Xiao Jingnan had been acting strangely for the past few days.
No matter what Li Wanming said to him, he would roll his eyes, droop the corners of his mouth, and assume a sarcastic and peculiar expression.
"Time for dinner."
"Oh, so my lady wants me to have dinner. I thought you'd be pleased if I starved to death."
"Has grandmother caused you any trouble these days?"
"Oh, so my lady still cares if grandmother has troubled me? I'm just a lowly prospective son - in - law who hasn't even officially joined the family. I'm not even a concubine. How could I dare to trouble my lady to worry about me?"
"The flowers in the vase are withered. Why don't you replace them with new ones?"
"Oh, how dare I touch the things in my lady's room! What if I upset my lady and she kicks me out?"
Li Wanming was utterly confused.
After observing him for a whole day, she came to a conclusion: He must have damaged his brain somehow!
It seemed to be the day when she went to Hongbin Lou to meet Liu Yiyi.
That day, both she and Chuntao had gone out, leaving him alone at home. It must have been then that he accidentally hit his head on the wall and ended up like this!
Come to think of it, she was partly to blame...
She hadn't taken good care of him, turning a poor yet talented scholar into a beautiful idiot.
Alas, what a pity!
Li Wanming felt deeply remorseful.
However, this beauty had a rather sharp tongue.
In the morning, Sun Miaoqing came to pick a fight again. The beauty, hands on hips, blocked her at the door and launched a scathing tirade!
"I can tell, cousin, that this is your first time being a person. You've got no experience and managed to avoid all the decent qualities a person should have."
"I heard cousin is discussing marriage with the son of the Minister of the Board of Personnel. I must offer my congratulations! You two are a perfect match. It seems the old matchmaker, Yue Lao, has done a pretty good job in sorting out his matches."
"Since the Guo family is wealthy, cousin will be able to apply even more perfume in the future, so as to cover up the stench of scum on you."
"Of course, I'm a poor man. But no matter how poor I am, I would never follow my grandmother around and pester my married elder sister like you do! If your face were as thick as the Great Wall, even ten Meng Jiangnus wouldn't be able to cry it down."
"If you want to marry into the Guo family, please perform in front of their house. What's the point of coming to Tingxue Xuan every day? Cousin, you're living such a twisted life. Were you a towel spirit in your past life?"
Finally, he kindly reminded her, "Eat less salt in the future, so you won't have so much free time to cause trouble."
Sun Miaoqing was so angry that steam seemed to be coming out of her head. She couldn't say a word and finally ran away crying.
Li Wanming was stunned.
Chuntao was utterly in awe. "Sir, you're amazing! How do you know so many scathing things to say? Teach me, please!"
"Want to learn?"
"Yes!"
Xiao Jingnan flicked his sleeve. "I'll write a book about it later."
After the deed was done, he left gracefully, hiding his achievements and fame.
He walked back into the room with his head held high and eyes straight ahead, then closed the door elegantly.
Li Wanming thought for a while. This was... a serious illness!
She quickly sent Chuntao out to invite a doctor.
The doctor arrived soon. As soon as he felt Xiao Jingnan's pulse, his eyebrows knitted together.
Li Wanming's heart tightened. "What's wrong? Is it serious?"
"Chest tightness, shortness of breath, weak spleen and lungs, night terrors and frequent dreams, cold qi invading the body... At the age of twenty, he has the body of a fifty - year - old. How did the young master get so sick?"
Xiao Jingnan withdrew his arm and mumbled, "I've been weak since childhood. I've been taking medicine since I could talk. I'm used to it."
"Not a brain injury? He's just sick?" Li Wanming was a bit slow to react.
"Young lady, how can you talk like that!" The doctor was angry. "Your husband is on the verge of death, and you're still cursing him!"
Li Wanming said sheepishly, "I didn't know..."
Since she'd known him, she'd only seen that he was pale, a bit thin, and coughed occasionally. She'd thought he just had a weak constitution, never imagining it was this serious.
