The Red Chamber: Starting from Saving Xue Baochai

Chapter 23 A Different Kind of Fun
Shi Xiangyun and Jiang Qiuer entered the room.

Then he saw Shen Yuan and Xue Baochai sitting upright at a round table. The young man had clear and calm eyes, looking like a gentleman and a knight. He sipped the fragrant tea and said nothing.

And Xue Baochai, who was standing aside, had a rosy and beautiful face, soft almond-shaped eyes that were as full as water, and a hint of shyness lurking in her gentle eyes.

The two girls were a little curious, and they didn't know what Brother Shen had just said to Sister Bao that made Sister Bao show such a shy expression.
Qiu Er looked at Bao Chai, whose face was flushed with rosy clouds, and smiled slyly. She couldn't help but teasing, "Why is Bao Jie's face so red? Is the room very hot? Or are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?"

Shen Yuan: “.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Yuan's hand holding the teacup shook and he almost spit out the water he had just drank.

Sister Xue was indeed feeling uncomfortable somewhere, and the top of her jade peak must still be numb.

Baochai's mind was also constantly replaying the charming scene just now. No matter how hard she concentrated, she couldn't get rid of it. Qiu'er teased her again, and she felt even more ashamed. She whispered, "I'm not feeling uncomfortable. Maybe it's just that the room is a little hot!"

Xiangyun asked with concern, "Is Sister Bao suffering from the heat poison again?"

When Shen Yuan heard this, he showed concern on his face and asked softly, "Did you take Lengxiang Pills today?"

Baochai's heat poison was brought from her mother's womb. She has had a strong heart fire since she was a child. She wouldn't have been provoked by him just now and the symptoms would have recurred, right?
Thinking of this, Shen Yuan became a little worried.

Baochai saw her lover's worried face, and her heart warmed. She comforted him, "He is not ill, don't worry, Brother Shen. He is fine."

Shen Yuan felt a little relieved, but he kept this matter in mind. After arriving in Beijing, he still had to seek out a famous doctor. This kind of heat and toxic disease could be serious or minor, so it should not be taken lightly.

"Hey? Why does Sister Bao have a red mark on her neck?" Xiangyun discovered something strange about Baochai again.

"Is there?" Baochai was a little puzzled. "Ying'er, bring the mirror here for me to see."

Ying'er took the mirror and Baochai took a quick look. There was indeed a small bright red mark on the jade neck. It was clearly left by the young man. There seemed to be some on the snowball as well.
Baochai hurriedly pulled up her collar to cover the mark, and was so embarrassed that she didn't know how to explain it.

Shen Yuan looked at the strawberry mark, coughed lightly, looked at the little loli Xiangyun with clear eyes, and explained seriously: "Ahem, there are a lot of mosquitoes on the river surface, please remember to close the doors and windows."

Xiangyun heard this and did not doubt him. She said in a coquettish voice: "Well, mosquitoes in autumn are poisonous! They are the most annoying."

Shen Yuan: “.”

While they were talking, several maids had brought the food up and placed it on the table.

Shen Yuan said in a clear voice: "Let's eat first."

Baochai felt relieved. She could finally change the previous topic.

Because we were on a boat, there weren't many dishes, just steamed crabs, boiled fish soup, and some green vegetables and dried bamboo shoots. Southerners generally have a lighter taste.

Shen Yuan was used to eating heavy-flavored food such as hot pot and barbecue in the later life, so he is indeed a little uncomfortable with it now.

I will have to float on the water for another month, so I have to find a way to pass the time.

Barbecuing on the boat and drinking and singing seems to be a good choice.

In this era, spices and ingredients are already quite abundant, and they can be purchased along the way to ensure they are as fresh as possible.

After dinner, Baochai stayed for a while longer before returning to Xue's boat.

"My dear, why do you come back so late?" Aunt Xue glanced at the clepsydra and saw that it was almost midnight, so she asked curiously.

"I had dinner over there and chatted with Sister Yun and Sister Qiu'er for a while."

"Qiu'er? Is she the girl from the governor's family?" Aunt Xue asked, "She was also on Yun's boat?"

Baochai nodded her head, "It would be good for them to go together and kill some time along the way."

The girl had a vague idea that maybe she could also live with Xiangyun and the others, so that it would be more convenient for her to meet Shen Yuan.

But she looked at her mother and felt a little reluctant. Leaving her mother alone here, she did feel a little lonely.

Aunt Xue understood her daughter's look and said in a clear voice, "You can go play with them more often. It's more fun for young people to be together. You don't have to accompany me all the time."

Aunt Xue feels pessimistic about the current situation of the Xue family. Xue Pan is no longer able to support this huge family business and can only place his hopes on the next generation.

But the problem is, if the Xue family can’t find a strong backer, it will be difficult for them to survive until that time.

Therefore, Aunt Xue can only place all her hopes on her daughter, hoping to find a reliable backer through Baochai's marriage.

There is gain and loss. The price paid for this kind of marriage based on interests may very well be Baochai's lifelong happiness.

