My elder sister forced me to become a concubine; I was reborn and remarried into the emperor's

The more Wei Nanxun listened, the more familiar Pei Ji's words of gratitude and loyalty sounded, but she couldn't quite place where she had heard them before. Could it be that she had read too many plays about repaying kindness?

But since they were being so blunt, saying things like "I'd be your servant" and "I'd repay you with my life," coupled with their burning gaze, she blushed a little.

What was clearly a sincere and righteous heart always sounded to her as a promise to repay him with one's body.

She fanned her burning face: "Who asked you to be a slave? Forget it, I'll get you a different room. Just settle down and recover properly."

After saying that, she blushed and went out to prepare to change his room, not noticing his meaningful gaze that followed her.

Pei Ji frowned. Had she forgotten what he had said?

He had survived countless battles, and many people were willing to risk their lives for him and serve him like a slave. He never thought about how a young woman could repay him.

Besides, it's hard to say who actually benefited that day.

Whether or not she repays is one thing, whether or not she remembers is another! How could she forget?

Is it because she's said it so often that it's become second nature, or is it because she simply hasn't taken that day's events to heart?

His face darkened at the thought of these possibilities.

Pei Ji pondered this over and over for a long time, completely unaware that Wei Nanxun outside was preoccupied with something else entirely.

Not enough money.

When she left the Wei family, she took a lot of valuables with her, but they were all deeds to houses, land, and shops, none of which could be directly converted into cash.

She brought all the banknotes with her, but they were all from Huitong Money Shop. Not only was there no such shop in Pingzhen, but exchanging banknotes would be too conspicuous. If she went to exchange them, she might be discovered and arrested the very next day.

She used the remaining silver to rent a house, hire people, and cover her daily food and clothing expenses. She calculated that if she saved the remaining silver, she could get through the year.

By then, she'll be trying to find a way to exchange the silver notes in the neighboring city. Perhaps Pei Yuyan will have already forgotten about her.

Now, not only is there an extra mouth to feed in the family, but the cost of his medicine alone is a considerable expense.

Wei Nanxun looked at the last silver ingot in the box with a worry in her eyes, when she heard Zhixia say from the side, "Sister, I can do needlework and sell it. If that doesn't work, I'll eat less in the future."

"Silly girl, even if you eat as much as you want, how much can you eat?"

Needlework is impractical; those embroiderers, with their eyes bloodshot from exhaustion, only earn a few dozen coins a day. How could she bear to let Zhixia suffer like that?

"It's more reliable for me to do accounting than to have you do needlework."

"How can that be? You are a lady of a respectable family and should not show your face in public."

Wei Nanxun was amused by her and turned around to pinch her cheek: "Little Zhixia, how can you be so cute? You are the only one in the whole world who treats me like a lady from a respectable family. I was just joking. The accountants of every shop need to know the inside and out. No one would hire a girl like me who is a stranger."

"Then, what should we do? If we had known it would turn out like this, we would have been better off not saving that poor scholar."

"It's alright. If we're careful with our spending, this silver ingot will last us for two or three months. We just need to start planning for the future sooner rather than later."

Wei Nanxun already had a plan in mind, but she needed to learn more about the situation in Pingzhen before making a decision.

-

And so, Pei Ji settled down in the courtyard.

Having another person in the house had a significant impact on Wei Nanxun. Not only did she have to rearrange his bedroom, but she also had to buy him new clothes, prepare his medicine, and administer it to him. She was extremely busy.

The grandparents whispered that the young man their eldest daughter rescued was handsome and a scholar, but he had a bad temper and was as quiet as a mute.

Aside from applying medicine and eating, he spends his days either sitting on the bed reading or holding his little tiger and spacing out. He doesn't even talk to his eldest daughter much.

Of all his family members, his closest companion was actually a cat.

At first, they thought that the young lady was eager to find a husband, so Guanyin Bodhisattva sent her a good husband. But after getting to know each other, they felt that it was not right.

A husband's looks are secondary; he has to be caring and family-oriented. If you can't even talk to him, how can you live together in the future?

It was only a few days later that Wei Nanxun realized that the man seemed to be giving her the cold shoulder.

When she first saved him, although he was delirious with fever and only had short periods of lucidity, the two of them were still able to chat normally. Judging from his tone of voice and her expression, they weren't exactly friendly, but at least there was no conflict between them.

But these past two days, while applying medicine to him, Wei Nanxun clearly sensed his coldness and closed-off nature, and even his eyes rarely met.

Just like now, she is applying medicine to the wound on his lower abdomen, which is the most serious injury. Before, when she applied medicine, he would unconsciously turn red, whether from pain or embarrassment.

Wei Nanxun discovered this by chance and found it very interesting, but secretly didn't tell anyone.

But at this moment, he held the book in his hand, neither speaking nor giving her any response.

Is he angry?

Wei Nanxun didn't really understand men, otherwise she wouldn't have been so devoted to Pei Yuyan in her past life, and wouldn't have been able to see that he didn't love her until her death.

Her relationship with Pei Yuyan over the years was less like that of husband and wife and more like that of master and servant. When he came, she served him wholeheartedly; when he didn't come, she longed for him day and night. She didn't like to compete for his favor, and the two of them didn't talk much when they were together. Most of the time, they would go to bed as soon as he came.

So much so that even when she realized Pei Ji seemed angry, she didn't know what to do.

Besides, she's been very busy lately, constantly thinking of ways to make money.

Having finally made some progress, I'm currently negotiating with the owners of several nearby shops and don't have the time or energy to worry about anything else.

Of course, most importantly, she didn't think she had done anything to upset him. She had provided him with food and clothing, and even called doctors and medicine for him; she had never been this attentive to Pei Yuyan!

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She couldn't stop herself from doing it, and half a bowl of ointment was smeared on it. The sticky ointment dripped down onto his pants.

The medicine for the wound was made from ground herbs; it was a bluish-black paste, and from a distance it looked...

Pei Ji's veins throbbed: "You..."

Before he could even finish the word, Wei Nanxun had already grabbed a cloth from the side to wipe him: "Sorry, I was just distracted, it wasn't intentional..."

As she spoke, she pressed her hands down between his legs.

By the time I felt something awaken me, it was too late.

The man's hoarse voice, filled with gritted teeth, said, "Guan Yue, you did this on purpose."