The Favorite of the Sick and Weak Lady - Chapter 31

It seems I can’t leave my young mistress at home alone anymore. If I hadn’t come back in time, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

Just the thought of it sends shivers down my spine.

Xiao Yu’s back felt cold. Thankfully, she only scalded the back of her hand, but even a small burn was enough to break Xiao Yu’s heart.

After a quick cleanup, Xiao Yu tucked her young mistress into bed, covered her with a blanket, and said in a gentle voice, “It’s good that it doesn’t hurt. It seems Dr. Jiang’s medicine is quite effective. Close your eyes and rest for a bit. I’ll go make dinner and be right back.”

Her young mistress must have been terrified. She was lying there obediently, her eyes misty, which made Xiao Yu’s heart ache.

Speaking of which, Song Luoning was indeed frightened. She pursed her lips, sinking into the bedding with only her head exposed. Xiao Yu held her scalded hand outside the covers, where it felt cool in the air, and the pain had faded.

When she heard Xiao Yu was going to make dinner, Song Luoning gave a low hum of acknowledgment.

Her gaze followed Xiao Yu as she got off the carriage, then she pursed her lips and slowly closed her eyes. A long time passed.

But she couldn’t fall asleep.

Especially with the turmoil in her heart these past two days. Ever since she left home to marry Xiao Yu in Chen Family Village, she had heard all sorts of rumors about this person and had been conflicted. In their time together, she knew Xiao Yu was greedy for money and lecherous. Song Luoning had her doubts, but each time, Xiao Yu managed to bring her a pleasant surprise.

Xiao Yu didn’t waste any time. She went to the kitchen, quickly cleaned the burnt pot, and made a bowl of her favorite mushroom congee for Song Luoning, along with a plate of cold bamboo shoots. Only then did she carry the food back to the carriage.

Song Luoning heard her return and slowly opened her eyes.

Xiao Yu brought out a small carved table and set the food on it. “Wait, I’ll help you up. Don’t touch your hand.”

“I can do it myself,” Song Luoning said, lowering her eyes.

She was just scalded, not crippled. Besides, if she let Xiao Yu help her, she didn’t know what new way this pervert would find to take advantage of her. Although she wasn’t particularly against it now, it felt strange.

She didn’t like this feeling; it made her feel unsettled.

“You lie there and don’t move,” Xiao Yu scooted closer, and without giving Song Luoning a chance to react, she leaned in and lifted her up, blanket and all.

Song Luoning let out a gasp of surprise, her eyes wide with disbelief as she stared at her. Her heart started to pound, her cheeks flushed slightly, and for a moment, she couldn’t collect herself.

When she finally did, her cheeks grew even hotter, and her heart beat even faster. In the quiet space, the only sounds Song Luoning could hear were Xiao Yu’s breathing and her own uncontrollable heartbeat.

“Wife, sit still. I’ll light the lamp, and then we can eat,” Xiao Yu said softly.

In the strange darkness, that person’s voice was filled with a certain charm.

Song Luoning’s heart caught in her throat.

Biting her lip, she said urgently, “Don’t.”

“What’s wrong?” Xiao Yu was worried she might hurt her eyes. “Wife, close your eyes first, and then open them later.”

Song Luoning gritted her teeth. Was that what she meant?

This pervert always twisted her words.

“Husband, can you… wait a moment before you light it?” Her voice was a plea. She absolutely could not let her see her like this right now.

Noticing the unnatural tone in her voice, Xiao Yu’s heart tightened. She asked anxiously, “Does it hurt again?”

As she spoke, she reached to light the lamp, but Song Luoning quickly grabbed her hand. “Husband, I’m fine. It’s just…” her voice trailed off, “…a little thirsty. Can you please get me another glass of water?”

All she wanted was for this pervert to leave quickly and stop asking questions. In her eighteen years of life, she had never been so flustered.

