Chapter 31: Face

She could barely take care of her own state of mind, so why should she have to consider his?

Jiang Wu thought this to herself, yet facing the furious man before her, she had no choice but to soften her stance.

"I... I just dropped something and wanted to get it back."

She was actually a bit surprised; had Chu Ling thought she was trying to take her own life?

After she spoke, the grip of the hand on her neck loosened significantly.

Chu Ling’s other hand brushed against her eyes. "Then why are you crying?"

His tone still carried a hint of skepticism.

Jiang Wu hesitated for a moment before she realized. "I'm not crying. It felt like the wind blew some sand into my eyes."

It sounded like an excuse, but it actually happened to be true.

She didn't know if the man believed her or not. Chu Ling didn't react; he just stared at her intently, the emotions in his eyes too complex to decipher—it was unclear whether it was love or hate.

Love? Jiang Wu was startled by her own fleeting thought.

Her body was still suspended in the air, leaving her feeling incredibly insecure, and she involuntarily gripped Chu Ling’s hand even tighter.

The man’s gaze lowered. Jiang Wu followed his eyes and saw the purple bruises on her own wrist, caused by his forceful grip earlier. Suddenly, she felt even more aggrieved.

This time, her eyes turned red for real—the kind of red that comes with wanting to cry.

Chu Ling applied a bit of pressure and finally pulled her up.

Jiang Wu stood there, still shaken. She truly couldn't understand why she was so unlucky. She had finally made up her mind to come out, yet whenever she ran into Chu Ling, nothing good ever happened.

She stood there rubbing her aching wrist, head bowed, saying nothing.

"What did you drop?"

The man’s voice came.

Jiang Wu was annoyed to death. She had already said she wasn't trying to kill herself; did he not believe her? Why did he have to get to the bottom of it? Was he so aware of his own talent for driving people to despair?

Though she thought this, she answered honestly: "A sachet."

Then she saw the man walk two steps away. Hearing no further movement, she looked up curiously, only to see Chu Ling standing by the railing, his gaze apparently fixed on the water. A long while passed, and just as Jiang Wu was wondering what he was doing, she saw him leap down.

Jiang Wu froze.

Actually, it wasn't strange that Chu Ling would look for something she had lost—after all, for him, it was just a matter of giving an order, and there would be people below willing to exert themselves. What was strange was that he had gone himself.

She hurried to the edge of the bridge. She saw the man tap his toes lightly on the surface, pause briefly in one spot, bend down quickly, and pick something up from the water.

Although it was too far away to see clearly, it had to be her sachet. A light returned to Jiang Wu’s eyes.

It was truly strange. When she wore it on her person, in her anger, she had thought about just throwing it away. But once it was truly lost, the panic followed by the joy of finding it again made her realize she didn't actually want to discard it.

Chu Ling had already returned to the bridge.

For the sake of him retrieving the sachet, Jiang Wu begrudgingly found him a bit more tolerable. However, after Chu Ling took the sachet in his hand, he just looked down at it, studying it without any intention of giving it back.

Afraid he might notice something, Jiang Wu moved to the side and spoke first: "Thank you, my Lord."

Only then did Chu Ling look up at her and hand over the sachet.

It was when she took the sachet that Jiang Wu noticed Chu Ling’s hand was injured. It looked like a recent wound, a rather long gash that had reopened slightly, with traces of blood seeping out.

She saw it, but she pretended not to and averted her gaze.

Had he been assassinated again? She didn't know who had done it. If it were before, Jiang Wu would have certainly felt this was retribution for her wrist being squeezed in pain and would have wanted to praise the assassin.

But now, she couldn't help but worry: Could the assassin be Mingzhu?

Once that thought crossed her mind, she couldn't help but fret. Eventually, she comforted herself, thinking it probably wasn't possible. Mingzhu was still injured herself; she wouldn't heal that quickly, and she wouldn't be foolish enough to assassinate Chu Ling at a time like this.

Thinking this, she finally managed to set her mind at ease.

Chu Ling had been holding his hand out for a while. He had clearly seen her gaze sweep over his wound, but despite the shifting expressions on her face, she hadn't asked a single word.

