Chapter 48: A Stormy Night in the Old Capital

Xing Luo’s skills were decent, but if she could be a bit more proper and not let her hands keep trying to touch places they shouldn’t, that would be even better.

It wasn’t that Wang Sandong was pretending to be virtuous, and it certainly wasn’t that she disliked it.

The main reason was her worry that her transformation might be exposed.

Leaving Xing Luo’s room, Wang Sandong stood in the front hall, gazing at the entrance leading to the rear courtyard.

Her eyes were tender, her expression full of longing.

In the end, she let out a soft sigh and left directly.

Outside, wind and rain howled.

Yueniang specially saw Wang Sandong out.

She held Wang Sandong’s arm and asked with a smile:

“Third Young Master, won’t you go see Miss Yuanyuan?”

“Ah… no.”

Wang Sandong sighed leisurely.

The wind tousled her long hair, adding a touch of pitiable beauty.

“The young master seems troubled.”

“No. I was just thinking… if Yuanyuan were really a woman… ah, forget it, forget it.”

Wang Sandong seemed to want to say something but stopped.

She shook her head and got into the carriage.

“Wang Tong, let’s go home.”

The carriage set off slowly.

Inside the carriage, Wang Sandong had a mischievous smirk at the corner of her mouth.

She barely restrained herself from lifting the curtain to look back at Yueniang’s expression.

Hmph…

She couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.

Because she realized that if her deduction was correct, Yuan Di’s memories would eventually be hers.

Even if her deduction was wrong…

Who was the hunter, and who was the prey?

That remained to be seen!

A bolt of lightning split the night sky, followed by a clap of thunder.

The wind grew fiercer, the rain heavier.

Wang Tong was already soaked, yet he still maintained a slow speed, afraid to let the young master feel any jolts.

His ears could only hear the sound of rain pounding the ground, a dense, chaotic mix.

On the empty street, there was nothing but rain.

Suddenly, the two horses pulling the carriage neighed almost simultaneously, then bolted like mad.

Wang Tong was startled. He quickly tried to pull the reins and shouted:

“Whoa—whoa—whoa—”

But it was useless.

His face turned pale with fear.

“Young master! The horses are spooked!”

Wang Sandong was bracing herself by holding the specially made handrails inside the carriage.

On hearing Wang Tong’s words, a shiver ran through her mind.

‘These two horses are gentle by nature and not easily frightened. For both of them to act up at the same time… something’s wrong.’

What to do?

Wang Sandong racked her brains for a solution.

But the carriage jolted violently, shaking her dizzy.

Not only did her thoughts become fragmented, but her breathing also became uneven.

All she could do now was hold on tightly to the handrails, keeping herself from tumbling around inside the carriage.

“Young master! Are you all right?”

Wang Tong tried to steady the horses while asking.

“I’m… fine!”

Wang Sandong replied.

How ridiculous!

This waste of a body!

At that moment, Wang Sandong deeply detested her own physical condition.

Despite being at the Third Grade of cultivation, she was powerless in the face of such a minor incident.

In her mind, the memory surfaced of her father, Wang Zhongyi, being instigated by Chen Youde to forcibly extract her Spiritual Root…

Her fingers gripping the handrail turned black at the nails.

The carriage must have hit something, producing a sound of splintering wood, and then the body suddenly tilted.

Seeing this, Wang Sandong pressed herself tightly against the carriage wall and clung desperately to the handrails.

But her body was too weak.

As the carriage overturned, her hands couldn’t withstand the force flinging her body away.

She finally let go and rolled out.

Her head slammed against the carriage wall, and she was instantly dazed.

In a haze, Wang Sandong clenched her teeth, her mind filled with only one question:

“Who wants to kill me?”

Two horses spooked at the same time!

And the wheels just happened to hit something.

All coincidences?

Wang Sandong didn’t believe it.

The carriage was too fast; even as it overturned, it kept sliding at no slow speed.

It finally crashed into the corner of a wall at an intersection.

With a loud crash.

The carriage shattered.

Wang Sandong rolled out of the broken carriage and lay face down on the cobblestone road, soaked in rainwater.

She wouldn’t have rolled this far normally.

She had let it happen.

She struggled to sit up, looked around as if dazed from the impact.

She believed the culprit must be nearby observing the scene.

She wanted to see.

But there was only the pitch-black curtain of rain.

On the street, there was no third person.

Only Wang Tong, lying in the rain.

