EFB Chapter 200 Bath Water Distribution
Chapter 200 Bath Water Distribution
"Phew~ We've finally reached the top of the mountain."
Wen Zongji put Pei Rujing down, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and once again despised the terrible idea he had come up with.
On the way up the mountain, he carried Pei Rujing for almost half the distance. Fortunately, Pei Rujing would occasionally get down and climb on her own, giving Wen Zongji a chance to catch his breath. Otherwise, he might not have been able to persevere.
He's almost completely exhausted now.
The guards were already setting up tents.
Wen Zongji looked around and found a flat rock to sit down and rest.
It was already late at night, and the surroundings were pitch black. Pei Rujing felt uneasy and clung tightly to Wen Zongji.
Wen Zongji noticed Pei Rujing's stiffness and called out, "Light the campfire first, and put a ring of torches around it for lighting."
The guard replied, "Yes, Third Young Master."
Wen Zongji grasped Pei Rujing's hand: "My wife, sit beside me."
Pei Rujing looked down at the stone, somewhat disgusted: "Dirty—"
Wen Zongji: "..."
The fact that she still has obsessive-compulsive disorder about cleanliness at this point shows that she wasn't particularly afraid.
Qinghe, being very perceptive, came over and laid a cloth on the stone.
Pei Rujing then sat down, realizing that Wen Zongji was still holding her hand, and immediately pulled it away: "I haven't forgiven you yet, don't touch me. Don't you know that men and women shouldn't touch each other?"
The county magistrate is well-versed in the art of discarding those who have crossed the river.
Wen Zongji was somewhat speechless: "Why didn't you say that men and women shouldn't touch each other when you asked me to carry you up the mountain?"
Pei Rujing said matter-of-factly, "Who told you to suggest climbing the mountain? You have to take me to the top."
"Alright, my wife is right."
"Of course."
Pei Rujing raised her head, looking quite pleased with herself.
The tent wasn't set up yet, and since they had nothing else to do, Pei Rujing asked about the newspaper again: "You want to start a story-based newspaper, so will the entire newspaper be filled with story stories?"
Wen Zongji nodded: "That's right."
"How many words can a newspaper publish? A thousand? Or two thousand?"
Wen Zongji said, "My initial idea is to publish 3,000 words in a newspaper. If more stories need to be published later, we can revert to a booklet like the official gazette."
"Three thousand words isn't much; I finished reading it in no time."
"But it's updated daily. Once you've finished reading today's, you can move on to tomorrow's."
Pei Rujing suddenly realized, "In that case, as long as the storybooks are good, our Minbao newspaper will sell very well."
Wen Zongji nodded and praised, "My wife is truly clever."
Pei Rujing accepted readily: "Of course. What do you mean by making me editor-in-chief?"
"The editor-in-chief is just like me now in charge of manuscripts. The editors below will review the scripts and submit the ones they think are good to you. You will then select the ones you think are the best to publish."
Pei Rujing seemed to understand but not quite: "So I need to go to the shop every day to look at the manuscript?"
Wen Zongji said, "We can also have someone send the manuscript to the Marquis's residence."
I'll give it a try then.
Pei Rujing didn't know if she liked doing these things. If Wen Zongji hadn't suggested it, she wouldn't have even considered giving it a try.
Wen Zongji reminded him, "The Crown Prince hasn't agreed yet."
Pei Rujing didn't care: "I'll make him agree."
"Princess, son-in-law, the tent is set up."
Qinghe came over to report.
Pei Rujing immediately stood up: "I'm so tired and sleepy, I need to... wait, is there only one tent?"
Pei Rujing stopped in her tracks when she saw the large tent in the middle.
Qinghe whispered, "Princess, the guards don't know that you and your husband are sleeping in separate rooms. This matter should not be made public."
Wen Zongji coughed lightly and said in a serious tone, "I forgot about that too."
Pei Rujing looked at him suspiciously.
