Chapter 37 [VIP]
Chapter Summary: Settling In.
The older sister moved swiftly. Seeing that Yu Jing was in considerable pain, she quickly cleaned the wound and tossed the soiled towel back into the copper basin. The hot water in the basin immediately turned a faint reddish hue. She changed the towel, wrung it out in the hot water, and continued to wipe Yu Jing. Yu Jing hadn't eaten anything, felt weak all over, and gripped the sheets tightly, her forehead covered in sweat.
After cleaning Yu Jing's wound, the older sister applied medicine to it. The medicine felt cool and refreshing upon contact, instantly easing the pain. The faint scent of herbs filled her nostrils, instantly calming Yu Jing's anxious heart.
"Alright, young lady." The eldest sister finished applying the medicine to Yu Jing, wrapped it with the remaining clean cotton towel, and then gave Yu Jing clean clothes to change into.
"Thank you." Yu Jing was speechless at this point, breathing softly.
When the eldest sister opened the door carrying a copper basin, Xie Xuan rushed to the door. Seeing Xie Xuan's anxious appearance, the eldest sister said, "Miss, you've suffered. Please change your clothes and feed her something."
"Okay, thank you." Xie Xuan said, and quickly walked inside. Yu Jing was lying on the couch, feeling much better now, but she was hungry and had no strength.
Xie Xuan went to the bedside and, seeing that Yu Jing was alright, finally felt relieved. Noticing the sweat on her forehead, he reached out and wiped it away for her. Then he stood up and took the rice porridge and steamed buns that his eldest sister had just brought over from the table. He helped Yu Jing sit up halfway and fed her a spoonful of rice porridge.
The sticky, soft, and slightly sweet rice porridge slowly melted in her mouth. The older woman had brought it in a while ago, and the temperature was now just right. Xie Xuan, worried that Yu Jing's mouth might be dry, scooped some pickled cabbage from the side and mixed it in, feeding her a bite. The pickled cabbage was salty, fresh, and crisp; Yu Jing's mouth was filled with its tangy and spicy flavor, instantly waking her up. She had eaten many delicious things in the palace, but none could compare to this bowl of rice porridge at this moment.
After Yu Jing finished her rice porridge, Xie Xuan broke off half a steamed bun for her. Yu Jing regained some strength. Seeing that Xie Xuan was still wearing the same undergarment she had worn the night before, she said, "Hurry up and change into some clean clothes."
"Okay," Xie Xuan replied, glancing at the steamed bun in his hand, then asked, "Want some more?"
Yu Jing shook her head. Xie Xuan finished the remaining half of the steamed bun, and while eating, he got up and went to pick up the clean clothes that his eldest sister had brought in earlier. The clean clothes that his eldest sister brought in were actually their own coarse cloth clothes, but they looked better than what they were wearing.
Xie Xuan originally wanted to take his clothes out to change, but then he thought it would be strange to take them out to change, so he went to a corner. He glanced at Yu Jingwei and saw that she wasn't looking in his direction. He then quietly took off his inner and outer garments and changed into his new clothes.
After changing his clothes, Xie Xuan went over and continued eating the remaining steamed bun. Yu Jing watched him; the room was quiet, with only the sound of Xie Xuan eating. Xie Xuan snapped out of his daze and looked at Yu Jing, meeting her eyes. He tightened his grip on the bun, momentarily at a loss for what to do.
The room's window was small and closed, so it was dark outside; only a dim light filtered through the paper windowpane. Both were dressed in coarse cloth. Yu Jing sat leaning against the couch, while Xie Xuan sat in a chair beside her. Yu Jing's clothes were coarse, her hair disheveled, and her face deathly pale. For some reason, Xie Xuan couldn't detect a trace of destitution in Yu Jing. Yu Jing also looked at Xie Xuan, sensing a subtle tension in the air.
"Knock, knock, knock." There was a knock on the door. Both of them were startled. Xie Xuan got up with the steamed bun in his hand and went to open the door. His elder brother stood in front of the door, wearing a raincoat and a straw hat, and carrying a bag of oil paper covered with a thin layer of rain. Xie Xuan was stunned when he saw what was wrapped in the oil paper and looked at his elder brother.
The older brother continued, "Your wife is badly injured. I got some medicine from the village doctor. Boil it for her to drink."
Xie Xuan paused for a moment, then forced a smile and said to his elder brother, "Thank you."
Yu Jing was inside the house, but she could still hear the voice at the door. Hearing these words, she felt a warm glow in her heart.
Xie Xuan took the medicine and returned to the room, saying to Yu Jing, "Then I'll go and brew the medicine first."
"Okay," Yu Jing nodded in response.
Just as Xie Xuan was about to turn around and leave, he heard Yu Jing behind him say, "Hey."
Xie Xuan turned around and looked at Yu Jing.
"I want to rest for a while," Yu Jing said, looking at Xie Xuan.
Xie Xuan immediately understood Yu Jing's meaning. He put the medicine aside and walked to the bedside. Since Yu Jing was sitting upright and it was difficult to support her, he could only lean over and use his right hand to support her left side of her back, slowly helping her to lie down on the bed.
