Chapter 107: Infatuated Moon, Foolishly Infatuated Moon

“Moon’er, when did you arrive?” Qiu Shuzhi, wearing the clothes Qiu Qiushuang had sewn for her, looked at Yue Guanyi with surprise.

Qiu Qiushuang also stood up, turning to look at Yue Guanyi, his body slightly leaning towards Qiu Shuzhi’s side. The two standing together were a perfect match, like a pair of beautiful jade pieces.

Yue Guanyi, for some reason, suddenly felt an indescribable sourness in his heart.

At present, his body was excessively depleted, constantly taking medicine to nourish himself. Even so, the imperial physician said it would be difficult for him to conceive in the future. As a man who couldn’t continue the family line for his wife-master, he was already a useless man. Yet Qiu Qiushuang could stand rightfully by her side, chatting and laughing with his wife-master, engaged in pleasant conversation.

His wife-master had even bought various candies especially for him, to cheer him up.

“I was feeling bored staying in the room, so I thought to come out for a walk. I didn’t expect to run into wife-master and cousin. I’m sorry for disturbing you,” Yue Guanyi said, feigning calmness while enduring the dense, needle-like pain in his heart.

“It’s no disturbance.” Qiu Qiushuang smiled lightly, gesturing: “I just saw that winter is approaching, with its cold and desolate winds. Shu Zhi still wears thin clothes when entering and leaving the palace every day. I felt sorry for her, so I personally sewed a winter garment for her. By right, these things should be done by the husband, but Your Highness, with your weak body and being confined indoors all day, probably can’t attend to these trivial matters. I grew up with Shu Zhi, and every winter in the past, I would sew winter clothes for her. I hope Your Highness doesn’t feel I’m overstepping my bounds?”

“How could I blame cousin? It’s me who’s not considerate enough, unable to take good care of Qiu Niang,” Yue Guanyi said, his hands tightly clasped inside his sleeves, his lips pale to the point of being almost transparent.

Indeed, unknowingly, it had been so long since they returned from Miao territory.

He had been bedridden for many days, not leaving the room, almost forgetting the change of seasons, and even more so forgetting his duties as a husband. Not only could he not conceive for Qiu Niang, but he also couldn’t quickly bear a child to continue the family line for her. He couldn’t even sew a winter garment for her.

He should have been the person closest to Qiu Niang, her bedside companion, yet he was not even as good as the mute Qiu Qiushuang.

Yue Guanyi, looking at how intimately Qiu Qiushuang stood close to Qiu Shuzhi, regretfully wanted to slap himself twice.

“You’re still recuperating. The weather outside is cold. Be careful not to catch a chill if you stand outside for too long,” Qiu Shuzhi stepped forward to his side, draping the clothes Qiu Qiushuang had sewn for her over Yue Guanyi’s shoulders. The thick garment covered his thin shoulders.

She thoughtfully adjusted the collar for him, preventing cold wind from seeping in through the neckline.

“Wife-master……” Yue Guanyi’s face suddenly reddened, the rabbit fur sewn at the collar surrounding his pointed chin, his eyes long and charming, with a deep watery glint in their depths.

Since Yue Guanyi had stepped down from his position as the Commander of the Jinyiwei, staying wholeheartedly in the back courtyard as a husband, he no longer cared about the power struggles in the court. Those sharp eyebrows and eyes had softened considerably, his eyes slightly moving like a budding camellia dripping with dew, shedding all his fierce aura, now full of charm.

Qiu Shuzhi stroked the rabbit fur around his collar. The fur was pure white without a single mixed hair, but even though it was extremely pure white, it seemed dull against Yue Guanyi’s fair, slightly pink face.

“Are you warm now?” Qiu Shuzhi took his hand and rubbed it in her palm: “Why are your hands still so cold?”

The redness on Yue Guanyi’s face spread to his ears. This… there were still outsiders present.

Thinking of Qiu Qiushuang, Yue Guanyi glanced furtively at the man opposite.

The other’s expression was very unpleasant. The thing he had sewn overnight, not sparing his eyes from strain, was now draped over the person he disliked the most.

Yue Guanyi lowered his head, the corners of his mouth slightly curling up, unable to suppress the pride in his heart.

It’s said that men should be magnanimous, that they study and become literate to discern right from wrong, but he couldn’t help it. He was just petty, inherently evil and jealous, wanting to grasp his wife-master tightly in his palm, not willing to let go even a bit, not allowing those who wanted to climb into her bed even the slightest gap to squeeze through.

He leaned against Qiu Shuzhi, his touch as light as a white feather falling on her heart.

Qiu Shuzhi squeezed his hand: “What’s wrong? Are you tired from being out too long?”

Yue Guanyi laughed inwardly. How could he be so delicate? But seeing the concern in Qiu Shuzhi’s eyes, his heart was full of happiness.

“Perhaps I’ve been in the wind too long. I have a bit of a headache. Wife-master, will you help me back?”

Qiu Shuzhi nodded: “Alright, I’ll take you back.”

Their bedchamber, due to Yue Guanyi’s convalescence, could not be exposed to wind. Usually, the doors and windows were tightly closed, and incense burners were lit inside, with wisps of fragrant smoke rising, filling the room with a pleasant aroma.

Qiu Shuzhi helped Yue Guanyi sit on the bed, with large red silk curtains hanging on both sides of the bed.

As soon as Yue Guanyi sat down, he took off the clothes sewn by Qiu Qiushuang, revealing his thin undergarments.

He looked at the removed clothes with disgust. He didn’t want the disgusting things made by that man.

