Shi Wuxie, unaware of the faint smile in his own eyes, asked, "And the Marquis? He left the palace before I did—why haven't I seen him?"Chu Yunxi glanced at him, then abruptly changed his expression: "If my father were still here eagerly waiting for you, wouldn't the whole act have been for nothing?"He snorted in exasperation: "If you'd already planned everything, why didn't you say so? If I hadn't been quick-witted enough to change my mind on the spot, and my father had actually gone in to speak on your behalf, wouldn't the Jing’an Marquis's suspicions have been aroused and all our efforts wasted? What were you thinking?"Shi Wuxie raised an eyebrow slightly. "You figured it all out?"So the Marquis had just been playing along with his act—that did surprise him a little.Chu Yunxi had a knot of frustration in his chest, and his voice rose. "If you had told me your plan, I would never have stood up for you like that in court, and gotten it all out in the open for nothing."Shi Wuxie shook his head. "No. It was precisely your willful, spoiled behavior, followed by your father furiously rushing to distance himself, that made everything look genuine. If you had distanced yourself from me from the start, it would have seemed too deliberate, and easily raised suspicion."Chu Yunxi took a moment to process this, then widened his eyes and pointed at himself. "You schemed against me and my father too?!"Shi Wuxie said nothing, simply boarding the carriage on his own.Chu Yunxi chased after him, and with an angry flourish of his robes, sat down diagonally across from him, arms crossed. "So, you thought that if you told me in advance, I'd ruin things?"Shi Wuxie blinked, his gaze open and innocent. "No, I just didn't think it necessary to drag you into it."Far from soothing him, those words inexplicably made Chu Yunxi even angrier. "Not necessary? So you think I'm just some irrelevant outsider?""After everything I did to help you, you still think this has nothing to do with me?"The more he spoke, the more aggrieved he felt. "Or is it that from the very beginning, you assumed I couldn't get through to my father at all—that the moment he heard the news, he'd rush to the palace in a panic to disavow any connection with you.""And that his action would fall right into your lap, adding authenticity to the trap you'd set.""So, Lord Shi, in your eyes I'm just a clown who can't affect your grand plans no matter what I do, right?"Shi Wuxie answered earnestly, "'Clown' is going too far."Just as Chu Yunxi's expression began to soften, he heard Shi Wuxie honestly add, "But it's true you had no effect at all."Chu Yunxi choked, nearly cursing out loud."Still, I truly didn't expect you to persuade your father, and to react so quickly, having him play along with the act."Shi Wuxie's eyes were deep and dark, shining with sincerity in the dim candlelight. "You really are clever."Chu Yunxi's heart snagged, and that nameless anger hissed out, deflating by more than half.The corners of his lips curled up involuntarily. He stiffly looked away, gazing out the carriage window at the moonlight, and gave a light snort. "Naturally."The carriage rattled along the bluestone road in the deep night.The cabin fell silent for a moment.A dense, prickling ache pulsed from his knees, and Shi Wuxie instinctively reached out, gently pressing on the wound through his official robes.The movement was subtle, but Chu Yunxi still caught it.His gaze froze, and he found himself edging closer despite himself. "Just now my father told me you were kneeling in there. How long did you kneel?"Shi Wuxie answered without thinking, "Most of the day."Chu Yunxi blurted out, "That damn emperor."Before the words had even fallen, a slightly cool hand had clamped tightly over his mouth.Chu Yunxi's breath caught.The hand was slender, with well-defined knuckles, carrying a coolness like night dew. He only had to lower his gaze to see those fingers—beautiful to the point of seeming unreal.His heartbeat inexplicably fell out of rhythm again.Shi Wuxie's brow was tightly furrowed as he lowered his voice, "We've barely left the palace walls. Do you