Chapter 171 If the Fate Lasts Long (7)

I have to admit that there is no ugly person in the Anguo Mansion. The girls are all beautiful in their own way, and the boys are all handsome in their own way.

"Yes, the peach cakes made by Qi Yan who lives next to me are delicious. Sister Li, can you come to our house tomorrow to try them?"

"Okay." Shi Jianli pointed at Lanyue, "The Poria cocos cake made by Lanyue is also delicious. You can come to my house next time."

"Yeah, I'll go the day after tomorrow after school. I heard from my third brother that Duzhou cuisine is delicious. Can I go and have a meal?"

"You're most welcome." Shi Jianli waved to Lanxing. "I brought some pear wine today. It's slightly sweet, specially made for women. It's not intoxicating. In the summer, chilled, it's more like an iced drink. Would you like to try it?"

"Duzhou is rich in various kinds of fruit wine. My father collected a lot of it. When he came to Beijing, he couldn't bear to part with his fruit wine, so he had it transported from Duzhou slowly. Wine can't stand shaking, so it's probably still on the way."

Ming Yuelin's eyes lit up when he heard this. "I have to try it! Duzhou's wine is very precious. The dignitaries in the capital are all scrambling for it. I have to taste it. Don't you often send Duzhou specialties to my third brother and second aunt? My third brother also gave me a bottle or two of pear wine before, and I missed it for a long time after I drank it."

Lanxing, Xianyue, Qiyan and Qiyu opened the table they brought, covered it with a tablecloth, and placed cakes, tea and cups on it.

"Sister Li, how about you come to our house tomorrow and I draw a small portrait for you? I'm a great painter. They all say that my paintings look exactly like them." Mingyuelin said expectantly.

She has painted all the brothers and sisters in the mansion, and now that she finally has a new one, Mingyuelin is itching to paint again.

"Okay, I'll take it back to show my mother after I finish it."

Mingyuelin and I picked a large basket of flower petals, drank fruit wine, ate snacks and chatted. We didn’t feel hungry even though we didn’t have lunch.

There is a clear stream deep in the peach forest. I was walking along the stream bank in the afternoon to enjoy the scenery. I met Zheng Leyun, who came here alone with her maid to relax. After getting to know each other, we made an appointment to go for a walk together.

Mingzhao said he would come to pick me up at You hour, but when he arrived, it was still two quarters of an hour before You hour.

Ming Yuelin looked up at the setting sun and asked, "It's already You time so soon?"

"Almost at noon, Tianyu was sent over. He said that you didn't go back for lunch, so you must be hungry now, right?" Mingzhao pushed aside the peach branches and walked towards them.

"A little bit, I ate some fruit, but I'm not very hungry." Mingyuelin replied him.

"Do you want to stay a while longer or go back home?"

"Sister Li?" Mingyue looked at Shi Jianli.

"Let's go back. I'm hungry too." Shi Jianli finished the fruit wine in the glass and put it down.

I don’t know if the swing at home is ready. I want to go back and check it out.

Zheng Lejun stood up and said, "Then I'll take my leave first. I'll invite you guys out to play together next time."

"Okay." Mingyuelin nodded.

There was still a small half bottle of fruit wine on the table. Seeing Mingzhao coming over, Shi Jianli pointed at the bottle and said, "This fruit wine tastes pretty good. Would you like to try it, cousin?"

In fact, when he looked at her with a cheerful smile, there seemed to be an inexplicable power that made it easy for him to say some words, whether it was a proposal or a promise.

Maybe this is what is called affinity?

Mingzhao nodded with a smile.

Seeing this, Shi Jianli poured him a glass of wine and handed it to him.

Mingzhao also took the wine and drank it all in one gulp, "It tastes quite unique."

"Is it delicious or not? Men usually like to drink strong liquor, so this wine might be a little too mild for you."

"It's delicious." He replied, and then said, "By the way, the fish I mentioned yesterday has been delivered to your house."

"Okay, a small amount of fruit wine can nourish the skin and strengthen the body. To express my gratitude to my eldest cousin for the fish, I will bring two bottles to the Duke's wife when I visit you tomorrow."

Mingzhao raised his eyebrows slightly. "To show your gratitude to me, you're giving my mother a gift? What does that mean?"

"It's not rude to ask the Duke's wife before visiting. It would be embarrassing to go empty-handed. If you like it, I'll also give you two bottles of stronger wine from my father's private storehouse."

"Okay, but I'll just give you a few fish. You gave me some fine wine, so I'm really getting the upper hand."

"I just like it this way. There's no question of who's taking advantage of whom. Isn't it enough if you're happy and I'm happy too? Everyone is happy." Shi Jianli stood up and asked Lanxing and the others to clear the table.

Ming Yuelin listened to their conversation and for some reason the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.

After the maids packed up their things, the three of them left the peach forest together. When they saw their own carriage, Shi Jianli said goodbye to Ming Zhaohuan and Ming Yuelin and got on the carriage.

Watching the carriage leave, Mingzhao helped Mingyuelin and said, "Get on."

Mingyue was sitting next to the carriage armrest. She leaned over and looked at him for a while.

Mingzhao also raised his eyes, "What are you looking at?"

"Brother, there's something wrong with you."

"What's wrong with me?" he asked back with a normal expression.

Ming Yuelin folded his arms, raised his chin and said, "You said you were here to pick me up, but you didn't even look at me straight in the eye. Your eyes are almost fixed on Sister Li."

Mingzhao even turned the tables: "I came to pick you up and drop you off, but all you have eyes for is your sister Li. When have you ever even looked at me? As someone you've ignored, I have to see what kind of charm she has that makes my sister so obsessed with her."

"Now you're biting me first? You have no conscience."

Hearing him say this, Ming Yuelin suddenly felt a little guilty, "Well, am I really like this?"

She did feel that her eldest brother was a bit of an eyesore and wanted him to leave quickly so as not to disturb them from having fun.

"Come in." Mingzhao changed the subject and helped her lift the curtain.

When I returned home, I saw Li Zhizhi going to Changchunyuan.

Hua Yan, Qiao Ruowei's maid, saluted her and said, "The young lady is back."

Shi Jianli nodded, "Well, what are my parents doing?"

"I'm drinking tea. Madam has just finished her work."

When Shi Jianli heard this, she shouted before entering the courtyard: "Dad, Mom, I'm back~"

Shi Jianan poured her a cup of tea and asked, "Are you thirsty? Did you have fun today?"

"Happy, I have to go out tomorrow." Shi Jianli nodded.

"Someone from the Duke of Anguo's Mansion sent over a few fish. They are quite big. I heard from the person who sent them that they were specifically for you." Qiao Ruowei asked.

"It was given to us by my eldest cousin. Yesterday he saw me asking Uncle Yue to go fishing, and he said there were fish raised on the farm of the Duke of Anguo's Mansion, so he wanted to send some to us. It's not something particularly precious, so I accepted it." Shi Jianli replied to her, then looked at Shi Jienan.

"Dad, give me a few bottles of your good wine. Tomorrow I'll go to the Duke of Anguo's mansion and give him a gift in return."

"Okay." Shi Jianan nodded.

"Let's go play again tomorrow. Haven't you had enough fun today?" Qiao Ruowei pinched her face.

I was a little worried that she would have trouble adapting after arriving in Beijing and leaving her old friends, but she soon found her place.