Ch. 263 The Horrible He Sanlang
Astonished, Chu Lian froze for a moment. She hadn't expected those to be He Sanlang's first words after seeing her again.
The way he was currently acting was exactly like a dog that had been ignored by his owner. She didn't know how to react.
The corners of her lips twitched. Chu Lian headed over to the bedside with Wenqing trailing after her.
She sat down on the stool next to the bed and said, "Since Laiyue has gone out, I'll be the one to help change your bandages later. It's already the twenty-seventh, so you should take a bath at the same time. I'll put on your ointments after you're done."
He Changdi turned back around and looked at Chu Lian silently.
Chu Lian remained her usual calm and easygoing self. "He Changdi, if you don't answer me, then I'll take it that you've agreed."
After she was done, Chu Lian turned to Wenqing and told her to get the maidservants to prepare the items required for a bath.
Just as Chu Lian stood up to look for bandages and gauze, He Changdi directed his frosty gaze at the servants in the room. The maidservants trembled and retreated quietly.
A trace of satisfaction showed on He Changdi's face.
As Chu Lian set the bandages and gauze to one side, together with the ointments that she had ordered to be brought to her, she felt that the room was strangely quiet. It was only when she turned and looked around that she realised she and He Changdi had been left alone.
She put the medicine box down and shot a confused look at He Sanlang. "Where's everyone?"
He Changdi was calm as he replied, "I've sent them away."
Ah? Chu Lian didn't understand. What had he sent them all away for?
"Is there something important you have to tell me?" Chu Lian sat down next to He Sanlang and drew close to him, expecting some secret.
Although there was still some distance between them, He Changdi could already smell the fragrance on Chu Lian's body. He couldn't tell what perfume she used, but he just thought that it was very nice.
There was a faint smile in He Changdi's eyes, though he wasn't aware of it.
He shifted his body even closer to Chu Lian. He Changdi's breath glided across Chu Lian's soft cheeks.
"It's not anything major, but I want you to help check my wounds. They were hurting a little when I woke up this morning." He Sanlang's tone was very cool and impersonal. Aside from his heated breathing, he had managed to hide his 'evil' intentions very well.
If this had been a normal situation, Chu Lian would have definitely been able to detect the white lie. However, when it came to matters concerning He Changdi's body, Chu Lian instantly tensed up and forgot her usual calm.
With an astonished and reproachful look, Chu Lian began to admonish him. "Did it only start hurting this morning? How about during the past two days? He Changdi, are you stupid? Why didn't you mention your wounds hurting before? Why would you just bear with the pain without saying anything!"
Once she had finished her scolding, Chu Lian quickly reached out for the blankets covering He Changdi.
Since He Changdi's injuries had been healing well, Chu Lian had not asked the old physician to come every day, and in fact, the old physician had gone home for New Year's the day before yesterday. Fortunately, the old physician had left behind some instructions. He Changdi's life was no longer in any sort of danger with the few days' worth of recuperation, and it was only a matter of time before he was fully healed.As long as his bandages were changed daily and he continued drinking his medicine, he would be able to walk in another month.
However, Chu Lian had seen the state of He Sanlang's injuries with her own eyes. It had been an extremely frightening experience with his leg a bloody mess at the time, and that was why she reacted immediately when He Sanlang mentioned that his wounds hurt.
He Sanlang suddenly felt guilty upon seeing how panicked Chu Lian was over him. He wanted to reach out to hold her still and stop her frantic movements.
However, Chu Lian couldn't rest easy until she inspected his wounds personally. In the modern world, there were many cases where external wounds would fester and become inflamed if they weren't taken care of properly. If that happened to He Changdi, the result would be even worse than the original state of his injuries.
Chu Lian pushed away He Sanlang's hand and puffed up her cheeks. She threw a glare in He Changdi's direction with an angry huff. "Don't you dare move, or your wounds might be affected!"
Although Chu Lian had been going for a fierce tone, her voice was naturally soft and charming. Even though she tried to harden her stance, there wasn't a single threatening bone in her. Instead, He Changdi felt warm inside. He wanted to pull the angry little kitten in front of him into his arms for a nice round of snuggles and pets.
It was only then that He Sanlang finally realised he wasn't going to win over his stubborn wife when she was on a roll. Thus, with a resigned smile, he laid back against the headboard and let her do as he wished.
