Chu Linlang had never anticipated that Situ Sheng’s reaction to being startled awake would be so violent.

The moment Situ Sheng seized her wrist, she felt a heart-piercing pain and instinctively stumbled backward — and in doing so, stepped directly onto the burning charcoal basin. The embers scattered across the floor, and Linlang’s other foot landed on them too…

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Dongxue and Guanqi, who had been washing bowls and bickering by the well, were so startled they nearly dropped everything, while Xia He, who had been shaking out bedding in the courtyard, gave a violent shudder.

In the next instant, a flash of white swept past — the ordinarily composed Master Situ emerged from the study carrying Madam Chu in his arms horizontally, moving like a gust of wind.

When they reached the well, he sharply ordered Guanqi out of the way, then set the groaning, pain-wracked Madam Chu down on a stool. Crouching down, he swiftly removed her embroidered shoes and then her stockings, revealing feet that had gone crimson with burns.

Linlang had a low tolerance for pain and was crying so hard that her tears fell in rapid drops with each sob.

Situ Sheng gripped her slender ankle in one hand, using a water ladle to scoop water from the bucket by the well and pour it rapidly over her foot…

The water was ice cold, jolting Linlang into a shudder. The pain was unbearable, and forgetting entirely about the difference in their stations, she raised her fists and pounded them against Situ Sheng’s shoulder, crying out in aggrieved protest: “You’re possessed by some demon! Who on earth sleeps like that! You did this on purpose, didn’t you!”

Perhaps feeling guilty, Situ Sheng pressed his lips together tightly and did not dodge, allowing the soft fists to pound away — treating it as a way to divert her attention.

But Chu Linlang had not noticed that her words invited all manner of imaginative interpretation.

After all, the two of them — employer and employee — had just been alone together in the study. And now Madam Chu was crying that Master Situ’s manner of sleeping was improper… while the tops and soles of Madam Chu’s feet were flushed a deep, vivid red.

What sort of sleeping could have produced these results? Was this really the kind of thing the three servants watching from the courtyard should be hearing?

This scenario utterly exceeded the comprehension of the three young servants — they could only stand there wide-eyed, exchanging baffled looks, not knowing what to say.

Chu Linlang had always had a low threshold for pain since childhood, capable of crying the whole night through after each beating from Chu Huaisheng.

Just now, her feet had been burned by the embers — comparable to a form of punishment — and for the moment she was beyond caring about propriety between men and women, tearfully urging Situ Sheng to keep pouring cold water.

Situ Sheng kept his lips pressed together, pouring water with one hand while his other hand held her slender ankle, carefully examining the burns up and down on that pair of delicate feet.

In the end, Dongxue was the quickest to collect herself and rushed over to ask Situ Sheng what had happened to their young mistress.

When she learned that their mistress had accidentally stepped on the charcoal basin, both maids let out a half-relieved breath.

Dongxue pushed Situ Sheng aside, refusing to let him touch their young mistress’s foot any further. Meanwhile, Xia He rushed off to fetch fermented soybean paste, intending to apply this folk remedy to the burn.

But Situ Sheng stopped her: “That won’t do — it will infect the wound. Guanqi! Go to the nearby pharmacy and buy badger oil at once!”

The woman’s delicate feet were slender, and her skin was remarkably tender. The large expanse of redness would likely blister overnight — it was alarming to look at.

Once the badger oil had been applied, Chu Linlang finally calmed down, though her eyes were swollen and red from crying, and her lips and nose had gone a soft shade of pink, leaving her looking haggard and wan.

She raised her eyes to look at Situ Sheng, who stood silently to one side, his expression unreadable.

Thinking back on how she had pounded at him — fists thumping away — Chu Linlang felt a twinge of remorse.

After all, she had been the one to startle him out of deep sleep first, and she had stumbled backward into the charcoal basin on her own — he had not pushed her into it.

She had accepted Minister Situ’s care and shelter because of her divorce and her desperate lack of shelter, yet here she had acted without any regard for the difference in their ranks, hitting and berating him in front of the servants — that was truly inexcusable…

With that thought, she quickly cleared her throat: “My lord — the pain was intense just now, and if I gave any offense, please forgive me…”

Her apology was perfectly sincere, yet Situ Sheng gave no response. His expression remained rigid and taut, and he seemed still to be holding onto his displeasure…

Her feet could not touch the ground, and Xia He and Dongxue attempted together to carry her back to her room.

