Chapter 58

Her cheeks were flushed, just like when she was a boy.

After several years, Zhilan had changed. She had put her hair up in an old-fashioned bun, and the honest and clear look in her eyes had disappeared, replaced by a melancholy and heaviness.

Lu Qin helped her up with trembling hands, her joy at the reunion overflowing.

Since she left, she only sent back two letters to let me know she was safe, and then there was no news from her. Seeing her again now is a truly unexpected joy.

Lu Qin wiped away the tears from Zhi Lan's eyes and asked about Zhi Lan's recent situation. Zhi Lan held her hand tightly, choking up several times and unable to speak.

The feelings of being apart for so long cannot be explained in just a few words.

In the end, Zhilan first sent the two children back, then asked her mistress for leave before returning to catch up with her former mistress.

As she stepped into the Hao residence and saw the new scene, she couldn't help but reminisce about the past, and then she spoke to Lu Qin about it.

"Not long after the young lady sent me back to my hometown that year, my father arranged a marriage for me. At first, everything was fine, and my husband was an honest man. But later, he worked hard and fell ill and never recovered..."

"My husband fell ill, our family income was meager, and we had a child to support, so I had no choice but to go out and earn a living, which led me to work as a wet nurse... Fortunately, my child and I were able to eat our fill and stay warm..."

As she listened to her story, Lu Qin couldn't help but tear up. Zhi Lan had grown up with her since childhood. Although she was a maid in the household, they had always been like sisters. She didn't want Zhi Lan to have a bad life.

She said, “You have to raise money to treat your husband’s illness and raise your children. It must be very hard for you. If you need money, just ask me.”

Zhilan shook her head: "I appreciate your kindness, Miss. But you and your husband have just arrived in the capital and have opened a new clothing shop. You need a lot of money. How could I trouble you with my family's private matters?"

“My child and I are fine, but the doctor said my husband… doesn’t have much time left, and told me to prepare… I… I really don’t know how to explain this to my child…”

As Zhilan spoke, her voice trembled uncontrollably again. Luqin didn't know how to comfort her, so she could only pat her back gently. The atmosphere became heavy for a moment.

Seeing that Lu Qin was also gloomy, Zhilan quickly said, "It's Zhilan's fault for making Miss sad. Miss, don't worry, the master and mistress of this family treat me very well. They often help me out and even allow me to bring my child with me. The young master and young lady are also close to me, so life isn't so hard."

Lu Qin nodded gently, but she could tell at a glance whether Lu Qin was sad or not.

Zhilan's clothes were quite old, made when she was at the Lu residence. They showed signs of having been washed several times and some of the color had faded.

In addition, her hands were covered with calluses, showing that she had endured a lot of hardship in just a few years. After her husband fell ill, all the heavy work fell on her shoulders, making it even more difficult.

Seeing Lu Qin staring at her hands, Zhi Lan sighed and smiled, then lowered her head.

The two remained silent, neither speaking, when Hao Jingshi suddenly asked abruptly, "Which doctor said that?"

The two, both looking distressed, paused for a moment after hearing this and turned their heads away. Tears streamed down Zhilan's face as she looked somewhat bewildered.

"What did the son-in-law say?"

Hao Jingshi repeated, "Your husband doesn't have much time left. Which doctor said that?"

The point he made puzzled Zhilan, but she still answered truthfully: "That's right, look, the doctors I've seen all said the same thing."

Hao Jingshi looked slightly disdainful and crossed his arms, saying, "I'll go take a look tomorrow, so don't look so long-faced."

Zhilan was stunned for a moment, then looked at Luqin with delight after understanding what she meant.

Lu Qin blinked. Yes, she was too engrossed in her feelings for Zhilan and forgot about her precious husband.

She smiled with relief and patted Zhilan's shoulder: "Yes, my husband's medical skills are superb. There might still be a chance to cure him. Wipe away your tears."

Zhilan wiped away her tears with emotion, immediately knelt down, and kowtowed repeatedly to the two of them.

"If my son-in-law can cure my husband, I and my family will forever remember his kindness and repay him for the rest of our lives!"

