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

After the soldiers left, Liu Wenying quickly walked to the door, closed it, and bolted it.

She leaned against the door, closed her eyes, and let out a long breath.

That performance just now truly showcased all the acting skills he had ever used.

Liu Wenying walked back to the bedside. Xiao Yiheng was still in the same position as before, his eyes covered by a white veil, leaning against the headboard.

Hearing her approach, he turned his head slightly. "Gone?"

"Yes, they've already left."

Liu Wenying bent down and carefully examined his chest.

When she fell into his arms, she landed on him there. Although he managed to absorb the force in time, a seriously injured person couldn't withstand such an ordeal.

Sure enough, a faint red stain had seeped through the plain white gauze.

"The wound has reopened; I'll go and reapply the medicine."

Liu Wenying quickly brought out the medicine and clean gauze and placed them on the low stool beside the bed.

She began to unwrap the gauze from his chest, peeling it off layer by layer.

The first thing to be revealed is the collarbone, with distinct lines, like a meticulously carved jade mountain.

Below him was his chest, the muscles firm but not bulging, the lean physique typical of someone who had practiced martial arts for years, and his skin was pale from not seeing the sun for a long time.

However, several hideous wounds stretched across his well-proportioned body.

Leaving aside the overlapping bruises, the most severe one was under the left rib, so deep that the bone was visible, and the skin and flesh were turned outwards.

Although it has begun to heal, the edges are still red and swollen, and there are several knife and arrow wounds around it.

Xiao Yiheng lay quietly, letting her disassemble the medicine and apply it.

Although he couldn't see, he could imagine what he looked like at that moment, and a strange sense of anticipation arose within him.

Wenying examined his wounds inch by inch, and naturally saw things she shouldn't have seen.

Will she blush? Will she look away?

Back in the palace, the maids would always blush when they helped him change his clothes, so he must have had a good physique.

I thought Liu Wenying would feel somewhat embarrassed if she saw this.

But now it seems that's not the case; she's too calm, as calm as if she were applying medicine to the livestock on the farm.

Xiao Yiheng's confidence shattered slightly.

Indeed, given his injuries, in her eyes they probably had little to do with being good-looking.

His body was covered in wounds and so thin that he was unrecognizable. What was there to see about him?

Xiao Yiheng opened his lips, his voice muffled.

"As expected, my aunt was being monitored. As soon as you returned from the Princess's residence, Xiao Chenlin immediately sent soldiers to search for you. His intelligence network is more effective than I thought."

Liu Wenying felt guilty, "It was my fault."

"It's not your fault. He's very suspicious. I escaped and disappeared without a trace. He must be restless and unable to eat or sleep."

Xiao Yiheng sneered, "Now that his imperial aunt and many ministers are under house arrest in the palace, he's determined to dig three feet into the ground to find me."

It wouldn't seem like Xiao Chenlin if he didn't search him.

Liu Wenying asked, "So what do you plan to do?"

"I need to recover first, and I beg Wenying to take me in."

He grasped the back of her hand as she applied medicine, and Liu Wenying was taken aback.

Then, he guided her hand slowly downwards, stopping it just an inch away from her left breast.

"It hurts here," he said.

Liu Wenying's breath hitched slightly; his fingers were long and slender, and extremely handsome.

At that moment, she was holding her hand, pressing it against his warm skin.

"It's normal to experience pain during the healing process after your rib fracture."

She tried to remain calm and attempted to pull her hand away.

Xiao Yiheng gripped his hand even tighter: "Really? But I'm in so much pain I can hardly breathe. Could you rub it for me?"

As he spoke, he gently tapped her hand with his fingers, conveying a perfectly timed pitiful pleading.

"You can massage it yourself."

Xiao Yiheng smiled wryly, "I can't see, and there's still the medicine you applied on my body. If I rub it myself, I'm afraid I'll get it on myself."

"……All right."

Reluctantly agreeing, Liu Wenying gently pressed her palm against the spot he was pressing and slowly massaged it.

Xiao Yiheng's Adam's apple bobbed, and he hummed a few times, sending a shiver down one's spine.

Liu Wenying looked up at him. He was leaning against the pillow with his eyes covered by a white veil, his lips slightly parted, his brows furrowed, looking restrained.

"Your Highness, please be quiet." Liu Wenying hurriedly used the same address she had used before.

"But it hurts..."

"Then lower your voice, it's not honorable if someone hears you."

Xiao Chenlin: ...

He gave a soft "hmm," and then his voice became much quieter.

A restrained, soft hum, occasionally escaping from between her nostrils like the wind brushing against a harp string, so faint yet even more enticing than before.

Liu Wenying forced herself to remain expressionless and rubbed his hands for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea before stopping and asking him, "How do you feel now? Does it still hurt?"

"Thank you, Wenying, I feel much better." Xiao Yiheng knew when to stop.

The medicine applied to his body had dried a bit. Liu Wenying picked up the gauze again and began to wrap it around his body, circle by circle.

The waistline was faintly visible under the gauze, and the V-line disappeared deep into the waistband of the pants, like mountains hidden in the mist.

From the waist and abdomen to the chest, and then to the shoulders and back, it gradually wrapped and concealed that lean body.

Finally, after the bandage was properly applied, Liu Wenying pulled the blanket up for him.

"You rest, I'll come back later."

"Okay." Xiao Chenlin lay on the bed, only his head showing, very obediently.

Stepping out of the room, Liu Wenying, carrying the tray, let out a long sigh of relief.

The moon was high in the sky, and Zhiyun Manor was quiet and peaceful.

Lu Ye carried a lantern and patrolled the perimeter. He walked slowly and looked carefully.

This is his duty: to protect the village and its inhabitants.

Footsteps came from behind, very light, the kind of footsteps typical of scholars.

Lu Ye turned around and saw Xue Bi walking towards him carrying a small lamp.

Xue Bi cupped his hands in a composed manner, "Brother Lu, still on patrol so late?"

Lu Ye nodded without saying anything.

He was not good with words to begin with, and what's more, the other party was the manor's accountant and the teacher who taught children to read in the private school. He and this rough hunter were not the same kind of people.

Xue Bi, however, did not mind his silence and walked to his side, standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

"I have come to ask Brother Lu something."

"Just say it."

"Do you know who the new person who recently arrived at the almshouse is?"

For this reason, Lu Ye was willing to speak up.

"I don't know, Wenying won't say."

A person's time and energy are limited, so Liu Wenying frequently went to the almshouse, which meant she spent less time at the manor.

It has become difficult for him to even see her.

Xue Bi casually asked Granny Wang, only to learn that she had picked up a beggar on her way back from the capital that day.

If he were just an ordinary beggar, Xue Bi wouldn't care.

Wenying is kind-hearted; aren't all the orphans and refugees she takes in at the almshouse? It wouldn't be surprising if there were one more or one less.

But today is different.

In broad daylight, the officers and soldiers searched house to house, saying they were looking for some wanted criminal.

Although Zhiyun Manor is located on the outskirts of the capital, it has always been peaceful, and this is the first time that government troops have searched the manor.

Unable to get anything out of Lu Ye, Xue Bi thanked him and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute." Lu Ye called out to him, his lips pressed tightly together, his brows furrowed as he considered the matter.

Xue Bi was in no hurry and waited for him to speak.

"You'll deliver the food for me tomorrow, go and find out more about that person."

"Okay," Xue Bi replied readily.

…………