Chapter 47 Lychee Braised Eel (Second Update) She thought, Shang Xinglan's life...

(47)

Shang Xinglan usually associates with literary figures or cultivation geniuses, but he has very few true friends, and even fewer people he can sit down with for tea.

Chu Li didn't know their identities, only that they were eloquent and knowledgeable, and were all famous figures in the cultivation world.

Now she can bring money to treat Shang Xinglan to dinner, even though she still spends the money he gave her.

"Shopkeeper, a superior room." Chu Li calmly slapped the silver on the counter, then led the little boy, who was filled with admiration, up to the second floor.

The Phoenix Pavilion is renowned for its auspicious atmosphere, attracting renowned cultivators and masters from all over the world to dine here. One can tell the true worth of a diner just by looking at them; they carry precious swords at their waists and wear extremely expensive fabrics, making them clearly extraordinary individuals.

Shang Xinglan stepped into this place after a long absence, greeted the shopkeeper, nodded in acknowledgment, and then quickly followed Chu Li's footsteps.

The shopkeeper moved the abacus beads, glanced at him casually, and then continued to calculate the accounts. After a while, his hands suddenly stopped.

Those two people just now... weren't they the young master and mistress of the Shang family?

He hurriedly called over a waiter to bring him the finest tea, and then called over a boy who was soliciting customers at the door, saying, "Quickly, quickly go and send a message to Young Master Lan, tell him that the young master and young mistress of the Shang family have returned."

The boy dropped the signboard from his hand and ran off. The shopkeeper chased after him angrily, yelling, "How dare you throw away a signboard like that, you little rascal!"

Luckily, he's tough, otherwise he would have been driven to his death by anger.

He picked up the signboard, about to go upstairs to see if it really belonged to the young master of the merchant, when he saw the waiter rushing over.

"Shopkeeper, that lady specifically requested braised eel with lychee. First of all, we don't have that dish, and secondly, where would we find lychees at this time of year? We explained it to her, and she got angry..."

The shopkeeper raised his hand and slapped him on the forehead, saying with exasperation, "Lychee Stew is a dish from seven years ago. It hasn't been made in recent years because it didn't sell well. The lychee dish was made with white peach, bamboo, and snow pear to resemble a lychee, not a real lychee. You are really stupid. Who told you to take it upon yourself to argue with our distinguished guest?"

It's really strange. These guys are usually quite clever, so why did they do such a mess today? I guess he got too excited and influenced them too.

After all, he was the kindest young master of a merchant family. He had even saved the young master's life from the clutches of a villain back then. If you think about it, he must be twenty-five years old this year. The last time we met, he was still very young and inexperienced. This time, he has brought a child with him. What a wonderful thing!

"The meal for those distinguished guests is on the house today. Tell Chef Li to prepare a lychee-infused dish and send it to them."

The roof is shaped like the character "天" (tian).

Chu Li was still angry.

Why did the waiter say they didn't have any of the dishes Shang Xinglan ordered before, but when she ordered a dish she clearly ate before?

Did they think she was poorly dressed and couldn't afford to pay the bill?

Shang Xinglan and the little boy exchanged a glance. The little boy picked up a teacup and handed it to her, saying softly, "Mother, this tea is delicious. You should try it."

Chu Li suppressed her temper and took the teacup from his hand. "Yinyin, don't be afraid. Mother is arguing with them, not quarreling."

Hearing her words, Shang Xinglan nodded in agreement, stood up and said, "You take care of the argument, I'll go and argue with them."

Chu Li glared at him, forcing him to sit down with her eyes, "Let's talk things out."

Shang Xinglan was even more puzzled. These words didn't sound like something Chu Li would say. What was wrong with her today?

He doesn't usually hold his temper and argue with people; he always curses whenever he feels like it.

oh……

He understood that there was a reason why he couldn't lose his temper in front of the child, for fear of frightening the child.

Before long, the waiter came in with a smile and brought out the lychee stew. "Sirs, I'm really sorry, I came to Fengyi Restaurant too late and didn't know that there was such a famous dish as lychee stew. The manager said that today's meal will be paid for by Fengyi Restaurant, so please eat as much as you like."

What? She doesn't have to pay?

