Chapter 7: There's hope! On her fair chest, that thin, lean muscle...
Using a dagger to cut open the seams of the interlayer, a white shadow slid smoothly down from the waist.
Ning Lu hurriedly caught it, and upon closer inspection, she saw that it was a finely carved white jade pendant with auspicious patterns.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone into the room, making the jade stone sparkle.
"This should be worth several dozen taels of silver."
"So...we're saved?"
"Could the original owner be my savior? She's truly my benefactor!"
Ning Lu tightly gripped the jade pendant in her hand and kissed it twice before excitedly walking to the bedside.
"Xiao Ming, did you hear that? You're saved!"
He leaned over the bedside and waved his hand.
As if remembering something, Ning Lu's smile froze for a moment, then she sadly pulled the jade pendant back to her eyes.
The jade piece was sewn into the inner layer of her undergarment with exquisite embroidery. She herself didn't notice anything unusual even after going in and out for several days.
"Hidden so deep, this thing must have been very important to the original owner."
It would be really unethical for her to pawn it to survive. Moreover, if they traced the jade pendant, they might be able to find some clues about the original owner.
Ning Lu leaned over the bed and nudged Ji Ming: "What should we do?"
No one answered her.
No one can help her.
Ning Lu stared at the jade for a long time but couldn't come to a conclusion, so she could only put it back in the interlayer and seal it.
The sun set, and it quickly became completely dark.
There were no candles in the room, so it was naturally dark.
When she first settled down, Ning Lu preferred the evenings.
Autumn nights in ancient villages are very comfortable; the occasional sound of flowing water and chirping insects is more soothing to the soul than white noise videos.
Moreover, the moon was high in the sky, unlike the pitch-black darkness of modern urban villages. She could see the stars while lying in the courtyard.
Ninglu was forgetful. Lying on the straw mat, she idly watched the sky turn dark blue and the distant mountains become like an ink painting. She could temporarily put her livelihood and survival aside and just be glad that she had lived another day.
But the autumn chill in the southwest is the most merciless, with each night growing colder than the last. Tonight, Ning Lu could no longer withstand the chilly wind and dew in the courtyard, and she packed up her bedding early and went back inside.
No cell phones, no one to chat with, no stars...
"I'm so bored, all I can do is go to sleep."
"Brother Xiaoming, it's very cold tonight."
"Let's make do."
...
In fact, apart from the first night when she stayed by the bedside, she had already occupied the other half of the bed for the rest of the time.
There was only one bed, and this person was unconscious and powerless to resist. Why should she allow feudal ethics to deprive her of the right to a peaceful night's sleep?
However... tonight is different.
He seemed to be making more muscle movements during the day than he had the previous two days. She had a feeling that he was about to wake up.
We should still be polite.
"If you don't say anything, I'll take that as your agreement."
"Don't worry, I'm a good sleeper and won't take advantage of you." Ning Lu paused, "I also won't threaten your reputation in the future."
On the narrow wooden bed, the two were separated only by a single folded garment.
Ning Lu turned around so that she and Ning Lu were facing each other head to toe so as not to interfere with each other.
"You know what, it actually gives off a bit of a middle-aged couple vibe."
"It's great to have lived another day."
Goodnight, Brother Ming.
Outside the courtyard, the moonlight was like water; inside, the breathing was long and even.
Those eyes, which had been closed for a long time, slowly opened in the darkness, their gaze falling on the curled-up figure at their feet.
The pupils blended into the pitch-black night, revealing no emotion. After a brief gaze, the light in those eyes faded once more, and they closed silently.
I don't know which rooster crowed first, breaking through the morning mist, and then all the livestock in the village were awakened. From west to east, the sound stretched on and on.
Ning Lu pulled the blanket over her head and sighed mournfully.
"Girl!"
"Hey! Little girl! Ning Lu!"
The wooden door creaked and swayed precariously as it was pounded on, and Ning Lu resignedly got up.
"Sis? So early?"
In the courtyard stood Yu Niang, whose hair was also disheveled. However, Ning Lu was still half asleep, while Yu Niang's clothes were stained with blood and her eyes were bloodshot.
