Chapter: 116 out of 513 – Sickness comes like a landslide, but goes slowly like spinning silk (1)
It wasn’t comfortable sleeping on a boat, so the emperor ordered everyone to settled down at Qin Province’s governor’s residence.
Standing by the side of the bed, Ning Yuxuan looked at Nie Sangyu’s deathly pale face. With a slightly disdainful expression, he stretched his hand out. “It’s time to get up.”
Ji Man didn’t have the strength to move. Although her fever had faded, her entire body felt weak.
Standing by the side, Nie Qingyun couldn’t continue to watch this sight. With a calm and collected face, he said, “Let me carry Sangyu off the boat instead.”
“Are you really that delicate that you can’t walk by yourself, just because you’re wearing a slightly heavier cloak?” Ning Yuxuan took down the nearby cotton-padded cloak, turned his head, and said to Nie Qingyun and Errong, “You two can leave first. I’ll bring Sangyu off the boat.”
No one would feel at ease if you were the one carrying her, okay? Errong frowned and looked at him for a while before saying, “Cousin, Sangyu hasn’t recovered from her cold yet and she’ll be exposed to the wind when we go outside. Don’t treat her too roughly, okay?”
Ning Yuxuan chuckled, “I know how to act within the bounds of proper behavior.”
Yeah right! Ji Man silently cursed at him. As soon as she raised her head, she felt woozy. She would much rather be carried out by Nie Sangyu’s older brother than by him! She couldn’t help think that he was going to drag off her of the boat by her legs.
When all was said and done, these two were a married couple. It wouldn’t be proper for Ning Errong and Nie Qingyun to interfere. And so, they led the servants away and closed the door on their way out.
Ning Yuxuan leisurely picked up one of her cotton-padded dresses and her hair accessories, helped her up, and slowly helped her change her clothes. Then, he simply tied her hair behind her and wrapped the cotton-padded cloak around her.
Ji Man really wanted to say that the clash between the red cloak and green dress looked really ugly, but Marquis Moyu didn’t look interested in speaking with her. After helping her dress, he turned around and had Gancao and Dengxin bring Jinse into the room.
“Help Madam off the boat.”
Jinse quietly nodded. She didn’t show the slightest opinion and directly stretched her hand out to support Nie Sangyu.
Ji Man didn’t refuse either. Her body didn’t have any strength, so she could only drape herself on Jinse’s shoulder like a sea sponge as they started walking outside.
The river was very windy. Ji Man was wrapped up in the cloak with only her eyes left uncovered. However, when her peripheral vision saw the river, she remembered the bone-chilling coldness of the water and felt as if she was going to faint.
—
In the evening, Noble Consort Nie came over with medicinal soup. Moreover, she had pulled Marquis Moyu to the side and said that Sangyu had been very attentive throughout this journey. He couldn’t ignore her just because she was sick. She even mentioned old madame’s hopes, as well as the relationships between their two clans.
Ji Man felt a headache just hearing these words. Sometimes, Noble Consort was way too long-winded and troublesome. Moreover, her intention was so blatant. She just wanted Marquis Moyu to bestow his favor on her niece. And yet, she went around this huge circle instead. It was really tiring to listen to her.
However, Ning Yuxuan didn’t show the slightest sign of impatience as he listened to her. When she finished speaking, there was actually a hint of shame on his face. “Yuxuan understands. Many thanks to the noble consort for your edification.”
Seeing that he had accepted her words, she happily praised him for a long time before lifting her skirt and leaving.
And so, Ning Yuxuan and Ji Man slept in the same room that night. Ji Man’s rest that night was wasn’t peaceful. Her body started to heat up again. It was already a miracle that she was still alive right now. Thus, she treasured her little life very much. Feeling a sense of wrongness, she hurriedly turned over and shouted, “Yuxuan!”
Because she hadn’t fully recovered from her cold yet, NIng Yuxuan was sleeping on the cushioned couch in the outer room. Her yell didn’t wake him. He was probably deeply asleep.
Ji Man struggled to push the quilt off and got up to pour herself a cup of water. She felt that her bed was slightly too hot. And the more she slept, the hotter it became. Her body felt as if it was burning up and there wasn’t even a cold object she could use to cool herself down. She felt very tormented.
And so, after standing in her room for a few moments and noticing that charcoal fire was burning too much, she went to open a window.
The cool breeze brought her a moment of comfort before her head felt woozy again. The window was above the cushioned couch. Ji Man didn’t take another second to think before choosing to lie down on the cushioned couch because of proximity.
The cushioned couch wasn’t as hot as the bed. The temperature was just right. Marquis Moyu’s body even felt slightly cold.
Since the couch was so big and she couldn’t wake him, Ji Man decided it would fine if she also slept here. If Ning Yuxuan ended up getting sick tomorrow, then he could only blame his immune system for not being good enough.
Just like that, Ji Man muddle-headedly fell asleep. One moment, Nie Sangyu’s body would feel hot, and she would roll over to a cooler part. The next moment, her body would feel cold, and she would snatch the quilt away and tightly roll up in it.
When Ning Yuxuan opened his eyes, he saw her rolling away one moment and rolling back the next moment. One moment, she would be comfortably hugging him. The next moment, she would disdainfully push him away.
Really, she was as difficult to serve in her sleep as when she was awake. Ning Yuxuan snorted and touched Nie Sangyu’s forehead to check her temperature. Then, he sat up and took out a small box that had been tucked into the sleeve of his clothing that had been hanging on a divider screen. There was a pill-sized medicine in the box. After dissolving it into water, he started pouring it down Nie Sangyu’s throat.
Ji Man struggled even in her sleep.
With a stiff expression, Ning Yuxuan said, “This isn’t poison. This is to prevent your mind from burning up and becoming a fool. There’s not much good about you to begin with. If you’re brain stops working, then don’t blame me for not wanting you.”
Strangely, Nie Sangyu stopped struggling. Ning Yuxuan poured the rest of the liquid down her throat, then he quietly lied down and went back to sleep.
(T/N: My friend, Fringe Octopus, has recently picked up Black Belly Wife to translate. It was one of the novels that Girly Novels selected as a teaser translation, so if you like ChongFei Manual, I think you might like this novel as well.)
