Chapter 118 World Five (Twenty)
When Baoshan awoke, she was lying on a bed. Above her head was a beam made of a single log, with a few strands of withered thatch hanging from it. A gentle breeze blew, and the thatch fluttered to the ground. Baoshan supported herself on the bed and sat up straight. She realized that the bed was made of stone mixed with yellow mud, and should have been firm when she lay on it. But it felt soft. She reached out and touched the quilt beneath her. It looked about 90% new, perhaps because it had never been used, and the cotton lining was still extremely soft.
Baoshan put on her embroidered shoes and walked out of the house. She found it was a small courtyard. The slightly empty courtyard showed the owner's poverty and hardship. From the small thatched house, wisps of smoke rose, and the aroma of food leaked out.
Baoshan walked to the thatched hut and saw Rong Zhao holding a long spoon and stirring the pot continuously.
The aroma grew stronger. Rong Zhao seemed to sense something and turned to look outside. Seeing the precious fan, his tense body relaxed slightly. Rong Zhao wasn't good at cooking. On weekdays, when he was alone, he would just make a few bites to fill his stomach. But now, besides himself, he also had the precious fan to take care of, and he couldn't live the same life of getting by.
Rong Zhao put out the fire, poured the cooked soup into a bowl and brought it to Bao Shan.
A barbaric man like him would never say anything soft. Even when he asked someone to drink soup, he did so in a cold tone, as if he was threatening others.
"You are too timid. Drink some soup to nourish your body."
Rong Zhao did not mention that when he saw Bao Shan faint at the Princess's Mansion, he hurriedly caught her and secretly regretted letting Bao Shan witness such a horrifying scene.
After all, Baoshan is weak and soft-hearted, and has never seen the scene of being skinned and boned.
But Rong Zhao was reluctant to throw away the beast's fur, so he could only carry the fur on his back with a thin rope, leaving his hands free, and go home holding the precious fan.
Bao Shan also remembered why she fainted. She trembled slightly and looked up at Rong Zhao, knowing that Rong Zhao might be somewhat sincere towards her.
Otherwise, he would not have given up the gold and silver, just asking to bring her back.
Baoshan reached out to take the bowl of soup, turned around and sat on a low stool in the yard, sipping the soup in the bowl in small sips.
She originally thought that the food made by a rough and clumsy man like Rong Zhao was not edible.
When the thick white soup entered his mouth, Baoshan felt it was fresh and delicious, and his abdomen felt warm.
Rong Zhao used more than ten copper coins to exchange this recipe for soup from the aunt next door.
Now, looking at Baoshan's obedient appearance and the posture of carefully savoring the food, Rong Zhao's face did not show any joy.
His eyes were burning as he stared at Bao Shan's snow-white and smooth hands.
Such a pair of hands were holding a broken bowl that looked like a tile, with a small gap on the rim.
This was the first time in his life that Rong Zhao felt a little embarrassed because of his poor status and dire family situation.
He turned and left, and when he reappeared before Bao Shan, he had already changed into clothes ready for the stall, his outer robe and lower garment starched to a pale white. Rong Zhao stood before Bao Shan, his eyes darkening as he said, "I'm going to sell meat, you stay home."
Rong Zhao originally wanted to lock the precious fan at home and hold the key in his own hand, so that the precious fan could stay quietly at home and wait for him.
But Rong Zhao was also worried that if something happened at home, Baoshan would be locked at home, and she, a weak woman, would not be able to run away even if she wanted to.
Rong Zhao thought about it for a long time, and finally shoved the only key of the house into Bao Shan's hand and said in a cold voice: "I sell meat in East Street, you can come whenever you want."
Baoshan held the key tightly in her hand, looked up and gave Rong Zhao a gentle smile.
Rong Zhao turned his head to avoid her sight, and the treasure fan was not hit. She stood up straight, walked around to Rong Zhao, stared into his dark eyes, and whispered softly, "The soup is delicious."
Rong Zhao's cheeks flushed. He was thankful that his skin wasn't pale, so the precious fan couldn't detect it. He muttered, "Soup is for women. You're the only woman in the house. If you can't finish it, just throw it away."
How could Rong Zhao bear to throw away the thick soup made from bones?
Bao Shan spoke softly and nodded gently, "Such a delicious soup must be finished."
Baoshan finished the soup in the bowl and felt better.
She has always known how to judge the situation. Now that Rong Zhao has brought her home, she is Rong Zhao's woman.
From now on, Baoshan will have to rely on Rong Zhao for survival and live a stable life under the protection of Rong Zhao.
The precious fan lightly swept across the layout of the courtyard, but he did not go into the thatched hut to wash his hands and cook soup for Rong Zhao.
Firstly, she was not good at cooking, and the food she made could not compare to Rong Zhao's in terms of taste.
Secondly, throughout history, no woman has ever been able to retain a man's heart by relying on her good cooking skills.
If cooking skills could really keep a man, then every woman would have excellent cooking skills. And what use would a chef hired by a wealthy family have?
There was a large water vat in the courtyard. Baoshan lifted the lid and found it was indeed filled with clear water. Baoshan's eyebrows moved, and she felt a slight sense of relief: Rong Zhao was indeed just as she had imagined. Although he looked unruly, he was diligent and courageous.
Otherwise, it would not be possible to kill the beast that everyone fears and stays away from.
Baoshan scooped up some clean water with a gourd ladle, washed herself, and then combed her messy hair.
