Zhou Chanyue had just climbed over the wall when, before she could get close, Su Wanwan kicked her far away.
Zhou Chanyue clutched her chest, nearly coughing up a mouthful of blood. Pointing at Su Wanwan, who had lifted her skirt, she stammered "You…" for a long time without managing to say a word, only feeling as if her internal organs were about to shatter. This woman! How could she be so crude and unreasonable!
"Who are you?" Su Wanwan glanced at the tightly shut door and said angrily, "Great, you climbed in to steal from my house!"
Zhou Chanyue almost spat out another mouthful of blood. "Your house is so poor, who would steal from it? Wait, no—what do you mean 'your house'? This is my cousin's house. Who are you? What do you want to do to my cousin?"
"Cousin?" Su Wanwan hesitated for a moment. "He has a cousin? How come I didn't know?"
Zhou Chanyue got up from the ground and looked Su Wanwan up and down with disdain. "If you don't tell me who you are, I'll go report you to the authorities."
"Me?" Su Wanwan pointed at herself, then glanced at Pei Changfeng, whom she had covered tightly with a quilt. Her tone turned suggestive. "We sleep in the same bed. Guess what our relationship is?"
Zhou Chanyue's eyes widened instantly. "You… you shameless woman!"
Seeing her about to lunge forward again, Su Wanwan stopped her. "Are you really his cousin?"
"My cousin and I grew up together since childhood as childhood sweethearts. I will never allow anyone to taint him!" Zhou Chanyue burst into tears. "Cousin, I'm here!"
What nonsense about childhood sweethearts! If they were truly childhood sweethearts, how could Zhou Chanyue not know about the way Pei Changfeng was being treated?
Su Wanwan wasn't one for reasoning with people. She directly gave Zhou Chanyue two smacks. "Can you speak properly or not?"
After being hit, Zhou Chanyue stopped calling for her cousin. She stared at Su Wanwan in shock. "You shrew, what exactly do you want?"
"He's my man. I can do whatever I want with him," Su Wanwan said, crossing her arms and looking at her. "What, you're not happy about it?"
Zhou Chanyue had run away from home secretly. She had heard that Pei's Eldest Uncle's family had married a Chongxi bride to her cousin. How could they marry him off without her consent!
With reddened eyes, Zhou Chanyue glanced in Pei Changfeng's direction, completely forgetting where she was, and began to put on a performance. "Cousin, Chanyue cannot marry you in this lifetime. Today, having suffered such humiliation, I cannot go on living either. Wait for me, Chanyue will come to reunite with you now!"
After saying this, she tried to run headfirst into the wall.
A dull thud echoed as Zhou Chanyue crashed into the wall, her vision swimming. This damned woman, why didn't she stop her?
Su Wanwan shrugged. Seeing that Zhou Chanyue hadn't seriously injured herself, she didn't waste words. Instead, she grabbed Zhou Chanyue by the collar and threw her out.
This woman seemed a bit unhinged, coming to someone else's house to threaten suicide. It was better to toss her out quickly.
Before closing the door, she didn't forget to threaten Zhou Chanyue. "If you come back, I'll break your legs. Understand?"
After saying this, Su Wanwan smiled, revealing a row of pearly white teeth. Zhou Chanyue shrank back, not daring to make a sound. Wh-what a terrifying woman! But she wouldn't give up!
Zhou Chanyue's eyes darted around. She got up and ran far away.
After 'sending off' Zhou Chanyue, Su Wanwan returned to the room and locked the door from the inside. Rolling up her sleeves, she said to Pei Changfeng, "So you really do have a childhood sweetheart cousin, huh?"
Su Wanwan sighed again after finishing her words. "Cousin or not, no one can compare to me anyway. Even if ten more cousins come, I won't be afraid."
"Come one, I'll beat one; come two, I'll beat a pair!"
·
Bathing Pei Changfeng sounded easy, but when it came time to actually do it, difficulties arose everywhere.
First, there was no bathtub. Su Wanwan could only use a small basin to mix warm water and wipe him down section by section, starting with his hair.
Pei Changfeng's hair had already clumped into strands, impossible to comb through. She could only soak it in warm water first, gently massaging his scalp.
