Chapter 38, Chapter 16: The Heir Apparent's Wife
After learning about the item card's effect from the system, his first reaction upon hearing this was that she knew what had happened to him, which was why she did this.
But Xu Qingzhou was puzzled again.
He found out from the system, but how did she find out?
Upon realizing for the first time that she was different from the princess consort in the story, he immediately contacted the system.
The system simply ignored him.
This time, taking advantage of the system's reply, he asked again.
The answer we received was that the mission objective was not abnormal and did not affect his mission.
Xu Qingzhou felt countless times that his system was unreliable.
Her public image has completely collapsed; she's not some pitiful little thing at all. How could she not be acting strangely?!
Unfortunately, that's what the system said, and there's nothing he can do about it.
Xu Mingche's expression turned somewhat strange when he thought of Yu Wanwan's words that day.
Xu Qingzhou's heart skipped a beat.
Is something really wrong?
"My sister-in-law said..."
Xu Mingche found it difficult to speak, but under Xu Qingzhou's urging, he still stammered and repeated Yu Wanwan's words from that day.
"She said... she didn't want her older brother to look at her with the eyes he used to look at other women; she felt it was dirty..."
"..."
Xu Qingzhou's lips twitched.
Could she be any more perfunctory?
Xu Mingche looked at Xu Qingzhou's expression, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke dryly.
"Although my sister-in-law... perhaps it's because of what my elder brother did before."
Xu Mingche had never done anything like this before. His face turned bright red, and many words were blurred in his mind, but he still managed to finish speaking.
"Harmony in the family brings prosperity in all things. Brother, please don't do anything to hurt your wife anymore."
Xu Qingzhou looked at Xu Mingche's embarrassed face and suddenly fell silent.
"You believe what she said?"
He actually believed such an absurd and perfunctory reason?!
Xu Mingche blinked, his face full of confusion and innocence.
"Isn't that how it is?"
"..."
Xu Qingzhou covered his forehead and let out a long sigh.
How come I never noticed before that this younger brother of mine had the potential to be a naive and innocent girl?
He waved his hand weakly.
"Alright, you can go now. You have an exam tomorrow, so get some rest."
Xu Mingche is gone, but Xu Qingzhou's heart is not at peace.
There must be some secrets about his wife that he doesn't know about.
But considering her behavior, it's unlikely we'll get any information out of her; we can only observe her little by little.
Since the system said she was normal and wouldn't affect his mission, he decided to put the matter aside for now.
The most urgent task is to prepare for tomorrow's exam.
This provincial examination can only be passed; failure is not an option.
As for her secrets... they have a long time to go, and one day he will uncover them.
The provincial examination consisted of three sessions, each lasting three days.
On the day of the exam, it rained again in Cangyan.
Although the students in the dormitories were protected from the rain, taking the exam for three consecutive days in such an environment was still a considerable challenge for them.
On the third day, Yu Wanwan and her third uncle waited at the entrance of the examination hall early in the morning.
Xu Mingche came out first. He looked pale and not in good spirits.
The third uncle quickly helped him into the carriage and had the accompanying doctor take his pulse.
Fortunately, apart from being exhausted, he didn't have any major problems.
Xu Qingzhou didn't come out, and Xu Mingche refused the suggestion to go back first, insisting on staying in the carriage and waiting with them.
But after waiting for a long time, the crowd outside the examination hall had mostly dispersed, and Xu Qingzhou was still nowhere to be seen.
Yu Wanwan frowned.
"Third Uncle, please take Mingche back to rest first. I'll go inside and take a look."
Third Uncle glanced at the haggard Xu Mingche and nodded.
"I'll leave a few more people for you, so be careful."
Yu Wanwan agreed and watched her third uncle's carriage leave.
Tinglan held an umbrella and followed behind her, walking together into the examination hall.
Xu Qingzhou swayed as he came out from the gate.
The moment he saw her, Xu Qingzhou seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
"lady……"
Before he could finish speaking, his body went limp and he collapsed to the ground.
Yu Wanwan's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly stepped forward to support him.
My hand got burned the moment I touched him.
Yu Wanwan paused for a moment, then touched his forehead.
The scalding heat was almost enough to cook an egg.
This is a fever.
Yu Wanwan couldn't help but feel a little disgusted.
Their physical condition is really too poor.
Tinglan stepped forward to hold an umbrella for the two of them, her eyes showing some concern.
"Madam, what's wrong with the young master?"
Yu Wanwan shook her head.
"A slight fever, nothing serious."
She called over several servants to carry him onto the carriage, and they returned to their ancestral home.
Xu Qingzhou had a high fever and didn't wake up until the middle of the night.
Doctors came one after another, and he drank a lot of medicine, but the fever in his body just wouldn't go down.
This greatly worried Uncle San and the others.
"The next match is the day after tomorrow, what should we do?"
Yu Wanwan sat on the edge of the bed, carefully tending to him with a handkerchief, her lips pursed.
"You should go and rest first. I'll stay here and watch over things."
The third uncle's son and daughter-in-law also joined in, trying to persuade him.
He knew there was no use in rushing this, so he had no choice but to go down first.
After her third uncle and the others left, Yu Wanwan also sent Tinglan away.
