Bai Jinghuai watched the two walk off, his expression shifting constantly. It felt as though Ning Yan had come today and yet hadn’t come at all. He turned, confused, and stared wide-eyed at his son. “You said Qinqing knew Lord Ning, but you didn’t say they were this close?”
“I… didn’t expect it either.”
Bai Yan wore the same puzzled look as his father. He still remembered warning Qinqing to stay away from Ning Yan, and she’d agreed so obediently, so readily—he had assumed they were just acquaintances...
Bai Jinghuai could only sigh. “We’ll ask Qinqing about it later. What Ning Yan said today carried weight. If the Bai family wants to clear its name, we’ll have to uncover the truth I failed to find all those years ago. That won’t be easy…”
Bai Qinqing claimed she was seeing the guest out, but Ning Yan’s strides were so long that she ended up trailing behind him the entire way, with none of the bearing of a hostess.
Ning Yan noticed but said nothing, only slowed down subtly so she could finally walk beside him.
Bai Qinqing quietly let out a breath of relief, casting a resentful sideways glance at Ning Yan’s long legs—so what if he was tall?
Catching her little gesture, Ning Yan’s lips curved faintly. He took a long stride and switched sides with her, his tall frame casting a shadow that shielded her from the sun.
“Keep applying the medicine to your hand. If you run out, I’ve got more. Wen Jiang said not to let it get wet until it’s healed, or you’ll be the one crying over the scar.”
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His tone was anything but gentle. Bai Qinqing gave a soft “oh” and opened her palm to look at the wounds.
The medicine was working well. The scabs had fallen off over the past few days, and the new skin growing in was uneven in color compared to the rest. At the moment, the marks looked even more visible than the ones from her past life.
But she knew it would heal. Last time, when her hand was injured, the princess had still made her help wash her face—no one had cared then if it hurt her to touch water.
“Thank you for the medicine. Father said it’s better than anything we have at home.”
“It’s alright, I guess.”
Ning Yan sounded indifferent, having completely forgotten the medicine had been an imperial gift—doled out by a stingy emperor who had hoarded every last drop, never even sparing any for the concubines in the harem. There had only ever been a few tiny bottles.
“Though my father and brother already thanked you, I still wanted to say it myself.”
Bai Qinqing tugged at his sleeve, her face earnest. “I know I’m not very capable, and you might think little of me, but I’ll always see you as a benefactor for life.”
Ning Yan glanced at her and gave a soft chuckle. “That’s a bit much…”
Bai Qinqing hated how clumsy she was with words. She was desperate for Ning Yan to understand just how much his help meant to her.
“At that time, I even thought that if something happened to my father and brother, I wouldn’t want to live either. Lord Ning, maybe you can’t understand what I felt then. But my only wish in this life is for my family to be safe. As for me, it doesn’t matter.”
Her voice was still soft and delicate, but to Ning Yan, it sounded startling. He could see just how serious she was. How could a girl still confined to the inner chambers carry such weighty emotions?
“When you appeared, I truly thought the gods had answered my prayers. Really! I’ve never felt so lucky. You probably won’t believe me, but I think all the luck I missed in my past life, I must’ve saved up just to meet you in this one.”
Ning Yan felt a little uneasy under the blunt honesty of her words—yet she was so sincere, it was as if she wished she could carve her heart out and place it in his hands just to prove it.
He rubbed at his ear. How could… a young girl be this bold? And only in this one thing. Truly… astonishing.