"This matter is not honorable, and how dare a young, unmarried girl admit to it?" Ye Qing said slowly, "Moreover, you know her situation; she's always been cautious. How could she easily let down her guard?"
Nangong Yu pondered, and it seemed to be true. Xiao Man was still an unmarried girl. Even if she knew their intimate connection, she couldn't admit it. Even if he declared his stance, Xiao Man had to consider the reputation of the General's Mansion.
"Enough, I'll give her more time," Nangong Yu rubbed his temples, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "However, some people truly cannot wait. They've joined forces to ambush Xiao Man. I truly underestimated them!"
"This matter is also quite strange," Ye Qing said with a hint of confusion. "Xiao Man isn't a prince and poses no threat to the throne. Why would the powers in the Imperial Capital join hands to deal with her?"
Nangong Yu fell silent. If his guess was correct, this was a scheme targeting him. It was likely that his excessive attention towards Xiao Man had made his brothers impatient to see what Xiao Man truly meant to him. If he couldn't help but act, it was likely that the people behind this were certain that he harbored ulterior motives towards Xiao Man!
"Si Chen, dispatch more men to protect Xiao Man."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Also, find something for my imperial brothers to do, lest they keep their eyes on Xiao Man when they have nothing better to do!"
"Your subordinate obeys."
Si Ye grumbled about Nangong Yu's orders, "Miss Xiao is probably being all lovey-dovey with Wen Mohan right now, and our master is foolishly arranging for people to protect her!"
"Don't talk nonsense!" Si Chen quickly interrupted him.
"I'm not wrong. Our master has suffered so much injury and hardship because of her, yet she leaves him behind and goes with Wen Mohan!"
"Say less. Our master is not happy either," Si Chen sighed.
In fact, he understood why Xiao Man had taken Wen Mohan with her. After all, Wen Mohan was injured because of her. It would be truly contemptible if she abandoned Wen Mohan.
At the General's Mansion, Xiao Man stayed by Wen Mohan's side. Wen Mohan had not yet woken up. Xiao Man sat by the bed, dozing off. It wasn't that she didn't want to sleep, but Wen Mohan's hand was still clasped in hers, and she couldn't get away.
"Miss, when will Young Master Wen wake up?" Qiu Tong asked in a low voice.
"I don't know. You all go rest. I'll take care of him here," Xiao Man instructed. "His body is weak. After taking such a stab wound, he'll likely be frail for a while."
"I'll stand guard here."
"It's alright, go rest."
"Then I'll be in the outer room. Call me if you need anything, Miss," Qiu Tong instructed with concern before going to rest in the outer room.
After a day of fighting, Xiao Man also felt tired. She dozed off intermittently and, without realizing it, fell asleep by the bedside.
As soon as Xiao Man fell asleep, the person on the bed opened his eyes. A triumphant smile flickered in his eyes. He gently loosened his grip on Xiao Man's hand, afraid of hurting her.
Suddenly, a figure leaped in through the window. Wen Mohan's gaze turned cold upon seeing the intruder.
Nangong Yu, who had just entered, also wore a cold expression. As he strode forward, Wen Mohan curved his lips into a smile and reached out towards Xiao Man.
Nangong Yu's expression changed. "You dare!"
He reached out to grab Wen Mohan's hand, but Wen Mohan suddenly withdrew his hand and punched his own wound.
"Ah!"
Wen Mohan let out a pained cry. Xiao Man was startled awake and saw Nangong Yu's hand in front of her, clenched into a fist, which he guiltily retracted. Wen Mohan, contorted in pain, was covered in sweat.
Nangong Yu met Xiao Man's questioning gaze, almost cursing. "Damn, shameless, utterly shameless!"
Wen Mohan was a scholar, praised by all as a gentleman of integrity and noble character. To resort to such a despicable trick to frame him, and yet make it impossible for him to refute!
"What is Your Highness doing?"
"I'm not doing anything!" Nangong Yu gritted his teeth. He truly hadn't done anything, but his words lacked credibility.
Xiao Man looked at Nangong Yu for a moment before shifting her gaze to check Wen Mohan's wound. Blood had already soaked through the bandage, dyeing it red.
Xiao Man frowned slightly and immediately pressed the acupoints near the wound to stop the bleeding, preparing to fetch the medicine box. However, Wen Mohan's hand was still clutching hers, so she looked towards Nangong Yu.
"Your Highness, would you trouble yourself to hand me the medicine box?"
Nangong Yu, his face dark, handed the medicine box to Xiao Man. Xiao Man removed Wen Mohan's bandages and applied styptic powder. But with only one hand free, she couldn't re-bandage him. She could only look at Nangong Yu.
Nangong Yu turned away, his face ashen, completely unwilling to deal with Wen Mohan.
"Your Highness, could you lend me a hand?"
"Just wake him up," Nangong Yu said, suddenly moving and pressing Wen Mohan's wrist. Wen Mohan felt as if thousands of needles had pierced his arm, causing him to tremble uncontrollably. He tightened his grip on Xiao Man's hand, refusing to let go and refusing to open his eyes.
Seeing this, Nangong Yu's eyes deepened. Just as he was about to increase the pressure, Xiao Man slapped his hand away. "Enough!"
Xiao Man's forceful push sent Nangong Yu staggering back. His already grim expression darkened further, and he stared intently at Xiao Man.
After all, Xiao Man rarely got angry with him. The only time she had was when she was provoked and lost control. Yet now, she was furious with him because of Wen Mohan.
"Why must you target an injured person like this?" Xiao Man said with an unhappy tone. "He's not a martial artist. Do you want to cripple his hand?"
Nangong Yu glared at Xiao Man through gritted teeth. He wanted to explain, to tell Xiao Man that Wen Mohan had been awake long ago, that he hadn't caused the wound, and that he hadn't intended to cripple Wen Mohan, only to make him let go. But his pride forbade him from explaining.
"I want to cripple him. What will you do then?"
Xiao Man choked, seemingly surprised that Nangong Yu would be so unreasonable. "Your Highness, this is unreasonable."
"I'm being unreasonable!" Nangong Yu laughed bitterly. Xiao Man actually called him unreasonable. "Fine, even if I am being unreasonable, what can you do to me?"
Xiao Man stared at Nangong Yu for a long time. When had the calm and composed Nangong Yu become so barbaric and unreasonable? He had come here to make a scene, torn Wen Mohan's wound, attacked Wen Mohan, and was now so self-righteous. Men were truly incomprehensible!
"Incomprehensible!"
He was incomprehensible!
Nangong Yu's anger flared, both vexed and annoyed. He, a man of seven feet, was arguing with a girl here, utterly pathetic!
Nangong Yu gritted his teeth and turned to leave. Besides the swaying window, which indicated Nangong Yu's presence, everything else seemed like a fleeting illusion.
Xiao Man had wanted to call out to Nangong Yu, to ask him if he was injured, but Nangong Yu had already left in a huff. She felt inexplicably bewildered. She should be the one who was angry!