My Husband Became the Most Powerful Minister - Chapter 43

Helan Ci thought, What kind of silly question was that? She couldn’t help but grow even more suspicious that Lu Wuyou might really be sick—especially since he couldn’t even write his current article properly, which was even more abnormal.

Immediately, Helan Ci stood up and said, “I’ll go call a doctor for you.”

Lu Wuyou coughed lightly, tugging at Helan Ci’s sleeve, and said, “…… No need, it’s late at night, and I’m not seriously ill.”

Helan Ci was held back by his grip. Seeing his flushed face and his coughing, she steadied herself and said, “I remember you know a bit of medicine yourself?”

Lu Wuyou said, “Yes, so it’s not serious. You sit down, I…” He hesitated then looked away and said, “I’m just a bit uncomfortable.”

Helan Ci remembered that there were still quite a few medicinal herbs in the manor and couldn’t help but say, “Then I’ll… have someone brew some medicine for you? There should still be herbs for treating colds in the house.”

Lu Wuyou said listlessly, “……I don’t want to take the medicine.”

…His condition has worsened quite rapidly; in the blink of an eye, he looks even more sickly.

Helan Ci had no choice but to say, “Then would you like to lie down on the couch and rest for a while?”

Lu Wuyou nodded feebly, his face turning an even deeper shade of red.

Helann Ci touched his forehead again, and it was indeed hotter than before, so she helped him lie down on the couch.

Lu Wuyou breathed lightly and loosened his collar, just about to undo it when he saw Helan Ci pick up the blanket from the side and firmly cover him with it, tucking in the corners meticulously.

In that instant, Lu Wuyou felt suffocated.

Helan Ci thoughtfully added, “When I had a cold as a child, my family said once you sweat it out, the fever goes down quickly.” Perhaps seeing his discomfort, her voice grew even gentler. “Just bear with it.”

Lu Wuyou was indeed very patient; sweat had already started to bead on his forehead, and his breath came in quick gasps. He lowered his eyes and turned his face away, but they quickly returned.

Helan Ci asked someone to bring a basin of cold water, wrung out a wet cloth, and placed it on Lu Wuyou’s forehead. Then she used another cloth to wipe his sweat. Although he still looked hotter and hotter, sweating more and more, even the hair at his temples began to dampen.

She couldn’t help but become even more worried.

From his lowered line of sight, Lu Wuyou could see the girl’s focused, serious, and slightly worried expression. It was particularly vivid on her face, as if even the smallest details were magnified, and all her reactions were influenced by him.

Helan Ci changed the now-warm towel with fresh water again and heard Lu Wuyou said, “…… I’m hungry.”

“……Now?”

Helan Ci felt a bit lost. When she was sick, she had no appetite and couldn’t eat anything.

Lu Wuyou nodded.

Maybe people are just different, Helan Ci thought inwardly and asked, “What do you want to eat?”

Lu Wuyou’s Adam’s apple moved as his chest gently rose and fell. His voice was faint and weak, like a wisp of smoke, as he said, “Late-night snack… I want sweet porridge.”

Helan Ci nodded to indicate she understood, stood up, and said, “I’ll have someone cook it for you.”

Lu Wuyou lightly tugged at her hem, tilted his head slightly, and seemed quite puzzled as he asked, “You can’t cook?”

He demands quite a lot.

Helan Ci hesitated and said, “Actually, I haven’t really cooked much…”

When she was a child, she was always sick, so even when she arrived in Qingzhou, she didn’t need to lift a finger.

Once again, Lu Wuyou marveled at how oddly her skill points were distributed. He sighed softly, “Porridge is easy. You can ask someone. It’s not that much trouble.” As he spoke, he seemed about to sit up. “Otherwise, I’ll…”

Once again, Helan Ci pinned him down.

The patient is the most important.

“Don’t move…” Helan Ci sighed lightly and said, “I’ll cook it for you, just lie here and don’t move.”

Almost as soon as Helan Ci left the study, Lu Wuyou threw off the tightly tucked blanket, pushed it away, sat up abruptly, gasping for breath, and wiped the sweat from his forehead. His whole body felt sticky and uncomfortable, yet he couldn’t help but feel happy.

It was the oddest feeling.

Every emotion felt unfamiliar, like his head was in a daze.

Before long, Helan Ci returned with a tray.

