The thin girl was still struggling, her eyes were open, and in the dim light, her pupils were blue, her clear eyes were wet, and her eyelashes were stained with tears. She looked weak and pitiful, but she struggled unyieldingly, resisting being touched, and a low roar came from her throat.
Wen Zhuojin remembered a snow-white long-haired lion cat she had raised when she was a child.
The light blue eyes are very round and big, very beautiful.
It is very alert and will quickly slap anyone who approaches it with its claws. If the claws are controlled, it will bite with its teeth.
Weak and unruly.
When Wen Zhuojin first came into contact with the cat, she was scratched and bitten by it.
If she hadn't insisted, Nanny Jiang would have returned the cat.
At this moment, the person she caught looked very much like the cat.
Fragile, unyielding.
The struggle took a lot of the woman's energy. She gasped, and the cold fragrance around her became stronger, and the smell of blood became more intense.
Wen Zhuojin saw that the woman's hands and arms had cracked wounds and blood was oozing out. There was also a bloody smell under the simple quilt.
"Sister, don't move. You are injured. I really won't hurt you."
Wen Zhuojin tried her best to speak in a soft voice.
The woman's struggle did not stop at all.
Wen Zhuojin wanted to control her hands and feet, but was afraid that if she exerted force, she would get hurt even more.
She could only let her go temporarily.
The person who was released was like a cat with its fur standing on end. She raised her body and immediately threw the broken hairpin in her hand towards Wen Zhuojin.
Wen Zhuojin was prepared and dodged it this time.
The quilt slipped off the woman's body, revealing her clothes that were torn in many places and bleeding from several places. Her ankles were even bloody and fleshy, with iron shackles digging into her flesh. It looked extremely painful, but she seemed not to notice it. She waved the broken hairpin tightly in her hand forward, still resisting.
Wen Zhuojin felt pity and anger at the same time.
How could the people at the Incense Burning House abuse her like this?!
The imperial court's purge is just in these few days. How come she has suffered so many injuries? No wonder she is so resistant. She looks unconscious and her eyes are unfocused.
As a stranger, she can't hear anything you say to her now.
Wen Zhuojin frowned and paused, then opened the purse she was carrying and took out a brown fragrant pill.
This is a calming incense, made with the finest sandalwood, lavender, albizzia, lily, etc. It has the effect of hypnosis, calming the mind and soothing emotions.
There was no charcoal basin in the room. Wen Zhuojin opened the gilded hollow sachet around her waist, lit the incense ball with a flint, and then fastened the sachet.
Green smoke flowed out from the hollow of the sachet and spread throughout the room.
The fragrance enveloped the woman, even overwhelming the cold fragrance on her body, but she did not seem to be comforted. Instead, her body trembled even more violently. She even stood up and supported herself with her broken foot, stabbing in the direction of the soothing fragrance with the broken hairpin in her hand.
But her aim was not good and she was about to fall.
Wen Zhuojin sighed inwardly, reached out to catch the person, and held her wrists again. Both thin wrists were held in Wen Zhuojin's hands and pulled over her head.
Wen Zhuojin supported the person from behind with her other hand.
"You're not as strong as me, why bother to attack now?"
"Do you want to live? If you do, save your energy and calm down."
"If you want to die, then continue to struggle and your injuries will only get worse."
Wen Zhuojin whispered, her hand gently stroking the woman's back.
The lion cat likes to be touched on the back. When it is in a bad mood, it will squint its eyes and calm down if you touch its back.
It seemed to be really effective. The woman's struggle weakened, her body swayed and she fell down, her head resting on Wen Zhuojin's shoulder.
Fainted.
Wen Zhuojin exhaled and carefully lifted the woman's head.
The person who fainted had her eyes closed tightly, with traces of tears under her eyes and teardrops hanging on her thick eyelashes.
I don't know how scared and painful it was when she struggled and resisted like that just now.
Wen Zhuojin picked the person up and placed her on the bed.
The person was soft all over, very light, thin, fragile and weak, and it looked like anyone could hurt her.
Wen Zhuojin picked up the cloak that had fallen to the ground, dusted it off, and covered the woman with it.
Instead of picking up the woman immediately, Wen Zhuojin stood up and took the sachet.
The incense in the sachet is still burning, and I'm afraid I'll become the focus of attention when I go out.
She did not regret using a fragrant pill to redeem the woman on impulse just now.
But she didn't want anyone to know about this.
It's better to be low-key.
