Chapter 22

Xiao Changyuan sat up and looked toward the source of the blood scent.
It was coming from Yun Pianpian.
His body stiffened.
His pupils contracted violently, and his heart raced wildly.
His wife was injured!
When had she gotten hurt?!
Had she bled because he made her so angry?!
At this thought, the color drained from Xiao Changyuan’s face.
His cold, jade, like handsome face turned as pale as paper.
Panicked, he reached out to undo her clothes and check her injuries.
The sash at her waist was tied tightly.
Xiao Changyuan’s entire body turned cold, his face growing paler and paler. His fingers trembled uncontrollably as he gripped her sash.
In her dream, Yun Pianpian felt a twisting pain in her abdomen.
Frowning, she woke up from the pain.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Xiao Changyuan bent over, untying the sash at her waist.
Yun Pianpian: “!”
Has the wicked tyrant finally lost control of his desires and intends to commit an indecent act against me?!
How could a righteous transmigrated girl simply wait for doom?!
Yun Pianpian gasped sharply, raised her hand abruptly, and slapped Xiao Changyuan across the face.
Her face pale, she clutched her clothes tightly, her eyes red, rimmed as she glared furiously at Xiao Changyuan.
“What are you, this beast, trying to do to me?!”
Xiao Changyuan took the slap, and a crimson handprint immediately appeared on his handsome, frost, pale face.
But he seemed not to feel any pain.
He didn’t even furrow his brows.
He simply lifted his cold, deep obsidian eyes and stared blankly at Yun Pianpian, his pale, thin lips devoid of any color.
“Wife, you're injured.”
Xiao Changyuan's tone was calm, but his fingertips trembled uncontrollably.
His wife was more timid than a rabbit.
Xiao Changyuan feared frightening her, so he tried his best to keep his voice from sounding too fearful.
“Wife, don’t be afraid. I will save you.”
Yun Pianpian was taken aback: “I'm injured? Where am I injured?”
Xiao Changyuan, his face pale, replied, “I don’t know. I was just about to check your injuries when you woke up.”
Yun Pianpian looked at him strangely: “So you were untying my sash just now to check my injuries?”
Xiao Changyuan nodded silently without a word.
So she had misunderstood him.
Just as Yun Pianpian was about to speak, a familiar, sharp pain twisted in her lower abdomen, and a warm liquid seemed to flow from between her legs.
This familiar sensation, it must be her monthly visitor.
Worried that her menstrual blood might stain the bedding, Yun Pianpian quickly said, “Let’s talk about this later. I need to go to the outhouse first.”
Under Xiao Changyuan’s complex and worried gaze, Yun Pianpian frowned, clutching her stomach, got out of bed, and rummaged through the wardrobe. She pulled out a pre, prepared menstrual cloth and a clean pair of undergarments, then hurriedly rushed to the outhouse.
The outhouse was in the courtyard.
The moonlight was hazy, casting a dim glow over the dark night.
Yun Pianpian noticed the stains of menstrual blood on her undergarments.
Her period had indeed arrived.
After changing into a clean menstrual cloth and fresh undergarments, Yun Pianpian stepped out of the outhouse, clutching her abdomen in pain, barely able to straighten her waist.
The room had been lit with a lamp at some point.
The candlelight flickered warmly, casting a soft glow.
Returning to the room, Yun Pianpian removed her shoes and climbed into bed. Her face was pale, her lips colorless, and she looked utterly exhausted.
Xiao Changyuan caught a stronger scent of blood from Yun Pianpian and frowned slightly.
“Wife, your injury seems to have worsened. Let me take you to see a physician.”
Hearing this, Yun Pianpian managed to divert a sliver of her attention from the pain. She turned her pale face toward Xiao Changyuan.
“How do you know my injury has worsened?”
Xiao Changyuan, his own lips pale, replied, “The scent of blood on you has grown stronger. You must have sustained a severe injury, and it’s now flaring up.”
Yun Pianpian: “...”
Was the tyrant referring to her menstrual blood when he mentioned the scent of blood?
Did he have the nose of a dog?
How could he even detect that?!
Her gaze wavered, her cheeks flushed slightly, her ears grew hot, and she looked at Xiao Changyuan with a peculiar expression.
“You said I was injured because you smelled blood on me?”
Xiao Changyuan nodded silently.
His brow was furrowed, his thin lips pressed tightly together, his handsome yet aloof face etched with grave concern.
He was clearly worried about Yun Pianpian’s condition.
Seeing his expression, Yun Pianpian immediately felt awkward.
She had no idea how to explain menstruation to the tyrant.
It was too embarrassing to bring up.
But Xiao Changyuan gave her no time to dwell on her discomfort.
He reached out with his long arm, his pale yet powerful hand scooping her up effortlessly.
“I’m taking you to see a physician.”
