Chang’an Small Restaurant

Chapter 84 Shen Shaoguang's Illness

After Shen Shaoguang's visit to Princess Imperial of Fuhui, she fell ill within two days. She experienced a heavy head, a stuffy nose, chills, a sore throat, a cough, and general fatigue—a classic case of a cold.

Since leaving the palace, Shen Shaoguang had enjoyed good health, making this sudden illness feel as disruptive as a landslide. Despite her discomfort, she persisted in visiting their tavern in Qinren Lane. The first crab showdown between the two establishments was nearing its conclusion, drawing numerous diners eager to witness the spectacle. As the tavern owner, Shen Shaoguang felt obliged to make an appearance.

She asked A'Yuan to sew several layers of silk together to create a mask for her to wear.

Though A'Yuan's needlework was rough, she worked quickly, finishing two pieces within 30 minutes. "Miss, you can alternate between these when wearing them!"

Examining the mask, which looked round but had corners, seemed square but had arcs, and was sewn with large needles and thin threads, Shen Shaoguang finally understood why A'Yuan always praised her own sewing skills.

Fortunately, functional products need not be perfect, so Shen Shaoguang covered her mouth and nose with the mask and asked A’Yuan to help tie the straps on the back.

Seeing her like this, Yu San frowned, "Why not just stay home and rest?"

Lacking strength and too weary to argue, Shen Shaoguang gave a weary smile, "We must go. One does not abandon the front lines for minor injuries."

Yu San didn't understand what "front line" meant, but he got her point. He looked at her with disdain, went into the kitchen, filled a pot with freshly boiled licorice root soup, and thrust it into her hands. "Drink this and just go!"

As Shen Shaoguang reached the entrance, Yu San called her again, now at the end of his patience. "Can you take that thing off your face?"

A’Yuan, who was trailing behind Shen Shaoguang, turned around and shot a hard glare at Yu San.

Shen Shaoguang laughed and left.

After spending most of the day showing off her maid's affection-filled mask, she returned feeling utterly exhausted and reluctant to move.

A’Yuan helped her wash her hands and face, removed her coat, undid her hairdo, and combed her hair, allowing Shen Shaoguang to finally tuck herself into bed.

"Miss, rest for a while. Yu San saw you come back and is boiling some medicine for you. You will feel better after drinking it."

Shen Shaoguang nodded.

"What do you want to eat tonight, Miss? Let me know so we can make it in advance," A’Yuan asked.

Looking at her chubby face and listening to her unusually gentle words, Shen Shaoguang felt that A’Yuan had probably given her all the tenderness accumulated over the last ten years.

After a moment of contemplation, Shen Shaoguang responded, “I’ll have some pear congee, but use less sugar; I don’t want it too sweet.”

A’Yuan nodded in understanding and quietly exited the room.

Shen Shaoguang fell into a deep sleep amidst her dizziness and had no sense of time passing. When she eventually opened her eyes, she vaguely saw someone sitting on the stool beside her bed. "Is the medicine ready?" she asked groggily.

"Yes, but it has since grown cold. Eat something first, and then take the medicine afterwards."

Shen Shaoguang was startled to recognize the voice of Deputy Magistrate Lin.

The sun had already set, plunging the room into darkness, with no light to illuminate the space.

Hearing their conversation, A’Yuan entered the room, "Are you feeling better, Miss? Would you like some congee first?"

"Light a lamp first," Shen Shaoguang requested.

"Sir didn't let me light it, for fear that it would wake you, Miss," A’Yuan explained before going to fetch a lampstand.

Shen Shaoguang cleared her throat and smiled at Lin Yan, "It's okay, it’s just a minor cold."

Lin Yan took her hand, and Shen Shaoguang instinctively pulled away.

"Don't move," Lin Yan said softly. He placed her hand on the bedside, gently pressing his fingers on the three pulse points: Cun, Guan, and Che[1] on her wrist.

A’Yuan brought in the lampstand and, seeing that he was checking her pulse, stood quietly to the side.

After a while, as he removed his hand from her wrist, Shen Shaoguang smiled and asked, "I’m fine, right?"

He held her other hand, examined her complexion, and checked her tongue coating under the light. Lin Yan then said, "The heat is stagnant in your lungs, and the illness is due to external factors. It also seems to be related to fatigue, not just a simple cold."

A’Yuan said, "The doctor said the same thing. Sir Lin, when will our Miss get better?"

"It will take a few days. Watch her closely during this time and make sure she doesn't overexert herself," Lin Yan replied.

"Understood!"

Shen Shaoguang, sitting on the bed, felt a bit exasperated: "..."

"Are you cold? You have a slight fever," Lin Yan asked gently.

Shen Shaoguang touched her own forehead with her hand.

Lin Yan pursed his lips, wondering if her cold had made her a bit silly. How could she gauge her own temperature? Her hair, now loose, framed her face, making her appear even more delicate and vulnerable. Though he knew she was resilient and clever, seeing her in this state stirred a sense of protectiveness in him.

With their Miss now attended to, A’Yuan went to the front store to fetch the food box with a peace of mind, leaving Lin Yan and Shen Shaoguang alone. One sat on the bed, the other at her bedside, their eyes locked in a silent exchange.

