008 It Seems Like She Is Deliberately Seducing Him
Zhao Xuanzhen carried Su Wantang directly into the inner room of his study. The manor physician arrived quickly.
“We need to cut open the clothing around the Second Miss’s wound.”
The person who arrived was Dr. Zhou, a female physician who usually treated the women in the manor. By suggesting the clothing be cut open, she was implying that the Heir, who was standing nearby, should avoid the scene out of propriety. After all, he was her brother-in-law, and there was a distinction between men and women.
However, the next moment, Dr. Zhou heard her own master urge her with a frown: “Then what are you waiting for?”
Dr. Zhou: “…”
She glanced at the Heir’s wife, only to see the wife’s expression become complex; after pausing to find the right words, she spoke softly: “Saving a life is paramount. The Heir regards Wantang as his own younger sister. Dr. Zhou, do not delay.”
Dr. Zhou had no choice but to obey, taking out scissors to cut the fabric… At this moment, Su Wantang woke up.
She stared at the physician in front of her, blinked, and then looked down at the wound on her shoulder. Her eyes widened, and she burst into a loud, unrefined wail: “Wuwu… so much blood, it hurts so much…”
Zhao Xuanzhen felt a headache from her complete lack of composure. He frowned and instinctively said, “Shut up.”
Su Wantang’s crying stopped instantly, and she looked at him with panicked, aggrieved eyes.
Seeing her cowardly demeanor, Zhao Xuanzhen recalled her impulsive behavior in the carriage—eyes closed, smashing a tea table at an assassin. He felt annoyed, but his tone softened involuntarily: “Dr. Zhou is treating your wound. You are only hurting yourself by shouting.”
Su Wantang obediently bit her lip, closed her eyes, and remained silent.
Su Huajin took a light breath, forced a smile, and tried to persuade Zhao Xuanzhen to leave: “Heir, Wantang is, after all, an unmarried young lady…”
She deliberately emphasized the words “unmarried,” then added: “The assassination is no small matter. Father is likely waiting for the Heir to report back.”
That was indeed a fact; his father was likely waiting in the main study to ask about the situation.
Zhao Xuanzhen glanced at Su Wantang, who was still biting her lip and shedding tears, then turned to walk out. Just as he stepped away, he turned back and said, “Use whatever pain relief medicine is available for her… so she doesn’t whine and disturb people.”
Dr. Zhou respectfully complied.
After a while, Dr. Zhou finished treating the wound, applied the medicine, and bandaged it properly. A royal physician arrived later, took one look, and confirmed it had been handled well, advising only proper dressing changes and rest before leaving.
Once the physician left, only the two sisters remained in the room.
Su Huajin looked at Su Wantang, whose face was covered in tear tracks and who was still sobbing. She walked forward slowly and sneered: “If you are so afraid of pain, why show off… Do you want to be seen by the Heir that badly?”
Su Wantang looked at her pitifully: “Sister, you misunderstood me.”
She sobbed and said: “I was terrified at the time. I was afraid that if the Heir were killed, wouldn’t you become a widow? Besides, you have already made it clear to me—after you give birth to a child, you will let the Heir take me as a concubine. Since that is the case, why would I bother to risk my life…”
Su Huajin sneered: “As long as you know.”
She leaned over to look at Su Wantang: “The Heir has spent years in the military; what scenes hasn’t he seen? In his eyes, you are no different from a servant. Even if you died saving him, you would only be worth some compensation money. So… in the future, don’t be clever.”
Su Huajin stood straight, enunciating clearly: “If I ever find out you have developed any thoughts that go beyond your station, don’t blame me for being heartless.”
Seeing Su Wantang trembling in agreement, Su Huajin scoffed and turned away.
“Someone, send the Second Young Miss back to Cuiwei Pavilion.”
Soon, Cuihuan and others carried Su Wantang back to Cuiwei Pavilion. They didn’t care that Su Wantang shed tears from the pain during the move; they simply placed her on the couch, left the medicine, and departed.
Xiao Tao rushed over in a panic: “Miss, Miss, how are you hurt? Wuwu… Miss, are you alright?”
At the doorway, Cuihuan sneered: “The Second Miss has performed a meritorious service by protecting the Heir, so there will be rewards later. You should look after your mistress well these few days.”
Xiao Tao quickly wiped her tears and agreed.
A moment later, once the footsteps outside had faded, the expressions of the two pitiful maid and mistress changed completely.
Su Wantang straightened her body leisurely, no longer showing the pitiful, tearful appearance from before.
She hooked her lips at Xiao Tao: “I slaughtered Wen Zhaonian… like slaughtering livestock.”
Xiao Tao’s eyes reddened for real this time: “Even for revenge, Miss, you should cherish yourself. Sister Xiu would never want you to get hurt helping her.”
Su Wantang looked at Xiao Tao with disdain: “Killing a Wen Zhaonian isn’t enough to hurt me… As for this wound, I have other purposes for it.”
