Chapter 45: The taste of the flat mine seems sweeter than I remember...
In the east wing, the servants brought breakfast, but Jiang Tong frowned.
After being picked up and dropped off by Jiang Tong for a few days, Su Guanqing gradually became familiar with the layout of the house. This was supposed to be his first time coming here alone.
He said yesterday that there was no need for Jiang Tong to pick him up, nor for Zhao Quesheng to send him off, as he could find the way.
But there is still no sign of anyone.
Jiang Tong looked out the door and asked Zhao Quesheng, "Did you see your master when you left?"
Zhao Quesheng shook his head: "No, when I left, Master's door was closed."
"Go and see why your master hasn't arrived yet. Maybe he's gone in the wrong direction."
"Hey!" Zhao Quesheng responded and ran away.
A little later, Zhao Quesheng came running back, his face flushed with anxiety: "Teacher, something bad has happened, Master's eyes hurt!"
Jiang Tong became anxious when he heard this and ran to Su Guanqing's house.
The door to the west wing was open. Su Guanqing sat on a bench in the main room, head bowed, seemingly wiping away tears. Feng Fuliu stood beside him, speaking anxiously.
"Guan Qing? What's wrong with you?" Jiang Tong stepped in.
When Su Guanqing heard Jiang Tong's voice, he quickly turned his back and frantically wiped his tears: "Tongtong, I, I'm fine."
"Are you crying?" Jiang Tong pulled him over.
He was actually crying! His eyes were red and tears kept flowing down.
"Who bullied you?" Jiang Tong remembered the previous incident of being bullied by the servant, and thought that another servant in the family bullied him, and his face darkened.
Feng Fuliu said, "No one bullies him. He just woke up this morning and said his eyes hurt. I told him to see a doctor, but he insisted it was nothing. As soon as he went out, he started crying in the wind and couldn't stop."
"How could this be?" Jiang Tong's heart was in a knot.
"Tongtong, I seem to be able to feel a little light." Su Guanqing probably felt a little embarrassed about the constant tears, so he covered his eyes with his sleeves.
Hearing this, everyone was delighted.
Jiang Tong took Su Guanqing's hand and said, "Come on, I'll take you to see a doctor!"
"But aren't you going to repair the "Fisherman" painting today?" Su Guanqing was concerned about Jiang Tong's affairs.
The "Fisherman" was a painting by Guan Daosheng from the Yuan Dynasty. It was not a job that Jiang Tong accepted, but was used by the collector of Huang Gongwang's "Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains" to pay for its restoration.
The collector was also an unusual person. He insisted that calligraphy and painting were elegant things and should not be defiled by yellow or white things. Even for the "Fuchun Mountain Residence", he said that he did not buy it with money.
Jiang Tong understood the market. Regarding price, Huang Gongwang's paintings were highly sought after by his contemporaries and therefore naturally commanded considerable value. However, due to the prejudices of feudal society, Guan Daosheng was often viewed as merely an extension of her husband, Zhao Mengfu. At best, she was praised as a work of refined taste, and her works naturally commanded relatively low prices.
The collector thought that "Fisherman" was just an independent painting by Guan Daosheng and there was no inscription by Zhao Mengfu. Using her work as payment was his intention to take advantage of Jiang Tong.
However, Jiang Tong's vision was so sharp that he could tell at a glance that the painting was exquisitely done with brushwork and profound artistic conception, and could definitely be considered first-class in the Yuan Dynasty.
If we only consider the artistic value, Jiang Tong actually got the upper hand, so he agreed.
After finishing the previous painting yesterday, Jiang Tong took it out and saw that the painting was full of holes caused by insects. He angrily lamented to Su Guanqing that these collectors didn't know how to preserve it properly.
As she looked at the painting, she praised Guan Daosheng highly, which made Su Guanqing so eager that he wanted to see it in person.
Seeing that Su Guanqing was still thinking about this painting, Jiang Tong said:
"If we delay for half a day, the Fisherman Picture won't be completely eaten by insects!"
Jiang Tong turned to Feng Fuliu and ordered, "Go find something to cover him up."
After she finished speaking, she immediately went back to her room to get the money.
As soon as I got the money, Zhong Wanci walked in with red eyes.
Jiang Tong was shocked when he saw her red eyes. He thought she was crying in the wind and asked:
"Mom? What's wrong with you?"
"It's okay. Your father is angry. He was asked to do something, but he refused!" Zhong Wanci wiped her eyes with a fine cloth and handed over a letter. "Please find someone to deliver this letter for me."
When Jiang Tong heard her say this, she felt relieved, knowing that this was a problem caused by her own father. She was worried about Su Guanqing's illness and had no intention of asking more questions. She just took the letter.
"Okay, I'll find someone to help mother deliver it."
She was stuffing the letter into her sleeve when she glanced at it casually, "Huh, isn't it being sent back to the Zhong family?"
"It's for your aunt. We sisters haven't gotten together for many years, and I plan to invite her to live in our new home for a while. Anyway, there's enough room for her now..." Zhong Wanci was talking with a worried look on her face.
Jiang Tong looked over her shoulder and saw Feng Fuliu and Zhao Quesheng walking towards her, supporting Su Guanqing on the left and right.
Feng Fuliu got him an opaque cap, which could block out the light and protect him from the wind.
Jiang Tong was so preoccupied with taking Su Guanqing to see a doctor that she didn't really listen to Zhong Wanci. "Okay, whatever arrangements you like are fine. Trust me, I'll send it for you when I go out."
As he said this, he walked over without touching the ground and was about to leave with Su Guanqing in his hand.
Zhong Wanci chased out and looked at the two people's tightly held hands, hesitant to speak: "You want to go out?"
