Chapter 36
Chapter 36: Buddhist Scion Carries Xiao Man in His Arms
Lin Qing Xuan rode like mad back to the manor, hooves roaring like thunder, servants scattering out of his way.
When he swung down from the saddle, he staggered and nearly fell.
The hem of his plain white robe was coated in dust. That face, always cool as jade, was pale with a feverish flush. The handprints still burned on his cheeks. Sweat streamed down his brow, and panic and fury blazed in his eyes like never before.
He stumbled into the Auspicious Cloud Residence and, in one glance, saw Xiao Man under the corridor, barely held upright by Xiu He.
Her hair was a mess. Both cheeks were swollen frighteningly. Blood stained the corner of her mouth, and beneath the robe draped over her, a torn collar showed through.
Those eyes that were always bright and stubborn were dull now. She looked like her spirit had been yanked out by force.
“Xiao Man!”
Lin Qing Xuan’s voice was hoarse beyond recognition. He crossed the distance in three strides, took her from Xiu He, and swept her up into his arms.
The movement stunned Xiu He.
A celibate Buddhist Scion carrying a woman—and that woman was Xiao Man.
Xiao Man was so light it scared him. Her thin body trembled against his chest like a wounded animal.
“Y-young master…” she struggled weakly, voice barely there. “Put me down… it’s not proper. People are watching.”
“Enough.” His voice came out rough, almost a growl.
The eyes that usually held pity were bloodshot now.
“Who hit you?”
Xiao Man was so startled by his fury she forgot to answer.
Xiu He, already past her shock, spoke up instead.
“Replying to Young Master, it was Little Peach, the daughter of the west courtyard’s second steward. She brought people and beat her.”
“Where are they?” Lin Qing Xuan demanded, his voice turning to ice.
“First Madam already dealt with them…”
Before Xiu He could finish, Lin Qing Xuan had carried Xiao Man inside. Without looking back, he threw out a single line.
“Fetch the house physician. Now!”
Old Chen Tou took off running.
Inside, Lin Qing Xuan carefully laid Xiao Man on the bed. His fingers trembled as he reached toward her swollen cheek—then jerked back at the last moment, afraid of hurting her.
He had never hated his own identity so much.
If he were any ordinary man, he would have torn apart the ones who hurt her.
But he was the Buddhist Scion. Even seeking justice had to pass through someone else’s hands.
“Does it hurt?” His voice scraped raw.
Xiao Man forced a smile, but it tugged her cut lip. She sucked in a sharp breath.
“It hurts, Young Master. Look at me like this—I’ll need ten days, maybe half a month, to recover. Can you excuse me from grinding ink and copying sutras in your study?”
[Since I’m hurt, I can hide for a few days. Avoid getting close.]
Lin Qing Xuan felt both angry and helpless. Even now, she was thinking about how to keep her distance.
[It really hurts. Four against one, and they didn’t hold back. Serving at Young Master’s side is dangerous.]
That thought snapped the last thread of Lin Qing Xuan’s restraint.
He rose. His robe stirred without wind. A faint golden light flowed around him—the Buddha bone relic reacting to his towering rage, protecting its master on its own.
“I’ll go kill them right now.”
He spoke each word like a blade.
“Young Master!”
Xiao Man grabbed his sleeve in panic.
“Don’t. First Madam already dealt with it. I wasn’t trying to take lives!”
Lin Qing Xuan froze. The red in his eyes faded, little by little.
He sank to his knees by the bed, pressed his face into Xiao Man’s palm, and spoke into her skin, muffled and broken.
“I’m sorry… I dragged you into this…”
Xiao Man went still.
She had never seen Lin Qing Xuan like this—weak, guilty, like a child who’d done wrong.
Warm wetness spread in her palm.
[He… cried?]
[For me? No way.]
Outside, the house physician arrived in a rush, only to be stopped at the door by Xiu He.
Xiu He peeked through the crack and saw the lofty Buddhist Scion kneeling by the bed, shoulders trembling, while Xiao Man stroked his hair with her battered hand.
The sight struck like a thunderclap. Xiu He quietly closed the door and turned to the house physician.
“W-wait a little longer.”
Doctor Wang frowned. “Old Chen Tou said it was urgent.”
“It is urgent,” Xiu He whispered. “But it can wait a moment.”
Meanwhile, in the First Madam’s courtyard, Little Peach was pressed onto a long bench while Matron Zhou personally carried out the punishment.
The dull thuds of the board on flesh, mixed with Little Peach’s shrill screams, echoed through the Heir Apparent’s manor.
Every maid with wandering thoughts was called to watch. Faces went ashen. No one dared entertain improper hopes again.
“Hit her,” First Madam said coldly. “Beat her half to death.”
“Then sell her straight to the lowest brothel. Let her remember for the rest of her life that the Heir Apparent’s manor master isn’t someone she can dream of.”
Wang You Cai and his wife knelt in the courtyard, gray as corpses.
They never imagined their daughter’s spoiled temper would brew such a disaster.
Back at 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 now?”
Inside, Lin Qing Xuan steadied himself enough to answer. They were let in.
Doctor Wang took one look at Xiao Man’s face and sucked in a breath.
“Ah—this is badly hurt.”
Lin Qing Xuan’s heart clenched.
But Doctor Wang continued, practical as ever. “It’s all surface wounds. Rest ten days or half a month and you’ll be fine. No heavy work. I’ll prescribe a decoction to clear the bruising, and I’ll give you some white jade salve too. It won’t leave scars.”
Granny Chen finally arrived, shouting from the doorway.
“What a sin! How dare they beat someone in my courtyard!”
Xiu He shoved the prescription list into her hands.
“Make up for it. Go with Doctor Wang to fetch the medicine, and you will brew Xiao Man’s decoctions these next few days. Otherwise, the Eldest Grandson Young Master will do it himself.”
Granny Chen peeked inside, understood at once, and hurried off with the list.
Lin Qing Xuan personally applied the ointment to Xiao Man’s cheeks.
His movements were gentle beyond belief, as if even a breath might hurt her.
“Young Master,” Xiao Man whispered.
“Mm?”
“Why do you have a mark on your face too?” She stared at the faint red on his cheek.
Lin Qing Xuan paused, emotion flickering in his eyes.
“This is… empathic resonance.”
“Empathic resonance?” Xiao Man blinked. “So when I was getting hit, you felt it too?”
“Mm.” He nodded once. “I felt all of it.”
Xiao Man’s heart jumped. Suddenly, she understood why he’d rushed back like a man losing his mind.
Outside, the sun slid toward the horizon. Their shadows stretched long across the floor, tangled together, unwilling to separate.
Xiu He didn’t stop to breathe. She ran back to Old Madam’s Green Reed Courtyard to report the spectacle—especially the part where the Eldest Grandson Young Master had carried Xiao Man in his arms.
Was Xiao Man really climbing a high branch this time?
The branch was risky. For a maid like her, who knew if it would be blessing or disaster.