Chapter 40: Catching a Cold on the Way
The thunderstorm continued, and Shen Zhiyi was too lazy to talk to Zhao Daya, who couldn't sew at all. She finished the last stitches, lifted her sleeves to look at them, and nodded with satisfaction.
Just then, she heard someone knocking on the carriage. With a hint of anticipation in her heart, she lifted the curtain and saw Xuan Yan standing there with an umbrella. He said, "Ladies, this is some hot soup that has been cooked, as well as a cloak to keep warm and some dry rations. I'm afraid you two will have to make do with spending the night in the carriage."
Zhao Daya showed half of her body, took the things from Xuan Yan's hands, and said, "I didn't expect you to prepare so thoughtfully. It seems you travel a lot."
Xuan Yan smiled politely, then looked down at the robe that Shen Zhiyi was holding.
Noticing the gaze, Shen Zhiyi folded her robes neatly, put them back into the carriage, and said with a smile, "I'm sorry to have troubled Brother Xuan Yan to make this special trip."
"Miss Chen, you're too kind," Xuan Yan said, then turned and left.
Zhao Daya laid out the food on the small table in the carriage. Seeing the neatly folded robes, she couldn't help but ask, "Why weren't these robes returned?"
"I forgot," Shen Zhiyi said slowly, handing over the torn pancake. "Eat up quickly."
Those inexplicable emotions suddenly found a definite answer, yet when pointed out, they were accompanied by a strange sense of denial.
After experiencing the first stirrings of love, Shen Zhiyi naturally developed feelings for some people. Having someone you like and wanting to build a deeper relationship with them is nothing shameful.
She knows how to strike the right balance.
Here, the emphasis is on "marrying someone of equal social standing." Once a relationship is established, marriage is expected. Therefore, when developing feelings for someone, one must also investigate their family background.
All things considered, this feeling of goodwill can remain buried in my heart.
The night rain had not stopped, the sound of rain seemed to fall right next to her ears, accompanied by the rustling of the wind. All the wooden planks in the carriage were lowered, and Shen Zhiyi lay on her side on them. Perhaps because it was the first time she had slept in a carriage, she was completely wide awake.
The patter of rain subsided in the early morning, and Shen Zhiyi gradually drifted off to sleep.
As she drifted off to sleep, she heard a knock on the door. She slowly woke up and met Zhao Daya's bright eyes. The person on the other end said first, "Coming!"
Zhao Daya straightened her clothes, lifted a small section of the carriage curtain, and asked, "Brother Xuan, what's the matter?"
As she spoke, her eyes shone as she looked at the lotus leaf pouch and water bag in Xuan Yan's arms.
"It's time to set off," Xuan Yan said softly.
Zhao Daya took the things Xuan Yan handed her and said with a smile, "I know."
As soon as the carriage curtain closed, Zhao Daya exclaimed eagerly, "Wow, it's dried meat! Just the smell alone tells me it'll taste delicious!"
Xuan Yan, who hadn't gone far, couldn't help but smile when he heard this. Finally, someone genuinely appreciated his skill in making jerky.
Shen Zhiyi, who already slept little, was dragged out of bed by Zhao Daya. She listlessly took the jerky, chewed it slowly, her mind still foggy, and reached out to fold the blankets.
"I'll do it, you just stay put," Zhao Daya said hurriedly. She then quickly packed her things, poured warm water from her water bag, and looked back at Shen Zhiyi leaning against the carriage without saying a word. "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"I feel a little dizzy," Shen Zhiyi said slowly, then ate the remaining half of the dried meat in her hand and took the warm water that Zhao Daya handed her.
"That's what happens when you're too hungry. Eating something will make you feel better," Zhao Daya said, as if it were commonplace.
"Mmm." Shen Zhiyi responded very softly, feeling weak but without any other discomfort.
As the carriage started moving, Shen Zhiyi sat silently, her head growing increasingly dizzy during the swaying journey, a feeling much like that of a cold.
She silently distanced herself from Zhao Daya to avoid infecting her.
Just as the car stopped, someone outside called out, "Ladies, we've arrived at Peach Blossom Village."
"Zhiyi, are you really alright?" Zhao Daya asked worriedly. "Your face is so pale."
"I have a bit of a cold, and I don't know if there's a doctor in this village," Shen Zhiyi said in a hoarse voice.
"I've never been to this village before either. I'll go ask around in a bit," Zhao Daya said hurriedly. "You wait in the carriage, I'll be right back."
"It's not that far yet..." Before Shen Zhiyi could finish speaking, Zhao Daya hurriedly got out of the car. She was only a little dizzy and weak, not yet at the point where she could only lie down.
A moment later, the carriage curtain was suddenly lifted from the outside, and she abruptly met Lu Jingbai's eyes.
"Lord Lu."
"You caught a cold, why didn't you say so sooner?"
Two voices rang out at the same time. Shen Zhiyi could understand the worry in the voices, but she did not expect such a reaction to come from the other party, which meant that it was not just her who had feelings for him.
The emotions she had been suppressing began to surface again while she was sick and vulnerable. Shen Zhiyi quickly composed herself and said softly, "I'm sorry to have worried you, Lord Lu. This cold isn't very serious."
"Excuse me." Lu Jingbai then walked into the carriage and said with a stern face, "Take out your right hand."
Shen Zhiyi obediently extended her hand, and asked in surprise, "Lord Lu can also take a pulse?"
“I learned from my second brother when I was young,” Lu Jingbai said slowly, his expression turning serious.
Shen Zhiyi understood that this meant she should remain quiet, so she lowered her eyelashes and shifted her attention elsewhere.
