

Xi Cui had no interest in Gao Ying's words.

Recalling Wei Dansheng's actions just now, she felt a headache coming on.

There was definitely something wrong with Wei Dansheng.

After her death that time, she had asked the system, and the system had sworn that there was nothing wrong with Wei Dansheng's character.

If he had killed her before because of her identity as a bandit, this time she had no connection to him, so why did he want to choke her to death?

It couldn't be because he hated her for interfering with his relationship with Wu Huaifei before.

Xi Cui gave up on trying to make sense of it.

Judging by the current development of the plot, Wei Dansheng was by no means a gentle male lead. He might be holding the script of a villain.

Feeling a bit suffocated thinking about these facts in the tent, Xi Cui sat inside for a moment before standing up and walking out.

Indeed, just as Gao Ying said, the story of her risking her life to save someone had spread throughout the banquet.

Whenever the young masters and ladies of prestigious families saw her, they would step forward to greet her, or actively smile and show goodwill.

Previously, she had been left alone with no one caring, but now, everywhere she went, people greeted her. This contrast made Xi Cui unable to react for a moment.

In the eyes of others, this became Gao San Niang being humble and dislike showing off, a steady person just like her elder brother.

Faced with these idle nobles who loved to over-interpret things, Xi Cui did not even have the energy to mock them.

Speak of the devil, she had only walked a few steps when she suddenly saw that jade-green cassock from afar.

At this moment, Xi Cui truly did not want to see him, turning around to slip away.

But Wei Dansheng had already spotted her: "Benefactor Gao."