She endured immense humiliation, each word seemingly squeezed from her throat, piercing her heart and bleeding: "Your Highness is my master, so your decision to stay or leave is entirely up to you."

Her voice trembled, but she tried to sound submissive.

When Gu Zhixing heard Shen Jintang back down, the anger he had been holding in finally eased a little.

But when he turned around, he saw Shen Jintang kneeling there, head down, looking very weak.

For some reason, I felt even more uncomfortable.

That shouldn't be the case.

But what exactly is the difference?

Gu Zhixing frowned, his handsome brows furrowing, and sneered, "Putting everything else aside, your knees are definitely weak."

She used to be good at coaxing him, but now the more she tries to coax him, the more uncomfortable he gets. She must be deliberately making herself unhappy!

"I, the young master, dislike spineless cowards."

Cartilage? Weak knees?

If one can speak while standing, who would be willing to kneel and beg for mercy?

Shen Jintang took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and said in a trembling voice, "Yes, I will follow His Highness's teachings."

Gu Zhixing released her hand, stood up, glanced down at her, and said calmly, "Get up."

Shen Jintang struggled to get up, her body swaying. She hadn't had a proper meal for several days, her legs were weak, and her vision blurred.

Seeing that she was about to fall, Gu Zhixing instinctively reached out and helped her up.

Before she could even steady herself, he suddenly realized what he had done, his face instantly turning cold, and his tone becoming icy: "I'm warning you one last time, don't try anything funny in front of me. I don't have the patience to be gentle with women. If you do it again, you won't be able to keep your hands and feet."

After saying that, he shook off her hand, took a few steps forward, then suddenly stopped, glanced back at her, and said with a hint of impatience, "Have some sense. Do I really need to do this myself when it comes to applying medicine?"

Shen Jintang knew in her heart that Gu Zhixing was right.

He was indeed a man who showed no mercy to women. Even if she didn't play any tricks, in his eyes she would always be that servant who could bite back at any moment.

This was her fate; she had no choice but to accept it, nor could she offer any explanation.

When she turned her head to the side, Gu Zhixing was already sitting on the bed with his legs crossed and his arms folded over his chest, looking completely at ease, his eyes fixed on her.

He was always flamboyant, even his clothes were bright red, like peonies and crabapples in full bloom on branches, dazzlingly beautiful.

But it was precisely this vibrant color that made his eyes appear even brighter, like peach blossoms just beginning to bloom in spring, carrying a touch of liveliness.

Who would have thought that such a beautiful appearance could conceal such a ruthless heart?

Shen Jintang looked away, unwilling to look at him again, and turned to find the ointment.

Gu Zhixing kept staring at Shen Jintang, and seeing that she didn't have any inappropriate thoughts and was instead obediently looking for the ointment, he finally relaxed a little.

Actually, he wasn't born suspicious; he had just been tricked by those treacherous maids in the past, which made him extra cautious.

Several years ago, a maid climbed into his bed in the middle of the night and offered herself to him. He was so startled that he fell off the bed in a very embarrassing manner.

Later, he was so angry that he drove them away and warned them repeatedly, but some maids still developed inappropriate feelings for him, throwing themselves at him, exchanging flirtatious glances, and using all sorts of tricks.

He was so angry that he simply dismissed all the maids in the courtyard.

Seeing Shen Jintang standing obediently with her back to him, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, but his gaze remained fixed on her.

His gaze gradually moved downwards, landing on her slender waist—a waist so delicate it could be grasped in one hand, so fragile, as if it could break at the slightest force.

People in Kyoto have a fondness for slender waists, especially those from wealthy and powerful families. To cater to this preference, slave traders often cut back on the female slaves' food, starving them to the point of developing slender waists.

Gu Zhixing had seen the Yangzhou "slender horses" before, whose waists were already extremely thin, but Shen Jintang's waist was even thinner than theirs.

He frowned slightly, looking somewhat irritated. He cleared his throat and asked impatiently, "Still haven't found it?"

Shen Jintang quickly moved closer, bent down, and took out the ointment.

She first gently rubbed the ointment on her fingertips before carefully applying it to the wound.

Her fingers were slender and warm. The moment they touched the wound, Gu Zhixing's body trembled slightly, as if he had been gently touched by something. The feeling was both unfamiliar and subtle.

"Did I hurt the young master?"

Noticing Gu Zhixing's unusual behavior, Shen Jintang spoke softly, her voice tinged with caution.

Just as she was about to look up at his expression, Gu Zhixing suddenly grabbed the back of her neck and pressed her down.

"Don't look at what you shouldn't be looking at. Don't you want to lose your eyes?"

He was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his voice full of anger, his eyes as cold as ice blades.

They're so hard to please!

Shen Jintang suppressed her anger, lowered her eyes slightly to conceal the rage within.

She lowered her head again, her fingers trembling slightly as she scooped out the ointment and carefully and evenly applied it to the wound, her movements as gentle as if she were handling a fragile treasure.

That strange sensation returned, even stronger than before, as if countless tiny tentacles were gently wandering across his skin.

Gu Zhixing's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, his voice carrying a hint of suppressed anger: "Shen Jintang, do you want to hurt me to death so you can leave?"

Shen Jintang paused, gently closed her eyelids, and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

A bitter feeling welled up inside her.

She was pampered at home for the first sixteen years of her life, and had never done this kind of servant work before.

Even when applying medicine to my father and brothers, I have never been so careful.

Even so, all I got in return was a scolding.

However, nowadays, people have no choice but to bow their heads when they are under someone else's roof.

"Your Highness, I'm sorry, I've never done such delicate work before. I'll be gentler." Shen Jintang lowered her head, so her expression was not visible, but her movements became much gentler.

The gentler the movements, the more uncomfortable Gu Zhixing felt.

Shen Jintang also noticed his tense arm. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly. After hesitating for a moment, she finally leaned closer and gently blew on the wound.

The warm breath brushed against the wound, and Gu Zhixing's ears instantly turned red.

“Shen…” He was about to speak when Shen Jintang interrupted him.

"Your Highness, please don't be so delicate. You'll need to apply medicine after you get injured, and you'll be fine soon." Shen Jintang's voice was very soft, as if she were comforting a disobedient child.

The cool ointment was quickly applied again, and Gu Zhixing clenched his fists even tighter, enduring the pain as he tried to hold back.

The pain was secondary; the main problem was the strange sensation, which was truly unbearable.

He had never felt so uncomfortable when applying medicine before; it must be that scoundrel Shen Jintang's deliberate revenge!

"Get off me!" Gu Zhixing shoved her hand away abruptly.

Shen Jintang looked up at him with some surprise, but quickly remembered what he had warned her about and immediately lowered her head.