Chapter 56 Heart-to-Heart Talk

  The floor of the official residence was littered with fragments of broken tables, which could prove that a fierce fight had just taken place here. Apart from this, everything else remained unchanged.

  Min Anjue noticed that Li Peinan in front of him was silent, and he quickly withdrew his hand, taking a big step back, as if his arm had been scalded by a hot iron. As a subordinate, he didn't have the qualifications to question why the young master would suddenly fly into a rage over nothing, but judging from the situation at the time, it seemed that the two of them exchanged one sentence and then started fighting, with the content of their argument seemingly related to his injury.

  Min An suddenly came to his senses and thought that it was his injured left arm that had caused Fei Yi to be slapped by the young master, and Fei Yi dodged that slap. His face turned dark, then he jumped up and left without taking a breath.

  Doesn't he feel like he's lost face?

  Min was so anxious that he couldn't help himself, and picked up the medicinal splint wrapped in a cloth strip from the ground. He sat on the kang, took out a strap to tie it around his own arm. His mind was racing with worry, and he even knocked his arm against the edge of the kang twice, gritting his teeth to endure the pain, holding his breath. His reckless action attracted Li Peinan to rush over and press down on his shoulder, coldly scolding: "What are you doing?"

  Min An raised his head, the corners of his eyes already red. He held back tears and said, "I'm sorry, it hurts a bit less." Li Peinan looked at his stubborn face and couldn't help but let go, saying in a low voice, "It's not your fault, don't apologize. Next time, I'll give in a bit more."

  Min An definitely didn't dare to expect that the young master would promise to do something for him. Without saying a word, he lowered his head and bit down on one side of the bandage with his mouth, laboriously wrapping it around his arm in an awkward manner. Li Peinan walked over after calming down his turbulent thoughts and said: "I'll do it." But Min An suddenly dodged to the side, placing his left arm on the kang, and responded: "No need, Young Master should go take a look at Second Young Master instead, I'm afraid he's injured."

  Li Peinan said coldly, "He's fine, it's me who got hurt." After speaking, he controlled his breathing, circulated his energy, and a bead of sweat appeared on his forehead, his face also paled slightly.

  Min An bound his left arm, then looked up at Li Peinan's face. Facing the usually unpredictable young master, he didn't dare to say anything comforting, so he silently moved over to the edge of the bed, making room for him.

  Li Peinan didn't sit down, but stood pale-faced in front of Min An and said: "In order to avoid you getting hurt, I really took a palm strike from Fei Yi, my arm is numb, can you take a look?"

  Min An, remembering his master's teachings that one should not easily reveal their skin to others, would similarly consider this for Li Peinan. He stood up and bowed to Li Peinan, saying: "I'll go call Brother Lie over."

  Li Peinan blocked Min'an in front of him and wouldn't let him out the door. Min'an shifted to the left, and he also went to the left. Min'an was stunned, then lowered his head and walked to the right. He took another step sideways and bumped Min'an into his arms.

  Min An raised his head and said: "What does the young master want to do after all?"

  Li Peinan said briefly: "Come."

  Min An always couldn't outdo the young master, but his responses often exceeded expectations. He pulled out a handkerchief to cover his eyes, felt around and stretched out his hand, pinched Li Peinan's right arm, then moved his palm to press on Li Peinan's shoulder, the motion of unblocking the meridians was extremely skilled.

  Li Peinan looked at Min An's serious face and couldn't help but pull down his mask. Min An, however, closed his eyes and pushed the blood stasis away.

  Li Peinan said: "Open your eyes and see more clearly."

  Min An replied: "Hard to focus."

  "Why?"

  "With your face in front of me, I'm extremely nervous and wouldn't even dare to reach out and touch you, that would be an extremely rude and impertinent act."

  "Weren't you just hugging my leg and refusing to let go?"

  "The young master laughed again, aren't those all just some old past events? Besides, I've already been punished for these past events, shouldn't that be considered as making amends?"

  Li Peinan recalled the punishment he had suffered before and immediately calmed down. He felt a sour regret in his heart, turned his head to look at Min'an's pale face, and Min'an was still seriously taking care of his arm without any complaining expression. He lifted the handkerchief up to cover Min'an's eyes, also covering half of Min'an's face, before slowly letting out a breath.

  "It's almost done." In the silence, Li Peinan spoke up and said, "You can go now."

  Min An hastily walked out of the gate, his footsteps slightly urgent, as if to shake off the restraints of the entire house. Li Peinan looked at him with an expression like he had just escaped a disaster, and didn't have the heart to respond to anything, leaving his father hanging in the flower hall.

  Li Jingzhuo sat in the flower hall to meet Zuo Qingquan, praising him for his youth and promise, and on the spot took out two night pearls the size of dragon eyes and handed them over, saying: "Through the martial arts selection competition in the palace, you can obtain the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guard, do a good job."

  Zuo Qingyuan took the reward with both hands, performed a military salute to thank him, and retreated to stand beside his chair. When Min An heard the transmission, he walked in with his eyes downcast, knelt down, and greeted Li Jingzhuo.

  Li Jingzhuo didn't even glance at Min An, who was kowtowing on the ground. He sat steadily and calmly, raised his hand to take a sip of tea, before saying coldly: "From now on, you will follow Xiao Daren into the government office to work, learn more, and understand the difference between yourself and Xiao Daren."

  Min An bowed respectfully and said: "Yes, sir."

  Li Jingzhuo didn't say another word, nor did he ask Min An to get up. At this time, Li Peinan walked in. He didn't look at anyone and went straight to Min An's side, holding his collar with a drooping hand, saying lightly: "Get up and talk."

