Chapter 87 Lie to me, let go of my feet

The kick hit Zhou Linjin, but he didn't move at all and didn't even wake up.

Chen Lianxiu was so angry that she couldn't use any strength standing up, so she simply sat down again, pried Zhou Linjin's waist with her feet, and pushed out hard.

This time Zhou Linjin finally woke up. He was still in a daze and didn't know what had happened. The room was dark and he couldn't see clearly what was going on. He reached out and grabbed Shen Lianxiu's waist and grabbed one of her feet.

Zhou Linjin slowly regained consciousness as he felt the smooth and tender touch coming from his hands. He stood up without letting go of Shen Lianxiu's feet, but simply asked, "What happened?"

Chen Lianxiu's free foot was still kicking him, but she was afraid of waking An An, so she could only lower her voice and say, "There's so much room over there, why are you squeezing in here?"

Zhou Linjin looked to the side and thought, oh no.

Of course he knew that he had left a lot of space next to it. It was like this when he went to bed last night. He did it on purpose, just to take advantage of Shen Lianxiu who was sleeping inside and couldn't see.

Originally, he was thinking of moving back quietly at night, but then he fell asleep. He could have slept out this morning, but who knew that Chen Lianxiu would get up so early.

Zhou Linjin glanced at the still gray sky outside and said wearily, "Stop messing around and get some sleep."

Shen Lianxiu gritted her teeth: “You lied to me and made me soft-hearted!”

"No," Zhou Linjin quickly said, "I fell asleep at night and didn't even know where I slept."

"You're lying. You always sleep well." Chen Lianxiu kicked him hard with one foot and said, "Let go of my foot."

Zhou Linjindong had been hiding for several days and finally slept peacefully for a whole night. He still hadn't gotten enough sleep and was feeling sleepy. He closed his eyes and said, "I'll let you go if you stop."

Sure enough, Shen Lianxiu stopped moving.

Zhou Linjin released the jade feet from his palm contentedly and was about to continue to sleep, but he was unexpectedly kicked to the ground by her hands and feet.

He looked up and saw Shen Lianxiu sitting on the bed, looking at him coldly: "You will sleep on the floor from now on."

Zhou Linjin stood up, brushed off the dust on his body, and said, "The floor is so dirty, how can I sleep?"

Chen Lianxiu ignored him, got out of bed, turned his back to put on his coat, then opened the door and left.

Zhou Linjin rubbed his forehead and went back to bed.

He thought that the matter would just pass like that, and Chen Lianxiu was just making a fuss. After all, even if she really wanted to, she didn't have the conditions to do so at the moment. There wasn't even an extra bedding here, so he couldn't even sleep on the floor.

However, one night, he realized that Chen Lianxiu was serious about him.

Chen Lianxiu found a broken door panel that was lying on the side of the room, put it on the ground, and then pointed at it and said to Zhou Linjin, "You sleep here."

"What did you say?" Zhou Linjin couldn't believe it.

Although it was better than sleeping directly on the floor which he felt was dirty at the first sight, the broken door panel was not much better. There was a thick layer of dust accumulated over the years on it, and there were some stains that were difficult to identify, and even spider webs.

Shen Lianxiu repeated: "You sleep here."

“So dirty…”

"There's water and rags outside, just clean it up yourself."

Zhou Linjin was silent for a moment, then said, "There is no bedding."

"It's not that cold, just go to bed with your clothes on."

Zhou Linjin didn't say anything else. He understood that Chen Lianxiu was really soft-hearted, but she was also really stubborn. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had to use so many excuses before she would follow him back to the capital from Baixi Village.

He silently went to get some water and scrubbed the broken door panel several times. The dust and cobwebs were wiped clean, but the various stains that had long since dried and seeped into the wood grain could be wiped away with little effect no matter how hard he scrubbed.

Zhou Linjin felt uncomfortable, but there was nothing he could do. He had never experienced such hardship before. He could only comfort himself that it was better than sleeping in the open air for the past few days.

Because the room is small, the door panel cannot be placed properly, so it can only be placed next to the bed, which makes it seem even more crowded.

After Chen Lianxiu took An An back to bed after washing up, An An saw a door panel and didn't know what it was used for. Anyway, she ran over and jumped on it several times.

Zhou Linjin looked at the door panel that had just been wiped clean and saw a few more footprints mixed with the stains. All the work he had just done was in vain.

But An An was still giggling at him, making Zhou Linjin unable to get angry.

He finally understood why his father liked his sister more.

Zhou Linjin had no choice but to go over and carry An An down, then said: "An An, don't step on it, Daddy needs to sleep at night."

"Why sleep here?" An An blinked her big eyes, "Is it fun to sleep here? I want to sleep here too!"

"You can't sleep. You will catch a cold at night and feel uncomfortable." Chen Lianxiu walked over and ruthlessly interrupted An An's curiosity.

Zhou Linjin squatted down and touched An An's head, saying, "Be good and go to bed with your mother."

Both sides lay down, and tonight it was Zhou Linjin who extinguished the candle again.

An An couldn't fall asleep for a while, Chen Lianxiu was coaxing her in a low voice, Zhou Linjin was lying on the hard and broken door panel, covering himself with only an outer coat, feeling as if he had never been so embarrassed before.

