Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 526 - 0491: Third Brother, You Have to Go Home to Sleep (2)
Noticing Li Yuwen was in a good mood, Pei Shenyan boldly asked, "Are you cold?" He tried to touch Li Yuwen’s fingers.
As soon as he touched them, Li Yuwen quickly pulled back.
"I’m fine." She blushed and turned her head away.
Pei Shenyan smiled.
For once, she wasn’t angry.
This kind of interaction seems, well, not bad?
The night wind was strong, causing Pei Fusheng, who was driving the carriage, to shrink his neck.
He decided to drive the carriage a bit slower.
The journey of over fifteen miles took twice as long as usual.
By the time they arrived at the village market street, Li Yuwen was already asleep in the carriage.
The maid, Cui Xi, who came along, fell asleep even earlier; she was asleep as soon as she got on the carriage.
To keep Li Yuwen from catching a cold.
Pei Shenyan took off his cloak and draped it over Li Yuwen.
Pei Fusheng stopped the carriage at the door of the house and came shouting to Pei Shenyan, "Young master, we’re home."
"Keep your voice down, the young mistress is asleep. You go ahead and open the door."
"Oh." Pei Fusheng walked away.
Cui Xi woke up at this time.
"Young master, I’ll get the lantern." Knowing it was her cue, she quickly got off the carriage.
Pei Shenyan looked at Li Yuwen, who was sleeping peacefully, and smiled softly.
He stepped down from the carriage and picked Li Yuwen up along with her clothes.
The door of the house was wide open, and Aunt Zhou and Cui Xi came together holding a lantern to light the way.
Seeing him carrying Li Yuwen, Aunt Zhou exclaimed, "Young master, you..."
How did their frail young master manage to carry the young mistress?
"Cui Xi, go light the brazier to warm the bed, Aunt Zhou, heat some water." Pei Shenyan instructed.
Aunt Zhou laughed, "The brazier is already lit, and the water is just boiled. I figured you’d be back around this time, so it’s all arranged."
The chatter woke Li Yuwen up.
Dazed, she realized something was amiss. As she opened her eyes, she discovered she was being held by Pei Shenyan.
Startled, she gave Pei Shenyan a push and jumped down to the ground.
Aunt Zhou and Cui Xi supported her together, "Young mistress? What’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream?"
Li Yuwen, embarrassed, said, "I... I can walk myself." She turned and dashed into the bedroom.
Inside the bedroom, she discovered she was still wrapped in Pei Shenyan’s cloak. With a dark expression, she pulled it off and tossed it onto a chair.
In the courtyard, Aunt Zhou suppressed a laugh and quietly said to Pei Shenyan, "Young master, don’t be angry. Newlywed young wives are often shy; you should go in and comfort her."
Pei Shenyan smiled mildly, "Alright."
He walked into the bedroom but didn’t see Li Yuwen.
His cloak was tossed on the chair.
The bed curtains were drawn down, and on the footstool in front of the bed, there were two haphazardly discarded shoes.
Pei Shenyan approached and, standing outside the curtain, spoke gently, "Yuwen, I didn’t mean to offend you just now. You were asleep, and it was cold outside, so I carried you in."
"No need to apologize, I don’t mind." From inside the curtain, Li Yuwen spoke with a red face.
In her heart, she thought, Strange, I wasn’t like this before.
Has she encountered few men before?
In the Capital, numerous heirs of noble families have flattered her, has she ever blushed for any of them?
Yet now she blushes for someone like Pei Shenyan, who she doesn’t even like, truly disgraceful!
This won’t do, she would be looked down upon by Pei Shenyan.
And even more so by others.
Li Yuwen took a deep breath, raised her hand to lift the curtain, and looked at Pei Shenyan. She gazed at him openly as she used to.
"We are spouses in name only, it really doesn’t matter much. You don’t need to apologize purposely, I’m not angry. I’m in the curtain because I’m tired and want to sleep." Li Yuwen said calmly.
Pei Shenyan looked at her ears, and they were red again.
"It’s good you’re not angry. I thought you were mad." Pei Shenyan smiled slightly, "You rest first, I’ll ask Aunt Zhou to prepare bathing water for you."
"Thank you." Li Yuwen got off the bed.
Pei Shenyan glanced back at her and walked out smiling.
.
The wind on Niu Tou Mountain was stronger than usual.
Each gust blew more fiercely than the last.
The windows in the room where Li Xing’an slept rattled loudly under the mountain wind.
Eventually, with a loud whoosh, the poor window disappeared without a trace.
The cold air in the room increased suddenly, and even though Li Xing’an curled up entirely under his blanket, he still felt cold.
Thus, when morning came the next day, Li Xing’an found himself ill.
He had a headache, a stuffy nose, and a sore throat.
Li Yuzhu and Mu Yuanxiu noticed he got up late and came to his room to check on him.
