Chapter 176 Heartbeat
Suddenly being lifted into the air, the momentary feeling of weightlessness made Meng Jinyao feel insecure. She subconsciously reached out and hugged Gu Jingxi's neck. After a moment of stunned silence, she realized that Gu Jingxi had lifted her up.
She opened her mouth slightly, as if to say that she could walk by herself, but seeing the man's angry and helpless expression, she pursed her lips and obediently leaned against Gu Jingxi's chest without saying a word.
Gu Jingxi turned to look at the two maids standing to the side, still shaken by the fright, and said calmly, "Where are the guest rooms? Lead the way."
Qingqiu was the first to come to her senses and hurriedly responded, but as a maid, how could she dare to walk ahead of her master? She only pointed out the way for him, and then followed behind him with Ningdong.
The atmosphere was silent on the way.
Meng Jinyao glanced at him a few times, but the man's expression was indifferent, revealing neither joy nor anger. Feeling a little timid, she hesitated and said, "Husband, the person who would send you and Lord Qi to hunt down must be a very important criminal. Why don't you go back and attend to your business first?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingxi paused, looking down at the person in his arms. The small face was still pale, and the fear in her eyes had not yet dissipated. She was obviously quite frightened. She had fallen by the wishing well earlier, and it looked like she had fallen hard. Although there was nothing visible on the surface, she was probably injured.
Thinking of this, he frowned and said gently, "Not as important as you."
What is more important than his wife when interrogating a criminal? He's not indispensable when interrogating criminals; he has other colleagues.
As soon as he finished speaking, Meng Jinyao suddenly looked up at Gu Jingxi.
Four simple words stirred up a thousand waves in Meng Jinyao's heart. She stared blankly at the man's handsome face, the strong thumping of his heartbeat reaching her right ear. The sound made her head buzz, and her own heartbeat involuntarily quickened and became out of rhythm.
Gu Jingxi noticed her gaze and asked with a smile, "What's wrong?"
Meng Jinyao gently shook her head, buried her face in the man's broad chest, and continued to listen to his heartbeat. She felt inexplicably at ease, and her chaotic heartbeat slowly calmed down and returned to normal.
She felt that something was wrong with her.
But undeniably, she felt a mix of joy and indescribable emotion at that moment, and she didn't reject this unfamiliar feeling.
Seeing her bury her face in his chest, Gu Jingxi assumed she was still scared and chuckled helplessly, "Now you know how to be scared? You were so brave and decisive just now, even wanting to go with someone."
Meng Jinyao blinked, then pretended to be dead and didn't respond.
Seeing this, Gu Jingxi smiled and continued walking with steady steps, carrying her in his arms.
Qingqiu and Ningdong followed behind them, listening to their conversation. They could clearly sense that the Marquis truly cared about their mistress. Because their mistress had been frightened, the Marquis had even put aside his official duties to stay and accompany her. It was evident that in the Marquis's heart, official duties were not as important as their mistress.
Back in the guest room, Gu Jingxi gently helped the person sit down in a chair and asked softly, "Where are you hurt?"
Meng Jinyao exclaimed "Huh?" in confusion, completely unable to react.
Gu Jingxi asked again, "You tripped and fell by the wishing well. Where did you fall?"
Meng Jinyao then realized what was happening and hurriedly moved her hands and feet. Perhaps the movement aggravated her wounds, because she hissed in pain and pointed to her right knee and elbow, replying, "Here, and here."
Her eyebrows furrowed, and her voice was soft and gentle, seemingly carrying a hint of grievance, much like a child who has fallen down and seeks comfort from an elder.
Hearing this, Gu Jingxi's heart softened, and he said gently, "Let me see." With that, he squatted down, lifted her skirt, and prepared to examine her injuries.
Meng Jinyao paused, about to speak up to stop him, but then she thought that they were already husband and wife sleeping in the same bed, so there was no need for strict separation between men and women.
Gu Jingxi lifted her skirt, held her right ankle with one hand, and rolled up her trouser leg with the other, up to above her knee. Her knee was bruised from the fall, but it wasn't serious.
Seeing that the injury was not serious, Gu Jingxi put her leg down and went to check on the injury on her elbow.
Falling forward will make the elbow injury much more noticeable. Summer clothing is thinner, and there will be obvious abrasions on the elbow area.
Rolling up her sleeves revealed her snow-white arms. Turning them over, you could see abrasions and bleeding on her elbows, with some redness and swelling around them. These wounds looked particularly severe on her originally flawless, snow-white hands.
Seeing this, Gu Jingxi frowned and instructed, "Qingqiu, go to the temple and ask the monks for some medicine and gauze. Ningdong, go and fetch a basin of clean water."
The two maids responded and immediately went to do it.
Seeing his furrowed brows, Meng Jinyao knew he was worried about her, so she quickly smiled and said, "Actually, it's nothing, just a little painful. Compared to losing your life, this is nothing."
She should have kept quiet. As soon as she finished speaking, Gu Jingxi glared at her and said in a deep voice, "Don't act impulsively next time. Do you know that if I hadn't acted in time tonight, even a little bit slower, you would have become a victim of his sword?"
Meng Jinyao lowered her head, not daring to retort. She had indeed acted impulsively tonight. Now, recalling the scene of that gleaming sword thrusting towards her, she felt a chill run down her spine.
Seeing her hanging her head and not speaking, like a child who had done something wrong, Gu Jingxi softened his tone: "Madam, next time you encounter danger, don't overestimate your husband. Remember not to act impulsively. You must ensure your own safety before taking the next step, because even your husband makes mistakes sometimes."
Meng Jinyao, as obedient as a child, nodded and replied, "I understand."
Suddenly, Gu Jingxi noticed bloodstains and abrasions on her palms. He grabbed her hands and examined them, discovering abrasions on both palms, with the right hand being more severely injured. Both hands also had crescent-shaped wounds, caused by fingernails.
Although fresh blood was seeping from the wound, there was no blood on the little girl's fingernails, and the wound had already scabbed over, so it was obviously not something that had just happened. The bleeding was just a scrape from the fall. The little girl was fine when she went out in the morning, so it could only have been injured during the day after she went out.
The last time he saw the little girl injure her hand with her fingernails was because she was overwhelmed with self-blame and resentment over Cheng Yu's death, yet unable to take revenge. Suppressing her emotions, she ended up injuring herself.
As he moved, Meng Jinyao looked down and belatedly realized that her palm was also injured. She had injured her palm before and hadn't paid attention to the pain.
Seeing the man's brows furrow even more, clearly because of her injury, a warm feeling welled up in her heart. She said, "Husband, don't worry, it's actually not bad. I didn't even notice it myself, so it doesn't hurt that much."
Gu Jingxi stared at her intently for a moment, then asked gently, "Madam, what happened today?"
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