Chapter 19 019 Overlapping Figures
Xie Huaiyuan paused, his brows furrowing slightly. He turned around and saw that her pale cheeks were flushed, her breathing becoming rapid, and the fingertips that were hooked around his were burning hot.
"It hurts..."
Even though it was just a slight pull of her fingertips, she couldn't help but groan. The thin blanket that was barely covering her back slipped off, and the clothes on her shoulders, which had been torn to make it easier to bandage the wound, revealed the strips of cloth wrapped around her shoulders, with fine, faint traces of blood seeping out.
He silently gave up struggling and gestured to Shiliu, who was standing guard beside him: "Go and call the Sage of Medicine Hua over."
After waking up, Shiliu did not return to the mansion with Meng Shi, but stayed behind. At night, she stayed in the room to watch over Lin Wan. She was originally watching quietly not far from the bed curtains, but when she saw Xie Huaiyuan come in to see the unconscious Lin Wan, she was shocked.
At this moment, he was caught in a whirlwind of emotions as Lin Wan held him captive. He never imagined that Lin Wan and Xie Huaiyuan were so familiar with each other, and that he could be so entangled with her.
When Shiliu brought Hua Yisheng, who was about to go to sleep and rest, Xie Huaiyuan had already sat down leaning against the side of the bed.
Hua Yisheng stepped forward, reached out and touched his forehead, his brows furrowed. Then he carefully lifted the thin blanket, and what he saw was a shocking large patch of blood that soaked the bandages: "Was it moved just now?"
Shi Liu hesitated: "Before the young master came in, the young lady moved slightly by herself, just a very slight movement."
Hua Yisheng looked at him with exasperation: "Tonight is the most important night. The wound is too big and the bleeding hasn't stopped completely yet. If you move it accidentally, it could easily reopen and bleed again. How will the wound heal then?"
Looking up, she asked, "This wound has probably torn open again and caused a fever. It needs to be re-bandaged and treated."
Xie Huaiyuan paused for a moment, his gaze falling on the strip of cloth stained with bright red blood, and said in a deep voice, "Fine."
Hua Yisheng carefully helped the unconscious Lin Wan up. Shiliu hurriedly stepped forward and let Lin Wan lean against her. The thin blanket slipped off, and her clothes were off, revealing her fair and smooth shoulders. What came into view was the blood-soaked bandage.
His eyelashes fluttered, and he turned his face away. The fingers that Lin Wan had hooked suddenly felt hot, and he tried to break free.
The renowned physician Hua exclaimed, "Oh dear, don't pull her hand! The wound will tear open and bleed even more!"
Helpless, Xie Huaiyuan stopped struggling and turned his head towards the dark night outside. His eyelashes drooped, but he could still clearly hear the sound of tearing strips of cloth. Her painful groans, bit by bit, spread up his fingers that were hooking around him, as if gradually breaking down his defenses.
The thick stench of blood mixed with the smell of hemostatic medicine enveloped Xie Huaiyuan like an inescapable net, as if he could not shake off the lingering scent.
"alright."
Xie Huaiyuan pursed his lips and did not turn around immediately. He heard Hua Yisheng behind him instruct, "I need to change the prescription. Come with me to get the medicine, brew it, and have Miss Lin drink it. She has a fever due to her wound. This medicine can help relieve her pain and dissipate heat."
Shi Liu moved with a troubled expression, wondering how to help her sit up and lie back on the bed, afraid that her newly bandaged wound would bleed again.
"I'll do it."
With a faint smile in his eyes, Xie Huaiyuan turned around very politely and helped Shiliu, who was leaning against him, to steady her.
The candlelight on the table crackled and flickered, casting overlapping shadows on the wall.
Lin Wan mumbled as she tried to break free and turn over: "The bed is hard...it hurts."
Xie Huaiyuan steadied her again and asked, "What do you want?"
"The softer ones..."
Xie Huaiyuan glanced at the bed but couldn't find one that was "soft" as she had described. The only usable thin blanket was stained with blood and had been discarded.
The room was so quiet that the crackling of the candlelight could be heard.
Lin Wan, whose eyelashes trembled slightly, had actually been awakened by the pain when her dressing was changed. She glimpsed Xie Huaiyuan, whom she had been holding back, through Shiliu's shoulder, but she couldn't be happy at all. She even began to regret running to him today.
She did intend to seduce Xie Huaiyuan, but she never expected to lose her life because of it, especially since he actually shot an arrow at her. She felt both pain and anger.
She didn't want to get hurt for nothing. She had to make him feel guilty today and improve their cold relationship.
"I want to lean on...you..."
Her voice was weak, but she spoke clearly and coquettishly.
Xie Huaiyuan looked at her; a faint blush had crept onto her pale cheeks, her brows were furrowed, and she looked distressed.
Lin Wan couldn't hear his reply, and she couldn't open her eyes. Her back and shoulders were aching terribly. She knew that her bare shoulders were still tightly wrapped in strips of cloth, and she probably couldn't be considered beautiful, but... never mind!
"You want to..." Xie Huaiyuan's words suddenly stopped. Caught off guard, his hand went empty, his body trembled slightly, and she had already slid to the side and lay on his lap.
Xie Huaiyuan had always kept in mind the principles of a gentleman and the importance of propriety, and had never been so close to that woman before. Yet, because of her, he had been repeatedly put in such an embarrassing situation.
