Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Uncle Man’s words from yesterday had frightened him. Xu Qi thought, reaching behind to grab Ye Lan’s smooth hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“Ah, Xu Qi’s Husband has just woken up. I still have some vegetables left over from yesterday, just made. I thought you might not have eaten them before, so I’ll bring some to you later.”

Uncle Man didn’t pay attention. When he went back and told his mistress about yesterday’s events, she scolded him soundly. She even made him think from the other person’s perspective—how would he feel if someone criticized him for being old?

What else could he think? He would be so angry that he would never interact with anyone again.

Thinking like this, he felt a twinge of guilt. So what if Ye Lan was a bit older? If Xu Qi liked him, that was enough.

“Hey, waking up so late. We rural folks aren’t like those high-class families. Men in the countryside have to wake up early to work.” Uncle Zhou refused to be ignored and spoke loudly again.

Xu Qi furrowed her brows.

This man’s words were quite unpleasant, making people dislike him.

“Ne…”

Ye Lan whispered a word, but Xu Qi immediately patted his arm to stop him.

“No need for men to work outside as long as there’s a woman. No need for him to work hard.”

“Hey, you’re still young and don’t understand the hardships of farm work. With your husband being lazy like this, how would he do any work?”

Xu Qi’s face gradually darkened. She didn’t want someone to come and criticize her husband.

Uncle Man’s face didn’t look good either. He simply grabbed Uncle Zhou’s hand.

“If he’s lazy, why aren’t you lazy too? Have you seen him do any work? All that dirty and tiring work, isn’t it all left for the son to do? Let me tell you, Qi’er earns enough money in a month to cover your family’s expenses for a year. What’s the point of working hard?”

“What do you mean by that? How can you compare? I’ve raised my son for many years just so he can serve me well. It’s not right for a husband to spend the money earned by a woman. He should work hard and serve his mistress well. If it were my son, he wouldn’t be like this.”

“You’re not some high-class family, what’s there to serve? Your son might be good, but it’s because of you, a quarrelsome father, that he’s not good enough to marry.”

Uncle Man used to be sharp-tongued, but he had mellowed a lot after marriage. Now that someone was arguing with him, he naturally fought back.

“A son is born to serve his parents! What’s wrong with that? Where have I been quarrelsome? If he can’t find a mistress, it’s his own fault. I’ve planned so much for him, and it’s still my fault?”

Uncle Zhou seemed to have forgotten his dissatisfaction with Ye Lan and was now fully focused on arguing with Uncle Man.

“Cough, cough, cough.”

A cough came from behind them, and Xu Qi hurriedly turned around to see Ye Lan with his head turned, coughing until his face turned red.

Worried, Xu Qi hurriedly tried to send the guest away. “Uncle Zhou, I’m afraid I don’t have time to entertain you today. Please go back.”

Uncle Zhou, who had initially seen Ye Lan coughing without much concern, now frowned. “Qi’er, is your husband not feeling well?”

Before Xu Qi could speak, Uncle Man couldn’t bear it anymore and directly pulled Uncle Zhou’s arm to pull him out. “Qi’er needs to take care of her husband. It’s none of your business whether his health is good or not. You’re not eating our rice anyway.”

Xu Qi couldn’t help but agree with Uncle Man’s words.

Thinking like this, she hugged Ye Lan horizontally again.

“Ah, Mistress!”

Ye Lan was startled and wrapped his arms around Xu Qi’s neck.

Xu Qi carried Ye Lan into the house, and Ye Lan nervously bit his lip.

It wasn’t until they reached the house that she put him down, still keeping her hand on his back.

“How are you feeling? Uncomfortable?”

She lightly patted him twice as she asked.

“I made mistress worry, this slave is fine.”

He looked like he really was fine, his face even had a bit of color from coughing too much.

“Probably caught a cold.”

Xu Qi touched Ye Lan’s forehead, which didn’t have a fever, so that was good.