Chu Li pursed her lips, her face darkening as she recalled her boastful words about treating everyone before entering the room.

But it would be foolish not to take advantage of such a good deal, so she could only hold back for the time being, and picked up the teacup to drink it all in one gulp.

Well, at least this tea is indeed very good.

Chu Li picked up some eel meat and gave it to Xiao Zai and Shang Xinglan, but this time she didn't have the air of a hostess. She rested her chin on her hand and looked unhappy.

Seeing her like that, Shang Xinglan couldn't help but ask, "You really want to treat me and Yinyin to dinner that badly?"

"It's not you and Yinyin I'm inviting," Chu Li glanced at him and said sullenly, "it's you I'm inviting."

As soon as she finished speaking, Shang Xinglan was stunned for a moment, and then, as if by some strange twist of fate, she understood why she was acting so strangely today.

Ah Chu is trying to make it up to him. No wonder she's been so incredibly nice to him, taking him to the theater, buying him books, and even treating him to meals.

He chuckled to himself, finding it increasingly amusing.

To make amends, shouldn't you at least ask the other person what they want? Does Ah Chu even know what he wants?

The braised eel with lychee was the worst dish in the entire Fengyilou restaurant; it wasn't sweet at all, nor was it salty.

Chu Li didn't even know what he liked to eat, yet she was in such a hurry to make it up to him. It was both infuriating and funny.

"I don't like eating eel, nor do I like sweets."

Chu Li was stunned for a moment, her eyes slowly widening as she heard Shang Xinglan say with a smile, "I love the Three Pure Vegetable Platter, the Amber Pork Knuckle, and preferably a Thousand-Layer Cake, got it?"

She nodded, her anger subsiding, but then she asked with some confusion, "If you don't eat sweets, why did you order lychee eel before?"

Shang Xinglan rested her chin on her hand and said, "Because among the guests we're hosting, Lan Ruoqing is from the Southern Border. People from the Southern Border have a sweet tooth, just like you are from the Southern Border, so you'll find lychee braised eel delicious. People from the Northern Border mainly eat salty food, so of course we should order dishes that our guests like. Are we supposed to order all the dishes I like?"

Chu Li suddenly realized, and then felt that the name he mentioned sounded very familiar. "Lan Ruoqing, isn't that the cultivator with the little braid who keeps asking you to join the sect?"

Upon hearing this, Shang Xinglan abruptly stopped drinking his tea and said calmly, "You remember it very clearly."

“Of course, he left the deepest impression on me.” Chu Li suddenly chuckled and said softly, “Is he still in the Northern Territory?”

Shang Xinglan's expression froze slightly. "I came with you, and you're asking me?"

"It would be great if I could treat him to a meal." Chu Li was completely unaware that his expression was getting worse and worse. She muttered to herself, "He's a good person. He helped me out before."

Unable to bear it any longer, Shang Xinglan turned to the little boy and placed a piece of deboned eel into his mouth. "Is it good?"

The little one chewed twice, then nodded vigorously, "Delicious! It's the best fish I've ever eaten!"

"Eat more if you like it. Dad will cook for you next time." Shang Xinglan emphasized the word "certainly," glancing out of the corner of her eye. She saw that Chu Li was still reminiscing, and her lips twitched slightly. "Ah Chu, eat."

Chu Li barely snapped out of her daze, grabbed her chopsticks, and shoveled down a couple of mouthfuls of rice, her mind visibly preoccupied. "Do you still remember him? Where is he now?"

Shang Xinglan narrowed her eyes and put her chopsticks on the table. "I don't know."

"What a pity, such a good friend." Chu Li pursed her lips. "If it were me, I definitely wouldn't have lost him. You should look for him; I want to see him."

Shang Xinglan: "?"

He took a deep breath, just about to change the subject, when he heard a soft knock on the door behind him.

"Xinglan, is it really you!"

Shang Xinglan choked abruptly, staring at the person in front of him in disbelief. Seven years had passed, and he was still the same unreliable person. The person was none other than Lan Ruoqing, an old friend from his time in the Shang family.

How did you know I was here?

"I asked the shopkeeper to keep an eye out for me!" Lan Ruoqing excitedly put her arm around his shoulder. "You're really something, eloping without telling me, and you've been gone for seven years!"