The aroma was warm and soft, mixed with the heavy scent of hemostatic medicine.
As she slid down to his lap, her face brushed against his neck; the soft, sticky, and moist touch was probably from lip rouge.
Xie Huaiyuan lost his usual composure, his cold face half-hidden in shadow. He remained silent for a long while. It wasn't that he had no choice. If he wanted, he could have avoided stepping into this place tonight. Even if he just gave an order, someone would have already made the arrangements without him having to come.
After hesitating for a long time, his gaze fell on the bright red bandage strips. In the end, he did not push her away, but let her rest her head on his lap. He wiped away the sticky touch on her neck without leaving a trace, reached out and took the outer garment that he had put in the bed earlier, and gently covered her with it.
Xie Huaiyuan couldn't help but sneer inwardly. Even someone as cold-hearted and indifferent as him should have realized by now that he had seen many women like Lin Wan who used their beauty to seduce him, all for power, wealth, or even so-called tender feelings.
Although the separation between men and women is not as strict as it used to be, it shouldn't be like this. He didn't understand why she was still lying on his lap without any shyness, even though she was already injured.
He wanted to see just how far she would go in trying to seduce him with such behavior.
As night deepened, Shiliu finally brought over the medicine she had prepared. The moment she stepped in, she was so shocked that she almost spilled the bowl of medicine. The young lady was actually resting her head on the young master's lap!
Xie Huaiyuan opened his eyes, which had been dozing, and said calmly, "Is the medicine ready?"
Shi Liu, enduring that gaze devoid of any warmth, fed Lin Wan the medicine bit by bit.
Exhausted from the pain of her wounds, Lin Wan gradually fell into a deep sleep after drinking the medicine.
It wasn't until late at night that Xie Huaiyuan returned to the guesthouse under the cover of darkness. Xiangshan Temple had prepared several guesthouses for them, and his and Lin Wan's rooms were separated only by a long corridor.
Green Bamboo was very sensible and had prepared hot water for him to bathe and wash away the bloodstains on his body.
The guesthouse in the temple was simply furnished, with only a bath tub in the inner room. Xie Huaiyuan took off his blood-stained clothes and gave them to Lüzhu, who was waiting nearby. He stepped into the bath tub, but found that Lüzhu did not leave immediately as usual. He never needed to be served during his bath.
"What's up?"
Green Bamboo's eyes darted around, and after a long pause, she whispered a reminder: "Young Master, there's something on your neck..."
Xie Huaiyuan almost immediately thought of the lipstick mark Lin Wan had left on his neck when she wiped it earlier. He frowned and wiped it off abruptly with a damp handkerchief.
Hearing the soft rustling of water, Green Bamboo, who was about to leave, recalled several times before when she had to throw away clothes for even the slightest stain. She tentatively asked, "Young Master, are these clothes also going to be thrown away?"
After a long silence, a voice was heard: "It's lost."
Green Bamboo responded and quietly left the room. As usual, she stood guard outside the door at night, waiting for dawn.
As night deepened, only a single candle flickered on a corner table in the room, its faint light, like a thin veil, gently spilling into the room and seeping through the blue curtains.
After taking a bath, he lay down as usual, recalling the events of the day. He wanted to find out where the mistake had gone wrong, that someone had secretly hidden the real package. But as he thought about it, he remembered the scene of Lin Wan falling into his arms after being shot by an arrow.
Even without her, that sneak attacking arrow wouldn't have been able to harm him in the slightest, but she shielded him from it.
The blood splattered from the arrow wound almost completely stained his chest. The softness of her body as she pounced on him, like cotton on a snow-capped mountain, delicate and smooth, made his chest burn even hotter.
Don't think about it anymore.
Xie Huaiyuan promptly dismissed the inappropriate thoughts in his mind and forced himself to fall asleep.
...
But then he had another dream.
Lying in the dimly lit curtains, with the candlelight dim and dim, he could vaguely hear rustling sounds.
Suddenly, the delicate and soft-bodied Lin Wan lifted the curtain from the dim light and threw herself into his arms, hugging his waist. Her beautiful eyes were slightly upturned, filled with ripples like autumn water, gazing at him pitifully, exuding an indescribable charm and allure.
Nestled in his arms, she said with a mixture of annoyance and coquettishness, "Your Highness, it hurts."
Xie Huaiyuan remained almost frozen, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly, and his deep, hoarse voice asked, "Where does it hurt?"
She raised her head, her alluring fox-like eyes holding a playful, teasing glint in them. Her soft voice, tinged with a coquettish reproach, said, "My neck hurts."
As she finished speaking, she leaned close to his neck and kissed his Adam's apple, sending ripples through his heart like a tidal wave.
Xie Huaiyuan pushed her away almost instantly, his eyes red, and asked, "What exactly do you want to do?"
He glanced at it and then lowered his eyelashes. A gentleman's words and actions are restrained and polite, and he had no interest in such matters.
Under the dim, shimmering light and shadow.
But she kept saying it, her eyes welling up with tears, looking completely innocent.
He was furious, his ears turning slightly red, and he tried to leave, but was instead stopped by her.
This is contrary to etiquette, and one should be tense as if facing a formidable enemy.
His voice was low and hoarse as he reminded him, "No."
Her misty eyes, like those of a mountain spirit, seemed to casually pull him into an abyss.
...
"Your Highness, it's you."
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