Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved

Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Did the Master Suffer at the Hands of Jun Haoze?

Murong Jiu stood rooted to the spot, feeling somewhat at a loss.

She had never tended to a man bathing before, and in her past life, Jun Haoze had never touched her. She only realized later that he must have found her ugly.

She began to have second thoughts. Since Jun Yuyan already had a woman he loved, it didn’t seem right for her to watch him bathe. Perhaps she should just wait for another opportunity to examine his leg.

Just as Murong Jiu was about to move away, Jun Yuyan, as if no one else was present, started to take off his outer robe, leaving just his white undergarment. Then he sat down to remove his shoes and socks.

As he untied his footwraps, a twisted dark scar on his calf was revealed, extending upwards. She was startled and quickly stepped forward, asking anxiously,

“Prince, the bone in your leg, is it actually split vertically?”

...

Jun Yuyan, looking at her eager expression, felt a touch of warmth in his heart. He nodded,

“I was surrounded by enemies and fell off a cliff, barely scraping by with my life, but my leg hit a rock. The fracture has healed now, but the reason my leg can’t fully recover is that several tendons were severed.”

“Didn’t you reset them in time?”

If reset in time, they could have regrown.

“It was enemy territory. Someone betrayed my location and I was ambushed. By the time the guards found me, it had been two days.”

Murong Jiu could barely imagine how he managed to survive those two days just by listening to him. He spoke lightly of it, but being in enemy territory, falling off a cliff, and then having to hide with serious injuries was an incredibly difficult ordeal.

She remembered her dream, where she saw Jun Yuyan and Jun Haoze fighting a desperate battle against ambushing experts, with Jun Yuyan ultimately falling, pierced by numerous arrows, meeting his demise at the cliffs of Minghua Mountain.

Blood poured from beneath him, staining the withered grass red.

Remembering this scene, her face paled further.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

Jun Yuyan thought her pale face was due to seeing his ghastly scars and let his trouser leg fall back down.

“No, I’m not frightened.”

Murong Jiu squatted down in front of his leg and looked up at him, “Prince, may I press on your leg?”

This time, Jun Yuyan did not refuse. He said, “I hope it doesn’t scare you.”

“It won’t.”

Murong Jiu placed her hand on his calf, which, even after being injured for several years, still had very strong, muscular build.

The leg bone had healed as he said.

This indicated that the person who set his bones originally was highly skilled in medicine. Just by looking at the twisted scars on his leg that resembled centipedes, Murong Jiu could guess how severely the bones had been broken. Such an injury would have required at least a six-month bedrest.

She pressed on the tendons in his leg and indeed, several had atrophied. Her eyebrows knitted tightly, and she felt challenged by the problem.

If only her master were here, perhaps he would have a solution.

Unexpectedly, Jun Yuyan ended up comforting her instead, “I have already accepted myself as I am. Even if it can’t be cured, you shouldn’t feel guilty.”

She pursed her lips, saying, “My master is a master of medicine. He would definitely have a way.”

Upon mentioning her master, Jun Yuyan’s expression showed an odd shade.

“You are carrying a child; don’t squat down. Stand up first. I also have something else to tell you today.”

“What, what is it?”

Seeing his grave expression, Murong Jiu suddenly had a bad premonition.

“Your master and several of my men, five in total, have suddenly lost contact today. We usually receive messages daily via carrier pigeon from the mountains, but today, even the pigeons have gone missing.”

“How could that happen? Could it be because of the continuous rains that they’ve encountered danger?”

Murong Jiu was full of anxiousness, her heartbeat thundering like the roar of the sky.

She remembered her past life, having never seen her master till the end, suspecting it had something to do with his journey into the deep mountains. But in this life, Jun Yuyan had sent men to protect him, so why couldn’t this calamity be evaded?

“Don’t panic just yet.”

Jun Yuyan suddenly grasped her restless hand and said,

“Listen to me till the end, Ah Jiu. Your master isn’t necessarily in danger. My men, with their strong martial arts, will escort him back safely. I’m telling you this because the Second Prince has set his eyes on your master. My men outside the mountain entered as soon as they lost contact and encountered a group of people.”

Murong Jiu was stunned, then suddenly realized.

It was Jun Haoze, it had to be Jun Haoze!

Could it be that in her past life, her master had fallen victim to Jun Haoze’s nefarious deeds?

She had been wrong all along; her master didn’t die from an accident in the wilderness but because Jun Haoze coveted her master’s medical skills and wanted to control him.

But with her master’s temperament, preferring integrity even to destruction, he would never collaborate with Jun Haoze.

And she had been kept in the dark till her death, even using her medicine to help him win people’s hearts!

Jun Haoze!

He deserved to die! @@novelbin@@

Jun Yuyan felt her hand tremble slightly from gripping too hard, her eyes full of hatred.

He could have waited until her master was rescued before telling her this, but he admitted he had ulterior motives; he wanted Murong Jiu to understand the Second Prince’s true nature more profoundly, and he indeed succeeded.

But seeing her so enraged, Jun Yuyan regretted it.

“Ah Jiu, don’t let your anger harm your health. I’ve already sent more people, the Second Prince’s group has been annihilated, your master won’t be in danger. A few days ago, he had found the herbs he was looking for. After descending the mountain, he will return to the capital and won’t stay in Lanan any longer. You and your master will be able to reunite soon.”

“Really?”

Murong Jiu unconsciously clutched his hand: “My master will really be okay? Prince, don’t lie to me. My master, he’s my only family now!”

Her only family?

What about the Marquis Mansion…

Jun Yuyan knew that what Murong Jiu had blurted out was her genuine sentiment; she did not regard the Marquis Mansion as her family, which indicated how poorly they had treated her over the years.

“I’m not lying to you, your master will be fine. I will ensure he comes to you unharmed,” he said with a serious gaze.

Murong Jiu, looking into his eyes, found his gaze seemingly held a magical power to calm hearts, slowly soothing her frantic worries.

Only then did she notice that her hand was tightly clasped with Jun Yuyan’s, feeling the calluses on his fingertips and the warmth of his palm.

She quickly let go and stepped back two steps: “I apologize, Prince. I was just too anxious and forgot my manners.”

With a sudden emptiness in his palm, a part of Jun Yuyan’s heart felt vacant as Murong Jiu’s reaction seemed to exhibit a reluctance to entangle further with him.

Why was this so?

Did she not know she was the woman from that night, or did she choose not to acknowledge it?

Then why did she decide to keep the child in her womb?

Jun Yuyan had never guessed a woman’s heart; he couldn’t understand why Murong Jiu would help him but still want to keep a clear line between them.

“Prince, the bath is cooling. Please soak in before it gets cold. I’ll ask Eunuch Shi to add some hot water for you.”

No sooner had Murong Jiu withdrawn her hand than she hurriedly walked away, aware that Jun Yuyan disliked contact with others, especially women. And she was self-aware, having become as unsightly as she was, she couldn’t afford to be fanciful.