Chapter 352 Wife
Qi Jun frowned even more. It seemed that the boy from earlier that day was this woman's child, but why were the mother and son speaking so frivolously and undignifiedly?
What new father is he? And what about offering himself in marriage?
He lay in bed all day and tried to stand up on his own, but his legs and back seemed to have been pricked by tree branches. Whenever he exerted himself, the wounds kept bleeding. He was afraid that he would faint again from blood loss before he even left the small courtyard.
He could only close his eyes and rest until other people came over.
Seeing that the handsome young man on the bed remained silent, the woman was not angry.
She smiled and poured a bowl of cold water from the table, then came over and reached out to help the young man up.
"My lord, are you thirsty? Would you like some water? Here, let me feed you~"
Qi Jun dodged sharply, a hint of shock and anger flashing in his eyes: "Don't touch me, I'll do it myself."
He used his still-functioning left hand to support his upper body and struggled to sit up. Leaning against the wall, he then reached out his left hand to take the rough earthenware bowl of water.
"Hey—"
The woman held the bowl directly, avoiding his hand.
She glanced at Qi Jun's face teasingly, finding him increasingly handsome, and couldn't help but laugh:
"Is your young master shy? It's alright. When I was treating your wound, what part of your body hadn't I seen?"
"Come, let me feed you water~ My hand isn't injured, I'm very steady~"
Qi Jun suppressed his anger and said stiffly, "No need."
The woman casually put the bowl aside and said excitedly, "Then let me change your clothes, put on your dressing, and treat your wounds!"
Qi Jun hesitated for a moment, then said, "No need."
“I am very grateful to you for saving me, madam. As for how much gold and silver jewelry you want, my elders will give it to you when I get home. Besides, I am engaged to the person I love. Please be careful with your words, madam, so as not to cause any misunderstanding.”
The woman curled her lip: "What old lady? Do I look that old? I'm only thirty... in my early thirties, thirty-two!"
“My surname is Ji, young master, you can call me Madam Ji.”
After Madam Ji finished speaking, Qi Jun couldn't wait to ask, "Thank you so much, Madam Ji, for saving my life."
"I wonder if there was another young girl nearby when Madam Ji rescued me? She was about fifteen or sixteen years old, very pretty, and she had a white jade pendant around her waist."
Madam Ji's expression immediately turned cold. "What young girl or young lady? Haven't you seen them before? This place is a well-known village of widows. If you're looking for young girls, you won't find them here."
"But we have nothing here except for a lot of widows. Do you like pretty widows?"
He's starting to talk nonsense again.
Qi Jun's forehead twitched uncontrollably. He took a deep breath and tried to move his leg, his voice cold and hard: "No need for Madam Ji to trouble herself, then I will go and find it myself."
Seeing his expression, Lady Ji rolled her eyes.
"What are you looking for? It's dark now, and the woods are full of wild animals that can eat people. Do you want to be carried off by wolves?"
Qi Jun remained silent, only continuing to move his leg with his left hand, his lips pressed tightly together.
"Young man, listen to my advice. I found you yesterday. If you go there today, that little girl you mentioned will probably have been eaten by wolves, leaving not a single bone behind, and she'll be dead without a trace!"
"Shut up!" The handsome young man's eyes instantly turned red, his eyes widened, and the aura he exuded startled Lady Ji, who hurriedly got up and took three or five steps back.
The young man growled, but his voice still trembled: "She is the wife I have chosen, she will never die!"
Lady Ji was so frightened by his appearance that she broke out in a cold sweat. For a moment, she thought she was facing a lion. It was truly terrifying!
"I...I understand, I won't say anything!" she stammered, trying to salvage the situation. "I was just trying to scare you. Who knows who that girl is? How can you be so fierce, young man?"
"Your wounds were all treated by my son, I didn't even glance at them. It's just that when I brought you back, I couldn't resist touching your face because you're so handsome..."
After saying that, she retreated towards the door in small steps, as if fleeing, until she was outside, before leaving behind the last sentence:
"I've put her in the next room. If you can walk now, go see for yourself!"
A loud slam of a door rang out in the courtyard. Qi Jun didn't care about anything else anymore. He didn't know where the motivation came from, but he suddenly stood up from the bed and, supporting himself against the walls and doors and windows, walked out of the house.
He then realized that he was in a small courtyard with one entrance. Besides the main gate on the left, there was another room next to his room, which was probably the place that Madam Ji had mentioned, where Yu Xuan was temporarily settled.
Qi Jun used almost the fastest speed he could muster, supporting himself against the wall as he walked towards the next room.
As he walked, he felt his wounds constantly reopening, with blood seeping out little by little, almost soaking his clothes.
With great difficulty, he touched the door, pushed it open with his left hand.
There were no lights in the room. By the light coming through the window and the open door, the little girl was wearing coarse clothes on a wooden bed against the wall. Her chest was rising and falling gently, and her breathing was long and even. She looked like she was just sleeping.
Qi Jun's heart, which had been hanging in mid-air, finally slowly settled down.
It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright.
It seems that Madam Ji may be a bit outspoken, but she is indeed kind-hearted.
They saved themselves and Yu Xuan, treated their wounds simply, and probably even fed them some herbs. That's why, despite falling from such a high cliff and with so many broken branches, they still managed to survive.
Qi Jun dragged his injured body slowly into the house, groped his way to the wooden bed where the little girl was sleeping, slowly sat down by the edge of the bed, grabbed the little girl's hand that was sticking out of the quilt, and slowly tucked it back into the quilt.
The door has been closed again. It's getting closer and closer to the twelfth lunar month. The nights are chilly, so we mustn't catch a cold.
He pushed her hand back, tucked the blanket around her, and sat on the floor by the bed, leaning against her, his mind drifting into a hazy sleep.
That night, Qi Jun had a rare full night of dreams.
My dreams are filled with chases, escapes, and heart-wrenching separations.
From his childhood wet nurse, the eunuch who served him, to his later teacher, the great Confucian scholar, his father, mother, brothers and sisters... and finally his aunt and uncle, and Yu Xuan.
He experienced saying goodbye to almost everyone in his life.
Everyone looked at him with heartbroken eyes and sorrowful expressions, as if to say that he shouldn't have died, or at least not so easily.
However, even in his dreams, Qi Jun knew very clearly that he was alive and well.
As dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight pierced through the low window, illuminating the eyelids of the person on the bed, Qi Yuxuan let out a muffled groan and moved her somewhat stiff fingertips.
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