Chapter 183 World Eight (Six)
Shen Yunshan's gaze faltered slightly as he lowered his head to look at the porridge in the porcelain bowl. His face was reflected in the clear water, and he seemed to be in good shape.
Shen Yunshan bent his knuckles slightly and tapped the table lightly. He didn't know why the treasure fan that had been full of admiration yesterday was now filled with fear.
But Shen Yunshan couldn't figure it out, so he didn't dwell on it. He just thought that Baoshan was timid by nature. It was just as Shen Liushi said. She was afraid because of his coldness yesterday.
Shen Liushi sat across from Shen Yunshan, while Baoshan sat right next to her. Breakfast consisted of porridge and small dishes. Shen Yunshan adhered to the gentlemanly custom of "not talking while eating." Baoshan, having just arrived and being unfamiliar with the place, was reluctant to speak much, so only Shen Liushi's voice could be heard at the table.
Baoshan lowered his head and finished his meal quietly.
Shen Yunshan learned that Shen Liushi was going to move Baoshan's residence next door to his. He was slightly startled, but did not object. He simply turned to Baoshan and said, "I'll get up early and study. If I disturb you..."
Bao Shan's long, thick eyelashes trembled slightly, and she said softly, "Studying is a serious matter, cousin. I'm fine with it."
Seeing this, Shen Yunshan stopped talking. Ever since Baoshan entered the house, Shen Yunshan's words and actions had revealed his gentleness and courtesy towards this cousin.
A closer look reveals that this gentleness is superficial, not profound. Just like when Shen Yunshan was reading in the morning, he did show concern for the precious fan. But when the precious fan timidly expressed its indifference, Shen Yunshan stopped dwelling on it.
Baoshan raised her beautiful eyes slightly and looked at Shen Yunshan, whose eyebrows and eyes were calm. His aura was completely different from the Shen Yunshan in the nightmare.
In the dream, when the treasure fan was taken back to the Shen family by Shen Liushi, Shen Yunshan had already entered the official career, and his whole body was filled with the handsomeness and arrogance of a scholar.
But when Shen Yunshan looked at her, his lonely and helpless cousin, his eyes were always cold and without much warmth.
Even though Baoshan had plotted against him, when he was distracted and lost in passion on the bed, the look of infatuation he showed at that moment seemed to be Baoshan's illusion.
Because, when Shen Yunshan regained consciousness, put on his clothes, and looked at the mottled marks he left on the precious fan, his eyes were also cold.
Baoshan's bedroom was ready. It was a medium-sized room with a mahogany dressing table next to the bed.
But Baoshan was an orphan, and there was no rouge or powder in the bag she carried.
She simply took out a polished bronze mirror and placed it on the mahogany table.
The bronze mirror clearly reflects the figure of Shen Yunshan in the courtyard, holding a book and reading softly.
White jade fingers traced the outline of the bronze mirror. Bao Shan looked at Shen Yunshan's figure in the mirror. Compared to the farmers who were used to working in the fields, Shen Yunshan looked a little thin.
But he walked upright, and even if he didn't say a word, just looking at his back that was like green pine and cypress, one could sense the strong scholarly air about him.
Baoshan lowered her beautiful eyes slightly, and naturally did not think that everything that happened in the nightmare was just her imagination.
Perhaps it was God's pity that saw that she was an orphan without parents and had suffered from bullying, so he gave her a prophetic dream to guide her.
However, the future is already determined, and how to act depends on your own decision with the help of the treasure fan.
The precious fan in the dream repaid kindness with enmity. Shen Liushi took good care of her, but she had evil intentions and seduced Shen Yunshan, destroying the harmony between Shen Yunshan and Li Dongran.
Perhaps it was the law of retribution that evil deeds would be punished. In the end, such a wicked person like her could not get what she wished for and gain a legitimate status. Instead, she was killed by a cup of poisoned wine poured by a maid.