Aunt Xue felt deeply guilty about this towards her daughter, and hoped that Baochai could live a freer and happier life before that.

If she knew that her future son-in-law would be a powerful figure in the Great Zhou and that he and her daughter were in love with each other, she would probably feel relieved.

"My dear, what happened to you? Were you bitten by a mosquito?" Aunt Xue asked with concern when she saw the red mark on her daughter's neck.

"Ah?" Baochai was flustered, her face showing a little nervousness, and she replied softly, "Yeah."

The lights were dim at night, and Aunt Xue did not notice anything strange about her daughter. She just said, "The mosquitoes are very poisonous in autumn, so you need to be careful. Come here, I will apply some ointment on you."

Baochai:"."

The next morning, three ships left the Yangzhou ferry and turned north from the Yangtze River to the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal.

The water flow on the canal is gentle, not as turbulent as that of the Yangtze River. Next, they will head towards Shenjing at a speed of fifty miles a day.

Sailing on the river is smooth, and people can communicate by placing a wooden board between two boats.

Baochai usually went to Shen Yuan's boat after noon, and Aunt Xue had no suspicion about it.

"Brother Shen, what are you doing?"

Baochai came to Shen Yuan's boat and went up to the second floor. She saw an iron rack on the terrace and charcoal burning in an iron box underneath. She felt very novel.

Before Shen Yuan could speak, Xiang Yun said excitedly, "Sister Bao, Brother Shen said this is called barbecue."

She pointed to the wooden table next to the iron rack and explained, "We have been preparing these for the whole morning. They are all the ingredients that will be grilled later. We can eat them soon."

As the little Loli said this, honey was already secreted from her mouth. She swallowed it subconsciously. Her cute look was extremely funny.

Upon hearing this, Baochai looked towards the table, which was filled with food skewered on bamboo sticks. There was meat, vegetables, crabs and other freshwater fish, quite a rich spread.

"What are those two buckets of water next to the iron frame for?"

Qiu Er smiled and said, "Brother Shen said that when using fire on the boat, we need to pay attention to safety at all times, so he prepared two buckets of water to prevent fire hazards."

Baochai already understood in her heart that barbecue and hotpot were all available in this era. She had eaten them before, but she had never seen this novel way of barbecue.

The girl turned her gaze to Shen Yuan again and saw that the young man was concentrating on grilling skewers in front of the iron rack, with a little sweat on his forehead.

She walked up to the boy, took out a silk handkerchief and wiped the sweat off his face gently.

A breeze blew by, and a scent of a young girl wafted into Shen Yuan's nose, and he suddenly felt relaxed and happy.

"These skewers are ready to be eaten. Sister Xue, please try them." Shen Yuan said with a smile.

Xiangyun puffed up her cheeks and said angrily, "You are biased. Sister Qiu'er and I have been waiting for so long! Anyway, Brother Shen only thinks about Sister Bao." Qiu'er also agreed and joked, "That's right. Now that you have Sister Bao, you have forgotten about others!"

"We have everything." Shen Yuan said gently, "These skewers are ready too, come over and take some to eat."

The two were not really angry, they just enjoyed teasing Shen Yuan and Sister Bao. Upon hearing what was said, they all went over to take the skewers and tasted them.

"Eat slowly, don't burn it."

"hiss"

As soon as Shen Yuan finished his reminder, he saw Jiang Qiuer being scalded.

"You are just impatient." Shen Yuan frowned slightly and quickly ordered Qiu'er's maid Hongyao: "Go and get a glass of cold water."

Hongyao quickly brought a glass of cold water. Shen Yuan took it and passed it to Qiu'er's lips, saying softly, "Put some cold water in your mouth."

Jiang Qiuer was stunned by Shen Yuan's behavior. This was the first time that the boy was so gentle to her.

Moreover, she could see the genuine concern in the boy's eyes, and her heart warmed, so she did as he said.

"How's it going? Does it still hurt?"

Qiu'er no longer had the sharpness she had before. She looked at the young man who was so close to her and shook her head gently, looking a little obedient.

"That's good, you take a rest first."

"But, that skewer is really delicious."

"It's delicious, but you can't eat it now." Shen Yuan saw the girl looked a little disappointed, and his tone softened again, "I'll grill it for you later. If your brother sees you get hurt while eating barbecue, he'll feel bad again."

Qiu Er smiled playfully and hummed softly when she heard this. Her heart was warmed. The boy's behavior just now must have been because he cared about her.
Shen Yuan treated the Jiang brothers and sisters as friends from the bottom of his heart. These two people cared about him very much when he was in humble position, and this friendship was worth cherishing.

This scene fell into the eyes of Baochai and Xiangyun, but they did not think much about it. After all, young people have always been so loyal.

Afterwards, Shen Yuan transformed into the chef of the Red Mansion and grilled skewers for the girls. He conquered the taste buds of the girls with these skewers of meat, and the portions were very large. Maids such as Ying'er, Cuilu, and Hongyao also enjoyed their feast.

