Lei Ting soon returned carrying the medicine chest.
"Apologies for the intrusion," Lei Ting placed the medicine chest on the earthen bed, furrowed his brows in apology, then lowered his head to examine the wound on Ren Yaohua's calf.
Ren Yaohua instinctively retracted her foot, but the movement tugged at her injury, causing her to gasp in pain.
Lei Ting paused briefly before looking up and saying, "Although the bone isn't injured, in this hot weather your wound needs immediate treatment. However, we can't find a doctor here right away, so please bear with it for now."
As he spoke, Lei Ting rummaged through the medicine chest and pulled out a piece of cotton cloth. He tore the cloth into thin strips and used them to blindfold himself, then proceeded to carefully cut open the left leg of Ren Yaohua's trousers with a small silver scissors.
Seeing him blindfolded, Ren Yaohua felt slightly more at ease. Yet when Lei Ting's hands touched her, she couldn't help but blush.
"Have you taken care of your own injuries?" Ren Yaohua asked softly.
Although blindfolded, Lei Ting had already carefully examined Ren Yaohua's wound earlier, so he had no difficulty treating it.
"It's just a minor injury. I stopped the bleeding when I went to the carriage to fetch the medicine chest."
Afraid that Ren Yaohua might worry if she saw his wound, Lei Ting had hastily applied medicine to his injury before entering. Though he felt the arrow wound from Zeng Kui wasn't as severe as the kicks Ren Yaohua had given him earlier—one was an external injury, the other internal.
Ren Yaohua glanced guiltily at Lei Ting's wrist, where a clearly visible, blood-stained bite mark remained. Lei Ting hadn't bothered treating such a minor wound, but Ren Yaohua wished she could vanish into a hole in the ground.
Lei Ting swiftly applied medicine to Ren Yaohua's wound and wrapped it with gauze. Despite his utmost care, it was impossible to avoid touching her entirely. After their brief exchange, both fell into silence.
Only after Lei Ting finished treating Ren Yaohua's wound did he remove the blindfold.
Ren Yaohua then said, "I'm sorry... I didn't recognize you earlier, so I injured you..."
Seeing Ren Yaohua's guilty and uneasy expression, Lei Ting thought for a moment and replied, "It's fine, it doesn't hurt. I just thought your teeth were quite sharp."
Ren Yaohua couldn't help but laugh through her tears at Lei Ting's serious and earnest tone as he said this.
Lei Ting casually sprinkled some medicinal powder on the wound on his wrist to reassure Ren Yaohua.
After watching him tidy up, Ren Yaohua surveyed the farmhouse and asked, "How did you end up here, and why did you happen to save me?" When she had fallen into the hands of the villains earlier, Ren Yaohua had secretly prayed for someone to appear and rescue her, but she never imagined it would be Lei Ting.
Lei Ting returned the medicine and gauze to the chest, not looking up as he replied, "Since the incident with Zeng Kui last time, I've had people secretly follow Pan'er whenever she goes out. I heard you've been facing quite a bit of trouble lately, so when you came out to meet Pan'er, I had people keep an eye on you as well."
Ren Yaohua was stunned, murmuring in disbelief, "You... you had people secretly protecting me?"
Lei Ting glanced at Ren Yaohua and said, "Not exactly. I just had people follow you when Pan'er arranged to meet you. Otherwise, if you encountered trouble on the way, the Lei Family would be held responsible."Although Lei Ting said he hadn't deliberately sent people to protect her, Ren Yaohua still felt a surge of mixed emotions upon hearing this.
Aside from her family, Lei Ting was the first person who had taken the initiative to protect her.
Since becoming sensible, Ren Yaohua had always thought about protecting her mother, and later, she also wanted to protect her younger sister. She believed herself to be a strong woman, born to stand before her weaker family members and shield them from harm.
"It was originally just a precaution, but I didn't expect it would actually come in handy this time. When you were kidnapped, I happened to be meeting a friend on Zhengyang Street, so I was able to follow immediately after receiving the news. However, because I left in such a hurry, I didn’t have time to bring many people with me. I also didn’t know the background of those who kidnapped you or how many accomplices they had along the way, so I didn’t dare act rashly. That’s why I followed you all this way."
Although there were only three people left after splitting from the other group, they were all skilled in martial arts, and it was unclear whether there were more accomplices lying in wait or who was behind the plot.
When Lei Ting hurriedly followed, he only had Liu Gui with him. He feared that if he acted recklessly, those people might become desperate and harm Ren Yaohua. Therefore, after confirming that Ren Yaohua was in the carriage and unharmed, and that her kidnappers were only focused on rushing to Zhuozhou and had no intention of harming her for the time being, Lei Ting felt at ease following them from behind. He then secretly arranged for rescue personnel along the way.
Soon, Lei Ting became familiar with the terrain between Yan Prefecture and Zhuozhou. He led the people he had hastily gathered and took a shortcut to get ahead of Ren Yaohua and her captors. Originally, he had planned to have his men ambush them in the forest and intercept Ren Yaohua, but unexpectedly, he discovered that another group was already lying in wait there.
Lei Ting never expected that Zeng Kui would appear at this moment with several guards specially selected by the Zeng family to protect him, nor did he anticipate that Ren Yaohua would later be injured.
