Chapter 150: The lingering cold bullies the sick wine

Light and shadow inverted, sun and moon overturned.

Du Shanü slept soundly and deeply.

Only when the sky was fully light did she barely regain her senses, pulled back by the person beside her.

The movement was minute and hushed.

Though already pressed to the extreme, it could not withstand each breath tugging at Du Shanü's loose hairs by her ear, which was incredibly alluring.

Du Shanü didn't even open her eyes, instinctively reaching out to reward Chinu for his hard work all night—only to find that what she scooped up was a fragrant little idle fish.

Yu Baobao had a half-eaten cloud flake cake in her mouth, looking left and right, when suddenly she was scooped up; meeting Du Shanü's gaze, she smacked her lips and also shoved a piece of cloud flake cake into her mouth—.

Yu Baobao: "(*^▽^*)".

Du Shanü: "...... (? ｀? Д? ′)？？？".

She said, "How come Chinu today only teases and doesn't cling?!"

It turned out to be Yu Baobao!

How could Yu Baobao be eating on the bed?!

She hasn't even brushed her teeth yet!

With a myriad of thoughts in her heart, Du Shanü dazedly took two bites of the cloud flake cake brought to her mouth:.

"What are you looking at first thing in the morning?"

Last night's first snow, the indoor charcoal fire hadn't been lit yet; even moving the blanket here feels freezing!

Yu Baobao finished the cloud flake cake at her mouth in a few bites, then burrowed back into the blankets, obediently embracing her Wife Master and replied:

"Actually, I was wondering why Wife Master is applying rouge here..."

The embroidered blanket rolled.

Du Shanü still had half a cloud flake cake in her mouth; upon realizing what Yu Baobao was referring to, she instantly choked.

"Cough cough cough... you, what are you saying?!"

Good heavens! (? ｀? Д? ′)

Her pure Yu Baobao actually also spoke up!

What applying rouge?!

Is this even reasonable?!

Du Shanü let out an earth-shattering cough; Yu Baobao panicked and hurriedly smoothed her breath.

"Could it not be so?"

"Has Wife Master seen this cloud flake cake? The white frost like cloud flake cake is also abundant....."

"Stop——stop——!!!"

Outside, the sun was high; yet Du Shanü felt as if she would die as soon as she woke up.

Even though she usually had a thick-skinned face like a city wall, she couldn't answer this.

Chinu, Chinu's heart truly doesn't know how it grew...

Bad.

Truly, there are countless wicked thoughts.

When she woke up, she was still wondering why Chinu, who had been so clingy before, actually let her go.

As it turned out, it wasn't that she had become sensible; she had become enlightened!

Pinpointing that Yu Baobao doesn't understand, she insisted on letting people see!

Du Shanü's head ached to the point of splitting; when she spoke, she ultimately didn't dare to put on a thick-faced showdown, but chose to cover for Chinu:

"Or perhaps we should just eat the cloud flake cake......"

Outside, the weather was splendid, all peaceful.

The two thus, left and right, nibbled the cloud flake cake with soft rustling sounds.

Cloud flake cake is notorious for being dry and choking; here there was no soup, Du Shanü chewed two pieces and couldn't bear it, so she rolled over and got up again.

"I'll go wash up; you sleep a bit longer."

Yu Baobao couldn't believe it, put down the cloud flake cake she was holding, and chased after her Wife Master again.

"Huh? Why aren't you taking me!"

The young man's yang fire was exuberant, his whole body like a heater.

Du Shanü hadn't even lifted the curtain before he embraced her from behind; this heat made her belatedly realize she almost missed something due to her guilt.

Slow-witted remains slow-witted.

But after all, this is Yu Baobao, she's different...

She turned her face back; their temples touched, and Du Shanü naturally leaned in for a kiss.

The feeling was warm and soft; savoring it carefully, it also carried a faint sweet fragrance of cloud flake cake.

His breath lightly brushed her cheek, warm and hot, bringing a sense of defenseless ease.

Likewise with his kiss, there has never been anything heart-pounding.

Only the two hearts close together, and a feeling that makes one want to close their eyes, a reassuring warmth.

Du Shanü ultimately couldn't hide her regret for not being able to fully accompany him on their wedding night; she sighed in her heart and asked him:

"... Shall we admire jade?"

