Wife, Don't Be Like This!

Chapter 37 - They Probably Even Have a Child Already

The world in Yushuang's eyes always had subtle differences from others'.

In Yushuang's eyes, Luo Tianyi was nestled bonelessly in Song Yan's arms. Song Yan's two hands were wrapped around Luo Tianyi's shoulders. Their eyes met, conveying affection. Their gazes were so intense they were practically pulling threads. A delicate blush quietly crept up Luo Tianyi's cheeks...

Accompanied by slightly rapid breathing, even from the door curtain, one could feel the increasingly scorching temperature radiating from the two of them.

Luo Tianxuan, oh Luo Tianxuan, your house has been raided by your sister.

Looking at this scene, by the time your illness is cured, I'm afraid the two of them will even have a child already.

No wonder. These two had performed the wedding ceremony, after all.

For a woman, the wedding ceremony is probably the most important ritual of a lifetime. Even with Luo Tianyi's cold nature, she probably wouldn't be indifferent.

Why did she have to see this kind of scene? Although she had been taking care of Tianxuan, Tianyi was also someone she had watched grow up since she was a child. Could it be that she could only offer her blessings? What if they really created a life? Wouldn't she be upgraded from Martial Aunt to Martial Grand-Aunt? Thinking this, an aunt-like smile appeared on Yushuang's face.

Speaking of which, the atmosphere had already reached that point just now. Why didn't they take it a step further?

Huh?

Could it be that I accidentally opened the curtain and broke the mood?

But why did I lift the curtain earlier? What was it that I wanted to say to Luo Tianyi?

This question troubled Yushuang for a very, very long time. She probably wouldn't be able to remember for the rest of her life.

Yushuang's sudden appearance finally startled Luo Tianyi awake. Only then did she slowly raise her head, glance at Song Yan, and then silently moved out of his embrace without a word.

Luo Tianyi just slightly tidied her clothes and hair, moved a little to the side, her gaze fixed out the window as always, as if nothing had happened.

But this atmosphere made Song Yan feel exceptionally awkward. He thought for a moment and continued with their previous topic.

"Um, I'm not sick. I just thought of some things. It's no big deal... Also, thank you for your concern."

A habit from his past life, Song Yan said it casually.

Luo Tianyi pursed her lips.

"I was just worried that if something happened to you, there would be no one to treat Eldest Sister's illness!" Her voice was as cold and clear as ever.

Song Yan smiled. Sure enough, this was the real younger sister-in-law. The scene just now was just a pure accident for Luo Tianyi; she wouldn't take it to heart at all.

In this lifetime, a man who could truly move the younger sister-in-law's heart and make her show a shy expression probably doesn't exist... Thinking this, he couldn't help but worry about the younger sister-in-law's future. With this personality, I'm afraid she'll never get married.

Of course, he was just a brother-in-law. This kind of thing wasn't his place to worry about. That was for Luo Yuheng to have a headache over.

Tucking that sheet of paper into his bosom, Song Yan conveniently said: "Oh right, how is Tianxuan's condition these past few days?"

"It is gradually improving, it's just not as obvious as it was at the very beginning," Luo Tianyi said. Although she wasn't by her elder sister's side all the time like Yushuang, she would still ask about her condition daily.

This is very normal.

In reality, modern medical treatment for tuberculosis, which is consumption, is mostly a four-drug combination therapy, using several drugs like isoniazid, rifampin, and ethambutol hydrochloride in combination. On one hand, this can better treat the disease; on the other hand, it can effectively prevent drug resistance.

It's just that, although Song Yan had modern medicines, his supply was not complete. If Luo Tianxuan takes only one drug, isoniazid, for a long time, in a few months, she will probably develop drug resistance.

He can only wait for the monthly medicine box to refresh. The medicines are not fixed. Even for the same illness, different drugs will be generated. There will always be a chance.

"I want to go stroll through the market."

Luo Tianyi's cherry lips parted. In the end, she didn't say much. She left two household guards with good strength. Although in Luo Tianyi's view, her staying behind would better guarantee her brother-in-law's safety.

But, for a younger sister-in-law to be hanging around with her brother-in-law all day is probably not appropriate.

Just like what happened just now. The one who saw was Martial Aunt Yushuang. Martial Aunt is not a big-mouthed person and won't gossip everywhere. But if it were seen by others, even if it were just an accident, who knows what kind of rumors would spread.

Actually, she herself didn't care that much. She probably knew what kind of reputation she had outside. At most, it was just 'not acting like a lady' and the like. The young misses of ordinary large households usually just do embroidery and read books. There were ultimately not many who brandished swords and spears.

And there were even fewer who could split a rockery two meters away with one sword strike, forcing the man to expose that he had twenty-eight lovers in the brothel and also had a preference for married women.

But Luo Tianyi could be unconcerned about her own reputation, but she couldn't be unconcerned about Song Yan's reputation. As a live-in son-in-law, Song Yan was already under a great deal of pressure. If any more messy rumors were to spread, no one knows what would happen.

Sometimes, rumors are sharper than a knife.

Besides, this place wasn't far from the Luo Mansion, and the strength of the two household guards was not bad. It should be fine.

Thinking this, Luo Tianyi felt a little more at ease.

The carriage once again made a creaking sound. Luo Tianyi's body swayed with the carriage. By her ear, Song Yan's heartbeat seemed to still be echoing. His forehead was ice-cold, but his body was scorching hot.

