Lu Yu bustled around the stove, wiping sweat from her brow with her sleeve. Hearing approaching footsteps from the house, she assumed they had finished washing up.
"I'll have the meal ready soon, please wait a moment." She said, glancing towards the doorway.
Turning back, she saw Shen Xuan standing at the kitchen entrance, not even wearing his outer clothes.
Lu Yu couldn't help but put down what she was doing, wiped her hands on the apron tied around her waist, and walked up to Shen Xuan. She then tidied his disheveled clothes.
"Why have you come out? You haven't even put on your clothes properly. The meal is almost ready, go back and get dressed. We'll go to town after eating." She said.
Shen Xuan only then noticed his attire, but he wasn't too embarrassed. After all, they had slept in the same bed yesterday, and he was now wearing his inner garments.
Shen Xuan grabbed Lu Yu's hand. "Wife, how can a woman personally cook at the stove? You go out quickly. Afu and I will do it." He said, intending to lead Lu Yu out of the kitchen and take over her work.
"No need. You've just arrived, and you experienced a great upheaval yesterday. It's natural to feel uncomfortable. Let Afu accompany you first. As for cooking, it doesn't matter who does it."
But Shen Xuan stubbornly stood there, not looking up at her, with an attitude of "I'm not leaving."
Lu Yu was helpless and could only let him stay to help her, and also asked Afu to go back to the room to get his outer clothes. It was almost autumn, and the mornings were a bit chilly. Her young husband had a slight cold, so she didn't want it to worsen.
Watching Shen Xuan stand beside her with a serious little face, helping her, Lu Yu was amused and exasperated. How could he be so stubborn?
Shen Xuan reached for a bowl to serve rice, revealing his fair and slender wrist, making one reluctant to put too much rice in the bowl, for fear of breaking his wrist.
After the meal, the two went to the Li mansion in town. Her maternal grandfather had woken up and was sitting on the bed, talking with her maternal grandmother, smiling at her grandmother from time to time. Her grandmother seemed to always know her grandfather's next move. This was probably a habit of life developed from years of love.
Seeing Lu Yu arrive, the two were greatly surprised. Her maternal grandmother hurried to greet her. Shen Xuan gave her a reassuring look. Lu Yu, this time, formally paid her respects to her husband's elders. She was polite and considerate, which greatly pleased her maternal grandfather.
Lu Yu examined her maternal grandfather's condition again. After performing a set of acupuncture on him, she left Shen Xuan behind and went to Gu Yitong's medical clinic to discuss cooperation matters.
"Xuan'er, why have you come over today? How can you visit your maternal grandparents every day two days before the wedding?" The Li family head looked at Shen Xuan disapprovingly.
"No, Wife brought me here to treat Maternal Grandfather."
"Xuan'er, after you went back yesterday, did your Wife make things difficult for you? Such a thing happened on the wedding day." Madam Li frowned, looking at Shen Xuan with worry. "It's all my fault, this old bone insisting on yesterday..." Madam Li lowered her head and murmured.
"No, no, Wife is very good and didn't blame me." Shen Xuan stepped forward and sat by the bed, stroking his maternal grandfather's back and comforting him softly.
"Don't think too much about it. Please rest assured, Wife treats me very well. The most important thing now is your health."
Shen Xuan, like when he was a child, leaned his head on his maternal grandfather's shoulder and gently rubbed against him, feeling the warmth from his grandfather, which was not as cold and terrifying as yesterday. The unique scent on his body made him feel at ease.
"Please take good care of yourself and don't do that again like yesterday. Xuan'er was scared." Only by his grandfather's side could he truly relax. If Wife could really cure Maternal Grandfather...
"You're already married, how can you still be like a child? Go and act spoiled with your Wife later." Her maternal grandfather chuckled and tapped Shen Xuan's head with his finger, shaking his head with helplessness and doting affection. This child had suffered too much all along. If this woman truly treated him well, it would be a blessing after hardship.
"Maternal Grandfather, what are you talking about?" Shen Xuan feigned shyness and looked at his grandfather's kind gaze, wanting only to reassure him. He and his maternal grandmother were the only relatives his grandfather had left in this world.
