Ch. 259 Treatment
Chu Lian's expression abruptly changed. She hadn't expected He Changdi to get hurt.
Before Manager Qin could say any more, she leaped from the hearth bed, even forgetting to put on her shoes in her haste.
"Quick, lead me there!"
Manager Qin had only given the situation in the outer court a cursory glance before rushing over to report to Chu Lian. The only thing he knew was that Third Young Master was badly injured.
When He Changdi had been brought in by the guards, he was already in a coma.
Without knowing more about his condition, Manager Qin didn't dare to say anything else to Chu Lian. Thus, on the journey to the outer court, the atmosphere remained sombre and tense.
Once they reached the central room of the outer court, they were met with the sight of a group of guards surrounding the soft bed in the center of the room. Amongst them was a sorry-looking Mo Chenggui, who stood to one side with an expression full of self-blame and guilt.
When Chu Lian saw the slender figure lying in the center, her mind went completely blank. She hurried over to check on He Changdi's injuries.
The usual humour in her almond-shaped eyes was gone, replaced with anger and worry.
The guards surrounding He Changdi shifted away upon seeing that it was their young madam who had come.
Before Mo Chenggui could explain, Chu Lian was already throwing out questions in a cold tone. "Where is he injured? Hurry up and call for a physician!"
Mo Chenggui moved his mouth without speaking at first, looking close to sobbing. When Chu Lian shot him a fierce glare, he gritted his teeth and replied, "Third Young Master fell from the mountain. The worst injury is on his right thigh and there are a few smaller injuries all over his body. We've already called a physician, he'll be here soon."
Chu Lian cast a cold look at him before shifting away. Right now, she wasn't in the mood to ask what exactly had happened on Mount Ah-Ming and how He Sanlang had gotten into this state.
She ignored the customary reserve between men and women and reached out to take off He Changdi's clothes.
When Manager Qin noticed her movements, he knew that Third Young Madam wanted to inspect the wounds herself.
Manager Qin was one of the calmer ones present. He quickly ushered the guards out and called Wenqing and Wenlan in to help.
Mo Chenggui rushed over to stop Chu Lian when he realised that she wanted to check on He Changdi's wounds herself. She wasn't a doctor, and Third Young Master was injured all over. If she made his injuries worse by accident, he could die from it!
However, before Mo Chenggui could reach Chu Lian, he was held back by Manager Qin.
The space between Manager Qin's brows was tightly furrowed as he stated coldly, "Leader Mo, Third Young Madam knows what she's doing. The physician hasn't arrived yet, but Third Young Master's wounds can't wait!"
"But..."
"But what? Are you going to tell me that you know what to do?"
Mo Chenggui finally sunk into silence. How could he possibly know what to do in this case? The extent of his medical knowledge was to cover up any areas that were bleeding with bandages... If he were a physician, would he have waited until now to take action?
Once Manager Qin saw that he had been placated, he ushered him off to one side and said, "Rest here, Leader Mo. When the doctor comes, Third Young Madam will definitely have some questions for you."
Although there weren't any deadly wounds on Mo Chenggui's body, he cut a sorry figure. He likely had some hidden wounds underneath his rumpled clothing. The thick fur cloak on him had traces of dried blood all over.
With Wenqing and Wenlan as her helping hands, Chu Lian worked fast.
He Changdi was covered in bloodstains, and there were cuts all over his body. Some of the wounds had been left exposed to the elements and were frostbitten, exacerbating his condition.
However, Chu Lian simply couldn't bring herself to think about the smaller wounds now. She took a deep breath to keep calm.
Taking a pair of scissors from Wenqing, she began carefully cutting his right pants leg while making sure to avoid contact with his wounds.
The pants leg was covered in numerous cuts, and blood from the wound had caused more than half of the cloth to be stuck to his leg. There were also parts that were stuck directly to his wounds. Chu Lian clenched her teeth and mustered up the courage to pull it off in one go.
The unconscious He Sanlang was covered in cold sweat. There was an unnatural flush on his cheeks, and his lips were pale and cracked. These were the signs of a high fever.
Wenlan ordered a servant to bring in a few more braziers, then placed a towel soaked with cold water on He Changdi's forehead.
Chu Lian pursed her lips tightly, holding back her tears with everything she had.
After cutting for approximately five minutes, she finally managed to cut off the clothing stuck to his wounds, revealing his entire right leg.
