A Good Country Wife
Chapter 219 - 218: Late Night_1

Chapter 219: Chapter 218: Late Night_1

After this incident, the couple had finally reconciled, but Zhao Erhu encountered a very depressing matter — his young wife now refused to let him touch her. Even the slightest movement would cause her to react like a startled cat, completely uncooperative and harmonious. It seemed this time, he did not come out unscathed. He had worked so hard for so long to finally get his young wife used to his closeness, but it was as if he had gone back to ancient times overnight. His heart was chilled; he realized he still had to work hard.

Lin Yue had exerted herself too much today and had caught a chill in the cave. In the evening, when she went to bed, she started feeling pain in her abdomen, tossed and turned without falling asleep, rolling from the head to the foot of the bed. The pain seemed to be getting worse. Zhao Erhu watched anxiously by her side. When he reached out to stroke his young wife’s head, she slapped his hand away ruthlessly.

"Wife, what’s the matter? Does your tummy hurt?" Zhao Erhu saw Lin Yue clutching her stomach and thought it resembled how women behaved during ’those days’ they had monthly.

Seeing Lin Yue not answering, Zhao Erhu was sure his young wife was suffering from stomach pain. He hurried to the kitchen to make her a cup of brown sugar water, something he had seen the Zhao family and Li family women do during their ’little days.’ His sister-in-law also said it was good for women to drink brown sugar water at that time, and he had previously bought some to keep at home just in case. Now he quickly prepared it for his young wife.

"Wife, here, drink some brown sugar water, and your stomach won’t hurt after you finish it." Zhao Erhu helped Lin Yue sit up in bed and lean on him. This time, his young wife did not refuse, probably because the pain was too intense.

Lin Yue, looking at the brown sugar water brought to her lips by Zhao Erhu, wrinkled her nose in disgust but didn’t refuse, knowing it was good to drink it at that moment. She quickly drank down the warm bowl of brown sugar water, feeling a warm current flow through her body, making her feel like her abdomen really wasn’t hurting as much anymore.

Zhao Erhu sighed with relief seeing Lin Yue seemingly feeling better. He wouldn’t have known what to do if the pain had continued. If they had to call a doctor, his young wife might not agree due to losing face, as such matters were often embarrassing for a woman. Now seeing his young wife finally feeling slightly better, gently leaning on his shoulder but still slightly frowning and holding her stomach, she didn’t seem quite comfortable yet.

"Wife, does it still hurt? Shall I rub your stomach for you? It won’t hurt after I massage it." Speaking gently, as if afraid of startling Lin Yue, Zhao Erhu’s voice was soft. Unconsciously, Lin Yue relaxed her grip, and Zhao Erhu’s large palm warmed her small abdomen, gently massaging it, which was quite comfortable. Lin Yue was just feigning sleep, but somehow fell asleep before she knew it.

Zhao Erhu saw his young wife had finally fallen asleep after much difficulty and didn’t dare move carelessly, afraid of waking her. He lay on the edge of the bed, allowing his young wife to rest her head on his arm, and slept with her in that half-sided posture.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Suddenly, a series of urgent knocks at the door echoed in the middle of the night, sounding especially jarring in the silence. Not only did Zhao Erhu wake up, but Lin Yue was also startled awake by the noise.

Lin Yue was in the middle of a nice dream and sat up with a start, blurily looking at Zhao Erhu, "What’s happened? Who’s knocking at this hour?"

Zhao Erhu saw Lin Yue seemed a bit frightened and gently patted her back, "I don’t know, you keep sleeping, I’ll go check."

"Who’s there? What’s this, in the middle of the night!" Zhao Erhu’s tone was not very pleasant. Regardless of who it was, no one would be in a good mood after being woken up in the middle of the night, especially since the person also frightened his young wife. His young wife had already been startled once during the day on the mountain, and now she was woken up by the loud knocking at night. A few more frights like this could really cause some harm. Fortunately, his young wife was braver now; if it had been like when she first arrived after their marriage, she might have been scared half to death.

Zhao Erhu suddenly opened the door just as Chunxi was about to knock, her hand still raised, the effort not yet exerted, and she looked at Zhao Erhu somewhat awkwardly.

"Brother Erhu, it’s me, Chunxi." Chunxi withdrew her hand, lowered her head, and spoke softly as if she were somewhat shy, looking nothing like the person who had just banged on the door so forcefully—a stark contrast in behavior.

Zhao Erhu was somewhat surprised to see Chunxi outside his door, and his furrowed brows not only did not relax but tightened even more. In the middle of the night, a woman whose husband had been away for three or four years and had not returned yet was now appearing at his doorstep. This was bound to raise eyebrows no matter how one looked at it.

It was a good thing his young wife was at home; otherwise, the village gossip wouldn’t be pleasant to hear. Most importantly, his impression of this woman was quite poor. Even his young wife had distanced herself from her, and yet she still sought his company. Occasionally, she even approached him, leaving Erhu wondering what was going on in her mind.

"Chunxi, what on earth are you doing banging on our door in the middle of the night instead of sleeping at your home? You didn’t come to the wrong place, did you? Hurry back. I need to sleep," said Zhao Erhu as he began to close the door, only to have Chunxi block it with her body.

"Brother Erhu, I, I..." Chunxi looked at Zhao Erhu, her eyes brimming with tears, a picture of sorrow. She dabbed at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, though it was unclear if there were any tears. She struggled to explain herself but managed to pose in a way that allowed Zhao Erhu to see her rather attractive profile and neck under the moonlight, her collar somewhat loose—deliberately or not was anyone’s guess.

However, Zhao Erhu had never had much interest or attention to spare for any woman other than his wife and hadn’t noticed Chunxi’s efforts. He was extremely impatient with her hesitant, time-wasting demeanor. His young wife was waiting for him to come back to bed, and here was this woman, making no sense—her mind must be troubled.

Lin Yue was also curious—who could it be knocking on their door at this late hour? Judging by the noise, it must have been something serious. Seeing that Zhao Erhu had not returned to the room, Lin Yue didn’t want to wait around and simply wrapped herself in an outer garment to see what had happened.

"Eh, Chunxi, it’s you? What are you doing here this late at night?" Lin Yue felt oddly unsettled upon seeing Chunxi like this.

"Why are you out here, wife? It’s chilly at night; don’t catch a cold," said Zhao Erhu as he tightened the collar of Lin Yue’s outer garment.

"Fussing over nothing—it’s such a hot night; how could I catch a cold? Erhu, does Chunxi have some urgent matter, coming over at this hour?"

"Yueyue, you’re home. I saw Brother Erhu looking for you everywhere at noon; I thought you had a falling out with him and went back to your mother’s home." Chunxi’s eyes flickered as she saw Lin Yue. She had thought Lin Yue had left home after a quarrel with Zhao Erhu and had not expected her to come back so soon; hence her smile was somewhat stiff.