Transmigrated into the body of the vicious first wife of a fallen prime minister

For the first time, Qi He had left Shang Jue speechless. Seeing his defeated expression, it was undeniably satisfying.

Back at Qianjinlou, Shang Jue didn't make the "Spicy Shang Jue" dish, but instead made her a plate of sweet and sour pork ribs and a plate of candied cherries.

The aftereffects of the fruit wine from the meal kicked in, making her head spin.

Qi He ate two candied plums to help with the hangover, went back to her room, and slept until dawn.

The next morning, Qi He yawned as she left her room, only to find Shang Jue preparing breakfast and not yet heading to the shop.

Qi He stopped yawning abruptly halfway through.

That busy manager, who's always on the go, is still home at 7 AM. Doesn't he usually leave before dawn?

Why aren't you curling your hair today?

Shang Jue placed the freshly cooked porridge on the table. The moment Qi He's eyes met his, she immediately turned and ran back to her room.

She usually gets up at 7:00 AM, but Shang Jue has already gone to the shop.

Qi He was too lazy to wash up at home, and her hair was a mess as she wandered around the house like a lost soul. Who knew what was wrong with this rascal today?

A sophisticated heiress would never allow herself to appear sloppy in public.

Qi He returned to her dressing room and immediately had her maid change her into a comfortable silk dress. She then spent half an hour grooming herself from head to toe, creating a flawless look that appeared "unadorned but with even her hair meticulously styled."

When Shang Jue saw Qi He again, she had returned to the refined appearance he was familiar with.

Qi He sat down at the table with an air of noble aloofness, stared silently at Shang Jue for a moment, and then spoke: "Is there something on my face?"

She took a sip of her porridge: "It's so late, why haven't you gone to the shop yet?"

"Is it late?" Shang Jue glanced calmly at the sky. "Some people are only getting up at this hour."

Qi He choked a little, but continued drinking the porridge that Shang Jue had cooked.

The hot porridge soothed her hangover stomach, and her initial anger vanished.

Well, every child in the family has their disobedient moments, and as parents, we just have to silently forgive them.

Qi He was in a good mood after eating and drinking her fill.

As Shang Jue was leaving, she had a rare moment of conscience and picked out a moon-white hair ribbon from the dressing room, then stood on tiptoe to tie it for him.

Not bad, not bad, they look quite presentable.

She won't embarrass herself in public.

As the saying goes, a husband's good looks are a wife's glory!

Shang Jue looked at her with a subtle expression, but Qi He was completely unaware of how intimate her action was.

After seeing Shang Jue off, Miss Qi immediately returned to her bedroom, rolled around in the bedding a few times, and began to take a nap.

You know what, this kind of life—waking up naturally, having a handsome guy with a poker face cook you a meal, and then going back to sleep after eating—is really great!

......

After a few more comfortable days, Qi He spent his days either practicing martial arts at the martial arts school or attending various banquets.

As the year draws to a close, the gatherings of wealthy young ladies in Jinling become more frequent, and Qi He receives invitations to almost every one.

After exchanging a few words with Shang Jue early that morning, she devoted herself to the banquet. Although the two lived in the same house, they rarely met.

They were probably carried away by their success.

That afternoon, Qi He returned from a flower-viewing banquet, and her lower abdomen felt slightly uncomfortable.

At first, I thought it was just a cold, so I went back inside, sucked on two ginger candies, and rested. When the heat came in, I soon fell into a deep sleep.

When I woke up again, I was tormented by waves of cramping pain in my lower right abdomen.

Her discomfort did not subside; instead, it worsened, accompanied by abdominal pain and nausea.

Qi He's forehead was covered in a thin layer of sweat from the pain.

She looked out the window; dusk was falling, and it was already dark. She hadn't eaten dinner, and now she was both hungry and in pain. She had no choice but to grit her teeth and leave the bedroom.

The hall of Qianjinlou was dimly lit, and Shang Jue was probably busy in the shop again.

The servants, afraid of disturbing her, simply stood guard outside her courtyard.

For the first time, Qi He felt that the house was so big and so empty.

She poured herself a cup of hot tea and held it in her hand. As she passed the dressing mirror, she caught a glimpse of her pale face in the mirror and almost thought she had seen a ghost.

