Chapter 81: Reverse Scale
Seeing that his wife was really angry, Chen Ting patiently spoke to her in a gentle manner: "What happened just now? You don't like your cousin being at home? Did she do something that bothers you?"
The other party was calm, so Shen Wangshu did not make trouble for no reason, and complained confidently: "Your cousin was waiting for me outside early this morning. After seeing me, she first mocked me for loving to sleep, and then ate my breakfast, and asked me to take her to familiarize herself with the Duke's Mansion. Her maid Yingying thought I deliberately gave Yan Shuyun a bland meal, and secretly mocked me for not entertaining her well. She often interrupted me when I was talking, so I asked Mei Xue to punish her."
"Then you came back, and the master and servant immediately fell to the ground and cried, acting in front of you as if I was bullying them."
Shen Wangshu said: "Whether you believe it or not, this is the fact."
Chen Ting has lived for nearly thirty years, and he has heard that there are all kinds of private affairs among the women in the harem, but this is the first time he has experienced it personally. Although he doesn't quite understand why they quarrel and get angry over trivial matters, no matter from what angle he looks at it, he naturally stands on Shen Wangshu's side.
"Of course I believe you." He said without hesitation: "If that maid is really too much, you can just punish her directly, and then pick two obedient ones and send them to the west wing."
"It's done. I also want your annoying cousin to get out of here as well. Do you think that's okay?" Shen Wangshu snorted.
Unexpectedly, the man actually thought about it seriously: "After all, Yan Shuyun is the only remaining bloodline of my maternal grandfather's family. If you want to drive her away, you must have a legitimate reason, otherwise it will give people a chance to talk about you, and it will be bad for your reputation if it gets out."
Shen Wangshu: “…” Well, seeing this completely partial attitude, the anger in my heart disappeared immediately.
"I'm just saying it casually. At least for now, Yan Shuyun can't be driven away, and her maid can't be punished either - it hasn't come to that point yet." Shen Wangshu said, "I always have a bad feeling in my heart..."
"What's wrong?"
"I'll tell you later when I'm sure." Shen Wangshu shook his head: "We've only met a few times, don't jump to conclusions."
"It's all up to my lady."
"So why did you get off work so early today?" Shen Wangshu asked, "It's still early for lunch."
Chen Ting said solemnly: "Chen Wei reported that the Northern Turks have recently made a comeback and frequently harassed villagers and towns along the border. I suspect this is just a preliminary test. I will report this to the capital when I return. Whether to fight or not, it all depends on the emperor's decision."
"Last time I heard, the Turks lost several cities in a row and were badly injured and retreated. How could they come back so soon?" Shen Wangshu counted the days: "And it was during the time when you fell ill... It was these two days, right?"
"The invaders this time are not barbarians, but bandits from the north who have taken over the mountains and are all from the Central Plains." Chen Ting sneered, "The scouts who were gathering information saw those bandit leaders enter the Turkic camp and come out intact a few hours later."
The old emperor was incompetent in governing the country. The capital was falsely prosperous while the people were living in misery. In the past few years when the war was tense, he also conscripted soldiers on a large scale. Not only did he conscript soldiers, but he also increased corvée and taxes exponentially. Many young and strong people were forced to become bandits and hide in the mountains with their wives and children. Over time, the number of mountain bandits increased.
There were several groups of mountain bandits that had come from the north. After arriving at the territory of the General Zhenguo, most of them behaved themselves and only hoped to reclaim a piece of wasteland in the mountains and survive in this chaotic world. Chen Ting usually turned a blind eye to them as long as they did not cause trouble and harm the people.
The internal strife of the Great Zhou is one thing, but now this group of people want to collaborate with the enemy and commit treason, aggravating external threats, and Chen Ting will certainly not allow it.
"Is my husband going to war again?" Shen Wangshu asked.
In the original text, Chen Ting was indeed either fighting or on the way to a war, and he had very little free time in the two months after getting married.
"If the situation cannot be handled by Chen Wei, I will naturally lead the troops to the border myself." Chen Ting looked at her lovingly: "Madam, just wait for me at home."
“At least wait until you get through those few days safely before setting off…” Shen Wangshu sighed, “The Mid-Autumn Festival family dinner is coming soon, and these people really know how to pick a time.”
The two chatted for a while, and when it was almost time, Chen Ting went to the study to write a memorial.
With national affairs at stake, there was really no need to bring up such trivial matters in the backyard to bother others. Chen Ting's attitude was very clear anyway.
When he returned to the main house again, Shen Wangshu's emotions had completely calmed down, and he did what he was supposed to do as usual.
No one knows how many people know that Chen Ting has an attack on the third of every month. If it happens every month, it is definitely not a secret. Although nothing serious has happened so far, it is still a time bomb.
Shen Wangshu was a little worried, and wanted to help him through this period, prescribing some medicine to suppress the symptoms, or to alleviate the attacks.
After all, it's fine if there's nothing serious going on in the palace on weekdays, but if it happens at the most critical moment of the war, wouldn't it delay things too much?
Thinking of this, she decided to wait until tonight and ask Chen Ting about the specific symptoms of his strange disease no matter what.
After the unpleasant quarrel in the morning, the master and servant did not come to visit Shen Wangshu in the afternoon. Perhaps they left time for her to entertain the newly arrived cousin from the Yan family. The eldest lady did not come to ask Shen Wangshu to help, so she was able to stay lazy in the room and read quietly for the whole afternoon.
At dinner time, Chen Ting walked into the room on time.
Before entering the room, he took a cautious look. He didn't see Yan Shuyun there, and the young lady's expression was relatively calm. Then he sat down next to her and asked, "Madam, are you in a good mood now?"
"It's OK." Shen Wangshu said with a smile: "I lost my temper with you this morning, are you unhappy?"
"No, didn't you tell me about it later?" Chen Ting said, "This matter has been turned over."
"Well," she was still thinking about Chen Ting's illness. After thinking about it for a long time, she didn't know how to start. Finally, she looked into his eyes and said directly: "My husband's illness will occur three days a month. Is there no way to suppress it? What if it happens at the critical time of marching and fighting? What should I do?"
She suddenly brought this up, and Chen Ting paused holding his chopsticks. He said, "When I was a child, I had my first attack. A wandering doctor who passed by gave me a bottle of pills to suppress the attack. The dosage was not much, and even if I used it sparingly, there is less than a year's supply left now."
"The miracle doctor said that my disease is incurable and I will never be able to recover and become normal. Only when I grow up and have something important can I control myself."
"I originally thought I had grown up to be a young man, but after I turned 20, I still had attacks every month. Until now, at most I can stay awake for a while longer than when I was a child."
The important thing that the miracle doctor mentioned was called "reverse scales". Chen Ting certainly knew that reverse scales were the scales on a real dragon, but he had seen the majestic five-clawed golden dragon on the Dragon Pillar in the palace, and he had also seen his own reflection in the water - the two had nothing to do with each other at all.
No one knows where or when the reverse scale will grow.
After the initial disappointment, he no longer had any other hope, and only hoped that he could protect his family and the people for one more day while he still had his sanity and had not turned into a real monster.
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