Chapter 30: Starting to cuddle, I have good news to tell you…

Li Ruantang’s fingers froze as she adjusted her collar, her face suddenly flushing red. Those almond eyes glanced uncomfortably at the window outside, and she lowered her voice with some difficulty, “Jiujiu, it’s still daytime now.”

As a woman, she naturally wouldn’t be burdened by reputation, but Jiujiu was a man, and even though she had the power to silence the gossiping masses, she still worried that he might be hurt by these unspeakable words.

“Eh?”

The young gentleman pursed his lips and lowered his head, saying softly, “I… I just worry that wife-master might have other arrangements later.”

If they cuddled earlier, perhaps they could cuddle for longer, detoxifying faster. Besides, it was just detoxification, what difference would there be between day and night?

Meng Jun tugged at his own sleeve, somewhat puzzled.

Although he had initially chosen to cuddle when Li Ruantang was sound asleep, wasn’t that because he was afraid he couldn’t explain clearly if Li Ruantang asked?

Now, Li Ruantang hadn’t asked much about the reason for cuddling.

Come to think of it, the previous story books often wrote about what happened in the middle of the night. Meng Jun had privately asked the servants, but they all shook their heads, saying they didn’t know. He wasn’t particularly close to the Han Fushi at home, so naturally, he couldn’t bring it up.

The few male friends he was familiar with always stammered when talking about this.

Now that Li Ruantang had brought it up, she must know the reason!

The young gentleman nodded secretly. Curious and confused, he fixed his beautiful phoenix eyes brightly on Li Ruantang as she approached slowly, asking very seriously, “Wife-master, why must cuddling be done at night?”

“……”

Li Ruantang’s heart trembled slightly. She sat down beside the young gentleman and deliberated for a moment before solemnly saying, “It’s not that it must be done at night, but right now we’re not in our mansion. There are many people during the day, and if the host were to see, it would be somewhat discourteous.”

“Oh.” So that’s what it was. The young gentleman leaned on her shoulder and, after thinking for a moment, said softly, “Wife-master, let’s still cuddle at night then.”

During the day, if he were to blush again without being able to control it, Li Ruantang would see it clearly. Just thinking about this situation made Meng Jun’s ears burn fiercely.

Li Ruantang gently hummed in agreement, holding her young husband’s fingers, the smile in her eyes and brows not yet fully raised.

Then she heard Jiujiu, nestled in her arms, negotiate with her very hesitantly, “Wife-master, tonight when we cuddle, can we—”

Although he knew this was nothing but a proper matter, with no extra emotions involved, the young gentleman still couldn’t help but turn completely red. He slightly raised his eyes, pleading with Li Ruantang, “Can it be for a bit longer?”

“Hmm… Hmm??”

Li Ruantang, upon realizing, furrowed her brows several times. Those almond eyes looked at Jiujiu in her arms with great complexity, as if he didn’t understand what this request would lead to. “For longer?”

She repeated.

Meng Jun nodded. He was a bit shy, but thinking that this was about saving someone, the young gentleman’s expression immediately became righteous. He gestured to her, “If wife-master could persist until the candle burns down this much, that would be even better.”

Seeing those almond eyes stare blankly, Meng Jun moved his two gesturing fingers slightly inward again, very considerately saying, “This long is fine too.”

Li Ruantang: “……”

“If wife-master can’t hold on, then—”

The fingers that were about to move inward again to gesture were gently grasped by Li Ruantang. “This amount of time is fine.”

Her voice was extremely low, but she also knew that if she let Jiujiu continue speaking, who knows what other surprising words her young husband might have.

It’s just a quarter of an hour, right? She… should be able to control herself, right?

Li Ruantang wasn’t very confident.

Seeing her agree, the young gentleman finally felt somewhat relieved.

Actually, the days they could stay together like this probably wouldn’t be many more.

Li Ruantang would have to return to the capital sooner or later. As soon as she stepped into the capital, without him having to say it himself, there would be many people waiting to tell Li Ruantang. The man she had protected all the way was not her bedside companion.

Everything was fake.

He might not even have a month and a half to help her detoxify slowly.

Just thinking about these things made the young gentleman feel as if someone had heavily bitten his heart, the pain turning the corners of his eyes crimson.

