The falling beauty - Chapter 5
Su Qinqin wrote a prescription, left some medicine, and even left a bottle of rare and peculiar medicine. She said softly, “Apply this on her, and she’ll heal faster.”
After she left, Ling’an Che strode into the room. He noticed that the person on the bed seemed to be awake and had probably overheard their conversation, but she appeared too afraid to open her eyes.
When the old maid brought the medicine, Mo Jin’er kept her eyes tightly shut, refusing to drink it, fearing it contained something strange, like that charm fragrance.
That kind of medicine sounded indecent…
Ling’an Che stood beside her with his arms slightly crossed, raising an eyebrow as he watched the beautiful and delicate girl on the bed silently resist. Finally, he took the bowl from the old maid’s hands.
He took a sip himself, then lowered his head to press his lips against hers. Mo Jin’er immediately opened her eyes, her beautiful, tear-filled eyes brimming with sadness and sorrow. Yet he forced her to swallow the medicine.
Her delicate, fair hands desperately tried to push him away, but it was like an ant trying to shake a tree.
She didn’t want to drink it… she didn’t want to drink it…
The bitter medicine slid down her throat, causing her to furrow her delicate brows. Tears rolled down the corners of her eyes as he let her go, his gaze fixed on her red lips and tearful, helpless expression, which only seemed to amuse him further.
Mo Jin’er coughed a couple of times, her frail body trembling uncontrollably. She leaned against the side of the bed, or rather, against him, covering her throat and dry heaving, trying to vomit the medicine but to no avail.
“Do I need to feed you like this again?” The handsome, gentle young man, with eyes full of tender affection, spoke devilish words while his large hand encircled her waist.
“No need, I’ll drink it.” Her small face showed an unusual flush, her soft and sweet voice tinged with a hint of hoarseness and trembling.
She had lost all hope.
She took the bowl and quickly drank the medicine. Ling’an Che, watching her obedient and quiet demeanor, seemed lost in thought.
Why did she look as if she were facing death? This medicine was meant to treat her other injuries, and she seemed to be showing signs of a slight fever and cold. With such a frail body, if she didn’t take the medicine, it would surely leave lasting effects.
But this wasn’t important. He leaned in to kiss her cheek, lingering affectionately for a moment before finally leaving. Before he left, he even applied the medicine to her, during which the maids and servants had long tactfully withdrawn.
After he left, Mo Jin’er covered her face and cried silently. He had forced the medicine on her…
He had fed her the medicine…
He only saw her as a plaything.
He didn’t like her at all.
But wasn’t this something she already knew? So why, why did he have to humiliate her like this…
She didn’t want to become unlike herself…
Baozhu sneaked in by climbing over the wall, followed by a stern-faced Que’er. When they found Mo Jin’er, they immediately approached her.
Mo Jin’er, in a silver-white long dress, her black hair tied up with a hairpin, looked like a fairy under the moon.
The maids, fearing she might be bored, brought her many small toys, storybooks, rouge, and other precious items, but these were obviously not from the maids; they must have been from Ling’an Che.
But she seemed uninterested in everything. The silver gauze dress she wore was also chosen by the young general, cinched at the waist, light, ethereal, and beautiful, though if one ignored the marks on her body.
Delicate red marks marred her collarbone, and her wrists also bore traces. Though she looked beautiful, it invoked a sense of pity.
Seeing Baozhu, she felt a twinge of shame. Her dress was too thin, and he had deliberately left numerous conspicuous marks on her, making her reluctant to go out.
When Baozhu unexpectedly came in, she instinctively tried to cover her dress, but the design of the dress, with its thin, transparent outer layer, still revealed everything.
“Jin’er… you’re hurt?” She saw the marks on her wrists and wrinkled her small nose.
Mo Jin’er lowered her eyes, feeling powerless. Her slender neck, soft and delicate, still showed red marks, especially against her snowy white skin, making them even more noticeable.
“Did Ling Gege really bully you?” Baozhu’s eyes filled with tears, maybe due to her pure heart or the sympathy between girls…
Even though her intelligence was that of a child, she understood some things. Ling Gege, while kind and indulgent to her, clearly only treated her like a sister.
Her feelings for him were the same, but seeing him treat Jin’er this way, she felt truly sad because she liked her more. Jin’er was her friend.
“I’m fine…” Mo Jin’er shook her head lightly.
Que’er, seeing her imprisoned in the courtyard, also felt a flash of surprise and pity for her.
Especially after hearing that she had fallen ill due to the young general’s mistreatment…
“I brought you something fun, Jin’er. These are gifts from Brother Jiang…” Baozhu suddenly remembered and took out some things from Que’er’s hands.
