He watched the lively and spirited Wen Ning before him, her presence like a spring stream gently flowing into his heart.
Xie Jinglan forcibly suppressed the impulse within him, refraining from drawing closer to her. He knew well that he absolutely must not touch her today, or else he would only suffer for it.
“If that’s the case, how about you diagnose my illness for me?”
A glint of light flashed beneath his dark lashes. “May I, this servant?”
“Of course.” As Xie Jinglan spoke, he sat up and bent his elbow, pushing his sleeve up to his forearm.
Wen Ning felt as though she had returned to the days when she followed her master. Back then, her master would often test her, just like now, ordering her to take a pulse.
She solemnly folded a soft cloth to serve as a pulse pillow. Xie Jinglan turned his palm upward and steadily rested his wrist upon it.
Wen Ning observed Xie Jinglan’s forearm—firm and powerful, with clean, defined lines of muscle stretching from his elbow all the way to his wrist bone. Blue veins faintly visible beneath the taut skin.
Suddenly, she recalled last night—the man’s robust chest, his solid waist and abdomen…
She dared not think further, feeling her cheeks grow faintly warm, and for a moment, she couldn’t bring herself to look up at him.
Wen Ning’s fingertips settled steadily on his wrist pulse. Her three fingers slightly curved, nails trimmed neatly and sharply.
At this moment, all of Xie Jinglan’s senses converged on that small area at his wrist, feeling the slow movement of her fingertips as they carefully explored the cun, guan, and chi positions.
Wen Ning lowered her gaze, concentrating intently on the pulse diagnosis, her pink lips pressed tightly into a line.
Nearly a quarter of an hour passed before Wen Ning’s fingertips slowly withdrew from Xie Jinglan’s wrist.
Her eyelashes trembled, her brows lightly furrowed, and the inside of her lower lip was gently bitten by her teeth.
Seeing her expression, Xie Jinglan asked, “Well?”
Wen Ning put away the pulse pillow and softly said, “Although the pulse manifestation can detect signs of the poison’s onset, it is difficult to discern the source of the poison. This servant cannot identify this poison, only knows the suffering it causes when it flares.”
“Oh? Tell me.”
“The Marquis’s pulse appears strong and normal on the surface, but beneath the skin at the chi position, there are faint signs of unusual movement. This poison usually lies dormant, but when it flares, it forcibly drives the qi and blood to reverse their flow, causing the Du Meridian to burn like charcoal, scorching the sinews and bones, making one… endure unbearable agony. The intervals between flare-ups are irregular, typically occurring once every five to ten days. Due to the impact on qi, blood, and meridians during a flare-up, traces are left in the pulse manifestation.”
A look of admiration flashed in Xie Jinglan’s eyes. He hadn’t expected her to describe the symptoms of his poison flare-ups so accurately. He had truly underestimated her.
“You modestly claim to have only learned the basics, but in my view, you are no less skilled than the physicians of the Imperial Medical Bureau. The renowned doctors I’ve sought in the past were no better!”
“I dare not compare myself to the esteemed physicians.”
Having been at Hou Manor for many days, Wen Ning had never heard Xie Jinglan mention the suffering caused by his poison flare-ups. Though she feared him, learning that he endured such torment left her heart unsettled.
Wen Ning said helplessly, “It’s a pity my master is no longer with us. Otherwise, he might have been able to treat this poison for the Marquis. He was most skilled in intractable diseases and bizarre and deadly poisons.”
Xie Jinglan comforted her, “It’s alright.”
The corners of Wen Ning’s eyes reddened slightly, and a touch of sorrow welled up in her heart.
Xie Jinglan saw her peach-blossom eyes tinged with a faint red, like peach petals moistened by spring rain.
Her cherry lips, delicate and lovely, seemed to hold a hint of honeyed fragrance.
In the end, he could no longer restrain himself. Reaching out, he pulled her into his embrace, one hand caressing her slender, soft waist, the other sliding up to her fragrant shoulder before gently covering her lips.
“Marquis!”
Wen Ning, like a startled little creature, instinctively shrank back.