Startled, Yun Pianpian immediately wrapped her arms around Xiao Changyuan’s neck, her face flushing crimson as if on fire.
“Put me down! I’m not injured! I don’t need to see a physician!”
Xiao Changyuan paused, lowering his long, thick lashes.
His deep, dark eyes fixed on Yun Pianpian.
“You’re not injured?”
Yun Pianpian nodded hurriedly, her cheeks burning as she forced herself to explain, “I just…got my monthly bleeding.”
Xiao Changyuan blinked, then frowned.
“What is monthly bleeding?”
Yun Pianpian had no choice but to grit her teeth and explain what menstruation was.
After listening, Xiao Changyuan looked at her with a complicated expression, as if she had told some unbelievable lie.
“You’re saying that every month, for seven days, you bleed continuously and suffer from abdominal pain, and that’s called monthly bleeding?”
Yun Pianpian turned her face away in embarrassment and nodded, her blush spreading all the way to her ears.
Xiao Changyuan furrowed his brow, his eyes filled with suspicion.
“Wife, are you lying to me?”
Yun Pianpian: “...”
When she lied, he never doubted her. Now that she was telling the truth, he was suspicious!
She didn’t know if it was because her lies were too convincing or her truths too unbelievable.
Blushing, Yun Pianpian explained, “It’s true. If you don’t believe me, you can ask a physician at the medicine hall. All women experience monthly bleeding. Some have pain, some don’t. I’m just unlucky, mine is always excruciating.”
Unlucky? That was an understatement.
She was downright cursed.
It was bad enough that her own body suffered from menstrual cramps.
Now, even the body of this little palace maid had inherited her menstrual pain.
Her luck was truly the worst.
Xiao Changyuan half, believed Yun Pianpian's words.
He bent down and gently laid Yun Pianpian in his arms onto the bed, slightly furrowing his brows.
“Wife, what should I do?”
Yun Pianpian wrapped herself tightly in the quilt, her cheeks flushed as she said, “First, go get me some warm brown sugar water to drink.”
Xiao Changyuan replied, “Alright.”
Yun Pianpian lay under the covers, her stomach throbbing with waves of pain.
The pain made her curl her body into a ball.
Her originally rosy complexion gradually turned pale.
She felt as though there was a slowly churning windmill in her belly, twisting all her meridians together. It tugged at her body bit by bit, tearing at her flesh, making her feel cold all over and tremble uncontrollably.
Her delicate brows were tightly knit in pain, and a layer of cold sweat covered her pale forehead.
Xiao Changyuan quickly boiled water, prepared a steaming cup of brown sugar water, and brought it to Yun Pianpian.
He saw how pale she had become from the pain.
His heart inexplicably tightened.
He had never seen his wife look so frail before.
Suppressing the ache in his chest, Xiao Changyuan helped Yun Pianpian sit up to drink.
He brought the brown sugar water to her lips, watching as she swallowed it sip by sip.
After finishing the warm brown sugar water, Yun Pianpian buried her cold body under the quilt, filled with regret.
“I forgot to buy a hot water bottle.”
To prepare for her period, she had bought brown sugar and menstrual pads in the county town but had forgotten to get a hot water bottle.
Xiao Changyuan asked, “What do you need a hot water bottle for?”
Yun Pianpian explained weakly, “Placing a hot water bottle on the stomach can also help relieve some of the pain.”
At this point, Yun Pianpian suddenly remembered how in many novels, when the heroine had her period, the male lead would use his martial arts inner strength to warm her stomach. Her eyes lit up: “Husband, quickly use your inner strength to warm my stomach.”
Though Xiao Changyuan had lost his memories, he hadn't lost his martial arts skills.
Hearing Yun Pianpian's words, he began searching within his body for his inner strength.
He quickly found the power flowing through him and started to channel and guide it.
Xiao Changyuan placed his palm on Yun Pianpian's stomach.
Through the thin layer of clothing, he continuously channeled his profound inner strength into Yun Pianpian's body.
Yun Pianpian could feel that warm in, gentle and enduring like a hot spring.
It gradually flooded her limbs and bones, causing her body to relax.
Her stomach pain slowly faded away.
Yun Pianpian blinked her teary eyes and looked at Xiao Changyuan in disbelief.
Xiao Changyuan asked softly, “How are you feeling, wife?”
Yun Pianpian passionately declared, “Husband, I love you so much!”
So this guy's inner strength was even better than a hot water bottle!
Upon hearing Yun Pianpian's words, Xiao Changyuan's jade, like earlobes flushed with a faint red hue.
He turned his handsome face aside and breathed a sigh of relief.
In the past, he had been terribly afraid of his wife's sweet talk.
But now, he found her honeyed words exceptionally pleasing to the ear.
Because, at the very least, it proved that his wife was lively and full of vitality.
He really was losing his principles more and more.
Love is a continuous retreat, constant compromise, and having no bottom line.