The late autumn wind was biting outside, but inside the room, it was warm and cozy.
After nursing Yan Ge’er, Luo Ran felt a wave of drowsiness. She drifted off to sleep while holding the child.
It was peaceful and warm, like soaking in tepid water.
Before coming to the Chu household, Luo Ran hadn’t even dared to dream of such a life.
In her half-asleep state, someone seemed to enter the room.
The figure was tall and moved with extremely light footsteps, bringing the outside chill closer to the bedside.
Through the haze of sleep, a tall shadow loomed over her, blocking the dim yellow candlelight.
The person leaned down slightly, and a cold, crisp scent enveloped her.
Drowsily, Luo Ran realized that this person was not dressed like a servant of the household.
It wasn’t until the person reached out toward Yan Ge’er beside her that Luo Ran jolted awake. Without thinking, she reached out and grabbed the hand.
She actually caught it.
Her hand met hard bone and warm skin. The wrist was thick and powerful; her fingers couldn’t even wrap around it.
Luo Ran froze and slowly looked up, meeting a pair of deep, sharp eyes.
She suddenly shuddered.
Those eyes had appeared frequently in her dreams over the past six months.
Luo Ran recognized the owner of those eyes almost instantly.
But how could he be here in the heavily guarded General’s manor?
Fear surged like a tide, and she instinctively opened her mouth to scream.
The man glanced at the sleeping Yan Ge’er and quickly raised his other hand, covering her mouth to stifle the scream.
“Mmph…”
With her scream suppressed, Luo Ran grew even more terrified. She struggled desperately, her knee somehow bumping into something.
The man let out a muffled groan, his legs went weak, and his entire body pressed down upon her.
The man’s sharp, cold scent instantly enveloped Luo Ran.
His hand was large and powerful; as he covered her mouth, he also accidentally blocked her nose. The force was staggering, and she couldn’t break free.
Struggling for breath and overcome with terror, tears immediately welled up in her eyes.
As she twisted and turned with all her might, the two were pressed too close. Their bodies rubbed together; the softness of her chest brushed against his firm chest, and her milky scent was unmistakable at such close proximity.
The soft sensation made Chu Jin’s Adam’s apple bob.
He couldn’t help but frown.
He leaned down, his lips nearly touching the woman’s ear.
“Be quiet. You’ll wake Yan Ge’er.”
His voice was low and husky, carrying a hint of restraint.
His hot breath fanned against Luo Ran’s ear, sending a fine shiver through her.
She shuddered, and with her breathing restricted, she couldn’t catch her breath. Her vision went dark, and her head began to spin.
Her face, already flushed from a lack of oxygen, turned even redder. Her limbs went limp.
After Chu Jin spoke, the person beneath him indeed stopped moving.
He looked down and realized her face was so small that a single palm covered most of it. He had accidentally smothered her nose and mouth.
No wonder she had struggled so violently.
He hurriedly removed his hand.
Luo Ran’s face was beet-red from the lack of oxygen. Her gaze was unfocused, and her eyes were brimming with tears.
Her red lips were parted as she gasped for air, her chest heaving, and her body felt like jelly. She was exhaling more than she was inhaling.
Chu Jin cursed inwardly.
Having spent so much time in military camps surrounded by robust men, he naturally didn’t know his own strength.
How was he to know a woman’s face could be so tiny?
And that she would be so soft and delicate, turning weak at the slightest force…
He scooped up her limp body, gripping her slender waist to let her lean against him.
He pressed his rough thumb into her mouth, pushing down her tongue to force her mouth open wide.
“Come on, take deep breaths.”
“In through the nose, out through the mouth.”
His other large hand covered her flat belly, guiding the rhythm of her breathing.
“Expand your belly as you inhale, contract it as you exhale.”
Guided by him, Luo Ran took one deep breath after another.
Her frantic breathing gradually steadied, and her dizziness began to subside.
However, she was still drained of strength, slumped against the man’s chest.
Just then, footsteps sounded from outside, followed by Steward Guo’s voice.
“Master…”
Luo Ran froze.
Master?
She jerked her head up, her watery eyes widening as she looked at the man she was leaning against.
The man was also looking down at her, their eyes meeting directly.
They were inches apart.
The man was exceptionally handsome, with a rugged silhouette and extraordinary features.
His lips were thin, his nose bridge high, and his jawline sharp and clean. There was an awe-inspiring air of authority between his brows, as if he stood above all others.
Even though he was just quietly looking at her, his presence was stifling.
It finally dawned on Luo Ran: the man before her was the head of the Chu household, Chu Jin?
How was that possible?
How could this General of the State, a man who held the world in his palm, have appeared in a remote valley six months ago, covered in wounds?
Then the things she had done back then…
Luo Ran’s face turned pale instantly.
Summoning strength from nowhere, she hurriedly broke free from his embrace and dropped to her knees with a thud. She bowed her head low, not daring to look up.
Steward Guo pushed the door open and immediately saw Luo Ran kneeling on the floor, shivering and curled into a ball.
Then he looked at the Master standing by the bed, who had just returned in triumph from the battlefield.
Realizing that Luo Ran had only recently arrived and the two had never met…
He had heard a muffled cry through the door earlier and figured the little wet nurse must have mistaken the Master for an intruder.
He spoke up to introduce her to Chu Jin.
“Master, this is Yan Ge’er’s wet nurse.”
“It’s quite a coincidence. This Lady Luo is the maternal cousin of Concubine Xu from the second branch. She came to seek refuge with Concubine Xu when she had nowhere else to go. It’s pitiful—a helpless woman with a young daughter. Since the manor was looking for a wet nurse for the young master, I took the liberty of letting her stay…”
Chu Jin looked down at the woman trembling on the floor.
She was prostrate on the ground, revealing only the nape of her neck, which was slender and fair.
Her shoulders were hunched tight, her fear and tension plain for all to see.
This woman seemed quite timid…
“Concubine Xu’s cousin?” Chu Jin asked.
“Y-yes…”
Luo Ran replied softly, lowering her head even further.
“Where is your man?”
He asked, his voice steady and devoid of emotion. “Why were you at your wit’s end, traveling thousands of miles to seek refuge here?”
At the mention of her husband, Luo Ran’s heart ached sharply, and her eyes uncontrollably welled with red.
Her husband had died when she was seven months pregnant.
Her parents-in-law cursed her as a jinx and kicked her out of the house as soon as she gave birth to her daughter.
The village ruffians and bachelors, seeing a helpless widow, harassed her daily.
She could hide for a while but not forever. With no way left to survive, she traveled thousands of miles to the capital to seek out her cousin, Xu Manyu…
With her head bowed, Luo Ran’s voice was barely audible.
“To answer the Master… my husband passed away in an accident last year.”
So she was a little widow without a man.
Chu Jin raised a thick eyebrow but didn’t press her any further.