But just the roots of balloon flowers wouldn’t sell for much money. She might as well go back up the mountain and look around, perhaps she would get lucky.
Luo Qingqing took her basket and shovel and once again left the Gu family’s small courtyard. At this hour, everyone was taking their afternoon nap, so there was hardly anyone on the path. Relying on her memories, she made her way into the mountains.
After quite some time, the only thing in her basket was a few mushrooms. She hadn’t even seen the shadow of a medicinal herb.
“System, system, can you hear me?”
“…”
“If you don’t answer, I’m going to slit my throat and quit! It’s bad enough that I transmigrated here without a golden finger. How come my luck is so terrible too? Can’t you give me some motivation? I’m running out of energy!”
The system’s icy voice finally sounded.
“Host, walk straight ahead.”
Hehe! Medicinal herbs, here I come!
Luo Qingqing immediately came back to life and happily ran forward.
“Ow…”
Who had just had an intimate encounter with Mother Earth?
She wasn’t going to say.
Luo Qingqing felt as though she had stepped on something.
Don’t tell me it’s a snake?!
She slowly turned around.
A man covered in blood was lying on the ground.
The visual impact was… a little too much.
She bent down and checked for his breath.
He was still alive.
She tried dragging him along, but after pulling him once, she had to stop and gasp for breath ten times.
There’s no way I can carry him down the mountain by myself.
So she quickly stood up, covered him with some branches, and hurried home.
“Gu Jing’an, quickly… quickly come with me to the mountain to save someone!”
Gu Jing’an looked displeased.
He had only just woken up when Luo Qingqing dragged him outside. He had originally wanted to scold her for grabbing him like that, but when he saw her anxious, flushed cheeks, he somehow couldn’t bring himself to say anything.
When they found the man covered by the branches, Luo Qingqing helped lift him onto Gu Jing’an’s back.
When Gu Jing’an stood up, he staggered a few steps.
The man on his back was indeed quite solidly built.
Luo Qingqing’s brain short-circuited, and she asked, “Can you handle it? If not, we can support him together.”
“If I can’t handle it, you can?”
Gu Jing’an snapped back at her.
The moment he said it, he regretted it.
He disliked this feeling of being unable to control his emotions, so he simply shut his mouth and said nothing more.
Luo Qingqing guiltily rubbed her nose.
As expected, you really can’t tell a man he can’t do something.
No matter the circumstances.
When they were about a hundred meters from the Gu residence, Gu Jing’an calmly said, “From here, turn left at the second door and bring Doctor Li over.”
Luo Qingqing nodded and left.
After bringing Doctor Li back, she went to the kitchen to cook some porridge. She then drained the balloon flower roots and placed them under the sun to dry.
She stayed by the stove, sorting through the plot of the novel in her mind while continuously stirring the porridge.
The original owner’s father was a prefect.
When she married, he had given her fifty taels of silver and told her that once she married, she needn’t return home again. He had raised her to this age, which could be considered as fulfilling the affection he had once held for her mother.
Apparently, after the original owner’s mother died, her father had never treated her kindly again.
“Is the porridge ready? The man we brought back is awake.”
The clear, youthful voice made Luo Qingqing pause slightly.
Gu Jing’an’s voice is actually pretty nice.
“It’s ready, it’s ready!”
Luo Qingqing ladled out the porridge and carried it to the room.
The man was leaning against the headboard.
The blood on his face had been washed away, and his clothes had been changed into clean ones. His lips were still somewhat pale, but his features were deep and well-defined, with long hair framing his temples.
He was actually quite handsome.
Luo Qingqing looked at him twice before lowering her head.
There were no injuries on the man’s hands, so she handed the bowl of porridge to him to eat himself.
But she held it out for quite some time, and he still didn’t take it.
She looked up.
The man was staring intently at her face, as though he were looking at her, yet also as though he were looking through her at someone else.
Luo Qingqing became nervous.
Could this guy have noticed that someone else has taken over this body?
What if he thinks I’m some kind of demon and has me arrested?
After all, the ancients were rather superstitious.
Oh no, I’m panicking!
She had completely forgotten the glorious battle she had once fought with her aunt.
Right now, she couldn’t get a single word out.
“Does my wife have something on her face? Why are you staring at her like that?”
Gu Jing’an calmly took the bowl of porridge from Luo Qingqing’s hands and asked as though he were merely making casual conversation.
