After a moment of silence, Bai Jingquan straightened his official robes before speaking slowly: "As your daughter said, I am not a corrupt official. Now that she is injured, let's put this matter aside for the time being. I will hold a formal trial in three days and then I will definitely settle this matter completely."

"Yes, yes, thank you, sir."

The Bai family was deeply grateful to Bai Jingquan for temporarily letting them off the hook.

Cheng Shanshan only dared to open her eyes again after everyone had left.

But the image of Bai Jingquan's meaningful smile as he looked at her kept replaying in her mind, and that feeling was extremely uncomfortable!

...

That night, Cheng Shanshan was just about to fall asleep.

Huo Mingchen suddenly arrived, and she quickly got dressed and went to the door.

Under the cold moonlight, Huo Mingchen's figure was as tall as a mountain. When he saw Cheng Shanshan's face, which was still red and swollen after being treated with a cold compress, his expression immediately darkened: "Are you stupid? You actually got hit by an old man?"

“But only if he hits me first can he go from being in the right to being in the wrong. You know, people always sympathize with the weak.” Cheng Shanshan said with a smug smile, but she didn’t expect it to aggravate the injury on her face, causing her to wince in pain instantly.

Seeing this, Huo Mingchen subconsciously reached out, but forcibly withdrew his hand halfway through, his brows furrowing tightly: "Your little tricks will only solve the problem for a short while. Once he calms down, he'll continue to cause trouble. Do you want to get slapped again then?"

"The court session will be held in three days at the earliest, we'll talk about it then."

Calculating the days, she realized there were still ten days of peace. If she could just get through this period, these problems would no longer be problems.

But Huo Mingchen was unaware of her thoughts, and instead looked at her with incomprehension: "Cheng Shanshan, don't you feel any pain?"

Cheng Shanshan retorted instinctively, "How could it not hurt!"

Just now, in order not to worry Bai Shi, she acted very strong the whole time and kept saying that she was fine. But now, when she heard Huo Mingchen ask her this, she couldn't help but start complaining: "I originally thought that old man Chu was too old and wouldn't be too strong, so I went to test him out. Who knew he was so strong? He hit me so hard that my ears started ringing!"

Seeing that Huo Mingchen didn't speak, Cheng Shanshan couldn't help but stand on tiptoe and lean closer to his eyelids: "Look, there are still handprints on it after all this time!"

"..."

Huo Mingchen looked at her face.

The faint blush on her fair skin and her dark, clear eyes, like the bright moon in the night sky, seemed to draw one involuntarily into a deep pool.

For some reason, he suddenly froze, unsure of what to do.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Cheng Shanshan assumed he thought she was being dramatic, so she immediately reverted to her usual attitude: "Never mind, it's just a minor injury. I'll be fine tomorrow after some rest." With that, she turned to go back.

"What's so good about it!" Huo Mingchen scolded, then pressed her against the wall and carefully examined her face: "I just don't understand, you care about everything, but why do you just try to fool yourself when it comes to yourself?"

Cheng Shanshan coughed lightly and said, "I'm young and strong, it's really nothing."

"you?"

Huo Mingchen glanced at her tiny, bean sprout-like body with disdain, then took out a milky-white porcelain bottle from his sleeve: "Since you're so capable, then don't cry out in pain when I apply the medicine."

"So Brother Huo wanted to help me apply the medicine?"

Cheng Shanshan looked curiously at the milky white paste in the bottle.

Upon opening, a faint, pleasant fragrance seemed to emanate from inside.

Huo Mingchen reached out and lightly dabbed some of the medicine onto her face. She had expected it to feel cool and refreshing, but instead, she felt a burning pain. "Brother Huo, what kind of medicine is this? Why does it hurt so much?"

Huo Mingchen did not answer and continued applying the ointment.

Cheng Shanshan jumped up and down in pain, saying, "Stop applying it, my face is on fire!" She hadn't felt this much pain when she was hit, but now she felt like crying.

But Huo Mingchen pinned her against the wall, his tall frame creating a strong sense of oppression: "Now you know it hurts? Weren't you just smugly saying it was a minor injury, that you were fine and still young and strong?"

Are they making fun of her?

It hurts, but I can't lose face.

Cheng Shanshan stubbornly endured the pain and appeared nonchalant: "It's just a little pain, I can still bear it."

"Um?"

Huo Mingchen raised an eyebrow.

If he hadn't seen the white mist covering her dark eyes, he probably would have believed it too.

At first, Cheng Shanshan was enduring it, but after only a moment, the feeling not only disappeared, but it also dispelled the dull pain caused by the swelling. She was overjoyed: "Wow, your ointment works so well! What's it called? I want to get some too."

"You can't buy it."

Huo Mingchen handed her the white porcelain bottle, saying, "This bottle is for you. After all, you seem to need it more than I do."

"I can't accept this as a gift," Cheng Shanshan said politely, but she took the bottle of ointment and examined it carefully. "This must be very expensive. How about I give you some money to buy it for you?"

"More money!"

Huo Mingchen raised his hand and gave him a sharp rap on the head.

He slapped Cheng Shanshan hard on the forehead, causing her excruciating pain: "Brother Huo, do you know how strong you are?"

Huo Mingchen finally smiled slightly: "Since you know I'm strong, why don't you leave this matter to me? I'll take care of it for you."

"Need not."

Cheng Shanshan didn't want to owe anyone a favor.

Moreover, entrusting this matter to Huo Mingchen would likely cause even more trouble if he resorted to violence.

So she rubbed her forehead and said, "I already have a plan. It will definitely be resolved in the court session in three days." To avoid Huo Mingchen misunderstanding, she paused and added, "Don't worry, I definitely won't get beaten up then."

...

The next day.

Bai got up very early.

When the fragrant aroma of white rice porridge wafted over, Cheng Shanshan was instantly wide awake: "Mom, did you cook porridge? It smells so good!"

"yes."

When Bai saw that Cheng Shanshan was awake, she quickly ladled out a bowl and put it aside to cool: "Go wash up quickly, then come and eat porridge. I also made your favorite corn pancakes."

Hearing that it was all her favorite food, Cheng Shanshan quickly prepared it and sat down to eat. When the warm white porridge entered her stomach, it felt incredibly comforting.

Looking at her, Bai's eyes were full of heartache and helplessness: "There's nothing I can do to help you, I can only make you some food." As she spoke, she couldn't help but wipe away her tears as she thought of what happened yesterday.

Cheng Shanshan quickly straightened herself up: "Mom, you knew I was faking it yesterday, and you even cooperated with me very well."