"The maid was in a hurry to send soup to the eldest young master. I was afraid it would get cold, so I..."
"Are you talking back?" Bixi arched her eyebrows, interrupting her. "Bow to me properly. I'd like to see how well you know your manners. Otherwise, I won't let you go."
Tian Yao gritted her back teeth. [Here it comes, the classic scene of picking on someone.]
She suppressed her indignation and bent her knees to curtsy. But just as her knees were about to bend, she swayed, her face instantly turning paler. She covered her lower abdomen with her hand, looking extremely uncomfortable.
"Auntie... This maid... has a bit of a stomachache. I'm rude. Please forgive me, auntie." Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, sounding extremely weak.
This look, in Bixi's eyes, was a blatant provocation.
"Keep acting! Keep pretending for me!" Bixi was burning with anger. She stepped forward and pushed Tian Yao's shoulder with her hand. "I think you're itching for a beating, aren't you!"
Tian Yao was already "unsteady on her feet". Pushed by Bixi, she immediately let out a scream and staggered backward.
"You bumped into me first and then showed no manners. Kneel here for half an hour!"
Kneel for half an hour?
Under the sun, kneeling on the stone path for half an hour. Would her legs still be okay after that?
She really wanted to stand up and point at Bixi's nose, scolding her for being shameless!
[Hold it in! Impulse is the devil! If I go head - to - head with her, I'll surely be the one who suffers!]
Just as she was struggling with her thoughts, out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure walking towards them from the direction of the moon gate in the distance.
It was He Huaibi!
Tian Yao's heart skipped a beat, and an idea flashed through her mind quickly.
The opportunity had come!
"Auntie... This maid knows her mistake... This maid really knows her mistake..."
While crying, she secretly observed He Huaibi's movements from the corner of her eye.
Sure enough, He Huaibi was attracted by the commotion here and quickened his pace.
"What's going on here?" A gentle yet somewhat displeased voice sounded.
Bixi was startled and quickly turned around. When she saw that it was He Huaibi, the cruelty on her face instantly faded, replaced by a gentle and submissive expression.
She quickly stepped forward to greet him and bowed. "Young master."
"I'm asking you, what's going on here?" He Huaibi's gaze passed over her and landed on Tian Yao, who was kneeling on the ground, trembling with sobs. His brows furrowed.
Bixi's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly explained, "Reporting to the young master, Tian Yao didn't know her place. I just said a few words to her, and she felt so bad about it that she insisted on kneeling here to pay her respects."
With just a few words, she cleared herself completely and made herself seem magnanimous, while making it seem like Tian Yao was overreacting.
He Huaibi didn't say a word. He just walked up to Tian Yao and softened his voice. "Is that so?"
Tian Yao looked up. Her small face was red from crying, and her eyes were swollen like walnuts. She looked extremely pitiful.
Telling the truth would easily lead to a confrontation.
Moreover, in this situation, many things were unfavorable to her.
She sniffed and replied hoarsely, "Yes... It's this maid's fault. I bumped into the auntie and should be punished."
He Huaibi sighed and said to Bixi, "She's just a little girl. Even if she made a mistake, she shouldn't be treated like this. Let her get up."
He Huaibi didn't like to punish people physically. This was a good trait of his and could be regarded as his personal charm.
It was because of this habit of his that Tian Yao deliberately cried loudly to attract him. Otherwise, she would be wrongly accused of deliberately seducing him.
Tian Yao definitely didn't want to take the blame for this, and she didn't even want such a thing to happen.
Bixi's smile froze on her face.
But she couldn't refute, so she forced a smile and said, "The young master is right. I was wrong."
She turned to Tian Yao and said unkindly, "Hurry up and thank the young master. Get up!"
"Th... Thank you, young master." Tian Yao trembled as she supported the ground. She struggled a few times before slowly standing up, looking so weak that she seemed about to fall at any moment.
He Huaibi looked at her thin figure and felt his heart soften. "You're not feeling well. Go back and rest first."
"Thank you, young master." Tian Yao lowered her head, hugged the jade pendant she had retrieved, limped past Bixi, and left in a hurry.
Tian Yao limped back to He Ciyuan's courtyard, feeling scared and angry.
[What kind of thing is this! One after another, they all want to make trouble for me!]
She pushed open the door, and a stuffy smell of medicine assailed her nostrils. He Ciyuan was sitting in a wheelchair by the window, with his back to the door, motionless.
Judging from his appearance, his illness had flared up again.
She bit her lip. This was an opportunity. A good opportunity for him to see that she was useful beyond just her looks and figure.
She took a deep breath, put on a cautious and concerned look, and shuffled over.
"Young master, is your leg... hurting again?"
He Ciyuan didn't turn around or say a word. Only the aura around him became colder.
"I'll go get the medicine and massage it for you."
As time passed, sweat appeared on Tian Yao's forehead. After kneeling for so long, her own legs began to go numb.
Just when she felt that she was about to lose her strength, a hoarse male voice came from above her head.
"My head hurts."
It was concise and emotionless, a pure command.
Tian Yao rolled her eyes in her heart.
[My goodness, do you treat me like a fully automatic massager? You can even switch the parts!]
She didn't dare to complain and could only obediently do the work.
Tian Yao felt as if she had been pardoned. She quickly withdrew her hand, shook her numb wrist, and was just about to step aside to take a rest.
"Come here."
Before Tian Yao could react, a pair of big hands pulled her into his embrace.
"Ah!"
She plopped down on He Ciyuan's lap, her cheek pressed tightly against his firm chest. The fresh smell of medicine on him lingered around her nose.
Tian Yao instantly froze, scared out of her wits, and didn't dare to move a muscle.
He Ciyuan seemed oblivious to her panic. He just said indifferently to the corner, "Mo Chen."
A black shadow appeared silently. "My lord."
"Go and prepare a basin of rose juice."
"Yes." Mo Chen's figure disappeared again, as if he had never been there.
Tian Yao was completely confused by this inexplicable order. Rose juice?
Wasn't this something for facial masks and baths? What was it for?
Just as she was lost in thought, a hand supported the back of her neck, preventing her from moving.
He Ciyuan lowered his head, buried his face in the crook of her neck, and took a deep breath.
His warm breath sprayed on Tian Yao's sensitive skin, causing a fine shiver.
"What a fragrant milky smell." He murmured in a low voice, his voice with a sigh of contentment.
The next second, a sharp pain came from her neck!
"Hiss—" Tian Yao gasped in pain, and her body trembled violently.