Chapter 036
Chapter 36: Buddha’s Chosen Carries Xiao Man
Lin Qing Xuan raced home on horseback, the hooves pounding like thunder as servants scattered out of the way.
He swung down and stumbled, almost falling. The hem of his plain white monk’s robe was caked with dust. His usually calm, jade-like face was pale with a strange flush. A clear handprint still marked his left cheek, cold sweat beaded at his temple, and in his eyes burned panic and fury he had never shown before.
He staggered into the Auspicious Cloud Residence and, at a glance, saw Xiao Man under the corridor, held up by Xiu He.
Her hair bun was a mess. Both cheeks were swollen and scary to look at, blood stained the corner of her mouth, and under the outer robe her collar was torn. Her eyes, usually bright and stubborn, were dull now. She looked drained, leaning soft and limp against Xiu He’s shoulder.
He rasped: “Xiao Man!”
He rushed over in two long strides, took her straight from Xiu He’s arms, and lifted her in a bridal carry.
Xiu He jumped in shock, thinking: [The abstinent Buddha’s Chosen Young Master is hugging a woman, and that woman is Xiao Man! I have to tell Old Madam and Dong Chun!]
Xiao Man felt feather-light in his hold. Her thin body trembled like a wounded little animal.
She whispered, trying to twist free: “Young Master, put me down… this isn’t proper. People are watching.”
He snapped in a low growl: “Shut up.”
His eyes, which always looked kindly on all living things, were red as blood, as if they could drip.
He demanded: “Who hit you?”
Xiao Man was so startled by his rage that she forgot to answer.
Xiu He recovered first and wasn’t afraid to speak: “Reporting to the Young Master, it was the West Court’s second Steward’s daughter, Xiao Tao, who led people here to beat her.”
His voice turned icy as he asked: “Where are they?”
Xiu He started to answer: “First Madam already punished them…” but before she could finish, Lin Qing Xuan was striding inside with Xiao Man in his arms and tossing back: “Go call the House Physician. Now.”
The servants buzzed with the same thought: [Wow, the Young Master really cares about Xiao Man.] Old Chen broke into a run to fetch the House Physician.
Inside, Lin Qing Xuan set Xiao Man on the bed as carefully as if she were glass. His fingers shook as he reached toward her swollen face, then he jerked them back, afraid to hurt her.
He had never hated his own status so much. If he were an ordinary man, he would have torn her attackers to pieces by now. But he was a Buddha’s Chosen, and even getting justice for her had to be done by other hands.
He asked in a rough voice: “Does it hurt?”
She tried to smile, but the split at her lip tugged and she hissed in pain: “It does. Look at me, I’ll need at least ten days or half a month to rest. Could I skip grinding ink and Sutra Copying in your study?”
She counted quickly in her head: [Since I’m injured, I can hide for a few days and avoid close contact.]
He felt angry and amused at once. Even now, she was thinking only of keeping her distance.
She thought again: [It really hurts. Four on one, and they didn’t hold back. Serving at the Young Master’s side is dangerous.]
That thought shattered the last of Lin Qing Xuan’s control. He surged to his feet. His robe stirred though there was no wind, and a faint gold light flowed around him. The Buddha Bone Relic had sensed his towering rage and rose to shield its master.
He said one word at a time, cold with killing intent: “I will go kill them.”
Xiao Man grabbed his sleeve in fright, thinking: [Is he going into Demonic Deviation again?] She pleaded: “Young Master, don’t. First Madam already dealt with them. I don’t want anyone to die.”
His whole body jolted. The blood-red faded from his eyes. He sank to his knees by the bed, pressed his face into her palm, and spoke in a muffled voice: “I’m sorry. I dragged you into this.”
Xiao Man froze. She had never seen Lin Qing Xuan like this, fragile and guilty, like a child who did something wrong. Heat and damp spread against her palm, and her heart gave a hard thump as she thought: [He… cried?] [For me? That can’t be right!]
Outside, the House Physician hurried up, but Xiu He stopped him at the door. Peeking through the crack, she saw the high-and-mighty Buddha’s Chosen kneeling by the bed with shaking shoulders while Xiao Man, with her battered hand, stroked his hair. The sight stunned her. She eased the door shut and whispered to the doctor: “Let’s wait a little.”
Physician Wang was puzzled, thinking: [Old Chen said it was urgent.]
Xiu He kept her voice low: “It is urgent, but a short wait won’t matter.”
At the same time, in First Madam’s courtyard, Xiao Tao was pinned to a bench while Nanny Zhou carried out the punishment herself. The heavy thud of the board on flesh mixed with Xiao Tao’s shrill screams and echoed across the Heir Apparent Manor. Every maid with ideas beyond her station had been called to watch. Faces turned ashen. No one dared think improper thoughts again.
First Madam sat under the corridor with a cold face and ordered: “Beat her. Beat her within an inch of her life. When it’s done, sell her to the lowest brothel. Let her remember that the Master of the Heir Apparent Manor is not someone she can covet.”
In the courtyard, the West Court’s second Steward, Wang You Cai, and his wife knelt with dead-gray faces. They had never thought their spoiled daughter’s temper would cause a disaster like this.
Outside the Auspicious Cloud Residence, Xiu He cleared her throat and called loudly: “Eldest Grandson Young Master, the House Physician is here. May we come in?”
Inside, Lin Qing Xuan had calmed and told them to enter. One look at Xiao Man’s face made Physician Wang exclaim: “Oh dear, these injuries aren’t light.”
Lin Qing Xuan’s heart clenched again.
The House Physician went on: “But they’re all surface wounds. Rest for half a month and don’t do heavy work. I’ll prescribe a decoction to clear the bruises and give you White Jade Ointment. It won’t leave scars.”
Granny Chen finally showed up, calling from the door: “What a sin, how dare anyone hit someone in my courtyard!”
Xiu He shoved the prescription into her hands and said: “Make up for your mistake. Go with Physician Wang to get the medicine, and you’ll boil all of Xiao Man’s soups these days. If not, the Eldest Grandson Young Master will do it himself.”
Granny Chen peeked in, took one look, and understood. She hurried off with the doctor.
Lin Qing Xuan applied the ointment himself. His touch was unbelievably gentle, as if even the lightest pressure might hurt her.
She asked softly: “Young Master?”
He answered: “Mm?”
She looked at the faded red mark on his cheek and asked: “Why do you have an injury on your face too?”
He paused, something complicated in his eyes, and said: “It’s an Empathic Link.”
She blinked wide: “Empathic Link? So when I was being hit, you felt the pain too?”
He nodded lightly: “I felt all of it.”
Her heart jolted. Now she understood why he had rushed back in such a panic. She thought: [So he was afraid of the pain!] [I got moved for nothing!] [And last time I kicked him, I didn’t go easy. Good thing I didn’t feel it!]
He looked at her and thought, tender and helpless: [Silly girl. I worry about you, and you don’t even know.]
Outside, the setting sun drew their shadows long and thin. The two silhouettes overlapped and twined together so tightly they could not be pulled apart.
Xiu He ran straight to Old Madam’s Green Briar Court to report that the Eldest Grandson Young Master had carried Xiao Man in his arms. She wondered if Xiao Man had truly found a high branch to perch on, though for a maid-born girl, that branch might be as risky as it was high. No one could tell if it would be a blessing or a curse.