Chapter 104
Things suddenly took an unexpected turn, and plans naturally needed to be adjusted accordingly. Zhou Jingchen had originally had selfish motives in bringing Ye Jia out. They had been married for over a year, and their time apart was bound to affect their relationship. To prevent this from happening, Zhou Jingchen made the decision to bring Ye Jia out.
But now that Ye Jia is pregnant, of course everything comes first with Ye Jia's safety.
But now, for special reasons, Zhou Jingchen still felt deeply reluctant to send her back. He held the now-sleeping person in his arms and sighed. Perhaps this was retribution. In his previous life, he hadn't cared about any woman, and in this life, the person he loved and cherished was heartless and distant to him.
After taking a deep breath, Zhou Jingchen closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Never mind, even a stone will warm up one day.
The next morning, the guards had already gone to Huichun Hall to retrieve the medicine Ye Jia needed. Worried that someone else wouldn't prepare it properly, Zhou Jingchen used the small stove he used to make tea to make it himself. Before Ye Jia even opened her eyes, she smelled the unpleasant smell of medicine, nearly vomiting everything she had eaten the night before. She got out of bed, her hair disheveled and draped over her shoulders, her hands covering her nose. "Husband, what are you cooking?"
"Medicine." Zhou Jingchen heard the noise and came over from the outer hall. Seeing Ye Jia was lightly dressed, he quickly took out his coat and handed it to her. "Keep warm."
Ye Jia wasn't actually cold; it was already April. While the early mornings were still a bit chilly, as long as there wasn't a draft, the room wasn't cold at all. She threw the clothes Zhou Jingchen had handed her over, and when she came out, she saw steam bubbling from the small hanging pot outside the door. The sour, astringent, and bitter smell was coming from that pot.
Needless to say, Zhou Jingchen personally looked at it and knew that this must be the pregnancy-preserving medicine that the old doctor had said to take last night.
Ye Jia frowned, but didn't act pretentiously. This was a matter of personal concern; he had to take the necessary medicine. The sky outside the window was just beginning to brighten, and birds were chirping on the branches. As Ye Jia went to change clothes inside, the inn's waiter had already brought clean water. Ye Jia quickly washed up, but before he could take his medicine, Old Lady Yang and her servant arrived to see him.
They arrived quite early and waited outside the house without having breakfast.
Ye Jia thought that since there was nothing else to say, he would let the middle-aged woman come into the house and talk.
The middle-aged woman had changed into shorts for easier walking, evidently having made her decision long ago. Ye Jia's eyes flickered, and he asked her to sit down. Only now did Ye Jia learn her name. Her surname was Yang, but she had been given the surname Yang out of the master's affection. Her given name was Li, and Old Lady Yang called her Li Niang. The other old servant was the Yang family's housekeeper, having followed Old Lady Yang her entire life.
After being driven out by Qiao Zhengyuan, the two have been searching for the crazy Old Lady Yang.
"Madam Zhou, we plan to leave for the Beiting Protectorate right now." Li Niang made her decision yesterday after hearing Ye Jia's words. It wasn't that she trusted Ye Jia, but rather that they had no other choice. Qiao Zhengyuan was searching for them, and they were alone and powerless. If they tried to resist, they would only be captured. "I wonder if Madam Zhou will keep her promise to settle the three of us, master and servant?"
"Of course." Ye Jia didn't dare to say anything, but he was determined to keep his promise. "Just pack your bags."
Yang Li's face immediately showed joy. She said that she had packed her bags long ago and was just waiting for Ye Jia's arrangements.
"In that case, please wait a moment." Ye Jia had some people on hand, but if the identities of these three masters and servants were special, Zhou Jingchen might have other plans. It would be safer to escort them and let Zhou Jingchen arrange the guards.
So, Ye Jia thought for a moment, then sent them back and immediately went to look for Zhou Jingchen.
Zhou Jingchen wasn't in the house. The old doctor's words had made him so happy he'd barely slept the entire night. He'd woken up early in the morning and personally gone to Huichun Hall to fetch the medicine. Now, he was sitting at a stone table beneath a tree in the courtyard, boiling the medicine. He'd found a delicate porcelain bowl somewhere and was concentrating on pouring the medicine from the hanging pot into a tea bowl.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting bright spots of light on his cheeks, shoulders, and sleeves. He looked up at the noise and saw Ye Jia, his eyes flickering. Her slender, white fingers gripped the rough handle of the hanging pot, casting a halo of light in the sunlight.
