Two hours later, at the Wei residence.
In the side room, the lamps were lit, and Xu Qingwan and You Jia were lying on the bed in the inner room, while Wei Changtian was in the main hall, his face icy cold.
“Chen, you’d better give me a satisfactory explanation for this!”
“T-this……”
Chen Bo nervously wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his expression uglier than if he had eaten a fly.
“I-I really don’t know what happened, young master!”
“Someone reported a few days ago that there was a strange occurrence near Wangjia Village, and based on the description, it should have been an ordinary demon beast. I sent Xu to investigate and make plans…”
“This task shouldn’t have been too dangerous…”
“No danger? Ordinary demon beast?”
Wei Changtian looked at him sideways: “So, according to you, the two of them injured themselves?”
“Little, little servant has already sent people to investigate overnight…”
“Hmph!”
Wei Changtian coldly snorted, interrupting him: “What about the mysterious person who sent them back?”
“The city guard said he sent the two women back and then left directly…”
Chen Bo stuttered in response: “He should be an expert.”
Expert…… a hero who helps those in need?
Wei Changtian felt that something was off, but couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.
From the current situation, it seemed that Xu Qingwan and You Jia had encountered an unexpected event while executing their task and were then rescued by a mysterious person.
But why……
“Young master!”
Ying’er suddenly ran out from the inner room.
“Xu’s awake!”
……
The small room was very warm.
The doctor had already examined the two women’s injuries and said they weren’t serious, only needing to rest for a few days to recover slowly.
It was precisely because of this that Wei Changtian was able to remain relatively “calm” while talking to Chen Bo.
“Chen, you don’t need to worry about this. You should hurry up and investigate the matter.”
“Ah! Yes, yes, yes…”
Glancing at Xu Qingwan, who was already awake with her eyes open, half-reclining in Wei Changtian’s arms, Chen Bo hastily bowed to show his respect.
“Your Highness, I will definitely investigate this matter to the bottom!”
“That… Xu Zongqi, how could such a thing happen…”
“Chen Daren!”
Wei Changtian waved his hand impatiently, interrupting him once again without any courtesy: “There’s no need to say any more nonsense!”
“Yes, yes, that… Xu Zongqi, you can rest assured and focus on recovering from your injuries. I’ll take my leave for now…”
Chen Bo’s body trembled, and he didn’t dare say anything more. He hastily retreated and walked out of the room.
Wei Changtian then looked at Yuan’er and Li Suoyue, who were standing by, and his tone softened slightly.
“You two can leave as well. If there’s anything I need, I’ll call for you.”
“Yes.”
The two women responded in unison and exited the room, but the sound of their footsteps suggested they hadn’t gone far and were probably waiting outside the door.
The wood in the fireplace crackled and popped, casting a warm, gentle glow.
As the intricately carved wooden door closed gently, Wei Changtian finally shifted his gaze to Xu Qingwan.
Without asking unnecessary questions like “Are you okay?”, he got straight to the point:
“What exactly happened?”
“I…”
Xu Qingwan seemed still dazed, and after recalling the events for a while, she slowly began to recount the story.
Everything seemed unexpected yet reasonable, except for the most critical part, which remained unclear.
“So… it was Miss You who helped you fend off the snake demon’s attack in the end?”
“Yes…”
Xu Qingwan looked at You Jia, who was still in a “coma” on the other bed, her tone filled with gratitude.
“If it weren’t for Miss You, I’m afraid I would have died by then.”
“Mm.”
Wei Changtian neither confirmed nor denied it: “We’ll talk about that later… So, you passed out directly after that?”
“Yes, I was knocked unconscious by the snake demon, and when I woke up, I was already here… Changtian, what happened in between? Did the people from the Xuanjing Bureau come to rescue us?”
“They? A bunch of useless people.”
Wei Changtian shook his head: “From what it looks like, a mysterious expert must have saved you.”
“Expert?”
Xu Qingwan was puzzled: “Where did this expert come from?”
“I’m not clear either. Let’s wait for Miss You to wake up and ask her, or until Chen Bo finds the surviving villagers.”
Wei Changtian gently patted Xu Qingwan’s hand: “For now, don’t think about these things. Just focus on recovering from your injuries.”
“You can stay here for the time being. With someone to take care of you, you’ll recover faster.”
“Yes, I’ll listen to you…”
This time, Xu Qingwan didn’t refuse, slowly leaning her head against Wei Changtian’s chest, feeling grateful in her heart.
If it weren’t for You Jia and that mysterious expert, she would probably be separated from Wei Changtian by life and death.
As the saying goes, life is full of uncertainties. Little did Xu Qingwan, a small fry in the Xuanjing Bureau, know that this phrase would resonate with her more deeply than anyone else.
To borrow a phrase from a previous life: “Tomorrow and the unexpected, you never know which one will come first.”
This phrase is from Japanese novelist Nosaka Akiyuki’s “Grave of the Fireflies,” and it’s preceded by another half-sentence: “Cherish the present.”
“Longtian……”
“Hmm?”
“I, I don’t want to wait until you return to the capital…… You, can you marry me sooner?”
“……”
At first, Wei Longtian was taken aback, but he quickly understood why Xu Qingwan had such a change of heart.
Was she afraid of having regrets?
“Qingwan, I……”
He nodded, about to respond.
However, just then, a sudden exclamation erupted in the room.
“No, don’t!”
……
After a stick of incense, Yu Jia finally calmed down from her panic.
“Miss Yu……”
Wei Longtian slowly stood up, recounting everything he knew, his tone extremely sincere.
“Thank you for sacrificing yourself to save Qingwan’s life.”
“She’s currently injured and has difficulty moving around.”
“I’ll take her place to pay respects to you……”
He raised his hand to his forehead, bowing deeply to Yu Jia.
This was the most solemn gesture aside from kneeling.
As the sole son of the Wei family, Wei Longtian had never shown such respect to anyone, let alone a low-ranking female servant from the Mirror Agency.
But at this moment, he didn’t feel the slightest bit reluctant.
“……”
Watching this scene, Xu Qingwan’s heart was filled with emotion, while Yu Jia looked surprised and flustered.
“Master Wei, you don’t have to do this!”
She waved her hands repeatedly, her face extremely anxious: “I’m just a colleague with Xu sister at the Willow Leaf Agency, and it’s only natural for colleagues to help each other.”
“Besides, Xu sister has been very kind to me, and what I did was only what I should have done.”
“It’s up to you to think about it, Miss Yu.”
Wei Longtian straightened up, his expression serious: “But for me, your actions have helped me greatly.”
“Miss Yu, if you ever need help in the future, don’t hesitate to tell me.”
“As long as I can do it, I won’t say no!”
“……”
Yu Jia was taken aback, and after a moment’s pause, she actually blushed and stammered: “T-then, is it possible for Master Wei to help me with a small favor?”
“You’re welcome to ask, Miss Yu!”
“I, I want…… to stay with you for a while……”