But who can I blame? I can only blame myself.

That night, Zhou Linjin slept uncomfortably and kept tossing and turning on the door. He was waiting to see if Shen Lianxiu would suddenly soften her heart and call him back to sleep, but all he could hear was her shallow breathing and she didn't call him.

The next few days passed like this.

Although the two soldiers did not suspect Zhou Linjin, they still needed to be extremely careful. If King Hui suddenly came or sent his close confidants over, they would most likely see Zhou Linjin.

Zhou Linjin simply went out during the day under the pretext of taking Xiaoshu and An'an out to play, or going hunting and fishing in the mountains, to investigate the situation. He tried to avoid the scouts if he could, but if he couldn't, he would say that he was a servant of Madam Shen, and he could get away with it.

But at the moment, King Hui seemed to have decided that it was better to be quiet than to move, and was not in a hurry to attack the city, so nothing could be found out for the time being.

But soon, King Hui came to Shen Wuyu again.

It was still night time, and just like last time, Chen Lianxiu went to the kitchen to boil water and make tea, while Zhou Linjin quietly went there along the route he had observed long ago and hid in the corner.

King Hui only brought two guards with him, both of whom stood guard at the door. After all, the courtyard was small and the house was shallow. If anyone wanted to harm King Hui, standing here would be enough to deal with them.

Shen Lianxiu brought in tea as he did last time. This time, King Hui held Xiaoshu in his arms and sat him on his lap. He did not say anything to Shen Wuyu, but only asked Xiaoshu about some daily matters, such as how he was doing in the Shen family.

Xiaoshu was a man of few words, and would only say a few words if he asked a question. It didn't take long for King Hui to frown and sigh, "Why are you so introverted? Come with me to the military camp tomorrow."

Shen Wuyu became anxious when she heard this: "How can this be done? Xiaoshu will be scared. He is very timid and afraid of strangers."

"It's only a kind mother like you who spoils her son," King Hui said. He didn't force Xiaoshu to follow him to the military camp, but said, "He should be made stronger. How can he face people in the future if he's like this?"

Shen Wuyu didn't say anything. After a moment, she said angrily, "It's not your fault."

King Hui looked up at her, his eyes full of smiles, and said, "One day, I will personally teach Xiaoshu and make up for my debt to him."

"Then Your Highness must keep his word and don't forget about Xiaoshu when the time comes." Shen Wuyu finished speaking, and then said, "I don't know how long I will have to stay here. I'm short of food and clothing, and it's getting cold."

King Hui said, "I asked you to go somewhere else, but you refused."

"I'm not going. I want to be with you so that you can come and see us like you did today. If you go there, who will care about us, mother and son?"

"If they need anything, tell them. If they need anything, I'll send you some coal tomorrow to keep you warm in the winter."

King Hui stood up and did not linger for long. He went out and saw An An playing alone in the yard. He said to Shen Wuyu, "This child is strong and lively. Children raised by servants like them are more robust. Let Xiaoshu play with her more."

Shen Wuyu reluctantly replied, "Okay."

Shen Lianxiu, who was standing by, didn't think much of what she heard. Instead, she was happy and relieved. She was happy that the child was well raised. She didn't want An An to be weak and frail. She was relieved that An An was raised in the countryside and was not like a daughter raised by a wealthy family, otherwise King Hui would have seen through it at a glance.

At this time, King Hui asked casually, "I heard that the child's father has returned?"

Chen Lianxiu stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, thanks to Your Highness, the person has been found."

"Why didn't you see it?" asked King Hui.

Chen Lianxiu followed what he had already thought of and replied, "I went to take a bath in the woods."

King Hui didn't ask any more questions.

Just when everyone thought he was about to leave, he suddenly turned around and said to Shen Wuyu, "I'd better stay tonight and accompany you."

Shen Wuyu concealed her panic and pretended to be surprised: "Really?"

King Hui nodded and said, "I will not come here again for some time."

"Why?"

"The war is intense," King Hui walked in, and seeing Shen Wuyu slow down, he came to hold her back, "I will come and take you to the capital in the future."

Shen Wuyu lowered her head and smiled faintly, but did not speak.

After King Hui and Shen Wuyu went in, they, along with Xiaoshu and the other two, never came out again, leaving his two guards still guarding the door.

After a long time, Zhou Linjin walked out from the back of the house, went back to the front door, and then came in.

The night was dark, he lowered his head, slightly hunched over, and he had disguised himself beforehand, so people who were not very familiar with him would not recognize him at all. The two guards at the door glanced at him from a distance, and when they saw Chen Lianxiu coming to greet him, they knew it was her husband and did not ask any questions.

The two of them hurried into the house, and Zhou Linjin said, "I've seen one of the two guards who came today before."

Chen Lianxiu's heart was suddenly hanging high, but she thought about it carefully and said, "They didn't recognize you just now, so it should be okay."

Zhou Linjin nodded: "Let's deal with it first and talk about it tomorrow."

"What if King Hui sees you tomorrow?" Chen Lianxiu began to worry again.

"Just don't let him see me," Zhou Linjin had already thought of various scenarios. "He will definitely leave early and won't think of seeing me specifically. I'll just leave here early. If he really asks, I'll say I got up early to go fishing."

Shen Lianxiu agreed.