"Come here, it's just right, not too hot or too cold."
He was sitting right upwind, and when a gust of wind blew, Ye Jia paused. The deadly smell of medicine almost made him vomit.
Ye Jia: “…”
"Huh? What's wrong?" Zhou Jingchen didn't hear the noise behind him and turned his head.
Ye Jia frowned and glanced at the steaming porcelain bowl. Honestly, not being pretentious doesn't mean she doesn't dislike it. Medicine, especially Chinese medicine, is really unpleasant. She hesitated for a moment, pinching her nose, walked over, turned her head to the side, and sat down in front of Zhou Jingchen. She concisely explained the situation between Old Lady Yang and her servant.
"...Old Lady Yang should be useful to you, right?" Ye Jia didn't know the details, but she knew the general idea. Thinking about Zhou Jingchen's actions, she could roughly guess his intention: "How about sending them to Luntai? Or do you have other plans?"
For example, using Old Lady Yang as a pretext to launch an attack on Qiao Zhengyuan?
"Why are you turning your head away?" Zhou Jingchen saw that she didn't even touch the tea bowl, blinked, and couldn't help laughing: "Don't worry, I didn't put coptis root in it."
Ye Jia: “???”
...You also want to add Coptis chinensis?
Zhou Jingchen wanted to laugh when she glared at him, so he changed the subject and said, "I'll arrange for someone to send them to Beiting."
The three of them, the master and the servant, were indeed useful to Zhou Jingchen, and their use was not small. Zhou Jingchen had come to Khotan precisely to find this person. "I will take care of the rest, Jia Niang, and rest assured."
Speaking of which, those so-called confidants around Qiao Zhengyuan were actually only obeying Qiao Xiqing out of gratitude. If those people knew that Qiao Xiqing's death was related to Qiao Zhengyuan, or if Old Lady Yang personally came forward to accuse Qiao Zhengyuan of patricide, he wouldn't have to intervene. Someone would have taken action against Qiao Zhengyuan, and once the Anxi Protectorate was in chaos, it would have been much easier for him to take over.
Ye Jia felt relieved after hearing what he said and nodded, "Okay, I'll explain it to them. By the way, husband, did you give me the seal?"
"Hmm?" Zhou Jingchen raised an eyebrow and paused. Realizing that Ye Jia was referring to the Yang family seal, he nodded and smiled, "Of course, it's for my wife. Jia Niang's ability to manage money is far better than mine."
Ye Jia: "...You're the only one who can speak so confidently about being a gigolo."
"No?" Zhou Jingchen laughed, "Jia Niang doesn't want to support me?"
Ye Jia: “…”
Ye Jia rambled on for a long time, never once glancing at the medicine bowl. Zhou Jingchen's gaze flickered between her and the bowl several times before finally exposing her: "No matter how bitter the medicine is, you have to drink it. Don't look away."
Ye Jia: “…”
The two of them held on for a long time. Ye Jia couldn't help but roll her eyes at him and reached out to pick up the bowl. She had no idea what kind of herbs this thing was made of; it smelled even worse than Yu's tonic. She could only pinch her nose and was about to swallow it in one gulp when a large rock suddenly fell from the tree and hit Zhou Jingchen firmly on the back of his head.
The stone hit Zhou Jingchen's head, rolled down his shoulder, and landed on the stone table with a thud. Ye Jia and Zhou Jingchen both looked at the stone. The sharp corners of the stone were stained with red liquid—blood.
The two of them looked at each other. Zhou Jingchen reached out and touched the back of his head, feeling a red spot: "..."
Ye Jia: “!!!!”
She looked up at the tree behind her and saw a gray, dog-like creature with four claws grasping the tree's trunk, a piece of broken stone in its mouth, staring at the two people below with piercing eyes. This creature, with its furry coat and a pair of erect ears, looked vaguely familiar. Ye Jia frowned and stared at it for a long time, then suddenly shuddered and widened her eyes: "Diandian!"
The creature opened its mouth in delight upon hearing Ye Jia's voice, and the half-broken stone it was holding in its mouth fell down. With a bang, it hit Zhou Jingchen's head accurately again.
Zhou Jingchen, who was sitting under the tree: "..."
Ye Jia was overjoyed. Actually, Diandian hadn't been around since they moved to the Shen Mansion. Ye Jia only saw it when he went to the old house near the base. After not seeing Diandian for a long time, Ye Jia thought it had fled back to the mountains. Unexpectedly, he saw Diandian so far away in Khotan: "Why are you here? Why are you here?"
