Chapter 94 If she hadn't gotten entangled with him

Chapter 94 If she hadn't gotten entangled with him

Cheng Lanzhou lowered her eyes, clasped her hands together tightly, and after a long while asked, "Elder sister, was Jiang Yutang often sick when she was at the manor?"

"Get ill?"

Cheng Daier looked at him with confusion, then quickly glanced to the other side, giving him an understanding look.

"This can't really be called an illness; it's more like being physically weak."

"Are you feeling very unwell?" Cheng Lanzhou pressed.

Cheng Dai'er found it a bit strange that her younger brother would suddenly care about such things, but after thinking about it seriously for a while, she replied, "You must be feeling uncomfortable."

She gave a wry smile and leaned against the tree behind her: "I used to laugh at Jiang Yutang for being weak and pretentious. I never thought that one day this would happen to me."

Cheng Lanzhou wanted to ask more questions, but seemed to have already guessed the answer. Not wanting to make herself uncomfortable any further, she nodded and stopped asking.

Even at home, as the head of the household, he hadn't offered Jiang Yutang any comfort, yet now he dared to expect someone else to make amends for him.

This is not something he would do; if anyone is to make amends, it will be him personally.

After resting for a while, Cheng Daier couldn't help but take another pill. With warm water, she gradually felt better.

As their departure approached, Lin accompanied Cheng Daier to a secluded spot nearby to relieve herself.

Cheng Lanzhou took the empty bowl and prepared to return it.

At this moment, Jiang Yutang was leisurely sitting on the cart, swinging her legs, chatting enthusiastically with Jiang Huaiyu, with a relaxed smile on her face.

Cheng Lanzhou walked over, handed the bowl back to Jiang Huaiyu, thanked her again, and turned to leave, but was suddenly stopped by Jiang Yutang.

"etc!"

He turned around in confusion, only to see his two siblings staring at him with surprise. Jiang Huaiyu, her face flushed, scratched her head, pointing repeatedly behind him, her voice muffled: "You... behind you..."

Cheng Lanzhou frowned and subconsciously looked behind her, but there was nothing there.

He asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"

"Ouch!" Jiang Huaiyu stamped her foot in distress, tugging at the hem of her clothes as a demonstration, "Your clothes! They're dirty!"

Cheng Lanzhou then turned around to look at his back and froze instantly.

On the dark clothes, there was a striking red bloodstain, shaped as if it had been rubbed on.

It's obvious that Cheng Dai'er must have accidentally brushed against it when she was carrying her elder sister on her back today.

His face darkened, and he quickly took off his outer coat, revealing a thin inner lining.

I can only wash these clothes when I find a water source at night, but I'm afraid I'll catch a cold if I travel shirtless now.

Just as he was in a dilemma, Jiang Yutang rummaged through the bundle on the cart and pulled out a dark blue coat, handing it to him: "Take it."

Cheng Lanzhou glanced at the dress, then looked up at her, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

Jiang Yutang kindly reminded him, her tone tinged with helplessness: "Your injury has only recently healed, so it's best not to catch a cold. Otherwise, if two members of your family fall ill at once, I won't be able to take care of them all."

Cheng Lanzhou hesitated for a moment, then took the clothes and whispered again, "Thank you."

As he turned to leave, he vaguely heard Jiang Huaiyu's loud voice behind him: "Why did he have to borrow my clothes? That's my favorite piece!"

"Because only your clothes are the closest in size to his."

Jiang Yutang replied lazily, her voice tinged with amusement: "You like so many things, what's wrong with borrowing his clothes for a day? Did you return the knife you borrowed from him last time?"

"I returned it."

Cheng Lanzhou paused, a faint smile unconsciously curving her lips.

When they got back, Lin saw that Cheng Lanzhou was only wearing a thin undershirt and quickly went up to ask, "Why did you take off your outer clothes?"

