Chapter 75 Chapter 75 A pair of "Let You Pick"...
The next day, there was a loud thunder in the sky, and dark clouds covered the sky. Amidst the lightning and thunder, an unstoppable rain poured down.
The most common plant in Zhou Mansion is golden osmanthus.
The branches of the golden osmanthus trees in the mansion were blown wildly, as if they were uprooted and swept into the howling gale.
As the rain continued, Song Yuxi's vomiting blood symptoms worsened and he was bedridden.
Overnight, Zhou Zhishan's back became like Yu Li on his sleeves, seemingly straight, but actually bent left and right by the wind.
He moved all his official duties to his bedroom, handling documents while taking care of his wife without any worries.
The windows in the room were closed, and mist from the Boshan stove drifted out.
Song Yuxi opened her eyes in a daze and saw the dim light outside the window. She stood up and said, "Alang..."
When Zhou Zhishan heard his wife's voice, he immediately put down his brush, strode towards the bed and grabbed her hand.
"Wu Niang, you just finished taking the medicine and need to rest."
Song Yuxi shook Zhou Zhishan's hand, a trace of worry etched across his pale, beautiful face. "Is it raining?"
Zhou Zhishan was silent for a moment.
"Open the window." Song Yuxi said.
Zhou Zhishan's eyes flashed with pain. "You're still sick, you can't catch a cold."
"Ah Lang, you know what they mean to me. Please open the window and let me take a look. Please—"
Finally unable to resist his wife's pleading, Zhou Zhishan whispered, "Okay..." and opened the window.
The wind howled in the courtyard, like a dragon's roar, and the rolling clouds in the sky were like a giant dragon rolling and galloping.
The osmanthus tree in the yard was bent by the wind. If you listen carefully, you can hear the "squeaking" sound made by the branches rubbing against each other, as if it were groaning in pain under the heavy burden.
Seeing this, Song Yuxi's eyes welled up with tears and she was about to go down barefoot.
Zhou Zhishan quickly put down his hand that was holding the window and went forward to support her, "Wu Niang!"
Song Yuxi burst into tears, "Alang, they can't survive, I have to save them!"
Zhou Zhishan said, "They have weathered the storms of the past decade. This is just one of the many disasters. They won't die from a little rain."
"No, they will, Alang, please save them. You know how much they mean to me!"
Song Yuxi was acting unusually today. Perhaps it was the sudden illness that made her feel like she was dying. She felt like these osmanthus trees that couldn't bear the weight of the rain were also going to be killed by the rainstorm.
Zhou Zhishan immediately said, "Okay, I'll save them right away." He gently and resolutely put Song Yuxi into the quilt, left the windows wide open, and then got up and left the room.
After one stick of incense, dozens of servants came to the yard in the heavy rain with hammers, and collected all the wooden boards and round sticks in the house that could support Jingui, even the firewood in the kitchen.
As the clinking and knocking sounds rang out, the decades-old golden osmanthus trees were surrounded by a circle of wooden boards for reinforcement. They no longer swayed so violently, and Song Yuxi's wandering heart finally felt a little comforted.
Her throat felt blocked, and she took out a handkerchief to cover her lips. She coughed twice and another pool of blood gushed out. She looked at the blood on the handkerchief, remained silent for a moment, then rolled it into a ball and threw it into the washbasin. The bloody handkerchief fell lightly and mixed with the other blood-stained white handkerchiefs.
Hearing the tinkling sound, Chen Qing pushed the window open and looked out. In the garden in the distance, he saw several servants frantically reinforcing the osmanthus trees in the rain. He couldn't help but feel suspicious.
These laurel trees have lush branches and tall trunks pointing straight to the sky. They have been growing for at least ten years. They should not be that fragile. Why is it necessary to mobilize so many forces to reinforce and protect them?
There was a knock on the door. I pushed it open and saw a maid walking in with a bowl of steaming wontons. She said, "My mistress is ill, so the master sent someone to cook a pot of wontons. She asked me to bring you two a bowl to ward off the cold."
Shen Qing thanked him and took it.
After the maid left, Chen Qing looked at the wontons in the bowl without moving.
The wontons soaked in the soup are round, with a big belly and thin skin, and are dotted with green chopped green onions, just like jade scattered on white jade, extremely fresh and tender.
What is noteworthy is that there is a layer of spices sprinkled on the surface of the wontons. After sniffing it, Chen Qing found that these spices are the legendary pepper that is "more valuable than gold".
No wonder the maid said, "Eat it to drive away the cold." With such a generous amount of pepper, the mere smell of it makes me cry. Not to mention, if I swallowed this bowl of pepper wontons, my stomach would probably turn into a furnace, and every meridian would be penetrated by the heat. It's truly a good thing to drive away the cold.
However, it is unusual that this "good thing" appears in the residence of a mere county magistrate.
In the Ly Dynasty, pepper was extremely precious and could be said to be a symbol of wealth and status. Only saints, princes and nobles had the financial resources to purchase it, and ordinary people could not afford it at all.
There were also some scholars and businessmen who bought pepper, but they only used it for collection and only used a little during festivals.
Such precious things can be used or given away at will. I don’t know whether to say that the county magistrate is rich or really doesn’t care.
Chen Qing did not eat the bowl of wontons, but found a landscape basin, turned over the soil, and poured it in.
It is best not to touch anything of unknown origin in this mansion.
Although the Shen family didn't eat pepper every day, they still put it in their dishes a few times every month, so Shen Qing didn't feel bad at all.
She put the bowl down and lay back down on the bed.
.