Xiao Yu was silent for a moment, her eyes fixed on Song Luoning in the darkness, trying to confirm if she was truly okay. After a while, she said, “Alright, wait here, wife. I’ll go get it for you now.” With that, Xiao Yu left the carriage.

Only after Xiao Yu was gone did Song Luoning let out a long sigh of relief. The carriage fell silent, the heat on her cheeks slowly subsided, and her heart rate returned to normal.

Before long, Xiao Yu returned with the water.

Song Luoning took a sip, easing her embarrassment, and said in a gentle voice, “Husband, just light the lamp now. We should eat and rest early.”

Seeing that she seemed fine, Xiao Yu didn’t think much of it. She lit the pine oil lamp, and the small space was instantly filled with a faint scent of pine. Xiao Yu pushed open the carriage window.

A cool breeze blew in, dispersing some of the smell.

“The weather has been good recently, so the house should be ready to move into in a few days. The carriage is really too small; I’m sorry to have put you through this, wife.” After the smell had dissipated a bit, Xiao Yu, worried Song Luoning might get cold, left the window ajar. She moved the small carved table between them and felt the edge of the congee bowl.

“The temperature is just right. Let me feed you, wife.”

“…”

Song Luoning’s breathing hitched. The warmth that had just receded from her face returned. She didn’t want to say anything to Xiao Yu. She took the bowl from Xiao Yu’s hand and, under her burning gaze, quietly finished the congee.

The next day, as the sky began to lighten, Xiao Yu woke up. She quietly got up, put on her clothes, and with a bamboo basket on her back, headed to where she had set traps the day before. It was already late April, and the mornings weren’t as cold. Xiao Yu was wearing the same padded cotton jacket as before, and with her quick pace, a light layer of sweat soon appeared on her forehead.

When she arrived at the traps, she checked them and found that a few had been destroyed. Xiao Yu guessed there must be large wild animals nearby. She continued to search and finally found a rabbit in one of the traps. Checking each trap one by one, her harvest was small; she only caught two rabbits.

But this was a pleasant surprise. She had only tried it as an experiment. With this experience, Xiao Yu reset the traps, made a few more new ones nearby, and then with her basket on her back, she returned home.

Xiao Yu put down her basket, and seeing that it was still early, she carried a bucket to the river to fill the water tank. Then she started to prepare the rabbits, stewing the meat with radishes.

When she returned to the carriage, Song Luoning was already awake. Xiao Yu leaned over, took Song Luoning’s hand, and examined her palm. “It looks like the swelling has gone down a bit. Does it still hurt?”

“No, it doesn’t hurt anymore,” Song Luoning said, her cheeks slightly flushed. She turned her face away and tried to pull her hand back. This time, it came away easily.

In fact, it still hurt. After the initial coolness of the medicine wore off, the pain on the back of her hand began to spread. Especially in the quiet of the night, the pain was magnified infinitely.

It hurt so much she couldn’t sleep. She endured it all night and only slowly fell asleep after a long time.

But now, being teased by this pervert, she didn’t feel the pain as much.

Xiao Yu pursed her lips, looking at Song Luoning’s flushed cheeks, then touched her nose. The young mistress seemed shy again; she wouldn’t even let her touch her hand. Xiao Yu sighed. “Go and wash up first. I’ve stewed some rabbit meat. We’ll see if you like it.”

As she spoke, she got out of the carriage first, stood to the side, and helped Song Luoning down.

“…”

By the time Song Luoning came back to her senses, she was already standing firmly on the ground.

She felt a rush of shame and annoyance.

The heat spread from her cheeks to the tips of her ears. What was wrong with this pervert?

First, she just held her hand and touched her hand, and now she was hugging her? What would she do next?

Song Luoning glanced at her, but didn’t say anything.

Xiao Yu accompanied her to the washroom to wash up and then entered the main hall together. The round table in the hall was the one from the old mud house. Xiao Yu had moved it to the new house to use for now. She had already asked a carpenter to make a new one, and she would replace the old one when it was ready.

