The news that the eldest son of the Xia family had been cuckolded by his second brother spread throughout the entire capital city the next day. Xia Cheng himself felt utterly humiliated and claimed illness to request leave from court attendance from the emperor. Even so, memorials of impeachment from censors still flew like snowflakes onto the emperor’s desk, all saying that the inner quarters of the Marquis Xia residence were in chaos – if he couldn’t even manage his own wives and children properly, how could he attend court as an official?

The Marquis Xia residence had already been tainted by Xia Yan’s adultery scandal, and after the incident with Second Master Xia came to light, the common people suddenly understood – no wonder that Madam Jiang had acted that way, it was simply a case of “when the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam follows suit.”

There were all sorts of gossip circulating outside, and by the time it reached Xia Cheng’s ears, it was simply unbearable to listen to. Ever since the incident, Xia Tianyi had stayed holed up in his room all day, having his maids buy wine for him, getting completely drunk every day without any trace of his former serious and proper demeanor, looking no different from a street drunk. Xia Cheng had spoken to him several times, but it only made Xia Tianyi more agitated, so in anger he simply stopped talking, thinking that after some time passed, Xia Tianyi would come to his senses.

Shen Rou’s natal family had come to visit once. Knowing that such a thing had happened, her family also felt disgraced, so they declared that since Shen Rou had married into the Xia family, she was a member of the Xia family – even if she died, it had nothing to do with her natal family. They actually abandoned Shen Rou in the Xia household without a care.

However, everyone in the Xia residence was currently busy with Xia Jiaojiao’s injuries, so no one cared about Shen Rou’s fate. Ever since Xia Jiaojiao had been kicked by Xia Tianyi that day and crashed into the scalding soup, ruining her appearance, Madam Xia had invited many physicians who all said they were powerless – Xia Jiaojiao’s face was destined to be left with a large burn scar. With such burns on her face, forget about entering the palace – it would be difficult even to marry into an ordinary family as a wife. But now that Xia Jiaojiao had become a child born from an uncle-sister-in-law relationship, even the wealthy young wastrels in the capital disdained to marry her, let alone marrying into any good family.

Xia Jiaojiao had always been vain, valuing her face more than anything else. After learning that her appearance was ruined, she spent all day seeking death and making scenes, giving Madam Xia endless headaches.

As for Yu Ya and Xia Tiancai, perhaps stimulated by this incident, Yu Ya’s temperament had changed drastically – she no longer bothered to pretend her usual surface compliance. Every day she either fought or quarreled with Xia Tiancai, turning into a complete shrew. Xia Tiancai’s face was scratched with red marks every day, while Yu Ya’s body was covered in black and blue bruises, a shocking sight to behold.

The Marquis Xia residence was now truly in chaos with internal and external troubles. The common people outside were all waiting to watch the excitement. When Lu Zhu reported these matters to Jiang Ruan, she naturally laughed until her back was sore: “The Xia family truly brought this upon themselves this time. Let them fight among themselves – it serves them right.”

Lian Qiao also laughed: “Isn’t there a saying – ‘Heaven’s way brings retribution.’ The first and second branches of the Xia family did such disgraceful things themselves, so naturally there would come a day when they’d be exposed.”

The sky outside had already darkened. Bai Zhi used scissors to trim the lamp wick shorter, making the flame much brighter and no longer flickering. Bai Zhi draped a thin cloak over Jiang Ruan’s shoulders, saying: “Miss, the night is deep and the dew is cold. Be careful not to catch a chill.”

It was already early autumn. During the day it didn’t feel like much, but at night one could already sense the autumn chill. Jiang Ruan closed the book in her hands and casually noticed a whistle on the table. The whistle was exquisitely made, so she couldn’t help but reach out to pick it up and hold it in her palm, examining it carefully.

This was precisely the whistle that Xiao Shao had given her in prison that day. At that time she had been in a hurry and hadn’t had time to look at it carefully, but now she could see that this whistle was made from some unknown material and had a faint, subtle fragrance. The whistle body was carved with a golden qilin treading on fire and burning wind. When Jiang Ruan moved closer, she could smell the clear, crisp scent from within.

Xiao Shao had been absent for about twenty days now and must have encountered some trouble. Jiang Ruan put down the whistle and was about to walk toward the bed when she suddenly saw Tianzhu, who had been sitting in the outer room, suddenly stand up with a very serious expression.

Jiang Ruan was slightly startled. She saw that in the slightly flickering candlelight, a shallow layer of warm yellow light emerged, within which gradually appeared a tall, slender figure. The person walked forward a few steps before his features became clear – cold and handsome, it was none other than Xiao Shao.