Diandian jumped down from the tree, and was about to jump onto Ye Jia, but Zhou Jingchen quickly blocked her attack and hit him on the back.
After its four claws grabbed Zhou Jingchen's back, it gave a slight kick and landed lightly with a somersault in mid-air. Then it walked slowly to Ye Jia's side and stretched out its scarlet tongue to gently lick the back of Ye Jia's hand.
Ye Jia rubbed its big head. After not seeing it for a long time, Diandian had grown a lot. It was already much larger than the average wolf, and now it looked a bit scary. Its fur was shiny, smooth, and its teeth were sharp, and its claws were also very pointed. It was obvious that it was living well as a wolf outside, but he didn't know how it ran here. "You didn't follow me secretly, did you?"
Dian Dian whimpered in his throat, and then he naturally lay down at Ye Jia's feet.
"...Even if you encounter a little bit, you have to drink this medicine." Some people are so unlucky that even drinking water can cause a toothache. Zhou Jingchen was so unlucky that a wolf could even hit him on the head with a stone while he was sitting under a tree. Ye Jia couldn't help but smile at his cold expression, and he swallowed the medicine in one gulp.
After taking the medicine, Zhou Jingchen arranged for Old Lady Yang and her servant to leave Khotan. Before leaving, Yang Li kowtowed three times to Ye Jia, thanking him for saving Old Lady Yang's life. She said that if Ye Jia hadn't rescued her in time, Old Lady Yang would have died in her frenzied state. Ye Jia didn't dare take credit for it, saying that it was enough for them to behave themselves.
Yang Li repeatedly stated that she would not expose the Zhou family's affairs, and then she took Old Lady Yang and left Khotan quietly under the escort of Zhou Jingchen.
After everyone left, Ye Jia returned to the house.
The room was quiet, the door to the guest room open. Ye Jia walked in and saw Zhou Jingchen sitting by the window. Zhou Jingchen, always gentle, refined, and composed, his expression impassive, looked as if he'd eaten a hundred dead flies. As for why he was so angry, Ye Jia still found it strange.
Some people are so unlucky these days. Stones fall from the sky while you sit at home.
"Puff..."
Ye Jia laughed insincerely. The man by the window turned his head, his brows knitted tightly together: "You're still laughing."
"...I guess you haven't been doing good deeds, so the old man couldn't stand it anymore, so he sent Diandian to punish you." Ye Jia shrugged his shoulders and said something rather unkind. He then patted Diandian's head and told her to find a place to lie down. He then slowly approached Zhou Jingchen and looked around him.
Diandian was quite well-behaved, sniffing around the room. She smelled the familiar scent of Ye Jia and then lay down at the head of the bed.
Zhou Jingchen let her look at him, his eyes downcast, his face stern, his expression cold but vulnerable. He was fiddling with the wound medicine and safflower oil, looking strangely pitiful.
Ye Jia finally had a change of heart and took off his headband.
His jet-black hair cascaded down his shoulders, making his handsome face look thinner. After removing his hair and pulling back the back of his head, he saw a large bump. There was a bit of blood on it, probably from the sharp edge of a rock.
Well, Ye Jia felt a little guilty: "Give it to me."
The wound was on his head, and Zhou Jingchen couldn't wipe it himself. Ye Jia took the medicine he handed her and took a look. The wound from the sharp edge of the stone had stopped bleeding. Only a large bump remained. She first wet a cloth and wiped the blood off Zhou Jingchen, making it cleaner. Then, with a loud bang, she pulled the cork from the safflower oil bottle and poured a little into her palm. Slowly rubbing it to warm it, she rubbed it for him.
If such a large lump is not rubbed out, it will take a long time to heal. Every time she touched it, Zhou Jingchen trembled. When she touched it again, he trembled again.
Ye Jia was annoyed: "I thought you were made of iron. Turns out you feel pain too."
"...I'm actually an ordinary man who is afraid of pain." Zhou Jingchen was dejected.
Ye Jia: “…”
…
Ye Jia laughed as she rubbed the bruises away. At first, she hid her laughter, silently. But then she couldn't hold it back, her body shaking. She sincerely advised, "Husband, how about this? You've been idle lately, so why don't you go to the temple and burn a few incense sticks? I think you might be having some bad luck lately, so burning some incense would be a way of atonement."
Zhou Jingchen glanced over instantly, staring at her with a rare look of embarrassment: "... Stop laughing."
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