The man extended the egg toward her mouth.
His movements were assertively indisputable, and Su Zhiruan didn’t insist, gently biting into the egg with his help.
Ji Xiaoyuan watched the girl’s actions, and for a moment, he was a bit lost in thought.
Her skin was very white and delicate, unlike the tanned complexions of farm girls who worked frequently in the village. Her lips were red and her teeth white. The tender egg white against her lips made her skin seem just as fine and flawless, without a blemish.
After Su Zhiruan finished the egg, seeing the man intending to bring another, she hurriedly shook her head, "I really can’t eat any more."
"I’ll help you lie down," Ji Xiaoyuan set the egg down, reached out to support her slender and delicate back, and let her lie down slowly.
Su Zhiruan’s legs were currently immovable, but since they had been set properly, she at least could start to feel some pain.
"Haven’t asked for the miss’s name yet?" Ji Xiaoyuan made sure she was lying comfortably, covered her with the blanket, and took the opportunity to ask.
"Just call me Ruanruan," Su Zhiruan was still unclear about who exactly had attempted to assassinate her by breaking her marriage arrangement, but with the enemy in the shadows and herself exposed, she was not about to reveal her true name.
Ji Xiaoyuan nodded in agreement, "Alright, Miss Ruan Ruan."
He knew when he first saw her that she was certainly no ordinary person, she must at least be from a wealthy and noble family.
However, these things had no relation to him; what he needed to do now was to get her well as soon as possible.
"I am Ji Xiaoyuan, a hunter," Ji Xiaoyuan also gave a brief introduction of himself, and after finishing, he tucked Su Zhiruan in properly, picked up the tray, and warmly said to her, "Miss, please rest well, I’ll be out for a while."
Having said that, he carried the tray with one hand, walked out, and looked back in one last time before closing the door.
Su Zhiruan heaved a long sigh.
It was still somewhat cold in the early spring, and the blanket on her body was apparently a new one, very thick. The fabric of the blanket wasn’t of high quality, but it was warm underneath.
Soon, she fell into a deep sleep. The source of this content ɪs novel{f}ire.net
Ji Xiaoyuan was busily scrubbing pots and pans in the kitchen. His movements were practiced, his broad, strong hands quickly scooping water and scrubbing.
While working, his mind wandered occasionally.
His thoughts flew erratically, and before long, they took an improper turn.
When he snapped back to reality, he realized that beneath him things were beginning to stir, and he could not help but curse himself inwardly for being a beast. The young girl’s leg was not yet healed, her clear eyes looked at him with trust every time, and yet as a grown man, behind her back, he thought those thoughts, even wanting to see tears streak down her snow-white face, with her biting her lip and sobbing...
In the past, when he was on the battlefield toiling mentally and physically, he found arranged marriages irritating and refused them all, only wishing for the war to end so he could hang up his armor and return to the fields. Back then, he hadn’t spared a thought for matters of men and women.
Now, at the age of 25, he suddenly harbored inappropriate thoughts for the girl he had saved, which was truly a sin.
Since he was distracted with impure thoughts, Ji Xiaoyuan had his own way of dealing with it, which was to keep himself busy.
Soon, he had the kitchen tidied up, prepared the ingredients for the next meal in advance, swept the courtyard clean, chopped firewood in the backyard, fed the chickens, and even took care of the vegetable seedlings.
After he had taken care of all that, it suddenly occurred to him that he should buy a set of women’s clothes because the dress she was wearing now seemed a bit tattered, and the outer garment was already removed, but she also needed to change into a new set of underwear.
Ji Xiaoyuan stood up and fetched a box from an inconspicuous storeroom in the backyard.
After removing the miscellaneous items on top, he revealed what was hidden beneath.
A whole box of broken silver.
Besides this box, he had over ten different boxes containing gold ingots, land deeds, silver notes, jewelry, and so on.
He had not started from scratch when he retired from military service; he hadn’t skimped on the money and valuables he brought with him.
Packing a bag full of broken silver, he put the box back, and closed the door.
The marketplace wasn’t far from here; once past the village and after walking some distance, he arrived at the bustling market.
With a tall build and muscular physique, Ji Xiaoyuan’s handsome appearance immediately drew the attention of many on the streets.
"Xiaoyuan brother, got time to come to the market today?" The bun-seller called out, her head wrapped in a scarf. Rubbing her hands together, she exhaled a visible breath, eager to greet Ji Xiaoyuan.
"Yes," Ji Xiaoyuan took out some broken silver, "Save me a pound of meat buns. I’ll come back to pick them up later."
"All right, all right, I’ll keep them for you," the bun-seller took the money and immediately set aside a pound of meat buns from the steaming baskets.
Her business was good, making meat buns at different times of the day, and they would certainly be sold out if not reserved in advance.