The Favorite of the Sick and Weak Lady - Chapter 19

With no teacups at home, Xiao Yu took two ceramic bowls instead. They were a bit rough and had no simple patterns or decorations on them.

“Rest for a bit and have some water. Thank you both for your help today.” Xiao Yu poured two bowls of water, handing one to Chen Yiyi and the other to Chen Yu.

In the house, Chen Yu had already realized she had misunderstood Xiao Yu. Seeing that Xiao Yu wasn’t angry with her, she felt a bit awkward. She took the water stiffly and said, “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. I should be thanking you for being willing to help. Stay for dinner tonight,” Xiao Yu said.

“No, we shouldn’t, or my aunt will worry if we get back too late,” Chen Yu waved her hand.

She knew Xiao Yu’s situation better than anyone. Xiao Yu was barely able to feed herself. If she stayed for dinner, how would Xiao Yu manage?

Better not.

Seeing Chen Yu’s response, Chen Ziyi also quickly declined, saying he had things to do at home and needed to get back soon.

Xiao Yu saw that they were unwilling and didn’t insist.

After working for a while longer, they finished cutting all the remaining bamboo into strips. It was now completely dark. Chen Ziyi stood up and found a spot in the courtyard to lay out the cut bamboo strips to dry.

“Let them dry first. I’ll come back in a few days to help you weave them.”

“Alright, thank you for your trouble.”

Seeing them about to leave, Xiao Yu looked at Chen Yu: “I’ll walk you back.” People in the village went to bed early, and at this hour, there was barely anyone outside. It wasn’t safe for a girl to walk alone at night, and she was here to help her with work, so it was only right to ensure her safety.

“There’s no need. I’ll go back with A-yi. It’s on the way,” Chen Yu said.

“That’s right, I’ll walk her back,” Chen Ziyi chimed in.

Xiao Yu pondered for a moment. Although the two families had started arranging their marriage, they weren’t married yet. Being a single man and woman together late at night might not be a big deal in modern times, but this was ancient times. It wouldn’t be good for Chen Yu’s reputation to be damaged because of this.

“I’ll go with you. I also have something to ask my mother,” Xiao Yu said.

“What is it?” Chen Yu immediately became alert. Was she going to ask her aunt for money again?

She flatly refused: “Whatever it is, say it tomorrow. Aunt should be asleep by now.”

With that, she pulled Chen Ziyi and left the courtyard. Their figures soon disappeared into the night.

“Husband.”

Xiao Yu responded.

Ah, yes, she should go cook. The young lady must be hungry.

“You go inside and wait. I’ll go cook right away.”

Xiao Yu returned to the kitchen, put the mushrooms in a wooden basin, washed them clean, and diced them. She originally wanted to make mushroom soup, but there wasn’t even an egg at home, let alone meat. So, she settled for a mushroom congee. A little salt in the congee would make it savory, nutritious, and appetizing.

After the congee was ready, she soaked the medicinal herbs she had caught today in cold water before bringing the congee into the room. Song Luoning was sitting at the table, holding a storybook. The dim yellow pine oil lamp added a gentle and quiet atmosphere.

“Don’t read at night, it’s bad for your eyes,” a crisp voice broke the peaceful moment.

Xiao Yu placed the congee in front of Song Luoning: “I picked these from the mountain. Try it and see if it’s good.”

The thick rice congee was mixed with tender yellow mushroom bits, topped with a sprinkle of chopped green onions.

It smelled of rich rice and a fresh, clean aroma.

Just looking at it made one’s mouth water.

Song Luoning looked up and asked doubtfully, “What kind of congee is this? Luoning has never seen it before.”

Xiao Yu looked at her expectantly: “Hurry, try it.”

Song Luoning scooped a spoonful into her mouth. The congee was savory and smooth, and she couldn’t help but take another spoonful.

Seeing her take another spoonful, Xiao Yu guessed that it was to the young lady’s liking. She played coy: “Guess what I used to make this congee?”

“It tastes fresh and smooth. It should be some kind of mushroom,” Song Luoning stirred the congee with her spoon: “Did husband pick this in the mountains today? It’s indeed a rare item.”

Back in the Prime Minister’s residence, she occasionally got to eat them. Most of the time, it was when the household servants went home to visit and brought back some things from the mountains.

Because it was a rare item, each courtyard didn’t get much.

Every time, her father and brothers would send some to her courtyard.

