Chapter 70: Unresolved Doubts
Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Unresolved Doubts
"Aren’t you hungry, Sir?"
Lu Xiu was speechless.
Liang Wan glanced at him. "Even if you aren’t hungry, Sir, they stood guard outside the cave all night. Now they have to cut down trees to repair the bridge. They must be hungry."
Paying no mind to his expression, Liang Wan walked past him and headed for the woods. There should be plenty of mushrooms there to gather and eat.
The forest, fresh after the rain, was filled with the clean scent of grass and trees. As Liang Wan walked, she used a dry branch to poke through the grass at the base of the trees.
A few guards, seeing her searching for something, couldn’t help but look over, only to be harshly reprimanded by one with a cold expression.
Liang Wan remembered him clearly. From their very first meeting outside the Dali Temple Prison, he had never shown her a pleasant face.
’I didn’t really care whether he was pleasant or not, but he always acted like he had some deep-seated grudge against me. It was baffling.’
Liang Wan decided to ignore him, simply lowering her head to continue her careful search for mushrooms.
A push of the branch revealed brown soil. Beneath a small, raised mound of earth were clusters of mushrooms.
Her face lit up with delight. She was about to squat down when the movement pulled at her wound, making her suck in a sharp breath of pain.
"What are you doing?"
Lu Xiu walked over to see her pale, delicate face contorted, her eyebrows knitted together. He glanced at her shoulder, where blood was seeping through the bandage.
Liang Wan looked up. ’His expression clearly said he thought she was crazy.’
Sucking in a breath, she explained, "Looking for food."
Lu Xiu’s expression was strange. "Are you that hungry?"
If she hadn’t been so destitute in the past, she would never have learned to forage for mushrooms to fill her stomach or to sell for money.
’If even I didn’t know this before, how could Lu Xiu, the prized pearl of the Master’s Mansion, possibly know?’
Seeing the rare look of astonishment on his face, Liang Wan couldn’t help but smile. "If you trust me, Sir."
’If it weren’t for the incident with the men in black, she never would have imagined that she’d one day be leading the future, high-and-mighty Master Lu to forage for mushrooms in a forest.’
As Liang Wan was injured and had trouble moving, Lu Xiu had the cold-faced guard named Yuan come over to help.
Besides gathering mushrooms, they also caught a few fish. Yuan didn’t know how to prepare them, so Liang Wan sat nearby and instructed him. Once cleaned and set over the fire to roast, they gave off a surprisingly fragrant aroma.
Lu Xiu stood to the side, his gaze deepening.
Although Liang Wan was hungry, her wound was throbbing, and she was running a fever, so she had little appetite. After eating a small amount, she just watched the guards eat.
Lu Xiu, who already found such coarse food distasteful, forced down a few bites. Turning his head, he saw Liang Wan looking down and fiddling with some wild herbs, and he frowned.
"Is that also for eating?"
Liang Wan looked up at him. "This is sanqi and yuxingcao. I found them while gathering mushrooms. They can stop bleeding and reduce inflammation."
Her arrow wound had only been simply bandaged, without any medicine. ’And even that simple dressing had been a difficult task for him.’
Lu Xiu stood up. "Let’s go."
Shifting the herbs from her left hand to her right, Liang Wan was still hesitant. ’Last night was an emergency, but would it be inappropriate today?’
She gritted her teeth and picked up a tree branch. Her fever wasn’t just from falling in the cold water; it was caused by the wound on her shoulder. If she didn’t treat it with medicine soon, she feared it would only get worse.
’If it was inappropriate, then all of last night had been inappropriate.’
Leaning on the branch, Liang Wan walked with difficulty, having to stop and rest every few steps. Whenever she stopped, Lu Xiu, who was a few steps ahead, would also stop.
Perhaps because she kept stopping, Lu Xiu finally lost his patience. Liang Wan saw him turn around and mistakenly thought he was about to lose his temper. But then her body suddenly felt light as he swept her up into his arms.
"Too slow."
His face was grim, but his voice held no anger. Liang Wan, however, didn’t dare make a sound.
