Chapter 70: Bathing and Applying Medicine, I Just Noticed My Wife-Master’s Shoulder is Also Injured, Hmm…

The dazed servant felt a pang in his heart. His young master must have been overwhelmed with sorrow to lose his reason like this. The undergarments were already thin and transparent; if altered further, wearing them would be no different from draping two layers of gauze.

However, he dared not speak up.

At this moment, the suona next door was playing loudly. Zhiqiu secretly observed his young master’s expression, his hands swiftly taking the small scissors and needles from the embroidery basket to the outer room.

The summer’s warmest light filled the green gauze window.

Meng Jun sat dazedly for a while, then pinched his arm hard, finally lowering his brow to suppress the cry of pain that was about to escape.

So it really wasn’t a dream.

The young gentleman pursed his lips in a secret smile and rose to walk towards the small kitchen. Now that he had found her, he naturally had to make sure she ate her fill first.

He kneaded several portions of dough very diligently, his brows furrowing hesitantly one moment, then drooping anxiously the next.

Several spots of flour smeared his handsome cheeks, but his hands didn’t stop.

The servant guarding outside the small kitchen pondered for a moment, still feeling uneasy. Zhidong quickly went to the Court of Censors to report.

All afternoon, the young gentleman busied himself at the stove.

Simmering soup, rolling out noodles, chopping green onions. Meng Jun concentrated intensely on each step. When Zhiqiu came in to serve tea, he secretly glanced at the chopping board, “Young Master, are you alright?”

Today was the day of Li Shinü’s burial, and the servant dared not mention it much,

Especially since Meng Jun had made a scene about jumping into the pond this morning, but in the afternoon he seemed like a different person. It would be best if he didn’t have another bout of hysteria like the past few days.

Zhiqiu tentatively took a few steps forward, “You’ve been busy for quite a while, why don’t I help you?”

“No!”

The young gentleman, who had just picked up the cup to moisten his mouth, immediately shook his head like a rattle drum. He solemnly waved his hand in refusal, “I must do all of this myself.”

Meng Jun shooed the servant out and stood in place, moving his shoulders slightly, just about to pick up the knife. Zhiqiu, crouching anxiously at the door, suddenly felt his hair stand on end, “Y-young Master……”

He stammered, unable to think of good persuasions. Meng Jun looked up and smiled at him, “Don’t worry, it’s not my first time using it.”

He spoke with great enthusiasm, but when it came to actually doing it, he was still quite inexperienced.

The young gentleman trembled, held his breath, and aimed for a long while before slowly making the first cut.

In the settling darkness, a figure leapt down from the roof at some point.

She walked almost silently, and when she reached out to pat Zhiqiu’s shoulder to signal him, she nearly startled the anxious servant out of his wits.

“Mute servant?” Zhiqiu pondered for a moment, moving aside to make half a space, and said in a low voice, “You must understand that today is a hurdle for the young master. In a while, you keep an eye on him, in case the young master—”

The servant’s tone faltered for a moment, then continued, “In any case, stay alert, don’t let the knife hurt the young master.”

Li Ruantang nodded in agreement.

She approached slowly.

Candles had been lit early in the small kitchen, the dim light stretching the shadow of the busy young man very long.

That handsome face was flushed with concentration, focusing entirely on the noodles beneath his hands, afraid of cutting them unevenly thick.

“Hmm, she’s lost a lot of weight, she should eat more,” Meng Jun mumbled softly, taking another rolled-out sheet of dough and measuring it. “This might not be enough, but I’ve made a lot, so I’ll cut a bit more.”

He spoke softly and slowly, the smile in his eyes making his clear and gentle voice even softer, “Help me light the fire.”

The footsteps behind him sounded cautious, probably Zhiqiu being concerned.

The young gentleman gave the order without turning his head, then felt something wasn’t quite right. If it were truly Zhiqiu, he certainly wouldn’t be so quietly burning firewood.

He turned his face slightly, and with a lowered gaze, he saw Li Ruantang sitting on a small stool, throwing firewood into the stove. She was still wearing a dark outer robe, and as she raised her almond eyes, it seemed as if she had brought the firelight with her, causing Meng Jun’s face to flush pink.

“You’re here.” The young gentleman pursed his lips nervously, explaining to her in a small voice, “I really made all of this myself, I only called someone to help with lighting the fire because I don’t know how.”

Li Ruantang smiled gently. Although her face was covered by a veil, one could still see the tenderness in her curved eyebrows and eyes. She responded with a soft sound.

The shadows cast by the candlelight overlapped, and jade-like slender fingers gently, briefly held his. They let go just as quickly.

The young gentleman’s ears burned, and he quickly glanced outside the door. Seeing Zhiqiu guarding a few steps away, he finally relaxed and said in a low voice, “Wife-master, go wait for me in the bedroom.”

There were too many people and eyes here, he wasn’t at ease.

After Li Ruantang left as told, Meng Jun’s hands became even more deft. Soon, a large bowl of fragrant egg noodles came out of the pot.

Zhiqiu used a tray to send it into the bedroom, then retreated behind the beaded curtain to stand guard. He was still holding the light gauze that needed altering, and after listening carefully to the sounds from the inner room for a while, he had just breathed a sigh of relief when his neck suddenly went numb, and his whole body softly collapsed onto the small couch.

The young gentleman sitting in the inner room didn’t notice.

He sat with his chin propped in his hand, those beautiful phoenix eyes staring unblinkingly at Li Ruantang beside him, his heart suspended high in his chest.

After all, Li Ruantang came from a noble family and was used to eating delicacies from an early age. He didn’t know if this kind of plain noodles would suit her taste.

The lady sitting on the soft stool had a back as straight as a ruler, as always. Meng Jun watched for a while, then secretly moved his own stool closer to her side, “Wife-master.”

The young gentleman carefully handed her his handkerchief, and after Li Ruantang put down her chopsticks, he anxiously whispered, “Did you like it?”

The young man before her still had some flour on the tip of his nose. He was completely unaware, just staring at her eagerly.

Li Ruantang curved her lips, her jade-like fingers lightly touching that handsome face, nodding and saying, “I liked it.”

“Really?”

“Mm.” Wiping away the bit of white on the tip of his nose, Li Ruantang glanced at her own stomach that was about to bulge, and smiled, “Choochoo’s noodles are very chewy.”