A group of young ladies were eating skewers, talking and laughing, creating a warm and harmonious atmosphere.

Time passed and soon it was almost dusk.

On the second floor of the building, there is a terrace in front of the room, and there are eaves corridors on the left and right sides.

At this time, Shen Yuan and Baochai were standing on the left eaves corridor, leaning on the railing, looking towards the west bank of the canal, watching the sunset.

"The sunset glow is so beautiful." Baochai smiled softly, sighing, "This time is so good."

Shen Yuan glanced at the beautiful profile, moved closer, took the girl's slender hand, held it with his backhand, and interlocked their fingers.

"The sunset is not as beautiful as you." Shen Yuan responded in a gentle voice: "The time when I have my sister by my side is always peaceful and beautiful."

Baochai's heart was filled with sweetness as she heard the gentle words. She called out softly, "Shen Lang."

"There is no one here at this moment, could you please call Brother Juyuan to listen?"

Ying'er: “.”

So in the eyes of this Mr. Shen, Ying'er can only be treated as air at this moment?

The girl was angry and didn't want to be fed dog food, so she walked a few steps away to the intersection of the veranda and the terrace to keep watch for the two of them.
It would be bad if Miss Shi and the others saw them rubbing their ears and cheeks together. Who knows, they might kiss each other again soon.
At the critical moment, she still had to rely on Ying'er. She worried about these two people. It's okay. Just treat them as a pair of pets you raise.
The little maid kept imagining, Ah Q was full of energy
On this side, Baochai's heart trembled when she heard her lover's request. She looked around and saw that only Ying'er was nearby. She felt relieved and summoned her courage to call out, "Brother Yuan~"

Shen Yuan couldn't help but move closer and kissed those two soft lips.

"Well-"

Accompanied by a familiar moan, the eaves corridor soon returned to silence, with only the breathing sound clearly audible.

The boy actually hadn't eaten much barbecue before, but for some reason, he was still so thirsty at this moment.

Fortunately, he found a spring of sweet water. The water was not only sweet but also warm, like nectar.

The boy drank greedily, but no matter how much he drank, he could not quench his thirst.

While he was tasting the sweet spring water, he also didn't forget to explore with his hands.

He who works hard will be rewarded. He finally found two big, round watermelons under the sweet spring water!
Perhaps the owner was worried that the watermelon would be stolen, so he hid it with silk cloth.
However, this was no problem for the young man. He untied the silk cloth in a few seconds and grabbed one of them and started kneading it.
In this way, the boy drank the sweet spring water while touching the watermelon.

After an unknown amount of time, Shen Yuan finally left the spring, bent down, and began to eat the watermelon below.
"Brother Shen, Sister Bao"

At this moment, Xiangyun's voice rang out, bringing Shen Yuan and Baochai back to their senses.

But the boy remained unmoved and did not stop eating the melon, while the girl's heart was already in her throat.

"Eh? Ying'er, why are you standing here? Is Sister Bao in the porch?"

The corridor was very narrow, barely wide enough for one person to pass through. Xiangyun saw Ying'er standing at the entrance of the corridor, blocking the passage, and she couldn't see what was going on inside.

Ying'er was originally concentrating on listening to the movements of the two people inside, but when Xiangyun asked her, she came back to her senses and said calmly, "Well, it turns out to be Miss Shi. Our girl is in there."

The girl deliberately raised her voice a few notches to warn the two men.

Seeing that Ying'er didn't move to come out, Xiangyun didn't plan to go in either. She just stood outside and said, "Brother Shen, Sister Bao, dinner is ready. Come and eat together."

"Hmm~"

In the corridor, Baochai snorted, lowered her eyes and looked at the young man who was unwilling to open his mouth, rolled her eyes at him, and felt a little ashamed and annoyed.

Is Shen Lang so infatuated with her?

Someone came, but he was unwilling to stop.
Xiangyun heard the strange voice and asked curiously, "Sister Bao, what's wrong? Is there something wrong?"

Baochai said in a trembling voice: "It's okay, we will be there soon."

"Okay, hurry up, the food won't taste good if it gets cold." Xiangyun suppressed her curiosity, urged, and left.

"call"

Ying'er heaved a sigh of relief when she saw Xiangyun walking away. These two people really made her worry. They were still there even though someone had come.
The familiar voice just now clearly hasn't stopped yet.

Baochai's heart was also relieved. If Sister Yun saw her being
How are we going to get along in the future?
Fortunately, there is Ying'er.

Baochai looked down at her lover and said angrily, "Shen Lang, we should go over there."

With a pop sound, Shen Yuan finally stood up.

The young man's eyes became clear again, and he smiled awkwardly when he met those beautiful eyes that were as clear as water.

Although not a real cloud at the moment.
But there is also a different kind of fun
In the recent chapters on the way to Beijing, the plot is a bit daily, mainly focusing on enhancing the relationship with several heroines. There should be two more chapters before arriving in Shenjing.

If you don’t like the daily routine, you can leave a message and I will speed up the pace.

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(End of this chapter)