Rebirth of a Farming Wife

The bewildered little look in her eyes was unbearably cute to Han Yu. He gently ruffled Su Wenyue’s hair and said softly, “Not yet, we’ve only reached the halfway point. Why don’t you sleep some more? I will wake you when we arrive.”

Su Wenyue shook her head and stayed sitting in Han Yu’s arms, it took quite a while before she felt fully awake. She leant towards the window, curious to see the sky outside.

“Husband, look, it’s snowing outside, it’s snowing!” Su Wenyue exclaimed with surprise upon opening the carriage window and seeing the snowflakes, and she went ahead and opened the window all the way. A cold wind blew in, biting to the bone. Su Wenyue didn’t mind, and as she attempted to reach out a hand, Han Yu stopped her.

“It’s so cold outside, and with your frail body, you need to be more careful not to catch a cold from the wind blowing in.” While saying this, Han Yu closed the window and pulled her close, wrapping her with the blanket that had been covering her earlier.

Su Wenyue was a bit speechless, feeling this was an exaggeration, “Husband, don’t be like this. I’m not a child anymore, there’s no need to be so careful. I’m not cold at all. Besides, it’s getting a bit stuffy inside the carriage; some fresh air would be nice.”

“It’s still better to be cautious. Do you not remember what happened before? It was just a bit of wind at night, and as a result, you coughed for two days before getting better. Now the weather is so cold and it’s snowing outside; what if you catch a draft and get a cold? Then you won’t be able to be close to the children, and you hate that bitter medicinal soup. There will be suffering to endure!”

As Han Yu spoke, he couldn’t help but adopt a lecturing tone. Normally, he wouldn’t care much about the weather; such cold spells happened every year. But his daughter-in-law had a particularly delicate constitution. It was decent before, but ever since her body became weak after childbirth, even though she seemed fine, the little details gave away her condition. She’s so young and already in such a state, he thought, she definitely needed good care and recuperation.

Thinking of this, Han Yu worried. He was particularly concerned about this matter and had consulted many doctors, all of whom said that his daughter-in-law’s condition could only improve through gradual recuperation and frequent consumption of medicinal meals. But he knew his daughter-in-law’s temperament all too well; she could barely tolerate the taste of medicinal meals a few times, but would become unwilling after a while.

This was the difference between girls raised in a wealthy family and those from the countryside. In other respects, they have their advantages, but this one weakness was their delicacy. If it was a girl raised in a rural household, she wouldn’t be picky about eating medicinal meals—in fact, she’d be overjoyed just to have meat. It was truly a headache, and he would need to find a chef skilled in preparing medicinal meals.

“Husband, what are you thinking about?” Su Wenyue noticed that Han Yu would occasionally daydream, unsure what he was thinking about with such a serious expression.

“I’m thinking about how weak your body is. I’ll have the kitchen stew some medicinal meals for you. Even if you don’t like them, you should eat a little; persisting every day will definitely be beneficial.” Han Yu looked directly into Su Wenyue’s eyes, demanding a definite response from her.

Su Wenyue pouted; why was Han Yu bringing this up again? She remembered the period of confinement, with medicinal meals every day until she felt nauseous just thinking about them. She didn’t even want to touch them anymore.

“Medicinal meals are better than medicine. I’m not trying to force you, but look at your health—if you don’t improve your condition, do you plan to spend your old age lying in bed, living off medicine jars?” When Han Yu saw her reaction, he felt a spark of annoyance. After all, coming from a rural background, he had a particular dislike for delicacy. He was willing to indulge Su Wenyue in many ways, but on this matter, he was particularly intolerant.

“I’m already well, perfectly fine. Why bother with those troublesome things, ruining a good appetite? The old women frequently boil nourishing soups for me to strengthen my body, and I have been eating those. What more do you want?”

Hearing that, it seemed her childishness was showing again, and she wouldn’t admit to her stubbornness. Han Yu didn’t argue with Su Wenyue; things he decided were not up for discussion, even if his daughter-in-law was headstrong.

Instead, Su Wenyue, seeing Han Yu looking at her with such a deep gaze, felt a bit uncomfortable, knowing in her heart that he meant well for her. Without solid ground to stand on, even her fussing lacked conviction, so she softened her attitude.

“Husband, I know you’re looking out for me, but the medicinal meals are really hard to swallow. I just can’t eat them.” Su Wenyue, feeling wronged, took Han Yu’s hand.

Seeing this, he truly resembled a daughter-in-law spoiled beyond measure. Han Yu sighed helplessly, “It can’t be that bad. If you really don’t want to eat, eat less, but it’s still better than not eating at all. Your health is more important, so don’t be stubborn. Do you hear me? Hmm?”

“I heard you.” Han Yu gave in a bit, and Su Wenyue nodded understandingly. After all, when Han Yu was adamant, she couldn’t oppose him. And what else could she do if she disobeyed? Moreover, she knew the drawbacks of poor health; it wasn’t that she truly didn’t want to recover.

“That’s my good girl!” Seeing his daughter-in-law behaving this way, Han Yu was content and patted Su Wenyue on the head as if he had resolved a great issue, feeling a sense of accomplishment.

Su Wenyue rolled her eyes helplessly; it seemed Han Yu wasn’t going to break his habit of patting her head at every opportunity. She felt like a little dog, with Han Yu stroking her head this way.

When they returned home, it had already darkened outside, and the snow was still falling. Concerned that Su Wenyue might catch a cold, Han Yu insisted on not letting her walk on her own.

“I’m dressed warmly and am wearing a cloak; it won’t take long to get there, and I won’t catch a cold. Don’t worry.” Su Wenyue was mindful of maintaining dignity in front of the servants.

“No way, with the weather this cold and the wind so strong, you caught a cold just from a little breeze last time and didn’t learn your lesson.” When Han Yu wasn’t in the mood for reason, he wouldn’t waste time talking with Su Wenyue. He wrapped her in a large cape, enveloping her entirely, and carried her back to her room.

Su Wenyue felt incredibly embarrassed being carried in front of so many servants, but thankfully it was dark at night and no one could see clearly.

After returning to the inner courtyard, the first thing Su Wenyue did was to check on the children. The little guys were usually asleep by this time on normal days, but today they were all very spirited, eyes wide open as if they were waiting for someone. Upon seeing Su Wenyue return, they became excited, babbling away. After Su Wenyue changed her clothes and freshened up, she picked up each of the three little ones in turn, coaxing them to sleep.

The second day when Su Wenyue woke up, Han Yu had already left the house. The servants told her he had departed before dawn; the prefecture was far, and starting out early would allow for an early arrival, as the journey would not necessarily be completed in a single day. Still, he hadn’t forgotten to instruct the kitchen to stew medicinal meals. Su Wenyue wrinkled her nose at the smell, but a warm feeling welled up inside her heart.