Chapter 102 Autumn Outing for Leyouyuan Elementary School Students
Xue Chan fell ill quickly, but recovered slowly. By the time she was almost fully recovered, it was already autumn.
But she seemed a little unhappy and kept getting distracted. When Jiang Ce talked to her and teased her, she was still willing to respond and enjoyed playing with Xi Tuan and Niannian.
However, whenever she has free time, she is like a kettle that can't make a sound when shaken.
Sometimes a person sits on a swing but doesn't swing; they just sit quietly for a whole day.
The azure sky turned a deep yellow-purple. Jiang Ce returned home, and she was still sitting on the swing.
Yun Sheng told him, "In the past, when girls were unhappy, they would draw pictures, and they would feel better as they drew."
Jiang Ce noticed that he even had less time to draw. He didn't like to pick up a pen anymore, and he rarely used paper.
When she was recovering from her illness, she was still very enthusiastic, but she gave up after drawing a few times. Gradually, she lost interest in drawing.
One time, Jiang Ce returned late, and there were no lights on in the house. Xue Chan sat alone at her desk, pen in hand, leaning back in her chair, lost in thought, not knowing how long she had been sitting there.
He called out to her, and she snapped out of her daze and smiled at him, "You're back! It gets dark so quickly; it was just noon a moment ago."
One night, Jiang Ce, half-asleep, reached for the person next to him but found nothing. He suddenly woke up, sat up, and hurriedly got out of bed to look for Xue Chan.
Turning around the screen, Xue Chan was sitting there in a daze, holding an old painting and a paintbrush.
Jiang Ce immediately felt that she couldn't just stay in this courtyard.
It was during the autumn festival holiday, so he took two days off and went hunting and enjoying the autumn scenery along the Wei River with Xue Chan.
The Wei River is still the same Wei River, only it becomes more magnificent in autumn.
The sky is high and the air is crisp; the mountains and rivers are clear and bright.
The two rode horses slowly through the mountains and fields, carrying bows and arrows on their backs.
Calling it a hunting trip was just something Jiang Ce came up with to make Xue Chan feel a little fun.
Xue Chan studied martial arts for a long time with great enthusiasm, and her physical health improved considerably.
Jiang Ce has already experienced it.
The learning was very effective.
Before long, she developed a great interest in Jiang Ce's swords, spears, bows, and arrows.
She was very interested because she didn't know how.
At first, Xue Chan couldn't even draw the bow, but after a while, she managed to draw it and the arrow hit Jiang Ce right on the head. Xue Chan was not satisfied, so every morning she would practice archery in the courtyard until she hit the target.
Over time, my hands became covered in blisters.
However, she was happy to do these things, so Jiang Ce didn't say anything. After his shift, he accompanied her to shoot a couple of arrows, gave her some pointers on the techniques, and then washed his hands and helped her apply medicine.
"call out!"
An arrow was shot out, knocking down a green fruit.
Xue Chan quickly stepped forward and caught the bunch of green fruit with branches and leaves still attached.
Jiang Ce rode up and laughed, "Not bad, you've made a lot of progress these days. In another two years, you'll probably catch up with me."
"Of course!" She took out a handkerchief to wipe the green fruit, and gave half to Jiang Ce. "I've already caught up with A Yao, and I'll catch up with you one day."
Jiang Ce took the fruit with a smile: "Okay, let's go hunting when your riding and archery skills have improved a bit more."
Hunting was merely a pastime for the two of them; whether they caught something or not was secondary. They arrived in the morning and only managed to catch a green fruit and two bunches of wild chrysanthemums. Most of the time, they rode their horses leisurely around the Wei River with their bows and arrows on their backs.
Looking at the soaring geese and listening to the 'crunching' sound of horses' hooves crushing the fallen leaves, I felt particularly timid.
The two rode their horses over a low hill and saw a large patch of tiny, pomegranate-like red berries clustered on the branches not far away. The abundant fruit adorned the still-green slope, which was not yet fully autumnal, and was as red as fire.
It was midday, and the sun shone brightly on the autumn fields. The bright red fruits trembled in the wind, looking plump and lovely.
Jiang Ce rode forward and broke off a small branch: "This dogwood is growing really well."
He then plucked a small branch and placed it in Xue Chan's hair, which already had only one jade hairpin. The bright red dogwood and her glossy black hair, with their vibrant and rich colors, softened her somber air.
