Chapter 23 [Couple's Interaction]
While Lex was visiting Hall, Mela was in the cabin looking through the notes he had recently copied.
Among these were notebooks left behind by a witch, which Meera paid a high price for through Ducwato to purchase from unknown channels, and family notes passed down through generations, which were bought by merchants from the descendants of a healer through normal channels.
Compared to witches' penchant for recording their wildest ideas, physicians' notes were far more meticulous. They often recorded the name of a herb, its medicinal properties, its origin, and the corresponding prescription. Illustrations were also included alongside the writing to aid future generations in memorization and identification.
However, as time went by, the once vibrant brushstrokes faded, and the decisive lines became blurred.
Mela originally only intended for Lex to copy the handwriting, but unexpectedly, Lex meticulously reproduced even the illustrations.
Moreover, Lex's drawing was much better than the original, rudimentary illustrations; even the subtle veins on the petals were clearly visible.
Mela believed that anyone who had seen Lex's illustrations, even without ever having seen the actual herbs, would not be able to mistake the two similar-looking herbs.
Aside from the lifelike illustrations, Lex's handwriting is definitely worth collecting; the elegant curves and smooth strokes make reading it a pleasure in itself.
Compared to Lex's handwriting, which clearly shows he received a good aristocratic education, Mela's handwriting is quite distinctive, with a free and unrestrained style amidst its messiness.
Facing Lex's hesitant gaze, Mela remained as self-assured as ever, "I don't care if my handwriting is bad and my nobles laugh at me. After all, I'm of commoner origin, so isn't it normal that I haven't received any special handwriting training?"
Let alone receiving specialized writing training, even in the most basic aspect of literacy, the education most ordinary people received was different from Lex's.
If Lex received the most comprehensive literacy education by immersing himself in a vast library, then Mela's literacy began with recognizing the names of herbs. She could write down the most obscure herb names, but she might not be able to spell the word "taffeta" successfully.
Aside from nobles and wealthy merchants, who would be willing to spend so much money to buy such expensive fabric to make a dress?
Mela has always worn linen dresses since she was a child, except for her nightgown, which was made of cotton and was specially bought for her by Wipdo. So even now, she can only spell the words for linen and cotton.
However, because they hadn't spent much time together, Mela's demeanor was still quite convincing.
Until one day, Mela suddenly pointed to a word in the book and asked Lex what it meant. Only then did Lex realize that once he stepped out of Mela's familiar territory, those long and tedious words were completely foreign to her.
"This word means classicism. Didn't you ever notice that it's exactly the same as the first word on the cover of this book?" Lex's expression was somewhat complicated.
If Mela didn't know the word, how did she manage to hold this book and read it with such relish for almost a month?
"Ah, it really is exactly the same!" With Lex's guidance, Mela closed the book and specifically looked at the first word on the cover, and it really was.
"The original title of this book was 'Love in the Classical Period'*, but I've always called it 'Love.' Anyway, it's a story about a man and a woman who love each other but have to separate, with one ending up alone and the other dying young."
Mela wasn't ashamed at all for exposing her lack of knowledge in front of Lex. It was perfectly normal for her not to know such complicated words.
Although Mela was right, that was the story, and that the theme was related to love, Lex still found it hard to accept the fact that Mela had suddenly become half-illiterate in his eyes.
It's like finding an imperfect crack on a beautifully crafted gemstone necklace.
"Lex, you look disappointed."
Mela rested her hands on the dark green book cover, gazing at Lex with a quiet smile, like a vividly painted portrait worthy of being hung in the corridor for distinguished guests to admire for a long time.
“But didn’t I already tell you? I’m just the daughter of a physician, a commoner whom you nobles look down on, who think I lack manners and upbringing, and who can’t even spell my own name correctly, and whom you would never agree to marry,” Mela said slowly.
Yes, she is not some valuable portrait, but a beautiful flower growing in the mountains.
Although her extraordinary beauty made passersby, even the most arrogant nobles, willing to linger by her side and admire this rare beauty, she was not born to grow in an expensive vase or in a heavily guarded royal garden, a flower that needed careful protection.
"Being able to understand and write so many words is already quite remarkable for an ordinary person like me."
“Even a romance novel like this, which you might consider utterly meaningless,” Mela’s fingertips lightly traced the rough cover, a touch of crimson flowing beneath her pearly white nail bed, as she gave Lex a light smile, “there aren’t many people in the entire town of White Pine who can understand what’s written on it.”
When she said this, Mela was undoubtedly proud. After all, as she said, there were very few people in the entire town of White Pine who could understand such a thick romance novel.
Mela was able to understand the book only because she later learned more vocabulary. Otherwise, based on her previous knowledge from the physician's notes and the witch's journal, it would have been completely unrelated to romance novels.
Another person might not have Mela's strong curiosity and willingness to learn other things.
