Qian Ren had already drawn his sword and rushed out, only to find Jiang Yu sitting on the ground. “Madam? What are you doing here?”
The exclamation echoed into the room, jolting Pei Xiao, who had been resting with his eyes closed, wide awake.
His dark pupils resembled black holes, capable of swallowing everything.
Jiang Yu hadn’t gone to brew the medicine at all—she had been eavesdropping!
She still hadn’t given up!
Pei Xiao had truly underestimated her audacity!
He grabbed an outer robe and hurriedly stormed out the door.
“Jiang Yu, you…” Pei Xiao’s words cut off abruptly as he stared blankly at Jiang Yu, who had collapsed unconscious on the ground.
Her face was as pale as paper, her lips purplish-black.
Curled into a ball, she trembled incessantly, her teeth chattering.
Pei Xiao was no stranger to this condition—she had been bitten by a venomous snake.
“I found Madam collapsed here as soon as I stepped out. She must have fainted quite some time ago. I’ll go fetch a physician immediately…”
“Step aside!” Pei Xiao barged forward recklessly, nearly knocking Qian Ren over.
He swiftly reached into Jiang Yu’s mouth, preventing her from biting off her tongue.
“Yu’er? Yu’er?” Pei Xiao inhaled sharply, his other hand supporting her back.
After a while, Jiang Yu gradually calmed but remained unconscious.
Pei Xiao’s hand was already drenched in blood.
He wiped it hastily and quickly lifted Jiang Yu’s skirt, confirming two small fang marks on her slender, pale ankle.
Pei Xiao leaned down to suck out the venom, but Qian Ren crouched and stopped him. “My Lord, you’ve only just begun to recover. Perhaps it would be better if I…”
Though Qian Ren meant well out of concern for his master, his words felt inappropriate the moment they left his mouth, earning him a sharp glare from Pei Xiao.
“Prepare the carriage! We’re heading to Azure Cloud Temple in the northern part of the city!”
Having been poisoned by the same venom before, Pei Xiao knew no physician in the capital could cure it.
Back then, he had only survived because the abbot of Azure Cloud Temple took him in.
But the journey from the capital to the temple took at least an hour at the fastest.
If a grown man like Pei Xiao had nearly lost his life to this poison, how could someone as delicate as her endure it?
Pei Xiao stared at Jiang Yu’s gradually blackening leg, his eyes dark and fathomless.
As he carried her past the struggling green snake, he stomped on it fiercely, grinding it relentlessly until only an unrecognizable pulp of blood and flesh remained on the ground.
Once they were in the carriage, Pei Xiao continued to suck the venom from her ankle as they traveled.
But she was truly fragile—a small wound had left her unconscious and lifeless on the bench, like a flower ravaged by a storm, on the verge of withering.
“Faster!” Pei Xiao urged the carriage driver.
Yet the carriage was already racing at full speed; for some reason, Pei Xiao felt it was slower than a crawling ant.
Half an hour later, the thin layer of sweat on Jiang Yu’s body subsided, and her breathing gradually steadied.
Only then did Pei Xiao sit back, exhaling deeply.
He was still unwell himself, and after sucking out the venom, the swaying of the carriage lulled him into a half-awake state.
A short while later, Jiang Yu stirred awake groggily.
She found herself resting on Pei Xiao’s lap. Lifting her eyelids, her blurry gaze drifted up to his fair and profound features.
Even in sleep, he sat upright and dignified, exuding the aura of a noble Buddhist Disciple.
Had Jiang Yu not gambled at the critical moment, deliberately allowing the snake to bite her, she might have already become a ghost under his command.
Jiang Yu sighed quietly in relief.
The sound was faint, but it disturbed his light slumber.”Yu’er, you’re awake?” Pei Xiao’s lips curved slightly with his habitual smile, masking other emotions. “This season, the grass is teeming with poisonous creatures. How could you wander around recklessly?”
His words held both concern and probing.
Jiang Yu’s eavesdropping had already crossed Pei Xiao’s bottom line.
Seeing Jiang Yu remain silent, Pei Xiao brushed aside the stray hairs at her temple with his cool, slender fingers. “Don’t worry, Yu’er. That disobedient venomous snake has been trampled to death.”
“Trampled?” Jiang Yu’s porcelain-like face lost another shade of color.
That was a venomous snake over a meter long!
“Yes, not even bone fragments remain.” Pei Xiao’s voice was indifferent, carrying a chilling coldness.
Jiang Yu took a deep breath, gazing at him, unsure how to respond.
