When she woke up again, it was already morning. It was cloudy, and it looked like it was going to rain. The weather was a little stuffy. Husband was no longer in front of the window, and Xiaochan had gone to rest. Juan 'er and Xing' er were here to keep watch. According to Juan 'er, the old man had come over earlier. Seeing that she was sleeping, he indicated that there was no need to wake her up. He only casually asked what the diagrams on the table were for. Knowing that they were Ning Yi's handiwork, he didn't ask any more questions and only told her to rest.
Just one night was not enough to subside the high fever. She drank another bowl of medicine. Her head was dizzy, and her mouth was full of bitterness. The anxiety in her heart was still there. Even though Liheng said that yesterday, what would happen in the end … Actually, she already knew more or less. It was just that she was unwilling to accept it, and it took a lot of effort.
That figure was not in this room. Thinking of this, she felt a big emptiness in her heart. Finally, she fell asleep in a daze. This sleep was not like the one in the early morning, where all kinds of nightmares came one after another, disturbing her peace. When she woke up again, it was around noon. Ning Yi was sitting on the chair in front of the window, whispering something to Juan 'er, who was standing beside him. It was probably about the accounts of last year. Juan' er explained the reason in a low voice.
Xiaochan came over and said, "Miss, are you awake?" Then, Ning Yi and Juan 'er also turned around.
She was very tired. She didn't really want to talk or move, but Chan 'er came over to raise the pillow for her. Liheng reached over and put his hand on her forehead. Apart from last night, they had never had such intimate contact before, but it felt natural. After measuring the temperature of her forehead with his palm, the man nodded, "It seems to be better. Call Doctor Sun over later." Then he said something incomprehensible like "it was about 40 degrees yesterday".
Xiaochan came out with a bowl of porridge and "forced" her to drink a few mouthfuls. Not long after, Doctor Sun also came over and asked about the situation. Occasionally, Xiaochan said something, but Liheng continued to read the account book, recording things, and only spoke occasionally. She lay there and watched a group of people come and go. Sometimes, she and Ning Yi were alone in the room. The back of the figure at the table seemed to move quickly and clearly, methodically. It gave people a very strange feeling, and it was very calming.
In the evening, the sky darkened, and it began to rain outside the window. The fresh air floated into the room, and there was a smell of earth.
She only occasionally fell asleep and woke up. That night, Manager Liao and others did not enter the mansion, and there was no restless light in the rain. What were they doing? Did the business situation change? Occasionally, she thought in her heart. Only Ning Yi, Chan 'er, Juan' er, and Xing 'er were accompanying her in the room. A few pieces of rice paper were hung on the wall in the room. Liheng occasionally glanced at them, which added a touch of incomprehensible meaning to the quiet situation.
Although her bedroom often dealt with some business matters, and was more elegant than the bedroom of a normal lady, there were still many things and decorations that girls liked. At this time, the addition of these rice papers immediately broke the atmosphere. The room was still quiet most of the time. Chan 'er, Juan' er, and Xing 'er talked to her and Liheng softly, and they also came and went quietly. In the rain, Liheng's busyness and concentration had its own rules, and it only brought the power of silence.
Only until this night, did she clearly remember the thought that Ling Chen had: Husband is a scholar, and even the most powerful scholar in Jiangning.
In the early years, when she was still a girl, before she married, she looked forward to these things. More than once, she had fantasized about marrying a talented scholar in the future. Although she was the daughter of a merchant, her family was also a big merchant, so it was not that she did not have such an opportunity.
Ever since she learned more about the ways of the world, such thoughts had lessened, but she still looked forward to it. The stories of scholars and beauties that once happened in Jiangning, the famous Cao Guan, Li Pin, and the others, and the rumors of the battles that happened in the poetry meetings, she was very interested in them. Even though she went to the Pu Yuan Poetry Meet to discuss business, hearing about other poetry meetings and seeing many good poems made her feel that it was worth it. It was like something from another world, but it did not stop her from liking and looking forward to it.