They weren't standing very close, but they could hear each other's heartbeats and breathing. Xie Xuan's hand was on Yu Jing's back. He could smell the faint scent of herbs on her, mixed with a hint of blood, just by looking down. Xie Xuan found the feeling at that moment quite subtle.
Yu Jingyuan was exhausted, and now lying on the soft straw mat was much better than lying on the cold, hard sand the night before. Now that his wounds had been treated and he had eaten his fill, sleepiness naturally crept in.
After Yu Jing lay down, Xie Xuan tucked the blanket around her before taking the medicine and leaving.
Xie Xuan went outside, passed under the eaves, and entered the kitchen. His older brother and sister were eating; their bowls contained only a little porridge and a few steamed buns—it seemed rather meager. Xie Xuan suddenly realized that their arrival had caused their food to be so scarce. He felt a pang of embarrassment.
"The medicine pot is over there, it's already washed, you can take it and use it," the older sister said, pointing to the medicine pot on the stove. "The stove is next to it, and the water is in the wooden bucket."
"Okay." Xie Xuan replied and went to get the things his elder sister had mentioned. He poured the medicine into the jar, added some water, rinsed it slightly, added more water, and placed the jar on the stove.
Xie Xuan sat before the stove, slowly adding firewood. He pondered his next move. For now, he should focus on healing Yu Jing's injuries. Once she was nearly healed, he could send a message back to the capital. He just didn't know who wanted her dead. Guizhou City was quite a distance from the capital, and without anyone he could trust, sending a message back would be difficult.
"Glug glug." The water in the jar boiled.
The eldest sister had just finished her meal when she heard the voice and said, "The medicine should be boiled a little longer."
"Hmm." Xie Xuan responded. The small kitchen was filled with the smell of herbs, which was not unpleasant, but rather carried a refreshing grassy fragrance.
Xie Xuan squatted in front of the stove. The smoke from the firewood was thick and pungent. When his elder brother saw that Xie Xuan was squinting, he called out, "Come and sit down."
"No, I'll stay here and watch over it, in case it burns dry," Xie Xuan replied with a smile.
The older woman used the residual heat from the stove to heat some water to wash the dishes, and while washing, she asked, "What kind of business do you run?"
Xie Xuan paused for a moment before replying, "Cloth."
"So you're the owner of a cloth shop, no wonder you're dressed so elegantly," the eldest sister joked.
Xie Xuan was afraid that if she asked too many questions, he wouldn't be able to answer them, so he added, "I just got married not long ago and took over this business from my father. I never thought that I would almost lose my life on my first trip."
“There are bandits in Guizhou City. They used to cause a lot of trouble, but in recent years the government has intervened more, and they have gradually stopped causing trouble. Perhaps they saw that your goods were really valuable, so they targeted you,” the elder brother said. “But it’s a blessing in disguise that you didn’t lose your lives.”
"Yes, thank you all very much," Xie Xuan replied, pursing his lips. "I haven't yet asked you how to address me, elder brother."
"My name is Sun Jun, and she is my wife, Li Yun."
"Brother Sun, Sister Li, I will call you that from now on."
"Okay," Li Yun nodded with a smile and asked in return, "I haven't asked your names yet."
“My name is Xie Xuan, and my wife’s name is… Gui Yi, Sheng Gui Yi.”
When Xie Xuan mentioned Yu Jing, he suddenly thought of the words in the Book of Songs: "Truly beautiful and unique, returning from the pasture with tender shoots."
"It sounds nice!" Li Yun thought to himself. Although he didn't know how to write the words Xie Xuan said or what they meant, he thought they sounded very nice. "You've all been to school, you're different from us."
Upon hearing this, Xie Xuan turned his head to look over. His eldest sister's eyes were bright, as if she were genuinely expressing her admiration and praise.
The rain gradually intensified, pouring down. Sun Jun glanced at the rain outside and said, "This rain doesn't look like it's going to stop anytime soon."
“Yes, there was a lot of snow this winter, so there will probably be a lot of rain in the spring and summer as well.” Li Yun replied, then thought of something, “I just changed your wife’s clothes, and the sheets underneath are a bit dirty. I’ll go get some new ones in a bit, you can take them and change them.”
"Okay, thank you," Xie Xuan replied.
"Although it's May, it's been raining a lot lately, and it's still a bit chilly at night. I'll go get the bedding later. It's not as fine as the fabric from your shop, but it's clean. You can make do with it."
"Not at all, we are already extremely grateful to our elder brother and sister for taking us in," Xie Xuan nodded in response.
The medicine was almost ready, and the older sister handed over a bowl and a cloth. Xie Xuan took the cloth and carefully poured the medicine into the bowl.
"I'll take the medicine over first."
"Hurry up and go."
Xie Xuan carefully protected the medicine as he passed under the eaves. The rain intensified, and he was afraid of splashing water into the bowl. He reached the door, went inside, and quietly closed the door behind him.
Xie Xuan placed the medicine on the table and was about to call Yu Jing when he suddenly froze, unsure of what to call her. After a moment's thought, he brought the medicine to the bedside. Yu Jing was asleep, her eyes closed. The bed was covered with a lot of straw, and Yu Jing nestled into it, looking small and serene.
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