Chapter 32 Erotic Scenes: Nude Bodies and Exposed Backs
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The streets were wide, and two carriages traveled side by side.
The wheel ran over gravel.
The sudden jolt caused Lin Xihe to lose her grip, and the stone flew out of her hand towards the window. Almost simultaneously, a hand reaching out from the opposite car window precisely intercepted it.
Their fingertips touched briefly before parting, leaving a slightly cool sensation.
Wen Zhixu glanced at her: "Open your hands."
Lin Xihe was slightly surprised, thinking he was going to take the stone away. She reached out her hand, the stone fell back, and her palm felt slightly heavy.
She changed her mind and simply said, "This one is for you."
The stone fell back into Wen Zhixu's palm.
Judging from his expression, it must be because of his myna bird. Lin Xihe immediately offered a solution: "Bubu needs to be hospitalized for treatment right now, and it's not advisable for a patient to move. I'll return it to you as soon as it recovers."
Perhaps because she was in the comfort of her own carriage, with several soft cushions behind her and a quilt covering her knees, she appeared relaxed and at ease.
Sunlight illuminated her eyes, causing those mischievous eyes to squint and droop at the corners, adding a touch of innocence.
Wen Zhixu retracted his words about taking Cuihuang back to the manor, pinched the flower stamen stone between two fingers, and shook it at Lin Xihe: "Really don't want it anymore?"
This is a stone she risked her life to find.
The curtain of the carriage opposite suddenly closed.
A moment later, the girl's head popped out again. She opened a strangely shaped cloth bag, the opening of which revealed bulging stones of various sizes inside, which rattled slightly with the bumping of the carriage.
She raised her eyebrows triumphantly at Wen Zhixu: "Look! I dug up so many!"
Wen Zhixu was momentarily stunned.
My mind flipped through pages like a storybook, clearly connecting the memories of last night and unfolding them one by one.
We returned to the back mountain.
Considering the injured woman was an unmarried young lady, the nuns insisted on not letting the servants help and carried the stretcher themselves. But they hadn't carried it far before they were all panting heavily, their steps slowing. Several of them whispered among themselves, puzzled: This Miss Lin's hands and feet are as slender as willow branches, how could she be so heavy?
They had to switch to servants to carry it. Unexpectedly, these men were even more exhausted, and soon began to stagger. According to the new coachman at the Wen residence, even carrying stones on the battlefield wasn't this strenuous.
So that's how it is.
Wen Zhixu felt inexplicably anxious, worried about Cuihuang's health, and hurriedly asked, "How big can Cuihuang's wound be that it requires so many flower-stamen stones?"
Lin Xihe chuckled, revealing a somewhat naive expression: "I asked every pharmacy in town, and they all said this stone is in short supply. I heard that a herb gatherer accidentally fell and died, so they can't get any. It's about ten pounds, I guess it'll be worth that much if I resell it?"
As she spoke, she gestured with her fingers.
"..." Wen Zhixu was defeated by her.
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Upon returning home, Wen Zhixu went straight to bathe and change clothes.
Soaking in hot water makes the whole body feel relaxed and comfortable. The cold is also washed away by the heat, and one feels completely refreshed.
Faint voices could be heard from the base of the backyard wall, carried by the steam.
The voice was rough and hoarse, like a man's throat, yet it had a strange familiarity. Upon closer listening, Wen Zhixu sounded more and more like a palace eunuch.
He rose from the misty steam and hastily dressed.
"Second Young Master, your hair..." Wen Qi chased after him.
His elegant and refined master stood on the broken bridge, eavesdropping on the commotion at the Lin residence next door. Perhaps he couldn't hear clearly, so he took a few more steps forward, almost standing against the wall.
Wen Qi held the towel for bathing and drying himself, wanting to hand it over, but was afraid of disturbing his master who was eavesdropping.
Tinghexuan was bustling with activity.
Upon returning home, Lin Xihe rushed into the room to check on Bu Bu's injuries without even washing up.
The servants responsible for taking care of Que'er were all handpicked by her and were extremely experienced in caring for the injured and sick.
The most capable old nanny among them had experience killing chickens. It is said that she once injured a chicken's neck with a dull knife, cutting it in half, but unable to bear it, she bandaged its neck. That chicken miraculously recovered from its near-death experience and was sold to the cockfighting arena in the theater, where it won every battle.
