Chapter 85.1 Holding onto His Hand
After breakfast the following day, Lin Yan's chamberlain, Liu Chang, arrived with a headboard screen for Shen Shaoguang. Accompanying it was a note from Lin Yan, penned in small yet elegant and vigorous regular script:
Your bedroom lacks this item; place it beside the bed to block the wind. Get well soon.
Yan
Shen Shaoguang accepted it without hesitation. She was unafraid of the gesture being overly intimate and only lamented that it wasn't intimate enough. A pillow would have been even more delightful.
The headboard screen was a folding model designed for autumn and winter, meant to be placed beside the bed, inside the canopy. It differed from the small, foot-tall headboard screen used on reclining chairs in summer. This screen, also made of sandalwood, was thicker than the summer model. The previous screen featured thin yet durable Suzhou silk, while the new one used a thicker Songzhou silk. The seasonal artwork depicted a vast autumn lake, with ample white space creating the illusion of an endless sky and crystal-clear water.
Yet, Shen Shaoguang stared at the corner of the screen and smiled. There were reeds in the foreground of that corner. Was Deputy Magistrate Lin alluding to "The reeds are vast and misty[1]"? Then she remembered asking him if the screens were a set; it turned out they really were. She wondered what pattern adorned the headboard screen at the head of his bed...
A’Yuan was adept at such tasks. She swiftly and effortlessly positioned the screen for Shen Shaoguang, praising, "Sir Lin is truly considerate. With this blocking the wind, Miss, you'll recover from your cold in no time!"
Shen Shaoguang didn't know when Deputy Magistrate Lin had "recruited" A’Yuan to his side. Was he employing the strategy of encircling the city from the rural areas[2]?
She took her medicine, settled the accounts, basked in the sun in the yard, and inspected the newly cured ham and meat for the autumn. Unexpectedly, before lunchtime, another visitor arrived from the Lin Residence. This time it was a different person but still an acquaintance, Zhou Kui. He didn't bring any daily necessities, just a note:
I will be at the city government repository until late. Don’t wait for me. Remember to take an afternoon nap.
Yan
Zhou Kui, with a courteous smile, inquired, "Master has asked me to check on your condition, Miss. Are you feeling any better? Is your fever under control?"
Shen Shaoguang expressed her gratitude, then responded with a warm smile, "Please convey to your Master that I am much improved and my fever has subsided. I am merely admiring the cured meats here."
With a respectful bow, Zhou Kui took his leave with an amused smile.
Shen Shaoguang gazed thoughtfully at the note, its simplicity and understated affection evoking a complex mix of emotions. Yesterday, she had playfully inquired if Lin Yan might visit today. He had promised to come after his duties at the government repository, but she hadn't anticipated him sending someone to inform her, mindful that she might miss her afternoon rest while waiting. Such thoughtful consideration, such an attentive man, speaking with a tone that was both appropriate and respectful towards a lady—Shen Shaoguang felt a pang of embarrassment and unease. If she were to pull a scummy move on him in the future...
When Yu San arrived to collect the cured meats and saw Shen Shaoguang, who wore an expression of both pleasure and melancholy, he frowned in frustration. His impatience and disappointment were evident; after all, it was just a screen and a couple of notes—surely, she should be more discerning by now.
On the side, A’Yuan, eager to ‘contribute’, added, "Sir Lin advised you to stay out of the wind to avoid catching a chill. Perhaps we should return indoors."
Yu San promptly collected the cured meats and departed.
Shen Shaoguang, adhering to Lin Yan's advice, ate her meal, took her medicine, and then settled down for her afternoon nap, surrendering to sleep without setting a time to wake up at, fully embracing the restorative rest.
Shen Shaoguang marveled at her newfound indulgence, feeling that her current laziness was a luxury she had never experienced in her current lifestyle—one that seemed to echo the habits of her previous life. Perhaps this was the unique privilege of living twice: the ability to savor the comforts and memories of both lives.
In those days of weekends free from the demands of overtime, she would revel in the freedom to sleep until nine or ten in the morning. She would then proceed with a hasty routine: a face wash, a quick brush of her teeth, her hair loosely gathered with whatever hair tie was at hand, and a sports jacket tossed over her pajamas. Undeterred by the late morning sun, she would venture out. During this time, which would be approaching the end of Deputy Magistrate Lin’s imperial court duties, the breakfast stalls of the 21st century remained bustling with activity.
