Madam Yu pleaded hastily, "Young Master Huo, I'm begging you, please don't send me to the authorities. I'll work like a slave to make it up to you..."
It was late at night, and Gu Fengyan had nothing to say to Madam Yu. Huo Duan also didn't want to dwell on the matter any longer.
“Well, with the village head and Brother Xue here, they can be our witnesses. This time, for the sake of being from the same village and for the sake of Brother Shen and Brother Rui, we can let Shen Yushi go to the county government…” He said to Liu Zhengshan, “Let’s just drop this matter… But if Shen Yushi provokes the Huo family again in the future, it won’t be resolved by sending her to the government office!”
Liu Zhengshan nodded and sighed, "Yan Ge'er and Huo Xiaozi are kind-hearted. I can vouch for this. If Shen Yushi dares to do such a thing again, I, as the village head of Heqing Village, will be the first to not let her off the hook!"
Upon hearing that Huo Duan and the others did not intend to pursue the matter, Madam Yu immediately collapsed to the ground, utterly terrified. "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, thank you so much! I'll never do such a thing again... I'm so sorry!"
She cried, truly regretting what she had done. If she could never see Da Bao and Er Bao again, she would rather be dead.
Huo Duan frowned. "Sister-in-law, don't ever step into the Huo family again, and don't let me and Yan Ge'er see you again."
Upon hearing this, Madam Yu immediately got up and started to leave, saying, "I...I'm leaving now, I'm leaving now..."
Fearing they might change their minds, I ran out, my feet teetering on the ground, almost tumbling and crawling.
After cleaning up the mess, Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan were both exhausted, but they still couldn't get a full night's sleep.
The red rash left on my body by the poisonous plant hadn't faded yet, but Gu Fengyan had already brewed the medicine by noon. All I needed to do was add it to my bathwater and soak for a while.
Huo Xiuling and her husband went on a long trip, and Huo's father went to look after the house and take care of Xiaobao and won't be back tonight, leaving only the two of them at home.
Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan went into the kitchen to boil water.
Huo Duan, while tending the fire, suddenly sighed, "The Yu family was also a pitiful person."
"You were almost killed by her, and you still feel sorry for her?" Gu Fengyan added water to the pot, pouring it in ladle by ladle.
Huo Duan laughed and said, "There must be something hateful about a pitiful person, so I can only sigh."
Gu Fengyan gave a disgruntled "humph".
The Yu family's situation is indeed tragic, but this tragedy cannot be used as a reason to harm others.
The knife was stuck in his and Huo Duan's bodies, and he almost lost Huo Duan... Gu Fengyan had no empathy and did not want to dwell on the matter.
Turn the page, tomorrow will still be a wonderful day.
...
With a few handfuls of wheat straw, the water in the pot heated up quickly. A few days ago, Gu Fengyan had asked Shen Zhuo to make a bath tub, which had been delivered shortly before being placed in the thatched shed. This medicinal bath would come in handy.
"You first?" Gu Fengyan scooped hot water into a wooden basin, then carried it into the thatched shed and poured it into the bathtub. After several trips back and forth, he finally added the medicine.
Huo Duan said, "I'll gather the medicinal herbs, and Young Master Gu can wash them first."
Gu Fengyan did not refuse and went straight into the simple bathhouse.
I let my hair down, slowly took off my outer shirt, and touched the warm water with my toes, instantly washing away my fatigue.
The thatched roof of the bathhouse wasn't completely covered, allowing a view of the starry sky. The milky white mist carried the bitter scent of herbs, bringing a sense of calm to Gu Fengyan's heart.
However, when he came out of the bath, he was not very calm... He had forgotten to take his nightgown.
Gu Fengyan, naked, pondered over a pile of dirty clothes he had changed out of.
Wearing them isn't impossible, but if he sweats during the day and his clothes aren't clean, then taking a shower would be pointless... Wearing them and taking another shower isn't impossible, but it's too much trouble, and he's too tired to make another trip.