Thinking of this, Song Luoning felt a strange sadness. She wondered if her father and brothers were doing well in the capital. She had asked a neighbor to send a letter a few days ago, and her father should have received it in a few days.

Xiao Yu didn’t expect to be guessed so quickly. She pursed her lips and sat back down, feeling a bit disappointed.

“But husband’s way of cooking it is indeed delicious. This is the first time Luoning has eaten it, and Luoning loves it. Thank you, husband,” Song Luoning said, taking another spoonful. Soon, the bowl of mushroom congee was empty.

This showed how much she loved it.

Normally, the young lady would only eat half a bowl, not a single mouthful more.

Getting her cooking approved, Xiao Yu felt happy. It was rare to have such a harmonious moment with the young lady. Xiao Yu chattered on, sharing many tips on how to cook congee.

Song Luoning responded casually a few times and then excused herself to lie down on the bed, not even mentioning bathing.

Xiao Yu felt a little disappointed.

She wasn’t done talking yet.

However, maybe the young lady was truly tired today. Based on previous experience, Song Luoning would have already given her instructions by now.

A pang of sadness rose in Xiao Yu’s heart.

“Song Luoning, are you going to bathe?”

“No. If husband wants to bathe, Luoning won’t peek,” Song Luoning curled up slightly, turning her back to Xiao Yu, and spoke in a weak voice.

At this moment, Song Luoning was like a sick kitten that couldn’t even lift its claws.

She looked so pitiful.

When had she ever seen the young lady like this?

Xiao Yu’s heart sank. She turned her face away and muttered, “What’s wrong? That’s not what I meant.”

She stood up: “Don’t sleep yet. I’m going to make you some medicine.”

She collected the bowls and quickly went into the kitchen. The medicinal herbs were already soaked. She started a fire and began to brew them.

About half an hour later, the medicine was ready. When she returned to the room, the young lady was already asleep.

Xiao Yu sighed, slowed her steps, and walked to the bedside. She gently called out through the bed curtain: “Song Luoning.”

Seeing no reaction, Xiao Yu raised her voice: “Song Luoning, wake up and drink your medicine.”

After a while, Song Luoning slowly woke up, gave a low hum, and slowly released the hairpin she was holding, hiding it under her pillow.

She had indeed fallen asleep, but she was a light sleeper and had woken up the moment Xiao Yu stepped in. The reason she didn’t respond immediately was to confirm whether this scoundrel would do anything inappropriate while she was asleep.

It seemed she was overthinking it.

But it was suspicious that this scoundrel had spent 300 taels on her for no reason today.

“Drink the medicine and then sleep.” With that, Xiao Yu lifted a corner of the bed curtain and handed the bowl inside. Along with it were two dried red dates.

Song Luoning was stunned.

“I found the dates in the medicine, but they’ve been washed clean. If the medicine is too bitter, eating one will make it better,” Xiao Yu said.

Song Luoning had been taking medicine since she was a child and was used to how bitter it was. When she was little, the nanny would give her a piece of candy after she finished her medicine. Gradually, as she grew older, she no longer needed candy after taking medicine.

Song Luoning looked at the two shriveled dates in her hand, her eyes lowered, hiding the emotions within.

Actually, she was very afraid of bitterness and didn’t want to drink even a single mouthful of medicine, but to not worry the people around her, she would drink the bitter, unpalatable medicinal soup.

“Why are you just standing there? Drink it quickly, it will get even more bitter when it cools down,” Xiao Yu urged.

Song Luoning looked at the black medicinal soup and drank half the bowl in one gulp. She then ate a date. The dried date was very sweet and quickly replaced the bitterness of the medicine.

Her tightly knitted brows slowly relaxed, and her heart was filled with more confusion.

Considering she was still sick, Xiao Yu took the bowl, left a simple “get some rest,” and left the room.

After returning, she lay on the ground but couldn’t sleep. Her mind was filled with the experiences of this period and the words of the female doctor today, which kept echoing in her mind.

If Song Luoning’s body had been bad before, why didn’t she feel anything except a cough a few days ago?

Was it because of the cough syrup the system gave her?

When Song Luoning first came, she was indeed coughing all the time. After she gave her the cough syrup, the number of coughs decreased.

At the time, she just thought the young lady was frail and didn’t take it seriously. Later, when the cough syrup ran out, Song Luoning’s illness returned, which meant the cough syrup was effective for Song Luoning’s illness.