The old doctor was ill, so the one who gave Li Daoxuan acupuncture today was a little medicine boy. He had been following the old doctor since he could speak, so he was very proficient in acupuncture.
The little medicine boy was still young, and when he saw the maid bringing him wontons, he secretly swallowed his saliva several times.
Li Daoxuan didn't even look at the wontons. Seeing the greedy look on the little medicine boy's face, which was almost dropping into the bowl, he coughed slightly and said, "Eat if you want to."
The little medicine boy's eyes lit up at first, but then he asked doubtfully, "But my dear, don't you want to eat?"
"I don't want to." Li Daoxuan tied his leather belt, moved his stiff wrists, then got out of bed and tried to walk.
The little medicine boy couldn't resist his greed and said thank you timidly. Then he picked up the bowl and took a closer look at what was in the bowl. He suddenly exclaimed, "Huh?" "Pepper wontons?"
Li Daoxuan paused in his movement to get out of bed.
The little medicine boy thought for a moment before bringing the bowl to Li Daoxuan and saying, "This bowl of wontons must have been prepared for you personally by the master. The pepper in it is good for dispelling cold. You've caught a cold, and the chill hasn't dissipated yet. You should drink it while it's hot."
He knew how precious pepper was, but he didn't have an exact price. He thought that officials like the county magistrate could easily afford it, so there was nothing but envy in his eyes.
Li Daoxuan sensed something was amiss. He took the bowl from the little medicine boy and saw that it contained quite a bit of pepper. A fierce glint flashed through his half-lidded eyes.
When he raised his eyes again, his dark pupils were so dark that it was impossible to discern his emotions.
He casually handed a few Tongbao coins to the little medicine boy, who left happily, thinking in his heart how many candies he could buy with these Tongbao coins.
Li Daoxuan's gaze fell through the window on the servants busy in the garden in the distance.
At this moment, they were soaked, with clothes sticking to their bodies, like a group of miserable drowned dogs. However, there was no resentment in their expressions, only the seriousness and hard work of their work.
What can make them have such an attitude, in addition to the kindness of their host, is that there will be a generous reward waiting for them.
The entire mansion, from the rockery and gardens to the furnishings, food and clothing, all demonstrate the owner's strong financial resources.
Li Daoxuan withdrew his gaze, got down to the ground and walked back and forth to stretch his muscles.
.
The rain continued until night fell.
A dazzling white light flashed, and the instantaneous light penetrated the entire room, illuminating a dark shadow inside the room.
The black shadow walked slowly towards the bed, holding a bag in his hand. When he reached the bed curtain, he gently lifted the curtain with one hand. Halfway through, he suddenly dodged to the side and raised the hilt of the sword in his hand to block the oncoming wooden stick.
"boom--"
The delayed thunder roared, drowning out the noise inside the house.
Before the first blow landed, the wooden sticks continued to fall like rain, each one ferocious and directed at the man's vital points, forcing him to resist continuously.
However, his serious injury had not yet healed. Half of his arm was numb and his unhealed meridians were aching slightly. If he continued to fight, his injury would probably get worse.
Thinking of this, he simply threw away the sword, grabbed her wrist accurately with the help of a flash of lightning, and threw her onto the bed.
Chen Qing threw herself into the soft quilt, her heart pounding. She vaguely saw a blurry figure in the darkness lifting the bed curtain and about to "lean towards" her. She was about to shout, "Li Wu——" but her mouth was blocked by someone just as she uttered a word.
She couldn't help but struggle in despair.
Li Daoxuan: "It's me——"
Just then, a loud thunderclap sounded, so deafening that it completely drowned out his voice.
Chen Qing struggled even more violently, even biting his tiger's mouth and slapping the back of his hand with all her might.
Li Daoxuan said again: "Chen Youan, it's me——"
"boom--"
It seemed as if God was against him, and two consecutive thunderclaps drowned out his words.
The strength of the struggle in her hand suddenly weakened, leaving only the sound of her low breathing. Li Daoxuan loosened his hand and was about to speak, but suddenly he felt a familiar numbness in his arm. The numbness climbed up his arm and hit his internal organs. His body softened in an instant, and he collapsed powerlessly, pressing on Shen Qing.
Now I can't even speak.
Chen Qing felt a man pressing on her, and she felt a chill all over her body. She wished she could cut him into pieces right there. She pushed the man away with great difficulty, rubbed herself to her feet, and then suddenly punched him in the abdomen. After doing all this, she picked up the sword he had thrown on the bed, pulled it out, and prepared to chop off the villain's vitals.
As soon as I raised the sword, I felt something was not right.
Chen Qing traced the hilt of the sword, feeling a familiar touch at first. Further down, she found a perfectly round gem embedded within. The sword in her hand was Qiu Ren, the very person she had embraced daily to escape the summer heat. She felt as if struck by lightning.
Chen Qing stumbled out of bed, found a tinder to light the candle, and held the flame towards the person lying behind the bed curtains.
As the light source got closer, I saw the face of an almost handsome young man with a straight nose, thin lips, deep eyebrows, and a pair of eyes that were as black as death.
In the middle of the fight, his headband loosened, and his jet-black hair spread across the bed. A few strands of hair covered his eyebrows, adding a bit of messy and broken charm.
There was a dangerous storm in his eyes when he looked at Chen Qing, but his body could not move and was forced to lie between the bedding. His lips were rosy red, and his collar was loose due to his struggle, revealing his fair and thin neck, which caused a great visual impact.
Looking around, it is really thrilling to see that the people who were once high and mighty are now trapped here, looking like they are at the mercy of others.
At least at this moment, Chen Qing's heart skipped a beat because of this exciting scene.
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