Worry
Yes, Yinzhen's real name was Tiezhu, and she was the one who gave him the name Yinzhen. As for why she chose this name, it was because his name was Yinzhen in his previous life, and she blurted it out subconsciously.
Suxi thought carefully. In her past life, Yinzhen had always been called Yinzhen. She had never heard him by any other name. Moreover, Yinzhen had been with Shen Yunqiu from the beginning, not just arriving so late. The same thing happened with the gray wool blanket. It wasn't a gift from the lumber shop owner, but she had seen Shen Yunqiu using it daily on his legs since she first arrived at the Shen residence, as if it were a treasure.
Suxi thought about it and turned the bracelet hidden under his sleeve again.
Ever since she knew Shen Yunqiu was Mr. Lei He, she had guessed that Shen Yunqiu in his previous life also had a "past life" in his memory. That's why he recognized her early on and helped her spread poetry and literature, letting the people know the true face of Shen Pingchang. But what exactly was that past life in Shen Yunqiu's memory? Why did everything in this life happen to connect with the past life? Could it be...
Suxi's mind suddenly buzzed, and she suddenly remembered the day in the snow when the old woman gave her the bracelet. When the bracelet broke, she came back, but she came back alone, because she was wearing the bracelet.
In her previous life, the bracelet was worn by Shen Yunqiu. Could it be that her current life was Shen Yunqiu's previous life? But if Shen Yunqiu knew everything about this life, why would he acquiesce to her poisoning of the Shen family and even be willing to take the blame for her?
"Xiaoxi, what's wrong with you? Why do you keep thinking about Yinzhen? Are you so worried about him?"
Suxi ignored Shen Yunqiu's sour words, and instead suddenly recalled how Chunzhi had been caned to death by the old lady yesterday as a warning to others. In her previous life, it was Xihe who was beaten to death, and now Chunzhi had accidentally entered the old lady's courtyard. Suxi warned Xihe to be cautious, otherwise Xihe would have been punished by the old lady for spilling milk on Mid-Autumn Festival. Chunzhi would not have had the courage to sneak into the old lady's room and steal things while the security was relaxed during the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.
In other words, regardless of whether she changed her trajectory, what was to happen would have happened. The Su family would have been framed and their entire clan executed. A young maid would have been punished for offending the old lady and used as a substitute for the Su daughter's body. And what about her? Shen Yunqiu had acted that way in her previous life. Could it be that she hadn't succeeded in clearing the Su family's name? Would Shen Yunqiu die early in this life as well?
“No...impossible...I don’t believe it...”
"What's impossible? What are you talking about, Xiaoxi? Xiaoxi?"
Su Xi was suddenly brought back to her senses when someone in the wheelchair tugged at her sleeve. For a moment, she felt as if she were trapped in a nightmare, sweat pouring down her face and her breathing was rapid. After a long moment, she finally calmed down, squatted down, and looked straight at the half-white-haired Shen Yunqiu in front of her.
Yes, in his previous life, Shen Yunqiu did not have white hair at such a young age, and he did not take the medicine from his previous life in this life. Maybe it was just a coincidence, and everything was just my groundless speculation.
"Xiaoxi, why are you looking at me like this again? It feels weird."
"again?"
Suxi asked.
Shen Yunqiu looked away in panic, feeling an inexplicable burning sensation in his heart.
"Yes, it's creepy that you look at me like this right after you arrived. Did you really recognize me before?"
Chen Yunqiu asked, but the girl squatting before him lost in thought for a moment. Then she looked back at him, her eyes even more blazing than before. In his daze, he saw her hands, driven by something, slowly reach out and tightly wrap around his cold, withered palms, rubbing them repeatedly. A soft warmth rubbed against his palms, making them itch and his entire body instantly numb.
“You…what are you doing…”
Chen Yunqiu knew how red his face was at that moment, but with her holding his hand, he couldn't escape even if he wanted to. He could only let the girl's inexplicably sad and sorrowful gaze surround him inch by inch, with nowhere to hide.
