The Eleventh Day of Picking Up My Wife

Even so, by the time they reached Yunshui Villa and she got down from the carriage, Liu Yuer was already hurrying toward her with an anxious look on her face. “Miss, something bad happened. Miss Shen fainted again.”

“What? Her body is that weak?” Lu Ling panicked at once.

She did not want to lose money and fail to keep her woman.

“Go bring He Chou over.” After giving the order, she went to Wang Xianglan’s carriage and brought Shen Wanxin out.

The moment she drew back the curtain, Shen Wanxin was leaning crookedly against the carriage wall, covered in cold sweat. Her lips were pressed tight as she forced herself not to make a sound; clearly, the poison had already been acting up for quite a while.

Lu Ling was honestly impressed by how well she endured it.

She stepped past Wang Xianglan and lifted her into her arms.

It had to be said, Shen Wanxin was extremely light; even though Lu Ling rarely bothered to exercise, she could still carry her.

Looks like she’d have to nurse her back to health in the future. With so little flesh on her, how was she supposed to withstand the poison?

She didn’t say anything else, just carried her into the villa.

The villa was built halfway up a scenic mountain, with only two roads leading down.

However, both roads had dedicated carriages and horses, as well as a physician stationed there.

The reason He Chou was called He Chou was because only she understood the poison called Bone-Eroding.

After Lu Ling settled Shen Wanxin in the main bedroom, Aunt Wu came in carrying a clean basin of water, and He Chou arrived soon after.

He Chou first took Shen Wanxin’s pulse, then let out a sigh. “I’ll leave seven prepared doses here. Every time the poison acts up, she’ll need one dose. When those are used up, come find me again.”

“From today on, I’m afraid I can’t keep handling the regular clinic work at Qingzhu Tower as well.”

As she spoke, she looked at Lu Ling.

Lu Ling understood what she meant. If she wanted to save Shen Wanxin, this was the only way.

“Have Yujie handle it later. Just focus on treating Shen Wanxin.”

The moment those words were spoken, even He Chou, who usually thought Lu Ling was kind, couldn’t help asking, “Miss, is it worth it?”

“What?” Lu Ling asked, confused.

He Chou said, “To save a woman whose background and circumstances you know nothing about, you not only spent five hundred taels, but from now on the medicinal ingredients will be extremely rare, and the expenses will multiply several times over. Have you thought this through?”

Lu Ling didn’t know what the last part of that question was meant to imply, but since she had already decided to save the girl, she naturally wouldn’t skimp on anything.

“Just prescribe the medicine.”

“What if Miss Shen doesn’t appreciate it, and still lets you do this?” He Chou asked again.

That made Lu Ling find her a little strange. Why was she talking so much today?

“Whether she appreciates it or not isn’t for her to decide.” Lu Ling’s tone was a little domineering. “This young lady is not going to let herself lose money.”

Hearing that, He Chou actually relaxed and reminded her, “Don’t let Miss Shen know what poison she has. If she’s shocked by the truth, it could force the poison into her heart meridians ahead of time. By then, even medicine and needles may be useless.”

“And this kind of poison absolutely cannot be revealed to the person themselves. I’ll explain the details to you later.”

He Chou’s repeated warnings made Lu Ling nod seriously.

After that, He Chou left seven doses behind and immediately sent one of the villa’s fast horses off, seemingly heading somewhere far away.

Lu Ling didn’t ask further, because she knew He Chou was very reliable.

She trusted her.

Soon after, faint, muffled cries came from the main bedroom. The woman on the bed clutched tightly at her chest, her face deathly pale and her forehead covered in sweat; she was in obvious agony.

Lu Ling snapped back to attention and immediately ordered, “Aunt, go brew the medicine.”

“Yes!” Aunt Wu quickly led the maids in the villa to the kitchen.

When the bowl was finally brought over, Lu Ling had originally wanted Aunt Wu to feed her. Unexpectedly, Shen Wanxin suddenly opened her eyes and almost instinctively moved to attack.