Once everyone else was out of the room, she sighed and touched her brow with her fingertip.
"Guoguo, come out."
Are you out of your mind?!
They dared to use their power after only retrieving a single fragment!
Yu Wanwan is innocent.
"I'm only letting you out because it's life-threatening!"
"...Isn't my life a life too?!"
It's injured too, okay?
If she can't exert any force, can it?
"Didn't you say that we can't disrupt important plot points?"
If he falls ill and misses the exam the day after tomorrow, failing the test, wouldn't that throw the plot into chaos?
[...]
Dao Guo had no choice but to reluctantly emerge from between her eyebrows.
A vibrant green bead, shimmering with a soft green light, full of life.
When it appeared, the flowers and plants in the yard, which had been somewhat wilted by the rain, perked up again.
Even flowering trees that are not currently in bloom are displaying their most beautiful buds.
Unfortunately, it was already late at night, and no one could see the beautiful sight of all the flowers in bloom.
Yu Wanwan pushed the bead, and it floated above Xu Qingzhou, enveloping him in a faint green light.
After a short while, Yu Wanwan's face paled, and the soft green light on the bead dimmed.
Yu Wanwan touched his forehead; the burning heat had subsided, and his expression had calmed down before she put the bead away.
No, I need to take a break. Be careful yourself.
"Um."
Yu Wanwan kicked off her shoes, climbed onto the bed fully clothed, squeezed into Xu Qingzhou's arms, grabbed his collar, and took a deep breath.
We lost a lot of money.
We need to draw on more luck to make up for it!
When Xu Qingzhou woke up, he felt refreshed and his dizziness had completely disappeared.
It was as if yesterday's discomfort was just an illusion, which left him somewhat dazed.
He suddenly felt an itch on his neck, and when he looked down, he saw Yu Wanwan burying her face in his neck.
The itching sensation was caused by her hair brushing against it.
The rich scent of herbs emanating from her body filled his nostrils, almost overwhelming him.
Xu Qingzhou blinked, feeling as if he was holding not a person, but a clump of grass.
It's still a very fragrant and refreshing grass.
Strange, she had this smell before, but it wasn't this strong.
Xu Qingzhou didn't disturb her and quietly moved out.
The moment he moved, the person in his arms pressed close to him, gripping his collar tightly and preventing him from leaving.
Xu Qingzhou stiffened for a moment and turned his head to look at her.
She had just moved when half of her face was exposed, her forehead covered in fine beads of sweat, making her look extremely weak.
Xu Qingzhou's heart tightened, and he subconsciously checked her breathing.
Her breathing was so faint that it was almost imperceptible.
How could that be?
Xu Qingzhou was really anxious now. He didn't care whether he would disturb her and got up.
"lady?"
Yu Wanwan opened her eyes wearily and glanced at him with hazy eyes.
She glanced at him once, then closed her eyes again, and casually pulled him down and held him in her arms.
She buried her face in his arms, absorbing the warm, comforting aura emanating from him.
"Don't make a sound, I'm so tired."
Seeing that she was still responsive and pulling him with great force, not like someone who was sick, Xu Qingzhou finally felt relieved. Although he still had doubts, he didn't move anymore.
He slept until the sun was high in the sky.
When he woke up again, Yu Wanwan was already up and sitting at the table reading a book.
Xu Qingzhou was stunned for a moment before slowly getting up.
Hearing the noise, Yu Wanwan turned around and glanced at it before continuing to flip through the book.
"Go see your third uncle when you wake up. You were unconscious for so long, and your third uncle and the others were very worried about you."
Xu Qingzhou carefully observed her expression.
As usual, her complexion was rosy and she had a faint smile, no longer showing the weak and feeble appearance she had in the morning.
Xu Qingzhou was suspicious. Could it be that what happened that morning was just his imagination?
Seeing no response from him, Yu Wanwan sighed and looked up from her book.
"I'm talking to you, can't you hear me?"
Xu Qingzhou hummed in agreement, put on his shoes, walked to her side, and suddenly bent down to hug her.
Yu Wanwan paused, then looked up at him.
"do what?"
Xu Qingzhou shook his head, smiled, and kissed her forehead.
"Thank you for taking good care of me last night, Madam."
Strangely, the rich scent of herbs and trees that I smelled this morning has also disappeared.
Is it really just an illusion?
Yu Wanwan chuckled and ignored him.
"It's good that you know."
Xu Qingzhou hugged her for a while longer before washing up and getting ready, and then went to see his third uncle.
Seeing him appear in high spirits, Uncle San and the others breathed a sigh of relief, repeatedly saying "Thank God."
"What happened yesterday? How did you get so sick?"
They almost thought he wouldn't wake up.
Speaking of this, Xu Qingzhou is also a pain in the ass.
"The cell is leaking."
Who would have thought he'd be so unlucky? His cell happened to be leaking, and the bedding he brought with him got soaked.
Fortunately, only the sleeping area was leaking; the exam desk was fine. Otherwise, he didn't know if he would have been able to finish the exam.
Unable to sleep in a bed, he could only sit at the exam desk, enduring the cold wind for three days straight.
And so, he successfully fell ill.
Uncle San felt a surge of anxiety.
"What about the next exam?"
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