Sister-in-law, let me see.

He was puzzled, but then he heard Zhang Chunfeng say slowly, "Although I think sister-in-law shouldn't kowtow anymore, since she insists on doing it, she should use padding to avoid breaking her skin."

Zhang Chunfeng squatted down beside him. Seeing Li Xiuman in a daze, she naturally reached out and gently brushed the dirt off his forehead. Her slender index and middle fingers joined together, and she gently rubbed the reddened area on Li Xiuman's forehead.

After making this gesture, Zhang Chunfeng placed his palm on the ground, indicating that Li Xiuman could kowtow a few more times if he wanted to.

Lee Soo-man blushed and shook his head in a panic.

"No, let's go." He was afraid Zhang Chunfeng would notice, so he deliberately turned his face away from Zhang Chunfeng's gaze.

He had been kneeling on the ground for almost an hour when he suddenly stood up and hurriedly tried to walk away. His legs went weak, and Zhang Chunfeng caught him by the waist.

"Anyone who didn't know better would think my sister-in-law had some serious flirting skills," Zhang Chunfeng said sarcastically.

Lee Soo-man quickly distanced himself from the others.

"I...I didn't mean that," he explained dryly, bending down to massage his legs before walking with Zhang Chunfeng toward the horses.

“Sister-in-law is kind-hearted. Shen Shi favors Yaozu and doesn’t care about you at all. Why are you so moved?” Zhang Chunfeng asked.

“Yaozu’s younger brother is her biological son. I was originally bought. It is already a great kindness that she is willing to raise me.”

"But has your sister-in-law ever considered that if the Shen family hadn't bought you back then, and you had been bought by a high-ranking official or a commoner, you wouldn't be in this impoverished state now? It was the Shen family who bought you, which cut off your original path to prosperity."

Lee Soo-man was taken aback; he hadn't considered this hypothetical scenario. He felt something was off, but couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"But what if the Shen family doesn't buy me, and I starve to death?"

"Twenty-six years ago, before the Empress ascended the throne, the world was still ruled by men. How could no one buy you, a fair-skinned baby boy? Besides, when the Shen family bought you, you were already four years old. They must have noticed that you were handsome, so you certainly wouldn't have starved to death."

Zhang Chunfeng's analysis left Li Xiuman even more speechless.

The two mounted their horses, but Lee Soo-man still hadn't figured out what to do.

But then Zhang Chunfeng asked, "Sister-in-law, don't you remember where you lived before you were four years old?"

Lee Soo-man shook his head, genuinely not remembering.

"Why didn't the Shen family change your surname after buying your property?"

"Maybe my biological father's surname is Li, so my mother didn't change it for me."

"Oh? The Shen family is so kind-hearted?" Zhang Chunfeng found many things strange and asked, "Have you ever thought about who your biological parents really are?"

Lee Soo-man still shook his head.

In those days, there were many children, and many people buying and selling in brothels and taverns.

He didn't know how long he would search for him, and besides, since his own parents wanted to sell him, they naturally didn't like it. If they didn't like it, why bother searching anymore?

"No matter what, my mother taught me to read and write, taught me needlework, and taught me to identify various herbs and make my own medicine to treat heat and wounds, and even to fade scars. Moreover, my mother did not burden me much in the early days. Although she needed money, she did not need me to serve her. She could clean herself up and knew how to add osmanthus and chrysanthemum to soap pods, making the whole house smell fragrant."

Lee Soo-man said softly that his memories were full of sweet times with Mrs. Shen.

When the topic of osmanthus flowers being added to soap pods came up, Zhang Chunfeng suddenly recalled the osmanthus fragrance he had smelled that night. It turned out that he had used soap pods with osmanthus flowers inside, and they were indeed very fragrant.

The fragrance of osmanthus filled Zhang Chunfeng's mind with images of Li Xiuman bathing in the moonlight.

"What a great waist!" Zhang Chunfeng hugged Li Xiuman tighter.

The latter, however, remained completely oblivious and continued, "Although my mother bought me, everyone who sees us says that we look alike, just like biological children!"

Zhang Chunfeng raised an eyebrow slightly. "That's quite a coincidence."

Lee Soo-man nodded. "It's quite a coincidence. When my mother and I went out, they both said they could tell at a glance that I was her biological son." As she finished speaking, Lee Soo-man's voice softened, carrying a hint of grievance.

Everyone said that, but he knew in his heart that he was ultimately bought. Madam Shen still favored Yaozu's younger brother, who was her real son, so she asked Li Xiuman to summon Yaozu before she died.