The wound on He Changdi's right leg was on the inner part of his thigh. Actually, it was very dangerous to have a wound there as it was close to a major artery. Any cuts could easily cause extreme blood loss and death.
Lucky for He Sanlang, he had somehow escaped that fate- the wound hadn't gotten close to his artery. Right now, he was only dressed in a pair of really short pants to make it easier to change the bandages every day. The pants were so short that they only covered the most important parts of his lower body.
Once Chu Lian had gotten the blanket out of the way, she was met with the sight of He Sanlang's muscled thigh all covered in bandages.
She glanced at him and said, "Bear with it for a while, I'm going to remove the bandages and check on your wound."
Before He Sanlang could give his assent, she had already started to untie the bandages.
The corners of He Changdi's lips twitched. How were her movements so fast?
He watched Chu Lian's serious expression as she went about her task. Although his features were still locked in their usual cool mien, there was warmth welling up from deep inside his heart.
It had been a long time since he had experienced being cared for like this.
Chu Lian's fingers were nimble, and she quickly but carefully took off the bandages covering He Sanlang's leg.
She looked at the wound on his knee first and found that the wound had already scabbed over. The surrounding skin was also clean and dry, so there was nothing wrong with it.
Chu Lian frowned and traced the wound upwards. She started checking on the injuries on He Sanlang's inner thigh.
Since He Sanlang couldn't move his leg right now, Chu Lian had no choice but to move into another position and climb onto the bed. She kneeled on the inner side of the bed while bending over to take a good look at the wound.
He Changdi hadn't thought much of her inspection at first, but her unintentional pose made his thoughts run wild. His gaze flitted downwards, only to see her fair little face near a very important part of his body...
He had already fallen for Chu Lian and desperately wanted to be closer to her physically, so it was even harder to restrain his reaction.
Chu Lian hadn't noticed her lunatic husband's response at all. She finished inspecting that wound on his right thigh and found that it was actually healing pretty well and that there was no problem with it.
The realisation that he had been lying, coupled with how he had tried to stop her earlier, hit her like a ton of bricks. She instantly puffed up with anger.
Due to her fury, her face flushed red and even her almond-shaped eyes were lit up with the fire of her rage.
Chu Lian harrumphed. She looked up, about to vent her temper on He Changdi, when her gaze accidentally fell upon a part of his body that was a little abnormal right now.
What could a thin pair of shorts hide?
The excited Little Brother He stood out clearly.
Chu Lian's eyes widened in disbelief as all of the blood in her body rushed to her cheeks. Her blush even extended all the way down to her neck.
It took Chu Lian a dazed two seconds before she quickly moved away. Following that, her limpid eyes glared accusingly in He Sanlang's direction.
Chu Lian gaped as she tried to recover her wits. Finally, she spat out, "He Changdi, you pervert!!"
In the whole of the Great Wu Dynasty, He Sanlang was likely the only one who had ever been branded a pervert by his own wife.
He Changdi was also both ashamed and frustrated at his own reaction. The roots of his ears were also completely red. However, he still managed to keep his aloof expression on his face as he stared at Chu Lian's lobster-red face in a daze.
After a while, he tried to explain in a raspy voice, "I didn't do it on purpose, I couldn't hold it back..."
Chu Lian's response was to shoot a fierce glare at him. The meaning behind it was clear: could you be any more shameless?
He Changdi: ...
Chu Lian's heart was thumping rapidly in her chest. Even though she had lived in the modern era for over twenty years, she had never experienced anything like this before. Her face was so red that it felt like it was on fire. She wanted to escape from this awkward situation as fast as she could.
Chu Lian scrambled off the bed in a panic, intending to pull on her shoes and run away. However, the more panicked she was, the clumsier she became. As she was getting off the bed, she accidentally tripped over her own skirt and almost tumbled right off the bed.
Luckily, He Sanlang had been watching her the whole time and was able to catch her at the right moment. With a tug of his strong arms, Chu Lian landed in his embrace.
Chu Lian had already gone through the whole spectrum of emotions by now. The fright from the near-fall shocked her into a dazed state. Bewilderment filled her eyes, softening her usual sharp wit and adding an extra trace of cuteness.
Urged on by that lovely sight, He Changdi's pupils dilated before he bent over to capture those rosy red lips. The soft, slightly cool feeling of her lips against his sent a wave of enjoyment crashing through his whole body.
