To Be the Male Lead's Deceased First Wife in a Historical Chinese Exam-focused Novel - Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Sleeping Buried in Her Chest

Yan An heard Wen Ying come in and looked up. She herself was in the light, so she couldn’t see Wen Ying’s expression very clearly. The flickering light from the lamp only illuminated a blurry outline of her.

Yan An looked at the silhouette, then belatedly looked down at the brush in her hand and the words she had written. She was silent for a moment.

She wondered if she needed to explain the situation to Wen Ying.

Finally, she put down the brush and, pretending as if nothing had happened, gestured for Wen Ying to come closer. When Wen Ying was by her side, she pointed to the words and began to explain her budget item by item.

She spoke earnestly, and Wen Ying listened just as intently, her eyes following Yan An’s finger over the words, as if trying to memorize every single one.

After listening to Yan An, Wen Ying thought for a moment and said, “Perhaps we can look for some used items. If we can find some, we can save a lot of money.”

If they were to make all the tables and chairs from scratch, even if they weren’t finely crafted items that took a lot of time, the total cost would still be very high.

“Yes, yes, we should. Every little bit helps,” Yan An nodded repeatedly. For things like tables and chairs, as long as they didn’t look too old or were not durable, it didn’t matter if they were second-hand. As long as people could sit down safely and finish their meal.

“I’ll ask Auntie Li tomorrow. She knows a lot of people,” Wen Ying added.

Yan An’s eyes lit up as she grabbed Wen Ying’s hand, looking touched. “What would I do without you?”

Wen Ying looked up and met Yan An’s eyes, which reflected the candlelight. She only felt that the hands holding hers were cold and soft, like a piece of cold jade. Coupled with her expression and words, Wen Ying slightly looked away, not daring to look at her, but a subtle smile curled up at the corner of her lips.

“Are you done? If you are, the hot water is ready. You can go take a bath now,” Wen Ying said softly.

“Yes, almost. If anything is missing, we can look for it tomorrow. We should go to bed early after we wash up tonight.” Yan An quickly tidied up the things on the table and followed Wen Ying out of the study.

They had to wake up in the middle of the night to start working, so if she didn’t go to bed early, she would be exhausted.

Yan An took a bath and got into bed, turning her back to Wen Ying. When Wen Ying was done with her bath and lay down beside her, she reached over to tuck her in.

The moment Wen Ying’s hand reached over, Yan An’s body tensed up. When she realized that Wen Ying was just trying to pull the blanket over her, she bit her lip slightly, feeling embarrassed and annoyed with herself.

For a moment there… she thought Wen Ying was going to come over and hug her to sleep, since she had been held by her once before.

“Yan An, go to sleep now.”

Wen Ying’s gentle voice came from behind her.

Yan An bit her lip.

“Okay, goodnight.”

The room was silent. The two of them gradually fell into a steady rhythm of breathing. After some time, it was the dead of night outside. Wen Ying quietly got up, put on her clothes in the dark, and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the two of them.

Yan An also woke up when Wen Ying opened the door. She wasn’t sleeping very soundly since she was worried about waking up early. When Wen Ying got up, she also got up. She rubbed her face and yawned, putting on her clothes in the dark. Only when she arrived in the kitchen and saw the light from the fire did Yan An realize she had put her clothes on backward.

Seeing her situation, Wen Ying stepped forward to help her take off her clothes and put them on correctly. She said gently, “Why didn’t you sleep a little longer?”

She had tried not to make a sound to let Yan An sleep a little longer. She wanted to wake her up only after she had made breakfast.

“I can’t sleep anymore once I’m awake,” Yan An said, letting Wen Ying help her put on her clothes. She then went to wash her face. After she was done, while breakfast was still being cooked, Wen Ying helped her tie her hair.

“Are you tired?” Yan An looked up at Wen Ying. She didn’t want Wen Ying to come and help, but without her, she might not be able to handle it all by herself. For a moment, she felt a little sad.

