Chapter 31 Strange Things

It seems we can't leave the young lady home alone anymore. If she hadn't rushed back in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Just thinking about it makes me feel a little scared.

Xiao Yu felt a chill run down her spine. Fortunately, this time only the back of her hand was burned. Even though it was just a little burn, Xiao Yu was still heartbroken.

After tidying up briefly, Xiao Yu covered the young lady with a blanket after she lay down and said gently, "It's good that you don't feel pain. It seems that Doctor Jiang's treatment was quite effective. You can close your eyes and rest for a while. I'll go cook and come back right away."

The young lady must have been terrified just now. She's lying there obediently, her eyes misty with tears. It's truly heartbreaking.

That said, Song Luoning was indeed frightened. She pursed her lips, her whole body sinking into the blankets, leaving only her head exposed. Her scalded hand was also pulled out by Xiao Yu, exposed to the cool air, and the pain dissipated.

Hearing that Xiao Yu was going to cook, Song Luoning responded softly.

Her gaze followed Xiao Yu as he stepped off the carriage. He pursed his lips, slowly closed his eyes, and remained so for a long time.

But I still couldn't fall asleep.

Especially these past two days, she has been feeling very upset. Ever since she left home alone to marry Xiao Yu in Chenjia Village, she has struggled with all sorts of things he said. In their relationship, she has been seen as greedy and lustful, but Xiao Yu has doubted her. Yet, every time, Xiao Yu always manages to bring her unexpected joy.

Xiao Yu didn't dare to waste any time. She went to the kitchen and quickly cleaned up the burnt pot. She made Song Luoning a bowl of her favorite mushroom porridge and a cold dish of bamboo shoots before carrying the food back to the carriage.

When Song Luoning heard that she had returned, she slowly opened her eyes.

Xiao Yu took out a small carved table and placed the food on it: "Wait, I'll help you up, don't hurt your hands."

"I'm fine on my own," Song Luoning said, her eyes lowered.

She only suffered a burn, not a disability. Besides, if she let her help her up, she didn't know what other way this lecherous man would take advantage of her. Although she wasn't particularly disgusted by it now, she would still feel strange.

She didn't like this feeling; it made her feel very uneasy.

"Lie still." Xiao Yu moved forward, not giving Song Luoning a chance to react, and leaned over to pick her up, blanket and all.

Song Luoning gasped in surprise, staring at her in disbelief with wide eyes. Her heart pounded, her cheeks flushed, and she was momentarily speechless.

After regaining her senses, Song Luoning felt her cheeks burning even hotter and her heart beating faster. In the quiet space, all she could hear was Xiao Yu's breathing and the sound of her own uncontrollable heartbeat.

"My lady, please sit down first. I'll light the lamp and we can eat soon," Xiao Yu said softly.

In the strange darkness, even that person's voice carried a seductive quality.

Song Luoning felt a lump in her throat.

She bit her lip and said urgently, "No."

"What's wrong?" Xiao Yu asked, worried that the light might be shining into her eyes. "Wife, close your eyes first, and open them again later."

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

This lecherous man is always good at misinterpreting her meaning.

"Husband, could you wait a moment before ordering?" Her voice held a hint of pleading; she absolutely couldn't let her see her like this.

Sensing the unnaturalness in her voice, Xiao Yu's heart tightened, and she hurriedly asked, "Is it hurting again?"

As she was about to light the lamp, Song Luoning quickly pressed her hand down: "Husband, I'm fine, it's just..." Her voice trailed off as she said, "I'm a little thirsty, could you please get me another glass of water?"

All she wanted now was for this lecherous man to leave quickly and stop asking questions. In her eighteen years of life, she had never been in such a predicament.

Xiao Yu remained silent for a moment, his gaze fixed on Song Luo Ning in the darkness, trying to confirm whether she was truly alright. After a long while, he said, "Alright, my wife, wait a moment, I'll go get you some." With that, Xiao Yu got out of the carriage.

After Xiao Yu left, Song Luoning finally breathed a long sigh of relief. The carriage quieted down, the burning sensation on her cheeks slowly subsided, and her heartbeat returned to normal.

Not long after, Xiao Yu returned with the water.

Song Luoning took the water and sipped it, easing her embarrassment. She said gently, "Husband, please light the lamp. Have your meal and rest early."

Seeing that she was unaffected, Xiao Yu didn't think much of it. She lit the pine oil lamp, and the small space was instantly filled with the smell of pine oil. Xiao Yu then pushed open the carriage door.

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

"The weather has been nice lately, and we should be able to move into the house in a few days. The carriage is really small, so I'm sorry to have troubled you, my lady, during this time." Seeing that the smell had dissipated a bit, and worried that Song Luoning might get cold, Xiao Yu left a gap in the carriage and moved the carved small table between the two of them, touching the edge of the porridge bowl with his hand.

"The temperature is just right, let me feed my wife."

"......"

Song Luoning's breath hitched, and the fever that had just subsided rose again. Song Luoning didn't want to talk anymore, and didn't want to say a word to Xiao Yu. She took the porridge from her hand and silently finished it under Xiao Yu's burning gaze.

The next day, as dawn broke, Xiao Yu woke up. She got up quietly, dressed, and slung her bamboo basket over her shoulder, heading to the place where she had made the trap the day before. It was already late April, and the mornings weren't so cold anymore. Xiao Yu was still wearing her previous cotton-padded short-sleeved shirt. She walked quickly, and soon a layer of sweat appeared on her forehead.

When they arrived at the place where the traps were made, they found that several traps had been destroyed. Xiao Yu guessed that there must be a large wild animal nearby. Further down the search, they found a rabbit in one of the traps. They searched through each trap one by one, but the harvest was not great; they only caught two rabbits.