His right leg was badly mangled from thigh to calf,. She couldn't even see a single patch of clean skin- everything was covered in blood.
Chu Lian had gone through special training for emergency first aid in the wilderness before. Although she couldn't match the treatment a medical professional might provide, she could still patch up his wounds before a doctor arrived.
She asked Wenqing and Wenlan to search for some supplies before she began tending to He Changdi's thigh. Before long, the condition of his thigh and calf was stabilised.
Those who remained in the room were all Chu Lian's trusted servants, so nobody questioned Chu Lian's decisions. Even though Mo Chenggui had tried to object, his objection had already been quelled by Manager Qin.
By the time Chu Lian finished, an old physician with a snow-white beard was helped in by two guards.
Chu Lian quickly welcomed him in. This physician was a familiar face. He had been the one to see to the wound on Chu Lian's ankle, and he was an experienced old physician who was skillful with external wounds.
"Sir, please take a look at my husband's wounds," Chu Lian said as she supported the physician to the bed.
When the old physician saw that the wounds on the patient's right thigh had already been cleaned, he seemed astonished. "Who tended to these wounds?"
The question from the unknowing physician lit a fire in Mo Chenggui's heart. He thought that the physician meant that Chu Lian had made the condition of He Changdi's wounds even worse. He immediately stood up to face Chu Lian with a fierce glare.
Chu Lian completely disregarded his angry look. Instead, she focused on suppressing her own anxiety and remaining calm. "Sir, it was me."
The old physician raised his head to glance at Chu Lian. He nodded with approval. "Madam, you've done very well. You must have studied a little about medicine before. I didn't bring any of my assistants in my rush to come here, so I'll need to trouble you in a bit."
Chu Lian quickly nodded and took off her loose outer robe, which would only get in the way. She changed into a more flexible tunic.
Mo Chenggui was stupefied. It was completely out of his expectations that a young lady like Third Young Madam would actually have some medical knowledge at the tender age of sixteen. However, since the old physician had said so, he believed it.
For a moment, he felt rather guilty.
Manager Qin glanced at him with contempt. For some reason, Manager Qin just couldn't get along with Leader Mo.
He just couldn't see eye to eye with this old ruffian no matter how much he tried.
The old physician didn't like how crowded the room was, so he only allowed Chu Lian and Wenqing to stay while everybody else was chased out of the room.
After a whole two hours, the old physician finally exited the room with the support of Wenqing, while the weary Chu Lian came out right behind them.
The moment the door was opened, Mo Chenggui and Manager Qin anxiously went up to them.
Mo Chenggui asked apprehensively, "Doctor, how is Third Young Master?"
The old physician looked him up and down. When he saw that the middle-aged man also seemed to be covered in wounds, he rattled out a list of complaints. "Were you involved with bringing the patient back here? You, don't you know how to take care of someone? If that young man in there had stayed on horseback for just half a day longer, you can forget about keeping his right leg! Luckily, your madam arrived just in time to take care of those wounds. Otherwise, even if I were Hua Tuo reborn, I wouldn't have been able to keep that leg! A fine young man would have been crippled just like that!"
Ch. 260 Taking Care of He Sanlang
Although Mo Chenggui wasn't happy to be the subject of the old physician's nagging, he understood that He Changdi's condition had taken a turn for the better thanks to Chu Lian.
He hastily lowered his head in apology.
Chu Lian pressed her palm to her forehead, clearly fatigued. She shot a signal at Manager Qin with her eyes. Manager Qin caught on to her intentions and quickly helped the old physician to a room nearby for some tea and snacks.
The old physician was skilled at his craft, but he seemed to enjoy prattling on a little too much, perhaps due to his age.
Chu Lian still had questions for Mo Chenggui, so she couldn't just let the old physician ramble on like that.
Once the old physician was out of sight, Chu Lian called Mo Chenggui to the study for a chat.
He Changdi had suffered severe injuries. Despite the fact that his condition had been stabilised, it wasn't good to move him at this point. There was no way for him to return to the northern border army for now, so they would have to send a messenger to notify them.
Some time later, He Changdi was moved off into a side room. Chu Lian took on the task of feeding him herself and used a teapot with a narrow spout to pour the medicine straight into his mouth. After she fed him a total of three bowls' worth of medicine, she touched his forehead and sighed in relief. He Sanlang's high fever had finally broken.