Wen Ying tied her hair, lowered her eyes, and met her gaze. Her voice was soft but firm.

“I’m not tired.”

As long as her heart wasn’t tired, physical fatigue was not a problem.

“Oh…”

Yan An looked away, uncomfortably rubbing the corner of her clothes. She got up and stood in front of the stove to warm herself. She mumbled, “It’s getting colder and colder.”

Especially in the middle of the night, when the dew was heavy.

“Wear more clothes. Don’t catch a cold,” Wen Ying reminded her softly.

Yan An turned to look at Wen Ying. She was only wearing one more layer than she was when it was hot.

“Hmm… it seems Wen Ying has been wearing the same few sets of clothes.”

“Wen Ying, buy a few more sets of clothes next time we go to town. The new year is coming, so you should get some new ones.”

Wen Ying was slightly stunned. She looked down at the clothes she was wearing and shook her head. “No need. I have enough clothes.”

Yan An frowned and stared at Wen Ying.

When Wen Ying saw her expression, she knew it was a sign that she was about to get angry. She immediately softened her voice. “Yan An, I mean it. Clothes are not a necessity. We can buy them when we have more money later.”

In Wen Ying’s opinion, every penny they had now should be spent wisely, and her clothes were not an urgent need.

Yan An kept a poker face and pushed the firewood that was about to burn out of the stove back in. She didn’t say anything else.

“It’s so frustrating to be limited in everything I do.” It made her feel defeated. Before, her family was not a rich family, but at least she always got the support she needed for what she wanted to do. She never had to worry about money.

Wen Ying looked at her unhappy face and sighed inwardly. Yan An was still not satisfied, but she didn’t know that she was already in a much better situation than she used to be.

After breakfast, the two of them went out with an oil lamp. Since it was still very dark, the oil lamp could only illuminate a small area, so they didn’t walk very fast.

Fortunately, when they arrived at the village chief’s house, the lights were already on, which meant the family had already woken up and started preparing.

The two of them entered the courtyard and quickly started washing and preparing the vegetables. Yan An also pre-cooked some of the dishes so that she could just put them in the pot to stew or stir-fry when it was time for the feast.

They were so busy that it was already dawn. The village chief’s courtyard was bustling. Tables and chairs were already set up inside and outside the courtyard. As the lively wedding procession set off, the courtyard became much quieter, and Yan An and Wen Ying’s movements became faster.

Even with the help of the village chief’s relatives, it was Yan An’s first time cooking for so many people, so her movements were inevitably not very skilled. Fortunately, they had arrived early, so they had enough time for her to adapt.

At first, when the other women saw Yan An taking charge of the kitchen, their eyes widened. But later, when they saw that she was actually doing a good job and the food she made looked and smelled delicious, they were all in a daze.

Yan An looked at them and smiled. “You can all try my cooking today. If any of you need a cook for a feast in the future, you can come and find me.”

Hearing her words, someone couldn’t help but ask, “Are you planning to be a village cook from now on?”

“Yes, I am. So if you think my cooking is good, I hope you’ll give me your business in the future.” Yan An said generously, without the arrogance that many scholars had.

“Aren’t you going to continue your studies and take the imperial examination?” Someone asked anxiously, thinking that Yan An was ruining her future.

“No, it’s too difficult to start over. It’s better to find a job to support myself first.” Yan An didn’t tell them about her plan for Wen Ying to take the imperial examination, so as not to let too many people know and put pressure on Wen Ying.

Wen Ying looked at Yan An’s calm expression and slightly lowered her eyes. Thinking of Yan An, who had been busy since she woke up in the morning, Wen Ying’s hands clenched slightly. She became even more eager to succeed in her studies and pass the examination as soon as possible, so she could give Yan An a better life and prevent her from being so tired.