However, this was an unexpected bonus. Originally, she was just trying it out. With this experience, Xiao Yu re-layed the traps and made a few more nearby before carrying her basket back home.

Xiao Yu put down his basket, saw that it was still early, took a bucket to the river to fill the water vat, and then began to process the rabbit, stewing the rabbit meat with radishes.

When they returned to the carriage, Song Luoning had already woken up. Xiao Yu leaned over, held Song Luoning's palm, and looked at it: "It looks like the swelling has gone down a bit. Does it still hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt anymore." Song Luoning's cheeks flushed slightly. She turned her face away and tried to pull her hand back, but this time it was easy.

It still hurts. Once the cooling effect of the medicine wears off, the pain on the back of my hand starts to spread, especially in the quiet of the night when the pain is amplified.

The pain was so intense that she couldn't fall asleep. She endured it for a long time before finally drifting off to sleep.

However, despite being bothered by this lecherous man, she didn't feel much pain.

Xiao Yu pursed his lips, glanced at Song Luoning's flushed cheeks, and touched his nose. The young lady seemed to be shy again, and wouldn't even let anyone touch her. Xiao Yu sighed, "Go wash up first. I stewed some rabbit meat. Try it later and see if it's good."

He got out of the carriage first, stood to the side and waited for Song Luoning to come out, then reached out and helped her down from the carriage.

"......"

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

I felt a surge of shame and anger.

The heat slowly spread from her cheeks to the tips of her ears. What's wrong with this lecherous man?

Before, holding hands and touching hands was fine, but has it already extended to hugging me? What do you want to do next?

Song Luoning glanced at it but didn't say anything.

Xiao Yu accompanied her to the washroom to wash up, and then they went into the hall together. The round table in the hall was the one from the old mud-brick house. Xiao Yu had moved it to the new house and was using it for the time being. A new one had already been made by a carpenter, and the old one would be replaced once it was finished.

They rarely ate in the carriage. Last night was a special case. Xiao Yu helped Song Luoning to sit down on a stool and then hurried to the kitchen. The rabbit meat in the pot was already very tender. Xiao Yu ladled it out and put it on the table.

"Try it and see how it tastes. If you like it, I'll make you another one later. There's another one in the bamboo basket; I plan to take it to my mother later," Xiao Yu said.

Song Luoning nodded, picked up a piece, and found the rabbit meat to be spicy, fragrant, and without any fishy smell. She had to admit that everything this lecherous man made suited her taste perfectly.

Seeing that Song Luoning liked it, Xiao Yu put some more on her plate. She could just finish eating and then try to catch more. If she was lucky, she could catch some more tomorrow.

Even if she can't catch one, as long as the young lady likes it, she will still go to the market to buy one for her.

After breakfast, Xiao Yu took Song Luoning with her to deliver rabbits to Jiang Wanrou. She could have gone by herself, but thinking that the young lady also needed to exercise regularly, she decided to bring Song Luoning along.

Seeing Xiao Yu arrive with Song Luoning, the maid didn't bother to announce their arrival and simply opened the door to let them in: "Young Master, Young Madam, what brings you here? The Old Madam and Miss are talking in the front hall."

"Oh, I caught a rabbit. Take it to the kitchen and stew it for my mother." With that, Xiao Yu handed the basket to the little girl and led Song Luoning into the front hall.

Jiang Wanrou's voice could be heard from afar.

"You promised so readily, why did you suddenly go back on your word? I watched Ziyi grow up; he's a good person, and a scholar..."

Chen Yu lowered his head and remained silent.

"Say something! They've been urging us several times already. You need to have a reason for not wanting to."

Jiang Wanrou was furious. She had asked her before and she said it was okay, but now that the marriage was settled, she said she needed to think about it. It really made her angry. Can marriage be treated like a game?

They're all such a handful!

Before this problem could be solved, I looked up and saw another troublesome and worrisome child.

Jiang Wanrou paused for a moment, then glared at Chen Yu: "We'll talk about your matter later."

Xiao Yu led Song Luoning inside and greeted Jiang Wanrou. After asking her questions, she learned that Chen Ziyi's family had come to urge them to get married, but Chen Yu suddenly became unwilling again.

Whether or not to get married, Xiao Yu still sided with Chen Yu. After all, it was her own marriage. If she was not satisfied, even if they got married, they would still hate each other and become a resentful couple.

“Xiaoyu isn’t willing. Forcing her to marry won’t make her happy. So stop pressuring her and let her choose for herself,” Xiao Yu said.

Upon hearing this, Chen Yu looked at Xiao Yu gratefully. She hadn't expected her to support her. Actually, she hadn't thought it through. She had thought that marrying Chen Ziyi was fine since they were childhood sweethearts. But the closer the wedding date got, the more uncertain she felt. Chen Ziyi's family had come to urge her several times, which led to this situation today.

"I wasn't pressuring her. I just wanted to know the reason. Suddenly breaking off the engagement wouldn't be good for Xiaoyu's future reputation. I was thinking of her."

Why can't they understand her good intentions?

Jiang Wanrou sighed: "Fine, as long as you've thought it through, I'll go and get this engagement canceled for you."

Chen Yu didn't dare to speak and stood to the side with her head down.

Jiang Wanrou pulled Song Luoning to sit down, and after chatting for a while, Xiao Yu prepared to leave with Song Luoning, and Chen Yu saw them off at the door.

As she reached the door, Chen Yu lowered her head and said in an unnatural voice, "Um... thank you."

Xiao Yu replied, "You should think it through yourself. This is your own business, and no one else can make the decision for you."

Chen Yu nodded: "I know that, but thank you anyway." After saying that, she turned around and ran back to the yard, disappearing around the corner in the blink of an eye.

Xiao Yu twitched the corner of her mouth.

How awkward is this?