But the two young women lacked the strength, and as Chu Linlang was jostled about, her injured foot grazed the ground, sending tears streaming down her face again from the pain.

Situ Sheng finally spoke: “I will do it.”

And with that, he did just as he had done before — steadily lifting Chu Linlang from the two maids’ hands in one smooth motion and carrying her to her room to rest.

When he had rushed out of the study earlier, the situation had been urgent and Chu Linlang had been crying too hard with pain to feel awkward.

But now, being carried by him, she suddenly noticed — this position was… remarkably intimate.

Half of her body was pressed against Situ Sheng’s chest. This was entirely improper!

Yet the one doing this was Situ Sheng — looking at that upright and handsome face, one could hardly accuse him of taking advantage of a woman.

Chu Linlang could only force herself to remain composed, reminding herself she was a mature woman who had been married before, and need not fuss over such trivial details the way a young girl would.

After all, it was not as though she could fly from the well in the outer courtyard all the way back to the inner courtyard on her own!

Seeing that Situ Sheng’s expression remained grave and unsmiling — still apparently holding a grievance against her — she decided not to add fuel to the fire and make things more difficult for him.

Once he had set her down on the bed, she mustered a smile and asked again: “That… the pain was so intense I acted on instinct just now — did I hurt you at all?”

Situ Sheng did not answer. The furrow between his brows had not relaxed since some time ago, and his gaze fell on that pitiful pair of delicate feet and did not move.

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He had always slept lightly — even at night, he sometimes lay awake a long time before sleep would come.

Yet just now, the study had been filled with the faint fragrant scent from Madam Chu, and watching her earnest face as she practiced calligraphy — so tranquil it put one’s heart at ease — something had come over him, and he had slowly closed his eyes and drifted off.

But being a light sleeper after all, the moment she drew near, he had jolted suddenly awake, and had frightened her in the process!

He fell into thought, his gaze unmoving. Chu Linlang noticed him staring fixedly at her bare, unsocked feet and suddenly felt a pang of self-consciousness, quickly yanking the blanket over to cover them.

This yanking motion happened to catch against the burned area, and the pain made her cry out again.

Situ Sheng came back to himself then, realizing he had just been staring at a woman’s feet — far too improper of him.

He pressed his thin lips together and said simply: “Rest well…” Then he turned and walked out.

Shortly afterward, sounds of knocking and hammering drifted in from the courtyard — it was impossible to tell what woodworking project he was now occupying himself with to pass the time.

Because the soles of both her feet had been burned, Chu Linlang could not stand on the ground at all, and even her evening meal was brought to the bed by the maids to eat.

By evening, Xia He offered to stay in Linlang’s room to tend to her, but Linlang was not accustomed to having a maid sleep in the same room and sent her back to her own quarters to rest.

That night Xia He had cooked, and the dishes had come out somewhat over-salted. Linlang drank several cups of the prepared cardamom warm water to quench her thirst.

The pain in her feet kept sleep at bay. She lit the lamp on the small bedside table and read her picture book for a while.

Then in the middle of the night, having finally managed to put out the lamp and fall asleep for a bit, she woke with a pressing need to relieve herself, and the urgency made it impossible to sleep.

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At present she was not sharing a room with Xia He and Dongxue.

After all, she now held the title of head steward — it would have looked wrong to still put on the airs of an official’s wife and have maids waiting on her in her own room.

She was not in the habit of ordering maids about in the night, and she also had an aversion to the smell of chamber pots — so there was none in her room.

The two maids generally slept soundly through the night.

Unable to get out of bed as she was, yet desperately needing to relieve herself, she called out softly twice — but no one came.

The urgency would not abate. Linlang had no choice but to grit her teeth and attempt to get up.

Just then, someone knocked lightly on the window from outside, and a low male voice sounded: “I have not yet gone to sleep. Were you just calling for someone?”