Tianzhu called out in a low voice: “Young Master!” Her expression showed rare anxiety. Only then did Jiang Ruan smell a heavy scent of blood coming from Xiao Shao’s body. Looking at Xiao Shao again, though his expression was calm, his complexion was several shades paler than usual, and even his lips had a slightly white tinge.

“You’re injured?” She frowned.

“It’s nothing.” Xiao Shao pressed his lips together. Just as his words fell, he collapsed headfirst – barely falling onto the soft couch in Jiang Ruan’s outer room.

Tianzhu dared not say anything else, only anxiously said: “Miss, the young master…”

Jiang Ruan stared at the unconsciously collapsed person for a moment, then finally said: “Close the doors and windows properly. Have Lian Qiao and Bai Zhi go fetch a pot of hot water. Lu Zhu, guard the door. Tianzhu, do you understand medical arts?”

Tianzhu shook her head: “This subordinate only knows how to identify some poisons.”

Jiang Ruan felt somewhat troubled: “Then how do you usually handle injuries?”

“Endure,” Tianzhu said. “Endure until we return to the tower, then a physician will come to look.”

Assassins naturally couldn’t always pay attention to their injuries. If they truly treasured their lives so much, they shouldn’t engage in such dangerous work. Jiang Ruan lowered her gaze, thought for a moment, then said: “Carry him to my bed. The outer room is likely to leave traces.”

“This…” Tianzhu was somewhat surprised. Having a man lie on one’s own bed – wouldn’t that be tantamount to acknowledging… But Jiang Ruan currently didn’t seem to show any particular intimacy toward her young master.

“Move quickly.” Jiang Ruan didn’t give her time to daydream: “Any slower and your master will bleed to death.”

Only then did Tianzhu restrain her inner speculation and help Xiao Shao to Jiang Ruan’s bed.

Outside, Lu Zhu stood at the courtyard gate, dutifully guarding the entrance in case of any emergency. But her heart was constantly wondering about the situation inside, continuously urging Jin Er, who was on the roof looking in: “What’s happening?”

Jin Er lazily sat on the rooftop, lifting a tile to peer inside, clicking his tongue: “Nothing much, just your miss carrying the young master to her bed.”

“Ah—” Lu Zhu covered her mouth: “How can Miss just let any man onto her own bed?”

“I think your miss wants to take advantage of our master being unconscious to molest him.” Jin Er spoke with conviction: “Dark night and strong winds – it’s the perfect opportunity. Look, she’s even lowered the bed curtains. Isn’t this just…”

“Shut up!” Seeing him speak more and more outrageously, Lu Zhu became furious: “You foul-mouthed lecher, don’t you dare slander my miss’s reputation. What’s so great about your master? My miss is absolutely beautiful and intelligent – is there any need for her to do such things? On the contrary, your master – he could have fainted anywhere else, but he specifically came to faint in my miss’s courtyard. What are his intentions?”

Lu Zhu was sharp-tongued and actually left Jin Er speechless. But the reasons behind this couldn’t be explained to outsiders, so for a moment he couldn’t find an excellent excuse.

Jin San, who was sitting in a tree watching the show, burst out laughing, finding that Jin Er and Lu Zhu were truly a natural pair of comedians. Watching these two perform their daily comedy routine was quite entertaining.

…

Inside the room, Tianzhu had already examined Xiao Shao – he was injured, and the wound was poisoned. But Xiao Shao himself understood medical arts and had taken some antidote medicine, so he was better now. However, the wound on his body still needed to be treated.

Using Tianzhu and the others’ method would be to roughly tear open the wound and bandage it to stop the bleeding. While this was convenient for the moment, over time the wound could easily rot. Seeing that Tianzhu was unreliable, Jiang Ruan had no choice but to do it herself.

After having Tianzhu help move Xiao Shao to the bed, Jiang Ruan sat down beside the bed herself. Xiao Shao’s black clothing couldn’t show bloodstains, but under the firelight it showed large wet patches – impossible to tell whether it was blood or sweat. When Jiang Ruan placed her hand on the black clothing and then lifted it, her palm was covered with shocking blood traces.

Lian Qiao, who had returned after fetching hot water, gasped and said somewhat panicked: “Miss, Prince Xiao is severely injured!”

Jiang Ruan’s gaze fell on the face of the unconscious young man. Even injured, his expression remained as cold and indifferent as always, as if this wasn’t anything particularly important. With his eyes closed, his long eyelashes cast down, creating a deep shadow under the lamplight. The paler his complexion and the lighter his lip color, the more he seemed made of jade, carrying a cool and aloof aura. Only his thin lips were tightly pressed, showing that this indeed wasn’t a particularly comfortable experience.

