“Mmm.”
The sound barely escaped Qinghe’s throat.
Like an injured young animal abandoned and left alone, only to find itself being watched by a hungry wolf.
She had no ability to resist.
Qin Xiao brushed aside the hair covering her back.
The sight made him pause.
Whip marks crisscrossed her fair skin. Several newer wounds were still seeping blood, while the older ones had already scabbed over, revealing tender pink flesh beneath.
“Were these from the guards during your exile?”
Thinking about how she had silently endured all this time, his voice softened unconsciously.
“Yes.”
Qinghe’s eyes immediately grew moist.
“If we walked too slowly, we’d be beaten.”
She didn’t dare let the tears fall.
Quietly, she rubbed them against her knees instead.
Two damp marks appeared on the fabric.
An unexpected sense of guilt rose within Qin Xiao.
He had noticed the blisters on her feet.
How had he failed to consider that someone sentenced to exile would also have suffered whippings?
Fortunately, he had discovered it now.
Otherwise…
He already knew what he would have done.
Wouldn’t that have made him no better than a beast?
He might have been tired of suppressing himself, but not to the point of forcing his desires on a woman covered in wounds and making her endure more pain because of him.
If he did that, wouldn’t she look down on him?
More importantly, he would look down on himself.
“Don’t put your clothes back on yet.”
“I’ll get some medicine.”
Qinghe looked up in surprise.
She watched as he stood and walked away, retrieving a rattan medicine chest from the top of a cabinet.
After rummaging through it for a moment, he returned holding a bottle of ointment.
“Turn around.”
“I’ll apply it for you.”
Qinghe obediently turned around.
Relief quietly settled over her.
Facing away from him was far easier than facing him directly.
Besides…
If he was applying medicine now, did that mean he wasn’t planning to do anything tonight?
Was he really letting her off so easily?
Perhaps that was for the best.
Her injuries would need several more days to heal.
If they spent more time together first, things might feel less awkward later.
After applying the medicine, Qin Xiao told her to get dressed.
Then he left again.
He didn’t go beyond the courtyard gate, but he stayed outside for quite a while before returning.
After extinguishing the lamps, he lay down on the outer side of the bed and went to sleep without another word.
Qinghe lay stiffly on her back.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, exhaustion weighed heavily upon her.
Yet she still didn’t dare sleep.
When she noticed Qin Xiao scratching his back again, she cautiously spoke up.
“Would Young Master Qin like me to scratch your back?”
Qin Xiao fell silent.
A moment later, he grunted.
“Mhm.”
The gentle touch of her fingertips drifted across his back like a breeze brushing through willow branches.
Naturally, it felt good.
The problem was that the desire he had only just suppressed reignited instantly.
It surged upward with alarming speed.
Closing his eyes, he found himself thinking only of how she had looked without her clothes.
Irritated, he abruptly sat up and left the room once more.
When he returned, he barked at her fiercely,
“Stop trying to seduce me.”
“Go to sleep.”
Qinghe: …
This time he had been the one to agree.
What a contradictory man.
Perhaps because it had been so long since she had slept in a proper bed, even a hard one felt luxurious.
Once she was certain Qin Xiao truly wasn’t planning anything that night, her eyelids grew too heavy to resist.
Before long, she drifted into a deep sleep.
The night passed quietly.
The next morning, Qinghe woke to sunlight streaming through the window.
She shot upright and hurried to open it.
The sun was already high in the sky.
Heavens!
How had she slept so long?
Panic immediately set in.
Rushing through her morning wash, she searched the house for Qin Xiao.
He was nowhere to be found.
This was terrible.
On her very first day in the household, she had slept in.
What would he think of her?
What if he became dissatisfied and sold her off?
Could he already be out looking for a buyer?
Determined to make up for it somehow, she headed to the kitchen.
There she discovered a pot of warm porridge, some pickled vegetables, and a boiled egg.
Qinghe felt as though the sky had fallen.
A man had prepared breakfast for her.
She couldn’t even bring herself to eat.
The clothes she had changed out of yesterday needed washing, but there was no well on the property, and she didn’t know where people went to wash clothes.
The water jar wasn’t very full either.
Once the water ran out, someone would have to fetch more.
Better to wait until Qin Xiao returned and ask him.
With nothing else to do, she pushed open the courtyard gate and walked to the roadside, searching for something among the plants.
The house sat halfway up the mountain.
Although neighbors were visible, they lived quite far away.
It was practically a secluded home of its own.
Fallen bamboo leaves carpeted the ground, rustling softly beneath her feet.
