Ye Jingtang left Heavenly Water Bridge and rode his black horse back to Dye Workshop Street. On the way, he checked his left arm.
Forcefully retracting his attack had injured his left arm. After Pei Xiangjun massaged it with medicine, there were no longer any traces by noon.
He didn't know if his injury was too light or if the medicine was too potent. In any case, the effect was a bit outrageous, so he specially asked for two bottles of medicine.
When he returned to Double Osmanthus Alley, the old alley was already silent. From the traces on the ground, the constables had not come to patrol again.
He led the horse to the house and pushed the door open. The courtyard had been cleaned up. The door to the main room 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 felt a little disappointed. But when he walked under the kitchen roof, he saw a figure standing in the small kitchen that had never been used.
The figure was wearing a long blue dress. Her legs were long under the dress, and the skirt reached her ankles. She was wearing a pair of shoes with bamboo leaf patterns on them.
The figure had her back to the window. She must have known that he had entered the house, but she ignored him. She was wiping the edge of the rice vat with a linen cloth.
Her slightly bent posture caused her long ink-black hair to slide down her shoulders. Her long dress was already form-fitting to begin with. Viewed from behind, the dress hugged her waist, and the skirt drew a plump arc in the old kitchen. Her butt was like the full moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
(⊙_⊙;)!
Ye Jingtang's gaze only subconsciously swept past, but he didn't stare.
But Luo Ning's senses were rather sharp. Sensing that something was wrong, she immediately stood up straight and turned to look at the window with a slightly cold gaze.
Ye Jingtang tethered his horse outside the window and said with a smile, "Heroine Luo, you are so virtuous. Why did you help me clean the kitchen?"
When Luo Ning found that there was nothing out of the ordinary, the vigilance between her brows disappeared, but her anger did not subside. "You look like a human, but your house is a mess. Not to mention firewood and rice, you don't even have a pot…"
"I just moved in yesterday. You can't blame me for that. And this house is too run-down. I was going to change places yesterday, so I didn't need to clean it."
?
Luo Ning stopped. "Why didn't you say so earlier? Yunli and I have been cleaning up for half a day…"
"In that case, stay here for now. Anyway, I've already paid the rent."
Ye Jingtang carried the bird into the old kitchen and sized it up from behind the stove. "Where's the girl?"
Luo Ning took two steps to the side to keep a distance. "She went to buy you kitchenware…"
As she spoke, Ye Jingtang took out a small porcelain bottle and handed it to her.
"What is this?"
"Wound medicine. I asked the boss of the escort agency for it. It's very effective. Why don't you try it?"
Luo Ning took the small medicine bottle, opened it, and took a sniff. "Jade Dragon Ointment…"
She frowned and looked at Ye Jingtang suspiciously. "This medicine came from 'Xinglin Sacred Hands' Medicine King Li. It's a divine medicine for treating internal injuries, and it can't be bought on the market. It can be sold for more than a hundred taels of silver on the black market. Even if an escort agency in the capital has it, it will only be used to save lives. How can it be given to you for nothing?"
?!
Hearing this, Ye Jingtang almost staggered. Third Lady had treated his arm with it today as if it was free. He thought it was just ordinary wound medicine. More than a hundred taels of silver? No wonder the medicine is so effective…
Ye Jingtang had already taken it out, so he naturally wouldn't take it back. He said magnanimously, "Consider it an advance payment. The sooner you recover and leave, the sooner I can be free. Take it."
When Luo Ning heard this, the look in her eyes changed. "Are you stupid? Even if I'm injured, I have my own medicine. Why do I need you to work for a year for nothing?"
"Heroine Luo, if you feel embarrassed, why don't you teach me more martial arts?"
Luo Ning knew what Ye Jingtang was up to, so she handed the medicine back. "Give it back to your boss. Dream on. When second-rate experts in Jianghu take in disciples, the disciples have to offer a hundred taels of silver. You want me to teach you an ultimate technique with just a bottle of medicine? Hmph…"
Ye Jingtang naturally didn't take it. He crossed his arms, looked out of the courtyard, and said jokingly, "Sigh, it's a good thing I'm not a villain."
"Aren't you a villain? Yesterday, you…" Luo Ning's beautiful face flushed red, and she wiped the vat harder.
Wipe, wipe…
Ye Jingtang said helplessly, "If I were a villain, it would be too easy for me to get you to teach me martial arts. I'll just say one sentence. Madam Luo, you don't want our matter to be—"
Clang!
Before he could finish his sentence, a cold light flashed in the old kitchen.
A three-foot-long blade was unsheathed from nowhere. When it appeared, it was already at Ye Jingtang's neck.
Luo Ning bit her lower lip tightly and glared at Ye Jingtang, her face alternating between red and white. Her eyes were glistening with disappointment, and two tears were about to roll down her cheeks.
"Chirp~" The bird shrank its neck weakly and moved away.
Ye Jingtang's reaction was calm. He looked at the sword that was only half an inch away from his neck. "I was just making an example. Heroine Luo, you're not teaching me, so I've only tried to flatter you. Have I ever been rude to you?"