"Cornelian?" Xue Chan smiled and said, "Why don't we pick a couple of branches and cook them?"
Jiang Ce teased her, "Master Xue, this isn't the edible dogwood. The kind that can be used in cooking is dogwood, this is cornelian cherry. Although it looks somewhat similar, it's slightly poisonous and can't be eaten. It's just for wearing in your hair."
She didn't go out very often, and even less often ventured into the wild, so she didn't recognize dogwood or mountain dogwood. She made a small blunder; as the sun warmed her, a lovely blush rose to her cheeks.
"Let me see."
Xue Chan asked Jiang Ce for a sprig of dogwood, and held it in her hand, examining it carefully for a long time.
"It's alright, I recognize it now." She smiled and suggested to Jiang Ce, "It's really pretty too. Since we can't eat it, let's pick a few branches to put in a vase."
Jiang responded, "Okay."
He broke off two large branches of dogwood and carefully tied them to Lü Mei's body, but was afraid that the fruit would be shaken off by the jolting of the horse.
"Use this," Xue Chan said, handing him her silk. Jiang Ce carefully wrapped the dogwood in fine silk and put it into the quiver.
"There! There! There's a pheasant!" Xue Chan tugged at Jiang Ce's sleeve, her voice low but unable to hide her surprise and excitement at discovering her prey.
Jiang Ce looked in the direction she was pointing, and there was a pheasant leisurely strutting around behind the haystack.
"Why don't you try?" he asked Xue Chan as he was about to nock his bow.
Xue Chan gently pushed him: "What does it matter who hunts it? If you don't hunt it now, it'll run away!"
Jiang Ce quickly drew his bow and released an arrow. The arrow pierced through the dense forest and disappeared, leaving only the sound of birds flapping their wings and soaring into the sky.
They rode over, and the pheasant had already been shot and was lying on the ground.
Jiang Ce leaned down from his horse and picked up the pheasant from the arrow's tail, laughing, "Would you like roasted chicken or stewed chicken?"
Xue Chan rested her fingers on her chin, thinking seriously: "It's getting dry in autumn, why don't we stew it?"
"good"
"No, no, let's grill it instead. I've been drinking a lot of soup lately."
Jiang Ce still smiled and said, "Okay."
However, Xue Chan changed her mind as soon as she made up her mind, and after several repetitions, she was still indecisive.
Jiang Ce said, "Let's just split it in half, roast one half and stew the other half."
Xue Chan thought his idea was pretty good and smiled, "That works."
They continued walking into the woods, and after a while they came to a meadow and a stream.
Blue stones are piled up, a clear stream meanders along the way, deep yellow and green, light orange and red.
Although it was autumn, the heat was still intense. It was past noon, and the sun was scorching, making people dizzy and lightheaded.
"There's water and it's shady here, why don't we eat something and rest here instead of going back, and continue when the sun isn't so strong?"
Seeing the beautiful scenery, Xue Chan urged Jiang Ce to dismount and spread a blanket on the flat ground by the stream.
Jiang Ce saw that the stream was so clear that he could see the fish and shrimp swimming in it. He smiled with satisfaction: "I think this place is pretty good. It's perfect because I don't have to think about how to cook the chicken. I'll go catch a few fish and grill them."
Having said that, he broke off a branch of just the right thickness, sharpened it with a dagger, and prepared to poke the fish. After taking off his boots and socks, tying his robes, and rolling up his trousers, he went into the stream.
Originally, they were supposed to have someone accompany them when they came out, but Jiang Ce thought it would be troublesome to have a bunch of people with them, so he sent them all to play elsewhere.
Jiang Ce went down into the stream to poke at fish and catch shrimp, while Xue Chan gathered some dry branches to build a fire.
She gathered two small bundles of firewood, and standing on the big rock, she spotted a tree with fruit on a small slope across the stream.
Xue Chan walked down the large rock and put the firewood down. She lifted her skirt and stepped across the stream, using the stones in the middle of the stream, to pick fruit.
Jiang Ce swiftly and accurately struck a fish about half an arm's length away. Looking up, he saw Xue Chan slowly stepping across the stream on the stones. Some of the stones were covered in moss, which made them slippery after being soaked by the flowing water.
He strode across the stream to steady the swaying Xue Chan, saying, "Be careful not to fall into the stream."
