Shen Lingzhen was pacing in the corridor when she spotted Kongqing hurrying toward the bathhouse carrying a lacquer tray.

On the tray lay a stack of white garments. She saw from a distance and called out to him, “What are you doing? Has my husband finished bathing?”

Kongqing turned back and bowed to her. “Answering the young mistress, the young master is still in the bathhouse. This humble one is delivering clothing. The servants below were unreliable in their duties—they brought the outer robe but forgot the inner garment.”

Shen Lingzhen nodded. “Then hurry along.”

Kongqing froze, his eyes staring straight at her as if still waiting for her to continue.

“I have nothing more,” Shen Lingzhen looked back at him oddly. “Don’t keep my husband waiting.”

“Ah, this humble one will go now.” Kongqing bowed to her, and the moment he turned to leave, he hissed through gritted teeth, one hand trembling as it struggled to steady the lacquer tray while the other clutched his stomach.

“What’s wrong?”

“Answering the young mistress, this humble one is… not seriously ill, just suffering from an upset stomach. All afternoon…”

As if afraid of offending noble ears, he didn’t complete his reference to using the toilet, but Shen Lingzhen understood. Her face showed conflicted emotions before she finally bit her lip lightly, as if making a decision. “Then you go attend to your needs. I’ll deliver these clothes for you.”

“How could that be acceptable?” Though his face was contorted with pain, he still insisted, “The young mistress has a body worth a thousand gold—how could you perform such menial tasks?”

“It’s just delivering some clothes. Does that have different levels of importance?” Shen Lingzhen smiled and took the lacquer tray. “Go on, rest assured. I’ll handle this.”

“Then this humble one thanks the young mistress…” Kongqing, bent over and teeth clenched, pointed her toward the bathhouse, then disappeared in a flash. Only when he reached a deserted corner did he straighten up and pat his chest with satisfaction.

Shen Lingzhen approached the bathhouse door anxiously and freed one hand to knock.

A muffled “Enter” came from inside.

She pushed open the door. A wave of heat mixed with rich medicinal fragrance rushed toward her. Shen Lingzhen immediately saw Huo Liuxing’s bare arm and shoulder propped against the edge of the bathing tub.

She had never seen a man’s body before. Encountering this scene, her heart raced and her mind spun with panic. Her legs wanted to retreat of their own accord, but thinking of the bigger picture, she forced herself to inch forward and slowly set down the lacquer tray.

Huo Liuxing supported his forehead with his eyes closed, resting. He showed no intention of turning around.

But viewing him from behind, Shen Lingzhen could only see broken skin at his elbow—she had no way of knowing about any other injuries or scars.

She bit her lip in difficulty and tiptoed toward the front.

Huo Liuxing seemed only then to notice something amiss. He opened his eyes and turned halfway to look. A flash of astonishment crossed his eyes, as if surprised the person was her.

Shen Lingzhen startled like a thief caught in the act and was about to explain when her gaze fell on him and couldn’t move away.

From this angle, she could see his upper chest perfectly. There, about two inches below his left collarbone, was a square, uneven, ferocious mark. Though it appeared slightly flushed from soaking in hot water—looking fresher than the old scar in her memory—the location and appearance matched.

Though she had been preparing herself for a day and night, the moment of confirmation with her own eyes still left Shen Lingzhen unable to recover. Her gaze flickered as she stared at him, forgetting to speak.

Huo Liuxing followed her gaze and looked down at himself.

Only then did she suddenly come to her senses, staggering back two steps and covering her eyes.

Of course, in Huo Liuxing’s view, she covered them rather slowly.

Shen Lingzhen awkwardly turned away and explained, “Kongqing had an upset stomach on his way to deliver your clothes, so I brought them for him.”

Huo Liuxing’s tone held amusement as he propped himself up to look at her. “Oh, is that so?”

She nodded, momentarily caught in a dilemma. After stammering for a moment, she hurried out. “I’ll wait for you outside…”

Huo Liuxing turned his head and watched helplessly as she stumbled at the threshold, steadied herself against the doorframe, touched her forehead in chagrin, and left the bathhouse.

This appearance of having criminal intent but lacking criminal courage was rather entertaining.

Huo Liuxing looked at the threshold with an incredulous smile, then looked down at his scar, then at his chest. His gaze swept back and forth between these two spots several times before he frowned.

——

While waiting for Huo Liuxing, Shen Lingzhen sat on the reclining beauty’s rest by the courtyard and thought about many things repeatedly.

She thought that Huo Liuxing’s refusal to acknowledge saving her must be to conceal the secret about his legs. But what kind of critical interests could make a physically able person willing to play disabled for ten years—willing to go from being a valiant warrior sweeping across battlefields to imprisoning himself in a cage, living out an ordinary life?

Shen Lingzhen didn’t know. But she knew that Huo Liuxing had truly risked his life to save her.

