Chapter 42: She Is the Only One, Irreplaceable!

Mu Si Shu, ever the honest one, knew that holding hands with a man wasn’t proper etiquette for his sister. Yet, for her sake, he stepped forward as the first to attempt replacing her.

However, the moment Mu Rong Shu’s hand was swapped for his, it took less than a minute for Wen Jing to grow restless again. This time, his expression turned agonizing, as though he were engulfed in flames.

Seeing her son’s distress, the old madam couldn’t stop her tears from flowing. Mu Rong Shu signaled for her brother to release Wen Jing’s hand. Once she took his hand again, Wen Jing calmed down almost immediately.

Wen Zhi and the old madam, unwilling to believe this, tried as well. Yet the result was the same as with Mu Si Shu. At this point, the Wen family finally understood Mu Rong Shu’s unique importance to Wen Jing.

Simply holding her hand could alleviate the curse’s torment, surpassing any medicine. If they were to marry and stay together daily, perhaps the curse could be entirely broken.

Realizing this, the old madam’s gaze toward Mu Rong Shu softened with affection. No longer addressing her as “Miss Mu Rong,” she began calling her “Shu Er” with familial warmth.

“Shu Er, Jing Er’s condition is special. We didn’t expect this to happen. What do you think…” The old madam voiced the question on everyone’s mind: What should they do now that their third son couldn’t part from Miss Mu Rong?

“Old Madam, rest assured. Shu Er will stay the night. Third Young Master’s condition is still unstable, and he may relapse during the night. Shu Er apologizes for the inconvenience.”

Mu Rong Shu, unable to perform formal courtesies while holding Wen Jing’s hand, looked up at the Wen family. Seeing their expectant faces, she offered them a reassuring promise.

“You’re not imposing at all. Thank you, Shu Er!” Though it was the old madam who spoke, Wen Zhi and the others bowed deeply. Mu Si Shu, noticing his sister couldn’t return the gesture, bowed on her behalf.

“Zi Yu’s condition is currently stable, but I cannot predict if he’ll relapse during the second half of the night. His pulse is extremely unusual. For now, we can only wait and see. Old Madam, you’re advanced in age, please return to rest for the night.”

Mu Rong Shu felt that having so many people around wouldn’t help, especially since Wen Jing only seemed calm when holding her hand. She encouraged them to rest.

“Since Shu Er says so, Madam, let’s go rest for now. We’ll check on Jing Er tomorrow,” the Wen family patriarch urged, worried his wife wouldn’t leave.

“But…” The old madam hesitated. After all, this relapse brought them closer to the ominous curse that claimed the lives of family members before reaching adulthood.

“Master Wen, you should rest too. You have court tomorrow. Let Second Master and my brother stay here instead,” Mu Rong Shu suggested decisively, noting their reluctance to leave.

“My sister-in-law is pregnant, so Second Brother should return to care for her. I’ll stay to watch over Third Brother tonight,” Wen Zhi offered, feeling it most appropriate for him to remain.

Mu Rong Shu nodded in agreement. With no further objections, the others reluctantly departed. As they left, Mu Rong Shu called out to Wen Ye, “Second Master, could you arrange for someone to repair the door? Be sure to do it quietly so as not to disturb the patient’s rest.”

The warm breeze wafting through the open doorway was unbearable for Mu Rong Shu, especially since she had to stay the night in this room. Leaving the door open like this was far from ideal.

When Mu Rong Shu suddenly called out to have the door repaired, Wen Ye was momentarily stunned. Miss Mu Rong’s thought process was certainly unique. Still, it was for the sake of his third brother, so no request would be considered too much.

“Miss Mu Rong, don’t worry. I’ll arrange for it immediately,” Wen Zhi quickly stepped in to respond when he noticed his second brother was still in a daze.

“Nanny, please escort my wife back to rest. I’ll stay behind to help,” Wen Ye said, sending his wife away to ensure she wouldn’t exhaust herself.

“Lord Wen, please forgive me. My brother acted on impulse earlier in a moment of urgency,” Mu Si Shu apologized, feeling a bit embarrassed about kicking down the door in front of the Wen family.

“What are you saying, Young Master Rong? We’re deeply grateful, not upset. If saving my brother required kicking down all the doors in the manor, we’d gladly welcome it,” Wen Zhi said sincerely.

“Sister, you should rest for a bit. I’ll help with fixing the door,” Mu Si Shu said considerately, worried his sister might be too tired. He then joined the others to repair the door.

Seeing Mu Si Shu step in, Wen Zhi felt it would be inappropriate to leave everything to the others, so he stayed to oversee the repairs. Upon hearing it was for Third Young Master’s room, the butler immediately brought workers over to help.

Mindful of Mu Rong Shu’s instructions not to disturb the patient, everyone moved carefully and quietly during the repairs.

Once the door was fixed, the group returned to the room to find Mu Rong Shu already asleep on a reclining chair by the bed. The chair, typically used by Wen Jing when he grew tired of reading, had been moved near the bed at Mu Rong Shu’s request to make her night-long vigil more comfortable.

Seeing her asleep, Wen Zhi and Mu Si Shu didn’t want to disturb her. They quietly placed two ice basins near her to cool the air and left to play chess in the courtyard.

Late at Night

Wen Jing slowly woke up, his gaze falling on Mu Rong Shu, who was asleep beside him. He thought he was dreaming and closed his eyes, only to reopen them and confirm it was real. His hand was tightly clasped around hers.

Joy surged through him, and fragmented memories of the night began to return. She had really come.

In the past, his relapses were far more excruciating, leaving him alternating between fiery and icy torment until morning. But tonight, everything was different because of Mu Rong Shu. The duration of the attack had halved, and the pain was less than a tenth of what he’d endured before.

So the legend was true, someone who could break the curse existed, and she could indeed alleviate his suffering. How fortunate he was to have found her.

At first, Wen Jing had approached Mu Rong Shu because she was the one who could save him. But as they spent more time together, he realized that what he cared about and liked was her, not just her ability to ease his pain. Even without the curse, this bright, cheerful, and extraordinary woman would have captured his heart.

He wanted to be with her forever, not because of the curse but because of a deep, genuine affection. However, a shadow of doubt lingered in his heart. Would Mu Rong Shu accept him, knowing his initial motives were impure? After all, he had sought her out to survive.

Caught in this web of conflicting emotions, Wen Jing gazed at her sleeping face with unspoken words in his heart. Finally, all those thoughts condensed into a deep sigh.

In truth, Mu Rong Shu had woken up when Wen Jing did. She was curious to see how the usually refined Third Young Master would react upon realizing he was holding a woman’s hand.

To her surprise, there was no panic or embarrassment, only a mix of conflict, guilt, and tenderness in his eyes. His intense gaze fixed on her made her unable to feign sleep any longer. Slowly opening her eyes, she feigned surprise and said, “Zi Yu, you’re awake! You scared us all!”

“Shu Er, I’m sorry you had to go through this. I feel much better now,” Wen Jing stammered slightly.

“Oh? But you were calling me ‘Shu Er’ just a moment ago. Why change it now that you’re awake?” Mu Rong Shu teased, her playful nature getting the better of her.

“I… I…” The ever composed Wen Jing flushed red to his neck, stuttering without managing a coherent response.