Chapter 27: Provincial Examination

Xie Yi’s gaze faltered for a moment.

Su Mu frowned and said in a reproachful tone, “If it started last night, wouldn’t it hurt even more? Have you been enduring it silently all this time? You even pretended to be fine in front of me, doing laundry, cooking, and washing dishes. You can’t touch cold things during your menstrual period, you know that.”

Su Mu had been pampered by her parents since childhood. Because she had painful periods, her parents wouldn’t let her wash dishes or touch cold water even on normal days.

Seeing Xie Yi in such pain, she found it hard to imagine how he had been able to work through such intense pain, with the well water being so cold.

It would have been fine on normal days, but during the menstrual period, even a slight touch must have been bone-chilling.

If it were Su Mu, she would have been in too much pain to stand up. How did he manage to endure it?

“I know, but Father said that every man goes through this. It’s fine if you’re at home… but if you’re married, you have to serve your wife-master, parents-in-law, younger brothers-in-law, and the whole family. If you just lie in bed and don’t work because of your period, it’s… too delicate,” Xie Yi said, lowering his eyes.

Especially when mentioning ‘marriage’, his gaze quickly swept over Su Mu, and seeing no disgust in her eyes, he felt a bit secretly pleased.

“What’s delicate or not doesn’t matter. If you’re not feeling well, you should rest properly.” Su Mu got up and went to the kitchen to boil a pot of hot water.

She then took out a hot water bottle from the room, which she had bought when she first transmigrated here because she was afraid of the cold. Now it was perfect for warming Xie Yi’s stomach.

She filled the hot water bottle with hot water, and the warmth quickly spread through it.

“Put this on your stomach to warm it up, it’ll stop hurting soon,” Su Mu said as she returned with the hot water bottle, tucking it into Xie Yi’s blanket and quickly covering him up, leaving no gaps for the wind to enter.

Xie Yi obediently did as told. Through his clothes, the scorching warmth covered his stomach. Although his lower abdomen was still in pain, with this warm force enveloping him, he clearly felt much more comfortable. The frown on Xie Yi’s brow relaxed.

“Does it feel better?” Su Mu brushed away the strands of hair sticking to his forehead.

Xie Yi smiled softly, his eyes gentle with a hint of coquettishness: “It feels very good.”

“That’s good. In the future, don’t hide these things from me. Rest when you need to rest, don’t force yourself. You know I’ve never treated you as a servant,” Su Mu said gently.

If not a servant, then what?

Xie Yi almost blurted out the question, but the words stopped in his throat.

He dared not ask.

Inferiority was like iron chains and shackles, constantly restraining him.

“By the way, it’s not good for you to be in pain like this all the time. How about I find a doctor tomorrow to prescribe some medicine for you? We should take good care of your health, otherwise I’m worried it might lead to chronic issues in the future,” Su Mu suggested.

Unexpectedly, the sickly Xie Yi suddenly became emotionally agitated: “No need, Sister Mu, my body is very healthy, there’s nothing wrong with my body.”

Su Mu blinked: “It’s just for health maintenance, why are you so excited?”

Xie Yi panted heavily, his thick long lashes hiding a trace of fear in his eyes: “Sister Mu, my body has always been very good, it never used to hurt before. It only became like this after I was kidnapped by the human traffickers and went through a lot of hardship.” Xie Yi grabbed her hand, his lips trembling: “Sister Mu, my body won’t affect fertility.”

“……” Su Mu’s body stiffened for a moment. She just wanted Xie Yi to take care of his health and not have painful periods anymore, how did he jump to having children?

However, seeing him so nervous, Su Mu didn’t dare say anything else, and could only follow his train of thought: “I know. Since this pain is due to the hardships you’ve been through, you should do less heavy work from now on. Just rest well here with me.”

After a pause, fearing that Xie Yi might feel too guilty, she added: “…I can afford to support you.”

Xie Yi’s expression suddenly became strange, as docile as a young wife, his soft earlobes turning red. He looked at Su Mu affectionately and shyly responded with a soft “Mm.”

The two of them fussed until late into the night. Su Mu originally wanted to stay up all night to watch over him, not feeling at ease.

But Xie Yi firmly refused, saying it would affect her sleep, so she had no choice but to return to her own room and go to bed, full of worry.

Little did she know that at this moment, in the other room, Xie Yi was rolling around in bed excitedly because of her words “I can afford to support you.”

The next day, when she went to check on Xie Yi in his room, his condition had improved a lot.

“How are you feeling? Better?” Su Mu asked.

“Much better today, my stomach doesn’t hurt as much. Sister Mu, I can get out of bed and do some work,” Xie Yi said, his complexion clearly much better than last night. He was still lying in bed only because Su Mu had insisted yesterday that he couldn’t get up today.

Su Mu’s concern for him made him extremely happy, but he knew well that he couldn’t become arrogant because of it. The more she cared, the more he needed to stay clear-headed, recognize his own status, and work even harder to repay Su Mu’s kindness.

“No need, you should rest and recover more. I’ve already asked someone to come and do those tedious household chores,” Su Mu said.

If she hadn’t been busy studying for the exam these days, she would have done the laundry and cooking herself, with no need for outsiders.

Xie Yi suddenly mumbled: “What’s so good about those men outside? The food they cook doesn’t even taste good.”

Su Mu smiled: “If you don’t like their cooking, how about I cook for you?”

Xie Yi was shocked for a moment, then shook his head frantically, like a rattle drum.

How could he let Su Mu cook?

If Su Mu had to personally do things like cooking, then his staying by Su Mu’s side would be a complete failure. A person with no value at all is easily discarded.

“No need, no need, let them cook. But Sister Mu, you know how to cook?”

Su Mu nodded: “I’m not some young lady from a wealthy family, of course I know how to cook. It’s just that my cooking doesn’t taste very good.”

Xie Yi carefully studied Su Mu’s hands, which were even more delicate and exquisite than a man’s, wondering what kind of family could raise such a daughter.

People outside always said she was a servant, but how could a servant have Su Mu’s bearing and beauty? They also said she was weak and incompetent.

Huh, only a fool like Yan Jiyue would really think Su Mu was weak and incompetent.

But it’s also fortunate that he was blind enough to divorce Su Mu early, giving him the chance to stand by her side.

After another short day of rest, Xie Yi had recovered to his normal state.