"Whether you repay me or not, we'll see later. If you bump your head and someone sees it, they'll think I committed a crime in the middle of the night."

Hao Jingshi chuckled and gestured for her to get up.

"It's getting late, you should go home now. There's no rush to chat. Come visit me anytime you have time."

"hiss……"

Hearing Hao Jingshi's order to leave, Lu Qin couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable. She wanted to say something to persuade her to stay, but Zhi Lan was as stubborn as ever and immediately and obediently said goodbye to her.

"Then I won't bother you any longer, Miss. I'll come to keep you company often."

...

After Zhilan left, Luqin turned back from the door and saw Hao Jingshi standing aside as if nothing had happened. She couldn't help but go up to him and poke his chest fiercely.

"It's one thing to be annoying with your arrogant attitude, but to kick someone out, what do you mean by that?"

“She’s complaining here, and you’re getting upset too. I don’t want to see you like this.” Hao Jingshi grabbed her hand and pressed it against his chest. “Besides, what if I can cure you? Wouldn’t your frustration have been for nothing?”

Lu Qin pulled her hand back: "Then you should speak properly, don't act like someone owes you eight million taels of silver. Zhilan has already suffered enough, and you still have to make things worse for her."

"What's wrong with what I said? Madam is clearly just picking a fight." Hao Jingshi stared at her intently. "In that case, Madam, why don't you teach me how to speak properly?"

Lu Qin was puzzled: "How do I teach him?"

"Weren't you very gentle when you were coaxing those two kids today? You spoke to me in that tone, and I'll try to learn from you."

As Hao Jingshi spoke, he raised an eyebrow and drew out his words with a wicked grin, "How about it, Sister Lu?"

Lu Qin rolled her eyes at him: "Go to sleep, Uncle, I'm tired."

She turned to go change her clothes, and Hao Jingshi, seeing this, smiled with narrowed eyes behind her.

"Look at you, so patient with others, but so perfunctory with me."

As he spoke, he hurriedly followed after them.

The two changed into their nightgowns one after the other. Lu Qin walked in front, and Hao Jingshi followed behind. After she climbed into bed, he slowly sat on the outside, blew out the candles, drew the curtains, and pulled the corner of the quilt up for her.

"Seeing you talking to the children today, I thought that if you become a mother one day, you will definitely be a gentle and loving mother."

After hearing this, Lu Qin turned over in bed and found Hao Jingshi propping his cheek up with one hand, facing her intently.

His eyes were like a mirror in the dim light, reflecting her blurry image. Lu Qin's heart trembled. She threw the blanket over to him, sharing half with him, and leaned closer to him.

“Of course we have to be gentle. After all, the child has already suffered enough with a father as hot-tempered as her husband.”

Hao Jingshi glanced at the scene after hearing this, as if imagining it, and then smiled.

After laughing, his expression darkened as if he had just woken from a dream. He lowered the hand that had been supporting his cheek, lay down, and covered himself with the blanket.

"Let's not talk about this anymore, let's go to sleep."

The air was silent for a moment. Lu Qin turned her head and saw that he had closed his eyes, so she moved closer to him.

She was well aware of Hao Jingshi's thoughts.

"My husband, actually..."

Lu Qin lowered her eyes, wrapped her arms around his, and snuggled against him.

As she spoke, her lips brushed against his shoulder, her breath warm against his skin. Hao Jingshi casually touched her cheek as he heard her speak.

"Actually, I haven't had contraceptive soup for a long time."

Her voice was extremely soft, like a feather falling in the snow. Hao Jingshi thought he had misheard and suddenly opened his eyes.

"What?"

“I said…I…” Lu Qin looked up at him, then felt a little embarrassed and started to shrink into the quilt.

“I know you long for a child. I didn’t long for one before, and I was afraid of it, but now I’m not afraid anymore.”

After saying that, she solemnly repeated, "My husband, if it is with you, I will not be afraid."

"..." Hao Jingshi finally heard clearly and turned over in disbelief.

Facing her, he was so excited that he could only stammer out half of his sentence: "Really...really...you..."

Lu Qin nodded slightly to him, her expression gentle yet resolute.

