Cao Anmin did not say a word until he finished his meal and the food box was brought out. However, Gui Ling gave her a token after sending her out of the Eastern Depot.
"From now on, I'll trouble Madam Li to send some food over every evening, with about the same variety as today."
Although he used the word "trouble," he was anything but polite.
Xia Yixin returned to Yuelai Restaurant and reassured the waiters and managers who were surprised to see her return unharmed. She became even more convinced that this might be a breakthrough.
The male supporting character's happiness index, which had been stagnant for some time, finally rose by 5%.
Appetite is one of the three major human desires.
Xia Yixin put all her effort into winning over this eunuch, and she put even more effort into preparing his daily meals. He didn't like spicy food and preferred light flavors, and he especially liked chicken, so she changed the flavors of her meals.
However, she would just bring him food every day and never mention helping again. He didn't speak, and neither did she. It was as if they were competing to see who had more patience.
After a while, they met again.
She delivered meals for another half month, and his complexion improved significantly. His happiness level also began to rise steadily, although it was only a 1% increase, which was still good news. Moreover, although she still couldn't get close to him, at least the murderous aura and coldness were gone.
During this time, the constables in the Eastern Depot were secretly wondering what the supervisor was thinking. He had Madam Li bring him food every day but didn't talk to her. They had been with the supervisor for eight years and this was the first time they had seen a woman so close to him. Although they dared not presume to guess what the supervisor was thinking, their attitude towards her had unconsciously improved over the past two weeks.
Apart from that Ghost Zero who only had eyes for the Chief Constable, all the other constables would say a few words to her.
She also learned some "insider information" as a result, such as things about Cao Anmin and Shen Ruyu that she had never known before.
It turns out that three or four years ago, Shen Ruyu and Cao Anmin did have a good relationship. The former would often summon him alone and give him gifts. But until three years ago, their relationship became very strained, and the people in the Eastern Depot also disliked this woman.
The gossiping constables concluded, "The rule that the harem must not interfere in politics has existed since ancient times. If she didn't have the aura of a 'divine messenger,' the supervisor probably wouldn't have kept her around for so long."
Xia Yixin gradually figured out the relationship between Cao Anmin and Shen Ruyu. Unlike the superior-subordinate relationship in the original work, the latter was clearly much weaker than the former. Having lost the protection of the Shen family, Shen Ruyu, who was just a princess in place of her husband, probably did not understand her own identity.
She tried to control the Eastern Depot by relying on her status as a "divine messenger," but she's likely to run into a wall.
And three years ago...
Could it be that her incident in Nanlin three years ago was because of Shen Ruyu? Otherwise, given the circumstances at the time, what important matter would require him to handle personally?
However, she couldn't care less about Shen Ruyu's affairs; her focus now was on boosting the male supporting character's happiness rating.
Meanwhile, the battle situation in Nanlin became increasingly tense. With the covert assistance of Beiwu, Yushang's army suffered several defeats in succession.
The male supporting character's happiness level has been steadily rising, recovering to -350, which is cause for celebration.
Late April is a time when the weather is still chilly despite the warming trend.
That day, she went to work as a food delivery person as usual, but strangely, Gui Ling didn't come; someone else was sent instead.
“Our commander has been slightly injured, so I’ve sent him to escort you inside,” the young constable explained.
Gui Ling's martial arts skills are not low either, so how could she get injured? She casually asked, "What happened? Gui Qianhu's martial arts skills should be quite high, so what case is so difficult for him?"
"It's not a case. It's just that something's been going on in the martial arts world these past few days. A bounty has been issued, and many reckless martial artists are trying to ambush the Chief Supervisor. Today, outside the city, those people were looking for an opportunity to make their move, but the Commander took a knife for the Chief Supervisor," the young constable said innocently.
A bounty? She hadn't heard a word about it; the Eastern Depot must have blocked all news from the capital.
When she arrived at the pavilion, she was about to hand the food box to the young constable when, unexpectedly, he didn't take it but instead gestured for her to go inside.
Xia Yixin's hand holding the food box froze in mid-air. She braced herself and crossed the path, stepping into the pavilion for the first time. Having learned from her previous experience, she didn't look at him rashly. She put down the food box and curtsied.
"This humble woman greets Your Excellency."
This time, she didn't have to wait long before she heard him tell her to get up. She was about to pick up the food box when the man's voice stopped her.
"come over."
Xia Yixin's heart skipped a beat. For some reason, she suddenly felt that his voice sounded familiar, but when she looked closely, she couldn't find it.
Upon entering the pavilion, one is greeted by the aroma of medicine. Following the scent, one sees a small, palm-sized glass box containing ointment.
With her superb medical skills, she could tell at a glance that it was a high-quality hemostatic ointment.
There was still a faint smell of blood in the pavilion.
The man glanced at her slender, clean hands and said indifferently, "Come and help me apply the medicine."
He was injured today and couldn't come to the bathroom, and he didn't want anyone else to touch him, so somehow he asked her to come.
Perhaps it was the two weeks they had spent together that made him less wary of her.
He casually laid his hands out on the table, his palms bearing wounds that were bleeding, looking quite gruesome. Yet his voice was calm and even, as if he felt no pain at all.
Over the years, the Eastern Depot has dealt with so many corrupt officials, princes, and lords, and has quite a few enemies. However, this is the first time a bounty has been issued on him. But the fact that the other party could injure him means that the opponent must be quite powerful.
There was no medicine spoon on the table. Was she supposed to use her hands? She remembered the rumors that he was a germaphobe.
She hesitated for a moment, then steeled herself and picked up the ointment to apply it to him. But upon closer inspection, she discovered that the wound on his palm was so deep that the bone was visible, and that applying the ointment alone would likely cause it to smear over in a short time.
"My lord," she suggested, mustering her courage, "in my opinion, it would be better to stitch up the wound first, and then apply medicine; that would help it heal faster."
She waited for a long time, thinking the man would get angry like last time, but to her surprise, he actually sent the constable to get the sewing supplies.
The needle and thread arrived quickly; many doctors nowadays suture patients, so it wasn't anything special.
She picked up the needle and thread, said "Excuse me," and then lifted his severely injured right hand to carefully sew it up.
It is said that the ten fingers are connected to the heart, and an injury to the palm is even more unbearable for ordinary people. In addition, the wound needs to be stitched up, but he did not move at all, as if he had completely lost the sense of pain. It was the first time she had touched a strange man's hand so closely, and she couldn't help but feel nervous. She focused on completing the stitching and did not notice his gradually deepening gaze.
Cao Anmin looked down at her and saw that she was wearing plain clothes and had an ordinary face. Only her focused almond eyes were unforgettable. Unfortunately, hidden under this obedient appearance was a cat with its claws retracted.
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