The Vicious Empress's Scum Wife (GL) - Chapter 008
When Lin Yanran returned, she saw only an empty bowl on the table, with just a tiny bit of medicinal liquid left at the bottom. She unconsciously curved her lips into a smile.
The villain wasn’t so violent after all.
She placed a small white cloth bag in front of Qin Mingyue, rolling up the opening to reveal its contents.
“These are dried apricots I bought after searching all over Fenghuang Town. They’re made from new red apricots from this spring, and they’ve been sweetened with honey. They’re very sweet, you’ll definitely like them.”
Qin Mingyue’s delicate brows furrowed tighter and tighter. *How could this scumbag claim she’d definitely like them?*
After Lin Yanran finished speaking, she went out again. Only then did Qin Mingyue examine the bag of dried apricots. Their color was orange-red, the fruit plump, and they gleamed with golden honey. They looked very tempting.
Her mouth felt unpleasantly bitter, her tongue numbed by the bitterness. Since childhood, to suppress the unique fragrance within her body, she had consumed countless medicines, developing a deep aversion to taking medicine from a young age.
Back then, her mother, to coax her, would always prepare various kinds of preserved fruits and candied sweets. Whenever she obediently took her medicine, her mother would personally pick out a few pieces of candied fruit to feed her, gently coaxing her: “My Mingyue is so good, so good, isn’t she?”
Those were the warmest times of her childhood.
Empress Mother…
A deep sadness welled up in her eyes. She stared at the dried apricots for a while, then extended two pearly white fingers to pick up a small piece of apricot flesh, examining it closely against the light.
No dust, no bits of grass. It was clean.
Just then, there was a sound from outside. She quickly put it in her mouth.
Lin Yanran walked in again, bringing in the bamboo reclining chair.
Qin Mingyue was forced to hold the dried apricot in her mouth.
Lin Yanran laid the reclining chair flat and placed a pillow at the top.
“It’s time to change your dressing.”
She took out a small, round-bellied green porcelain bottle, opening the lid to reveal milky white ointment. This was a scar-removing ointment she had specially asked Liu Zhenzhen to formulate.
Qin Mingyue’s face changed, but with the preserved fruit in her mouth, speaking would be unseemly. She shot Lin Yanran an angry glance, reached for a cup of water, took a small sip, and used the opportunity to swallow the piece of apricot.
Only then did she say coolly, “I can change the dressing myself. You go out.”
Lin Yanran saw her displeasure, but she truly wasn’t comfortable with Qin Mingyue straining her body to apply ointment to her ankle, especially the difficult-to-see heel area.
She figured, *A lot of debts cause no worry; the villain hating me once is hating, hating me ten times is still hating.*
She sighed inwardly and said, “Let me do it. Doctor Liu specifically taught me how to apply the medicine, so you can heal faster.”
Qin Mingyue suddenly looked up, staring directly at her.
“I said, I’ll change it myself.”
Lin Yanran met her gaze.
Three breaths passed, then five. Those deep, ink-dark eyes grew colder and colder, and Lin Yanran felt more and more guilty, thinking, *As expected of someone who will become an empress in the future. These eyes are as sharp as swords. No minister would dare to look directly at the imperial face.*
She bit the bullet and said, “Think about it, delaying your recovery for one day means doing yourself a disservice for one day. If you get better sooner, that scumbag won’t be so smug either.”
After saying that, she almost bit her tongue. *Why did I say that?!*
Qin Mingyue looked at her meaningfully. Lin Yanran simply explained frankly, “I already told you I’m not her. Everything I’m doing now is just to atone for that scumbag’s sins.”
Qin Mingyue’s gaze was inscrutable; she naturally didn’t believe her words, but her mindset was subtly shifting.
Her body was precious; since birth, she had been pampered and served by countless attendants. Letting this scumbag apply medicine, she could just treat her as a servant.
Thinking this, she became less resistant. A hint of condescending superiority appeared in her gaze, and she nodded slightly: “Alright.”
She thought she was looking down on an ant, her disdain outweighing her hatred, thus not compromising her dignity. However, she didn’t realize that each of Lin Yanran’s persuasions unconsciously made her agree.
Seeing her agree, Lin Yanran helped her recline on the chair, then moved a chair to her feet, placing a plain white dry cloth on her lap before gently lifting her snow-white foot onto it.
Her movements were gentle, and her frankness made them seem genuinely sincere. Qin Mingyue could truly feel the meticulous care, which made her feel better. The servants who used to attend to her were equally diligent.
Her mind settled, and Lin Yanran’s application of the medicine went very smoothly. Her technique was practiced. She first removed the gauze, then carefully cleaned the edges of the wound with clean water.
Qin Mingyue noticed that Lin Yanran didn’t use her hands to clean her, but rather a small wooden stick with the bark peeled off, wrapped in a soft cloth, carefully wiping the wound.
The damp cloth was very soft, and her movements were light, so it barely hurt.
Despite it being a simple dressing change, Lin Yanran spent a good half an hour on it, showing her carefulness.
When she finished, Qin Mingyue noticed a fine layer of sweat beads on Lin Yanran’s nose.
Her gaze deepened. She couldn’t help but ponder Lin Yanran’s words.
“I already told you I’m not her. Everything I’m doing now is just to atone for that scumbag’s sins.”
Lin Yanran put away the ointment, washbasin, and other items, then said to her, “You just had your dressing changed, so you shouldn’t move. It’s afternoon, why don’t you take a nap?”
A nap? Qin Mingyue was a little confused.