By the time they returned to the cave, she was still clutching the branch in one hand and the herbs in the other, her body as stiff as the dry wood she held.
’Lu Xiu hadn’t been lying when he said he didn’t know how to treat injuries. Even with her guiding him from the side, his movements were still clumsy. She suspected even Yuan could have done a better job.’
Once the wound was re-bandaged, Liang Wan seemed to collapse from exhaustion. She lay motionless on the straw mat, her face turned to the side, her clothes damp with sweat.
She wearily glanced over. Lu Xiu was sitting to one side with his back to her, his long eyelashes lowered. Perhaps he was thinking, or perhaps he was just resting.
Liang Wan withdrew her gaze and let it fall on the single remaining stalk of sanqi. ’It was laughable, really. The man who had driven her to despair in her past life had saved her again and again in this one.’
’If it were anyone else, it might be different. But she had witnessed his cold-blooded nature, how he could exterminate an entire clan with an air of casual indifference. Liang Wan could only sigh silently. A farmer raises chickens and ducks, and over time, might even worry for their safety. But when it’s time for the slaughter, no one hesitates. Why should she keep agonizing over this?’
By the time Yuan came to the cave entrance to tell them the bridge was repaired, the sun was already setting in the west.
When the long-eaved carriage stopped by the bank of the Si River, only the very last rays of the sunset remained.
Concerned about her injuries, Lu Xiu not only refrained from throwing her out of the carriage but was also in a rare good mood as he disembarked with her.
The last sliver of color in the sky gilded his no-longer-pristine brocade robes, lending him the air of an ordinary mortal.
Liang Wan lowered her head. "Thank you for everything, Sir."
After a long moment, Lu Xiu still hadn’t spoken.
When Liang Wan looked up, she found him seemingly looking at her, yet also looking through her, at something far away.
Liang Wan called out to him softly again. He finally came to his senses and turned his gaze toward the Si River in the distance, just as he had the first time he brought her home.
Liang Wan followed his gaze. In her past life and her present one, the Si River had always flowed on, day and night, tireless.
"Liang Wan, from now on, do not seek me out again without my permission. I have already granted your request."
When Liang Wan looked back at him, he had already taken two steps back and was preparing to board the carriage.
’Lu Xiu’s demand was reasonable. His marriage to Cao Luyun had far-reaching implications and was under intense scrutiny; it would be best not to stir up any more trouble.’
Liang Wan nodded in agreement. Her goal had been achieved. All she had to do now was wait.
Barring any accidents, they would rarely meet in private again.
"Sir, how do you know my name?"
Lu Xiu was lifting the curtain to enter the carriage when he heard Liang Wan’s question from behind.
The night she escaped from Tongle Hall was clearly the first time they had met, yet Lu Xiu had not only recognized her but had also called her by name.
At first, she hadn’t thought much of it, but when he said her name again just now, it suddenly struck her as odd.
’She had been reborn, so of course she recognized him. But what about him?’
Hearing this, Lu Xiu lowered the hand that was holding the curtain. He turned and frowned at her, his expression suggesting she had asked a question she had no right to ask.
Lu Xiu paused for only a moment before turning back, lifting the curtain, and preparing to enter, not sparing her another glance, let alone bothering to explain.
’Perhaps they had met before,’ Liang Wan thought.
She stood her ground, her gaze falling to the large cloak she wore. This time, it was not only dirty but also had a hole in it. Even if she washed it, he wouldn’t want it back.
She looked up again, preparing to watch the long-eaved carriage depart.
Suddenly, there was a loud THUD.
Liang Wan froze for a second, then hurriedly limped toward the carriage. Before she could get close, Yuan had already flung open the curtain.
Lu Xiu had collapsed.
Under Yuan’s furious glare, Liang Wan climbed into the carriage and grabbed Lu Xiu’s wrist. Their skin touched—he was burning up as if on fire.
She looked at his face. He was burning this hot, yet his face showed no sign of it at all.
Turning her head, she saw Yuan glaring at her, his face full of resentment.