Ever since they had shared their first kiss in the tent, the memory of it would pop into his mind from time to time. Every time he reminisced about it, He Changdi would get even more love drunk.
Chu Lian hadn't expected this sudden attack from He Sanlang at all. Her almond-shaped eyes widened as far as they could go and she struggled in his grasp. Her muffled grunts didn't do anything to move him and she didn't have any strength to push him away. She wanted to try kicking instead, but when she remembered that his leg was still heavily injured, she stuck to using only her hands to push against his chest.
However, Chu Lian's weak arms were like ants trying to push down a tree. Once He Changdi had tasted enough of the sweetness of her lips, he gently pushed past her teeth to brush against her tongue.
He Sanlang had become even more familiar with this after the first time.
The all-consuming kisses made Chu Lian short of breath. Although the force of her arms against his chest slowly weakened, He Changdi wasn't willing to let her off so easily.
The hands he had placed on her back started wandering and caressing her. Although she was dressed in layers of clothing due to the cold weather, he was still able to hold on to her slender waist easily. With a slight tug, she was now flush against his body.
It was only when Chu Lian's face had flushed completely red again that He Sanlang finally let her go. Even then, he wasn't willing to part with her. He showered kisses lovingly on her fluttering eyelids, the bridge of her nose, the fine corners of her lips, and her dainty little chin.
Chu Lian had almost fainted from the lack of air during their kiss. Her mind was a complete blank while her body felt like a wet noodle. All she could do was gasp for air right now, so she didn't have the spare energy to mind the light kisses that he was dropping on her face.
However, it didn't take long for her to recover. When she finally realised that there was something hard jabbing her in the waist, Chu Lian's soul instantly returned to her body.
Right as He Changdi's trail of kisses had reached Chu Lian's slender neck, she shot out a hand to cover his face.
"He Sanlang, why are you so horrible!"
Ch. 264 The New Year
He Sanlang's eyes shone with the light of the stars as he fixated on Chu Lian's flushed face and heavy breathing.
Chu Lian was turning redder and redder under the weight of his gaze.
All of a sudden, He Sanlang actually broke out into a smile and he let out a peal of relaxed laughter. That spontaneous, genuine smile shocked Chu Lian silly.
He Changdi was well-known for his outstanding appearance all over the capital.
Ever since Chu Lian had arrived in the Great Wu Dynasty, all she had seen of him was his aloof and haughty side. He always kept a cold aura cloaked around himself to repel everyone away from him. She had never seen such an unguarded, unrestrained smile from him before.
That rare display of emotions from him drew a profound change in her own heart; it was as if an ancient wall of ice had melted under the strength of the sun. It felt warm and comfortable.
Compared to his usual cool facade, Chu Lian felt that this agreeable, warm look suited He Sanlang more.
When she thought back to the original story's description of him, this was likely how He Changdi had been before he had gotten married!
A pang of sympathy surfaced in her heart when her thoughts led her to that reminder.
Although she didn't know why he was fighting so hard, she knew that he must have some sort of reason for his actions.
Now that Chu Lian had broken the strange mood that had been hanging over them, a little of He Sanlang's rationality had returned. He suppressed the desires in his heart, but kept Chu Lian close to him.
Due to the passion from before, his voice was still a little husky. "Yes, I'm horrible. It's my bad, I shouldn't have lied to you."
Chu Lian had already suffered several rounds of fright ever since waking up this morning. Her life was terribly exciting.
She stared at He Changdi, mouth agape. So this stubborn man actually had times when he would apologise?
She pulled out her hand and felt He Sanlang's forehead, murmuring under her breath as she did so. "That's weird, he doesn't have a fever..."
The warmth on He Sanlang's expression immediately faded away, exchanged for frustration.
With a mix of shame and anger, he shouted, "Chu Lian!"
Chu Lian laughed sheepishly. "Ehe. So you're actually normal sometimes, my dear husband?"
"When have I been abnormal?"
"You've always been abnormal." Unfortunately, Chu Lian didn't dare to speak her true thoughts. She wasn't so stupid as to provoke the bear who currently had her in his clutches.
When He Sanlang looked down and noticed that her eyes were sparkling with humour, he had the urge to rub his cheeks against hers.
The moment the urge came over him, he acted it out without any restraint.
