Chapter 7

After the city gates opened, Jian Yin showed the soldiers guarding the city the travel pass and entered the city without any problems.

Xiao Youning was woken up by Yuan Guo and noisy sounds of peddlers trying to advertise their wares echoed in her ears. She remembered the events of the previous night and was in a trance, not quite accustomed to that kind of excitement. “Yuan Guo, where are we…”

“Miss, your voice!”

She opened her mouth and the sound that came out of it was hoarse and unpleasant, which was why her throat felt so dry it was about to go up in smoke, like a fishbone scraping painfully inside. She opened her mouth, wanting to say an ‘ah’ again, but it resulted in a cough.

Yuan Guo surprised her by stretching out her hand and putting it against her forehead, whispering, “Miss, you have a fever! Didn’t you just injure your foot?”

When Xiao Youning was helped off the carriage, she had no strength at all, and she felt like she was stepping on cotton. Her ankle was still injured, and the pain of stepping on the ground was so great that she couldn’t use her strength and had to stumble forward.

The handle of a fan immediately crossed the front of her body, cushioning the force of her lunge forward. When Xiao Youning looked up, she saw Ye Shen standing at the side.

He welcomed the light, his entire body was covered with a soft golden color. His arched up, sword-like eyebrows made his good-looking pair of peach blossom eyes look fierce. Not even the softest light could not disperse his kind of coldness. This was the first time Xiao Youning had really looked at Ye Shen’s face, and apart from the indifference that seemed to blend into his bones, her first impression was that he was handsome. Better looking than any man she had ever seen.

“Thank you, Daoist.” She thanked him in a muted voice, but in her heart, she said that if he wasn’t wearing a Daoist robe this man wouldn’t look like a priest, but more like the son of a noble family.

Ye Shen saw her standing firm and withdrew his hand. Flustered, Yuan Guo crouched down and carried her up to the inn.

The doctor soon came. Xiao Youning’s head touched the bed and she fell asleep in a daze. Even the doctor feeling her pulse didn’t wake her up. From time to time, she would cough twice in her sleep.

“This girl was to be overtired from a startled mood, the external evil has invaded her and she has contracted wind chill, as a result, she is feverish. I will write a prescription, let her first drink the medicine twice to see how she feels afterward. The foot injury didn’t injure the tibia, so rub medicinal wine on it and then immediately apply a poultice.” The doctor finished the diagnostic, opened the medicine cabinet, and wrote down the prescription.

Yuan Guo didn’t feel comfortable leaving Xiao Youning alone in the house, so she called out to the innkeeper, giving him a reward and having him follow the doctor to grab the medicine for her. The innkeeper beamed with joy and led the doctor downstairs. Jian Yin listened to the innkeeper’s joyful agreement floating in and, with a slightly odd expression, looked at Ye Shen. “Fifth Master, do we have to take Miss Xiao back to the capital?”

Jian Yin still asked the suspicion that was on his mind. The fifth master of their family had always been one who didn’t like troublesome things, clearly and coldly being by himself, but this time he was merciful. Also, the little girl next door had schemed against them, and in her heart, she probably hated the Li and Ye Families. Why did their Fifth Master decide to extend a hand to help her?

Jian Yin was just asking a question, but how much meaning those words he left out had, Ye Shen knew very well. He was actually considering for a bit whether he should take Xiao Youning back to the capital along with him.

This was not the first time he had seen Xiao Youning. He had seen Xiao Youning when she was six years old, and the rest of the year, he would see her a few times a year in the palace. Although they were only five years apart in age, he could still say that he had watched this little girl grow up, watched her grow from a plump little dwarf into a slender and delicate young woman. He had only really had a proper talk with her once when she was six, the rest of the time was spent seeing her from afar while she was surrounded by women.

Her father and brother repeatedly made meritorious deeds, so the emperor valued her and the empress naturally followed the emperor’s intention, getting close to the Xiao Family. She had not been given a title, but the empress would call her to enter the palace and accompany the third princess every now and then, and of course, she was indispensable for big and small banquets. This person was quite well-known. Later, the Xiao and Li Families even engaged to be married, and he could also somewhat be considered to be involved.