When Chu Lian set the special teapot aside, her gaze was attracted by a long box that had been placed on the side table. She sat on the stool beside the bed, picked up the box, and carefully opened it. Two pure white flowers with layers upon layers of petals were laid out on a velvety red fabric. They were only about the size of her thumb. Although their shape somewhat resembled cherry blossoms, these were much prettier.
According to Great Doctor Miao, the Snow Mountain Mists flower supposedly grew bright red on its tree, and it only turned a pure white two days after it was picked if it had reached full bloom. It was a very magical existence.
When He Changdi had led his men up Mount Ah-Ming, the arduous journey had taken most of their strength and energy. Right at the moment when they were picking the flowers, they had been ambushed. It was clear that the enemy had been lying in wait for some time. Most of the attackers had been Tuhuns, but there had also been several masked people from the Great Wu. They were most likely trained assassins.
Although He Changdi had brought elite fighters with him too, they had already used up most of their stamina on the journey there. To make things worse, they were on a mountain peak where the air was thin. They struggled against the enemies for as long as they could, but the odds were stacked against them.
The enemies were ruthless and fearless. In the end, there were only four people left on He Changdi's side.
As powerful as He Sanlang was, it was impossible for him to contend against so many enemies alone, so they had no choice but to flee.
As they were fending off the Tuhun assassins, He Changdi's thigh had been pierced by a sword. He Changdi then ordered Mo Chenggui to bring the Snow Mountain Mists flowers back while he stayed to hold off their pursuers.
Mo Chenggui had been left with no choice but to take the Snow Mountain Mists and escape first.
The enemy seemed to have come just for He Changdi, as none of them chased after Mo Chenggui.
Once he got away from them, it took Mo Chenggui half a day to find He Changdi by the tracks he left behind. Eventually, Mo Chenggui found his young master in a pile of snow.
Somehow, He Changdi had actually managed to survive the whole ordeal by hiding in this thick pile of snow. By his side were two frozen Tuhun corpses.
When Mo Chenggui finally found the bloodsoaked He Sanlang, his eyes had filled with tears.
Later on, it was Mo Chenggui and two other old soldiers who transported He Changdi back.
Chu Lian shut the lid of the wooden box and carefully put away the lifesaving medicinal herbs. A glint of light passed through her limpid, almond-shaped eyes. Her usual smile was gone, replaced with a grave expression.
Assassins had ambushed He Changdi on Mount Ah-Ming!
And there had been a group of Tuhuns with them!
There were very few people who knew that they had come out to the northern border to look for the Snow Mountain Mists flower, and most of them were within their circle of trust. Even Prince Jin's subordinate, Tang Yan, didn't know about their mission.
The only ones in the army who were in the know were Captain Guo, Zhang Mai, and Xiao Hongyu.
They had only mentioned it to Great General Qian in private when He Changdi had departed.
None of them had any motive to attack He Changdi. Furthermore, those Tuhuns had already been lying in wait near the Snow Mountain Mists flowers, so it was clear that they had been prepared beforehand.
When she thought back to the people who had kidnapped her, Chu Lian's eyes were filled with a dangerous aura.
Xiao Bojian!
As far as she knew, the only one who would use such despicable methods to achieve their goals was him!
But how had he known that He Sanlang would be going up Mount Ah-Ming to pick the Snow Mountain Mists?
It was impossible for anyone here in the north to leak that information, so it had to be someone back in the capital!
With that, the list of suspects was narrowed down greatly; it had to be someone in the Jing'an Estate.
While Chu Lian was immersed in her thoughts, Wenlan entered the room carrying some clean clothes with her. She called out softly to Chu Lian, who blinked and returned to the present. She turned to Wenlan.
"Third Young Madam, Laiyue has already set off for the army camp to inform them about Third Young Master's situation. These are some of Third Young Master's clean clothes. Do you want to change them now?"
Chu Lian nodded and handed over the box of Snow Mountain Mists flowers to Wenlan, ordering her to keep them hidden well.
"Put down the clothes and bring some hot water over."
The walls of this side room were heated, so it wasn't cold in here at all. Chu Lian brought a pair of scissors over to the bedside before pulling the blanket off He Changdi's body.
The old physician had left behind plenty of salves and had told Chu Lian to apply them to He Changdi's smaller wounds, which were littered all over. In order to access them, He Changdi would need to be stripped.