Ah? Chu Linlang was quite taken aback. She had been calling for the two maids — how was it that Situ Sheng had appeared?

Though, to be sure, this room had originally been the master’s room and was indeed situated closer to his study.

Chu Linlang could only brace herself and answer with a murmur, then said: “Could I trouble my lord to call Dongxue and the others for me?”

A brief silence from outside, then: “Get your clothes on first.”

Chu Linlang’s outer robe was folded on the edge of the bed, and once she had put it on, she heard the door creak open, and a tall dark shadow accompanied by a gust of cold air walked in.

Chu Linlang stood there with lips half-parted, staring in astonishment as Situ Sheng walked in, and she could not help but press a hand to her chest and raise her voice slightly: “What… what are you doing?”

Situ Sheng turned around and half-crouched down with his broad back facing her, then stated as a matter of course: “Why disturb those two maids? It’s the dead of night — they couldn’t carry you anyway. Come on, get on. I’ll carry you to the privy on my back.”

What? Chu Linlang could not believe what she was hearing. This was not a banquet to attend — how could she let a grown man accompany her for something like this?

Even if she was not a young unmarried girl, she did not have such a thick skin as to let a man accompany her while she… conducted her business!

“You… you… what are you saying? How would you take me?”

But before she could send him away, Situ Sheng had run out of patience.

He rose to his feet and, just as he had in the daytime, took her up in his arms horizontally and strode in the direction of the privy behind the house.

The night was deep, and even if Chu Linlang was ever so irritated she could not cry out — if she woke anyone else and they found her with Situ Sheng in the middle of the night, there would be no explaining it no matter how many mouths she had.

Her mind was anxious: she could barely stand on her own feet, and the Situ household’s privy was simple and unadorned — not like those of other official households, which had a proper enclosed lavatory with a seat. It was merely a wooden plank elevated above a large bucket, for squatting over.

In a moment, would she need Situ Sheng to hold her up while she attended to her needs?

But when she reached the privy, Chu Linlang found that she had been worrying needlessly.

She discovered that at some unknown point, a chair had appeared in the privy — a chair with a latticed-cutout seat placed directly over the bucket, allowing a person to sit comfortably with both feet suspended in the air.

It dawned on her then — all that knocking and hammering Situ Sheng had been doing all afternoon was for this…

Situ Sheng helped her hold the chair steady, then discreetly moved himself further away.

Chu Linlang was quite urgently in need, so she went about her business.

Only when she was finished did she discover that the armrests of the chair had been thoughtfully wrapped with a band of cotton cloth — comfortable to press against without any hardness digging into the hands…

Even though she had been cross with Situ Sheng, Linlang could not suppress a small burst of laughter — to think he had actually thought to make this ridiculous contraption!

Situ Sheng paid no attention to her and simply bounced the female steward on his back to readjust her weight, then continued walking without a word.

Chu Linlang was not to be outdone, glaring right back at him, then issued an unabashed order: “Help me close the door tightly on your way out — can’t have drafts blowing in and scattering what remains of my reputation!”

Xia He, ever quick to read between the lines, cast a suspicious glance around her, then turned to deliver Chu Linlang’s food, asking in a low voice: “Miss, did my lord help you last night?”

These past few days, the blisters on Linlang’s feet had been gradually receding, but Situ Sheng still would not allow her feet to touch the ground.

The scent of soap bean from his person was different from anyone else’s — when warmed by his body heat, it seemed to transform into something distinctly his own. Once it entered her nose, it was distracting in the most unsettling way…

Situ Sheng was a man of personal restraint and likely still untouched — if a young man so fresh and vigorous wanted to pursue romantic dalliances, he could attract admirers wherever he went. There would be no need to set his sights on the divorced and remarriage-cast-aside woman in his own household.

But when Dongxue got up in the night to use the privy, she spotted the new contraption Master Situ had made, and could not help but offer words of praise for how useful it was.

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She quickly covered her hair and turned her head slightly to the side — only to discover that Situ Sheng had fallen asleep again, just as he had before.

Chu Linlang suddenly felt rather parched. She was truly done for! Could it be that an old house had caught fire after a long drought? Or had it simply been too long since she had tasted the company of a man?

