Chapter 65 He doesn't want to drink medicine!
Zhu Mingyue was puzzled. Did Xu Lingguang have something shady on this box? Why were they all so shocked?
Out of curiosity, he lifted the cloth again in front of Li Zhengyang.
Then, an unusual silence fell.
The box was clearly engraved with the words: "To be opened by Zhu Mingyue. Those who disobey will die a violent death."
No, the character "悦" was misspelled; it was written as "月" (moon) instead of "明月" (bright moon). Xu Lingguang knew his name and immediately recognized that he had deliberately written it wrong to annoy him.
Recalling the person who had stopped Huanxue earlier, who had walked away with a livid face after just one glance, Zhu Mingyue's expression became somewhat indescribable.
It's amazing that he could come up with such a method. He even cursed people to die suddenly. Anyone with a little superstition would dare to covet the contents of this box.
It really fits his dark and mean persona as always; he even insults a passing dog.
Zhu Mingyue decided to wrap the cloth even more tightly to prevent a third victim from appearing.
Li Zhengyang muttered to himself for a while before finally letting out a sigh of relief, his face returning to normal from its purplish-red color. However, he couldn't help but mutter to himself, "My grandmother could argue with her enemies for decades and she never said such things. Your friend's mouth is too—too..." He wanted to say "too venomous," but then he remembered that this was Zhu Mingyue's friend, and that he was the one who had acted out of turn first, so he didn't say it out loud.
But the meaning was self-evident. Zhu Mingyue wanted to laugh when she saw his angry but speechless expression after being humiliated. Xu Lingguang's sharp tongue had been known for a long time. If he ever became polite, that would be a bad thing; he would definitely be possessed.
"Alright, don't be angry. He wasn't targeting you; he was just insulting everyone equally. Besides, you didn't even open the box, so the curse is ineffective," Zhu Mingyue kindly comforted him.
That makes sense, Li Zhengyang thought for a moment.
Zhu Mingyue then changed the subject: "What were you reciting just now? Scripture?" He was genuinely curious, not expecting that Li Zhengyang, who usually seemed so carefree, would actually know these things.
“Oh, that’s not scripture,” Li Zhengyang scratched his head and explained a little embarrassedly, “It means that God’s blessing makes the curse ineffective and rebounds. My grandmother often got into arguments with people, and when things got heated, they would curse each other. After they finished cursing, she would make our whole family recite this.”
Zhu Mingyue: ...
That defense is maxed out, it seems Li Zhengyang still doesn't understand his grandmother. Her attack power is probably comparable to Xu Lingguang's.
The two strolled around the street for a while, and even stopped at a small restaurant along the street to order two dishes: braised pork with tofu and a soup with bok choy.
The so-called "pearls" were actually pork meatballs. They weren't marinated with starch, so the texture was a bit rough, but the soup was surprisingly delicious. Zhu Mingyue drank a bowl and ate half a bowl of rice before feeling full. As for the meatballs, she only ate two and didn't want to touch them anymore.
He did think of other ways to eat meatballs. They don't necessarily have to be made into soup. They can also be deep-fried. Add some minced meat, cabbage, radish, etc. to the dough. When they come out of the fryer, they are fragrant and crispy and can be eaten directly as a snack. If you can't finish them, you can save them to stew cabbage next time. It's not troublesome at all except for the amount of oil used.
The braised tofu with pork looked rich and oily, but it wasn't very flavorful. Zhu Mingyue didn't like it at all. Luckily, the last bit wasn't wasted, and Li Zhengyang ate it all. He hadn't eaten meat for several days, and his mother was reluctant to use oil when cooking, so it was hard to swallow. Therefore, he found all meat delicious now.
The two bought everything they needed. Zhu Mingyue passed a porcelain shop and bought more than ten nice-looking plates and teacups. Seeing someone selling fish by the roadside, which was unusual in the dead of winter, she bought two. One would be cooked tonight, and the other would be kept for the New Year.
