After Jiang Xuening had settled Lin Nanzhi in, she chatted with her mother for a while, telling her only the good news and leaving out the worries. Then, using the late hour as an excuse, she bid her mother farewell.
Her mother’s residence was located deep within an alley. After stepping outside, Jiang Xuening hurried toward the entrance of the alley.
The goat-horn lantern hanging from the carriage cast a faint circle of orange light into the pitch-black night.
Jiang Xuening breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, he was still waiting for her.
However, just as she had walked halfway there, the candlelight suddenly swayed. The copper bell beneath the carriage eaves gave a crisp, tinkling sound, and the carriage disappeared around the corner of the alley.
Shen Yi… had left?
Why had he left without waiting for her?
Jiang Xuening immediately ran after him. However, after only a few steps, she accidentally stepped on the hem of her skirt and fell heavily to the ground.
Her knees slammed against the bluestone pavement.
The fall left her entire body numb. It took several breaths before she regained her senses. A sharp pain radiated from both knees, while the palms of her hands also throbbed painfully after she instinctively used them to brace herself against the rough stone.
Just as she was sucking in breaths from the pain, footsteps approached.
She looked up and saw Shen Yi bending down to help her.
“Why were you running?”
“You didn’t leave?”
She let him grip her arm and pull her to her feet. However, the moment she stood up, the pain in her knees became even worse. She nearly lost her balance, and her voice trembled from the sudden increase in pain.
“I thought you had left without waiting for me…”
“Lu Ming drove the carriage to the carriage stable at the end of the street to feed the horses.”
Seeing how unsteady she was and recalling the sound she had made when she fell, Shen Yi guessed that she had been hurt quite badly. The question slipped out before he could think better of it.
“Can you walk by yourself?”
The moment the words left his mouth, Shen Yi regretted them.
This woman had already thrown herself into his arms before. She had now fallen right in front of him, so she certainly would not let such a perfect opportunity to act weak go to waste. She would definitely cling to him again.
Shen Yi frowned, instantly regretting what he had just said and wishing he could take the words back.
“I can.”
She answered softly.
Shen Yi was stunned. A trace of astonishment flashed through his eyes.
Why was she… different from what he had expected?
While he was still dazed, Jiang Xuening had already begun limping forward.
By the time they reached the brightly lit street and waited at the entrance for Lu Ming, Shen Yi finally noticed that the fabric of her skirt was torn. The skin on both her palms had also been scraped open.
She had clearly fallen hard.
Yet she stood there quietly as though nothing had happened.
“Doesn’t it hurt anymore?” he asked.
“It hurts, but I can bear it.”
Jiang Xuening had not grown up as a pampered young lady in a boudoir. She had spent ten years working at the rural estate. Bumps, falls, and minor injuries had been common occurrences.
They were merely injuries to the flesh. As long as she had not damaged her muscles or bones, it was fine.
For some reason, when Shen Yi heard her say this, a subtle ripple stirred within his heart.
This was clearly a perfect opportunity for her to win his sympathy.
Why had she not made better use of it?
…
When Lu Ming had finished feeding the horses and driven the carriage out of the stable, he saw his Heir Apparent and the Heir Apparent’s wife waiting outside.
The Heir Apparent was extraordinarily handsome, while the Heir Apparent’s wife was graceful and elegant. Standing together, they looked like a perfectly matched couple.
Only, one was tranquil as water while the other was cool and indifferent. Neither paid the slightest attention to the other.
Lu Ming drove the carriage up to them. After placing the mounting stool down, he lifted the bamboo curtain covering the carriage entrance for them.
“Heir Apparent, Madam, please.”
Shen Yi was tall and long-legged. He did not need the mounting stool and simply stepped into the carriage in one stride.
Jiang Xuening had been standing for some time. When she remained still, the pain in her knees was somewhat bearable. But the moment she moved, the pain suddenly surged through her.
She instinctively tightened her brows and slowed her pace, moving toward the carriage little by little.
She could endure walking several steps on level ground. But when she tried to step onto the mounting stool, the moment she bent her knees slightly, the pain became severe.
She tried several times, but her body’s instinctive fear of pain prevented her from stepping onto the stool.
She took a deep breath and was about to try once more when a pair of hands suddenly reached down from above.
They slipped beneath her armpits and lifted her straight up.
The next moment, she was pulled directly into the carriage.
As the curtain fell, Shen Yi’s hand was gripping her ankle. Her skirt fluttered, and he pushed the trouser leg upward.
“Ah!”
Jiang Xuening had not expected him to make such a sudden move and cried out in surprise.
Shen Yi ignored her and looked down at her legs.
A bruise the size of a palm covered her knee. Several small scrapes had broken the skin, with bright red threads of blood seeping from them.
He examined her other leg in the same manner. It was also badly bruised and swollen.
Shen Yi had been waiting for her to ask him for help.
Although he did not like her, and even disliked her, he was not completely cold-hearted.
She was clearly injured so badly.
Why was she still unwilling to ask him for help?
“When you wanted money, you were quick enough to hold out your hand. Now that you’re in too much pain to climb into the carriage, why don’t you know how to ask for help?”
“It’s different.”
“How is it different?”
“I asked you for money because I really didn’t have any. I didn’t ask you for help when I fell because we agreed that I couldn’t throw myself into your arms for the next half a month…”
Shen Yi had never expected that the reason she had been forcing herself to endure was this.
For a moment, he did not know whether he should praise her for keeping her promise or scold her for being too rigid and incapable of adapting to circumstances.
He opened his mouth, but in the end, he only said,
“This doesn’t count as throwing yourself into my arms.”
“It doesn’t?”
Her eyes brightened.
“Then when we get out of the carriage, can you carry me down too?”
Shen Yi glanced at her.
“Don’t push your luck.”
She blinked and did not respond to his remark. Instead, she changed the subject.
“Husband, can you put my legs down?”
Both of Jiang Xuening’s lower legs were resting across his legs. His hands were large and slender, easily clasping both of her ankles. His palms were warm, almost scorching against her cool skin.
Only then did Shen Yi belatedly realize that his hands were still holding her ankles.
Beneath his palms was the warm, smooth touch of her skin, while before his eyes were her two fair calves, exposed now that the fabric no longer covered them.
His face suddenly grew hot.
He quickly moved his hands away from her ankles and placed her lower legs on the floor of the carriage.
“Sorry. I overstepped.”
The moment her feet touched the floor, the trouser legs that had been pushed up slipped back down.
Jiang Xuening straightened her skirt and casually said,
“It’s fine. Husband was only worried about me.”
Half an hour later, the carriage came to a steady stop outside the Jingning Marquis’s Residence.
“Heir Apparent, we’ve arrived.”
“Mm.”
Shen Yi stepped down from the carriage and stood beside it, waiting for Jiang Xuening.
She moved her two legs, careful not to bend her knees, and climbed out of the carriage.
This time, she did not hesitate to ask him for help. She simply opened her arms toward him.
“Husband, carry me.”
Earlier, when he had lifted her into the carriage, he had been above her while she had been below. Naturally, it had been easy for him to lift her up.
Now, however, she was in the carriage while he was standing below. She was a head taller than him from this position, so he could not simply lift her down as he had before.
As Shen Yi wondered how he could get her down without carrying her, the person in the carriage had already grown impatient.
She leaned forward and threw herself straight into his arms.
He instinctively caught her.
Before he could react, he was already holding her tightly in his arms.
She was so light and soft, like a fluffy cloud that melted in his embrace.
Shen Yi’s heart gave a sudden jolt, and his arms unconsciously tightened around her.