Xue Chan used his arm for leverage and quickly jumped over a few rocks to reach the other side. She smiled brightly and said, "No way! Even if I fall in, I'll definitely take you with me first."
She approached and discovered that the fruit was from a wild peach tree. She picked two and washed them in the stream, then tasted them. She found that although they weren't as big and beautiful as the peaches she usually ate, they were just right, with seven parts sweetness and three parts sourness.
After tasting it, Xue Chan thought it was good, so she went back and picked a few more.
After she finished picking the fish, Jiang Ce had already poked several fish with his paws. Seeing that Xue Chan was about to step back onto the stones, he immediately went back into the stream. One of them was in the water, and the other was on the stones. He led her across the stream together.
Jiang Ce used a tinderbox to ignite the dry grass and leaves, and once a flame was lit, he placed thin pieces of wood on top. He then set up a small grill and skewered the cleaned fish on it to grill.
The two sat side by side, eating wild peaches while waiting for the fish to cook.
Xue Chan said, "I wonder if it would be more interesting to grill fish over a fire at night."
Jiang Ce flipped the fish over, pursed his lips, and said with amusement, "I don't know if it's interesting or not, but there will be other things."
"Hmm?" Xue Chan raised her face.
"Awoo!" Jiang Ce bared his teeth and brandished his claws, his face contorted in a way that looked incredibly irritating. "That's exactly what it is."
"..." Xue Chan grabbed a wild peach and stuffed it directly into his open mouth.
Jiang Ce's mouth was completely blocked by the wild peach, leaving no gaps. He tried to get it out, but couldn't for a long time.
"Waaah," he whimpered, grabbing Xue Chan's sleeve and pointing to his mouth, blinking pitifully.
Xue Chan ignored him and turned the fish around again. She poked it with a thin piece of wood and thought it was almost cooked. She reached for Jiang Ce's sleeve, where he was still sobbing and trying to get Xue Chan to help him.
When she took out a small bottle of spice and salt powder, sprinkled it on the fish, and grilled it over a fire to release its aroma, Xue Chan said calmly, "Stop pretending, eat it."
Jiang Ce took out a wild peach, ate it in two bites, and then smiled sheepishly.
The two ate a proper lunch, and Xue Chan felt sleepy and curled up on the blanket to take a nap.
Jiang Ce extinguished the fire with water, then soaked all the remaining firewood in the stream to make sure it was completely out. After that, he and Xue Chan took a nap together under the shade of a tree.
Green Eyebrows and Snow White were drinking water by the stream not far away.
When the two woke up, it was almost evening. The golden light of the setting sun spilled into the orange and green forest, and the stream flowed with sparkling water.
Xue Chan yawned, sat up, and seemed dazed.
Jiang Ce stretched and gently patted her back, which was a little sore from sleeping.
Xue Chan said, "It's getting dark, let's go back."
Jiang Ce pulled her to her feet, and the two packed their things and rode their horses slowly through the woods back home.
When I returned to the villa by the Wei River, it was not yet late.
Jiang Ce gave the things he brought back to Chu Tao and the others, who then delivered them to Chun Niang.
As the two walked into the garden, they saw maids carrying cups and bowls heading towards the waterside pavilion.
Jiang Ce stopped them and stepped forward to take a look. What they were holding were chrysanthemums and fermented rice.
"I didn't ask you to prepare these, did I?" He was a little confused.
The head maid bowed and replied, "The young marquis and his wife arrived this afternoon, bringing a basket of crabs. The cooks prepared dishes and set up a table at the waterside pavilion to enjoy the moon. At that time, the young master and his wife went out for a trip, and the marquis said that when you return, we will go to the waterside pavilion to eat crabs and admire chrysanthemums together."
"Okay, go ahead and get busy." Jiang Ce waved them away.
Xue Chan and he exchanged a smile: "Perfect, then we don't need to think about what to eat tonight."
The two went back to change their clothes before heading to the waterside pavilion.
Jiang Ji and Zheng Tan were already in the waterside pavilion. When they saw the two of them arrive, Zheng Tan waved his fan and said with a smile, "We've finally waited for you to come back."
Jiang Ce crossed his arms and sat down on the stool, asking Jiang Ji, "Why did you suddenly think of the Wei River?"
"..." Jiang Ce glanced at him and said indifferently, "I can come if I want."
