"Thank you!" Ye Qianlong's voice was soft and gentle, which was very pleasant to hear.
"You were injured saving me, so it's only right that I bandage you up. There's no need to thank me!" Shen Lixue glanced at Bai Ling'er, who was brewing medicine with osmanthus flowers not far away, and lowered her voice to say, "Qianlong, why do I feel like you're hostile towards Bai Ling'er?"
Ye Qianlong glanced at Bai Ling'er and frowned deeply: "I don't like her!"
Shen Lixue: "..." There are so many people in Qingyan Capital, and he dislikes many people, so why has he never shown such strong hostility towards any particular person?
"She... might be bullying you!" Ye Qianlong looked at Shen Lixue's slightly furrowed brows, hesitated for a moment, and said in a low voice.
Shen Lixue's gaze sharpened: "You mean, Bai Ling'er knocked down that wooden frame?"
Ye Qianlong shook his head, his clear eyes slightly misty: "She was far away from me, I didn't see her knock down the wooden frame!"
Shen Lixue frowned: "When the wooden frame collapsed, weren't you all standing together under the osmanthus tree? How come you were so far apart?"
Ye Qianlong shook his head: "No, I was moving wine jars under the wooden frame when she went to find you!" When he looked up, he saw the wooden frame was about to fall, so he rushed over to save Shen Lixue. He didn't see who knocked down the wooden frame.
Shen Lixue's cold gaze quickly swept across the courtyard. There were only three people there: herself, Ye Qianlong, and Bai Ling'er. Ye Qianlong was standing under the osmanthus tree. From his angle, he couldn't knock down the wooden frame. Bai Ling'er was halfway there with the pills, standing on one side of the wooden frame. If she had deep internal strength, she could knock down the wooden frame without anyone noticing.
What was her purpose in knocking down the wooden frame? Was she going to crush me to death? Or was she testing me? Ye Qianlong was highly skilled in martial arts and wouldn't just stand by and watch Shen Lixue die. The most likely explanation was that she was testing me. If she had moved any faster and I had dodged the wooden frame, my martial arts skills would have been exposed.
Everyone in Qingyan knew she was skilled in martial arts, but no one knew the extent of her skill. Bai Ling'er's probing, however, revealed the truth.
Bai Ling'er is a woman of great hidden talent; she really underestimated her.
"Princess, the medicine is ready!" Bai Ling'er walked over with the bowl of medicine, smiling gently, her voice as beautiful and melodious as a nightingale's song: "I'll take it to Prince An!"
“Okay!” Shen Lixue nodded with a smile. The moment Bai Ling’er turned around, she quickly kicked a pebble, which hit her knee hard. Bai Ling’er lost her balance and fell to one side.
"Careful!" Shen Lixue reached out and took the medicine bowl, but her elbow accidentally bumped into Bai Ling'er's chest. Bai Ling'er leaned back and fell onto the edge of the well. She slipped on something and fell straight into the well.
"Splash!" A muffled sound came from the well as someone fell into the water, followed by Bai Ling'er's cries for help: "Help! Help!"
Shen Lixue frowned. In her series of tests, Bai Ling'er had no power to resist at all. She also did not detect that Bai Ling'er had martial arts or internal strength. Was it that Bai Ling'er really did not know martial arts, or was she hiding it too well?
"What happened?" With a gentle question, a figure in light blue appeared at the entrance of the courtyard. He was handsome, ethereal, and calm. It was Dongfang Xun.
Shen Lixue blinked: "Young Master Xun, Miss Bai Ling'er has fallen into the well. Ye Qianlong is injured and unable to rescue her. Does the Young Master know martial arts?"
Dongfang Xun's gaze sharpened, and he strode over: "How did you end up falling into the well?"
Shen Lixue's eyes darted around: "This area around the well hasn't been cleaned in a long time. There are many small, round fruits scattered around it. Miss Bai probably stepped on some of the fruits, slipped, and lost her balance..."
"I remember, you also know martial arts!" Dongfang Xun raised an eyebrow at Shen Lixue, as if to say, "With your martial arts skills, it would have been easy for you to save her the moment she fell into the well!"
"I was busy taking the medicine bowl and accidentally missed grabbing Miss Bai!" Shen Lixue shook the medicine bowl in her hand.