At that moment, Gu Jing’an was practically an angel descending from heaven.
“My name is Shen Huaiyu. Please forgive my rudeness. Your wife looks very much like an old acquaintance of mine. She… passed away a long time ago. I was simply caught off guard and failed to react appropriately. I apologize for my impropriety.”
Shen Huaiyu cupped his hands and apologized.
Luo Qingqing let out a huge sigh of relief.
But she didn’t notice that the moment her shoulders relaxed, Gu Jing’an’s eyes suddenly darkened.
Luo Qingqing left the room, gathered up the dried balloon flower roots, and began preparing dinner.
When she entered the kitchen, Gu Xuanning followed her in.
Her brother hadn’t allowed her to come out that afternoon, and she had been terribly bored.
“Sister-in-law, I’m here to wash the vegetables!”
The little girl was as cheerful as a little bird. Just hearing her voice was enough to make someone smile.
“Slow down. Be careful.”
Looking at the little girl, Luo Qingqing couldn’t help laughing.
As usual, Gu Jing’an stood beside the stove, working the bellows. Following Luo Qingqing’s instructions, the flames grew stronger and weaker in turn.
The girl’s charming laughter, the sizzling sound of food frying in oil, and the rhythmic whoosh of the bellows blended together inside the small kitchen.
For some reason, it created an atmosphere of quiet, peaceful happiness.
When the food was ready, Gu Qiran arranged the bowls and chopsticks.
Gu Jing’an carried the medicine and porridge into the room, conveniently sparing Luo Qingqing from any awkwardness.
The Gu family’s small courtyard only had two rooms.
One belonged to the two children, while the other belonged to the two adults.
Luo Qingqing slept on the bed, while Gu Jing’an slept on a couch.
Shen Huaiyu would probably need several days to recover.
For the next few days, she could sleep with Xuanning. After that, she’d figure something out.
Although she wasn’t sleeping in the same bed as Gu Jing’an, having to share a room with him every night still made her feel somewhat awkward.
After taking a bath, Luo Qingqing told Xuanning to return to the room first.
She needed to prepare Gu Jing’an’s medicine.
Step Two of Luo’s Survival Guide: Show some humanitarian concern and return a healthy body to him!
When she went into the kitchen, Gu Jing’an had already begun boiling the medicine.
Earlier that day, she had looked at the prescription for treating his cough. Its medicinal properties didn’t conflict with those of balloon flower roots, so the two could be boiled together.
She took two roots from the basket and crushed them before walking over to Gu Jing’an.
“Xuanning found these this morning. They’re supposed to help with your cough. How about adding some?”
Gu Jing’an lowered his eyes and looked at her without saying anything.
Just as Luo Qingqing was about to persuade him, he gave a faint hum.
Luo Qingqing took the fan from his hand.
“Go take a bath. The medicine still needs to boil for another fifteen minutes. I’ll bring it to you later. Xuanning and I will sleep together tonight.”
“Okay.”
Short and concise.
Very Gu Jing’an.
His favorability hadn’t increased even a little.
This was way too difficult!
Traditional Chinese medicine really did smell awful.
She decided to go to town tomorrow and buy some sugar. At least she could get rid of the bitterness after drinking her medicine.
Knock, knock, knock—
“Gu Jing’an, the medicine is ready.”
Gu Jing’an opened the door and took it from her.
He drank it in one go.
“Thank you.”
“Um… I want to go into town tomorrow and buy a few things.”
“Mm, okay.”
He agreed that easily?
“Then get some rest early. Good night.”
Luo Qingqing took the bowl and turned to leave.
“Good night?”
Gu Jing’an murmured the unfamiliar words.
He had never heard such a phrase before.
Was her strange behavior today because she was planning to leave tomorrow?
Forget it.
Her coming here in the first place had been an unexpected turn of events.
If she left, then so be it.
Luo Qingqing quietly slipped into the small room and blew out the oil lamp.
The moment she lay down on the bed, the soft, warm little girl snuggled up against her.
Half-asleep, Gu Xuanning mumbled, “Sister-in-law, Xuanning has been waiting for you!”
Luo Qingqing’s heart practically melted from cuteness.
“Good girl, Xuanning.”
She gently patted and coaxed the little girl.
Before long, she too drifted into dreamland.
Today had truly been exhausting.