Chapter 304 Lu Zhaoruo discovers the teeth marks on Xiao Yeming's neck
Lu Zhaoruo's carriage stopped in front of the Xiao residence.
As soon as she stepped out of the carriage, the old servant waiting at the gate hurried forward, bowed deeply, and said in a loud voice filled with awe and fear, "This old servant greets Lady Lu!"
His bowing posture was meticulous, his head bowed deeply, not daring to look directly at the elegant lady's robes that symbolized great favor and honor.
However, just as Lu Zhaoruo nodded slightly and was about to step inside, the old servant suddenly took a step to the side, bowed deeply again, and said with difficulty, "Please forgive me, Lady! The old lady... the old lady has given a strict order... that Lady is absolutely not allowed to step into the mansion again! This old servant... this old servant is truly willing to die for this!"
He was trembling all over, and cold sweat was pouring down his face.
On one side is an imperial decree bestowed with imperial power, and on the other is a family head who controls life and death; he has been driven into a desperate situation.
Lu Zhaoruo stopped in her tracks, looking at the old servant's terrified expression, and felt a chill run through her heart.
The words of Old Madam Xiao from three days ago, when she left the Xiao residence, echoed in her ears: "Lu Zhaoruo, if you step out of this door today, you will never be able to step into the Xiao residence again."
Just then, the steward, Uncle Fu, inside the gate happened to catch a glimpse of this scene and immediately turned around and hurriedly ran towards the inner courtyard.
A moment later, a series of hurried footsteps approached.
Madam Xiao strode out. Although she looked haggard and her eyes were bloodshot from days of suffering, her face immediately lit up with genuine enthusiasm and concern the moment she saw Lu Zhaoruo.
She walked straight past the bewildered gatekeeper and grabbed Lu Zhaoruo's icy hand.
"Zhaoruo! You've finally arrived!"
Madam Xiao spoke urgently, scrutinizing her from head to toe. "Good child, have you been managing all this time on your own? Are you still feeling the strain? Come on, don't just stand at the door, come inside with me! Ye Ming... he's been in a coma. Go check on him, talk to him, maybe you can bring him back!"
After saying that, she took Lu Zhaoruo's arm and walked inside.
However, the two had only taken a few steps into the front yard when a cold, sharp voice came from under the porch: "Stop!"
With Madam He and Granny Song supporting her on either side, Old Madam Xiao stood tall in front, blocking their way.
Her face was ashen and her gaze was fixed on Lu Zhaoruo. Finally, her gaze lingered for a moment on Lu Zhaoruo's third-rank lady's crown and robes, which showed the new noble's favor. Her brows furrowed even deeper.
This "femme fatale" before her was now on equal footing with her, a title she had earned after enduring two reigns! How could she not feel resentful and bitter?
He Shi lowered her head slightly, her eyes glancing at the gorgeous clothes out of the corner of her eye. Her heart was filled with jealousy and resentment, and she felt a bitter taste in her mouth.
Lu Zhaoruo stopped in her tracks, her face expressionless. She clasped her hands together in front of her, slightly bent her knees, and performed a perfect, flawless curtsy: "Zhaoruo greets the old lady."
"snort!"
Old Madam Xiao snorted, "Do you think you can just walk into the Xiao family's gate like that? Ye Ming is lying there, his life hanging in the balance, because of you! How dare you step through this door!"
Seeing this, Madam He immediately dabbed at the corners of her eyes, which were dry, with a handkerchief: "Madam Lu... that night, he lost both legs and was unconscious because of you. How could you bear to leave him like that? There has been no news of him for three days. Could it be that now that you are of high status, you have forgotten the life-saving grace?"
Her words were piercing and malicious.
Lu Zhaoruo's lips were slightly pale. Before she could speak, Madam Xiao, who was standing to the side, frowned and stepped in front of her.
She first gave a proper curtsy to Old Madam Xiao, then her gaze shot straight at Madam He with lightning speed, her voice clear and bright, without the slightest hint of beating around the bush: "Cousin He, you are mistaken!"
Before Madam He could react, she spoke clearly and forcefully: "First, Zhao Ruo left that day to return to the manor to handle A Bao's funeral arrangements! How can you say she 'abandoned' him?"
"Secondly, she had just received an imperial decree and was required to enter the palace to express her gratitude, so how could she be 'completely out of contact'?"
"Thirdly, His Majesty's repeated generous rewards have made his intentions clear. Now that Zhaoruo is a third-rank lady bestowed by the Emperor, what is wrong with her coming to visit him in his illness, both in terms of etiquette and law?"
She immediately turned to the ashen-faced Old Madam Xiao: "Mother! The imperial physician has repeatedly instructed that for Ye Ming's condition, he needs to be called out by a voice that evokes his deepest emotions to have any chance of survival. Zhao Ruo and he are deeply devoted to each other, and her voice may be exactly what Ye Ming wants to hear! Saving his life is of utmost importance right now. I beg you, Mother, to prioritize Ye Ming's life and not let momentary anger ruin the best opportunity for treatment!"
