My Husband Became the Most Powerful Minister - Chapter 16

Helan Ci couldn’t remember how she had extended her other hand.

Lu Wuyou held her wrist through her sleeve, deftly lifting her off the blood-stained bed—she didn’t know how he did it, but Helan Ci felt as if she were a cloud, already landing on the clean floor.

As her expression turned vacant, Lu Wuyou leaned over and checked Li Ting’s pulse on the side of his neck with two fingers.

Li Ting’s head hung limply over the edge of the bed, blood-soaked, looking half-dead.

“He’s not dead, still breathing, just unconscious.”

Hearing him say this, Helan Ci’s mind started to clear up. She moved her lips and whispered, “…Aren’t you going to ask what happened?”

Lu Wuyou didn’t look up and said, “I wouldn’t be so clueless.” His hand moved to Li Ting’s wrist, as if checking how much life was left in him. “What do you plan to do next?”

“…What to do?” Helan Ci repeated softly.

“Well, I mean…” Lu Wuyou’s tone was flat, “Are you going to silence him?”

“…”

Helan Ci couldn’t help but look at the person who spoke those words so calmly.

Lu Wuyou’s eyes slightly curved, and he smiled, “Just kidding. It wouldn’t be appropriate to cause a death. It’s better if he doesn’t die.” Saying this, he quickly pressed a few points on Li Ting’s shoulder and neck, took out a pill, fed it to him, and finally sprinkled some powder on his wounds.

The bleeding wounds on Li Ting’s body were quickly stopped.

Helan Ci silently watched Lu Wuyou’s continuous actions, her previously racing heart gradually calmed down, though her hands still trembled slightly.

She tried hard to make her voice sound calm again: “Thank you, you…”

She wanted to ask if he would be implicated, as this was an extremely dangerous and troublesome matter. Even if there was a slight chance of exposure, Lu Wuyou here at this moment would be directly treated as her accomplice.

—She could even imagine that if Li Ting died, the Duke Cao family would definitely retaliate, concocting a story that she and her accomplice conspired to lure Li Ting here and then killed him.

After all, the person who sent the message earlier already knew that Helan Ci would come to see Li Ting. Since something happened to Li Ting, she couldn’t possibly be uninvolved.

“Don’t mention it. Even if it weren’t you, I would have done the same for anyone else. I just happened to be passing by, and besides…”

Lu Wuyou leaned Li Ting’s body against the wall and onto the ground, seemingly studying the wound on his head.

Helan Ci asked, “Besides what?”

Lu Wuyou turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow slightly, “Why don’t you find a mirror to look at yourself?”

There happened to be a mirror on the rounded corner cabinet against the wall. Helan Ci hesitated, then looked into the mirror. The face she was used to seeing was reflected back at her—beautiful, of course, but at this moment, it was splattered with spots of blood, her hair was disheveled, her face was as pale as paper, and her pupils were trembling, as if she were still in shock. She looked even more haggard and pitiful than when she had pretended to be in front of the Second Prince.

Lu Wuyou said softly, “Just now, I thought you were about to break down and cry. I thought you were scared out of your wits.”

Helan Ci retorted, “…I wasn’t about to collapse and cry!”

Lu Wuyou smiled and said, “How about… you wipe the blood off your face first?”

He was right.

Otherwise, just going out like this would probably attract the guards.

Helan Ci took a handkerchief from her sleeve, dipped it in tea water, and silently wiped the blood off her face. She then tidied her long hair. Naturally, the blood-stained clothes were no longer wearable. After thinking for a moment, she intended to take off her outer garment, but because the hand that smashed the bottle couldn’t exert any strength, her movements appeared both laborious and stiff.

Lu Wuyou also noticed something was wrong. He paused for a moment and said, “What happened to your arm?”

She exerted a bit of force, and her arm throbbed with excruciating pain: “……I overexerted it.”

“Can you still take it off?”

“Uh…” Helan Ci said with some difficulty, “I’ll give it a try.”

“Forget it.” Lu Wuyou stepped forward, flicked his finger, and a knife appeared in his palm. He whispered to her, “Stand still, it won’t hurt you.”

Helan Ci stiffened, staring at the razor-sharp blade: “Are you sure?”

Lu Wuyou smiled: “At worst, it’ll just leave a scar.”

Helan Ci: “……?”

“Anyway, it’s not on your face.” He raised the knife, his tone laced with a hint of joking, “It can’t ruin your stunning beauty.”

