What did they need cold water for?

The young maidservant was stunned, not knowing what to do. She just stared blankly at Ji Yunshu.

Everyone else stared at her too.

Finding it inexplicable!

Ji Yunshu was also speechless. She simply pulled the young maidservant along. “If you don’t want her to die of pain, hurry and fetch cold water.”

“Huh?”

“Go quickly.”

“Oh, oh… alright, I’ll go right now.” The maidservant couldn’t care about all this nonsense anymore. Thinking the urgent matter was to quickly cure Sister Xiao Qu, she immediately ran off.

The people in the room began discussing in chaos.

“What’s all this about? Why use cold water?”

“Is cold water medicine?”

“Are you stupid? How could cold water be medicine?”

“Then what does she need water for?”

…

Everyone discussed among themselves.

Ji Yunshu grabbed Xiao Qu, then issued an order to them, “Everyone, please go outside.”

Go outside?

The manager stepped forward and asked, “Young master? What are you—?”

“Just go outside first.”

“But Xiao Qu she…”

“She’ll be fine. Leave her to me.”

The manager knew she was the bone-sketching master from the yamen, so he felt reassured. However, having a man and woman alone in a room was somewhat improper. He opened his mouth but couldn’t find the words, so he called for the people in the room to leave.

After everyone left, they kept discussing, “What’s going on? Sister Xiao Qu is in such pain—why pull us out?”

“What does it mean for a man to be in there?”

“Could he have ulterior motives toward Sister Xiao Qu?”

“We should hurry in and check. What if something happens?”

Everyone chimed in, about to rush back in to look, when the manager stopped them.

He persuaded them, “That young master is from the yamen. Surely he won’t do anything improper.” “Some people look all proper on the outside—who knows what demons lurk inside? Look at Song Zhi and Zhang Xiaobai—one a refined scholar, one fair and delicate—aren’t they both now suspects locked up in prison? That person inside looks all scholarly, but look at the clothes she’s wearing—clearly from Da Lin! If something happens, that would be terrible. Where would we even go to lodge a complaint?” said a burly man.

This person was actually A Shen, Xiao Qu’s admirer!

A Shen had grown up with Xiao Qu. He had liked that girl since childhood. After Xiao Qu became a dan role actress for the Zhao Family Theater Troupe, he also joined the troupe, willing to do odd jobs just to stay by Xiao Qu’s side, take care of her, and accompany her.

But Xiao Qu had always treated him like a brother!

A Shen was deathly afraid that the girl he liked would be defiled by someone else. No matter what, he wanted to rush in.

The manager firmly held him back, not letting him enter, saying, “Don’t make trouble. Stay outside properly.”

“But…”

“We’re all outside. She won’t dare do anything.”

“Then…”

Before he could finish, Xiao Qu’s maidservant from earlier had already brought a large basin of cold water.

A Shen immediately grabbed her and instructed, “You hurry in and watch. Don’t let that person do anything to Xiao Qu. If anything happens, yell loudly. We’re right outside. If she dares to do anything, I’ll definitely kill her.”

“I know, I know. Hurry and let me through.”

The young maidservant pushed the door open with her arm and then closed it with her foot.

Inside the room.

Xiao Qu was still rolling on the bed in pain, her hands clutching her hair tightly, her face full of agony, continuously shouting, “It hurts so much… ah… kill me, just kill me…”

She really couldn’t bear it anymore!

That pain was like countless knives reaching into her head and stirring continuously!

The pain was worse than death.

She actually hoped someone would really end it all with one stroke.

Ji Yunshu didn’t try to restrain her, but quietly watched her roll on the bed.

The young maidservant carried the basin of water to the bedside, at a loss. “That young master… the cold water is here. What should I do now?”

“Help me hold her down. I need to remove her clothes.”

What?

The maidservant’s hands trembled, nearly spilling the basin of water on the ground.

“Young master… what did you say?”

Ji Yunshu looked at her sternly. “Quickly put the water by the bed and hold Miss Xiao Qu down. Hurry, or she’ll die from the pain.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Treat her illness.”

The maidservant was half-believing, half-doubting, stunned for a long time.

“Aren’t you going to hurry?”

“Yes…” The young maidservant still decided to trust her, so she quickly placed the water by the bed and went up to hold Xiao Qu down.

Ji Yunshu took this opportunity to untie the sash of Xiao Qu’s upper garment.

Although Xiao Qu was in unbearable pain, she was still somewhat conscious. She struggled desperately, shouting, “You… what are you doing?”

“Don’t move!” Ji Yunshu paid no attention to this. The movements of her hands quickened a bit, deftly removing her outer garment, leaving only a bright red dudou.

The maidservant bit her lip. When she saw this scene, her grip on Xiao Qu’s hands loosened. She really wanted to call the people outside in, but before she could speak, she saw Ji Yunshu plunge her own hand into the basin of cold water.

She soaked it for five or six seconds.

The dripping wet hand immediately grasped Xiao Qu’s slender waist.

That icy sensation made Xiao Qu’s entire body stiffen. Her eyes widened, and her waist involuntarily arched up a bit. That coldness seemed to penetrate to the bone.

Ji Yunshu’s hand soaked in the cold water again, but this time she pressed it against Xiao Qu’s ribs.

Xiao Qu felt the cold again. The coldness seemed to be slowly replacing the pain in her head!

Ji Yunshu repeated this action again and again…

Until Xiao Qu completely quieted down, even trembling all over from the cold, before stopping.

The maidservant on the side was dumbfounded.

What kind of technique was this?

Although Xiao Qu was shivering from cold, Ji Yunshu didn’t cover her with a blanket, letting her curl up into a ball on the bed.

“Sister Xiao Qu, are you alright?” the maidservant asked.

Xiao Qu gradually regained consciousness. She opened her weak eyes to glance at the maidservant and gently shook her head.

“That’s wonderful! Sister Xiao Qu, you’re alright—that’s wonderful!” She wept tears of joy.

Ji Yunshu just stood by the bed, pulling out her own handkerchief to wipe her hands.

She suddenly noticed the small red dots on Xiao Qu’s wrist. Although they were densely packed, they weren’t very obvious—as if they had just appeared recently.

Ji Yunshu lifted her wrist to examine it closely.

“What is this?”

Just like… exactly the same as the red dots on Gao Dali’s wrist.

Except one was darker and one lighter!

Could there be some connection between the two?

Ji Yunshu didn’t know what caused these red dots?

She looked for a long time but couldn’t figure out the truth.

Seeing Xiao Qu shivering all over from cold, she could only put down Xiao Qu’s hand and said to the maidservant, “You can cover her with the blanket now.”

The maidservant pulled the blanket over to cover her.

“Young master, is Sister Xiao Qu alright now?”

Ji Yunshu said, “I’ve only temporarily made her alright.”

“Temporarily? Does that mean it will happen again in the future?”

“Yes.” Ji Yunshu nodded, then walked to the table and poured a cup of water. The maidservant became anxious. “Young master, you must help Sister Xiao Qu! What will she do if she keeps hurting like this?”