Hearing Pei Yuan's voice, Bao Ning sniffed and hurried into the house.

The moment before she opened the door, she was still thinking about the mouse. She wondered what it ate to grow so big and fat, and there was obviously nothing for it to eat.

Her aunt once said that if a big mouse appeared in a house, there would be at least a nest of small mice. The picture appeared in her mind, and Bao Ning shuddered.

Compared with the furry mouse crawling around, the cold Pei Yuan was not so scary.

...The smell of alcohol wafted in the room.

Bao Ning calmed down and saw what Pei Yuan was doing.

He was wearing a thin coat on his shoulders, sitting against the wall, with his slender right leg bent and his left leg flat on the kang. His trouser legs were rolled up to the base of his thighs, and he was using wine to disinfect the wound.

This was the first time that Bao Ning saw Pei Yuan's legs in person.

She had always thought that Pei Yuan's left leg was just paralyzed, but she had never thought it would be injured so badly. There was a palm-long knife wound on the front bone, so deep that the bone was visible. Perhaps because it had not been properly treated, the wound did not heal well, and some places had become festering.

Apart from this, there was no other good place on the whole leg. The wounds, some deep and some shallow, were winding and terrifying, like a crawling centipede.

Bao Ning took a breath of cool air.

She was afraid of pain and blood. Although the wound was on Pei Yuan, she felt as if she was in pain when she saw it in her eyes. A cool breeze blew across her back.

Pei Yuan stared at her expression and saw the fear in her eyes as expected. He put his tongue against the roof of his mouth, lowered his eyes, and smiled sarcastically.

He lowered his head, and in the faint light of the candle on the table, Bao Ning saw that there were wounds on his face. From the corner of his eyebrow, across his forehead, there was an inch-long scar.

Pei Yuan asked in a low voice, as if casually: "Are you scared?"

Bao Ning grasped the hem of her skirt tightly with both hands and nodded.

Pei Yuan was silent for a moment, and there was an unknown feeling in his heart, a little sour, and a little relieved. Obviously, I knew the answer a long time ago. Who wouldn't be scared after seeing this? It's better to be scared, the sooner you can see his true appearance, the sooner you can leave.

He said "hmm" and went to get the wine on the table.

Baoning went to his side, stared at his injury for a while, and asked in a low voice: "Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt." Pei Yuan said, and splashed the wine on his leg with a "whoosh".

The turbid yellow wine mixed with pus and blood flowed down his calf. Pei Yuan closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. Because of the pain, the veins on his arms bulged. He gritted his teeth and endured it without making a sound.

Baoning was startled by his action and closed his eyes subconsciously. After a long time, he dared to open his eyes again and saw fine beads of sweat on Pei Yuan's forehead.

Bao Ning sighed, pulled out the handkerchief from her waist, and wiped his sweat: "It hurts so much, why do you have to be so stubborn?"

Pei Yuan suddenly opened his eyes and stared at her strangely: "What did you say?"

Bao Ning sat down, her eyes fell on his legs, and said slowly: "Are all men like this? My brother is the same, he wields knives and guns every day, and always cuts himself a few times. I asked him if it hurts, and he said no. I thought he really didn't feel any pain. Until one day when I went to call him for dinner, I saw him sitting on the bed with his knees hugged, crying with red eyes while applying medicine. "

Bao Ning shook her head: "Why are you pretending? Just say it if it hurts. It's not shameful to act coquettishly with people close to you, right? If you insist on being strong, you will be the one who gets tired, and no one will know."

Pei Yuan was dizzy with her twisted logic, and looked at her as if he was looking at a monster.

Bao Ning didn't notice Pei Yuan's expression. She only cared about the injury on his leg and thought about what medicine to get later.

Bao Ning knew some simple medical skills.

The father of Ming Yimiao in the Duke's Mansion was originally a doctor, and he was also famous in Beijing. But later, his father died of illness, and the Ming family fell into decline. Ming Yimiao married into the Duke's Mansion and became a concubine. Her father was respected, and her status in the mansion was not low. She had an only daughter, the second child in the mansion, named Ji Tongchu. Three years ago, she married the concubine's son of Chongyuan Marquis as his legal wife.

Aunt Ming had a good relationship with Xu, and Baoning had been close to her since childhood. He read a lot of medical books and could recite most of the prescriptions. He also had some knowledge of acupuncture, but he had never saved anyone, only the dogs raised in the mansion.

Pei Yuan's injury looked terrible at first glance, but it got better after he got used to it.

Baoning took his wine and smelled it. It was sorghum wine, and it was of a relatively low quality. The turbid dregs were not filtered out, and it smelled very spicy.

"Fourth Prince, you can't do this. It's getting worse and worse." Bao Ning stood up, patted her skirt, and said to him, "Wait for me, I'll get you some medicine."

After that, Bao Ning hurried out.

Pei Yuan looked at her back, his mouth opened, unable to speak.

This was completely different from what he had imagined.

He was ready for her to leave, but she didn't. Instead, she stayed, cared about his wounds, and wanted to apply medicine to him.

That woman is simply a little fool.

Does she know what is good, what is bad, and what is good for her? She is silly all day long, just laughing, and investing so much energy and enthusiasm in him, but does she know that he can't give anything in return?

...

About half an hour later, Bao Ning came back with a small bottle of medicine powder and a bowl of soup.

She handed the medicine to Pei Yuan: "Drink it while it's hot. I made it according to the prescription. It can clear away heat and stop bleeding, calm the nerves and relieve pain."