Jiang Ruan took a clean handkerchief from Bai Zhi’s hands, soaked it in hot water, reached for scissors that had been sterilized with hot wine, held Xiao Shao’s collar with one hand and the scissors with the other, carefully cutting along the blood-soaked areas.

Though her hand was steady, she still held her breath and worked with complete concentration. Seeing this, Tianzhu’s expression moved slightly.

After great effort cutting open the clothing, Jiang Ruan pulled apart Xiao Shao’s garments, exposing his chest.

Seeing this, Bai Zhi and Lian Qiao’s faces flushed bright red. Although they knew their miss wouldn’t be shy about such things and had always been rather indifferent to matters that made other women sensitive, to so boldly open a strange man’s clothing still shocked them both. Jiang Ruan was, after all, an unmarried young lady – to look at a man’s body like this… Bai Zhi and Lian Qiao didn’t know whether to cry or laugh, but seeing Jiang Ruan’s calm expression, where was there even a trace of being moved by this?

However, the woman holding the scissors wasn’t as composed as the two maids thought. While Xiao Shao usually appeared thin and frail, once his clothing was opened, this body was lean yet well-defined, containing a kind of wild power throughout. His skin was jade-colored, but looking closely, one could see it was covered with fine scars – some old and faded, others fresh and new.

He truly was an assassin, Jiang Ruan thought. Just then she heard Lian Qiao beside her suddenly coughing non-stop. Jiang Ruan looked up and met Xiao Shao’s thoughtful gaze.

This person had apparently awakened at some unknown point, and her appearance of holding scissors while staring at his body in a daze made her look like a flower thief. Jiang Ruan glared at Xiao Shao and asked: “How did this happen?”

“Encountered an ambush on the way back to the capital,” Xiao Shao said, his gaze toward Jiang Ruan softening somewhat.

Jiang Ruan paused, fished out the handkerchief soaked in hot water, wrung it dry, and carefully helped Xiao Shao clean the blood around his wound. Now she could see clearly – it was a three-edged spike that had pierced sharply into Xiao Shao’s chest. The spike head was embedded very deeply, making it difficult to handle. In her previous life in the palace, Jiang Ruan had often been bullied and was most skilled at simple bandaging, but she didn’t know how to treat such wounds.

Noticing her gaze, Xiao Shao said: “Let me do it.” He reached out wanting to pull out the three-edged spike. Jiang Ruan said: “If you want to die, no one will stop you, but don’t die in my room.”

Xiao Shao was startled. Jiang Ruan pushed away his hand and carefully wiped clean the blood around the three-edged spike again. Xiao Shao’s earlier careless manner frightened her just to look at. Even if assassins didn’t value their own lives, this was really too casual.

Jiang Ruan looked for a while, found an angle, reached out to grip the part of the three-edged spike remaining outside, hesitated slightly, then applied force with her hand and pulled it out from the side.

Xiao Shao groaned, and Jiang Ruan quickly pressed a handkerchief against the wound. The blood immediately soaked the handkerchief. Jiang Ruan had Bai Zhi fetch two more basins of water. The wound had opened into three gashes – simple bandaging wouldn’t work. Jiang Ruan thought for a moment and had Lian Qiao bring needle and thread.

Lian Qiao brought the needle and thread over, asking: “Miss, are you going to sew Prince Xiao’s wound?”

“It won’t work without sewing,” Jiang Ruan looked at Xiao Shao. “Are you afraid of pain?”

Xiao Shao was slightly stunned, then shook his head.

“If it hurts, endure it,” Jiang Ruan took a silver needle and passed it through the candle flame, found clean silk thread, and though somewhat hesitant in her heart, finally made her move. She didn’t treat Xiao Shao’s skin like fabric for embroidery, yet she sewed extremely seriously. Since many years ago when she made embroidered goods at the estate to give to Zhang Lan in exchange for money, Jiang Ruan’s needlework had actually been quite excellent, but she had never been as solemn as she was now. Lian Qiao watched as sweat beaded on Jiang Ruan’s forehead, her heart clenching with worry.

Xiao Shao silently allowed Jiang Ruan to suture his wound. Without anesthesia, enduring the pain with gritted teeth, he didn’t cry out once. He only pressed his lips together and watched Jiang Ruan, lost in thought, his eyes appearing even more like starlight.

