Of all the things for Bai Xiangxiu to notice accidentally, it was Long Heng rubbing his nose. Her hand holding the tea shook, causing her to spill half the tea. Fortunately, it wasnât hot enough to burn her. However, her heart was another matter, as it was afire with anxiety wondering whether the male lead was thinking about her.
Actually, there was nothing bad about that. The male lead was both handsome and powerful, as well as capable⌠cough, she hadnât read that novel for nothing, nor did the male leadâs halo exist for naught. He had many aspects that attracted people. But in the end, no matter how many good points he possessed, he was still the chief culprit of her death!
As a girl with exceptional memory, she clearly recalled the other servant girl whoâd been beaten to death, and felt awful all over. All of her thoughts, proper or improper, scattered in the wake of that one memory. On the other hand, Xiao Shi had a brilliant idea as she ran to blow on her mistressâs hand with a distressed air. âMadame Xiu, your skin is so tender, burning it must hurt. Hurry and blow on it.â
âWhat are you blowing for? Go get some Red Pearl,â Long Heng didnât want to speak up, but he had to when it looked like this servant girl would keep blowing without stopping.
Xiao Shi was about to fetch the item when Bai Xiangxiu stopped her. âDonât go. I wasnât burned, so thereâs no need to waste it. Go out and have a look, Old Madame should be on her way.â Wouldnât any worried mother come running over to see this wounded victim here?
Xiao Shi nodded and left. Someone had to receive the old madame when she arrived. Once she was gone, Long Heng said, âThough youâre in charge of the household, donât be so tightfisted with yourself. If thereâs anything you need, just bring it up with me. How would I let you lose out on anything?â
âMany thanks to Your Highness!â She seemed overwhelmed by an unexpected favor, but kept to established etiquette.
This time, Long Heng felt rather depressed over how she always kept her distance from him. Couldnât she tell his feelings for her? Thus, the prince began to self-reflect and realized it really was hard for the other party to tell.
The closest theyâd been together was when theyâd met each other with full sincerity, 1 but before they could do the deed, sheâd ended up âbleedingâ instead. Later on, his nervousness had kept their meetings brief and their partings long. Would they ever be on intimate terms if this was the style of their interaction?
As his thoughts reached this point, he sunk into low spirits. At that moment, the old madame entered the room, tears welling up in her eyes as she laid eyes on her precious son. Her voice was choked as she spoke, âYou child, youâre not that young anymore! Why are you still stirring up trouble everywhere? Where did you get hurt? Let mother have a look.â
As she spoke, the old female servants helped her to the bedside while Bai Xiangxiu quickly brought over a seat. The old madame sat down and spread her hands, but she was too scared to know where to put them.
Bai Xiangxiu spoke up from the side, âThe princeâs wound is on his leg. The doctor has already applied medicine and said that itâs just a flesh wound. It was a good thing that it hadnât reached the bone, so he has just lost a lot of blood. But he will be fine after spending some time recovering.â
Hearing this, Old Madame immediately went to look at her sonâs legs beneath the covers, but was stopped by Long Hengâs outstretched arm. âMother, I get major and minor injuries all the time. One more is of no consequence.â
âThose major and minor injuries come from the battlefield. This is the capital; how did you become so hurt? You couldnât even make it back to your own courtyard and didnât call for anyone either. Are you going to tell me or not?!â The old madame was truly anxious as her voice grew in volume. By the end, she was almost shouting, disregarding anyone who cared to listen.
Long Heng didnât grow angry, but waved his hand to dismiss people who had no business being there. The old female servants and young maids all understood and slowly retreated outside with a bow. Bai Xiangxiu was planning to leave as well, but Long Heng said, âMadame Bai, pour some tea.â
So he wasnât letting her leave? Thatâs right, now that everyone else had gone, there wouldnât be anyone to serve them if she left too. Thus, she poured two cups of tea and placed them on the little table by the old madameâs side. Then, she blinked. Do I leave now?
The old madame didnât care about that, but asked, âIs it something that others shouldnât know? Perhaps, that girl from the Lin family?â Her son had left this time to look for her, but came back with a body full of injuries. If this wasnât related to her, then what?
Long Heng didnât conceal anything, revealing the entire story from beginning to end. Although he found the girl disagreeable, he didnât reveal how sheâd been pressed beneath the body of that man from the jianghu, or how her clothes had been nearly stripped bare.
But the old madame still smote the table hard once she heard him speak. The shockwaves were almost enough to sent the teacups falling. Bai Xiangxiu was worried that sheâd burn her hand and quietly picked up the teacup, waiting until her temper settled before she put the teacup back.
Long Heng remained calm as he drank his tea without batting an eyelid. âSheâs done too much.â
Not just too much, but something completely out of bounds from the novel. But truthfully speaking, that number two supporting male was quite formidable, though his martial arts skills were slightly inferior to Long Hengâs.
Still, whatâs the female lead doing? Canât she figure things out? She actually went to help the person who kidnapped her, resulting in the male leadâs injury. How could the male lead like her after something like this? Admittedly, that really was like the female lead. A little white flower who couldnât keep her priorities straight. But didnât all the men fall for her because of that? When had that changed?
It mightâve been because of the male lead. Who knows how heâd found out about the circumstances behind the female lead fleeing that day. Maybe heâd changed then.
In other words, when something like this happened before the male lead developed feelings for her, it was just like adding frost on top of snow. If things kept going like this, the story would completely change. Could she still be a proper prophet then?
Bai Xiangxiu wrung her handkerchief as she stood on the side. Once the story escaped from her grasp, what could she do? Keep hugging on to someoneâs thigh, or find a way to leave?
No, there was no place to go once she left the princeâs estate. Even surviving would become a herculean task. Moreover, she still had a chance to return as long as she pricked herself on the cactus on the same day she came. If she left this place, itâd be harder than before to get in again. Though the story had shifted, the male and female leads were still the same. Sheâd keep hugging a thigh and avoid courting disaster or becoming the target of jealousy. What can possibly happen after that? Suicide? She didnât believe it.
After making her decision, she kept listening but inadvertently caught Long Heng glancing at her. Their gazes met in midair, but both of them averted their eyes before sparks could happen.
The old madame had rapidly become indignant as she spoke. âA woman like this who offends public decency canât marry into our family. Iâll go reject this marriage proposal right now.â
âIâm afraid itâs not that simple. Minister Lin and Madame Lin naturally understand the state of their daughterâs public standing. If we bring up cancelling the marriage now, itâll completely destroy Miss Linâs reputation. So theyâll definitely oppose or delay the idea.â Long Hengâs analysis was sober and practical, but when he looked up, it was to catch Madame Baiâs surprised, disbelieving gaze. She didnât seem to think heâd reject the marriage proposal.
Thatâs right, this woman was entirely kindhearted. No one in the estate had a dissenting opinion when it came to that particular tidbit. When a servantâs house was destroyed in the floods, sheâd even given her money in secret. If any of the servants had troubles, she made sure to help them. She really was a compassionate, uncontentious person who never offended anyone.
But heâd incurred injuries for the sake of bringing that other woman back. Shouldnât she worry about him before worrying about other people? Thus, Long Heng was currently feeling jealous on behalf of a group of pitiful and clueless people.