"Guanqing's eyes hurt. I'll take him to see a doctor." Jiang Tong didn't notice her abnormality at all, and just pulled Su Guanqing away.
Zhong Wanci pursed her lips into a line and said nothing, just watching their backs as they walked away.
Zhao Quesheng hurriedly tried to follow, but Feng Fuliu grabbed his shoulder and asked, "What are you going to do?"
"Accompany Master to see the doctor!" Zhao Quesheng was so anxious that he was about to cry.
"Don't make trouble, little brat. Go home and play with your mud." Feng Fuliu said.
…
Jiang Tong took Su Guanqing to the gatehouse, arranged for the servants to harness the carriage, and then helped Su Guanqing get on.
Su Guanqing didn't say a word until the two of them sat down in the carriage.
Jiang Tong looked at him from the opposite side and saw that he had his hands clasped together and his whole body was tense.
She moved to his side and gently wrapped her fist around him.
Su Guanqing shuddered, and his tightly clenched fist loosened, allowing Jiang Tong to take the opportunity to insert his five fingers.
Su Guanqing was stunned for a moment, then closed his hands again and held her hands tightly in his own.
Neither of them spoke until the carriage stopped in front of the clinic.
The coachman was helping Su Guanqing down from the carriage and was about to help his eldest daughter when he saw Jiang Tong jump out of the carriage and pull Su Guanqing into the clinic without stopping.
When Su Guanqing took off the mask, he was still crying.
The old doctor examined the patient, stroked his beard, and smiled, "Don't be alarmed. This is a good sign. I've observed his pulse and the blockage is showing signs of being cleared."
"Doctor, will I be able to see again soon?" Su Guanqing's voice was a little unstable.
"Soon," the old doctor nodded. "You'll definitely see the baby in half a year at the latest, or three months at the earliest."
Jiang Tong was overjoyed, and Su Guanqing couldn't hide his joy either.
The doctor said, and then reminded: "He can't stand the stimulation of light now. Try to cover his eyes during the day and wait until he slowly adapts."
Jiang Tong responded promptly and helped Su Guanqing to a designated spot by the wall, waiting for the old doctor to give him acupuncture to stop his tears.
A moment later, Su Guanqing's head was pierced with needles, and even his handsome face was pierced with several needles.
Jiang Tong stayed next to Su Guanqing, holding one of his hands. One of them sat, the other stood. They didn't say anything, just smiled.
The people waiting to see the doctor also noticed them. They were both good-looking and eye-catching, but Su Guanqing was crying and laughing, which made him even more eye-catching.
Some of those eyes were sympathetic, some were regretful, and some were just looking for fun.
One old lady even muttered loudly: "God has mercy on me! How could such a handsome boy be blind and crazy?"
Su Guanqing had actually heard similar words many times, so he just pretended not to hear them.
Jiang Tong's smile faded slightly. She took a step forward and blocked those sights with her body.
…
After a quarter of an hour of acupuncture, Su Guanqing finally stopped crying when exposed to light.
The two men asked the driver to go back first, and they walked slowly towards home hand in hand.
On the way, he passed Zhong Wanci's letter to Aqiao's younger brother. They knew people in the escort company, so delivering a letter was faster than the normal post road.
As they walked, Jiang Tong suddenly let go of her hand: "Wait a moment."
Su Guanqing stood there obediently waiting for her. Soon he felt as if the curtains in front of him were being pulled apart, and light came in.
Jiang Tong's voice rang out: "Open your mouth."
Su Guanqing opened his mouth obediently, and a round object was stuffed in. It tasted sweet, and with a light bite, a refreshing sour taste came out.
It's a pile of sugar.
"Is it delicious?" Jiang Tong asked with a smile while pinching the bunch of candies, and put one into his mouth.
Su Guanqing chewed with a bulging mouth and nodded with a smile.
Only then did Jiang Tong pull his head out from under the mittens.
She hasn't eaten candy for many years.
She held Su Guanqing's hand in one hand and a bunch of candies in the other. She squinted her eyes and chewed the hawthorn fruit. The taste seemed sweeter than she remembered.
…
Just as the two were doing acupuncture in the clinic, Aqiao, with his face covered and wearing a bloody black robe, climbed over the wall into Jiang's house, avoided people, and rushed into the main house.
At that time, Zhong Wanci was still angry and was not in the room. Only Jiang Huaishan was lying on the couch with his eyes closed.
When the door opened, Jiang Huaishan thought it was his wife who came back. He pretended to be weak and called out, "Water...water..."
However, before he could finish his words, Aqiao's voice suddenly rang in his ears: "Something bad has happened!"
Jiang Huaishan was startled and sat up with a start: "Ms. Shang, Miss Shang? What's the matter?"
"The Imperial Guards have already tracked down the small village where we were. Someone has confessed, saying they've seen you, Uncle Jiang. The Imperial Guards are already heading this way!" A Qiao recounted the entire story in rapid succession, and then he was about to help Jiang Huaishan. "Uncle, run away! It'll be too late!"
"Our people in the village..."
"Everyone who can evacuate has evacuated." Aqiao's expression was solemn. He was about to continue urging when he heard a commotion outside the house.
"Go from the back. If we run into the Jinyiwei, I can protect my uncle and fight their way out." A Qiao said quickly.
However, she was extremely anxious, but Jiang Huaishan still had no intention of getting up. He shook his head: "It's easy for me to escape, but what's wrong with my wife and daughter?"
"If my uncle falls into the hands of the Jinyiwei, he will probably be killed!" If it weren't for the difference between men and women, Aqiao would have wanted to pick him up directly by Jiang Huaishan.
"There's nothing to be afraid of when dying for one's country," Jiang Huaishan said, looking deeply at A Qiao. "Miss Shang, the great cause is now entrusted to your hands."
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