Lu Beicheng had originally meant to stop Ren Qiqi.

He hadn’t expected that she wouldn’t even wait for everyone to leave before trying to strip Jiu’er’s clothes off.

There were other men in this tent besides him!

For Ren Qiqi to behave this way was more than a little humiliating to Jiu’er.

If Ji Mingyu and Lu Feifan hadn’t chosen to step out on their own, he would already have thrown the woman out himself.

Ren Qiqi felt a flicker of disappointment. She had originally planned to quickly strip Jiu’er’s clothes off and expose her body.

But now that the other two men had left, with only Master Nine remaining, what was the point of exposing Zhen Jiu’er’s body?

So her motion to remove Jiu’er’s undergarments slowed.

This wretched girl was far too lucky.

If Ji Mingyu and Lu Feifan had been just a little slower to leave, they would surely have gotten a full, unobstructed view of Zhen Jiu’er’s upper body!

Such a golden opportunity, missed just like that.

“Is there anything I can help with?” Lu Beicheng noticed her movements were rather rough, and the unconscious Jiu’er’s brow furrowed even tighter in response, sending a pang of tenderness through him.

“I’ll handle this myself!”

Undressing a patient like this—the doctor’s movements were far too rough, with no regard at all for the wounds she kept brushing against.

How much pain must Jiu’er be in?

Anxious and angry, he called out toward the tent entrance, “Get Qiaoqiao back here!”

“Master Nine, I am a doctor. Do you not trust my medical skill?” Ren Qiqi said, sounding wronged.

“Please be gentler.” Lu Beicheng’s expression had turned distinctly grim.

If there had been another doctor available, he would absolutely have hauled Ren Qiqi up and thrown her straight out.

She had hurt Jiu’er!

Startled by the ice in his voice, Ren Qiqi felt her resentment toward Jiu’er deepen.

What right did Zhen Jiu’er have—doing nothing at all—to win Master Nine’s favor?

What right did she have, when Ren Qiqi herself worked so hard to please him, hovering constantly in front of him, and still his gaze never once lingered on her?

What right did she have, really?

Ren Qiqi closed her eyes and drew a deep breath.

She looked again at Lu Beicheng—all his attention fixed on Zhen Jiu’er. Even as more and more of Jiu’er’s body was exposed, his eyes remained clear and deep, utterly without any improper thought.

A man like that—who could possibly not fall for him?

Ren Qiqi’s heart ached, truly.

The man she loved most was right in front of her, and she wanted so badly to throw herself at him, but in his heart, in his eyes, there had never once been room for her.

She only wanted to hold him, to kiss him—was even that too much to ask?

“Old Ji!” Lu Beicheng’s expression darkened further, his voice colder than before. “Has the Qiao girl come back yet?”

“S-someone’s already been sent to hurry her along,” Ji Mingyu answered from outside, trembling.

Though he couldn’t see Master Nine’s face, he could feel the fury radiating off him.

He had no idea what Ren Qiqi had done in there to make Master Nine unable to tolerate her presence for even a second longer.

Ren Qiqi snapped back to her senses at once, realizing just how slow her movements had become.

She took a deep breath and said quickly, “My apologies, Master Nine. I’ll see to Zhen Jiu’er’s wounds right away.”

This time, Ren Qiqi didn’t dare let her mind wander again. She picked up the antiseptic and began disinfecting Jiu’er’s wounds.

“Ngh…” As the antiseptic touched the wound, the unconscious Jiu’er let out a muffled groan of pain, showing signs of stirring awake.

Her face grew even paler.

Lu Beicheng took her hand, his voice gentler than it had ever been. “Don’t be afraid. It’ll be over soon. Almost done.”

“It hurts…” Cold sweat covered every inch of Jiu’er’s small, delicate face.

Ren Qiqi bit her lip, the flame of jealousy in her eyes burning ever brighter.

The more Master Nine doted on Zhen Jiu’er, the more she hated this woman!