Gu Ying stuffed a pair of jade earrings into her palm before she swayed her slender waist and left the room.
Gu Ying glanced coldly at her and then went into the room.
Gu Ning was huddled at the head of the bed, gritting his teeth to endure the pain in his legs. He said sourly, "What are you here for again?"
Gu Ying knitted her brows. After stopping his medicine, Gu Ning's legs seemed to be getting worse by the day.
The child didn't know better. He thought she was deliberately making things difficult for him and trying to cripple him like this. So he still had no kind words for her.
She was extremely distressed. She sat at the bedside and sighed, "Ah Ning, just wait a little longer."
Gu Ning turned his cold little face away without saying a word.
It was all his sister's fault. His sister was trying to harm him... His legs were hurting more and more. He probably wouldn't live much longer.
But she was still his favorite sister. If he was going to die, he still wanted to give her all the precious jewelry he had hidden away.
Mother had said it was for his sister's dowry.
He endured the piercing pain in his bones. He thought of what he'd overheard the servants say, that his sister was going to get married, and the man she was marrying was not a good man. He would beat his wife and had many other women. If his sister married without money, she would certainly suffer greatly.
With reddened eyes, a moist heat rose in his eyes. No matter what, he had to hold on until his sister's wedding day before he died...
Gu Ying didn't know what he was thinking. She watched him eat and drink soup, then helped him wash up and change his clothes before she finally relaxed.
Dr. Liu still lived in the small room at the Perfume Pavilion.
Gu Ying glanced over in that direction before leaving.
Dr. Liu was a slender middle-aged man of medium height with a thin face and narrow forehead. He had a long face and thin lips, and always wore a smiling expression that made him look very polite. However, his shrewd eyes often gleamed with a hint of cunning that made people feel uneasy.
Especially when he looked at her, the blatant lechery in his eyes made it seem like he was mentally undressing her.
Gu Ying suppressed her disgust and bowed slightly to him with a smile. "Dr. Liu, do you know when my brother will be able to stand up again?"
Dr. Liu was flattered that Gu Ying had taken the initiative to greet him. He slowly walked out from the room, went up to Gu Ying, and smiled obscenely. "Second young lady, don't worry. Your brother will definitely be able to get out of bed and walk within a year. But young lady, your brother's constitution is weak right now, so you should come to the Perfume Pavilion more often to see him."
Gu Ying let out a mocking laugh. She didn't miss the vulgar lust in his eyes.
She curved her lips into a smile and lightly caressed his sleeve with her fair and delicate little hand. "Dr. Liu is right. It seems I'll have to come more often. I wonder if Dr. Liu will have time to carefully explain my brother's illness to me?"
The sweet scent of a young maiden wafted over to him. When the thin gauze fabric brushed over his wrist, he instantly felt his scalp tingle.
He stared wide-eyed at Gu Ying's exquisitely beautiful face, watching her lips that were as flawless as finely carved jade. He almost drooled. "Second young lady, don't worry. I will certainly do my utmost best to treat young master's illness. When you have time, you can come find me. I can teach you well how to massage the acupoints on young master's legs. That will also aid young master's recovery."
"Very well." Gu Ying gently curved her lips into an enchanting smile.
When Dr. Liu saw that, he felt his heart melt. He wished he could press Gu Ying under him right now and ravage her thoroughly.
Unfortunately, this was the Marquis's estate, not a place where he could act recklessly.
He suppressed the urge welling up within him, and reluctantly watched Gu Ying leave. His mind was already scheming about how to get his hands on Gu Ying next time they met.
...
Gu Ying had just left the Perfume Pavilion when her face immediately darkened. She ripped off the thin gauze on her sleeve and handed it to Yanzhi with a look of disgust.
"Yanzhi, remember to burn this. Burn it completely."
Yanzhi made a disgusted expression and shook her head, looking like she wanted to vomit. "That man looks revolting, and his words are even more revolting. My lady, why lower yourself to talk to him?"
Gu Ying's petite face was icy cold. "It's just expediency. He'll regret it one day."
That night, she was so disgusted that she didn't eat a single bite. Just thinking about how Dr. Liu looked at her made her unable to swallow her resentment.
These people were all beasts, lower than animals. She had to make them die without a proper burial to quell the hatred in her heart.
But she was still too weak.
She needed someone powerful, someone even her grandmother feared...
Thinking of this, Zhao Changdu's naturally handsome face involuntarily appeared in her mind...
He had bullied her in their past life. That night, he owed her. He had to repay her...
So it wasn't unreasonable of her to negotiate conditions with him through marriage...
Yin Lan and Yanzhi heated up the water and came in to pull back the curtain. Seeing their young miss sitting motionless under the lamp, they exchanged a puzzled glance. They didn't know what was going on with their young lady.
Ever since she had returned from the Perfume Pavilion, she had been sitting at the desk in a daze without eating dinner or reading books. On normal days she would listen for news about Cangwu Pavilion and The Banishment, and analyze things, but today she was distracted.
Yin Lan put the hot water on the wooden stand and called softly, "My lady?"
Gu Ying was startled out of her reverie. Her pair of lost, beautiful eyes were clear and limpid, taking Yin Lan's breath away.
"Yin Lan, what's the matter?"
Their clever and mature young lady seldom revealed such childlike confusion. Yin Lan sighed in wonder and curved her lips. "It's nothing, I just saw you were spacing out for a long time and wanted to ask if you'd like to bathe and wash your face before resting."
Gu Ying licked her dry lips and glanced out at the night sky. She uneasily asked, "Yanzhi, what time is it now?"
Yanzhi quickly replied, "My lady, it's already the hour of hai (9pm-11pm) now."
Gu Ying's heart thumped. Her hands suddenly clenched tightly as she murmured to herself, "It's already hai hour. He's probably left by now..."
Yin Lan sensitively asked, "Who is my lady speaking of?"
Gu Ying swallowed and thought it over. She still felt it would be inappropriate to go see him in the middle of the night. "No one. Just wash my face."
