With the sound of her clear laughter, Ren felt a tickling sensation in his chest and squinted his eyes slightly.
“Will it not be too hard?”
Running lightly while enjoying the refreshing winter breeze, Ren chuckled lightly.
“It’s better than being a patient who can only receive care without doing anything, right?”
“……Hmm……”
Sharti looked at Ren with a strange expression, then sighed.
It seemed like she had completely forgotten her initial confession.
“Sha?”
“…I might regret it later.”
She sighed, and without realizing it, Ren confidently assured her that she wouldn’t regret it.
There’s nothing to regret.
However, as always, Ren recalls this moment of impulsiveness, sitting crouched in front of Tane, admitting the position he put himself in as a servant, and can’t help but agree with the child’s blunt evaluation.
Certainly, Ren was fast.
As Ren promised, Sharti arrived at the valley around noon, long after the noon had passed.
Listening to the sound of the cold valley water, Sharti slipped out of Ren’s embrace.
‘I should do the laundry before taking a bath.’
When Sharti took out a robe dirtied with mud, Ren, rolling up his sleeves, stepped forward.
“I’ll do it.”
“Do you know how?”
“…Isn’t it enough to wash it until it’s clean?”
Sharti, smiling at Ren’s enthusiasm, pushed him away.
Although it was a cheap robe, inexperienced washing could further damage the fabric.
“Help me hang this up, Ren.”
“Alright.”
Understanding the implicit request to start a fire, Ren quickly gathered the belongings and left to find a suitable spot.
After Ren disappeared from sight, Sharti took off her furry coat and rolled up her sleeves.
On her left arm, a gruesome scar extended from the back of her hand.
“The weather is so nice.”
Sharti walked towards a puddle where the valley water gathered separately, putting the laundry in it.
“It’s fortunate that the water isn’t too cold yet.”
Compared to the winter valley water, it was a suitable temperature.
Sharti didn’t hesitate to dip her hands into the valley water, vigorously washing the laundry.
With occasional shivers from her numb hands, Sharti, feeling frustrated, lowered her head deeply.
“It’s not getting clean at all…”
It didn’t seem like scrubbing with hands would solve the issue.
Sharti hesitated for a moment, glancing around.
‘…Can I finish this before Ren comes?’
Sharti eyed the laundry and made a decision.
Without hesitation, Sharti took off her shoes, lifted her long skirt, revealing a bare right foot with only a bandage wrapped around it.
‘Let’s finish this quickly.’
Gripping the hem of her skirt tightly, Sharti dipped her foot into the valley water.
The coldness of the valley water up to her ankles made Sharti shiver briefly. As she hadn’t walked much thanks to Ren, she confidently stepped in place in the valley water, stepping on the laundry.
Following the accumulated experience, she skillfully stepped on the laundry.
As she skillfully treaded, the valley water began to cloud.
‘Indeed, washing laundry with feet requires a lot of strength.’
When she washed clothes with her hands, her shoulders and waist often hurt. Although her feet were cold, the refreshing mountain air lifted her spirits.
“……Ah!”
Perhaps because she was too engrossed, Sharti lost her balance for a moment, stepping on a fallen branch.
It was a moment when Sharti reflexively squinted at the sharp branch.
“Yikes!”
Startled by the sudden force, Sharti was pulled up and instinctively crouched down.
Ren suddenly lifted her in his arms, without her realizing when he came back.
Sharti, too shocked to feel the pain in the soles of her feet, called out, “Ren?”
While her heart pounded, Sharti cautiously observed Ren’s expression.
Ren’s face was unimaginably pale, frozen in an indescribable way.
“Ren, over there-.”
As Sharti summoned the courage to call him, Ren sat her down under a tree. Without saying a word, Ren lowered himself and examined her feet.
Checking the slightly scratched sole, Ren’s Adam’s apple bobbed significantly.
‘…Ah, a scar!’
Belatedly realizing, Sharti, urgently lowered the hem of her skirt, covering her right leg. She hurriedly pulled down the sleeve, revealing her left arm.
Ignoring Ren, who had deliberately avoided eye contact, Sharti spoke urgently, “I need to apply ointment. Ren, could you… bring the bag?”
“…….,”
The dampness from the wet bandage dripped down the ankle. A brief silence ensued.
Swallowing the dry saliva in her throat, Sharti, with her neck drawn, glanced at Ren, who was kneeling.
Already having seen everything, pretending not to know seemed more unnatural.
“I… It doesn’t hurt at all.”
“…….,”
Sharti, putting on a bright expression, stroked her left arm.
The burn scar from five years ago had grotesquely dried up, presenting a dark red contrast to the other areas of pale white skin.
As long as she didn’t overexert herself, it was now just a trace of a past pain that had passed.
“It looks severe, but now it doesn’t hurt at all.”
“…….,”
“Really. Truly, it doesn’t hurt.”
When Ren slowly raised his head, his distorted expression showed through the mess.
“It’s really fine.”
However, unlike the unharmed Sharti, Ren seemed to be in agony, as if his insides were burning.
His tightly closed lips quivered, and his deep turquoise eyes flickered. He repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fist, trying to release the tension.
Quietly watching Ren in agony, Sharti, with a forcibly bright voice, casually spoke, “It was a fire. A somewhat big fire.”
Smiling, Sharti gently pressed the dimple that appeared on Ren’s forehead.
“The neck, it was injured then, but now it’s all okay.”
“…….,”
“Of course, I haven’t completely forgotten what happened then, but that’s improving too. Ren knows that, right?”
Smiling threefold, Sharti’s smile gradually faded.
Ren’s crimson eyes, looking at Sharti, turned red with a sudden gust of cold wind.
“…Are the scars, very gruesome?”
“I…,”
His sinking voice trembled modestly.
“I don’t know what to say so that, Sharti, won’t cry…”
With that one sentence, Sharti, who was desperately holding back the bursting tears, pressed her lips.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