Qiu Shuzhi simply thought Yue Guanyi felt hot once he entered the room. She picked up the clothes, folded them neatly, and placed them aside. The thick winter clothes moved dexterously in her slender hands, like a piece of ice-clear white jade lying in a sea of roses.

The clothes made by Qiu Qiushuang, yet wife-master cherished them so much.

The light in Yue Guanyi’s eyes flickered. He suddenly felt jealous of those clothes. After all, what Yue Guanyi envied was not these inanimate objects, but their maker behind them.

Men’s work was a required course for men, but due to his childhood experiences, he never had the chance to learn these things. He only knew how to scheme and fight for power with those shrewd women in the court.

But now it’s different. Now he stays in the mansion every day, apart from taking medicine, he just waits for Qiu Shuzhi to return from court. Now he has plenty of time to learn these men’s skills, and he will definitely do better than Qiu Qiushuang.

Just thinking about Qiu Shuzhi wearing clothes made by his own hands in the future made Yue Guanyi smile.

This smile accidentally triggered some nerve, and his abdomen began to ache faintly. The pain was like a cotton cloth soaked in ice water, then wrung into a ball by a pair of hands, as if wanting to crush and knead all his internal organs together. Soon, his forehead was covered in dense beads of sweat.

“What’s wrong? Is your stomach hurting again?” Qiu Shuzhi asked anxiously, seeing Yue Guanyi’s sudden change in expression.

Yue Guanyi clutched his lower abdomen, his face pale as he nodded.

Since he injured his body last time, he had been left with a chronic condition. Every time his monthly period was about to come, his lower abdomen would be in excruciating pain, as if someone was slowly cutting his flesh with a dull, rusty knife. Sometimes his whole body would be ice-cold as if plunged into an ice cave, sometimes he would develop a high fever, burning hot all over.

“Wait, I’ll call the servants to brew medicine right away.” Qiu Shuzhi shouted towards the door: “Chang’an, Chang’an!”

Chang’an hurriedly walked in from outside. Before he could ask, seeing Yue Guanyi’s pale face, he already understood most of the situation: “His Highness’s monthly period is approaching these days. This humble servant has already asked someone to brew the medicine in advance. This servant will go and bring the medicine now.”

Qiu Shuzhi touched Yue Guanyi’s cold forehead, pulled the blanket over to cover him, her palm covering his lower abdomen, trying to ease his pain with a gentle warmth.

Soon after, Chang’an entered with the medicine.

Qiu Shuzhi skillfully took the medicine and fed it to him spoonful by spoonful.

The Chinese medicine was bitter and astringent, its effectiveness not as good as modern ibuprofen, and its pain-relieving effect was also mediocre. A bowl of medicine could only suppress the pain for a moment. Qiu Shuzhi’s heart ached seeing Yue Guanyi in such pain.

She would gently blow on each spoonful of medicine before bringing it to his lips, ensuring it wasn’t too hot.

Yue Guanyi’s face was pale and bloodless. As soon as the bitter medicine entered his mouth, he frowned in pain, but still obediently drank the entire bowl without spilling a drop.

Qiu Shuzhi put down the bowl and gently massaged his lower abdomen: “How is it? Do you feel any better?”

“Much better,” Yue Guanyi smiled weakly. Qiu Shuzhi leaned closer to him, her body carrying a sweet scent of candy from the many sweets she had just eaten.

Yue Guanyi paused for a moment, then said like a yearning cub: “Wife-master, that medicine was so bitter. I want to eat some candy.”

His heart was as small as a needle point, jealousy fermenting in his stomach like strong vinegar.

The image of Qiu Niang eating candy and chatting happily with Qiu Qiushuang had made him jealous of Qiu Qiushuang for a long time.

In all the time since marrying Qiu Niang, she had never fed him candy.

“You never touched the preserved sweets and fruits that were placed in the room before. I thought you didn’t like sweets,” Qiu Shuzhi said with a faint smile. “But this medicine is indeed quite bitter.”

Yue Guanyi indeed didn’t like sweets. Those things were too sweet and greasy, and they stuck to his teeth. Even when there were preserved sweets in the room before, he hadn’t touched them. But if those sweets were graced by Qiu Niang, even if they were too sweet or sticky, he would be willing to drown in her honey pot.

Qiu Shuzhi lightly touched his lips: “I’ll have the servants bring some sweet preserved fruits right away. Wait for me.”

Yue Guanyi nodded, watching Qiu Shuzhi leave the room.

After she left, Yue Guanyi lowered his head, his tongue licking his lips.

The lips that had just taken medicine still retained the bitter taste of the medicine, but because of Qiu Shuzhi’s kiss just now, they were covered with a faint sweetness.

“Wife-master……” He leaned against the bed, murmuring, savoring the taste knowingly, unwilling to miss any subtle corner. His beautiful pale face and the sickly red at the corners of his eyes collided and mingled, blending into a beauty that intertwined sickness and enchantment.

Qiu Shuzhi hadn’t returned for a long time. Gradually, irritation and vexation arose in Yue Guanyi’s eyes. The clothes she had just folded neatly at his feet annoyed him, and he impatiently kicked them under the bed.

Suddenly, his expression changed slightly. Covering his still faintly aching lower abdomen, he laboriously retrieved the clothes from the ground.

He spread out the clothes, his cold fingers without a trace of warmth sliding over every stitch, his expression cold, arrogant, and haughty, hatefully examining every part his gaze fell upon.

It was still a half-finished product, the embroidery not yet complete, but it was already extremely exquisite. One could imagine how brilliant Qiu Niang would look wearing this garment.

Yue Guanyi resisted the urge to tear it to pieces and folded it back to its original state.

He secretly made up his mind to start learning men’s work tomorrow.