It's impossible to treat two children equally.

Like Zhang Chuntian, he was the one who contributed the most to his family, yet he was also the one who received the least favoritism.

Thinking of this, Lee Soo-man lowered his head.

He looked down and saw that Zhang Chunfeng and he were holding hands.

He was terrified! He had been holding hands with Zhang Chunfeng all this way! Li Xiuman was shocked. He remembered that it had been the same way. Zhang Chunfeng had helped him mount and dismount his horse by supporting his waist.

He tried to break free from Zhang Chunfeng's hand, but then noticed a mark on the back of Zhang Chunfeng's hand from a clod of dirt.

The mark was extremely faint, something that would disappear in less than a quarter of an hour. Yet, for some reason, Li Xiuman recalled the warmth of Zhang Chunfeng's palm.

“These hands of yours are meant for reading and writing. Don’t do what you just did again,” Li Xiuman said, taking out the handkerchief Zhang Chunfeng had given him the day before.

"This handkerchief is too precious. You keep it for yourself; I won't use it."

He reached out to hand it over, but Zhang Chunfeng sneered at him.

"My sister-in-law has only just entered the family, and she already wants to separate from me and my brother?"

Li Xiuman was greatly surprised, wondering why Zhang Chunfeng had thought of going there.

"How can you say that? Of course I wouldn't say that."

"If that's the case, why are you making such a fuss with me?" Zhang Chunfeng glanced coldly at Li Xiuman. "If sister-in-law doesn't like it, just throw it away."

Lee Soo-man quickly shook his head, "I didn't mean that."

He sensed that Zhang Chunfeng was angry and wondered if he had offended her with his words. Heaven knows, he really didn't intend to make a fuss.

“I really like it, but I feel like I don’t need it,” Lee Soo-man explained.

"Sister-in-law, what you're saying is quite strange. If you like it so much, why don't you use it? If you like it, you should use it every day."

Lee Soo-man was no match for Jang Chun-feng in a verbal sparring match.

He fell silent for a moment, then finally uttered, "I'm a rough man, it hurts me to use something like this."

"A rough man? How is your sister-in-law rough? Let me feel."

Li Xiuman was momentarily speechless, his mouth agape for a long time, unsure how to respond. He struggled to explain the uncouth man's meaning, but when he turned his head, he saw that although Zhang Chunfeng's face was cold, the corners of his mouth were actually turned up.

She clearly intended to tease him on purpose.

Lee Soo-man turned his face away without speaking, silently stuffing the handkerchief back into his pocket.

As soon as they stepped onto level ground, Zhang Chunfeng quickened the horse's pace. After all, she was still growing and needed to eat three meals a day on time; otherwise, she would get very hungry.

Even so, by the time I got home, it was already getting dark.

Li Xiuman had originally planned to get off at the village entrance and walk back. But seeing that it was already dark and he couldn't see anything anyway, he decided to get off at his doorstep.

The moment the sound of horses' hooves stopped at the door, Zhang Chuntian rushed out.

When he returned home at noon, he couldn't find his sister or wife, so he immediately burst into tears, thinking that he had done something wrong and had been abandoned.

Upon seeing the two of them, Zhang Chuntian happily snuggled up to Zhang Chunfeng.

"Sister, wife," he called out.

Zhang Chunfeng took out some candy from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Chuntian.

"Let's eat first."

Upon hearing that they could eat, Zhang Chuntian immediately ran to the table, forgetting all about rubbing against Li Xiuman.

The Li family had already prepared the meal.

After the family sat down, Mrs. Li asked, "Was today all right?"

Zhang Chunfeng nodded.

Seeing that Zhang Chunfeng was truly hungry, Li stopped asking questions.

After dinner, Zhang Chuntian pestered Zhang Chunfeng to go catch some crickets, as they tasted delicious when stir-fried.

“You’re a married man, go with your wife. Your sister still needs to study,” Li Shi advised.

Lee Soo-man, who was clearing away the dishes, quickly stopped.

Zhang Chunfeng pulled Zhang Chuntian aside, saying, "I'll be going to the capital for the imperial examination in a few months. It wouldn't hurt to keep him company. I've spent more time at the school than at home these past few years."

The two went outside, and Lee Soo-man then went about washing the dishes and tidying up on his own.

After tidying up, he thought he would take a shower first, and then Zhang Chuntian could help him shower when he came back.

