After bidding farewell to Sun Doctor, Li Shuchen carried Qi Huan and set off on their return journey.
At high noon, the dazzling sunlight pierced through the layers of green leaves, sprinkling dappled patterns on their clothes and leaving a faint halo of light. The cool breeze carried a warm embrace, making the small wildflowers by the road sway and giggle.
However, Qi Huan had no time to appreciate the beautiful scenery. She wished she could sprout wings and hurry back to put on a sanitary pad.
As if hearing her thoughts, Li Shuchen lightly tapped his feet, gathered his inner strength, and took flight with his lightness skill. They soon arrived home, and after setting Qi Huan down, he said, "You go tidy up first, I'll boil some water."
Nodding in agreement, Qi Huan ran into the house, quickly retrieved the sanitary pads from her spatial storage, and then turned to rummage through the red wooden chest at the foot of the bed for some clothes.
Accompanied by a few short knocks on the door, Li Shuchen's crisp voice came from outside: "Ahuan, the water is ready, come open the door."
"Okay!" Qi Huan hastily threw the clothes in her hand onto the bed and went to open the door. Taking the wooden basin Li Shuchen was holding, she quickly thanked him and used her tiptoes to kick the door shut. After pouring the warm water from the basin into her regular small basin, Qi Huan began to clean up and change clothes.
Once she had finished tidying up, a sudden pain in her abdomen made her crouch down and hold her stomach. After a moment of rest, she mustered the strength to splash some water.
When she reached the living room, she met Li Shuchen's concerned gaze.
"Let me." Lowering his eyes to the basin of bloody water, Li Shuchen's face changed slightly, and he blushed as he took the basin from her with his long arm.
Qi Huan stood there, embarrassed and wanting to sink into the ground. If only the latrine had a door, or wasn't so narrow, this awkward situation wouldn't have happened.
At that moment, the courtyard gate creaked open, and Xiu Wen walked in, his chest stained with ink spots, seemingly wanting to change clothes.
He had a slightly resigned expression on his face, sighing as he walked.
When he saw Lord Li carrying a basin of bloody water, he immediately panicked, "My lord, please put it down, let me do it. You have a fastidious nature, how can you be carrying such a filthy object? ... Huh? My lord, are you injured? Why is there blood?"
"Shut up." Li Shuchen firmly held the basin and stepped aside, then turned back and said, "Since you're so free, you can scrub the latrine for the whole month."
Xiu Wen was utterly puzzled and bewildered. Was being concerned a mistake?
Their lord was becoming increasingly strange. So, after going inside, he immediately approached Qi Huan, "Miss Qi, who is injured?"
"No one." Qi Huan answered uncomfortably, then turned and went back to her room, burying her head under the covers.
When she woke up again, the sunlight outside was not as intense. Her stomach first growled, then her lower abdomen started to ache intensely.
Perhaps due to the long and cold winters in Mo County, and the common people not having enough to eat or wear, many young ladies suffered from uterine cold syndrome. During their menstrual periods, they experienced excruciating pain.
Qi Huan was one of the unfortunate ones. She was sweating profusely from the pain, curled up in the quilt, clutching the bedding.
She had never imagined that getting her period could be so painful!
"System, retrieve the painkillers from the spatial storage."
With that, a packet of ibuprofen granules appeared on her bedside. Qi Huan looked at it, thinking: Why isn't it in capsule form? Capsules can be swallowed directly, but the granules need to be dissolved in hot water, and she didn't want to get up.
Eventually, she resigned herself to getting up, holding a cup in her left hand and the medication in her right, preparing to go to the kitchen to make some hot water.
In the living room, Li Shuchen was holding a scroll, but his gaze kept drifting towards the door to the next room. Seeing her come out, his feet instantly disobeyed him and walked up to her.
He had thought she was asleep earlier, so he didn't disturb her. Now, seeing her awake, Li Shuchen took the cup from her hand and said gently, "You sit and rest, I'll go fill it."
Her abdomen still aching, Qi Huan didn't try to be strong, obediently sitting on the round stool and waiting for him to bring the hot water. After mixing the ibuprofen, she drank it all in one gulp.
"What is this medicine?"
"A painkiller."
Li Shuchen's eyes flashed, and he said softly, "Medicines can be double-edged swords. Perhaps, as Sun Doctor suggested, I should try massaging you?"
Qi Huan shook her head, "The medicine has made me a bit sleepy, I'll go back to sleep for a while."
She slept until it was dark.
Perhaps due to the medicine, Qi Huan felt much better. Lying in the soft quilt, she didn't want to get up. Glancing at the medicine box on the pillow, she planned to reorder a few more boxes.
