Chapter 187 World Eight (Ten)
Shen Yunshan tightened his grip on the scroll, raised his eyes and looked towards the next room, and saw a hand as white as jade hidden under a white sleeve, gently closing the window.
The faint cough was also covered up inside the house, as if what Shen Yunshan had just heard was an illusion.
Shen Yunshan's eyebrows were indifferent as he continued to read the unfinished book, seemingly unconcerned about what had just happened.
At breakfast, only Shen Yunshan and Shen Liushi were present at the round table. Shen Yunshan looked normal, but Shen Liushi was troubled. In a porcelain bowl, emerald green vegetables, braised in animal oil, were tender and flavorful. Before, Shen Liushi would have had a hearty appetite, but now she found herself unable to savor the food.
"We got caught in the rain yesterday, and Baoshan is still lying on the bed. He must have caught a cold.
Her face was pale, but she was still trying to help me. How could I let her go? I had to persuade her to rest. Baoshan's body was so soft that she trembled with a slight cough. She looked so pitiful. She couldn't eat in this state. I'll get her a bowl of porridge later and go see how she is.
Shen Yunshan's palm holding the chopsticks stiffened slightly, and he raised his eyes to look at Shen Liushi, his voice gentle, but the concern in it did not reach the bottom of his heart.
"Don't worry, mother. It's just a minor illness. It won't hurt you."
Shen Liushi nodded slightly, but she was worried that Baoshan was weak and it was a minor illness for others, but for her...
After breakfast, Shen Yunshan walked out into the courtyard. He saw the entire courtyard covered in glutinous rice-colored rice paper. Shen Liushi had used something hard to hold the paper down, preventing it from blowing away.
Looking at the rice paper in the courtyard, except for a few pieces with traces of rain, the rest were smooth and brand new. Shen Yunshan's eyes paused slightly.
Even if all these rice papers are wetted by rain, become wrinkled and dull in color, it will not affect writing.
But I always feel uncomfortable when writing with ink on such rough rice paper.
When I returned home yesterday, if it weren't for the precious fan that gave away the palm leaves that were used to block the rain to these rice papers,
These rice papers became dirty. Given Shen Yunshan's family situation, he naturally couldn't bear to throw them away. Within a month, he would have to use these torn and dull rice papers.
No matter what, Shen Yunshan should go and see Baoshan, his cousin who knew that she was weak but was willing to protect these rice papers.
A light cough was heard from Baoshan in the room. The sound was very weak, but it sounded like the whimpering of a kitten. It was soft and trembling, which made people feel pity.
"cousin."
Hearing Shen Yunshan's voice, Baoshan became a little flustered. She timidly touched her chest and looked up, with a bright red flush at the corners of her eyes.
Baoshan's skin was originally as white as snow, but because of the slight cough, her face looked even more pale and sickly. Only her lips were still as red as pomegranate seeds.
"Why is cousin Yunshan here? Don't let him pass on his illness to you."
Shen Yunshan's eyes were clear, and he said, "It's okay."
But he was thinking in his heart, it was just a light cough, how could he pass the disease to others.
This frail cousin was born in the countryside and lost her parents when she was young.
From what Shen Liu said, her aunt and uncle who took her in wanted to exchange the treasure fan for silver, so how could they teach her well?
This led to the development of a person like Baoshan who couldn't read or even know about common diseases. He just listened to other people's words like "the disease has passed" and followed their advice without any adaptation.
She is indeed a very foolish woman.
Even, she is not as good as an ordinary country girl.
Although farmers are simple in nature, they are also very calculative and will be more careful about everything.
She would never be like Baoshan, who got cold just for some rice paper that had nothing to do with her.
But Shen Yunshan couldn't utter a single word of blame. When he saw Baoshan's pale face, he even felt a long-lost sense of guilt.
Seeing Shen Yunshan approaching, Baoshan subconsciously hid under the quilt.
This attempt to cover up her mistake only made Shen Yunshan see her exposed jade feet which she had not yet retracted.
Bao Shan said softly, "The silk stockings... the silk stockings are missing. It wasn't intentional."
Although she had never been to school, she understood that a woman's feet were her own private property and should not be seen by outsiders.
This is true even if this person is her cousin who kindly took her in.
Shen Yunshan responded softly, his eyes darting around and finally stopping in a corner.
Shen Yunshan raised his hand, took the pair of silk stockings in his hand and handed them to Baoshan.
Baoshan's cheeks were redder than the juicy pomegranate seeds.
She took the stockings in a panic and was about to speak, but saw that Shen Yunshan had turned around.
There was a rustling sound behind him, and Shen Yunshan turned around again after hearing Baoshan's soft voice calling him.
"Mother said you were unwell and couldn't eat."
Her dark eyelashes trembled slightly as Bao Shan said softly, "Auntie was so considerate of me that, in addition to rice porridge, she also sent me some side dishes and noodles. It's just that—I don't have a good appetite, so I wasted Auntie's kindness."
After saying this, Baoshan frowned slightly, a light cough came from her soft lips, and the hint of beauty at the corner of her eyes became more and more dazzling.
Shen Yunshan frowned: "Is he so seriously ill?"
Baoshan gently stroked his chest, his voice revealing his low mood: "I'm useless. It's just a small rain. Aunt and cousin Yunshan are fine. I heard that the two girls of the Li family are also in good health. But I——"
Bao Shan's throat choked slightly, and she turned to the side. When she spoke again, her voice was filled with regret: "...Aunt said that it was my poor health that made my parents worried. They were even worried about me when they left, and couldn't..."
"Cousin Yunshan."