She didn't dislike that feeling, probably.

Her slender body leaned obliquely against the window. The wind stirred her black hair through the edge of the curtain, revealing a pair of hazy and bewildered eyes, and the slightly reddened tips of her ears.

……

It's just that Song Yan was a little puzzled. Why did he meet with Yushuang's beaming smile as soon as he got out of the carriage, while she also muttered something about 'Luo Shuang being more suitable'?

What Luo Shuang?

Your Daoist name is Yushuang.

My younger sister-in-law's name is Luo Tianyi.

Could it be you want to change your surname?

Crazy!

It wasn't until Yushuang got into Luo Tianyi's carriage that the chirping sound finally ended. Besides the two household guards, Kong Chan and Gu Banxia also remained by his side. He looked up at the sky, and the sunlight was imprinted on his pupils.

It hurt a little.

That Butler Wang is a smart person. He has clearly sensed something. But why would he hand this secret over to me? What's in it for him?

A bit complicated. Forget it, I won't think about it. Anyway, let's first buy some of that white stuff and eggs and then see.

No matter what happens in the future, the most important thing is to first have some ability to protect myself. Although I have been cultivating the ‘Hundred Treasures Compendium’, the path of martial arts relies on years of practice and cannot be changed in a few short days. In comparison, making a few small gadgets for self-defense is faster.

He has some of that white stuff on him, but the quantity is not much. It's still better to extract a little more.

The daytime market was still very lively. The bustling sounds rose and fell one after another. Inadvertently, Song Yan stopped in front of a butcher's stall.

The one selling pork was a burly, stout, and full-bearded man, holding a heavy pig-slaughtering knife. No matter how much a customer wanted, one cut from his knife would not be off by the slightest.

Beside him was a little girl of about ten, with a pair of pigtails. Her cheeks were rosy. She skillfully wrapped the meat in a lotus leaf, then placed the copper coins one by one into a simple small purse. She was quite obedient and cute.

Must be his daughter.

Although Song Yan was a bit suspicious how a man with such a full beard could produce such a cute and clever little girl.

"Customer, what would you like?" After serving the customer in front of him, the man looked at Song Yan and asked in a booming voice.

Looking at the butcher's stall in front of him, for some unknown reason, a bit of a playful mood arose in Song Yan's heart. He smiled and said:

"If I said I want ten jin of lean meat, without a single bit of fat on it, finely minced, what would you do?"

[N: 1 jin = 0.5 kg]

The man was bewildered: "I'd do it. That's a big order, why wouldn't I?"

In Song Prefecture, which was considered a relatively prosperous place in the Ning Kingdom, there weren't many who would buy ten jin of lean meat at once.

"Then what if I want another ten jin of fat, without a single bit of lean meat on it, also finely minced?"

"If the customer wants it, I'll mince it, as long as the customer pays." The man said with a chuckle, without the slightest hint of anger.

"Then what if I want another ten jin of 'inch-of-gold' soft bone, also finely minced..."

The man's bell-like eyeballs glared: "Then I might have to mince you..."

Song Yan was curious: "And why is that?"

The butcher rolled his eyes: "On one pig, there's only half a jin to eight liang of 'inch-of-gold' soft bone. You want ten jin at once, where am I going to get that for you? Aren't you just here to deliberately make fun of me?"

Song Yan was stunned. So that was the reason?

No wonder that Zhen Guanxi got angry. It really was that fellow Lu Tixia who was being too unreasonable.*

"Customer, what do you really want? Lean meat, fat, or soft bone?"

Song Yan blinked his eyes: "I want... ten jin of leaf lard..."

He paused. "No need to mince it!"

Pork lard can be used to make soap. It's just that most people don't know that the byproduct of making soap from lard is called glycerin.

If one were to then extract nitric acid from chicken droppings, one might be able to create nitroglycerin... That thing's explosive power, hmm, is probably a tiny bit stronger than firecrackers.

This world is very dangerous. It's better to have as many self-defense items as possible. Only then can one have a tiny bit of a sense of security.

Thinking this, Kong Chan had already paid. The little girl had also skillfully wrapped the leaf lard. A household guard very consciously reached out to take it, and then said in a low voice:

"Young Master-in-law, we're being followed."

Song Yan's eyebrow raised. Followed?

[T/N: This entire scene at the butcher's stall is a famous and direct reference to one of China's Four Great Classical Novels, “Water Margin” (水浒传, Shuǐhǔ Zhuàn).

In the original story, the heroic but hot-tempered monk Lu Zhishen (at that time known by his title, Lu Tixia) decides to punish a local bully, a butcher nicknamed Zhen Guanxi. To do this, he goes to the butcher's stall and deliberately provokes him by making the same three increasingly difficult and ultimately impossible requests for finely minced meat.

The final request is the last straw, the butcher gets angry, and Lu Zhishen famously beats him to death with three punches.

The joke here is that Song Yan is playfully re-enacting this classic scene. However, the author added a twist: the butcher in this story calmly explains the ‘logical’ reason why the final request is impossible (a single pig doesn't have ten jin of that specific cartilage).

Song Yan's line, "No wonder that Zhen Guanxi got angry. It really was that fellow Lu Tixia who was being too unreasonable," is his humorous epiphany. He realizes that the "hero" of the classic story was actually being an unreasonable bully, and the "villain" had a perfectly good reason to get angry.]