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Yuan Hao burst into laughter again: "You're quite amusing, and I love your honest and unpretentious nature!"

Song Xiaohua's heart raced and her blood surged as he laughed heartily, but for some reason, another smiling face suddenly flashed before her eyes. A slight smile, a helpless wry smile, an barely suppressed laugh, a gentle smile, a forlorn smile, and then, a broad, joyful smile…

I shook my head, trying to shake off this inexplicable feeling, lifted my shirt and sat down, grabbed a pastry and took a bite, only to choke.

She stood there, pounding her chest and stamping her feet, coughing and panting. Yuan Hao was so startled that he quickly got up and came over. He patted her back to help her catch her breath and brought her tea and water. It took her a while to calm down.

Song Xiaohua, her face flushed and tears streaming down her face, thanked him. Seeing Yuan Hao's seemingly strained expression, she sighed and said, "I know I look pathetic and funny right now. If you want to laugh, then laugh. Don't hold it in and hurt yourself."

So Yuan Hao burst into laughter without even stuttering.

Song Xiaohua said dejectedly, "Hey! You don't have to give me that much face, do you?!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Yuan Hao wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes, picked up his teacup and took a sip, trying to calm himself down.

"Fine, I'll forgive you since you have a really nice smile. How about this, if you really want to apologize, then... give me another smile!"

"puff!"

Now it was Yuan Hao's turn to cough incessantly, but Song Xiaohua just clapped and laughed, watching the show.

As they were laughing and joking, the waiter knocked on the door and came in to refill the tea. Yuan Hao took a deep breath and finally stopped coughing. He ordered in a hoarse voice, "Go and get a pot of ginseng and chrysanthemum tea."

The waiter agreed and went to do it, while Song Xiaohua asked curiously, "Is that kind of tea very good?"

The way this question was asked immediately suggested a complete novice...

"This tea has the effect of relieving fatigue and refreshing the mind."

"Oh...you didn't get enough rest?"

Yuan Hao simply stared at her, smiling but saying nothing.

Song Xiaohua then realized that the person was talking about her.

Rubbing her two dark circles, which were comparable to those of a national treasure, she muttered under her breath, "What do you know? This is the most popular smoky eye makeup in the future..."

Before Yuan Hao could speak in surprise, he immediately asked, "You seem to know a lot about tea?"

I know a little about it.

Song Xiaohua suddenly thought of Zhuge Liang from "Red Cliff" and couldn't help but grin again.

Yuan Hao naturally had no idea what kind of laugh she was suddenly making, but he didn't ask. He just smiled and laughed along with her.

His eyes were long and narrow, slanted upwards. When he wasn't smiling, they carried a hint of arrogance, a touch of conceit, and a hint of mockery, making people afraid to look directly at him. But as soon as he smiled, they would slightly curve downwards and narrow, concealing all their sharpness. However, that confidence, that nonchalance, that aura of looking down on and controlling everything was enough to make everything around him pale in comparison.

Therefore, Song Xiaohua really enjoyed seeing him smile.

If his smile was as bright as the sun, then Lu Ziqi's smile was as warm as a spring breeze, gentle and subtle, unknowingly catching the eye and being etched into the heart...

Sigh, why am I thinking about him again?

"Do you know if there are any teas that are good for the stomach?"

Oh well, it's all for him after all.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Hao sat up straight: "What's wrong? Is your stomach upset?"

"It wasn't me, it was... my elder brother."

"Oh..." Yuan Hao drawled as if thinking, then said, "Pu'er tea from Dali is very good for the stomach, but it should be very rare here. How about this, I'll give you a prescription."

As he spoke, he got up and went to the table next to him, where there was paper laid out and ink ground.

Teahouses are frequented by literati and refined gentlemen who, when enjoying their tea, inevitably compose poems, write couplets, and wield brushes and ink. Therefore, most teahouses' private rooms are equipped with writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. Although this place cannot compare to the wealth and sophistication of the Central Plains, it still has the basic amenities, only the quality is somewhat unsatisfactory.

Yuan Hao did not sit down, but took out a brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote with a flick of his wrist.

"Ophiopogon japonicus, Codonopsis pilosula, Adenophora stricta, Polygonatum odoratum, and Trichosanthes kirilowii, 3 qian each; Prunus mume, Anemarrhena asphodeloides, and Glycyrrhiza uralensis, 2 qian each. One dose per day, can be drunk as tea, suitable for long-term use."

As he spoke, he dried the ink stains and handed them to Song Xiaohua, who was already dumbfounded.

"You can actually treat illnesses?"

"I don't have that ability. I just happened to remember seeing this folk remedy in some random book."

Wow! Your handwriting is beautiful!

Although Song Xiaohua's own handwriting is generally described as "scribbling" or "a mess," that doesn't stop her from appreciating other people's good handwriting. Besides, even a blind person... well, that's an exaggeration, even someone who can't read a single word could recognize the beauty of Yuan Hao's handwriting.

