Zhang Datou was stunned, thinking to himself: She has to take a bath as soon as she wakes up... cough cough, it seems that Miss Li is really badly injured and can hardly let go of this matter!
He shook his head and muttered to himself, "Things are not good." He then sighed all the way and instructed the shopkeeper to prepare hot water.
After Gu Qingyun and Hua Liran finished discussing and handling all the matters in the manor, it was already noon. He hadn't seen Li Feiqing for half a day and was extremely worried about her. He hurriedly returned to his room, only to find the door tightly closed and bolted from the inside. Startled, he immediately exerted force and the bolt broke off easily.
Gu Qingyun strode into the room, her voice low and hoarse with worry, and called out, "Xiao Qing?"
Inside the room, steam rose from the ceiling, and a bathtub stood in the center. Li Feiqing stood beside the tub, wearing a thin white shirt, drying her long hair.
She froze when Gu Qingyun suddenly barged in. Water dripped down her long hair, soaking her thin shirt, which only made her already half-covered body more revealing.
Gu Qingyun stared intently, her heart pounding wildly. Suddenly, she turned around, rushed to the door, and slammed it shut.
Li Feiqing then realized what was happening, exclaimed in surprise, and hurriedly grabbed her clothes to cover herself, saying angrily, "You... how did you suddenly barge in!"
Gu Qingyun turned around to look at her, his handsome face slightly flushed, but he didn't know how to speak.
Li Feiqing was both embarrassed and angry, and said, "You...you...aren't you going to get out?"
Gu Qingyun saw that there were still a few water droplets on her flushed cheeks. Although she was scolding her angrily, her expression revealed a bit of shyness and bashfulness. Gu Qingyun was already unsettled. He also saw that although she covered her chest with clothes, her porcelain-like skin on her arms and legs was still exposed, which made her even more alluring. Gu Qingyun did not know where to look.
Li Feiqing was extremely anxious and stamped her foot, saying, "You're still looking!"
Gu Qingyun forced herself to calm down, turned her face away, cleared her throat, and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, I saw the door was bolted and I was worried about you, that's why..."
Li Feiqing said angrily, "I was taking a bath in my room, so of course I had to lock the door. Why didn't you knock before coming in?"
Gu Qingyun sighed helplessly, "This room is mine. Do I have to knock on the door to go back to my own room?"
Li Feiqing was taken aback, only then realizing that she had stayed in his room for a night, but she still stubbornly said, "Why didn't you say so earlier? I didn't want to share a room with you."
Gu Qingyun smiled slightly, took two steps forward, looked at her and said, "We'll still have to live together sooner or later."
Upon hearing this, Li Feiqing's heart stirred, her face flushed, and she lowered her head, remaining silent.
Gu Qingyun reached out and pulled her into his arms. He smelled the faint fragrance emanating from her hair and felt intoxicated. He said softly, "If I don't let you live with me, I will be worried day and night, afraid that you will be kidnapped again."
Li Feiqing sensed something, looked up at him, and said softly, "Yes, I understand."
Seeing the tenderness in her eyes and the lingering affection in her gaze, Gu Qingyun was moved and hugged Li Feiqing tightly, about to kiss her lips. But when he caught a glimpse of the wound on her neck, he was shocked and cursed himself for being foolish. He quickly let go of her arms, took the clothes from her hands and wrapped them around her, and said in a hoarse voice, "I'll go out first. Call me when you've changed your clothes."
He took two steps toward the door, then remembered something. He took out a small box from his pocket, placed it on the table, and said in a hoarse voice, "This is the ointment that Li Ran prepared for you. Apply it to... the wound, and... it won't hurt so much." After saying that, he pushed open the door and went out, then gently closed the door behind him.
Li Feiqing's face flushed, and her heart pounded. Seeing Gu Qingyun leave, she was slightly surprised but also relieved. She walked to the table, picked up the box of ointment, and felt a sense of confusion. She murmured, "This medicine is for me to apply to my neck? But it hasn't hurt for a long time."
In the evening, Shen Luo excitedly walked out of Hua Li Ran's room. Just as he was about to return to his room, he suddenly saw Li Fei Qing standing not far away with a gloomy expression, staring at him angrily.
Shen Luo felt a pang of guilt and quickly went over, smiling apologetically, "Junior Sister, you were looking for me?"
Li Feiqing snorted and muttered, "Third Senior Brother, you've changed a lot lately."
Shen Luo was startled, then chuckled and said, "Have you become much more handsome, or much more dashing?"
Li Feiqing glanced at him and frowned, saying, "You used to never want to stay in other people's rooms for even a moment longer, saying that the atmosphere inside was unclean and would make you itch terribly. But now you go to Hua Liran's room and stay for several hours at a time."
Shen Luo coughed and said, "Brother Hua's medical skills are superb, and he is also very clean. He cured my senior brother's problem a long time ago."