Medical science wasn’t very advanced in ancient times, so even a slight headache or fever could be troublesome.

“Mistress came back early today.”@@novelbin@@

Ye Lan leaned against Xu Qi’s shoulder and asked.

“Yeah, today is market day, so the meat sold quickly.”

“En.”

Ye Lan responded softly, and the two stopped talking.

After a while, Xu Qi tapped Ye Lan. “Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere today? Do you want to lie down for a bit?”

Ye Lan rested his head on Xu Qi’s shoulder, suppressing a smile. “No need, Mistress, this slave is fine. Probably caught a cold last night, will be better in a few days.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he seemed to remember something and quickly withdrew from Xu Qi’s embrace.

“Mistress, this slave caught a cold, so you shouldn’t get too close to this slave to avoid catching the cold.”

He spoke earnestly, but Xu Qi wasn’t afraid. She could still remember the soft touch from last night, so how could she be willing to separate from him?

“It’s okay, I’m a woman, not afraid of these things.”

She said, then got up to close the distance between herself and Ye Lan, as if to prove that she wasn’t afraid.

Ye Lan’s face turned red, but there was still some hesitation in his eyes.

He was bought back by Mistress, so logically, he should listen to Mistress’s arrangements, but… he was always afraid that if she caught the disease later, what would happen? Blame himself for it? What should he do then?

“Oh right.”

A female voice brought his thoughts back.

“What’s wrong, Mistress?”

The woman in front of him looked serious, so he couldn’t help but be serious too, not daring to be distracted.

“In the future, when there are others around, don’t call yourself this slave. It doesn’t sound good for others to hear.”

Xu Qi felt a bit embarrassed, but she didn’t want to see the disdainful and contemptuous looks from others.

In ancient times, this kind of purity and chastity was particularly important, and being a slave basically meant something was already doomed.

Although they were not clean people, being a slave meant they were the lowest of the low.

Ye Lan’s eyes flickered, remembering the touch from Mistress’s embrace, and replied with lowered eyelashes, “Yes, this slave understands.”

Xu Qi knew he was sensitive and tended to overthink things, so she hurriedly said, “Don’t think too much. I’m not blaming you.”

“I understands.”

He understood everything, understood her kindness to him, understood her concern for him.

Xu Qi breathed a sigh of relief, looking outside where the sky was getting hotter, and proactively said, “Then I’ll go cook.”

Saying that, she wanted to leave Ye Lan inside.

But Ye Lan actually stood up by himself and followed.

Xu Qi suddenly turned around and almost collided with him, smiling as she asked, “What are you getting up for again?”

“My injuries are not serious, let me make lunch.”

When he lowered his head, his long hair fell on both sides, swaying directly in front of Xu Qi.

Xu Qi closed her eyes slightly. “Then let me show you where things are.”

“En.”

Ye Lan replied softly.

So Xu Qi showed him where the rice, flour, oil, and salt were placed in the house.

Ye Lan hadn’t cooked for a long time, so he was a bit rusty, but his cooking skills were still much better than Xu Qi’s.

She watched as he carefully cut the kneaded dough into small, even strips, which were then neatly sprinkled into the pot. Xu Qi couldn’t help but stare.

Her husband was good at cooking.

“Qi’er, how’s your husband?”

As soon as uncle Man entered the house and saw Ye Lan cooking in front of the pot, he immediately looked suspiciously at Xu Qi.

“Uncle Man, you’re here. Please sit down. Ah Lan is fine, just caught a slight cold last night.”

She explained like this, and Uncle Man seemed to think of something, frowning, “Women are not a big deal, but men’s bodies are delicate and can’t stand the cold. You need to be more careful next time.”

Xu Qi thought he was caring about Ye Lan, and hurriedly said, “It’s my fault, I’ll pay more attention next time.”

Uncle Man smiled satisfactorily, and Ye Lan stood by the side, neither leaving nor staying, blushing.