A Cannon Fodder Who Became The Future Queen - Chapter 21

The scent of orchids was subtle yet pleasant. Many wealthy families would place some orchids in their halls or studies as decoration.

However, the orchids used for making soap were not this kind.

Shopkeepers would buy wild orchids that grew in the mountains from farmers. A single stalk cost about ten-odd coins, and the scent was much stronger.

Ji Ping’an had seen them when she went up the mountain, but her basket was full of game, and she couldn’t fit the wild orchids, so she didn’t pick any.

She wet the soap in the bathtub and smelled a faint, elegant fragrance.

As Ji Ping’an washed herself, she silently sighed and couldn’t help but sniff it again. She was glad she knew Shen Zhiyu well enough not to listen to her.

What a wonderful scent! How could it be that only Shen Zhiyu could use it? She was also someone who appreciated a good quality of life, wasn’t she?

The weather in spring was unpredictable. There was a moon in the first half of the night, but it was covered by dark clouds in the second half, and a light rain began to fall.

The rain landed on the ground, splashing up white water droplets, making a “drip-drop” sound.

Ji Ping’an, who was sleeping soundly, was also woken up by the intermittent sound of the rain.

In her sleep, she pulled the quilt up to cover her ears, but it was no use at all. The sound of the rain was as if it were right next to her.

Had the door not been closed properly?

Ji Ping’an groggily opened her eyes, felt around in the dark for her shoes, and prepared to get out of bed to close the door tightly and see how heavy the rain was.

But just as she took two steps out of bed, there was another “drip-drop.”

The difference was that this time, the raindrop did not land on the ground but happened to fall on her head.

“Huh?!?!?!”

Ji Ping’an was completely awake now.

It wasn’t that the door wasn’t closed or that the rain was heavy; it was clearly the house leaking!

She lit the lamp and saw that a patch of the floor was already wet. Fortunately, the leak was small and near the door.

Ji Ping’an quietly let out a sigh of relief. “Luckily, the leak isn’t over the bed, or how would I have slept tonight!”

She found a pottery jar and placed it under the leak, then blew out the lamp and lay back down in bed, ready to continue sleeping.

After a while, Ji Ping’an suddenly sat up from her bed, put on a jacket, and went out of the room.

She finally knew why she had felt like she had forgotten something very important!

******

After Ji Ping’an finished talking, she returned to her room.

The door bolt had been repaired last time, which gave her a greater sense of security. She no longer had to worry about the Qianyuan suddenly coming in.

Suisui was sleeping soundly on her side, clutching the new clothes she had just bought.

Shen Zhiyu gently took the clothes from her arms, folded them, and placed them to the side before lying down on the bed.

She caressed the silver in her hand, recalling her conversation with Ji Ping’an just now, and felt that Qianyuan seemed a bit foolish.

She hadn’t even said a word, and the other person had already offered three pieces of silver on her own.

Thinking back to the daytime, when Ji Ping’an had confidently said that she could deal with people like Gong Rong.

If she had been a little skeptical then, she was now very skeptical.

Shen Zhiyu silently wondered to herself, if she really had no money and couldn’t afford to eat, would Ji Ping’an still be as patient with her as she was now?

Or would it be like that night, where she exposed Qianyuan’s ugliness to the fullest?

She tightened her grip on the silver, closed her eyes, and stopped thinking.

Shen Zhiyu had always been a light sleeper, so when the house started leaking, she quickly reacted and woke Suisui up.

The two of them first gathered up the bedding from the bed and placed it to the side, but it was inevitable that the bedding still got a little wet.

Water was still dripping from the roof, directly above the bed. There were many leaky spots.

“Sister Jiu, there seems to be only one pottery jar in the house.”

Suisui placed the jar she found on the bed to catch the water, but other spots were still leaking, and even a lot of water splashed on them.

Shen Zhiyu looked up at the roof and said, “I’ll go see if there are any other jars. Suisui, wait for me by the table.”

The area around the table was not leaking, so they temporarily placed the bedding there.

After saying that, Shen Zhiyu opened the door, and unexpectedly, she bumped head-on into Ji Ping’an, who had just rushed over.

Ji Ping’an instinctively reached out and held her waist.

She had just lain back down in bed when she remembered that Suisui and Shen Zhiyu were sleeping in the other room.