Hearing the footsteps, Lu Wuyou had already flopped back onto the couch, reluctantly pulling the blanket over again. Helan Ci picked up the bowl of porridge and nervously, but honestly, said, “It’s my first time cooking porridge. The taste might be… not great. If it’s too awful to eat, then…”

Lu Wuyou had already sat up on his own: “…… It’s fine.”

Helan Ci saw that he still looked weak and unenergetic, holding the bowl hesitantly and said, “How about I feed you?”

Lu Wuyou: “……”

He struggled, he actually struggled.

A lingering sense of shame made him finally raise his hand and say, “……Forget it, I’ll do it myself.”

However, Helan Ci raised the bowl and said, “Don’t push yourself, lie down. I’ll feed you.”

Seeing the spoon almost reaching his mouth, Lu Wuyou’s sense of shame wavered. Just then, he suddenly caught a faint bitter smell at the tip of his nose, and he stiffened, saying, “Did you brew medicine?”

Helan Ci raised the spoon and said, “Yes, after finishing the porridge, you need to take the medicine. Don’t struggle, Lu Daren. When you’re sick, you need to take medicine.”

Lu Wuyou instantly woke up.

At this moment, he suddenly decided to be himself.

“Actually, I’m not sick. I just…”

But Helan Ci seemed to be convinced of him being sick. “Since you’re sick, be good.”

The porridge was fed into his mouth. Her tone was unrelenting, but her movements were gentle. The soft, sweet flavor spread across his tongue, and for a moment, Lu Wuyou even forgot his original struggle.

Helan Ci still said, “If you find it hard to eat, just tell me.”

At this moment, Lu Wuyou lowered his eyes, not saying a word, with sweat rolling down his forehead.

After finishing the porridge, it was time for the medicine. As Helan Ci picked up the bowl, she also held a small paper packet containing a few candied fruits. She was thinking about how to persuade Lu Wuyou to drink the medicine, when suddenly, Lu Wuyou’s gaze flickered and he took the bowl and drank it in one gulp.

Huh?

Helan Ci was still stunned when Lu Wuyou suddenly leaned in. She could clearly see the fine sweat on his elegant face and the faint red in his eyes. The next moment, a bitter taste passed between their lips.

Lu Wuyou supported her jaw, as if trying to fully comprehend the term “bittersweet.”

Though his breath burned with fever, his strength hadn’t diminished at all. His kiss was unusually forceful, as if trying to draw something from her. His tongue, scorching hot, roamed with practiced ease.

Helan Ci’s breathing gradually quickened.

Although she had already resigned herself  if Lu Wuyou were to pass on the cold to her, there was nothing she could do. It was inevitable for them to be together day and night, but…

He is a patient!

This isn’t very appropriate, is it?

She pressed her hands against Lu Wuyou’s shoulders, trying to get him to calm down. But Lu Wuyou seemed even more out of control than during any previous kiss. As he kissed her deeply, he used his arms to pull her fully into his embrace.

Before Helan Ci could react, he had already pressed her down onto the couch.

Lu Wuyou braced himself on one side of her body, kissing her deeply, entangling and restrained, his starry eyes half-lidded with a trace of pain. Scorching sweat dripped from his temples, causing Helan Ci to flinch from the heat.

But there was no escape.

She could only be kissed more intensely by Lu Wuyou.

After a while, as if he had kissed enough, Lu Wuyou’s lips moved away, slowly descending to press against Helan Ci’s chin, where he placed a gentle kiss. A soft and slow laugh resonated from his chest, “…… Sweet.”

Helan Ci began to suspect that his mind was also burned out and not clear-headed.

She raised her hand to touch Lu Wuyou’s forehead, which was indeed abnormally hot. Even her fingertips felt slightly burned when she pressed them against his skin. However, Lu Wuyou’s lips continued to move downward, along the side of his neck, collarbone… following the open collar of her shirt, all the way down.

Every place that has been touched is burning fiercely.

Helan Ci’s sense of shame came belatedly. When Lu Wu You had gradually kissed her inappropriately, the overwhelming stimulation made her unable to help but grip his arm, her voice soft and trembling as she said, “……You’re still sick.”

Lu Wuyou also seemed to regain a bit of his sanity.

Reason and desire are pulling apart, teetering on the brink, as if they are about to collapse. It shouldn’t be like this.

He doesn’t really want to force her.

Lu Wuyou propped himself up and sat up, pressing down on his pulse, using his internal energy to slowly suppress that strange yet familiar heat. Gradually, his mind also began to calm down.

He closed his eyes.

The way he looked was agonizing—like someone forcibly stopping himself.