"Could I have contracted some incurable disease?" Qi He thought in horror, holding her teacup.

She sat on the couch, lost in thought, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt that her days were numbered. In those folk tales, people who contracted acute illnesses all started with abdominal pain like this.

She recalled how most people in the storybooks who contracted acute illnesses did not survive more than three days, and a wave of sadness washed over her.

That's very possible!

After all, her fate was completely different from the original owner's!

When Shang Jue returned to Qianjin Tower, it was already 9 PM.

He subconsciously looked up and saw that Qi He's bedroom was only illuminated by a faint candlelight.

Have they already rested?

He glanced down at the sky and couldn't help but chuckle.

According to Qi He, at this hour, isn't it only old women who sleep?

Without thinking much of it, he entered the house and realized that the lights in the hall were on, and the whole house was unusually quiet.

The next moment, he saw Qi He curled up on the soft couch—her face was pale, her lips were bloodless, and her brows were furrowed, it was hard to tell whether she was awake or unconscious.

Shang Jue's expression changed, and he half-squatted down: "Qi He?"

Qi He woke up in pain and then fainted again. In her dazed state, she heard someone calling her. When she opened her eyes and saw Shang Jue's face, she felt a pang of grievance: "My stomach hurts..."

"How long has it been hurting?"

"I forgot...it started hurting in the afternoon."

"Have you called a doctor?"

"I forgot because of the pain..."

She lied; she didn't actually want to face the fact that she had an incurable disease.

Avoiding medical treatment due to embarrassment is an example of this.

Shang Jue frowned and helped her up: "I'll take you to see a doctor."

Qi He, dressed in her nightgown, struggled immediately when Shang Jue tried to pick her up, crying, "No, no!"

Shang Jue's face darkened: "How can we not see a doctor?"

"I...I need to change my clothes," Qi He managed to utter.

Shang Jue fell silent.

Although Qi He was weak, her eyes were very firm: "If I have to go to the doctor dressed like this, I'd rather die in pain at home..."

Finally, Qi He changed into a presentable set of clothes and was carried onto the carriage by Shang Jue.

Whether it was her imagination or not, Qi He felt that Shang Jue's complexion was not good, as if he was angry with her.

She's so sick, and that bastard is still holding a grudge against her.

Qi He was in great pain, so she turned her back to Shang Jue and, still not giving up, started to have wild thoughts again: How were people with acute illnesses in the storybooks treated?

Given the current medical conditions...

As she thought about it, she felt more and more hopeless.

She was utterly despondent and leaned weakly against the car wall.

Just as he was about to ponder a few more words, Shang Jue's voice suddenly came coolly: "What are you thinking about?"

Qi He looked away guiltily and didn't say anything.

But then I thought, I'm a patient now, how could Shang Jue be so harsh on a patient?

"Why are you being so mean?" Her voice was thick with pain and nasal, sounding very aggrieved. "I'm home alone, and nobody cares about me. What can I do besides overthink things?"

Shang Jue's hands clenched and unclenched, as if he was trying his best to suppress something: "You can send someone to tell me."

Qi He muttered to herself, "What are you pretending to be, you bastard? Aren't you the one who wants me dead the most?"

But she was in so much pain that she didn't have the strength to argue with him, and could only groan and curl up.

After a moment of silence, Shang Jue suddenly reached out and pulled her close, letting her lean on his shoulder. He placed his other hand on her lower abdomen and gently massaged it.

Qi He was initially a little uncomfortable, but once she leaned against him, her willpower crumbled.

Human cushions are definitely more comfortable than car walls.

The hand rubbed her gently, and the abdominal pain didn't seem so unbearable anymore.

The night was dark outside the car window. Qi He groaned in pain, but she didn't seem to be in so much pain anymore.

At midnight, the doctor at the clinic diagnosed the symptoms: he had eaten something bad.

The doctor said that although the symptoms were acute, they were not serious. As long as the patient took the medication and avoided certain foods, the condition would improve in a few weeks.

After taking the medicine, Qi He was moved to a quiet room in the backyard, and it took her a while to slowly wake up.

The dull pain in my abdomen had disappeared, replaced by a feeling of emptiness and hunger.

Oh, how could her life be even more miserable than Xianglin's wife's...