Shen Yunshan raised his eyes and met Baoshan's gaze. Those peach-shaped and apricot-colored eyes seemed to be filled with a pool of clear water, shimmering as they looked at him.
When Shen Yunshan heard this, Baoshan asked him.
"Am I useless?"
Perhaps because of his illness, Baoshan recalled the sad things in the past, and his face looked even more fragile.
The treasured fan was now like a fragile piece of glass, and it would shatter into pieces with just one word from Shen Yunshan.
Looking at the pair of watery eyes in front of him, Shen Yunshan's heart skipped a beat. He shook his head gently and said, "No."
"The Li family girl is the Li family girl, and you are you. There is no need to compare."
Baoshan's beautiful eyes trembled slightly, and she blinked slightly: "Cousin Yunshan, do you really think so?"
Shen Yunshan hesitated for a moment, then said calmly, "Of course. Besides, I thought you were... very good."
Perhaps it was the first time that Shen Yunshan praised someone else, so he was quite unfamiliar with it and his tone was a little stiff.
But if it was Shen Yunshan when they first met, he would never say these words. He would put on a gentle look and comfort her lightly: "Don't think too much." He would not say any unnecessary words.
Bao Shan's heart moved slightly, her body trembled slightly, and she threw herself into Shen Yunshan's arms.
In such a situation, Shen Yunshan couldn't push her away, so he could only pat Baoshan's soft back with his stiff palms as if to soothe her.
Just the simple touch of skin made Shen Yunshan feel uncomfortable.
Two pale arms were wrapped around Shen Yunshan's neck.
The beautiful woman with a soft body was leaning on Shen Yunshan's chest.
A faint fragrance permeates the air, including the chest and back.
Shen Yunshan couldn't break free and could only stay in the fragrance that filled the air.
Baoshan's voice was full of dependence: "Cousin Yunshan is so kind. In this world, I have my aunt and cousin Yunshan, so I no longer feel sad."
The beauty in his arms coughed a few times, and her body trembled slightly, and a dull sound came from Shen Yunshan's chest.
Shen Yunshan originally went up the mountain to pick herbs in exchange for some money to supplement his family income.
When passing by a pear tree, Shen Yunshan paused slightly.
Hidden under the emerald green leaves, there are a few heavy pears, their color bright yellow and very pleasing to the eye.
When the wind blows, the pears sway as if they are about to fall from the tree.
But after a few gusts of wind, the plump pears are still hanging firmly on the branches.
Shen Yunshan was a mature young man. Most other children had climbed tree trunks and picked flowers and fruits, but Shen Yunshan had not.
While other children, like naughty monkeys, were holding onto tree trunks thicker than themselves and climbing up the trees, Shen Yunshan just stood by indifferently, and refused to even get close to the tree for fear of getting his clothes dirty.
As a result, the other children's clothes were worn out and dirty, looking like mud monkeys.
But Shen Yunshan has always been clean and calm since he was a child.
At this moment, Shen Yunshan raised his head and looked at the pears on the pear tree. He seemed to hear the soft and weak cough, with a slight tremor, which made people feel upset.
Shen Yunshan picked up a few clean stones from the ground and threw them at the yellow pears. The stones scraped against the pears, breaking the stems. After repeating this several times, Shen Yunshan had several plump, juicy pears in his arms.
Shen family.
Shen Liu hurriedly took the pear from Shen Yunshan's arms and asked, "Where did it come from?"
Shen Liushi was particularly aware that Shen Yunshan could not climb trees, and she did not think it was a big deal. Her son was going to be an official, and it was not appropriate for him to climb up and down trees.
Shen Yunshan brushed the dust off his body and said calmly, "I found it."
Shen Liushi did not find Shen Yunshan's words strange.
Instead, she believed it without a doubt and secretly thought that Shen Yunshan was lucky. She also knew about that pear tree.
Before the pears fell, they were picked up by the villagers.
Looking at the yellow pears, Shen Liushi's eyebrows relaxed and she suggested: "Baoshan is sick. Steaming a pear to moisten her throat will help her get better quickly."
Shen Yunshan nodded lightly, his face not showing much concern, and said, "That's all. I'll go back to my room to study."
"Go ahead."
Shen Liu cut open the top of the pineapple, took out the snow-white and sweet flesh inside, cut the flesh into small slices, and put it back into the empty pear.
Shen Liu took out a few pieces of rock sugar from the pottery, put them into the pineapple, covered the pear with a lid, and steamed it in boiling water.
Only when the pears were steamed until they were soft, glutinous and sweet did Shen Liu extinguish the firewood.
Shen Yunshan looked at the steamed pears brought by Shen Liushi, frowned slightly, and said, "I don't like sweet things, mother and cousin can eat them."
Shen Liushi smiled and said, "You picked a lot of pears, so I steamed three. Baoshan has already eaten them, and her complexion has become much rosier, and she no longer coughs. She looks much better. As for my steamed pears, they are still in the pot. You study all day, and eating a steamed pear will nourish you."
Hearing this, Shen Yunshan took the steamed pear from Shen Liushi’s hand.
When it came to Shen Yunshan, Shen Liushi was never stingy and even put plenty of rock sugar in his food, leaving a sweet taste between his lips and teeth.
Although Shen Yunshan didn't like sweet food, he still finished eating the steamed pear.
After Shen Yunshan finished reading the scroll, he saw Baoshan wearing a bean green dress, looking at him with smiling eyes.
Baoshan was very quiet. After listening to Shen Yunshan finish reading the scroll, she spoke softly.
"My aunt asked me to learn some characters from my cousin Yunshan."
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