Watching the maids carry out basin after basin of bright red water from the room, everyone outside held their breaths in suspense.
Xie Yanchuan paced restlessly back and forth in the courtyard, unable to contain his anxiety.
As for Xie Jingchu, his face was clouded with gloom.
"Miss Ruan is awake!"
Hearing this, Xie Jingchu dashed into the room first.
As soon as he entered, he saw Ruan Jiu lying on the bed, her small face as pale as paper.
He wanted to step forward, but his feet felt as if they were filled with lead, unable to move an inch.
With a dark face, he stood about three meters away.
"Does it hurt?" Xie Yanchuan stepped forward and asked anxiously.
Ruan Jiu frowned, thinking to herself, Why don't you give it a try?
"A Jiu, I really didn't expect you to take the knife for me. If it weren't for you, I'd be the one lying here now!" Xie Yanchuan's expression was complex, but there was more gratitude in his eyes.
He never thought that Ruan Jiu would risk her life for him.
Ruan Jiu raised her eyes, looking puzzled. Was this guy crazy?
But she was too weak to speak. Every word would tug at her wound and cause pain.
Xie Yanchuan's words made Xie Jingchu's face turn even darker.
He also didn't expect that in such a dangerous moment, her first reaction would be to shield Xie Yanchuan!
He clenched his fists tightly, the veins on his hands bulging.
He tried his best to suppress his anger, afraid that he would throw Xie Yanchuan out the next second.
Just then, Doctor Zhou beside them spoke up.
"Although the bleeding has been stopped, the wound is too deep and needs to be sutured."
Suture? Ruan Jiu widened her eyes.
"How?"
Xie Yanchuan voiced her question.
Doctor Zhou explained, "We'll use a special thread and a needle to stitch up the wound."
Afraid they wouldn't understand, he added, "It's just like sewing clothes."
Ruan Jiu gasped after hearing this.
It sounded so easy.
"Stitch it like this without any anesthesia?" Xie Yanchuan asked.
"In the past, we could use Mafeisan to relieve the pain. But since some soldiers in the army got addicted to it, it has become a banned drug."
"Is there any other medicine that can relieve the pain? I'll pay any price!" Xie Yanchuan couldn't bear to see the fear in Ruan Jiu's eyes.
Even he, a man, felt scared just hearing about it, let alone a girl.
Doctor Zhou lowered his head and thought for a while. "There's a kind of herb called Xiejianchou on Wuyin Mountain. It can also relieve pain. If we use silver needles at the same time, it should reduce the pain. And Xiejianchou is also very effective for wound healing. But..."
"But what?"
"But Wuyin Mountain is full of thorns, and no one has ever managed to climb it."
"Is there really no other way?" Xie Yanchuan looked at Ruan Jiu on the bed, his eyes filled with pity.
Doctor Zhou glanced at Ruan Jiu. Even ordinary men would find it extremely difficult to endure the pain of suturing a wound. If they really sutured it directly, this young lady might faint from the pain.
"It's also okay not to suture the wound, but it will take longer to heal."
Hearing this, Ruan Jiu forced herself to speak weakly. "I don't want to be sutured."
She was afraid that if she answered a bit slower, Xie Yanchuan, that stupid guy, would agree to the suturing for her.
She had suffered all kinds of injuries since she was a child. She could endure this pain.
Rather than having her flesh sewn together, she would rather heal more slowly.
Xie Yanchuan wanted to say something else, but was immediately glared back by Ruan Jiu.
"However, the weather is hot recently. The young lady should pay more attention to the wound. If the wound gets infected, her right hand may be useless."
After Doctor Zhou left, Xie Yanchuan sat by the bed and tightly held Ruan Jiu's hand.
Just thinking about what had happened made him feel scared.
If Ruan Jiu hadn't stepped in front of him regardless of her own safety, that knife might have stabbed directly into his chest.
Now, Ruan Jiu was his savior!
"A Jiu, thank you for saving me!"
Ruan Jiu tried to pull her hand back, but she was too weak, so she had to let him hold it.
Just then, Xie Jingchu, who had been silent in the room all this time, let out a cold snort.
"You deserve the pain!"
After saying this, he left directly.
"Don't mind him. Uncle Four is just like this."
Ruan Jiu's eyes dimmed. She had just been through a near - death experience. Couldn't he say something nicer?
"A Jiu, what would you like to eat? I'll ask someone to prepare it right away."
"A Jiu, are you tired lying like this?"
"A Jiu, does your wound still hurt?"
...
Finally, Ruan Jiu couldn't bear it anymore.
She whispered angrily, "Please leave! Right now! Immediately!"
"No, you got hurt for me! I have to take care of you!"
Seeing Xie Yanchuan's determined look, Ruan Jiu forced a ugly smile.
"Master Xie, I want to take a nap."
Xie Yanchuan immediately nodded obediently.
Before closing the door, he didn't forget to poke his head out and add, "A Jiu, call me if you need anything."
If she weren't injured, she really wanted to throw a pillow at him.
In the evening, Chuntao stood beside Ruan Jiu, holding a bowl of porridge in her hand, looking anxious.
"Cousin Miss, please eat something."
Ruan Jiu shook her head. "I really can't eat."
Maybe she had lived a comfortable life in the Xie family for too long. This injury was even more unbearable than breaking a bone when she was a child.
She had been in pain all day and couldn't eat anything except some herbal medicine.
Just then, Su Wan walked in.
Chuntao seemed to see a savior and quickly said, "Miss Su, please persuade our cousin Miss. She hasn't eaten anything all day."
Su Wan took the bowl and sat by Ruan Jiu's bed.
Seeing that Miss Su herself was going to feed her, Ruan Jiu didn't want to disappoint her.
Reluctantly, she opened her lips and took a small bite.
Immediately, her delicate features twisted together, looking extremely uncomfortable.
"It hurts."
Seeing this, Su Wan had to put down the bowl in her hand.
"You still know it hurts! Why didn't you think about the pain when you took the knife for Xie Yanchuan!" There was full of blame in Su Wan's tone, but her eyes were full of worry.
She had gone to her maternal grandparents' house today. As soon as she returned to the mansion, she heard that Ruan Jiu had taken the knife for Xie Yanchuan.
Angry and worried, she immediately rushed over.
Ruan Jiu took the handkerchief that Su Wan handed her and wiped her mouth.
"Xie Yanchuan treated you like that, and you still took the knife for him. I really don't know what to say about you!" Su Wan originally planned to scold her severely, but when she saw her like this, her heart softened instantly.
"Who said I took the knife for him?"
"Everyone in the mansion is saying so."
Ruan Jiu thought for a while. When that person rushed over, she seemed to have really thrown herself into Xie Yanchuan's arms.
She smiled helplessly. "I was going to run away at that time, but I slipped and fell into his arms. What bad luck!"
She was such a life - loving person. How could she take the knife for someone else?
Moreover, that person was Xie Yanchuan.
Su Wan suddenly understood.
At this time, the man standing outside the door raised the corner of his mouth, a smile on his face.
There was no longer the gloom in his eyes.
So that's how it was!
Xie Jingchu put away his smile and handed the Xiejianchou in his hand to Qin Yuan. The blood on his hand had already dried.
"Give this to Doctor Zhou."
"Aren't you going to give it to Cousin Miss yourself?"
"I have other important things to do."
"Hey, Fourth Master, your wound..."
Before Qin Yuan could finish his words, Xie Jingchu was out of sight.
He scratched his head in confusion. Just now, he had said that he wanted to give it to Cousin Miss himself so that she could see who really cared about her.
Why did he change his mind suddenly?