"Then, my Lord... I shall take my leave."

Only when she said this did Chu Ling withdraw his hand.

"Where are you going?"

Jiang Wu thought his question was inexplicable. "Naturally, back to my room."

When she looked, Chu Ling’s hand was already behind his back. She let out a sigh of relief; she would pretend she never saw the wound at all.

"Didn't you just arrive?"

Jiang Wu wanted to sneer at these words. So what if she just arrived? This person had inexplicably flown into a rage, grabbing her hand and choking her, not to mention he was still being an eyesore here.

Who could still have the mood to stroll?

She couldn't say that. She was about to search for a pile of excuses, but before she could speak, she heard Chu Ling say, "I have other business to attend to, so I will take my leave."

This was exactly what Jiang Wu wanted. She hurriedly bowed in farewell: "Safe travels, my Lord."

Chu Ling indeed did not linger and left. It was only as Jiang Wu watched his back that she realized belatedly how he had even appeared here.

She didn't dwell on that question, however. She was in a hurry to take out the peace talisman from the sachet. It was slightly damp, but fortunately, it wasn't damaged. She held it in her hand, letting it dry in the sunlight for a long time before putting it away again.

Because she was still preoccupied, she decided to ask Chuyi.

Speaking of which, Chuyi was usually by Chu Ling’s side, appearing and disappearing like a ghost, but strangely, whenever she wanted to see him, he could always appear quickly.

She gathered her thoughts and spoke to the empty air.

"Chuyi."

Just as she expected, it wasn't long before Chuyi appeared.

"Madam."

Jiang Wu looked around. Sure enough, she knew that even if she had left the servants outside, there were actually no fewer people following her.

But this wasn't the time to dwell on that.

She asked, "Has your master been assassinated again recently?"

Chuyi answered truthfully, "No."

"Then how did he get hurt?"

Chuyi paused for a moment before answering, "I hurt him."

Jiang Wu was shocked. Was that true? This "dead-face" was the most loyal dog Chu Ling had ever raised; could a dog bite its owner? But Chuyi didn't look like he was lying. The satisfaction she had felt upon learning Chu Ling was injured was suddenly magnified several times over.

"You hurt him, and you're still fine?"

Chuyi glanced at her. The way the Madam looked, it was as if she were saying it would be even better if he were in trouble.

"I was merely ordered to spar with him."

When Jiang Wu heard this, she was even more delighted. *Ordered to spar, but you didn't have to go for the kill, did you?* Chu Ling must be annoyed, but due to his pride, he couldn't say it. He would surely hold a grudge and make things difficult for Chuyi later; that man was petty.

Her inability to hide her smile and the way her gloom vanished made Chuyi lose his composure for a moment. When he heard her question, he subconsciously said yes.

He realized his mistake immediately after. The Madam had just asked, "So you are even more formidable than your master?"

He couldn't answer yes to that.

"Even so," Jiang Wu said, putting on a show of lecturing him, "how could you be so disrespectful to your master? And you don't even know how to bandage your own wounds."

In truth, she wished Chuyi had been even more ruthless.

After she finished speaking, she waved her hand. "Alright, you may go."

And so, the explanation Chuyi wanted to give to restore his master's image was choked back.

When he returned, a colleague at the door conveyed the master's orders: "The master says you are to go to Dengzhou for a few days."

That was effectively being exiled.

Actually, when Jiang Wu called him earlier, Chuyi had been following the master. The secret guards had a way of signaling each other, which was why he could appear so quickly.

Before he left, the master had already been somewhat displeased.

Now, their previous conversation must have reached his ears as well.

The master was not the petty person the Madam imagined, who would sabotage his own men just for losing a spar, but if it concerned the Madam, things were different.

He glanced at the door, said nothing more, accepted the order, and turned to leave.

Inside the room, Chu Ling sat quietly for a long time. He looked at his hand, where the scab had fallen off and re-bled, only to begin scabbing over again.

"Call for a physician," he suddenly spoke, his eyes still fixed on his wound. "Come and bandage this for me."