His voice was hoarse: “Did I offend you again? I just… wanted to kiss you, I didn’t mean to…” Lu Wuyou coughed and added, “I don’t have a cold, I won’t infect you, I just… wanted some porridge.”

Helan Ci finally came to her senses. Usually, he was as proud as a peacock, but now he looked like a frostbitten eggplant.

She hesitated and said, “……Then why were you so hot just now? Were you pretending with your martial arts? Are you really not sick?”

Lu Wuyou said, “Not entirely, the incense probably has some kind of aphrodisiac effect.”

Helan Ci understood.

Lu Wuyou was now feeling disheartened, and his voice was even more listless than before.

Seeing that he was about to go down, Helan Ci couldn’t help but…

She hesitated and finally asked a question she had always wanted to ask but never had the courage to: “…Is it really hard for you to hold back after kissing me every time?”

Lu Wuyou paused for a moment and said, “It was fine before, but recently it’s a bit…”

Helan Ci asked, “Are all men like this?”

Lu Wuyou said in a calm tone, Do you really want to study this kind of thing here? Not that you can’t… I don’t really know about others, but I wasn’t like this before. Maybe, after all, we…” He slowly said, “…had been intimate before.”

Helan Ci felt a little embarrassed too.

She sat there in silence for a moment, gathering her courage, then said, “…How about… I help you?”

He really did look quite miserable just now.

Lu Wuyou had been about to leave, but his steps paused—then he quickly resumed and said, “You’re not willing anyway.”

Helan Ci’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she struggled to say, “…Not entirely unwilling.”

Lu Wuyou was almost tempted, but then he recalled her reactions in the past. To him, it seemed she was just doing it out of obligation. In his view, obligation and mutual desire were entirely different things. At its core, obligation was still a shackle… Though admittedly, it was very tempting.

He hesitated but did not move.

Helan Ci did not move either.

They remained in a deadlock, as if waiting for the other to move first.

Under the subtle influence of his instinctive will, Lu Wuyou touched the tip of his nose and said softly, “…there are other ways to help me.”

Helan Ci immediately asked, “What way?”

Lu Wuyou turned slightly and whispered a few words into her ear.

He made it sound simple, but He Lan Ci’s face turned red. She looked a bit confused: “Really… works?”

Lu Wuyou also felt a bit uncomfortable: “If you really want to help me, why not just try it and see?”

Helan Ci knelt on the couch and asked seriously, “How exactly do we do it?”

Lu Wuyou also laid back down on the bed, his voice revealing a tension masked by nonchalance: “What else… You’ve seen it before, shouldn’t you say hello?”

Helan Ci said, “I really don’t remember.”

“Then let’s get familiar again.” Lu Wuyou said, struggling to control his smirk, “With my most important part.”

Helan Ci was clearly very nervous too, but when she heard his words, she couldn’t help but say, “Can you speak properly?”

Lu Wuyou continued his nonsense, “I have a mouth, so I talk. If you don’t want to listen, you can block it—I don’t really mind.”

Helan Ci lowered her head, her ears flushed red.

She couldn’t help but voice her disagreement again: “When you talk to others, you clearly don’t act like this. Can’t you treat me the same way and use that tone and attitude with me?”

Lu Wuyou let out a muffled grunt, breathing lightly as he said, “…Then how much fun would I miss out on?”

Helan Ci’s heart raced as she quickly closed her eyes, trembling as she said, “Why on earth that makes you so happy?”

Lu Wuyou couldn’t help but press down on her waist, his forehead resting on her shoulder, his breathing heavy: “Saying whatever I want—how is that not fun?”

Accompanying their utterly pointless conversation, there were also some particular sounds.

Helan Ci felt like her whole arm wasn’t even her own anymore.

She felt clear-headed, yet extremely ashamed.

All she could hear was Lu Wuyou’s low, hoarse panting, and even her own breath was growing heavier. Her body felt hotter.

Lu Wuyou, still lying on her shoulder, didn’t behave. He softly kissed her earlobe now and then.

Helan Ci bit her lip and said, “What if I never offended you back then?”

Lu Wuyou took a couple of light sniffs at her shoulder hollow, then let out a low groan, his breathing fluctuating: “…It’s too late to say that now, but even if I were being sarcastic, I didn’t really do anything to you back then…… Hiss, Helan Ci, be gentle with your hands.”

Helan Ci squeezed out a few words in a slightly broken voice: “Too… much… unbearable.”