Startled by the scene before her, Ning Lu asked, "What happened? What's going on?"
"It's nothing. My sister-in-law gave birth yesterday, and she's been busy until now."
"Is it not going well?"
"Childbirth is a life-or-death ordeal for any woman. It's alright." Yu Niang seemed utterly exhausted, and her voice lacked its usual strength and confidence.
She raised her hand and pushed the bundle in her arms into Ning Lu's hands: "I passed by my second uncle's place. He said your young master's external injury needs to be dressed."
"But I..."
"Human life is of utmost importance." Seeing her refuse, Yu Niang glared at her and put on her fierce look again: "Take it if I tell you to. I've kept track of every single expense!"
"Yu Niang! I have to go up the mountain! Why isn't there even a bowl of hot soup?"
The man in the front yard still sounded sleepy; you could tell from the noise that he had just woken up. He probably hadn't even finished stretching before asking for food.
"You damned devil! If you have nothing to eat, then go hungry! All you do is yell, can't you open your eyes and see for yourself?" Yu Niang retorted immediately, and the other side fell silent instantly.
Seeing the bloodshot eyes in her eyes, Ning Lu's heart skipped a beat: "Is there anything I can do to help you?"
"What? There's no rice at home, and you can't even get soup if you want."
"no."
Ning Lu's words were interrupted again by the shouts of the man in the front yard. Seeing that Yu Niang was clearly getting agitated, Ning Lu reached out and tugged at her sleeve.
"Wait for me a moment."
She bent down and placed the bundle containing bottles and jars on the ground, then turned her back and took out a jade pendant from the hole in her clothes.
After calming himself down, he carefully examined the jade again and memorized its appearance.
He squeezed it firmly before turning around resolutely and handing it over with clasped hands.
"Could you please exchange some more silver for me?"
Ning Lu couldn't understand jade artifacts, but she felt that although they couldn't compare to what Ji Ming had, they were still jade and could at least be of some value.
"Once we get the money, we can split it."
Outside the fence, donkey hooves clattered on the stone slabs, and the morning light cast a long shadow of the old man.
Inside the courtyard, Zhu Dacheng's shouts, children's cries, and Ji Mingqing's soft coughs mingled together.
The whole world is awake, the whole world is noisy.
Yu Niang didn't look at the jade, but instead looked at Ning Lu: "Why haven't I seen you take it out before?"
"Aren't we at our wits' end now?"
"If it's something extremely important, you should think carefully about whether it's worth it to pawn it for a man."
"Didn't you just say it was a matter of life and death?" Ning Lu teased with a smile, understanding her meaning. Before Yu Niang could scold her, she immediately chimed in, "It's definitely for food. If we could exchange it for some money to cover the doctor's consultation fee and give you, you miser, a bite to eat, wouldn't that be wonderful?"
The front yard is still urging them.
Yu Niang had no choice but to accept the jade pendant and keep it close to her body. She nodded hurriedly and turned away.
He took two steps, then turned back and waved to her: "It's still early, go to sleep."
Ning looked embarrassed and quickly closed the door.
Yu Niang would never understand her survival strategy of sleeping until noon every day to resist hunger. As long as she could get up at noon and go out to work, she could save two meals a day, which was a good deal no matter how you looked at it.
Smoke rose from the front yard, and soon the aroma of food filled the air.
Ning Lu sniffed, then just sighed and pouted. Every day, she could hear the deafening din of gongs and drums coming from Yu Niang's courtyard, both in the front and back yards; there was always something to do.
I only realized after traveling through time that women throughout history have never had an easy life.
As the aroma of the rice soup filled the air, Ninglu's stomach rumbled loudly.
"Well! I'm up so early today, I'm in for some more suffering."
When will this ordeal finally end?
"I really want to go home."
Ning Lu swallowed the half-eaten cornbread she hadn't finished yesterday, washed her hands, and returned to her bedside.
"Great, he hasn't had a fever again today."
"Then let's change the medicine."
"Brother Xiaoming, if you really are a wealthy and noble person, could you throw ten thousand taels of gold at your savior as a thank you gift?"
It's started again.
