Chapter 220 I Will Never Marry in This Life

Meng Changyuan and Liu Zhengfeng were sitting in the hall. Before lunch, they drank tea and chatted.

Although the Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion is not as wealthy as his Meng family, it is still a family with wealth and status. Moreover, the emperor now intends to use it, so it has a noble atmosphere.

Today, Madam Liu Wang prepared quercetin tea, which was brought to Meng Changyuan by a maid wearing a bean green boa with embroidered edges, holding a vermilion lacquer tray and a small Longquan kiln celadon cup with a lotus relief pattern.

The maid had a pretty face and was holding a tray high. Her sleeves had slipped down, revealing a pair of fair wrists wearing twisted silver bracelets.

Meng Changyuan took the tea bowl without even looking at the girl. Perhaps because she was thirsty, he took a big sip.

The tea was freshly brewed and naturally boiling hot, and it almost burned my tongue.

He couldn't spit it out in front of the host, so he had to swallow it.

A mouthful of boiling tea slid down his throat, and Meng Changyuan's handsome and dark face suddenly turned red.

"Since the current emperor has made up his mind to eliminate the influence of the Liang family and other old ministers, it is a good time for us to show our strength. The court will have to vacate a large number of positions. You and I can recommend some young military men who we have always been optimistic about, and at the same time recommend talents for the court..."

Liu Zhengfeng was still talking incessantly about the situation in the court, but Meng Changyuan was absent-minded. He would respond once or twice from time to time, his eyes constantly drifting behind the soft wall.

Liu Zhengfeng seemed to have noticed something and suddenly stopped talking, smiling slightly. "Brother Meng, is this tea tasty? This is the new tea from Wuyi Mountain this year, the best tribute tea. I was given this tea because the emperor praised me for doing a good job on a previous mission. It's less than half a pound, but if it weren't for a distinguished guest, I wouldn't be willing to serve it to you."

"ah?"

Meng Changyuan suddenly came back to his senses, his expression dazed, and then he suddenly woke up and said hurriedly, "My dear brother, you are too polite. I have never been particular about these things..."

As he said this, he couldn't help but think in his heart, was this tea brewed by her herself?

As soon as this thought came to his mind, Meng Changyuan lowered his head and smiled. How could this be possible?

A family like the Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion would not allow a rich young lady to make tea personally, nor would they allow her to come out to meet guests.

He was just hoping for something hopeless.

For some reason, these past two days, when he had nothing to do, he always thought of her.

She had a face as beautiful as an angel, with thin curved eyebrows, thick black hair, and eyes as clear as water, with a bit of coldness, just like... like the statue of the goddess he had seen in the temple dedicated to the goddess in the southwest.

He had only seen her twice, and both times he had not looked at her properly.

But her appearance was so deeply imprinted in his heart.

Meng Changyuan thought to himself that he had seen quite a few beauties. Not to mention others, his own sister was a rare beauty, one in a million. Zheng Fangchu before was also quite pretty.

But, she is different.

There is probably no other woman in this world who has no relationship with him, but is willing to devote herself to him and even suffer misunderstandings and grievances.

Although, she was just doing it for moral reasons.

Meng Changyuan knew in his heart that he was not a man that women liked.

He is unromantic, unkind, and has a rough temperament. Apart from his martial arts skills, his power and status are the only thing that makes people take a second look at him.

Even though it was a marriage arranged by his parents and even though he cared for her wholeheartedly, didn't Zheng Fangchu still flirt with other women behind his back, and only shamelessly came back to haunt him when she saw him become successful?

What's more, she is such a good woman.

Although her marriage was not smooth, she would definitely find a gentle and good husband to match her in the future. No matter who it was, it would not be him.

He is not worthy of her.

Meng Changyuan felt a little bitter in his heart, so he picked up the tea bowl and took another big sip.

Liu Zhengfeng saw this and smiled slightly, "Brother Meng must be thirsty. Drinking tea is as refreshing as drinking wine. Come to think of it, Brother Meng is appreciated by the emperor and now he has become the uncle of the emperor. Why should he care about these things?"

Meng Changyuan was depressed and didn't hear the hidden meaning in his words. He just said, "My dear brother, you misunderstood. You know my temper. I am a rough man and never get involved in these elegant things. Tea is just delicious and thirst-quenching to me, but it is not as satisfying as drinking wine."

Liu Zhengfeng laughed a few times and said, "That's my fault, let's drink now."

After saying this, he ordered the preparations for the banquet.

When it comes to banquets, Meng Changyuan is a little uninterested.

The Liu family came from the south, and their taste was always too light, which was not in line with his stomach. Therefore, whenever they came to his house for a banquet, he was never happy with the food. Instead, he felt more comfortable when he was having a party with Liu Zhengfeng in a restaurant outside.

Today, if it weren't for other thoughts in his mind...

Forget it, after all, he was just being too sentimental!

While I was thinking about all sorts of things, I saw the maids from Liu Mansion coming in one after another, each holding a crystal plate and a white jade bowl. In a moment, the banquet was ready.

Liu Zhengfeng asked Meng Changyuan to sit down and walked to the table, but they were both stunned.

There were seven dishes and eight bowls on the table, with fresh vegetables, chicken, duck, fish and meat, which was quite rich, but... they were either served cold, or with vinegar, and there were also things like pickled fish and fried duck. The cooking method was quite rough, which was very different from the elegant and delicate style of the Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion.

Liu Zhengfeng paused slightly, then figured it out in his mind. He glanced at Meng Changyuan and smiled without saying anything.

Meng Changyuan naturally couldn't think of that much, and just asked in confusion, "Brother, have you hired a new cook?"

Liu Zhengfeng smiled and said meaningfully, "Since Brother Meng has never been used to the food at our mansion, we changed the cook today."

Meng Changyuan sighed, "My dear brother, you are too polite. Considering our friendship, this is unnecessary!"

Liu Zhengfeng smiled slightly and said, "Brother Meng, as long as you like the dishes, they're fine." Then he invited him to sit down and personally poured wine and served him food.

Although Meng Changyuan was a little depressed, after taking two bites of the food, he found that the saltiness and sweetness of the food was very much to his taste. His appetite suddenly increased, and he ate quite a bit in a short time.

After three rounds of drinking, both of them were a little tipsy. Seeing that he was in a good mood, Liu Zhengfeng asked, "Brother Meng is now successful in his career, and the imperial concubine has been newly crowned as empress. Now all he needs is a virtuous wife. I wonder if Brother Meng..."

"I... probably won't get married in this lifetime."

Meng Changyuan tightly gripped the ebony-wrapped silver chopsticks, his thick and powerful knuckles turning slightly bluish-white.

“Why?!”

Liu Zhengfeng's eyes widened immediately. If he didn't marry, then... then... wouldn't his sister...

Meng Changyuan put down his chopsticks and said calmly, "My dear brother, you all know what happened earlier. Why would a man like me waste a woman's life?"