Ruan Xiang Yin who was nestled in his arms, listened to the sound of the wind whistling past her ears, suddenly found this scene very familiar. 

Four years ago, similar to the present situation, she was rescued by him and was held in his arms.  Looking at the same herb that was held tightly in her hand and also the same injury on her left foot, she felt it was too much of a coincidence and wondered what all this meant.  In face of these facts, was it really destined for them to be entangled with each other? 

She lifted her head and studied the side of his handsome face.  At the same moment, Dong Fang Tang looked down at her with questioning eyes.  The two of them looked at each other for a while but both did not say anything until she closed her eyes and laid her head against his neck to let the sense of security that exuded from him reassuringly enveloped her.   

 

***#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#***

 

Between these two people, something must have happened.

Dong Mei was drinking the medicinal soup that Ruan Xiang Yin had prescribed for her.  Her pair of eyes were watching Ruan Xiang Yin who was sitting on the bench beside the bed, cradling her son and playfully teasing him.

She thought of what Zhang Zhen mentioned yesterday about the Third Young Master coming back carrying the injured Ruan Xiang Yin in his arms with an anxious look on his normally gentle face. It was totally different from the usual calm he exhibited while treating his patients in the past and it had caused everyone to think that she was seriously injured.  In the end, it was found that the injuries to her foot and forehead were not as serious as they had first thought.

In addition, when the Third Young Master had personally supported Ruan Xiang Yin to her bedchamber, his actions had proven one thing ~~ the rumors about the Third Young Master were true.  Now she is curious about Ruan Xiang Yin's response.

Clearing her throat, Dong Mei put down the empty bowl at the side and watched as Ruan Xiang Yin hugged her son with an unusual gentle expression on her face.  Dong Mei asked with a smile.   

"Is your injured foot better now?"

"Yes."  She replied without lifting her eyes from the little baby in her arms.

"That's good.  With Third Young Master's personal care, of course, your injury will heal faster."

Ruan Xiang Yin glanced at the strange smile on Dong Mei's lips and said.  "I don’t need him to take care of me."

"Give me the child."  Dong Mei reached out for the baby and cradled him in her arms.  Her face showed the contented expression of a mother.

"Xiang Yin, don’t you feel that the way Third Young Master treats you is very special?"

With this sentence that was suddenly blurted out by Dong Mei, Ruan Xiang Yin knitted her eyebrows slightly without any change of expression on her elegant face and lightly said.  "Is it?  He has always been good to everyone."

Dong Mei laughed lightly.  "There is still a difference and you will notice it if you observe closely.”

Ruan Xiang Yin frowned slightly, seemed to be disinterested in this discussion and did not reply. 

Dong Mei saw that she was not getting any response from her and anxiously asked again.

"Xiang Yin, what do you think of our Third Young Master?"

"He is a good man."  She said softly.

"You are wrong.  Third Young Master is not just good a man.  Although he is good, he treats people politely and puts his heart into taking care of his patients but if the situation warrants, he will be most insistent."  She paused and looked at Ruan Xiang Yin's indifferent expression.  "Although a lot of people want their daughters to be married to Third Young Master, he had always refused.  Being a kind man, he did not want to put others in an awkward position and always gracefully refused.   However, in the future, he will not have to worry about this problem."

"Why?"

"Because you have appeared."

It seems Xiang Yin had not heard the rumors that were being spread by the people.  The rumor of these two people's ambiguous relationship was being actively circulated among the people.  Some people did not believe the rumors but when they themselves witnessed the return of Third Young Master yesterday carrying the injured Ruan Xiang Yin, they had to believe.

"What has it to do with me?"

Ruan Xiang Yin looked at her in confusion and had a bad feeling in her heart.  The smile on Dong Mei's face was really strange. 

"Later, you will know."

Dong Mei was talking in riddles and refused to divulge any more.  For some things to be considered as interesting, it should be perceived by the parties concerned.  Calculating the time, someone should be arriving any time soon. 

