All Hail Cousin Brother

239 Cousin, Your Ears Are Red

Yu Youyao stroked the fine and smooth patterns of the seal. She had originally thought that it looked good, and she had loved it so much that she couldn’t bear to part with it. Now, it suddenly had an extraordinary meaning. Holding it in her hand, she felt both solemn and touched.

Her eyes were sparkling, but she pouted. “Cousin must have spent a lot of effort on this seal. He made it look so simple when he gave it to me, and he even wanted to hide it from me. Hmph!”

She had seen many seals from ancient books. Most of them were engraved with words, objects, and images. However, she had never seen anyone carve words, objects, and images into a scene.

Even the scenery of these few strokes tested one’s carving skills greatly. In this small engraving, her cousin had used the two great carving techniques:The Shoushan stone carving method and The Micro carving method.

From this, it could be seen how much effort her cousin had put in.

After the ink dried, Yu Youyao took out the scroll from the blue and white vase behind her and carefully rolled up the words.

Yu Youyao took the seal and stamped the letter before handing it to Qiu Xing. “This is my reply to Fifth Miss Tang. It’s sealed and so send it to the Tang Residence. I’ll go to the Green House to look for my cousin.”

Without waiting for Qiu Xing to answer, she had already run out with the scroll.

Just as she ran to the door, Yu Youyao thought of something and turned back. “The light stone that Third Cousin gave me is in the study. Help me find it.”

Qiu Xing quickly brought over a light stone.

Yu Youyao came to the Green House with the painting scroll in one hand and the rosewood box in the other. Zhou Linghuai had just finished the insertion of needles and came out of the inner room with Uncle Sun.

Zhou Linghuai’s lips curled up. Just as he was about to speak, he saw—

The little girl, who had been smiling at him just now, was now in front of Uncle Sun, crying. “Uncle Sun, Uncle Sun, Cousin has been taking the Essence Protection Pill for a while. Is his health much better? I see that Cousin’s appetite has also increased recently, and his complexion has improved a lot…”

Zhou Linghuai pursed his lips.

Uncle Sun sat at the table and glanced at the tea on it.

Yu Youyao reacted faster than her brain. She quickly poured a cup of warm tea and handed it to Uncle Sun with both hands. “It’s been hard on you. Hurry up and drink some tea to rest.”

Only then did Uncle Sun slowly take the teacup. He opened the lid and lowered his head to take a few sips. “I wasted a lot of medicinal liquid last time. I didn’t refine many Essence Protection Pills. Send some more of the Lingxi Bug’s medicinal liquid over later.”

Only when the effect was proven to be good would he continue refining it. Yu Youyao’s eyes lit up. “That’s great. I’ve collected two small bottles of the Lingxi Bug’s medicinal liquid. I can refine more this time.”

The other Lingxi Bug was also being nurtured with spiritual dew, so it produced more medicinal liquid.

She could feel that the medicinal liquid was becoming more and more effective.

This way, Cousin could recover as soon as possible.

After drinking the tea, Uncle Sun did not disturb the two anymore. He carried the first aid kit and left.

Only Yu Youyao and Zhou Linghuai were left in the room.

Yu Youyao poured a cup of warm tea and handed it to her cousin. Her lips curved into a smile. “Cousin, you’ve been performing acupuncture for a long time. You must be working harder than Uncle Sun.”

When she was young, she had a rash and refused to take any medicine.

Her grandmother had no choice but to get a doctor to perform moxibustion on her. When the slender needle was inserted into her body, it hurt more than a mosquito bite. Furthermore, she had to wait for three minutes before she could remove the needle. It was much more terrifying than drinking a bowl of bitter medicine.

Not long after the needle pierced her body, she cried at the top of her lungs. She wanted to drink bitter medicine instead of having needles inserted in her. Her grandmother laughed at her.

Her illness of not drinking bitter medicine was cured by her grandmother just like that.

Her cousin’s leg was broken and it hurt a lot more than her past illness.

After receiving the tea from the young lady, Zhou Linghuai’s pursed lips relaxed. “You didn’t go to school today?”

Yu Youyao moved over and sat in front of her cousin. “I had my birthday party yesterday and received a lot of birthday gifts. I sorted out the gift list with Nanny Xu in the morning. I’ll go to school tomorrow.”

When the little girl spoke to her, she raised her head slightly, looking beautiful.

Zhou Linghuai subconsciously smiled. Yu Youyao liked to sit in front of him. When she spoke to him, her face was filled with joy. She had a pair of delicate sleeping phoenix eyes that were bright. When she smiled, her eyes were bright and often filled with joy. Her chair was a little shorter than a stool. When she spoke, she raised her head slightly to look into his eyes. He could see his own bright figure in her eyes.

She reached out to take a copy of The Analects from the table and handed it to Yu Youyao. “I haven’t been to school recently, so I’ve learned The Analects again. There are notes and explanations that I’ve written when I was studying it. Take it back and read it. You’ll be able to gain some inspiration. It’ll also be easier when you’re learning at home.”

Yu Youyao quickly took it and couldn’t wait to open it. Indeed, just like the Spring and Autumn that her cousin had given her previously, it was filled with small words. Every word and sentence was unique. It was obvious that he had put in a lot of effort.

Yu Youyao held the book and smiled. “Cousin, are you planning to learn all the Four Books and Five Classics again?”

Zhou Linghuai’s lips curled up. “The books of these thought leaders are great. The knowledge they impart contains the universe, the sun and moon, and an imposing aura. You should read it repeatedly, taste it, and think about it.” He paused for a moment before adding, “I do have this intention.”

Yu Youyao said with a smile, “Cousin, if I want to learn the Daoist Canon, will you o read it repeatedly, taste it, and think about it?” Her voice was filled with laughter, and she sounded like she was crying. “Read it carefully, huh?”

Even someone as calm as Zhou Linghuai couldn’t help but feel his ears heat up when he heard her say the last word. He picked up his tea and lowered his head to drink.

Little did she know that when he lowered his head, it revealed his reddened ears.

When Yu Youyao saw this, she chuckled. “Cousin, your ears are already red. How can you fool me? Am I easy to fool? Hmph!”

Zhou Linghuai choked on the tea in his throat and swallowed it with some difficulty. “I-I just want Cousin to learn more seriously at home.”

For a moment, he couldn’t even speak properly. Yu Youyao had never seen her cousin like this before, so she laughed even more happily. “Hmph, I just know it!”

The little girl wrinkled her nose, her eyes filled with joy. Zhou Linghuai also calmed down and said, “Cousin, did you just say that you want to learn the Daoist Canon?”

Yu Youyao burst out laughing. “Cousin, you’re killing me with laughter. Can’t you tell that I was joking just now?”

Zhou Linghuai was speechless for a moment. Actually, he had just asked casually. After asking, he realized that there were a total of nine books in the “Daoist Canon” and it was very obscure. Even though the current emperor was knowledgeable, it was inevitable that the entire court would follow his instructions and learn some Daoist classics, but how many of them had learned it seriously?

Even back then, it was only because his personality was too messy that his father had learned to restrain himself.