She hadn't meant to. Why hadn't Zi Guan told her that guy was bathing?
Lingxi, who had already turned away, suddenly stopped. Facing away, she slowly retreated, step by step, until she saw a hand resting on the edge of the tub, a familiar string of peach pit beads hanging from it.
It clearly wasn't hers.
As if possessed, she fiddled with two of the smooth beads.
A promise.
Until old age.
She knew her own string was incomplete!
No, it wasn't. She shouldn't be thinking about that now!
Liu Donghuai was asleep, his body submerged in the water. His fair face drooped slightly, and a lock of hair from his temple covered one eye. He looked so young, like an innocent boy.
Her heart ached slightly.
He must be very tired.
After coming this far alone, after doing so much, did he ever feel lonely?
Lingxi's hand reached out, almost brushing aside the falling hair, but she paused and dipped her hand into the water.
It was cold.
He would catch a chill.
...
Lingxi left the room and said sternly to the anxious Zi Guan, "Go in and wake him. Don't tell him I was here. I command you as a princess."
Zi Guan respectfully agreed.
Lingxi returned to her room in a daze, only to be startled by her third brother, who was sitting inside eating snacks.
"Third Brother, I was just about to..." find you.
Lingxi stopped mid-sentence, hesitating for some reason.
Her third brother waited for a long time, but she didn't continue. He glanced at her coldly and saw that the girl was lost in thought.
"Someone wants to kidnap you again."
"And that county magistrate."
Lingxi looked at her third brother for a long time before understanding the gravity of the situation from his indifferent and calm tone.
"They want to kidnap Liu Donghuai this time too? How audacious! He's an official appointed by the court. Are they trying to rebel?"
Third Brother finished all the snacks on the plate and clapped his hands. "They won't just kidnap him; they'll kill him. He has some ledger, and they're terrified of it."
Lingxi understood. So, he was truly in danger!
Was the massacre of the Su family also done by those people!
"Third Brother, you have to save him!"
"I won't."
He was meant to roam the martial world and had already been delayed here for too long. It was one thing for this girl, but that county magistrate had nothing to do with him. He had no time to bother.
"I'll give you money!" Lingxi pushed out all the money she had left, which was only a little over thirty taels.
"Third Brother, you are meant to uphold justice. He is a good official. Saving him is saving the people."
Don't try to fool him. He wasn't a fool who knew nothing.
"People of the martial world do not interfere in court affairs."
Third Brother refused to help, and Lingxi was frantic, forgetting that she was also in danger.
"Third Brother, you are my real third brother. You must save him. He, he is your brother-in-law!"
"Nonsense!" Third Brother stood up angrily. "My brother-in-law is Xiao Shan!"
Lingxi: "...I mean, he is my husband, and I am your sister, aren't I? Besides, he is also a friend of Elder Sister and Brother-in-law. They wouldn't want him to die either."
This is so annoying! Third Brother left with a cold face.
"Third Brother, please!" Lingxi hugged his arm, almost crying with urgency.
Third Brother was so powerful. If he agreed, it would be foolproof. She couldn't trust anyone else.
"Lingxi!"
Just then, a shout came from outside the door, and then the door was kicked open. Liu Donghuai rushed in with anxious eyes.
He was already dressed, though his hair was still damp.
Seeing the scene inside, he froze for a moment, then his face turned icy.
"Is it appropriate for a man to enter a woman's boudoir in the middle of the night?" he asked, looking directly at Third Brother with intense hostility.
What boudoir or not, he wanted to be here! So annoying! She couldn't be bothered to deal with him.
"Liu Donghuai, don't say anything else!" Lingxi was truly afraid he would anger Third Brother, so she quickly reprimanded him, then pleaded with Third Brother again, "Third Brother..."
Liu Donghuai felt a chill that went through his bones.
Watching her tugging at Third Brother's hand and acting spoiled towards him, he clenched his fists tightly.
