The words were interrupted by a "knock, knock" from outside the door.
"I'll tell you when I get back. You rest first." Lu Yu opened the door and saw Li Fulang. "Brother-in-law, are you looking for Shen Xuan?"
Lu Yu knew that Shen Xuan had been embroidering with Li Fulang these past few days, so she guessed he was looking for Shen Xuan.
"Uh... not really, I mainly came to find you." Li Fulang looked a bit embarrassed.
"Then please come in." Lu Yu quickly moved aside and invited Li Fulang in.
Hearing that Li Fulang had arrived, Shen Xuan hurried to put on his shoes and get out of bed. He had come out in such a hurry that he almost tripped and fell.
"Brother-in-law is here, come into the room quickly."
Seeing Shen Xuan come out in thin clothes, Lu Yu glared at him. However, she couldn't bring herself to scold him and quickly led them into the house.
"Brother-in-law, are you here to embroider with me?"
Li Fulang sat on the chair with a troubled expression, his hands resting by his sides, constantly rubbing the corner of his clothes.
"Brother-in-law, what's wrong? Tell me if something's up." Shen Xuan took Li Fulang's hand that was fiddling with the corner of his clothes, freeing the creased fabric from his grasp.
"My father's sister came over today. She heard me talk about Doctor Lu before and became very interested. She wants to learn medicine from Doctor Lu and insisted on meeting you."
At this, Li Fulang's face was full of apology. "I don't know if sister Lu has time to meet my sister next door, so she can give up."
Hearing Li Fulang say this, Lu Yu had an idea. If she could take on an apprentice, she could have her fill in when she was busy, and most importantly, her medical skills could be passed down.
"Yes, I'll go with you to meet your sister now."
"Thank you for the trouble."
"We're neighbors, so don't mention trouble. Brother-in-law, don't worry, my wife wouldn't mind."
Before Lu Yu could figure out how to respond, Shen Xuan took over. Seeing him like this, he was becoming more and more like a proper head of the household.
Walking into the courtyard, Lu Yu turned back and carefully instructed Shen Xuan to go back inside quickly so he wouldn't catch a cold.
Seeing Li Fulang's knowing smile, Shen Xuan nodded awkwardly and said to Li Fulang, "Brother-in-law, I'll go back inside now."
After speaking, he cast a reproachful glance at Lu Yu and turned to go back into the house.
Before the two could even open the main door, they were startled by a shout from over the wall.
"No need to go! I'll wait for Doctor Lu here!" Li Fulang's sister was already leaning over the wall, peeking into the courtyard.
"Get down quickly! Why are you climbing the wall? Get down!"
Although Li Fulang usually seemed gentle and not at all formidable, he was quite authoritative with his sister. Perhaps this was the legendary bloodline suppression.
At Li Fulang's shout, Wu Shao sheepishly said "Oh" and obediently climbed down from the other side of the wall.
"You are Doctor Lu!" Wu Shao's eyes lit up. He glanced at his brother, swallowed, and restrained himself a little.
"Doctor Lu, I really want to learn medicine from you, and I want to heal people!"
The light in Wu Shao's eyes was undeniable. This child was quite clever and kind-hearted, and she seemed genuinely eager to learn. Lu Yu decided to observe her for a couple of days.
"I can consider taking you as a disciple and passing on my medical skills to you, but it cannot be so hasty. You will come with me to the clinic tomorrow, and I will observe you for two days."
"Really! That's great! Thank you, Doctor Lu. I will perform well."
"My name is Wu Shao, I'm 16 years old. I'm my brother's sister, and also, I..."
Seeing that Wu Shao was about to continue, Lu Yu smiled and interrupted, "Don't be nervous, take your time."
Li Fulang was also shocked. He hadn't expected Lu Yu to consider taking his sister as a disciple. He had thought she would just come to refuse and dissuade her.
"Thank you, sister Lu, thank you." Li Fulang's face was flushed with excitement, and he kept thanking her. The Wu family had been farmers for generations. If they could produce a doctor, it would be like burning high incense.
The two returned, and everything returned to peace.
"What were you going to tell me?" Lu Yu brushed the dust off her clothes, lifted the quilt, and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Wife, you said before that you liked and accepted me in any way I was. Is that still true?"
"Of course, that statement will always be true." Lu Yu guessed that Shen Xuan was about to tell her some secrets and reassured him as much as possible. "Don't be afraid, say whatever you want, I will always stand by you."
"Then I'll say it?"
Shen Xuan blinked his big eyes and stared at Lu Yu.
"Actually, I, I can read and paint. I'm not like other men. Can you accept that?"
"Why wouldn't I accept it? Of course, I can!" Lu Yu was very excited. "So you're saying you can't embroider?"
Lu Yu had seen the handkerchiefs Shen Xuan had embroidered. Although she didn't understand embroidery herself, she could still tell the density of the stitches and the basic aesthetics.
"What are you talking about?" At this, Shen Xuan's face turned slightly red, and he looked a bit embarrassed.
"I will practice, and I will definitely be better than I am now."
"If you don't like it, you don't have to force yourself to practice. Just do what you like," Lu Yu gently hugged Shen Xuan, finding a comfortable position for him.
"Wife, you... you really don't mind?" Shen Xuan still wanted to know Lu Yu's true thoughts. If she minded, then... then he would practice in secret, at least without her knowing.
"Of course, I don't mind. It's so proud to have a learned husband who is different from their husbands. I like it very much."
Shen Xuan leaned his head lightly on Lu Yu's shoulder, his arm slowly wrapping around her waist. "I knew it, Wife is the best."
Lu Yu picked out gentle medicinal herbs from the gathered ones, brewed a tonic, and personally fed it to Shen Xuan.
Seeing Shen Xuan's little face wrinkled after drinking the medicine, Lu Yu reached into her怀 and took out a piece of candied fruit, putting it into his mouth.
Seeing him instantly beam with joy, Lu Yu couldn't help but smile along.
"I know you love pastries, here, I brought some back for you." Lu Yu, like a magician, took out a paper bag wrapped with chestnut cake from behind her.
Perhaps due to the hardships of her childhood, Shen Xuan now loved sweets very much.
"Don't eat too much at once, or you'll get a toothache, and eating too many sweets at this time can make you gain weight."
Hearing Lu Yu speak to him in a coaxing tone, Shen Xuan was a little unconvinced and pouted slightly. "I'm not a child."
"I know you're not a child, so—" Lu Yu drew out her tone, slowly leaned closer to Shen Xuan's face, placed her hands on either side of Shen Xuan, and pressed down.
Shen Xuan leaned against the headboard, with nowhere to escape. He opened his eyes wide, staring at Lu Yu's approaching face. His heart seemed to have stopped, and he just sat there, dazed, staring at her.
"Close your eyes." Lu Yu's gentle voice sounded from beside Shen Xuan's ear.
Shen Xuan seemed to have just reacted. Upon receiving the command, he instantly closed his eyes tightly, even furrowing his brows.
Lu Yu freed one hand to move the stray hairs from Shen Xuan's forehead, gently smoothing his brow. "Why are you so nervous?"
Then, Lu Yu lifted her rosy little face and slowly kissed from his forehead to the corner of his mouth, finally lightly stamping a kiss on his lips.
Lu Yu moved away slightly, her hot breath still spraying onto Shen Xuan's nose. The two were very close, and Lu Yu could even see the fine downy hairs on Shen Xuan's face.