Chapter 72. Fortunately.

Chapter 72

After struggling for a long time, Shen Suining finally followed Shen Yan back to the thatched hut where everyone had settled.

The thatched hut was very simple, with only three rooms in total. Shen Suining first went to check on Shen Fengyu's condition, and then went to the next room to check on He Hansheng.

After Shen Suining put the worm into his body, Shan Qian sent the antidote as promised. After the antidote was administered, He Hansheng's body recovered quickly, but his face was still pale. Now he was wearing the strange clothes prepared by the villagers from a hundred years ago, with his hands clasped in front of him, standing respectfully to one side.

Beside him stood an old Taoist priest with long beard and black hair, wearing a tattered Bagua Taoist robe. His old face was tanned dark and looked somewhat unkempt. He had probably been drinking, as his face was reddish-black. He held a whisk in his left hand and a chopstick in his other hand, jumping around the room doing something unknown. All that could be seen were traces of alcohol everywhere in the room.

As soon as Shen Suining stepped into the room, she was hit by the strong smell of alcohol, and then she was startled by the mess in the room.

She frowned and asked Jiang Yuchu, "Where did this drunkard come from? Drinking is one thing, but why is he making such a mess of the whole room?"

Shen Yan coughed lightly, his face expressionless and silent. Perhaps feeling awkward, Jiang Yuchu quickly whispered a reminder: "Madam, this is Master Zhang Xuanqing."

"..." Shen Suining stared at the ragged old Taoist for a few seconds, then immediately put on a smile and chuckled twice: "So this is Uncle Zhang Xuanqing, my apologies for my rudeness."

Shen Suining, having spoken out of turn, quickly stepped forward to greet Zhang Xuanqing. Shen Yan led her aside and introduced her: "Brother Xuanqing, this is your eldest niece, who is now Yunchu's wife."

Upon hearing this, a sliver of clarity appeared in Zhang Xuanqing's dazed eyes. He exclaimed "Oh dear!" and tucked the whisk into his right elbow, giving Shen Suining's shoulders a vigorous pat. "My dear niece! But... why don't you look anything like your father?"

That slap almost sent Shen Suining's soul flying. She smelled the strong smell of alcohol coming from Zhang Xuanqing's mouth and couldn't laugh, but she still maintained basic politeness and replied, "I look like my mother, and my older brother looks more like my father."

“My nephew looks just like his father,” Zhang Xuanqing said, deftly flicking his whisk back with his left hand, pointing at Shen Yan, and grinning broadly, “He looks exactly like you when you were young. And this kid—”

Zhang Xuanqing turned around to face He Hansheng and slapped him hard across the face again. "You looked exactly like that old bastard He Jingchuan when he was young!"

Shen Yan twitched the corners of his mouth and earnestly agreed: "Yun Chu looks like his father, but Sui An and Ning Ning don't really look like me."

Shen Suining glanced at Shen Yan, seemingly not quite understanding why he insisted on arguing with this drunkard, but when she heard Zhang Xuanqing mention her elder brother, she couldn't help but ask, "Uncle Zhang, have you met my elder brother?"

Just as Shen Yan was about to speak, Zhang Xuanqing let out a long "Eh," and said, "I've not only met him, but I even gave my nephew his courtesy name!"

As he spoke, he used chopsticks soaked in wine to neatly write the two characters "Chen Sui" on the table.

Shen Sui'an's given name is "Sui," which matches his given name. He was not in Yangzhou when he came of age, nor did he have a coming-of-age ceremony. It was only when he suddenly returned to Shuyu Manor that Shen Yan learned that he had already chosen his given name.

But it wasn't until recently, when Shen Yan met Zhang Xuanqing, that he learned that it was Zhang Xuanqing who had given him Sui'an's courtesy name.

“Hey, speaking of this nephew of yours, I suddenly remembered something,” Zhang Xuanqing said, dipping his chopsticks into the wine gourd, then taking them out. He pointed at He Hansheng and then at Shen Suining, “I haven’t even had a taste of your wedding wine yet!”

He Hansheng smiled and said, "It was my oversight. Once we leave the mountain, I will immediately arrange for several cartloads of fine wine to be sent to you, Uncle."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xuanqing seemed to already see several carts of wine laid out in front of him, and burst into laughter.

Shen Suining then realized that Zhang Xuanqing was writing with chopsticks dipped in wine.

This village is isolated from the outside world, and everything is self-sufficient. Writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones are probably rare items for them. Therefore, Zhang Xuanqing uses chopsticks as brushes, wine as ink, and everything in sight is paper.

Shen Suining watched Zhang Xuanqing write intently, and He Hansheng and Shen Yan beside him also watched intently. However, after looking for a long time, she couldn't make out anything except for her elder brother's name. So she asked Jiang Yuchu, "What profound thing is he drawing? Is it a talisman for exorcising ghosts?"

Jiang Yuchu replied softly, "Master Zhang was overjoyed to hear that you and the young marquis had become husband and wife, and he insisted on personally naming your future child."

Shen Suining: "..."

Shen Suining looked at the wine stains on the wall, table, and floor, her expression indescribable. Fortunately, the roof was made of straw, so she couldn't leave any writing on it; otherwise, she estimated that even the roof would not have been spared.

"Madam," Jiang Yuchu called out to Shen Suining, asking curiously, "Have you taken a fancy to any of them?"

"Which one do you like?" Shen Suining stared at Zhang Xuanqing's cursive script for a long time, then suddenly sneered, "I can't make out a single word after looking at it for so long."

Upon learning that Shen Suining also couldn't recognize Zhang Xuanqing's handwriting, Jiang Yuchu finally straightened his back a bit, because he couldn't recognize it either.