"Chen Yunqiu, I don't want you to die."
"I don't want to either, but I won't live much longer now."
"Chen Yunqiu, let's go see a doctor, okay? If the doctor in the mansion can't help, we can go see a doctor outside. If the doctor in Qingzhou doesn't work, we can go to Yangzhou, Jingzhou, or the capital. There must be someone who can cure your illness, okay?"
The girl's voice was very soft, as if she was coaxing a child, or talking to herself. Shen Yunqiu didn't want to bother with this broken body anymore, but now, for some reason, it felt like something in his heart had sprouted and borne fruit, making him inexplicably want to wait until next autumn so that he could pick it and taste it.
"good."
Shen Yunqiu responded subconsciously. Before he could say anything else, the door slammed open. Yinzhen was standing at the doorway, carrying two large bags of vegetable seedlings and fish. His mouth was grinning from ear to ear. "Master, Xiaoxi, look how much I spent on all these vegetables for only thirty copper coins. Today, I'll show you my skills!"
-
At noon, the small round table in the main room of Xiyuan was filled with a variety of dishes: eight-treasure duck, beggar's chicken, lion's head, shepherd's purse and egg pancakes, fried toon, water shield dumplings, braised pork buns, steamed fish, and so on. There wasn't even enough room for a table, so Suxi dragged the small table from the study over to set it up. However, the stove in Xiyuan's small kitchen, which had been abandoned for who knows how long, was lit again today, and all the dishes seemed evenly coated with iron pot soot.
After working in the kitchen for two hours, Yinzhen stood beside the table in a daze, looking at Shen Yunqiu who was sitting at the table with an expression that looked like he couldn't put down his chopsticks. He wiped the black ash on his hands on his patched apron a little awkwardly.
"Sit down, Yinzhen, why are you standing there like an idiot?"
Suxi put down the chopsticks that had tasted the fish head, and patted the small wooden stool beside him with a satisfied look on his face, indicating Yinzhen to sit down.
"No... No way, how can a servant sit while the master is eating? Besides, this is cooked for you. If you can't finish it, I can just take a few bites from the stove. That's what I do at home..."
"Hey, sit down. Why do you have so many rules that restrict people? We don't have masters and servants here! Isn't that right, Shen Yunqiu?"
Seeing that Yinzhen was as stubborn as a donkey, Suxi had no choice but to grab his arm and press him to the edge of the table. However, he didn't hear any response from Shen Yunqiu for a long time. Instead, he saw him staring at Yinzhen with a cold face, as if he wanted to stare a hole through him.
"Chen Yunqiu!"
Shen Yunqiu, who was in a daze, shuddered suddenly, then he regained his thoughts, put down the chopsticks he was holding tightly in his hand and placed them on the chopstick holder.
"Yes, I really don't care about the distinction between master and servant, but it's just a silver needle. I hired you to be a guard, not a cook. Besides, I'm not short of money. If you save money to make these black and sticky things again, I'll just pick up your bag and leave."
After he finished speaking, Suxi noticed that Yinzhen nodded respectfully, but his hands hanging by his sides were tightly gripping the wooden stool, almost trying to dig a hole in the wood.
"Chen Yunqiu!"
With another start, Shen Yunqiu turned around and met Su Xi's angry face.
"How can you say such hurtful things? Yinzhen has been working so hard for so long with good intentions. If you have any objections, why don't you ask him to do it in the first place? You say you don't care about the distinction between master and servant, but now you are acting like a master?"
"this···"
Shen Yunqiu was speechless for a moment, suddenly remembering that when Yinzhen was about to cook, he was stunned by the girl's sudden action and was still a little dazed. When he came to his senses, he saw the black and thin silver needle tugging at the corner of the girl's clothes.
"Xiaoxi, don't contradict the young master for me, it's not good!"
