Xiao Yan laughed when he heard this: "Don't say that, Mr. Cao, I can't afford it."
He looked at the little girl with red eyes beside him: "If Mr. Cao really feels that he owes me, then he will help me take care of Tang Ning and Rong Sheng Academy more in the future. And I am afraid it will be difficult for me to enter the court in the next period of time. If If there is any criticism, please help me block it."
He looked pale and helpless: "My little girl followed the doctor's orders and didn't allow me to get out of bed."
Cao Dejiang couldn't help but laugh when he saw his weak appearance. After laughing, he spat: "I should keep an eye on you to prevent you from messing around."
After scoffing, he looked serious.
"You trade an injury for Lu Qin's life. You can't just get out of bed and walk in a few days. Be careful that His Majesty will be suspicious of you if you don't say anything. The Lu family will still make an issue of this matter later. Since you are injured, you can be raised in the house. , take care of me for a longer time, so that Your Majesty can remember your life-saving grace."
He can also give the Lu family more eye drops, which can at least suppress Lu Chongyuan.
It was rare for Cao Dejiang to sincerely think about Xiao Yan, and he spoke more sincerely: "Even if you don't mention it at the academy, I will keep an eye on it, and you won't cause anyone to mess up the place where you enter the academy. As for the matters in the court, don't worry. , Governor Xiao can still function well without you."
Xiao Yan sighed helplessly: "I know, I just want to have a good life."
Cao Dejiang: "That's pretty much it."
Cao Dejiang had already changed his view on Xiao Yan because of the incident with Rongsheng Academy and the Empress Dowager, but this time he was even gentler towards him. He discussed the matter with Xiao Yan about Lu Qin, and saw that he was holding on and his face was extremely pale. , the man was also very weak, so he didn’t stay any longer.
Tang Ning sent Cao Dejiang out. Cao Dejiang saw the little girl's eyes were red and asked, "Are you involved in what happened today?"
Tang Ning wrung her fingers: "I only know that brother wants to lure the Lu family, but I don't know the details."
Seeing her sincerity, Cao Dejiang couldn't say anything more: "I can see that Governor Xiao treats you differently. Since you two are as close as brothers and sisters, you should try to persuade him to do less risky things like today. It's good, but if you really hurt your life, it will be too late to regret."
Tang Ning's eyes were even redder, as if she was holding tears.
Seeing that her face turned pale and she was obviously frightened, Cao Dejiang took a breath and said, "Okay, don't send her away, go back."
After Cao Dejiang got on the carriage, Tang Ning returned to the backyard. When he entered the house, he saw Xiao Yan, who was extremely weak just now, sitting up from the bed.
He was wiping the blood around his mouth with a handkerchief. When he saw the little girl coming back, he said with some disgust: "Ms. Qin's blood vomiting pill is so bitter. Let her make it sweet next time."
Tang Ning just walked to him and said nothing.
Xiao Yan raised his eyes and saw that her eye circles were red, and the traces of crying at the end of her eyes had not dissipated. Her whole body looked wilted. He stretched out his hand and pulled her to his side: "Are you scared?"
"Brother didn't say it would be such a risk."
God knows that when Tang Ning heard that he had been hit by a crazy horse and was unconscious, even if he had known about his arrangement, he couldn't help but feel uneasy. When he hurried back and saw him covered in blood, his heartbeat almost stopped with fear. Even now, his head is still buzzing. Full of panic and fear.
Xiao Yan couldn't help but soften his eyebrows when he heard her voice sobbing.
"It's not easy to deceive His Majesty. He is always followed by hidden guards, and Yu Yanfeng is extremely cautious. If I don't get hurt, I can't hide it from them."
"But don't worry, I wore soft gold armor, and when I was hit by a horse, I used my strength to relieve myself. Most of the blood was just to fool people..."
He reached out and touched the end of the little girl's eyes: "I just want them to see with their own eyes that I am seriously injured so that I can replace Li Jing Zhouquan. I don't want to make you cry."