Seeing that the young lady had brought back the flower stamen stone, everyone dared not neglect it. Following the prescription given by the doctor earlier, the life-saving medicine, mixed with stone powder and steaming hot, was soon served.
The sparrow, which had been well-fed and cared for at the Lin residence for several days, suddenly felt aggrieved upon seeing its new master return. It opened its beak and cried out, "Caw!"
It sounds exactly like someone complaining.
Lin Xihe: "Gently, gently, it's crying in pain."
The old nanny, who was applying the medicine, paused, barely daring to breathe, as if she were serving some little tyrant, afraid of being too rough.
The old woman had just picked up a little bit of the medicinal paste, and before her fingertips even touched the bird's belly, the sparrow, as if burned by fire, suddenly spread its wings wide open, fluttering and making a "cawing" sound.
The medicinal mud splattered everywhere.
"I'll do it."
“Miss, this dirty work is better left to this old servant…” the old nanny hesitated.
Birds are not like cats and dogs; they don't understand human nature. Young lady, you are of noble birth, what if it pecks and injures you?
When it was Lin Xihe's turn to apply the medicine, the myna bird stayed still and hummed contentedly.
Lin Xihe proudly proclaimed, "This is called the bond between mother and child."
The servants in the room: "..."
Having confirmed that the strange noise came from Lin Xihe's beloved pet, Wen Zhixu felt a surge of curiosity. He looked up and surveyed the area. The courtyard wall wasn't high; if he climbed it and glanced at Lin Xihe's house, could he spot Cuihuang?
His ventriloquism was interpreted by his loyal servant, Wen Qi: "Second Young Master, would you like a table? Wen Ba and I will carry it over, and you can sit at the table..." Standing high allows one to see far.
"What kind of behavior is this?!" Wen Zhixu's expression immediately changed drastically.
Wen Qi shut his mouth.
Unexpectedly, a girl's voice rang out from the other end of the courtyard: "Who's talking? Wen Zhixu?"
Caught red-handed, it was Wen Zhixu's turn to shut up.
"Qingwu, go get the ladder."
There was a moment of silence in the courtyard.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the young lady climbed the ladder used by the craftsmen, her gaze fixed precisely on a certain person. Her loose-fitting silk robe slanted down from the collar, with a bluish-white ribbon tied at her side.
His clothes were disheveled.
"Why aren't you dressed properly?" Lin Xihe kindly reminded her.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the words were spoken, the old women in the Lin family stopped what they were doing and their eyes widened; the cheeks of several young maids turned red instantly, and even the tips of their ears burned.
Unable to see Wen Zhixu's "bare-chested" appearance, everyone had to strain their ears, desperately trying to glean a hint of the wantonness from the young lady's tone of voice.
Wen Zhixu tossed the unsightly ribbon behind him and looked up to see the sly girl covering her mouth.
Stop hiding it, a mischievous grin is overflowing from between your fingers.
“The medicine has been applied to Bu Bu.” Lin Xihe is a barefoot doctor who is extremely responsible to patients and their families. “He just drank a couple of mouthfuls of millet porridge and is resting now. The patient should not be moved, otherwise I would definitely have brought him over for you to see.”
What do you call it?
"Bu Bu".
"Radish?" Wen Zhixu couldn't believe his ears.
The myna bird he bought from Quesi for a hefty sum was given a very rustic name by her.
"It's black, so I thought it was a crow. I gave it a nickname based on the reduplicated name that Blake came up with. Isn't that cute?"
crow……
Lin Xihe was unconvinced, her tone full of provocation: "Do you think you have a good name? Cuihuang, Cuihuang, it's so rustic."
"It is named after the phrase 'a phoenix with kingfisher feathers'."
"Tch, so pedantic." Lin Xihe scoffed. This Wen Zhixu, though young, spoke in a rigid, formulaic manner, even more old-fashioned than the teachers at Li Su Academy.
Wen Zhixu caught her scrutiny and asked directly, "What is Miss Lin looking at?"
"You're pretty arrogant," Lin Xihe thought to herself. What's the difference between naming her myna bird Phoenix and naming her country dog "Napoleon I"?
Wen Zhixu remained expressionless and said, "I'll have to trouble Miss Lin to take care of Cuihuang. She doesn't like rice porridge; she prefers to eat... Wen Qi, go and get the dried insects that Cuihuang likes to eat and send them to the Lin residence."
"Ugh, so troublesome." A muttered voice came from the top of the wall.
