Zhang Rishan looked at Xie Nanyou. The only time he had ever seen her before was in the Buddha's study.
She had slipped quietly into the Zhang Residence in the middle of the night, lingered in the Buddha's study for a short while, and then left. After that, all correspondence between her and the Buddha had passed through his hands, but he had never expected that her appearance would remain unchanged, just like the members of the Zhang Clan.
Zhang Rishan took the jade ring from his pocket, placed it on the table, and pushed it forward. "Before the Buddha left, he instructed me that if I ever saw this jade ring again, I was to obey her commands." Just as he finished speaking and started to stand up, a hand from behind pressed him back down onto the sofa.
He turned his head to look at that youthful face and tried cautiously to rise again, but still could not get up. Turning back to look at Xie Nanyou's smiling face, he felt certain that the Buddha and this woman—who looked delicate and charming on the outside, but was cunning underneath—shared secrets he knew nothing about.
Seeing that Zhang Rishan no longer tried to get up, Xiao Jiu stepped forward to the table, picked up the jade ring, and handed it to Xie Nanyou. He stood behind her as she took it, gaining a rough sense of Zhang Rishan's martial prowess in the process.
Xie Nanyou looked at her older brother, whose face was full of astonishment yet who was holding back from asking questions, and smiled as she looked at Zhang Rishan. "Have you seen your Clan Leader today?"
Zhang Rishan watched as she put the jade ring on her finger and then took it off again. "I haven't been to see him today." He had already visited him the last time he was here.
By his Clan Leader's side, a man named Xiao Si kept watch. The Clan Leader was simply lying in bed, appearing to be fast asleep, but his condition looked very good—his breathing was steady and even, and he seemed to have suffered no harm at all.
Xie Nanyou stood up. "Then let's go take a look together." With that, she glanced at Xu Ansheng standing nearby, took the teacup from his hand, took a sip, and set it down. "Have the kitchen prepare some late-night snacks. We'll ask President Zhang to stay for a bite before he heads back." She then took the lead, walking out of the courtyard toward the front yard.
The Head of the Xie Family and Zhang Rishan got up and followed. Seeing Zhang Rishan, the Head of the Xie Family desperately wanted to ask about his younger sister's affairs, but still felt that now was not the time. He reached out and patted Zhang Rishan on the shoulder. "Adjutant, from now on, I leave the Xie Residence in your care." As a man who did not know whether he would live to see tomorrow, he would no longer concern himself with whatever they wanted to do.
Zhang Rishan glanced at Xie Nanyou walking ahead. He wanted to say that his care probably wouldn't even be needed, but he nodded anyway. He could sense that this Master Xie Jiu did not have much time left.
The three of them walked to the guest room. Pushing open the door, they saw a man lying shirtless near the bed, his body covered in silver needles, while nearby stood Xiao Si in pajamas, flipping through a book.Seeing someone come in, Xiao Si looked up, eagerly planning to claim credit from his young mistress, but the next second he remembered that his patient was still lying there completely naked.
With a quick bound, he darted in front of Xie Nanyou, spreading his arms and holding a book up to block her line of sight. "Young Miss, please wait outside for a moment." A scene like this was not suitable for his young mistress to see; what if it gave her nightmares?
Xie Nanyou raised an eyebrow. "I've already seen it." With that, she pushed the book aside, glanced at the man on the bed, and turned to look at Zhang Rishan. "Your Clan Leader is... not bad."
She then turned and walked out, not forgetting to mention business as she left. "Xiao Si, come find me in the dining room when you're done." Since she was the one who ordered him to be saved, she had to make sure Zhang Rishan knew they had put in a significant effort.
When it came time for him to repay the favor, he wouldn't dare brush her off. Perhaps she was getting older, but nowadays she just wanted to win people over with genuine sincerity.
Zhang Rishan's mouth twitched, and he glanced at Master Xie Jiu standing nearby, his eyes full of shock.
The Head of the Xie Family was also speechless at the moment. Although Xie Nanyou's subordinates were all men, he had never noticed anyone being particularly close to her, let alone expected her to so calmly appraise the naked man before her.
Could it be that his Yaoyao didn't like men? Should he find a couple of young women for her while he was still alive?
Watching the three of them leave, Xiao Si met the gaze of Xiao Jiu standing at the door and gave a helpless expression.
Under Xiao Jiu's glare, Xiao Si lowered his head, walked over to close the door, and returned to the bedside to look at the stark-naked person. He certainly hadn't expected his young mistress to show up at this exact time.
Besides, this was always how he performed acupuncture on this man. He glanced up at the time, pulled the needles out one by one and tossed them into the nearby tray, casually threw the blanket over the man, and left the room carrying the tray. He needed to figure out how to explain this to his young mistress as soon as possible.
In the dining room, several people sat around the table. Xie Nanyou's expression remained unchanged, while Zhang Rishan and the Head of the Xie Family both wore indescribable expressions.
Xie Nanyou had just eaten a sweet dumpling when she noticed neither of them was touching their chopsticks. "What? Not used to eating sweets at night?" She was about to tell Xu Ansheng to go prepare something else.
Zhang Rishan stopped Xu Ansheng from leaving. "No need, I'm just not hungry yet. This is fine." With that, he picked up a spoon, scooped up a sweet dumpling, and put it in his mouth.
What could he say? He hadn't yet recovered from the shock of their Clan Leader's "loss of chastity."