"Help! Help!" From inside the well, Bai Ling'er's cries for help grew weaker with each breath.
Shen Lixue raised the corners of her lips slightly, and seeing that Dongfang Xun was about to say something, she cut him off first: "Young Master Xun, Miss Bai can't swim. If you delay any longer, she will die!"
Dongfang Xun frowned, walked to the well, looked down at Bai Ling'er who was struggling in the water, and then suddenly jumped into the well with a heavy heart.
Shen Lixue felt the green shadow disappear before her eyes and then reappear in an instant, with Bai Ling'er, who was soaking wet, in her arms.
The fact that he rescued the person so quickly shows that Dongfang Xun's martial arts skills are unfathomable.
Bai Ling'er's hair was soaked, and her clothes clung to her body, outlining her exquisite figure. She coughed incessantly, and although she looked disheveled, she did not evoke disgust. Instead, it made her appear even more pitiful.
Unseen by anyone, Bai Ling'er, lying on the ground, quietly picked up a small, blood-stained piece of Ye Qianlong's torn black sleeve.
Ye Qianlong hadn't been injured for long, and the blood on her sleeve hadn't yet congealed. Her gaze darkened, and she hid the blood-stained sleeve, continuing to cough.
Shen Lixue looked at Dongfang Xun. In this situation, shouldn't the man take off his outer garment and drape it over the woman to show gentlemanly manners? Why was Dongfang Xun just staring at the deep well without any reaction?
Looking at Ye Qianlong again, he was missing a sleeve and his arm was seriously injured, so he really couldn't take off his outer garment to give to Bai Ling'er.
Neither of the two grown men would give Bai Ling'er any clothes; did they expect her to give them to her?
Shen Lixue was a woman, and as the weather got hot, she put on her outer clothes but no longer wore her white inner garment. If she were to take off her clothes for Bai Ling'er, she would only be able to wear a bodice: "Someone, quickly bring Miss Bai some clothes!"
None of the three men took off their clothes to rescue the damsel in distress, so the servants had to bring over another set of clothes.
"How is Second Brother's condition?" Dongfang Xun turned his gaze from the ancient well to Shen Lixue.
"The Ghost Doctor of Southern Xinjiang is performing acupuncture, and with this bowl of medicine, he can last for half a month. As long as a suitable heart is found, Dongfang Heng can be saved!" Dongfang Xun is Dongfang Heng's older brother and lives in the Holy King's Mansion. He would find out about this sooner or later, so Shen Lixue didn't intend to hide it from him.
"A suitable heart?" Dongfang Xun was taken aback. "What do you mean?"
"The Ghost Doctor of Southern Xinjiang said that Dongfang Heng's heart is too badly injured, and there is no cure. To heal him, he must be replaced with a perfectly intact heart!" Shen Lixue's cold gaze turned serious. A suitable, matching heart is not easy to find. Can they find one within half a month?
In modern times, blood type and organ matching is most likely to be successful between close relatives. Dongfang Heng also has many relatives, but they are all members of the royal family. They travel by car and are surrounded by servants, so it is almost impossible for accidents to happen. The heart that Dongfang Heng needs will not come from the Dongfang royal family.
"Miss Bai, here's a coat!" A maidservant draped an outer garment over Bai Ling'er's shoulders.
"Thank you!" Bai Ling'er smiled, stood up while wrapping her clothes around herself, and said, "Young Master Xun, Crown Prince Ye, Princess Li Xue, please forgive my rudeness. I'll go back to my room to change!"
Shen Lixue smiled slightly: "Please go ahead, Miss Bai!"
Bai Ling'er, wrapped in her clothes, walked out of the courtyard step by step, elegant and noble.
Shen Lixue watched Bai Ling'er's disappearing figure and smiled silently. She definitely didn't grow up in the countryside.
"Li Xue, the medicine has been spilled!" Ye Qianlong's clear voice rang out.
Shen Lixue snapped back to her senses, quickly picked up the medicine bowl, and looked at Ye Qianlong's newly bandaged arm. Her gaze sharpened: "Qianlong, you're injured. Go back to the inn to rest first. I'll come see you after I finish dealing with Dongfang Heng's matter!"
"Hmm!" Ye Qianlong nodded, his eyes somewhat dim.