Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter Five: The Hunter's Side Business of Brewing

Seeing that she was now in tears, Lu Yu couldn't bear to refuse. His initial wariness due to her concealment completely vanished. He simply put down his bamboo hat and said seriously, "Miss Ji, don't panic! I won't send you away!"

After a moment's thought, he clenched his fist again, as if making a firm decision, "Today I, Lu Yu, swear that as long as I live, I will cure your illness!" Then his eyes darkened, "Even if..."

Ji Meiqing opened her eyes wide and heard the other person say seriously, word by word, "Even if you can't be cured in the end, if Miss Ji doesn't mind, I will still marry you!"

Ji Meiqing barely slept a wink that night, Lu Yu's words echoing repeatedly in her ears, leaving her feeling anxious and uncertain.

She was filled with mixed feelings of joy and worry. She was happy that someone would still care for her so meticulously since her rebirth, but worried that she had pretended to be deaf and dumb and deceived such an honest man as Lu Yu. She tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, until dawn when she finally felt sleepy. But before she could fall into a deep sleep, she was awakened by a series of urgent knocks on the door.

Ji Meiqing opened her eyes with difficulty and saw Lu Cuiwei holding a bowl of medicine, standing fiercely in front of the door. She asked in surprise, "Why are you here?"

Lu Cuiwei got angry as soon as she saw Ji Meiqing, and picked at her words. She rolled her eyes without any politeness and said sarcastically, "Oh, this is the first time I've heard of a guest asking the host how he got home."

She emphasized the word "guest," as if reminding Ji Meiqing to stay true to her place.

Ji Meiqing was somewhat dazed. Taking advantage of this moment, Lu Cuiwei had already turned around and placed the medicine on the tray onto the table. Seeing the dark medicine stains that had settled in the bowl, a trace of struggle and fear flashed in her eyes, but then she returned to calm.

Seeing that she seemed distracted, Ji Meiqing asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing!" Lu Cuiwei said decisively. She then steadied the medicine bowl, turned around and handed it to Ji Meiqing, deliberately instructing, "Brother told you to finish it!" before hurriedly leaving the room.

After running a few meters away, Lu Cuiwei stopped, her heart pounding. Suddenly, she felt her palms were sticky, so she stretched them out and found they were full of sweat.

Since that night, Ji Meiqing hadn't seen Lu Yu for several days. When she asked Lu Cuiwei, she just glared at her with wide eyes, her face full of anger that she couldn't hide. Ji Meiqing guessed that Lu Yu was probably busy trying to pay for her medicine.

It got light early today, and unable to fall asleep in bed, Ji Meiqing threw off the covers, covered in morning dew, and pushed open the door.

After nearly a week of rest, her strength had recovered considerably, but her wound showed no signs of improvement. In fact, it seemed to be getting worse. She figured it was because she had been cooped up in her room all day, so she decided to do some morning exercises outside before dawn to get some exercise. But she didn't expect to see a familiar figure as soon as she stepped out the door. Who else could it be but Lu Yu, whom she hadn't seen for many days?

He was sitting in the morning light chopping wood, his shoulder muscles bulging, and the veins on his wrists exposed. Perhaps he was hot, because his upper body was naked, and sweat trickled down his forehead, along his strong abdominal curves, and into his slightly loose trousers, disappearing in that indescribable place.

Ji Meiqing watched for a while, and felt a surge of masculine energy emanating from him. Her eyes stung, and she quickly looked away.

Lu Yu naturally saw her too. Her small face was still pale, and she looked even thinner than she had a few days ago. Seeing that she was only wearing a thin outer garment, he couldn't help but frown. He put down his axe and scolded her, "Why did you come out like this? It's March and the frost is still cold. Your old injuries haven't healed yet. How can you be so careless?"

After saying that, he was about to get up and urge her to come inside when he caught a glimpse of a suspicious blush on her cheeks. He was taken aback at first, and then belatedly shifted his gaze to his bare upper body. His face flushed red, and he quickly put on the shirt hanging on the firewood. After he was properly dressed, he urged, "Come inside and put on some clothes!"

Ji Meiqing was already shy and timid, and hearing him say this, she felt as if she had been granted a pardon. She quickly nodded and fled into the house in a slightly disheveled state. By the time she came out after getting ready, the morning light was already bright.

Lu Yu was tidying up a donkey cart. Ji Meiqing thought he was about to leave again and was about to go up and exchange a few pleasantries when, unexpectedly, he turned around, patted the back of the old donkey, and called out, "Come here." She was slightly surprised. But despite her surprise, she still went to meet him without delay.

Lu Yu glanced at Ji Meiqing and saw that she was indeed dressed neatly. He breathed a sigh of relief, and his tightly furrowed brows softened a little. He then took out a square rice cake from his food bag and handed it to her. "We'll hurry and reach the town around noon. We can eat then. For now, have this to tide you over."

Seeing that she was still standing there in a daze, Lu Yu couldn't help but urge her, "Aren't you coming up? If you waste time, you might not be able to get back before dark!"

Ji Meiqing finally came to her senses, reached out and took the rice cake. She found it was warm to the touch, and seeing smoke rising from the stove, she knew he had prepared it early in the morning. She was even more surprised, "Are we going to town?"

He paused, then pointed incredulously at himself, emphasizing, "Take me there?"

Lu Yu said succinctly, "Your medicine is almost finished. I happen to be going to sell wine, so I'll take you to the big clinic in town to see a doctor."

Ji Meiqing then noticed the two jars of wine tied to the front of the donkey cart. The wine was sealed in lacquered jars, with red cloths plugging the mouths, and a faint, sweet spring fragrance wafted out. Ji Meiqing was taken aback and blurted out, "Brother Lu, you actually know how to brew wine?"

Brewing is a craft, and Lu Yu thought that Ji Meiqing was surprised that a rough and brute like him could do such a delicate job. He blushed slightly and said modestly, "I have only learned a little bit of the craft passed down from my ancestors."

—Is it just the surface?

Ji Meiqing glanced at the man's handsome smile, then lowered her head to carefully smell the mellow wine in her hand. A vague idea rose from the depths of her mind and gradually took shape.

Just as Lu Yu had expected, they arrived at the Rende Medical Clinic in town around noon.

Dr. Xu of Rende Medical Clinic and Liu Guanzhong were old friends and equally skilled in medicine. The diagnosis he gave was not much different from the previous conclusion. Lu Yu was a little discouraged after hearing this and was about to take his medicine and leave when he saw Dr. Xu staring at him with a hint of something he wanted to say but couldn't. Lu Yu guessed that he had something to say, so he gave Ji Meiqing a few instructions and followed Dr. Xu into the inner room.

Doctor Xu, who was nearly fifty, was an old acquaintance of Lu Yu, who had been selling wine in town for many years. He didn't stand on ceremony and asked directly, "Miss, have you been taking medicine but haven't seen any improvement? Did you bring the prescription?"