When Wen Zhuojin turned around to extinguish the incense, she did not notice that the woman she had covered on the bed had her eyelids moving slightly, and the broken hairpin in her hand was still tightly clenched.
Yan Qinglan seemed to have sunk into a dark and sticky swamp. She was in a trance, her consciousness was hazy and she was not clear-headed. She couldn't tell whether her surroundings were an illusion or reality.
Only a little instinct made her want to protect herself and prevent anyone from getting close to her.
Until just now, a young girl's sweet voice woke her up little by little. The elegant, refreshing and slightly sweet voice rushed into the turbid mind, washing out a clear mind.
Fang felt that her senses had come to reality, and at the same time, the pain surged.
Warm hands held her captive, and a soft voice pulled her closer.
"Do you want to live? If you do, save your energy and calm down."
She still wants to live and can't die!
But who is the person in front of me, and what is the fragrance on her body?
She escaped to the Xiaoxiang Pavilion by accident, but was she found?
Yan Qinglan felt a headache.
Betrayed by the person she trusted most, she would no longer trust anyone, let alone a stranger.
When she collapsed, she actually still had a trace of clarity, and even though her body was extremely weak, she managed to maintain this trace of clarity.
I can't see anything, I can only use my ears to listen and my nose to smell.
Soon footsteps were heard, and Yan Qinglan felt that the girl was approaching again. She tensed her body unconsciously, but felt a warmth on her forehead. The touch was not delicate, and there was a thin layer of calluses on the palm of her hand.
"She has a fever. Oh, I need to go see a doctor right away..." The girl's voice sounded again, with a sense of depression, seeming a little angry, and containing other emotions.
There was a knock on the door outside. Wen Zhuojin stood up, walked over to open the door and saw Luan Niang, who was looking up with a flattering smile.
"Sir, you can't regret buying it now. One incense pill is already very cheap. If you weren't sick, it wouldn't be so cheap. Hey, if you stay here tonight, you have to pay an overnight fee. This is the standard. I can waive it for you. But, the lady is not very good at it, so please take it easy. If anything happens, don't blame me."
Luanniang told Wen Zhuojin.
Yan Qinglan, who was lying down, heard Luanniang's words.
I have an impression of this person Yan Qinglan. She is from Xiaoxiangguan.
Listening to her words, Yan Qinglan felt her blood boiling.
Was she bought by that girl or boy? !
Only spent one incense pill?
What kind of trap was set up by that person again?
"I'm going to take her away today. Is there a small door here? Lead the way." The girl's voice came, seemingly angry.
"Yes, yes, I'll lead the way right away!" Luan Niang smiled.
Wen Zhuojin had some doubts in her mind, but the most important thing at the moment was to take the man to a safe place for medical treatment.
Wen Zhuojin turned around and wrapped the woman on the bed with a cloak, covering her head and feet.
Wrapped up like a dumpling, Yan Qinglan couldn't move. Then her body shook slightly and her breathing became disordered.
Luan Niang sent Wen Zhuojin out through the small door of Xiaoxiang Pavilion.
Wen Zhuojin didn't say much to Luan Niang. She strode away with the person in her arms, walked around to the back of the carriage they had hired earlier, and got on.
Zirong was looking out through the curtain of the carriage window, looking for Wen Zhuojin. When she heard the noise, she immediately turned around.
"Aunt... Young Master, you..." Zi Rong saw Wen Zhuojin hugging someone and her eyes widened. She wanted to call her "girl", but then she remembered Wen Zhuojin's instructions to call her "Young Master" in public.
Wen Zhuojin sat down and waved to Zirong.
"Let's go to Wuju Lane first." Wen Zhuojin said.
Zirong didn't dare ask more questions and asked the driver to drive to Wuju Lane.
Wen Zhuojin owns a small courtyard with three entrances in Yunjing City, where she keeps a lot of incense materials bought by Wen Zhuojin. Various aromatic herbs are planted in the courtyard. If the smell of some herbs is too strong, Wen Zhuojin will come here to make them.
It can be regarded as a secret little base of Wen Zhuojin.
She originally wanted to sell it and had already found a realtor, but with the recent turmoil, it was difficult to sell, so she kept it until now.
As the carriage traveled along, Yan Qinglan remained in Wen Zhuojin's arms, very stable, and all touches avoided obvious injuries.
There was an elegant sweet fragrance at the tip of her nose, which gradually stabilized and expanded the clarity that Yan Qinglan had tried hard to retain.
The pain in my body became more and more obvious.
