Lu Yuan had a long dream that night.
In his dream, he returned to the days at the Pri Minister’s Mansion, recounting his grievances to soone in detail.
What was laughable was that he knew it was a dream.
Because only in dreams did he dare to feel wronged. Once he opened his eyes, he didn’t even have the right to think about such things.
When Lu Yuan woke up, daylight had already broken.
He found himself unable to move, wrapped tightly in soft Xiangyun Sha, like a silkworm cocoon.
Not only that, but he also seed to be lying in an incomparably fragrant and tender embrace. A pair of delicate, fair arms gently encircled him, with a chin resting lightly against his forehead. Warm breaths landed on his cheeks, little by little, reminiscent of the gentle spring breeze brushing against one’s face under the radiant sun.
Lu Yuan’s lashes fluttered slightly.
ng Qianqian caught this subtle movent imdiately and quickly roused herself from a half-asleep state, lifting her head to look at him without releasing her arms that were holding him.
"You’re awake?"
She asked softly, raising her hand to touch his forehead. "No fever anymore. Last night your cold syndro acted up, scared to death! Next ti, you better not soak in cold water after drinking. Internal heat won’t dissipate, and it invites even more cold into your ridians and internal organs. With your years of chronic cold syndro, your body simply cannot bear it. By the way, why didn’t you ntion before that you have this condition?"
She never used to talk so much—unless she was flattering soone.
Lu Yuan hesitated to speak.
ng Qianqian asked, "What do you want to say?"
Lu Yuan opened his mouth. "Last night..."
ng Qianqian interrupted confidently, "You didn’t say anything last night! No talking in your sleep, not even a single word!"
Lu Yuan: "..."
Closing his eyes, Lu Yuan tried to suppress the mortifying image of himself babbling like a child and swallowed down the embarrassnt. "Who carried back to my room?"
His last mory was of feeling a wave of heat during his bath, followed by a chilling cold. He blacked out after that, and when he woke up, it was just now.
ng Qianqian blinked, looking down at him in her arms.
Lu Yuan’s ears turned slightly red. "Was it you?"
"Yes." ng Qianqian nodded seriously and pointed at him. "Lucky I got there early. Otherwise, you’d have drowned in the bath. I also dressed you. You kept alternating between hot and cold last night, sweating a lot—I had to change you into several sets of clothes."
Lu Yuan’s face turned pale. "So you..."
ng Qianqian raised an eyebrow aningfully. "Mm-hmm."
Lu Yuan turned his face away. "How dare you... why didn’t you wake up?"
ng Qianqian pouted. "Oh, co on! You’re the one who said we should consummate our marriage. Now you’re shy about seeing a little? Makes wonder if you were even serious about it!"
Lu Yuan glared at her coldly. "ng Xiaojiu, you’re getting very bold lately!"
ng Qianqian instantly cowered, "Little Nine wouldn’t dare. Little Nine knows her mistake."
Their family, spanning three generations, couldn’t produce anyone more spinelessly submissive. Even if Lu Yuan wanted to get angry, he couldn’t find an outlet.
"Let go,"
he said icily.
"Oh." ng Qianqian pulled her arm out from under his neck. Having been used as his pillow for so long, her arm was almost numb.
Lu Yuan tried to move but found that he couldn’t undo the binds of the Xiangyun Sha no matter how he struggled.
He said curtly, "Untie the Xiangyun Sha."
ng Qianqian blinked. "Does the Grand Commander want to consummate our marriage?"
Lu Yuan’s temple throbbed. "ng Xiaojiu!"
ng Qianqian quickly corrected herself, "I was wrong, I was wrong! The Grand Commander just had a flare-up of his cold syndro; your body is too weak to handle exertion."
Lu Yuan’s face darkened. "Who are you calling weak?"
ng Qianqian imdiately conceded, "I’m the weak one, I’m the weak one!"
Awake, he was hard to deal with. Last night, he was much more docile. He’d call her ’sister,’ call her ’fairy,’ and even feed her candied hawthorns!
ng Qianqian began unwrapping the layers of Xiangyun Sha she had wrapped him in.
Lu Yuan sat up and noticed a pile of candied hawthorn sticks on the floor. His brows furrowed. "ng Xiaojiu, how many candied hawthorns did you eat last night?"
ng Qianqian: "..."
The Empress’ grand wedding granted a three-day suspension of court sessions.
Though Lu Yuan didn’t have to attend court, as an officially appointed Mada of the imperial court, ng Qianqian had to enter the palace to pay respects to the Empress.
Before leaving, she sought out Steward Cen to inquire about Lu Yuan’s condition.
"There’s one thing I don’t understand. Lady Yan excels in dicine, and the Governor Mansion has no shortage of Red Ganoderma. Why hasn’t he recovered yet? Did my husband not ask Lady Yan to treat him?"
Steward Cen sighed, "The Grand Commander hasn’t disclosed his illness to Lady Yan. You know his temperant, Young Madam—he’s highly guarded and unwilling to trust anyone easily. It took years just to learn about it myself."
ng Qianqian nodded. That sounded like sothing Lu Yuan would do.
Steward Cen continued, "After you reunited with the Grand Commander and discovered his poor health, you brought a Miao Doctor from Miaojiang to the capital. Over these past few years, that doctor has been treating him."
ng Qianqian was puzzled. "It’s been years, and it still hasn’t been cured?"
Steward Cen replied with a pained expression, "Young Madam, you wouldn’t know. During those years at the Pri Minister’s Mansion, the Grand Commander suffered greatly. The cold syndro is just one issue. His body is riddled with ailnts—so severe that even the Miao Doctor marvels at how he’s managed to survive this long."
ng Qianqian suddenly understood. "I see."
Her own cold syndro was mild, with no lingering conditions, so just a few dicinal treatnts had sufficed. But Lu Yuan’s body, having been worn down to such a state, faced greater risks. With dicine inherently carrying toxicity, what was tolerable for others could very well act as a death sentence for him.
"And yet he still practices martial arts."
Wouldn’t that exhaust him even further?
Steward Cen lowered his head and sighed helplessly. "If he had a choice, who would willingly shorten their own lifespan? Back then, the Grand Commander had no options."
ng Qianqian’s gaze sharpened. "From now on, I’ll make sure he has options."
Steward Cen turned to look at ng Qianqian upon hearing this.
She was dressed in the most modest and virtuous attire, yet speaking with the boldest and most commanding tone.
Rather than being shocked, a trace of recognition flashed in his eyes—he had been waiting for this mont.
ng Qianqian, noting his reaction, remained composed. "Steward Cen, when you chose back then, wasn’t it because you believed I could support the Grand Commander?"
Exposed, Steward Cen didn’t display any guilt or embarrassnt. Instead, he smiled openly, "Not belief—certainty. My only talent is reading people accurately."
ng Qianqian pressed on, "It was also your arrangent for my third uncle to beat up the wrong person, wasn’t it?"
If her third uncle hadn’t mistakenly taken Lu Yuan for Lu Lingxiao and beaten him up, how else would she have ended up being "compensated" to Lu Yuan?
Steward Cen admitted straightforwardly, "Yes, that was my doing. I took advantage of Lord ng, and I feel guilty for it. I’ll personally apologize to him one day."
Bringing a rare trace of sternness to her tone, ng Qianqian said, "There’s no need to apologize. However, I dislike being manipulated."
Steward Cen cupped his hands respectfully. "I promise, Young Madam—there won’t be a next ti. Though, may I ask you one question?"
"Go ahead."
"If the person your third uncle chose to marry off wasn’t you, would you have gone willingly?"
ng Qianqian paused for a mont. "No."
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