Chapter 7: A Tale Worth Telling

The Lu Family, Qingfeng Residence.

Lu Chengxu woke to find a woman dressed in a wedding gown leaning over his bedside.

Her small hands were fair and tender, resting upon his chest through the large red brocade quilt, making them particularly eye-catching.

He vaguely remembered that yesterday evening, he had been carried to the main hall on a stretcher; they said they had found him a new bride to bring good luck through marriage, and that he must wake up quickly.

Though he could hear, he could not wake, let alone sit up.

Someone had propped him up to perform the wedding bows.

He was already injured to this extent, yet they still propped him up to bow? Who was it that thought his life was too long?

As his vision shifted, the face of the "good luck" bride overlapped with the soot-smudged little face from the boat that night, reminding him of that annoying young girl's face from five years ago—except now, she had matured...

Su Xinyu!

Wasn't she supposed to marry the sixth son?

He immediately reached out and gave her shoulder a gentle push.

With a *thud*, the young girl actually tumbled onto the footstool in front of the bed. He jolted awake, his eyes moist.

"You..."

His elbow throbbed with a numbing pain. Su Xinyu rubbed it, about to scold him, when someone knocked on the door.

"Has the Young Mistress risen? Is it convenient for the Imperial Physician to enter and examine the Young Master?"

"Wait," Su Xinyu called out to stop them. She boldly glared at the man on the bed and lowered her voice, "The wounds on your body were sewn by me. You're repaying kindness with enmity."

He actually pushed her down.

Lu Chengxu acted as if he hadn't heard her, calling out to the outside, "Enter."

The guard said joyfully, "The Young Master is awake! Physician, please, come in quickly."

The two entered.

The guard placed two pillows behind his Young Master so that he could lie semi-upright.

The Imperial Physician sat down, felt Lu Chengxu's pulse, and raised his hand to examine the wounds, but was rejected by Lu Chengxu.

"This old man must examine the wounds to help the Young Lord Lu change the dressings."

Having just heard that the wounds were sewn by her, Lu Chengxu said indifferently, "As for changing the dressings..." His gaze shifted to Su Xinyu, his voice seemingly leaking through the gaps in his teeth, "She can do it."

The Imperial Physician glanced at Su Xinyu with a smile. Seeing that the bride was exquisitely beautiful, he assumed the "good luck marriage" had worked.

Nodding, he resumed checking the pulse. "The situation is much better than in the previous days."

He hesitated for a moment before picking up his brush to write a prescription.

After a short while, he finished and handed the prescription to the guard. He then took a small jar of ointment from his medical box and gave it to Su Xinyu. "This is for topical application; it can reduce inflammation and promote wound healing."

Su Xinyu was stunned and reached out to take it.

Lu Chengxu gave her a sidelong glance. "Get out."

Su Xinyu grumbled inwardly; she wasn't exactly eager to listen to him.

She immediately left the room. Just as she had stepped into the courtyard, the guard followed her out.

"Young Mistress," the guard bowed in greeting. "I am Han Feng."

Su Xinyu recognized him—the man who had been by Lu Chengxu's side on the river that night.

Inside the bridal chamber, Lu Chengxu looked at the Imperial Physician. "Speak freely."

The physician said, "Young Lord Lu was struck by a potent poison. In the past few days, we have administered medicine to suppress the toxicity, but it is not an antidote. The Young Lord is still in mortal danger. Fortunately, the Young Lord used his internal strength to protect his heart meridian. Had it been an ordinary person suffering such severe injuries combined with such potent poison, there is a high probability they would have died on the spot."

Lu Chengxu asked directly, "How much longer do I have to live?"

"This..." The physician said with difficulty, "I shouldn't say, but I can only say that the poison in Young Lord Lu's body has no cure in the Imperial Academy of Medicine."

At the very least, he shouldn't say it to the patient himself.

Lu Chengxu said indifferently, "I am already a dying man. Speak clearly—how many days are left?"

The physician sighed. "Nine months. Furthermore, the poison will flare up frequently. If it cannot be cured within nine months..."

Lu Chengxu's voice was very flat. "I understand."

A short while later, the physician came out.

