Perhaps it was the unique physiology of women in this world; each time Lu Yu touched Shen Xuan, she felt a strange impulse.
"Hold on, hold on... I won't think about it, breathe..." Lu Yu constantly brainwashed herself.
I'll let you off this time. When your body recovers.
Lu Yu slowly straightened up, reached out, and tickled Shen Xuan's slightly red nose. "Alright, you can open your eyes now."
Shen Xuan quietly opened his eyes, only to meet Lu Yu's gaze. He flinched as if scalded and quickly averted his eyes.
"You must have written some calligraphy before, right? Show me, I want to appreciate my husband's talent," Lu Yu said with a playful tone.
The word "husband" that slipped from Lu Yu's lips stirred Shen Xuan's heartstrings once more. Although it was a fact that he was her husband, hearing it from her mouth for the first time brought a little secret joy.
"All my previous calligraphy was thrown away by Afu," Shen Xuan said, feigning regret and sighing.
Seeing Lu Yu's slight disappointment, Shen Xuan smiled faintly, lifting his face proudly. His gaze inadvertently swept over the screen before returning to Lu Yu. "What do you think of this screen, wife?"
Lu Yu stared into Shen Xuan's bright eyes and suddenly realized, "The lotus flowers on this screen were painted by you. I felt a connection with this screen from the moment I saw it. I never expected it to be a destined connection between us."
Lu Yu walked around the screen several times, nodding continuously. "I liked it very much then, and now that I know my husband made it, I like it even more. I didn't expect my husband to be not only literate but also such a skilled painter."
"I've truly struck gold."
Shen Xuan initially enjoyed Lu Yu's praise but soon felt a little embarrassed.
Even though he knew his wife was speaking half-truthfully to coax him, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up in a radiant smile.
"Your calligraphy might have been kept by Afu. The other day when we came home, Afu hurriedly hid a stack of Xuan paper when he saw me. I didn't notice at the time, but now I think he wouldn't bear to throw it away," Lu Yu recalled the scene from that evening, as if she had a sudden realization.
"If you still want to write and paint as you did before, just do as you always did. Have Afu take them to town regularly."
"Okay," Shen Xuan replied crisply, then proactively wrapped his arms around Lu Yu's waist, leaning against her.
Since they had confessed their feelings for each other, their way of interacting had completely changed. They were now inseparable, wanting to be together at all times.
The next day, as soon as it was faintly light, she was waiting outside Lu Yu's front door, excitedly anticipating Lu Yu taking her to the clinic.
She was so excited that she hadn't slept well all night. Now, early in the morning, while the village was still quiet and there was no one on the road, she was already prepared and waiting.
"How... how long have you been standing here?" Lu Yu opened her door in the morning and saw someone standing at her doorstep. As she was wondering, Wu Shao suddenly turned her head, and Lu Yu remembered she had promised to take her to the clinic yesterday.
"Hehe... Not long, just under an hour," Wu Shao scratched her head, appearing a little embarrassed.
"..."
So diligent. If this were modern times, she would undoubtedly be a model student in the eyes of teachers and parents.
"You don't need to come this early every day. Come find me at Chen Shi (9-11 AM)."
When the two arrived at the clinic, there were only two medicine boys inside.
Lu Yu looked around and asked the medicine boys, "Where is Gu Yitong?"
"When we two came this morning, Sister Gu was already gone."
She must have gone to Yu Mantang again, Lu Yu thought, already formulating a plan.
"Wu Shao, our other assistant at the clinic is not here today, so you'll help me out."
"You got it!" Wu Shao confidently assured, looking very self-assured.
"Can you write?"
"Yes!" Wu Shao answered promptly.
"Later, take my prescriptions to the medicine cabinet and fetch the herbs. Each compartment has a name written on it, be very careful not to grab the wrong ones."
"I definitely won't make a mistake. I'll go familiarize myself now."
Wu Shao looked at the hundreds of drawers in the medicine cabinet, eager to try. Seeing Lu Yu nod, she rushed to the cabinet, familiarizing herself with the herb names over and over.
Hearing Lu Yu's instructions to Wu Shao, one of the medicine boys stepped forward. "Doctor Lu, what should we two do?"
"You've worked hard for so long, it's time for you to rest. You two will take turns supervising her today, making sure she doesn't grab the wrong herbs."
Although Lu Yu intended to train Wu Shao this way, she couldn't risk the patients' health. If Wu Shao made a mistake and the wrong medicine was taken, it would harm the patient's body.
Wu Shao initially went through the medicine cabinet three or four times. It had to be said, her memory was indeed exceptional. After just a few rounds, she had almost memorized everything.
When patients arrived in the morning, Wu Shao moved quickly between the medicine drawers. With the help of her astonishing memory, the time taken to fetch each prescription continued to shorten. By near noon, Wu Shao could accurately and quickly fetch the herbs for patients with minimal need to look at the cabinet.
All morning, Wu Shao diligently fetched herbs at the medicine cabinet, not allowing her mind to wander, demonstrating incredible focus.
Lu Yu nodded silently in her heart. This child was truly both diligent and intelligent, possessing talent. In just this short morning, she had memorized all the names of the Chinese herbal medicines and could fetch them without error.
"Doctor Lu!" Zisu's voice came from the clinic entrance.
"Young Master! What's wrong? Come in quickly, our Doctor Lu is inside." Wu Shao was about to rest when she heard a weak voice from outside. She couldn't afford to rest and rushed to the door, thinking a severely ill patient had arrived.
"Who are you?" Zisu had expected Lu Yu to come out. Looking up, she saw a stranger standing before her and was slightly taken aback.
"Young Master Zisu?"
Hearing the voice, Zisu shifted her gaze from Wu Shao and faced Lu Yu. "Doctor Lu, Miss Gu got drunk at Yu Man Lou. Mu Xiang and I brought her back."
Only then did Lu Yu notice Mu Xiang and Gu Yitong, who had just entered behind Zisu. She quickly instructed the two medicine boys to help Gu Yitong and take her to the inner room.
This was the second time Lu Yu had seen Mu Xiang, whom Gu Yitong had mentioned as her younger brother a few days prior.