Chapter 188 World Eight (Eleven)

A sheet of glutinous rice-colored rice paper lay flat on the mahogany desk. A few scratches on its edge hinted at its age, but thanks to its owner's meticulous care, there were no obvious signs of wear and tear.

Baoshan sat on a round stool, looking obedient, like a child who had just entered private school, a glint in his dark eyes. Shen Yunshan carefully searched the bookshelf. This bookshelf was built by the village carpenter hired by Shen Liushi when Shen Yunshan first entered school. It was made from a whole elm tree. When the bookshelf was first built, Shen Yunshan had to stand on tiptoe to barely reach the first shelf. But now, Shen Yunshan has grown older, and with a slight stretch of his long arm, he can pull down the books from the top shelf.

In Shen Yunshan's hands, he held a scroll of the Three Character Classic, the one he'd first used to understand the principles of the world when he entered school. Now, in this state, it seemed fitting to give it to the treasured fan. Over the years, the scroll had acquired a faint elm fragrance, a richer aroma than that of ordinary plants.

The Three Character Classic was spread out in front of the treasure fan, and Shen Yunshan stood behind the slender and fragile woman. His voice was slightly cold, like the sound of a spring.

"Let's learn to read first."

Baoshan naturally agreed obediently.

"Man is born good..."

Every time Shen Yunshan recited a sentence, Baoshan would follow with the previous one.

Shen Yunshan wasn't a pedantic scholar; he enunciated each word clearly, with the indescribable charm of ink slowly sinking from the surface to the bottom of an inkstone pool. Baoshan quietly raised her eyes, only to see Shen Yunshan's deep gaze, the demeanor of a true gentleman.

Although what he was reciting was the Three Character Classic, which scholars had already memorized and did not need to read again in detail.

But Shen Yunshan did not seem to be slacking off or being perfunctory, and his expression was full of concentration.

Baoshan followed closely, repeating what Shen Yunshan had just recited.

Shen Yunshan raised his eyebrows slightly, and the sound of the treasure fan was soft. Perhaps because he was nervous, even when he was reading, his voice was trembling.

Shen Yunshan thought of the serious-faced teacher in Xiangjiang Academy.

If he had heard Bao Shan's recitation, he would have stroked his long beard, shaken his head, and sighed, "It's unbearable to listen to, a disgrace to civility!"

"Cousin Yunshan?"

Hearing the weak call of Baoshan, Shen Yunshan came back to his senses and realized that he was not focused, but was absent-minded while reading.

Bao Shan was completely unaware of this and looked timid: "...Do you want to continue reading?"

Shen Yunshan nodded and taught Baoshan a few more sentences. Seeing that Baoshan could recite the poem despite her timid voice, he said, "Read it yourself."

Her slender, dark eyelashes trembled slightly. The fingers of Baoshan stroking the scroll tightened slightly. She softly said "Okay" and began to recite from the beginning of the Three Character Classic. Although she stumbled through the first few verses, she managed to get them all right. But when she reached the words "First, filial piety and brotherly love," Baoshan couldn't make out the character for "brotherly love" no matter how hard she tried.

"First filial piety...filial piety..."

Baoshan's slender fingers, which were holding the scroll, were trembling slightly. She lowered her head, and anyone could see her uneasiness.

Baoshan's voice gradually faded, and the room was filled with silence. Baoshan felt embarrassed and foolish. Shen Yunshan was young and intelligent, and he had probably never seen someone as timid and foolish as her.

Shen Yunshan's eyebrows twitched slightly and he sighed softly.

He stretched out his arm, his bony fingers pointing to the word Bao Shan hadn't pronounced, and softly explained, "Filial piety means respecting one's brothers and elders."

Bao Shan raised her beautiful eyes slightly, and in her clear eyes, she reflected Shen Yunshan's slender figure. She looked surprised and said softly, "Cousin Yunshan and I are filial piety, right?"

Shen Yunshan was slightly startled. His eyelashes twitched slightly, and he nodded gently, saying, "That's it."

Although it was Shen Liu who promised in person to let Shen Yunshan teach Baoshan to read.

But Bao Shan knew very well that if she delayed Shen Yunshan too much of his time.

Even if Shen Yunshan thought it was okay, Shen Liushi would still think that her distant niece was ignorant.

So, seeing that the time was almost up, Bao Shan stood up slowly and said that he would go to help Shen Liushi and come back to ask Shen Yunshan for advice tomorrow.

After Baoshan left, Shen Yunshan sat on a round stool and picked up the brush to write.

But the man with the precious fan had already left, and a faint fragrance still lingered in the air.

The round stool under Shen Yunshan's buttocks was where Baoshan had just sat.

Realizing this, Shen Yunshan stiffened slightly and stood up from the round stool.

He picked up his pen and wrote the word "quiet".

Keep calm and don't let your mind wander.

Baoshan is a weak person. A few days ago, she was caught in the rain and was lying on the bed, looking very pitiful.

Shen Liu naturally didn't dare to let her do any heavy work, for fear that Bao Shan's frail body would collapse again.

Therefore, Shen Liushi only left some light work to Baoshan to help.

Baoshan opened her soft lips and recited the Three Character Classic that Shen Yunshan had taught her.

Shen Liushi did not understand that reading should be done in a gentle, steady and powerful tone.

If the voice was as lingering as Baoshan's, the teacher would definitely scold her.

Shen Liushi had a smile on her face, and she felt that the sound of the treasure fan was like the sound of an oriole in the tree, pleasant to the ears.

Thinking that what Baoshan was reciting was taught by her own son, the smile on Shen Liu's face deepened a little.

Baoshan was not completely illiterate. Her parents taught her to read when they were still alive.