It took considerable effort to finally remove the hairpin and free her hair. Afterwards, both Chu Linlang’s and Situ Sheng’s hair came tumbling down in disarray.

If one were to mention something, the one daily activity poorly suited to recovering from her injury was going to the study to practice calligraphy.

Yet the practice copybook was positively sleep-inducing — she had written only a few pages when she began to stifle a yawn, stealing glances at the man diagonally across from her, who still sat with ruler-straight posture, writing vigorously with his brush.

But she had never anticipated that when she lay against the man’s broad back, she would deeply regret it — pressed so fully against him like this, how could she shake the sensation that he had taken every advantage of her?

Chu Linlang stuffed the steamed bun from the tray into her mouth: “Why do you ask so many questions? How did he help me?”

Yet Situ Sheng merely carried her steadily on his back and continued walking without a word, making no inappropriate moves and offering no teasing remarks.

No wonder his unhinged mother had always been neatly dressed each day yet with disheveled hair. It turned out that the otherwise capable and accomplished Master Situ had one singular weakness — he did not know how to style a woman’s hair!

But breathing in the scent lingering in the bed curtains — that scent laced with the soap bean fragrance from Situ Sheng — even her slowly drifting thoughts were drawn to recalling him bare-chested in the courtyard, training in the martial forms…

Situ Sheng lived a clean and disciplined life and was surely still inexperienced — a young man so fresh and handsome, if he had wanted romantic adventures, could have drawn admirers from every direction. Why would he make advances toward a divorced woman in his own household?

When Dongxue got up in the night to use the privy, she spotted Master Situ’s new creation and could not help but offer words of praise.

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She hurriedly covered her hair and turned her head slightly — only to discover that Situ Sheng had, just like before, fallen asleep again.

Chu Linlang suddenly felt her mouth go dry. She was truly dying! Had the old house been set alight by drought at last? Or had it simply been too long since she had known a man’s company?

Finally, after much struggle, the hairpin was removed and the hair pulled free — and both Chu Linlang’s and Situ Sheng’s hair coils came tumbling completely undone.

As for what was not well-suited to convalescence — the one thing that stood out was her daily visits to the study to practice calligraphy.

But the practice copy before her was positively conducive to sleep — after writing only a few pages, she had begun to stifle yawns, sneaking glances diagonally across at the man who still sat with perfect posture, writing briskly with his brush.

But she had never expected that lying against his broad back, she would come to regret it deeply — pressed so fully against him like this, she couldn’t escape the sensation that all the advantage had gone to him entirely.

Chu Linlang crammed the bun from the tray into Xia He’s mouth: “So many words! How did he help me at all?”

Yet Situ Sheng simply carried her on his back with steady composure, making not a single indecent move and offering not a single teasing word.

No wonder his eccentric mother’s clothes were always neat and tidy, yet her hair perpetually in disarray. It turned out that the otherwise masterful Situ Sheng had one single weakness — he could not style a woman’s hair!

Yet breathing in the scent that filled the bed curtains — Situ Sheng’s scent mixed with the fragrance of soap beans — even her drifting thoughts were pulled toward recalling him bare-chested in the courtyard, training through his martial forms…

Situ Sheng was a man of self-restraint and was surely still inexperienced in such matters — a young man so handsome and vigorous, if he had ever wanted romantic adventures, could have attracted admirers from every corner. There would be no reason to set his sights on the divorced and cast-off woman in his own household.

Chu Linlang said to herself with some self-mockery: if anyone had taken advantage of the other, it was she, a middle-aged woman no longer in her prime, who had taken the greater advantage of Situ Sheng — this young man in the first flush of his youth.

Situ Sheng was left speechless by her retort, fixing his handsome eyes on the small woman tucked behind the bed curtains with a prolonged stare.

Coming back to her surroundings, she remembered she was still in the study practicing calligraphy, and quickly sat up.

People were not thinking any improper thoughts — she could not be the one to let her imagination run to places it should not go.

If the two of them walked out with their hair in complete disarray, and those three young servants spotted them — well, what reputation there was would be ground to dust under a stone roller, and there would be nothing worth salvaging!