Su Wanwan hadn't even used soap yet, but just with clean water, she washed out a basin full of black grime. She took a deep breath, went to the kitchen to change the water, then brought over the prepared rice-washing water along with an egg.
If not for the sake of preserving Pei Changfeng's beautiful hair, Su Wanwan would never have been willing to use egg whites to smooth his hair.
Su Wanwan was an extremely clean person. Seeing Pei Changfeng lying there so filthy was more unbearable to her than death. But since hair and skin are gifts from one's parents, she couldn't just cut off Pei Changfeng's hair for her own convenience.
After all, he was her own husband, Su Wanwan thought as she looked at Pei Changfeng's handsome face—and the first one to survive at that. She might as well take good care of him.
By the time she finished washing Pei Changfeng's hair, Su Wanwan was drenched in sweat. She simply took off her outer garment, leaving only a small Dudou on her body, then lifted Pei Changfeng's blanket to wash his body.
She gently scrubbed his skin with soapberries, sighing as she went along. "How pitiful, you've ended up like this. But don't worry, I'll definitely take good care of you. When you wake up, we'll live well together and have a few beautiful babies. The village aunties all say that with my slender waist and wide hips, I look like I can bear children."
Pei Changfeng's eyelashes trembled slightly.
When she pulled off Pei Changfeng's pants, Su Wanwan's face flushed instantly, but her hands kept wiping him. "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. We'll have babies in the future, so it's no big deal. Don't be shy."
As if comforting herself, she washed Pei Changfeng thoroughly inside and out with her burning red face, finally satisfied. Unable to resist, she planted a big kiss on his handsome face. "Good husband, I'll go make you some food. You just lie here quietly!"
The sensation of lips was different from fingers—more moist and soft, like a gentle spring rain, steaming with warmth.
After Su Wanwan left, Pei Changfeng's finger twitched, and an odd blush spread across his face.
Since the Pei family had a courtyard wall—though not high, it blocked the view completely, preventing outsiders from seeing inside—Su Wanwan cooked in just her Dudou. After the food was ready, she didn't have time to eat herself. First, she fed Pei Changfeng a small bowl of steamed eggs. Only after she finished her own meal did she start cooking Pei Changfeng's fourth meal of the day.
Caring for a patient was like this—you couldn't rush things. You couldn't feed too much at once, only multiple times a day, ensuring Pei Changfeng was neither hungry nor overfull while still nourishing his body.
Su Wanwan retrieved the meat she had gotten from Pei's Eldest Uncle's house from the well, cut a small piece, minced it, and cooked it with rice. While it simmered, she hung the remaining meat under the eaves to smoke, afraid it would spoil and go to waste otherwise.
When the porridge in the pot began to bubble, Su Wanwan stirred it, added some chopped greens, then sparingly sprinkled in a pinch of salt. Once the porridge had cooked to a soft consistency, she ladled it out and set it on the table to cool. Only after finishing her bath did she bring it over to feed Pei Changfeng.
The evening was cooler than the daytime. After working hard all day, Su Wanwan wanted nothing more than to collapse into bed, but she couldn’t—she still had to attend to her husband.
She laid Pei Changfeng in her arms, cradling his head against her full, soft chest, and fed him the porridge spoonful by spoonful. She was patient, continuing to talk to him even though she received no response.
As she spoke, her chest trembled slightly, rippling with gentle waves.
“My cooking skills are excellent. Once you wake up, I’ll kill a chicken and make soup for you.”
“When the time comes, you can focus on your studies, and I’ll work to support you. With me here, don’t be afraid—no one will dare bully you!”
After saying this, Su Wanwan clenched her fist and waved it, putting on a fierce expression.
Her bare, fair arm brushed against Pei Changfeng’s cheek, and the scent of her body drifted into his breath.
Because Pei Changfeng was so exceptionally handsome, Su Wanwan couldn’t resist planting two more kisses on his face.
“Ah, how did you end up so good-looking? You even outshine me.”
But still, a husband who was both handsome and a promising Xiucai—what a blessing!
After feeding him the porridge and wiping his mouth, Su Wanwan gave him two goodnight kisses before holding him close and falling asleep.