"What's wrong with that? Yinzhen, this is the result of your busy morning work. You made so many dishes by yourself, and they are all delicious. You are really better than the chef at Fu Yu Lou!"
"real?"
"Of course it's true!"
For a moment, the scorching autumn noon sun shone through the window paper, hitting the two people opposite who were talking and laughing. Shen Yunqiu couldn't help but clench his fists, and for a moment he felt that today's sunlight was particularly dazzling.
“Cough cough cough…”
Shen Yunqiu cleared his throat deliberately, and the laughter from the opposite side stopped.
"Xiaoxi, come and sit here."
"Why? I'm fine sitting here."
"Come over when I tell you to."
Suxi didn't understand why Chen Yunqiu's expression had turned cold again, so she sauntered over with her stool in a huff. After settling down, she took another plump lion's head and stuffed it into her mouth. The juices immediately burst forth, and the crisp bones caught between her teeth with a resounding crunch. Only then did Suxi realize that the atmosphere in the room seemed even more eerie. Besides her, who was still eating, the two people beside her hadn't even bothered to pick up their chopsticks. They sat facing each other, like two stone lions.
"Silver needle, why don't you eat it?"
Suxi asked.
"My mother said that the younger ones can only eat after the elders have picked up their chopsticks. Now that we are all of the same generation, we have to wait for the master to eat first."
"Chen Yunqiu?"
Suxi turned around and asked again.
Shen Yunqiu: "I don't want to eat."
Well, they are really two stubborn donkeys. If they continue to waste time like this, even she will be embarrassed to eat. How can this be allowed?
"Okay, if you don't want to eat it, I will."
Suxi picked up a large piece of fish belly, peeled off the iron pot ash on the fish skin in the bowl, raised his hand to put it into his mouth, but the snow-white fish meat suddenly turned in a different direction and went into his mouth before the tea in the white porcelain cup in Shen Yunqiu's hand.
For a moment, everything was quiet, so quiet that even the sound of tea stirring could not be heard.
Yinzhen's mouth dropped open in shock, and a cold sweat immediately broke out. He waited anxiously for Shen Yunqiu to lose his temper and flip the table. He even considered accepting the punishment for Suxi before he could speak. But after a long while, the man said nothing. He simply lowered his head and chewed, his Adam's apple rolling as he swallowed the fish, but his cheeks were still slightly puffed up, as if he were smiling.
Yinzhen felt strange, but saw Shen Yunqiu suddenly put down the teacup, picked up the chopsticks, and picked up other dishes as if nothing had happened. Each time he only picked up a little bit with the tip of the chopsticks, but when he ate, his mouth was bulging as if it was filled with a lot of food.
Yinzhen thought that it was only the rich and powerful who were particular about their meals, so she also picked up her chopsticks and started eating carefully.
In a matter of minutes, only a few drops of soup remained on the table. Shen Yunqiu had a small appetite, so Suxi and Yinzhen ate almost all of the food. Suxi knew that Shen Yunqiu wasn't used to these seemingly unpretentious farmhouse dishes, and worried that he wouldn't be full, so she peeled the fish skin and the blackened crispy buns and placed them in his bowl. She expected him to glare or refuse outright, but he accepted everything, even the iron-wok-dust-covered chicken soup she brought him, which he gulped down in one gulp.
At this point, Suxi couldn't tell how much Chen Yunqiu ate. Yinzhen, who was sitting opposite him, smiled meaningfully, his teeth showing but his eyes not: "I finally understand. It turns out that the young master only eats what you give him, Xiaoxi."
After saying this, Su Xi was stunned. The last lion head on the tip of her chopsticks almost fell to the ground. She was embarrassed for a moment and glared at Yin Zhen angrily: "Don't talk nonsense!"
She turned back to look at Shen Yunqiu, but saw that he seemed not to have heard her. He just silently finished eating the lion's head that she had taken.
For a moment, Suxi felt weird and his face was burning, so he subconsciously sat further away.
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