Those people felt a little conflicted when they heard Yan An’s words, but after tasting the food she made, they felt that it made sense for her to want to be a village cook. They all started asking her about her services and how much she charged.

By the time the feast officially began, more and more people knew that Yan An was the one who had cooked the food. Curious people came to watch Yan An and saw that it was indeed her cooking. One by one, they went back and started talking about it. For a while, even though it was the village chief’s youngest son’s wedding feast, the topic of conversation at the dinner tables was Yan An.

After all the dishes were cooked, Yan An said to Wen Ying, “Hurry up and eat something. Don’t starve.”

They had been so busy since they woke up that they hadn’t even had a moment to drink a few sips of water.

“Let’s go together,” Wen Ying said.

“No,” Yan An waved her hand. “You go first. I’ll rest for a while. I don’t have an appetite right now.”

After cooking so many dishes, Yan An felt that she didn’t want to eat anything for a while. The smell of the food was already making her feel full.

Wen Ying frowned slightly. She thought for a moment and poured a bowl of water for Yan An. She said softly, “Let’s go sit down together. If you don’t want to eat, just sit and rest. If you get hungry, you can eat.”

Yan An took a sip of water and hummed in agreement. She followed Wen Ying to the table reserved for the cooks.

After all, it was an ordinary family. Even though it was the village chief’s feast, there was no way there would be lamb on the table. So the meat was mostly chicken, fish, and pork.

When Wen Ying served herself, she also served Yan An. When she was putting vegetables in Yan An’s bowl, she deliberately avoided the dishes with pork and tried to give Yan An more fish and chicken.

Yan An didn’t notice her small actions. When she sat down and saw that Wen Ying had already served her food, Yan An picked up her chopsticks and began to eat slowly.

“Yan An, how did you make this pork offal soup? It doesn’t have any strange smell at all!” A woman exclaimed, eating the pork offal in the soup. Even though they didn’t have much meat to eat, they usually didn’t like to eat pork offal.

Yan An looked up. “It’s quite simple. When you wash it at the beginning…”

As she babbled on, someone couldn’t help but ask.

“How do you know so much? Didn’t you lose your memory?”

Yan An paused, not knowing what to say for a moment.

“She’s very talented. I taught her everything I know, and the food she makes is much more delicious than what I make.” While Yan An was hesitating, Wen Ying spoke.

When those people heard what Wen Ying said, they suddenly understood. They all praised her. “I didn’t expect you to be so talented at cooking. If you became a cook in a wealthy family, you could earn a lot of money with your skills.”

Yan An listened to them talk. She wasn’t very interested in becoming a cook for a wealthy family. This was an ancient society, and working in someone’s home always felt like being a servant, which she didn’t like.

Fortunately, the feast was not without a reward. She not only got a reward of 1,500 wen, but two families also showed interest in hiring her to cook for them in the future. They would come to discuss it once they had set a date.

After washing and tidying up the bowls and chairs, they had the leftover food for dinner at the village chief’s house and finally went home with 500 wen in their pockets.

Out of the 1,500 wen reward, Yan An decided to give 1,000 wen, or one guan, to the village chief’s family. The amount they owed the village chief’s family was now 17 guan.

When they got home, while Yan An was boiling water, Wen Ying went to Auntie Li’s house to ask where they could buy used tables and chairs. When Auntie Li heard her ask, she understood what they wanted to do. She said that she would keep an eye out for them and would let them know as soon as someone was selling.

Wen Ying quickly thanked her but was scolded by Auntie Li for being too polite.

Wen Ying smiled sheepishly. When she got home, Yan An had already boiled the water and was checking on the chickens.

They had left early that morning, and even though they had fed the chickens enough food in advance, they were still worried about something happening.

“Are they okay?” Wen Ying asked softly, walking over to Yan An.

“They’re fine. They’re all jumping around,” Yan An said with a smile. She closed the gate of the enclosure and turned to Wen Ying. “What did Auntie Li say?”

