Chapter 560 Going South by Driving North

Zhao Jian was seething with hatred. He brought these people with him today, ostensibly to listen to his brother's advice to make peace, but in reality, he wanted to provoke her and then teach her a lesson.

These people are not ordinary swordsmen, but highly skilled cultivators, and they charge very high prices.

How could someone he hired at great expense not have a chance to make a move?

"How could that be? Master Song, you're joking. My brother sent me here specifically to visit you. What happened before was a misunderstanding. Let's call it even, shall we?"

“Okay.” Song Chunxue seemed easy to talk to, and turned around to wait for them. “Anyway, my senior brother doesn’t care, so why should I hold on to it?”

"But I heard that if the Daoist priest forcibly removes the aphrodisiac, he will lose most of his cultivation in a short period of time. When he returned after disappearing for a few days, he was thin and haggard..."

"Really? Does Second Master know how to forcibly detoxify?" Song Chunxue asked curiously. "Use internal force to force the drug out of the body, or did Senior Brother consummate his marriage with someone?"

“This…” Zhao Jian turned to look at Jiang Shaozheng. Was this something he could ask directly?

How could he possibly answer such a tricky question from a woman like her?

Zhao Jian, who was scheming, thought he had figured out her temper, but he didn't expect her to act like a fool today.

No, he looks like an idiot!

She's a mother and mother, yet she's pretending to be stupid and clueless, and he just doesn't know how to respond.

He only heard it secondhand; how could he know the specifics?

Seeing that Zhao Jian was holding back his anger, Jiang Shaozheng coughed lightly twice, pressing his fist to his lips. "Well then, let's go to the Xie residence first."

Song Chunxue snapped out of her daze, raised an eyebrow slightly, and glanced at them with a hint of disdain.

"They're both quite old. I was just being a bit direct, and these two rough guys are acting all innocent. What's with the blushing? There's no one else here."

Mulan took the children out to buy cloth, leaving only the cook and the gatekeeper at home. She was just genuinely curious.

Forget it, all this pretense and hypocrisy, nothing more to say.

Each with their own thoughts, the group rode their horses to the Xie residence.

Xie Zheng was about to leave.

He was quite surprised, "Why are you here?"

As he got closer, he lowered his voice, "Sister Song, are you really planning to introduce him?"

"I'll do my thing, you do yours. Don't worry about me. I just saw that Mulan made some buckwheat dough rings, so I brought them for you to try. They're very sweet and taste good whether they're hot or cold."

Xie Zheng saw that the clean cloth bag she was carrying contained several large, dark-colored oil rings.

"I've never had this before. Is it deep-fried buckwheat noodles?" Xie Zheng said, picking up one, breaking it in half and taking a bite.

"Hmm, it tastes good. The sesame oil on the outside is fragrant, and the buckwheat inside is sweet. You guys have good taste."

Song Chunxue laughed and said, "That's right. We are a bit poor, but we will still try our best to treat ourselves. When the harvest is good, we eat very well during festivals."

"My name is Jiang Shaozheng. I greet Lord Xie."

"My name is Zhao Jian, and I have come here specifically to pay my respects to Lord Xie."

Seeing how naturally and intimately they were interacting, the two exchanged glances and winks before bowing and greeting each other.

Xie Zheng looked up and said, "You two are too kind. Please come in."

Zhao Jian and Jiang Shao repeatedly declined, and Zhao Jian followed behind them, listening to them talk about how delicious the buckwheat fried dough rings were, how well the buckwheat grew last year, and how they would make a bowl of buckwheat jelly to eat another day. Zhao Jian couldn't help but drool.

In fact, Jiang Shaozheng had no intention of coming to see Song Chunxue today, and he dared not have imagined that he would be able to successfully arrive at the Xie residence and meet Lord Xie.

So he didn't talk much, only nodding in agreement, feeling like an ant on a hot pan.

They didn't bring any valuable gifts and came empty-handed, while Song Chunxue at least brought things made by her own family.

Moreover, the things he was carrying were originally intended for Jiang Yexun's family.

After entering through the door and placing it on the table, Song Chunxue urged her to pick it up again and bring it to the Xie family.

His heart was aching with unbearable pain, torment, and agonizing. Never in his life had he felt such a strong urge to crawl into a hole and to turn back time so that he could have delayed his entourage and prepared more gifts before leaving home.

He's a respectable man, after all. How could he be so petty when he's here to meet such an important person?

Good heavens, Song Chunxue really caught me completely off guard today.

They pretended to be crazy and made them look like such pathetic people.

However, Jiang Shaozheng looked up at Zhao Jian, whose brows were furrowed even deeper than his own, whose lips were tightly pursed, and who looked as if he hated himself for being careless and arriving by some strange twist of fate. He felt much more at ease.

That's how people are. When things are at their hardest, you might as well look back and see that people who are having it even harder than you are still alive. So what's there to be upset about?

Everything is much easier now.

Hahaha!

Upon arriving at the front hall, Song Chunxue sat down naturally, as if entering her own home, and picked up her teacup.

"Lord Xie, these two haven't had breakfast yet. Do you have any left?"

Zhao Jian quickly raised her hand, "No need to trouble yourself, we've already eaten."

Jiang Shaozheng nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, we've already eaten."

Song Chunxue smiled and said, "You must be hungry after walking so far. Why not try this? It's a rare treat to have breakfast at Lord Xie's house."

Xie Zheng had no suspicions and ordered his attendants to go to the kitchen.

Looking at the terrified Zhao Jian, Song Chunxue guessed that he was cursing at her in his heart, while Jiang Shaozheng seemed to be gloating.

Actually, she initially planned to bring them here peacefully, complete her task, and leave immediately.

But seeing Zhao Jian's regretful expression, she instantly perked up.

When breakfast was served, Xie Zheng gently urged them to try it and not to be disgusted.

When Zhao Jian saw that there was only egg drop soup and steamed buns on the table, he was stunned. This was Lord Xie's breakfast?

So shabby?

Song Chunxue noticed his expression. "What's wrong? You don't like the food? Or did you not expect Lord Xie to be so easy to please?"

She smiled innocently, "I imagine the Zhao family's breakfast is quite lavish. Please don't mind, Second Master, this is a rare delicacy for ordinary people. Today's steamed buns are filled with ground lily and minced meat, they smell delicious."

Jiang Shao was eating a steamed bun with gusto. "Mmm, this 'ground lichen' is delicious. I ate it when I was a kid."

Zhao Jian asked, puzzled, "What is 'ground soft spot'?"

He had never seen or even heard of this thing before.

Song Chunxue asked in surprise, "You've never eaten this before, and the kitchen has never made it?"

Jiang Shaozheng thought to himself, "This is something that country people eat. It's picked up in the mountains. When it doesn't rain, it's dry and looks like sheep droppings. How could a cook in a wealthy family dare to make this kind of thing for his master?"

Jiang Shaozheng said gently, "This 'ground lichen' was given to Lord Xie by Master Song, right? It's usually only found in rural areas, and nobody buys it. It doesn't grow near Jincheng either."

Song Chunxue nodded, "I understand, wealthy families don't eat this."

"..." Zhao Jian choked on his breath, took a sip of soup and stared at her, saying, "Master Song, listen carefully. We don't have this here. Potatoes aren't precious, but we eat them often. We're not unaware of the hardships of ordinary people."

Xie Zheng realized that she was targeting someone else.

He couldn't help but take a closer look at Zhao Jian. He was well-dressed, had decent looks, and his mustache looked smooth, but he seemed very serious.

Song Chunxue teases him so much, could it be that she has a crush on him?

"I wonder if the Second Master is married yet?"