Sitting on the shaft and desperately trying to control the horses, Wang Tong had borne the brunt of the collision.

Naturally, he was badly injured.

One of his legs was broken.

“Young master!”

Wang Tong panicked and tried to get up, but let out a scream and collapsed again.

Wang Sandong grunted, raised a hand to wipe her face, and found it covered in blood.

She smelled blood, and her forehead was still warm.

“I’m fine…”

Wang Sandong replied weakly.

“I…”

Wang Sandong cursed under her breath, then her body went limp and she collapsed.

The rain grew heavier.

The sound of rain grew louder, annoying and distracting.

And Wang Tong’s screams.

“Young master! Wake up!”

“Young master! Don’t sleep! We’re almost home!”

“Damn it! Wang Mansion… faster!”

The sound finally died down.

Her ears regained peace.

Her consciousness flickered, and she found herself on a river’s surface.

Beneath her was a swaying small boat.

In front of her was a handsome man with an elegant demeanor.

The man sat cross-legged, looking at Wang Sandong, and said:

“Why do you want to learn medicine from me?”

Wang Sandong replied:

“To heal the sick and save the suffering.”

The man smiled and shook his head:

“Then just learning the basics is enough.”

“Why? Please enlighten me, Master.”

The master kept a smile on his face as he looked at Wang Sandong, a meaningful smile.

Why?

Why?

Why?

Wang Sandong asked frantically, but the master did not answer.

Another riddle-teller!

Damn it!

The world’s number one “Spring-Returning Hand” medical skill!

Heh!

Not only would she no longer need to ask him “why,” but she could directly possess all his memories!

If she had the power of the “Spring-Returning Hand,” perhaps she could heal her own frail body.

If her body were strong enough, even if she couldn’t fly or escape the earth, at least she wouldn’t be in mortal danger just because some horses got spooked.

Oh, right, how was Wang Tong?

His leg seemed to have broken.

“Wang Tong! Wang Tong!”

Wang Sandong called out.

“Here! I’m here, Young master! You’re awake!”

Wang Tong’s voice choked from beside her.

Wang Sandong was stunned for a moment, then slowly regained consciousness.

She struggled to open her eyes and saw Wang Tong standing by the bed, supporting himself with a wooden stick.

Tears were on his face, but he was smiling.

“Young master, are you all right?”

Wang Sandong let out a breath, looked at Wang Tong’s leg that wasn’t touching the ground, and asked:

“Broken?”

“It’s nothing. It’ll heal after some rest.”

Someone entered from outside.

It was Zheng Xiao.

“You’re awake.”

She walked in as she spoke, glanced at Wang Tong, and said:

“Go back and rest. Your young master has people to attend to him.”

Behind Zheng Xiao followed Hongxiu.

“I’m fine,” Wang Tong said.

“Go back and rest.”

Zheng Xiao’s tone was firm.

Wang Tong glanced at Wang Sandong, who smiled and nodded.

Only then did Wang Tong withdraw.

Zheng Xiao walked to the bedside and checked Wang Sandong’s temperature.

“Good, no more fever.”

“It’s good that the fever broke.”

Hongxiu breathed a sigh of relief.

“Third Young Master, you scared us to death. But you were lucky—surviving the crash and the rain—you still pulled through.”

Zheng Xiao laughed and said:

“Thank goodness the doctor your second uncle brought had such remarkable acupuncture technique. Otherwise, just the fever alone could’ve taken your life.”

She noticed Wang Sandong’s dry lips and instructed Hongxiu to bring tea, then added:

“Fortunately, Wang Tong was loyal. He carried you back home on his back, dragging his broken leg all the way.”

Wang Sandong frowned and asked:

“Couldn’t he have just settled me somewhere simple and come back for help? Did he have to carry all that weight?”

Zheng Xiao gave a wry smile.

“At least he’s loyal.”

Wang Sandong was left speechless.

She took the tea Hongxiu handed her, took a sip, and lay back down.

Recalling the events of the previous night, she strongly suspected someone had tried to harm her, but she had no evidence.

After thinking it over, Wang Sandong didn’t ask directly but probed instead:

“The rain last night was too heavy. It actually startled the old horses.”

Zheng Xiao sat down on a soft chair that Hongxiu had brought and said:

“Last night? That was three days ago.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been unconscious for three days.”

Zheng Xiao teased:

“I thought I was about to become a widow.”

Wang Sandong was a bit surprised.

She looked at Zheng Xiao and said sarcastically:

“A hostage can’t die so easily, can she?”

