Chapter 2 Former fianc é

As night fell and the sky darkened, Zhao Jing sat under the dim oil lamp, reading.

Qi Yunshu closed her eyes to rest, when suddenly she heard sharp and abusive voices coming from outside the courtyard: "That sickly child is lighting the oil lamp again. It's not good to stay up reading in the middle of the night. What's the point of reading at your age when you haven't even passed the imperial examination?"

The window frame was soon knocked on: "Hey, Lao Qi, go to sleep quickly. Your eldest nephew is accompanying his wife back to her family's home today. If your wife sees you lighting the lamp, she won't be happy!"

Zhao Jing's expression darkened slightly, but his response was gentle: "Sorry for causing trouble, big brother." With that, the oil lamp was extinguished.

Qi Yunshu looked somewhat embarrassed. The Zhao family was not wealthy, and lamp oil was expensive. Common people would avoid using it if they could.

Just as she was thinking this, Zhao Jing had already gone to bed.

"Hey... why are you sleeping here?" Qi Yunshu was startled and pushed him reflexively.

Zhao Jing stiffened. Had she changed? It didn't matter. She still didn't like him and didn't want to be his wife!

He inexplicably felt angry and turned over to press her down: "We are husband and wife. Where else should I sleep if not here?"

"But... but I'm not..." Qi Yunshu faltered. She wanted to say that she wasn't his wife Yunniang, she was just Qi Yunshu. But once she said it, she was afraid she would be burned at the stake!

Thinking of death, Qi Yunshu was stunned and saw a familiar figure in the darkness. She momentarily forgot to struggle.

Zhao Jing had expected her to react as violently as when she drank the medicine yesterday and slapped him. But she suddenly became still. His hands moved without hindrance, and his lips inadvertently landed on hers.

In the darkness, his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's, savoring the woman's lips, soft and sweet, like the softest silk.

Qi Yunshu, bewildered and helpless, was kissed for a moment until the pain on her lips struck her, and she remembered to resist: "No, don't, don't..."

She dared not mention her identity and used her illness as an excuse: "I'm still sick. If I pass on the illness to you..."

Qi Yunshu was very strange. She no longer cried, made a scene, or threatened to commit suicide. She had become silly and coquettish, even her refusals seemed so weak.

Zhao Jing, uninterested, got up and stopped his probing.

He drew a line between them. She slept inside, and he slept outside!

As the night deepened, Qi Yunshu was still worried that he might lose control and force her, so she endured until the early hours before finally falling asleep!

The night passed, and the medicine from yesterday worked well. Qi Yunshu's illness had improved, and in the morning sunlight, she looked at the empty bed and felt refreshed.

She casually tied up her long hair in a bun, as she had done when wearing traditional Chinese clothing in modern times.

Her stomach growled, and she thought of the watery porridge from yesterday...

Better not to dwell on it!

Lost in thought, Zhao Jing came in with a small bamboo plate: "Big sister-in-law steamed some steamed buns!"

Qi Yunshu looked at the two dark lumps on the verdant bamboo plate.

These were steamed buns?

Seeing her disdainful expression, Zhao Jing said calmly, "The Zhao family's conditions are not as good as your Qi family's. I'm sorry, but at least take a few bites. Otherwise, you'll be hungry!" He spoke while closely watching her face, prepared for her to sweep the plate away.

But Qi Yunshu closed her eyes, picked up a small piece, and forced it into her mouth. It was dry, rough, and hard. She ate it with great difficulty, swallowing half of the black steamed bun and washing it down with a large bowl of water, shaking her head that she couldn't eat anymore.

Zhao Jing still remembered the fire in her eyes when she saw the black steamed bun yesterday and the words she used to scold him. It was unbearable to hear.

With a heart full of doubt, he ate the other steamed bun and picked up the remaining half that she had left, swallowing it whole.

Qi Yunshu felt uncomfortable watching him and wanted to stop him. Why eat something so unappetizing?

But Zhao Jing ate quietly, without making a sound even when chewing the tough steamed bun, making it difficult for Qi Yunshu to speak up, fearing that she might disturb him!

After Zhao Jing finished eating, Qi Yunshu asked softly, "Is today the day to return to your family's home?"

"Uh-huh! Do you want to go back to your parents' home?"

"No, no, I mean, I was so sick yesterday, and there might be some aftereffects today. Can we wait a couple of days before going back?"

"Uh-huh!" Zhao Jing readily agreed, feeling a small surge of joy in his heart.

A Yunniang who didn't cry, make a scene, or cause trouble, and didn't even think about going back to her parents' home was actually not bad!

But he didn't know what Qi Yunshu was thinking. She didn't want to go back because she was afraid her incomplete memory would be exposed in front of her original parents!

She didn't ask further, just looked at his face. Under the sickly pallor, there were red handprints, just like her hands.

She involuntarily reached out and pressed it. Zhao Jing thought she was going to hit him again, frowned, and his face darkened. But he saw that she was just comparing the handprint from a distance: "Did I do this?"

He calmly admitted, "Uh-huh."

"Sorry, I... didn't mean to!" Qi Yunshu smiled awkwardly and withdrew her hand.

This Zhao Jing looked quite good, had a gentle temperament, and was caring and considerate when taking care of others. Why did the original owner of the body refuse to marry him?

It was a pity that she didn't receive such an important memory!

"It's all in the past!" Zhao Jing indicated that she needn't worry about it, then said he was going to the town for a while.

Qi Yunshu knew that he owed five taels of silver for taking her to see the doctor, so he was going to the bookstore in town to copy books to repay the debt.

He instructed Qi Yunshu to rest for another day, and if his sister-in-law had any work for her, she should wait for him to come back and do it!

As soon as Zhao Jing left, Qi Yunshu followed him out.

The family was quite poor, and she didn't want to eat hard and dry black bread again for the next meal, so she wandered around looking for a way to make some money.

The Zhao family's yard was quite spacious, with trees, vegetables, chickens, and pigs. It didn't look like a family living in tight circumstances.

As she walked out of the yard, she saw a pond at the entrance, and her heart sank. This was the pond where the original owner had jumped in on her wedding night!

Life is precious, so she decided to walk around it to avoid accidentally falling in.

But the more careful she was, the more chaotic the ground became under her feet. She stepped on a loose cobblestone, slipped, and was about to fall when someone suddenly grabbed her arm. "Be careful!"

Qi Yunshu's heart tightened. The familiar voice sounded just like the person who had saved her that night. She exclaimed in surprise, "It's you..."

"It's me, Seventh Aunt!" Zhao Liangtian helped her to the front gate, and standing next to him was a beautiful woman.

She smiled and nodded at Qi Yunshu, "Hello, Seventh Aunt!"

That smile triggered a surge of memories in Qi Yunshu's mind.

The memories of the original owner gushed out like a faucet, and the two people in front of her were Zhao Jing's nephew and his wife. The man, Zhao Liangtian, was the original owner's former fiancé, and they had grown up together. The woman, Liu Cailian, was Zhao Liangtian's current wife, and they were relatives of the same generation as her.