Chapter 57 I'm in pain

Hearing Qing Wu's voice behind him, the young man wiped away his tears, pressed his fingertips on his eyelids, leaving red marks, and returned to normal when he spoke: "No need to trouble Madam, Zhao Tong is enough."

But just as he finished speaking, there was a clang of a copper basin being placed on the ground behind him. Zhao Tong, who hadn't even seen the shadow, suddenly cried out "Ouch!" and ran to the other side, holding his stomach, saying as he ran, "My stomach suddenly hurts a little."

But this was exactly what Qingwu wanted. She had originally wanted to take this opportunity to see how Xiao Ji's leg was recovering. Not knowing the specific situation had really made her worried.

Originally she should have asked directly, but the incident in the morning was enough to prove that he now did not like being asked to look at his injuries directly, so she had to find another way and see if she could observe something by washing his feet.

In order to prevent Xiao Ji from refusing again, Qing Wu quickly went around to the back of the wheelchair and pushed it straight into the room without waiting for his answer. Xiao Ji subconsciously grabbed the handrail. He wanted to refuse, but the words in his mouth slowly stopped as he crossed the threshold.

This morning, Zhao Tong and Fugui had to lift his wheelchair to enter and exit the palace. In the afternoon, he found that all the thresholds of the palace where he often went out had been removed, and the steps out of the palace had been newly repaired with stones, becoming a gentle slope.

Xiao Ji knew his wife's true intentions. He knew his wife cared about him, but he couldn't bear to look at such a hideous leg, so how could he want others to see it?

But when he saw these details and thought of her meticulous care, Xiao Ji's throat tightened and he couldn't utter the words of rejection that were on his lips.

Although Qing Wu asked someone to fill in the steps, she did not take credit for it. Even though she noticed that Xiao Ji's gaze lingered on the original threshold stone, she pretended not to know and pushed him into the room steadily, stopping in the warm yellow light of the copper lamp.

"Shall I go outside and bring in the hot water?"

The girl greeted him gently with her eyes and eyebrows. She turned around neatly. Looking at her slender back, Xiao Ji suddenly loosened his clenched knuckles.

Soon, Qingwu returned with a basin of hot water, fragrant with mugwort, and gently placed it on the carved footstool. She knelt down, her blue brocade skirt draping on the green bricks, and looked up at him: "Did I take off my shoes?"

The flickering candlelight illuminated her eyes clearly.

This simple question gave Xiao Ji his final escape route. His broken leg was his scar, a humiliation he didn't want to show to others. Qing Wu's gaze was gentle and patient, like he was waiting for a wounded raccoon to voluntarily drop its guard and expose its belly.

Oh, the one in front of me is not a raccoon slave, but a snow slave.

Thinking of the nickname that Uncle Yang mentioned inadvertently, Qingwu's smile became even more pronounced.

The candlelight cast a layer of honey color on her jade-white skin. She looked at him with her beautiful phoenix eyes, with a gentle and bright smile on her lips. Xiao Ji's heart couldn't help but beat.

The scene before him was really, really... He couldn't remember it for a moment and was stunned. It took him a long time to remember the nightshade he and his mother watched with candlelight when he was young - it was breathtakingly beautiful.

The last inch of defense in his heart suddenly broke, and the boy thought in despair, let her see if she wants to.

If not her, who else can I show it to?

Qingwu saw all of his expressions, from unwillingness to daze, and finally to blushing.

Qing Wu lowered her head and smiled, no longer needing Xiao Ji's answer. She lifted up his outer robe, revealing a pair of legs, one of which was obviously thicker than the other.

Qingwu's expression remained unchanged. He started with his intact right leg, taking off his shoes and socks. Everything was fine. When it was his left leg's turn, as soon as his fingertips touched the cotton, he noticed that his body suddenly tensed up and his knees subconsciously retracted.

Looking up, he saw that the fingertips gripping the wheelchair armrest had turned white. Qing Wu lowered his eyes calmly and said soothingly, "Don't be afraid, I will be very gentle."

Her voice was like gurgling warmth, gently flowing over his tense nerves. Xiao Ji slowly relaxed, feeling the warm and soft palm covering his knees, and his knees gradually stopped shaking.

The next step was a natural progression. He watched Qingwu slowly roll up his shorts above his knees, revealing his slender, white legs and calves tightly wrapped in wooden splints and silk cloth.

Even though the silk cloth covered most of it, the purple-blue color winding down from it was still very scary. Xiao Ji only took a glance and raised his eyes not wanting to look again, but he was aroused by a very light gasp. He couldn't help but look at her expression, wanting to see if she was afraid or - the young man suddenly stopped and met Qing Wu's eyes.

The candlelight danced in her eyes, reflecting the pain so clearly, as if to melt all his embarrassment in this gentleness. At this moment, he could only hear the pounding of his own heart, which made his eardrums hurt.

He didn't even notice that his feet were placed in warm water until the delicate fingertips touched his ankle. Xiao Ji shuddered and came to his senses.

The girl's fingertips gently rubbed his calf. Without looking up, she said, "Press it a little to get the blood flowing. It will help with recovery."

But Xiao Ji could no longer hear what she was saying. He only felt the breath from her lowered head brushing against his skin, causing his toes to curl up involuntarily.

The water temperature, wrapped in the bitter taste of mugwort, came up, and the softness of her palms overlapped with the texture of her fingertips. She pressed lightly on his feet and legs, and the dull pain in his calves seemed to gradually fade away during this massage.

Zhao Tong, who had already turned back outside the door, took a sneak peek and watched the pain that had been lingering between his master's brows for a long time slowly dissipate, and a warm light appeared in his eyes. Then he looked at the lady squatting on the ground washing and massaging her master's feet, and Zhao Tong silently swore in his heart.

If the master ever makes a comeback, no matter how many other women he has in the future, in his heart, he will only recognize this lady.

The room was silent, with only the occasional sound of water. Qingwu carefully pressed the acupoints on Xiao Ji's legs and feet, silently observing his reaction, and finally his heart settled down.

It's not a big problem. As long as you take the medicine and eat well, and supplement it with daily massage, you should be able to recover more than 70% and you should have no problem walking in the future.

She massaged him carefully and meticulously, not knowing that the boy in the wheelchair had his eyes fixed on her without moving away for a moment.

The boy's stiff back had already gradually relaxed under the gentle caress. Amidst the rippling water, he couldn't help but say, "My dear..."

He suddenly spoke, his voice muffled as if squeezed out from his chest, "At that time, I was in a lot of pain."

The boy's voice contained a plea for pity that he himself might not even realize.

But Qingwu heard it instantly, and the scene of that day immediately came to her mind. The young man who was as proud as a young general ended up lying in a mess on the muddy grass.

When she bandaged him, he never uttered the word "pain" even when he groaned in pain. But now he was telling her...

Qingwu seemed to see a wounded baby animal crying to her.

How could she bear this?