If Bao Shan wants to save her life, she should behave herself and try to please Shen Yunshan. After he passes the imperial examination, he should find her a good family.
But Baoshan didn't want to do that. As a poor girl, she had never even read a book. Just as Li Dongran was choosing a husband for her, she sighed.
"My cousin is short-sighted and perhaps doesn't understand my painstaking efforts..."
Marrying an ordinary person might lead to a peaceful life. But if Baoshan could truly see through all this, in her dreams, she would lean on Shen Liushi and be protected by her. Even if she never married, she could still live happily. But Baoshan knew that if Shen Liushi was gone, how long could she survive with the meager affection Shen Yunshan showed her?
The bond and entanglement between a man and a woman can only be bound most tightly by the love between them.
Baoshan felt that she could not bear the poverty and misery, so she wanted to climb up the social ladder and become a rich lady that everyone envied.
And Shen Yunshan is the highest branch she can climb.
Therefore, even though there seemed to be lingering pain in her abdomen, Bao Shan did not intend to change her ways and let go of Shen Yunshan.
I also don't want to feel guilty about what I did in my dream and make it up to Li Dongran.
For Yu Baoshan, why should he give in to wealth and honor?
If others find out that they have done something wrong, they may feel remorse and try to bring Shen Yunshan and Li Dongran together.
But Baoshan only felt that it was her negligence in the dream that allowed Li Dongran's maid to get close to her. In the dream, Baoshan was quite favored by Shen Liushi. Shen Liushi borrowed Baoshan many times to scold Li Dongran. Li Dongran's treatment of her was naturally not very affectionate. The difference between the two was nothing more than a difference in chess moves, not a matter of indignation.
Baoshan put down the bronze mirror, walked to the kitchen, and took the wooden spoon from Shen Liushi’s hand.
Shen Liu sat down on a low stool, listening to Shen Yunshan's clear recitation voice, her eyes full of pride.
Baoshan filled a small bowl of chicken soup and handed it to Shen Liushi.
"Aunt, I think it's almost cooked. How about you try it?"
Shen Liushi tasted the chicken soup and said, “It’s still a little short. The chicken needs to be cooked until it’s tender so that the soup can be tasty.”
Bao Shan's beautiful eyes trembled slightly: "Aunt is more experienced, I never knew these things..."
Shen Liushi put the wooden spoon aside, covered the pot, pulled the treasure fan and sat on a low stool, saying in a gentle tone: "It's okay, it's enough if there is one person in the family who understands."
Baoshan nodded obediently, looked up at Shen Yunshan in the courtyard, and said softly, "My cousin is so diligent. He can recite it after only reading it twice."
Shen Liu's eyes were full of satisfaction: "Of course. Yunshan has been smart since he was young, and he has become even more diligent since he entered school.
Even the teacher said he had never seen such a diligent student.
Speaking of Shen Yunshan, Shen Liu naturally had thousands of words to say.
But in the past, Shen Liushi was unwilling to tell the village women about this. She knew that the villagers looked down on her situation, and because of Shen Yunshan's reputation as a scholar, they pretended to curry favor with him.
Now that the treasure fan had arrived, Shen Liushi spoke out all the words that she had never said before.
“When Yunshan was just six years old, he went to the academy with the new school bag I made on his back.
I wanted to help him get it, but Yunshan refused with a stern face, saying, "How can you be a gentleman and make progress if you rely on a woman for everything?"
Baoshan smiled, and just by listening to Shen Liu's description, she could imagine Shen Yunshan's cold and indifferent face.
When he was young, he acted mature and refused to let Shen Liushi help him carry his school bag.
After Shen Yunshan finished reciting the last word on the scroll, he heard the laughter coming from the kitchen and turned to look.
Shen Liu's eyes were wide open, and all the tired look she had in the past was gone.
And Bao Shan, who had a slender figure, had bright eyes and listened attentively to Shen Liushi's words.
Shen Yunshan walked over and was about to ask what they were talking about.