The doctor huffed, "Your husband is this sick, and you don't even take good care of him... I'll write a prescription. Hurry up and get the medicine!"
Chuntao followed him out.
Li Wanming stood beside the bed, feeling rather embarrassed. "I didn't know your health was this poor."
"It's okay. I've been feeling a bit better these days."
Xiao Jingnan half - reclined on the hibiscus pillow. His raven - black hair cascaded like satin over his shoulders. His phoenix eyes stared straight at her. "If I die, will my lady be sad?"
Li Wanming replied, "Sad... Of course I'll be sad."
"Why?" Xiao Jingnan asked.
"Ah?"
"I'm asking why you'll be sad?"
His cheeks were pale, the corners of his eyes slightly red. His thick eyelashes were like crow feathers, casting an ambiguous shadow on his nose bridge.
Li Wanming suddenly felt flustered and stammered, "B - because you're my husband. If you die, I'll become a widow!"
"Isn't that good?" He seemed not to understand and continued to ask, "Once you become a widow, won't you get the freedom you want?"
Li Wanming glared at him. "Of course not! There are always gossips around a widow. Haven't you heard that?"
She'd completely forgotten what she'd said at Hongbin Lou and never imagined that Xiao Jingnan had heard every single word.
"So it's because you're afraid of gossips..."
Xiao Jingnan seemed to be deep in thought.
He didn't know why he cared so much about this. Maybe he just didn't want to be cursed to die young.
The medicine was soon boiled.
He took the medicine and fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke up, the sky was ablaze with the afterglow of the setting sun.
In the courtyard, a bonfire was burning brightly, crackling merrily.
Beside the bonfire, a pear - wood dining table was set.
On the table, there were several delicate dishes, including the rosy goose breast with plum flavor and stir - fried gluten with crown daisy.
The goose breast exuded a faint fragrance of plum, and the gluten was milky - white and chewy. It was obvious that they were cooked according to the methods he'd mentioned.
In addition, there were also some dishes like the eight - treasure duck and the Sichuan fritillary and wolfberry pear soup, all cooked to perfection.
On the red - clay stove nearby, a pot of pear - blossom white wine was warming, emitting an alluring aroma.
She always thought he was being fussy, but she remembered every word he said so well.
Xiao Jingnan's heart trembled slightly, as if something was melting inside him.
"Awake?"
When Li Wanming saw him coming out, she quickly picked up the fox - fur coat beside her and draped it over him. Then she helped him sit down. "The doctor said your main problem is your weak constitution. You need to rest well. As long as you take good care of yourself, you'll be fine."
She scooped up a bowl of soup and handed it to him. "Drink the soup first to moisten your lungs."
Xiao Jingnan took the soup and took a sip. "Slow - cooked over a low fire with a whole pear... It's cooked perfectly."
"Delicious, right?"
Li Wanming said proudly, "I watched the stove myself for an hour to cook this."
Xiao Jingnan said, "My lady has worked hard."
"It's not hard."
Li Wanming looked at him seriously. "You must tell me if you feel unwell in the future. Don't bear it by yourself. Although I can't afford ginseng, deer antler, or bird's nest for you, I can afford some ordinary tonics."
The setting sun was sinking in the west. The gorgeous sunset cast a rosy glow on the young girl's face, gradually coloring her eyebrows and eyes.
Looking at Li Wanming's earnest face, Xiao Jingnan felt a softness in his heart, like the gentle spring breeze caressing both sides of the frozen river. The withered trees were sprouting tiny, tender green buds.
He deliberately asked, "What if my illness can only be cured with ginseng, deer antler, or bird's nest?"
"That..." Li Wanming bit her lip. "We'll buy the inferior ones first. I'll buy the good ones for you when I have more money in the future."
Xiao Jingnan stared at her for a long time before bursting into laughter. "No need. My illness doesn't require such expensive medicine."
His health was a matter of fate, not just an illness.
When he was a child, he'd taken countless precious medicinal herbs, but his condition never improved. So he'd stopped taking them altogether.
He used to not believe in fate, until he met her.
She was his cure.