Meng Jun, in his confusion, also knew that this matter was probably very intimate, but even so, he still wanted to save her.

Now, Li Ruantang had gone out again.

The young gentleman brooded alone for a while, his gaze falling on the pair of nearly withered flower wreaths. He couldn’t help but clench his fist and cheer himself on. Now was not the time for spring melancholy, he had to buck up!

Meng Jun hurriedly kicked off his shoes and hugged the quilt, sleeping back on the couch. He tightly closed his eyes and very seriously calculated again and again.

Although Li Ruantang couldn’t hold on, he wasn’t injured. As long as he slept enough during the day and was energetic at night, if he took the initiative to cuddle, it shouldn’t be too taxing for Li Ruantang!

Yes, if she couldn’t hold on, wasn’t he still there?!

Cuddling was a two-person affair after all.

The more the young gentleman thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. Just as he had cultivated some drowsiness, knock knock—, the door was gently knocked, and Zhou Fulang’s gentle voice came through, “Li Fulang, today is the Grain in Ear. The men in the village are preparing to gather together to brew plum wine and have some fun. Do you have time?”

Brewing plum wine?

Meng Jun sat up from the kang in one swift motion. Usually in the capital, when it came to the Grain in Ear, people would gather to send off the Flower God, but he had never heard of the custom of brewing plum wine.

The young gentleman was very curious, but he was still thinking about resting well in advance. How could he have time to go see this? He reached out to cover his head with the thin quilt, just about to politely decline, when he heard Zhou Fulang say through the door panel, “Too many things have happened these past two days. If Li Fulang goes and drinks some of the plum wine we brew, it would be extremely beneficial for sleeping well at night.”

“Really?”

As soon as Zhou Fulang finished speaking, the thin wooden door was gently opened from the inside, and the young gentleman peeking out still had some hesitation, “If I only go for a little while, can I still drink the plum wine?”

“Of course.” Zhou Fulang nodded very assuredly. After Meng Jun finished getting ready and the two walked out of the courtyard together, the young gentleman only then noticed that Ah Ning wasn’t around.

“Li Fulang might not know, but those who brew plum wine are usually married men gathering together. Ning’er isn’t betrothed yet, so today he went with my Sanniang to hunt in the back mountain valley.”

Zhou Fulang led the way in front, while also smiling and saying, “The place where the village brews plum wine is right under the big locust tree at the village entrance. Li Fulang, please.”

The men who were participating in the wine brewing today had all dressed up carefully. At this moment, they were sitting in twos and threes on the large cool mat, chatting merrily.

Zhou Fulang briefly introduced Meng Jun beside him, and immediately a few slightly older men teased him a bit. Everyone laughed together, and the sense of unfamiliarity was instantly removed.

After a warm cup of wine went down, a thin layer of red was already coaxed onto the young gentleman’s face. He sipped small mouthfuls, but his ears were pricked up high, listening to the people around him talking animatedly about interesting things.

“If you ask me, that wife of yours looks weak at a glance. If you don’t nourish her more in your daily life, I’m afraid even after the new year, there will still be no news of a baby.”

“Nourish? How else should I nourish? All the expensive things at home have all been fed to her, I’m not afraid of you laughing at me. My wife, after taking medicine, only has the strength for one breath, she can’t hold on for long at all.”

“If you ask me, it’s still because your techniques aren’t varied enough. Do you know about that Zhang Fulang from the neighboring village?” The person saying this looked around mysteriously, gesturing for everyone to come closer, and said in a low voice, “I heard that his wife originally retired from the military and had injured her body early on.”

Eh? Injured?

Meng Jun listened in surprise, forgetting to drink the wine in his hand. He quietly moved his body a bit, tilting his ear over.

“But Zhang Fulang is no ordinary person, he actually managed to coax new sprouts from the sick seedling.”

Everyone immediately gasped in amazement, with some men directly questioning. The person wasn’t flustered, and said in a low voice, “We’re all from the same village, why would I deceive you? In any case, he’s just in the neighboring village. When Sun Huolang comes next time, you can ask around and find out for yourselves, can’t you?”

