Chapter 121 The Fish Has Taken the Bait
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao glared at the man, gritted her teeth, and snorted, "Do you think I'm your son? You cry when it hurts, how embarrassing!"
She vividly remembered how Gu Xiuming screamed in pain and couldn't stop crying when he was beaten in the ancestral hall, completely forgetting his usual refined demeanor as a young master from a prominent family.
Gu Jingxi looked into those misty eyes, which were clearly brimming with tears of pain, yet she was still trying to be strong. His smile deepened, and he agreed, saying, "Indeed, Madam is an elder, how can she treat a junior the same way?"
Meng Jinyao was speechless for a moment. She slowly propped herself up to look at her feet. She saw a pair of large, well-defined hands. One hand held her foot, holding it still so she wouldn't move. The other hand was massaging her swollen ankle.
These hands, which once held pens and books, are now serving her feet.
The warm touch against her skin made her skin feel slightly hot under his hand. She suddenly felt a little uncomfortable, a sense of shame rising in her heart, and she subconsciously wanted to pull her foot away again.
"Don't move, it'll be fine in a bit."
Gu Jingxi held her foot tightly, not allowing her to move, and poured some more medicinal wine, continuing to massage her injured area.
Meng Jinyao stammered, "Husband, should we...should we let Qingqiu do it? How can I let you do this kind of servant's work?"
Gu Jingxi paused, looked up at her, and saw that her cheeks were flushed and she was staring at his hands with an embarrassed expression. He was stunned for a moment, then looked down at his hands and saw that the little girl's feet were in his palms.
The little girl's feet were as white as jade, small and exquisite, delicate yet supple, with round and cute toes in a light pink color, soft and fluffy when held in the palm of your hand.
He had been focused on applying medicine to the girl and hadn't paid much attention, but now that he saw her, he felt inexplicably uncomfortable, even though he had no romantic thoughts whatsoever.
The limp foot lay in his palm; putting it down was awkward, but holding it any longer was also awkward.
Seeing this, Qingqiu's hesitant voice rang out: "My lord, shall I come instead?"
Gu Jingxi hesitated for a moment, then refused: "No need, it will be ready in a moment."
He felt that he was upright and had nothing to hide, and that changing people halfway through would make him seem guilty, so he insisted on continuing to massage the little girl's swollen ankle.
Meng Jinyao's lips moved, but she ultimately said nothing, thinking to herself: Well, we've already slept together, what's wrong with helping her apply some medicine?
After a while, Gu Jingxi felt it was about time, so she released the jade foot and went to the side to wash her hands.
Qingqiu and He Ningdong glanced at the basin where Gu Jingxi was washing her hands, then suddenly widened their eyes, met each other's gaze, and opened their mouths as if to speak but then stopped.
Finally, Qingqiu shook her head slightly, and Ningdong held back from speaking. Actually, she wanted to say that the basin of water was used by the madam to wipe herself. She thought that the madam had drunk wine and was sleeping soundly, so it was not appropriate for her to take a bath. Therefore, she brought in a basin of water to wipe the madam's body and change her into a clean set of clothes. However, she had not had time to pour it out yet, and saying it now would only make things more awkward.
Gu Jingxi said calmly, "It's getting late, you should all go and rest."
Qingqiu and Ningdong responded immediately, quickly packed their things, and withdrew.
Gu Jingxi said, "Madam, go to sleep."
It was now past midnight, the latter half of the night. After all that commotion, Meng Jinyao had woken up twice. Although she was now fully conscious, her head was spinning and she felt groggy and uncomfortable. She responded softly and then went back to sleep.
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The next day.
Meng Jinyao didn't wake up until late morning. She had drunk a lot of fruit wine last night and hadn't slept well, so she still had a headache. She got up and asked a maid to come in and serve her.
Her foot was still not healed, so she couldn't get out of bed and walk around. She sat on the edge of the bed and had her maid serve her to wash and cleanse her face.
As Qingqiu prepared to help her get dressed, she took a closer look at her left ankle, her brows furrowing slightly. She said, "Madam, your foot is still swollen, but it's much better than last night. I'll apply some medicine for you again. Last night, I watched the Marquis apply the medicine for you, and I saw his technique very clearly."
Meng Jinyao nodded repeatedly: "Okay."
She didn't want to wait for Gu Jingxi to come back from his shift to apply the medicine to her; she felt quite uncomfortable when Gu Jingxi applied the medicine to her last night.
"Madam, let me help you undress first." Qingqiu said, and then began to help her undress.
Meng Jinyao asked blankly, "Why are you taking off your clothes?"
Qingqiu replied, "You fell and bumped your arm last night, and it's bruised."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao's expression changed abruptly, and her voice suddenly rose: "Was it the Marquis who applied the medicine to my arm last night?"
Upon hearing this tone, Qingqiu knew what she cared about and quickly explained, "I applied the medicine to your ankle last night, but the Marquis felt that I had only lightly applied the medicated wine, which was not effective in reducing the swelling, so I applied the medicine again."
Meng Jinyao breathed a sigh of relief.
As Qingqiu applied the medicine to her, she suddenly said, "Madam, the Marquis actually cares about you quite a bit. You came home late last night, and the Marquis was worried that something might have happened to you, so he sent someone to look for you and waited at the door for a long time."
Meng Jinyao paused, recalling the events of last night. A slight ripple stirred in her calm heart. Her husband, whom she had taken for granted, was indeed very concerned about her, and was one of the few people who cared about her life or death.
Qingqiu added, "Seeing how the Marquis is, I am relieved. Whether he has someone else in his heart or not, he will not mistreat you."
Meng Jinyao smiled and said, "I have to thank my father-in-law and mother-in-law for this."
Qingqiu was stunned, and asked in confusion, "What does this have to do with the old Marquis and the old lady?"
Meng Jinyao replied, "The two elders educated Gu Jingxi very well. His knowledge and abilities go without saying, and he is also well-mannered and responsible. No wonder he was the dream husband of many noble ladies when he was young."
Qingqiu laughed and said, "Lord Marquis is not old now. Although he is twenty-nine, his face looks young. People would believe him if he said he was twenty-three or twenty-four."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao's smile deepened: "Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have married him back then, right? No wonder he's the most handsome man in the capital; his face really defies aging."
Looking back now, Gu Jingxi's exceptionally handsome face was partly the reason why she was able to steel herself and marry Gu Jingxi to become Gu Xiuming's mother.
If Gu Jingxi were a man with wrinkles and looking old, she would probably choose between Gu Xiuhong and Gu Xiuwen. Gu Xiuwen is a year younger than her, and she doesn't like younger brothers, so she would choose Gu Xiuhong, who is a year older than her. At worst, she would lose the seniority and be able to suppress Gu Xiuming.
Qingqiu chuckled: "Madam, you mustn't let the Marquis hear you say that, or he might mistakenly think that you've fallen for him."
Meng Jinyao said dismissively, "When there's no other way, besides the conditions, you'd definitely choose someone who looks pleasing to the eye. Otherwise, how annoying would it be to face someone you don't like? He has the conditions and a good-looking face, so he's definitely the first choice."
Just then, Ning Dong walked in with light steps, a smile on her lips. When she saw Meng Jinyao, she quickened her pace.
Seeing Ningdong's happy expression, Meng Jinyao asked gently, "Ningdong, what's making you so happy?"
Ning Dong approached her, lowered her voice, and said with barely concealed excitement, "Madam, news has come from over there that the fish has taken the bait."
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