Baoshan looked up at the round sun hanging in the center of the sky. Feeling that the time was almost up, he closed the door, locked it, and went to look for Rong Zhao.
East Street.
Rong Zhao set up the stall and stood behind it, waiting for customers to come and buy meat.
The sun gradually rose higher, and the dazzling sunlight dazzled people, making it difficult to open their eyes.
Rong Zhao was chopping pig bones for a customer. His technique was very precise and he didn't let the bones fly everywhere.
After working for several hours in a row, beads of sweat appeared on Rong Zhao's forehead, and large marks of water appeared on his broad back.
Even though he was wearing old clothes that had been washed white, Rong Zhao was reluctant to give them up.
He took off his outer robe, revealing his muscular body, and chopped the meat shirtless.
Her honey-colored skin, shining in the sunlight, radiated a lustrous luster, making the surrounding air evaporate a little.
More and more people came to Rong Zhao to buy meat, most of them women, which made the other butchers on East Street feel dissatisfied and their tone was full of sarcasm.
"Butcher! Why are you selling meat when you've caught a wild animal?"
"There's bound to be a good reward for catching a ferocious beast, so why bother doing these dirty jobs under the scorching sun?"
Rong Zhao was a solitary person. He had drunk with most of the butchers on East Street and had visited low-rate brothels together.
But Rong Zhao had no social connections with them, so he was often ostracized by these butchers.
When the butchers learned that Rong Zhao had killed the beast, they felt bitter.
They felt unwilling to accept this. They were all butchers, so why was Rong Zhao so powerful and had the hope of marrying Princess Chunru, while they had to sell meat for a living all their lives.
However, Rong Zhao did not become rich as he wished, nor did he receive any reward. The butchers gradually felt relieved. But now, seeing that Rong Zhao's business was booming, the jealousy in their hearts could not help but emerge.
Someone who knew the inside story joked, "The butcher doesn't want to marry the princess, he wants to marry the maid!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
The news spread in the princess's mansion that Rong Zhao had humiliated the princess by having an affair with a maid without a matchmaker, which made the princess break the agreement.
The butchers on the street all thought Rong Zhao looked cold and hard. But in reality, he was no different from them, also a womanizer.
Some vendors who were not happy with this spoke out to stop them, saying, "You guys don't sell meat properly, but gossip all day long. No wonder the butchers don't have as much business!"
The butchers mocked loudly, even beaming with joy, and began to discuss Rong Zhao and the treasured fan: "Before, I asked you to go and have fun, but you refused. Why are you willing to go this time? Is it because of that little maid's skills in bed..."
There was a loud "bang".
The butcher, who had just spoken, fell silent. His face paled as he watched the long, gleaming white machete suddenly fly towards him and land between his feet. He suppressed his fear and demanded, "Butcher! What are you doing?"
Rong Zhao then looked at him straight in the eye. Seeing the pot-bellied man in front of him, his expression seemed to be as cold as ice.
"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll chop off your tongue. If you dare to look around again, I'll gouge out your eyes."
Despite saying such terrifying words, Rong Zhao looked calm, as if what he said was extremely common.
But it was this indifference of his that frightened everyone even more.
None of the other people on East Street doubted that Rong Zhao's threats were false. After all, he could defeat the beast with his bare hands. And who among them could compare to the majestic beast?
Calmness returned to the streets.
Rong Zhao continued to sell meat.
A slender figure suddenly stopped in front of Rong Zhao's stall. He raised his head, and his originally tense face relaxed slightly when he saw the person clearly.
"Why...are you here?"
Rong Zhao frowned. He was so dirty, how could he let the precious fan get close to him?
Bao Shan didn't show any disgust at all. She walked sideways to the back of the stall, took out the sour plum juice she had just bought, and handed it to Rong Zhao.
"I was alone at home and was terrified."
Baoshan's watery eyes trembled slightly as she secretly looked at the expression on Rong Zhao's face, fearing that she would run to find Rong Zhao and make him unhappy.
Baoshan saw that although Rong Zhao was not enthusiastic, he was not angry either, and his brows gradually relaxed.
She took a handkerchief and gently wiped the sweat from Rong Zhao's forehead.
The unique lotus fragrance of the treasure fan now permeated Rong Zhao, as if the two people were blending with each other, you in me and me in you.
The honey-colored chest rose and fell slightly with the movement of the treasure fan.
Bao Shan then discovered that Rong Zhao was shirtless and the distance between them was extremely close.
Bao Shan didn't know if it was the hot weather and the scorching sun that made her irritable, or her messy mood, but she only felt that the air around her was gradually steaming, making her cheeks blush and hot.
Rong Zhao was also suffering.
He looked at the snow-white and delicate arms swaying in front of him, and felt his throat tighten. He wished he could hold the beauty in his arms.
But he knew that this was happening in public, on the streets where people were coming and going, and he could not overstep the line.
Rong Zhao was really unhappy with the burning gazes that the people around him gave to the precious fan.
He stretched out his arm and supported Baoshan's waist, trying to hide her tightly so that no one could see her.
The gentle breath, like an invisible hand, caressed Rong Zhao's chest.
His eyebrows were twitching violently, and he was about to say something when he was interrupted by sudden frenzy.
A group of soldiers in armor, holding portraits, posted them in every conspicuous place on East Street.
Behind Rong Zhao, a portrait of a man was posted.
He has a handsome appearance and a graceful figure, and is said to be the man in Princess Chunru's dream.
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