Li Xing’an immediately blamed Mu Yuanxiu, "Mu Yuanxiu, what’s the deal with the window in this room? It was still there yesterday, when did it disappear? The wind blew me sick."
The room Li Xing’an slept in had two windows facing north and south, and unfortunately for him, both were blown away by the wind.
So he effectively slept in a crosswind all night long.
Although there was a brazier in his room, it provided no warmth against the cold wind.
Mu Yuanxiu said, "Third Brother, you were the one who reinforced the windows of this room."
Li Xing’an, "..." Did he just bring it upon himself?
Mu Yuanxiu said, "Third Brother, come sleep in our room for a while. I’ll fix the window."
Li Xing’an grumbled with a dark expression, "My head hurts so much, I can’t get out of bed, you carry me over."
Li Yuzhu laughed in exasperation, Li Xing’an was actually acting cutesy.
The good-natured Mu Yuanxiu agreed, "Okay, I’ll carry Third Brother."
He walked to the bed and squatted down.
Li Xing’an sneezed, threw off the blanket, and lay down on his back.
Mu Yuanxiu, strong as he was, carried Li Xing’an steadily and smoothly, taking him to the east room, placing him on his own little bed.
This room was much warmer. Li Xing’an sighed with relief, "Comfortable, comfortable."
Li Yuzhu walked over and touched his forehead, "Third Brother, you have a fever, you need to take medicine." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
"Can’t I skip the medicine?" Li Xing’an grumbled with a pained expression.
Li Yuzhu showed no sympathy, "No, unless you want to be sick on New Year’s Day? It’s almost New Year’s, and without medicine, you won’t recover, you could drag this until New Year’s Day."
Then take the medicine, being sick on New Year’s Day is quite inauspicious.
Li Xing’an sighed, "Prescribe something that’s not too bitter, Third Sister."
"Medicine for a cold is always bitter." Li Yuzhu took out paper and pen and started writing a prescription.
Li Xing’an, "..." He sighed, "Why am I so unlucky?"
Mu Yuanxiu checked the window and came back saying, "Third Brother, the window was blown and broken, so we need to make a new one from wood. At the fastest, it will take two days, if the wood is hard to find, it might take three or even four or five days. I’ll try to fix it before the new year."
Li Xing’an exclaimed, "Three days? Four or five days? Where will I sleep tonight? And tomorrow night? And the night after..."
Li Yuzhu said, "Third Brother, you better go home to sleep. Nanny Jiang can help brew medicine there, and the wind is gentler at the foot of the mountain, it’s warmer too."
Li Xing’an glanced at Li Yuzhu, then at Mu Yuanxiu, "Go back? And leave you two on the mountain? Alone? Just what kind of decency is that!"
Mu Yuanxiu held back his laughter and raised an eyebrow.
Li Yuzhu laughed in exasperation, "Third Brother, this is Mu Yuanxiu, what’s the problem with being alone together? We are officially married!"
"No, I’m not going down the mountain, I’ll sleep here." Li Xing’an pulled the blanket over him.
Li Yuzhu frowned, hands on her hips, "Li Xing’an, what kind of brother are you, sleeping in your sister’s and brother-in-law’s room being a third wheel?"
Li Xing’an did not understand, "What third wheel?"
Li Yuzhu frowned, "Two is harmonious, a third one is extra."
Li Xing’an thought for a moment, "How about we put a screen in the middle of the room, I sleep with Mu Yuanxiu on one side, and Third Sister you sleep on the other side?"
Li Yuzhu was even more exasperated, "That’s still one room. Besides, you’re sick, you want to pass the virus to us? We’re newlyweds, if we get sick right after marriage, people will gossip about us."
Li Xing’an frowned, this seemed unfeasible too...
He thought long and hard, but there was no good solution, and his cold got worse, his head ached so much he became groggy, just wanting to sleep.
"Go sleep down the mountain, it’s cold here." Li Yuzhu wouldn’t listen to his excuses any longer and, with Mu Yuanxiu, carried him down the mountain.
Uncle Gui saw Mu Yuanxiu carrying Li Xing’an back and hurriedly asked what had happened.
Li Yuzhu spoke the truth, "He caught a cold. The wind was strong on the mountain last night and blew away the window of the room he slept in, so he caught a chill."
"It’s warmer down here, just stay at the bottom of the mountain, there’s no shortage of beds at home, so why go live with your brother-in-law?" Uncle Gui shook his head and helped Mu Yuanxiu carry Li Xing’an back to his bedroom.
When Princess Consort Luling learned he caught a cold, she was so upset she didn’t know what to say, "Quite a big man, and yet he froze himself sick. Let him stay at the foot of the mountain, being on the mountain for recovery would mean bothering Yuzhu to look after him. At the foot of the mountain, there are plenty of hands to take turns watching over him."