Situ Sheng put her down once they were back in her room, then placed her shoes neatly to one side, fetched a basin and cloth for her to wash her hands, and then — carefully choosing his words — said: “I acted impulsively today and touched your foot… as it concerns a woman’s honor…”

As this was the dead of night and deeply cold, most of the biting wind was blocked by Situ Sheng’s body. Chu Linlang lay obediently against his back and said in a soft, teasing tone: “Surely you haven’t been up all night, waiting for me to need the privy?”

What could she say — those strong, narrow waist and hips, that solid, firm chest — they were genuinely something to feast one’s eyes on!

When it was Chu Linlang’s turn, it proved slightly more difficult. A woman’s hair being so long and without a mirror, and without a handy comb, was not easy to manage.

In the past, even during the best days of her relationship with Zhou Sui’an, her former husband had never managed to be as attentive as Situ Sheng was being now.

The very next morning, Chu Linlang sent Xia He out to buy a chamber pot.

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Yet breathing in the scent drifting through the air — she even found herself following that scent back to the memory of him, half-bared chest, training through his martial forms in the courtyard…

When Situ Sheng heard her say this, he let out a straightforward “mm” of acknowledgment — and it was unexpected.

Situ Sheng’s expression remained blank: “For showing disrespect to one’s teacher — an additional copybook of characters as punishment.”

And come to think of it, Situ Sheng did have his redeeming qualities. It was just that she didn’t know how serious his underlying ailment was — if it turned out he was all show with no substance, that would be quite a pity…

Chu Linlang was not fond of watching him give people the silent treatment, and seeing him refuse to let her down, she deliberately leaned close to his ear and exhaled softly: “You know, being this attentive to your servants won’t do — if you get a wife one day, she’ll be jealous seeing you take such careful care of other women.”

In the end, she sat in a well-padded armchair that Xia He had specially prepared for her, by the large table in the study, sitting at an angle diagonally across from Situ Sheng — each occupying a corner of the table.

Chu Linlang had thought this arrangement would spare them from looking directly at each other and ease much of the awkwardness.

Since he had already carried her out, Chu Linlang could not be bothered with the proprieties that darkness concealed, and once her clothes were in order she called him softly to come and take her back to her room.

Linlang no longer felt like talking. After all, the events of the night were too inconvenient to speak of aloud — how had her unspeakable little secrets with Master Situ only grown more numerous?

Worse still, this time, as he dozed with his head against the desk, the heads of the two people sitting diagonally across from each other had ended up leaning together — and the coiled hairpin atop Chu Linlang’s head had unfortunately caught in his hair bun.

Linlang had only been dozing in that position for a brief while, yet her eyes were already drowsy. After several attempts to force them open, she gave up the struggle and fell completely asleep.

Then, taking advantage of a moment when no one was in the outer courtyard, he carried Chu Linlang out on his back once more.

Having been carried all the way in his arms, and then all the way back on his back — she found herself feeling that this fellow had stirred something restless in her heart!

He had also bought her a pair of thickly padded cotton socks — once she put them on, she would not need shoes, so as not to constrict the injured feet.

And at the same time she was thinking: wasn’t the man somewhat foolish? Having the leisure to make that ridiculous contraption of a chair — how had he not thought to simply buy her a chamber pot instead and save everyone the trouble?

Hearing her say this, Situ Sheng did indeed pause in his steps.

As her thoughts drifted off toward sleep at last, the final scattered impression was: she had once thought that whoever married a man like Situ Sheng was truly unfortunate.

But sadly, the artistically gifted Master Situ was genuinely terrible at styling hair.

Situ Sheng took one look at her, and — quite agreeably — rose to his feet and sent Dongxue and the others to the outer courtyard kitchen to make Madam Chu a bowl of fruit soup.

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Yet Situ Sheng said that calligraphy was like martial training — one could not merely observe without practicing.

Chu Linlang suspected this remark was a jab at her for having been caught watching him practice his martial forms, and gave him a sideways glare.

After her hair had been yanked painfully several times, Chu Linlang simply took her own hair back into her hands, loosely arranging it into a low bun herself, then said quietly to Situ Sheng: “Why don’t you step out first and send the others to the outer courtyard, and then I’ll go back to my room?”

