Ding Shiqi was not seriously injured.
The next day when Tang Xiaobai saw him, the young boy was sitting at the edge of the bed in thin inner clothes, holding a bowl of medicinal decoction larger than his face, with steam still rising from the dark liquid inside.
Since he could sit up and drink the medicine himself, there shouldn't be a big problem, Tang Xiaobai felt relieved.
Upon seeing her, Ding Shiqi's expression changed, and he hurriedly placed the medicine bowl aside, not caring that the shaking spilled some liquid, staining his sleeve, he hastily pulled up the quilt to cover himself: "S-Second Miss, you, you, you..."
"The Second Miss came to see you, what are you hiding from?" the maid scolded with raised eyebrows.
Tang Xiaobai also felt embarrassed, with him hiding like that, it made her feel like she was a rogue barging into a girl's boudoir.
"Thank you, thank you, Second Miss..." The young boy wrapped himself even more tightly.
The other party acted so chaste and untouchable that Tang Xiaobai felt embarrassed to step inside, so she could only gesture from her spot: "How is your injury?"
"N-no big issue..." he still stammered.
Tang Xiaobai sighed and turned around: "Alright, put on your clothes and then speak!"
Even though he was wearing long-sleeved and long-legged inner clothes, he acted as if he were naked with his nervousness, is that necessary?
Behind her, there were rustling sounds for a moment, then she heard Ding Shiqi clear his throat and call out "Second Miss", only then did Tang Xiaobai turn back around.
The boy was already dressed properly, standing on the ground, slim and upright, with a pale but handsome face, the plain ash-blue coarse cloth clothes couldn't hide his unique aura.
It was the kind of extraordinary, distinguished, and independent aura that belonged to special individuals.
No wonder he's the heroine's brother!
Ever since confirming her identity as a minor character, Tang Xiaobai's first task was to dig up the heroine's biological brother from her house.
The heroine's brother was named Qin Xiao, lost with his family in childhood, fell into becoming a slave at Duke Yan Mansion, later fancied by Pingyang Princess to become a male companion, and ultimately died suddenly.
Qin Xiao's death was the immediate fuse for the heroine's darkening.
And the consequence of the heroine's darkening was the downfall of the villains.
Unfortunately, their entire Duke Yan Mansion was full of villains.
When Tang Xiaobai read the book, she thought Qin Xiao was too tragic, and now she also felt that everyone with the surname Tang was too miserable, so what to do was clear.
However, as an esteemed young lady of the Duke Mansion, it wasn't easy to associate with servants, several attempts to go to the servants' quarters were dutifully blocked by her maidservants.
After finally shaking off the maids, she ended up being kidnapped in broad daylight right in her own home.
What happened next, everyone knows.
"Thanks to you this time." Tang Xiaobai was full of gratitude inside, not sure if she was more grateful to Qin Xiao or the man in black.
"A servant of the mansion, it is my duty to protect the Second Miss." The boy's answer was proper.
"By the way, why were you over by the rockery?" Tang Xiaobai asked.
This question was raised by Tang Jiaojiao.
The rockery area was the back garden, not part of Qin Xiao's rough work duties.
"Just happened to pass by the garden corner door, saw villains committing crimes, so I followed secretly." The boy's answer was flawless.
Tang Xiaobai nodded, then asked, "How did you knock that person unconscious?"
Actually, there were quite a few doubts about this matter, the biggest being this.
Qin Xiao was only twelve years old, looking frail, yet knocked out an adult man who knew martial arts.
Even if the man was heavily injured, she didn't think it would be that easy.
But given this was a somewhat lenient transmigration world, she guessed blindly that Qin Xiao might have some kind of halo, even if the boy said "I don't know what happened" or "suddenly gained great strength", she could reluctantly accept this setting.
But the boy answered quite reasonably: "I've heard that a strong hit to the back of the head can cause unconsciousness, in the moment of urgency, I tried it."
He spoke slowly, calmly, each pause was just right, making it very pleasant to listen to.
Tang Xiaobai's heart stirred slightly, and she glanced at the boy.
Up close, the boy's features were of a crystal-like delicacy and translucency, his eyelashes were long, when he lowered his eyes, they cast a fine and soft shadow under his eyes.
He stood there with lowered eyes, expression humble like a common servant.
But his back was straight, straighter than the people of a socialist society.
"Have you read books before?" Tang Xiaobai asked.
The boy's eyelashes quivered lightly and he looked up, revealing a pair of extremely beautiful eyes, the pupils were like lacquer or ink, clear and charming in the light, making Tang Xiaobai lose her focus slightly.
"A lowly servant like me, how could I have the privilege to read?" he answered softly, with only docility and meekness in his eyes.
Tang Xiaobai's eyes flickered.
She felt Qin Xiao should remember the things from his childhood.
First, his behavior was different from ordinary servants, the upbringing from his original family was engraved in his bones;
Second, the heroine was only a little over a year older than Qin Xiao, the heroine remembered, so Qin Xiao probably remembered too;
Lastly, and most crucially, Qin Xiao died for the heroine.
If he hadn't always remembered this sister, why would he sacrifice himself impetuously?
Then comes the question, the Qin Family was a scholarly and noble family, Qin Xiao and the heroine's father had been a tutor to the late Crown Prince, does he have the nerve to say he hasn't read?
But none of that matters now.
What's important is, she found Qin Xiao, next she just had to treat him like a prized ancestor.
Thinking of this, Tang Xiaobai showed a loving smile like a mother: "You saved me, I will repay you!"
The boy first looked surprised, then his lips twitched, seemingly wanting to smile, but he forcefully suppressed it.
Tang Xiaobai just assumed he was happy to hear it, thinking this child was reserved in his emotions, she smiled at him again: "Take good care of yourself, wait for my good news!" With that, she turned to leave.
Halfway turning, she saw the bowl of medicinal decoction on the table.
It was a full bowl, as if not much had been drunk, and a strong unpleasant smell filled her nose.
In the place where she couldn't see, the boy's body quietly tensed up.
"The medicine gets too bitter when cold, drink it while it's hot." Tang Xiaobai wrinkle her nose and reminded.
The boy looked at her and said softly, "Thank you for your concern, Second Miss."
...
The boy stood quietly in place watching, only when the little girl walked out of sight did he slowly retract his humble expression.
"This little girl is a bit odd, could it be that she has discovered something?" A voice sounded in the room.
The boy neither confirmed nor denied, saying, "Duke Yan Mansion is still safe, drink the medicine—"