Chapter 76: Qi Taotao Jiang Tong pulled his hand to her lips and gently...
Jiang Tongwan didn't expect this to happen. She felt relieved, but couldn't help wanting to laugh, so she quickly lowered her head.
Su Guanqing also lowered his head in an attempt to hide his mistake and said nothing.
The aunt thought they were just shy, and she felt even more confident that her guess was correct.
"Whose family disagrees?" the aunt started gossiping.
"My family has no objection." Su Guanqing said this without any hesitation.
Jiang Tong lowered her head sadly: "My parents don't agree."
"Why don't you agree?" The aunt looked at Su Guanqing. "What a handsome young man! He speaks so elegantly, you can tell he's a scholar."
Jiang Tong confidently made up a story: "Of course, Brother Tingtong is a scholar, but my father doesn't like scholars. He despises them because they can't carry things on their shoulders or lift things with their hands, and they only know how to recite sad poems."
Su Guanqing looked at Jiang Tong with some grievance. Was this the reason why Uncle Jiang didn't like him, or was this the reason why Tongtong didn't like him back then?
"This scholar is great! Our village has no scholars. The children in the village have no way to study. My cousin is already 18 years old, but he can't read a single word!"
The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously. Jiang Tong had an idea after hearing what she said.
She reached out and took the aunt's hand, which was covered in dry mud. "Auntie, if there were a teacher in the village, would there be any children willing to come and study?"
"Teacher?" The aunt subconsciously turned her head to look at Su Guanqing.
Su Guanqing made the two of them stare at him in amazement. After he came to his senses, he smiled modestly at the aunt and said, "I am not talented, but if you need enlightenment, I can still teach you."
…
Master Su had only seven students, the youngest no more than eight years old, the oldest already eighteen. They all studied at Master Su's house during the day.
There were no books in the village, let alone pens, ink, paper and inkstone, so eighteen-year-old Wang Xiaoshi went to the town to buy some.
These students could not even write their own names, so Master Su simply threw aside the "Three Character Classic" and "Hundred Family Names" and started teaching them how to write their own names.
Mr. Su had a weak hand and could not hold the pen steadily, so Teacher Jiang demonstrated for him.
It was a cloudy day, and it was almost time for Master Su to teach, so the children came to Master Su's house early.
Master Su was still not coming out of his bedroom, so the children chatted and chatted outside.
Wang Xiaoshi would go to town from time to time to do some small business, so the children all liked to listen to his stories about the outside world.
Just as Jiang Tong was about to lift the curtain and go in, she heard Xiao Shi say, "Do you know about crucifixion? It's about peeling off a person's skin, cutting off their hands and feet, and then..."
Xiao Shi's words were so cruel that they frightened the little kids and made them scream.
"What crime did Cao Jixiang commit that he had to suffer such a painful punishment?" asked a child.
Wang Xiaoshi said: "They say it's treason. It's terrible..."
Jiang Tong's expression changed slightly when he heard this, and he turned and walked towards the dormitory.
"Guanqing, I just heard..." She had just opened the door and hadn't finished her words when she saw Su Guanqing with a cloth covering his eyes, sitting on a bamboo stool, slightly hunched over, with a look of pain on his face. Her heart suddenly tightened. She hurriedly walked over to him, squatted down, and took his hand. "Are your bones hurting again?"
When Su Guanqing heard her voice, he tried hard to suppress his painful expression and gave her a gentle smile: "It's okay, it's probably going to rain soon."
"How about we skip class today? I'll let the kids go home first." Jiang Tong held his hand, which was icy cold. His meridians were blocked, his blood flow was obstructed, and his fingers were usually cold.
Su Guanqing shook his head gently: "It's okay, the pain hasn't reached its peak yet, just bear with it and it will pass."
Jiang Tong looked at the sky outside. It was overcast, but the rain shouldn't come so soon. She knew that when it did, it would be a real torment for Su Guanqing.
"It's supposed to rain tonight. Let's boil some hot water after class." She stood up and gently helped Su Guanqing remove the cloth covering his eyes.