With a sweep of her hand, she nearly knocked the medicine bowl out of Aunt Wu’s grasp.

“What are you doing? I’m not sick!” Shen Wanxin’s voice was cold, but she couldn’t get up. She only felt numb all over, as if she had been drugged.

So she shot Lu Ling a wary glare. “Miss Lu doesn’t need to confine me like this, or force me like this.”

The moment she said that, Lu Ling instantly understood.

No wonder she had looked at her so unfavorably in the carriage.

Aside from the fact that Lu Ling held her contract of sale, she understood very well what her own appearance could bring her. And since Lu Ling had brought her to a private residence, even a fool would know she intended to keep her confined.

Why confine her alone?

Naturally, to monopolize the little golden canary.

And if the canary was Shen Wanxin herself, while Lu Ling was the young mistress, that clearly made their positions unequal. Anyone could see what that implied.

Even Aunt Wu was sneaking careful glances at her, then at the girl on the bed, her expression carrying some indescribable complexity.

At that, Lu Ling finally understood.

Why did Shen Wanxin dislike her? More accurately, it was a natural rejection born from already having guessed Lu Ling’s intentions and her own place in them.

Their relationship was unequal to begin with.

And Lu Ling was being so good to her. If there were no ulterior motive, why would she be so kind?

She could save so many pitiful girls, yet she had spent so much effort on this Miss Shen alone.

Even among the people who knew her well, that was confusing. So all the suspicion and gossip would inevitably gather in one place.

That was: Lu Ling was interested in Shen Wanxin, which was why she handled everything personally.

Interested? She admitted she was, to some degree.

Even after only a few brief meetings, Shen Wanxin had already left such a deep impression on her.

And there was also the secret that might be hidden behind Shen Wanxin.

Still, none of that mattered anymore.

Lu Ling personally took the bowl. She knew very clearly that she had to make one thing absolutely clear, so the people in the villa would know Shen Wanxin’s place and take care of her wholeheartedly together with her.

And let Shen Wanxin know her own place as well.

So she used a little more force to lift Shen Wanxin’s chin, her expression cool and detached, bending down until she was right against the bridge of her nose. Then, in an ambiguous tone, she told her, “Things have come to this, and you’re still struggling?”

“While my mind is still on you, you’d better behave.”

“Otherwise...” She took a sip of the medicinal broth herself first, holding it in her mouth, then leaned forward domineeringly until her lips were only three inches from Shen Wanxin’s. “Or do you need me to feed you mouth to mouth?”

“My, Miss Shen.”

Every syllable was bitten out clearly, declaring her possessiveness over her.

Whether it came from goodwill or from some other motive.

Lu Ling only felt that this was how it should be done; only then could she suppress her, tame her, and settle her heart.

With Lu Ling’s lips so close, and that visible vitality pressing down on her from an intangible but overwhelming position, Shen Wanxin froze beside the bed and dared not make another sound. She was afraid that if she moved even slightly, she would touch Lu Ling’s lips.

A thorny little cat was instantly forced into submission.

Only, she still stubbornly pressed her lips together and refused to look at her.

With their noses almost touching, their close posture made everyone present immediately understand what the young mistress was thinking.

From now on, this Miss Shen would be half a master of Yunshui Villa.

Their gazes toward the woman on the bed instantly turned respectful.

“So, are you going to drink the medicine properly?” Lu Ling delivered her final ultimatum.

Shen Wanxin saw that there was not a trace of joking in her expression. Afterward, she raised a hand and pushed Lu Ling a little farther away, frowning for a long while before asking, “What medicine is this?”

Lu Ling smiled when she heard that. She hadn’t expected that even now, Shen Wanxin was still guarding against her.

Fine. A woman on her own ought to be cautious; that was better than trusting others too easily.

“Just some tonics and warming herbs.” Lu Ling made something up on the spot.

Shen Wanxin still didn’t believe her, but whether she believed it or not did not matter. When Lu Ling puckered her lips and leaned in again toward her face, she decisively sat up and drained the bowl in one gulp.

