"Creak!"
The wooden door emitted a slight grating sound.
As soon as a person-wide gap appeared in the door.
Chen Xuan slipped sideways through it.
Just as he closed the door and bolted it, turning around.
"Damn!"
A curse unintentionally slipped out.
He was nearly scared out of his wits.
In the main room,
it was pitch black, but the silver moonlight shone through the window into the small room.
In front of Chen Xuan, a faint silhouette could be seen.
"Eld... Elder Sister-in-law?"
"Where did you go this late?"
Su Wanqiu sat on a small stool, her voice was low, without any emotional fluctuation.
"Uh... couldn't sleep at night, so I went out for a stroll."
Actually, just now Chen Xuan had thought of saying he went out to pee, but didn't know when Su Wanqiu had found out, so he ended up with this lame excuse.
"A stroll?"
"Strolling in such cold weather?"
"Haha, Brother Xuan is really in a good mood, Elder Sister admires you."
"Hehe~~"
Chen Xuan knew she was mocking him, but he couldn't help it; he didn't want to tell Su Wanqiu, to avoid her worrying, so he could only smile along.
Suddenly,
Su Wanqiu lit the oil lamp on the table.
The dim light quickly dispelled the darkness in the main room.
At this moment,
she still had her head lowered, having just extinguished the match, and was about to raise her head.
"Not good!"
Chen Xuan exclaimed inwardly.
Indeed,
when Su Wanqiu looked up and saw him, her mouth opened instantly.
Imagining the next second would be a sharp scream,
Chen Xuan quickly covered her mouth, "Elder Sister-in-law, don't be afraid, it's nothing, don't make a sound, I'll let go."
After Su Wanqiu nodded,
he released his hand and stepped back.
At this moment,
Su Wanqiu looked terrified, even in the dim light, Chen Xuan could still see her face was deathly pale.
But,
the next second, Su Wanqiu stepped forward and started feeling all over his body.
Muttering,
"Are you alright? Is everything okay? What did you go and do?"
Seeing her so anxious, Chen Xuan felt a warmth in his heart.
In this life,
having such an Elder Sister-in-law was truly his blessing.
Even during panic, seeing the bloodstains on him, her first thought was to check his body, caring for him.
How could he not be moved?
Chen Xuan held her hands that were checking all over him, soothing, "Elder Sister-in-law, I'm fine, this blood belongs to someone else, rest assured! Look at me, I'm perfectly okay!"
As he spoke,
he made a few motions for demonstration.
Seeing he really was unhurt, Su Wanqiu also patted her chest, relieved, thanking the Chen Family's ancestors for their protection.
In a chaotic flurry.
After finishing,
she glared at him, coldly saying, "Come to my room and explain clearly!"
Then she turned and headed towards the inner room.
"Sigh!"
Chen Xuan sighed.
Silently cursed himself for being stupid.
Forgot about the bloodstains on his clothes.
Now it's out, even if he didn't want to explain, he'd have to.
He slowly walked toward Su Wanqiu's room.
At this moment,
she was sitting on the bed silently, just staring at him.
And Chen Xuan also kept quiet, his gaze unfocused, looking here and there.
Seeing this,
Su Wanqiu softly spoke, "Speak, what exactly did you go off to do? If you don't clarify, I'll go call Yun'er!"
"No, no, Elder Sister-in-law, please don't."
Chen Xuan hurriedly waved his hand.
Su Yun was too young, if she found out, she would be terrified.
So he could only recount the events truthfully.
After speaking,
he just stood there, waiting to be scolded.
"You..."
Su Wanqiu pointed a finger at him, opened her mouth, but still didn't scold him.
After a long while,
she sighed, stood beside him, and said irritably, "In the future, tell me beforehand about such things. If something were to happen to you, what would you have Yun'er do? Just like me? Become a widow!"
"Alright, alright, I promise to tell Elder Sister-in-law such things in the future!"
Chen Xuan quickly nodded affirmatively.
"Take off your clothes!"
"Ah!"
Chen Xuan looked bewildered.
"Your clothes are so stained with blood, how can you go out like this? Take them off; I'll cut out the bloodstained parts and sew on new fabric."
Su Wanqiu gave him a stern look.
"Oh! Alright, thank you, Elder Sister-in-law."
He also felt a bit ashamed.
Just now, some improper images had surfaced in his mind, really...
Damn it!
After Chen Xuan took off his outer cotton coat, he returned to the room.
At this moment,
he gently lifted a corner of the quilt and slipped inside.
Just as he was about to hug Su Yun,
unexpectedly, the little girl suddenly asked, "Where did you go?"
Startled Chen Xuan was taken aback,
considering if he could say he went to pee this time,
but,
the next moment, soft snores from Su Yun filled the room.
"Phew~~~"
Chen Xuan felt relieved.
It was just sleep-talking.
"You little girl, just wait until Brother learns that art of bedroom prowess and see how you'll be tormented."
He threatened viciously, then hugged the little girl.
Before long,
the room was filled with their alternating snores.
....
In Su Wanqiu's room.
By the dim light of the oil lamp.
She carefully cut away the bloodstained parts of Chen Xuan's cotton coat with scissors.
Finally, she carefully checked it again,
confirmed there were no issues.
Then sewed it back with new fabric.
After finishing all this, she burned all the blood-stained scraps.
After all this was done, the weight in her heart finally eased.
As she lay back in bed, she again prayed to the Chen Family's ancestors for protection from any trouble, for Chen Xuan's safety.
.....
"Something's wrong, there's trouble, hurry up everyone."
Early in the morning,
a shout came from outside.
Last night, already sleeping late, Chen Xuan heard the noise, but just couldn't get up, not even opening his eyes.
It felt like he was dreaming.
However,
next to him, Su Yun was awakened by the noise.
She shook Chen Xuan, "Brother Xuan, Brother Xuan, wake up, something seems to have happened outside."
"It's nothing, it's nothing, what could happen."
At this time,
Chen Xuan was still muddleheaded.
But the next moment,
he suddenly opened his eyes wide.
"What's wrong, Brother Xuan?"
Su Yun asked, seeing him acting strangely.
"Nothing, something seems to have happened; I'll go check, you stay home, don't go anywhere."
Then he quickly got out of bed,
Su Yun also got up to help him dress, but when it came to his outer cotton coat, she couldn't find it anywhere.
Curiously she asked, "Hey, where's your cotton coat? It was right here last night, wasn't it?"
"Oh, I got up last night and went to the outhouse; it should be outside. You get back in bed, it's so cold. I'll go look for it."
Saying this, he walked out quickly.
If this little girl went out to look, and couldn't find it outside, she'd probably head to Su Wanqiu's room, and if she found it there, it would be hard to explain.