Most importantly, the strokes of these characters are relatively simple, and she recognizes them all! It feels so good for your mother to be able to read…

Song Xiaohua held the prescription with obvious delight, examining it from every angle, her mouth agape. Yuan Hao, meanwhile, looked at her with a smile, saying, "By the way, since you're interested in leisure reading, I wonder if this one will meet your standards?"

He reached out and picked up the half-open book on the table: "This travelogue records the local customs and culture of many places in the Song Dynasty. I think it will suit your taste. In addition, it also contains many local recipes, including the methods for making some exquisite snacks."

"Really? That's amazing!"

Song Xiaohua quickly folded and put away the prescription, then took the book and opened it.

It wasn't printed; it was a handwritten copy. However, the handwriting appeared to be small regular script, neat and easy to recognize.

In fact, the printed text of this era was all carved by hand, and it might not be as clear and easy to distinguish as these handwritten copies.

After flipping through just two pages, she came across several unfamiliar and complex traditional Chinese characters. Seeing her pause and look troubled, Yuan Hao took the initiative to ask her. Song Xiaohua felt that being willing to ask questions was a great virtue, so she simply asked whenever she encountered a word she wasn't sure about or a sentence she didn't understand. Yuan Hao patiently answered each question without showing the slightest impatience or disdain.

Song Xiaohua felt very relaxed and at ease when she was with him. Perhaps it was because she was dressed as a man. This was probably how a close, brotherly relationship should be...

With this question-and-answer format, Song Xiaohua quickly finished reading about a quarter of the content. She gradually got used to the font and layout, going from initial discomfort to becoming accustomed to it.

She already had some basic knowledge; although she was terrible at classical Chinese, she had studied it for many years in middle school. In addition, this travelogue was not a difficult or obscure work, so she was able to understand about 70-80% of it by guessing and some guesswork.

This made her read more and more smoothly and enjoyably, and her confidence soared instantly.

I yawned and stretched, and when I looked up, I realized that the sun was already starting to set.

"Oh no! I'm doomed! Ling'er must have been up long ago. Don't think I ran away again!"

"Who is Ling'er?"

"Uh... my younger brother..." In her haste, she made a mess of the family relationships...

Song Xiaohua chuckled dryly and continued her fabrication: "He always follows me around like a little tail. I finally managed to coax him to sleep today before I ran out. If he finds out I went out to play without him, he'll definitely cry his eyes out." Children aren't just for fooling around with; they can also be used to frame others and take the blame...

Yuan Hao was amused and laughed again: "Then you should go back now, or do you not need me to see you off?"

"Need not."

"Take this book back and read it. You can return it to me when you're done."

"Alright, I won't stand on ceremony!"

"So... will you be able to sneak out again tomorrow?"

Song Xiaohua's lips twitched involuntarily. How could those words be so...accurate...it wasn't exactly 'secretly'...?

Ignoring her awkward expression, Yuan Hao continued, "If you can't shake off that 'little tail,' you can bring it along!"

"No, no, no..." Song Xiaohua refused without even thinking. Bringing her husband's ex-wife's child to see her 'date' a man who wasn't his father? She'd be struck by lightning...

"If I were to bring one, I would need more than one; it would be too much trouble."

"You have more than one younger brother?"

"Well... there's another one named Wuque..."

A woman, a son, and a dog, three siblings... *sigh*

Yuan Hao nodded understandingly: "Anyway, I drink tea here almost every afternoon. If you have time, just come find me."

"Okay!"

Standing with his hands behind his back at the window, watching that thin figure rushing around recklessly, his eyes, which had already regained their narrow and upturned shape, couldn't help but curve into crescents again.

His gaze shifted slightly, settling on the back of a figure walking away with a knife at the street corner. A slight smirk appeared on his thin lips, revealing a playful expression.

The author has something to say: Thank you to all the attentive readers for pointing this out. I've done some research on measurement conversions again: "Since 1979, the metric system for dosage in traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions has been used, with grams as the unit! That is, 1 kilogram = 1000g, 1 jin = 500g, 50g = 1 liang = 30 qian, 1 qian = 3g, 1 li = 0.03g."...

So I changed the "grams" in the original prescription to "money". That is, the original prescription was 9 grams each and 6 grams each. If anyone really wants to try it, it's safer to get the medicine according to the "grams"! Hehe~

Thank you again to the person who pointed out the error! MUA!

Chapter Nineteen: Warmth in the Cold Night

After leaving the teahouse, Song Xiaohua went straight to the pharmacy, got the medicine according to the prescription Yuan Hao had given her, and then had the doctor change the bandage on her finger. Naturally, she was in so much pain that she ran away in tears again.

Thankfully, we had a different doctor today; otherwise, we would have been very puzzled as to how this young man not only had the same injury as the magistrate's wife, but even his crying manner was almost identical.

After leaving the pharmacy, she went into a clothing store. As soon as she entered, she asked the owner to quickly pack her a set of the sturdiest and most durable short-sleeved clothes.