Whenever she gets close to this bed, she starts talking to herself like she's possessed, tirelessly.
The man lying flat on the bed suddenly stopped breathing, and his eyelashes trembled slightly.
"Don't think I talk too much. You should know that my stand-up comedy show isn't free." Ning Lu didn't notice the subtle movements at all. She squatted down by the bed and skillfully unwrapped the bandages on her wound.
"You have to buy a 9.9 yuan drink on Meituan to get in."
The voice gradually faded, unable to conceal the guilt and embarrassment.
"It seems to have healed a little better." Ning Lu leaned forward, holding her breath to examine it closely.
The girl's breathing and heartbeat were separated by only a thin line, slowing down almost in sync.
His half-closed eyelids twitched slightly, and after struggling for a while, he finally managed to close them again with his strong willpower.
Ning Lu was completely unaware of what was happening. She only felt that it was inconvenient to exert force while half-squatting, so she simply changed to a kneeling position and leaned over him.
The medicinal powder was evenly scattered as the fingertips were shaken, and the pungent, ginger-yellow aroma tightly enveloped the torn skin and flesh.
"I really want to eat barbecue."
Ning Lu swallowed, murmured aggrievedly, but didn't stop her hands from moving, getting even closer.
She was very thin, and he was no less so. Their two skeletons pressed together, causing a painful discomfort.
But she is warm.
Ji Ming's body was always sensitive to cold, and no matter how many hot water bottles he used in autumn and winter, he couldn't get warm. Just as her breath brushed against his wound, a few drops of warmth gradually spread from his chest.
His lips moved slightly, then silently pressed together.
On his fair chest, the thin, lean muscle twitched slightly as the medicinal powder melted.
"It must hurt a lot, right?"
Ning Lu stopped what she was doing and looked up at him.
The air seemed to freeze, and with each breath, their eyes met.
She didn't react much, only raising the porcelain bottle in her hand: "You're awake, I'm changing your dressing."
"Do you want to do it yourself?"
As soon as she said it, Ning Lu rolled her eyes at herself inwardly, thinking, "I can't even think about it."
As expected, the man raised an eyebrow slightly, shook his head with a half-smile.
He had been lying there for so long that he didn't even have the strength to move a finger.
Seemingly certain that he was powerless to resist, the woman not only failed to restrain herself but became even more unscrupulous.
The starched strips of cloth were applied to the wound and gradually tightened.
She leaned forward again, her hand reaching up from above his chest to his shoulders and neck, the strip of cloth brushing past him from below.
With their skin touching, Ji Ming blushed first, and despite using all his strength, he could only turn his head to the side.
"what you do…"
"Bandage it up."
Ning Lu looked over his neck and straightened the wrinkles on the strip of cloth behind him: "If you keep lying like this and don't smooth it out, it will hurt your skin."
As the mouth opened, the air sprayed onto her neck, turning her earlobes red.
"Stay away from me..."
"Don't be nervous. I won't take advantage of you." Ning Lu chuckled, raised her hand and gently patted his shoulder, teasingly saying, "You're still too thin, you'll look better if you eat more."
Ji Ming closed his eyes, deeply regretting waking up at this moment.
A rustling sound came from beside him, the clinking of porcelain bottles. Hu Teng stood up. Two steps away, he heard the creaking and groaning of tables and chairs.
Bang--
The wooden door was kicked open, and a gust of wind blew it out. A flurry of footsteps, wails, and whispers arose outside.
Then his footsteps faded into the distance, and the surroundings fell into dead silence. The peace he had prayed for to the gods in his slumber was now granted.
Ji Ming moved his stiff fingers and pressed them against his chest little by little.
His heartbeat still felt sluggish, and his breaths were accompanied by a persistent, sharp pain. Both his external injuries and his precarious heart and lungs screamed reminders that he had once again escaped death.
The one who saved him... was that strange woman.
He tried to recall what happened before and after he fell into a coma, but his illness made him delirious and his mind was foggy.
His thoughts were in complete disarray, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pull the thread back.
The firewood crackled, and a faint, bitter smell of medicine seeped into the room.