At the time, those bandits had wanted to capture her alive, but later when the fighting became chaotic, they had decided to take her life instead, severing the traces connecting the horse to the carriage.

Her hands and feet were bound, and the carriage windows were sealed with wooden bars. With no means of survival, she had plummeted with the carriage down the slope toward the cliff edge. At that critical moment, it was Huo Liuxing who had used his own flesh and blood to forcibly stop the carriage.

When the carriage finally came to a complete stop, his heels were already at the cliff’s edge—just one more step would have been a bottomless abyss.

Such a life-or-death situation could never have been calculated or staged.

Just for this reason alone—he could choose not to acknowledge this favor, but she could not know and not repay it.

Shen Lingzhen leaned against the beauty’s rest with furrowed brows, not noticing that Huo Liuxing had already emerged. Only when the familiar rumbling sound drew near did she stand and turn to look at him.

This earnest glance appeared to Huo Liuxing to contain some worry, vastly different from how she had previously suspected and investigated him at every turn.

It seemed that in this brief moment, something had changed.

Shen Lingzhen quickly approached and called out, “Husband.” But after calling, she didn’t know what to say and stopped abruptly.

Instead, Huo Liuxing opened the conversation first. “You were in such a hurry earlier—did you hurt yourself anywhere?”

She shook her head.

He smiled. “Be more careful in the future. If you fall, I won’t even be able to help you up.”

At these words, Shen Lingzhen looked at him with even more tenderness, even taking on a maternal quality—like a mother feeling sorry for her son.

Huo Liuxing felt inexplicably confused inside but remained composed outwardly. “What is it?”

She shook her head. “Nothing, nothing. I’ll remember.”

“Kongqing said you waited for me a long time. Is something the matter?”

“Originally I heard you were in the study and thought to bring tea. Now…” She touched her nose. “Now there’s nothing in particular.”

She said there was nothing, yet showed no sign of leaving.

Huo Liuxing pondered for a moment and looked at the sky. “Then let’s go eat. It’s getting late.”

“What about you, husband?”

“I just took a medicinal bath and don’t have much appetite. I’ll eat something simple in the study later.”

“Then I’ll wait for you.”

Huo Liuxing paused slightly, then smiled. “Then let’s eat together now.”

Shen Lingzhen dined in Huo Liuxing’s courtyard.

The Huo family had always lived frugally, economizing on food, clothing, and necessities wherever possible. But now that they’d welcomed such a noble lady into their household, the meals couldn’t truly be casual—braised mutton, pan-fried quail, hand-peeled bamboo shoots, triple-texture soup, pork bone broth—without a complete array of meat and vegetables, it wouldn’t be presentable.

Even so, Huo Liuxing politely said, “You can’t get fresh ginger shrimp or crab, abalone, conch, or Mandarin fish from Bianjing here. Are you unaccustomed to it?”

Shen Lingzhen shook her head. “I’m not picky. Whatever you eat, I’ll eat. From now on, don’t have the kitchen prepare separate meals.” As she spoke, without asking Kongqing and Jingmo nearby to serve, she personally ladled a bowl of soup and handed it to him.

Huo Liuxing accepted the soup bowl, once again sensing something off about Shen Lingzhen. But seeing she had already begun using her chopsticks, he didn’t ask further.

The Shen family had taught this young lady proper etiquette—no talking while eating or sleeping. He had noticed this the first day.

But in fact, Shen Lingzhen had a belly full of questions she wanted to ask. Halfway through the meal, seeing Huo Liuxing set down his chopsticks, she also lost interest in eating. She wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and called to him, “Husband.”

“Hm?”

“Earlier I saw you…” She gestured roughly at a spot on her own body. “I saw you have a scar here. How did you get it?”

“You really want to know?”

“Yes.”

“Then don’t be frightened.”

Shen Lingzhen nodded, her hands gripping the table edge tightly.

Huo Liuxing was amused by her manner and laughed aloud. “No need to be so tense. It’s nothing much—I carved it out myself with a knife.”

She stared wide-eyed. “Why would you injure yourself?”

“In the Xiqiang prisoner-of-war camp, they branded me with characters. After returning, I found it ugly and removed it.”

He spoke lightly, but Shen Lingzhen broke into a cold sweat hearing it. However painful and torturous being tattooed by others might be, it was still done by someone else’s hand. But to personally carve away a layer of one’s own intact flesh—what incredibly resolute character that required.

And he had been only seventeen at the time.

Seeing she looked ready to cry, Huo Liuxing said with amusement, “I told you not to be frightened.”

“I’m not frightened. I just feel sorry for you, husband.” She earnestly emphasized, “I… I won’t be as useless as before…”

Huo Liuxing paused. “As before, when?”