Despite not recognizing him, and even though the matter of the child was still unresolved, Shen Suining didn't want to spoil everyone's fun. She leaned close to He Hansheng and whispered, "Which one have you taken a fancy to? Tell me about it."

He Hansheng said softly, "I'll tell you in a bit."

Zhang Xuanqing drank and wrote with the wine. Before long, the gourd was empty. Undeterred, he stood the gourd upright and tried to pour it out for a long time, but not a single drop of wine came out.

Zhang Xuanqing felt uneasy without wine. He threw down his chopsticks and gourd and shouted, "Yanzhi! Brother Yanzhi, hurry up and bring me some wine!"

Zhang Xuanqing was quite drunk, and he was staggering as he walked. Shen Yan and He Hansheng quickly helped him up. He staggered a few steps and could no longer stand up straight, but he kept shouting that he wanted to drink.

Jiang Yuchu stepped forward to help, and together with Shen Yan, they carried Zhang Xuanqing to another room. While he was doing this, he was still mumbling "Yanzhi," "Jingchuan," and "Come drink" incoherently.

Seeing his once spirited and devoted friend reduced to this state, Shen Yan felt a pang of sadness and replied, "Okay." "When you wake up, Jingchuan and I will drink with you again."

Zhang Xuanqing then smacked his lips and fell into a deep sleep, snoring softly.

In the next room, Shen Suining helped He Hansheng sit on the bed. The bed was probably quite old, and it creaked loudly when touched. Shen Suining was afraid that if the two of them sat together, they might break the bed.

Shen Suining saw that He Hansheng's complexion had improved a lot, but he had been fooling around with Zhang Xuanqing for a long time, so his lips were a little pale and sweat had appeared on his forehead. She reached out to wipe his face, but He Hansheng took her hand and carefully wrapped it between his palms.

Her hands were entangled in the iron chains that day when she carried him down the cliff; the memory is still horrifying.

He Hansheng looked at the faint red marks on her palm and the bandages wrapped around her wrist. His lips moved, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't. After holding back for a long time, he simply asked her, "Where have you been these past two days?"

“Where could I go? This village is so small,” Shen Suining smiled and withdrew her hands. “Of course, it’s because I’m too lazy to take care of you, so I’ve hidden away and gone to sleep.”

He Hansheng knew she was hiding something, but he didn't ask any more questions. He simply put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his embrace.

Shen Suining leaned on his shoulder, looking at the gradually drying marks on the floor and wall, and suddenly asked, "Uncle Zhang, has it always been like this?"

“No,” He Hansheng paused for a moment before slowly speaking, “When Uncle Zhang was in Huadu, he and Mr. Xie were both top literary figures. He was very learned and eloquent, and his talent was so great that even Mr. Xie sometimes admitted that he was inferior to him. However, because of his straightforward and upright nature, he was not given important positions in the court and left Huadu many years ago to live in seclusion in Taihang. When I saw him when I was a child, he was not as unkempt as he is now, nor did he love to drink so much.”

Shen Suining thought for a moment, "It's probably because he saw an old friend and was moved by the sight of the scene. If we count from when my father went into seclusion, it's probably been more than 20 years since they last saw each other."

"Maybe."

As if remembering something, Shen Suining suddenly raised her head, called out "He Hansheng," hesitated for a moment, and then said frankly, "I've already had your father's remains retrieved. My father plans to personally escort him back to the capital. What... what are your plans?"

He Hansheng remained silent for a long time before speaking in a hoarse voice: "Of course we should go together."

Shen Suining nodded, "Then I'll go talk to him and ask him to wait for us, so he doesn't leave on his own in a couple of days."

As she spoke, Shen Suining stood up, intending to go to the next room to find Shen Yan. However, just as she stood up, He Hansheng suddenly grabbed her wrist, pulled her back into his arms, and tightly embraced her from behind.

"He Hansheng?" Shen Suining noticed that he was in a bad mood, but did not push him away.

She reached out and grabbed his arm, turning her face to threaten him fiercely: "He Hansheng, if you dare to say 'thank you' or any other polite words to me, I promise I won't speak to you for the next month."

He Hansheng didn't say a word, but simply held her quietly. Their hearts were tightly connected, and they could almost feel each other's heartbeats at the same time.

After a long while, he couldn't help but speak in a low, hoarse voice: "These past two days, I've often thought about what it is that I have the right to do this."

Shen Suining laughed upon hearing this, "What do you mean, 'on what grounds'?"

He Hansheng shook his head, resting his chin gently on her shoulder. He seemed unwilling to explain too much, nor did he believe that light words could express his feelings for her now.

He initially felt that, given their relatively short time together, saying he liked her would be too superficial, and saying he loved her would be too hasty. He was also afraid that she would think he was too frivolous in his feelings and would just laugh it off without taking it to heart.

But now he feels that the word "love" is too light and cannot bear the weight of her affection for him, which is so deep that she has shared life and death with him and is willing to share both fortune and misfortune.

Compared to her, he felt that his own feelings, which had long been buried deep within him, were as light and insignificant as a feather.

He couldn't bring himself to offer it, nor could he bring himself to say it. He was afraid she wouldn't like it, and he was also afraid he couldn't afford it.

"By the way, He Hansheng," after being held by him for a while, Shen Suining remembered the name Zhang Xuanqing had chosen for their future child. She turned her head and asked him curiously, "So, which of those names did you like the most?"

He Hansheng opened his palm in front of her and said softly, "I'll write it down for you to see."

He dipped his fingertips in the still-damp wine on the edge of the bed, and using his palm as paper, slowly wrote two words.

fortunate.

by.