Han Feng hurriedly raised his hand to see the physician off.

Su Xinyu returned to her room and took out the marriage certificate the old woman had given her last night.

"Since you have woken up, my task of bringing good luck is complete. I must ask Lord Lu to have the Capital Prefecture cancel our marriage."

"Divorce?" Lu Chengxu frowned.

Su Xinyu nodded. "Yes, a divorce."

"That is currently impossible."

The man tilted his head, his expression showing no emotion.

"Why?" Su Xinyu was puzzled.

"The Governor of the Capital Prefecture takes orders from my eldest uncle. This official seal was likely applied under my eldest uncle's instruction."

"Your eldest uncle, Duke Lu?"

"Precisely." The darkness in the man's eyes grew heavy. "To get him to agree would be harder than ascending to heaven."

"The poison in your body is incurable." Su Xinyu placed the ointment on the table. "Just now, you were asking the physician how much longer you could live."

"How did you know?"

"If the Imperial Academy could cure it, they would have done so long ago. How much longer could you have lived?"

Su Xinyu walked to the bedside and met his gaze. The man's eyes were deep, carrying a cold glint and an innate, aloof chill.

Lu Chengxu remained silent.

His gaze did not linger on her for long; after a mere instant, it drifted aimlessly toward the foot of the bed.

Footsteps came from outside; a servant was bringing breakfast.

Su Xinyu was starving.

She had been knocked unconscious upon returning to the Mu family yesterday and had not eaten a single grain or drop of water until now. Seeing the sumptuous breakfast, she didn't care about decorum; she sat down immediately, picked up her chopsticks, and popped a crystal dumpling into her mouth. Her eyes instantly lit up.

As expected of a Duke's residence; the food was extraordinary.

Her pace with the chopsticks accelerated.

Lu Chengxu glanced at her and suddenly felt that not only did his wounds ache terribly, but even his brain was throbbing with pain.

He watched as her small mouth mumbled away, her cheeks bulging as she ate.

What kind of noble lady could eat like this?

She clearly looked decent enough, and her figure was slender...

"Were you reincarnated from a pig?"

The voice that came out was uncharacteristically gentle, but the words were venomous to death.

Su Xinyu looked at him blankly. "I'm hungry."

*You're the pig, your whole family is a pig.*

Seeing the disdain and gloom in his eyes, she felt a sense of trepidation and only dared to curse him in her heart.

Lu Chengxu simply closed his eyes, deciding that out of sight was out of mind.

Han Feng returned and, seeing that the breakfast on the table had noticeably diminished, asked in surprise, "Has the Young Master eaten?"

"I am not hungry."

Lu Chengxu still had his eyes closed.

"Please, Young Mistress, feed the Young Master," Han Feng said, cupping his hands.

Su Xinyu looked up, slowly chewing and swallowing the food in her mouth. "You can feed him too."

Han Feng said, "I am a man and do not have a woman's meticulousness. Besides, there are no other women in Qingfeng Residence."

Lu Chengxu suddenly spoke up, "I will eat by myself."

"He says he will eat by himself."

Su Xinyu put down her chopsticks.

She was full; it was time to go find Qin Qi.

Qin Qi must be starving too; she should bring her two buns.

If two weren't enough, she'd take two more.

The moment Lu Chengxu opened his eyes, he saw her holding a bun in each hand, with two more tucked into the crook of her arms.

Han Feng caught a glimpse of his master's expression and hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "To be able to eat is a blessing."

The couple's gazes simultaneously flickered toward him, as if they were looking at an idiot.

Lu Chengxu's face was cold; was her eating like this a blessing?

A braised pork knuckle had just been swindled away by someone else.

Su Xinyu let out a burp. How could she have eaten that much?

These were for Qin Qi.

Seeing the awkward situation, Han Feng added, "If you ask me, the Young Mistress and the Young Master are very fated. The Young Mistress came to the capital to marry, and encountered the Young Master before even arriving. Bandits caused chaos, and the hero saved the beauty; the lady brought good luck, and the gentleman gained life. This can be called a wonderful tale; they deserve a happy marriage and many descendants."

(End of Chapter)