Chapter 27: Young Master Shen? He's not up to the task

Auntie Yang was at a loss for words: "Dr. Ye, I—I'm so sorry, I didn't—"

Ye Chutang shook her head slightly to indicate it was fine, then beckoned to Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu ran over on her short little legs, holding a grass-woven dragonfly, presenting it to Ye Chutang like a precious treasure.

—She had woven it herself!

Ye Chutang gave her a thumbs up: "Xiao Wu, you're amazing!"

Xiao Wu smiled with pursed lips.

Ye Chutang pulled a silver ingot from her portable pouch and handed it over.

The little toddler's smile grew even wider; she leaned in to plant a kiss on Ye Chutang's cheek and then scurried off, pitter-patter, pitter-patter.

Watching this scene, Auntie Yang was momentarily speechless. It took a long while before she finally said, "Does Xiao Wu not remember anything from before? Well, that's for the best, that's for the best..."

The things she had mentioned just now were things a child of Xiao Wu's age could already understand. If it were a sensitive child, they might have been sad for a long time, but Xiao Wu seemed completely unbothered.

Ye Chutang nodded with a faint smile: "She is young."

Auntie Yang's gaze fell upon her face, and she couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

With Dr. Ye's appearance and temperament, she truly looked as if she had stepped out of a painting; one could not find another like her in all of Jiangling.

Furthermore, it was truly rare to be able to keep Xiao Wu's temperament so innocent and lively.

But for a woman to raise several younger brothers and sisters alone was truly arduous. If something were to happen, there wouldn't be a single person in the family who could help her.

Auntie Yang couldn't help but say, "Dr. Ye, why don't you reconsider? Find a man to marry into your family!"

*Clatter.*

Ye Chutang's wrist slipped, and thick ink dripped onto the paper, spreading into a dark blotch.

She sighed, replaced the paper, and then said, "Didn't I tell you before that I have no such intention? Why are you bringing it up again?"

With these children at home, she was already exhausted enough; if another man came along, she might as well stop living.

Auntie Yang, however, grew anxious for her: "I'm doing this for your own good, aren't I? Look at you, handling all the affairs of the household, both inside and out, all by yourself. It's so much work! You don't have three heads and six arms; how can you take care of everything? Finding a man would at least help share the burden!"

Ye Chutang didn't blame her for thinking this way. Growing up in this era, people inherently felt that a woman had to rely on a man to survive. At the same time, Auntie Yang felt she was working too hard and was offering her advice out of kindness.

But she truly had no interest in the matter.

In the end, Ye Chutang could only deflect: "You know my situation, Auntie Yang. There is no one suitable."

What family would be willing to marry a woman who came with three children?

Back when Cao Chengwen had sent word through an intermediary, his implication was that being able to take her as a concubine was already a great blessing for her.

Ye Chutang had politely kicked him out on the spot.

"Besides, with so many things going on lately, it would likely only cause more trouble."

Ye Chutang had intended to squash Auntie Yang's idea, but she didn't expect that after hearing this, the woman would slap her thigh.

"How can there be no one suitable! The one living in your house, I think he's quite suitable!"

Ye Chutang: "...???"

A rare look of bewilderment appeared in her eyes, because she truly had no idea in what way she and Shen Yanchuan were suitable.

Auntie Yang, however, was quite spirited: "Even though he doesn't go out much, I happened to catch a glimpse of him when I came just now! Oh, that face of his is truly beyond reproach! Even if he is a sickly man, with you, Dr. Ye, there certainly won't be any problems!"

Seeing her silence, Auntie Yang widened her eyes: "Could it be that he is already married?"

Ye Chutang choked on her words.

"I'm not sure."

She had absolutely no desire to be associated with this man; why would she care if he had started a family?

Auntie Yang remained enthusiastic: "Then just go and ask! If he isn't married yet, he could just marry into the Ye family!"

Over the years, Auntie Yang had actually always been concerned about Ye Chutang's marriage prospects, but she had never seen anyone good. Many had intentions toward Ye Chutang, but in Auntie Yang's eyes, they were all "crooked melons and split gourds." Only Cao Chengwen's conditions were decent, but he only wanted to take her as a concubine—how could that be acceptable!

Now that she had finally encountered someone who looked extremely well-matched to Ye Chutang at a glance, Auntie Yang naturally did not want to miss the opportunity.

"Dr. Ye, if you feel embarrassed, I'll go and inquire for you!"

As she spoke, she prepared to stand up and head out, but Ye Chutang hurriedly called her back.

"Auntie Yang, please don't trouble yourself for me. I can barely find the time to worry about A-Yan and A-Feng; how could I possibly attend to anything else?"

Seeing that Auntie Yang was not yet discouraged, Ye Chutang continued: "And that Young Master Shen..."

She paused, then said with a straight face, "His health is not very good."

"Ah?" Auntie Yang heard this with a look of regret. If it were any other ailment, it could more or less be remedied, but poor health was a different matter. If even Dr. Ye said so, it meant he was indeed beyond help.

She finally abandoned the idea, waving her hands repeatedly: "Then forget it! A man with poor health is not worth having!"

If they truly ended up together, wouldn't that just be holding Dr. Ye back?

...

Shen Yanchuan's body had almost completely recovered. The two wounds on his chest and abdomen were nothing more than shallow scars, and the residual toxins in his body had basically been cleared out.

On this day, he uncharacteristically took Lian Zhou out, only returning to the medical clinic in the evening.

Auntie Yang happened to be coming out from inside. Seeing the master and servant, she couldn't help but steal a few extra glances.

As she watched, she sighed in her heart: *What a pity! This man's features and physique are truly impeccable, but why is he—*

*Sigh!*

Auntie Yang walked away, shaking her head.

As Shen Yanchuan stepped over the threshold, he suddenly paused.

He tilted his head slightly and asked, "That person just now..."

Lian Zhou immediately replied, "That was Auntie Yang from next door to the clinic. You saw her on your first day here."

It was she who had run over to tell Ye Chutang that Ye Yunfeng had been fighting at the academy and told her to go check on him immediately.

Shen Yanchuan naturally remembered, but that wasn't what he wanted to ask. He wanted to ask—

"Is there something wrong with my face?"

Lian Zhou shook his head, somewhat puzzled as to why his master would ask such a question: "No, there isn't."

Shen Yanchuan's brow twitched slightly.

Then why did he feel just now that Auntie Yang's gaze toward him was so peculiar?

After thinking for a moment to no avail, he simply stopped thinking about it.

Just as he was about to step inside, he suddenly felt something bump into his leg.

*Thud.*

Xiao Wu landed on her bottom on the ground, rubbing her forehead and looking up blankly.

She had been running too fast and hadn't noticed there was someone ahead, so she had bumped straight into him.

At the same time, a book fell out from her arms.

As Shen Yanchuan leaned down to pick her up, he heard Ye Yunfeng's voice from ahead: "Xiao Wu! You took the wrong book!"

A book?

Shen Yanchuan cast a casual glance and suddenly saw the title of the book. His gaze tightened.

—*Memorial on the Ten Reflections of Emperor Taizong*

(End of Chapter)