Braised fish is a must-have dish on their table during Chinese New Year, symbolizing abundance year after year. Although the name of the Spring Festival is the same in this dynasty, the timing is different. I wonder if the New Year's table customs are similar.
Seeing that he bought one, Li Zhengyang also bought one and took it home. He thought to himself that his mother wouldn't let him eat pork before the New Year, so surely she wouldn't be so stingy as to not even let him eat fish!
In the afternoon, the two of them joined in the hustle and bustle of the street performances and then went home.
"Why don't you stay here for dinner before going back?" Zhu Mingyue asked Li Zhengyang politely in a consultative tone.
Li Zhengyang sniffed, savoring the aroma of the food, and reluctantly declined, saying, "No, it'll be too late if I go back and my mother will worry."
"Go back and let your mother know." Zhu Mingyue didn't particularly want him to stay for dinner, but she felt that Li Zhengyang had been craving the food ever since he entered the house and smelled the aroma.
He wondered what dish had gotten to him so excited, but it turned out to be pork cracklings that Xie Pei had fried while rendering oil. They were still steaming hot, and there was a pot of stir-fried cured meat on the stove. Zhu Mingyue casually picked up a crackling and popped it into his mouth. It was fried perfectly; a sprinkle of salt would have made it delicious.
Li Zhengyang was so tempted that he poured him a handful. He chewed and swallowed it with saliva, then looked longingly at the glistening, marbled cured meat steaming on the rice cooker. "Alright, I'm going home now."
He truly envied Zhu Mingyue. Others might not understand, but only he knew the blissful life these two lived behind closed doors. They had more rice, flour, meat, and oil than they could eat. Xie Pei was usually unfriendly to everyone, but he cared a lot about his sister-in-law. Zhu Mingyue always had a hot meal ready when she came back from outside, unlike him, who still had to eat cabbage and taro rice when he went back, and was constantly nagged by his parents.
Zhu Mingyue took off the piece of cured meat she had prepared for Xu Linguang and stuffed it into his hand: "Take it back, consider it an early New Year's gift for the village chief and aunt."
Li Zhengyang wanted to accept it but dared not. While he was hesitating, Zhu Mingyue pushed him out the door.
After closing the gate, Li Zhengyang stared at the cured meat in his hand for a while, then looked at the tightly closed gate, loudly said "thank you," and happily went back with the meat in his arms.
No wonder Li Zhengyang was so tempted that he couldn't take his eyes off the cured meat. Xie Pei had specially gone up the mountain to find cypress branches for the cured meat as requested. The two of them spent two days smoking it, and the meat used was Xie Pei's favorite pork belly.
Xie Pei's cooking skills have also improved. He stir-fries the meat in oil until it's fatty but not greasy, so even Zhu Mingyue, who doesn't usually eat fatty meat, can eat a few pieces.
After finishing his meal, Zhu Mingyue washed up and went to bed. He had exhausted most of his energy during the day, and now he felt sleepy as he lay in bed. The night was quiet, and he drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face.
In the middle of the night, a rustling sound could be faintly heard. In his drowsy state, it seemed as if a cool breeze was blowing into his blankets. He was sleeping soundly, his brows furrowed as he wrapped himself in the blankets from head to toe.
It was still cold. It felt like the wind wasn't just seeping into the gaps in the blankets, but rather the entire blankets were being permeated by a biting cold wind that rushed towards Zhu Mingyue through the blankets.
Zhu Mingyue shivered in her sleep.
He was awakened by Xie Pei. In the dim, flickering candlelight, Xie Pei held him in his arms, draped the fluffy fox fur cloak over him, and led him to his room and onto the bed while he was still dazed.
Xie Pei was shivering with cold, but the blankets still retained some warmth.
He tucked the blanket around Zhu Mingyue and gently coaxed her, "Go back to sleep."