Li Feiqing pouted and said, "So you're only concerned with chatting and laughing with him now, and you're completely indifferent to my affairs?"
Shen Luo hurriedly said, "Junior Sister, why do you say that? When have I ever stopped caring about you? Come, come, who bullied you? Tell your senior brother, and I'll go beat him up to avenge you!" A thought suddenly struck him, and he stared at Li Feiqing, asking in a deep voice, "Did that brat Gu Qingyun change his mind?"
Li Feiqing was taken aback, and asked blankly, "What? Gu Qingyun, he..."
Shen Luo's face turned ashen with anger, and she said indignantly, "Although you were forced into this by that treacherous Murong Wuhen... he didn't know how to cherish you, but instead wanted to break off the engagement?"
Li Feiqing was completely bewildered, stammering and repeating, "Broken engagement...?"
Shen Luo said angrily, "I didn't expect him to be this kind of person. I'm going to find him to settle this matter. Although his Feihua Manor is famous, our Yingshan Sect is not necessarily afraid of Gu Qingyun!"
Li Feiqing hurriedly grabbed his sleeve and asked anxiously, "Senior brother, what are you talking about? How could Gu Qingyun break off the engagement?"
Shen Luo was taken aback, then asked, "He didn't call off the engagement?"
Li Feiqing pouted and said, "Of course not. Why would you say that about Gu Qingyun? He treats me very well, much better than you treat me."
Shen Luo finally felt relieved, gave an embarrassed smile, and said, "That's good. I knew he wouldn't be that kind of person... So who exactly bullied my precious junior sister?"
Li Feiqing rolled her eyes and muttered, "It's you! Yesterday I wanted to say something to you, but you couldn't even listen to the whole thing before turning around and leaving with Hua Liran."
Shen Luo was taken aback before realizing that she was upset about this matter, and couldn't help but smile wryly: "Junior sister, I'm doing this for your own good. Think about it, if I let you finish speaking in front of them, wouldn't your reputation be ruined?"
Li Feiqing was even more confused and asked, "What does this have to do with my reputation?"
Shen Luo coughed and said, "It's my fault for not teaching you these things before. You should know that although Master Gu doesn't mind, it's not good if others find out about your... loss of virginity. Besides, it would also be bad for Master Gu's reputation."
When Li Feiqing heard him say the words "loss of virginity," she understood. She was stunned for a long time, and thought again about the words and actions of Zhang Datou, Gu Qingyun, Shen Luo and others. Suddenly, she seemed to understand, but still holding on to a sliver of hope, she forced a smile and asked, "Senior brother, you don't think that I have something going on with that villain Murong Wuhen, do you?"
Shen Luo hesitated and asked, "Weren't you already...?"
Li Feiqing's face flushed red, and unable to contain herself any longer, she suddenly roared, "I didn't!"
Shen Luo was so frightened that she took several steps back.
Li Feiqing was on the verge of tears, looking aggrieved. She grabbed Shen Luo's sleeve, stamped her feet with a mournful face, and said, "Senior brother, you must help me this time."
Author's Note: The twisting motion was already written, but Jinjiang's weak protagonist is so violently affected, I'm in tears.
Lord Manor, are you enjoying being tortured?
Making the best of a bad situation
That evening, Li Feiqing returned to her room in a depressed mood. When she opened the door, she saw Gu Qingyun sitting at the table, staring blankly at the box of ointment on the table.
Now that she knew the reason for everyone's misunderstanding, she looked at Gu Qingyun with a more inquisitive gaze.
Gu Qingyun heard the door open and looked up to meet her gaze. She asked gently, "Did you go to see your third senior brother?"
Li Feiqing gave a soft "hmm," listlessly walked to the bedside, and sat down.
Seeing her like this, Gu Qingyun became a little worried and said softly, "If you are tired, you should rest early."
Li Feiqing casually agreed and was about to go to bed when she suddenly felt something was wrong. Looking up, she saw that Gu Qingyun showed no intention of leaving, and her heart skipped a beat. She coughed and asked, "Aren't you going to sleep?"
As soon as she uttered those words, she realized their ambiguity and her face flushed red. Then she saw Gu Qingyun get up and walk slowly toward the bed after hearing her words. Her heart pounded like a drum, and her right hand unconsciously rose up to tightly grip the sleeve of her left arm.
Gu Qingyun walked to the bedside and saw that her face was flushed, her eyelashes were lowered and trembling slightly, and she looked both shy and afraid. Gu Qingyun couldn't help but feel a strange feeling in her heart. She felt a dry mouth and quickly calmed herself down. She turned her head away with difficulty, lowered the bed curtains, and said in a hoarse voice, "You go to sleep first. I'm going out to practice my kung fu for a while."
