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Lu Man looked at Jiang Zhanwei’s clothes, lifting them to reveal numerous scars of various sizes, lengths, and depths on his back. One new wound, particularly striking, was over two inches long and more than a finger wide, wrinkled, red, and swollen. Although the wound had started to heal, it was not completely closed.
Her heart clenched, complaining, “Heavens, such a long and wide wound still hasn’t healed completely. How can it get wet? If it gets infected… oh, if it festers, it will heal even slower.” Pouting, she added, “It’s all because of Liu Chun. He said it was just a minor injury and that you were already fine.”
Jiang Zhanwei felt Lu Man’s concern and couldn’t be happier. Turning around, he smiled, “It’s nothing, this injury is indeed minor compared to battlefield wounds.”
Lu Man insisted, “Let me apply some ointment to it. Your back must not touch water until the wound scabs over. And you must continue taking Huang Ke Lai for at least another ten days.”
As she moved to the study in the west wing to get the medicine, Jiang Zhanwei stopped her with a touch. He said, “Manman, if it weren’t for the Huang Ke Lai you made, I might have died. If I had died, would you have resented me?”
Lu Man casually replied, “Such speculation is pointless. Aren’t you living well?”
Jiang Zhanwei continued, “Then let my wound remain unhealed, let me endure more pain, and let you vent your anger, alright?”
Thinking of the hideous, swollen scar, Lu Man shook her head, “As a physician, I cannot let your wound remain unhealed.”
Touched by his words, Jiang Zhanwei thought to himself, “Stubborn! You clearly can’t bear it, yet you bring up being a physician.”
Jiang Zhanwei embraced Lu Man, burying his face in her chest, saying, “Manman, you are such a good woman, and I have our lovely daughter. If I heartlessly abandon you both, even heaven would punish me and not let me have a good next life. I have returned alive, all thanks to you saving me. In this lifetime, we will never be apart…”
His words were cheesy, making her extremely embarrassed.
Struggling to remove Jiang Zhanwei’s hands, Lu Man said, “I’ll go get the medicine.” And hurriedly left as if fleeing.
In the study in the west wing were some common medicines, including Lu Man’s precious Huang Ke Lai, locked in a drawer.
She took a box of ointment and a Huang Ke Lai pill, stood there for a while to calm her nerves, then turned back to the bedroom.
Seeing Jiang Zhanwei still smiling at her, Lu Man placed the Huang Ke Lai in his hand and went to the table to pour half a bowl of water, handing it to him. She said, “Take your medicine.”
Jiang Zhanwei obediently took the medicine.
Lu Man then said, “Turn around, I’ll apply the ointment for you.”
Jiang Zhanwei gazed at her blankly, “What a silly woman! Let me endure a bit more pain, okay?” Seeing Lu Man about to leave in frustration, he quickly added, “Alright, alright, I’ll turn around.”
He turned around, and Lu Man removed his clothes, applying ointment to the long wound on his back. There were two smaller wounds on his shoulder that hadn’t healed completely, so she attended to those as well.
Jiang Zhanwei chuckled, “Your touch is so gentle, feels soothing on the skin, much better than those military physicians.”
Ignoring his comment, Lu Man bandaged the treated wounds. Then, she pressed firmly on the long wound with her thumb, causing Jiang Zhanwei to grunt in pain.
Turning back, he remarked, “Truly, a woman’s heart is the most venomous. Are you trying to murder your husband?”
Unable to contain her laughter, Lu Man replied, “Third Young Master is truly hard to please. Light isn’t right, heavy isn’t right either.”
Seeing her bright smile, Jiang Zhanwei suddenly felt the room lighten up, his heart included. Leaning close to her ear, he mischievously whispered, “There’s indeed something where being too light or too heavy isn’t good. Light, I’m uncomfortable, heavy, you’re uncomfortable. So, just right is perfect.”
Initially slow to catch on, Lu Man understood his reference to “something” upon seeing his mischievous grin. Blushing, she raised her voice in annoyance, “What nonsense are you talking about? I’m ignoring you.”
As she tried to get up, Jiang Zhanwei held her back.
With one hand embracing her, Jiang Zhanwei loosened her clothing’s straps, saying, “You undressed me, so I’ll undress you…” his voice trailed off, barely audible, as if coming straight from his throat.
His kiss landed on her, initially entangled between her lips. Then slowly, it wandered, touching her nose, eyes, cheeks, chin, neck… He had yearned for her for two years, dreaming about her for over seven hundred days and nights, consumed by a frenzy of desire.
Today, when he laid eyes on her, only heaven knows the immense effort he exerted to restrain himself from embracing and kissing her.
Now, finally holding her and kissing her, it never felt enough. His love, like honey that never dissolves, intermittently expressed his longing and affection. His kisses and caresses, like scattered sparks, burned upon Lu Man’s skin, causing her to tremble uncontrollably.
Unlike the last time, where Jiang Zhanwei’s tenderness and alcohol left her heavily intoxicated, clouding her mind and leading her body to involuntarily respond to him, yielding to his advances. But this time, she was incredibly sober, feeling his fervor filling her with shame, confusion, and a slight resistance. Gradually, his passion seemed to ignite her as well, leaving her completely limp, shivering, and emitting fragmented moans.
Tears streamed down Lu Man’s face. Tears shed for her past grievances and the uncontrollable emotions of the moment.
Her tears pained Jiang Zhanwei deeply. He could sense that this time, she wasn’t as engaged as before, merely enduring with occasional resistance.
He was the one who hurt her first, and subsequent calculations widened the gap between them once more. She didn’t trust him, resented him, so he vowed to spend a lifetime unraveling her resentment, proving his genuine love for her.
From the moment he left her two years ago, he made a decision. Over those seven hundred plus days and nights, he was resolute almost every moment. If he could return alive, regardless of how she viewed their relationship, he was steadfast in recognizing them as husband and wife.
Contracts, promises no longer moved her, those were hasty agreements formed when he didn’t understand her. Now, he was ready to break them, ready to go back on his word. In front of his wife, he was willing to abandon all pride and dignity.
As the moon hid behind the clouds and snowflakes drifted down from the sky, creating a picturesque scene, from the orange-tinted window occasionally came the murmurs of a man and the soft sobs of a woman, resembling a cat’s mewl.
Lu Man was awakened by Jiang Yue’s crying.
Startled, she sat up and exclaimed, “Baby, what’s wrong?”
Rushing to where the crib used to be, she found it gone, replaced by a large flower-patterned rug on the floor. It then dawned on her that her daughter had moved to the east wing yesterday, with Jiang Zhanwei now residing here.