Xia Mian's tears flowed uncontrollably, and her voice became a bit choked: "That day, I was lying in bed, watching the doctor stitch me up with my own eyes, and then hearing the doctor say that I might never be able to have children in my whole life."
"I went crazy and wanted to kill that brute. I got close to him, but the moment I saw his eyes, I was so scared that I couldn't move. That kind of fear deep in my bones invaded me, making me clearly realize that I simply couldn't kill him."
"I also couldn't escape from his clutches. So... so I cut my own face." Xia Mian gave a self - mocking smile. "Sure enough, when he saw my ugly appearance, he immediately lost interest in me, and I managed to escape from his clutches."
"However, I didn't expect that even after escaping from him, my suffering didn't end. A woman as ugly as me couldn't get any customers in the brothel, which meant I couldn't bring any profit to the madam."
"The madam and those girls treated me like a dog. I was always hungry every day but had to do a lot of work. If I hadn't met you, my master, later, I'm afraid I wouldn't have survived until now."
Xia Mian lowered her head. "Master, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have deceived you. I was just afraid... afraid that you would despise me as a scheming woman."
Su Mingyu gritted her teeth. If she wasn't still rational enough to know where she was, she really would have rushed over to kill the man who had hurt Xia Mian.
Although she knew that women who had fallen into prostitution in ancient times never had a good ending, now that such a thing had clearly happened to someone around her, Su Mingyu couldn't suppress her anger no matter what.
After holding back for a long time, Su Mingyu calmed down, reached out and held Xia Mian's hand, and comforted her in a deep voice: "It's okay. If we don't have children, we can just adopt one. Since you can talk about it, it means you've more or less figured it out."
Su Mingyu's tone was unusually gentle. "Let the past go. Don't think about it anymore. Bad people like that will surely be punished by God. You just live your present life well."
Xia Mian nodded. Her peach - blossom eyes were already soaked with tears. "Thank you... thank you for pulling me out of that pit of fire."
"What's there to thank for? I just took a fancy to your talent and wanted to use you. You also used me to get out of the brothel. So we're even."
Saying that, Su Mingyu handed a cup of hot tea to Xia Mian. "Now that we've talked about it, this matter is settled. As for that official, I believe he'll end up badly. Don't think about taking revenge anymore."
"I... I can't kill him." Xia Mian lowered her head in shame. "I tremble with fear whenever I face him. I can't kill him..."
Hearing the fear in Xia Mian's voice, Su Mingyu patted her on the shoulder, then turned to Gu Ruobai and spread her hands.
Gu Ruobai's eyes flickered slightly. "What?"
Su Mingyu pouted. "A silk handkerchief."
Gu Ruobai let out a silent laugh. He winked at Mei Qing.
Mei Qing immediately took out a silk handkerchief with a faint fragrance of rouge from her bosom, walked to Xia Mian's side, and continued to comfort Xia Mian on behalf of Su Mingyu. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you had gone through so much."
Xia Mian was quite magnanimous. She wiped her tears and shook her head. "No, you were right to question me. Since I've been rescued by the master, I should belong entirely to the master. So I shouldn't have so many secrets."
On this side, Gu Ruobai looked at Su Mingyu and smiled. "As a woman, you actually ask me for a handkerchief?"
Su Mingyu was not ashamed but rather proud. "I don't like to carry so many things. I always feel uncomfortable when I carry too much."
"What if you need one someday?" Knowing that Su Mingyu was extremely carefree in some aspects, Gu Ruobai joked. "Do you plan to wipe with your sleeves?"
Su Mingyu was disgusted by his words. "Can't I just buy one if I have silver?"
"Moreover, I'll never cry!" This wasn't just Su Mingyu boasting. She really rarely cried.
The iron - fisted methods of a boss in the 21st century had turned her into a machine that only carried out tasks. So she rarely showed the emotions of Su Mingyu, which indirectly led to her hardly ever revealing her thoughts.
Moreover, as a female agent in the 21st century, crying was out of the question, but the pain was real.
The pain of being betrayed by that scumbag was still vivid in her mind. However, when Su Mingyu thought about that scene now, she didn't feel as much hatred.
Maybe it was all related to the man in front of her.
Thinking of this, Su Mingyu's face gradually heated up unconsciously. She simply turned her face away and forced herself to change the topic. "Mei Qing, do you think the wound on Xia Mian's face can be cured?"
Mei Qing nodded almost without thinking. "It wasn't very serious in the first place, and it hasn't been long since she got the cut. It'll fully recover in less than three months."
"Fully recover?" Xia Mian was so shocked that her tears stopped.
She looked at Mei Qing in disbelief. "Although I said I didn't care and didn't want it to get better, I once asked doctors. They all said the scar couldn't be cured. So... gradually, I gave up."
Mei Qing raised her eyebrows and smiled. "Those are just doctors. They're okay at treating diseases, but if you ask them to treat the wound on your face, they'll be at a loss."
Saying that, Mei Qing stroked the wound on Xia Mian's face again. "Leave it to me. I'll definitely make it better."
Seeing that Xia Mian still seemed a bit skeptical, Su Mingyu stepped forward to comfort her. "Mei Qing has a high level of expertise in this area. You can give it a try. Maybe it'll really get better if we treat the hopeless case as a curable one."
Saying that, Su Mingyu tucked the hair hanging beside the scar behind Xia Mian's ear. "Look at this beautiful face. If it's really cured, I don't know how many girls who come to our shop to buy clothes will envy you."
Being watched by so many people, Xia Mian was already a bit shy. Now, after being teased by Su Mingyu like this, her face blushed even more. "Master! Stop teasing me."
"No matter how beautiful I am, I'm not as charming as you, master. Look at your fair and tender face. It's so delicate that it seems to drip water when pinched."
Saying that, she reached out to pinch Su Mingyu's face. Su Mingyu subconsciously took a step back. Unexpectedly, she stepped back too quickly. She lost her balance and fell backward, then landed steadily in Gu Ruobai's arms.
Feeling the touch under her buttocks, Su Mingyu's face immediately turned awkward.
She was just about to prop herself up when Gu Ruobai hugged her tightly.