Gu Ying stared at the young man's legs, whose calves were gradually withering away, and felt extremely sad. "Ah Ning, you still refuse to call me sister?"
Gu Ning stiffened and turned his head away. His pitch-black, deep pupils were filled with agony.
He was unwilling and did not want to.
He hated his sister because she had never cared about him before. Now that his legs were disabled and wasting away, and he was mocked by everyone in the household, even a maidservant dared to humiliate him right in front of his face.
He loathed these people to the core.
He also knew it wasn't his sister's fault, yet he could not help but resent her, begrudge her.
Gu Ying did not want to force him. Anyway, she had plenty of time and opportunities. No matter what, she could not let that cheap Mrs. Liu harm her younger brother again.
Stopping Liu Langzhong's medicine was just the first step. The second step was to wait for the imperial physician Wang from the palace to come and take a look at his legs, at least to find out what the problem was, before prescribing the right medication. It was definitely better than blindly fumbling like headless flies now.
She smiled and rubbed his long hair draped over his shoulders, comforting him to eat well. After Gu Jia's marriage was settled, Imperial Physician Wang would come too.
Gu Ning remained silent and did not speak. The Wind Bathing Studio was very cold. The charcoal in the brazier was burning, yet he still felt cold. Sometimes he even felt like he was about to die, that kind of icy feeling rising from the bottom of his heart, tormenting him from time to time.
Feeling disheartened, he leaned crookedly on the bed. The bedding had been changed to clean ones, yet he still felt very filthy.
Gu Ying knew he did not want to talk to her. She sighed, got up and left the Wind Bathing Studio.
Yin Lan said, "Miss, have you not seen the young master's medical records?"
Gu Ying shook her head. "Ah Ning doesn't have any medical records."
Yin Lan understood in her heart. There must be something suspicious about the young master's legs, otherwise the young masters living in a wealthy household would all have medical records when seeing a doctor and taking pulses.
So she sincerely suggested, "If the miss really wants to save the young master, why not let Yin Zhu stick to him day and night starting tonight to keep an eye on the situation here?"
Gu Ying raised her brows, a hint of joy on her face as she turned her head. "Can Yin Zhu do it?"
Yin Lan smiled. "She is healthy and more spirited than us. Keeping watch for three days and three nights is no problem."
Gu Ying pondered for a moment. She had intended to do this earlier, but lacked capable people around. Yin Zhu had come at the right time.
"Good. Then let's start tonight. I want to see what exactly Mrs. Liu has done to my brother."
Not long after the mistress and maid left the Wind Bathing Studio and turned a corner around a long corridor, just after passing through a drooping flower door, Gu Ying felt her wrist being forcefully grabbed by someone.
"You--"
"If you scream, I'll kill you."
The newcomer had a knife up his sleeve. The gleaming blade was currently pressed against her waist, and she could feel a piercing pain through her thick wadded coat. It seemed he was using a lot of force.
Yin Lan's shriek got stuck in her throat as she anxiously watched the man and the dagger in his hand. She was so frightened that her face was bloodless.
"Jiang... Young Master Jiang, calm down... Let's talk nicely... First let go of my young miss..."
Jiang Yin's eyes emitted a ghastly cold light. He looked at Gu Ying, "Let your maid leave first."
Gu Ying's long lashes quivered. Her clear and cold gaze steadily sized up the man's handsome yet gloomy face. The panic she initially felt had now completely faded away. The corners of her lips even curled up lazily.
"Young Master Jiang, why should I listen to you?"
"Don't you want to live?"
"Do you really dare to kill me?"
"Gu Ying--you're asking for death!"
Jiang Yin gnashed his teeth, glaring at her with almost violent eyes. But his big hand had already recklessly pulled her slender waist towards him, dragging her to a secluded corner where no one would pass by.
There was a low wall here, separated from an abandoned courtyard next door.
He moved roughly, forcefully pushing her against the wall. His gaze was heavy as he stared at her exquisite little face nestled in a ring of white fur collar. Her eyes were brimming with a layer of mist, evoking an irresistible urge to love and protect her, or to bully her.
He could no longer restrain the turbulent undercurrent swirling within him. Lowering his head, his lips recklessly pressed towards her red ones.
Gu Ying narrowed her beautiful eyes, and lifted her palm to slap him hard across the face.
"Slap!"
Jiang Yin's face was slapped to one side, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. He licked his lips, his pitch-black, sinister eyes glancing sideways at her. "Gu Ying, you dare hit me?"
Gu Ying also laughed coldly, looking back at him without any fear. "You've eaten the heart of a bear and the guts of a leopard, daring to take liberties with me. Why can't I hit you?"
"Heh heh." The surging undercurrent in Jiang Yin's dark pupils was suppressed anger on the verge of erupting. "What is it, Gu Ying? Back then, you cried and made a fuss, saying you liked me, and got your eldest sister to give me handkerchiefs, love poems, sachets. You even said you wanted to marry me and be my wife, that you'd only marry me and no one else. Yet now, you've suddenly changed. If I hadn't personally felt your feelings towards me in your eyes, I would suspect you were possessed by some evil spirit."
Gu Ying's mind trembled slightly, her pupils contracting as she glared at him.
Seeing the intense hatred in her eyes, Jiang Yin was only slightly surprised before he quickly and satisfactorily raised the corners of his lips.
"Ah Ying, you care about me, don't you?"
Gu Ying almost vomited from disgust. She looked mockingly into the darkness in his eyes but said nothing.
Her silence only fueled Jiang Yin's arrogance and complacency.
He chuckled frivolously and moved closer to her, his fingers stroking down her cheek. His eyebrows and eyes were seductive. "At the Nanhai hunting grounds, you deliberately designed the situation between me and Gu Jia, right?"
"You're doing this to me because you feel I will never fall in love with you in this lifetime. So out of love turned hatred, you did those things to get my attention, to make me notice you, right?"
"Ah Ying, ah Ying..."
He used a finger to gently lift her chin, gazing intently into the churning emotions in her eyes, smiling meaningfully. "Sometimes I really feel that you love me so much, your love for me is uncontrollable. Every time you look at me, your eyes are full of affection I cannot ignore. I even feel that you were once my woman, married me and became my wife, and gave me children--"
"Keep dreaming!"
Gu Ying sneered again and slapped him across the face.
She equally hated the former ignorant herself who was infatuated with him without a bottom line. It was precisely because of her foolishness that allowed him to push her step by step into the abyss of hell.
This bastard actually dared to mention those disgusting things from their past life!
For an instant, Jiang Yin's gaze turned sinister. He used his tongue to push against his molars, spitting the blood in his mouth to the side.
"What is it, did I hit a nerve and make you angry with shame? I still remember your body fragrance, your smooth and fair skin, and your plump round--"
