How could Chen Xuan let such a heaven-sent opportunity delivered to his doorstep slip away? Quick of eye and hand, he released the reins, took a great stride forward to the horse's belly, and threw open his arms without hesitation!
Thump!
A soft, warm, muffled impact.
The third young lady, who usually lorded over everyone in the marquis's residence and lashed people with her whip at the slightest provocation, crashed squarely into Chen Xuan's broad, burning-hot embrace!
Soft! So fucking soft!
And astonishingly hot!
The gold-thread sash cinching her waist had come loose during the jolting on horseback. Through that thin, almost transparent, fiery-red inner garment, Chen Xuan's right arm wrapped securely around her impossibly slender waist-his rough, bloodied palm pressed against it, meeting the girl's firm skin, smooth as the finest silk. Its astonishing suppleness and warmth shot straight from his palm to the crown of his head!
Xiao Ling'er's little face was buried firmly in the crook of Chen Xuan's neck. Her rapid, scorching breaths poured out, teasing the skin of his neck again and again through his coarse gray collar.
An exquisite girlish scent mingled with the fragrance of her hair and forced its way into Chen Xuan's nostrils-it was the fresh sweetness of grass soaked by early spring's first drizzle, with tender flower hearts crushed into it. A single breath could make even the seams between one's bones go weak.
At some point, one of Xiao Ling'er's snowy little hands had instinctively seized the ragged front of Chen Xuan's clothes in a death grip. Her ten slender fingers, like tender jade scallions, curled tightly from the sheer terror that lingered after her escape, while the two breathtakingly full, soft mounds on her chest pressed against Chen Xuan's iron-hard chest without a sliver of space between them as she panted!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Chen Xuan's heart began pounding like a war drum.
Every inch of the astonishing curves of that soft, warm, unbelievably fragrant body in his arms reminded him-this was Xiao Ling'er! The precious third young lady of the Marquis of Zhenbei's Residence! Someone a groom bound by a lifetime servitude contract like him would ordinarily have his eyes gouged out for so much as looking at a moment too long!
Yet now, this fiery rose covered in thorns was trembling in his arms, her clothes half undone and her body as yielding as a pool of spring water!
Hiss... Her waist is so slender I could wrap both hands right around it, yet her chest is this lethal... The workplace injury compensation for risking my life to stop that horse is fucking generous!
A flash of burning greed and desire to conquer flickered deep in Chen Xuan's eyes. He longed to give her a hard squeeze right then, but his powerful corporate-slave rationality forced his fingers to remain still. He deliberately held both arms stiff in midair, putting on the full expression of a terrified, helpless servant as he lowered his voice and gently reminded her:
"Th-third young lady... You're safe. The mad horse has stopped. You... please steady yourself..."
Xiao Ling'er said nothing. She did not even dare move.
The immense terror of narrowly escaping death had yet to fade completely. Her delicate body was still trembling faintly beyond her control, wave after wave of fine shudders passing through their tightly pressed chests. Far from releasing his clothes when she heard Chen Xuan's voice, her little hand instinctively clenched them even tighter.
Her burning little face remained buried deep in Chen Xuan's sweat-scented shoulder, greedily drawing in the solid sense of safety that had pulled her back from the gates of hell.
One breath. Two breaths. Five breaths.
Just then, Instructor Zhang and more than a dozen guards finally came rushing up, panting.
But the moment they reached a point five paces away, every guard's feet froze in place as though someone had cast an immobilization spell on them. Their eyes bulged, and none dared breathe loudly!
Heavens above! What were they seeing?!
Chen Xuan, that lowliest menial groom from the stables, had both arms around the waist of the third young lady, who normally held her head above everyone else, and was holding her tightly in his embrace!
Worse still, the sash of the third young lady's fiery-red riding outfit had long since come undone to one side. The jolting had left her neckline wide open, exposing a broad expanse of creamy skin whiter than frost and snow, along with her exquisite collarbones. She was pressed against that servant's chest like a frightened kitten!
Even with ten heads to spare, they would not dare take another half glance at this sight!
"You insolent, lowly slave!! Get your filthy hands off her this instant-!!"
At last, a shrill, furious roar exploded from behind them, instantly shattering the strange, deathly silence!
Xiao Ling'er shuddered in his arms as though scalded by boiling oil. Abruptly jolted out of her daze, she frantically shoved Chen Xuan's chest away and stumbled two steps back!
Instinctively, she lowered her head and looked at herself-
Boom!
A rush of hot blood shot straight from the soles of her feet to her head. Within a single second, Xiao Ling'er's deathly pale little face turned so red it seemed about to drip blood!
The gaping neckline, the gold-thread sash hanging loosely over her hips, and those distinct bloody handprints staining the fabric at her waist... every one of them told her what had just happened!
"You... y-you..."
Beside herself with shame and fury, Xiao Ling'er frantically tugged at her open collar with both little hands. But her fingers shook so badly that when she caught her collar, she lost hold of her sash. After two or three attempts, she still could not fasten the buttons. That shameful crimson spread from her snowy cheeks all the way to her ears, turning even her slender, swanlike neck completely pink!
"You... let go of me! Don't look! None of you look!!"
She had already retreated two steps out of Chen Xuan's embrace, yet she was still incoherently shouting "let go." Her usually fierce voice now shook uncontrollably, even carrying a hint of tears born of shame and panic.
The surrounding guards were so frightened that they all whipped around, burying their heads against their chests. "We deserve death! We saw nothing!"
"Ling'er! Ling'er, don't panic. I'll shield you!"
Lin Wan'er, who had caught up from behind, hurried over at a run. She spread her arms in front of Xiao Ling'er to block her from view, then clumsily helped draw her clothes together and retie that red-gold sash.
Yet the instant Lin Wan'er's fingers touched the side of Xiao Ling'er's waist, Xiao Ling'er's delicate body stiffened sharply, and even her breathing stopped for half a beat.
Because she could feel it with utter clarity-
Just moments ago, that lowly horse-feeding slave's broad, scorching palm had been pressed firmly against that very spot!
Even now, the firm skin of her waist seemed to retain the sensation of that slave's rough calluses rubbing against it, along with that heat that made her heart flutter in alarm!
In all her life, never mind a menial servant-even among the young masters of Qingzhou City's great families who courted her, who had dared touch a single hair on Xiao Ling'er?!
"Ling'er? Why are you still shaking? Why is your face burning like hot coals? Were you frightened?" Lin Wan'er asked softly with concern as she tied the sash.