  Min An didn't dare to move, but Li Peinan exerted some force with his hand and lifted him up directly. He then turned around and walked out, as if nothing had happened. Min An stood in front of Li Jingzhuo with a somewhat frightened expression, hanging his head and not speaking. From outside the door came Li Peinan's voice: "Come out."

  Li Jingzhuo looked at Min An with a slightly cold gaze: "Your master doesn't care about his reputation, don't you know to advise him on some things?"

  Min An hastily replied: "I know I was wrong, Your Highness is right to scold me."

  Outside, Li Peinan drew his waist knife and slashed down half of the carved flower door. Li Jingzhuo's expression didn't change as he said, "If Master makes another mistake, you'll pay with your life." Li Peinan stood outside the door, his left hand striking the tiger mouth of his right hand holding the knife, steadily sending out a shining blade that flew directly into the flower hall. Zuo Qingquan rushed to position himself, trying to use his body to protect Li Jingzhuo, but unexpectedly, the direction the sharp knife was flying in was towards the other side of the chair. When Zuo Qingquan came to his senses, he couldn't help but change color. Xiang Zhifen, who was under the knife's attack, remained calm and still, allowing the cold air to brush past her face with a "whoosh" sound, cutting off the corner of her ear and sending down a string of blood pearls. The snow knife then lodged itself into the wall of the flower hall with a loud clang.

  Li Peinan said coldly: "Doesn't the king also have a favorite concubine? This is an example."

  Li Jingzhuo slapped the armrest and shouted: "More and more presumptuous!" Zuo Qingquan and Xiao Zhicong walked up to Li Jingzhuo together, both bowing: "Your Highness, please calm down."

  Li Peinan shouted again: "Come out!"

  Min An thought for a moment, then quickly walked out. If the king couldn't hold back and slapped him with his palm, no one would be able to save him. When Min An approached, Li Peinan instructed, "Get in my carriage to go back."

  Min An said: "Mr. Bi's body has not been buried yet, I want to keep a night vigil for him and do my best as his subordinate."

  Li Peinan's face turned stern: "Now you belong to me, and if you want to be obedient, it's also towards me. As for Bi Xi, I'll send someone else to guard her."

  Min An hesitated: "The rules of Huangshi County should be that family members and servants attend to the deceased on the night of the funeral... we've always done it this way..."

  Li Peinan said coldly: "If you say one more word, I'll also demolish Bi's ancestral hall."

  Min An walked forward with a sullen face, while Li Peinan fell back a step, deliberately keeping his distance. He listened to the guard's report: "The second young master has summoned the dark guards to search for a dentist named 'Xuan Xu'."

  Li Peinan naturally remembered the name Xuan Xu. Yu Mi had once mistaken him for Xuan Xu and asked him for snacks, thinking that someone who could get close to Yu Mi would also be recognized by Min An. At the time, he had asked Min An about it, but Min An just brushed it off, saying it was a young person by their master's side. Now, even Fei Yi, who never interfered in other people's business, was looking for Xuan Xu, showing that Xuan Xu was indeed a big deal.

  Li Peinan immediately ordered: "The second young master has found the wrong place, send a message back and dispatch a team to find Wu Ren." He walked into the front yard and saw Min An hesitating in front of the carriage, so he simply pinched Min An's neck with his hand and lifted him smoothly to the door. Min An was extremely embarrassed and deeply realized that he could not disobey the young master's intentions, otherwise he would not be able to get a good outcome, and it would also harm himself and lose some face. He voluntarily crawled into the carriage, and when Li Peinan asked him to sit on the brocade chair, he obediently sat down, then held onto the armrest and retreated into the corner of the carriage.

  Li Peinan sat beside him and looked at him: "You look like a prey that is about to be eaten by a beast, why bother?"

  Min An shifted slightly to the side, Li Peinan wanted to raise his hand to help him stabilize his left arm, but he turned away and didn't let him touch. Li Peinan thought for a moment, then slapped out with one palm, sat down beside his left hand, and grasped his left arm without letting him struggle.

  Min An completely dared not move. Li Peinan looked very satisfied, all the way holding his left arm with his hand, teasing him to speak. He, however, tightly closed his mouth and didn't utter a word, his whole mind focused on his left arm. Fortunately, Li Peinan did not torture him either, always steadily holding it for him, and when they encountered bumpy road sections, he would gently lift it up to alleviate his pain.

  As the horse carriage was about to arrive at the inn, Li Peinan pulled over Min An's right hand, drawing all of his attention, and only then asked: "No matter what I do, you always endure. Don't you ever think about why I'm treating you like this?"

  Min An's arm was still being held by Li Peinan, so he could only lean his body back and pull away from Li Peinan, saying: "Am I not the Rabbit God?"

  Li Peinan smiled: "You really believed it?"

  "You big shots only know how to bully us servants, either beating or scolding us. I've seen it all when I was a gatekeeper. You get an idea and tease us mercilessly, making us lose face. If we resist slightly, we'll get even harsher punishment. The officials in the yamen spread the word, forbidding other offices from taking us in. We're resigned to our fate, just hoping the new master will be somewhat decent, not treating us like playthings, and at least letting us hold our heads high as human beings and eat a decent meal."

  Min An finished speaking in one breath, and didn't dare to look at Li Peinan's face. Li Peinan released his arm, saying in a low voice: "Go get some rest first, come see me again tomorrow, I have something to say."

  Min An pushed open the car door and quickly walked towards the villa, rushing to his own hut. It wasn't until he hugged Yu Mi that he felt like he was still alive, and the heart that had jumped to his throat finally fell back down.

  He thought that being with the young master in a small place was really too tense, and he had actually spoken his mind, hoping that the young master would not punish him severely again.