Just then, Huo Duan passed by. Without thinking, Gu Fengyan said, "Mr. Huo, could you do me a favor..."
After Huo Duan finished collecting the medicinal herbs and washed his hands, he stood outside the bathhouse and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Bring me my nightgown, I forgot." Gu Fengyan chuckled.
Huo Duan responded, took his clothes from the bedroom... and without thinking much, went straight into the bathroom.
As he lifted the curtain, he said, "Young Master Gu's memory isn't very good, is it? You can even—"
When he saw the scene inside the room, he stopped mid-sentence—Gu Fengyan was standing by the bathtub… completely naked.
A note from the author:
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter Thirty-Six
Huo Duan's mind went blank. The clothes he was holding fell to the ground, and his eyes, completely out of his control, took in the entire scene before him.
Her waist was slender and supple, large enough to be grasped in one hand; her legs were long and straight, like tender bamboo shoots sprouting in early spring.
His skin was fair and smooth, as if you could squeeze water out of it.
Gu Fengyan was drying himself when he heard the sound and turned around. The warm, yellow light shone on his face and body, as if a veil had been draped over him, giving him a mysterious and alluring look that stirred the heart.
When their gazes turned towards them, they met Huo Duan's.
Huo Duan's breathing quickened, and he hurriedly looked away, annoyed, "Why aren't you wearing any clothes?"
Gu Fengyan was genuinely surprised that he would come in directly. After a moment of stunned silence, he nonchalantly continued to dry himself with a towel.
"Who takes a shower dressed? You?" He chuckled, bending down to wipe his calves, then moving upwards.
The water droplets that hadn't dried were still dripping down her waist.
The ticking sound, each tick, sounded like thunder to Huo Duan's ears. His throat was parched, and he struggled to speak.
Gu Fengyan glanced at him and only saw his flushed profile and ear tips, then his Adam's apple bobbing.
"Where are the clothes?" Gu Fengyan narrowed his eyes, a smile playing on his lips.
Huo Duan tried his best to hold back, unable to utter a single word. He hurriedly grabbed the clothes from the ground and threw them at him, saying, "Remember to bring your clothes next time. You wear these. I'm going out..."
"Don't rush, Mr. Huo." Gu Fengyan took the clothes and walked over.
The bitter scent of herbs grew closer. Huo Duan froze, unsure where to look.
Gu Fengyan unfolded her nightgown, glancing at Huo Duan as she put it on, and asked in a low voice, "Does it look good?"
Hearing the rustling sound, Huo Duan knew that he was getting dressed, and only then did he dare to look at Gu Fengyan. "What?"
Gu Fengyan fastened his belt, tilted his head back, and asked, "Am I pretty?"
As Huo Duan got closer, he could see Huo Duan's straight nose, smooth features, and eyes that were as black as ink. When Huo Duan spoke, his red, moist lips revealed a tongue that looked like a flower stamen half-open.
"Is it pretty?" he asked again, his gaze fixed on me, hazy and moister than the tide.
Huo Duan was extremely agitated and wanted to press him onto the bed, crush him, destroy him, make him cry until he was hoarse, and make him ecstatic.
"Beautiful." He stared at Gu Fengyan's lips, his throat dry as if it had been burned.
"What looks good? The waist, the legs, or something else..." A smile spread across his charming eyes as Gu Fengyan brushed his wet hair behind his head, his voice low and soft, "What do you want?"
A few drops of water landed on the back of Huo Duan's hand, the coolness spreading throughout his body, but the burning sensation did not subside; instead, it intensified...
"Whatever I want, you agree?" Huo Duan's voice was hoarse as his eyes glanced at Gu Fengyan's long legs beneath her robe.
Gu Fengyan looked at him, smiling without saying a word... She slightly raised her leg, her toes and the inside of her calf lightly brushing against Huo Duan.
