Xiao Quan looked at the woman before him but still said nothing.
Qiao Rongjin panicked. Was this man mute? She was in a hurry—how could she waste time here with him? So she forced down her impatience and spoke again.
“Sir, you…”
Seeing her change expression and become as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, Xiao Quan’s gaze remained calm and unreadable.
However, thinking of the severe wound on his shoulder and how he couldn’t bandage it himself while it kept bleeding, he indeed needed her help. Moreover, his condition couldn’t be exposed to others. Looking at the woman’s unusually frank expression—one that showed no malice toward him—he finally spoke coldly.
“Come here.”
Qiao Rongjin, interrupted mid-sentence, froze for a moment. “Huh??”
Seeing her confused expression, Xiao Quan said again calmly, “Come bandage my wound.”
Qiao Rongjin’s eyes lit up instantly. “Alright, sir!”
As long as he allowed her to bandage him, that was good. This might increase the chance of him agreeing to help her later—after all, bandaging him counted as doing him a favor.
Thinking this, Qiao Rongjin quickly opened the cabinet in the room and took out clean white cloth strips and hemostatic powder.
“Sir, should I tear your clothes open, or do you want to take off your outer robe?” she asked carefully.
She was worried about acting rashly and getting injured, so it was safer to ask.
Xiao Quan raised his brow slightly.
This woman was different from ordinary wives. She seemed to have no sense of modesty—talking about undressing a man so casually. Although circumstances made it necessary, he was still somewhat surprised.
Seeing that he had gone silent again, Qiao Rongjin felt irritated. Was this such a hard question to answer? Talking to him was truly frustrating.
Just as she was about to speak again, Xiao Quan suddenly unfastened his clothes himself, revealing his strong upper body.
Qiao Rongjin didn’t pay attention to his physique. She only focused on the most serious wound on his shoulder—flesh turned outward, the most severe injury among several.
For such a wound, this man hadn’t even groaned once. His endurance was impressive.
In just a few seconds, she already imagined countless assassination scenarios in her mind.
But it had nothing to do with her. After tonight, they likely wouldn’t meet again. She only hoped he would agree to help her request.
“Sir, normally your wound should be disinfected with strong liquor to prevent infection, but I don’t have any here. I only have hemostatic powder and bandages. Please bear with it.”
“It’s fine. Bandage it,” Xiao Quan replied calmly.
Qiao Rongjin was a little surprised that this woman knew even a bit of medical basics.
“Alright, it might hurt a little. Please bear with it.”
Xiao Quan said nothing.
She took that silence as agreement and began bandaging him under immense pressure, trying not to let her hands shake.
The night was quiet. Candlelight flickered. No one spoke.
If not for the man lying unconscious on the floor, the scene might have seemed almost peaceful. Even the faint smell of blood mixed with the woman’s perfume did not immediately make Xiao Quan throw her out.
The woman truly had an exceptionally beautiful face. Especially when she was focused—her expression made it feel as if the viewer was her entire world. For a brief moment, Xiao Quan even lost focus.
Soon, the bandaging was finished.
“It’s done, sir.”
Qiao Rongjin tied the bandage into the shape of a butterfly bow, satisfied, and instinctively helped him pull his clothes back on before stepping away to keep distance.
Xiao Quan snapped back to reality. Slightly uncomfortable, but seeing how sensible she was, his gaze softened a little.
“Mm. Thank you.”
“Huh!” Qiao Rongjin was shocked. “You actually say thank you?”
Xiao Quan said nothing.
Earlier, his internal poison had flared up and he was injured. To escape pursuers, he had hidden in the Rui Prince’s residence. He had originally intended to silence anyone who discovered him—but this woman had tried to scream, forcing him to strike her unconscious.
At that moment, he had deeply disliked such foolish people.
But when she woke up, she did not scream. Instead, she offered to bandage his wounds. Her behavior before and after was completely different.
He assumed she was simply afraid of him.
Regardless of her motives, or whether she feared him, the thanks was deserved. She had indeed helped him.
Suddenly—
“Ow! My head hurts!”
A painful groan echoed in the quiet room.
Qiao Rongjin stiffened instantly and looked sharply toward the unconscious man.
Damn it—he woke up?!
Her first instinct was that he absolutely could not see this scene.
She grabbed a stool and rushed forward.
Xiao Quan also turned toward the sound, a flash of coldness in his eyes, about to strike and kill the man.
But he paused when he saw the woman already moving aggressively toward him with a stool.
“…?”
He calmly withdrew his hand, watching with interest.
The next moment—bang!—a dull thud. The newly awakened man was knocked unconscious again before he could even react.
Blood slowly seeped from his head.
Qiao Rongjin stood frozen, her hands trembling uncontrollably.
Xiao Quan looked at her, amused by her reaction.
She had charged forward so fiercely—only to start trembling after the hit?
Qiao Rongjin quickly gathered herself and looked toward the man on the bed.
“Sir… could you, considering I helped bandage your wounds, take this man away for me?”
At that moment, a deep, cold voice came from outside the door, approaching closer:
“Are you certain, Consort?”
“Your servant reports to Your Highness—the maid from Haitang Courtyard personally said so. This servant is only worried about Sister Qiao. Although Your Highness has abandoned her, she is still your concubine. Her behavior is truly an insult to Your Highness.”
The voice belonged to a side consort, adding fuel to the fire as she walked.
In the inner court, the fewer people there were, the better—especially that wretched Qiao Rongjin. She had suffered under her before. Now that she had fallen from grace, this was the perfect chance to step on her.
Hearing this, Qiao Rongjin’s face instantly turned even paler.
They had come.
The “catching-adultery” troops had arrived.