According to the book, in a while, a girl named Tang Wenxi would appear.
She happened to help a miraculous doctor once, and later had this doctor heal Lu Hanzhou’s leg.
Once his leg was healed, Lu Hanzhou could return to the army—and eventually, he rose to become a major figure in the military world.
In his heart, he always carried Tang Wenxi. Even if they couldn’t be together, he silently protected her for life.
But now, since it was Su Xiaowan here, this favor should rightfully go to her.
Su Xiaowan stood up, served a bowl of rice for Lu Hanzhou, and took the chance to speak. “Your leg… maybe I could take a look at it.”
“You can treat it?” Before Lu Hanzhou could answer, Lu Yanxi shouted, “Su Xiaowan, are you hoping my brother’s leg never heals?”
At that, Su Xiaowan realized that no matter what she said now, no one would believe her.
She could only lower her head, shovel some rice into her mouth, and quietly add, “I just thought… maybe I could try.”
“Try what? My brother isn’t here for you to practice on!” Lu Yanxi objected immediately.
“Yanxi, shut up,” Zhang Meiju intervened, stopping her daughter.
Su Xiaowan looked at Lu Hanzhou. His expression didn’t change, clearly not taking her words seriously.
Alright, it seemed she would first have to earn their trust.
“Eat more meat.” Su Xiaowan picked up a piece of meat and placed it in Lu Hanzhou’s bowl.
The flickering kerosene lamp cast a gentle glow, making her eyes sparkle—partly teasing, partly hopeful.
Lu Hanzhou’s face remained neutral, but inside he felt an indescribable shift.
He had truly never seen her speak with such gentle warmth.
Nearby, Lu Yanxi and Zhang Meiju were both stunned.
Lu Yanxi stuffed a bite of rice into her mouth and mumbled, “She’s definitely up to something again… trying to trick my brother out of money.”
Ever since they married, the original Su Xiaowan had never worked properly, always busy dressing up.
Either buying snow cream or hair oil, and she constantly applied lipstick, dressing herself up in full splendor.
Only when money was tight would she act a little courteous toward Lu Hanzhou.
Thinking of the original girl’s past behavior, Su Xiaowan felt a pang of embarrassment herself.
No wonder Lu Yanxi said that.
“I’m not after your brother’s money,” Su Xiaowan turned to Gu Rinchuan (likely a minor translation error; it’s probably still Lu Hanzhou in context), speaking softly. “He’s my husband. Taking care of him is my responsibility.”
She let the corner of her lips lift slightly.
To get closer to Lu Hanzhou and enrich the supplies in her space, she was really going all out this time.
Lu Hanzhou showed nothing on his face but pondered silently: had she really changed?
Lu Yanxi still looked skeptical. “I’m warning you, don’t play tricks. If you cause trouble again, I’ll be the first to oppose it!”
She glared at Su Xiaowan, eyes wide with indignation.
“You really don’t like me, do you?” Su Xiaowan didn’t get angry. She smiled brightly and asked.
Startled by Su Xiaowan’s radiant smile, Lu Yanxi turned her face away and muttered, “I just don’t like her! People too good-looking can’t be trusted!”
While speaking, Su Xiaowan suddenly recalled many past events.
Before marriage, the original Su Xiaowan had truly spared no effort to be with Lu Hanzhou.
She constantly revolved around him, giving gifts or helping with tasks.
She treated Lu Yanxi exceptionally well too.
“Yanxi, little sister, this hair tie is a fashionable one I brought from the provincial capital. If you like it, it’s yours.”
And she was attentive toward Zhang Meiju as well.
“Aunt, this medicated oil is something I specially brought back from the provincial capital. It’s very effective. If you feel any discomfort, just apply a bit—you’ll feel much better soon.”
Before marriage, the original Su Xiaowan seemed like a fairy descended to earth.
She took care of everyone in the Lu family meticulously, knowing each person’s preferences.
The Lu family were honest and simple folk, and they were soon moved by her thoughtfulness.
But no one could have expected that after marriage, she completely changed, unwilling even to put on an act.
