"You're feeling unwell and need to go into seclusion?"
I looked at Yu Longting's slightly furrowed brows and almost instantly understood his hidden message.
He was excessively indulgent and protective of me, and unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't let me be the jailer, especially given Yu Rongling's restless nature. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel⸺fire.net
Yu Longting touched my head, his face melting into a gentle smile, radiant as a myriad of flowering pear trees, unparalleled in beauty, "It's true I'm going into seclusion, but I'm not feeling unwell. When I went into the Medicinal Pool, I soaked the cheongsam along with it and ended up transferring all the Spiritual Power I could to you. The Spiritual Power in my body that's not yet under my control is too abundant and tumultuous."
"Look at my silly head. We've all been jostling about on the road; of course, you haven't had time to assimilate it. Go on, hurry." I tugged on the rope and urged Yu Longting up the stairs.
Yu Er, who was crouched in front of a wooden basin washing dishes, suffered an unintended disaster, tumbling to the floor with a cry, "Ouch! Sister-in-law, where's your humanity!! Don't you have eyes only for my brother??"
"Sorry, I forgot I was still holding the rope, heh heh." I gave a dry laugh while apologizing and then shamelessly tied the cloth strip around my wrist.
I tied it in the distinct Su Family knot, the dead knot kind!
That way, Xiao Yuer, even if incredibly capable, wouldn't be able to slip away to the Lin Family.
Yu Er ruefully rubbed his chin, which was scraped from the fall, and grumbled, "My beautiful face is ruined, my handsome and dashing appearance~ Woe is me~"
"I'm going upstairs now. If there's any danger, call me, and don't worry about disturbing me." Yu Longting instructed me with earnestness, and, still concerned, pulled out two stacks of talisman paper, "Don't be afraid of wasting them. Throw as many as you want at the enemy, and if you run out, your husband will draw more for you."
"Yeah, alright, I'll listen to you. You just relax~" I leaned my head against his shoulder for a quick rub, then pulled back quickly so as not to delay him, "Off you go, off you go. I still have lots of Spiritual Power saved up that I can't transfer to you. Once you've assimilated it all, I can then pass more to you~"
A look of emotion flashed in Yu Longting's eyes, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared before me.
At my ear, Yun Hao's voice was wistful, "Envious."
Yu Rongling, with his sharp ears, perked up and leaned in for gossip, "Brother Yun, do you have a secret crush on my sister-in-law?"
Yun Hao pressed his lips tightly together, probably fearing his IQ might drop by engaging, and chose to ignore it.
"You definitely have a crush on my sister-in-law. She's devastatingly beautiful and incredibly charming!" Yu Rongling continued, not sure if he was trying to butter me up on purpose, "If she weren't my brother's, I might not be able to help falling for her myself. But there's one thing that's quite strange."
Hearing Yu Rongling's pause, I involuntarily perked up my ears.
But for a long while, Yu Rongling said nothing.
I hummed lightly in my heart.
Xiao Yuer, don't you know that stopping mid-sentence can get you killed?
Yun Hao, that big ice snake, finally broke the prolonged silence by uttering a single word, "What?"
"My brother is like a Green Snake that's too vinegar-tasting, and he can't stand to see throngs of women around my sister-in-law. How could he tolerate your coarse thread turning him into a big Green Snake, pah!! I am the Green Snake myself~" Yu Rongling realized he was the Green Snake, accidentally biting his tongue, "Anyway, my brother isn't one to keep a rival in love close by."
Sure enough, Yu Er's mental faculties were thicker than a telegraph pole; despite previously hearing Yun Hao calling my mother, he had no reaction whatsoever.
I guessed he hadn't really listened; otherwise, he would have exploded by now.
Listening to Yun Hao's coldly parting lips, my sense of shame surged, and my heart abruptly clenched.
Please don't say it, big brother~
Just then, there came the thumping sound of someone descending the stairs.
The footsteps were extremely rapid, starkly different from Yu Longting's silent walk.
The flustered young girl, scrambling down in her slippers, got her legs tangled and took herself out, tumbling down from the upper floor.
I was just at the staircase and managed to catch the tumbling beauty, steadying her delicate, slender waist, "What's the matter? What's such a rush?"