She rushed over, and just as she was about to knock on the door to ask about the situation, Shen Zhiyu happened to open the door, and the two of them bumped into each other.

The body in her arms was very soft and carried a faint scent of orchid. When she looked down, she could see Shen Zhiyu’s cold and pale face, her eyelashes were long, and her light brown pupils were exceptionally beautiful.

Ji Ping’an met the gaze of the person in her arms, quickly let go, and also remembered why she had come.

She gave a cough and asked, “Is your room leaking?”

Suisui, who was inside the room, answered first. “Sister, it’s leaking.”

After spending these days together, Suisui had completely come to rely on Ji Ping’an. When she encountered a problem, the first person she thought of was Ji Ping’an.

Hearing that, Ji Ping’an looked at the person in front of her. “Should I go in and take a look?”

The two of them stood under the eaves, very close to each other. The rain hadn’t stopped, and the drip-drop sound fell on their ears.

After a moment of silence, Shen Zhiyu moved to the side, making room for her.

When Ji Ping’an went inside, she found that their room was leaking much more seriously. There were four spots leaking, and most of the rain was near the bed.

The bedding had already been picked up, and the thatch and straw underneath were soaked. The wood was also inevitably wet.

“I’ll move the bed first. We can take it out to dry when the weather gets better.”

Shen Zhiyu and Suisui had tried to move it earlier, but the two of them couldn’t lift it.

Now, hearing Ji Ping’an say this, they went over to help.

But before they even got close, they watched as Ji Ping’an used both arms to exert force, and then the bed was easily lifted off the ground.

In the blink of an eye, she had moved the bed to another location, away from the original leaky spot.

“Sister is so amazing!” Suisui said this with genuine sincerity this time.

Shen Zhiyu was also a little surprised. Although Ji Ping’an had said that she was strong, Shen Zhiyu had not taken it seriously at the time, only thinking it was Qianyuan’s bragging.

After all, she still remembered when Qianyuan hit people, she was clearly someone whose body was hollowed out by alcohol.

It was just that she and Suisui were weak and powerless at the time, which made Qianyuan seem intimidating.

After Ji Ping’an moved the bed, she heard Suisui’s words and smiled. “Of course! Is the bedding wet?”

Shen Zhiyu replied, “Only the quilt is a little wet. The rest isn’t.”

She woke up early, and as soon as she felt the leak, she and Suisui quickly gathered up the bedding.

Ji Ping’an felt the quilt. “It’s still a bit damp. It won’t be comfortable to sleep with. Let’s dry it when the weather gets better.”

“Coincidentally, I have a new quilt in my room. You and Suisui can come to my room. We can all squeeze in together.”

The cotton quilt she had won from the system could finally be put to good use today.

Shen Zhiyu was stunned when she heard her words, and only then did she say, “Go to your room?”

Ji Ping’an nodded, pointing to the leaky spot. “We’ll definitely have to wait until it’s sunny to repair the roof, and your bed is wet. You two can make do in my room for now.”

While they were talking, Suisui, who was beside them, couldn’t help but yawn, and her eyes were almost closing.

Ji Ping’an stroked her head. “Suisui, you go to my room and sleep first. Your sister and I will finish up and be there soon.”

Suisui’s head was already fuzzy, but she still walked towards the door, muttering, “Then I’ll wait for Sister and Sister Jiu in the room.”

“It’s a little dark, be careful where you walk.”

Ji Ping’an was still worried and followed her out. After watching Suisui get on the bed, she returned to the original room.

Seeing her, Shen Zhiyu was a little surprised. She said, “You can sleep with Suisui.”

She had originally thought that Ji Ping’an had left with Suisui and wouldn’t come back to her room.

“You’re not coming?” Ji Ping’an asked.

“I’m not going.” Shen Zhiyu refused without any hesitation. “I can stay here.”

There was no way she would sleep in the same room as Ji Ping’an.

Of course, Ji Ping’an knew what Shen Zhiyu was thinking. She said, “If you don’t come tonight, you’ll have to come for the next few nights as well.”

“It’s easy for it to rain in spring, and we don’t know when this rain will stop.”

“And even if the rain stops, the bed and bedding will need at least two days to dry. Are you not going to sleep for the next few days?”

If it was just one night without sleep, she could manage, but several days in a row would be too much for anyone.