Wen Ying walked to the kitchen with her and said, “Auntie Li said she would ask around for us in the next couple of days and would let us know if she hears anything.”

In any case, if they didn’t hear of anyone selling in the next few days, Yan An and her would have no choice but to order new ones. After all, they couldn’t just wait for this news and not do anything else.

“Okay. We also need to buy an ox cart later,” Yan An reminded her again. With an ox cart, it would be much more convenient for them to transport things.

Wen Ying nodded. They needed an ox to work for them now, so they couldn’t possibly buy a calf and raise it. The price of a grown ox ranged from 5,000 to 8,000 wen, plus the cart, which would probably cost 500 to 700 wen.

“We’ll buy the ox after the winter solstice,” Wen Ying said softly.

There was a saying that the winter solstice was more important than the new year. This day also meant that winter had officially arrived. Every family would stay at home, so they would have to wait until the next day to buy an ox.

Yan An agreed. When she saw that the water was ready, she told Wen Ying to take a bath first.

While Wen Ying was taking a bath, Yan An went into the study to finalize the list of things she needed. After all, she couldn’t do without pots, bowls, and plates. Oil, salt, vinegar, and soy sauce were also expenses. All in all, the budget had reached 40,000 wen, or 40 guan. This was just for the basics, not including some of the miscellaneous things she hadn’t thought of yet.

Yan An’s face was crumpled. The productivity of ancient times was low, which meant that the prices of these items were not low. She had to spend so much just to be a village cook in the beginning. She could only imagine the cost of opening her own restaurant.

After tidying up the things, she came out of the study. Wen Ying had already finished her bath and brought the water in for her. While Yan An was taking a bath, Wen Ying took their dirty clothes out to wash.

After her bath, she came out of the room. A cold wind blew, and Yan An shivered. She quickly trotted to the kitchen to dry her hair. She looked at Wen Ying, who was dragging the basin to the kitchen door and washing clothes by the light of the fire. Yan An felt an indescribable feeling in her heart.

This feeling was very annoying. She wanted to give Wen Ying a better life so she could devote herself to the imperial examination, but her own abilities were lacking. Now, she still needed Wen Ying’s help in all aspects.

“What do you want to eat tomorrow? I’ll make it for you,” Yan An said.

Tomorrow was a rare day off for them, and they could finally rest at home.

When Wen Ying heard Yan An say this, she looked at her and chuckled. “You still want to cook tomorrow?”

She thought that after today, Yan An wouldn’t want to cook for a while.

Yan An felt her sore shoulders and neck and was silent for a moment. “I’m not going to stop just because I did it once.”

What if their business gets better and better in the future, and people hire her to cook every day?

Wen Ying smiled. “Auntie Li gave us some white radishes. Let’s make a lamb stew with them.”

Yan An hummed in agreement. A lamb and radish hot pot in winter would be nice. It was a good time to nourish their bodies.

After drying her hair, Yan An went to help Wen Ying wash the clothes for the second time. When her hands went into the cold water, Yan An winced. It was too cold. It wasn’t even the winter solstice yet. What would it be like later on? Her fingers might freeze off.

“I’ll do it. You don’t need to touch the water,” Wen Ying said.

“No, we’ll do it together,” Yan An said stubbornly. She endured the cold feeling and washed the clothes for the second time. Then she realized that her hands were so stiff and cold that she didn’t even have the strength to wring them out and hang them up.

Wen Ying quickly took the clothes from her hands and told her to go to the kitchen to warm herself up by the fire. “It’s cold. You shouldn’t touch cold water too much.”

Yan An listened to her words, her eyes fixed on Wen Ying’s hands holding the clothes. As she clenched her fingers and used her forearm, the water from the wet clothes poured out and splashed into the basin below.