They were currently in a small village, where it was difficult to find a doctor. Furthermore, the stipend they received was barely enough to feed themselves, so they couldn't afford to hire a doctor to treat Su Guanqing's eyes. Based on their previous experience, they could only ask Su Guanqing to use his eyes as little as possible. They usually kept him blindfolded, only removing the bandage when necessary.
"Okay." As soon as Su Guanqing opened his eyes, his gaze was fixed on Jiang Tong.
Jiang Tong had already walked to the door. She turned around and saw him looking at her infatuatedly. She couldn't help but smile brightly and turned around to stretch out her hands to him.
Su Guanqing stood up, walked up to her and held her hands.
Jiang Tong waved his hands and asked with a smile, "What are you looking at me for?"
"Look at you, your bones don't hurt so much anymore." Su Guanqing whispered.
"Su Tingtong, when did you learn to be so eloquent?" Jiang Tong looked at him angrily.
Su Guanqing said anxiously: "I didn't, I'm serious..."
His voice suddenly stopped. Jiang Tong pulled his hand to her lips and kissed it gently. Then she looked up, her fox eyes narrowed into a smile, and asked him, "How about this? Does it still hurt?"
Su Guanqing's eyes were a little dazed: "No, it doesn't hurt anymore."
"Then hurry up and go to class." Jiang Tong urged him.
"Hey! I'll go right away." Su Guanqing walked out lightly as if he was walking on clouds.
As he left, Jiang Tong looked at his cheerful back, and the smile on her face just now gradually disappeared.
…
In the evening, the two of them saw the students off and had a simple dinner, but they did not rest.
The air was becoming increasingly humid, and seeing that heavy rain was about to pour down, the two of them busied themselves boiling water.
In the past, the Jiang family had servants to take care of these things, which was cheap. But now, boiling water for a bath is a big deal.
Because Su Guanqing's fingers were weak, Jiang Tong scooped water into the bucket one bucket at a time. Su Guanqing then used his forearm to hold the handle of the wooden bucket and carried it to the kitchen to pour it into the pot.
While boiling water, the two sat side by side on a small stool.
Jiang Tong dipped his fingers in medicinal wine and rubbed them together.
Su Guanqing tilted his head and lowered his eyes to look at Jiang Tong who was carefully rubbing medicinal wine for him.
In order for the medicinal wine to take effect, the skin had to be rubbed until it became warm, and Jiang Tong rubbed it very hard.
Su Guanqing looked at the flames of the stove and saw beads of sweat appearing on Jiang Tong's philtrum.
Su Guanqing felt a little distressed. His Tongtong should be writing in the study, but she was hiding in the dark kitchen, taking care of him, a burden.
But he could do nothing for her.
Su Guanqing raised his arm and used his sleeve to wipe the sweat from Jiang Tong's nose. He said softly, "I'll boil the water later. You wash first. I'll soak after you finish."
Jiang Tong didn't say anything and continued to rub his fingers vigorously.
Su Guanqing knew that she was in a bad mood.
He later heard Wang Xiaoshi talking about Cao Jixiang.
When the story spread from the capital to the small town, many real details would be lost, and with the people adding fuel to the fire, the truth would be even more difficult to verify.
But there are three things that are certain:
Cao Jixiang did indeed commit treason.
The rebellion failed.
Cao Jixiang is dead.
As for Aqiao, they hadn't heard anything at all. They didn't know whether she had participated in the rebellion, whether she had been exposed, or whether she had been arrested.
This means that they may have to stay in this small village for a long time, perhaps for their entire lives.
Su Guanqing felt that it didn't matter to him. He was just a lowly person and could live anywhere. But Tongtong...
Su Guanqing's eyes remained fixed on Jiang Tong.
Tongtong has such skills, but they are useless in this village where people can't even find pens, ink, paper and inkstone.
When he thought of this, Su Guanqing felt very uncomfortable.
His eyes should be a shining pearl, a radiant sun, and should not be buried here.
The water in the pot boiled, making a bubbling sound. Jiang Tong let go of Su Guanqing's hand, stood up, and picked up the large wooden ladle placed next to him.
