The moment Chu Jin stepped into the Second Master’s courtyard, he heard the choked, tearful sobs of a woman.
Frowning slightly, he followed the sound and pushed open the door.
The sight inside made him pause.
Luo Ran was pinned down on a low couch by two sturdy maidservants. Her skirt was disheveled, her trousers mostly pulled down, revealing two slender, pale legs.
The moment the door opened, those legs hastily curled back under the cover of her skirt.
Her clothes were in disarray, her hair loose and messy. Her delicate, fair face was streaked with tears, her eyes red as if they might bleed.
Beside her, one of the maidservants was holding something like a short wooden rod, about to probe beneath her.
Startled by the intrusion, the maidservant dropped the wooden tool with a clatter, her grip on Luo Ran involuntarily loosening.
Luo Ran immediately curled into a ball, shrinking into the corner, trembling violently.
Her outer robe hung loosely on her body, the collar open to reveal a pale yellow undergarment inside.
One of its thin straps had come undone, barely hanging on her shoulder.
A stretch of smooth, pale shoulder was exposed, the skin so white it was almost blinding, marked with a few faint red lines.
Chu Jin’s tall figure blocked the doorway, completely cutting off the daylight from outside.
He took a step forward and closed the door behind him.
Only then did the two maidservants recognize who had entered, their faces paling as they hurriedly knelt.
“G-General…”
Chu Jin’s cold gaze swept over them.
His eyes were like knives, and the two maidservants instinctively shrank back.
“Who are you?”
His voice was not loud, but its authority was overwhelming.
The maidservants wilted instantly. The taller one mustered the courage to reply, “R-Reporting to the Prime Minister, w-we are the body inspection maidservants invited by the Second Mistress to examine this young lady…”
“Body inspection?”
Chu Jin’s eyes darkened, sharp and piercing.
The maidservant trembled in fear and hurriedly explained, “The Second Master intends to take this young lady as a concubine. The Second Mistress was uneasy, worried that a widow might not be… clean, so she called us to inspect her… We kindly let her choose a suitable wooden tool, but she chose one and then made a fuss, refusing the inspection…”
Chu Jin’s gaze fell on the wooden tool on the floor.
Slender and smooth.
Realizing where this tool was meant to be inserted, his expression turned several degrees colder.
In the corner, Luo Ran trembled as she cried out, “S-Sir, please understand… I never intended to become the Second Master’s concubine… The Second Mistress and the others wouldn’t listen to my explanation…”
Chu Jin didn’t look at her, only cast a sinister glance at the two maidservants.
“What kind of spectacle is this?”
The two maidservants lowered their heads even further, not daring to breathe.
“Get out!”
The maidservants scrambled out in a panic.
The door closed again.
Only Luo Ran and Chu Jin remained in the room.
Chu Jin’s gaze swept over the row of wooden tools on the table, then fell on a piece of paper nearby, realizing it was the record of the body inspection.
A flicker of turmoil passed through his deep eyes. He looked up at Luo Ran, still curled up in the corner.
She was huddled into a small ball, only her palm-sized face visible.
Her eyes were red, and from beneath her long skirt, her slender ankles were exposed, so pale they seemed to sting the eyes.
Chu Jin’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, and he somewhat awkwardly averted his gaze.
“Get yourself together.”
His voice low, he turned and left the room.
Luo Ran shakily got up, frantically straightening her clothes.
When she finally pushed the door open and stepped out, she found Chu Jin still standing there, waiting.
Chu Jin lowered his gaze to look at her.
Her eyes were still red, tear stains not yet dried on her face, the whole person like a small animal just rescued from a trap, pitiful and helpless.
“Wash your face, then wait in my courtyard’s study.”
Chu Jin’s voice was deep, his tone still cold and stern. “I will personally look into this matter clearly.”
Luo Ran nodded hastily.
Strangely enough, though she had been trembling with fear just moments ago, now, looking at Chu Jin’s handsome yet cold face, her heart inexplicably felt less panicked.
She knew that although this master was cold and severe in temperament, he was famously upright and impartial, and certainly would not be like Second Mistress, who made no distinction between right and wrong.
“Thank you, Master.”
She said softly, then hurried away with quick steps.
Chu Jin stood in place, watching that slender, thin figure disappear at the end of the corridor.
Only then did he step back into the room.
He took the thin piece of paper from the table and tucked it into his sleeve.
Then he lowered his head, his gaze falling to the floor beside his feet.
That discarded wooden implement, a thin strip, now lay across the bluestone floor.
He lifted his foot and stepped on it.
The sole of his shoe ground over the smooth wooden rod; with a slight exertion of force, the implement snapped with a crack, breaking into two pieces.
The turmoil in his cold eyes had already settled, leaving only a deep, unfathomable darkness.
Luo Ran hurried back to change into clean clothes, facing the bronze mirror to re-tie her disheveled hair.
The person in the mirror still had red-rimmed eyes; though the tear stains on her face had been washed away, her eyelids were slightly swollen, like two freshly peeled peaches.
She pressed her lips together, took a deep breath, her mind still preoccupied with Xiao Yue and Yan Ge’er, so she first went to Yan Ge’er’s room to check on him.
As soon as she entered the courtyard, she indeed heard Yan Ge’er’s crying.
She quickened her pace and pushed the door open. As soon as Yan Ge’er saw her, he reached out to be held, his little face flushed red from crying, looking utterly aggrieved.
Xiao Yue, however, was well-behaved, sitting on a soft cushion nearby, while Granny Li was feeding her egg custard spoonful by spoonful.
Luo Ran took Yan Ge’er into her arms; he was clearly starving.
Without further ado, she found a corner to sit down, opened her clothes, and began to nurse him.
Granny Li, seeing her red-rimmed eyes, asked softly, “Did something happen?”
Luo Ran nodded, then felt the matter was too shameful to speak of, so she shook her head again, only vaguely saying,
“Fortunately, I happened to run into Master in Second Mistress’s courtyard…”
“Master?”
Granny Li paused in her movements.
“Just now, Master came to see Yan Ge’er. Yan Ge’er was hungry and crying, so we took the opportunity to tell him about Second Mistress bringing people over. After hearing it, his face darkened, and without a word, he walked out.”
Luo Ran was stunned.
So Chu Jin had deliberately rushed over.
Come to think of it, Chu Jin clearly valued Yan Ge’er. Now that she was the only wet nurse in the household, he naturally couldn’t let his own son go hungry.
After feeding Yan Ge’er, she also comforted Xiao Yue.
Feeling too embarrassed to delay any longer, she entrusted Xiao Yue to Granny Li and then headed to Chu Jin’s study.
The study door was half-open.
Luo Zhi stood at the doorway, took a deep breath, and gently knocked.
“Come in.”
The voice inside was deep and resonant, seemingly tinged with a hint of impatient hoarseness.
She pushed the door open, entered with lowered eyes, and bowed.
“Master…”
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Chu Jin sitting behind the desk, holding a document in his hand, his expression indifferent, with an air of authority that came from long-standing command.
He wore a dark-colored everyday robe, his sleeves casually rolled up, revealing a section of wheat-colored forearm.
The muscles on that arm were firm, veins slightly protruding, clearly the result of years of wielding swords and drawing bows.
Leaning back in the chair with an air of casual ease, yet the commanding presence forged through countless battles was unmistakable. Simply sitting there, lifting his gaze slightly to survey the surroundings, he made everyone hold their breath, not daring to make a sound.