“Let’s use hot water to wash from now on. The same goes for your hands. Don’t touch cold water if you can help it,” Yan An said, frowning. She had experienced Wen Ying’s period once since she had been here. Perhaps because she hadn’t been well taken care of since she was a child, even though she looked strong, she had severe uterine coldness. She was in so much pain during the first two days of her period that her face would turn pale.

“Okay, I know,” Wen Ying replied. She wrung out all the clothes and hung them up. After tidying up, she went back to the room with Yan An and lay down in bed.

“Turn over and lie on your stomach. I’ll massage your shoulders and neck for you,” Wen Ying said, sitting on the bed. She had noticed at the village chief’s house during the day that Yan An would occasionally rub her shoulders and neck, which meant they were very uncomfortable.

“Okay, good.” Yan An didn’t stand on ceremony. She turned over and relaxed, lying on her stomach. She mumbled, “I need to exercise more in the future.”

Compared to when she first transmigrated, her physical fitness had improved a little, but after such a busy day, Yan An was still so tired that a simple turn of her head would cause a muscle in her neck and shoulders to ache.

Wen Ying smiled. The pressure from her hands was just right. “You’re already much better than before.”

The original Yan An’s health wasn’t very good. Sometimes, a gust of wind would be enough to make her catch a cold. She was so thin that it seemed as if she would be blown away by the wind.

Yan An quickly became sleepy after relaxing. Even though Wen Ying was still talking to her, she didn’t have the strength to respond. She mumbled something incoherently, and regardless of whether Wen Ying heard her, she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Wen Ying felt the change in her breathing. She gently turned Yan An over and covered her with the blanket. She lay down carefully beside Yan An and sniffed the faint warmth and aroma coming from Yan An, her heart softening as if it were being squeezed, and at the same time, a sense of dissatisfaction brewed.

In the middle of the night, Wen Ying vaguely felt a soft, warm object burrowing into her arms. But she could feel that the object’s presence was comforting and not unpleasant, so she just tightened her arms and didn’t really wake up.

Perhaps because they were too tired from the previous day, on the day of the winter solstice, even when Auntie Li’s rooster crowed its heart out, neither of them woke up. Instead, they instinctively craved the warmth of the blanket. They slept so soundly that when they woke up, all the fatigue from the past few days seemed to have vanished.

Yan An was sleeping very comfortably. It was so warm around her that her face lovingly rubbed against the pillow. She just wished she could sleep this warmly every day of winter and wake up naturally.

But as she rubbed, she suddenly felt that something was not right. Since when did her pillow become so soft? She could even faintly smell Wen Ying’s scent.

Yan An’s eyes instantly snapped open. The room was dark, and she couldn’t see anything, but she could feel that her face was buried in something soft and warm.

She was stunned. Her thoughts seemed to freeze. She then belatedly realized that she had almost completely burrowed into the blanket. One of her hands was on Wen Ying, and Wen Ying was almost holding her completely in her arms. Wen Ying’s legs were even wrapped around Yan An’s legs to warm her.

Yan An: “…”

With every breath she took, Wen Ying’s scent filled her nostrils. Yan An’s mind exploded. She quickly pulled away from Wen Ying’s arms and moved back, her face filled with shock.

What… what did she do?!

Even though she had already moved away, Yan An still felt the lingering sensation on her face from when it was buried there. It was warm, soft, and full of a welcoming scent.

Ah!

Wen Ying looks so thin, why does she have so much… there?!

Yan An was on the verge of a breakdown.

However, Wen Ying, who had been woken up by Yan An’s sudden movements, looked at her groggily. When she saw Yan An’s devastated expression, she became a little more awake. She asked, “What’s wrong?”

Yan An’s expression was stiff. She looked at Wen Ying. Because she had moved away, the blanket on Wen Ying was not properly covering her. When she looked over, she could see almost all of Wen Ying’s upper body.

Perhaps because her face had been buried there before, Wen Ying’s clothes were a little loose, almost revealing half of her chest.

Yan An: “…” “Poke out my eyes.”

What did I just do?!