Lu Wuyou shamelessly reminded her in a hoarse voice, “Use both hands, just learn it.”

Helan Ci couldn’t help but said angrily, “Weren’t you very nervous just now?”

Lu Wuyou kissed her again on the shoulder and said, “I’m also very nervous right now. If you’re not careful, I might be done for.”

Helan Ci took a deep breath and said, “So… then you’re finished, and I’m finished too, right?”

Lu Wuyou raised an eyebrow, his cheeks still flushed, and at that moment, his eyes were filled with a tumultuous intensity that was truly captivating: “Right, how come you’re so smart? Then I definitely have to… go all out with you.”

She didn’t know how long it lasted, but Helan Ci’s arm truly went numb.

Lu Wuyou finally let out a long, satisfied sigh, but still remained resting on her shoulder, looking somewhat languid.

Helan Ci vaguely felt that her shoulders were also numb. She was so ashamed that she could barely lift her head, her whole body felt like it was about to catch fire.

The air still carries the unspeakable scent.

“……You get up, I’m going to the clean room.”

Lu Wuyou’s tone also became casual: “Miss Helan, you’re so heartless, let me lie down for a while longer.”

Helan Ci felt that Lu Wuyou was becoming different again.

Still close to her ear, he drawled, “…You just played with me.”

“……”

Helan Ci pushed him away with her shoulder, not wanting to continue this kind of conversation with him. She suddenly remembered something and said in a low voice, “That night… can this method of yours solve it too?”

“I thought about it. But with you there, I couldn’t try it. Also…” Lu Wuyou paused, “what about you? I couldn’t just leave you there. I couldn’t exactly help you too…”

Helan Ci’s heart skipped a beat.

In the end, whether it happened or not, there was no difference.

“Speaking of which…” Lu Wuyou continued, “am I the only one with this problem? Do women not have it?”

Helan Ci paused, not knowing how to answer.

“It’s annoying to lose all reason from time to time. And also… mm…” He suddenly changed the subject, “When I kissed you, did you feel comfortable, did you…”

Helan Ci hesitated for a moment, but since Lu Wuyou was so honest, she eventually spoke the truth: “……It feels comfortable, and sometimes…… I even lose awareness.”

Lu Wuyou relaxed and reassured her, saying, “It’s very normal. Look, it’s all drawn in the book. Everyone in the vast world is doing it; they just hide in their houses, so you can’t see them.”

Helan Ci thought his way of comforting people was also very strange.

But it did work. She gradually calmed herself: “…Can you get off my shoulder now?”

She wiped herself clean with a cloth and was about to return to the bedroom. Looking at the mess on her study couch, she was still hesitating whether to call him to the clean room together.

Lu Wuyou had also tidied himself up a bit and, faster than her, headed towards the bedroom.

The two of them called for water in turn and took a shower.

In the evening, he kept hot water ready in the woodshed. After bathing, Lu Wuyou returned to her study, seemingly planning to continue writing the lecture draft he hadn’t finished earlier. Helan Ci knew he hadn’t finished his work and didn’t mind. She figured that he would probably sleep there tonight.

She held a book, sat on the couch, and after reading for a while, the image of Lu Wuyou gasping on her shoulder suddenly reappeared in her mind, along with what she saw with her eyes and felt with her fingers.

It’s impossible to remain calm and composed anymore.

Helan Ci even started to feel a bit dazed, wondering if it really happened, did she really… it couldn’t be possible…

From the bottom of the clothes trunk, she dug out the small booklet that Lu Wuyou’s uncle and Yao Qianxue had given her earlier. After flipping through a few pages, Helan Ci felt it was impossible, absolutely impossible.

After getting back into bed and turning off the light, Helan Ci wrapped herself in the blanket and tossed and turned for a while.

Before she could come to a conclusion, footsteps were heard outside. He Lan Ci stiffened. In the dimly lit bedroom, Lu Wuyou’s figure appeared, and Helan Ci couldn’t help but feel a long-lost sense of tension.

She lay motionless on the bed.

Seeing the lamp turned off, Lu Wuyou went straight to bed, covered himself with the quilt, and lay down flat.

Helan Ci was too embarrassed to turn over. Only after Lu Wuyou turned to his side did she follow, clutching the blanket, closing her eyes, and silently reciting The Thousand Character Classic in her head. When she reached “A promise can be fulfilled; a vessel is hard to measure,” she vaguely heard Lu Wuyou’s voice murmuring beside her.

“…If there’s something even better, do you want to try it?”