Chapter 19
The man was about fifty years old, with skin of an exotic dark brown, a hooked nose, deep eye sockets, pupils of a rare amber color, and a large gray beard on his chin. Although he was wearing an ordinary clerk's uniform, he looked more gloomy than the other officials. He had a sense of majesty and an indescribable sense of weirdness about him.
Shen Ah Heng looked at the porcelain bottle in the man's hand, and her heart skipped a beat. That was the bottle that Ashina Yu had used before. It contained the Qinglingcao juice that she used to test the toxins in his body. She only used it once or twice, and then she put it aside and forgot to put it away.
The corners of Shen Aheng's mouth that had just raised froze instantly, and he slowly swallowed it back, lowered his head again, his shoulders shrank slightly, and he returned to his previous timid appearance.
He clutched the corner of his clothes, nodded slightly, and whispered, "Yes, it's mine..."
"What's in here?" the man asked again, his hands with rough knuckles gently stroking the bottle, his eyes fixed on her face with a hint of scrutiny.
Shen Ah Heng regretted his carelessness in his heart, his mind spinning rapidly, and then he tried to squeeze out a smile, with an innocent look, blinking his wet eyes: "It's just a herbal juice I made up by myself, thinking that I could make some to repel insects on flowers and plants. There are too many mosquitoes in this mountain. I only used it a few times and felt it was useless, so I threw it there..."
The man didn't say anything, but just played with the porcelain bottle gently between his fingertips. His eyes were like those of a hawk, looking back and forth at her face, and his eyes were so heavy that it made people feel uncomfortable.
The yard was so quiet that one could hear the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the leaves. Shen Ahheng's heartbeat seemed to be about to burst through his chest, and his palms were sweating. He could only clench his fists tightly, lowering his head and not daring to look him in the eye.
If he discovered something and brought the chief officer back, we would be in real trouble.
By then, not to mention hiding an Ashina jade, she herself would be dragged away for questioning.
She doesn't want to go to jail!
After a while, the man seemed to have lost interest. He casually put the porcelain bottle back into the corner, waved to the officials waiting in front, and without asking another question, turned around and followed the crowd out.
It was not until he saw their figures walking down the mountain path and gradually disappearing into the woods that Shen Ahheng finally breathed a sigh of relief. The cold sweat on his back soaked his inner clothes.
Shen Aheng didn't dare to delay, and hurried over to close the courtyard door. He inserted the bolt with a "click" and leaned against the door panel. It took him a long time to recover.
Early the next morning, Ashina Yu came with fresh wild vegetables and river fish. As soon as he entered the yard, he stopped.
Shen Ahheng was curled up listlessly on the doorstep, with her two buns hanging loosely on the back of her head, a few strands of hair stuck to her sweaty white forehead, like a kitten that had stayed up all night and was still half asleep. The coarse cloth dress she was wearing, which was washed white, was also wrinkled.
There was a faint blue color under her eyes, and her eyes, which used to sparkle, were only half-closed, showing the tiredness of not waking up yet. Even when he approached, she did not come closer as usual.
Ashina Yu couldn't help but frown. He walked over quickly, stuttering a little in the Central Plains dialect: "W-what's wrong? You look pale. Didn't you sleep well?"
Shen Aheng sighed and told the whole story about the official coming to his house last night and the strange man grabbing the porcelain vase without warning.
As soon as the words fell, Ashina Yu instantly tensed up. He gently touched her eyes with his fingertips, then slowly moved them down, carefully pulling her wrist. His fingertips were slightly cool, with the bitter scent of herbs on them. He lowered his head to carefully examine her arm and shoulder, his tone full of anxiety, and his Central Plains dialect became even more slurred: "Are you, are you, hurt? Did they, embarrass you?"
Shen Ah Heng felt like he was being picked up and touched like a chicken. He was angry and amused. He slapped his nervous hand away and said, "It's okay, it's okay. Look, I'm fine. I wasn't beaten or scolded. I was just scared by that group of people. I didn't sleep well last night, so my head is dizzy. It's just..."
Thinking of last night's thrilling experience, Shen Ah Heng couldn't help but curl his lips and complained softly: "It's all the fault of that uncle with a hooked nose. He stared at a broken bottle and asked questions like he was interrogating a criminal. He almost scared me to death. I was afraid that he would call the chief officer back again. I didn't sleep well most of the night!"
As she spoke, she couldn't help pouting her lips. Her fluffy hair shone light gold in the morning light, swaying slightly with her movements.
Ashina Yu stared at her pursed lips, his Adam's apple rolling slightly as his tense shoulders relaxed slightly. His fingertips unconsciously stroked the corner of his clothes, his long eyelashes casting a small shadow under his eyes. His voice was even lower and hoarseer than before, with obvious self-blame: "It's all my fault. Yesterday... I wasn't here, leaving you all alone and frightened."
Shen Ah Heng was stunned for a moment, then reached out and poked his arm, laughing: "It's not your fault. Who could have expected the officials to come to the door so suddenly? Besides, I'm fine. I was just scared because I was timid. Don't take it on yourself. And I was so smart. I pretended to be pitiful. They were a group of grown men. Seeing a little girl like me who was alone and helpless, they didn't do anything to me."