Chu Lian suffered the stabbing, prickling sensation of stubble on her tender skin and quickly shook her head, trying to dodge his face.
She raged, "He Changdi, you haven't shaved!"
The air between the couple had turned harmonious all of a sudden.
By the time He Changdi had his fill of snuggling, the two of them were panting for breath.
He Sanlang cradled the back of Chu Lian's head with his palm, pressing her head against his broad chest. He took a deep breath to gather his determination before declaring, "Chu Lian, once I'm fully healed, let's get together. If... that's alright with you?"
This time, Chu Lian didn't shove his words back in his face like she had previously done in the army camp. She curled her fingers in his collar as she rested her head against his chest. After a moment, her low, muffled voice resounded.
There weren't any words in her reply; just a simple affirmative 'mm' mumbled into his shirt.
The anxiety in He Sanlang's heart instantly transformed into a burst of fireworks, overwhelming him and giving him the urge to fly up into the sky.
Fifteen minutes later, He Changdi pulled Chu Lian away from him with his strong arms, tugging her slender body out from his embrace.
It was rare for them to have such a warm and peaceful moment, so Chu Lian didn't want to move at all. She looked up with confusion at He Changdi, asking with her soft voice, "What's wrong?"
He Sanlang leaned over to place a kiss on her tender pink lips. "Be good for me and get off the bed first. I'm afraid I won't be able to hold back any longer."
A blush returned in full force to Chu Lian's face and she awkwardly scurried out of his arms.
She put on her embroidered shoes again and straightened out her clothing before shooting a 'fierce' glare at He Changdi.
"I'm going to find a razor. You have to shave your stubble now." After giving herself a shoddy excuse, Chu Lian turned and made her escape from the room.
After they had finally agreed to be together, even though their following interactions weren't very intimate, it took He Sanlang a lot of effort to control his physical reactions so that it wouldn't cause even more embarrassing incidents.
He Changdi was a very restrained person in the first place. Although it was hard for him to hold his bodily reactions back, when he thought of how Chu Lian had finally agreed to be with him, this sweet torture felt like nothing.
Chu Lian didn't give much thought to their snuggling at all. As a woman, she didn't have much in the way of sexual needs.
Instead, she rather enjoyed the sweet closeness they shared.
When Chu Lian finally found a razor and returned to the room, He Changdi didn't let her do it for him and shaved his own stubble. Later on, with Chu Lian's help, he wiped down his body and washed his hair.
He couldn't take a bath due to the position of his injuries, so he could only make do.
Once the twenty-seventh had passed, New Year's Eve soon arrived.
There was a touch of celebration in the air, even in the frigid north.
Naturally, Liangzhou City was the most festive compared to the other cities nearby.
Chu Lian had gotten up early in the morning to start preparing New Year's dinner. Wenqing and Wenlan were also so busy that they didn't have any time to rest. In the afternoon, Manager Qin and his subordinates finally returned to the He Estate.
Wenqing and Wenlan knew that Manager Qin had gone out on Third Young Madam's orders, but they didn't know what exactly he had gone out to do. However, they weren't too curious about it. They knew that anything done on Third Young Madam's instructions was definitely good for their household and good for Third Young Master, so there was nothing for them to worry about.
Chu Lian had ordered Wenqing to start cooking a large pot of braised pork in the morning. Wenqing had found it strange and asked, "Third Young Madam, even if we give a whole bowl of this to everyone in this estate, we won't be able to finish this up!"
Chu Lian smiled secretively. "You'll know why when it comes time for dinner."
Since Chu Lian had already explained it like that, Wenqing dropped her line of questioning.
Chu Lian found it funny. She refused to believe that Captain Guo and the others wouldn't come over to the He Estate to beg off a free meal when faced with such a great excuse.
As expected, when night fell and the maidservants had just started serving up a whole array of steaming hot dishes on the table, the gluttons from the northern border troops arrived.
He Changdi was bedridden so the only person who could host their uninvited guests was Chu Lian.
She stood at the main entrance to welcome them in, looking upon the huge group of foodies helplessly. It seemed like it wasn't just He Sanlang's band of brothers who had come. Even Great General Qian had followed along. Of course, Sima Hui was here too.
Chu Lian was starting to suspect that the extra portions of food she had ordered Wenqing and Wenlan to prepare weren't going to be enough.
