CH 37

Fucha Fuheng turned his head away, only his red ears facing Wei Yingluo. He stood a distance of three steps away from her, a distance that allowed him to leave at any time. “Take it.”

Hesitating for a moment, Wei Yingluo lifted her hand and accepted the bottle of medicine.

Fucha Fuheng seemed to let out a sigh of relief. He turned around. “This medicine is very effective in healing injuries. Apply it during the morning and evening.”

Compared to her own injuries, Wei Yingluo cared more about his attitude. Very carefully, she sized him up. “Young Master, why are you avoiding me?”

Fucha Fuheng was speechless. This question made him feel very embarrassed. A good while later, he coughed. “Men cannot look directly at a woman’s body. You… Roll down your sleeve.”

It was now that Wei Yingluo recalled this: previously, she had rolled her sleeve up all the way to her shoulder to examine her injuries. Her whole arm had been exposed to him, like a fresh and white lotus root growing in a blueish green pond.

Slowly rolling down her sleeve, Wei Yingluo said in a soft manner, “Alright, you can turn around now.”

And so, Fucha Fuheng did just that. He was truly a somewhat bashful person, blushing from merely seeing a woman’s arm. He seemed of a pure heart and cut a sorry figure. Yet he himself did not know it. He appeared like he usually did, serious and inviolable, as he said, “Why did you light the curtains on fire? If you were a bit careless, you and Noble Lady Yu would have been burned to death.”

“I knew it was very dangerous. But in that kind of situation, in that kind of circumstance, this was the best way of getting people’s attention,” said Wei Yingluo in a low voice. “Just think, if I yelled for help and said Noble Consort Hui wanted to kill someone, who would dare come to Yonghe Palace? They would fear getting involved, and only pretend to not have heard anything. But if there were a fire in the palace, it would certainly be a different story. Everyone would come to extinguish the fire. In this way, Noble Lady Yu and I may be saved.”

Recalling her desperate and helpless appearance back then as she had cried out for help, Fucha Fuheng felt his heart soften. Thus, his manner of speaking grew more gentle as he said, “What if everyone didn’t make it on time, and the noble consort broke down the door ahead of time?”

At that moment, Wei Yingluo raised her head, her gaze falling upon him. “But didn’t you come?”

Such words struck Fucha Fuheng speechless.

Her clothes were clearly in order; she did not expose any body part that should not be exposed. Not to mention, she did not smile at him or do anything that could be considered improper. Yet, he wanted to avert his gaze from her again.

So as to avoid her noticing his blush.

“Young Master…” Wei Yingluo approached him one step. “Have you fallen ill? Your face is somewhat red…”

She reached out, as if she wanted to check the temperature on his forehead.

And Fucha Fuheng hastily stepped back.

“Sorry,” said Wei Yingluo. Apparently, she noticed that her conduct just now had been improper. She withdrew her hand. Flashed him an apologetic smile.

Unable to determine if he were disappointed or relieved, Fucha Fuheng said in a low voice, “Next time, pay more attention. Don’t… don’t smile at men. Could it be that your mother never taught you the etiquette of an unmarried daughter from a wealthy family?”

Wei Yingluo did not smile. Dully, she said, “I’m not from a wealthy family, and I don’t have a mother.”

The moment Fucha Fuheng heard what she said, he stood there in a daze. Then, as he thought of what he could say to remedy his blunder, he heard Wei Yingluo continue, “I only have an elder sister named Wei Yingning.” A pause. Then she said, “But after entering the palace, she had another name. A’man.”

All of a sudden, Fucha Fuheng’s complexion changed.

“What’s wrong?” Wei Yingluo stared at him, unwilling to let off even a tiny change in his expression. “Young Master, do you know my sister?”

“No.” A pause. “I’ve already given you the medicine. There are still things to attend to in the Imperial Guard Station. I’ll leave first.”

Rather than finding an excuse to leave, this was more like running away.

Since he left in such a haste, he didn’t notice that Wei Yingluo stayed in the same spot, unmoving. She gripped the medicine bottle. Watched him expressionlessly.

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“This is top-notch medicine for injuries. The average person would not be able to have it. Only high-ranking military officials could.”

Come night, Nanny Zhang came to visit Wei Yingluo and conveniently brought her a bottle of wound medicine. Although it was taken from the Imperial Academy of Medicine, compared to the medicine on the table, which was made for military officials, the difference was heaven and earth.

Wei Yingluo crawled into bed, having already shed her clothes. Her fair back was exposed; the areas of most severe injury were not her shoulders but her back. An awkward place where she could not reach.

