As Cheng Xu was about to lead Jiang Yan back to report, he paused in surprise upon hearing a voice and laughed, “Miss Bai Si is also here?”
“Yes, yes! Come over here for a moment; I have something to discuss,” Huai Yu said with a smile.
Jiang Yan had already taken a few steps outside but couldn’t help turning back curiously to ask, “What do you need?”
“Little Young Master, it’s best if you don’t concern yourself with this. It’s more important to go to Old Master’s side,” she replied. “Just have Cheng Xu come over.”
It seemed that Miss Bai Si and Cheng Xu were acquainted. Jiang Yan didn’t say much more, patting Cheng Xu on the shoulder and saying, “You go ahead; I’ll head over myself.”
“Understood,” Cheng Xu replied, watching him walk toward the pavilion before he turned to go behind the rockery.
“What do you need?”
Feeling pain while leaning against the rockery, Huai Yu said, “Could you ask your master to come and help me? I’ve hurt my foot.”
Cheng Xu was taken aback, glancing down at her right foot, which was suspended in the air. He scratched his head and said, “You’re injured… Shouldn’t we inform the Bai family? What use is it to call my master?”
“Fool!” Huai Yu shot him a glare. “I snuck over to Jiang’s residence and have been hiding from the Bai family. If I go back to them now, won’t my father beat me half to death? I’m already in enough pain; do you want me to lose my life too?”
Cheng Xu hesitated, saying, “But my master… probably won’t come.”
With her hands clasped together in a pleading gesture, Huai Yu looked at him with big, innocent eyes. “Just tell him my foot is seriously injured, that the bone is broken, and ask him for a favor. After all, I’ve asked him for medicine before, haven’t I?”
Cheng Xu replied awkwardly, “I can only try my best.”
“I knew you were the best!” she grinned. “Hurry back; I’m really in a lot of pain.”
Casting a doubtful glance at her foot, Cheng Xu returned to the pavilion, leaning close to his master’s ear to relay the situation.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xuanjin let out a cold laugh.
She’s injured and looking for me? Isn’t Lu Jingxing right beside her? What does she need me for?
“Are you going?” Cheng Xu asked quietly.
Jiang Xuanjin wanted to say no outright, but sitting in the pavilion drinking tea was boring. After a moment of silence, he stood up.
“I’ll go take a look,” he told Cheng Xu. “You stay here. If Yan’er tries to run off later, catch him.”
“Understood.”
After greeting the old master, Jiang Xuanjin stepped out, casually walking toward the rockery.
That troublemaker was moaning and groaning, lying on the rocks as if she were dying. Upon seeing him, her eyes lit up. “I knew you would feel sorry for me!”
Glancing at her foot, Jiang Xuanjin asked, “How did you get hurt?”
Huai Yu pouted, “I twisted it.”
Jiang Xuanjin turned to leave.
“Hey, hey, hey! No! It’s not just a twist; it’s a broken bone!” She reached out toward him, grasping at the air. “I can’t walk; you need to help me!”
Stopping in his tracks, Jiang Xuanjin turned back and said, “You’re so cunning; who knows what trick you’re trying to pull?”
I knew she would be suspicious! Li Huai Yu huffed, lifting her skirt to reveal her ankle, showing him her injured foot. “Look!”
A large bruise marred her delicate, pale ankle, and there were several small cuts on her skin, oozing dark blood.
Jiang Xuanjin was slightly taken aback, frowning as he pulled her skirt down. “What kind of behavior is this!”
“You didn’t believe me, did you?” she pouted. “If I don’t show you, how will you know I’m really in pain?”
Looking around, he said in a low voice, “I’ll have a servant carry you to the guest room.”
“No!” Huai Yu protested, acting spoiled. “I’m still an unmarried young lady; how can I let a servant carry me? If anyone is to carry me, it should be you!”
“Impossible,” Jiang Xuanjin replied. “There are too many people today; if we walk two steps, someone will see us. Then your reputation as an unmarried young lady will be ruined.”
So it’s not that he doesn’t want to carry me; he’s just afraid of being seen?
Huai Yu was taken aback, looking up at the esteemed Ziyang Jun in surprise, momentarily forgetting to act pitifully.
Meeting her gaze, Jiang Xuanjin slightly turned his head away. “Have a servant carry you, or you can walk to the guest room yourself. Choose one.”
“I don’t want either!” She grabbed his arm and pulled him toward her, stubbornly insisting, “You carry me!”
This looked a bit domineering, and Jiang Xuanjin felt a headache coming on. If he had known, he wouldn’t have come over. This person was indeed like a sticky candy; once attached, it was hard to pull away.
Of course, to cling to him, she even resorted to this trick. How could she let him go easily? Huai Yu tightened her grip on his arm, refusing to let go.
The two were at a standstill, unsure of what to do, when suddenly, shouts from the servants outside broke the tension:
“The central courtyard is flooding! Please move to the front courtyard! Distinguished guests, this way, please!”
The Jiang residence’s central courtyard had no water, but there were many wooden and bamboo items placed around it. With so many people today, it was inevitable that something would catch fire.
Jiang Xuanjin frowned upon hearing this, but Li Huai Yu was delighted.
What does it mean to be aided by heaven? This is what it means!
“Did you hear? Everyone is going to the front courtyard. Once they’re all gone, you can carry me back to your room,” she said, gesturing with her chin. “The faster, the less likely anyone will see us.”
“Absurd!” Jiang Xuanjin frowned. “It’s already a fantasy for me to carry you, and you want to enter my room?”
“Then what about the guest room? I’m unfamiliar with the place, and you definitely won’t stay to accompany me. I’m scared!” Huai Yu’s eyes turned red with grievance, and tears fell as she spoke. “You, of all people, I’ve shared a bed with you before, and yet you’re so heartless…”
“Shut up!”
“I won’t!” The more she spoke, the more pitiful she sounded. “I like you so much. When I see you, I don’t even think about reputation or integrity; I just want you to treat me a little better. But you, instead of helping me, are being fierce with me… Wuwuwu!”
“…”
“Not talking anymore? Feeling guilty? The dignified Ziyang Jun, yet your heart isn’t as big as a little girl’s. You see how much you disliked me before, but I’ve always treated you well. One should be kind! When you see injustice, you should help; save the dying and heal the wounded!”
“They say a young lady’s chamber is off-limits. You’re not even a young lady; what’s off-limits about it? I’m not trying to do anything else; I just feel safer on your territory. You won’t even agree to this little request; I’ve wasted my affection on you…”
Unable to listen any longer, Jiang Xuanjin shot her a glare and suddenly bent down, sweeping her up in his arms.
Huai Yu was startled, immediately wrapping her arms around his neck, and staring at him as if she had seen a ghost.
“You… I wanted you to carry me!”
“Fantasy!” He shot her a cold glance, holding her as he walked outside.
The guests in the residence were all moving toward the front courtyard, and there was no one along the path leading out through the moon gate on the left side of the garden. Huai Yu lay in his arms, her heart racing.
Finally, she had the chance to sneak a look inside Mo Ju!