They continued to gaze at one another until Shen Shaoguang burst into laughter. She had been sitting upright but now positioned a pillow behind her back, easing into a semi-reclined posture, and pulled her blanket up.

"Are you cold?"

Shen Shaoguang nodded delicately.

"Do you want some water?"

Shen Shaoguang nodded again.

Lin Yan poured half a cup of water from the kettle on the table beside him, rinsed the cup, and then took it outside to discard the water. He refilled the cup with fresh water and handed it to her.

As Shen Shaoguang took the cup, a myriad of thoughts raced through her mind. What if she took this moment to hold his hand, or even leapt from the bed to embrace him? Though it might risk spilling the water on the bed, she wondered if she could simply pull him down with her. But then she remembered that he knew martial arts—it wouldn't be so easy to drag him down unless he chose to yield after a token resistance. Would he do that? Or would he scold her with a stern expression, blaming her for being influenced by the Princess Imperial? In reality, it was the Princess Imperial who had led her astray; she wasn't an innocent person to begin with...

Lin Yan had no inkling of the mischievous thoughts flitting through her mind. He simply perceived that her illness had rendered her far more docile.

Taking the cup from her, he advised, "Keep your throat moistened like this, and you'll recover more quickly."

Shen Shaoguang, having missed all her chances, could only inwardly jest that Deputy Magistrate Lin was also a member of the 'hot water' remedy faction.

A’Yuan entered carrying the food box, from which she brought out a bowl of thick, fragrant snow pear congee topped with a touch of osmanthus honey, along with a few side dishes.

She served a bowl of congee to Shen Shaoguang, who took a taste and found it quite delicious. Princess San’s congee-making skills were indeed improving. "Sir Lin, you haven’t had dinner, have you? Would you like a bowl too?" she offered, then quickly reconsidered. "On second thought, you'd better not drink it."

A’Yuan paused, glancing at her Miss before stopping her attempt to serve porridge to Lin Yan.

Shen Shaoguang smiled and said, "Go and attend to your chores."

Even A’Yuan, naive as she was, understood that certain conversations between her Miss and Sir Lin were not meant for others to hear. She obediently left the room.

Lin Yan moved the side dishes closer to her, but Shen Shaoguang shook her head, choosing only to drink the congee.

After taking two sips, she raised her eyes and smiled, "Do you know why I’m not sharing any congee with you?"

Lin Yan looked at her, puzzled.

"I'm not keen on se‘pear’ating," Shen Shaoguang replied, a playful smile on her lips, then continued to scoop and eat her congee.

Lin Yan couldn't help but smile himself. After a moment, he said, "I thought you were going to have us leave earthly attachments behind."

Shen Shaoguang looked at him with congee still in her mouth. She slowly chewed the pear, swallowed, and with a sly smile said, "If we were to leave earthly attachments behind, we must first 'moisten each other with damp and spittle[2]'."

Lin Yan was taken aback, while Shen Shaoguang burst into laughter.

Lin Yan's ears turned red as he pursed his lips, "A maiden should not—"

Shen Shaoguang, unafraid, set down the bowl, leaned back on the pillow, and laughed heartily.

Unable to contain himself any longer, Lin Yan also broke into laughter. My A’Ji ah...

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The author has something to say:

Moisten each other with damp and spittle: fish spit water out of their mouths to moisten each other in times of need.

You all know how dirty A’Ji can be.

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Lin Yan felt he could never look at this proverb the same way again.

Shen Shaoguang: Sir, do you find this proverb particularly vivid? Otherwise, why are you blushing?

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T/N: The se‘pear’ating pun is bad, I know, but it was the best I could think of XD. In chinese, a lot of characters sound alike, and in this case, sharing pear(分梨) and separating(分离) are homonyms. Because they sound alike, it's ominous and a lot of the older generation do not like to split pears. 

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Footnotes:

[1] Cun, Guan and Che(寸关尺) -  Are three places at the wrist where the pulse is usually taken. Three points on each wrist, making it six points in total, measuring each of the bowels and viseras. I’m really dumbing it down here, but there is a book you can read here about this. It’s pretty neat.

https://books.google.com.hk/books?id=-phxEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT684&lpg=PT684&dq=%E5%AF%B8%E5%85%B3%E5%B0%BA+3+points+wrist&source=bl&ots=KBjCorTp5y&sig=ACfU3U2E6yTJ4vs7Ylwk00gZdxW1OgYxDQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwihmcLls8SHAxX5r1YBHQTsL60Q6AF6BAgwEAM#v=onepage&q=%E5%AF%B8%E5%85%B3%E5%B0%BA%203%20points%20wrist&f=false 

[2] Rather than moistening each other with damp and spittle, let us leave the earthly attachments behind and traverse the world unimpeded (相濡以沫，不如相忘于江湖) - Yeah this is a very long proverb coined by Zhuangzi. It can be basically summed up as ‘when the spring water dries up, instead of having the fishes spit water and moisten each other, so why not go to the big rivers and lakes and be freer?’ — and to dumb it down some more: ‘When love is no more, why bother to struggle with what little we have when we can just go our separate ways.’

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Food: 

Pear congee (梨粥) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNPaHBIf7SU