Chapter 39 Tender Feelings "Bo Zhou, you're injured like this, how could you make a sound..."
The group arrived at the clinic when the moon was high in the sky.
People come and go at the bridgehead, laughter and everything as before.
Xue Chan was led to the back room to bathe first, accompanied by Xiao Yangjun.
Having walked through the mountain streets and alleys, the darkness of the night had prevented him from clearly seeing where Jiang Ce was injured. Now, upon arriving at the inner hall of the clinic, the young apprentice, holding up a candle, finally spotted the spring robe stained with large patches of blood.
"Oh!" Zheng Shaoyu exclaimed in surprise, then grabbed his shoulder and walked around him. "You're injured like this, why didn't you say a word?"
His shout drew the attention of several people. Jiang Ce patted him on the shoulder and said, "It just looks scary, it's nothing serious."
Xiao Huaiting dragged him directly to find a doctor.
With so many patients arriving at the clinic at once, the doctors who usually patronized the clinic all went home, and the apprentice could only drag Youyu, who was still reading medical books, out of the clinic.
The group was surprised to see each other.
Jiang Ce: What are you doing here?
Youyu quickly glanced at him: "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing much, just got into a fight with a few bastards," Jiang Ce replied casually. Upon seeing an acquaintance, he immediately sat down and said, "Stop with the pleasantries, hurry up and apply my medicine."
Yu's medical skills were not excellent, but she was still capable and often helped him treat external injuries, so she was experienced.
Xiao Huaiting was learned from a young age and knew some medical principles. In addition, Jiang Ce did not want to delay Xue Chan and the others, so he directly let them apply medicine to treat their injuries.
On the other side, Xue Chan and Xiao Yangjun had already placed hot water and fragrant herbs in a wooden tub, with wisps of steam rising from it.
Xiao Yangjun, who was behind the screen, was probably not too badly injured, so she went into the water quite early. Although she was frightened, she quickly calmed down and even chatted and laughed quietly with her maid while in the water.
Xue Chan, on the other hand, was very slow.
Chu Tao and Yun Sheng helped Xue Chan remove her hair bun, letting her long hair down. They used a comb and fine-toothed comb to slowly smooth out the messy, tangled hair, removing the bits of grass and dirt that were stuck in it.
Then, she unbuttoned the tattered and filthy shirt, revealing a plain-colored undergarment stained with blood, which clung to the wound and was difficult to remove due to the scabs.
The two felt sorry for Xue Chan, but did not want to use brute force to tear and hurt her. They could only carefully soak her with warm water little by little to dissolve the scabs. The water, mixed with grayish-red, flowed all over the ground.
As part of the clothing was peeled off her body, Xue Chan hissed softly a few times.
Chu Tao immediately stopped: "Does it hurt, miss?"
"A little, but not too intense," Xue Chan said with a gentle smile. "You can continue."
Chu Tao and Yun Sheng's movements became increasingly gentle, but the gentler and slower they were, the harder it was to peel off the clothes, which instead made the pain last longer.
Xue Chan's long eyebrows furrowed, and her breathing became increasingly heavy.
Compared to this kind of subtle and agonizing pain, she found it unbearable.
She gestured for the two to stop, then gritted her teeth and quickly stripped off her clothes.
Yun Sheng exclaimed in surprise, "Miss!"
Xue Chan staggered a step, reached forward to hold onto the edge of the bucket, lowered her head, closed her eyes, gritted her teeth and pursed her lips, gripping the wooden bucket tightly.
When her skin was exposed, the tears that had been welling up in Yun Sheng's eyes immediately fell.
Yuheng and Yingxing, who were instructed by Fang Youxi to come in and help, came over first with the ointment. When they saw the scene, they couldn't help but bite their lips and frown.
"Miss Xue..."
No one knows what Xue Chan went through, but the injuries from head to toe make it unnecessary to speculate any further.
Xiao Yangjun tried to get up upon hearing the sound, but Ying Xing beside her pressed her down, saying, "I'll go take a look. You should take a bath."
"good"
Yingxing peeked out from behind the screen, and his body stiffened after seeing what was happening.
Seeing that the situation was not right, Xiao Yangjun immediately came out of the water, put on his outer robe, and walked barefoot around the screen.
Just then, Xue Chan was seen standing by the bucket, bending over to hold it. Her smooth shoulders and back, arms, calves, and even ankles were covered in bruises, swelling, and abrasions, which looked extremely shocking on her still slender body.
The atmosphere fell silent, frozen, with only a white mist rising from the ceiling.
Xue Chan waited for the pain to gradually subside before letting out a long sigh, raising her pale face, and forcing a smile, "Okay, that's enough."