She could not move easily, so Situ Sheng had to stand up and lean closer, allowing Chu Linlang to slowly work free the hair tangled around the hairpin.

Chu Linlang said with a click of her tongue: “What is it? You hurt my foot and felt guilty? It wasn’t you who pushed me — I did that to myself through my own recklessness. It has nothing to do with you!”

Chu Linlang felt she ought to be sensible about this and quickly cut him off, generously offering reassurance: “All right, all right — these are not the feet of some unmarried young girl, so precious that a single touch demands responsibility. I have not yet even thanked my lord for treating the burn. As for what goes on within this courtyard — everyone here has enough sense not to breathe a word of it to outsiders. My lord’s reputation will not be tarnished!”

And so, Linlang deliberately drew herself a little closer and made sure Master Situ understood: if he continued to be this considerate and attentive, he was going to end up attracting a great, sprawling peach blossom of affection from a woman old enough to be past her prime.

Chu Linlang felt the situation had become somewhat untenable, and from her position against his broad, solid back, she could not help but say softly: “You can put me down. I think I can walk on my own now — it won’t do to leave the blisters unbroken forever, a bit of friction and they’ll sort themselves out.”

Xia He shrank her neck down too, feeling she had misspoken. Though if it was not my lord who helped, and she and Dongxue had not gotten up, then — could it have been Guanqi?

Not knowing how many hours had passed, when voices — Dongxue’s among them — drifted in from outside the window, Chu Linlang slowly opened her eyes.

After all, it was harmless enough to lie under the covers and privately entertain such thoughts — it broke no law of the land and was merely an idle pastime.

These past few nights, Chu Linlang had not been sleeping well. The pain in her feet was real enough to keep her from rest.

She quietly turned her face toward the window, intending to lie face-down and rest for just a little while.

With her feet injured, Chu Linlang could officially take it easy — all the courtyard matters were left to the three younger servants to handle.

Linlang had never imagined that a man could be so meticulous in caring for someone.

Having said this, not sparing a glance for the man now glowering at her with dark, heavy eyes, she lay down flat on the bed, pulled the covers over herself, and turned to face the wall.

If this person were a dissolute and rakish young man who made a game of pursuing women — with such gentle and tender methods — he would be a genuine menace to every inner household in the capital!

And so Chu Linlang first had Situ Sheng crouch down, then dampened her fingers with a little tea, and with quick, practiced hands reorganized and gathered his hair, finishing the job in no time at all.

The result was that when she raised her head, she pulled Situ Sheng awake along with her.

Xia He was belatedly flustered, blaming herself for being careless, and asked Madam Chu whether she had gotten up in the night. Chu Linlang gave only a vague answer and let the matter pass.

Chu Linlang lay there at ease, letting her thoughts spread like wild grass running rampant — ordinarily so cold and distant, yet when it came to looking after someone, what careful attentiveness of heart!

Once she heard the sound of the man’s footsteps walking out, followed by the sound of the door pulling firmly shut, Chu Linlang pulled her head out from the covers — a head of thoroughly disheveled hair — and let out a long, long breath.

With that, she rolled over in contentment and fell back to sleep.

This time, rather than having him carry her, she let him carry her on his back.

She had heard Guanqi recount the tale of Situ Sheng jumping from the boat in Jizhou as a bit of gossip, and had also learned that Situ Sheng disliked women who deliberately pressed themselves close to him or threw themselves into his arms.

Chu Linlang’s words were understanding and gracious — yet Situ Sheng, hearing them, showed no sign of relief. Instead, his brow furrowed slightly, and he raised his head to fix her with a cool, sharp gaze: “When it concerns a woman’s honor, how can you be so careless about it?”

Chu Linlang greatly disliked watching him refuse to engage with people in his dead-eyed way, and seeing him refuse to set her down, she deliberately leaned close to his ear and breathed out softly: “You really ought not to be this good to your servants — if you were to take a wife someday, she would be jealous seeing you attend to other women with such care.”

In the end, she sat in the thickly cushioned armchair that Xia He had specially prepared, at the great table in the study, sitting at a diagonal angle across from Situ Sheng, each occupying their own corner of the table.