Fortunately, there was a convenient way to do this. When Chu Lian had been tending to the injury on his thigh earlier, she hadn't had the time to change him out of his torn, dirty, bloodstained clothes. Thus, It would be easier to simply cut them off and throw them away than to carefully strip him of them.
Chu Lian worked quickly and managed to get He Sanlang's outer robe off. When she could finally see the dark green undershirt he was wearing, she was slightly startled.
The square patterns embroidered on the collar were so crooked that they looked like furry little worms instead. Wasn't this the shirt that Li Yue had practised on?
He Changdi was actually wearing it! Judging from how worn the edges of the cloth seemed to be, she could guess that he wore this shirt quite often...
He couldn't possibly have worn these clothes for so long because he thought that I was the one who made them... right?
Chu Lian covered her face with a hand. Considering He Changdi's fickle temperament, she didn't dare to tell him the truth behind the shirt now.
Thus, she followed the mantra 'in for a penny, in for a pound' and simply destroyed the shirt.
This lousily embroidered shirt that He Changdi wore the most was cut to shreds by the indignant Chu Lian...
Although He Changdi looked like a tall, skinny man, his body was actually brimming with hidden strength once his clothes were stripped away. Though his muscles weren't overly large, they gave him an underlying aura of power.
Even though he was covered in tiny little cuts and scratches from his chest down to his waist, Chu Lian felt her cheeks heating up from looking at his body.
She murmured under her breath, "Isn't He Sanlang's figure a little too perfect?"
An eight-pack of abs sat on his abdomen. They didn't look very obvious because he was lying prone right now. Then there were the two alluring lines on either side of his waist, leading down further...
Even though Chu Lian was treating He Changdi as a patient right now, she couldn't help the blush that spread across her face.
She moved faster and stripped He Sanlang in record time before panicking and throwing the blanket over his excellent figure.
By this time, Wenlan had returned with the hot water.
"Third Young Madam, here's the hot water. The salves are on the side table. This servant has some tasks at hand, so this servant won't be able to help. If Third Young Madam has any orders, just call this servant."
Once she finished speaking, Wenlan vanished from the side room. The speed of her disappearance left Chu Lian agape.
Wenlan thoughtfully shut the doors, leaving He Changdi and Chu Lian alone in the room. She hunched her shoulders and chuckled evilly.
Since there was a chance, she had to let Third Young Master and Third Young Madam spend more time together!
Even though she was just a maidservant, she had noticed that there was something wrong between the couple.
They had been here in the north for so many days, yet they had never once spent the night together. It wasn't as if Third Young Master didn't have any opportunities to stay overnight, either.
From her objective point of view, the problem definitely wasn't a lack of passion between the two. Third Young Master had been furious upon hearing that Third Young Madam had been kidnapped. She and her sister, Wenqing, had been scared stiff by the bloodlust in his eyes.
Although Third Young Madam was still young, she didn't seem to be interested in much in particular, apart from cooking gourmet food. She had never really put her full attention into anything else, even when it came to making money. However, when it came to matters that concerned Third Young Master, she had actually gotten so worried that it had been written all over her face. Third Young Madam had even personally thought of a plan to solve his problems. Didn't that mean something?
Since the couple clearly had each other in their hearts, then all they needed was a good opportunity. They were already married anyway. If they got along well enough, there might even be a baby born next year!
There were still no male heirs in the next generation of House Jing'an yet. If their Third Young Madam managed to produce the first one, wouldn't the matriarch favour Third Young Master's branch even more?
Thus, Wenlan had specially left the couple alone at this time.
Chu Lian could almost feel the sweat dripping down her forehead. Wenlan's thoughts were as clear as day to her.
However, she didn't mind it for now. Her first priority was to get He Changdi healed up.
She glanced at the basin of hot water on the table before resigning herself to the manual labour. Chu Lian used a warm wet towel to wipe off all the dirt on He Sanlang's body. When he was all clean, she started applying medicine to his wounds.
When evening fell, the old physician came by to check up on his patient again.
Although He Sanlang was still unconscious, his high fever was gone by now.
To Chu Lian, the old physician explained, "Madam, as long as the patient's fever doesn't return tonight, his condition will be stable from tomorrow onwards. He'll just have to focus on recovery from then on."
Chu Lian thanked the old physician and ordered Manger Qin to send him off personally.