want to die?"Chu Yunxi blinked to show he understood.His breath washed over Shi Wuxie's palm, carrying a scorching heat. Shi Wuxie's hand curled slightly from the burn, feeling as if the very air this person exhaled was laced with sparks.Shi Wuxie quickly withdrew his hand, his fingertips curling almost imperceptibly, and secretly pinched the palm flesh that tingled from the heat.Chu Yunxi suddenly found his throat dry. He cleared it, his gaze wavering. "You… does your knee hurt badly?""It doesn't hurt." Shi Wuxie answered quickly. He sat up straight again, trying to shift his attention away from the pain.But Chu Yunxi clearly didn't believe him. He leaned forward, his tone carrying an insistence that brooked no refusal. "Let me see."Even as he spoke, he was lifting the hem of Shi Wuxie's official robe.Shi Wuxie hesitated a moment, but did not stop him.The crimson hem was lifted, revealing moon-white silk trousers underneath. The trouser legs were neatly tucked into black boot shafts.Chu Yunxi's gaze stilled.Just from looking at that thin layer of fabric on Shi Wuxie—not even a knee pad—he could imagine how much it must hurt to kneel on brick and stone for most of a day. Wouldn't those knees be ground raw?Just as he hesitated over whether to go a step further, he heard Shi Wuxie say, "No need to look. It's nothing."Chu Yunxi felt inexplicably stifled, and caring not whether such an act was even proper in ancient times, he resolutely and carefully removed the boot and sock."We're already husband and wife. What's there that can't be seen?" he muttered under his breath. Then, holding his breath, he gently rolled the trouser leg up bit by bit.The candlelight flickered, its dim yellow glow flowing over the gradually revealed skin.The knee that should have been smooth and unblemished was now a horrifying red, even faintly tinged with purple. Some places had begun to swell slightly, a shocking sight against the cold white skin.Chu Yunxi's gaze stung as if pierced. He carefully blew a breath of air and looked up. "Does it hurt?"Shi Wuxie shook his head. "It doesn't.""Let me rub it for you first. We'll be home soon, and then we can apply medicine properly."Chu Yunxi reached out and gently covered the knee with his palm.Warmth spread through.As if soaking in a hot spring, that sharp pain was strangely eased somewhat by this flow of warmth.Shi Wuxie's body relaxed as he leaned back.Seeing that he wasn't resisting, Chu Yunxi's lowered lashes trembled slightly, his eyes bright as stars.But before long, Chu Yunxi watched him pull that little booklet out of his sleeve again and lift his brush to make a note.Chu Yunxi frowned and glanced over sidelong, uncomprehending, only to see written in the booklet: [Nine: Body temperature runs high…]As Shi Wuxie recorded, he muttered softly, "I remember noting this item before. Why wasn't it written down?"Chu Yunxi's face fell. He stopped moving entirely, then expressionlessly pulled the trouser leg back down, returned to sit in the opposite corner with his arms crossed, and glared sulkily out the carriage window.Shi Wuxie tilted his head in confusion.This mood-swing frequency seemed a bit high.How often was it again? Shi Wuxie pondered seriously…Just then, the carriage happened to come to a stop.Shi Wuxie was about to bend down to grab his shoes and socks, but the moment his fingertips touched his boot, he was suddenly pulled.Before he could react, the world spun, and he found himself falling into a warm embrace. His nose bumped against the other's collar, and a cool, crisp scent instantly enveloped him.The next moment, the carriage curtain was lifted, and Chu Yunxi carried him as he alighted lightly onto the ground.Shi Wuxie's vision refocused. Tilting his head up slightly, he was met with Chu Yunxi's finely chiseled jaw, his high nose bridge, those brows and eyes strikingly brilliant in the moonlight.Shi Wuxie's body stiffened for a moment, then he began to struggle. "Put me down. I can walk myself."Chu Yunxi's arms tightened instead, holding him horizontally as he strode briskly toward the side gate of the marquis's manor, his tone brooking