Chu Linlang had thought this arrangement, without the two looking directly at each other, would greatly ease the awkwardness.

Since he had already carried her out, Chu Linlang could not be bothered to observe the proprieties that the night’s darkness concealed. Once her clothes were in order, she quietly called for him to come and take her back to her room.

Linlang no longer felt much like talking. After all, the events of the night were too hard to speak of — how had her unspeakable little secrets with Master Situ only grown more and more numerous?

And to make matters worse, this time he had been dozing with his head against the desk, and the two sitting diagonally across from each other had ended up with their heads leaning together — and the spiraling hairpin atop Chu Linlang’s head had unfortunately caught in his hair bun.

Linlang had only been lying against him for a brief little while, yet her eyes were already drowsy and heavy. After several struggles to force them open, she gave up and fell completely asleep.

Then, seizing the moment when no one was in the outer courtyard, he carried Chu Linlang out on his back once more.

Having been carried all that way in his arms, and then all that way back on his back — she found that this scoundrel had managed to stir something restless in her heart!

He had also purchased her a pair of thickly padded cotton socks — once worn, she would not need shoes, which would spare her injured feet any constriction.

At the same time she was thinking — wasn’t that man a little foolish? Having all that free time to make that ridiculous chair contraption, why had he not thought simply to buy her a chamber pot and spare everyone the trouble?

Upon hearing this, Situ Sheng did indeed come to a halt in his steps.

As her last drifting thoughts carried her off to sleep, her final impression was: she had once thought that whoever married a man like Situ Sheng had truly drawn the short end of life’s lot.

Yet it was a pity — the artistically gifted Master Situ was genuinely hopeless at styling hair.

Situ Sheng glanced at her, and — quite agreeably — rose and sent Dongxue and the others to the outer courtyard kitchen to make Madam Chu a bowl of fruit soup.

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But Situ Sheng said that calligraphy practice was like practicing martial forms — one could not simply watch without doing.

Chu Linlang suspected this was a veiled jab at her for having been caught watching him practice his martial forms, and slanted her eyes at him.

After her hair had been yanked painfully several times, Chu Linlang simply reclaimed her hair into her own hands, loosely twisted it into a low bun, then said quietly to Situ Sheng: “Why don’t you step outside first and send the others to the outer courtyard — and then I’ll make my way back to my room?”

Since she could not move easily, Situ Sheng had to rise and lean somewhat closer, so that Chu Linlang could slowly work free the tangled strands caught around the hairpin.

Chu Linlang said with a click of her tongue: “What is this? You hurt my foot and now you feel guilty? It wasn’t you who pushed me — I stumbled into that fire basin through my own recklessness, and it has nothing to do with you!”

Chu Linlang felt she ought to be reasonable about this and quickly cut him off, offering gracious reassurance: “Enough, enough — these are not the feet of some young unmarried girl, so precious that a single touch incurs responsibility. I have not yet even thanked my lord for tending to the burns. As for anything that has happened within this courtyard — everyone here has the sense not to speak of it outside. My lord’s reputation will not be blemished!”

So Linlang deliberately drew a little closer, letting Master Situ understand: if he continued being this considerate, he was going to wind up attracting a great bloom of affection from an older, past-her-prime woman — and he ought to take care.

Chu Linlang felt things had become somewhat untenable and, pressed against his broad and sturdy back, could not help but say softly: “You can put me down. I should be able to walk on my own now — the blisters can’t stay unbroken forever. A bit of friction and they’ll sort themselves out.”

Xia He too shrank back, feeling she had said the wrong thing. Though, if it had not been my lord who helped, and neither she nor Dongxue had gotten up — could it really have been Guanqi?

With no sense of how many hours had passed, Chu Linlang only gradually opened her eyes when voices outside the window — Dongxue among them — drifted in.

After all, there was no harm in privately entertaining such thoughts while tucked under the covers — it broke no law and was merely a harmless idle fancy.

These past few nights, Chu Linlang had not been sleeping well — the pain in her feet was enough to keep her awake.

She quietly turned her face toward the window, intending to lie down and rest for just a short while.

With her feet injured, Chu Linlang could officially take things easy, leaving all the courtyard matters to the three younger servants.