Yan Qinglan has always been afraid of pain and wanted to pretend to be unconscious. Her breathing was already disordered and uncontrollable, and the sobs in her throat were forcibly suppressed.
There was a rhythmic stroking on her back, as if trying to relieve her pain.
When they arrived near Wuju Lane, Wen Zhuojin asked the driver to stop, and she and Zirong walked to the small courtyard in Wuju Lane.
Here, Wen Zhuojin's other maid Jin Rui and several servants were watching. When Zi Rong knocked on the door, Jin Rui came out to check on the person at the door. When she saw the person at the door, she didn't even bother to be surprised and quickly let the person in.
"Miss, what's wrong? What happened?" After closing the door, Jin Rui asked anxiously.
"Jinrui, ask someone to boil some water and then go find Female Doctor Zheng. Zirong, it's getting late and there's a curfew. Ask a maid to accompany you back to the Marquis' Mansion first and tell Madam Jiang that I'm staying in Wuju Lane so she doesn't worry." Wen Zhuojin gave the order quickly.
"Zirong, don't tell anyone else about this." Wen Zhuojin reminded Zirong after thinking of something.
Zirong had kept the fact that she had climbed over the wall and rode a horse a secret very strictly, and she only told it because she asked her to.
Today, not only did she go to the Xiaoxiang Pavilion, she also redeemed someone. It was even more ridiculous than before.
If Nanny Jiang or her uncle knew about this, I wonder how they would scold her.
"Miss, I know it and I will never say anything nonsense." Zirong quickly agreed.
After giving the instructions, Wen Zhuojin quickly walked towards her house in this yard.
Jin Rui was older and more composed than the other maids. She carried a lantern into Wen Zhuojin's room, lit the candles, and brought a charcoal basin before going out to arrange things.
Wen Zhuojin doesn't come here often, so the heating here is not turned on and it's a bit chilly.
Wen Zhuojin put the person in her arms on the bed, turned around and pulled the thick quilt over her.
As the quilt was put on her, Yan Qinglan groaned. The weight of the quilt pressed on the injured area, causing her to curl up in pain.
Some injuries will hurt if you stretch or pull them slightly, and it will hurt again if you curl up. Tears will overflow from your tightly closed eyes, and in just a moment, the bottom of your eyes will be full of tear marks.
Wen Zhuojin's heart tightened and she quickly pulled the quilt down.
This quilt is made of cotton, it is very thick and a bit heavy.
Wen Zhuojin first moved the charcoal brazier closer. Thinking of the injuries on Yan Qinglan's body, Wen Zhuojin looked around and found a medicine box.
Because her research on the art of incense involves incense and medicine, Wen Zhuojin has read a lot of medical books and has some knowledge of medicine.
In addition, she had been injured several times before the New Year and had some medicine. Before the female doctor came, she could still treat simple skin injuries.
From Wen Zhuojin's perspective, the person in front of her was seriously injured, but not dying as Luan Niang said. There might be something else going on, so she had to wait for the doctor to come and take a closer look.
She can deal with the external injuries first.
Wen Zhuojin put the medicine box aside, leaned over to untie Yan Qinglan's cloak, and at the same time allowed Yan Qinglan's bound hands to move.
Wen Zhuojin wanted to check and see which injury to treat first, but just as she pulled Yan Qinglan's clothes, she saw the person who had just been crying in pain stretched out her thin hand, holding the broken hairpin and pressing it against her chest. Because of her lack of strength, she could not cause any harm.
The woman's eyes, which had been tightly closed just now, opened, revealing a pair of moist eyes filled with mist. She looked obviously weak and pitiful, yet also like a hedgehog, making it difficult to approach.
Wen Zhuojin thought that Yan Qinglan's pain just now was unconscious and curling up was instinctive.
In fact, Yan Qinglan remained sober.
When Wen Zhuojin untied her cloak, touched Yan Qinglan, and pulled her tattered clothes, Yan Qinglan's forbearance came to an end.
She remembered what Luanniang said.
The man who redeemed her, even if she was not from that side, was a lustful person.
Is it that urgent?
"If you move again, I'll kill you!" Yan Qinglan said, her voice a little weak. Even with a very fierce emotion, it sounded like a cat's soft voice bluffing threat.
Wen Zhuojin was slightly stunned. It turned out that her voice was like this, soft and sticky.
"I want to apply medicine on you. Does the wound hurt?" Wen Zhuojin said softly, reaching out to hold Yan Qinglan's hand holding the broken hairpin.