She turned her head and saw Xiao Yangjun standing not far away, pouting, his eyes misty with moisture.
It looks exactly like a soft, white rabbit.
Xue Chan suddenly chuckled softly, her body aching a bit more, yet she found it amusing. So she laughed while frowning, and finally a few tears slid down her cheeks.
Xiao Yangjun: "You're in this state, how can you still laugh?"
Xue Chan waved her hand and wiped away her tears: "I'm fine, Miss Xiao, please don't worry."
Chu Tao sobbed and helped her into the water.
As the hot water soaked her body, Xue Chan felt her whole body relax.
--
Yu and Xiao Huaiting handled the situation cleanly and efficiently. Before long, Jiang Ce changed into new clothes and came out looking neat and tidy.
Xiao Huaiting left first, followed by Jiang Ce and You Yucai. After passing through the gate, Jiang Ce heard the sobbing, groans, whimpers, and cries of the group, and he slowed his pace.
Youyu: "What's wrong?"
Jiang Ce shook his head: "It's nothing, let's go."
The two walked and talked.
What are you doing at the clinic?
Jiang Ce asked several times, but You Yu only focused on treating his wounds, making him wince in pain and unable to get any more information. He didn't expect that she would still not let him off the hook even at this moment.
Under his relentless pressure, Yu Cai finally answered in a low voice.
“I’ve been sick these past few days, but it’s not really appropriate to see a doctor. I was thinking of treating myself, but my medical skills aren’t very good… I know a doctor at the clinic, so I came to ask for his advice.”
The "Niannian" he mentioned was the rabbit Jiang Ce brought back. These past few days, he'd been busy taking care of it with his subordinates.
Jiang Ce raised an eyebrow: "You care a lot about Niannian, don't you? You're not usually that nice to Xituan. If Xituan saw this, she would be heartbroken."
"......"
If Xi Tuan hadn't been allowed to run around and eat whatever she wanted in her room, she wouldn't have gained so much weight this month.
That's a full seven ounces!
Youyu glanced at him, too lazy to say anything.
Fang Youxi and the others were sitting in the inner room. Xiao Huaiting and Li Wu were talking and seemed to be very familiar with each other.
Seeing them come out, Fang Youxi asked, "Is Brother Jiang's injury serious?"
Jiang Ce: "It's nothing, just a superficial injury. We've applied medicine and bandaged it up, and it'll be fine in a couple of days."
Fang Youxi then said, "That's good."
Yu Ben had his head down, but when he heard this, he raised his head again and frowned as he looked at Jiang Ce.
Just now, I don't know who was grimacing in pain, repeatedly saying "be gentle."
He opened his mouth, but Jiang Ce lowered his head slightly, his cold gaze falling upon him, full of warning.
If you dare say that, you're dead!
Yu sighed softly: "..."
Being obsessed with saving face leads to suffering; always trying to be strong.
Jiang Ce stood directly in front of Xiao and Li, casting a huge shadow. He crossed his arms, bent over, and stared at the two without saying a word.
Li Wu: "Does Jiang Erlang have something to say?"
Jiang Ce asked, "When did you two meet?"
Li Wu said, "I was temporarily staying at Daxiangguo Temple when I met Prince Xiao through our shared reading. Later, I learned that Brother Xiao had also taken the exam, and that's how we got to know each other."
Jiang Ce raised an eyebrow at Xiao Huaiting: "You've made a new friend, why didn't you tell me?"
Xiao Huaiting laughed and said, "You're such a busy person, you don't have time to listen to me."
After exchanging a few jokes, Xue Chan and Xiao Yangjun, who had already finished dealing with the situation, also came out.
Jiang Ce glanced at it subtly; apart from being a little pale, everything else seemed the same.
While the two were talking, Li Wu and Fang Youxi went out and came back with two bunches of flowers of unknown origin, which they distributed to everyone in the room.
Even though they were far apart, he could still hear Li Wu and Fang Youxi talking, and then he turned to Xue Chan and whispered about flowers.
"I was frightened today, so let's calm down with some flowers for now."
Jiang Ce: "..."
Putting everything else aside, he caught a glimpse of Xue Chan's gentle smile in the blink of an eye.
"..."
It's just two flowers, yet he'd give them a whole basketful. Even if he did, Xue Chan wouldn't necessarily smile at him much more brightly.
"Second Young Master, this is for you."
Suddenly, a peach blossom appeared in Jiang Ce's eyes. He looked up and saw Li Wu smiling and offering him a flower.
He quickly scanned the room twice. Apart from himself, everyone—men and women, young and old—was holding flowers given to them by Li Wu.