"Really, my husband."

Unable to suppress her impulse, she said to him, "Actually, the fortune teller once said that my fate with you spans three lifetimes."

She looked straight into his eyes and stammered, "If there is an afterlife, I still want to marry you again."

After hearing this, Hao Jingshi stared at her blankly, repeating her words, almost forgetting to breathe.

"Come, in the next life..."

The last time she had so openly expressed her feelings was two years ago. She nestled against his chest like a kitten and softly told him, "Jing Shi, I like you."

Looking into her eyes, he slowly understood that what she was really saying was, "I love you."

"In the next life, of course I'll marry you, young master." Hao Jingshi stammered, his face unusually flushed, just like when he was young. "Otherwise, who else would I want to marry..."

Lu Qin was amused by his expression and nodded, "My husband is right."

I will never be attracted to anyone else but you.

...

After exchanging intimate words, the two leaned against each other in silence, drifting off to sleep.

A cool moonlight shone on the bedside. Hao Jingshi looked at Lu Qin, who was lying in his arms with her eyes closed, and his surging emotions slowly dissipated.

He stared at her stunning face, lost in thought, recalling the heartfelt words she had just spoken.

Her words reminded him of the old man's words about a short life, and his sleepiness vanished instantly.

Because of this one sentence, he considered every possible contingency and took all the necessary precautions.

But the conversation just now made him think again that childbirth is like passing through the gates of hell, and she has always been weak, so isn't she risking her life for him?

"That's fine." Hao Jingshi hugged Lu Qin even tighter. "It doesn't matter whether we have a child or not."

Lu Qin vaguely heard this muttered phrase, and then felt a force pushing her from behind.

The next second, her face pressed against Hao Jingshi's chest, and her consciousness, which was just about to drift off to sleep, was pulled out by his words.

Lu Qin blinked her sleepy eyes, and after a moment of processing, she understood what he was muttering, and couldn't help but feel puzzled.

There was a deep anxiety in Hao Jingshi's words, just like last time. He seemed to be afraid of something lately; she had never seen him so afraid of anyone.

She mumbled, her words slurred because she couldn't open her mouth wide, "Is my husband worried about what the elders say about a lack of offspring?"

"No." Hao Jingshi knew he had disturbed her peaceful sleep, so he buried his head in her hair. "Go to sleep. Anyway, just be well."

Lu Qin was confused, only vaguely sensing that his anxiety seemed to originate from her, so she comforted him by putting her arm around his waist: "I'm fine. It's not good to think too much at night, goodnight, my husband."

Hao Jingshi cupped her head with one hand and replied with a "okay".

Lu Qin closed her eyes and fell asleep again, but soon heard intermittent friction sounds coming from the night.

She quickly realized that it was Hao Jingshi who was constantly rubbing a strand of her hair with one hand.

He seems to have trouble falling asleep.

Noticing his unusual behavior, Lu Qin began to mutter to herself to calm him down.

“In a few days, once my husband finishes drawing the clothing designs, we’ll make new clothes for the children. Our little girl has been looking forward to it for so long; she’ll definitely love them. After we’re done with this busy period, we’ll go see the scenery of the capital.”

Her tone was gentle, like she was soothing a child to sleep. Hao Jingshi paused, his restless little thorns in his heart were soothed away.

He lowered his head and responded softly, "Mmm."

Lu Qin continued to murmur, "I heard that the mountains here are very high and it takes a whole day and night to climb them, but my husband is strong and healthy, so carrying me up the mountain should be no problem for him."

"Um."

"By the way, the weather has warmed up a bit these past few days. I'd like to go for a spring outing with my husband, fly kites, and when I have some free time, go back to see my father, mother, and brothers at home."

"Um……"

"besides……"

Lu Qin spoke softly, and Hao Jingshi responded in a low voice.

After a while, Hao Jingshi slowly loosened his grip, and the faint nasal sound he had used in response to her turned into even breathing, blowing into her ear.

Lu Qin raised her head and saw his sleeping face, with his eyelashes drooping, as innocent as a baby's.

She knew he was fast asleep, so she nestled close to him peacefully and closed her eyes as well.