Thrown out of the house, the wet nurse enters the noble household and becomes a person of high statu

Pei Dingxuan is not easily fooled.

Her words were logical, but his intuition, honed through years of solving cases, told him that something felt off.

Pei Dingxuan's Adam's apple bobbed, as if he was about to say something.

"Waaah..."

Ye'er woke up.

Perhaps because it was too dark inside, the little one cried his heart out as soon as he woke up.

Liu Wenying broke free from Pei Dingxuan's grasp, ignoring the pain in her wrists, and quickly went to the bedside, gently coaxing him.

"Young master, don't cry, don't cry..."

She gently patted Ye'er's back, her voice soft and gentle.

Ye'er's crying gradually subsided, and she leaned back in her arms, sobbing aggrievedly.

Liu Wenying patted him gently until the little one fell into a deep sleep again before she breathed a sigh of relief.

The figure was no longer inside; the door was tightly shut, as if no one had ever been there.

As her knees touched the edge of the soft couch, Liu Wenying's legs went weak, and she slowly slid down onto the couch.

he's gone.

Liu Wenying exhaled a long breath, as if she had escaped a disaster.

Did they really escape?

she does not know.

As dawn broke, in the side room, the oil lamp burned out, leaving only a wisp of very faint blue smoke that quietly dissipated in the gradually brightening light.

My body is stiff, and my mind is in turmoil.

Like a wasteland ravaged by a fierce wind, not a blade of grass grows.

A sleepless night only made Liu Wenying's confused thoughts clearer.

Why have I been sleeping so soundly for several days in a row, sleeping through the night?

Why is the way the sash is tied different from usual?

Why do I have these strange, subtle red and swollen marks on my chest that look like a baby sucking, yet are also subtly different?

All questions will be answered tonight.

It wasn't that she was too tired and misremembered, nor was it that Luo Luo or Ye Er sucked blood and broke their skin.

Someone had sneaked in during the dead of night when she was completely unprepared.

He did those unspeakable things to her.

What shocked Liu Wenying even more than this incident was that the person who did it was not the willful and capricious Third Master.

It was that cold, solemn old man who had repeatedly saved her from danger...

She had no idea what else he had done to her besides the traces she had noticed.

Knowing the truth didn't calm my mind; instead, it became even more chaotic.

It felt as if countless cold threads were tightly binding her, tightening more and more until she could barely breathe.

The road ahead is uncertain, and behind us lies a bottomless abyss.

As dawn broke, Liu Wenying hastily tidied her clothes and hair, trying her best not to let anyone notice anything amiss.

Ye'er was still asleep when the servant who was to take over the shift arrived. After a brief handover, Liu Wenying left Tinglan Courtyard.

She kept her head down the whole way, her mind wandering, wanting only to get back as soon as possible and hide herself away.

But her plan ultimately failed. As she turned past the flower wall, she was pulled to a corner by a force.

Pei Yaojun wore a crimson gauze robe, dew glistening on his shoulders. His peach blossom eyes, though languid from waking up early, shone with an irresistible brilliance.

"You look like you've lost your mind this morning. Didn't you sleep well last night?"

He leaned closer, a wicked smile playing on his lips. "Missing me, perhaps?"

"No," Liu Wenying immediately denied.

Seeing his reckless attitude made her furious.

It's all the fault of those two brothers; they're both such a handful, turning her peaceful and tranquil life into a complete mess.

"Third Master, please stop making fun of me."

It's unclear when exactly, but her attitude towards Little Yama has subtly changed quite a bit.

Faced with the old man's overstepping of boundaries, she was filled with fear and unease, and although she was angry, she dared not say anything harsh.

But when facing Pei Yaojun, she could vent her anger without any restraint.

You should know that when she first entered the manor, he was the one she feared the most.

He pressed closer, and Liu Wenying, having nowhere to escape, punched his arm a few times.

The fist landed on the crimson gauze robe, as lightly as a cat's scratch.

It's truly remarkable that she has such an angry side.

strange.

Pei Yaojun was not annoyed at all; on the contrary, he found it even more interesting.

He reacted quickly, seizing her soft hand and holding it in his palm.

"Since you miss me so much you're getting so worked up, why don't you come to me instead of making me come to you?"

"Who misses you?"

Liu Wenying was so angry at his ability to talk his own way out of things and distort the truth that she almost fainted.

Without thinking, she retorted and even raised her other hand to push him away.

Her strength, though considerable for other women, was nothing more than a kitten tickling Pei Yaojun.

Pei Yaojun took both of her hands in his, gently rubbing his thumbs on the smooth backs of her hands as if he were playing with a new trinket.

"Don't want to? Then why do you react so strongly when I'm mentioned? Hmm?"

Liu Wenying tried to pull her hand away, but he held it tightly.

She opened her mouth, but couldn't bring up the absurd incident from the night before, so she simply turned her face away and stopped looking at him.

Seeing that she kept her mouth shut and refused to say anything, Pei Yaojun did not press her for answers. He stroked the delicate skin on her hand and suddenly changed the subject.

"Tsk, some people are so careless and forgetful. They should be punished."

Liu Wenying was taken aback. Focusing on the beginning but neglecting the end? Careless? Was she being described?

If she were a careless person, why would she let herself become so haggard?

She bit her lip, struggled to free her hand from his grasp, and spoke with a hint of resentment.

"If Third Master wants to punish me, he must explain exactly what I did wrong and what crime I committed. He can't just convict me out of thin air, can he?"

Okay, he finally agreed.

Pei Yaojun chuckled softly and slowly raised his injured hand.

"Here's the evidence: you applied medicine and bandaged my wound, didn't you?"

Liu Wenying nodded, "Yes."

"And today? Does the wound need changing the dressing? Does the gauze need to be re-bandaged?"

Isn't this just focusing on the beginning but neglecting the end, only concerned with the start and ignoring the follow-up? Isn't that carelessness?

Liu Wenying was speechless for a moment, choked by his sophistry.

That day, when there was a fight and brawl, she treated his wounds out of gratitude and guilt.

However, when it came to changing the dressing, there were so many servants in the mansion, and the people serving him in Zhaolin Courtyard were carefully selected.

At worst, there are always imperial physicians on call.

How did it become her fault for not taking full responsibility?

"Third Master has well-trained servants in his courtyard, and the physician can be summoned at any time. This servant..."

"Alright, my injuries were ultimately caused by you. Isn't it only right that you take full responsibility?"

Liu Wenying: "...The medicine is in my room. If you need it, Third Master, I will retrieve it later and deliver it to Zhaolin Courtyard."

Pei Yaojun immediately replied, "Why bother with all that? I'm free anyway, I'll go with you."

Liu Wenying couldn't resist Pei Yaojun's insistence in the end. She followed behind him, but he complained that she was too slow and dragged her to stand side by side.

The two arrived at Liu Wenying's cottage on a quiet courtyard path in the early morning.

Pushing open the door, the room was simply furnished. Pei Yaojun, however, made no attempt to be polite, walking straight in and sitting down with an air of authority, his injured hand casually resting on the edge of the table.

"Where's the medicine?" he asked, gesturing with his chin.

Liu Wenying walked to the old rattan box in the corner and took out a small cloth bag containing ointment and clean gauze.

"Third Master, please extend your hand."

…………