I Transmigrated and Already Had a Wife - Chapter 33.1

Lin Muwan seldom cooked. She didn’t have to in the residence of the Minister of Rites, and now that person did all the chores in their current home. As for herself…

She pursed her lips. Unconsciously, she had already come to regard this place as home.

A home that that person had built and sustained for her.

Lin Muwan curled her lips, her smile gradually widening.

“Wife.”

Lin Muwan turned her head. That person’s gaze was fixed on her.

“Wait a moment, it will be ready soon.” She didn’t dare delay and quickly rummaged around the stove.

She had never been drunk before and had no idea what a hangover cure tasted like. While reading in the past, she faintly recalled reading in a book that something sweet and sour seemed to relieve drunkenness.

Sweet and sour. That could only be sugar and vinegar. Without overthinking, she tasted each seasoning one by one, selected the sugar and vinegar she needed, and put them in the pot with water to boil.

She tended the fire while frequently looking back at Jiang Zhou, afraid that something might happen to her. Fortunately, that person was very well-behaved, maintaining the same posture as before, sitting neatly on the edge of the bed with her hands on her legs. The misty confusion from earlier had vanished from her peach-blossom eyes, which now stared intensely at Lin Muwan.

Lin Muwan couldn’t tell if the alcohol had worn off, but seeing her sit obediently, she felt relieved. She quickly scooped the finished sobering soup into a bowl and carried it over. Jiang Zhou’s gaze followed Lin Muwan; wherever she went, she looked, never straying for a moment. Her intense gaze was quite embarrassing.

Lin Muwan paused, pushing the bowl into Jiang Zhou’s hands. She looked away, blushing with slight annoyance, and said, “Drink it yourself.”

Jiang Zhou didn’t care if it was hot and lifted the bowl to drink. Thankfully, Lin Muwan stopped her, shooting her a chiding look. “It’s hot. Blow on it before you drink.”

Jiang Zhou replied, “Alright.”

Her words were clear, and her eyes were lucid.

Lin Muwan looked at her suspiciously. It seemed like she was sober, yet the things she did weren’t entirely rational.

It was perplexing.

Seeing Lin Muwan watching her without speaking, the look in Jiang Zhou’s eyes slowly changed. Lin Muwan could even discern a hint of grievance, like an abandoned puppy.

Pitiful.

Despite the intense gaze, Lin Muwan closed her eyes, unsure how she had managed to detect the pity.

Jiang Zhou looked at her and suddenly felt thirsty. Subconsciously, she stuck out her tongue and licked her lips.

Lin Muwan: “???”

She stepped back half a pace, frowned, and awkwardly took the bowl from Jiang Zhou’s hands. She scooped up a spoonful and carefully blew on it near her lips. When the white steam dissipated, she offered it to Jiang Zhou, who obediently opened her mouth and drank it. The moment she swallowed, the peach-blossom eyes became misty, and her mouth pouted, enduring great distress.

When Lin Muwan tried to feed her again, that person absolutely refused to open her mouth.

“Drink a bit more,” Lin Muwan looked down at her. That person tightly pursed her lips, childishly turning her face to the side.

She wouldn’t even look at Lin Muwan anymore.

“Just half a bowl.”

Lin Muwan stood up and put the bowl down. She looked down at Jiang Zhou from above, her face radiating a cold, imposing aura.

Lin Muwan: “Are you going to drink it or not?”

Jiang Zhou shrank back, glancing at the sobering soup in the bowl, then back at Lin Muwan. She meekly asked, “Can I get a kiss if I drink it?”

Lin Muwan’s face instantly flushed crimson. She finally understood what Jiang Zhou’s wolf-like gaze had meant earlier.

She bit her lip, suppressing her emotions. She glanced at Jiang Zhou and turned to leave the kitchen, blowing on her face in the courtyard for a long time until the heat in her cheeks subsided.

She fetched a basin of water from the vat and returned to the kitchen.

Jiang Zhou looked at her with a wronged expression.

Lin Muwan walked in, glanced at the sobering soup, then shifted her gaze, using a wet cloth to wipe Jiang Zhou’s face clean.

“I already drank it.”

“Mm,” Lin Muwan replied faintly, placing the cloth back in the basin and putting it on the wooden rack.

“Can I get a kiss?”

Lin Muwan turned her head, meeting a pair of clear eyes. For a moment, she felt that person wasn’t drunk at all and was merely using the alcohol as an excuse to flirt with her.

She stared into her eyes, trying to find some evidence, but after observing for a long time, that person sighed, lowered her eyes, and complained, “I’ve been very good.”

Lin Muwan was stunned, immediately feeling a pang of softness.

They were both women. A kiss, it wasn’t… it wasn’t entirely impossible.

She closed her eyes, and just as she was about to speak, that person leaned back, rolling into the quilt. After a moment, a muffled voice came from beneath the covers: “Not even a single kiss?”