They rarely ate in the carriage. Last night was a special circumstance. Xiao Yu helped Song Luoning to a stool, and then she hurried to the kitchen. The rabbit meat in the pot was already very tender. Xiao Yu scooped it out and brought it to the table.

“Try it and see how it tastes. If you like it, I’ll make it for you again. There’s another one in the basket, which I plan to take to my mother later,” Xiao Yu said.

Song Luoning nodded, took a piece, and found the rabbit meat to be spicy, fresh, and delicious, with no fishy smell at all. She had to admit that everything this pervert made was to her liking.

Seeing that Song Luoning liked it, Xiao Yu gave her more. If they finished it, she would just go catch more. If she was lucky, she could catch another one tomorrow.

As long as her young mistress liked it, even if she couldn’t catch one, she would go to the market and buy one for her.

After breakfast, Xiao Yu took Song Luoning to deliver the rabbit to Jiang Wanrou. She could have gone alone, but she thought her young mistress also needed to exercise regularly, so she just took Song Luoning with her.

Seeing Xiao Yu and Song Luoning arrive, the young maid didn’t bother to announce them and simply opened the door to let them in. “Young Master, Young Mistress, why have you come? The old mistress and the young lady are talking in the front hall.”

“Oh, I caught a rabbit. Take it to the kitchen and stew it for my mother to eat,” Xiao Yu said, handing the basket to the maid, then leading Song Luoning to the front hall.

From a distance, they could hear Jiang Wanrou’s voice.

“You said you agreed before, so why did you suddenly go back on your word? Zi Yi is a child I’ve watched grow up. He’s a good person and a xiucai…”

Chen Yu lowered her head and said nothing.

“Speak up. They’ve come to ask several times. If you don’t want to, you have to give a reason.”

Jiang Wanrou was furious. When she asked her before, she said yes. But as soon as the marriage was almost settled, she said she needed to think about it. It was so infuriating. Could marriage be treated as a game?

They were all so troublesome.

And just as she was dealing with one problem, she looked up and saw another worrisome child.

Jiang Wanrou paused, glared at Chen Yu, and said, “We’ll talk about your matter later.”

Xiao Yu and Song Luoning walked in and greeted Jiang Wanrou. When they asked, they found out that Chen Ziyi’s family had come to urge the marriage, and Chen Yu suddenly changed her mind.

On the matter of marriage, Xiao Yu sided with Chen Yu. After all, it was her own marriage. If she wasn’t happy, even if they married, they would just end up hating each other and become a miserable couple.

“If Yu’er is unwilling, forcing her to marry won’t make her happy. Just don’t force her and let her choose for herself,” Xiao Yu said.

Hearing this, Chen Yu looked at Xiao Yu with gratitude. She didn’t expect her to support her. In truth, she hadn’t made up her mind either. Before, she thought that since she and Chen Ziyi were childhood friends, marrying him was no big deal. But the closer the wedding date got, the more uncertain she felt. Chen Ziyi’s family had also pressed her a few times, which led to today’s situation.

“I’m not forcing her. I just want to know the reason. Suddenly backing out of the engagement is bad for Yu’er’s reputation in the future. I’m thinking of her.”

Why didn’t any of them understand her good intentions?

Jiang Wanrou sighed. “Fine. As long as you’ve thought it through, I’ll go and cancel the engagement for you.”

Chen Yu didn’t dare to speak, standing by with her head down.

Jiang Wanrou pulled Song Luoning to sit down, and they chatted for a while. Then Xiao Yu prepared to leave with Song Luoning. Chen Yu walked them to the door.

As they reached the entrance, Chen Yu lowered her head and said in an unnatural voice, “Um… thank you.”

Xiao Yu replied, “You just need to think it through for yourself. It’s your own business; no one else can make the decision for you.”

Chen Yu nodded. “I know. But still, thank you.” With that, she turned and ran back into the courtyard, her figure disappearing around the corner in the blink of an eye.

Xiao Yu twitched her mouth.

How awkward could she be?

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