Occasionally, if she suddenly acted kind, it was certainly to gain some benefit from others.
No wonder Lu Hanzhou became tense seeing her treat his brother so well—he had been frightened by the original girl’s past, leaving psychological scars.
Su Xiaowan knew well that the original girl’s actions had long hurt the Lu family deeply.
Repairing this rift couldn’t be rushed; it would take time and patience.
Fortunately, Su Xiaowan was naturally cheerful, able to manage complex doctor-patient dynamics, and even more patient with family matters.
Thinking of this, she served a generous portion of meat to her mother-in-law Zhang Meiju. “Mom, eat more. You’re weak now—you need to nourish your qi and blood.”
Then she wanted to serve her little sister-in-law Lu Yanxi, but Lu Yanxi immediately moved her bowl away, looking displeased.
“I have hands! I can serve myself!” she huffed, refusing to touch anything Su Xiaowan had served.
Su Xiaowan didn’t mind, smiling as she helped herself to the bitter melon with eggs.
At that moment, she noticed Lu Hanzhou’s gaze on her and looked up. “Something on your mind?”
“Not eating meat?” he asked.
“I’m not very fond of it. You all eat more,” Su Xiaowan replied casually.
At that, Lu Hanzhou’s gaze grew slightly more probing, and Zhang Meiju and Lu Yanxi also looked over.
“Pretending… keep pretending,” Lu Yanxi blurted, speaking without filter. “Before, seeing meat would make your eyes light up, grabbing it greedily. Now here you are, pretending not to like it? It’s disgusting.”
Su Xiaowan was momentarily speechless.
It wasn’t that she completely avoided meat—she just had picky tastes.
She normally preferred fresh vegetables and fruits, not so much pickled foods.
Fortunately, in this era of scarcity, vegetables and fruits were the freshest and most abundant—and all natural and organic!
In contrast, the staple coarse grains they ate daily would later be considered expensive health foods.
Thinking this way, her complaints about ending up in this time period lessened somewhat.
She turned to Lu Yanxi to explain. “I’m a bit tired of meat today. You all eat more. Don’t worry about me.”
After the meal, Su Xiaowan took the initiative to clean the dishes, stopping Zhang Meiju from doing so. “Mom, let me. You’re weak; don’t touch cold water. Go sit.”
As a Chinese medicine practitioner, she could see at a glance that Zhang Meiju was seriously qi- and blood-deficient, and this had persisted long enough to leave a chronic condition.
The basic treatment would be to keep warm and eat more meat to supplement nutrition.
She planned to provide acupuncture and moxibustion treatments regularly, expecting a quick improvement.
Luckily, the Lu family was well-off—meat wasn’t a problem.
Under Lu Yanxi’s suspicious gaze, Su Xiaowan efficiently washed the dishes.
She had grown up in an orphanage, later adopted by an elderly Chinese medicine practitioner.
Her grandmother was always busy treating patients, so she learned to be independent early, even bringing meals to her grandmother on schedule.
This upbringing made her self-reliant.
She could cook and manage a household, and except for fieldwork, could handle almost anything.
Even in this era, she was confident she could live well.
Meanwhile, Lu Yanxi pulled her brother aside, whispering, “Brother, did something happen to her today? She seems like a completely different person.”
Lu Hanzhou’s gaze was deep, his face unreadable.
Having always been cold, Lu Yanxi couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
After a while, he patted his sister’s shoulder. “Don’t overthink it.”
“But she’s acting abnormally good!” Lu Yanxi pressed, “The villagers say she’s been very close to that Bai Fulin lately. Maybe she dressed up today to see him? She wouldn’t try to run off with him, would she?”
“You’d be better off with Sister Wenxi. She’s kind, upright, a teacher—you’d get along well…”
“Stop talking nonsense!” Lu Hanzhou interrupted sternly. “Don’t spread baseless rumors.”
Scolded by her brother, Lu Yanxi pouted and fell silent.
Still, Lu Hanzhou’s mind was quietly unsettled.