After she had her dinner, Chu Lian stayed by He Sanlang's bedside. When Li Xing, Li Yue, and Manager Qin saw that she was going to take the grueling night watch, they were about to offer to take Chu Lian's place, but Wenqing and Wenlan held them back.
"What are you poking your noses into? It's enough to have Third Young Madam alone to care for Third Young Master. Don't worry, my sister and I will keep watch in the outer room through the night. If there's any news, we'll let you know immediately."
Since Wenlan had given her guarantee, the group of people backed down and went off to bed.
Chu Lian told Wenlan to move a chaise next to He Changdi's bed. It was warm inside the room, so she didn't need extra blankets. A thin blanket draped over her body was sufficient.
Chu Lian picked up a book of folk stories and leaned against the chaise to read. She touched He Changdi's forehead and palms from time to time to check if his fever returned.
It was fact, however, that Chu Lian had already gotten used to sleeping early. She had already yawned countless of times before it had even reached midnight.
In order to keep awake, Chu Lian ate some sour candied fruit, but even so, she only managed to hang on till after midnight. When she finally couldn't take it anymore, she laid sideways on the chaise and fell asleep.
When Wenqing noticed that there were no more sounds of activity coming from the room, she crept in silently and tucked the thin blanket more securely over Chu Lian. She checked He Changdi's temperature before leaving as quietly as she had come.
Sometime before daybreak, when the skies were at their darkest, the comatose He Changdi finally opened his eyes with great difficulty.
His vision was still rather blurry, but the first thing he noticed was the face that he had been yearning to see the most.
He Sanlang fell back into a dazed state for a moment. He thought he was dreaming!
The wound on his leg was actually very serious, so even he thought that it was the end of the line for him. If not for his strong will to live, those attackers would really have achieved their goal and offed him once and for all.
At the critical moment, thoughts of what would happen to Chu Lian when he was gone had flashed into his mind. She would most likely be kidnapped by Xiao Bojian, or even locked up into a dungeon somewhere. Those thoughts had pushed him to fight to keep his consciousness and to live.
He opened his eyes again. This time, he didn't open them slowly. Instead, he flicked them open impatiently. When light filtered into his eyes and his vision cleared, revealing Chu Lian's lovely sleeping visage once again, He Changdi's dull eyes immediately lit up with the spark of life.
So it wasn't a dream. It was real! He had survived! And Chu Lian was right by his side...
Those wide, limpid eyes of hers were shut tightly now. Her thick eyelashes were still, casting a shadow on her cheeks. Her breathing was slow and shallow and the puffs of air she exhaled were warming up his face, even as her cheeks were flushed red.
Even up close, her skin remained as fair and smooth as it looked from afar. It looked as flawless as a boiled egg, giving him the urge to reach out and pinch her cheeks, just to see if they were as soft and smooth as they looked.
Especially now when Chu Lian was in the middle of deep slumber and her face was relaxed into an innocent and harmless expression. It made him feel even more like teasing her.
While He Sanlang's mind was still processing these thoughts, his palm had already slunk out of the blankets and was reaching towards Chu Lian's tender cheeks.
The calloused tips of his fingers gently touched Chu Lian's fair face. His pupils dilated and he couldn't help sliding his fingers down her raised nose bridge and tapping her slightly parted pink lips.
That soft and smooth sensation on his fingertips sent a bolt of lightning through his body, transmitting a numb feeling from his arm down into his heart, making his heart beat faster.
He Changdi shifted his body and bore with the pain of the injury on his thigh so he could see the sleeping Chu Lian better.
Time seemed to have stopped in this moment. He Changdi couldn't keep his hands off of Chu Lian's sleeping face. He just couldn't stop himself from reaching out to touch her face here and there. The millenia-old ice on his face seemed to have thawed into a gentle and warm expression. The strangest thing of all was that the corner of his lips had lifted into a smile without his knowing.
He looked exactly like a man enamoured with his lover, who would do anything for her sake. It was completely unlike what he had shown Chu Lian so far.
Luckily Chu Lian was asleep right now. Otherwise, she would probably get the shock of her life from such a 'terrifying' sight.
Although He Sanlang constantly acted cold and indifferent, he was actually like a blank piece of paper when it came to romantic relationships. He hadn't even had the chance to fall in love in his past life before he had been so cruelly betrayed.
