Ties of Love, Ruan Wan

He's learned to argue now, and Ruan Wan, too lazy to debate with him, said, "I need to get dressed, you get out of here."

Lou Qianyuan quickly got up and walked out. "Lunch is ready. Come to the living room after you've washed up."

As soon as Lou Qianyuan left, four maids immediately came in to serve her, addressing her as "Young Madam" repeatedly, which made Ruan Wan feel somewhat awkward.

Just as Ruan Wan was about to wash her face, a maid wrung out a towel and handed it to her, saying, "Please use this, young mistress."

Ruan Wan took the towel. "Don't call me 'Young Madam' anymore. I'm just your young master's friend. And what are your names?"

The maid who handed over the towel bowed and said, "This servant is Cuimo."

The maid carrying the water also bowed and said, "This servant is listening to the zither."

A maid holding the clothes said, "This servant is Lanyu."

The maidservant who was busy at the dressing table ran over, bowed, and said, "This servant is Cuilu. The four of us were ordered by the young master to serve the young mistress from now on."

Ruan Wan sighed, "I've already said I'm not your young mistress."

The four women exchanged glances, and Cui Mo said, "Then this maid will address you as the Crown Prince's Wife."

Ruan Wan felt like she was punching cotton; they were just servants who only obeyed Lou Qianyuan's orders, so it was no use trying to make things difficult for them.

After washing up, Lanyu helped Ruan Wan get dressed, and Cuilu helped Ruan Wan put on makeup.

Ruan Wan looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a light and elegant lotus root pink dress with only two lotus flowers embroidered on the hem. Her makeup was exquisite, but something looked strange.

Ruan Wan looked left and right and finally realized what was wrong. Her long, flowing hair was pulled up and styled into a lady's bun, adorned with several gold hairpins.

Previously, Ruan Wan always wore her hair down, because she was still a young lady in her boudoir, and when she disguised herself as a man, she always tied her hair up.

Now that she's tied her hair up, she looks much more mature, but something about Ruan Wan just doesn't seem right.

Everyone else had worked so hard to comb their hair, and Ruan Wan was also hungry, so she didn't care about such things and went straight to the living room.

Cui Mo and Cui Lü remained in the guest room, while Ting Qin and Lan Yu followed Ruan Wan to the guest room.

Lou Qianyuan had already sat down. Today was alright; there were only four dishes and a soup on the table.

Lou Qianyuan said with a smile, "You must be starving after sleeping for so long. Hurry up and sit down to eat."

Ruan Wan looked at the bowls and chopsticks on the table and placed them next to Lou Qianyuan, then sat down.

Ruan Wan glanced at the dishes on the table: a special chicken with red dates, goji berries, and fish maw; a braised beef rib with soy sauce; dried abalone with sugar; steamed shad; and a seasonal stir-fried vegetable dish.

Ruan Wan glanced at the ribs, and Tingqin put a piece on Ruan Wan's plate, while Lanyu also ladled out a bowl of soup.

Ruan Wan thanked them, saying, "You don't need to help me, I can do it myself."

As a result, when Ruan Wan wanted to pick up a piece of green vegetable, Tingqin immediately came over to serve the dish.

Helpless, Ruan Wan could only look at Lou Qianyuan. Lou Qianyuan, who had been watching the commotion from the sidelines, noticed that Ruan Wan's expression had turned rather unpleasant before ordering, "You may all leave now."

Tingqin and Lanyu then bowed and left the living room.

Ruan Wan asked, "Why did you make them call me 'Young Madam'?"

"When Uncle Liang addressed you as 'Young Madam,' you didn't object."

"How can that be the same? It wasn't just a stopgap measure at the time."

Lou Qianyuan laughed and said, "This is only a temporary measure. You are a young woman living alone in my house. People in the manor will gossip about you."

"Then you can't tell them, 'I'm just a friend of yours.'"

Lou Qianyuan shook his head. "No, a woman cannot stay overnight at someone else's house."

Ruan Wan was speechless for a moment. She had been pretending to be a man for so long that she had become so used to being carefree that she had forgotten that she was a woman bound by the constraints of this era.

