Ye Jingtang came out from Tianshui Bridge and rode his black horse back to Ranfang Street. On the way, he checked his left arm.
He had forced himself to stop his attack and injured his left arm. After Pei Xiangjun applied the wound medicine and gave him a massage, by noon, there were no visible signs of the injury.
He wasn't sure if the injury was too minor or if the wound medicine was extremely effective. Anyway, the result was a bit astonishing. For this reason, he specifically asked for two bottles of the wound medicine and carried them with him.
When he returned to Shuanggui Alley, the old alley was already silent. Judging from the marks on the ground, the arresters hadn't come for another inspection.
He led the horse to the outside of his house, pushed the door open, and entered. The courtyard had been cleaned up, and the door of the main house was open, but there was no sign of the two women inside.
Ye Jingtang thought that the two of them had left without saying goodbye, and he felt a little disappointed. But when he walked under the eaves of the kitchen, he saw a figure standing in the small kitchen that hadn't been opened at all.
The figure was wearing a cyan long dress. The legs under the dress were very long, and the hem of the dress reached the ankles. She was wearing a pair of shoes with bamboo leaf patterns outlined on them.
The figure had her back to the window. She must have known that he had entered the house, but she didn't pay attention to him. She was wiping the edge of the rice vat with a piece of linen in front of the rice vat.
The slightly bent posture caused her long black hair to slide down her shoulders. The long dress was already quite form-fitting. When looking at her from the back at this moment, the waistband cinched her waist so that it was as slender as could be encircled by one's arms. The hem of the dress traced a plump arc in the old kitchen, and her buttocks were like a cyan full moon on the Mid-Autumn Festival.
(⊙_⊙;)!
Ye Jingtang's gaze just swept over her subconsciously and didn't linger on her.
But Luo Ning was quite perceptive. Sensing something was wrong, she stood up straight immediately and turned to look towards the window, her eyes slightly cold.
Ye Jingtang tied the horse outside the window and smiled, saying, "Miss Luo is so virtuous. You're even helping me clean the kitchen?"
Luo Ning found that there was nothing unusual, and the vigilance between her brows subsided, but her annoyance didn't fade away:
"You're a man, and you look decent, but the house is in a mess. There's not even firewood, rice, grain, and you don't even have a pot..."
"I just moved in yesterday. You can't blame me for that. And this house is too shabby. I was going to change the place yesterday. There's no need to clean it."
?
Luo Ning's movement paused: "Why didn't you say so earlier? Yunli and I have been cleaning for most of the day..."
"Since you've cleaned it, then we can live here for now. Anyway, the rent has already been paid."
Ye Jingtang carried Niaoniao into the old kitchen and took a look behind the stove:
"Where's that girl?"
Luo Ning took two steps to the side to keep a distance: "She went to buy pots, pans, bowls, and spoons for you..."
Just as they were talking, Ye Jingtang beside her took out a small porcelain bottle and handed it to her.
"What's this?"
"Wound medicine. I got it from the owner of the escort agency. The medicinal effect is excellent. Why don't you try it?"
Luo Ning took the small medicine bottle, opened it, and smelled it: "Jade Dragon Ointment..." She frowned and looked at Ye Jingtang suspiciously:
"This medicine comes from the Divine Physician of the Medical School, the King of Medicine Li. It's a miraculous medicine for treating internal injuries. It can't be bought on the market at all. It can be sold for more than a hundred taels of silver on the black market. Even if the escort agency in the capital has it, they would use it to save someone's life. How could they give it to you for free?"
?!
When Ye Jingtang heard this, he secretly stumbled. Today, San Niang applied the medicine to his arm as if it didn't cost anything. He had thought it was just an ordinary wound medicine.
More than a hundred taels of silver?
No wonder the medicinal effect was so astonishing...
Since Ye Jingtang had already taken it out, he wouldn't take it back. He said generously:
"Consider it as an advance on your salary. The sooner Miss Luo recovers from her injury and leaves, the sooner I can be free. Take it and use it."
When Luo Ning heard this, her eyes changed a bit:
"Are you stupid? Even if I'm injured, I have my own wound medicine. Why do I need you to work for a year for nothing because of this?"
"If Miss Luo feels embarrassed, how about teaching me another martial art?"
Luo Ning knew that Ye Jingtang had this intention. She handed the wound medicine back:
"Return it to your boss. You have a nice thought. Even a second-rate martial artist in the martial arts world would require a hundred taels of silver as a gift when accepting an apprentice. You want me to teach you my unique skills with just a bottle of wound medicine. Humph..."
Ye Jingtang naturally didn't take it. He crossed his arms and looked outside the courtyard, teasingly saying:
"Sigh, fortunately, I'm not a despicable person."
"Aren't you a despicable person? Yesterday you..."
A blush appeared on Luo Ning's delicate and beautiful face, and she used a bit more strength to wipe the vat.
Wipe wipe—
Ye Jingtang said helplessly: "If I were a despicable person, it would be too easy for me to make you teach me martial arts. Just say: Madam Luo, you don't want the things between us to be known by your..."
Clang—
Before he could finish his words, a cold light flashed in the old kitchen.
A three-foot green sword unsheathed from nowhere. When it appeared, it was already at Ye Jingtang's neck.
Luo Ning bit her lower lip tightly, stared at Ye Jingtang, her face alternating between red and white. There was even a glistening water light of extreme disappointment in her eyes, as if two lines of clear tears were about to roll down.
"Jiji..."
Niaoniao timidly shrank its neck and moved a bit further away.
Ye Jingtang reacted calmly. Looking at the sword that was only half an inch away from his neck:
"I was just giving an example. If Miss Luo doesn't want to teach me, I would just find a way to flatter you. Have I ever been rude to you?"