To put it bluntly, people are easily limited by their own perspectives. When he is a butcher, all he thinks about every day is how to better gut a pig; when he is a tax official, all he thinks about is how much tax he can collect this year; when he is a pastor, all he sees and thinks about is the scriptures distributed by the church.
So isn't it reasonable that Mela doesn't know the word "classicism," which is related to knowledge of herbs, astrology, and prophecy?
But then again, if Mela's grandfather hadn't died early and Wipdo hadn't been willing to raise Mela as his only heir from a young age, she wouldn't have known about these herbs and healing techniques.
If Mela hadn't unexpectedly encountered that mysterious woman on the mountain and gained her approval with her intelligence, she wouldn't have been able to understand the meaning behind the movement of the stars, nor would she have been able to decipher the profound meaning contained in the images conjured by the smoke in the crystal ball.
Now Lex was going to be disappointed in Mela because she didn't know a word that seemed very simple to him. Mela narrowed her eyes slightly and retorted without any politeness, "What makes you think you're disappointed in me?"
"Just because you know things I don't? Can you spell Radiant Ring Lily? Do you know that burying Magic Ball Grass in snow for a month will result in a naturally changing Snow-Colored Magic Ball Grass?"
Lex left Mela speechless with her questions.
“You see, you’re not perfect either, but in my eyes, the fact that you can clean this little cabin, find the little things I want in time, and take good care of the plants in the flowerpots makes me happy.”
Lex's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he stopped when he saw Mela's eyes.
That green, which he once found as terrifying as a deep, dark pool, now shimmered with the light of crystal-clear wisdom.
"Alright, as revenge for making me angry, you, come and finish reading the rest of this book." Mela tapped the book with her index finger, signaling Lex to come and pick it up now and carry out her order.
Lex obediently walked over.
He is now fifteen years old, and his stature is no longer comparable to that of a twelve-year-old boy. He stands tall and straight like a thriving cedar tree, and even his originally immature lines have been elongated to form distinct angles. His eyes and brows exude an aura that commands respect.
As a result, Silas, who used to dare to bully him openly, gradually only dared to take advantage of him verbally, and had to stand on the windowsill, a place where he could spread his wings and fly away at any time, to prevent Lex from catching him and bullying him back.
And this extraordinary young man, with his handsome appearance and extraordinary temperament, who seemed to have stepped out of a story, was holding a romance novel and reading it with difficulty.
"...Collison looked sadly at his lover, unable to believe that her soft lips could utter such cold and cruel words..."
Noticing the faint blush on Lex's earlobe, Mela raised an eyebrow triumphantly. See, she had successfully gotten her revenge on Lex, making him read those shameful words until a fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.
What Mela initially found somewhat tedious suddenly revealed a different kind of charm worthy of applause.
*
Lex returned with a wagon full of grain and Hall's reply.
When Lex told her that Hall had agreed to her price increase, Mela nodded casually, not at all surprised.
More than that, she was concerned about what kind of food Hall had brought this time.
“Tomatoes, beans, bulbs…” Mela rested her chin on her hand, gazing at the various colored and shaped ingredients in the open burlap sack. “I’ve decided, I want to make bean cakes tomorrow!”
The baked bean cake that Mela mentioned is not difficult to make. It is actually just ordinary bean cake, but expensive ingredients such as milk, white sugar, butter, and cinnamon are added during the production process, and finally baked to produce an irresistible aroma.
"Silas wants some too!" Silas chimed in enthusiastically, almost drooling as he recalled the delicious baked bean cakes he had eaten before.
“Okay, then I’ll make bean cakes for dinner tomorrow.” Lex nodded.
But he quickly asked again, "How about pan-fried fruit balls for dinner tonight?"
Just then, he saw that Hall had delivered half a bag of raisins, along with some other seasonal fruits.
Mela and Silas had no objections and unanimously agreed to Lex's proposal.
Pan-fried fruit balls are infused with the aroma and sweetness of so many fruits. The frying process creates an unparalleled lingering fragrance, so much so that even in the deepest sleep, it feels as if a layer of sweet fruit juice has been applied to them.
However, Mela's sweet dream was interrupted by a sudden knock on the door. She opened her eyes groggily, not fully awake, and subconsciously ordered Lex, "Lex, go open the door and see who's coming to see me so late at night."
Lex had shown signs of waking up as soon as he heard the first knock, and now, hearing Mela's voice, the last trace of drowsiness in his eyes faded. He walked to the door and, out of caution, only opened it a crack to make sure he could see the figure standing outside.
"who?"
"It's me!" the person outside the door said urgently.
"Hall? Didn't you go home? Why did you suddenly come back? Wait, how did you find the cabin?"
When Mela heard the sound outside the door, she immediately threw off the blanket and stood up, her eyes filled with deep questions.
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