Ruan Wan could only eat with her head down. She had nowhere to stay in the capital and could only live in Lou Qianyuan's house. Just like when she returned to the Ruan family and became the third young lady of the Ruan family, it was just a title and there was no difference.

After a moment of silence, Lou Qianyuan spoke, "Changfeng already knows you've returned, and he also knows you're in my residence."

Ruan Wan nearly choked on her food, staring wide-eyed at Lou Qianyuan. "How did he know? Did you tell him I was back?"

Lou Qianyuan hurriedly retorted, "How could I possibly tell him your news? The guards at the city gates reported it when we entered the city."

Ruan Wan lowered her head and continued eating. "It doesn't matter if I know. He's already married. We're strangers now."

"But he still wants to marry you as a concubine."

Ruan Wan couldn't hold back any longer and spat out a mouthful of food, choking and coughing uncontrollably.

Lou Qianyuan hurriedly poured a glass of water and handed it to Ruan Wan, then gently patted her back, saying, "So, it might be a bit difficult for you to escape this time."

Ruan Wan pushed Lou Qianyuan's hand away, glaring at him angrily. "I won't marry him. Does he intend to force me?"

"If he asks His Majesty to grant him a marriage, you can't refuse, can you?"

Ruan Wan clenched her fists, staring intently at Lou Qianyuan, before finally lowering her head.

Lou Qianyuan comforted him, "But you don't need to worry for now. Everyone's focus is on the disaster, and Changfeng won't mention it for the time being."

Ruan Wan felt somewhat helpless. She had run around and around, only to end up back where she started. Was this fate?

Lou Qianyuan continued, "However, there are still two paths we can take."

Ruan Wan raised her head and looked at Lou Qianyuan.

Lou Qianyuan swallowed hard and said, "Firstly, it's about you marrying me. But don't worry, if you're unwilling, it'll just be a formality, like the fake couple we had before."

Ruan Wan asked, "And the second one?"

"Secondly, I will do everything I can to send you to southern Xinjiang, but what kind of road awaits you there is hard to say."

Ruan Wan immediately lost her appetite and got up to return to her guest room.

Lying in bed, Ruan Wan carefully considered the two paths Lou Qianyuan had offered. In fact, the first path was not impossible, but it would be too unfair to Lou Qianyuan.

Ruan Wan became increasingly agitated as she thought about it, so she simply stopped thinking about it. In any case, it would take some time before the disaster could be brought under control, so she would deal with it when the enemy was at the gates.

Lou Qianyuan has been leaving early and returning late these past few days, presumably helping Xia Changfeng deal with the disaster.

Even so, Lou Qianyuan still came back and had two dinners with Ruan Wan, and each time he rushed out again after finishing the meal.

The number of disaster victims at the city gate was increasing, and the tents in the warehouse were almost insufficient, so temporary shelters had to be set up.

Xia Ziru's original idea was to have the towns along the coast share the burden of the disaster victims, otherwise there would be nowhere to settle the disaster victims of an entire prefecture.

The result was an even bigger problem: constant conflicts between disaster victims and locals, insufficient food supplies, and some people storming into people's homes to rob and loot.

This is why everyone in the town at the foot of the mountain kept their doors tightly shut and even poured boiling water out.

Although Lou Qianyuan was no longer an official in the court, he was still Xia Changfeng's cousin and it was impossible for him not to help.

Ruan Wan initially thought of taking advantage of the chaos to escape, but upon closer reflection, she realized that she was definitely being watched and wouldn't be able to run away anyway.

As for the Southern Frontier, Ruan Wan didn't really want to go back. Their Holy Maiden, Mao Chihua, was no longer coming back, and if she really went back, she might be offered up to that Nine-Fingered Prince.

The crucial point is that Ruan Wan cut off that ring finger.

When she had nothing to do, Ruan Wan would worry about her neighbors in Liuzhou, which was just a little above Qingzhou, and she guessed that they had also been affected.

And Hongdou's family, I wonder if they've been affected.

The rain seemed to have stopped, and there were sunny days for a long time. The weather was exceptionally hot, and not a single drop of rain fell until mid-August.