Seeing he was still playing dumb, Shen Lingzhen could only give him face in front of the servants and not expose him. She shook her head to indicate it was nothing and asked again, “Does my husband have any injuries that haven’t healed yet?”

“It’s been so long—they’ve all healed.”

Shen Lingzhen somewhat doubted the truth of this statement. He had nearly lost his life in Bianjing. Setting aside internal injuries, just the knife wound to his waist and abdomen that she’d seen with her own eyes—deep enough to see bone—couldn’t possibly heal easily.

She frowned and instructed, “You absolutely must not be careless. Injuries must be carefully tended—it would be terrible if you developed chronic problems.”

He smiled and nodded. “Don’t worry. I regularly use acupuncture and medicinal baths specifically to care for these two legs.”

Shen Lingzhen’s brows drooped as she sighed softly.

Knowing his legs were fine, she was clearly talking about somewhere else. This was completely missing the point.

“Husband, I am now your wife. In all matters, I will certainly stand on the same side as you. If you have something troubling you, can you please not hide it from me?”

Huo Liuxing fell silent for a moment and quietly exchanged glances with Jingmo and Kongqing nearby.

Both were clearly somewhat shocked but quickly composed their expressions.

Shen Lingzhen continued, “Also, from childhood I was taught by my parents and teachers to know gratitude and repay kindness. I remember everything you’ve done for me, husband. You must trust that I would never be ungrateful or betray you.”

Huo Liuxing smiled. “What’s this about, bringing these things up out of the blue? As husband and wife, we should naturally weather storms together. Of course I trust you. If I have something to share, I will certainly tell you truthfully.”

“Good.” She sat upright with an attentive listening expression. “Then please speak, husband.”

Huo Liuxing’s expression looked on the verge of cracking as he hesitated. “Speak about what?”

Now Shen Lingzhen was truly angry. Unhappily, she stood up and turned to leave. After a few steps, seeming to feel this was too rude, she stamped her feet lightly in place to release her frustration, then sat back down, lowering her head to stare at the rice bowl before her without saying a word.

“…”

Huo Liuxing glanced at Kongqing: What’s happening?

Kongqing shook his head and looked at Jingmo: What do you think?

Jingmo’s mouth twitched: How should I know?

“You…” Huo Liuxing carefully began, uttering one word before stopping.

But Shen Lingzhen resolved things herself. After a moment of dejection, after some unknown mental gymnastics of interconnected puzzles and winding paths, she nodded to herself and said, “Fine, it doesn’t matter. I’m not angry.”

“…”

Kongqing signaled Huo Liuxing with his eyes: Good, never mind why she was angry—the point is she definitely was angry. So one word—coax!

Huo Liuxing fell silent for a moment, then coughed lightly. “Would you like to take a walk to aid digestion?”

Shen Lingzhen raised her head, her voice still sullen. “How?”

“I’ll take you out for a stroll around town?”

“Go out on the streets at this hour?” She glanced at the darkened sky outside the window. “Does Qingyang have night markets too?”

Bianjing’s night markets were as prosperous as daylight. Unless during wartime, there was generally no curfew in normal times—it was famous as a city that never slept. But here in Qingyang, with its sparse population and backward economy, it hardly seemed like a place of bright lights and revelry.

“It can’t compare to Bianjing’s liveliness—it may seem like going from luxury to frugality for you, but though the sparrow is small, it has all the vital organs.”

Shen Lingzhen sniffled, her anger seemingly somewhat abated, and said reluctantly, “Alright then.”

“Then go change into lighter clothing. I’ll wait for you in the front courtyard.” Huo Liuxing smiled as he watched her leave. Once she was gone, he looked expressionlessly at Jingmo and Kongqing.

Kongqing scratched his head. “Young master, it shouldn’t be possible, right? The young mistress has just arrived—has she already seen through your legs?”

Jingmo was also puzzled. “This humble one has been watching the young mistress constantly these past days. I only noticed she acted strangely toward your sword yesterday and toward your scar today, but a sword that’s gathered dust for ten years and an old scar—what could such unrelated clues possibly reveal? Perhaps… perhaps you revealed some flaw while sleeping?”

“How could that be!” Kongqing grew anxious. “To get through bedtime, I’ve risked danger every night giving you acupuncture, sealing pressure points and blocking meridians. During those sleeping hours, your legs truly don’t work. What, are you questioning my needle technique?”

Jingmo shot him a glare, then turned to Huo Liuxing. “If that’s the case, unless the young mistress has divine sight, there’s only one possibility—she’s just fishing for information, trying to trick you.”

Huo Liuxing neither confirmed nor denied this. His index finger knuckle tapped the wooden armrest of his wheelchair. After a long while, he frowned and said, “That incident you mentioned last time—the Peach Blossom Valley affair—send people to investigate it thoroughly. Have them report every detail related to this wife of mine, no matter how trivial.”