Chapter 75 (1/2)
This chapter has been brought to you by me, Adnana, and Vivie.
Chapter Seventy-Five: The Winds Rise Again
Yan Jin Qiu woke up groggy from a heavy sleep. It might have been because he had slept for so long, or because he was ill, that he felt his vision was slightly blurry. He only focused when he heard movement beside him.
”Is it a little better?”
A warm hand appeared on his forehead. He blinked and saw Hua Xi Wan bend down to touch her lips to his forehead.
”Your temperature has gone down.” Hua Xi Wan straightened up. ”You slept for many hours. Get up and eat something.”
The servant girl standing behind perceptively handed over a porcelain bowl painted with blue over white. Hua Xi Wan used her injured hand to hold the bowl as she used her right hand to raise the spoon for a taste. It was slightly hot, so she blew on the spoon before moving it in front of Yan Jin Qiu. ”Come, taste this. This is a vegetable porridge that I had the kitchens make just for you. After you recover, I will have them make good things for you to eat. Right now, I can only first maltreat your stomach.”
Mu Tong helped Yan Jin Qiu sit up against the bed. Seeing w.a.n.g Fei use a tone as though she was talking to a child to treat w.a.n.g Ye, he looked carefully at w.a.n.g Ye. Not seeing any anger on his face, Mu Tong bowed and moved to the side.
Yan Jin Qiu looked at the porridge inside the spoon. She said it was vegetable porridge, and it really was a simple vegetable porridge. Finely chopped vegetables gave off a faint fragrance scattered among the glowing grains of rice. He felt a great hunger and swallowed the spoonful.
Seeing Yan Jin Qiu eating, Hua Xi Wan used chopsticks to pick up a piece of finely cut pickled carrots from a dish on the side. She moved it to Yan Jin Qiu's mouth with a smile. ”Come, try this.”
”What is this?” Yan Jin Qiu looked with puzzlement at what was on the chopsticks.
”This is pickled carrots. It is not very hard to make. Every year when there are the most vegetables, the common people will put them into salt water to soak. During seasons when there are not many vegetables, they will eat this with rice.” Hua Xi Wan thought and then added, ”When one eats too much oily food, this is very suitable for stimulating the appet.i.te.”
He had heard that many of the common people ate this. Yan Jin Qiu was suspicious of the taste of this food, but he still put it into his mouth. It was slightly sour and slightly salty. He could not say if it was good or not. However, because it was salty, it was really a match for the rice.
What Hua Xi Wan did not tell Yan Jin Qiu was that the pickled vegetables that he ate had gone through many steps. They had been soaked in salt.w.a.ter along with other kinds of ingredients. The kind that the common people ate did not have so much care put into it.
”It is all right to occasionally taste this. Will there be any effects if one eats this frequently?” Yan Jin Qiu finished drinking the porridge with the pickled vegetables. After rinsing his mouth, he asked, ”The medical books say that pickled food commonly harms the body.”
”Of course it is not good to frequently eat this.” Hua Xi Wan used a hot towel to wipe his hands with one of hers. ”Most of the common people will think of all kinds of ways to make their lives better. Otherwise, why would so many novel foods appear from among them?”
”The truly intelligent and able usually are among the common people.” Yan Jin Qiu sighed. ”But even so, it would be better if they had more fresh vegetables and fruit to eat.” The prestigious and n.o.ble families would never lack food, but the common people's livelihoods depended on the weather. It was good if the weather was good, but if it was a bad year, the days were hard.
”Rest a while longer.” Hua Xi Wan pushed on his shoulder for him to go back under the blankets. ”You cannot bathe today. You can only do so after you recover—do you understand?”
Yan Jin Qiu only showed his head above the blankets and nodded obediently.
Satisfied with his cooperation, Hua Xi Wan nodded. ”Sleep, I will stay here.”
A hint of a smile appeared on Yan Jin Qiu's lips, and then he really did close his eyes and drift off. Maybe it was because he had someone who was willing and sincere in accompanying him, or maybe it was because his body was weak from the illness, that he had a very good sleep. When he woke up, it was morning.
He sat up from the bed and saw a thick mattress spread out on the chaise next to the bed. Hua Xi Wan was laid out on it, her hair falling down to the ground. The entire room was quiet.
Putting on an outer robe, he walked next to the window. Pus.h.i.+ng the window open, he found that the outside was misty and blurry like a mystical world.
”You are awake?” Hua Xi Wan rubbed her eyes and woke up. Looking at the scenery outside, she said, ”Such thick mist.”
The servant girls outside heard noise coming from inside the rooms. After a greeting, they came flooding in with things to help them wash. They changed into clean clothes. Hua Xi Wan saw Yan Jin Qiu recover his energetic state and said with a yawn, ”It was you who was ill, but why does it look as though I was the one ill.”
Yesterday afternoon, the three from the palace had sent servants with medicine to the w.a.n.g fu. It appeared as though Yan Jin Qiu was having a great illness and not just a small cold.
Yan Jin Qiu saw that Hua Xi Wan still had tiredness on her face and knew that she had not rested well in order to care for him. He said, ”After eating the morning meal, rest some more.”
”En.” Hua Xi Wan nodded. She felt this idea was a very good one.