Then, life was still life. She married according to her original plan, and took in a husband. Although he was a scholar, he could not be compared to a scholar, and could only be described as a bookworm. Life was life, and she could still look forward to those great poets and scholars. However, when her Husband did not seem to be as silly as she expected, and when some things started to overlap, she felt a little lost.
Her Husband was called the number one scholar in Jiangning. What should she do? In fact, she did not feel the symbol of a great scholar and scholar here. In the past, when she listened to stories and watched operas, it was clear that a great scholar should quote from the classics. Even if it was a little unconventional, he should casually show off his talent in legends. Wherever he went, he should be the center and symbol, the kind that people could not get close to. She used to look forward to marrying a great scholar. It should be like "Official has worked hard" or "Thank you for your concern". In short, it should be as formal and distant as on the stage. But if there was no such distance, what should things be like?
Usually, he spoke simply and casually, and was not ostentatious or boastful. He was humorous and witty, but such a person was called the number one scholar. She would look at those two poems from time to time. Between them, they were not like an ordinary husband and wife. Sometimes, they were like friends. She had never heard of such a good friend. Every few days, they would go to the second floor to talk. They could talk about anything. Could a man and a woman become friends like this? In some stories, there were often women who disguised themselves as men and became friends with others. But she had never disguised herself. But was there such a husband and wife? She seemed to have never heard of it.
In fact, she liked this kind of feeling. She liked it so much that … she did not know how to change it, nor did she know how to improve it. But her understanding of Husband as a great scholar had always been a little vague. It was only now that it became clear.
From afternoon to night, she heard Husband ask a few questions in a soft voice. They were all the most crucial points in the accounts of the past few years. Husband was a smart man. He was doing these things seriously. Su Tan'er quickly understood this matter. But no matter how talented a person was, they could not do anything about it. Husband was a great scholar, and she was the daughter of a merchant. These things should have been done by herself. She had always tried her best to do it well. She tried her best not to let Husband feel annoyed and disturbed by these things. But at this time, he was still involved.
What the result would be was not important here. His husband would not be able to do this well. In order to ease his mind, he said, "I will definitely do it well." But these things could not be solved with determination. No matter what, after he married into the family, he was still implicated by these things …
She thought about these things, sleeping and waking up. It was midnight. It was still raining, but the night was quiet. The light from the oil lamp flickered. In the room, only Liheng's back was sitting on the chair. He was reading some letters from various shopkeepers. When he sensed movement behind him, he turned around. Then, he put down the letter and stood up.
"You're awake? Do you want some water? "
"Yes …" Su Tan'er nodded slightly.
Ning Yi raised the pillow and poured a cup of warm water from the side. He fed her a few mouthfuls. "Xing 'er and Juan' er are asleep. Xiaochan is also very tired today, so I lied to her to rest. But when it's time to take the medicine, you better wake up. Uh, if you want …" Ning Yi looked at her and hesitated for a moment. Then, he stood up. "I'll go call Xiaochan."
There was a reason for Ning Yi's hesitation. During the day, he deliberately disappeared a few times, mainly to give time for her to get out of bed. Although she had a cold, she still had some strength to get out of bed. She was not really paralyzed on the bed. These private things were not easy to talk about. Usually, Su Tan'er's face would be extremely red. But at this time, she was only slightly embarrassed. When she saw that Ning Yi was about to leave, she said, "Husband … there's no need …" When Ning Yi stopped, she said in a low voice, "Husband really doesn't shy away …" Of course, if he completely avoided these things or didn't think about these things at all, she would be the one who felt uncomfortable.
Ning Yi smiled. "Are you feeling better?"
"A little better …"
"It will probably take another two or three days for the fever to go down." Ning Yi looked at her a few times. There were a lot of things he could say, but in the end, he shook his head. "You feel uncomfortable. I won't bother you. If you want to eat or have other things, you can tell me."
He took the letter and sat down on a chair not far away. The room fell into silence. The autumn rain outside had already become the background. Su Tan'er looked at the figure for a long time and finally said, "Husband … why did you agree to this marriage?"
