The window was open. The gentle night breeze wafted in, fluttering the bed curtains and stirring the restless hearts of the two.
Originally, Lu Huaijin just wanted to tease her.
However...
He lowered his eyes and looked at the girl in his arms, who seemed ready to face death bravely. His eyes flickered slightly, and a gentle smile appeared on his lips.
He carefully held Lin Wanyu and placed her beside him. In a deep voice, he said, "Sit still. I'll apply medicine to your wound."
Hearing this, Lin Wanyu's heart skipped a beat, and a wave of shame welled up from the bottom of her heart.
She quickly got up and bowed, saying, "This lowly maid is too vulgar to trouble Your Highness the Prince. I..."
Before she could finish her words, Lu Huaijin's cold gaze fell on her. She was so frightened that she immediately fell silent. With her head down, she walked back to sit beside him.
Lu Huaijin got up, pulled over a chair and sat down. He lifted her leg, took off her shoe, and slowly rolled up her skirt and trouser leg.
Her straight and fair calf was thus exposed.
The man's fingertips were still burning hot. When they touched her smooth skin, Lin Wanyu's face blushed a little more...
"Your Highness, let this maid apply the medicine by herself..."
In the past, when she practiced the pipa, her fingertips were often bleeding. When she practiced dancing, her ankles and knees were often bruised. She had always applied medicine to herself.
No one had ever applied medicine to her before.
And it was a man!
Lu Huaijin lowered his eyes and looked at the bruised and swollen knee. His eyes darkened slightly. He took out the ointment and gently applied it to her knee. Then he rubbed his palms and gently massaged her knee.
Lin Wanyu's long eyelashes trembled slightly. She bit her lower lip tightly in pain but managed not to cry out.
Lu Huaijin seemed to notice her discomfort. His gloomy face softened a little. "If it hurts, just say it."
Lin Wanyu shook her head. "It doesn't hurt!"
Although she said it didn't hurt, her voice trembled when she spoke.
"Now you say it doesn't hurt?" Lu Huaijin's voice was soft, filled with helplessness.
Lin Wanyu was slightly stunned. She looked up at him, and he happened to be looking at her.
When their eyes met, it seemed that a ray of light was flowing between them.
Lin Wanyu's heart started to pound wildly. The charming scene of that night appeared in front of her eyes again.
The man's hot breath sprayed beside her earlobe, making it itch. She wanted to scratch it but couldn't reach.
That night, when she couldn't bear it anymore, she kept crying out in pain...
While lost in thought, a pair of well - jointed hands touched her forehead.
Lin Wanyu subconsciously took a step back. Her almond - shaped eyes, under the candlelight, seemed like the sky after a spring rain, misty.
Lu Huaijin picked off the pear blossom that had somehow gotten stuck in her hairpin. In a deep voice, he said, "I misunderstood you today."
Lin Wanyu looked up at him in disbelief. She seemed to never have thought that His Highness the Prince would be so... so gentle and humble as to apologize to a small person like her.
After a moment, she quickly stood up and bowed. "Your Highness is being too kind. It was this maid's fault today. Your Highness didn't blame me. That's already a great blessing for this maid."
Seeing her look like a frightened bird, delicate and pitiful, Lu Huaijin couldn't help smiling. "What did you do wrong?"
Lin Wanyu was slightly stunned, then said, "This maid learned the rules today and found out that the food Your Highness eats must be tasted by a special person. This maid made fish soup and pastries today but didn't... didn't ask anyone to taste them."
The softer her voice became, the more it trembled.
Lu Huaijin sat there upright, quietly looking at her. Finally, a look of understanding flashed in his deep eyes.
She had been in Yangzhou before. Although she was in a brothel, she either practiced the pipa or danced all day long. Her life was quite peaceful.
Now that she had come to the prince's mansion, these successive events must have frightened her.
Thinking of this, Lu Huaijin lowered his eyes and tidied the jade pendant around his waist. In a deep voice, he said, "It's late at night. Apply the medicine by yourself and go to bed early."
After Lu Huaijin left, Lin Wanyu stood at the door. After thinking for a while, she still locked the door.
The summer night was long, and the sky was full of stars.
Lin Wanyu applied the medicine and lay on the couch, tossing and turning. She just couldn't fall asleep.
All that kept appearing in front of her eyes were some past events.
When she was seven years old, she took her younger brother and begged everywhere. By chance, she was spotted by Qin Niang, the madam of Zuihua Tower, and taken back there.
Because she was obedient and willing to do any dirty and tiring work, Qin Niang and the sisters in the tower treated her quite well.
Moreover, she was good at playing the pipa and dancing, which earned a lot of money for Qin Niang. So Qin Niang never let her receive guests, for fear of ruining her aura.
If the Wang family hadn't ransomed her with a large amount of money and by coercion and inducement this time, perhaps she would still be in Yangzhou, living a peaceful but solid life.
In the capital city, wealth and power were so overwhelming that a small person like her would surely become an appendage under the power sooner or later if she stayed here for a long time.
She didn't want that!
People are born with all kinds of postures. She didn't want to waste her whole life like this.
Early the next morning, Lin Wanyu still got up early. She got dressed neatly and was going to the main hall to serve Lu Huaijin to get up.
When she pushed open the door, she saw Chun Qiao already waiting at the door.
When Chun Qiao saw her, she bent down and bowed respectfully. "Your Highness went to inspect the troops in the eastern suburbs this morning. He ordered this maid to wait here and tell the girl that you don't need to serve him."
Lin Wanyu responded and returned the salute. "Thank you, Miss Chun Qiao."
Chun Qiao nodded slightly and turned to leave.
After Lin Wanyu watched her leave, she looked up at the sky, sighed, and then turned back into the room, planning to find something to do.
Just after the morning bell rang at the Chen hour, Chun Qiao came back. She was holding a tray in her hand, on which there were many delicate snacks.
"Miss Lin, this maid is ordered by His Highness to bring you breakfast."
Her small face remained expressionless all the time, looking extremely serious.
If someone didn't know her, they would surely think she was hard to approach.
After getting along with her for the past two days, Lin Wanyu knew that she was cold - faced but warm - hearted.
"Miss Chun Qiao, come and have some with me!"
Now she still had to stay in the prince's mansion for a few more days, so she needed to pay attention to many things.
Apart from Lu Huaijin, Si Chen and the others, the only person she knew in the mansion was Chun Qiao. It was always good to learn more things from her.
Chun Qiao put the tray on the table and was just about to refuse when the courtyard door was pushed open.
The person who came was still the sharp - faced old woman from that day.
The old woman quickly walked to the main hall door. With her head down, she nodded slightly as a salute.
"The Princess has ordered that Miss Lin and Chun Qiao go to the front yard to answer some questions."
This time, Chun Qiao was also called.
Lin Wanyu's eyelids twitched. She suddenly had a bad feeling.
As she followed the old woman to the front yard, she kept thinking in her mind what she had done wrong.
Suddenly, Lu Huaijin's figure appeared in front of her eyes, which made her heart flutter. She also recalled the scene when Lu Huaijin appeared in front of her when she was kneeling in punishment that day.
Could it be that the Princess of Xiang was going to settle accounts after the autumn?