Chapter 21 Wild Fruits Cause Diarrhea
The journey from Lin'an City to Yuhua Mountain takes at least three hours, but fortunately, the road is lined with lush flowers and trees, green hills and clear waters, which adds to the rustic charm and makes it less boring.
Knowing that he would be spending a long time in the carriage today, Shen You had ordered the cushions to be completely replaced last night, making them softer and more comfortable.
Shen You is not one to mistreat himself. He ordered pastries from Qian Gao Ji a few days ago, and it was just in time to pick them up this morning.
She opened the snack box and took out pastries such as pipa cake, pineapple cake, osmanthus cake, and mille-feuille cake.
I also handed out a box to the wisteria and the pothos.
"Thank you, Miss," came the voices of two maids outside. Chen Xiangning looked up and saw her reach out and move the pastries on the table toward her.
"If I remember correctly, A-Ning likes osmanthus cake?" Shen You looked at her with gentle eyes, and her voice was exceptionally pleasant.
Chen Xiangning was taken aback for a moment, then replied, "Yes, I like osmanthus cake."
Shen You smiled and said, "Then try it quickly. I heard that Qian Gao Ji has made some improvements and it tastes a little different from before."
Chen Xiangning's gaze fell on the box of osmanthus cakes on the table, her eyes flickered slightly, and then she reached out her hand.
The delicate fragrance of osmanthus slowly spread between her lips and teeth. Although the taste was different from before, it still reminded her of some past events.
Chen Xiang paused for a moment, hesitating to speak, "Elder sister..."
She wasn't blind to appearances or her heart; she could see the intentions Li Cheng had shown towards Shen You just now.
She knew that Chen Qiurong had been arranging a marriage for Shen You recently, but she didn't know if Shen You was really willing.
"Hmm?" Shen You looked up at her. "What's wrong?"
"The osmanthus cake isn't good?" Shen You picked up a piece and took a bite. "Although it's a little different from before, the taste is still pretty good."
Her gaze toward Chen Xiangning was exceptionally gentle, clear, and graceful.
The carriage windows were raised, and as the wheels rolled, the curtains were lifted by the wind, allowing sunlight to stream in and fall on Shen You's slender shoulders.
It has a soft, pearly sheen.
A rare smile appeared on Chen Xiangning's lips, her eyes bright with laughter. She swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth and simply nodded in response, "Mmm, delicious."
"Eldest sister is right."
Hearing that she liked it, Shen You moved the osmanthus cake closer to her, saying, "It's good that you like it."
The two sisters don't see each other often these days, and Shen You only knows about Shen Xiangning's fondness for osmanthus cake from her childhood memories.
Since they were riding in the same carriage today, and she had brought pastries with her, she couldn't possibly eat them all by herself.
The two sisters are now sitting on opposite sides of the carriage, each quietly holding a book, occasionally reaching out to pick up a piece of pastry. Although they haven't spoken, there is no awkwardness between them.
***
After traveling for two hours, the caravan stopped to rest in a relatively flat area.
The stream babbles, the surrounding vegetation is lush, and colorful wildflowers bloom along the roadside.
Birds chirped softly in the woods, but it wasn't noisy.
After getting off the carriage, Shen You and Shen Xiangning headed towards the stream.
Upon entering Yuhua Mountain, the mountains and forests are lush and green, and further away, one can vaguely see rugged rocks and birds that occasionally fly out from the forest.
A gentle summer breeze swept away the summer heat.
As soon as they reached the stream, Shen You heard footsteps coming from the side.
Turning around, I saw it was Li Cheng, the heir apparent of the Marquis of Mingyi.
He held a handkerchief in his hands, on which were several bright red, ripe fruits, which must have been freshly washed, with glistening water droplets on them.
"Miss Shen, Miss Shen, I have already washed this fruit and tried one just now. It is sweet and sour and delicious. Why don't you give it a try?"
He wore a light blue brocade robe with pine and bamboo embroidered on the hem. When he came to find the Shen sisters, he was polite and courteous, truly a handsome and elegant figure.
Shen Xiangning glanced at him, then turned to look at Shen You, only to see Shen You with a slight smile on his lips.
She appears gentle and graceful, but in reality, not a single bit of that smile reaches her eyes.
She said, "Your Highness is too kind. I wouldn't dare trouble you."
When Li Cheng heard her speak, a glint suddenly flashed in his eyes. "It's just a small favor, ladies, you don't need to be so polite."
Just now, Chen Qiurong and Wang Hui's intentions were quite clear: they deliberately wanted to bring Chen Xiangning and Li Cheng together.
Li Cheng himself was well aware of this.
But after that first glance by the carriage, he could no longer take his eyes off Shen You.
But he was a well-mannered young master, and even though he had feelings for Shen You, he did not ignore Shen Xiangning because of it.
Worried that Shen You might refuse again, he added, "Miss Shen, there's no need to worry. I've tried this fruit; it won't upset your stomach. You can eat it without worry."
Shen You did not want to accept the fruit.
She could see what Chen Qiurong meant, and she also thought that Li Cheng looked like a handsome gentleman. Although she did not yet know what Chen Xiangning thought, since others were willing to match the two of them up.
So, regardless of whether it succeeds or not, she cannot accept any of Li Cheng's advances at this point.
Thinking of this, the smile on her lips faded slightly. Just as she was about to look up to see what Chen Xiangning meant, she heard a childish voice coming from not far away.
"Fairy Sister!"
"Fairy sister, I've come to bring you fruits!"