Yu Baobao blinked, her ear tips reddening:

"Can we also admire in daylight?"

"Wife Master, aren't you busy with public duties later?"

Du Shanü couldn't help but laugh:

In any case, it's just a 'light reward'; I suppose there's nothing to worry about.

Come, today you come wash for me.

Half a courtyard away, the study in the county office.

In the study, daylight streamed through the window lattice, casting the stacked documents on the desk a yellowish hue.

Chen Weifang sat upright behind the desk, his spine straight as a rod, his brow and eyes exuding a calm aura; sunlight fell on his face, like moonlight on water, warm and moist yet revealing a sense of detachment.

At this moment he was holding his brush, reviewing official documents; where the brush tip landed, the ink traces were even and clean, each stroke neither hurried nor slow.

A few steps away from him, on the chair near the window, sat a slender young man whose brow and eyes showed a hint of weariness.

He held several sheets of letter paper in his hand, the edges slightly curled, obviously having been flipped through more than once.

Occasionally a breeze blew through outside, making the window paper rustle faintly; the light and shadow on his face shifted with it, yet could not conceal the killing intent that was never hidden in his eyes.

After a moment, he set down the letter paper; it fell onto the desktop with an extremely soft sound, like a long sigh:

Afang.

Chen Weifang's brush tip paused slightly, and he lifted his head.

Chinu stared at him, his complexion looking two shades worse than before, the weariness in his brow deepening.

He pondered for a moment, then asked directly:

Is what is written in this letter reliable?

Rather than a question, this remark was icy.

The study fell silent for a moment.

Chen Weifang placed the brush in his hand onto the brush rest, his motion calm, without a hint of haste.

Only when his gaze swept over the red mark on Chinu's neck did he pause for a breath, but then quickly looked away.

He did not answer immediately, but instead slightly turned his face, gazing at the dense locust leaves outside the window, as if organizing his thoughts.

Chinu.

He finally spoke, his voice low and clear:

At the time of that fire, outsiders may not know, but you all know it all too well.

When the fire broke out, it was a west wind; the flames leapt up two or three zhang high, and within a hundred-li radius, whenever the weather was clear, the smoke plume could not be missed.

If our prefecture's officials were to file a report, saying Ju Cheng suffered a great plague, the whole city burned and buried, perhaps we could still manage a stable report, calling it an 'unfortunate fire' or 'self-immolation for epidemic prevention', covering up a bit above and below. But you and I both know——

He paused, then looked again at the young man, his words also carrying a hint of fatigue:

We are located at the border of the prefecture; thirty li east of Ju Cheng lies the territory of the neighboring prefecture.

Floods might not reach a hundred li, but beacon smoke is enough to alarm. That day the beacon smoke shot up to the heavens; people had already memorialized it, and the court would naturally inquire... this inquiry is something our prefecture cannot stop.

Chen Weifang withdrew his gaze, lowered his eyes to the documents spread on the desk, and his voice dropped a bit more:

Arson and burning the city, privately providing disaster relief—according to law, both are capital offenses.

Moreover, the Wise Lord's identity is problematic; you know this better than I.

The study returned to silence.

Chinu did not respond, merely lowered his eyelids and gazed blankly out the window.

Last night's first snow, if it were previous years, would surely be seen as an auspicious snow promising a bountiful harvest.

But now, having just experienced the flood not long ago, the first snow is bitterly cold...

And who knows how many will die.

Chinu's fingertips twitched slightly, crumpling the letter paper bit by bit:

I understand; I merely... feel it's not worth it for the Wife Master.

Back then the flood was raging, the authorities ignored relief efforts; now that we have resolved the flood, they send an Imperial Envoy down to investigate the burned city and the Wife Master's identity......

Truly laughable to the extreme.

?? Cremation and burial: 'burial', to bury. Meaning, cremation and burial.

? The line 'Lingering cold torments the sick drinker' is from the Southern Song lyricist Wu Wenyin's ci 'Ying Ti Xu: Lingering Cold Torments the Sick Drinker'; this ci is a work expressing sorrow over separation and mourning the dead.

? This chapter adopts the original meaning of the phrase 'the lingering cold is invading those who drink due to illness', used to indicate, the sicker, the colder, the worse.

? I won't be lazy tomorrow, really o(╥﹏╥)o