Shen Shaoguang strolled to her favorite food stall, eagerly queuing for her customary Egg-Filled Flatbread. She requested the young vendor to make it extra crispy and to fill it with ham and lettuce, with salted vegetables and spicy marinated soy paste instead of chili oil. She also contemplated indulging in a double-egg mung bean savory crepe stuffed with crispy crackers or, if she felt like walking a bit further, she could treat herself to a steamer basket of pork and scallion dumplings. For a sweet finish, she might visit the shop for soy milk and tofu pudding and order a bowl of savory tofu pudding topped with marinade, sesame paste, minced garlic, and diced coriander.
Whether she would return home to remove her jacket and immerse herself in web novels and games, or invite friends over, was a decision for later.
Such were the halcyon days of leisure...
In her dream, Shen Shaoguang relished the smoothness of her natural silk bedding, the discordant strains of a piano next door, and even reached out instinctively for her phone by the pillow. Yet, upon opening her eyes, she was greeted not by familiar modern comforts but by the half-folded headboard screen, a shimmering depiction of a lake, and reeds sketched in subtle tones of dark and light ink, almost flaunting their presence.
Shen Shaoguang sighed. 'In dreams, unaware I am but a guest[3]'—such was the reality of her situation. She had just dreamt of dining on spicy crayfish with friends, but upon waking, she was greeted not by the allure of hot, numbing crayfish but by the quiet serenity of her surroundings.
"Awake?"
Shen Shaoguang pushed the screen aside with a practiced hand. As someone accustomed to modern conveniences, she had little preference for drawing the bed canopy. The screen was a luxury she indulged in solely because of Lin Yan.
"Yes, I dreamed of eating shrimp," Shen Shaoguang replied, her voice tinged with laziness. She deftly propped herself up with the pillowcase behind her, settling into a half-reclined position.
It was still early, and the room was bathed in the soft light of morning. Lin Yan glanced at her flushed complexion and reached out to touch her forehead. "You’re burning up again."
This time Shen Shaoguang did not hesitate a second thought and took his hand and guided it to her blanket. She then placed her own hand gently atop his.
"A’Ji—" Lin Yan's voice was gentle, a smile playing at his lips.
"Hmm?" Shen Shaoguang's gaze met his, feigning indifference.
"Would you like some water?"
"Yes, please. I usually use that black porcelain cup. A’Yuan just rinsed it around noon."
She did not release his hand, compelling Lin Yan to grasp the black porcelain cup with one hand, pour half a cup of water, test the temperature by touching the outer wall of the cup with the back of his hand, and then offer it to her.
Shen Shaoguang straightened up, accepted the cup, drank the water in one go, and placed the cup on the bedside table. She then returned her hand to rest on Lin Yan's.
.
.
.
T/N: MC, don’t be so shameless!! Don’t be such a rogue!!! 🙈🙈
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Footnotes:
[1] The reeds are vast and misty (蒹葭苍苍) - A verse from the poem <秦风·蒹葭> from the Book of Songs. If you read the following lines of the poem, you can deduce Deputy Magistrate Lin is implying (again) that Shen Shaoguang was the one he likes.
Source: http://www.worldpoetry.cn/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=216579
[2] Encircling the city from rural areas - a famous philosophy of revolution by Mao Zedong, which believes armed revolution should start from places where obstructing forces are weak (the rural areas) and then entering harder places (the cities) after power growth in the former place.
[3] In dream, unaware I’m none but a guest (梦里不知身是客) - This a poem, a lament of the captive king, Li Houzhu (李後主), the last ruler (後主) of the Li 李 family line's Southern Tang 南唐 dynasty in 10th century China. The poem is most touching as will be seen in this and other translations. It is beautifully structured with a single rhyme running through 8 of the 10 lines of varying length in a pattern of 5-4-7-7-4 characters per stanza.
Source: https://chinesepoemsinenglish.blogspot.com/2011/02/li-yu-lang-tao-sha-waves-scouring-sands.html
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Foods
Egg Filled Flatbread (鸡蛋灌饼) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVDFbWR_h5A