"If you were truly a hopeless person, you would have died yesterday and wouldn't have lived until today."
Luo Ning's face was cold as she stared at Ye Jingtang: "We are both responsible for what happened yesterday. I won't hold it against you anymore, and you are not allowed to mention it either. If you dare to spread it to a third person, don't blame me for being ruthless..."
Just as Luo Ning was speaking with a cold expression, there was suddenly a commotion outside the alley:
Kuala—Kuala—
It sounded like a single person. The footsteps were heavy, and there was the sound of iron rubbing, as if it was armor. The person was running very fast...
Ye Jingtang frowned. Possessing armor privately was the same as plotting rebellion. The only people who could walk around wearing armor were those from the government...
Luo Ning also looked puzzled. If she rashly flew out of the courtyard, she might be detected by a master. She looked at Ye Jingtang, wanting to discuss how to deal with the situation.
As a result, the little thief in front of her remained calm in the face of danger and reacted extremely quickly. He directly grabbed her right hand holding the sword, rushed out of the kitchen, and ran towards the main house.
"You?!"
Luo Ning, who still had a cold expression on her face, stumbled as she was pulled. Her eyes were错愕 (bewildered), feeling that this kid had been waiting for such an opportunity!
Luo Ning wanted to pull her hand back and stop, but she didn't want to make too much noise. Just with a moment of hesitation, she was pulled into the house.
The door was carefully closed. Afraid that the little thief would directly pounce on her and grope and touch her, Luo Ning quickly lifted her sword and warned in a low voice:
"Don't you dare touch me. I'll do it myself!"
Ye Jingtang nodded, carefully paying attention to the window, indicating for her to act well.
Luo Ning wasn't pounced on by the man. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She sat upright on the edge of the bed, looking very disgusted, and murmured in a low voice:
"Um... um..."
The voice was completely without emotion or skill, like a woman who was pretending to cater to a man she didn't like, like a dead fish.
?!
Ye Jingtang's face suddenly changed. He quickly turned around and covered Miss Luo's mouth: "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Why are you acting so recklessly at this time?"
Luo Ning was covered by the mouth. Her whole body suddenly trembled, and then she was extremely angry. She forcefully掰开 (pried open) the hand covering her mouth and stared at Ye Jingtang fiercely, probably meaning— I cooperated and made the sounds, and you still touched me?!
It seemed that she didn't know what was wrong with her.
Ye Jingtang didn't know what to say to this woman. He motioned for Luo Ning to shut up and squatted down beside the bed and shook the bed vigorously.
Creak creak...
The sound of the old furniture shaking was faintly audible in the courtyard.
Soon, the footsteps in the alley slowed down. Then, a familiar faint shout sounded:
"Shiniang (Master's Wife)?"
The voice was full of suspicion!
Ye Jingtang's movement froze slightly, and he looked outside in confusion.
Luo Ning also retracted her anger and turned into fear. She quickly pushed Ye Jingtang, who was squatting in front of her, away and stood up in a hurry.
Creak—
The courtyard door was pushed open at the same time.
Ye Jingtang looked outside through the crack of the door and saw a pile of things carefully walking in.
It was hard to describe what it looked like exactly.大概是最顶端扣着口铁锅,下面是被褥,被褥放在几个凳子上,周边挂着锅碗瓢盆,最下面露出一截裙摆,行走时锅碗瓢盆摩擦,发出'夸啦——夸啦——'的声响. (Probably there was an iron pot on the very top. Below it were the bedding and quilts, which were placed on several stools. Pots, pans, bowls, and spoons were hanging around. At the bottom, a section of the skirt hem was exposed. When walking, the pots, pans, bowls, and spoons rubbed against each other, making a "kuala—kuala—" sound.)
Zhe Yunli slightly turned sideways and poked out her bright and水灵灵 (dewy) face from behind the pile of things. Her eyes were very strange, and she was also secretly looking into the house— What was Shiniang doing...
Luo Ning knew that Zhe Yunli had heard the sound of the bed shaking and didn't know how to explain it. Just as she was at a loss, her arm hurt as she was pinched.
She turned her head and saw that the shameless little thief was squatting on the edge of the bed, pretending to repair the bed, and motioning for her to speak.
Luo Ning came to her senses and quickly said:
"Yunli, you're back?"
When Zhe Yunli heard Luo Ning's voice, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief, quickened her steps a bit, carried the things into the kitchen, and asked in confusion:
"Shiniang, what were you doing? I heard the bed shaking just now. It seemed like you even made two 'um um' sounds..."
"I..."
Luo Ning's face turned red. She just wanted to chop this little thief with a sword and didn't know how to cover it up at all.
Ye Jingtang squatted at the head of the bed, looking calm. He shook the bed a few times:
"The bed is loose. I'm fixing it. I was talking to your Shiniang just now."
"Eh? Why did you come back so early?"
Zhe Yunli's steps paused, and she looked at the closed door suspiciously.
Ye Jingtang got up and walked to the door, opening it:
"There's nothing going on outside. I just got home. Why did you buy so many things?"
When Zhe Yunli saw that Ye Jingtang's clothes were neat and there was nothing unusual, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief:
"What else would I use if I didn't buy them?"
As she spoke, she put the sundries on the chopping board, but she found a big white bird in the rice vat. It was pressing a piece of linen with its claws and doing the housework with a look of hopelessness.
Zhe Yunli's eyes lit up. She immediately threw the matter of a man and a woman being in the room with the door closed and repairing the bed out of her mind. She leaned over the edge of the rice vat and looked at it:
"Hey? This bird can even wipe the vat?"
"Jiji..."
Niaoniao jumped to the edge of the rice vat, threw the linen into the hand of Hebaodan (presumably a name), and then lay on the chopping board, making a gesture of "Niaoniao is exhausted"...