“It’s… it’s nothing.” Yun Mu Jing bent her knees, instantly curling up with her arms wrapped around them, appearing utterly fragile and pitiful.
Seeing this, Mo Han Zhao couldn’t help but frown slightly. However, since Yun Mu Jing didn’t want to talk about it, he naturally wouldn’t press further. He simply said, “Your parents want to marry you off to Prince Yu. What do you plan to do? Are you sure you don’t need my help?”
As he spoke, a wave of complexity washed over Mo Han Zhao’s heart.
He hadn’t expected that Si Yu would sacrifice Yun Mu Jing for his sake.
No, Si Yu had always been a kind-hearted woman, just like Yun Mu Jing.
This time, it must be because Si Yu didn’t want to lose him, didn’t want their engagement to be affected by Yun Mu Jing, that she resorted to such a desperate measure.
In the end, it was all out of love for him. He shouldn’t blame Si Yu.
Yun Mu Jing fell silent for a moment, then suddenly offered Mo Han Zhao a faint, tight-lipped smile. “It’s fine. My parents were just speaking in anger. After all, I am their own daughter. They wouldn’t really do such a thing. Your Highness need not worry.”
Mo Han Zhao let out a slight sigh of relief and nodded. “That’s good.”
Indeed, even a vicious tiger wouldn’t harm its own cub. No matter how heartless General Yun and his wife might be, they wouldn’t truly turn against their own daughter.
A sharp pain shot through her wounds, draining the color from Yun Mu Jing’s face. Yet, she still managed a smile for Mo Han Zhao. “Your Highness, please leave quickly. This Ancestral Hall is no place to linger.”
“If anything were to happen to you here, my sin would be even greater.”
Mo Han Zhao could tell Yun Mu Jing was deliberately trying to send him away. Though she was forcing herself to endure, the large beads of sweat trickling down her forehead betrayed her condition.
This woman, with her stubborn habit of swallowing all her bitterness and pain, he wondered who she took after.
He would much rather she thought of herself a little more. At least then, she wouldn’t be so heartbreakingly easy to pity.
Mo Han Zhao let out a deep sigh. “You were injured earlier, weren’t you? On your back?”
Yun Mu Jing shook her head, stubbornly refusing to speak.
Left with no other choice, Mo Han Zhao reached out to touch her back, only to find his hand coming away with a trace of warmth.
Mo Han Zhao’s heart clenched. He turned Yun Mu Jing around and finally saw two bloody gashes on her back, the blood still seeping out.
“Did General Yun lose control? How could he be so cruel to you!” Mo Han Zhao’s voice turned icy.
Yun Mu Jing still bit her lip, refusing to answer. Suddenly, her body went limp, and she collapsed toward Mo Han Zhao.
Mo Han Zhao’s expression changed. Catching Yun Mu Jing, he urgently called out in a low voice toward the roof, “Zhu Ye, bring a physician here, quickly!”
Zhu Ye had been keeping watch outside on the roof for Mo Han Zhao. Hearing the call, he knew something was wrong and immediately acknowledged, vanishing from his spot like a shadow.
Zhu Ye was remarkably efficient. Before long, he had silently brought a physician from outside onto the roof of the General’s Mansion’s Ancestral Hall. Then, through the hole in the tiles Mo Han Zhao had earlier opened, he dropped the physician down as well.
“Ouch!”
The physician tumbled to the ground with a cry. Just as he was about to curse, he turned his head and met Mo Han Zhao’s piercing gaze.
The physician: “…” He knew this was the Zhenguo General’s Mansion. This man was dressed opulently, clearly someone of wealth and status, not someone he dared to offend.
“Young master…”
“Enough talk. Come and examine her,” Mo Han Zhao said coldly.
“Right away!” the physician hastily agreed, stepping forward to take Yun Mu Jing’s pulse.
In an instant, the doctor’s brows furrowed repeatedly. Before long, he withdrew his hand and spoke seriously to Mo Han Zhao, “This young lady’s constitution was already weak to begin with, and she suffers from depleted qi and blood. Now, with such severe external injuries, she must be carefully nursed back to health!”
“Poor constitution? Depleted qi and blood?” Mo Han Zhao asked with a frown.
But soon, he understood.
Yun Mu Jing had been wandering outside for many years. As a frail woman, merely surviving was likely a great struggle for her, let alone having the opportunity to nourish her body.