Receiving the order, the system hesitated, "Host, since the medicine is double-edged, why don't you let Li Shuchen try massaging you?"
"System, you keep trying to push me towards Li Shuchen, but remember, your surname is Qi, not Li."
"...Host, you're mistaken, my surname is Ri. Full name: Ri Xingyi, the Upright and Clever System."
"..."
Qi Huan rubbed her forehead and rephrased, "Alright, Ri Xingyi, the Upright and Clever System, please reorder five boxes of medicine for me."
In addition to ibuprofen, there were other medications as well.
But no problem.
The ibuprofen can be picked out for personal use, and the rest of the medicines can be sold to Sun Doctor again. Or she could keep some in reserve, better to be safe than sorry.
This time, the system took a long time to reply, "Host, I just conducted a free search for you, and detected some medications more suitable for your condition, such as Xiaofuzhuyuwan, Aifuhuangong pills, and Yimucao granules. Do you want to purchase those?"
While the painkillers were effective, they only treated the symptoms, not the root cause. Medications targeting the underlying issue would be better for improving her physical condition.
So, Qi Huan generously said, "Buy them!"
Swoosh—
A courier box fell to the ground.
After figuring out the dosage according to the instructions, Qi Huan took the hot water from the thermos by the bed and swallowed the medications.
Remembering the heating pads in the spatial storage, she took one out and stuck it on the inside of her undershirt, over her lower abdomen.
The steady warmth spreading through her, Qi Huan thought: Isn't this better than getting a massage?
Under the dual effects of medication and heating pads, she finally bid farewell to this not-so-friendly "aunt." Perhaps due to the uterine cold, her period this time only lasted three days.
Thinking about having to go through this every month, Qi Huan felt a bit dejected, not even noticing when Li Shuchen approached her.
"Come, it's time to eat."
Putting down the food box, Li Shuchen first took out the dishes on the top layer and arranged them in front of Qi Huan, then placed the Bailongxiao, Xianrenchen, and Jiangbai cabbage dishes on the central dining table.
Xiu Wen stood by the table, looking at the increasingly strange lord, very much wanting to say, "Let me handle these menial tasks." But he didn't want to scrub the latrine for another month, so he nudged Yan Wu beside him with his elbow.
Yan Wu shifted over.
He followed suit, nudging Yan Wu again and giving him a meaningful glance, silently urging him to go help the lord.
Yan Wu furrowed his brows, pondering for a moment, then awkwardly explained, "The Yunying Caravan brought these back."
Thinking it over, he added, "See, they're still steaming hot. Looks like my lightness skill has really improved."
Hearing this, Yan Qinghe laughed warmly in agreement, "Brother Yan Wu is amazing! ... But why did you go to the Yunying Caravan to get the food?"
"The lord said it was on the way."
With that, the three of them turned their gazes towards Li Shuchen.
Li Shuchen was ladling out a bowl of congee with osmanthus syrup, handing it to Qi Huan, and said gently, "Yan Nine went to Lingzhou to invite a palace lady skilled in medicinal cuisine. Try these and let me know if they suit your taste. If you don't like them, tell me, and I'll have her adjust them."
Qi Huan took the congee and ate it in small sips. Looking at the Yimucao date soup, Huangqi Danggui soup, and Shenshen supplement paste in front of her, she considered her words carefully, "Aren't there a bit too many soups?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Yan Qinghe used the communal chopsticks to serve her a piece of cabbage: "A'Huan, these are all A'Shu's heartfelt gifts. If you can't finish them, I'll drink them for you. There are other delicious dishes on the table as well, so you can eat those too."
He had finally understood - A'Shu's excuse about passing by was true.
If A'Shu didn't need to prepare a medicinal diet for A'Huan, he probably wouldn't have brought the retired palace matron all the way to Mo County. They wouldn't have been able to enjoy this delicious imperial cuisine.
In fact, A'Shu didn't even want the palace matron to live with A'Huan, and had gone to the trouble of arranging for her to stay with the Yunying Caravan, fetching her meals from there every day.
Thinking about this, Yan Qinghe suddenly realized: A'Huan is the center of A'Shu's world. He must handle this carefully.
So he looked at Qi Huan with eager eyes, just as he had earlier gazed longingly at the imperial dishes on the table.
Meeting his earnest gaze, Qi Huan smiled gently in response.
He was right, all of this was A'Shu's heartfelt gifts, and she would gratefully accept them. Especially since they were also good for her health.
Even as she lay in bed, a light smile still played on Qi Huan's lips.
The feeling of being cared for was so wonderful.
Suddenly, she thought of the other women in Mo County who also suffered from painful menstruation.