It wasn't this hot in the mountains, but now Ruan Wan has to keep a fan with her at all times. With the disaster raging, even ice makers dare not sell ice.

Just as Ruan Wan had expected, on the sixteenth of August, Ruan Wan was sitting under the trumpet creeper trellis enjoying the cool air.

Cui Mo rushed over in a panic, lost her balance, and fell right in front of Ruan Wan.

Ruan Wan quickly got up from the recliner and helped Cui Mo up. "Slow down, why are you in such a hurry?"

Cui Mo looked anxious, not even having time to wipe the potato off her face. "Young Madam, something terrible has happened! There's a plague in the city, and the kitchen maid has been infected. The young master is out, and Steward Li sent me to ask you what we should do?"

Wasn't Uncle Li the one who always managed this house? He hadn't shown up during the half month that she had been living here, so Ruan Wan thought that Lou Qianyuan had informed him in advance.

Ruan Wan reassured Cui Mo, "Don't panic. First, find a separate room and settle Fang's wife in there. Also, have everyone who has been in contact with Fang's wife stay in the kitchen."

Cui Mo accepted the order and immediately ran to the kitchen. She had only run a few meters when Ruan Wan called out to her, "Cui Mo, wait a moment."

Cui Mo turned back, and Ruan Wan handed her a silk handkerchief from her sleeve. "Wrap the cotton inside, sew it up, and cover your mouth and nose before you go to deliver the message."

Ruan Wan returned to her room and tied another silk scarf around her face.

When Ruan Wan arrived at the kitchen, everyone who had been in contact with Fang Saozi was locked inside.

Everyone was seeing the rumored new lady for the first time, and they had no curiosity at all. Everyone was filled with fear and anxiety because of the plague.

Uncle Li was also there. Ruan Wan greeted him and then looked at everyone present, saying, "Don't worry, everyone. We're keeping you in the kitchen just to prevent the spread of infection."

No one dared to speak; they only listened to Ruan An.

Ruan Wan glanced at Cui Mo and asked, "How many empty rooms are there in the mansion right now?"

Cui Mo counted for a moment and said, "There are ten rooms for the servants, fifteen rooms for the maids and old women, nine empty guest rooms, one bedroom for the eldest young master, one room for the marquis, and one side room for night watch in the front hall and back room of the main gate."

Ruan Wan nodded and said, "There are five people in the kitchen who have been in contact with Sister-in-law Fang. They are all cooks. Cuilu, have all the maids take a change of clothes and move them to the guest rooms, two people per room. Then settle these five cooks in the maids' rooms, one person per room."

Cuilu accepted the order and led the maids present to pack their things.

Ruan Wan then looked at the servants beside her, pointed to the three in front, and said, "The three of you will stay in the side room where you are on night duty. Don't worry about anything else, just pass on messages."

The three servants received their orders and went back to pack their things.

Ruan Wan then pointed to the other five servants and said, "The five of you will continue to live in the servants' quarters, one room per person, to deliver food and drink to them."

Ruan Wan pointed out the two strongest servants among the remaining servants and said, "You two will each have your own room. You will be responsible for going out to buy supplies, and you can only move between the kitchen and your own bedroom."

Ruan Wan glanced at the remaining people and said, "Tingqin, make the arrangements. The remaining servants will be two to a room. If there's not enough room, they can be placed in the bedroom. Move my luggage to Qian Yuan's bedroom later."

Uncle Li stood silently to the side the whole time. Ruan Wan looked at Uncle Li and asked, "Uncle Li, is my arrangement feasible?"

Uncle Li bowed respectfully to Ruan Wan and said, "This matter can be decided by the young mistress."

Ruan Wan looked at everyone and said, "Don't worry, everyone. The Lou family will not abandon you. If you feel unwell at all, please report it. The milder the symptom, the easier it is to treat."

Tingqin led the servant to move rooms, and Ruan Wan said to Lanyu, "Lanyu, take Uncle Li back to his room to rest."

After everyone left, Ruan Wan asked, "Where is Sister-in-law Fang now?"