no argument: "Isn't your leg injured? Stop squirming, unless you want it to hurt more.""This is unseemly," Shi Wuxie frowned, his gaze falling on his own bare feet, which swayed gently with Chu Yunxi's steps. His ankles and insteps gleamed dazzlingly white in the moonlight, parading shamelessly all the way.Wherever they passed, the servants all averted their eyes.Shi Wuxie struggled a few more times, to no avail.Then he noticed that Chu Yunxi had deliberately lightened his footsteps, carefully avoiding every obstacle that might touch his injury as he wound through the corridors under the cover of night.After a moment of silence, Shi Wuxie finally gave up struggling, turning his face slightly toward Chu Yunxi's shoulder to avoid the eyes of others.Only when Chu Yunxi stepped up the stone stairs did Shi Wuxie turn his head and see the plaque over Chu Yunxi's courtyard—Tingyu Pavilion.He blinked, as if only just realizing: "You really aren't coming back with me?"Chu Yunxi gave an "mm" from his nose, carrying him further inside. "Go back to give you a chance against me? Absolutely not."He remembered all too clearly that this little madman had said the manor's tools for the job were incomplete, so it wouldn't be convenient to act.Hmph.Then he would just stay put at his own family's home and not leave.Shi Wuxie blinked slowly, his thick lashes lowering and casting a small shadow. His shoulders sagged almost imperceptibly, his whole being spelling out the word "dejected.""Fine."With an unconscious smile at the corner of his lips, Chu Yunxi carried him horizontally all the way into the bedroom.He set him down on the bed, then rummaged through boxes and cabinets to find a bottle of medicated oil before returning.He half-knelt in front of Shi Wuxie, carefully rolling up his pant leg up to his thigh.This time, the candlelight in the room was ample and bright, illuminating everything clearly.Only then did he discover that beyond the red swelling, the bruised flesh was also covered in fine blood cracks and broken, scraped skin.Against skin white as frost and snow, the red marks lay scattered like cinnabar crushed into ice and snow—a devastating beauty blooming amid utter ruin.Chu Yunxi's throat bobbed.He pulled out the stopper, intending to pour out the oil, but hesitated, and in the end didn't dare. He only tentatively touched a single drop of the oil to his fingertip.Then, holding his breath, he hovered his fingertip above the wound.He hesitated for a long while, and simply couldn't bring himself to touch down.Shi Wuxie looked at him in confusion. "What's wrong?"Chu Yunxi looked up at Shi Wuxie. "I'm… a little nervous."Shi Wuxie looked puzzled."What are you nervous about?"Chu Yunxi shook his head. "You don't understand.""When I was a kid, I got injured, and the nurse—ahem, the doctor—cleaned my wound with hydrogen peroxide." He looked at Shi Wuxie, his eyes full of terror. "I nearly passed out from the pain.""My childhood friend told me afterward that he'd never heard anyone scream like a pig being slaughtered before."Shi Wuxie listened quietly, first taking a moment to parse Chu Yunxi's wording, then pulled out his notebook again, eyes gleaming. "What is hydrogen peroxide? Some kind of special elixir? What's it made of, that it can make someone faint from pain? Why have I never heard of it?"Chu Yunxi looked at him, the corner of his mouth twitching.He slapped the notebook out of Shi Wuxie's hand. "Anyway! My point is, your knee is already split open, and I've never tried this medicated oil myself, so I don't know how harsh it is. What if it stings too much when you put it on? Maybe we should just get the estate physician. Oh right, don't you have anesthetic…"Chu Yunxi was still rambling when Shi Wuxie snatched the bottle from his hand.Shi Wuxie's movements were crisp and efficient. He poured a little into his palm and pressed it onto his knee without a moment's hesitation.Chu Yunxi sucked in a sharp breath, squeezed his eyes shut, and turned his head away, not daring to watch.As if the oil had been applied to his own wound, his shoulders flinched along with it.For a long