As her eyes scanned the grass, she suddenly spotted a plant with round, coin-shaped leaves growing close to the ground.
Her eyes lit up immediately.
Squatting down, she began gathering it.
The plant was tiny, barely the size of her palm.
Only the leaves, each no larger than a fingertip, could be used.
Given the extent of the rash covering Qin Xiao’s back, one or two plants wouldn’t be enough.
Fortunately, they grew everywhere in the shade.
One here.
Another there.
Without realizing it, Qinghe had wandered all the way to the path leading down the mountain.
Just then, she noticed a woman laboriously climbing uphill.
The woman was heading directly toward Qin Xiao’s house.
Qinghe paid little attention at first.
Having gathered enough plants, she turned to leave.
“Stop right there.”
The woman called out sharply.
“Are you the convict slave Qin Xiao bought?”
The voice was familiar.
It belonged to the same woman who had come looking for Qin Xiao the previous night.
His mother.
Qinghe turned and gave a respectful curtsy.
“Yes, Auntie.”
“Are you looking for Qin Xiao? He’s not home right now. If you’d like me to pass along a message, I’d be happy to help.”
Years of training in the prince’s manor showed in every movement.
Her words were courteous.
Her expression neither humble nor arrogant.
Every gesture carried the refined etiquette carefully instilled into servants of noble households.
For a moment, Madam Qin was caught off guard.
She even felt a trace of inferiority.
Then she remembered that this girl was merely a convict slave.
Without marriage registration or household status, her position could hardly be lower.
Immediately, her confidence returned.
She adjusted her hair, straightened her back, and cleared her throat.
“I’m Qin Xiao’s mother.”
“I’ve come to take something from his house.”
“No need to tell him.”
As she spoke, she headed toward the courtyard gate.
Qinghe stepped in front of the entrance.
A polite smile remained on her face.
“Auntie, I’ve only just arrived and don’t know you personally.”
“If you need to take something, it would be best to wait until he returns.”
Madam Qin’s face darkened.
Was this girl treating her like a thief?
Though, to be fair, she had come intending to take money.
Since her son wasn’t home, she planned to get it herself.
Wasn’t that perfectly natural?
Why should she need permission?
After thinking about it, she had decided Qin Xiao’s refusal the previous night had probably been because she interrupted his private affairs and put him in a bad mood.
Surely after a night’s sleep he’d have calmed down.
“What do you mean by that?”
“You’re nothing but a bought slave, and you dare block your master’s mother?”
“Move aside.”
“If you don’t, I’ll tell my son to sell you.”
The threat genuinely startled Qinghe.
Still, she didn’t show it.
She didn’t fully understand the relationship between mother and son, but she had already guessed most of it.
They weren’t enemies.
Yet they certainly weren’t close.
She knew exactly who held power.
The ownership contract was in Qin Xiao’s hands.
That meant Qin Xiao made the decisions.
As far as Qinghe was concerned, even if the Emperor himself appeared, Qin Xiao would still come first.
Offending Madam Qin was acceptable.
Offending Qin Xiao was not.
Rather than arguing, she maintained her graceful smile.
“Auntie, Qin Xiao hasn’t yet taken me to meet his mother.”
“When he left this morning, he instructed me to watch the house.”
“Please forgive me, but I can’t allow anyone inside.”
“If you need to borrow something, perhaps another household has it as well.”
“If it’s urgent, you might try asking elsewhere first.”
“Or… if you can prove that you’re truly his mother, I’ll let you enter.”
Madam Qin choked on her own words.
Was she not intimidating enough?
This girl looked delicate and fragile.
Why wasn’t she frightened at all?
Prove it?
How was she supposed to prove it?
There wasn’t another person in sight.
Seeing Qinghe smiling calmly at her only made her angrier.
She couldn’t even throw a proper tantrum.
The frustration built in her chest until she felt short of breath.
The thought of being outmaneuvered by a mere slave girl made it even worse.
Raising her hand, she swung at Qinghe.
“How dare you speak to me like that?”
“What do I need to prove to you?”
“Who do you think you are?”
A village woman who had spent half her life doing farm work possessed both strength and speed.
Qinghe, weakened by two months of exile and constant hunger, couldn’t possibly compare.
Realizing she couldn’t dodge in time, she raised her arms to protect her head and turned slightly aside.
But the pain she expected never came.
Instead, a man’s deep voice rang out, carrying unmistakable anger.
“Mother, what exactly are you doing?”
“What has my Qinghe done to offend you?”
“Why have you come all the way here just to hit her?”