Chapter 13: And Just Like That, I Have a Little Wife

Xiao Hanzheng wore a look of slight helplessness.

"Could I trouble you for one more favor?"

Shi Qingluo looked at him, "Hmm?"

Hearing hurried footsteps approaching from outside, Xiao Hanzheng said weakly, "Could you help me up? I want to sit halfway up."

"Sure!" Shi Qingluo stood up and walked over.

She pulled on Xiao Hanzheng's arm, but she couldn't pull him up.

She knew that since he had been in a coma for so long without eating, and without the benefit of daily nutritional IVs like in the modern world, he was bound to be weak and lacking strength.

So, she bent down, wrapped her arms around his back, and lifted his upper body in one go, shifting him back.

Xiao Hanzheng, held in her arms, stiffened again. Doesn't this woman know how to be shy?

Once he was positioned, Shi Qingluo let go of him and stuffed a pillow behind his back. "There."

"Thank you!" Xiao Hanzheng’s expression was somewhat unnatural.

Seeing his bashful appearance, Shi Qingluo chuckled. Is he shy?

Tsk tsk, her little husband is truly innocent.

Just as Xiao Hanzheng sat halfway up on the bed, the sound of the door being pushed open rang out.

Mother Xiao and the other two rushed in as fast as they could.

Seeing the person sitting halfway up on the bed, Mother Xiao and Little Sister Xiao couldn't hold back their tears, and Erlang’s eyes turned red as well.

"Zheng'er, you're awake! This is wonderful!" Mother Xiao clasped her hands together.

"Brother!" Little Sister Xiao and Erlang also crowded around.

Looking at his living mother, younger brother, and younger sister, Xiao Hanzheng finally felt that this was real.

So, he really had returned. He had returned to a time before his brother drowned, before his sister was dragged away to be a sacrificial bride, and before his mother was bitten to death by wild beasts while venturing deep into the mountains to earn money for his medicine.

He still had time to undo all of this.

"Mother!" he looked at her with a mix of bitterness and relief.

Then he looked at his brother and sister, "Baili, Yi'er, I'm awake. From now on, I am here."

Rest assured, this time I will never let anyone hurt you again.

The mother and her two children cried even harder. "Good, good!"

Xiao Hanzheng then looked at the few people who had walked over.

He wore a handsome, elegant smile, his voice still carrying a hint of weakness. "Grandfather Clan Leader, uncles, thank you all for helping to take care of my mother, brother, and sister while I was in a coma."

Shi Qingluo looked at Xiao Hanzheng. At this moment, he exuded a gentle, jade-like elegance.

She couldn't help but recall how, when he first woke up, he was filled with a towering, murderous aura, his eyes frosted with ice, looking like a soul-reaping messenger from hell—a stark contrast to how he was now.

She raised her eyebrows slightly. This little husband of hers doesn't seem simple at all!

Seeing Xiao Hanzheng awake, the Clan Leader and the others couldn't help but show genuine smiles.

Clan Leader Xiao looked at him affectionately. "It's good that you're awake."

One of the clan elders stroked his beard and said, "To be able to wake up after all that, Hanzheng is a blessed man."

The others echoed in agreement.

Hearing their words, Shi Qingluo interjected, "Isn't it because I woke him up by 'chongxi' (rushing a wedding to ward off bad luck)?"

Using the wedding to wake him up—she needed this reputation.

Look at what a good girl she is: she voluntarily asked to marry into the family to perform a chongxi, and on the very day she arrived, she actually woke her husband up. How blessed she must be.

In the future, if she and Xiao Hanzheng didn't get along and wanted to divorce, she could stand on the moral high ground.

Xiao Hanzheng: "..." She really dared to say that.

In his previous life, after this coma, he had woken up on his own; no one had performed a chongxi for him back then.

The people present: "..." How should they respond to that?

Come to think of it, it really was true.

The doctor had previously concluded that Xiao Hanzheng would basically never wake up, telling them to prepare themselves mentally or even start preparing for his funeral. Yet, now he was awake.

It happened exactly on the day the Shi girl married in; it was too much of a coincidence.

So, this chongxi really did work.

Clan Leader Xiao laughed and said, "Haha, Hanzheng's wife is also a blessed one."

He looked at Xiao Hanzheng and said, "Your wife voluntarily asked to marry you to perform this chongxi. This sincerity is rare; you must cherish her."

Xiao Hanzheng was stunned, clearly surprised that Shi Qingluo had actually volunteered to marry him.

He had never met her before. From the moment he woke up until now, her gaze toward him had been clear and simple, without any adoration or infatuation.

Currently, other than his scholar status, he had nothing.

Even worse, he had been in a coma; marrying him might have meant becoming a widow. So, what was she after?

He couldn't figure out why Shi Qingluo married him, so he decided not to think about it for now; he would find out eventually.

He nodded at the Clan Leader and smiled, "Don't worry, Grandfather Clan Leader, I will."

The Clan Leader nodded. "You've been in a coma for over ten days and look physically weak. Take this time to rest and recover well."

"You all should talk amongst yourselves."

After saying this, he prepared to lead the others out.

Shi Qingluo also stood up. "I'll see you all out so you can continue with the banquet."

She took the initiative to give them space so the family could talk.

If it were her, she would certainly be curious about how she suddenly ended up with a wife upon waking up.

Xiao Hanzheng understood. "I'll trouble you to entertain the guests for now, my wife."

Shi Qingluo noticed that this guy was quick on the uptake. "Alright, I will."

And so, she followed the Clan Leader and the others out the door.

After they left, Xiao Hanzheng looked at Mother Xiao and said, "Mother, can you explain now how I suddenly ended up with a wife?"

Mother Xiao smiled with a bit of a guilty conscience. "Well, she is the savior of your brother, sister, and yourself."

"I thought that a life-saving grace should be repaid by marriage, and you marrying her to repay the debt is the same thing, so I helped you bring her home."

"Qingluo is very good. Your brother, sister, and I all like her."

She added, "She's such a good girl, you'll like her too in the future."

Her tone was a bit heavier on that last part, as if she were emphasizing it to her son or perhaps comforting herself.

Xiao Hanzheng was puzzled. "A life-saving grace?"

Erlang immediately said, "Yes! I fell into the river and almost drowned, and Sister Qingluo happened to pass by and saved me."

Little Sister Xiao also said, "That day, when Sister Qingluo brought Erlang back, she ran into Eldest Aunt, who had brought people from the Wu family in the county to force me away to be a sacrificial bride."

"She beat up Eldest Aunt, threatened the Wu family people away, and saved me."

Mother Xiao added, "You had a high fever that wouldn't break, and the doctor said if it didn't go down, you might never wake up."

"It was Qingluo who took out medicine refined by her master. After we gave it to you, your fever broke that very day."

"And today, when Qingluo married in, you really were woken up by the chongxi."

"So, Qingluo is not only our family's savior but also your lucky star."

She kept praising Shi Qingluo, hoping her son wouldn't dislike her and would treat her well in the future.

"Yes, yes, Sister Qingluo is very good. We like her, and Big Brother will definitely like her too," Little Sister Xiao and Erlang chimed in.

Xiao Hanzheng: "..."

So, while he was in a coma, his mother, brother, and sister just went ahead and "offered his hand in marriage"—cough, cough—"offered his body in marriage" for him?

And just like that, without him knowing anything at all, he ended up with a little wife...

Today's update is finished. Thank you for the tips and votes, dears~~

(End of chapter)