The little girl's tears were more painful than the injuries on his body.
Tang Ning didn't know Xiao Yan's purpose for doing this. Seeing that he was still trying to coax her with a pale face, she suppressed the pain in her heart and reached out to touch his shoulder: "Does it still hurt?"
"A little."
"Then I'll give you the medicine."
"good."
The candlelight flickered and the light and shadow in the room were hazy. Xiao Yan took off his clothes and sat on the edge of the bed in only his trousers, revealing his thin and slender back.
There were bruises and purples on his back, most of which were marks left after being hit. The large patches looked particularly horrifying, and the skin was broken in places with blood oozing from the wounds.
Tang Ning carefully applied the medicine to him. She dipped her white fingers into the ointment and placed it on the bruises on his back. The warmth and a hint of coldness made Xiao Yan's spine tremble, and his whole body felt like a taut string.
"What's wrong? Does it hurt you?" Tang Ning panicked: "Otherwise I'll ask Cang Lang to come in..."
"Need not."
Xiao Yan's eyes darkened, and he used reason to restrain himself and keep his voice as normal as possible: "It's just blood stasis. It will naturally hurt when you rub it away. If you want to do it earlier, you have to use more force. You continue."
Tang Ning hesitated for a moment, remembering that her brother had indeed rubbed the bruise for her when she was injured before, and that the injury healed faster after rubbing it with a little more force. Then she calmed down and said, "Then I'll rub it for you." Just rub it, if it hurts too much, call me."
"good."
Xiao Yan's back was turned to Tang Ning, and no one could see the complicated restraint on his face. He tried hard to balance the game of reason and desire in his heart, trying his best to ignore the feathers behind him, which were almost over the pain when he kept rubbing the injured area gently. He was proud of his self-control.
He had already known about the little girl's attraction to him, but he never thought that he would be almost defeated just by such contact.
Xiao Yan allowed the little girl to light a fire on his back. When his throat rolled, he pursed his lips slightly, as if to divert his attention, and said to the person behind him:
"The Lu family has surrendered this time. There will be no more changes in the short term. With Cao Dejiang helping to keep an eye on the court and the academy, and Qian Baokun covering up from the side, you will be more stable after I leave the capital."
"When the time comes, I will leave a secret guard in the house pretending to be recovering from my injuries. He can ventriloquize and disguise himself. Although he cannot pretend to be perfect, he will not be easily recognized as long as he is not close."
"You only need to pretend to visit every day to hide it from people outside. If there is someone you really can't stop, just bring it back to the house. Then you can find an excuse to deal with it through the screen and fan."
Tang Ning kneaded one area, got some ointment and applied it on his palm, then said on another area: "Okay."
Xiao Yan said in a low voice: "I originally thought about finding an excuse to go out to the capital for His Majesty on business, but His Majesty was distant and suspicious of me before, and the Lu family is watching me everywhere. No matter what excuse I find, I can't escape others' surveillance, and if I let When outsiders know that I am not in the capital, I am afraid that they will take the opportunity to attack you and the academy..."
"I know brother is afraid that if you are not in the capital, they will take the opportunity to cause trouble."
Xiao Yan knew that the little girl was smart, so he said softly: "Don't worry, I will be back as soon as possible. If anything happens, you can respond at will... Well."
Suddenly a hand brushed against his lower back, and the vague stinging pain accompanied by a numbness made Xiao Yanfeng's eyes suddenly open. He couldn't help but let out a muffled hum from his throat, and the muscles in his back tightened suddenly. .
"What's wrong…"
Tang Ning was startled, thinking that she had touched his wound, and quickly lowered her head and looked closer: "Did you touch the wound? Let me see..."
As she spoke, her warm, soft breath fell on the skin of Xiao Yan's back, making his spine tingle. He subconsciously turned to the side, but he forgot that the person behind him was very close.
Tang Ning was caught off guard and her lips pressed directly on his lower back.