The doctor came and gave a long list of precautions. Qi He barely managed to stay awake and listen, but then the pain made her lose focus.

Fortunately, Shang Jue was there to write everything down for him.

Qi He couldn't sleep in the first half of the night because of the pain, and in the second half of the night she couldn't bear it any longer and dozed off for a while, but she really couldn't fall asleep in the second half of the night.

Because she had something even more critical to do—

She needed to relieve herself.

Qi He's room was a small suite with a washroom inside.

Besides her own couch, there was also a low couch where Shang Jue could rest.

Shang Jue had been busy all day and had been kept up by her until now. He was looking tired and was leaning against the couch with his eyes closed, trying to rest.

Qi He absolutely did not want to bother him with this awkward situation.

She forced herself to move, stealthily shuffling towards the edge of the bed, glancing back every few steps, watching Shang Jue warily, afraid he might wake up.

She shuffled towards the bathroom like a snail, holding onto the bedpost.

Just as they were about to arrive, Shang Jue's cold voice came from behind: "What are you doing?"

Qi He froze.

"I want to...I want to wash my hands."

Shang Jue glanced at her hesitantly, then stepped forward: "You're still recovering from your injury, let me wipe you down with a damp cloth."

Qi He remained silent. An odd silence fell over the room.

Shang Jue suddenly understood something, his expression turning slightly mocking, and he even raised an eyebrow slightly: "You need to relieve yourself?"

Qi He's ears turned red: "You already know, why ask! What's so special about this? Don't you use it?"

Shang Jue sized her up: "Can you manage this alone?"

"Of course I can do it!" Qi He gritted her teeth.

However, it took her almost half an hour to prove that one person was indeed not enough.

Qi He had lost all will to live, and with Shang Jue's suppressed laughter, he relied on him to solve his predicament.

She ignored Shang Jue for the rest of the night, festering alone under the covers.

So what if you're that tall?

Why are you laughing at her?

In the end, his wife still had to run away!

What's there to be proud of!

The next day, news of Qi He's abdominal pain spread.

Upon returning to Qianjin Tower, the first person to visit her was Qi Zheng, who had just returned from Lin'an Prefecture, looking travel-worn.

Then came the messages and greetings from all over the place, which Qi He replied to one by one.

Hu Ying came to see her in the afternoon, and solemnly imitated others by carrying a basket of seasonal fresh fruit, which made Qi He so unsophisticated that she almost couldn't say a word.

On the third day, he was able to eat some thin porridge.

On the fourth day, Qi He was so stuffy that it was almost growing mold.

For some unknown reason, Shang Jue has recently taken to playing the role of a devoted fiancé, moving all the account books and ledgers into Qi He's bedroom to handle them.

What's even more outrageous is that he also confiscated Qi He's collection of folk tales, saying that reading them while recovering from an injury would be mentally taxing.

Qi He was so angry she had no choice but to borrow a blank booklet and flip through a few pages to pass the time when Shang Jue wasn't looking.

She stepped on Shang Jue's knee.

Shang Jue was used to her tricks and grabbed her ankle without even looking up.

Qi He said irritably, "I'm so bored, go find me some storybooks."

Shang Jue looked up: "What do you want to see?"

Qi He sat up straight and announced several items.

A moment of silence fell over the quiet room.

Shang Jue looked away.

Qi He pursed her lips, stared at him with wide eyes, and tried her best to act cute.

Shang Jue's gaze shifted further away.

Qi He's head followed his gaze, staring at him intently with an innocent expression but a willful tone: "I want to see."

Shang Jue put down his pen and let out a long sigh.

......

In the accounting office of Juxian Trading Company, Manager Liu had just finished sorting through a stack of account books when he received a note from Shang Jue on his desk.

During the days that Qi He was recuperating, Shang Jue had not come to the business; all instructions were delivered by others.

Uncle Liu rubbed his temples, unfolded the note and read it carefully, his expression gradually becoming subtle.

The note on the business manual read:

[Looking for a few popular folk tales.]

[The King of Sons-in-Law, The Supreme Son-in-Law, The Iron-Blooded Marquis of Zhenbei, My Stunningly Beautiful Wife.]

Remember to pay.

You can't just take what belongs to someone else for free.

Uncle Liu remained silent for a moment, then couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Manager... you really can't judge a book by its cover."