At night, Li Ji, who had been on his feet all day and had finally fallen asleep after taking painkillers, was suddenly yanked out of bed. A bright smile loomed large in front of his eyes, sending cold sweat down his back. Just as he was about to scream, his mouth was quickly covered.
"Shh! Don't shout, or you'll wake the others."
Zhen Bao put a finger to her lips, her black eyes smiling, glinting faintly in the darkness.
As his eyes adjusted to the dark, Li Ji saw by the bright moonlight that there was a bathtub in his room. Zhen Bao had hold of his arms and was slowly dragging him towards it.
"What do you want? Get out of my room!"
The friction of his wounds on the floor made Li Ji wince in pain.
He knew exactly who the woman in front of him was. It was this shrew who had given him these injuries! To make matters worse, she was the wife the Empress Dowager had chosen for him. The thought of it almost drove him mad!
His mother had told him that she had come to take care of him out of genuine remorse. He had initially refused, but then he thought of all the ways he could torture her later, so he agreed.
But what on earth did she want to do in the middle of the night?!
Zhen Bao had not lost her temper at Li Ji's verbal insults during the day, and now she still had a smile on her face.
"Of course I'm here to help you treat your injuries!"
"I feel really bad about hurting you so badly before. So I've specially brought our family's secret medicine for a medicinal bath. Don't worry, it's very effective. Everyone in my family can attest to that!"
Zhen Bao looked sincere, but Li Ji was skeptical. Just as he was about to refuse, he saw Zhen Bao's hand suddenly reach for his collar. His Adam's apple bobbed, and looking at Zhen Bao's beautiful face, he said:
"Are you going to help me yourself?"
Li Ji's eyes were fixed on Zhen Bao. Although this woman was not as beautiful as the eldest daughter of the Prime Minister's Mansion and was a bit of a shrew, she was still very charming. Especially her eyes, which always seemed to hide a hint of mischief, made his heart skip a beat.
Hearing Li Ji's words, Zhen Bao pretended to be shy and punched him in the chest.
"Is there anyone else here?"
Zhen Bao's punch made Li Ji grunt in pain. He almost choked and cursed her under his breath as a shrew, but his eyes were still on her face. Overwhelmed by lust, he immediately made a condition:
"I'll take the medicinal bath, but you have to come in with me!"
Zhen Bao gritted her teeth, but on the surface, she looked shy and coy.
"I'm willing to do anything as long as you get better."
Li Ji snickered and tried to lift Zhen Bao's chin with his finger, but Zhen Bao grabbed his wrist and quickly tied his hands together with a cloth strip she had prepared earlier. She explained softly:
"This medicinal bath might make you feel a bit uncomfortable at first. Just bear with it, and you'll get used to it soon."
Looking at his tied wrists, Li Ji frowned slightly. Just as he was about to ask, Zhen Bao suddenly picked him up and pushed him hard into the bathtub!
"Aah!"
The moment he hit the water, Li Ji felt a sharp pain all over his body! It was as if he had been dipped into a boiling oil pan. His skin felt like it was being bitten by thousands of ants at the same time, and the pain almost made him lose his voice!
He thrashed about in the water desperately, but his body felt like it was rolling on a bed of swords, making the pain even worse!
He tried to climb out of the bathtub, but his hands were tied, and all his attempts were in vain.
"Help!!"
Li Ji was almost crazy with pain. He managed to maintain a shred of sanity and shouted for help, but Zhen Bao just sat by the bathtub and comforted him softly:
"Don't give up. You'll get used to it soon! And your face is injured too. It needs treatment."
With that, Zhen Bao kindly pushed his head into the water again. When she thought it was about time, she pulled him back up.
This went on and on until Li Ji was too weak to call for help. Then Zhen Bao untied his hands and encouraged him with a smile:
"You can come out now."
But in response, Li Ji rolled his eyes and fainted!
Not long after, the candles in Li Ji's room were lit. Mrs. Yang looked at her dying son on the bed and then at Zhen Bao, who was huddled in a corner of the room, crying pitifully. She couldn't help but fly into a rage.
"What's going on?!"
The maid in the yard had said that she had faintly heard some noise in the young master's room. When she came to check, she saw her son lying on the floor, soaking wet and unconscious.
And Zhen Bao was in the room, silently shedding tears.
"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have been so eager to give Young Master Li a medicinal bath. I was hoping he would get better soon, but I didn't expect him to pass out!"
Zhen Bao looked extremely remorseful, but Mrs. Yang's face turned ashen with anger.
"Medicinal bath? I think you're trying to kill Ji'er on purpose, aren't you?!"
"His wounds haven't even scabbed yet. What did you use for the bath? Poisonous scorpions soaked in strong liquor! No wonder he couldn't take it!!"
When she saw the countless poisonous scorpions floating in the bathtub, she almost fainted from shock!
She could only imagine how much pain her son had endured. She wished she could skin Zhen Bao alive!
"Enough. Let's hear what Imperial Physician Zhang has to say."
Minister Li, who had been keeping a straight face, scolded his wife softly and looked at Imperial Physician Zhang, who had just finished diagnosing his son.
If it was really proven that the Zhen girl had deliberately tried to harm his son, he would never let her off lightly!
But if not, the engagement would still go ahead, because it was related to the glorious future of their Li family for generations to come!
"Your Excellency, the young master is fine. He's just exhausted and fallen asleep."
"Moreover, although the medicinal bath has a strong effect, it is indeed a secret recipe passed down in the Zhen family. It has the effect of strengthening the body and has no side effects!"
Hearing Imperial Physician Zhang's words, Mrs. Yang was stunned. In her desperation, she couldn't help but question:
"With so many poisonous scorpions, how can there be no side effects? Imperial Physician Zhang, are you mistaken?!"
Imperial Physician Zhang remained silent, but Minister Li secretly tugged at his wife's sleeve and frowned, shaking his head. Then he said to Imperial Physician Zhang with a smile:
"My wife is just worried. I hope Imperial Physician Zhang won't take it to heart."
"Madam Li loves her son dearly. I understand."
Minister Li got up and was about to see Imperial Physician Zhang out when Zhen Bao wiped away her tears and said:
"I'll see Imperial Physician Zhang out. Your Excellency and Madam, please stay with the young master first."
With that, Zhen Bao thoughtfully picked up Imperial Physician Zhang's medicine box and walked out of the room first.
When they were almost at the mansion gate, Zhen Bao sincerely thanked him:
"Thank you, Imperial Physician Zhang, for just now."
Imperial Physician Zhang looked at Zhen Bao and shook his head helplessly with a smile. He said something ambiguous:
"I'm just doing my duty as entrusted. Miss Zhen, you can't be so reckless in the future."
If Princess Yongning hadn't asked him in advance, the Li Mansion would probably have been in an uproar tonight!
After Imperial Physician Zhang left, Zhen Bao immediately showed a smile. She remembered his words and decided to take a more "prudent" approach to "take care of" Li Ji in the future.
First, she insisted on feeding him medicine and almost burned him to death. Then she insisted on applying medicine and almost made him die of pain!
Li Ji was tortured to the brink of death all day. Whenever he saw Zhen Bao, his face would turn pale with fear, and he would shout "Help"!
But Zhen Bao just wouldn't leave. She always looked so pitiful and apologized sincerely every time, saying that she was just clumsy and didn't mean to do it.
Finally, Mrs. Yang couldn't bear it anymore and told her not to take care of her son anymore. But Zhen Bao insisted on cooking a nourishing soup for Li Ji. As a result, the Li family's kitchen was burned to the ground!