Traditional Craft, Not for Outsiders

Mu Zibai sighed and said with utmost sincerity, "Love runs deep."

Xiao E: "."

With a silent expression, Xiao E looked like she wouldn't believe him even if ghosts came to testify. From Mu Zibai's manner, she could tell he was joking.

Seeing Mu Zibai grasp Wenren Lingmeng's hand again and lapse into silence, Xiao E found herself unable to understand him at all.

She hadn't seen a single normal thing Mu Zibai did. None of it conformed to common sense. He was a strange man who always did things Xiao E couldn't comprehend.

Since Wenren Lingmeng had fallen unconscious, fewer and fewer people had come to the courtyard as time passed. Aside from a few maidservants responsible for cleaning and attending to her daily needs, hardly anyone visited—except for master and madam, of course.

Those who had once been close to Wenren Lingmeng had basically never come by. Even among the maidservants, few truly wanted to care for her. Who knew what they said behind her back? Xiao E had simply turned a blind eye and said nothing. After all, if she put herself in their shoes, she figured she might have been the same.

But Mu Zibai kept forcing his way in. While others avoided the place like the plague, he couldn't wait to come. It was as if he wished he could move a bed in and sleep there, content if he could merely catch one glimpse of the young lady.

Could Mu Zibai really be so deeply devoted? They had only met on the day they got married. There was no way such profound affection could have formed so quickly.

Compared to that, putting on a show seemed more likely—but wasn't this taking it too far?

Yet in Mu Zibai's eyes, Xiao E saw sincerity. For a moment, she couldn't see through him, so she stopped overthinking it. As the saying went, time reveals a person's heart.

Once enough time had passed, she would naturally learn what kind of person Mu Zibai was.

Still, Xiao E had developed a faint sense of approval for Mu Zibai.

"Son-in-law, do you plan to stay by Miss's side all day today?" Xiao E asked.

"Can't I?" Mu Zibai looked up and asked.

"Of course you can. Should I bring you a couple of books to pass the time?" Xiao E said with a smile. "Miss loves reading most. She's one of the Capital City's most talented women, you know."

"Oh?" Mu Zibai naturally knew that, but Xiao E's tone seemed deliberately emphatic. He didn't know what she meant by it, so he said, "No need."

"All right." Xiao E continued, "Later, you'll need to help me turn Miss over."

"What are you going to do?" Mu Zibai asked in confusion.

"Massage Miss, of course. The Imperial Physician said that lying down for too long isn't good for the body. Miss is weak right now, so every so often, we need to help her move her limbs and loosen her muscles. It's good for her."

"I see."

Mu Zibai nodded slightly. That was indeed true. Moving one's limbs more often was beneficial to one's health and kept the blood flowing smoothly. Otherwise, if someone truly lay still for years, even someone who wasn't a vegetable would end up becoming one.

Mu Zibai and Xiao E turned Wenren Lingmeng over together.

"What do I need to do?" Mu Zibai asked. He had never taken care of anyone before. At most, before transmigrating, he had pounded his father's feet. His father had thick skin and tough flesh, so Mu Zibai had struck as though he were beating an enemy.

But Wenren Lingmeng looked so frail and delicate. She was precious—how could Mu Zibai possibly know how to care for her?

"I'll do it. Why trouble you, son-in-law?" Xiao E said with a smile, then began massaging Wenren Lingmeng's back and legs, working her limbs and loosening her muscles.

She completely squeezed Mu Zibai to one side.

"How long are you going to massage her?" Mu Zibai asked speechlessly. Every moment of delay meant lost points!

"Maybe an hour or so," Xiao E replied as she massaged.

Mu Zibai sucked in a breath. He searched through Shen Nong's Herbal Compendium in his mind and remembered that it recorded a set of massage techniques.

All traditional craft.

An hour or so—how many points would that cost him? Unless it was necessary, Mu Zibai absolutely didn't want to waste a single opportunity to farm points.

"I happen to know a set of massage techniques. They can help Ling Meng loosen her muscles and promote blood circulation," Mu Zibai said.

"Oh?" Xiao E looked at Mu Zibai curiously, suspicion in her eyes. Clearly, she didn't believe him.

Mu Zibai didn't explain. He simply got to work. A demonstration was the best proof—far more useful than babbling on for ages.

"Don't worry, I'm only massaging her back," Mu Zibai said when he saw Xiao E's unease.

Mu Zibai pressed down on Wenren Lingmeng's back with a methodical touch, though he was somewhat unpracticed. His proficiency was obviously low, making him clumsy, but Xiao E nodded slightly nonetheless.

Not bad. It looked convincing enough. Though Xiao E didn't understand much, every acupoint Mu Zibai pressed on Wenren Lingmeng's back followed the proper method, earning Xiao E's approval.

The only issue was that Mu Zibai was far too clumsy. It would be better if he taught this massage technique to her.

At this moment, Wenren Lingmeng was both flustered and speechless. She had only one thought: she wanted to crack Xiao E's little head open. What was this girl thinking?

She was just going to stand there and do nothing? I'm your young lady! You're just going to let a man rub all over my back like this? What kind of propriety is that?

Mu Zibai deserves to die! Xiao E deserves it even more!

She was overwhelmed with embarrassment. As a young woman, she had rarely had contact with men. As a princess, aside from her parents and elder brother, she could count her encounters with other men on one hand.

And now she was letting him massage her back without restraint. At this moment, Wenren Lingmeng only wanted to find a hole in the ground and crawl into it.

Unfortunately, she couldn't find one. She silently endured it, her heart unsettled and panicked.

This was simply... simply... simply a little comfortable!

Wenren Lingmeng found that astonishingly unexpected. At first, she felt somewhat unaccustomed to it, but after he massaged her for a while, she actually began to feel a little comfortable.

For a time, Wenren Lingmeng enjoyed it immensely. He could massage her this comfortably—better than Xiao E did. A tingling numbness spread across her back.

Her entire body relaxed at that moment, as though she were about to fall apart. Now, Wenren Lingmeng only wanted to lie there and remain in that stillness.

Wenren Lingmeng had originally wanted to resist, but Mu Zibai's massage was simply too comfortable.

She only wanted to say to Mu Zibai, Sorry, my objections may have been a little too loud just now.

Mu Zibai's technique became increasingly practiced. Before long, he had mastered the massage method, using it with effortless ease across Wenren Lingmeng's back.

"Who did you learn this massage technique from? Did you study medicine before?"

Xiao E asked doubtfully.

"This is traditional craft. Not for outsiders," Mu Zibai said with a smile. Don't ask—if asked, it was traditional craft. What would a woman like you know about traditional craft? No, wait, perhaps women could understand it too.

Xiao E: "."

She had wanted to ask Mu Zibai to teach her, but since it wasn't passed on to outsiders, then forget it.

She naturally knew that some things truly weren't passed on to outsiders. They were crafts left behind by one's ancestors, passed down only within the family, or from men to men and never to women. There were endless troublesome rules.

"That should be about enough, right?" Mu Zibai's hands were nearly numb from massaging, and an hour had already passed.

"Mm."

The two of them set Wenren Lingmeng's body straight and returned her to her original position.