Originally, his maternal grandmother was a famous wealthy merchant in town. Because she offended someone from another town, she was later retaliated against by enemies who abducted his father. Fortunately, Afu's mother sacrificed herself to protect them. However, at that time, his father was carrying him, so he suffered a miscarriage and died in difficult labor after being rescued, leaving him alone and helpless in the mansion. His mother, however, brought back a man from outside, along with an infant only five months older than him.
The news of his father's death and the news of the Shen mansion appointing a new head husband took away his maternal grandfather's vitality. His maternal grandfather fell ill from then on, and the Li family's business also declined sharply.
The Li family only had his father as their son. His maternal grandfather had injured his body during childbirth and was unable to have more children. He wanted to arrange for his maternal grandmother to take on a male consort, but his maternal grandmother refused, saying she already had offspring. His maternal grandmother's feelings for his maternal grandfather were always praised by the townspeople. Such a wife was hard to find in town.
Like all men in the world, he hoped to marry a wife who loved him, or at least not one who treated his wholehearted devotion as trash, like his father.
But how could luck fall upon him? Finding a wife who wasn't a philanderer was already very difficult. Since Wife had promised last night, she wouldn't easily go back on her word.
What true love could men speak of in this world? What sincerity could women speak of?
For some reason, he always found himself believing her, believing she could cure his maternal grandfather's illness, believing she wouldn't lie to him.
"Good!" Faint laughter came from an inconspicuous pharmacy in town. "Then it's settled. I'll find a way to provide all the medicinal materials here, and you only need to provide the medical skills."
Lu Yu was very satisfied. Although she took four parts and Gu Yitong took six parts, Gu Yitong provided the house and all the medicinal materials, so she didn't have to worry and could focus on other things.
"There is only one famous medical clinic in this town now. If we open this clinic, with your medical skills, you will surely become famous, and it will be much more convenient for the people in town in the future." Gu Yitong became more and more excited, her eyes seemed to be shining as she looked at Lu Yu. If it weren't for the need to maintain etiquette, she would have pounced on Lu Yu on the spot and kept her.
"Alright, then I'll come over the morning after tomorrow." Lu Yu felt her intense gaze and shifted uncomfortably. She got up to leave.
"Hey! Why aren't you coming tomorrow? Coming one day earlier means earning money one day earlier!" Gu Yitong shouted loudly at Lu Yu from behind.
Lu Yu waved her hand and walked away.
Returning to the Li mansion, her young husband was still chatting with her maternal grandfather. With bright eyes, a relaxed demeanor, and a docile attitude, he looked radiant. This was something she had never seen before. Perhaps he could only be so relaxed in front of his own family.
Lu Yu didn't want to disturb the peaceful scene between the grandfather and grandson. She asked a servant where the Li family head was and went to inform him of her maternal grandfather's condition and precautions.
At noon, the grandfather and grandson prepared to go to the study to call the Li family head for a meal, but unexpectedly met Lu Yu, who was talking with the Li family head in the study.
Her young husband, who was noticeably more reserved than before, stood behind her maternal grandfather and bowed respectfully. After bowing, he lowered his head slightly, gazing at his toes with his eyes focused on his nose and his nose focused on his heart. He was a completely different person from the Shen Xuan she had just seen.
Looking at her young husband's fluffy head, which was due to his hair not being neatly combed, Lu Yu felt a tickle in her heart. However, with the elders present, she couldn't tease him.
"Alright, let's not all stand here. The meal is ready, let's go eat." The head of the family spoke, and the three followed him to the dining hall.
Her maternal grandmother stepped forward to support her maternal grandfather and whispered in his ear, "Why did you come with Xuan'er? Why didn't you eat in the bedroom? Your illness has just begun to improve, why are you out in the cold wind? What if you catch a cold..." Her tone was filled with undisguised affection.
Seeing that his Wife was about to start nagging again, Madam Li quickly interrupted her: "Alright, this is the first time Xuan'er's Wife is eating at our house. My illness is thanks to her."
"It's during their wedding, and I'm truly sorry to them. The fact that she didn't get angry with Xuan'er shows her proper etiquette. We can't lose our manners again."