In the cramped carriage, only the sound of horse hooves stood between them.
After a long pause, Pei Xiao remarked teasingly, “Qian Ren is a martial artist, his methods are inevitably rough.” I apologize for frightening you, my lady.The string of white jade bodhi beads that had entangled the snake was back on his wrist, clearly tainted with a faint bloody smell that couldn’t be washed away.
Who exactly had done the deed went without saying.
As for what constituted “disobedient things” and “complete annihilation,” Jiang Yu couldn’t help but detect a threatening undertone.
Pretending not to notice, she actively wrapped her arms around Pei Xiao’s waist, her delicate voice trembling with tears. “Don’t blame Qian Ren. It’s good that such a poisonous creature is dead. That snake last night nearly scared me to death.”
“If you know it’s frightening, then stop provoking them.” Pei Xiao chided lightly, tapping her forehead.
Jiang Yu grew even more aggrieved, rubbing her small face against his abdomen. “I was only doing it for you, husband! I asked the physician, who said snake gall could be used as medicine beneficial for your condition. That’s why I wanted to catch it…”
Her voice grew softer, like a child who had done wrong.
Pei Xiao couldn’t help but frown. “You wanted to catch the snake for my medicine?”
Jiang Yu bit her lip and nodded. “I was useless. Instead of catching it, I got bitten and fainted.”
Jiang Yu wanted to make clear to Pei Xiao: she hadn’t been eavesdropping, but had coincidentally suffered snake venom poisoning and had long since fainted outside the window, never hearing Pei Xiao’s conversation.
She needed to try to forget what she had seen and heard that night and act intimately with him to avoid arousing his suspicion.
Jiang Yu looked at him pitifully, while Pei Xiao gazed down at her, his smile not reaching his eyes.
Her heart raced with uncertainty, unable to guess how much he believed.
Just then, the carriage jolted violently.
Jiang Yu nearly tumbled out, grabbing his collar with a sharp intake of breath. “It hurts!”
Deliberately lifting her injured foot, she exposed her ankle, her pearl-like toes twitching slightly. “Husband, please take a look. It still hurts so much.”
Jiang Yu’s feet were usually soaked in cow’s milk and maintained with rose balm, tender like fresh lotus roots.
Now, although the swelling had somewhat subsided, the venomous snake’s mark on her ankle remained quite visible.
In their intimate moments, Pei Xiao didn’t even dare hold them too tightly, afraid of leaving bruises.
And now they were like this!
A cold glint flashed in Pei Xiao’s eyes before his gaze fell on the small hand clutching his collar. He teased, “My lady, if you won’t let go of me, how can I examine it?In her panic, Jiang Yu had pulled open both his outer robe and inner garment, revealing his collarbone, creating an exceptionally ambiguous atmosphere.
Blushing, Jiang Yu released him as if electrocuted.
This commotion eased the tension considerably.
Pei Xiao knelt, placing her foot on his knee, and gently applied some rose balm with a light massage. “Does it still hurt?”
Jiang Yu bit her lip and shook her head, her eyes slightly moist.
“Clearly it still hurts. Why endure it?” Pei Xiao chuckled softly.Jiang Yu had to endure it, for only by enduring would he feel heartache.
She wanted Pei Xiao to know that her foot was injured because of him.
It seemed now that Pei Xiao had no intention of killing her anytime soon, so she still needed his pity.
The more he pitied her, the more opportunities she would have to take the initiative.
Jiang Yu murmured in a soft, sticky voice, “If my husband rubs it, it won’t hurt as much.”
Her words were so sweet!
Pei Xiao recalled their wedding night, when she had been just as docile, shrinking timidly into his embrace and whispering, “If my husband rubs it, it won’t hurt as much.”
She still had the mind to tease him—it seemed she hadn’t heard any idle gossip.
Pei Xiao’s brow relaxed, his calloused fingertips circling her injury, then gradually moving to the smooth, delicate arch of her foot.
His long, distinct-knuckled fingers moved with measured pressure, and wherever they touched, it sent shivering, electric tingles through her.
Jiang Yu tensed her foot, her leg trembling slightly.
Pei Xiao held her firmly, his gaze fixed intently on her pale foot. “My wife is in such a state—what else could I possibly do?”
He was right!
Jiang Yu let out a sigh of relief.
But before that relief could settle, the warmth of his thin lips brushed against Jiang Wan’s instep.
“Pei Xiao!Jiang Yu kicked at him in shock, her lotus-seed-pink toes just pressing right against his heart.