Adorable Food Goddess - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Xia Chunyu rushed to the east wing, kicking his two henchmen awake before ordering Peng Wu to go and get the lame physician of the mountains, Mr . Liu .

Peng Wu ran straight to Mr . Liu’s room, shaking him awake and hauling the guy out of his blanket . Peng Wu pulled him all the way to the courtyard before the physician could even finish dressing up properly .

Xia Chunyu glared at Peng Wu as he saw the physician’s sorry state . “Mr . Liu, please take a look at her . She seemed feverish . ”

Mr . Liu touched Ye Jiayao’s forehead, measuring her pulse before asking, “Did she catch a cold?”

Xia Chunyu shook his head .

“Injured?”

Xia Chunyu hesitated for a while before shaking his head firmly . That place might have been a little injured, but it would not have been so serious as to cause a fever! Didn’t every woman go through that? He didn’t see any of them fall sick just because of that .

Mr . Liu frowned . He wasn’t a professional and although he could handle superficial injuries, apply some medicinal oil and manage to bandage, diagnosing illnesses was beyond his capabilities .

“Maybe it is from a fright? A snake crawled in last night, but I am certain that she was not bitten,” Xia Chunyu said, meaning for the two idiots to hear in case they started making things up .

“So third-in-charge kicked the door to save sister-in-law,” Song Qi said in realization, exchanging a conspiratory smile with Peng Wu .

Xia Chunyu ignored the teasing looks between the two hopeless idiots in the corner . He just could not be bothered with them at the moment . “Can she be cured?” he asked Mr . Liu .

Mr . Liu smoothed his goatee and replied, “I will write her a nerve-calming and fever-reducing prescription . If that still doesn’t work, then we’ll have to call the soul . ”

Xia Chunyu was at a loss . Call the soul? How?

Peng Wu followed Mr . Liu to get the medicine while Song Qi went to the kitchen to get some food for their sick sister-in-law .

Song Qi’s face was sour when he confessed, “Third-in-charge, I don’t know how to make food!”

Xia Chunyu replied harshly, “Who told you to make it? Even I wouldn’t dare to eat the things that you make! Go and get Old Head Yu to make it . ”

“I can’t go . Yesterday, I snatched a lot of stuff from Old Head Yu and he will definitely chase me out with a knife if he sees me again,” Song Qi replied weakly .

Xia Chunyu kicked him hard . “Scram! Boil some hot water for your sister-in-law, you do know how to boil water, don’t you?”

Song Qi rubbed his knee, embarrassed . “Yes, yes, this I know . ”

Xia Chunyu went around the house, closing the windows before leaving to look for food . What is the use of having henchmen if you can’t even get them to go to the kitchen?

With everyone gone, Ye Jiayao was finally free to open her eyes . She mulled over what the physician had said and wondered if he really was a professional . He actually said to call the soul! She could only hope that the guy was not a hoax because these three men were all completely useless in taking care of a sick person . They were just allowing her fever to burn, for goodness’s sake! They didn’t even make her a cold compress or something to bring her temperature down .

Ye Jiayao struggled to get up, wanting to get Song Qi to fetch some water, but then thought better of it and just lied back down . If that filthy man, who lacked compassion and basic morals, saw her get up, he would think that she was just fine and probably begin ordering her around again . She would just let her fever burn for a little longer and put the blame on him to torture him for a while .

Xia Chunyu walked back to the courtyard with a tray of breakfast in hand, attracting many peculiar looks from the bandits .

“Well, what do you know, marriage does make a difference,” someone mumbled .

“I know! Since when did third-in-charge come to get food personally?”

“He must love sister-in-law so dearly . ”

“Of course! Sister-in-law is so pretty, if I have such an attractive wife, even I would feed her…”

This is not what it looks like! That darn woman is sick! Xia Chunyu was growling inside in frustration .

Xia Chunyu returned back to their house gloomily, ignoring all the envious and sympathetic looks everyone was giving him .

Ye Jiayao groaned weakly upon hearing the sound of the door opening .

“Are you feeling better?” Xia Chunyu asked, setting the food on the table before he walked over to her .

“Water… I want to drink water,” Ye Jiayao croaked, looking like a dying patient as she let out a moan .

Xia Chunyu poured water for her at once, propping her up to help her drink .

“I feel awful, am I about to die?”

“What nonsense are you saying? It is just a little fright,” Xia Chunyu rebutted .

“Are you sure? It hurts so badly down there, ” Ye Jiayao whispered .

Xia Chunyu stared at her for quite a while, speechless . Suddenly, he let her go and walked over to the cupboard, taking a small ceramic bottle . “How about I help you apply some medicine?”

Ye Jiayao hesitated, looking at the bottle in his hand suspiciously . “What medicine?”

Xia Chunyu robotically enumerated its function as if he was reading from a script, “Top-grade medicinal oil, effective in healing wounds and clotting blood . ”

Ye Jiayao almost choked on her own tongue in distress . Are you serious? Medicinal oil for that!

“Let’s not do anything rash and just let Mr . Liu consult on this,” Ye Jiayao looked at him in apprehension, afraid that he would really apply the medicine on her .

Xia Chunyu looked at the medicine in his hand . Asking Mr . Liu on this kind of matters? That would be a little too awkward! However, he did not dare to apply the medicine so hastily lest it just makes things worse . It was him who would be suffering if that happened .

