Chapter 68 - 67: Like the Most Ordinary Family of Three (Second Update)

Chapter 68: Chapter 67: Like the Most Ordinary Family of Three (Second Update)

After watching Zheng Shouyan being taken away, Xiao Yi turned around, returned to Xu Jing’s side, and looked up at her asking, "Can you ride a horse?"

Xu Jing: "... I should know a little..."

The original protagonist had never learned to ride a horse.

But she had ridden horses in a scenic area before, with a coach by her side the whole time, so she wasn’t sure if that counted.

"Hmm."

Upon hearing this ambiguous answer, Xiao Yi didn’t seem to mind at all, responded softly, and then stepped forward to take the reins of her horse, saying, "Sit tight, I’ll lead you back."

Xu Jing: "..."

She couldn’t help but ask, "Since you decided to lead me back, why did you ask if I could ride a horse?"

She thought he wanted her to ride back by herself.

She was also wondering how someone with one leg injured could ride a horse. Even if he did not want any physical contact with her, that was an unreasonable request!

Xiao Yi had already begun walking slowly with the reins, seeming slightly surprised by her remark, and looked at her with his dark eyes, saying, "I just wanted to chat with you for a bit."

Xu Jing: "..."

She couldn’t help but twitch her mouth slightly, looking at him with an indescribable expression.

He called this chatting?

Shouldn’t chatting be casual, not done in such a serious, interrogative tone?

Xiao Yi’s gaze slowly moved downwards, examining her ankle exposed by her sitting position, seeing it red and visibly swollen. His brow furrowed, but he quickly looked away, saying in a deep voice, "You’re injured, talking with you might help distract you."

Xu Jing was slightly stunned, a bit unexpected.

Did he mean that he was afraid she would find the pain unbearable, so he was intentionally trying to distract her?

Well... after spending some time together, Xu Jing believed that was exactly what this man would do.

It’s just that the topic diversion was rather—no, extremely awkward!

Xu Jing couldn’t help but cough lightly, saying, "Thank you for your concern, Vice Minister Xiao, but my injuries aren’t unbearable."

Without needing to force herself to move around anymore, her leg wasn’t as painful.

But with a hundred days of recovery for a tendon and bone injury, she was bound to face mobility issues for a while.

Thinking of this, Xu Jing felt a bit frustrated.

Her career had just started, and she had many things to do. Now, this injury was sure to delay her plans.

Xiao Yi glanced at her, seemingly knowing what she was thinking, and suddenly said, "Miss Xu’s injury resulted from the county government’s case, which counts as our negligence. I will find a way to make it up to you."

Xu Jing raised her eyebrows slightly, but before she could ask how he would compensate, they had arrived home.

Xiao Huai’an had been eagerly awaiting his mom all day. As soon as the sky started to darken, he kept pestering Chunyang and Chunxiang to take him to the gate to wait for his mom.

Chunyang and Chunxiang took him out three times, and on this last time, they finally saw their lady return.

Seeing the lady return with Vice Minister Xiao, in such a... peculiar manner, both Chunyang and Chunxiang were quite amazed.

Xiao Huai’an, however, was filled with joy, rushing over to Xiao Yi, exclaiming, "Dad! How come you’re returning with Mom?"

Xiao Huai’an may be young, but he was perceptive. Although adults hadn’t explicitly told him many things, he had vaguely understood some of it.

For example, he knew that other children’s moms and dads lived together, but his didn’t; they weren’t inseparable like other children’s parents.

Also, he knew that he would eventually go to the Western Capital with Dad, but Mom would stay here, and he’d have to travel a long distance to see Mom in the future.

He wasn’t unhappy, but he didn’t want Mom and Dad to be unhappy because of his unhappiness, so he wouldn’t mention it in front of them.

Seeing Mom and Dad return together now, he was so happy that he didn’t know what to do, feeling light as if he could float.

However, the next moment, he saw Dad gently helping Mom down from the horse. Mom frowned as if in pain, and his happiness deflated like a punctured ball.

Frowning, he walked quickly over to them, and asked anxiously, "What happened to Mom? Did she fall?"

In a child’s world, falling down was the only thing that could cause such an injury.

Not wanting Xiao Huai’an to worry, Xu Jing steadied herself with Chunxiang’s support and smiled slightly, saying, "Yes, Mom accidentally fell, but it’ll be alright after some treatment. Don’t worry, Chang Xiao."

Xiao Huai’an immediately looked at Xiao Yi, as if asking with his eyes whether what Mom said was true.

Seeing the little one trying to stick close to Xu Jing, fearing he might accidentally knock her over, Xiao Yi stooped slightly and picked him up, saying, "Your mom indeed fell, but a doctor will be here soon to tend to her. For now, let’s not disturb her."

saying this, he looked at the slightly startled Chunyang and Chunxiang, instructing, "Please escort your mistress to her room. I’ve already sent someone to call the doctor."

Chunyang and Chunxiang quickly responded, "We understand!"

They then supported Xu Jing as they walked slowly to her room. As they walked, they couldn’t help but glance back at Xiao Yi, who was following them, holding Xiao Huai’an.

Dear heavens, who could understand this!

If they didn’t know the truth, they might have thought that their lady and Vice Minister Xiao had never separated and formed the most ordinary family of three!

Xiao Yi had summoned a doctor from Tianyi Hall, and because he used his name, it was Zhou Qi, the head of Tianyi Hall, who personally came.

Zhou Qi, who was in his early thirties, had a refined face with a hint of seasoned steadiness. Though he managed a large medical hall, he dressed simply, wearing a plain, narrow-sleeved azure robe and a wooden cap, groomed neatly from head to toe, and spoke with courtesy and poise.

Just seeing him gave one a sense of reliability and trustworthiness.

Seeing Xiao Yi had called him to tend to a young woman’s injury, a barely perceptible surprise flickered in his eyes, which he quickly concealed. He nodded to Xiao Yi and went in to examine Xu Jing’s injuries.

There was no questioning Zhou Qi’s medical skills. With swift and precise movements, he repositioned Xu Jing’s dislocated left elbow joint. Xu Jing barely felt any pain before the treatment was done.

Next, he instructed a few medical apprentices to fix the fracture on Xu Jing’s arm with a small splint and carefully bandaged it with gauze.

Xu Jing’s right ankle wasn’t broken, but the tendons were injured. With her running earlier as if she didn’t need that foot, her ankle had swollen severely, looking quite alarming.

Zhou Qi gave Chunyang and Chunxiang a jar of medicinal oil, instructing them to massage Xu Jing’s ankle three times a day, to rub it until the skin was slightly warm each time.

Besides these injuries, Xu Jing only had some minor scrapes on her body. Being a man, Zhou Qi felt it inappropriate to inspect those closely, so Xu Jing smiled and said, "I can handle the other injuries myself. I appreciate your trouble to come so late, Mr. Zhou."

With a gentle smile, Zhou Qi replied, "Miss Xu is a doctor herself, so she should know how to handle these minor injuries."

Xu Jing raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at Zhou Qi with a half-smile, "Seems you know who I am, Mr. Zhou."

Although it was her first time meeting Zhou Qi face to face, Cheng Xianbai had mentioned that Zhou Qi had previously come to Xinglin Hall to check on the situation personally.