Li Feiqing sat in the tent, listening to him walk quickly towards the door. Suddenly remembering what Shen Luo had told her, she hurriedly lifted the tent flap and called out, "Wait!"
Gu Qingyun paused, turning back to look at her.
Seeing the questioning look in his eyes and his burning gaze fixed on her, Li Feiqing panicked and immediately changed her words, saying, "It's nothing, I'm going to sleep now." With that, she hurriedly shrank back into the tent.
Gu Qingyun was stunned for a moment before clenching her fists and walking stiffly out of the room.
Li Feiqing lay on the bed, listening to his footsteps gradually fade away before letting out a soft sigh. She lifted her sleeve and gazed at the crimson stain on her left arm, recalling what had just happened in Hua Li Ran's room...
Hua Liran applied the rouge red to her left arm with a stern face, and said with a frown, "Why not just tell the manor lord the truth directly? Why use some kind of virginity mark and make trouble for yourself?"
Shen Luo raised an eyebrow and smiled, "If you let your junior sister tell him this yourself, wouldn't that be a loss of composure? It's better to let him see it for himself." He then smiled and instructed her, "When you get back, have Gu Qingyun take a look at your arm, and he'll understand everything."
Li Feiqing lowered her sleeves and sighed. Although her third senior brother's idea was good, she felt that if she had shown her arm to Gu Qingyun, she would have been even more unlucky.
※※※※
After Li Feiqing left, Hua Liran glanced at Shen Luo, who was beaming with delight, and frowned, asking, "What exactly are you planning?"
Shen Luo smiled at him and said in a low voice, "I remember you said that Gu Qingyun is already twenty-two years old this year?"
Hua Liran hummed in agreement and waited for him to continue.
Shen Luo added, "I suppose he has never been to a brothel, nor has he ever been near a woman?"
Hua Liran frowned and said, "Of course, the master is devoted to Miss Li, so don't make wild guesses."
With a broad smile, Shen Luo lowered his voice and said, "He's been holding back for so long. Tonight, my junior sister is staying in his room. If she takes another look at his arm, guess what they'll do... hehe..." He chuckled mischievously as he spoke.
Hua Liran stared at him for a long time before saying, "She is your junior sister, yet you have the heart to tease her."
Shen Luo laughed and said, "Junior sister is meant to be teased... Besides, Gu Qingyun has been tormented by this matter for many days. It's not unreasonable to let this kid get a little taste of sweetness now."
Hua Liran glanced at him sideways and slowly said, "When did you become so kind?"
Shen Luo puffed out his chest and said, "I've always been a kind-hearted person, how come you're only realizing that now?"
Hua Liran turned her gaze away and said calmly, "Weren't you planning to let the two of them be inseparable so that your junior sister wouldn't have time to bother you?"
Shen Luo shuddered, gave a dry laugh, and dared not say anything more.
Suddenly, Hua Liran asked coldly, "You're already twenty-two this year, aren't you? You must have been to brothels and been close to women."
Shen Luoqing coughed, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
Hua Liran grabbed him by the front of his shirt, dragged him to the door, opened the door, and pushed him out.
Two cries of "Ouch!" were heard as Shen Luo collided forehead to forehead with someone, both crying out in pain. The person, clutching their forehead and looking disheveled, was Zhang Datou.
Hua Liran and Shen Luo were both stunned, and asked in unison, "What are you doing here?"
Zhang Datou coughed and said with a forced smile, "It's nothing, nothing. I just happened to be passing by. I... I didn't hear anything." After saying that, he didn't dare to look at the two men's faces again, used his lightness skill, and fled in panic.
Hua Liran snorted, closed the door and turned back. After a while, he heard a few light knocks on the door. He walked to the door with a sullen face and said impatiently as he opened it, "What other nonsense do you want to say?"
Upon opening the door, she was taken aback. Standing in the doorway was not Shen Luo, but Gu Qingyun. Gu Qingyun's face was slightly flushed, and she said in a low voice, "Li Ran, do you have any medicine to calm the mind and reduce internal heat?"
※※※※
The next morning, when Li Feiqing woke up, she found that Gu Qingyun was no longer in the room. She had no idea when he had returned to the room the night before or where he had slept.
She stretched, jumped out of bed, washed up, opened the door, and saw Zhang Datou waiting outside again. She was very surprised and asked, "Why are you here again?"
Zhang Datou didn't answer, but his eyes were mysterious as he looked her up and down. Li Feiqing felt uneasy under his gaze and said angrily, "What are you looking at? I don't have any flowers growing on my face."
Zhang Datou chuckled a few times and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Yes, yes, yes."
Li Feiqing felt something was off and ignored Zhang Datou. She was about to walk out of the courtyard when she heard faint whispers coming from outside the wall.
"When the master came out of his room this morning, I noticed that his eyes were a little dark. Could it be that he is not feeling well?"