CHAPTER 64: CHAPTER 64: ONLY WEARING NIGHTCLOTHES

Xiao Chengyu’s hand trembled involuntarily as it was held by Fu Shinian, and, almost unconsciously, his thumb lightly rubbed the bone at the base of Fu Shinian’s little finger.

A tiny electric current instantly shot from the base of Fu Shinian’s little finger to her shoulder, then spread to her tailbone.

Fu Shinian suddenly became completely awake, her eyes widened in shock, "My Lord!"

Xiao Chengyu also didn’t know what had possessed him just now, how could he be so frivolous towards Fu Shinian!

Xiao Chengyu quickly withdrew his hand, "Do you have an appetite to eat?"

Fu Shinian sat up, her head still a bit hazy, muttering, "I feel more tired the more I sleep. I really don’t have much of an appetite right now."

Xiao Chengyu raised his hand to touch her forehead, his hand barely touched it when Fu Shinian couldn’t help but shiver, quietly blushing.

"It’s fine, no fever, it’s probably just the exhaustion from all the traveling recently." Xiao Chengyu breathed a sigh of relief, worried that Fu Shinian might have caught something without knowing it, "Perhaps getting up would make you more alert, and maybe you’ll have an appetite later."

"The epidemic in the city is severe now, even if you don’t have an appetite, you should eat well to sustain yourself, don’t let your body weaken." Xiao Chengyu stood up, "I’ll go out and wait for you."

"Alright." After Xiao Chengyu left, Fu Shinian called her maid Mai Dong to come in.

Seeing Mai Dong come in blushing, Fu Shinian didn’t think much of it.

It wasn’t until she lifted the quilt and looked down that she realized she was only wearing sleepwear.

Although nothing was exposed, it was still an intimate garment, something only close people should see.

Earlier when she sat up, the quilt had slipped down to her waist, and Xiao Chengyu must have seen it.

Why didn’t he react at all, or even remind her?

After tidying up, Fu Shinian came out of the bedroom and saw Xiao Chengyu sitting at the table drinking tea, looking perfectly calm.

But only Xiao Chengyu knew, his heart was still burning fiercely, unable to dispel the heat in his belly.

Earlier, when Fu Shinian sat up, seeing her only in sleepwear, even though it covered her tightly, it subtly evoked some allure.

Even after coming out and drinking five cups of cold tea, the heat in his heart still wouldn’t dissipate.

His mind kept replaying the image of Fu Shinian in her sleepwear.

"My Lord." Fu Shinian was still pondering whether Xiao Chengyu really saw clearly earlier, so she was a bit embarrassed.

Xiao Chengyu’s hand shook, almost spilling the cold tea in his cup.

Mai Dong was about to refill Xiao Chengyu’s tea, but upon picking up the teapot, she exclaimed, "My Lord, the tea is cold, let me change it for you."

"No need." Xiao Chengyu stood up, he actually preferred the tea to be colder, "It’s time for dinner, just serve the food."

"Yes."

Dinner was a mix of flavors from the capital and Ganning specialties, Xiao Chengyu explained, "I was worried you might not be used to Ganning’s taste here. They mainly focus on boiled and roasted lamb, with fewer vegetables, and the staple food is mainly flatbread. So I specially asked the kitchen to prepare a few dishes in the style of the capital."

"But recently, food in the city is also quite scarce, so it can’t be too nice." Xiao Chengyu said, "We can only bear with it for now."

Fu Shinian shook her head, saying, "I’m not picky with food. Besides, this is already very good. I can imagine how the ordinary folks in the city must struggle to eat such a feast."

Xiao Chengyu felt a great tenderness in his heart, for if she hadn’t come to find him, she wouldn’t have had to suffer like this.

"On your way here, did the food suit your taste?" Xiao Chengyu asked.

"It was alright." Fu Shinian said, "Uncle Cheng was very considerate. He tried to choose the most comfortable inns, even for the meals."

Of course, most places passed along the way were small towns, and the inns were naturally not that comfortable.

In order to hurry, at noon she would nibble on some dry flatbread, and Cheng Yuanshan would specially buy her some jerky.

As we got closer to Ganning, the weather got colder, so food could be preserved, and Cheng Yuanshan would get roast chicken, braised beef, which were tastier than jerky.

But to make good time, sometimes we would miss dinner.

After checking into an inn, the cooks had gone to rest.

Uncle Cheng would borrow the kitchen to make some hot noodle soup for her, which was quite nice.

But Xiao Chengyu knew, Fu Shinian just didn’t want to tell him how tough it had been.

His journey had been accompanied by imperial physicians, and people serving him, without needing to hurry, and even then, it hadn’t been very comfortable.

Especially considering Fu Shinian had to travel with the caravan, eating and sleeping in the rough couldn’t be avoided.

Xiao Chengyu raised his hand and gently patted Fu Shinian’s head twice, "Then stay here and wait for things to settle. We shall return to the capital together. We will travel slower and won’t let you get tired out, and will strive to eat and rest better along the way."

When he lifted his hand, the delicate scent of ink from his sleeve wafted gently into her nose.

"Mhm." Fu Shinian nodded earnestly, then tilted her head slightly, saying, "My Lord doesn’t think about having little time left and that dying here won’t matter?"

Xiao Chengyu hadn’t expected that the little girl had been thinking about this ever since she woke up.

He suddenly stood, bending deeply before Fu Shinian, pleading, "Shinian, could you forgive me this time? I won’t think that way again."

Xiao Chengyu straightened up, then sat beside Fu Shinian, saying, "You came all this way carrying medicine into the city, how could I disappoint your intentions? I must protect you well, and myself too, so we can surely return to the capital safe and sound."

"If the Lord has this resolve, then I will forgive you this time."

Fu Shinian picked up her chopsticks, seeing a dish on the table, green and needle-like, but softer and longer, she couldn’t help but be curious, "What’s this dish?"

"Sand onions, a Northwest specialty." Xiao Chengyu introduced.

Seeing Fu Shinian wrinkle her nose, knowing she didn’t like strong flavors like onions and garlic, he explained, "Though called sand onions, they don’t have the pungent taste of regular onions we know. They’re crispy, with a bit of sweetness, a very refreshing flavor, give it a try."

Xiao Chengyu used the public chopsticks to pick some onto her plate, Fu Shinian tried a bite, her eyebrows almost flying up, she couldn’t help but let out a long "Mmm," "It’s so delicious!"

"This is chilled alfalfa salad." Xiao Chengyu said, "Like sand onions, they’re wild vegetables, unremarkable but you won’t find such refreshing dishes in the capital."

Fu Shinian quickly tried the chilled alfalfa salad, it had a different texture from sand onions, but was equally refreshing.

"I could eat sand onions every day without getting tired." Fu Shinian said.

Xiao Chengyu was happy to see her enjoy the food.

The medicines Fu Shinian brought indeed solved an urgent crisis.

Hu Pingcheng had gathered all the citizens infected with the epidemic in the examination courtyard, and the Medical Clinic brewed medicine daily to send to the courtyard for the people to take.