Xiao Tao pouted: “Miss has suffered.”
Su Wantang curled her lips: “What kind of suffering have we not endured? What is a small wound like this?”
Xiao Tao lowered her eyes and gave a muffled agreement, still feeling heart-wrenched: “Yun Niang raised you like a precious jewel; if she knew you didn’t cherish yourself like this, she would definitely be heartbroken.”
Su Wantang pulled at the corners of her mouth with no expression: “She is already dead. What do the dead know about heartache…”
Xiao Tao secretly hated herself for speaking too much and awkwardly changed the subject: “I’ll go get you something to eat.”
After nightfall, Zhao Xuanzhen finally freed himself to return to his own courtyard.
He went directly to his study. Seeing it was quiet, he called for Ping’an and asked: “Where is Su Wantang?”
Ping’an hurried to say: “The Heir’s wife has sent the Second Miss back to Cuiwei Pavilion.”
Thinking of Su Wantang’s injury, Zhao Xuanzhen frowned slightly, but he understood that a sister-in-law could not live in the brother-in-law’s study… The matter of the surrogate birth had to be kept hidden, otherwise, Huajin would have a hard time facing others in the future… He paused, then turned and walked toward Cuiwei Pavilion: “Get some high-quality medicine for wounds.”
That concubine-born daughter was a bit foolish, but she had protected him, and that loyalty was commendable.
Ping’an quickly obeyed.
Cuiwei Pavilion was not far from Zhao Xuanzhen’s study. When he reached the courtyard gate, he found there wasn’t even a maid on guard; he could walk straight to the door.
Even though she was a concubine-born daughter and did not conduct herself with self-respect, this was still the Ding Prince’s Mansion, and it had its own rules. Zhao Xuanzhen decided to speak with Su Huajin later to ensure some servants were assigned there according to protocol.
When he arrived at the door, just as he was about to knock, Zhao Xuanzhen heard a soft moan… Having encountered two assassination attempts, Zhao Xuanzhen pushed the door open without hesitation. Instead, he saw Su Wantang leaning on a couch, her maid busy bandaging her.
She was biting her lip, her face pale, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Seeing him, Su Wantang was stunned: “Heir.”
The maid next to her was also startled and quickly knelt down.
Zhao Xuanzhen walked over, saw the blood-stained cloth, and frowned: “What is going on?”
Opposite him, Su Wantang lowered her eyes and whispered: “The wound was pulled when I was sent back earlier, and it started bleeding, so I wanted Xiao Tao to reapply some hemostatic medicine.”
Xiao Tao confessed in terror: “It was this servant’s clumsy hands that caused Miss pain; I beg Miss for forgiveness.”
Su Wantang said it was fine: “It is I who am not resilient to pain…”
Zhao Xuanzhen looked at the teary-eyed, pitiful pair of maid and mistress and pressed his brow in silence. He considered sending Ping’an to fetch the physician, but remembered it was deep into the night; for a brother-in-law to be in his sister-in-law’s room was against propriety, so he abandoned the thought.
Stepping forward, he lifted his robes and sat on the edge of the couch: “Let me do it.”
Having spent years in the military, dealing with external injuries was not difficult for him.
Xiao Tao handed over the tray with trembling hands, and after washing his hands, Zhao Xuanzhen picked up the medicine bottle…
The sword wound did not seem deep to him; at most, it was a superficial skin wound. Seeing Su Wantang shivering in pain, desperately biting her lip to keep from crying out, Zhao Xuanzhen smiled mockingly: “If you are afraid of pain, be sharper in the future.”
Stop doing stupid things beyond your capabilities.
Su Wantang sniffled, let out a low “oh,” and said nothing, looking completely spineless.
Zhao Xuanzhen glanced at her… and took clean gauze to re-bandage her wound.
Su Wantang’s wound was on her shoulder, and when the gauze was wrapped around it, he had to tug her camisole down.
A portion of her fair, rounded curve was revealed. Zhao Xuanzhen’s movements paused, and he suddenly felt his throat go dry.
He knew Su Wantang had a wound, but… this wound would not affect conception!
The next instant, Zhao Xuanzhen said calmly: “Leave, I have it from here.”
Xiao Tao glanced calmly at her mistress’s expression, then retreated respectfully with a terrified demeanor.
Zhao Xuanzhen moved the tray aside, and his hand, having finished the bandaging, hooked toward the ribbons on Su Wantang’s camisole.
He was not a man driven by desire; he simply wanted to produce an heir as soon as possible.
Su Wantang’s slender, trembling fingers pressed against his large hand, and she whispered a plea: “Brother-in-law… the wound still hurts.”
Zhao Xuanzhen’s Adam’s apple bobbed: “If you’re afraid of pain, stop acting out.”
Calling him “brother-in-law” at a time like this didn’t sound like begging for mercy; it sounded like she was deliberately seducing him.
If he didn’t know for a fact that Su Wantang was a virgin when she came to him, he would have thought her techniques were extremely sophisticated…