Cheng Lanzhou sighed softly and shook the blood-stained clothes in her hand: "The clothes are stained with blood, so I can't wear them for now."

Upon seeing the bloodstains on the back of her clothes, Cheng Dai'er's cheeks flushed instantly. She lowered her head and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Cheng Lanzhou shook her head: "It's not my eldest sister's fault."

He stuffed the dirty clothes into the empty bundle beside him, then turned around and picked up the dark blue coat to put it on.

Cheng Dai'er stared at the dress for a long time, then suddenly said, "This dress looks familiar. Who did you borrow it from?"

"Third Brother Jiang." He straightened his collar without looking up. "I'll return it after I wash it clean."

Cheng Dai'er nodded and didn't say anything more.

The group settled down near the river in the evening. Cheng Lanzhou picked up her dirty clothes, preparing to go to the river to wash them.

Just as she stood up, Cheng Daier suddenly stood up as well, stammering, "How about... I go wash the clothes, since I'm the one who got them dirty?"

Cheng Lanzhou frowned and refused outright: "No, you're not feeling well right now, you can't touch cold water, you need to rest."

Knowing his temperament, Cheng Dai'er had no choice but to agree.

Arriving at the riverbank, Cheng Lanzhou was about to find a place to wash clothes when she caught sight of Jiang Huaiyu squatting on a rock not far away, reluctantly scrubbing a pile of clothes, clearly washing them for the whole family.

The two looked at each other and were both stunned for a moment.

Cheng Lanzhou didn't say anything, but silently walked a few meters away from him, squatted down, and soaked his clothes in the water.

Jiang Huaiyu saw that he was washing the blood-stained clothes from earlier that day, so she called out his name and threw the soap at him.

"Use this to wash; rinsing with water alone won't clean the bloodstains."

Cheng Lanzhou tossed it twice before catching it, holding the slippery soap in her hand, its faint fragrance lingering around her nose.

He didn't thank me, but just silently lowered his head and started washing.

Perhaps feeling bored, Jiang Huaiyu took the initiative to strike up a conversation with him: "Fortunately, the rest of the journey can follow this river. It's a stroke of luck, unlike before when it was difficult to find clean water."

Cheng Lanzhou still didn't respond, but just buried her head in washing the bloodstains off her clothes.

Seeing that he ignored her, Jiang Huaiyu snorted disdainfully: "You're such a silent, brooding person, it's so boring talking to you."

The only sounds by the river were the flowing water and the rustling of clothes. Cheng Lanzhou's Adam's apple bobbed, and after a long silence, he suddenly spoke, but what came out was completely nonsensical.

“My eldest sister was originally going to come and do the laundry, but I was worried that she would catch a cold from touching the cold water, so I came by myself.”

Jiang Huaiyu was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh out loud: "I was telling you about the river, why are you telling me this? You seem to dote on your sister, that's normal, our family also dotes on Tang'er."

Cheng Lanzhou paused, didn't reply, but increased the pressure in her hand.

"It's a good thing you did the washing. Judging from how your sister washed the pots, she's obviously never done any housework. If she did the washing, the clothes would probably be dirty even after she washed them."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Lanzhou frowned and glanced at Jiang Huaiyu, then immediately retorted, "Elder sister doesn't need to do these things, and it doesn't matter whether she knows them or not."

"Ouch."

Jiang Huaiyu tossed the wooden stick aside and looked at him with a sigh: "We're all from prestigious families, but look at my little sister, she can do everything. Not only is she multi-talented, but her looks are just as good as others, it's just..."

As he spoke, he looked at Cheng Lanzhou with a complex expression, a mixture of regret and a sense of family misfortune.

Even without him saying it, Cheng Lanzhou understood that although Jiang Yutang was a bit spoiled, she was indeed exceptional in terms of female talent.

If Jiang Yutang hadn't gotten entangled with him, she would probably have married someone else and had a happy ending.

For example... Gu Wenxiao, the top scholar in the imperial examination?