Chapter 388 (2/2)

”Your Highness, how could a simple gift pay back a lifesaving debt?” Han Yunxi said, causing Long Feiye to arch an eyebrow. She hastened to add, ”Gu Beiyue is an imperial physician, so saving lives is part of his responsibility. There's no such debt of grat.i.tude to speak of. The fact that he didn't harm Your Highness with his treatment is already a supremely thankful affair. As chenqie sees it, we can forget about things like generous gifts in return.”

Han Yunxi's words were full of courtly jargon. Beautiful as they were, her true meaning was: Long Feiye, ah, Long Feiye. Gu Beiyue might be suspicious, but he didn't kill you or nurse you to death while your life was in danger. At the very least, he's not your enemy, so you should show mercy and spare him!

Long Feiye looked at Han Yunxi for a long time before he finally spoke. ”You haven't grown any taller, but your mouth is certainly speaking longer.”

”Your Highness praises wrongly,” Not daring to look at him, Han Yunxi kept her head down and pretended to wholly focus on Long Feiye's injury. Just like that, Long Feiye gave up on the gift idea. As to whether or not he continued to investigate Gu Beiyue in secret, that was something only he knew. In the ensuing silence, Long Feiye relaxed completely and shut his eyes. Very quickly, Han Yunxi gathered her concentration to focus on treating his wound for real. No matter who it was, they couldn't disturb her dedication when it came to things related to Long Feiye. Both inside and outside their room fell into stillness besides the chill winter wind that blew throughout the night.

The white-robed man was standing right outside the windows, his lips drawn up into a soft smile. It was the sort of expression that seemed unmoved by any thing or person, a reflection of his deep inner peace. By now, Han Yunxi had completely exposed Long Feiye's wound, but he wasn't interested in that at all. Instead, he turned and vanished soundlessly into the air.

Thanks to the month-long bandages, the skin surrounding Long Feiye's injury was paler than the rest of his chest. It was also specked with multiple, greenish-black marks where traces of medicine remained. A scar about one inch long stood out in the s.p.a.ce next to his heart, looking rather savage against the white skin. It would exist as a reminder to its owner of the wound. Han Yunxi saw the scar and recalled everything that had happened in the Hidden Pavilion. Then she glanced at Long Feiye's cold, handsome face and felt her heart flutter.

Long Feiye, thank goodness… Thank goodness you still exist in this world.

After sensing no movement for awhile, Long Feiye opened his eyes. ”What's wrong?”

”N-nothing, I'm just airing out the wound a bit,” Han Yunxi explained as she cleaned up the traces of medicine on his chest and sterilized the area again. Then she fixed everything up once again. Long Feiye hadn't put on his clothes yet when Chu Xifeng rushed inside.

”Your Highness, Your Highness!” he was holding a secret missive in one hand and seemed to have some emergency news. But Long Feiye refused to get anxious with him. He didn't say a word, but waved a hand to indicate he should withdraw for now. Chu Xifeng saw the scene on the bed and knew that esteemed w.a.n.gfei was treating his master's wounds again, but he still gave two meaningful coughs before backing out of the door. It only made Han Yunxi suddenly feel like she had been caught doing something sneaky.

Long Feiye was quite self-possessed, and said lazily, ”Help me with my clothes.” Then he got off the bed and raised his arms level with his shoulders.

His wound's already healed, but he still wants people to wait on him? Despite that, Han Yunxi not only didn't mind, but was secretly happy to oblige. She didn't laugh out loud, but her smile was plastered all over her face. She took Long Feiye's clean, pure-white inner robes and his wide-sleeves, purple outer robes, then dressed him up in both. Although she hadn't had many chances to dress him this month, she'd done it enough times for this to become a habit. Dressing him, adjusting his collar and sleeves, tying his waist band and adding on his jade pendant were all done in the s.p.a.ce of a few movements. Would people look down on her if she said her second best skill after poisons was helping this fellow get dressed? But Han Yunxi was happy and perfectly willing to do so! Who cares what people said if she was self-satisfied. She didn't think she was a tomboy or a delicate little girl, but just herself–Han Yunxi!

After that was done, Han Yunxi feigned the servile bow of a servant girl and asked respectfully, ”Your Highness, shall we call for Guard Chu now?”

Long Feiye gave a start. But instead of saying anything, he brushed his fingers against her fringe and walked out of the room himself. Han Yunxi adored what he just did and brushed her own fringe a few times, straightening out the strands of hair before she followed him out.

”Your Highness, good news from the capital. Qian Rong and the storehouse movers can all testify that we bought our grain from the imperial uncle's estate,” Chu Xifeng reported. While all of Tianning was praising Long Feiye for his great achievements, they were also speculating on the origins of his grain at the same time. Naturally, he had to give them an explanation. Of course, it wouldn't come out of his own mouth, but from the imperial uncle, instead.

”Is there anything Official Yu hasn't told us yet?” Long Feiye asked.

”Words of the deceased,” Han Yunxi replied. Chu Xifeng almost laughed out loud. Just yesterday he'd gone to the prisons of the senior provincial official's estate to check on Official Yu. As the vice president of the Ministry of Revenue, Official Yu was only inferior to the Minister of Revenue in his department. He had both money and power and was famously hard to deal with. He had no idea how esteemed w.a.n.gfei had tormented the man, but it'd left him utterly docile. He even greeted a guard like him with the utmost respect when he visited, and answered all his questions.

More miraculous than that was the fact that Official Yu didn't have a single injury on his body. n.o.body could tell that he'd been tortured to extort out a confession.

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