Even though Bai Zhi and Lian Qiao had some complaints about Xiao Shao fainting in their miss’s courtyard, seeing him like this, they couldn’t help but admire him in their hearts. There weren’t many men in the world who could endure such pain, and even fewer who could endure it like Xiao Shao.

Finally, Jiang Ruan finished the last stitch, tied the silk thread in a knot, threw the silver needle into the needle box, and took some hemostatic powder to sprinkle on Xiao Shao’s wound. Tianzhu handed over clean, fresh white cloth strips. Jiang Ruan looked down – Xiao Shao was bare-chested, glancing at the white cloth strips.

Jiang Ruan picked up the cloth strips and said to Tianzhu: “Help him sit up.”

Tianzhu complied, and Jiang Ruan threw aside Xiao Shao’s blood-soaked clothing, having Xiao Shao lower his head a bit.

Xiao Shao was first startled, then seemed to realize something. His handsome face flushed slightly red, and he actually turned his head away somewhat uncomfortably.

Jiang Ruan naturally didn’t notice his expression. She wrapped her arms around his back, bringing the cloth strips around his back to his chest. From this angle, it looked as if Xiao Shao was embracing Jiang Ruan – she could touch his chin just by lifting her head.

Jiang Ruan lowered her head to tie the cloth strips. Xiao Shao pressed his lips together and looked down at Jiang Ruan, who was so close to him. The young woman’s unique fragrance filled his senses, and that strange feeling surfaced again – an impulse to hold the girl before him in his arms.

Bai Zhi and Lian Qiao silently averted their eyes, neither advancing nor retreating. After Jiang Ruan finished bandaging the wound, she thought for a moment and had Lian Qiao go brew some brown sugar water. Brown sugar water replenished blood – though it was used by women, it wouldn’t arouse suspicion now, though it made Xiao Shao’s expression stiffen again.

After all this was done, Jiang Ruan finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that bandaging Xiao Shao once had been surprisingly exhausting. She sat down beside the bed and asked: “How did you end up fainting here?”

“There were ambushes all along the way. This place was closest,” Xiao Shao said. On his business trip from the capital, the Southern Border people had become increasingly rampant. Already injured, there had been ambushes all along the way back. The Southern Border people were skilled with poisons – tonight’s attackers had used Miao poison, confirming his suspicions. Those people in the capital had long been colluding with the Southern Border. Prince Jinying’s residence had many ambushes along the way. Fearing to alert them, seeing Jiang residence right before him, he had come to Jiang Ruan’s courtyard without thinking.

In fact, his whereabouts couldn’t be revealed to outsiders, but for some reason he felt that Jiang Ruan was someone he could trust, so he had confidently fainted in her room. Actually, his injuries weren’t that serious – a bit of rest would have been fine. But seeing Jiang Ruan seriously bandaging his wounds, he simply pretended not to know.

At this time, Xiao Shao still didn’t understand why he would act so differently from usual, nor did he understand what that strange feeling meant. Though he had matured early, in matters of love he was like a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy, allowing that sweet and sour feeling to ferment in his heart.

Jiang Ruan looked out the window, then at the water clock nearby – it was already the third watch. After supervising Xiao Shao drinking that bowl of brown sugar water, she lowered the bed curtains and said: “You should sleep. I’ll go outside.”

Xiao Shao was about to get out of bed: “No need, I’ll be fine outside.”

Jiang Ruan glanced at him: “If you’re not afraid of implicating me, you’re welcome to sleep outside. There are quite a few spies in my courtyard. My sisters are all hoping to catch me in some compromising situation. If you want to hand them evidence on a silver platter, I owe you several favors anyway, so I have nothing to say.”

Xiao Shao was somewhat ashamed by Jiang Ruan’s rebuke. Further insistence would only make him seem petty. It was just that as a grown man occupying a woman’s bed was somewhat improper, but since Jiang Ruan showed no signs of impropriety, he could only let it be.

After Jiang Ruan left the room, Tianzhu, who had been silent all along, came forward and bowed deeply to Jiang Ruan: “This subordinate thanks Miss for saving my master’s life.”

Jiang Ruan said nothing. Tianzhu continued: “From now on, this subordinate’s life belongs to Miss.” How dangerous tonight’s events had been – perhaps Bai Zhi and Lian Qiao didn’t understand, but as a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, she understood very well. For Jiang Ruan to dare risk hiding Xiao Shao in her boudoir and treat his wounds despite those hidden forces in the capital required tremendous courage. Yet Jiang Ruan had remained calm throughout, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

Tianzhu said: “From now on, this subordinate’s life belongs to Miss.”