"Tongtong, be careful of the heat. Let me do it." Su Guanqing said hurriedly.
Jiang Tong glanced at him and said, "Bucket." If she had glared at her disciples, they would have been paralyzed on the spot.
When Su Guanqing saw this, he didn't dare to say anything and immediately put the bucket next to the stove on the stove.
The steam was scalding hot, but Jiang Tong seemed oblivious, scooping water into the tub quickly, one ladle after another. Su Guanqing felt distressed watching her, but he didn't dare to fight her for the ladle. He knew that with his current grip strength, he would probably lose the ladle five times out of ten, which would only cause more trouble for Jiang Tong. So he could only wait anxiously by the side, waiting for the tub to be full before carrying it into the room with his forearm and pouring the water into the bathtub.
After a few rounds, the bathtub was not full yet, but both of them were sweating.
When we were boiling the last round of water, the rain finally came.
Hearing the sound of rain outside, Jiang Tong's heart tightened and she quickly turned to look at Su Guanqing.
"How are you?"
Su Guanqing's face was pale, and he forced a stiff smile at her: "It's okay."
"Come into the house and take a bath." Jiang Tong urged him.
"We agreed that you would wash first. Let me scoop out this pot. You go wash it first." Su Guanqing was in so much pain that his vision was blacking out, but he gritted his teeth and persisted.
"Who told you that! I told you to go, so just go!" Jiang Tongjunzi pushed Su Guanqing to the dormitory without saying a word.
The pain in his ten fingers kept radiating outwards. Su Guanqing could already feel the pain in his head as well. He felt a little dazed and could only let Jiang Tong manipulate him.
After the two of them lived together, they were actually not very shy about most of the time. Su Guanqing's hands were not flexible, so Jiang Tong basically helped him tie his belt.
When Jiang Tong pushed him to the edge of the bathtub, she immediately helped him untie his belt.
Su Guanqing felt his feet go cold and came back to his senses. He was shocked to find that his pants had fallen to the ground, and his lower body was only covered by his long gown.
He was extremely embarrassed, but Jiang Tong looked anxious. After everything was done, she quickly pulled out a strip of cloth from her sleeve and covered Su Guanqing's eyes.
It was dark at night and difficult to use their eyes, so they agreed in the morning not to use their eyes if possible.
"Go in and take a bath by yourself. I'll go watch the fire." Jiang Tong said, and considerately helped Su Guanqing turn around, pulled up one of his right hands, and placed it on the edge of the tub so that he would find it, and then hurried to the kitchen.
Hearing Jiang Tong's footsteps fading away, Su Guanqing breathed a sigh of relief. His belt had been untied, and he easily took off his clothes and groped his way into the bathtub.
Although the bathtub was filled with cold water, it was still a little hot. As soon as Su Guanqing got in, his chest immediately turned red.
However, Su Guanqing seemed to be completely unaware of the pain. Instead, he slid down into the water as far as he could until the water level submerged his mouth.
After a while, when Jiang Tong came in with the freshly boiled water, he also brought in the candlesticks from the kitchen. The two candlesticks in the room became a little brighter.
She walked to the bathtub, reached out to check the water temperature, and found it was just right, so she didn't pour the bucket of water she had just brought in.
She looked at Su Guanqing. Su Guanqing was probably confused by the pain, or maybe he was asleep, and didn't hear Jiang Tong coming in.
Under the white cloth, his brows were deeply furrowed, as if he could not get rid of the pain in his bones even in his sleep.
Jiang Tong felt distressed seeing this, but there was nothing he could do but let him soak for a while longer.
The water was already boiling, and Jiang Tong had nothing to do for the moment. She stood by the tub, wiping the sweat off her face with her sleeve. Her gaze once again fell into the tub.
...The sweat is sticking to my body and it makes me feel very uncomfortable.
...I want to take a bath, I really want to take a bath.
Jiang Tong looked at Su Guanqing who was blindfolded.
...Anyway, Guan Qing can't see it.
...If I don’t wash it now, the water will get cold, and I don’t have the energy to boil another bucket tonight.
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