“If you had died, I would immediately repay you with my life.”
“So what attitude are you returning with now? To repay my life?
Her face was noticeably thinner, her fierce expression inducing guilt. Xu Wanzhi turned away, saying, “As you wish.”
“Xu Wanzhi,” she suddenly called his real name, patting the space beside her, “Come up.”
“What is it?” He frowned, hesitating to move. Qu Xiaojue’s eyes widened, persistently staring at his face. He helplessly said, “I’ve been on a horse carriage for days, haven’t cleaned up, and I’m dirty.”
“Come up,” Qu Xiaojue forcefully pulled him onto the bed, not changing her tone. Xu Wanzhi, unable to resist and afraid of hurting her potentially serious wounds, reluctantly removed his shoes and lay down beside her.
Qu Xiaojue tightly held his hand, lying close, and spoke softly, “I know you’re not him, but you are my husband.”
“…” He remained silent for a while, then asked, “Are your injuries serious?”
“It’s fine now,” Qu Xiaojue didn’t want to dwell on this topic, casually changing the subject: “What did you see in the outside world this time?”
“Many things, but just ordinary people and ordinary matters… They each have their own sorrows and joys…”
“Oh.” Qu Xiaojue suddenly flipped over, kissing him slowly. Xu Wanzhi instinctively pushed her, but she pinned her elbow on his chest, preventing his resistance, forcefully holding his head and intensely exploring his mouth…
Being held actively by him, Qu Xiaojue’s heart was filled with joy and surprise.
She remained motionless, embracing him silently, warmth flowing through her entire body, as if she had been waiting for this moment for too long. Xu Wanzhi gradually smoothed out the indescribable emotions in his heart, still worried about pressing on her wound. He tentatively pushed her hands away and glanced towards her side. Qu Xiaojue curved her lips slightly, holding his hand and pulling him to lie down beside her again.
The tent’s tassels emitted a faint golden light, blurring one’s eyes. Next to them lay a woman who had always believed they were a married couple…
“How are your wounds? Let me take a look.”
The body beside her moved, and Qu Xiaojue pressed down on his outstretched hand, wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling him into her embrace. She laughed softly, “Just a minor injury, nothing serious. Don’t even think about going anywhere tonight. Just stay and rest with me, okay?”
His body was held tightly, clearly leaving him no room to resist. Xu Wanzhi glanced at her indifferently. Qu Xiaojue suddenly pinched his waist, holding his head against her shoulder: “Considering you’re tired, I’ll give you one more chance to sleep well. If you can’t sleep, I’m happy to do what a married couple should do.”
Xu Wanzhi was speechless, grinding his teeth and rubbing heavily in her shoulder socket.
Qu Xiaojue let out a muffled groan of pain, looking aggrieved at him.
“So your injury is on your shoulder blade.” “Mm…”
Morning sunlight filtered into the room. Xu Wanzhi awoke in a daze, feeling a weight on his shoulder – Qu Xiaojue’s head, who had been holding his hand while he slept.
He squinted, and Qu Xiaojue was awake but motionless, smiling at him. Xu Wanzhi slightly pulled away: “Since you’re fine, get up. I haven’t eaten since yesterday.”
Qu Xiaojue embraced him briefly, then said, “I’ve already moved your belongings to my room. You’ll live with me from now on. Oh, and I’ve dealt with the ‘rat poison’ in your room. No one will dare give you such things again.”
Xu Wanzhi caught the key point: “What if I don’t come back?”
Qu Xiaojue helped him up, smiling sinisterly: “If you don’t come back… I’ll catch and lock you up. If you’re disobedient, I’ll gradually wear down your willfulness until you give up all other thoughts. In this life, except for me and our child, you’ll see no one!”
He cursed: “Madman!”
“That’s what you forced me to be. Husband, everyone knows how I treat those who disobey!”
Xu Wanzhi said helplessly: “Don’t scare me. I know you set out immediately after being injured. You didn’t dare to think, afraid you’d hesitate and regret.”
Qu Xiaojue laughed lowly: “You won’t have such a chance again.”
“I need to think about some things. Give me some time.”
She leaned over and hugged him, her head bumping his shoulder: “I won’t give you time, but you should think about how to comfort An’er, who keeps thinking about you. Lord of the Qu family, do a good job.”
Xu Wanzhi didn’t argue further. He had noticed last night that she didn’t have any terrible scars, but there was a bone-deep knife wound on her shoulder. He was deliberately careful not to touch it.
When An’er saw his father, he burst into tears like a little meat bun, throwing himself into his arms, crying non-stop. Xu Wanzhi gently comforted him, feeding him an entire breakfast with the tenderness of a loving father, until he believed his dad was still his dad, that nothing had changed.
Two bowls of medicine appeared on the table. Xu Wanzhi looked at her curiously: “How much do you drink daily?”
“One bowl is for you.”
Xu Wanzhi was more puzzled: “I didn’t get a knife wound.”
“When you fell into the water, the doctor said you must drink some tonic daily, but you refused back then. This time, I’ll drink it for you, so just accompany me.”
Unexpectedly, she still remembered this. Xu Wanzhi looked helplessly at the dark medicinal liquid. He tentatively picked it up, smelled it, and struggled: “I know my body well. Tonic isn’t necessary. As they say, food is better than medicine. I’ll try to eat more.”
Qu Xiaojue glanced at him, pushing away her medicine bowl cheerfully: “My husband makes sense. I’ve long wanted to stop drinking this medicine.”
Xu Wanzhi tilted the bowl and drank it in one gulp, raising an eyebrow at her. Qu Xiaojue, unlike a typical woman, didn’t need persuasion. Seeing him finish, she drank her bowl completely.
Now that her injury was nearly healed and her mood better, she wanted to take the father-son pair out to play. Xu Wanzhi refused, citing travel fatigue.
Qu Xiaojue gave him a sidelong glance and took Xu Wanzhi to the study: “Since you don’t want to go out, let’s do something productive.”
She took out a thousand-character text, placing it on the table: “I said I’d teach you, now let’s see if you’re a good student.”
“I can read.”
“Oh?” Qu Xiaojue looked him over, then gave a cold laugh: “My husband seems to have gained a lot while away. Did you meet any interesting people?”
Xu Wanzhi frowned, not wanting to engage with her sarcastic tone. Qu Xiaojue casually picked up a seal on the desk, the first one he had carved during their trip to the city.
“This is the only thing you’ve given me,” Qu Xiaojue gently tapped the seal, beckoning him: “Come here.”
Touched by her slightly melancholic expression, Xu Wanzhi walked over.
She grabbed his hand and pressed it down heavily, a cool sensation suddenly bursting forth. The stone seal opened, revealing three square, powerful red characters. She looked satisfied and smiled: “This is probably the first time you’ve seen my name. Can you write it?”
Qu Xiaojue picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote the character, enlarging it several times, each stroke clear and precise: “Husband, learning this character today shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“What a nuisance.” Xu Wanzhi scoffed inwardly, and indeed it wasn’t difficult, sitting on a newly prepared chair, accompanying her for a morning. These days he was truly tired, and with the sunlight feeling comfortable, he quietly fell asleep. Qu Xiaojue smiled and shook her head, carrying him to the bed and covering him with a blanket, then quietly lying down beside him for a moment before getting up to continue handling recent unfinished work.