Lin Muwan:

Forget it. She finally realized that person was still very drunk. She sighed softly, gathered the empty bowl of sobering soup, and then lifted the corner of the quilt. She took off that person’s shoes and socks, tucked her back in, and then left the room.

Lin Mother’s Room

“Mother, I have already made up my mind.”

“Have you discussed such a serious matter with Ah Zhou?”

“She doesn’t know.”

“You,” Mother Lin sighed. How could she not want to rescue her husband? However, she looked at her daughter and objected, “How do you plan to go by yourself? Linyang County is a thousand li from the capital. Leaving aside everything else, how can I be at ease with you, a woman, traveling alone? Even if your father knew, he definitely wouldn’t agree.”

She paused for a moment, then stated firmly, “I will not agree to this. And Ah Zhou wouldn’t agree to you doing this either.”

Lin Muwan looked away, her eyes unfocused. She murmured, “I don’t want to involve her in my father’s matter.”

“Tell me the truth, what are you thinking?”

A husband and wife are one body. Her daughter’s usual cool and distant attitude made her feel suspicious at this moment. Even if her daughter’s personality was cold, she shouldn’t be like this when talking about her husband.

A terrible suspicion arose in her heart, startling her.

“I want to solve my father’s problem myself and not trouble anyone else.”

Mother Lin suddenly sagged. Her daughter really didn’t like Jiang Zhou. If that was the case, she said, “I will go back to the capital with you. I can look out for you on the way.”

“Mother.”

Mother Lin interrupted her. “Don’t say anything more. I have already decided. If I let you go back alone and something happens, how can I face your father and the Lin family?”

Lin Muwan pursed her lips. “I have already sent a letter to my maternal uncle.”

Mother Lin frowned, sighing inwardly. Speaking of her brother, she couldn’t help but think of her nephew. If the Lin family hadn’t met with trouble, he and Wanwan could have become a happy couple, a perfect match. What a pity…

Wanwan didn’t tell Ah Zhou, but wrote to her uncle’s family instead. Could she still harbor feelings for Shikao?

Mother Lin couldn’t help but wonder and eventually asked.

Lin Muwan furrowed her brow. “Mother, I’m not thinking about that now. I wrote to my uncle because he once served as an official in the capital and has some connections. With a little smooth-talking, I should be able to secretly visit Father.”

Is that really the case?

Mother Lin nodded, half-believing and half-doubting.

“I still plan to go with you.”

“Mother.”

“If you don’t have those feelings for Ah Zhou, what purpose do I serve by staying here?”

Hit where it hurt, Lin Muwan’s heart tightened. If she left secretly, that person would surely hate her. It was indeed inappropriate for her mother to stay here.

The journey to the capital was fraught with danger. She couldn’t involve that person. Even with thousands of regrets, she would rather leave secretly than have that person risk danger with her.

If she could save her father in the future, she would return to her and beg for her forgiveness.

If she unfortunately died in the capital, let that person hate her. She could still meet someone she loved later.

Thinking this, a pain, as if someone had cut her heart with a blunt instrument, seized her.

It was suffocating, like a wad of cotton was blocking her throat.

Lin Muwan tightly pressed her lips together.

The moonlight of the fifteenth was bright, with faint dark shadows.

What beautiful moonlight!

It should have been a good day for reunion, but her father was locked up in the Ministry of Justice’s prison, his life or death unknown, due to false accusations.

She sighed and returned to the room once more.

That person had undressed at some point, wearing only an inner garment, the quilt kicked down to her feet. Her sleeping posture was utterly undignified.

Lin Muwan quickly closed the door, blocking the chilling wind outside. She pulled the scattered quilt back over her.

She sat on the edge of the bed, watching her silently. After a long time, she withdrew her gaze and, suppressing the emotion in her heart, lay down beside Jiang Zhou. The next second, she was enveloped in a warm embrace. This seemed to have become their unspoken understanding; as soon as their bodies were close, no matter how deep that person’s sleep, she would immediately embrace her.

She indulged in embracing that person back, absorbing the warmth from her body.

I want more, more.

The Next Day

Rubbing her throbbing head, Jiang Zhou sat up in bed. That alcohol really isn’t worth drinking.

Indulging in one cup only makes me suffer.

She rubbed her tense temples and emerged from the room, seeing no one. “Wife?” Jiang Zhou called out.

No answer.

Her heart dropped. She looked up at the time. It was clearly mid-morning.

Where did my wife and the others go?

Why didn’t they wake me up?

Jiang Zhou scratched her head and went into the hall. She was the only one home. Food was laid out on the table, covered with a bamboo screen.

She had no appetite this early. After a few bites, she put down her chopsticks. Her head ached from the hangover, so she returned to bed and lay down, dragging herself out of bed only near noon. She washed up.

Soon after, Lin Muwan and the others returned, holding needlework.

Entering the room, Lin Muwan saw she was awake, leaning against the bed with one hand pinching the bridge of her nose, frowning. “Headache?”

Jiang Zhou nodded. “Yes, a little.”