Yang Guo: I'm invincible in the opening battle against Aunt Guo!

Guo Fu walked in with red eyes, clearly having just finished crying.

She looked up and saw Huang Rong standing by the desk, wearing an outer robe and with her hair slightly disheveled, and was momentarily stunned:

"Mother? You...you're still awake? What are you doing?"

Although Huang Rong was panicking, she forced herself to remain calm: "Fu'er? It's so late, why aren't you resting? Why are your eyes so red?"

As she spoke, she slowly walked to the chair in front of the table and sat down.

This position conveniently blocked the view under the table, allowing her to relax her weak legs a little.

Guo Fu walked to her side, tears welling up again: "Mother...I...I can't sleep..."

"What's wrong?" Huang Rong asked gently, pulling her to her knees. "Is it... because of Guo'er?"

Guo Fu nodded, sobbing, "Mother, I saw... I saw Brother Yang healing that woman's wounds... She... she wasn't wearing any clothes... Brother Yang's hands... on her..."

Huang Rong sighed inwardly, but remained outwardly calm:

"Fu'er, you've misunderstood. Guo'er is healing Miss Wanyan; she's been shot in the chest with an arrow, and her injury is very serious."

"Does healing require taking off all clothes?" Guo Fu looked up, her eyes full of disbelief. "Does it require touching with your hands? Mother, you're a woman too, tell me... is this normal?"

Huang Rong was speechless for a moment.

She herself just... almost...

She coughed lightly and said seriously, "Fu'er, a doctor's heart is like a parent's. In a doctor's eyes, there are only injuries, not men and women. Besides, Guo'er acts with integrity. If he really did something wrong, why would he bring Miss Wanyan back to the manor? He could have settled her outside."

These words sounded so grand and dignified that even she herself felt guilty.

Yang Guo, who was under the table, chuckled to himself as he listened—his master's ability to lie through his teeth was truly masterful.

Guo Fu bit her lip, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly asked, "Mother, do you think... Brother Yang... doesn't like me?"

"How could that be?" Huang Rong said softly, "Fu'er is so cute, even prettier than her mother, how could Guo'er not like you?"

"Then why... is he always surrounded by so many women?" Guo Fu's tears fell again. "Li Mochou, and now there are Wanyan Ping and Yelü Yan too... Mother, I'm so scared... so scared that Brother Yang doesn't have a place for me in his heart..."

A complex mix of emotions welled up in Huang Rong's heart.

She felt sorry for her daughter, but... she was also helpless against the "culprit" hiding under the table.

"Fu'er," she gently patted her daughter's back, "matters of the heart cannot be forced. If Guo'er has feelings for you, he will naturally give you an explanation. If he doesn't have feelings for you..."

She didn't continue.

Guo Fu understood, and cried even harder: "I don't want it... I just want Brother Yang..."

Huang Rong could only continue to comfort her.

Under the table, Yang Guo waited for a long time, his legs getting numb from squatting.

He could hear Guo Fu crying, hear Huang Rong's gentle comforting words, and also... smell the lingering ambiguous atmosphere in the air.

What's even more embarrassing is that he was shirtless and his pants weren't fully on yet.

In the rush, I only put on my outer trousers and didn't even have time to fasten my belt.

And outside the tablecloth, the hem of Huang Rong's pale yellow outer garment hung right in front of him.

From under the table, he could even see her bare calves.

Her skin was slender and fair, gleaming softly in the candlelight.

He suddenly remembered that brief moment just now.

The master's warmth and tightness, though only for a fleeting moment, were enough to make one's blood boil.

Yang Guo took a deep breath to suppress the agitation in his heart.

Now is not the time to think about these things.

After an unknown amount of time, Guo Fu's crying gradually stopped.

She leaned on Huang Rong's shoulder, sobbing like a wronged kitten.

"Mother, can I...sleep here with you tonight?" she asked softly, raising her red and swollen eyes.

Huang Rong's heart tightened, but she forced herself to remain calm: "This... Fu'er, you're so grown up now, you should sleep by yourself."

"But I'm scared..." Guo Fu clung to her arm, "I'm afraid of having nightmares... of Brother Yang abandoning me..."

As she spoke, her eyes welled up with tears again.

Looking at her daughter's state, Huang Rong felt both heartache and helplessness.

That brat Yang Guo... he's really gotten himself into a lot of trouble.

"Mom~" Guo Fu said in a drawn-out, coquettish voice, "Just for one night... I promise I'll be good and won't kick off the covers."

Huang Rong hesitated for a moment, but finally her heart softened: "Alright then."

She got up and walked to the window, closing it tightly. Then she turned back and said, "But Mother is going to take a bath before going to sleep. You should go back and wash up too; your eyes are all swollen from crying."

Upon hearing this, Guo Fu's eyes lit up: "What a coincidence! I haven't taken a bath either. Mother, let's take a bath together!"

Upon hearing Guo Fu's words, Yang Guo really wanted to say, "I'm willing to bathe with you all."

But he knew that if that happened, then no one would ever see him again.

Therefore, he wisely refrained from mentioning it.

Huang Rong smiled and said, "Then... let's wash together."

Perfect timing, Yang Guo can slip away while he takes a bath later.

Huang Rong summoned her maids and had them prepare bathwater in the tub inside the room.

Soon, the two maids filled the large bathtub in the inner room with hot water.

A few rose petals floated on the water.

Two maids were about to step forward to serve her when Huang Rong waved her hand and said, "You may leave. There's no need to serve you."

The maid bowed and withdrew, closing the door behind her.

Only the mother and daughter remained visible inside the room.

Guo Fu had already started untying her belt, muttering to herself, "Mother, do you think Brother Yang... really likes that Wanyan girl? I saw how gentle his eyes were when he was changing her bandages..."

Huang Rong answered absentmindedly, but her hands slowly untied her belt, her eyes glancing at the screen every now and then.

Yang Guo was hiding under the table just now...

He'll probably take this opportunity to leave quietly.

"Mother, hurry up!" Guo Fu had already taken off all but a pink bodice. She turned around, but suddenly froze.

Huang Rong's outer garment had been removed, revealing that she was completely naked underneath!