Steward Wang clearly remembered how Ji Dong He had sternly instructed him that everyone in the mansion must address this young lady as Imperial Concubine, and anyone who misspoke would have to pack their bags and leave.
"Even without the wedding ceremony, you are still the Imperial Concubine..." Steward Wang said with a guilty expression, "This old servant has been helping my master prepare the Buddhist ceremony for the late mistress recently, and haven't had the chance to pay respects to Wang Ye and the Imperial Concubine. I beg for your forgiveness... May I ask if Prince An has been well lately?"
Chu Chu pursed her small lips. Brother Jing had warned her not to tell anyone about Wang Ye's illness. She replied vaguely, "Wang Ye is doing fine... How is Lord Ji?"
When asked about his master, Steward Wang couldn't help shaking his head and sighing, "Thank you for your concern, Imperial Concubine... Since learning of the mistress's tragic death, the master has been unable to eat or sleep properly, filled with self-blame... The mistress suddenly returned to her parents' home actually because she had a huge argument with the master that night. It was so intense that everyone in the mansion heard it. I was the one who saw the mistress off to the carriage the next morning - she was still crying when she boarded..."
Chu Chu frowned, "Why were they arguing?"
"This old servant couldn't possibly know about the master and mistress's private matters..." Steward Wang sighed again, the wrinkles on his forehead gathering together, "No married couple goes without arguments, but who could have predicted such a tragedy..."
Chu Chu said urgently, "Wang Ye and I never argue!"
Steward Wang looked at the young girl before him and shook his head with a bitter smile, "Imperial Concubine, please forgive my bluntness, but you haven't had your wedding ceremony with Wang Ye yet. Once you're married and dealing with daily life matters, you're bound to argue..."
"We definitely won't argue!"
"Imperial Concubine..."
"I'm the Imperial Concubine, what I say goes!"
"Yes, yes, yes..."
☆、37 Sweet and Sour Ribs (Seventeen)
When Chu Chu returned to the room, Xiao Jin Yu was still sleeping deeply, his breathing even and steady, his brow relaxed, his delicate eyelashes resting peacefully. He looked as serene and beautiful as a painting.
Holding her pillow and quilt, Chu Chu quietly climbed up from the foot of the bed, carefully arranged her pillow, spread out her quilt, took off her outer clothes and folded them neatly beside the pillow, then cautiously slipped into her own bedding.
She had originally wanted to sleep under the same quilt as Wang Ye, but since he was currently ill, she worried that she might steal the covers in the middle of the night and cause him to catch cold.
With the lamp still lit, Chu Chu couldn't fall asleep immediately. She moved closer to Xiao Jin Yu, lying beside him with her small hands stacked under her chin, gazing at him intently.
Wang Ye was handsome, had a good temper, a kind heart, and could solve cases too. He was truly a good man you couldn't find even with a lantern - the more she looked at him, the more she liked him.
And Wang Ye had personally admitted that he liked her, that he liked her the most.
She was soon going to become the wife of the person who liked her the most. The more she thought about it, the happier she became, so happy she almost laughed aloud.
From now on, she must take good care of Wang Ye, help him recover from his illness, and make him plump and healthy. No one would be allowed to bully him...
If only...
It would be even better if Wang Ye really was the head of Six Doors...
Chu Chu smiled as she thought, not knowing when she fell asleep. In her dreams, she seemed to hear someone calling her - it sounded like Wang Ye's voice, mixed with soft groans of pain, as if right by her ear...
"Wang Ye..."
Seeing Chu Chu lift her sleepy little head, Xiao Jin Yu smiled apologetically, "Chu Chu... could you get me a bottle of medicine?"Chu Chu finally shook off her drowsiness, widening her eyes to look at Xiao Jin Yu. Seeing his pale face and forehead glistening with fine sweat, she immediately grew anxious. "Wang Ye, what's wrong with you again?"
Xiao Jin Yu was breathing heavily from enduring the pain. "An old ailment, it's nothing... Just need to take some medicine..."
"I'll get it for you right away!"
"Thank you..."
Chu Chu rushed to the large medicine chest and retrieved the specific bottle Xiao Jin Yu had requested. She carefully poured out two pills and fed them to him. After swallowing the medicine, Xiao Jin Yu sincerely thanked Chu Chu once more.
Chu Chu looked somewhat skeptically at the small medicine bottle in her hand. "Is taking just this enough?"
"Yes... Don't worry about me, go back to sleep..."
If it weren't for the unbearable, intensifying pain in his joints, if he hadn't been completely drained of strength, he would never have wanted to wake her. Her rosy cheeks still carried a smile in her sleep—she must have been dreaming of something wonderful, resting so soundly...
Chu Chu returned the medicine bottle to the chest, came back to wipe the sweat from his forehead, then climbed onto the bed and nestled beside him. Noticing he was still frowning tightly and breathing weakly, she suddenly remembered, "Ah! Wang Ye, is your rheumatism acting up again?"
Xiao Jin Yu was taken aback, turning his head with difficulty to look at her. "How did you know..."
"Of course I know! You were soaked in icy water for so long back then—when you came out, all your joints were swollen. Even the lightest touch made you tremble in pain. I spent three days rubbing medicated wine on you before the swelling went down. I thought you weren't in pain anymore... Wait here, I'll get the medicated wine and massage it for you again!"
Before Xiao Jin Yu could utter a word of refusal, Chu Chu had already jumped off the bed.
This condition had been plaguing him for three years—he knew perfectly well that rubbing medicated wine was far more effective than any medicine. But his ailment had been brutally inflicted by prolonged exposure to icy water, leaving not a single joint unaffected from shoulders to toes...
When he was unconscious, it was one thing, but now, being fully awake...
Chu Chu hurried back with the medicated wine, moved both charcoal braziers in the room closer to the bed, and climbed up to pull aside the quilt covering Xiao Jin Yu. He suddenly remembered another critical matter. "Wait..."
"What's wrong?"
A faint blush spread across Xiao Jin Yu's face. "I... I'm not wearing any clothes..."
"Perfect! Saves me from having to undress you!" Chu Chu grinned triumphantly. "See? I told you this would be more convenient!"
"..."
Chu Chu pulled back the quilt covering him, half-supporting and half-embracing him as she helped him turn over. Every movement sent shivers of pain through Xiao Jin Yu's body—the simple shift from lying on his back to his stomach had already drenched him in cold sweat from the agony.
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