Summer skies are like a child’s face – yesterday fierce winds raged, but in the blink of an eye the sun blazed brightly, making the cicadas in the wall corners cry out impatiently with their “zhi zhi” calls. If one listened carefully, one could hear from amid this cacophonous cicada noise several muffled groans and moans emanating from within the walls.
Those moans were faint, drifting gently on the breeze amid the floral fragrance outside the window. Following the sound, one could see inside the room a man with his muscular upper body exposed lying on the bed, his gaze soft and fixed on the woman sitting on the edge of the bed. The woman had her sleeves rolled up to her upper arms, fine beads of sweat on her forehead, as she leaned down toward his chest.
Yuanxi carefully helped Xiao Du tie the last strip of gauze, finally finishing changing his medicine. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and asked with concern: “How is today’s medicine? Do you still feel numbness?”
Xiao Du propped his cheek and smiled at her: “The medicine you prescribe is naturally the best.”
Yuanxi put on a stern face: “Stop your smooth talk. This shoulder wound could be serious or minor. I’ve only observed Doctor Li during consultations and never prescribed medicine on my own. If the medicine is wrong this time, we’ll be in trouble.”
Xiao Du was unconcerned: “At worst it’ll just hurt for a few more days. Since you want to be a doctor so much, you might as well practice on my injury.”
Yuanxi glared at him, still worried after thinking it over: “I think we should still call Imperial Physician Zuo to take a look. What if…”
But Xiao Du grabbed her hand and pulled it to his lips for a kiss: “I insist on having you treat me. My wife has excellent medical skills and is gentle – why would I want some old man to examine me?”
Yuanxi lost her temper with his antics, her palm tingling and warm from his touch. She could only shake her head helplessly, thinking she should find an opportunity to consult more with Imperial Physician Zuo. At this moment, Xiao Du looked at her expectantly: “You haven’t done acupuncture today yet.”
Yuanxi thought for a moment, then had him lie prone and took out her needle case. She gently pressed the acupoints on his shoulder with her fingers: “Does it still hurt?”
Xiao Du felt her warm fingers touching his back and gently massaging, the tingling sensation beginning to spread to his limbs: “It hurts – everywhere hurts. Help me with some good needling.”
Yuanxi’s acupuncture skills were not refined, so she was extremely careful with each needle, afraid of hitting the wrong acupoint and causing him pain. She leaned her head down closer and closer, almost touching her nose to his body, her hot breath constantly brushing against his exposed skin. Xiao Du felt the tingling sensation throughout his body turn into burning heat, all rushing toward his lower abdomen. His voice grew somewhat hoarse: “It hurts below too – needle further down.”
Yuanxi found this strange – the wound was clearly on his shoulder, so why would it hurt below? But she still used her fingertips to slowly probe downward, exploring while asking questions. Finally reaching his waist and abdomen, Xiao Du just smiled mischievously and called for her to go even further down. Yuanxi finally understood, her face immediately flushing red as she casually stuck a needle into his lower back, saying indignantly: “This must be where it hurts!”
Xiao Du was enjoying the gentle caresses of those soft, boneless hands when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his waist. He was immediately jabbed into crying out “hiss,” frowning and looking at her innocently: “A doctor’s heart is like a parent’s – Yuanxi, how can you treat your patient this way?”
Yuanxi withdrew the needle: “You said yourself you’re not afraid of sword wounds, let alone this tiny needle. I’m teaching you a lesson – let’s see if you dare be improper with your doctor again.”
Who knew Xiao Du would sit up with a mischievous smile and lean close to her ear, whispering: “It really does hurt below – help me treat it properly later.”
Yuanxi understood the meaning in his words, her face immediately turning red again. She reached out to push him away, but he caught her hand and pulled it toward his lower body.
Yuanxi felt that if this continued, another battle was inevitable and his injury would never heal properly. She quickly struggled free from his wandering hands: “Speaking of which, what’s really going on between Xuan’er and that Xia Qing?”
Xiao Du’s smile froze as he recalled the scene from that day returning to the manor, feeling extremely displeased. Even though Xia Qing had proposed marrying Xuan’er in the forest, he had only taken it as a bargaining chip the man had devised for cooperation. Who knew that at the manor gates, seeing Xuan’er’s expression, he realized they definitely weren’t meeting for the first time. He truly didn’t know when Xuan’er had gotten entangled with this rake.
Most hateful was that when Xia Qing passed by them, he said in a tone only the two of them could hear: “Marquis, have you considered that if that moment truly comes, you might be able to protect yourself, but what about your family?” Then he turned to Xiao Zhixuan and winked at her: “Only I have the ability to help you protect your family, so the Marquis should think carefully about my previous proposal.”
These words clearly contained a threat. Xiao Du shook his head, deciding not to let this annoying matter spoil the current atmosphere. He said to Yuanxi: “Don’t worry about him. Xia Qing has a complex background and deep schemes. He did mention wanting to marry Xuan’er, which I think is because he wants to secure himself a way out – this way, no matter who ultimately wins between me and His Majesty, he won’t lose everything. Unfortunately, his wishful thinking is wrong. No matter the reason, I will never let my sister marry such a person with ulterior motives.”
Yuanxi sighed softly: “Though Xuan’er is young, she’s experienced things most women never encounter in their entire lives. I hope she can find a good marriage that will let her spend the rest of her life in peace and stability, with someone to cherish and protect her.”
At the same time, the person they were discussing was sitting in the courtyard with a silk fan, lost in thought. After spacing out for a while, Xiao Zhixuan suddenly asked the maid Rongyue who had been serving beside her: “Do you know anything about that Xia Qing – what his background really is?”