Zheng Xiao looked a bit embarrassed and said:

“Still angry?”

“I’m a petty person.”

Zheng Xiao couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

She spoke like coaxing a child:

“Alright, take care of yourself first. Once you’re well, you can be angry with me again.”

Although she appeared young, her actual age was similar to Wang Fa’s.

In her eyes, Wang Sandong, though her “husband,” was still a child.

Suddenly, she recalled the saying “old cow eating young grass” that was going around in the city.

Ah…

She had been living here for a while now, but she hadn’t eaten any “grass” at all.

Innocence is self-evident.

Wang Sandong gave a light snort, then braced herself to get up.

“What are you doing?” Zheng Xiao asked.

“Going to relieve myself.”

“Your servant will fetch the chamber pot.”

Hongxiu said this and quickly brought the chamber pot to the bedside.

Wang Sandong sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the chamber pot, then at Zheng Xiao and Hongxiu.

Zheng Xiao met Wang Sandong’s gaze and then said with a smile:

“It’s rare for a married couple to be so bashful about this.”

She stood up and walked out of the room.

But she didn’t close the door.

She just leaned against the wall by the door.

She had no interest in Wang Sandong’s body, nor any desire for marital matters.

It was just…

Wang Sandong was simply too beautiful. She didn’t look like a man at all.

Deep down, Zheng Xiao had a slight urge to see for herself whether Wang Sandong was actually a man—even though she had already seen Wang Sandong from head to toe as a baby.

It was because of this subconscious impulse, as well as the “title of spouses,” and the fact that she didn’t truly see Wang Sandong as a man, that she didn’t leave immediately.

As for Hongxiu, who was still standing in the room, she not only didn’t leave but stepped forward to help Wang Sandong take off her pants.

Wang Sandong grabbed her waistband and said:

“You leave too.”

Hongxiu laughed:

“The Third Young Master’s body isn’t fully healed; you might not be steady standing. Let your servant help you…”

“Get out!”

Wang Sandong dragged out the word in a weak, disdainful shout.

“Well… all right. Please be careful, Young Master.”

Hongxiu suppressed a smile as she left, but also didn’t close the door.

She stood on the other side of the doorway, turned to look at Zheng Xiao, and teased:

“And you are shy now? This isn’t like the old days when the nanny helped you pee.”

Zheng Xiao glanced at Hongxiu, smiled, and said nothing.

She knew that although Hongxiu and Tianxiang were servants of Madam Wang, they were not ordinary maids.

She had heard from her younger brother before that Hongxiu and Tianxiang were maids personally selected and sent by the Liu Family Head when Madam Wang married into the Wang family.

Madam Wang was only a collateral branch of the Liu family.

The Liu Family Head personally selecting and sending maids—the intention was obvious.

After a moment, the sound of water stopped inside the room.

A little while later, Hongxiu and Zheng Xiao re-entered the room.

Wang Sandong was already lying back down.

Her face was a bit flushed as she said:

“Well… I am really weak. Can’t stand steadily. I had to do it sitting down.”

She blushed even more after saying that.

There was no need for an explanation, but Wang Sandong worried that Zheng Xiao and Hongxiu had “peeked,” afraid they might suspect something, so she explained, even at the risk of “protesting too much.”

“That’s only natural.”

Hongxiu replied with a smile, picked up the chamber pot, and went to rinse it.

Only Wang Sandong and Zheng Xiao remained in the room.

Wang Sandong calmed herself and said:

“You said earlier that the doctor my second uncle brought? I know all the famous doctors in the Old Capital. I’ve never heard of one who’s good at acupuncture.”

“You were lucky, I suppose. When trouble came, the right doctor appeared. That doctor was originally far away in Xiang Cheng, but happened to come to the Old Capital to visit a friend.”

Zheng Xiao smiled.

‘Originally far away in Xiang Cheng, but happened to come to the Old Capital?’

‘What a coincidence.’

Maybe I’m overthinking this.

I have him to thank. When I’m a bit better, I should visit him personally to thank him.

I’ll see when the time comes.

“Ah.”

Zheng Xiao suddenly sighed.

Wang Sandong looked at her suspiciously.

Zheng Xiao smiled and said:

“Despite being sick, the way you smile is stunning. As a woman, I feel a bit inferior.”

“What? Got a crush on me?”

“Not quite.”

Zheng Xiao laughed.

“It’s just that beauty is pleasing to the eye.”