“I’m hungry,” Ye Jiayao complained, touching her stomach gingerly .

Xia Chunyu replied, pointing to the spread on the table, “There are porridge and buns if you want some . ”

Ye Jiayao feigned struggling to get up, looking as if she was pained at the slightest movement . Xia Chunyu saw how difficult it was for her so he brought the food over, helping her up and letting her lean on him while he feeds her .

It was apparent from Xia Chunyu’s clumsiness that this was the first time he had to take care of someone . He should’ve just practiced more control last night and he could’ve avoided all this hassle . He found it weird though, most women wish for him to be rough, yet this woman fell ill with just barely a touch .

Ye Jiayao laughed inside as she saw how awkward and uncomfortable he was . Now, I dare you to be unreasonable again!

“It’s too hot . ”

Xia Chunyu blew on the porridge till it cooled and fed her again .

“The bun has too much fatty meat, I can’t take it . ”

He picked off the fats in the bun patiently before feeding it to her again .

After a few mouthfuls, Ye Jia Yao pushed his hand away, shaking her head . “This is not nice . I can’t eat it anymore . ”

Xia Chunyu replied calmly, “Even if you don’t want to, you still have to eat it . ”

“It’s already your fault that I’m sick, and now you’re making me eat something I don’t like . ” She was sulking and pouting, laying it on thick .

“Then what do you want to eat?” Xia Chunyu asked helplessly .

“I want to eat wild strawberries . ”

Xia Chunyu went out to call Song Qi . “Go pluck some wild strawberries and bring them to the room . ”

“I am still boiling water!” Song Qi protested, pointing to the kitchen .

Xia Chunyu growled, impatient, “GO NOW . ”

There was no way Xia Chunyu was going to go strawberry-picking . If the brothers in the stockade saw him bending his back and raising his butt to pluck wild strawberries, his reputation would take a massive hit .

Song Qi, afraid of getting kicked again, scuttered away, calling out a reminder, “3rd-in-charge, watch the fire! It took me a long time to build it so don’t let it go out . ”

Xia Chunyu was extremely annoyed at how things were going . The arrival of this woman has turned his life upside down .

At the same time, Ye Jiayao was rejoicing in his misfortune as she finished the remaining half of the porridge . She lied leisurely in bed, waiting for those red, wild strawberries .

All training today had been canceled because third-in-charge has to take care of his sick wife . The brothers in the stockade were elated, praising the timely illness of their sister-in-law in as they gossip about the changes in the 3rd-in-charge’s behavior .

“Third-in-charge must’ve been too ferocious and didn’t know how to control himself, causing sister-in-law to fall ill from his torment . ”

“Ay, I didn’t know that 3rd-in-charge is such an impatient pervert . ”

Hearing these discussions, Song Qi lamented the death of third-in-charge’s clean reputation . He was already dreading what third-in-charge would do once he found out about what people were saying .

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Xia Chunyu was squatting in front of the stove, studiously keeping an eye on the fire . Who knew that raising a fire would be such a difficult task? He was the grand heir of the of the Jingan Hou family, a high-ranking bandit, and yet he still had to do this kind of manual labor and wait on a woman . He certainly was feeling exceptionally unlucky .

*PING PANG*

The sound of broken glass came from inside the house and Xia Chunyu rushed back . He found Ye Jiayao lying back on the bed with the bowl that contained the porridge, shattered on the floor .

“What are you doing?” Xia Chunyu asked, furious .

Ye Jiayao looked at his face covered in ashes and almost doubled over in laughter . “I called you many times but you didn’t hear me, so I smashed the bowl . ”

Xia Chunyu kicked the smashed ceramic pieces in frustration . “What is it that you want?”

“I’m thirsty . ”

Xia Chunyu brought the whole teapot to her impatiently .

“Just a small cup will do,” Ye Jiayao said softly .

Xia Chunyu’s anger rose . “Hey, don’t ask for too much! My patience has a limit . ”

Well, she was definitely looking forward to testing that limit .

Ye Jiayao pretended to wilt under his anger . She ‘tried’ to lift the teapot up but after failing for the second time, she just pushed it away and stammered, “Just forget it . I’m not drinking it anymore . ” She turned over, moving her shoulders up and down to look like she was silently crying .

Xia Chunyu could not bear to see her like this . He felt like the biggest bastard in the world for getting angry at her when all she wanted was a sip of water .

He poured her a cup of water and nudged her . “Here, drink . ”

“No need, I’m fine . ” Ye Jiayao sniffed and continued, “If I die, just burn me up! I have no one in this my world anymore since my family will not acknowledge me . Don’t bother setting up a grave, just scatter my ashes somewhere . I was already lonely alive, I don’t want to be lonely when I die too . ”

The corner of Xia Chunyu’s mouth twitched, both in humor and annoyance . “You’re talking nonsense . It’s just a small illness . ”

Ye Jiayao’s shoulders trembled even more .

Xia Chunyu, lost and guilty, went to help her up . “Here, just drink and you’ll feel better afterward . ”

“I know I have caused you a lot of trouble, but I didn’t want this to happen either,” she said weakly .

“Alright, alright, I didn’t say that it is your fault . Just hurry up and nurse your body back to health . ” Xia Chunyu has a whole stomach full of angst yet he refuses to take it out on her in case he upsets her even more .

What a nuisance!