Then she shoved the empty bowl into Lu Ling’s hands so quickly that even Lu Ling was surprised.

Should she say she was cautious, or not?

It somehow felt like she was guarding against Lu Ling more than anything else. Was she not afraid of what kind of medicine Lu Ling might have brought?

However, Lu Ling’s doubts were quickly dispelled.

Because after Shen Wanxin finished drinking, she lifted a hand in the shape of a knife and lightly smacked Lu Ling on the shoulder.

Glug.

The medicinal broth in Lu Ling’s mouth went down. In an instant, the bitterness made her face twitch; her nose and mouth were almost scrunched together.

Shen Wanxin wiped the remnants of medicine from the corner of her mouth and curled her lips faintly, then said in a very serious tone, “This medicine is excellent!”

“You only praised it because you saw how awful it tasted on me,” Lu Ling said, covering her mouth as she backed up a few steps. She truly couldn’t handle bitterness. She rushed to the tea table, picked up the kettle, and drank deeply without caring about her image.

Aunt Wu and the others behind her looked at one another, then decided it would be better not to disturb them.

Lu Ling was so bitter she nearly cried.

There was even a hint of red in the corners of her eyes. When she looked back at the woman on the bed, besides that cold expression, there seemed to be a little more emotion there as well.

It was obvious she was somewhat gloating.

Covering her nose, Lu Ling had no choice but to admit it. “Fine, you’re smart. If you don’t drink your medicine properly in the future, I’ll use this trick on you again.”

Seemingly unwilling to let Shen Wanxin look so pleased with herself, she deliberately bared her teeth in warning at her.

Shen Wanxin simply lay back down, pulled up the bedding, and turned over with her back to Lu Ling, apparently not taking her words seriously at all.

“Then it’d be best if Miss Lu personally takes a sip of the bitter soup every time...”

The words bitter soup made Lu Ling’s mouth feel even drier, and she was practically speechless.

It felt as though Shen Wanxin had found a way to push back against her.

If she wanted to trick her into drinking medicine like this next time, it might not work anymore.

Lu Ling thought to herself, how could there be someone so hard to deal with?

Did she think she was the Emperor?

Only the Emperor could be that difficult to handle!

Just from that temper, she was certain Shen Wanxin was definitely not some ordinary family’s daughter, and certainly not some so-called kept woman or concubine. Anyone who wanted to get ideas about her would have to weigh the consequences.

Then would she have good days ahead of her?

If so, was it possible that someone who couldn’t get her might try to poison her out of spite?

That thought flashed by, and Lu Ling felt as if she were getting close to some truth.

But she’d still have to investigate it properly.

“Fine, then don’t. Go eat your own bitterness yourself.” Lu Ling rejected her, then added coolly, “Shen Mimi.”

“What?” Shen Wanxin turned over, puzzled by the strange nickname.

Lu Ling explained with great seriousness, “Mimi means kitty. Shen Kitty, Shen Big Cat, Shen Little Cat.”

“Which one do you like?”

“Or do you prefer me calling you Xin’er?” Seeing Shen Wanxin’s brows furrow more and more, she deliberately teased her with wicked amusement.

Unexpectedly, Shen Wanxin only looked puzzled for a moment, then saw through her intentions. She lay back down into the blankets again and said indifferently, “Then please call me Doggo, Miss Lu.”

She didn’t fall for the trap at all, and even gave herself a nickname to shut her up.

That left Lu Ling stunned.

“I was just trying to get closer to you, and you really won’t give me any face.”

In the end, she simply called out, “Shen Doggo.”

“Yes, Miss Love-Struck Lu.” Shen Wanxin replied carelessly.

That wasn’t too unpleasant.

But Lu Ling was curious what exactly she was being accused of being lovestruck over.

Before she could ask, Shen Wanxin had already answered, “The ‘struck’ kind of lovestruck.”

Lu Ling: ......

TL Note:

“the struck” kind of lovestruck (花痴的痴) = the joke is on 痴, meaning foolishly infatuated or obsessed with someone’s looks; I did my best with an english equivalent