Lin Yanran’s gaze swept over her slender, fair neck. For some reason, she suddenly recalled the beautiful scene from that night. Although it was just a fleeting glimpse, she knew what kind of delicate, soft, and jade-like skin lay beneath that coarse cloth dress.
She suddenly squatted down and asked, “Is the reclining chair uncomfortable? Do you want to sleep here, or go back to bed?”
Qin Mingyue was startled by her closeness and instinctively struggled. Lin Yanran gently pressed down on her shoulder.
“Don’t be afraid. I really won’t hurt you.”
Her voice was very soft, strangely warm, and had a peculiar calming effect.
Qin Mingyue’s heart was conflicted and painful. Hatred intertwined with this inscrutable emotion, transforming into a deep sense of unease.
She sharply reprimanded, “Get out.”
Lin Yanran glanced at her, then quickly leaned down and scooped her up. Before Qin Mingyue could struggle, she quickly said, “I’ll carry you back to bed, put you down, and leave.”
These words had a calming effect again. Qin Mingyue tightly clutched the corner of her clothes and indeed no longer struggled.
Lin Yanran once again felt the lightness of the person in her arms, and compassion arose in her heart. She placed her down even more gently, adjusted her pillow, and pulled up the quilt.
“You sleep well. I’ll go supervise the work outside. Don’t worry, I’ll close the main door tightly and tell them not to make too much noise. Just sleep.”
Qin Mingyue heard her footsteps softly leave, then the main door closed. Lin Yanran’s reprimanding voice came from the courtyard, and indeed, those vulgar hunters stopped their joking.
Her hand, clutching the corner of the quilt, relaxed. She squirmed deeper under the covers. Being completely enveloped immediately brought a sense of security. She rarely felt this relaxed, and indeed felt a wave of sleepiness wash over her.
It was a long-lost feeling, so much so that she was a little lost in thought.
••••
Lin Yanran sat under the porch, clutching the red Cooling Pill, completely absorbed.
In her previous life, she was a scholar obsessed with knowledge. Now, encountering the challenge of an inhibitor, she was instantly hooked. Holding the Cooling Pill in her hand, she touched it, sniffed it, and then held it up to the sunlight to examine its color.
It wasn’t until sunset that she let out a long sigh of relief, a satisfied smile on her face.
Today’s harvest was good; she had mastered seven of the ingredients.
Just then, Lin Dahai wiped sweat from his sleeve and called out, “Yanran, come take a look, we’re finished.”
Lin Yanran hurried over to inspect it closely.
The kitchen had been renovated. A counter was built for chopping vegetables, and a half-human-height shelf was installed for placing vegetables, rice, grain, oil, and other items. The space below was hollow, for neatly stacked firewood, and there was a simple wooden rack specifically for pots and pans.
The woodshed was converted into a washroom. Once her custom-made bathtub arrived, she could comfortably take a bath. The washroom saw minimal changes; only the firewood pile was moved, and a new human-height wall was built to divide the washroom in two, so bathing could be done in the inner section, and changing clothes and storing miscellaneous items in the outer section.
The adjacent storage room was converted into a latrine. A hole was made in the back wall for a ventilation window. The area where the squat toilet was located was purposely raised, forming a square platform. A toilet pit was dug in the center of the platform, shaped like a steep slope, leading directly to the septic tank behind the house. This way, after using the toilet, one only needed to pour water to flush the waste into the septic tank.
Lin Yanran also specially ordered a porcelain lid to cover the toilet pit in the future, preventing odors from escaping.
As for a flush toilet, she’d have to wait; she was quite poor right now.
Lin Dahai led her to the east side of the courtyard, pointing to the newly built row of woodsheds, storerooms, and doghouses, and said, “Uncle thought that you’ll have children in the future, and with more people, you’ll eventually raise chickens and ducks. So, I decided to enlarge your doghouse. In the future, you just need to build a low wall, and you’ll have chicken and duck coops.”
Lin Yanran was extremely satisfied. Seeing the unused bricks and mortar piled in the courtyard, she generously said, “Uncle, please help me throw these away when you leave. I’m willing to pay an additional ten coins.”
Lin Dahai, still bothered that she didn’t bring him any good food, grumbled, “This pile of rotten mud and bricks is terribly heavy. You’ll have to pay twenty coins to help you throw it away.”
Lin Yanran secretly cursed him for being cunning. Just as she was about to agree, she noticed Lin Cuicui looking at her with eyes full of longing.
She walked over and asked, “Do you need something?”
Lin Cuicui didn’t dare to look at her, whispering, “Sister Yanran, if you don’t want the leftover bricks and glutinous rice mortar, I’d like to take them back. I won’t charge you.”
Lin Yanran asked curiously, “What do you want these for?”
Lin Cuicui seemed a little timid, lowering her head, her voice tiny: “Last autumn hunt, I found an injured female leopard. She’s about to give birth, and I want to make a den for her.”
Lin Yanran was astonished: “A pregnant female leopard?”
Lin Cuicui heard no trace of others’ disgust or misunderstanding in her tone. She looked up, revealing a shy smile: “Yes.”
Only then did Lin Yanran notice her large, bright eyes, which curved like crescent moons when she smiled. She said, “Why are you afraid of me? I don’t eat people.”
Lin Shan and Lin Feng burst into laughter.
“You beat your wife every day, even broke her leg. How can they not be afraid of you?”
Lin Yanran glared at the two of them, then smiled at Lin Cuicui and said, “Don’t listen to their nonsense. My wife and I are deeply in love, perfectly harmonious. Our relationship is very good.”
In the room, Qin Mingyue happened to wake up and overheard this sentence. Her face instantly turned cold.
She knew this scumbag’s true nature was hard to change.