Pei Yuan took it and frowned when he smelled the bitter taste.

Bao Ning put her right hand behind her back and said with a smile: "I knew you would find it bitter. Guess what I brought you?"

Pei Yuan raised his face and looked at her without saying anything.

Bao Ning was used to his frugal appearance and was not angry. She still smiled: "Close your eyes first."

Pei Yuan pursed his lips and refused to cooperate with her trick.

"If it doesn't close, forget it." Bao Ning was a little disappointed. She stretched out her right hand, with her palm facing up. On it lay a palm-sized oil paper package. After opening it, she handed it to Pei Yuan and said with a squinted eye, "Golden Thread Dates."

Pei Yuan looked over. The amber-like dates were crystal clear, and a wisp of sweet and greasy fragrance emanated, neutralizing the bitterness in the air.

Pei Yuan's heart shuddered.

He really didn't expect that she would be so attentive.

He practiced martial arts since he was a child, and had many scars on his body. When he was a child, he loved to fight with others fiercely, and it was common to see blood. He also drank a lot of bitter medicine, but no one had ever asked him if the wound hurt, if the medicine was bitter, or gave him a candy.

Pei Yuan didn't take her dates, but picked up the medicine bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

Baoning's eyelashes drooped, and she picked up a date and ate it herself.

The sweetness on the tip of her tongue neutralized those bad emotions. Baoning ate another date and felt much better.

I have said it before, don't bother with Pei Yuan. He is a patient. Sometimes he speaks and acts impulsively, and it is normal for him to be rude to others. When he recovers from his illness, he probably won't be as irritable as he is now.

Baoning took out the folded cloth towel from her sleeve and said to Pei Yuan: "Fourth Prince, I will apply medicine to you. It may be a little painful. Please bear with it."

The cloth towel was a strip cut from Pei Yuan's underwear. Before the fat rat appeared, she was sewing Pei Yuan's underwear. Pei Yuan didn't have many clothes. It was not a big deal if he didn't have outer clothes, but he always stayed in the house. It would be difficult if he didn't have underwear. Moreover, underwear was next to the wound,

so it was better to change it frequently. She was really worried

. Bao Ning thought, if you treat Pei Yuan well, he should know it in his heart even if she didn't say it. Water drips through the stone. She didn't ask Pei Yuan to treat her well. She was satisfied as long as they treated each other with respect.

Pei Yuan watched Bao Ning bandage his wound quietly.

She was very skilled. She looked very serious with her head down. Her cheeks were white and smooth like a piece of jade, and her eyelashes were long and thick like butterfly wings.

Pei Yuan didn't know why he thought of these things.

He grew up in the palace and had seen many concubines and beauties, some gentle, some charming, some stern, some delicate. But no one was like Baoning, who had a pure face, looked shy, but was passionate and stubborn.

Baoning was like a beam of light, and he was the rotten mud at the corner of the wall. When the light shines on the mud, it will dispel the haze, but it will also make the ugliness and decay of the mud no longer able to hide, and it can only be spread naked in the sun.

Pei Yuan had never hated his crippled body like today. The better Baoning was, the worse he was.

If Baoning wanted to leave one day in the future, he would have no reason to let her stay.

Thinking of this, Pei Yuan was stunned for a moment. Why did he want her to stay?

He was confused. This was not like him. Pei Yuan resisted such emotions. He was eager to find an outlet to vent.

Bao Ning noticed his burning gaze and looked up at him. Thinking that Pei Yuan was curious about why she did this, she smiled and said, "The nanny in the mansion has dogs. Sometimes the dogs run around and get injured. The nanny came to me and I bandaged them."

Pei Yuan stared into her eyes and blurted out, "Are you so kind to everyone?"

Bao Ning was stunned.

Pei Yuan saw that her smile disappeared all of a sudden and her eyes gradually turned red.

Pei Yuan clenched his fists at his sides and felt even more anxious.

As soon as he said this, Pei Yuan knew he had said something wrong, and a trace of regret rose in his heart, but he opened his mouth and still said nothing.

Bao Ning asked, "Is that how you think of me?"

Her voice was filled with tears, and after she asked, she didn't wait for Pei Yuan's answer, wiped her eyes with her sleeve,

and ran out crying. Pei Yuan felt his throat dry and tight, he wanted to apologize, but couldn't say it, he was used to being arrogant, and now even if he knew he was wrong, he couldn't bring himself to flatter others.

He pressed his forehead, picked up the wine jar on the table and took two gulps, his stomach ached, Pei Yuan gasped twice, and bent down unbearably.

...

Bao Ning was really hurt.

In the past few days, no matter how bad-tempered Pei Yuan was, she could just smile and say it was okay, because she knew Pei Yuan didn't mean it, but tonight, she didn't know how to convince herself.

Bao Ning even thought, forget it, there was no need for her to be so nice to Pei Yuan with all her heart, anyway, he wouldn't appreciate it, in the future, they should just keep out of each other's way and treat each other as ordinary neighbors.

She lay on the pillow in discomfort for half the night, and didn't know when she fell asleep in a daze.

The next day, Bao Ning was woken up. She heard someone outside the yard calling her "sister, sister", and thought she was dreaming, but when she listened carefully, someone really called her, and there were two faint dog barkings occasionally.

It was Ji Yan!

Bao Ning pulled her coat over her shoulders and rushed out the door in a hurry.