Rongyue was stunned by the question, staring wide-eyed: “Miss, you’ve stumped me. I’m just a little maid – how would I understand these high officials’ affairs?” After thinking, she covered her mouth and laughed: “But this servant thinks he’s quite handsome – his bearing and appearance aren’t much inferior to our master.”
Xiao Zhixuan lightly tapped her head with the silk fan: “You only know how to be infatuated. Big brother said that man is no good and it’s best to stay away from him.” For some reason, she kept thinking of what Xia Qing said before leaving: “Only I have the ability to protect your family.” When he said those words, his gaze stuck to her like a hook, making her feel the words had some hidden meaning, but… She sighed and propped her cheek in annoyance: “But big brother won’t say more, just tells me to stay away from him.”
“If Third Miss wants to know, you can certainly ask me directly!” A laughing voice came from atop the wall. Xiao Zhixuan was startled and quickly stood up, looking toward the voice. She saw Xia Qing sitting with his legs dangling from the wall top, leaning against a peach tree and smiling brazenly.
She was stunned speechless, stammering: “You! How are you here?”
Xia Qing raised his eyebrows: “I heard Third Miss was thinking of me, so I came immediately to relieve the young lady’s lovesickness.” At this moment, seeing the little maid beside Xiao Zhixuan turn and run in fright to call for help, he broke off a peach blossom from beside him and tossed it into Xiao Zhixuan’s arms: “A peach blossom for a beauty – Third Miss must keep it safe.” Then he leaped backward and disappeared.
Hearing the hurried footsteps of guards running over, Xiao Zhixuan felt her heart racing. She quickly went to a hidden spot and took out the peach blossom, seeing a paper note tied to it that read: “Tomorrow at the third quarter of the last hour of the Snake, Moonreflection Pavilion by Thousand Mirror Lake. Don’t break the appointment.”
The next day brought clear skies and warm breezes again, making Thousand Mirror Lake sparkle with rippling light. Moonreflection Pavilion stood by the lakeside, surrounded by green willows and secluded grass, creating a unique scene. Normally this place would be crowded with visitors, but today not a single person could be seen, as if someone had deliberately kept outsiders away.
Xiao Zhixuan looked at the figure standing with hands clasped behind his back in the pavilion, her heart beating nervously. She had done many bold things in her life, but never had she sneaked around like this to meet a man. Just yesterday she had learned from Uncle Zhou how checkered this man’s past reputation was. Though young, she wasn’t dull or ignorant – she could see this man had designs on her.
Hearing footsteps behind him, Xia Qing slowly turned around. Today he wore bright red court dress with a golden belt, his black hair bound with a jade crown, his robes fluttering lightly in the wind. Compared to his usual military attire, he appeared more leisurely and elegant.
His gaze brazenly swept Xiao Zhixuan from head to toe, then revealed a smile with ill intent. Xiao Zhixuan took a deep breath, suppressed the sudden urge to retreat, stepped forward and curtsied: “Uncle Xia, greetings!”
Xia Qing’s smile froze on his face, then he showed a hurt expression: “Third Miss’s form of address truly breaks one’s heart.”
Xiao Zhixuan secretly laughed, then feigned innocence as she widened her eyes: “I heard from Uncle Zhou that you’re twelve years older than me. Though you’re still not as old as my father, otherwise I could call you Uncle of the family.”
Xia Qing completely lost his smile now, glaring at her fiercely. But he quickly resumed an indifferent expression: “Uncle it is then. After all, being called ‘brother’ by Third Miss doesn’t lead to any good endings either.”
Xiao Zhixuan was stunned, then recalled their first meeting. That day, she had originally planned to visit West Mountain but happened to see Zhou Tong, the fourth son of the Assistant Minister of Revenue’s family, bullying an old farmer in the street. The marquis manor and Zhou family were somewhat connected, so seeing this injustice, she had warmly addressed him as Brother Zhou like in childhood, then while he was off guard, swindled him out of a large sum of money from behind, which she then gave to compensate the old man.
She hadn’t expected that the person with Zhou Tong at the time would so easily see through her actions, yet he didn’t expose her. He just shamelessly followed her for several streets, making her lose all interest in sightseeing. But she never imagined that the annoying person she had complained about to her sister-in-law for so long would turn out to be the famous Imperial Guard Commander Xia Qing.
When Xiao Zhixuan’s thoughts returned from memory, she discovered Xia Qing’s face had somehow moved very close, almost touching hers. She couldn’t help but step back sharply: “So what did Uncle Xia call me here for today?”
Xia Qing reluctantly ignored that annoying form of address and smiled slightly: “Nothing too important – just wanting to ask Third Miss for your hand in marriage.”
This time Xiao Zhixuan was truly shocked. She really hadn’t expected this to be his purpose. She quickly steadied her flustered mind: “Uncle Xia must be joking. I’ve heard you’ve known countless people and keep many beautiful concubines at home. Zhixuan is just a little girl who knows nothing – how could I match you?”
But Xia Qing pressed closer step by step: “My feelings for Third Miss are completely sincere. If you’re concerned about this, as long as you agree to marry me, I’ll send away all the concubines in my household.”
Now Xiao Zhixuan was truly panicked. Having just come of age, how could she know how to face such an ardent confession? That detestable smiling face kept approaching her, his breath almost reaching her face. She felt somewhat unable to breathe and could only keep backing away with her head lowered. Xia Qing glanced behind her, then suddenly reached out to embrace her waist, smiling: “If you keep backing up, you’ll fall in.”