Tilting her head to look at that glimmering medicine bottle on the table, Wei Yingluo said with indifference, “For now, I don’t want to use what Fucha Fuheng gave.”

Catching the coldness in her words, Nanny Zhang shook her head. As she helped apply medicine on Wei Yingluo, she asked, “You’re still suspicious of him?”

“I saw Fucha Fuheng today. He said he didn’t know my sister,” said Wei Yingluo, a smile blooming on her lips. “But looking at his expression, it was definitely a lie—ouch.”

Nanny Zhang quickly used less strength. “How about now? Does it still hurt? Ai, everything needs evidence. Without proof, how could you consider him as the murderer?”

“Evidence?” A look of viciousness flashed through Wei Yingluo’s eyes. “Nanny, you know my elder sister, so you are certainly aware that with my sister’s personality, if she finds a precious jade medallion, she would return it to its master without a doubt. But she kept it. There are only two reasons for this. One, it belonged to her lover. Two, it belonged to her enemy. Elder Sister already had someone she loved. Even if that person abandoned her, she would not become unfaithful easily. In that case, there could only be one reason: Fucha Fuheng humiliated her!”

“You and your assumptions again!” Nanny Zhang knew she had grown possessed again. She tried to explain, “Maybe your elder sister happened to pick up this jade medallion from somewhere, didn’t know who it belonged to, so couldn’t return it. Or perhaps… Fuheng did know your sister but had nothing to do with her death…”

Wei Yingluo’s complexion kept changing. A good while later, she slowly sighed. “Nanny, you said my sister lost her innocence, yet was insistent in not revealing who the other party was. In the palace, other than the emperor, the only men around are the imperial guards. If it was the emperor, then she would have gotten his favor, and there’d be no reason she couldn’t talk about it. Therefore, it could only be an imperial guard who did this to her. My elder sister looks weak, but is resolute and upright in character. She wouldn’t let herself be humiliated for no good reason. She would definitely seek justice. If she kept quiet, it wasn’t because she didn’t want to talk about it. It’s because she was too afraid to! She was afraid of implicating her family, of implicating Father and me. The only person who could frighten her this much is the high-ranking and powerful Fucha Fuheng!”

All of a sudden, she turned her head toward Nanny Zhang, her gaze akin to a dagger that had found its target. And also akin to a flame that had found the fuse of a piece of dynamite, ready to cause an explosion at any time. Fuming with rage through gritted teeth, she said, “He is the Fucha clan’s precious and noble young master, the empress’ full-blooded younger brother and the emperor’s trusted aide. In the future, he will become a power minister of the court. Now that he had committed such a scandal, he immediately had Elder Sister murdered!”

“Enough, you…” Nanny Zhang’s headache was incomparable.

“Nanny, can you be certain this didn’t happen?”

For a moment, Nanny Zhang was rendered speechless.

If Wei Yingluo were merely insisting on this blindly, she could still rebuke her. The problem was, there was a possibility what Wei Yingluo had said was true. Moreover, they had the clue that was the jade medallion. As such, the probability was very high.

“…Fine Even if it was Fucha Fuheng who did it, what do you want to do about it?” said Nanny Zhang in a helpless manner. “What can you do?”

“What can I do?” Wei Yingluo laughed grimly. “Naturally, I’d have him pay with his life!”

Knowing her personality was unyielding yet unaware that it was to this state, Nanny Zhang was frightened. She rushed to grab Wei Yingluo’s hands. “You mustn’t be impulsive! If not for yourself, then do it for your elder sister. Think about how hard it was for your sister to raise you, yet you’d just throw away your like that?”

Wei Yingluo was startled. But not because she was afraid of dying. Rather, it was due to the tears glistening from the other party’s eyes.

She couldn’t help but recall the words she had said in the past. “No one… would cry for someone they didn’t care for.

“…You’re right.” Wei Yingluo lowered her head, somewhat moved and somewhat ashamed. “I can’t die.”

Since there was still someone in this world who cared about her, then she mustn’t die. She feared that if she did, the other party would become the second her. Would sink into suffering and hatred, and for the sake of revenge, be capable of doing anything.

“Good child, good child…” Nanny Zhang tenderly stroked her hair. “Come. Turn around. I will continue to apply medicine for you.”

And Wei Yingluo sounded her agreement obediently.

Once those rough fingers covered in calluses came into contact with her injuries, Wei Yingluo felt a painful heat on her shoulders, burning along with the medicine on her back.

Wei Yingluo clenched her teeth and endured it. Even though her body was riddled with bruises, even though there were better choices… she did not use even a drop of Fucha Fuheng’s medicine.