But after being taken away by my aunt, not only could I not learn to read, but she also made things difficult for me in my daily life.

Although Baoshan can read, he knows that he is not a genius, which is why Shen Yunshan praised him as a genius.

He also showed his intelligence, which earned him temporary special treatment from Shen Yunshan.

But given Shen Yunshan's talent and wisdom, he will certainly not stay in a remote village for too long.

He would go to more luxurious and wealthy counties and meet truly talented women.

By then, Shen Yunshan would probably never remember the intelligence that little girl once showed.

Moreover, Baoshan really hasn't read many books, and pretending to be smart all the time is too exhausting and very easy to be exposed.

Being smart at first but stupid later only made Shen Yunshan lose interest.

Baoshan wanted to take this opportunity to show her dependence on and admiration for Shen Yunshan.

From the emperor to the common people, anyone who sees a woman who adores them with all her heart and eyes will always be moved. However, this admiration must be well-founded. If a man is completely dependent on her no matter what she does, it will only make him feel inflated and think he is extraordinary.

Although he would be moved by the women who admired him, he would not be sincere.

After all, objects that are easily obtained will always make people doubt whether they are valuable.

Baoshan admires and trusts Shen Yunshan, firstly because Shen Yunshan is Baoshan's closest relative and he once saved her when she was deceived.

Secondly, Shen Yunshan is extremely talented, and Baoshan, an illiterate weak woman, naturally admires him.

When Baoshan came to find Shen Yunshan, he had just finished bathing. He was not wearing a hairband, and his black hair was half dry and damp with moisture.

Baoshan paused slightly, as if he felt that he had come at an inopportune time.

But she lowered her eyelids, knowing that if she came here at this time, she would definitely encounter this scene.

After all, the ground in the courtyard was still wet and had traces of water on it. Bao Shan hadn't bathed yet, and Shen Liushi bathed and changed clothes just before going to bed.

"Cousin Yunshan, I, you... I'll come back another day."

Baoshan turned around gently, and before she stepped out of the threshold, she heard a cold voice.

"No problem."

Shen Yunshan grabbed the hairband and tried to tie up his long black hair. After all, it was really not decent to meet people with unkempt hair and dirty face.

The light flickered slightly, making Shen Yunshan's red lips and white teeth stand out even more. He had just taken a shower and his body was relaxed, less distant and tense than usual.

Once you recognize the characters, you must learn to hold a pen and write.

But Baoshan had never held a brush before, and even though Shen Yunshan corrected him several times, his posture was still wrong.

Shen Yunshan couldn't stand seeing the posture of holding a pen like this, so he stood behind Bao Shan and leaned over gently.

There were still wet drops of water on his palm, so he gently placed it over the delicate hand of the precious fan.

Although it was physical contact, one couldn't imagine that Shen Yunshan did it on purpose, because if one thought so, it would be a blasphemy to Shen Yunshan.

Shen Yunshan moved his fingers slightly, and the jade finger holding the treasure fan moved upwards.

He wrapped the soft tenderness of her hand in his palm, manipulating it to his whim. It was as if the jade-like tenderness had become his plaything. No matter how he moved, the delicate and charming beauty would not resist or refuse, and could only let him do as he pleased.

"Place two fingers on top, slightly bend the bottom, and support with the other two fingers. Start, outline, and stop."

Ink rendered two words on the rice paper.

——precious fan.

The brush is controlled by Shen Yunshan, and this character has the style of Shen Yunshan.

But the person holding the pen is a precious fan, and the handwriting is mixed with the softness unique to women.

"Fine."

Shen Yunshan commented calmly, turning to look at Bao Shan. Only then did Shen Yunshan realize how close they were to each other, so close that he could even clearly see the tiny hairs on Bao Shan's face.

As beautiful as a flower, with a beautiful face.

Shen Yunshan's body was almost covering Bao Shan's, and there was only a distance of less than an inch between the two of them.

Even if they are as close as cousins, they really shouldn't be like this, acting so abruptly and disregarding the proper relationship between men and women.

But Baoshan was unaware of it, because when she wrote for the first time, a blush appeared on her porcelain-white cheeks, as if she was extremely happy.

Bao Shan turned slightly, completely unaware of the distance between them. Her eyebrows curved slightly, and her soft voice was filled with joy: "Cousin Yunshan, it's finished!"

A smile is as beautiful as a flower, nothing more than this.

Shen Yunshan vaguely understood why Baoshan's aunt, Zhou Wang, treated her so badly.

Bao Shan was born so weak and helpless, which made people want to control her and feel that the fate of such a weak woman could only be manipulated by others.

The pressure was so harsh that Baoshan probably didn't dare to resist. She could only close her beautiful eyes and let him do whatever he wanted.

Shen Yunshan didn't understand why he sympathized with the extremely vicious Zhou Wangshi.

No matter how fragile and vulnerable the precious fan is, it is not an excuse to commit evil deeds.

He pulled away, his long black hair fluttering slightly, and the headband that tied his hair had come loose without him knowing when.

The bamboo green hairband lay in the jade-like softness of the precious fan. She stood up and said softly, "Brother Yunshan, let me do it."

Shen Yunshan should have refused, but he sat down for some unknown reason.

Shen Yunshan looked at the dim candlelight. Perhaps because it was late at night and he was tired all over, he did not refuse the treasure fan.

Baoshan's hands were gentle, and the black hair shuttled through her soft hands. Soon, the hairband was tied on the black hair, neither tight nor loose.

Baoshan practiced a few more words, even though she held the pen in a regular manner.

But after putting pen to paper, the ink always pools together, becoming crooked or empty and lifeless.

However, Shen Yunshan only watched from afar and no longer taught her personally how to move her strokes and make her writing more visible.