Wen Zongji added, "It was my wife who suggested watching the sunrise. I originally planned to come and climb the mountain tomorrow, so there's no need to stay overnight on the summit."
The doubt in Pei Rujing's eyes dissipated; it was indeed she who had suggested watching the sunrise.
"That's settled then."
Wen Zongji curled the corners of his mouth.
It was indeed Pei Rujing's suggestion to watch the sunrise, but Wen Zongji had already anticipated this scene; he simply didn't remind Pei Rujing.
The tent was fully equipped with a made-up bed, a table, chairs, and tea set, as well as a bathroom partitioned off by a screen.
Wen Zongji stared blankly at the hot water in the bathtub: "Where did this water come from?"
This is the mountaintop!
Qinghe explained, "The guards all came up carrying water bags."
It was too dark for Wen Zongji to notice.
Pei Rujing was delighted: "Rewards! Everyone gets a reward!"
They came out in such a hurry that Pei Rujing hadn't even taken a bath yet.
Qinghe said, "But because we have limited manpower, there isn't much water. We also need to reserve water for washing and cooking tomorrow, so there's only one bucket of hot water, therefore..."
She glanced at the two of them, then, without finishing her sentence, pursed her lips and left.
Wen Zongji turned to Pei Rujing and asked, "Wife, shall we shower together?"
"Dream on!" Pei Rujing rolled her eyes. "I'll wash first, you can use what I have left."
Wen Zongji's eyes widened: "This is so unfair!"
Whose wife is so presumptuous as to let her husband bathe in her leftover bathwater?
Only Pei Rujing would do something like that!
"It's fine if you don't want to wash."
After saying that, Pei Rujing waved her hand and said, "Go to the tent and keep watch, then call Qinghe and Dongxiu in."
Wen Zongji narrowed his eyes and took two steps forward, closing in on Pei Rujing: "My wife is quite arrogant, isn't she?"
Forced to retreat by him, Pei Rujing finally leaned against the screen: "What...what are you doing!"
Wen Zongji stared intently at her, then leaned closer to Pei Rujing, his breath brushing against her face: "Of course..."
Pei Rujing subconsciously closed her eyes.
After waiting for a while, nothing came.
She opened her eyes in surprise and saw Wen Zongji looking at her with a mocking expression.
Wen Zongji removed a piece of leaf from Pei Rujing's head: "I was just trying to remove a leaf for you, my wife. What are you thinking, perhaps...?"
Pei Rujing closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and forcefully pushed Wen Zongji away: "I want to take a bath!"
asshole!
She was determined to make him pursue her for even longer!
Wen Zongji smiled and said, "I'll go out now."
Watching Wen Zongji leave the tent, Pei Rujing stomped her foot in anger and muttered, "Bastard!"
After Wen Zongji left, Qinghe and the other person came in to help Pei Rujing take a bath.
After Pei Rujing finished bathing, Wen Zongji used the remaining bathwater to bathe himself.
There's no other way; there's only so much water available, and if it's not used, there's no way to take a bath.
I worked up a sweat climbing the mountain, and it would be too uncomfortable if I didn't take a shower.
He was just using the leftover bathwater from his wife; it wasn't like he hadn't used it before.
Previously, when the two shared a room, Wen Zongji would help Pei Rujing bathe when she was extremely tired. Usually, Wen Zongji would only have time to take care of himself after he had helped Pei Rujing clean up her body.
Therefore, he was very experienced, and his earlier disdain was just a way of teasing Pei Rujing.
His wife gets easily annoyed when teased, which is quite amusing.
Meanwhile, the amusing Pei Rujing was instructing Qinghe to place a pillow between the two of them to separate them.
Qinghe had a bit of a headache: "Princess—"
They're husband and wife, and they've shared a bed before, so why go to such lengths?
Pei Rujing said it was very necessary.
Whoever let Wen Zongji tease her first, she will not let him touch a single finger tonight.
"Just do what I tell you to do!"
Pei Rujing said firmly.
Qinghe had no choice but to comply.