She didn't explain to him why she had carried him into her room out of the blue. However, Zhu Mingyue couldn't think of anything to ask him. She was already very sleepy in the middle of the night, and her head was still dizzy, like it was covered in a layer of paste. Xie Pei told her to keep sleeping, so she smacked her lips and went back to sleep.
He didn't know how long he slept, only that in his dream he returned to the desert where he had been buried. The endless yellow sand filled him with despair, which spread to his very core. He couldn't move and felt his throat was parched.
It's so hot, I really want to drink water...
He collapsed helplessly into the scalding sand, feeling as if he might die again.
The next moment, the scorching sun was suddenly shrouded in rain, and his burning blood finally felt a touch of coolness. The rain poured down, and he cupped his hands and desperately tried to drink the rainwater, but then he choked and coughed violently.
Cough cough cough!
"Zhu Mingyue, wake up!" Xie Pei's face was as dark as ink. He held a half-finished cup of tea in one hand and gently patted the side of the person on the bed with the other.
Zhu Mingyue's face was flushed, and the fine hairs on her forehead and the back of her neck were soaked with sweat.
He struggled to open his eyes a crack, and when he saw the familiar person in front of him, his whole body relaxed.
"Xie Pei, I'm so thirsty, can you give me some water?" Zhu Mingyue's voice was heavily nasal, sounding soft and fragile, which made one's heart ache slightly.
"Wait a moment," Xie Pei said, briefly checking the temperature of the tea before getting up without hesitation to pour him another cup. "Drink slowly, don't rush."
"Mmm," Zhu Mingyue replied haphazardly, eagerly taking small sips of tea while holding the teacup.
Still not quenched after finishing a cup, his eyes welled up with tears of grievance, and he almost pleaded, "I want more."
Xie Pei dried the towel in his hand and put it on his forehead, but this time he disagreed with his request, "You've drunk almost a whole pot, you can't drink anymore."
His expression was complicated. Zhu Mingyue looked up at him but couldn't see through him. Their eyes remained locked for a long time before Xie Pei's helplessness finally turned into a sigh.
He leaned down, his warm fingertips tracing Zhu Mingyue's jawline, gently rubbing the tip of his chin with such light pressure that it was almost imperceptible. "Be good."
Zhu Mingyue was already very fragile, and his body ached as if he had been chased by a carriage. All he wanted was to be thirsty and drink water, so why wouldn't Xie Pei grant his wish?
Tears welled up in her eyes and slid down her cheeks; Zhu Mingyue was crying again.
Xie Pei gave him only one deep look before turning and walking out of the house.
Zhu Mingyue: ? ? ? She just left so fresh and beautiful?
He stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment, then his still-unconscious mind gradually returned. He remembered that Xie Pei had carried him to his bed in the middle of the night and he had fallen asleep without a care in the world.
Zhu Mingyue's lips twitched slightly, and then she fell into deep thought. She couldn't figure out how she had inexplicably ended up in Xie Pei's bed after just one nap, and how she had inexplicably become so sick that she couldn't get out of bed.
Xie Pei returned, carrying a bowl of dark, bitter medicine in his hand. Zhu Mingyue immediately turned away in disgust, leaving Xie Pei with only his thin back view.
He doesn't want to drink this stuff.
But now he is a patient, lying in bed at the mercy of others, and has no say in anything he does.
Xie Pei chuckled and pulled him back with just one hand.
.
The medicine was brought to his lips, and Zhu Mingyue blinked her big eyes, holding back her tears, and then gagged.
Xie Pei frowned. He had already tasted the herbal medicine in the kitchen earlier. Was it really that bad?
He was puzzled, and Zhu Mingyue was even more puzzled. He was internally screaming in despair, "I'm already suffering enough, please stop torturing my taste buds!"
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Author's Note: Poor Mingyue, her house collapsed while she was sleeping! Where will she sleep from now on? It's so hard to guess!
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