Zheng Tan said, "Your eldest brother got several baskets of fresh autumn crabs. Grandmother and Youyu ate one basket. We originally wanted to have the rest sent to you, but then we thought that we hadn't been out for a long time, and the autumn scenery on the Wei River was beautiful, so we came over together to stay for a couple of days to enjoy the autumn scenery."
Jiang Ce immediately smiled sweetly: "Thank you, Sister Tan."
Jiang Ji crossed his arms and lightly kicked him, then raised his chin and eyebrows.
Jiang Ce turned his face away, pretending not to see, but Xue Chan thanked him.
Jiang Ji looked at Jiang Ce, who was sitting next to Xue Chan and sticking to her, with a look of disgust: "Look at you, you're only lucky to be my brother."
The two were arguing again, exchanging words back and forth with great enthusiasm.
Xue Chan and Zheng Tan looked at each other and laughed helplessly.
Crabs are considered to have a cold nature, and Xue Chan, who had only recently recovered from her illness, was afraid of harming her health, so she didn't eat much, only drinking some light wine.
Jiang Ce was worried that she would get a stomachache from hunger at night, so he brought her a cup of fruit.
Xue Chan shook her head, indicating that she didn't really want to eat it.
I don't want to eat sweets.
"These are meat-filled pastries."
She added, "Then I don't want to eat it anymore. I had some greasy barbecue for lunch."
Jiang Ce pondered for a while, then coaxed her to eat some crystal-clear sashimi: "Eat it with sweet red vinegar, it won't be greasy."
Xue Chan didn't have much of an appetite, but he kept pestering her so much that she ate a few more pieces.
Jiang Ce seized the opportunity to serve her a few bites of refreshing dishes, and stopped when she was about five or six tenths full.
After the banquet, the group went their separate ways.
Halfway there, Jiang Ce suddenly remembered that the windmill he had made a couple of days ago was still somewhere else. He told Xue Chan about it and then left to get it.
There is a Maple Spring in the Weishui Villa, and two pools were built against the maple trees by the hot spring.
Xue Chan invited them to the Wei River because Zheng Tan was weak after giving birth, and wanted to take her to soak in the hot springs to recuperate.
Jiang Ji had just finished arranging everything and was preparing to go to the hot springs with Zheng Tan when the wet nurse brought the crying A-Jun.
Zheng Tan hugged A Jun and comforted him. After feeling his mother's presence, A Jun's crying subsided, but it disrupted Jiang Ji's plans.
It was so rare for the two of them to be together.
Jiang Ji gritted his teeth and saw Jiang Ce pushing a cart covered with all sorts of windmills past not far away.
He smiled, a plan forming in his mind.
Jiang Ji picked up A-Jun and said with a smile, "You go to Fengquan first, I'll take care of A-Jun."
Zheng Tan hesitated: "Are you sure you can appease him?"
“I’m his father, and besides, there’s a wet nurse.” Jiang Ji nodded and urged her to leave, “Don’t worry, don’t worry, you go and wait for me.”
Zheng Tan left with his men, half believing and half doubting.
Jiang Ji looked at A-Jun, who was biting her hand with her big eyes wide open, and smiled, saying softly, "A-Jun, Daddy has found you a good playmate."
Jiang Ce, walking along the path, pushed his little cart covered with all sorts of pretty windmills. He looked at it with great satisfaction, thinking he would definitely give it back to Xue Chan and she would love it.
He walked along happily, laughing as he went.
"Jiang Bozhou"
He stopped and turned around. Jiang Ji, holding A Jun, stood behind him and slowly walked up.
Jiang Ce: What?
Jiang Ji glanced at the cart he was pushing, then at the somewhat curious A-Jun, and immediately put on a satisfied smile: "I'm going to the hot springs with Fourth Sister, so I'll trouble you to take care of A-Jun for me."
Jiang Ce: "You do have wet nurses."
Jiang Ji: "But A-Jun likes you. He smiles every time he sees you and loves playing with you. You're his uncle, shouldn't you spend more time with your little nephew?"
"..." Jiang Ce was speechless and asked him, "When you two wanted to be together, didn't you ever think about us wanting to be together?"
Jiang Ji looked him over carefully, then glanced at the cart he was pushing.
"I don't think you really need it."
"I'm not his parents!"
"I don't care, you can have it!"
Jiang Ji simply shoved A-Jun into his arms and strode away. By the time Jiang Ce came to his senses, he was already running very fast.
"Ughhhhhh, this is so annoying!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