“……”

The blade had already moved up along the sleeve. In the end, Helan Ci chose to trust him, biting her lip and remaining still as instructed. Lu Wuyou lowered his gaze, his movements gentle, not touching her at all. The blade sliced through the fabric, deftly circling her shoulder, and the sleeve that had taken so long to remove fell to the ground effortlessly. Not a scratch was left on her skin or even her undergarments.

Helan Ci tore off the sleeve, quickly rolled up her outer garment, and said helplessly, “Can’t you just explain in a few words?”

Lu Wuyou finished and sheathed the knife without looking at her, saying skillfully, “Couldn’t help it.”

Helan Ci asked, “……? What’s wrong with you?”

“Mainly… a habit.” He didn’t seem inclined to explain further, changing the subject, “Is your arm sore, dislocated, or broken?”

Helan Ci felt her arm and replied, “Sore.”

Lu Wuyou took out a bottle of ointment from his pocket and placed it on the table, saying, “Apply this. If it’s not serious, it should be fine in about half an hour.” As he spoke, he kicked a charcoal basin with his boot, pulled down the blood-stained bedding from the bed, carefully wiped away the remaining bloodstains, cleared away the broken porcelain, and finally took a fire starter as if by magic. He said to Helan Ci, “Throw your outer garment in here, we’ll burn it together.”

How much stuff does he have hidden on him?

No… why is he so experienced?

Helan Ci thought, already tossing her outer garment into the charcoal basin.

The fabric in the basin quickly caught fire, and Lu Wuyou skillfully used the tongs to turn and burn it rapidly.

The flickering flames illuminated his expressionless face, reminding her of the time in Qingzhou when Lu Wuyou burned a girl’s handkerchief, showing the same cold and ruthless demeanor.

She looked up, and the young man in the sky-blue official robe happened to glance over.

The fear in the girl’s eyes had vanished, and in the flickering firelight, her pupils were as dark as ink, captivating and enchanting.

The two exchanged silent glances, facing the charcoal basin to eliminate evidence—if it weren’t for Li Ting still having a breath left, it might have looked even more like a covering up a murder scene.

The scene was indeed a bit awkward. Helan Ci turned around, using the already dirty handkerchief to continue wiping around the bed, checking for any missed bloodstains and shards of porcelain, while also cleaning and retrieving the iron hairpin that had saved her life.

After wiping it clean, she suddenly remembered something.

“Uh…”

Little did she know, at the same time, Lu Wuyou also spoke up, “Hmm…”

Helan Ci asked, “What do you want to say?”

Lu Wuyou shrugged indifferently, “You go first.”

“What should we do about Li Ting later…” Helan Ci pondered, “If he gets discovered, sooner or later…”

Lu Wuyou curled his lips, his tone very relaxed, “Then don’t worry. Since I’ve helped, I’ll help through to the end. You just go back later, and I’ll handle Li Ting.”

If it were before, Helan Ci might have doubted, but seeing his calm demeanor and experienced handling of the situation, she inexplicably felt a strange trust in him.

But she didn’t know why Lu Wuyou bothered being so thorough.

This matter was indeed laborious and thankless, and the risk was extremely high.

Strange things often have strange reasons. The experience of being the head of the family made Helan Ci firmly believe that there were no random incidents in this world. Just as she was about to speak, Lu Wuyou seemed to know what she wanted to ask and suddenly said, “I have a younger sister. Because she was beautiful and innocent, she often encountered unscrupulous people trying to abduct her when she went out as a child. So… just consider it as me being unable to tolerate such filthy deeds.”

Although Lu Wuyou’s heart was dark, his words were always elegant, rarely using such crude language, which showed his true disgust.

And… he actually had a younger sister.

During her three years in Qingzhou, Helan Ci had never heard anyone mention his family. She only knew that Lu Wuyou lived and studied at his great-uncle’s house to study and almost thought he was an orphan.

Lu Wuyou slowly lifted his eyelids, his peach blossom eyes raised, shimmering like they were flirting. However, the words that came out were completely opposite. His tone was rarely serious: “Miss Helan, when I said I wasn’t interested in you before, it wasn’t a ploy to lure you in—at least for now, I’m not interested in anyone, regardless of gender.”

Helan Ci had already put most of her worries to rest because of his explanation, but hearing him say this, she couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. However, after sighing, she still felt something was off and cautiously spoke up, “Uh, Lu Daren, then… do you have any hidden ailments?”

Is there some unusual preference?

Lu Wuyou: “…”

Helan Ci immediately realized that this issue was too sensitive: “Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend, I misspoke.”