“Will it still rain later?” Shen Zhiyu asked.

She had not thought about that.

Ji Ping’an nodded. Seeing that Shen Zhiyu’s attitude had softened, she continued, “This room of yours is leaking too much, and it’s very damp. Staying here for too long will make you sick. If you get a cold or a fever, you’ll have to drink some bitter medicine.”

When she mentioned getting sick and drinking medicine, she noticed that Shen Zhiyu’s brows furrowed slightly.

As expected, after hearing her words, Shen Zhiyu said, “Then I’ll go.”

She weighed the pros and cons in her mind and knew that what Ji Ping’an said was the truth.

Ji Ping’an also let out a sigh of relief and took her to her own room.

The two rooms were next to each other, with a thatched eaves that connected the two doors, but it was only wide enough for one person.

“You walk behind me, stay under the eaves, and don’t get wet from the rain.”

Ji Ping’an was in front, and Shen Zhiyu followed behind. She looked down at the path, and it was unavoidable that she would step on Ji Ping’an’s footprints in front of her.

The two sets of footprints overlapped and then disappeared as the rain got heavier.

After entering the room, Shen Zhiyu regretted it.

The bed in the room was not very big. It was fine for two people, but it looked crowded for three.

Suisui, who was supposed to wait for them, was already sleeping soundly with the new cotton quilt in her arms.

Shen Zhiyu looked at the bed in front of her and asked in a low voice, “The bed is so small, can we sleep on the floor?”

She suddenly regretted agreeing to Ji Ping’an’s suggestion.

“You on the floor or me on the floor?” Ji Ping’an also asked in a low voice, imitating her.

Shen Zhiyu did not reply, but her eyes were fixed on Ji Ping’an.

Ji Ping’an: “…”

A princess, indeed. Even with amnesia and in such difficult circumstances, she could still create the conditions of a princess for herself.

Ji Ping’an was not a person who liked to make things difficult for herself, nor did she have a tendency to be masochistic. Only a fool wouldn’t sleep on a bed when there was one.

Shen Zhiyu was no fool, and neither was she.

“Don’t worry, Suisui is in the room as well. I won’t do anything to you.”

She lightly touched Shen Zhiyu’s arm and nudged her towards the bed. “It’s just sleeping in the same bed, it’s no big deal.”

Shen Zhiyu stood by the bed and repeated her words, “Just? Do you often sleep in the same bed as others?”

“Huh?” Ji Ping’an didn’t know why Shen Zhiyu would ask that, but she still denied it. “No, this is my first time sleeping with you.”

Not wanting to wake Suisui, she spoke in a hushed voice, which added a certain ambiguity to her words.

Shen Zhiyu’s eyes shifted slightly. “Don’t talk nonsense.”

Ji Ping’an didn’t realize the hidden meaning in her words and simply thought that Shen Zhiyu didn’t believe her.

“I really haven’t slept with anyone else. Tonight is my first time…”

She had only figured out her sexual orientation after the college entrance exam, so she had rented a place off-campus when she entered university.

Even when she traveled with friends, she would rent a room by herself. This was the first time she had ever shared a room with someone of the same s3x.

Let alone the same bed.

“Stop talking,” Shen Zhiyu didn’t know if Ji Ping’an was truly foolish or just pretending. She could only interrupt her. “Let’s sleep, I’m tired.”

Ji Ping’an nodded and asked, “Do you want to sleep on the outside or the inside?”

When she had said in the other room that they should sleep together, she had originally planned for Suisui to sleep in the middle.

But Suisui was already fast asleep on the innermost side of the bed, so the two of them could only sleep side-by-side.

“Outside,” Shen Zhiyu said.

Ji Ping’an nodded. She didn’t care about sleeping on the inside or outside. She turned around, took off her shoes and got on the bed, then took off her outer robe.

Shen Zhiyu was sitting on the edge of the bed taking off her shoes. When she looked up again, she saw that Qianyuan was only wearing her inner garments.

“You…”

“What is it?” Ji Ping’an had already laid down and whispered to her, “You use this quilt, and Suisui and I will use this one.”

As she spoke, she carefully pulled the corner of the quilt from Suisui’s hand and covered herself with it.

Seeing the separate quilt in front of her, Shen Zhiyu finally wasn’t as resistant as she had been before.

