Chapter 168: Chapter 167: Pressing Him Back onto the Bed
He hesitated for a moment, and finally said dryly, "You go and rest."
After speaking, he turned his face to one side again.
Shang Ruyi was not surprised by his cold demeanor, but somewhat disappointed. After all, she came to say those words hoping to persuade Yu Wenye to rest, but hearing him say that, she knew he was unwilling to leave.
She could only sigh, still finishing burning the stack of paper money in her hand, and softly said, "Well, I’ll go down now."
"..."
"Second Brother, you still need to take care of your health."
"..."
"I... this household cannot go without you."
After saying these words, she slowly got up, supporting her aching knees as she walked to lift the curtain and exited the inner hall.
As the curtain fell, she did not see the pair of eyes behind her, seemingly thawed from ice, watching her back intently. In that gaze, reflecting the flames before them, there was surprisingly a hint of warmth.
After returning, Shang Ruyi only slept for less than two hours in the side hall.
Upon rising, she was still busy.
At this time, someone came from outside to report that Minister Lu from the Ministry of War was here to offer condolences. Shang Ruyi hurried out to greet him.
When she was with the Shen Family, she rarely went out to play and almost never interacted with outsiders, spending every day hiding in the house reading, writing, or knitting and spinning. Now, married into the Duke Mansion, she inevitably had to host and see off guests. First, she arranged for someone to accompany Minister Lu, and herself accompanied Mrs. Lu for tea. After chatting for a while, they bid farewell and left.
Shang Ruyi personally escorted them to the gate, watching Minister Lu’s carriage leave before letting a sigh of relief and turning to walk back.
After only two steps, she saw a servant dressed simply carrying a box, hurriedly trying to leave through the side door.
Shang Ruyi called out to him, "Which part do you serve?"
The servant was about twenty years old, with a pointed face and mouth, clearly a very cautious person. Seeing the Young Madam call him, he was startled, hurried forward with a pale face to bow: "Young Madam, I, the humble one—"
At this time, Aunt Hui appeared from somewhere.
She smiled and said, "Young Madam, this is Hu Hua from the tea room."
Shang Ruyi said, "Shouldn’t the tea room people be serving at the back? Why are you going out with that box?"
Hu Hua dared not raise his head, only slightly lifted the item in his hand: "Young Madam, this is a food box."
Aunt Hui said, "Young Madam, it’s like this—these past few days there have been too many visiting guests, and the tea room’s prepared snacks are insufficient, so I’ve sent them to Tinghe Building in the city to fetch some ready-made snacks."
"Isn’t there staff at Tinghe Building for deliveries? Why must our people go?"
"Tinghe Building has been busy too these days, and they have no hands to send."
"Oh..."
Hearing this, Shang Ruyi nodded.
This time, during the Emperor’s northern tour, the camp was raided, coupled with a hasty escape, causing injuries and fatalities among the officials and their families; thus, upon returning to Luoyang City, many families were holding funerals. Presumably, other families faced similar shortages of snacks and procured them from Tinghe Building, hence Tinghe Building’s workers couldn’t come.
Shang Ruyi sighed and said, "It’s really hard on you all, running out in this cold weather."
Hu Hua whispered, "No, dare not."
Shang Ruyi turned to Tushere and said, "Go fetch a string of coins to reward him, buy some warm things to drink."
Tushere hurriedly fetched the money and handed it to Hu Hua, who probably hadn’t seen such generosity, holding the money with a vanished smile, hurriedly knelt: "Thank you for the reward, Young Madam."
Aunt Hui watched, half-smiling and said, "Young Madam truly cherishes the old and the poor."
Shang Ruyi chuckled bitterly, shook her head and said, "These days have indeed been hard on them. They deserve rewards, and we count on their careful service to avoid incidents like yesterday’s Five Lotus Cup. One must know, aside from how precious that cup is to Father, even in a pawnshop it could fetch forty or fifty taels of silver. If more are lost, our mansion would suffer financially."
Hu Hua’s little eyes showed a look of shock upon hearing this.
After saying these words, Shang Ruyi smiled again, "Look at me, rambling on for nothing. Alright, you quickly go."
Hu Hua respectfully bowed to them, carefully picked up the food box and left.
Shang Ruyi then looked at Aunt Hui, and the two exchanged smiles.
At this moment, Wo Xue suddenly rushed out from inside, saying to Shang Ruyi, "Young Madam, you must go quickly and check, the appearance of the second young master isn’t right!"
"What?!"
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi’s face changed dramatically, she hurriedly turned and ran inside.
Arriving at the mortuary, Jinyun along with a few maids were surrounding Yu Wenye. His face was pale with a grayish tint, already fainted, forehead drenched in cold sweat. Touching it, his pale skin was frighteningly hot.
Shang Ruyi urgently said, "Quick, help him back to his room!"
Everyone hurried to support him, carefully escorting him back to their room. Upon entering, Shang Ruyi instinctively glanced at his usual sleeping platform, but they directly placed Yu Wenye onto her bed.
It was only then Shang Ruyi snapped out of it, unable to help but chuckle bitterly in her heart.
Walking to the bedside, she saw Yu Wenye’s face starting to flush with a sickly rosy tone, his breathing faintly audible. Shang Ruyi instructed, "Quickly ask for the doctor, brew medicine, and have the kitchen prepare soft soup meal, keep it warm."
Everyone responded and left.
Once the door was closed, the howling cold wind was instantly blocked outside. The room had been without night guests for a long time, and the newly delivered fire basin beside the bed had yet to have any effect, making the room still as cold as a snowy cave. But Yu Wenye’s forehead remained covered in cold sweat. Shang Ruyi sighed, took out a handkerchief, and gently wiped it for him.
Then, she pulled the nearby quilt over to cover him.
As soon as the quilt covered his body, Yu Wenye furrowed his brow and immediately woke up.
His eyes were still muddled, yet he was instinctively struggling to get up, mumbling, "What are you doing? Move aside..."
"Second Brother!"
Shang Ruyi was anxious, if he kept tormenting his body like this, it would lead to serious problems. So she pressed down on his shoulders with both hands, "Don’t move, you just fainted, you are still feverish, have a good rest for a while."
"Let me go..."
Yu Wenye’s breath was scorching, his whole body as hot as burning coals, yet he still refused to lie down, his arms forcefully struggling to push away, gritting his teeth, "Move aside, let me—"
"Second Brother!"
Seeing her unable to hold him down, Shang Ruyi became anxious in her heart and suddenly lunged onto him, using her body to press him back onto the bed.
"...!"
Yu Wenye’s body immediately stiffened.