As expected…….

Knock!  Knock!  Sounds of knocking were heard outside the door and at the same time, a warm voice drifted in. 

"Dong Mei, may I come in?"

"Third Young Master, please come in!"

Dong Mei smiled when she heard Third Young Master's voice.  She looked at the indifferent expression on Ruan Xiang Yin's face and noticed slight changes in her expression which Xiang Yin was not even aware of herself. 

The next moment, a slender figure entered the room.

Dong Fang Tang looked at Dong Mei who was sitting on the bed and lightly nodded at her, then his eyes rested gently on Ruan Xiang Yin.

"Xiang Yin, let's go.  Don’t disturb Dong Mei's rest."

He stretched out his long arms, gently held her slender shoulders and helped her up. 

"I can walk on my own."

As he lifted her up, Ruan Xiang Yin refused his support and also vehemently refused his help.  However, even though she carefully placed her weight on her right foot and took a few steps forward, it still affected her injured left foot.  Her delicate body swayed and was about to fall when……

A pair of long arms encircled her slender waist and ignoring her resistance, he picked her up.  With one arm around her back and the other arm beneath her knees, he walked out of the bedchamber carrying her.

Seeing the interaction between them, Dong Mei's smile widened even further.

It seems that the Third Young Master's feelings for Xiang Yin were deeper than she thought.

 

***#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#***

 

The dense hot air rose like white mists enveloping the person with smooth creamy skin who was sitting in the high wooden bathtub.  Her head leaned back against the edge of the tub with her black silky hair cascading like a waterfall, floating in the water.  Her eyes were closed as if she was asleep.  

When the temperature of the water gradually turned cold, the bright eyes that were closed slowly opened.  She was not sleeping as comfortably as she appeared to be but thinking about Dong Mei's words and also Wang Qin's unusual respectful attitude towards her.

A pair of arms braced against the rim of the wooden tub and the white naked body immediately stood up.  First, she carefully draped the uninjured foot over the edge of the tub and then slowly lifted up her injured left foot over the edge. Still immersed in her thoughts, in a moment of carelessness, she slipped…….

'Pung!' A sound of crashing accompanied by her screams was heard.  She did not even have time to check where she was hurt this time when the door was pushed open and at the same time, the voice of Dong Fang Tang sounded.

"Xiang Yin, what happened?!"

When Dong Fang Tang, on the other side of the door, heard sounds of a crash coming from inside the bedchamber, he was so frantic that he entered without permission.

"Don’t come in!"

When she heard footsteps, Ruan Xiang Yin shouted in a panic to prevent him from entering the bedchamber.  At this moment, she was naked and had fallen onto the floor.  She was anxiously wondering what to do when he appeared at this time and she did not know whether to thank him or otherwise.  She looked at her clothes hanging on top of the dividing screen, then looked down at her injured left foot which was injured again and the bruises on her right knee. 

This is good!  Now that both her legs are hurt, she wondered how she is going to walk!  The present awkward situation she is in now is enough to make her worry.

Hearing her calls for him not to enter, Dong Fang Tang instantly stopped moving forward.  His sharp eyes caught sight of the clothes hanging on the dividing screen that served as a barrier for the bathtub and could guess the predicament she was facing. 

"Xiang Yin, if I close my eyes and hand you the clothes, will you be willing to let me help you?"

There was a period of silence before a voice drifted over.

"Yes."

In the end, Ruan Xiang Yin did not say anything more because she knew he was an upright and straight-forward person.  So she did not doubt his words and was not on guard against him. 

With her consent, Dong Fang Tang stepped forward and lifted off the clothes that were hanging on the screen.  Before stepping further into the bedchamber, he closed his eyes and guided himself all the way into the bedchamber with his hands.

"Be careful of the wooden stool beside your right foot…….move forward five steps.  Put the clothes beside your left foot then you can leave."