When Ning Lu woke up again, she was standing by the bed with one hand holding the medicine and the other on her hip, looking as righteous and awe-inspiring as a soldier guarding the frontier.
"The doctor went out to see patients this morning and will only be available this afternoon. Please drink the medicine as is."
The medicine was made from the leftover dregs from yesterday, and this was the third time it had been brewed. The color of the broth had changed from dark brown to light yellow; people would have believed it was tea.
Ji Mingchu woke up, his eyes still misty, nestled in the slightly yellowed blankets.
His lips moved, his voice was hoarse, and he simply swallowed back the words he hadn't yet uttered.
"Shall I help you sit up?"
"I can do it myself."
He spoke slowly and deliberately, his words weak and unconvincing.
Ning Lu didn't argue with him. She put down the medicine, sat on the edge of the bed, and watched quietly.
Her fair fingertips gripped the edge of the bed tightly, and the veins on her forearms bulged from the effort.
The moment his head left the headboard by half an inch, his face turned ashen, and he trembled as he lay back down in his original spot.
Almost simultaneously, Ning Lu stood up, put her hands under his armpits, wrapped one arm around his waist, and supported the back of his head with the other, and picked him up steadily.
Her skillful movements seemed to have been done a hundred times.
Ji Ming was shocked by the situation, and was so angry that he couldn't speak, only panting heavily.
"You...cough cough..."
Startled and frightened, she felt dizzy and nauseous. Her neck went limp and tilted to one side, but Ning Lu caught her.
"Male...male and female..."
"Are you alright? Did I move too quickly?"
His struggling murmurs were all ignored by Ning Lu as mere groans of pain, and she immediately started on a different topic.
Ji Ming frowned, his lips drooped, and he kept panting with his eyes down, unable to muster any strength to respond to her.
After a long while, barely regaining his senses, he said in a hoarse voice, "Let go..."
Are you sure you can sit still?
"Let go."
After a brief pause, the man responded with a tone that was both tragic and resolute.
He hooked one hand on the carved railing by the bed and supported himself on the bed board with the other, slowly leaning back.
His hands were shaking so badly they were practically sieves, and blood was seeping from the freshly bandaged wound.
Ning Lu watched in horror, but she didn't want to provoke him and let him show off.
After Ji Ming sat down, she picked up the medicine bowl from beside her feet and sat down next to him.
"The medicine is still hot, you can drink it later."
The series of movements were so natural and fluid that Ji Ming had the illusion that the two of them had known each other for a long time.
"Men and women are different."
Ji Ming picked up the inner garment from beside the pillow, draped it over his shoulders, and repeated what he hadn't finished saying.
"That depends on the situation."
Ning Lu was too lazy to distinguish at first, but when she glanced at him, she saw that he was as weak and thin as a piece of white paper, and his ears were so red that they were dripping blood.
Is he rather shy and innocent? Her impatience with his outdated theories turned into amusement; she suppressed a laugh and nodded repeatedly.
Ji Ming saw through her perfunctory attitude at a glance and was about to lash out, but then he burst into another heart-wrenching cough.
She steadied his swaying body again, and a pillow was placed behind him.
"cough…"
The woman before him acted without any manners or rules, making it impossible for him to tell whether she was genuinely foolish or had ulterior motives.
"Take your medicine first."
When the bowl was handed to him, Ji Ming did not reach out to take it, but simply stared quietly at the bowl of unusually colored medicine.
"I didn't poison it."
Feeling uneasy under his gaze, Ning Lu felt a little guilty and picked up a porcelain bowl to take a bite.
"If you're worried, I can drink it to prove it to you."
Before Ji Ming could speak, he tilted his head back and drank it all.
Ji Ming squinted at her. Judging from her appearance, those who knew her were testing for poison, while those who didn't would think she was thirsty.
He raised his hand, ready to take the medicine bowl from Ning Lu's hand.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a bloodstain on her face. Looking closer, I saw that her face was completely flushed, and two streams of blood were seeping from under her nose.
Following his gaze, she raised her hand and wiped it forcefully.
nosebleed?
Ning Lu was speechless: "Would you believe me if I said I didn't poison it?"
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