She recalled last night… she was truly afraid of him, especially with the child in her womb. She could hardly bear being tormented by him like this for two consecutive days.
His lips briefly brushed against hers before pulling away. Xie Jinglan’s deep gaze fixed on the woman in his arms. Seeing that she was no longer as spirited as before and instead seemed to want to avoid him, his expression turned stern. “Do you despise this Marquis?”
Wen Ning was taken aback. Did she despise him?
He was the illustrious Marquis of An Yuan, renowned throughout the capital as the golden-armored warrior on a white steed, the dream of countless young women in their chambers.
Then, did she like him? She had never thought about it, nor dared to, because she knew there was no possibility between them.
She dared not even imagine what Xie Jinglan would do if he learned she carried a child whose father was unknown. Perhaps he would kill her!
Wen Ning felt as though she had fallen into a whirlpool, unable to climb out or move forward.
She shook her head and said, “This servant wouldn’t dare.”
“What does ‘wouldn’t dare’ mean? Do you despise me, or do you like me?”
Wen Ning: Was there no third option?
His nose brushed against her trembling lashes, and his thumb pressed against her cherry-like lower lip. Xie Jinglan threatened, “Hmm? Which is it?”
Wen Ning didn’t know how to answer, but Xie Jinglan refused to let her go.
“Answer this Marquis. Do you despise me, or do you—”
Before he could finish, Wen Ning quietly lowered her lashes and brought her cherry lips to the tip of his nose, clumsily pressing light, hesitant kisses against his lips to stop his endless questioning.
Xie Jinglan was caught off guard by this sudden softness, afraid that any movement might startle her.
Wen Ning knew her kisses were clumsy and unskilled. Her fingers, clutching the fabric of his robe, trembled slightly. Just as she was about to pull away, Xie Jinglan suddenly clasped the back of her neck and pulled her back. With their noses touching, he said in a low voice, “You don’t get to decide…”
The turbulent darkness in his eyes mixed with a smug satisfaction. Unlike her tentative pecks, Xie Jinglan’s kiss was fervent and domineering.
The unique scent of sandalwood enveloped her completely, and Wen Ning trembled unconsciously in his embrace.
At that moment, Qing Feng’s voice came from outside the door. “Master, Old Madam requests your presence immediately.”
Flustered, Wen Ning pushed Xie Jinglan away, immediately stood up, and retreated behind him, wishing she could vanish into the ground.
Xie Jinglan cast a dark glance at the shadow outside the door. He turned around, gently clasping Wen Ning’s delicate hand with one hand while using the other to tidy the slightly disheveled hair at her temples.
Then, he drank the bowl of Bamboo Fungus Duck Soup Wen Ning had served him before leaving the study.
Seeing the sharp look in his master’s eyes, Qing Feng immediately had a bad feeling.
“Too talkative. Go receive ten lashes!”
“Ah…”
…
When Xie Jinglan arrived at Old Madam’s quarters, Táng Lí was nestled by her knees, sobbing.
Seeing the Marquis arrive, she quickly rose from Old Madam’s embrace.
“Greetings, Marquis.” Táng Lí curtsied to Xie Jinglan with a trembling voice, then pressed her handkerchief tightly against her quivering lips and ran out, weeping.
Old Madam scolded Xie Jinglan, “Look, you’ve hurt her. Do you know why Táng Lí hasn’t been to Tingsong Courtyard these past few days?”
Xie Jinglan vaguely recalled Wen Ning mentioning a few days ago that Táng Lí claimed to have caught a cold and needed to rest for a few days.
Unaware of Old Madam’s intentions at the moment, Xie Jinglan didn’t want to involve Wen Ning and replied, “Your grandson doesn’t know.”
Old Madam sighed. “Two days ago, she tried to hang herself. Fortunately, a maid sharing her room saw her and saved her.”
Xie Jinglan frowned, pondering for a moment before analyzing to Old Madam, "So she came to you, Grandmother, to weep and complain, saying that she had already entered your grandson's room. Though nothing happened, she could no longer marry anyone else, begging you to stand up for her. I wonder if my guess is correct?"
Xie Jinglan had spoken all the words Old Madam intended to say, leaving her momentarily speechless.