However, it was too late to prepare more food. If they really ran out, they would just have to add a big bowl of dumplings for them and make sure that they left with full bellies.
In order to match the festivities, Chu Lian was wearing a pink dress with white rabbit fur accents. Layered on top was a bright red vest and a white fox fur cloak. Chu Lian still had a little bit of baby fat clinging to her face, giving her a youthful air, and whenshe was dressed up in so many layers, it made her look like a cute little ball.
After Chu Lian personally greeted Great General Qian with a respectful bob, General Qian pulled out a red packet from his sleeve and passed it to Chu Lian.
"Take this, it's a New Year gift from your Uncle Qian."
Chu Lian stared in a blank daze for a moment before quickly reacting and receiving the envelope with both hands. She smiled at General Qian and said, "Uncle Qian, I'm already married, I'm not a child any longer."
Although her current body was only fifteen, she had been in her twenties in her modern world and was long past the age where she would receive red packets from her elders. On the contrary; whenever she went home for New Year's, Chu Lian would be the one giving out red packets to her little nieces and nephews. Now that an elder had suddenly given her a red packet, Chu Lian felt a little awkward.
While Duke Lu was the fearsome Great General Qian in the border camp, he had come here to visit her as an elder, so she had changed her form of address for him accordingly.
General Qian found it amusing that the little Honoured Lady Jinyi was acting like an adult. "Even though you're already married, you're still a young lady who has just come of age. Don't tell me that you're too shy to accept your Uncle Qian's red packet?"
Chu Lian smiled in return and said, "Alright, please don't tease me, Uncle Qian. I'll accept it!"
Now that General Qian had opened up the way, the rest of the people who had come for her cooking all gave her red packets. Even the youngest Xiao Hongyu managed to take out a thin red envelope and pass it to Chu Lian. He showed a foolish smile and said, "I don't have much savings, so please don't take offense, Sister-in-Law."
Although Xiao Hongyu called Chu Lian 'Older Sister-in-Law', he was actually older than Chu Lian by four years, so it was still acceptable for her to accept his gift as a junior.
The last person to enter was Sima Hui.
Chu Lian hadn't seen her in quite some time, so she was naturally happy to meet her friend again on New Year's Eve. Sima Hui was normally taller than Chu Lian by half a head. Today, she had stuck a red feather in her neat hair, making her look even taller and slimmer than usual.
Sima Hui offered up a smile and pulled on Chu Lian's hand in a familiar way. She took off a red purse with embroidered flowers from her waist and gave it to Chu Lian. "Lian'er, I didn't prepare a red packet for you unlike the Great General and the others. Take this as Sister Hui's New Year gift to you."
Chu Lian's smile was even brighter than usual as she dispensed with the usual courtesy of rejecting the gift. She reached out to receive the purse immediately. "Since it's something that Sister Hui prepared for me, I'll accept it shamelessly!"
Once Chu Lian had finished accepting the stack of red packets and one red purse, she finally welcomed everyone into the He Estate.
While He Changdi and Chu Lian were passing their first New Year together with a lively celebration, things weren't going so well back in the capital's Jing'an Estate.
It was now certain that Count Jing'an couldn't come back for New Year's, while Second Young Master He Changjue, who was investigating a case in Zhangzhou, had also sent a letter stating that he wouldn't be able to make it either.
Eldest Young Madam was grounded in her branch's courtyard. It was rumoured that she wasn't feeling very well these two days and that Senior Servant Qiao had taken over management of her own courtyard's matters.
Matriarch He had just taken control of the household again and was going through the public account books. The sudden stress and hard work had caused her old illnesses to flare up, making her bedridden.
Eldest Young Master He Changqi disapproved of his grandmother's overwork. He specially ordered Senior Servant Liu to keep watch over the matriarch's health.
Senior Servant Liu had no other choice but to take up the task of checking the accounts herself. She picked a portion of the account books and left the rest to Muxiang.
Senior Servant Liu wasn't good at numbers, so it was Muxiang who oversaw the accounts.
At the end of the year, rumours started swirling about the capital that the northern border troops had fallen into critical danger, and that it wasn't boding well for the fifty thousand troops hanging in the balance.
Matriarch He's health declined even further upon hearing these rumours. Due to the rumors, many noble houses stopped associating with House Jing'an.