If she had to share a quilt with Ji Ping’an as well, she would not have slept in this room, no matter what.

After a while, Shen Zhiyu blew out the oil lamp and lay down. The old bed made a “creaking” sound.

Ji Ping’an had already gotten used to the sound of the bed, but hearing it again now, it felt particularly abrupt in the quiet space.

Especially with another person beside her, she could feel the other’s faint breathing. Even in the darkness, she could make out the silhouette of the person lying on their side.

After a while, Ji Ping’an looked at the slender silhouette in the darkness and asked softly, “Sister Jiu, are you asleep?”

Shen Zhiyu paused, a hint of wariness flashing in her eyes. The hand under the quilt couldn’t help but clench, and she did not reply.

When she didn’t get a response, Ji Ping’an assumed Shen Zhiyu was already asleep.

“Good night, Sister Jiu. Good night, Suisui.” After saying that, she also closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Ji Ping’an’s voice was very soft, but Shen Zhiyu heard it clearly.

Only after she heard the peaceful breathing in the room did she close her eyes.

[Target’s favorability +5]

******

Because of the leaking room last night, they were up for a long time and only fell asleep when it was almost dawn.

However, perhaps due to her previous body clock, Ji Ping’an woke up at about the same time as usual.

When she opened her eyes, Suisui and Shen Zhiyu were not yet awake.

Suisui was still in her original sleeping position, curled up into a small ball. Ji Ping’an helped tuck the corner of the quilt in for her, then turned her head to look at Shen Zhiyu.

There was not much distance between the two of them, only separated by two quilts. She was close enough to see Shen Zhiyu’s long eyelashes.

Her long, smooth hair was pressed against the pillow. When her eyes were closed, the coldness on Shen Zhiyu’s face would slightly dissipate.

Her gaze moved down. The injury on her face had completely healed, and her smooth, fair cheek was like a piece of glazed porcelain.

If she was a cold, distant moon hanging high in the sky when she was awake, then the person sleeping now was like a piece of warm jade.

Beautiful and noble, making one want to protect her well, unwilling for the beautiful jade to be stained with even the slightest blemish.

Ji Ping’an felt a little fortunate at this moment that she had transmigrated that night and not any later. Otherwise, Shen Zhiyu would have truly ended up with a limp and a scar, just like in the original book.

When this thought emerged, the system panel in her mind also flickered.

“Do you think I’m praising you?” she said in her mind.

The panel paused, and although it didn’t speak, the meaning was clear: Isn’t that so?

Ji Ping’an: “…”

She said, “If you had sent me over three or four days earlier, the favorability wouldn’t be in the negatives right now.”

Sensing Ji Ping’an’s thoughts, the system completely stopped moving and was much more obedient than before.

“Are you frozen?” Ji Ping’an deliberately asked.

The system still did not respond, committing to playing dead.

Ji Ping’an chuckled and no longer bothered with the system. Her gaze fell back on Shen Zhiyu.

What a beautiful person. She wondered how she could have been so ruthless as to suggest that she sleep on the floor last night.

As she watched, she met Shen Zhiyu’s gaze.

Ji Ping’an didn’t avoid it and said, “You’re awake?”

Shen Zhiyu nodded. She had actually woken up earlier than Ji Ping’an.

After feeling that the other person had woken up, she had closed her eyes again, wanting to see what the other person would do.

Who knew that after she closed her eyes, Ji Ping’an also became quiet, only the burning gaze that she couldn’t ignore was still there. She had no choice but to open her eyes.

Shen Zhiyu couldn’t get used to being in the same bed with someone in broad daylight. She said, “I’m getting up.”

“Alright.” Shen Zhiyu was on the outside of the bed, so Ji Ping’an said, “You get up first, then I’ll get up.”

Shen Zhiyu hummed in response. “Then turn around.”

“?” Ji Ping’an hadn’t reacted yet. “Why?”

Shen Zhiyu looked at her and said, “I need to put on my clothes.”

Hearing that, Ji Ping’an immediately turned around, looking at the wall in front of her.

In fact, the inner garments they were wearing were similar to modern long underwear. They didn’t expose their arms or legs, and were even more conservative.

Ji Ping’an was a modern person and didn’t think it was a big deal to see someone in their inner garments.