Although the young gentleman didn’t fully understand, he guessed and speculated that they were saying that varied techniques could help women recover quickly.

But what were these techniques?

Yet everyone present had a knowing look on their face, and Meng Jun didn’t feel comfortable asking more. The young gentleman immediately became worried again, his eyes falling on the small flower beside him that was about to wither, and he couldn’t help but gently pinch it in his palm.

A new round of plum wine was served.

Zhou Fulang, who had returned from distributing the wine, immediately noticed the brocade-clad gentleman sitting glumly among the crowd. He exchanged a few simple greetings with the people around, before sitting down beside Meng Jun and quietly saying, “Does Li Fulang have something on his mind?”

The young gentleman had just shaken his head when he paused. He first looked around, and seeing that no one was paying attention to them, he hesitated for a moment before speaking softly and uncertainly, “Zhou Fulang, do you know what techniques are?”

“……” Zhou Fulang’s face froze, but then he immediately understood that those few must have been talking carelessly again, saying some nonsense. He forcibly composed himself, just about to gloss over it, when he heard Meng Jun say dejectedly, “Just now they said that techniques could help women gain new life. But I can’t even weave a flower wreath well, I don’t know if these so-called techniques are difficult or not.”

If only his hands were more dexterous, then he could help Li Ruantang recover quickly, without illness or pain.

The young gentleman rested his chin on his hand gloomily, feeling for the first time that all those skills in music, chess, calligraphy, and etiquette he had learned in the past were of no use to her at all.

“Does Li Fulang really want to know?” Zhou Fulang was soft-hearted after all. He pondered for a moment, and after Meng Jun nodded, he leaned close to his ear and briefly explained two points.

“Eh? Just like that?” The young gentleman listened with confusion. He wasn’t good at weaving flower wreaths, but what Zhou Fulang described wasn’t difficult.

“Li Fulang should just try it.” Zhou Fulang nodded very affirmatively. An unusual blush appeared on his face as he said in a low voice, “This trick was foolproof when I used it back then.”

The young gentleman secretly took note.

When night fell, Li Ruantang had just taken off her outer robe and was fluffing up their pillows when she noticed her young husband peeking out from behind the bamboo frame, sneaking about as if hesitating about something.

How silly.

She curved her lips and gently called out to him, “Jiujiu, I have some good news to tell you.”

The expected cheerful footsteps didn’t come. Li Ruantang turned her head and saw her young husband walking absent-mindedly, the sash around his waist loose and slack.

“Jiujiu?” Li Ruantang hurriedly took a few steps forward to meet him. Just now Zhou Fulang had said he drank two cups of plum wine, she hoped this little fool wasn’t unable to handle the alcohol.

As she approached, the young gentleman’s head drooped even lower, his footsteps became more flustered, his body swayed slightly, and before he could fall, he was steadily caught in Li Ruantang’s arms.

“You—”

The questioning words were startled back into her belly by that suddenly opened collar. Li Ruantang stared blankly, unable to recall when she had accidentally pulled open his robe.

Hmm, it really worked!

Li Ruantang indeed froze like a dazed goose. The young gentleman became even more convinced of Zhou Fulang’s words. Now, if he took a bit more initiative, perhaps they could really cuddle all night, helping her detoxify and heal her wounds.

“Wife-wife-master, are you feeling very energetic?”

Li Ruantang: “……”

The young gentleman carefully examined her brows and eyes. She was indeed dazed, but seemed to still lack a bit of that deep gaze Zhou Fulang had mentioned.

Perhaps he hadn’t opened it enough?

Meng Jun’s face turned bright red, and his hand deftly pulled, revealing a section of collarbone that was like a Zen-inspired pine branch, proudly covered in snow.

In an instant, Li Ruantang felt her temples buzzing, and the Jiujiu in her arms gradually merged with the memory of a little young master who had cried and made a bet with her.

It was him, yet not quite him.

The gaze from those almond eyes seemed to be lost in a fog.

Noticing that the arms holding him had loosened slightly, the young gentleman frowned, not knowing where he had gone wrong.

He bit his lip, reached out to hug the frozen Li Ruantang tightly, and said in one breath, “Wife-wife-master, shall we start cuddling?”