Since the medicine in this world had no effect on Song Luoning, could she obtain medicine through system rewards? But the reward was random. Was there a way to get what she wanted?

And the system hadn’t issued any missions for the past two days. It was very quiet. If it weren’t for Song Luoning’s illness, she would have almost forgotten that she had a system.

Putting the rewards aside for now, the most important thing right now was to figure out what triggers the system’s missions.

Xiao Yu mentally reviewed the two system missions. The first was a purchasing mission, and the system rewarded her with a bottle of cough syrup. The second was a mission to start a family, and the system rewarded her with a bowl of medicinal congee.

What was the connection between these two missions?

Xiao Yu thought hard but only came up with the fact that both rewards were related to medicine. She had no other clues.

She could only hope that a new mission would be triggered soon to determine if every reward was related to medicine.

For the next two days, Xiao Yu spent her time thinking about how to trigger a system mission and tilling the fields. At noon, she would rush back to cook for Song Luoning and brew her medicine. Finally, on the third day, she finished tilling all the fields.

The young boy came with those two people again. This time, they each held a bamboo pole they could grip with both hands. One end of the pole was sharpened, and a basket was hanging from each of their waists.

When the young boy saw Xiao Yu, he handed her a bamboo pole and a basket. The basket was filled with rice seeds. Xiao Yu followed behind the two men, learning their movements. They used the sharpened end of the bamboo pole to poke holes in the ground in a straight line, and then they grabbed a handful of rice seeds from their baskets and scattered three seeds into each hole.

This process required a good sense of feel and skill. Once they were skilled, they worked quickly. The three of them finished this process in half a day.

The last step was to cover the soil. One of the men used a machete to cut a branch with young shoots from a nearby tree and dragged it back and forth across the field. The holes poked by the bamboo poles were covered with soil again.

Immediately after, a line of text appeared in her mind: “Congratulations to the host for completing the sowing mission. The system randomly rewards you with a bottle of Qi-Replenishing Pills.”

A white porcelain bottle then appeared out of thin air.

?!

Xiao Yu was stunned, and then a look of surprise appeared on her face. A system mission was triggered! Although she didn’t know the effects of the Qi-Replenishing Pills, just from the name, she knew they were for replenishing the body.

She couldn’t wait to open the instruction manual next to the porcelain bottle to read it.

Instructions: 100 pills, one pill per day.

Suitable for: Everyone.

Effect: Replenishes Qi and Blood.

The effect was somewhat similar to the medicine prescribed by the female doctor from Mingshan Hall. Perhaps she should make another trip to Mingshan Hall.

Since the rice had been sown, there was no need for Xiao Yu to stay in the fields. She said goodbye to the young boy and hurried home.

Song Luoning was sitting by the window. When she saw her return, she put down her storybook and stood up to greet her. After taking the medicine for the past two days, her spirits had clearly improved.

“Husband is back earlier than usual today. Is something wrong?”

“Yeah,” Xiao Yu responded. She walked to the washstand, washed her hands, and wiped them dry with a towel: “I need to go to the county town later. Is there anything you want?”

To the county town?

Song Luoning was on alert. Why was she going to the county town? She had never mentioned it before.

Was she still thinking of selling her?

Song Luoning lowered her eyes.

The “kindness” of the past two days had almost made her forget this person’s true nature.

Of course. 300 taels was no small sum. She didn’t believe that scoundrel would spend 300 taels on her for no reason.

This person loved money the most. She had seen her eyes light up when she saw money.

To spend 300 taels on her and then “dutifully and without complaint” take care of her… it was all too suspicious.

Could it be that she couldn’t keep up the pretense anymore?

Xiao Yu saw that she was silent and thought she was too embarrassed to ask. While saddling the horse, she said, “Then I’ll just see what I can find.”

She didn’t expect the young lady to have a shy side.

Song Luoning didn’t speak. She stood there, her porcelain-white skin shining like snow in the sunlight, but with a touch of sickness that made one’s heart ache.

“I’m leaving.” Xiao Yu led the horse out. She was going to the county town alone today, so she didn’t hitch the carriage. Riding the horse would be faster.

Song Luoning’s gaze went over the low wall. The slender figure nimbly leaped onto the horse’s back. The sound of hooves “clattering” grew fainter as the figure gradually disappeared.

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