Having said that, she said no more and decisively to Lu Zhaoruo, "Zhaoruo, let's go. Yeming has been waiting for you for a long time!"
He then grasped her wrist and led her inside with steady steps.
Old Madam Xiao was rendered speechless by her daughter-in-law's resounding words. Pointing at her departing figure, she felt a lump in her throat, her body swayed, and she almost fainted.
The room was filled with the strong smell of medicine. Xiao Yeming lay face down on the couch, his face as pale as paper, his breathing so weak it was almost inaudible.
He had soft pillows under his legs, and his knees were secured with cedar bark.
Lu Zhaoruo sat down by the couch, silently picked up a warm, damp handkerchief, and gently wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
She gazed at his unconscious profile, her lips pressed tightly together, her eyes filled with deep gratitude and guilt.
“Xiao Yeming…”
She spoke softly, "You have saved me several times, and I have not yet repaid this debt. You are not allowed to have anything happen to you."
She leaned closer to his ear, her words clear as if making a vow: "I owe you a life. You must wake up and tell me yourself how you want me to repay you."
After saying that, she straightened up, preparing to straighten his slightly open collar.
However, just as her fingertips were about to touch the collar of his left neck, her movements suddenly froze...
On the left side of his neck, near the collar, below the edge of the fabric, there was a very faint, crescent-shaped old bite mark!
Lu Zhaoruo's pupils suddenly contracted, and the blood in her body seemed to freeze instantly!
This scar... its location and shape...
The mark was exactly the same as the one she had made on the neck of the lecherous man who had defiled her on that desperate night a few years ago, when she had used all her strength to bite him hard during her desperate struggle...
A wave of dizziness washed over her, and she instinctively gripped the edge of the bed tightly to barely support her swaying body.
She remembered the taste of blood and the man's painful groans as she bit down hard on top of her while that lecherous man was on top of her...
She remembered the night she killed Li Xiu; the lecherous man carried her silently down the street, and above the collar of his tight-fitting clothes was an old tooth mark…
She recalled that when she first met Xiao Yeming, it was the dead of winter, and he always wore a fur collar that covered his neck... Later, she occasionally saw plasters on his neck, assuming it was just an old injury... Later still, the plasters were removed, but she never paid any special attention to them...
Could it be...?
Xiao Yeming, is that the black-clad, masked lecher who ruined her innocence back then?
She took a step back abruptly, overwhelmed by a mixture of immense fear, disgust, a sense of betrayal, and an unspeakable absurdity.
She stared intently at that pale yet still handsome face, trying to find traces of the violence of that night, but all she saw was silence and weakness.
No... impossible...
But those teeth marks... how could they be so similar?
She stood there, her body ice-cold. All her previous worries, guilt, and gratitude vanished in that moment, leaving only endless fear and a chaotic, cold emptiness.
Fragments of memory suddenly pierced my mind.
Five years ago, a thatched hut outside Jizhou City.
"Give me……"
The voice behind the mask was low, hoarse, and fierce, with a hint of madness.
He gripped her waist tightly, saying, "I want you."
She struggled desperately, and in her desperation, she bit down hard on his neck.
The air was thick with the smell of blood.
He groaned, but his movements became even more violent as he tore her undergarment to shreds.
It is unknown how much time passed.
A warm robe was draped over her.
A slightly cool jade pendant was placed in her hand.
"Wait for me, my wife."
The voice above him changed, becoming clear and crisp, carrying the sincerity of a young man: "After I have finished my important business, I will return in three months to marry you in a grand ceremony."
The footsteps faded into the distance.
Only the sound of rain outside the temple and her deathly despair remained.
Lu Zhaoruo snapped out of her reverie, turned around abruptly, and practically stumbled out of the room.
As soon as he reached the corridor, he bumped into Wang Wu, who was about to bring in medicine.
The medicine bowl wobbled, almost spilling.
"Madam Lu!" Wang Wu quickly steadied the tray and asked with concern, "Are you alright? Why are you so pale?"
Lu Zhaoruo suppressed her surging blood and qi, quickly lowered her eyelashes to hide the turbulent waves in her eyes, and when she looked up again, there was only a trace of just the right amount of fatigue and worry on her face.
She asked casually in a soft voice, "It's nothing... I'm just having trouble calming down. Wang Wu, I suddenly remembered something. Your general... about four or five years ago, did he visit Jizhou City?"
Wang Wu, without suspecting anything, blurted out, "Yes! How did you know, my lady? It was about five years ago, in the dead of winter, when the general went to Jizhou alone without a single soldier, saying he was visiting a friend. He didn't return for nearly a month."
With a "clunk".
Lu Zhaoruo felt as if she had been struck hard in the chest with a heavy hammer. Her vision went black and her body swayed uncontrollably.
"Madam Lu!"
Wang Wu hurriedly tried to help him up.
Lu Zhaoruo suddenly raised her hand to avoid it, using the sharp pain to force herself to steady her voice, and said in a low voice, "I'm fine, just a little dizzy. You... go and get the medicine."
After saying that, she stopped looking at Wang Wu and almost fled the Xiao residence.
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