Chapter 344: Letter from Home

Chen Li's expression made Chen Wuji realize that something serious seemed to have happened.

I don't know what Huo Sanniang and the others brought, but they somehow made Chen Li look like this—this expression, as if he wanted to find a hole to crawl into.

Chen Wuji told Xu Zengyi to go to the city wall first, then he hurried back to his room.

On the room's simple bed lay an indigo‑blue package; one corner was torn open a small slit, revealing inside a dudou embroidered with purple flowers.

Although only a part was visible, anyone who had seen it before could tell at a glance that it was a dudou.

Chen Wuji felt as if the sky had collapsed in an instant.

He finally understood why Chen Li had that expression.

Seeing this thing, shouldn't he find a hole to crawl into right away?

Chen Wuji's old face also flushed with embarrassment.

I don't know whose idea it was to bring him this kind of thing.

Actually bringing it would be fine, but at least cover it up a bit.

Just placed there so openly—let alone the package coming loose, even a slight tug would reveal some of it.

Smack!

Chen Wuji slapped his forehead, his face full of despair.

Later, when he goes out, how should he explain this to Chen Li?

He fears even jumping into the Yellow River wouldn't wash this away.

Chen Li must think he's gone crazy missing his wife, needing this to ease his longing.

Chen Wuji opened the package; as the knot loosened, a pile of colorful dudous fell out. He couldn't tell whose they were, but they looked somewhat familiar.

Huo Sanniang used to have only a red dudou, but after her days improved, hers became multicolored, and Shen Youwei's were similar.

As for Qin Zhanhong's, there are even more.

In Chen Wuji's impression, Qin Zhanhong never wears the same dudou twice; each time he sees him it's different.

"Huh, where did these five come from?" Chen Wuji looked at the dudous spread on the bed, suddenly falling into thought. Clearly there are only four people, so where did these five dudous come from? Who gave him an extra one?

Suddenly, Chen Wuji thought of a terrifying possibility.

Could one of these belong to Xiao Yuji?

Qin Zhanhong brought Xiao Yuji to visit his home; if you count her, the number of dudous would match.

But she probably wouldn't do something like that so lightly.

Someone must have placed an extra one.

Chen Wuji shook his head, driving that improper thought from his mind.

His relationship with Xiao Yuji is currently limited to that of partners, far from allowing her to casually remove her intimate clothing.

In this era, a woman's dudou is far more important than a later generation's substitute garment.

Chen Wuji set the dudous aside and took out the other items from the package.

The contents were a mess—some oddly shaped pastries, a piece of clothing, and a pair of fingerless‑glove‑like items made of leather.

Besides that, there was also a letter.

Chen Wuji opened the letter; delicate, graceful lines of writing met his eyes.

No surprise—it should have been written by Shen Youwei or Qin Zhanhong.

Huo Sanniang and Xue Hongdou only know a few simple characters; they can't write a letter.

The beginning of the letter contains Huo Sanniang's words.

The writer made it clear at the start that these were Huo Sanniang's words.

Huo Sanniang's words are few, just a brief note: she says everything at home is fine, tells Chen Wuji to stay safe and not worry, and that she made a piece of clothing these past days and brought it along for him to try when he has time.

Simple, homely sentences, yet every line is full of feeling.

Reading it, Chen Wuji felt warm inside.

In his career he's had some difficulties, but in love he's thriving abundantly.

Next comes Shen Youwei's words.

This little clever ghost wrote a lot, rambling on at length.

From the pastries she made herself, to Qin Zhanhong saying he must be feeling stifled in the military camp these days, suggesting they keep some personal items to ease their longing—so she deliberately took off the dudou she was wearing and had Chen Wuji smell it early, as it surely still retains her scent.

Chen Wuji's old face darkened upon seeing this.

As expected, it was Qin Zhanhong's bad idea.

Only Shen Youwei or the uninhibited Qin Zhanhong could come up with something like this.

"I can't tell which is which, yet I'm smelling it." Chen Wuji muttered, shaking his head, but his hand involuntarily picked up a dudou and gave it a light sniff.

The scent of soapberry is strong; I can only faintly detect what should be body odor underneath.

But it's hard to tell whose it is.

So…

Chen Wuji sniffed each one in turn.

He doesn't have those odd fetishes; he simply wants to confirm whether the scents really differ.

The test result shows they are indeed not the same.

One has a strong herbal scent, another carries a pine‑needle aroma, and the rest have a more prominent soapberry smell.

The body odor masked by these scents is pretty much the same, not particularly distinctive; if one had to describe it, it would be a rather elegant feminine scent, with a hint of children's drink.

Chen Wuji stared at the five dudous, falling into thought again.

It seems…

This really belongs to five people.

He knew Huo Sanniang and the others usually washed their clothes with soapberry and soap pod, so these three items with a clear soapberry scent must be theirs.

The remaining one with pine needle and floral scent—one of them should be Qin Zhanhong's.

And where did the last one come from?

The answer seems obvious.

But...

How could Xiao Yuji give him such intimate clothing?

That's unreasonable!

He would rather believe that Qin Zhanhong forcibly tore it from Xiao Yuji's body.

Damn, it couldn't really be like this, could it?

Qin Zhanhong could definitely do something like this.

Chen Wuji silently divided the five bellybands into three portions and stuffed them into the cabinet beside him.

Human imagination really is a wonderful thing.

Just by smelling the scent, he actually seemed to see a person.

Some past scenes of dry wood and blazing fire, like a revolving lantern, flashed before his eyes.

Even more outrageous, he even thought of Xiao Yuji.

A naturally fair-skinned maiden wearing a white bellyband indeed looks well-matched.

Chen Wuji shook his head violently, forcibly throwing these restless thoughts from his sight, then continued to pick up the letter and read it.

After Shen Youwei came the words of Xue Hongdou; she spoke very respectfully, saying just one sentence: "Master, hello."

Three simple words, yet their meaning is somewhat complex.

This young lady has finally adapted to living in Chen Wuji's household, but she still retains some reserve, speaking softly and acting cautiously.

The good thing is, she is gradually opening her heart.

Moreover, this frequency is roughly consistent with the frequency at which she opens her body.