The Lady’s Sickly Husband

Mo Qianxue had the thick camphor tree root moved to the side room and prepared pen and paper, starting to design the shape of her sculpture piece.

To a multi-branched complicated-shaped root, the first step was to decide the subject.

After deciding the subject, the next step was the sculpting process. The art of sculpting required thirty percent of hand-labor and seventy percent of natural blessing, but the naturally beautiful shape must be combined with ingenious design, including reasonable and cautious removal and inclusion of smaller parts.

It was already in the evening. Mo Qianxue sketched on the paper now and then, sometimes standing up and walking around the tree root. Time was pressing. She must decide the final plan before today.

Root sculpting seemed to be simple, in fact, it demanded skills. Those thicker or thinner root hairs mustn’t be mistaken. The sketch design must be finished in great details with the function of every root hair being marked clearly.

“Ha! Finially!” Mo Qianxue decided the design scheme, taking a long breath out. She looked around and found the sky was completely dark. In the side room lit by two oil lamps, Ning Shaoqing was sitting in the corner and reading a book.

In fact, Ning Shaoqing had long retured. When Mo Qianxue drew the pictures there, he sometimes came over to take a few glances, but he did not make a bit noise and tried best to lower his existence to zero.

By his knowledge, of course he could tell that Mo Qianxue was in a state of tension and concentration.

He wouldn’t ask questions to interrupt her. When he had doubts, he also wasn’t anxious to know at once.

Regarding this stump, although he couldn’t offer help, he could stay by her side.

For most of the time, he just sat quietly and read, watching her.

He had to admit that a serious woman was most beautiful. The commitment, perseverance and rigor deeply touched and enchanted him.

Seeing the smile on Mo Qianxue’s face, Ning Shaoqing put the book in his hand and walked over. He happened to hear the noise made by her stomach. Ning Shaoqing showed care, “Alas. You’ve been working on it for a whole day. You should forget to have your meals.”

Then he complained, “Is this thing so important?”

While taking, he held her out of the side room and into the living room. As she sat down on the chair, he should turn to the kitchen and take out a bowl of steaming porridge, steamed buns and pickles, putting before her and saying, “Have your dinner!”

“Thank you!” Taking up the bowl, Mo Qianxue’s voice sounded sobbing. The series of change happened to Ning Shaoqing suddenly made her believe that they could really count on each other against any kind of hardships.

In the past, he would only urge her to cook in a cold voice or asked why she didn’t sleep yet and so on.

“Sister Fang specially reserved this for you.” Of course he wouldn’t tell her that in order to keep the porridge warm, he had put the bowl in the pot and added firework for many times.

The past noble young lord now should do such tough labor and regarded it as a sweet thing. Who would believe it?

“Thank you for everything!” She knew that he must be a noble young lord since he born that had been served with everything he wanted. Now, he should serve her! Holding the warm bowl, Mo Qianxue felt a surge of warmth in her heart. The weather was already cold, so to keep the meal warm, there was only one way.

A gentleman should stay away from kitchen. Cooking for a modern man was only a piece of cake, but for an ancient man of learning, it was…

She had wanted to say more grateful words, but muttering for a long time, she could only utter that four words.

Ning Shaoqing didn’t mind if she thanked him or not, “You think too much. Hurry to finish your meal and go to sleep.”

Mo Qianxue had completed the design of her sculpture. Seeing Ning Shaoqing’s calm and mild face, she began to tell him everything about the sculpture while eating.

What she didn’t know was that though Ning Shaoqing looked calm on the surface, he felt earthshaking bitterness in his heart. He had a thousand way to get money and a thousand way to improve their life.

However, he couldn’t!

For the slightest chance, he didn’t want to reveal his identity because that would bring trouble to Mo Qianxue. He didn’t want to break the current peaceful life. What he wanted was to live with her like this until the end of their lives.

Before coming to this small village, he had written to his friends and asked him to find a famous creep doctor. He wondered if there was any news yet. It was time to urge him…

He was clear that the poison in his body couldn’t be as insignificant as Mo Qianxue described. Once he detected with his inner qi and found that though the poison was suppressed now, it would break out in two or three years.

Thankfully. The doctors here weren’t too brilliant to diagnose his real condition. Otherwise, if it was known to her, she would definitely worry about him…

In the following few days, Mo Qianxue got up early and slept late. It was fair to say that she has been working on the sculpture day and night with little sleep.

Ning Shaoqing witnessed with his own eyes an ugly tree root turning into an exquisite sculpture by her magic hand. By his knowledge, he had never seen such a lively sculpture piece. The main body seemed to come to life amidst the root hairs which were also vivid like living creatures.

It was already in the midnight, but Mo Qianxue didn’t plan to go to sleep. Tomorrow would be the fifth day, and the day after tomorrow would be the day to deliver good. She just finished the second step of carving.

The third step was equally important, that was to polish. The better the polishing, the easier the painting would be, and the more beautiful the sculpture would be. But polishing required long and patient work, which was very time- and energy-consuming.

Her tender little hand grew blisters all over by the carving knife. Some of them even broke to reveal bare flesh.

Mo Qianxue didn’t go to sleep, which made Ning Shaoqing a little angry. He pushed and coaxed and forced her onto the bed.

Mo Qianxue, lying on the bed reluctantly, and calculated to herself. Tomorrow she had one more day. It would be enough for polishing. Then, at night would be painting. Recently, it had been windy. The paint was supposed to dry up in one day.

After a few days in a row without enough sleep, she was really exhausted. Ning Shaoqing coaxed her for a while and she quickly fell asleep.

In darkness, his bright eye twinkle like flowing water. He carefully applied medicine to her hands.

Ning Shaoqing gently caressed Mo Qianxue’s face and left a kiss on her forehead: what should I do to you?

He remembered the first time he met her. Though she wore a large robe made of coarse cloth, her hands were fair and tender and especially soft.

But now the delicate hands became a bit rough and even full of blisters. All this was reminding him of what a failure he was as a husband.

How he wished to stop her and tell her that he didn’t want to become rich and wealthy. And for many times, he had wanted to utilize his past influence to give her what she wanted, but his sanity told him…

That she didn’t want what he provided her. She was not a vain girl, but one with dream and purpose. She was stubbornly independent that she only wanted things that she earned for herself.

Hearing her breath becoming steadier and calmer, he kissed her forehead again and, with a serious face, grabbed his robe and went to the side room. He lit up the oil lamp and took up the paper, starting to polish the sculpture piece in the side room.

He had seen how Mo Qianxue did it and also knew the steps and precautions from her words.

Ning Shaoqing was a man. Naturally, he had greater strength. In addition, his practice of martial art gave him steady control of his strength. Therefore, the polishing work was much easier for him.

Even so, his hand skin was also worn within two hours.