Warm medicine emits fragrance

In the middle of the night, Fan Liuer was awakened by the sound of thunder.

Outside, a thunderstorm raged, the rain was heavy, and the wind was rattling the windows.

She quickly got up, lit a candle, and hurried to the window to check if it was closed properly.

After checking the windows, she went to the door, pushed it open, and looked outside. Just as she opened the door, a bolt of lightning struck, illuminating the entire courtyard. A disheveled figure appeared in front of the door, startling her so much that she cried out and almost dropped the candlestick in her hand.

"Did I scare you?" The figure reached out to help her up; the voice was familiar.

In the candlelight, Fan Liuer saw the man's face clearly, shook off his hand, and said irritably, "What are you doing standing at my door in the middle of the night? Trying to scare me to death?"

Li Chenbi, leaning on his cane, stepped into the house. "The thunder was so loud, I was afraid it would frighten you, so I came to check on you."

Fan Liuer was still in shock. "The thunder didn't scare me, you did."

Li Chenbi took the candlestick from her hand and placed it on the table. "Don't be afraid, I'll watch over you tonight."

Fan Liuer turned to look at the person who had already sat down, "I'm not afraid, you can go back to your room."

Li Chenbi looked up at her and said, "Don't be stubborn."

Fan Liuer: "..."

This guy really knows how to be a scoundrel.

"Don't think I don't know what you're up to. Go back now and don't keep me from sleeping." As she spoke, she reached out to pull him.

Li Chenbi grabbed her and pulled her into his arms.

"What are you doing!" Fan Liuer was pressed down onto his lap, her waist held tightly by his, unable to break free.

Li Chenbi hadn't been close to Fan Liuer for many days. Now, with that familiar soft fragrance in his arms, he couldn't help but bury his face in her neck and take a deep breath of her scent.

He spoke in a muffled voice, "I'm scared."

"What are you afraid of? Let me go!"

"Yeah, I'm afraid of ghosts."

Fan Liuer was so angry at Li Chenbi that she almost laughed. She reached out and pushed his head away from her neck, meeting his eyes in the candlelight.

"You're scarier than a ghost; ghosts are more likely to be afraid of you."

"What nonsense are you talking about? There's no ghost as handsome as me."

He spoke nonsensical words, but his eyes burned with passion, causing Fan Liuer's heart to tremble slightly.

She raised her hand to cover Li Chenbi's eyes and said, "Are you going to break the contract?"

Li Chenbi held Fan Liuer's hand down without removing it, his hot palm pressed against the back of her hand.

"I won't do anything, I'll just sleep with you. It's raining so hard today, it'll be very cold, you probably won't sleep well."

If it were snowing outside, Fan Liuer really wouldn't be able to refuse Li Chenbi, but unfortunately it was raining outside.

In the height of summer, how cold can it get?

"I have a thick blanket, I can sleep well." Fan Liuer said, letting go of his hand, and taking advantage of Li Chenbi's inattention, she forcefully broke free from his embrace and got up from his arms.

"Go back to your room right away."

Li Chenbi only came to check on Fan Liuer because he was worried about her; he didn't really expect her to stay. Being able to hold her for a while was already an extra bonus.

Although there were still some regrets, I didn't insist anymore.

He got up, leaning on his cane, and told Fan Liuer, "If you can't sleep well, call me."

Fan Liuer waved her hand at him, "Don't worry, I slept very well."

Unless something life-threatening happens, Fan Liuer always sleeps very well, and she fell asleep not long after Li Chenbi left.

The rain lasted for three days before stopping, causing the river to overflow and destroying a bridge that was essential for the journey upstream to Xingzhou.

Having already delayed his return trip by two days, and with no time to wait for the bridge to be repaired, Li Chenbi chose to detour through Kaishan Town back to Xingzhou.

A group of eight people, in two horse-drawn carriages.

Li Chenbi and Fan Liuer sat in the front carriage, driven by a hired coachman, while Li Qiuping rode alongside on horseback.

Fan Liuer and Feng Xu sat in the carriage behind, driven by the same coachman, with Feng Ji riding a horse alongside.

Originally, Fan Liuer was supposed to ride in one carriage with Siqing, while Feng Xu, who couldn't ride a horse, would ride in Li Chenbi's carriage.

Li Chenbi did not refuse, but only glanced at Feng Xu, who immediately pleaded with Fan Liuer with his eyes.

Fan Liuer had no choice but to get into the car in front.

The carriage was rented in town and was not as spacious and luxurious as the carriages at the Li residence. It felt a bit cramped for the two of them to sit inside.

In addition, Li Chenbi has long arms and legs, and his two legs take up most of the carriage. No matter how Fan Liuer positions herself, she has to stick close to him.

She suspected he did it on purpose, deliberately renting such a small carriage so that she wouldn't be able to avoid it.

He would never compromise himself. Although Guanshan Town was not large, it was not so small that he could not rent a better carriage.

Under her questioning gaze, Li Chenbi raised an eyebrow and asked, "Looking at me like that, do you want to kiss me?"

Fan Liuer rolled her eyes at him, turned around and leaned against the window to look outside, ignoring him completely.

After three days and three nights of heavy rain, although the weather cleared up today, the roads were still soft and muddy from the rain, and the carriages had to bounce around from time to time.

They encountered a large pothole, and Fan Liuer was jolted backward, sliding against Li Chenbi.

Li Chenbi hugged her tightly and wouldn't let go, saying, "You took the initiative yourself."

Fan Liuer struggled to push him away, but Li Chenbi held her even tighter. "Don't struggle. This road is not easy to walk. You will inevitably stick to me. You might as well just let me hold you quietly."

As he spoke, he used both hands to lift Fan Liuer onto his lap, making her nestle in his arms.

"This is more comfortable, it won't make you feel uncomfortable from the jolting."

To be honest, it is much more comfortable this way, and the bumps are not as strong.

Fan Liuer hesitated for only a moment before accepting.

No one should suffer, but you should not let yourself suffer.

Noticing that the person in his arms was slowly softening, Li Chenbi suppressed the slight upturn of his lips and hugged Fan Liuer even tighter.

"With this kind of road condition, we'll probably be delayed on the road for a whole day. Why don't you get some sleep? It won't be so hard if you're asleep."

Li Chenbi's arms were comfortable and warm. Fan Liuer wasn't sleepy at first, but as the car shook, she fell asleep.

Before long, Li Chenbi also fell asleep while holding Fan Liuer.

He hadn't slept well these days. Summer was tough for him every day, and without an ice box and unable to hold Fan Liuer, he couldn't sleep well at night.

Holding Fan Liuer in his arms, feeling her cool temperature and soft touch, his eyelids began to grow heavy.

The convoy had been traveling all morning and should have been almost at Xingzhou by now, but due to the increased distance and poor road conditions, they had only traveled halfway.

This area is all mountains, and there are hardly any people around. Only one official road runs through the mountains and forests.

Around noon, Li Qiuping found a shady spot where the sun wouldn't shine and stopped to let everyone eat something and rest before setting off again.

Fan Liuer woke up as soon as the car stopped, and the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Li Chenbi's sleeping face.

He was leaning against the interior wall of the car, his head slightly drooping, his eyes closed, fast asleep.