Once she was asleep, Pei Changfeng’s eyelids twitched faintly, showing signs of stirring.
That night, under the cover of darkness, Pei’s Eldest Uncle and Pei’s Eldest Aunt crept along the wall, trying to sneak in. When they pushed the courtyard gate, they found Su Wanwan had locked it.
“That little wretch actually dared to lock the gate!” Remembering the things taken from them earlier that day, Pei’s Eldest Aunt felt her heart bleed with anger. She wished she could rush in right then and smother Su Wanwan.
Pei’s Eldest Uncle shot her a glare, signaling her to be quiet. He then climbed over the wall using a ladder he had brought. He carried rat poison, planning to mix it into the rice jar—enough to poison both of them to death!
Just as he stepped onto the top of the wall, Su Wanwan’s voice rang out, “Thieves! Help! There are thieves in my house!”
Startled by her cry, Pei’s Eldest Uncle lost his balance and tumbled off the wall. Without daring to linger, he scrambled away before the villagers could arrive.
Auntie Li and her family, who lived closest to Pei Changfeng’s home, were the first to arrive. Seeing the ladder at the foot of the wall, she was alarmed and quickly asked Su Wanwan, “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” Su Wanwan replied, putting on a frightened expression. “Luckily, I heard the noise, or Changfeng and I would have been in trouble, wuwu…”
As a vulnerable woman living with her husband, she couldn’t imagine how heartless a thief would have to be to target their home.
Auntie Li glanced worriedly at Su Wanwan’s flower-like face, hesitating before speaking. “Never mind, as long as you’re safe. Tomorrow, I’ll cut some bamboo and bring it over to help you reinforce the walls. Poor thing.”
After being comforted by the crowd, Su Wanwan carried the ladder inside, wiping away tears as she went.
She had been on guard these past few days! Pei’s Eldest Uncle’s family seemed to have ill intentions. Thankfully, she was clever—otherwise, she would have been caught off guard and suffered.
Su Wanwan yawned and turned to go back inside to sleep. No matter what, tonight she could finally rest well.
The next day, Su Wanwan woke up naturally and, as usual, checked Pei Changfeng’s breathing. Was it just her imagination, or did he seem a bit haggard?
Unable to figure it out, Su Wanwan got up, washed up, and tidied the house. Only then did she remember something she had overlooked. She hurried to Pei's Eldest Uncle’s house and knocked on the door.
When Pei's Eldest Aunt opened the door and saw her, her face darkened as if she had been punched twice. Still, she asked with a hint of anticipation, “Is Changfeng gone?”
This old witch couldn’t wish for anything good for her husband! Su Wanwan snorted, “Not yet. With me taking care of him, how could he die?”
Pei's Eldest Aunt’s expression soured even more. “Then what are you here for?”
“Didn’t Eldest Uncle say all the money went toward buying medicine for my Changfeng? Where’s the medicine?” Su Wanwan fired off questions like a rapid-fire cannon. “How many doses a day? Which doctor prescribed it?”
Pei's Eldest Aunt gritted her teeth. If it weren’t for this wretched woman’s sudden shout yesterday, they would have succeeded already!
“Go away, I don’t know!”
Su Wanwan blocked the door from closing. “Then where’s Eldest Uncle? Let him come out and talk. Wasn’t he the one buying the medicine for the past half year? It can’t be that the medicine just happened to run out as soon as I married in. At the very least, tell me where to get it. I’ll trouble the Village Chief to help me fetch it.”
Pei's Eldest Uncle was lying in bed with a broken arm, too afraid to go out and see a doctor!
Hearing her voice, Pei's Eldest Uncle felt his arm ache even more. This wretched woman! Wretched woman!!
Pei's Eldest Aunt tried to close the door, but Su Wanwan wouldn’t let her. Planting her hands on her hips, she shouted at the doorway, “Fine! I knew it all along! Your whole family’s talk about buying medicine and prescribing remedies for my husband was all lies! My husband is as thin as a skeleton—clearly, he hasn’t had enough to eat! If Heaven hadn’t opened its eyes and let me marry into this family, he would’ve starved to death long ago!”