Lu Wuyou chuckled, seemingly both angry and amused, his slightly pale eyes fixed on Helan Ci, giving her a slight chill: “Miss Helan, your state of mind has indeed recovered quickly. I admire it.”

Helan Ci coughed and said, “Sorry… no, the clothes were finished burning.”

Indeed, they were burned quite cleanly, turning into black ash along with the few pieces of charcoal that hadn’t been used.

Helan Ci stood up straight and was about to leave when she realized she was only wearing a plain dress, feeling somewhat embarrassed as she walked out.

Lu Wuyou set the charcoal basin aside and said, “What I was about to say is, I’ll get you an outer robe. It will be quick.”

And it was indeed quick.

In almost no time, Lu Wuyou brought out a robe: “It’s clean, I haven’t worn it. Remember to cover your face as much as possible. Just walk straight through the arch from the East Garden to the Inner Garden. Burn the clothes after wearing them.”

“What about throwing them away?”

Lu Wuyou raised an eyebrow: “No.”

Helan Ci had no choice but to nod: “Alright.”

She took a look at the robe, paused for a moment. The clothes were indeed clean and odorless, almost like new. The fabric was delicate and smooth, the satin even shimmering with silver threads, flowing like water under the light. It was clear that it was quite valuable. Helan Ci hesitated and said, “…How much is the robe? I’ll pay you.”

“It’s just a piece of clothing.”

What kind of family background does this person have?

The legitimate daughter of a second-rank court official murmured for a while but ultimately said nothing more.

Lu Wuyou was much taller than Helan Ci, and the outer garment was indeed too large for her. The advantage was that it was convenient for her to wear despite her arm inconvenience. The downside was that the hem almost dragged on the ground, making her look quite like a performer, but for now, she had to make do with it.

Helan Ci, dressed, made small talk: “Lu Daren, since you are skilled in martial arts, why not participate in the hunt?”

Lu Wuyou casually replied, “It’s weak, not much worth… By the way, Miss Helan, it’s best if you don’t casually mention my martial arts skills to others.”

“I’ll keep it a secret.” Helan Ci nodded seriously, preparing to leave, “Anyway, thank you for today.”

“Wait.”

Lu Wuyou stopped her, pointing to the medicine bottle on the table.

Helan Ci remembered the medicine Lu Wuyou had left for her, picked up the bottle, thought for a moment, and said earnestly, “If you ever get into trouble, I don’t mind being your shield.”

Hearing this, Lu Wuyou seemed to recall something and suddenly smiled, “Like how Miss Helan used me as a shield before?”

Helan Ci: “…”

Helan Ci awkwardly said, “Cough, that was all in the past.”

This brings up the old grudge between the two from when they were in Qingzhou.

This matter is indeed a bit…

It’s partly Lu Wuyou’s fault for being reckless, causing her delicate little cousin from her uncle’s family to come crying, throwing herself on the couch, sobbing that Lu Wuyou didn’t like her, crying so pitifully that it was as if the sun and moon had lost their light. Helan Ci couldn’t even comfort her, giving her a headache, and she concluded that Lu Wuyou was a heartless man who played with women’s feelings.

Coincidentally, at that time, she was also being harassed by those infatuated students at the academy, so she simply redirected the blame, spreading the rumor that she admired someone with high talents. At that time, Lu Wuyou ranked first in every assessment at Jiangliu Academy, whether it was classroom or field tests. When others asked, Helan Ci didn’t deny it, so everyone at the academy thought she had a crush on him—Lu Wuyu became the target of many young men, who would often come to challenge him. Of course, he didn’t back down and returned the favor.

Thus, the entire Jiangliu Academy knew that the two admired each other but didn’t know why they stubbornly refused to get together.

But in reality, they couldn’t stand each other. They hardly spoke, but every time they did, it was a battle of wits, with sarcastic remarks that could almost kill each other with annoyance.

Although later, Helan Ci vaguely sensed that things weren’t as her younger cousin had said, the rift was already deep. Both were too proud to back down, and they couldn’t reconcile until just before Helan Ci went to the capital that they managed to reconcile.

— Fortunately, not many people knew about this old matter from a few years ago.

“Uh… but are you really okay handling Li Ting by yourself?”

After all, this was the imperial palace, and although it was remote, one could never be sure when they might encounter patrolling guards.

Lu Wuyou relaxed his shoulders, picked up Li Ting with one hand, and glanced sideways, saying, “Then do you want to stay and help me clean up the mess?”

Helan Ci replied, “… No, that’s not necessary.”