Liu Ruoxi exhaled, stopping her racing thoughts, and turned to look at the clothes on the bed. Picking up the underwear, she leaned over. Her eyes only dared to look at Ye Xuan’s legs from the thighs down; any higher, and she didn’t dare to look! Filled with shame and anger, she finally managed to wrestle him into his underwear and clothes.
Before Ye Xuan could speak, she bundled his dirty underwear in his discarded clothes on the floor and hurriedly ran out. She was afraid that if she stayed any longer, he would make even more outrageous demands.
When she returned, she had regained her composure and held a basin of water. After washing Ye Xuan’s face, she carried the water out.
"Oh, right. You know Hua, right? She lives here too. Go and wash her clothes as well," Ye Xuan said.
"That masked woman? I have to wash her clothes too?"
"What, do you have a problem with that? If you keep up this attitude, I’ll have you wash the clothes for the entire Ye Family."
"Don’t! I understand."
Liu Ruoxi hastily agreed, genuinely terrified of Ye Xuan. The tasks he ordered her to do weren’t actually difficult—they were trivial, mundane chores. However, it was exactly these mundane chores that dealt the heaviest blow to her pride. After she left, she didn’t come back inside.
Worried that she might have run away, Ye Xuan opened his door and peeked out.
Out in the courtyard, his mother and sister were already awake. They originally lived in the inner courtyard, while the main courtyard served as Ye Xuan’s residence and study. However, since Gongsun Yanran needed to keep an eye on Liu Ruoxi for him, she had also moved into the main courtyard.
At this moment, Liu Ruoxi was huddled in a corner, washing clothes. Aside from Ye Xuan’s garments, there were indeed women’s clothes mixed in. Hua stood quietly a short distance away, watching the scene unfold.
Seeming to sense his presence, Hua turned to look at Ye Xuan and gestured in sign language, "Young Master, you actually made her wash my clothes. But she’s your future wife. How can I let her do my laundry? Why don’t I just do it myself?"
Ye Xuan replied calmly, "There’s no need to feel embarrassed. Your position in my heart is far higher than hers."
"Young Master..."
Hua was deeply moved. The way she looked at Ye Xuan was extraordinary; no other woman would ever look at him like that.
Raising her hands again, she signed, "Young Master, but I am just a servant."
Ye Xuan smiled, his voice gentle. "I have never treated you as a servant."
He had always let Hua serve him because he knew that she would only feel at ease if she could take care of him and stay by his side. Just as Meng Dieyi had once said, if Ye Xuan truly wanted a servant, Hua wouldn’t even qualify. He kept her around and gave her tasks to do so that she could find the will to live through her gratitude. It was just that Ye Xuan had never explicitly stated this intention.
"Young Master..."
Beneath her mask, Hua smiled—a bright, genuinely happy smile. How could she not understand Ye Xuan’s true intentions? This was exactly why she had suddenly gone berserk and fought against Meng Dieyi and Shen Qingfeng when she heard news of his death! The only person she cared about in this world, the only one who cared about her feelings, had been killed by that despicable pair. How could she possibly endure that!
She had silently stayed by his side as his maidservant for ten years, keeping a perfectly low profile. Even when mocked by her fellow sect members, she never lost her temper, treating everyone else as if they were thin air. But on that day, Hua had gone on a rampage.
In truth, she still hadn’t told Ye Xuan the full story. Her meridians hadn’t been shattered by Meng Dieyi. Meng Dieyi was never a match for her; in fact, Hua had almost killed the woman. Even Shen Qingfeng had nearly died by her hands. Hua had only struck out and fought once during her time in the Profound Cloud Sect, but that single battle from the unassuming maidservant had shocked everyone. That fight made all the so-called genius Demons of the Profound Cloud Sect feel utterly inadequate.
Furthermore, Hua had severed her own meridians because she utilized her family’s Forbidden Technique. Her crucial Hidden Veins were almost entirely snapped. Once the Hidden Veins were broken, they could only be restored by a Vessel Continuation Pill and certain special Treasures of Heaven and Earth. However, there were far too few people in this world capable of brewing a Vessel Continuation Pill.
Hua had thought her life would be like this forever, but she never expected that her Young Master actually knew Alchemy. Most importantly, he even possessed the Elixir Recipe for the Vessel Continuation Pill!
Good heavens, it was a Vessel Continuation Pill. Based on the complexity of its refinement, it was merely considered a level-five Elixir, yet its rarity and value were on par with level-nine Elixirs, and perhaps even Holy Medicines. For Cultivators, reconnecting severed meridians was of paramount importance.
Even a sect like the Profound Cloud Sect didn’t have a single Vessel Continuation Pill. Some Alchemy Masters had tried to rely on their own experience to reverse-engineer its Elixir Recipe, but they had all failed. This was because they could never imagine that the ingredients required for the Vessel Continuation Pill were actually incredibly common—anyone with a bit of influence could easily find them. Yet, when these common ingredients were combined in specific proportions, they produced a profound chemical reaction capable of repairing Hidden Veins. It was the absolute epitome of profound simplicity.
"By the way, Hua, I have some Super Spirit Pills here, though they’re only of high-grade quality. If you don’t mind, take them," Ye Xuan spoke up again, holding a small pouch.
The pouch was filled with high-grade Super Spirit Pills. He had no intention of consuming Elixirs of this grade himself, but they were perfectly fine for Hua to use.
Hua was quite surprised and immediately waved her hands in refusal. "Young Master, I can’t take them. Don’t you need such precious resources for yourself? Or perhaps you should save them for Ling’Er and the rest of your family."
"You don’t want them?" Ye Xuan frowned slightly, clearly not expecting her to decline. High-grade was certainly inferior to peak-grade, but peak-grade Elixirs definitely weren’t something just anyone could refine!
"Mhm, mhm," Hua nodded continuously.
Ye Xuan’s frown deepened. Hua had told him her cultivation base was at the sixth level of the Super Spirit Realm. These Super Spirit Pills should have been of great help to her. Currently, within the Ye Family, only Hua was qualified to use them.
Knitting his brows, he insisted, "Don’t feel embarrassed! I told you to take them, so take them."
Disregarding any protests, he shoved the Elixirs into her hands. Holding the Elixirs, Hua’s eyes flickered with hesitation. For a moment, she really wanted to tell Ye Xuan the truth about her actual cultivation base... but after thinking it over, she decided to remain silent.
"Thank you, Young Master."
Nearby, Liu Ruoxi watched the entire exchange, burning with fury. She fumed, "You bastard, Ye Xuan, I will definitely kill you! I will!"
Even though she didn’t understand sign language and couldn’t decipher what Hua was expressing, Ye Xuan’s spoken replies gave her a rough idea of their conversation. In particular, Ye Xuan’s comment—"Your position in my heart is far higher than hers"—stood out glaringly. That "hers" definitely referred to her, Liu Ruoxi!
Dammit. To think that a noble aristocratic lady like herself had lost to a lowly servant. Could this woman named Hua be Ye Xuan’s paramour? Hua did have an excellent figure, one so perfect it made Liu Ruoxi feel somewhat inadequate. Yet, she knew better than anyone that this Hua was an absolute eyesore beneath that mask. For such an ugly woman to hold a higher place in Ye Xuan’s heart than her...
No words could be a greater insult! In her mind, she murdered Ye Xuan ten thousand more times.