Although the people around didn't know why the master, who hadn't made a move for days despite being wounded, had suddenly changed his mind, they immediately went to call the physician.

*Forget it,* the man sitting quietly thought. *Setting aside the cause and effect, and stripping away everything else, at least that remark—'why don't you know how to bandage it'—meant she was concerned about me.*

***

Two days later, Nianyin’s illness had completely cleared up, and she came with Chuye to pay their respects.

Seeing that the child was indeed free of any other symptoms, Jiang Wu finally felt relieved. However, since she was better, the discipline that needed to be given should be given.

Her expression darkened slightly.

"Nianyin, come closer."

Nianyin naturally sensed the abnormality in her mother's voice, her eyes darting away involuntarily.

But she still walked over obediently.

"Nianyin," Jiang Wu said earnestly, "I didn't teach you this. Your grandmother’s household has many people, and the relationships are complex. Mother knows you have seen a thing or two about those schemes."

"Mother isn't saying you shouldn't use such methods. But you must remember, all methods should have the purpose of protection, not harm. By doing this, you have not only hurt yourself but also caused an innocent person to be injured. Do you know you were wrong?"

Nianyin nodded, her eyes reddening under her mother's lecture. "Daughter knows."

Jiang Wu had actually reflected on herself over the past few days. If she had provided her daughter with enough sense of security, she wouldn't have acted this way. So she asked, "Did Mother neglect you? Or were there other reasons that led you to do this?"

By "other reasons," she meant she was afraid the Duchess had been speaking ill of her to them.

Even to her face, the woman could slander her; there was no telling what she said behind her back.

She noticed a momentary hesitation in her daughter. Although she eventually said no, that was to be expected—a child wouldn't easily drive a wedge between her mother and grandmother, so she could only say there were none.

Jiang Wu didn't press the issue, only lectured her a bit more, and only felt relieved when she saw her daughter was truly repentant.

The child seemed to have only been foolish for a moment; she was still teachable.

To be honest, she was genuinely afraid the two children would emulate their father. Fortunately, they weren't very close to him, which was perhaps the only benefit of them being raised in the Duke’s mansion.

Finally, Nianyin said, "I will go to the house and apologize to Sister Mo."

This made Jiang Wu fall silent. Before she knew Mingzhu's identity, she would have told her daughter to do so without a second thought, but now, such an identity stood between them.

Jiang Wu thought again and again, concluding that for her daughter to recognize her mistake, an apology was essential. Furthermore, this was an apology that Mingzhu deserved.

"Not just an apology; she saved you, so you must also express your gratitude."

"Yes." Nianyin nodded earnestly. Seeing that her mother had finished speaking, she mumbled, "Mother, will you hate me because of this?"

What mother could truly hate her child? Seeing her reddened eyes, Jiang Wu’s heart softened, yet she hardened her tone: "As long as you never do such things again, Mother naturally won't hate you."

After saying this, she also lectured Chuye.

In the end, he was the older brother and had to protect his younger sister. Since his sister had made a mistake, he naturally shared the responsibility.

The two children were very obedient in front of her, agreeing to everything.

After leaving Jiang Wu’s room, the two walked for a long time before Chuye asked his sister, "Are you really going to apologize to her?"

He knew that even though his sister regretted that day's events, she still held nothing but dislike for that girl.

"It's just an apology," Chu Nianyin bit her lip. As long as she could make her mother forgive her and be happier, she didn't mind.

She was only worried about her mother’s state. Thinking of the face that had visibly thinned out even more, she felt a pang in her heart.

"What exactly is Father doing? Why is he forcing Mother to this point again? It was because he said such things wouldn't happen again that I endured being separated from her and going to Grandmother’s house." Her lips were bitten red, and a flash of confusion crossed her eyes.

"Is it... is it only that pair of father and daughter who can truly make her happy?" She seemed to be murmuring to herself.

This made Chuye’s expression change. "Nianyin, although I don't approve of Father’s actions either, you must remember: if Mother abandons Father, she will also abandon us. That pair of father and daughter will always be our enemies."

Nianyin’s eyes dimmed, and she said nothing more.