The things that the original 'Chu Lian' had done to him had become a shadow haunting his heart.
It really hadn't been easy for him to set his grudge aside and fall in love with the current Chu Lian.
It didn't take long for He Changdi to become dissatisfied with some simple touching. Although his leg was injured, his arms were perfectly fine. The chaise she was lying on had been placed right next to his bed and was at the same level. He pushed himself up to a sitting position and managed to move Chu Lian over to his bed with a little strength.
He had been worried that she would wake from his actions, but he soon found out that there wasn't the slightest bit of resistance from her, even when he had her entire person ensconced in his arms.
He Sanlang relaxed and tightened his embrace around her. He placed a gentle kiss on her soft lips before shutting his eyes in satisfaction.
Although he wanted to do something a little more intimate to her, something that only couples would do, he had just suffered grievous injury after all, so he didn't have that much energy.
With his chin resting on the top of her head, He Sanlang slipped back into dreamland with her familiar scent all around him.
While He Sanlang was now perfectly content, it was getting uncomfortable for Chu Lian in his tight embrace.
Her nerves had been strung tight for the whole day. Later on, she had acted as the doctor's assistant and then stayed up by He Sanlang's side for most of the night.
It had always been easy for her to fall asleep in the first place. Since she was so tired, her slumber was even deeper this time. She had been feeling pretty comfortable at first, but she soon felt her body heating up while her nose seemed to be squashed by something. It was all stuffy and hard for her to breathe.
Chu Lian finally found it difficult to continue sleeping and opened her eyes, only to be met with the sight of a wall of flesh. She was still a little stunned at first, but she quickly realised what was going on.
Her first reaction was to roll her eyes before thinking of pushing away the lunatic He Sanlang. However, when she noticed the various wounds on his chest exposed by his slightly open shirt, she hesitated. The reminder that there was a serious injury on his right thigh came to her mind. In the end, she just softly sighed and let him do as he liked.
She wanted to move out of his embrace a little at first, but his arms were wrapped around her too tightly and she couldn't budge him. After trying for some time, she managed to create at least a hand's width of space between them. Finally, Chu Lian reached an impasse so she gave up on it. She yawned sleepily and shut her eyes to continue her slumber.
He Sanlang was her husband anyway. Even if the servants chanced upon them like this, no one would actually be as stupid as to gossip about it outside.
It was only after he heard Chu Lian's breathing devolve into long and slow breaths that He Sanlang finally dared to open his eyes and glance at the woman in his arms. When he saw that she was still obediently curled up and sleeping in his embrace, his mind relaxed while a warm feeling spread through his heart.
The next day, when the sun had already risen, it was the sound of Wenqing pushing the doors open that woke Chu Lian.
Her eyelids fluttered open as consciousness filtered back into her eyes. This time, she mercilessly forced He Sanlang's arms away from her and crawled out from his embrace. She put on her embroidered shoes and walked over to the screen in one corner of the room to put on her clothes.
Chu Lian turned around to glance at the seemingly unconscious He Changdi and the corners of her lips twitched subconsciously.
That fellow had already been awake for who knows how long. He was still pretending to be asleep even now. He really should improve his acting skills though. His eyelids were twitching from time to time and his breathing was too heavy for him to be sound asleep.
Chu Lian rolled her eyes.
When Wenqing entered the room, she was greeted with the sight of a fully dressed Third Young Madam seated on a round stool and waiting for her.
Wenqing had brought hot water with her. When her gaze darted towards the neat chaise and then the disheveled bed, she couldn't help the upward curve of her lips. It looked like they could move the chaise away today! They probably wouldn't need it any longer tonight.
It was only when Chu Lian had come out from the bathroom that He Sanlang finally 'woke up' with a frown.
Chu Lian sat by his bedside and resisted the urge to laugh, "You're awake?"
He Changdi looked at her with his deep gaze and nodded in a serious manner.
"Too bad, I thought my dear husband was going to continue pretending to sleep! It's still early now, it's only 8am."
He Sanlang hadn't expected his dear wife to see through his acting as well as to expose it completely, without any care for his dignity.
He shifted away his gaze, the roots of his ears flushing red. He pressed his lips into a thin line and said, "Chu Lian, don't speak nonsense."
Wenqing's eyes almost fell out of their sockets at this sight. This tsundere Third Young Master who refused to admit his mistake was a completely different person from the grim and gloomy master she knew.