He only got to know about her true nature from a few days ago when she was at the Li Family’s gates, not yielding nor bending, filled with a fierce conduct as she ruthlessly made the Li Family lose face. Even he was included in her scheme. Only then did he realize that the Xiao family’s beautiful and flamboyant little girl was also spicy and very resourceful, changing the delicate appearance he usually saw.

As for Jian Yin wanting to ask why he was helping her, maybe he was doing it out of kindness after paying for her prescription and medical advice.

Ye Shen was silent, his fingers slowly stroking the folded fan’s spine, considering whether to bring Xiao Youning back to the capital or not. His kindness was not infinite, not to mention the fact that the little girl had schemed against him twice. Though the last time she was quite sincere, calmly admitting her error in front of him.

Jian Yin waited at the side for a long moment for a response. When he tilted his head to look at his master, his gaze happened to fall right on his master’s fingers stroking the spine of the fan. His Fifth Master had a beautiful pair of slender and white hands, the knuckles were slightly raised from stroking the fan bone forming an imposing line, very pleasing to the eye. If he didn’t have those two marks under the index fingernail, it would be even more perfect. He didn’t know what the injury was, but the scar was some years old, and the outer ring marks were deep and dark in color, so it looked conspicuous.

“We’ll depart in a while.” Ye Shen tapped his knee gently with the folding fan, finally giving his answer.

Jian Yin only nodded at the words. Not saying any unnecessary words, this was very much the Fifth Master’s style. Jian Yin turned and went upstairs to put the bundle of clothing and his sword back on his back. The duo walked out of the doorway to the sound of Yuan Guo’s anxious voice next door.

“Miss, Miss, you need to wake up!” Over and over again, while anxiously sobbing.

Ye Shen, who was about to leave, stopped in his tracks, and Jian Yin almost bumped him in the back.

“Fifth Master?” Jian Yin called out to him in confusion. What was the matter, weren’t they leaving?

Ye Shen stood in the doorway, remembering the abnormal red color on Xiao Youning’s face just now. Her lips had been so dry the skin seemed like it would fall off, like a quickly withering flower. At the brightest moment, she suddenly wilted.

His brow furrowed but he nevertheless lifted his foot again. Xiao Youning didn’t recognize him now, but she might find out his identity someday. Still, the less he interacted with her, the rarer would his chances be of finding trouble. Just as he turned around and took two steps forward, the sound of an open door came from behind him. A red-eyed Yuan Guo saw the two and said anxiously towards them, “Daoist Master Wu Ye, our Miss wouldn’t wake up to my call! She’s even talking nonsense!”

Xiao Youning had gotten sick overnight. Yuan Guo was panicked out of her wits and when she saw someone she was familiar with, her first reaction was to want to ask for help. She called Ye Shen as “Wu Ye” (悟谒) because she heard Jian Yin address him as Fifth Master (五爷 – wu yé), but she didn’t hear it clearly and thought this was his Dao name.

Jian Yin heard what she said and the corner of his mouth pulled a bit. Turning around, he somewhat dumbfoundedly said, “Then you’re looking for a doctor, ah. We’re not doctors.”

What was the use in looking for them? This maid, besides being fierce, he wasn’t sure whether or not she had any brains.

Yuan Guo was stunned, only then did he see the package on Jian Yin’s back, “Is Daoist Master leaving?”

“When…”

“Jian Yin, go again to find a doctor to come and take a look.” Ye Shen turned on his black-colored boots, walked away from Jian Yin, and went straight back into the house again. Jian Yin, not daring to believe, stared at him with widened eyes. Wasn’t he going to leave? Why wasn’t he going now?

Why was their family’s Fifth Master so nice to that little girl from the Xiao Family?

Ye Shen went back inside again and sat down. Jian Yin could only ask another worker at the inn to find another doctor as instructed. Then he returned upstairs to ask him in puzzlement, “Fifth Master, have you changed your mind?”

Changing a command all the time, when had their Fifth Master been concerned with such a thing!

“Having saved someone’s life for once, I can’t let my effort go to waste with her having an accident from a cold.” Ye Shen’s face was expressionless as he said.

The author has something to say:

Jian Yin: Very reasonable.

Ye will-not-admit-it said: Naturally.