while, the room was silent.He didn't hear Shi Wuxie make a sound, so he carefully tilted his face back and peeked with one eye.Shi Wuxie's expression was perfectly calm—he hadn't even furrowed his brow.Chu Yunxi let out a long breath of relief.Shi Wuxie massaged in slow, steady circles. His hands were exquisitely beautiful, slender and well-proportioned.Now, as he moved, the medicated oil overflowed from between the roots of his fingers, seeping down along his knuckles, soaking all the way to his fingertips, until even his neatly trimmed nails were coated in a layer of shine.Chu Yunxi watched, his eyes darkening slightly, and said in a hoarse voice, "Your hands are too cold. Let me."Chu Yunxi poured a little oil into his own palm, pressed his hands together, and rubbed them warm. Then he firmly pushed Shi Wuxie's hand aside and replaced it with his own palm.One hand steadying Shi Wuxie's calf, he slowly massaged the injured spot with the other.The pads of his fingers on that calf sent back an astonishingly vivid sensation.The skin there was impossibly fine, smooth as the finest silk, yet supple like a freshly peeled egg. Held in his palm, it made one reluctant to let go.Chu Yunxi's breath caught, his heartbeat growing louder and louder, drumming against his eardrums.Shi Wuxie once again felt the warmth of the other's palm.Like a little sun, radiating heat without end, dispersing the pain thread by thread.His tense shoulders relaxed in comfort, and he leaned back slightly against the bedpost.He looked at Chu Yunxi's lowered eyes and asked curiously, "Are you very afraid of pain?"No response.Only the steady rhythm of the massage continued, and the soft, mingled sound of their breathing.Shi Wuxie tilted his head in puzzlement and leaned in a little closer, trying to see Chu Yunxi's expression.But though Chu Yunxi's hands never stopped, seemingly fully absorbed in his task, his gaze was unfocused—his thoughts had clearly drifted far, far away.Shi Wuxie raised an eyebrow in confusion.Spacing out again?Last time it was because their lips touched—what was it this time?Shi Wuxie pondered for a moment, then had a sudden realization. He picked the booklet back up and added a note under the original eighth entry: [Suspected that physical contact induces a distracted state. Further verification pending.]By the time he finished writing, Chu Yunxi was still struggling with the same wound. Shi Wuxie called out, "Yunxi."Chu Yunxi didn't react.Shi Wuxie felt a bit helpless and held out his palm. "Give me the salve. I'll do it myself."He didn't know if the other man had heard him, but this time he saw Chu Yunxi blink slowly, his gaze refocusing and landing on Shi Wuxie's outstretched palm.Chu Yunxi took a moment to process, then very obediently handed over the salve. He even quickly stood up and retreated half a step.Abnormally quiet.Shi Wuxie keenly sensed that something was off with Chu Yunxi and looked up at him.His gaze traveled upward and he saw Chu Yunxi with his face lowered, thick lashes pressed down, his eyes blank with a look that mixed dazedness and shock.Shi Wuxie looked puzzled."What's wrong with you…"Chu Yunxi abruptly turned and bolted out the door, tossing back a single line: "I-I'm going to bathe!"By the time the words fell, he had already vanished beyond the door.Shi Wuxie turned his head in a daze, glancing at the door at the back of the bedroom that led to the bath chamber, then at the main entrance where Chu Yunxi had disappeared, utterly bewildered. "Isn't the bath chamber… behind the bedroom?"Outside the door.Chu Yunxi leaned back against the closed door, his heart pounding like a drum.He couldn't hear anything at all—only the thunderous beat of his own heartbeat ringing in his ears.He lowered his head and took a deep breath, trying to calm the tsunami of chaos within him.After a long while, he finally worked up the courage to open his eyes, his gaze stiffly drifting downward…An unmistakably clear bulging outline appeared in his line of sight, and he felt as if he'd been struck by lightning.What… is going on…?!
Chapter 14
My Cold-Faced Wife Wants to Kill Me Again