Shen You's heart stirred slightly, and he turned around to catch Qi Zhaoyan as she jogged over.
Qi Zhaoyan's hair ribbon was all messed up from running, and Shen You smiled and straightened it for her. "Your Highness, there are vines on the ground in the forest, so run slowly."
As Qi Zhaoyan said "I understand," she turned her head and pointed to the palace maids following behind her. Each of them was holding a lacquered tray with brightly washed and vividly colored fruit on it.
"Fairy sister, these are fruits brought from Lin'an City."
The fruit brought from Lin'an City is naturally a thousand times, a hundred times, better than the nameless fruit from these mountains.
What's more, the princess herself brought the fruit.
Li Cheng looked somewhat embarrassed, unsure whether he should take back the wild fruit he was holding.
Qi Zhaoyan smiled happily and picked a grape, placing it in Shen You's hand. "Fairy sister, please try it."
"These grapes are so sweet."
The grapes were crystal clear, plump and tempting. Shen You didn't stand on ceremony with Qi Zhaoyan and put a grape in his mouth.
With a gentle bite, the sweet aroma of grapes spreads throughout the mouth.
She smiled and nodded, "What His Highness sent is naturally of the finest quality."
Qi Zhaoyan smiled even more happily, "I'm glad you like it, Fairy Sister!"
She looked up at Chen Xiangning beside her, "Second Miss, you should try it too."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
The more joyful the scene on one side, the more Li Cheng, holding the wild fruit, seemed to be in a dilemma.
The soldiers of the patrol battalion shouted from the front, "It's time to set off."
People who had stopped to admire the scenery by the stream all turned back.
Feeling bored, Li Cheng bowed to Princess Zhaoyan and Shen You and Chen Xiangning, saying, "I shall take my leave now."
After saying this, he headed towards his own carriage.
Qi Zhaoyan watched his departing figure, raised her proud little chin, and silently thought to herself, "I'm not allowed to compete with Uncle Chu for the fairy sister."
She tugged at Shen You's sleeve, blinking her clear, bright eyes at her, "Fairy Sister, may I ride in the carriage with you?"
Fearing that Shen You might not agree, she quickly added, "My father and mother will definitely agree."
Shen You lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on her expectant eyes. "Yes, Your Highness, you may come with us."
"That's great!"
She took Shen You and Shen Xiangning's hands, one on each side, and led them towards the carriage of the Marquis of Chengde's residence.
Although the carriages in the Shen residence were not as grand as those of the royal family, they were spacious enough to comfortably seat the two slender women and a small child.
Once inside the car, the curtains were lifted, and as soon as Shen You peeked out, she saw a man dressed as a servant hurrying to the back.
He returned not long after, accompanied by a bearded imperial physician.
The servant was anxious and kept urging the imperial physician to hurry up. When he passed Shen You's carriage, he took the medicine box from the physician's hand.
"Imperial Physician, please hurry up."
The imperial physician wiped the sweat from his brow. "You still haven't said whose carriage it is?"
“It’s the Mingyi Marquis’s family,” the servant said. “My wife and son both ate wild fruit and are now suffering from stomach upset and feeling very unwell.”
Upon hearing the words "Marquis of Mingyi," "wild fruit," and "stomach upset," Shen You felt a pang of sympathy. He realized that Li Cheng had given some of the wild fruit he picked back to Wang Hui, and that both of them had eaten it and developed stomach upset.
She instinctively touched her abdomen, thankful that she hadn't accepted Li Cheng's wild fruit, otherwise she would be the one calling for the imperial physician now.
The little princess smiled even more happily, "Uncle Chu was right after all!"
Shen You's heart skipped a beat. "Your Highness, what does this have to do with the Duke?"
Qi Zhaoyan said, "Uncle Chu said that wild fruits in the mountains and forests should not be eaten indiscriminately."
"He was worried that you would get an upset stomach from eating wild fruit, so he asked me to bring these grapes and watermelon together."
He also said... um...
Before Qi Zhaoyan could finish speaking, Shen You quickly covered her mouth.
After all... there was still Chen Xiangning in the carriage.
Shen Xiangning was unaware of what happened between her and Chu Xiao.
Qi Zhaoyan, confused, opened her eyes wide to look at Shen You.
Shen You hesitated for a moment, then used a fork to pick up a piece of watermelon and brought it to Qi Zhaoyan's lips, "Your Highness, let's eat some fruit."
Chen Xiangning, who was standing to the side, naturally heard Qi Zhaoyan's words, but she was not one to meddle and did not want to pry further.
The convoy outside had already lined up, its wheels rolling as it continued its journey toward the Yuhua Mountain Palace.
Shen You sat by the window. Qi Zhaoyan insisted on reading the book she had just read, but she fell asleep within a quarter of an hour of picking it up.
Now, having taken off her shoes and socks, she lay down on the soft cushion beside Shen You, covered with Shen You's cloak.
As evening approached, the mountain breeze grew increasingly cool.
Shen You turned to the side, intending to close the window on this side, but as soon as he reached out, he saw something behind the convoy.
On the white Akhal-Teke horse, there was a tall and upright figure.
The man seemed not to have expected her to look over suddenly, and his deep, dark gaze met hers.
It's unclear whether this gaze was unavoidable or deliberately left undrawn.
It was only then that Shen You realized that Chu Xiao had not traveled by carriage today, but by horse.
He was riding the Ferghana horse from the horse farm that day.
Based on his title and official rank, he shouldn't be in this position in the ranks...
Shen You pursed her lips, lowered her eyelashes and stopped looking at him, and reached out to close the window.
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