Wen Zhixu looked up and his gaze met that face, which was glowing in the sun, and he felt a slight burning sensation.
"What does Miss Lin mean?"
The girl standing on the ladder pointed in a direction: "Look, that's the tunnel your mighty and mighty Caesar dug. Have Wen Qi put the dried insects there. Qingwu, go get them."
Qingwu and Wenqi both fell silent.
Why did they have to hand it over in the dog hole?
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Spring is halfway over, all things are thriving, and even injured birds and beasts have started to recover at an accelerated pace.
The little myna bird is no exception.
Lin Xihe exclaimed in amazement: "My son is strong and healthy!"
Bu Bu propped up its round belly and let out a comfortable chirp from its beak.
The new owner is massaging it with a small pebble.
"Qingwu, go through the tunnel and send a message to the Wen family. Bubu's dried insects are almost gone. Tell Wen Zhixu to catch some more."
Qingwu hesitated, wondering if the young lady was treating the dignified Second Young Master Wen like a servant. Wouldn't the Second Young Master Wen be angry?
It seems that... every time he's on the verge of exploding with anger, Young Master Wen always manages to give Young Master Bu Bu some food in time? He even sent someone to deliver an exquisite gilded perch?
Of course, the perch wasn't brought in through the dog hole.
Qingwu still remembers that when the second young lady, Lin Zhirou, heard that Wen Zhixu had sent something to Lin Xihe, she was furious and immediately smashed all the items in the room.
Over there, the maid who had called for help from the dog hole looked troubled: "Miss, there's no one at Yinquan Pavilion, the Second Young Master isn't here."
How could he not be here? Lin Xihe blinked, then immediately understood: "Oh, he went to Yuling Courtyard."
A spoiled brat like Wen Zhixu, who idles away his days and doesn't have to go to work, wouldn't be studying hard at this hour since he's not at Yuling Courtyard.
Qingwu was unaware of the matter and dared not offer any comment.
As the master and servant were talking, a dark shadow emerged from the dog hole.
Lin Xihe looked in the direction of the sound—
A cute little creature darted out from the spring sunshine, carrying a small wicker basket in its mouth.
Lin Xihe ran over, carrying a delicate purse in her small bamboo basket, with a square sheet of Xuan paper next to it.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she eagerly took out her purse, assuming that it contained something good.
I opened it and took a look.
It wasn't the scene I expected, but rather a vast expanse of black tamarisk.
Mealworms, earthworms, nymphs... densely packed together in a clump.
Live, wet, sticky, and fresh with an earthy smell.
"Aa ...
The Xuan paper was written by Wen Zhixu himself: "I have some matters to attend to at home and will return in five days. I hope Miss Lin and Cuihuang are well."
Is she alright? Lin Xihe is far from being alright.
She's terrified of live insects!
The order of the text was intentional!
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April 16th is the anniversary of the death of Wen Zhiyue, the eldest son of the Wen family.
General Wen was a man of great military achievements. The emperor personally issued an edict that court would be suspended for one day on the anniversary of his death to mourn him.
General's Shrine.
Wen Zhixu, dressed in plain clothes, stood to one side with his hands at his sides.
The chanting of sutras by eminent monks could not dispel the sorrow emanating from the sacred sounds.
Although the emperor did not attend in person, he sent his most trusted chief eunuch, and the empress also dispatched her most capable old nanny. The presence of two palace eunuchs demonstrates the great favor the emperor bestows upon them.
After the memorial service, the chief eunuch chatted with Wen Hongyuan, while the old nanny also chatted casually with Wen Zhixu. She was an elder whom the Empress had brought from her maternal family and had watched Wen Zhixu grow up.
"Her Majesty has always been concerned about your mother," the nanny said softly. "Is she doing well these days?"
The preface reads: "Thank you for your concern, Granny. I just visited you the day before yesterday, and everything is as usual."
The old woman said, "Your Highness heard that there was a happy event at the Lin family residence recently."
Lin Zhaoheng was overjoyed that his daughter had recovered from her illness. He told everyone he met, distributed lots of candy, and treated his colleagues like children.
But fearing something might go wrong with the imperial items, he forgot the emperor's candy. Unexpectedly, the emperor threw a tantrum over it and sulked all day; it took the empress a long time to coax him back to his senses.
Faced with the palace's inquiry, Wen Zhixu was quite frank: "Does the nanny want to ask if Miss Lin is in good health?"
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