As soon as Nora stepped into the cabin, a strong smell of herbal medicine rushed up and hit her hard, almost making her dizzy. She quickly held her breath and stood at the door for a moment until she felt a bit better. Then she finally walked in.
"Miss!" Justin had just turned around with an empty bowl when he saw Nora coming in. He quickly bowed to her. "No need for formalities. How is he?" Nora asked softly.
"Miss, he just took the medicine. He's doing quite well right now." "That's good," Nora replied. She stepped around the screen and looked at the man leaning against the bed.
She was stunned for a second. The man had features like carved jade, deep eyes, sharp brows, and starry pupils. His face was pale but still strikingly handsome, with a delicate beauty to him.
If someone called another man beautiful, it might sound strange. But on him, it made perfect sense. Thankfully, she snapped out of it quickly.
Nora tried her best to calm her pounding heart and act normal. But she still felt her heart racing so fast, it seemed like it might leap out of her chest. "Cough. Are you feeling any better now?" Nora sat on the stool beside the bed and asked with a soft smile.
Elias raised his head and stared at the man in front of him. He was stunned for a moment too. The person before him had a face so gentle and beautiful, it was hard to believe.
"Cough, cough, cough. I'm Elias. Thank you for saving my life," he said. Judging from how Justin had been treating this person, he knew this must be the owner of the ship.
Nora quickly supported his body and said, "Young Master Elias, you don't have to be polite. Anyone would have helped in that situation. Don't worry about it."
Elias leaned back against the bed. His expression darkened as he shook his head. His voice was filled with helplessness.
"I truly appreciate your kindness. But my identity is a bit complicated. I'm afraid staying here might cause trouble for you."
"Please dock the ship and let me leave. Cough, cough…" Nora saw his cheeks flush red from coughing and his face twisted in pain. She immediately stood up and patted his back.
At the same time, she ordered Jared, "Jared, go bring Doctor Ma here right away!" "Yes, Miss!" Jared didn't dare delay. He turned and ran out of the cabin.
"You need to rest now. Don't worry about anything else for the moment." Seeing his coughing finally ease, Nora took the cup of hot water from Justin and handed it to him, trying to comfort him.
Elias took a sip of the water, paused, and still shook his head. "You don't understand. I'm an actor from the Mingrong Opera Troupe in Suzhou City."
"But I offended the young lady from the Ma family, the richest family in Suzhou. That's why I've been hunted down all the way here. Yesterday, I had no choice but to jump into the river."
"I really thought I'd die. I didn't expect you would save me. I'm deeply grateful."
"But if that lady finds out you helped me, it could bring you trouble." "You saved me. I can't repay your kindness with harm." "Why did you offend Miss Ma?" Nora asked curiously.
She was very puzzled. In this world, women were rare. Everyone treated them like treasure, not even letting them suffer a scratch.
Although it was all for the sake of continuing the family line, she had learned over the past few days that women truly had higher status than men. Normally, men tried everything just to get a woman's attention. This was the first time she heard of a man offending a woman.
"Well…" Elias hesitated for a moment and gave a bitter smile. "Miss Ma came to the opera house and took a liking to me. She wanted to take me into her home, but I refused."
"That's why she's angry."
Elias knew that in other people's eyes, he was being ungrateful. He had received Miss Ma's favor but didn't show any gratitude. Instead, he rejected her and made her heartbroken.
Even if he died a hundred times, he still couldn't escape the blame. But that Miss Ma...
Sure enough, right after Elias finished speaking, Nora asked curiously, "Why did you reject her? Do you already like someone else?"
"No!" Elias lowered his eyes with a dark expression and said slowly, "My status is low, and I don't have anyone I like. It's just that Miss Ma really isn't a good match."
"Why is that?" Wasn't it said that in this world, as long as a person was female, she would be treated like a queen? How could the richest family's young lady be disliked so much, to the point where he'd rather die than marry her?
"Master, I know the reason!" Justin spoke from the side. "My family is from Yangjia Village just outside Suzhou. I used to enter the city with my father.
I heard that although Miss Ma looks gentle, her temper is cruel. She enjoys tormenting her husbands. She's only thirty-two now, and two of her official husbands have already died."
"It's said they were tortured to death by her, not to mention her lower-ranked companions." "No one cares about that?" Nora asked instinctively in disbelief.
"In this world, women are precious. As long as she doesn't kill someone in public, she won't be punished. Besides, the Ma family is rich.
With money to smooth things over, everything just gets covered up!" Justin's face showed sorrow. It was like his own mother, who once beat his father to death just because he angered her while serving her.
Then she sold him and his brother to traffickers. If not for that— Justin looked at Nora with gratitude. If not for meeting Master, they wouldn't even know what fate awaited them.
Nora nodded in understanding. At any time, money really could do whatever it wanted. And besides, the other party was a precious woman.
Nora smiled calmly and said, "You don't need to worry. You're safe here. Besides, we left Suzhou yesterday."
"I doubt Miss Ma would keep chasing after us. We're headed for the capital and probably won't return, so we won't see Miss Ma again. Just focus on resting and getting better."
"Master, Doctor Ma is here!" As they were speaking, Jared came in quickly with Doctor Ma. Nora quickly stepped aside.
Doctor Ma placed the pulse pillow and checked Elias's pulse carefully. After a while, he put Elias's wrist down and said, "This young man's body was already weak."
"Now he's frightened, fell into the water yesterday and caught cold. He must rest well." Nora nodded again and again.
Looking at Elias's pale face, she comforted him, "You're too weak right now. Don't worry about anything else. Once we reach the capital in a few days, everything will be fine."
"Just focus on getting better." Lying on the bed, Elias weakly nodded and softly said thank you. "Then rest well."
Nora looked at his pale face again. She couldn't help but feel some regret. A man so beautiful should be full of life, living freely under the sunlight.
She told Justin to take good care of him, then finally left. She went to the small sitting room, sat down, lifted the curtain, and quietly watched the snow falling from the sky.
The joy she had felt when it first started snowing was already gone. Now her heart was filled with confusion. A deep uncertainty about the future.