Linlang had never imagined that a man could look after someone with such meticulous care.

Having said this, she spared no further attention to the man now glowering at her with darkened, heavy eyes — she simply lay flat on the bed, pulled the blanket over herself, and turned to face the wall.

If such a person had been a dissolute, rakish young man who made sport of pursuing women — such gentle and attentive methods would have been a genuine scourge upon every inner household in the capital!

And so Chu Linlang first had Situ Sheng crouch down, then moistened her fingers with a little tea, and with quick, practiced hands smoothed and gathered his hair back into proper order — done in no time at all.

The result was that as she raised her head, she inadvertently tugged Situ Sheng awake.

Xia He, belated in her self-reproach, blamed herself for being careless and asked Madam Chu whether she had risen in the night. Chu Linlang gave only a vague answer and let the matter slide.

Chu Linlang lay there at her ease, letting her thoughts roam freely like unchecked wild grass — ordinarily so cold and distant, yet when it came to looking after someone, how tender was his care!

Once she heard the footsteps of the man departing, followed by the firm closing of the door, Chu Linlang pulled her head out from under the blankets — hair in a state of complete disarray — and exhaled one long, drawn-out breath.

With that, she rolled over contentedly and drifted back to sleep.

This time, she had not asked him to carry her — she had asked him to carry her on his back instead.

She had heard Guanqi recount, as a piece of amusing gossip, the story of Situ Sheng jumping overboard in Jizhou. She also knew that Situ Sheng disliked women who deliberately leaned into him or threw themselves at him.

Chu Linlang’s thoughtful and tactful words — and yet Situ Sheng, hearing them, showed not the slightest sign of relief. If anything, his brow furrowed slightly, and he raised his head to give her a cool, penetrating stare, his tone carrying a chill: “When it concerns a woman’s honor, how can you treat it so lightly?”

Chu Linlang very much disliked that dead-eyed way of his when he refused to engage. Seeing that he would not put her down, she deliberately leaned close to his ear and breathed out softly: “You really should not be so good to your servants — if you take a wife someday, she will be jealous, seeing you take such careful care of other women.”

In the end, she settled into the generously cushioned armchair Xia He had specially laid out for her, at the great table in the study, angled across from Situ Sheng — each occupying their own corner of the table.

Chu Linlang had thought that without facing each other directly, a great deal of awkwardness would be relieved.

Since he had already carried her out, Chu Linlang could not be bothered with the proprieties that darkness concealed. Once her clothing was in order, she softly called for him to come and take her back to her room.

Linlang no longer felt inclined to say much — the events of the night were too inconvenient to speak of aloud, and the unspeakable little secrets between her and Master Situ seemed only to multiply.

What was worse, this time they had each been dozing with their heads against the desk, and the two sitting at an angle from each other had ended up with their heads together — and the spiral hairpin atop Chu Linlang’s head had unfortunately caught itself in his hair bun.

Linlang had only been lying there a short while, yet drowsiness had taken firm hold. After a few futile attempts to force her eyes open, she gave up the struggle entirely and fell fast asleep.

Then, seizing the moment when no one was in the outer courtyard, he carried Chu Linlang out on his back once more.

Having been carried all that way in his arms, and then borne all the way back on his back — she had found that this fellow had managed to plant something restless in her heart!

He had also bought her a pair of thickly cotton-padded socks — wearing them meant she would not need shoes, so as not to squeeze against the injured feet.

While she was at it, she thought to herself — wasn’t that man a little foolish? Having all that free time to fashion that ridiculous chair contraption, how had it not occurred to him to simply buy her a chamber pot and spare everyone the trouble?

Hearing this, Situ Sheng did indeed pause in his steps.

As her drifting thoughts finally surrendered to sleep, the last vague impression that passed through her mind was: she had once thought that whoever married a man like Situ Sheng had truly drawn the most unfortunate lot in life.

But then again — the artistically gifted Master Situ was genuinely helpless at styling hair.

Situ Sheng looked at her, then — quite agreeably — stood up and sent Dongxue and the others off to the outer courtyard kitchen to make Madam Chu a bowl of fruit soup.