A moment later, the warm sensation on her wrist disappeared, and Shen Zhiyi asked, "It shouldn't be serious, right?"
“The symptoms are mild due to wind-evil attacking the exterior; Guizhi Tang (Cinnamon Twig Decoction) will suffice,” Lu Jingbai said in a deep voice.
Shen Zhiyi had never even heard of Guizhi Tang. When she had a severe cold and was bedridden, she was constantly taking bitter medicine. So she said, "When you're traveling, you should keep things simple. There's no need to be so particular. I'll just wear more clothes."
"Does Miss Shen have medical knowledge?" Lu Jingbai asked casually.
Shen Zhiyi sensed something was off about his tone and replied, "I don't understand."
“Then I’ll do as I say,” Lu Jingbai said matter-of-factly.
“Alright, I’ll do as Lord Lu says.” Shen Zhiyi replied obediently, receiving a satisfied nod from him.
After hearing Lord Lu's words, the cloak fell from Shen Zhiyi's head to her feet, making her look like a walking dumpling. Once inside, she was carefully seated on the kang bed, where she could faintly hear voices outside.
The warm, spring-like environment made her drowsy.
The scent of ink seemed to linger in her nostrils, which made her feel particularly at ease.
She didn't know how much time had passed when she heard someone calling "Girl." She opened her eyes and saw a woman in the dim light, holding a bowl in her hand.
"Young lady, drink your medicine quickly," the woman said softly.
"Hmm?" Shen Zhiyi looked slightly puzzled, and was helped to sit up. "Where did you get the medicine?"
Shen Zhiyi remembered Zhao Daya saying that if there was no doctor in the village, how could there be medicinal herbs to brew this medicine?
"It took the magistrate a lot of effort to find this! Only after drinking the medicine will you get better." The woman held the bowl of medicine to Shen Zhiyi's lips and gently advised.
Having slept for too long, Shen Zhiyi was still a little dazed. But when she smelled the medicine, her mind cleared instantly, and she said, "I can do it myself."
“You don’t have the strength, let me do it…” the woman said.
Shen Zhiyi was too lazy to argue anymore, so she drank the medicine in one gulp, using the rim of the bowl. The medicine, which she remembered as bitter, tasted sweet in her mouth.
"It's good that you've finished drinking. Quickly lie down and rest," the woman said with a smile. She helped Shen Zhiyi lie down, covered her with a blanket, and then quietly left.
Whether it was the effect of the medicine or something else, Shen Zhiyi felt sleepy again, as if her body was punishing her for staying up all night last night.
The price of catching a cold is that after drinking herbal medicine and porridge, your stomach is full of liquid food, and you will make loud noises when you are hungry, but you will not even realize it.
A soft ray of sunlight streamed in through the window. Zhao Daya woke up and yawned a few times. Seeing Shen Zhiyi open her eyes beside her, she couldn't help but say, "I've been listening to your stomach growling all night."
"I didn't know either," Shen Zhiyi said in surprise.
"Oh, I was just saying, I wasn't blaming you," Zhao Daya quickly said. "Are you feeling any better?"
"Much better," Shen Zhiyi replied, then, thinking of the continuous herbal medicine, "Where did Lord Lu find those medicines?"
"Lord Lu and Brother Xuan split up and searched several villages before they finally found them all." Zhao Daya turned her head and saw Shen Zhiyi's hesitant expression, then added, "They didn't run on foot, they used horses."
Shen Zhiyi was speechless. She wasn't stupid enough to think that it was running on foot; she just hadn't quite figured it out yet.
She got dressed and got off the kang (a heated brick bed), and the bone-deep fatigue from yesterday had vanished.
"Hey, put on the cloak!" Zhao Daya said, grabbing the cloak and chasing after them.
“No need, I…” Shen Zhiyi hadn’t finished speaking when Zhao Daya interrupted her with a serious expression, “Then I’ll go ask Lord Lu if it’s necessary.”
"Okay, okay, I'll listen to you." Shen Zhiyi said helplessly, wrapping the cloak around herself from head to toe again, only revealing the upper half of her face before she was allowed to leave.
Stepping outside, the morning dew was quite heavy, and the cold wind chilled my forehead; thankfully, I had a cloak to keep out the wind. It seems I still have to listen to advice to get a proper meal.
"Lord Lu." Zhao Daya's voice rang out behind Shen Zhiyi.
With her cloak obstructing her view, Shen Zhiyi's vision was blocked. She turned around a little slowly and bumped into the person behind her. She first smelled the familiar scent of ink and hurriedly stepped back, but the other person reached out to support her.
"Thank you, Lord Lu," Shen Zhiyi said softly. Feeling that the close proximity was rather strange, she took the initiative to bring up the important matter, "I plan to go with Daya to check on the state of the wasteland in the village..."
“I’ll go with you,” Lu Jingbai said.
Shen Zhiyi could sense the unease in his tone, since they had acted independently when inspecting the wasteland in the first two villages.
She hadn't had a chance to look around properly when she entered the village yesterday, but now that she had time, she followed behind Lu Jingbai and gradually understood the surrounding situation. The village was surrounded by such high mountains and steep slopes that conventional land reclamation was clearly not suitable for this place.
“There isn’t much uncultivated land in Peach Blossom Village, so it might be difficult to reach a contract with you,” Lu Jingbai said slowly.
“Since it’s difficult to clear land using the current methods, why not try a different approach?” Shen Zhiyi asked. “If we could turn the slopes into wasteland, they would definitely be happy, right?”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