This was the small gadget she had wanted to show her that day…
Mo Jin’er was indeed intrigued. The wooden dog and bird would move, some flying in the air, some running on the ground.
“This is different from ordinary toys. Brother Jiang said this is called mechanism art…”
“Mechanism art…” Mo Jin’er’s red, moist lips moved slightly as she repeated the name.
Baozhu nodded and finally took out some other items, hesitating before saying, “Jin’er, ever since my face got scratched last time, Brother Jiang and the others gave me some self-defense items. Here, I’ll share some with you…”
Mo Jin’er was slightly stunned, then smiled and shook her head. “No need…”
Baozhu suddenly looked at her with big, tear-filled eyes, as if she were about to cry.
“…” She hesitated before nodding. “Okay.”
Baozhu immediately smiled and gave her many items…
After she and the others left, Mo Jin’er gently picked up a wooden sculpture that resembled a crossbow. She aimed it at the other side of the room and, following Baozhu’s instructions, lightly pressed the switch.
In an instant, fine steel wires shot out, slicing through the teapot on the table into neat pieces.
She stared at the chaotic scene in the room in astonishment.
Baozhu seemed to have given her something extraordinary…
Could she use these things against Ling’an Che?
Thinking of Baozhu’s innocent, defenseless face, she carefully put everything away.
She couldn’t do it.
No matter what, Baozhu was innocent. If she used these against Ling’an Che, the general’s mansion would blame her.
She couldn’t take advantage of her.
But why couldn’t she think of herself, considering how Ling’an Che bullied her?
With that thought, her fingers tightened slightly.
Several days passed without seeing him.
This gave her a chance to breathe. Her depressed and suffocating heart finally eased a bit. During this time, she thought of leaving the mansion to visit her grandmother, and surprisingly, the guards didn’t stop her.
But a maid followed her.
Returning to the State Duke’s mansion, her usually sighing father was stunned, and her stepmother stared at her directly.
“You dare come back?” Her stepmother first lost her temper, quickly walking over with anger in her eyes.
She spoke softly, “Father and stepmother pushed me out to take the blame for my sister, so why shouldn’t I come back?”
“You dare speak? On the day Ling’an Che took you away, my Miao’er fell, her face was ruined, and her leg was broken. Did you tell Ling’an Che? He must have had someone come to retaliate…”
Her stepmother was extremely sad, angry, and hateful. Otherwise, how could a mere fall be so severe?
Moreover, Ling’an Che was notoriously untouchable in the capital…
Since the Qin dynasty unified the world six years ago, the Ling family returned to the capital, and he had been like the King of Hell. On the surface, he seemed gentle and easy-going, but secretly, he was full of tricks.
“Sister’s face was ruined?” Mo Jin’er didn’t know this and was surprised to learn it. She recalled repeatedly telling Ling’an Che it wasn’t her doing, but he had only laughed and seemed indifferent, implying he had known all along.
Yet he still bullied her like that…
With this thought, her face turned pale.
So, it was all his excuse…
“And you, you’ve climbed up to him…” Her stepmother sneered, moving closer to scrutinize her from head to toe.
“Stepmother… Father… can you save me from there?” Thinking of Ling’an Che, her eyes reddened. She didn’t like those things, she didn’t like the general’s mansion.
She didn’t like him anymore.
Could they save her…
“Is he treating you badly?” Her stepmother continued, feeling satisfied seeing her distress, but noticing that she now wore much finer clothes than in the State Duke’s mansion—one was in heaven, the other on earth.
Her stepmother knew she had never cared for her, leaving her to fend for herself with her grandmother in the small courtyard. Now, she was wearing clothes from the Flowing Fragrance Pavilion, each piece worth a fortune, unique in the capital.
The jade hairpin she wore was not ordinary either. Despite everything, she claimed Ling’an Che treated her poorly?
With this thought, her stepmother’s heart grew uncomfortable.
“Who are you trying to fool…”
“Enough.” Her usually silent father spoke, looking at Mo Jin’er with a slight frown. “Jin’er, no one dares to provoke Ling’an Che. Maybe after some time, he’ll let you go.”
In other words, they were powerless.
Mo Jin’er said nothing more. She looked at her grandmother, then left.
But on the way, she dismissed the maid and went to the pharmacy.
Her body was recovering well, but sometimes her lower abdomen still ached faintly. A few days later, Ling’an Che finally returned.
She was about to bathe when she opened the door to find him lounging in the bath, looking back at her.
He smiled, slightly tilting his head, his expression a mix of mischief and arrogance. “Jin’er, come here.”