Ashina Yu didn't say anything, but her drooping eyelashes trembled a few times. After a long while, she softly said "hmm".
He didn't say anything else, but silently placed the wild vegetables and river fish he brought by the stove, then turned around to fetch water from the well. His back looked a little depressed.
Seeing him standing by the well with his back to her, his thin back was slightly tense, and even his fingers gripping the wooden handle of the barrel seemed stiff.
Shen Ah Heng's heart softened, and he quickly trotted after him, gently tugging at his clothes from behind, his voice coaxing, and a little soft as if he hadn't woken up yet: "Okay, okay, don't frown anymore, the officials have finished their investigation and left, and they probably won't come again in the future, so don't be so scared."
As he spoke, Shen Ah Heng gently touched his arm again, with an extremely natural familiarity: "Wait a day or two, when the storm has completely passed, we will take back all the things in the cave, okay? You have been living in that damp cave for the past few days. It's cold and uncomfortable. Maybe there are mosquitoes and wild animals at night. It must be very uncomfortable. I'm sorry for you."
Such conditions must have been very uncomfortable for his body, although he never complained.
Upon hearing this, Ashina Yu paused slightly, slowly turned around, and looked at her with his eyes lowered. His long eyelashes cast a light shadow under his eyes, and his originally tense jawline also softened a little.
The pale fingertips curled slightly.
It was as if he had lost all his temper because of her naughty little action of shaking his clothes.
His Adam's apple rolled slightly, and his Central Plains dialect still had a bit of a stutter, but it was much better than before: "No, I don't feel wronged, I just hope you're okay."
After saying that, he didn't say anything more. He just glanced down at the hem of his clothes that she had touched, then turned around and held the wooden handle of the bucket again, but his pace was a little slower than before.
Afterwards, Ashina Yu silently took the wild vegetables to the back kitchen. Soon, the aroma of rice wafted out. When he came out with the bowl and chopsticks, there were three dishes and a soup on the table. The stir-fried wild vegetables were green, the river fish soup was steaming, there were golden fried pheasant eggs, and even the multi-grain cakes were steamed soft.
Shen Ahheng looked at the full table and immediately put aside the previous mood caused by the mess in the yard caused by the officials last night.
Shen Ah Heng picked up his chopsticks and devoured the food in no time. In a short while, he had almost cleared the entire table of dishes.
After dinner, Shen Ah Heng remembered that the medicinal herbs that were dried in the yard last night were trampled into a mess by the group of officials, so he took a bamboo basket and went to the backyard to clean them up.
Shen Ah Heng was squatting on the ground picking up some usable herbs. When he was concentrating on picking them up, he looked up inadvertently and saw Ashina Yu standing at the gate of the courtyard. She did not leave immediately as usual, but just lowered her eyes to look at the pile of herbs beside her.
Her long hair was as black as ink, tied into a simple bun. A few strands of hair hung down in front of her forehead, adding a sense of coolness. The light gray hem of her clothes was gently blown up by the wind.
The quiet energy around him seemed as if he was waiting for something.
Shen Ah Heng's heart moved, thinking of his hard work hiding in the cave these days, and thinking that the officials had left long ago, and the storm was almost over. Seeing him like this, she couldn't bear to let him leave alone, so she waved at him: "Why are you standing there? Come and pick up some together. A lot of them were trampled by those officials last night. Can you help me see if there is anything still usable?"
When Ashina Yu heard this, his eyelashes twitched violently, as if he had not expected her to speak. When he raised his eyes, there was still no obvious expression on his face, but she saw that his originally slightly frowned brows slowly relaxed, and even the fingers holding the corner of his clothes loosened a little.
Then he walked slowly towards her, taking light steps.
When he squatted down, he deliberately kept a certain distance from her. His slender fingers quickly picked up the herbs, quickly and steadily. A few strands of hair on his forehead fell on his brow bone, and the lines of his profile were clear and soft.
He clearly wasn't smiling, but he looked like a puppy that had finally gotten permission from its owner to stay with peace of mind.
The two of them swiftly sorted out the medicinal herbs that could be salvaged and filled most of the bamboo basket. Shen Ah Heng clapped her hands in satisfaction. Just as she was about to speak, she saw Ashina Yu standing there motionless, only her dark eyes looking at her quietly.
Although he didn't say anything, it was clear from his expression that he didn't want to leave.
Shen Ah Heng's heart skipped a beat. Although the officials had left, he couldn't let his guard down. He hardened his heart and pretended to be serious, saying, "It's almost time. You should go back first."
If that group of people suddenly attacked during this period, both he and she would be doomed.
Upon hearing this, Ashina Yu drooped his eyelashes, hiding the emotions in his eyes. After a while, he softly said "hmm".
When he turned around, his shoulders slumped slightly and his steps were extremely slow, much heavier than when he came.
After walking a few steps, he secretly glanced back at her, with a reluctant look in his eyes.
Shen Aheng almost broke down and simply turned away from him.
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