Shang Xinglan paused for a moment. In fact, he had originally planned to wait until things had stabilized in the Southern Territory before informing them, but some changes had occurred, and he had been dead for five years.

"Young Master Lan," Chu Li suddenly stood up, smiling, and said, "Long time no see, do you still remember me?"

Upon hearing her voice, Lan Ruoqing's face paled instantly. She turned to run away, but then remembered that Shang Xinglan was still there, so she forced herself to stand back. "I remember, I remember. Ah Chu, it's been so long."

"It's fate to meet you here. I have something I want to talk to you about since you came out with me..." Chu Li smiled gently as she got up and walked to their side. "Yinyin, you eat first. Your mother will be back soon."

Shang Xinglan frowned, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her back. "Is there anything you can't say here?"

Chu Li pursed her lips and tried to pull her hand away, but couldn't.

After a while, Chu Li reluctantly sat back down in her seat and said irritably, "I suddenly have nothing to say again. Let's eat."

She glared fiercely at Lan Ruoqing, plunging her chopsticks into the pork knuckle as if they were piercing his hand. "Young Master Lan, sit down and eat with me."

Lan Ruoqing coughed lightly and slowly sat down next to Shang Xinglan. "I... I won't eat. I'll visit another day."

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Shang Xinglan's eyelids twitched. He seemed to have misunderstood something. Ah Chu didn't really want to see Lan Ruoqing, but rather...

"Eat," Chu Li said softly, tilting her head to look at him. "I didn't poison you this time, what are you afraid of?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Shang Xinglan's breath hitched slightly. He pinched his forehead and suddenly remembered everything.

—In the first year of their marriage, Chu Li secretly poisoned and killed someone behind his back.

The man was a cultivator with some reputation. Chu Li had some conflict with him, and somehow obtained poison, which killed the cultivator.

At the time, the cultivator had many fellow disciples investigating the matter. She didn't want to be discovered by the merchant, but found that she couldn't deal with the cultivator's fellow disciples.

Just as things were about to be exposed, she unexpectedly learned that Lan Ruoqing was actually the cultivator's inner disciple.

She went to Lan Ruoqing for help.

Behind Shang Xinglan's back, Chu Li stole a lot of money from the warehouse, thinking that with Shang Xinglan's connections and the large sum of money, she could get Lan Ruoqing to cover up what she had done.

However, after Lan Ruoqing accepted her money, she immediately told Shang Xinglan everything and returned all the money.

That was the first time Shang Xinglan had learned that his seemingly weak and pitiful wife could actually kill someone.

Chu Li harbored a grudge against Lan Ruoqing because of this incident, but he never expected that she would hold onto this grudge for seven years. Just now, she even tried to trick him into bringing Lan Ruoqing to take revenge.

Shang Xinglan looked at Chu Li helplessly and said in a low voice, "Ah Chu, didn't you come here today to make me happy?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Li snorted coldly and withdrew his gaze from Lan Ruoqing's face.

She hates this person.

If it weren't for this person, Shang Xinglan wouldn't have been so angry back then, ignoring her for half a month.

"Are you ignoring me?"

"Just because I poisoned someone, you're really going to ignore me?"

She still remembers how cold Shang Xinglan's eyes were back then. They were colder than when she was homeless on the streets in the dead of winter. They were so terrifying that she couldn't help but tremble whenever she thought about them.

In half a month, Chu Li begged him countless times, saying all sorts of nice things, almost degrading herself to the dust, but Shang Xinglan never forgave her until she could no longer bear it and forced him to pay attention to her with a knife.

"That person bullied me first, so why can't I fight back?"

Actually, you find fault with everything I do, right? Everyone says you've hated me for a long time.

You knew I was a beggar when you married me. I've begged for food and stolen money. I'm ignorant of manners and shame. It's not like you just found out today!

"I want you to kiss me, right now."

"I knew you wouldn't want to. You hate me, so why did you marry me in the first place?"

At that moment, Shang Xinglan silently watched her, took a step forward, and let the knife tip in her palm pierce her chest.

Blood gushed out like a spring, scalding blood splashed on Chu Li's face, and she stared blankly at him.

She thought that Shang Xinglan would never like her again in his life.