My elder sister forced me to become a concubine; I was reborn and remarried into the emperor's

Pei Ji thought he had misheard. The two of them had only kept warm last night; nothing more. If such a respectful relationship required responsibility, then shouldn't he have married her when they met naked and made love passionately?

He subconsciously repeated, "Take it off?"

"Take it off now, what are you waiting for?"

Seeing that he didn't move, Wei Nanxun's girlish shyness turned into embarrassment and annoyance, and she decisively took action to untie his clothes and belt.

Before Pei Ji could retaliate, she directly stripped him of his blood-stained clothes and threw them on the ground in disgust.

"Take off your pants yourself." She said, turning her eyes away and throwing a clean but not new cloth garment onto the bedding.

Pei Ji then realized that he had misunderstood. Indeed, he was now practically a cripple, so even if he wanted to do something to him, he couldn't.

He struggled to take off his pants and put them on, then tried to put on his coat around the wound. He could barely manage to put on his pants because of the injury on his hand, but it was a bit difficult to lift up his gloves and coat.

Just as he raised his hand to his ear, he felt a pair of warm, soft hands snatch the clothes from his hand, go around his back, and tuck his other hand into the sleeve.

"You're taking so long to get dressed!"

To dress him, she knelt by the bed, arms outstretched, in a gesture that seemed to embrace him.

She had just taken a bath, her hair wasn't completely dry, and she smelled of soap and a faint orchid fragrance.

He knew very well that the scent was not unpleasant, but rather alluring. Last time he thought she had deliberately burned incense, but after smelling the incense burner in her room this time, he realized that it was her natural body fragrance.

Its scent is more delicate than incense, and more lingering than orchid fragrance.

What's worse, her soft spot was unconsciously brushing against the tip of his nose.

Pei Ji's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and his hands, which were bracing against the bed, slowly tightened. He never knew that his willpower was so weak.

Fortunately, before he could lose his composure, Wei Nanxun released him, jumped off the bed, wrung out a cloth, and continued to wipe his injuries.

Previously, in the thatched hut, conditions were limited, and they could only bandage the most severely injured areas. Now, after changing three or four basins of bloody water, they were finally able to see the extent of his injuries.

Even though Wei Nanxun already knew that he was seriously injured, she still couldn't stop gasping for breath. His injuries were too severe; there was almost no intact skin on his body, only wounds and bruises.

Any wound, even a small one, would be enough to keep an ordinary person in pain for half a day. It's a miracle that he survived and remained conscious.

Fortunately, the doctor arrived soon with his medicine box and showed the same surprised expression when he saw Pei Ji.

"This young man has suffered a knife wound. Although the injury is serious, fortunately it did not damage the root. The wound was treated in time, otherwise it would have easily become festering and inflamed in this weather, and many parts would have had to be cut off."

"My dear wife, don't worry. Your husband is young and in good health. With daily external application and internal medication, he will recover to about 70-80% in three to five months."

Wei Nanxun listened attentively, and upon hearing the word "husband," she immediately blushed and denied it, saying, "Sir, you misunderstand. This is not my husband, but my elder brother."

Pei Ji heard it too, and although he also felt uncomfortable with his so-called husband, he felt even worse because Wei Nanxun denied it so quickly.

Is it such a shameful thing for him to be mistaken for her husband?

"Sir, this... this will take three to five months? Isn't that a bit too long?"

Pei Ji's handsome brows furrowed tightly. They hadn't even settled in for a day, and they were already complaining that he was staying too long?

He didn't really want to leave right away.

"My lady, it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone. Even if it takes three to five months, it's only because my husband is in good health. If it were someone else who was injured this badly, they wouldn't be able to get out of bed for at least a year or two."

Wei Nanxun naturally couldn't say anything in front of the doctor, so she only felt awkward after seeing the person off.

The sudden appearance of a man in the lives of these two sisters who live alone seems inappropriate.

Even if they could tell outsiders that he was their long-lost brother, there would always be things that were inappropriate when living under the same roof.

Instead, Zhixia whispered, "Sister, we don't know if the pursuers will come again. The two of us are too conspicuous. Having another person will make it less likely to arouse suspicion."

Wei Nanxun was still hesitant. She didn't care about her own reputation and didn't plan to get married, but Zhi Xia, who had a clean reputation, still wanted to get married.

Furthermore, this person's origins are unknown, and he is seriously injured. If he has enemies, wouldn't that be an even greater burden to them?

“If you are worried, sister, why don’t we find out about his background first before making any plans?”

Wei Nanxun had no choice but to return to the inner room with her thoughts in mind, only to find Pei Ji sitting up.

"Why are you still up? Didn't you hear what the doctor just said? Lie back down right now."

Without saying a word, she pressed Pei Ji back onto the bed, but then she heard him grit his teeth and say, "I need to use the restroom."

Wei Nanxun: ...

Her bedroom was obviously not convenient, so she had to have her grandfather help her out to relieve herself. When they came back, he refused to stay in her room no matter what.

"Why is that? Is there something about the room that doesn't suit your taste?"

As the mistress of the house, and feeling responsible for him, she specially gave up her own bedroom to share a room with Zhixia so that he could better recuperate. Who knew that he wouldn't even move in?

"The scent of perfume is too strong, and besides, we shouldn't be too close to each other. How can I stay in your room?"

She, a young woman, didn't find anything wrong with it, but he was the first to think it wouldn't work. What a bookworm!

"Now I know what you do."

As soon as she finished speaking, she felt the man opposite her suddenly look up, his gaze sharp as he looked at her. Under his gaze, she said, "The autumn imperial examinations will be in a few months. You must be a student going to the capital to take the exams."

Pei Ji slowly lowered his hand, which was about to gather strength, and looked at her with a strange expression.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Did I guess wrong? Impossible! Your name and your clothes scream 'scholar.' You don't have a single valuable item on you, so you look like you haven't even achieved any official rank yet. Add to that your rigid and pedantic attitude, and you must be a bookworm who's gone mad from studying the Four Books and Five Classics."

Pei Ji...

How could he have thought she recognized him? With her brain, she wouldn't recognize even the emperor standing in front of her.

Looking at her innocent yet confident gaze, he chuckled inwardly, but said, "Miss Guan Yue has good taste."

“I am from Jiangnan, on my way to the capital for the imperial examination. I passed through Pingzhen and heard that Baiyun Temple was particularly efficacious, so I wanted to pray to the Bodhisattva before continuing my journey. However, I encountered bandits on the way, who not only robbed me of my travel money, but also stabbed me several times and threw me into the valley. If it weren’t for your rescue, young lady, I would have been a meal for the wolves.”

"Many thanks to Miss Guan Yue for saving my life. I, Ji Shouzhou, am willing to serve you like an ox or a horse, and in my next life, I will repay your kindness with my life's blessings."

Wei Nanxun felt increasingly uneasy as she listened; why did that last part sound so familiar?!