All the while, she was paying attention to his actions.  From time to time, she would glance at him to check whether he opened his eyes until he put down the clothes to leave, then only did she heaved a sigh of relief.  As she could not stand up, she first had to pull over a wooden stool and sat on it.  Then she put on her clothes in a hurry and after she was neatly dressed, she shouted out to him. 

"Dong Fang Tang!  I am done!"

The minute Dong Fang Tang who was waiting for her outside the door heard her call out, he immediately came in.  Without saying anything, he bent down, picked her up and turned to step out from behind the screen.  Suddenly, his slender body stiffened and Ruan Xiang Yin who was in his arms could sense a difference in him.  She lifted her head and an expression of shame showed on her elegant face.  He looked at the three people who were obviously in shock, standing frozen in front of him.

"Third Young Master, I was just helping to bring medicinal soup for Miss Ruan!"

When he came across this scene, Wang Qin's face was a myriad of expressions and he felt very awkward.

"Third Brother, I just came over to take a look at Sister Xiang Yin!"

Zhang Sheng who had followed behind the other two also explained and at the same time, he looked curiously at both of them. 

"Third Brother, we will not disturb both of you!"

Zhang Zhen smiled at the two people in the bedchamber, then quickly pulled one elder and one younger away at the fastest speed.  Before he left, he still remembered to close the door carefully behind him.

Dong Fang Tang waited until the three people had left before he placed Ruan Xiang Yin lightly on the bed and started to treat her injured foot with medicine paste.

"Are you not worried at all?"  Ruan Xiang Yin could not help but ask. 

She looked at his perfectly composed manner and wondered……is he really not worried that other people would misunderstand him?  After all, he is a man and he is in a lady's bedchamber at night.  What if this matter is spread out?  Both of them would be criticized and the image of this decent man would definitely suffer.

"What are you worried about?"  Dong Fang Tang asked in return.  His face was calm and his eyes were fixed on her injured foot. 

Upon seeing this, an inexplicable sulky feeling spread in her chest.

That's also correct.  If today, it is someone else, everyone would not believe they are innocent.    However, if the person involved is Dong Fang Tang himself and as long as he explained, who would doubt him?  If that is so, why should she worry about him?

"Where does your right foot hurt?"

The reason Dong Fang Tang asked this question was that he knew her temper.  If it was not her right foot was also injured, she would never have asked him for help.  No matter how much her left foot hurts, she would still use her right foot as support and walk out on her own.

"Knee."

In a fit of pique, she refused to pull up the leg of her pants by herself.  Anyway, since this man likes to take care of her and is not bothered about how people regard him, then why should she care?!  After all, she is someone who will be leaving at any time and if there are any problems, it will only affect him and everything has nothing to do with her.

Dong Fang Tang looked up and smiled when he saw her angry expression.  Ignoring the taboo of proximity between a man and a woman, he lifted the leg of her pants up and pushed it above her knee.  He frowned when he saw the bruise on her knee.  He noticed the injury was not light and it was also located at the joints.  It's afraid, during this short period of time, it would not be possible for her to move around.

"How did you know I slipped in the bedchamber while taking my bath?  You could not have been standing guard outside my door, were you?"

After Dong Fang Tang had smeared medicine paste on her injury and he was bandaging her foot, his hands unconsciously paused for a moment.  Then he continued until he had completely bandaged up her foot then he raised his head and gazed gently at her.

"It's only because I worry about you.  After all, your injuries have yet to heal."

His frank reply suddenly made her speechless and she did not know what to say at the moment.  She narrowed her eyes and did not dare to look directly into the soft light in his eyes.  Involuntarily, she thought of Dong Mei's words.

~~ Xiang Yin, don’t you feel the way the Third Young Master treats you is very special?

"Drink up the medicinal soup and rest early.  I'll leave first."

Until a bowl of warm medicinal soup was placed in her hands, only did she came to her senses and her bright eyes watched as his slender figure left.