Then she heard Shen Liu talking about the embarrassing things Shen Yunshan had done when he was young.
It was nothing more than Shen Yunshan, with a young face, teaching a lesson to someone taller than him quite skillfully.
Shen Yunshan looked helpless and interrupted Shen Liushi softly.
"Mom, why are you saying this?"
When Bao Shan saw Shen Yunshan, she stood up timidly and called out softly, "Cousin Yunshan."
The steaming hot air made the lid of the pot rumble.
Shen Liu quickly stood up to serve the chicken soup, leaving Shen Yunshan and Baoshan alone, looking at each other in bewilderment.
Shen Yunshan said in a gentle voice: "Mother is very happy that you are here. She likes you very much."
Bao Shan's cheeks flushed, and she timidly raised her eyes and looked at Shen Yunshan's face: "I also like my aunt and cousin Yunshan..."
As soon as the words fell, both of them stiffened slightly.
Bao Shan's eyes were slightly red as she hurriedly explained, "I didn't mean it. I don't like Cousin Yunshan. No... I do..."
Her anxious look actually made Shen Yunshan's brows relax. For the first time in his life, he spoke to comfort her: "No need to explain, I understand what you mean."
The crimson at the corners of Baoshan's eyes faded a little, and she said in a dull, self-blaming voice, "I'm always so foolish."
Shen Yunshan opened his lips, wanting to say something.
Shen Liushi’s words suddenly interrupted the conversation between the two.
"Baoshan, the chicken soup is ready, come and try it!"
Baoshan responded softly: "Okay."
The taste was delicious, the chicken was soft and tender. Especially this hen, which was the hen that Zhou Wang loved the most, Bao Shan felt that the taste of the chicken soup was even more delicious.
Baoshan handed the prepared chicken soup to Shen Yunshan.
Their fingertips accidentally touched each other, and the delicate hand of the precious fan trembled, almost knocking over the porcelain bowl.
"Be careful."
If this boiling hot chicken soup is spilled, it will definitely burn your palms red.
Shen Yunshan reminded him, and in order to support the porcelain bowl, he held the bottom of the bowl tightly with his palm.
And the soft and tender hands were also wrapped in him.
Bao Shan's face flushed red as she timidly withdrew her hand. Embarrassment washed over her, and she didn't even dare look at Shen Yunshan. She only hurriedly said, "I'll go help my aunt."
Then he left gracefully.
Shen Yunshan placed the porcelain bowl on the table beside him. The faint fragrance lingering on his palm startled Shen Yunshan's eyes for a moment, but he quickly recovered.
Nothing can be hidden in the village. So the news that Shen Liushi brought back her distant niece and even intended to keep the treasure fan until she got married soon spread throughout the village.
When the villagers learned that the two sisters Li Dongran had met Shen Liu's distant niece, they asked about it.
“What does Shen Liushi’s niece look like? Is her portrait Shen Liushi?”
Thinking of the beauty of the treasure fan, Li Qiuran said unhappily, "It was dark, so I didn't see it. If you're so curious, why don't you go knock on the Shen family's door and take a clear look?"
"You girl!"
Li Qiuran could be willful, but Li Dongran couldn't just give these villagers the cold shoulder. She pondered for a moment and said, "She doesn't look like a peasant girl."
The villagers were puzzled and continued to ask, "Compared to your second sister, who is prettier and who is uglier?"
The villagers were just asking casually. Although Li Qiuran had a bad temper and was spoiled, she was the most beautiful among the nearby villages.
But Li Dongran looked hesitant and said, "Miss Shen is more beautiful."
She didn't know Baoshan's last name, so she just called her Miss Shen.
The villagers became more and more curious, thinking that Shen Liushi brought her distant niece here in order to strengthen the relationship.
"He's even more handsome than Qiu Ran, so he should be able to catch Shen Liushi's eye."
Li Dongran lowered his head and remained silent.
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