Jiang Ce was immediately taken aback, and accepted the flowers offered by him: "Thanks."
Fang Youxi stood beside Xue Chan, staring at the peony in her hand, and said, "What a pity, it would have been better if it were a pomegranate flower."
Xue Chan assumed that she only loved pomegranate flowers, so she said, "Summer is almost here, and the pomegranate flowers are ready to bloom."
Fang Youxi seemed somewhat wistful, even disappointed: "Yes, it's almost time for pomegranate flowers to bloom."
It's a pity we meet face to face but don't recognize each other; the day we meet seems to be forever out of reach.
After Xue Chan and the others had finished getting ready, the lights in the streets and alleys outside began to flicker faintly.
Fearing that his family would become worried and suspicious if he did not return home for a long time, Xiao Huaiting first escorted Xiao Yangjun home.
Xue Chan was escorted back to the Cheng family by Jiang Ce and Li Wu first, while Fang Youxi lagged behind, her head down, seemingly lost in thought.
Li Wu laughed at her, "You treat your junior sister much better than I imagined."
She treated him far better than he had initially written to her. He felt that even if he hadn't written to her, she would still have been very good to him.
"You're hiding something from me now, why?"
To repay a debt of gratitude.
Fang Youxi just smiled and said, "Everyone has secrets. I'll tell you when the time is right."
He didn't press the matter further.
The group walked side by side, with Li Wu riding beside Jiang Ce. He said softly, "Second Young Master Jiang, the matter of our junior sister's disappearance today was not something she could have planned. You..."
Jiang Ce interrupted him first: "Don't worry, once I find those people, I'll beat them all to a pulp!"
Seeing his rather fierce appearance, Li Wu felt a little relieved.
Upon arriving at the Cheng residence, Xue Chan was helped down from the carriage by Zhuo Yunsheng.
She bowed to the group to say goodbye and was about to go home when a folding fan was placed in front of her shoulder.
"What is it, Second Young Master?" Xue Chan asked, slightly puzzled.
Jiang Ce remained seated high on his horse, using his fan to pick something out and send it flying into her arms.
Xue Chan instinctively caught it; it felt warm to the touch. She touched it and realized it was a porcelain box. Although she couldn't see it clearly, it had a pleasant fragrance.
She blinked and smiled faintly.
"For calming the nerves, you probably won't find a better incense than this, except in the palace." Jiang Ce raised his eyes, avoiding her gaze. "Have your maid light some, and you're guaranteed a peaceful night without any dreams."
Xue Chan stroked the box of incense, looked up and smiled, "Although I don't know when the Second Young Master bought it, I still appreciate your concern."
After saying this, she gave a graceful bow.
The fact that they used to argue and bicker but are now so harmonious makes Jiang Ce feel uneasy.
He simply shut up and rode away.
When Xue Chan returned to the Cheng residence, she first paid her respects to Madam Zhou of the Cheng family. The two of them had been waiting for her return and had not yet slept. They were sitting together playing chess.
Seeing her return, he looked her over carefully before letting her go to sleep, relieved.
Because Xue Chan remembered Cheng Huaizhu, she turned around and glanced at her again before returning to her room.
After taking her medicine, Cheng Huaizhu slept soundly and quietly. She then handed over all the food and toys she had brought back to Mingxia and Rendong, and quietly placed them by their bedside.
The group huddled together and whispered for a while: "The girl will be pleasantly surprised when she opens her eyes tomorrow morning and sees these things."
Xue Chan smiled and went back to the house along the corridor.
Yun Sheng and the others were tidying up the bed. Xue Chan sat in front of the dressing table, one hand supporting her face, the other fingertips caressing the porcelain box.
Xue Chan turned her head away, picked up a painting placed to the side, which depicted peach blossoms and mountain birds, with a lively and delicate brushstroke.
She had borrowed it from Fangchun Pavilion, and the painter was a twelve-year-old boy. According to the palace servants in the pavilion, it was the top prize at that year's spring banquet.
Chu Tao, carrying an incense burner, turned around and saw a fair face reflected in the mirror, a slight smile visible to the naked eye. Following Xue Chan's gaze, she saw the inscription on the painting box.
“In the third month of the twelfth year of Chengping, ‘Peach Blossoms and Spring Birds’ was written by Jiang Ce.”
She smiled and asked, "Would you like to use this incense tonight, young lady?"
Xue Chan looked up at the sound and met Chu Tao's smiling face, and couldn't help but smile back.
"Light it up."
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Author's Note: Revising is such a chore, and I've written so many new chapters already, I'm exhausted... Please allow me to update again in a couple of days (Thursday update) [pity][pity][pity]
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