He had heard a man's voice in her room and thought she was in danger again, but it turned out...
How could she be like this, so casual...
He really wanted to turn and leave.
Third Brother was about to leave when he suddenly thought of something. "Right, in front of outsiders, don't call me Third Brother. My martial arts name now is: Black Dragon."
"Black Dragon? That's a truly imposing name!" Lingxi quickly praised.
"Imposing?"
Third Brother had been struggling with this for a long time. Ah Yin said that Jade-Faced Young Dragon, Jiang Yubai, sounded better, but white clothes got dirty easily, and he didn't want to wear them or wash them.
Besides, Xiao Shan also said Jiang Yubai was a useless fop.
Lingxi nodded vigorously. "Imposing! It suits you perfectly, Third Brother. I'll call you Great Hero Black Dragon from now on."
One against three, hmm, then it would be Black Dragon.
Third Brother nodded and vanished in a blur.
"Hey? Third Brother, Third Brother, you haven't..."
"Are you done yet!"
Liu Donghuai endured his anger and listened to their nonsense. Their conversation was so intimate it was enviable!
"Bang!" He slammed the door shut and looked at Lingxi angrily.
"Don't you know about the separation between men and women? How can you, a girl, casually let men enter your room? And you, shamelessly, hugged his arm!"
"I was doing it for you."
Lingxi touched the peach pit beads on her wrist and looked at Liu Donghuai's angry face, becoming more and more certain.
He liked her.
"Someone wants to kill you. I asked Third Brother to protect you, but he refused. I said you were my husband."
Liu Donghuai's expression stiffened, and the chill in his body instantly vanished.
So, she had acted like that just now for his sake?
And she said, she said...
"Your ears are red," Lingxi said, leaning forward in surprise to look at his flushed earlobes, which were as red as if they were about to bleed.
Liu Donghuai recoiled as if startled.
"You, don't be like that. I don't need him to save me. I have my own arrangements. You, you shouldn't do such things for anyone anymore."
"What things? What's wrong with me asking Third Brother? Third Brother is very powerful."
Her eyes were clear black and white, filled with confusion, open and honest, transparent at a glance.
Liu Donghuai suddenly felt he had completely misunderstood, or perhaps he had been influenced by his past unpleasant experiences.
She was clearly a straightforward and simple girl.
She said what she thought, never hiding anything, presenting herself clearly. All along, it was he who had imagined her to be someone else.
It was too insulting to her! His thoughts were too dark.
"I'm sorry."
Lingxi thought he was apologizing for what he had just said and didn't think much of it. She was just a little unsure about her own feelings for him.
She felt sorry for him, and she felt uncomfortable seeing him with other women.
But, if they were to marry and become a real couple.
She still seemed unwilling.
She clearly liked Wen Tang Gege, so how could she change her mind so quickly?
"Lingxi, why did you ask him to protect me? For that, you disregarded your reputation and said I was your... husband." Liu Donghuai looked at her nervously.
He came from the countryside and had been married once. Anyone in the court was stronger than him. She was so resistant to Fang Hanlin, why was she like this towards him... was it because of their past acquaintance, or...
He knew she had someone in her heart, but if she truly had even the slightest different feeling for him, he was willing to fight with all his might. This was the first time he had wanted someone so much.
His heart ached, and his mind was in turmoil.
"Reputation is not important," Lingxi mumbled. She didn't want to get married, and she didn't have anyone she cared about.
Liu Donghuai's expression instantly stiffened: "Not important?"
"More important than life?"
Life? Whose life? Was it his life?
So, his life was more important than her reputation?
Liu Donghuai was shocked. He felt he had made another mistake. Lingxi was not Su Yurou, and he could no longer speculate about her like this.
Her sincerity shamed him, made him feel ashamed, and utterly embarrassed.
And also, he was falling deeper, unable to extricate himself.
Lingxi, I like you.