Her constitution was indeed probably quite poor.
“Young master, as her husband, you must take extra care in looking after her,” the doctor earnestly advised. “Otherwise, she may develop chronic health issues later.”
Husband… Mo Han Zhao was momentarily stunned, a strange feeling flickering through his heart. He coughed twice, too lazy to explain to the doctor, and asked, “How should she be nursed back to health?”
“Through dietary supplements and medicinal tonics,” the doctor said, taking a bottle from his medicine chest. He poured out a pill and gave it to Yun Mu Jing to take.
Then, he took out another bottle of medicine and some gauze, handing them to Mo Han Zhao. “This medicine is for external application, three times a day. You apply it for her.”
“I apply it?” Mo Han Zhao’s dark eyes narrowed slightly.
“What’s with the ‘I’? There’s only you, me, and this young lady here,” the doctor said with a pout. “You’re her husband, what’s wrong with applying medicine? Otherwise, I can do it for her. After all, doctors don’t distinguish between men and women.”
Mo Han Zhao: “…” He looked at the doctor with a complicated expression, hesitated for a moment, and finally took the bottle of medicine.
Since Yun Mu Jing was injured because of him, applying medicine for her wasn’t too much to ask.
It was just her back, after all.
“You’re no longer needed here. You may leave,” Mo Han Zhao urged.
The doctor was speechless. The door was locked, and he had been thrown down from the roof earlier. How was he supposed to leave now?
Before the doctor could finish his thought, a rope descended from the roof, perfectly looping around his waist and yanking him upward with force.
“Ah—”
With a scream, only Mo Han Zhao and Yun Mu Jing remained in the room.
“Your Highness…” After taking the doctor’s medicine, Yun Mu Jing gradually regained consciousness, and the pain throughout her body lessened slightly.
But her awakening made Mo Han Zhao feel somewhat awkward.
“The conditions here are limited, so I have to apply the medicine for you,” Mo Han Zhao said, trying to make his voice sound as gentle as possible. “You may need to remove some of your clothing. The injury is on your back, and I won’t look at any other part of you.”
As soon as he said this, Mo Han Zhao felt a bit embarrassed.
He had already seen every part of Yun Mu Jing’s body last night. Now, his words seemed hypocritically proper.
But Yun Mu Jing clearly didn’t overthink it. A faint blush appeared on her delicate face as she nodded gently and said, “Your Highness is a gentleman. I naturally trust you.”
With that, she struggled to sit up, turned her back to Mo Han Zhao, removed her outer garment, and slowly pulled down her inner clothing.
In an instant, Yun Mu Jing’s fair and delicate shoulders were fully exposed to Mo Han Zhao’s gaze.
The scene from their passionate night flashed through Mo Han Zhao’s mind. He suddenly felt the Ancestral Hall was a bit too warm, making his mouth dry.
Although Yun Mu Jing was not a pampered daughter raised in a boudoir, for some reason, her skin was as smooth and tender as fine jade, the most exquisite Mo Han Zhao had ever seen.
Could this be… natural beauty?
Mo Han Zhao took a deep breath, forcibly dispelling the distracting thoughts that shouldn’t have been in his mind.
He sprinkled the medicinal powder onto Yun Mu Jing’s wounds, his movements unconsciously gentle. Then, using his fingertips, he lightly spread the powder over the wounds before wrapping them with gauze.
Mo Han Zhao’s actions were skillful and efficient.
Even so, Yun Mu Jing still suffered greatly. By the time the two whip marks on her back were treated, her entire body was nearly soaked in sweat.
The wound on her right chest hurt even more…
Just as Mo Han Zhao had finished corking the bottle, he noticed Yun Mu Jing still grimacing in pain, her body squirming restlessly. He asked, “Are there other injuries elsewhere?”
Yun Mu Jing’s face flushed slightly red. She glanced at Mo Han Zhao furtively before averting her gaze again, finally responding with a soft, barely audible “Mm.”
“Where?” Mo Han Zhao asked, puzzled. “Should I apply some medicine for you as well?”
Yun Mu Jing: “…” Her face turned even redder, as if dripping with blood. She replied softly, “It’s not a serious injury. It’s probably unnecessary.”
“Hurting this much doesn’t seem like it’s ‘not serious,'” Mo Han Zhao said helplessly. “Where exactly is it?”