However, she had been told off by Shen Zhiyu for just rolling up her sleeves before, so she immediately turned around obediently.

But while her eyes could avoid it, her ears could not.

When Shen Zhiyu took her outer robe from the side of the bed, the bed started creaking again. Then came the sound of clothes rubbing against each other.

Ji Ping’an could imagine Shen Zhiyu’s fair, long fingers wrapping around the garment’s tie, the robe draped over her shoulders, covering the whiteness of her neck and collarbone.

The rustling was intermittent. She felt her breathing change with the sound, and occasionally when the bed creaked, her heart itched.

After a while, the room became quiet again. Ji Ping’an tentatively asked, “Are you ready?”

“I am,” Shen Zhiyu said, now fully dressed and standing on the floor.

Ji Ping’an then turned around and saw that she was neatly dressed. “Then I’ll get up too.”

Getting up was much simpler for her. She sat up and put on her outer robe directly, then slowly buttoned it up while still in her inner garments.

Shen Zhiyu only glanced at her before looking away and walking out of the room.

Just as Ji Ping’an had said, the rain had not stopped, but it was much lighter than last night.

A few passersby, wearing rain capes, passed by the door and said, “This year’s rain is good. The seedlings will probably sprout more than in previous years.”

“Yes, when I woke up this morning and saw that it was raining, I hurried to the fields to take a look, and the crops are all growing really well.”

“It looks like this rain will last for another two or three days. When the sky clears up, we can go to the fields and put down some fertilizer. The harvest will definitely be good.”

Ji Ping’an, who had just come out, also heard this. “Then we’ll probably have to wait a few days to repair the roof.”

They couldn’t repair it while it was raining; even climbing a ladder would be slippery.

Her guess about the rain was just a random thought last night to convince Shen Zhiyu to sleep in a better room and not get sick.

But the farmers who planted crops relied on the weather all year round and were the best at reading it. What they said was usually true.

Shen Zhiyu looked at the drizzling rain and gave a soft hum.

This meant she wouldn’t object to sleeping together for the next few days. Ji Ping’an asked, “I was pretty well-behaved in my sleep last night, wasn’t I?”

“You were fine,” Shen Zhiyu said.

She had indeed been worried last night that Ji Ping’an would take this opportunity to grope her.

But from beginning to end, Ji Ping’an had maintained the same sleeping position and hadn’t touched her in the slightest.

Ji Ping’an couldn’t help but curve her lips. Shen Zhiyu’s “fine” was a good enough evaluation.

“I’ll go make breakfast. What do you want to eat?”

“Anything is fine,” Shen Zhiyu said. After saying that, she finally moved her gaze from the rain to Ji Ping’an. “Did you use the soap from last night?”

She had noticed last night that Qianyuan had a very light orchid fragrance on her.

When the two of them were a little closer, their similar scents seemed to blend together.

“Yeah, I bought it because I thought it smelled good.”

Ji Ping’an hadn’t expected Shen Zhiyu to bring it up on her own. “You think it smells good, too?”

“Next time I go to town, I can buy some more. That way I should be able to… use it.”

But she didn’t get a chance to say the last two words. Shen Zhiyu walked away directly, looking like she had no desire to communicate with her.

Ji Ping’an: “?”

She was completely baffled. Did Shen Zhiyu really like this soap that much?

Was her possessiveness so strong that she couldn’t even mention it?

But then she reconsidered. If she were to truly compare, with her current favorability, she probably couldn’t even compete with a bar of soap.

Ji Ping’an: “…”

No longer thinking about this sad fact, she went into the kitchen. Ji Ping’an took out some vegetables and duck eggs and opened the system panel.

She had only intended to check Shen Zhiyu’s health to see if she had gotten sick yesterday.

Unexpectedly, the favorability that was originally -35 was now at -30, and she had gained five more opportunities to draw cards, bringing her total to 15.

“!!!”

Ji Ping’an remembered that she had indeed heard the sound of favorability increasing last night.

But at the time, she was sleeping soundly and thought it was a dream.

With the increase in favorability, Ji Ping’an instantly stopped being hung up on who held a higher status between her and the orchid soap.

It was just an orchid soap, wasn’t it? She would go to the county town another day and buy a few more for Shen Zhiyu.

She would firmly support Shen Zhiyu’s possessiveness over the orchid soap!