Too weak to hold her, Xiao Jin Yu slightly lowered his head and gently kissed her forehead. "Thank you..."
"Wang Ye, I'll help you investigate cases for my whole life!"
Xiao Jin Yu curled his lips slightly and sighed helplessly. "First, help me take a bath..."
"Okay!"
Chu Chu said, then pursed her lips. "Wang Ye..."
"Hmm?"
"In the future... still wait for me to help you."
"...?"
"Don't do it yourself, it's not good for your health."
"...!"
After the bath, Chu Chu carefully applied medicated wine all over his body and gave him a thorough massage from head to toe. Xiao Jin Yu finally regained some vitality, though he felt utterly embarrassed when the Imperial Examination Hall attendant Lian glanced at him several times while changing the bedding. He lay on the small couch by the window pretending to be dead for quite a while - a corpse with exceptionally flushed complexion.
Every time Chu Chu glanced at him with a smile, Xiao Jin Yu felt so ashamed he wanted to dig a hole and bury himself. With a face thinner than mosquito netting, he had to let her discover... and even let her think that...
Unable to return to the examination cells, Xiao Jin Yu still had Chu Chu help him change into his official robes. Throughout the changing process, his face remained beet red, avoiding Chu Chu's gaze and not daring to look her in the eye. Chu Chu couldn't help but kiss him, making him so embarrassed he nearly fainted.
Xiao Jin Yu had intended to let his face return to normal before summoning Wu Jiang, but when he realized this wouldn't happen anytime soon, he had no choice but to call Wu Jiang and instruct him to bring the soldiers who had guarded the three cheating candidates during the first half of the previous night.
Wu Jiang returned alone, casting a puzzled glance at Xiao Jin Yu's face that still resembled a bleeding sunset. Watching the face inexplicably turn even redder, he stared blankly for a moment before saying, "Wang Ye, Wang Xiaohua refuses to release them..."
"Wh... why?"
"He said the punishment isn't finished yet. He'll bring them to you after he's done punishing them."
Xiao Jin Yu was slightly taken aback. "Where are they now?"
"In the barracks at the backyard."
"Wu Jiang... go to the examination cells and invite Grand Tutor Xue to the deceased's room. Chu Chu, come with me to the barracks."
"Yes."
After Wu Jiang left, Xiao Jin Yu couldn't hold back any longer. "Chu Chu... I have something to tell you."
From Wu Jiang's expression, it was clear that unless this matter was clarified, his face probably wouldn't be presentable enough to go out.
"Hmm?"
"I... I didn't... I never..."
Xiao Jin Yu struggled for a long time, nearly crying, but still couldn't bring himself to voice those words.
Chu Chu looked confusedly at this anxious, flustered, and tongue-tied person. "Wang Ye, what's wrong?"
"I... I... I'm not that kind of person..."
Chu Chu grew even more confused. "Not what kind of person?"
"The kind you were thinking of..."
Chu Chu felt somewhat wronged. "What was I thinking?"
Xiao Jin Yu took a deep breath, then another, three deep breaths in total, looked up at the ceiling, and blurted out in one go, "I didn't do it myself..."
Chu Chu was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing. She reached out and patted Xiao Jin Yu's head like a mother comforting her son who had honestly admitted his mistake. "It's fine even if you did it yourself! Once or twice won't harm your health that much!"Xiao Jinyu was truly on the verge of tears. He had never felt that speaking could be so difficult, wishing he could just tear out his heart, liver, lungs, and guts to show her—let her see everything clearly at a glance... After all, she was accustomed to such sights.
"I really haven't... never have... only with you, like this with you... truly..."
Chu Chu blinked, half-believing and half-doubting as she glanced downward at him. "Then how could you last night..."
"I... I just... missed you, terribly... so..."
He truly hadn't touched anything, merely thought of her—thought of the moment she scrambled out of the blankets, her jade-like body fully exposed before him...
Chu Chu laughed for a long while, laughing until Xiao Jinyu turned as red as a freshly boiled spicy crayfish, before throwing herself into his arms. "Wang Ye, you... you're so good!"
☆ ☆ 92 Sweet and Sour Pork Knuckle (VI)
The barracks were not close to where Xiao Jinyu lived. In the lingering chill of early spring, Chu Chu draped a blanket over Xiao Jinyu's legs before pushing his wheelchair over.
"Wang Ye," Chu Chu called out, pointing ahead as soon as the barracks' gate came into view. "Look quickly—why are two people tied up at the entrance?"
On either side of the barracks' gate stood thick, century-old locust trees. Two burly men were tied back-to-back against the trunks, stripped to the waist. Even from a distance, the bloody mess on their chests was visible. Xiao Jinyu recognized them as guards from the Imperial Examination Hall—Wang Xiaohua's soldiers—by their trousers and boots.
Recalling what Wu Jiang had said earlier, Xiao Jinyu's brow furrowed into a faint crease. "Let's go take a look..."
"Alright!"
As they drew closer, the dense, bloody gashes on their chests became even more horrifying. Beyond the fresh wounds, their wheat-toned skin was crisscrossed with old scars resembling centipedes.
Seeing the two men hanging their heads lifelessly, their chests barely rising and falling, Chu Chu rushed forward to untie them but was stopped by Xiao Jinyu's low voice. "Wait."
Though frantic, Chu Chu obediently hurried back to Xiao Jinyu's side. "Wang Ye, they're almost gone!"
Xiao Jinyu remained as calm as if he hadn't seen the two men at all. "Don't panic... Go into the courtyard and see if General Wang is inside."
Chu Chu was taken aback. "General Wang?"
"General Xiaohua..."
Just as a look of realization dawned on Chu Chu's face, a thunderous roar echoed from the courtyard. "General of the Cloud-like Banner!"
Before the roar had faded in the crisp, cold air, Wang Xiaohua strode out with large steps, a broadsword in hand and a dark expression. He did not kneel upon seeing Xiao Jinyu. "Prince An."
His cold, stern gaze softened noticeably when it fell upon Chu Chu. "Imperial Concubine."
Chu Chu stepped forward urgently. "General Xiaohua, please save these two men quickly!"
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