He carried the water to the shed, and as soon as he was splashed with cold water, he felt a sharp pain in his thigh.

hiss--

Lee Soo-man gasped, momentarily unable to recall what had happened to his thigh. The moonlight in the shed was dim, and he strained to look down, only to feel that the wound seemed to be too close to the groin, causing him pain when he bent over, yet he couldn't see it.

He forced a shower despite the pain, then put on his clothes and walked back into the house. The pain intensified a hundredfold; he could barely walk properly, his groin burning with every step. Luckily, no one was home. He limped back to his room, his legs slightly hunched.

Once inside, they lit candles, and Lee Soo-man pulled down his trousers, sat on the bed, and looked down. He immediately realized something was wrong.

Zhang Chunfeng had reminded him at least three times today that he must relax his legs and not squeeze the horse's belly. However, he was nervous and although he nodded in response to Zhang Chunfeng's words, he still squeezed his legs with the saddle.

The journey took several hours round trip. While traveling with Zhang Chunfeng, he was so nervous that he didn't notice anything amiss. Now, however, he saw that both of his thighs were covered in blood!

The flesh on my thigh is already tender, and the skin was chafed raw, with a faint trace of blood. It was also splashed with cold water, and now it's burning with pain.

Lee Soo-man groaned incessantly, thinking that he probably wouldn't be able to walk properly for several days.

He spread his legs and kept fanning his inner thighs with his palms, trying to ease the burning pain. But the skin was so badly broken that it needed ointment, and his fanning had no effect whatsoever.

It seems I can only bear with it for now and go find some herbs early tomorrow. His family is poor, but his mother, Shen, has taught him many herbal remedies, which can reduce inflammation, relieve pain, and remove scars. He should be better by tomorrow.

Lee Soo-man pondered for a moment, then got up, preparing to blow out the candles and go to sleep.

He got out of bed with his bare legs and had just moved to the table where the candles were when he heard the door slam shut.

Lee Soo-man then remembered that he would always close the door when he entered the house, but today he was in so much pain and anxious to see what was wrong that he forgot to close the door.

There wasn't even time to blow out the candle. Lee Soo-man rolled over and hurriedly sat down on the bed. He frantically tried to pull the quilt over himself, only to find that there was no quilt on the bed!

Summer weather is hot, and someone as strong as Zhang Chuntian would fall asleep without any covers at night. Only a complete fool would use a quilt in this weather. Since he wasn't going to use one, the quilt would just take up space on the bed. So Li Xiuman simply put the quilt in the closet and covered his stomach with his clean clothes at night. This way, he was neither too hot nor too cold and slept soundly all night.

"What's the panic, sister-in-law?" When Zhang Chunfeng moved to Li Xiuman's bedside, Li Xiuman had just grabbed the pants she had taken off. She didn't even have time to put them on, just placed them on her lap in an attempt to cover herself up.

Only pants, not a shirt. The long, narrow pants couldn't completely cover his lower body. They only covered Lee Soo-man's private parts, leaving two straight, fair legs exposed to the air, attracting everyone's attention.

Zhang Chunfeng had already walked to the bedside, his eyes sweeping over Li Xiuman's legs without any attempt to hide it. Li Xiuman blushed with embarrassment, which made the beauty mark on the tip of her nose even more alluring.

"Spring Breeze, you...you should step aside for a moment," Lee Soo-man said with difficulty, his head bowed.

Zhang Chunfeng ignored him, stretched out his hand, and in his palm was a jade-colored bottle, its color clear and transparent, obviously not a cheap item.

"I kindly brought medicine to my sister-in-law, but she chased me away?" Zhang Chunfeng's voice rose, as if he was hiding some wicked intentions.

Lee Soo-man was taken aback, and was about to ask her how she knew he had a cut. But then he thought that the medicine was expensive, and he could just take some herbal medicine tomorrow morning. It wasn't a serious injury or a limp, so there was no need to go to such lengths.

"Thank you, I'm fine, I don't need the medicine." Lee Soo-man shook his head.

“Nothing wrong?” Zhang Chunfeng raised an eyebrow and looked at Li Xiuman’s legs. “Sister-in-law, your lying skills are truly superb. You can make things up as soon as you open your mouth.”

Lee Soo-man became even more embarrassed and stammered, "I didn't lie, it's really nothing, just a minor injury."

Zhang Chunfeng snorted coldly, thinking that Li Xiuman was being so stubborn just because he didn't owe him anything. Anyone who couldn't ride a horse would definitely get chafed after such an ordeal, so how could Li Xiuman be made of copper and iron and be completely unharmed?

"Since you're alright, sister-in-law, please take a look at me. I won't bother you any longer."