Just as Lei Ting was about to risk rescuing her, he encountered several top experts under Xiao Jingxi of the Yanbei Prince's Mansion who were out on business. Worried about Ren Yaohua's injuries and not daring to delay any longer, Lei Ting decisively borrowed three people from the Yanbei Prince's Mansion. Together with himself and one of his subordinates, they climbed up from the slope to approach Ren Yaohua.
At the moment he saw Ren Yaohua, Lei Ting regretted not having risked rescuing her earlier. As the head of a clan, he had long passed the age of acting on impulse and hot-bloodedness. Instead, he had grown accustomed to achieving his goals in the safest and most foolproof way, as this minimized losses and maximized the chances of success.
He had witnessed this young woman’s stubbornness and pride—her refusal to yield even when battered and bruised—more than once. While he admired such tenacity and pride, he did not agree with it, which was why he had deliberately advised her twice.
To Lei Ting, calmness, self-control, and the ability to handle situations with ease were the qualities an outstanding person should possess. Therefore, when considering candidates for remarriage, he also prioritized these traits.Yet for some reason, Ren Yaohua, who was always covered in thorns, inexplicably stirred feelings of pity and heartache in him, making him unable to bear seeing her face setbacks or suffer harm. There were clearly many women more fragile and pitiable than Ren Yaohua, yet none could evoke even half of his protective instinct. Lei Ting was never one to overflow with sympathy—such a bleeding heart could never become the head of the Lei Family.
Although Lei Ting described the process of following and rescuing her in a concise and understated manner, Ren Yaohua knew that from leaving Yunyang City to arriving here, it had taken less than an hour and a half. Lei Ting had to keep close behind them, secretly gather manpower, and arrange the rescue plan—he must have expended considerable effort.
Even blood relatives might only manage such thoroughness, let alone someone like him, who had no relation or obligation to her.
"This place isn’t safe to stay. I’ll have someone escort you back to Yunyang City first," Lei Ting said, standing up.
"What about you?" Ren Yaohua quickly asked.
Thinking Ren Yaohua was afraid of encountering danger again, Lei Ting softened his voice to reassure her: "Don’t be afraid. The people I brought are all trustworthy, and their martial arts are decent. Besides, several experts from the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion are also returning to Yunyang City, so you can travel with them. Even if the Wu and Zeng families send more people, you’ll be safe. I only roughly bandaged your wound earlier—to be cautious, it’s best to return early and have a doctor examine it."
Ren Yaohua felt more at ease with Lei Ting around, and since he was the only one she recognized now, she asked again, "What about you? Aren’t you coming back?"
Lei Ting replied, "I need to handle some matters first." Zeng Kui and his men were certainly no match for the experts from the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion and his own subordinates, so they must already be captured. He had to deal with this major trouble before he could leave.
He was concerned that staying outside for too long would be inappropriate for a woman like her, and the Ren Family would surely worry. That’s why he wanted her to leave first; he would catch up after handling these matters.
Seeing Lei Ting’s explanation, Ren Yaohua didn’t want to delay his affairs and nodded in agreement.
Just then, a knock sounded from outside.
"I’ll go check," Lei Ting said. His gaze swept over the torn hem of Ren Yaohua’s skirt, and he frowned slightly, but he said nothing before turning to leave, carefully closing the outer door behind him.
Two people were waiting outside. As soon as Lei Ting emerged, one of them immediately asked, "Is Third Miss Ren alright?"
Lei Ting looked at the speaker suspiciously. "Are you here on business this time too?"
Earlier, due to the urgency, Lei Ting hadn’t had time to think much. Now, reflecting on it, the sudden appearance of so many people from the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion seemed too coincidental, especially at such a critical moment. And now, even Tong Xi, the attendant of Second Young Master Xiao, had shown up.
Tong Xi cleared his throat. "I was sent by my master to check on how things are progressing. I heard Third Miss Ren was injured—how did that happen? Weren’t you following her all along?" How am I supposed to explain this when I return?
Lei Ting raised an eyebrow and glanced at Tong Xi. After a moment’s thought, he recalled that this attendant of Second Young Master Xiao seemed to have come from the Xianwang Residence and understood. Nodding, he said, "It was my oversight. Third Miss Ren is fine now, and the wound on her leg didn’t reach the bone."Tong Xi narrowed his eyes slightly, warily glancing at Lei Ting, then at the tightly shut door behind him. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he pointed at Lei Ting and stammered, "You... you... you... the physician..."
The usually eloquent Tong Xi was so shocked he could have stuffed an egg into his mouth.
After stuttering "you" for what felt like an eternity, Tong Xi suddenly glared at Lei Ting with a mix of anger and resentment. "All this time, I thought the Eldest Master of the Lei Family was an upright and honorable gentleman..."
Xiao Hua, a man of few words who had always blended into the background, having once served as a covert guard in the Yanbei Prince's Mansion, silently glanced at Tong Xi. Internally, he was screaming in frustration: Didn't he just think Lei Ting had acted swiftly and admirably in saving someone? When life and death are at stake, isn't harping on about propriety between men and women just nonsense? How could he wrong someone like this!
The author is writing slowly, so the next chapter won't be posted until after 1 a.m. Please don't wait up for the update!
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