Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter 41: Crisis

Upon hearing Liu Yu's name, Lu Yu's face immediately darkened, but Ji Meiqing, oblivious to this, sighed again as she spoke.

"Are you disappointed?" he suddenly asked, his tone unreadable.

Ji Meiqing nodded, "Of course, we should try to resolve things peacefully without resorting to force."

The two went home and didn't linger outside. As soon as Ji Meiqing returned to her room, she collapsed.

When Widow Li heard them return, she immediately wiped her hands and came over. Seeing her lying on the bed, she asked curiously, "Madam Ji, there's something I... want to talk to you about."

"What is it?" She kicked her legs and got out of bed.

Widow Li was somewhat embarrassed, stammering and unable to finish a sentence, "Thank you for your help these past few days, Madam Ji... but... I think we can handle this ourselves..."

"You want to do it yourself?" Ji Meiqing looked at her. "Actually, there's no problem if you two handle these things yourselves."

She smiled but didn't say anything.

Li suddenly fell silent. "I know this is a bit rude... but if this matter cannot be resolved, I am not worthy of being a good mother."

“That makes sense.” She agreed, but could only acknowledge, not deny, what Li said.

After Li finished speaking, she got up and left, leaving her alone in the room again. She covered her head with her hand, where it was faintly burning.

That evening, laughter came from the other end of the line. Ji Meiqing opened the sealed paper, and the words on it made her heart sink.

"I am powerless to grant your request, young lady."

The letter was brief, stating directly that he couldn't help with this matter, not even the best doctors could help, so who else could he turn to?

The letter was crumpled and tossed into a nearby trash can before she left. Ji Meiqing got up, put on her cloak, and left. She didn't tell Lu Yu who she was going to see. She believed Lu Yu would find out anyway, so she wasn't too worried.

The road was extremely dark at night. After walking halfway, I could no longer see the road ahead at all.

Ji Meiqing realized she was experiencing some night blindness. After thinking for a moment, she decided to try and go back the way she came. However, without her sight, Ji Meiqing had no way of finding the right path.

Suddenly, a pebble on the ground tripped her, and her palm seemed to have scraped her skin, causing her pain. She covered her hand, breathing out warm air, before finally getting up and staggering forward.

The surroundings were too quiet, and she suddenly felt a little scared. But she hadn't told Lu Yu that she had come out, and even if he knew, she couldn't be sure if he would come out to look for her.

Left with no other option, I could only sit there and wait for the long night to pass before heading home.

After squatting for a while, a bright light suddenly appeared in front of her. Lu Yu rushed to her anxiously, "Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Seeing the light, her vision returned. Looking at the person in front of her, Ji Meiqing was a little uncertain: "Brother Lu?"

"How are you?" He looked at her anxiously, and his brows furrowed tightly when his gaze fell on her arm.

What happened to your arm?

Ji Meiqing let go of his hand, got up from the ground, watched him slowly stand up, and smiled, "It's nothing, I just didn't see the stone on the ground and tripped."

"Why are you out alone? It's dangerous at night! What if you run into a wild animal? If you run into a wild animal, do you even want your life?!"

Ji Meiqing looked at him pitifully, "I...I just..."

"Hand," he said briefly. Ji Meiqing glanced at him a few times and finally reluctantly took out her injured hand. Lu Yu tore off his inner shirt, cleaned her hand, and then bandaged it.

After he finished dealing with it, he gave her a reproachful look and then reached out his hand to her.

"Let's go back." Seeing him extend his hand, Ji Meiqing could only obediently hold his hand, and the two went home together.

He deliberately slowed his pace and placed the lantern on the road in front of her so that she could see the path ahead clearly.

The two walked with difficulty, yet they walked quickly. Once they arrived home, they hurriedly let go of each other's hands.

Ji Meiqing blushed, but to avoid being noticed, she went back to her room as soon as she entered the house.

After a while, there was a knock on the door. Ji Meiqing went over and saw that it was Lu Yu. Her heart felt like it had been hit by something.

"Brother Lu... Brother Lu..." she stammered, her eyes unsure of where to look.

Lu Yu's reaction was quite natural. Holding a basin of water, he said calmly, "Your hand is injured. Let me clean it for you. It's too late to find a doctor now."

"No...no need, I can manage on my own..." Ji Meiqing waved her hand, one hand was bandaged, the other was still red, and there was a faint stinging pain in the palm.

Lu Yu coldly said, "Both of your hands are injured, how can you do it yourself?"

"I..." she stammered, unable to utter a word for a long time, and finally gave in and let him in.

The room was fairly tidy, except for the bed, which was slightly messy. Ji Meiqing couldn't help but blush when she saw that.

Fortunately, Lu Yu didn't look at her for long and sat down at her small round table, inviting her over.

Ji Meiqing stretched out her hand and placed it in front of him. Lu Yu gently cleaned the wound on her hand and then took out the ointment from his pocket.

Looking at his serious expression, Ji Meiqing became curious again, "How did you know I was over there?"

He paused suddenly while applying medicine to her, then said unhurriedly, "You need to find Young Master Liu and ask for his help. I'm afraid you might encounter some accident on the way, so I'll come find you."

"Oh..." Ji Meiqing nodded. The wound on her hand suddenly recoiled when it touched the medicine, but her fingers were being held down. Her slightly flexing fingers brushed against his palm, like a tickle, tickling him to the core.

Lu Yu's expression remained unchanged, but he softened his touch considerably. After a while, he finished treating one hand and then switched to the other.

On her other hand, there was only a minor scratch. Ji Meiqing looked at it and said softly, "This isn't necessary. It's not a big deal anyway."

Lu Yu glanced at her, his hands continuing their work. Ji Meiqing remained silent, refusing to utter a word.

After finally getting both hands sorted out, Lu Yu took back his things. Before leaving, he suddenly reminded her, "Some things don't necessarily depend on those in power; sometimes, the will of the people is the most important thing."

"What do you mean?" Ji Meiqing pressed, but Lu Yu said nothing and left the room. Ji Meiqing was left completely bewildered, staring at the closed door as if nothing had happened.