"What is Young Master Gu doing?" Huo Duan's nostrils were filled with fragrance, and he was so itchy that he could barely squeeze out the words.
Gu Fengyan didn't answer, but curled his lips into a smile... until Huo Duan reacted.
Unable to bear it any longer, Huo Duan suddenly grabbed his waist, pulled him closer, and deeply inhaled the fragrance from his neck.
"What are you doing?" he asked again.
After a long while, Gu Fengyan ended the torture, raising an eyebrow and smiling, "President Huo, I like honest people..."
Huo Duan had gone mad, his reason almost completely gone. Inhaling the intoxicating fragrance, his mind was a complete mess.
"Huh?" He didn't hear what Gu Fengyan said at all, he just nuzzled against his neck.
"It's late, Mr. Huo, go wash up and go to sleep." Gu Fengyan refused to repeat himself, brushed the hand off his waist, and took a few steps back... his smile deepened, "I wish you a good night's sleep."
He walked away for a long time.
A cool night breeze blew open the curtains, and Huo Duan suddenly came back to his senses, the lingering, unsettling fragrance still in his nostrils.
"Damn it." Still feeling agitated, Huo Duan cursed for the first time.
Gu Fengyan is a very shrewd person, and he knows how to maintain a proper balance... He knows how to make people feel unbearable, how to ignite people's passions, and how to make them willingly submit.
Even a single glance can easily bewitch someone, leaving them disoriented and unable to distinguish east from west.
However, that's all there is to it.
Gu Fengyan is like the fruit at the top of the tree, visible to everyone.
But they couldn't pick them.
Several buckets of cold water were poured down, and it was just dawn.
Huo Duan stood in the courtyard, finally feeling better, as if waking from a dream. He remembered... Gu Fengyan seemed to have said that he liked honest people.
Huo Duan was cooking breakfast in the kitchen when Gu Fengyan woke up early, got dressed, rubbed his eyes, and came in to pour water to wash his face.
"Good morning, Mr. Huo." He greeted Huo Duan as if nothing had happened last night and he didn't know that Huo Duan hadn't returned to his room.
The two were separated by a thin, precarious window paper. Huo Duan was nervously pondering how to face Gu Fengyan, but Gu Fengyan acted as if nothing had happened.
"Good morning." Huo Duan lowered his head and frowned, feeling irritated.
Gu Fengyan continued preparing breakfast as if nothing had happened. However, the two of them didn't talk as much as before…
At noon, we continued to collect and process medicinal herbs.
Early in the morning, Liu Zhengshan told the second branch of the Shen family and Ye Bixian's family about how Yu had harmed Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan.
Huo Xiuling and Jiang Xuerui arrived early, followed by Shen Zhuo and his elder brother Shen Dingshan.
The Shen family felt deeply ashamed of Yu's behavior, and as they were about to enter the courtyard, Shen Dingshan apologized to them.
"I'm sorry to have bothered you, Yan-ge and Huo-xiaozi," Shen Dingshan, always honest and even somewhat timid, bowed so low he almost touched the ground, too ashamed to look them in the eye. "The village head came this morning and said, 'Da Bao's mother is so foolish! I really didn't expect to do such a shameless thing! Thank you for letting her go. Shen Zhuo and I apologize to you...'"
Shen Zhuo apologized again.
Jiang Xuerui blushed with shame and said she dared not take any more wages. As compensation, she, Shen Zhuo, and Shen Ding would work for the Huo family for free from now on.
Since it was Yu who did this, we can't blame the other members of the Shen family. But Gu Fengyan didn't have a good impression of Shen Dingshan and felt that Yu was partly to blame for what happened to her.
“Brother Shen, we’ve discussed this with the village head, let’s just let it go. As long as Sister Yu knows how to reflect on her actions, we’ll accept any apologies…” Gu Fengyan said, pressing his temples. “As for the work, Rui’er’s wages will still be paid, just like before.”
Jiang Xuerui was overwhelmed with shame and it took her a long time to finally accept the wages.