In the past, the two of them had similar conversations, but this time, the question was obviously not the same. Ning Yi put down the letter and looked at Su Tan'er on the bed. After a long time, he smiled and shook his head. "I wanted to talk to you about this, but … maybe in a few days, when you are a little more awake? You don't look good now. "
"I'm fine. I want … want to know." Su Tan'er said slowly. "Husband also wants to talk about it?"
"It's not why I agreed to this marriage." Ning Yi put the letter aside, moved the chair to the bed, and sat down. "Before … actually, I have already said that I don't know why I agreed to this marriage. I lost my memory. I want to talk about what happened before I lost my memory, but … what happened after. "
"What happened after?"
Ning Yi looked at her for a long time, sighed, and then smiled. "Are you sure you want to hear this now?"
Su Tan'er also tried to smile. "If I don't listen, I can't sleep …"
"All right." Ning Yi nodded. Because Su Tan'er's consciousness was not flexible at this time, he didn't speak fast and repeated from time to time. "In fact, it's very simple. Even if I don't say it now, I will definitely say it one day … A man named Ning Yi married a woman named Su Tan'er. So, that's how we got to know each other … These are already facts. Don't think about him. Whether it's fate or a freak accident, it's the two of us anyway … You are part of this matter. What do you think?"
Su Tan'er frowned and thought about it. She didn't quite understand the meaning of Ning Yi's words. "I … I'm very happy …"
Ning Yi patted her hand and paused slightly. "No matter what others say, it's all empty. What gifted scholar, marrying into the family … Anyway, it's like this. Life is simple. As for me, I don't have many opinions about marrying into the family. As for you, I don't hate you … No, let me say it directly. I like you, whether it's business or character. You're very competitive, but not bad. I like this kind of character. Moreover, you're also very beautiful …"
Ning Yi held his chin with one hand by the bedside. His tone was indifferent and calm, as if he was talking about something casually. Suddenly, Su Tan'er was caught off guard. Even in such a weak situation, her face was flushed. She stammered shyly, "Husband, Husband, do you really … like me?"
"Yes, I like you."
"But … But, this isn't the character of a lady from a respectable family … A lady's virtue is a lady's virtue … A lady … shouldn't be like this. They all say … this … men won't like this …" After rambling for a while, the sick Su Tan'er didn't forget to emphasize some things with her eyes. After a while, she became depressed. "I … don't deserve Husband …"
"You're still so talkative at this time. In other people's eyes, I'm just a man who lives off a woman. You're better than many men …"
"Husband isn't incapable …"
Ning Yi smiled. "At this time, there's no need to keep belittling yourself. This isn't important. There's no point arguing until tomorrow … Anyway, it's between us. I'm not dissatisfied with life. I like you, this courtyard, Chan'er, Juan'er and Xing'er. There are some boring people around who do boring things all day. But overall, it's okay to live like this. It's pretty good. That's why I wanted to talk to you about this. "
He held Su Tan'er's slightly weak hand. Her fingers were round and slender. They were very beautiful. He played with them in his hand and then decided. "If you're not too dissatisfied, then perhaps we'll live like this in the future … No matter what arrangements we made in the past, things are already like this. There's no need to think about why things are like this. Anyway, I don't hate it …"
He pulled Su Tan'er's hand and waited for her reply. For Ning Yi, this might be a relatively important decision. When he first woke up, he was still prepared to leave at any time. Later on, he just waited and watched. But now, some things could be roughly confirmed. There was no need to think about those overly romantic factors. In short, since they were husband and wife and he didn't hate Su Tan'er's character, the two of them got along well. It didn't matter whether they changed or not. Next, it was just life.
Su Tan'er looked at him and blinked her eyes. Her eyes turned red and tears flowed down. She tightly pursed her lips and couldn't say a word. Ning Yi waited for a long time before he lowered his head and smiled. "No matter what, you have to say something …"
"Husband …" Su Tan'er's lips moved. "After this incident, Tan'er's body is better. We …" Her voice was choked and slightly hoarse, but her eyes were firm. In the rainy night, she paused slightly and sniffed.
"Let's consummate our marriage …"
*****
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