Er... The way Third Young Master was acting now really fit how Third Young Madam had described him once upon a time.
Wenqing felt that she had stumbled upon a dangerous truth. She quickly lowered her head and did her best to erase her presence. Third Young Madam was untouchable, but she wasn't! If Third Young Master realised what she knew, she would have to face the consequences.
Chu Lian was too lazy to argue with him now. If he hadn't been pretending to be asleep, why didn't he at least ask what was going on the moment he woke up?
"Stay there and rest first. I'll go to the kitchen to see how the preparations for your medicine and our breakfast are going."
He Changdi felt extremely embarrassed right now, so he didn't stop Chu Lian from leaving.
Today's breakfast was wontons, spring rolls and egg rolls, made by the kitchen staff under Wenlan's lead.
In the time it had taken to place all the breakfast dishes on the side table, Chu Lian had already changed into another set of clothes and returned to the room, carrying a bowl of medicine in her hands. Chinese medicine was usually a little harsh on the stomach, so it was better to have some food before taking the medicine.
Chu Lian helped He Sanlang up so he could lean against the headboard. Wenlan quickly shifted the side table over to the bedside where He Changdi could easily reach.
Looking at the food before him, memories rose to the forefront of He Changdi's mind, distracting him.
He remembered that the first breakfast Chu Lian had made for him was wontons. Back then, all he had felt towards her were hatred and contempt, but now he was deeply enmired in the blossoming feelings between them.
The stark difference in the situations then and now filled him with regrets.
Chu Lian was already starving, so she quickly scooped up one of the fat wontons and stuffed it into her mouth.
The stuffing in the wontons had been made with only three simple fresh ingredients: pork, mushrooms and shrimp. The wontons had been cooked in a fragrant and thick chicken broth and chopped spring onions had been scattered on top. When she picked one up and bit into it, the juices within would gush out in a burst of flavour. Mixed with the thick chicken broth, it was a delicious combination that she couldn't stop eating.
He Sanlang watched as Chu Lian ate the wontons. Her delicate lips drew close to the spoon and she blew gently on the wonton before she moved the spoon into her mouth. She then chewed on it as her eyes closed in delight; it was clear that she was enjoying the food a lot.
He Changdi couldn't help but gulp. When he saw how busy Chu Lian was with eating and how she didn't have the time to care for him, jealousy sprung up in his heart. He purposely put on a grave expression and said, "Is it good?"
Chu Lian didn't even bother to glance at him and nodded, "Of course it's good! This is Wenlan's best dish! Even if I made these myself, I wouldn't be able to make the wontons look as nice as when Wenlan does them."
With a dark expression, He Sanlang gritted his teeth and said, "Really?"
Chu Lian finally noticed that something was amiss. She looked at him with a baffled expression. What's wrong with this lunatic He Sanlang? Even the delicious wontons couldn't get him to shut up?
Chu Lian kind-heartedly pushed the white bowl of wontons closer to him, "Hurry up and eat some. I'm not lying to you, it's really tasty! I taught Wenlan her skills myself."
"Well aren't you generous to others?" He Changdi mumbled.
Chu Lian raised a brow in silent comment. She didn't know what was going on in her lunatic husband's mind again and she didn't want to know. She chose to ignore him and focus on eating her fill first.
He Sanlang hadn't expected Chu Lian to ignore him just because of that. Anger, disappointment and dissatisfaction rose up in his chest all at once.
He kept his frosty gaze on Chu Lian with an overcast and unreadable expression. Nobody could tell what was up with him.
Even Wenlan was starting to pity Third Young Madam.
Third Young Madam was right all along, Third Young Master is a lunatic...
Chu Lian lost her appetite under his gaze. She set down her chopsticks and bowl before staring at He Changdi with a frown. She crossed her arms on her chest and questioned in a sharp tone, "He Sanlang! What are you trying to do?! If you're not going to eat, I'll get Wenlan to clear the table!"
Seeing that she was truly unhappy with him, He Sanlang set aside his pride and finally revealed his true motive.
"I'm injured and I can't really move."
Chu Lian was smart enough to understand what he was hinting at. Her slightly angry expression turned dazed upon her realisation.
What? His arms were so strong that he had kept her trapped as his bolster all night, yet now he's trying to say that he can't even lift a damned bowl now? Did he take her for a fool!?