"Nonsense, how could I be afraid of bitterness!" Li Yue Shu glared at Qin Mo Yuan fiercely and retorted loudly.
Then, summoning the courage of a warrior severing their own wrist, she tilted her head back and "poured" the medicine into her mouth. Her movements were so swift, as if she were drinking water, as if she wished the soup would bypass her mouth and throat and go straight into her stomach.
After holding her breath and finishing it, Li Yue Shu instinctively wanted to spit it out.
But the moment she opened her mouth, a candy was shoved in, and the sweet, cloying taste instantly melted in her mouth.
She looked up and saw Qin Mo Yuan patting her back with one hand, while the other held a candy.
Seeing her looking at him, Qin Mo Yuan extended the candy in his hand, "If you still find it bitter, eat this one too."
For a fleeting moment, Li Yue Shu felt as if she could see that perfect, immortal-like face through the skin mask.
He was… inexplicably handsome!
Li Yue Shu's heart skipped a beat, but her face remained expressionless. She directly took the candy from his hand and put it in her mouth.
It was truly bitter, and no amount of sweetness from the candy could suppress the taste. However, it was better than nothing.
Qin Mo Yuan watched her actions, a hint of indulgence in his eyes, not seeing through her little act of pride.
...
Although Qin Mo Yuan's goading had made Li Yue Shu drink the medicine, it didn't work after a few times. Coupled with the fact that Heng De Pharmacy was already busy, Doctor Chen was finally sent away.
Li Yue Shu was about to dive into researching A Yi's poison, but Qin Mo Yuan suddenly turned into a clingy shadow, following her everywhere except for going to the latrine or bathing.
Just when Li Yue Shu couldn't help but want to hit someone, Qin Mo Yuan would frown, looking uncomfortable, "A Shu, check if my wound has split open, it hurts so much~"
His final tone seemed to curl upwards, like a hook.
Even more outrageously, he even lifted his clothes himself, revealing his upper body!
Li Yue Shu's eyes couldn't help but wander upwards.
Was this guy really a prince?
This honey trap was used so effectively… even the courtesans at Qing Feng Pavilion weren't as enticing as him!
Li Yue Shu felt an indescribable strangeness in her heart, and then she asked Hong Dai about it.
Upon hearing her question, Hong Dai's expression was somewhat unutterable, "Are we really talking about the same person we know?"
Li Yue Shu looked bewildered and a hint of curiosity arose in her heart, "What kind of person is the Qin Mo Yuan you know?"
Speaking of which, Hong Dai said without hesitation, "Ruthless and heartless, brutal and cold-blooded, decisive in battle, uninterested in women, a god of slaughter who can stop children from crying at night."
She paused, then suddenly thought of something and leaned closer, lowering her voice, "The whole world is spreading rumors that the Regent of Chen Nan Kingdom is fond of young men, and the guards by his side are all his bed partners."
Li Yue Shu's eyes widened, her mouth could have swallowed an egg.
"Really?"
Hong Dai shrugged, "Not even a mosquito can get close to Qin Mo Yuan, so I don't know if it's true or not. However, it's true that I've never heard of him having a woman by his side all these years."
Having said that, Hong Dai suddenly reacted, "No, you've been sharing a bed with him for a year, surely you wouldn't know?"
Li Yue Shu seemed to still be processing the news, her expression blank as she shook her head.
Qin Mo Yuan liked men?
Then was Chai Yang Xing He…
Li Yue Shu couldn't help but shiver, her mind racing with the relationships between the three of them, making her somewhat absentminded when chatting with Hong Dai.
Perhaps influenced by these words, Li Yue Shu's gaze towards Qin Mo Yuan became somewhat strange afterwards.
Ironically, the latter was completely unaware and would often come before her and feign weakness:
"A Shu, my back wound hurts so much. I heard that eating fish can help it heal faster. Can you make me a steamed fish?"
"A Shu, I'm thirsty. Can you pour me a glass of water?"
"A Shu, my wound hurts so much, I can't exert any strength. Can you feed me?"
"A Shu…"
His requests became more and more outrageous, but Li Yue Shu showed no signs of anger, her gaze towards him growing increasingly peculiar.
A grown man acting so fragile, could he be the submissive one?
Li Yue Shu suddenly felt like she had discovered the truth and looked at Chai Yang Xing He with a different expression.
Chai Yang Xing He, completely unaware of what had happened: "???"
Xing He always felt that her gaze was a bit off, and a chill ran down his spine.
Xing He also got goosebumps and couldn't help but rub his arms, "Why do I feel like Madam's gaze just now was a little strange? Is she going to spar with me again?!"
Xing He's expression turned terrified.
The shadow of the last "sparring" session still lingered in his heart. If it happened again…
Xing He's scalp tingled, feeling that he would likely be woken by nightmares tonight.
...
No one in the village knew about Shen Ting Yi's accident, so although Li Yue Shu had been home these past few days, no one came to visit.
Only occasionally when Aunt Liu came over for a chat, she would stare at Li Yue Shu with a hesitant expression, as if wanting to say something.
Because of Qin Mo Yuan's constant fussing, Li Yue Shu didn't notice these things.
She had been delayed in researching the poison in A Yi's body and could only accompany her slowly out of those shadows.
Although she hadn't completely forgotten, Shen Ting Yi could now chat and laugh with everyone as usual.
However, at night, she would still curl up in Li Yue Shu's arms, feeling very insecure.
Li Yue Shu's head no longer needed a bandage. After Doctor Chen's examination, as long as her head wasn't subjected to heavy blows again, it would be fine.
Seeing this, Qin Mo Yuan immediately became well-behaved and no longer pestered her, finally allowing her to focus on researching the poison in A Yi's body.
This poison was more difficult to resolve than Li Yue Shu had anticipated. Fortunately, she had organized her thoughts during this time and wasn't completely at a loss.
However, she tended to forget to eat and sleep when she got engrossed in her research. Even when everyone had washed up and gone to bed, she hadn't emerged from her space.
Finally, it was Qin Mo Yuan who knocked on the door of the pharmacy.
He knew that once Li Yue Shu entered the pharmacy, she tended to lose track of time and was difficult to call out. So he changed his strategy, "A Shu, A Yi is still waiting for you. She can't sleep without you."
As expected, Li Yue Shu emerged from the pharmacy shortly after.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, after breakfast, Li Yue Shu was about to take the bowls and chopsticks to the kitchen, but Qin Mo Yuan got up first, "I'll do it."
During the time he was acting foolish, he had learned to wash dishes at the cost of breaking more than a dozen bowls.
Qin Mo Yuan hadn't expected that his hands, which were meant for killing enemies with a sword, would one day be used for such tasks.
Li Yue Shu was already accustomed to him doing these things and didn't say much, handing him the bowls and chopsticks.
Lately, this guy had been feigning weakness by pretending to be injured, slacking off for so long. Unexpectedly, he was diligent today.
Li Yue Shu gave Qin Mo Yuan an appreciative glance, but didn't notice Aunt Liu, who had come to get something, frown upon seeing this.
This young couple was in the midst of intense affection. If they knew the recent news, it would surely hurt their feelings.
But given Yue Shu's personality, if she heard the recent village news, she might directly kick Shen Lao San out of the house!
Aunt Liu was filled with worry. After many days of internal struggle, she finally decided to tell Li Yue Shu about this matter.