"If you were truly incorrigible, you would have died yesterday. You wouldn't have lived until today." Luo Ning's expression was ice-cold as she stared at Ye Jingtang. "You and I are both responsible for what happened yesterday. I won't hold it against you anymore, and you're not allowed to mention it again. If you dare to spread it to a third person, don't blame me for being ruthless…"
While Luo Ning was speaking, a commotion suddenly sounded outside the alley.
Clomp, clomp…
It sounded like a person. Their footsteps were heavy, and there was the sound of metal rubbing against each other. It sounded like armor. This person was moving very quickly…
Ye Jingtang's brows furrowed. Hiding armor privately was the crime of rebellion. Someone who could walk around in armor could only be from the government…
Luo Ning also had a puzzled look on her face. If she hastily flew out of the courtyard, she would be easily discovered by experts. She looked at Ye Jingtang, wanting to discuss how to deal with this situation.
But the little thief in front of her didn't panic in the face of danger. His reaction was extremely fast. He directly pulled her right hand, which was holding the sword, and rushed out of the kitchen toward the main room.
"You?!" Luo Ning, who was still maintaining a cold expression, staggered from the pull. Her eyes were astonished, and she felt 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. After hesitating for a moment, she let him pull her into the room.
The door was closed carefully. Luo Ning was afraid that this little thief would pounce on her and touch her, so she quickly raised her sword and warned in a low voice, "Don't touch me. I'll do it myself!"
Ye Jingtang nodded, carefully watched the window, and signaled her to put on a good act.
Luo Ning didn't get pushed down by this man and secretly heaved a sigh of relief. She sat upright on the edge of the bed and whispered with her eyes full of disgust, "Ah… Ah…"
Her voice was emotionless and skillless, like a dead fish pretending to cater to a man.
?!
Ye Jingtang's expression changed drastically. He quickly turned around and covered Heroine Luo's mouth. "Are you courting death? Why are you still messing around at a time like this?"
Luo Ning's mouth was covered, and her entire body trembled violently. Then she was furious. She forcefully pried open the hand covering her mouth and glared fiercely at Ye Jingtang, presumably meaning: I'm already cooperating and crying out, yet you still dare to touch me?!
From the looks of it, she still didn't know what she had done wrong.
Ye Jingtang didn't know what to say to this woman. He gestured for Luo Ning to shut up, squatted at the side, and shook the bed vigorously.
Creak, creak…
The sound of old furniture shaking was faintly discernible in the courtyard.
Soon, the footsteps in the alley slowed down. Then a familiar faint voice sounded. "Martial Mistress?"
The voice was full of suspicion!
Ye Jingtang's movements stiffened as he looked outside in bewilderment.
Luo Ning's anger instantly turned into panic. She hurriedly pushed Ye Jingtang, who was squatting in front of her, away and stood up.
Squeak!
The courtyard door was pushed open at the same time.
Ye Jingtang looked out from the crack of the door and saw a pile of things walking in cautiously.
It was hard to describe the exact appearance. It was probably an iron pot at the top with bedding underneath. The bedding was placed on a few stools, and kitchenware was hanging around it. At the bottom was part of a dress. As the pile walked, the kitchenware hit each other, making clangs.
Zhe Yunli turned sideways slightly and poked her watery face out from behind the pile of items. Her gaze was very strange as she looked at the room. What is Martial Mistress doing…?
Luo Ning knew that Zhe Yunli had heard the sound of the bed and didn't know how to explain. Just as she was at a loss, she felt a pain in her arm. Someone was pinching her.
In the blink of an eye, the shameless thief squatted at the edge of the bed and pretended to be repairing the bed while beckoning her to speak.
Luo Ning came back to her senses and hurriedly said, "Yunli, welcome back."
Hearing Luo Ning's voice, Zhe Yunli secretly heaved a sigh of relief. Her footsteps quickened as she carried the things into the kitchen while asking in puzzlement, "Martial Mistress, what are you doing? Why did I hear the bed shaking just now? You seemed to have hummed twice…"
"I…" Luo Ning's face flushed red. She just wanted to kill this little thief with one strike. She didn't know how to hide it.
Squatting at the head of the bed, Ye Jingtang had a calm expression as he shook the bed a few times. "The bed is loose, so I'm fixing it. I was talking to your martial mistress just now. "
"Why are you back so early?" Zhe Yunli stopped and looked suspiciously at the closed door.
Ye Jingtang stood up and went to open the door. "There's nothing much 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 that there was nothing unusual, she inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. "What can we use if I don't buy them?"
She placed the miscellaneous items on the chopping board, only to find that there was a big white bird in the rice vat. It was using its claws to press against the linen cloth and was doing housework miserably.
Zhe Yunli's eyes lit up. She immediately put the matter of the man and woman repairing the bed behind closed doors to the back of her mind and leaned over the rice vat to look inside. "Huh? This bird knows how to clean vats?"
"Chirp…" The bird jumped to the edge of the rice vat and threw the linen cloth into the hands of Poached Eggs. Then it lay down on the chopping board and spread its wings, making a 'tired bird' appearance…