Chapter 107 (Bonus Chapter: Fried Dumplings with 25,000 Words of Nutrient Solution)

Qingjiu was indignant. The tofu soup hadn't been sweetened at all. After he finished eating, he went to ask, "Miss Qiao, did you add sugar to today's tofu soup?"

"No."

Is it strange to add sugar to tofu soup?

Qiao Mianmian asked what was wrong.

"My master said the tofu soup was a little sweet, so I came to ask him about it." After getting the answer, Qingjiu ran back to her master and said with a grin, "I guessed right, there was no sugar added."

"Sir, how did you taste the sweetness?"

Lu Zhao: ...He just thought it was a little sweet!

Lu Zhao ignored Qingjiu. As he passed the main hall of Qiao's restaurant, the Qiao family was preparing to eat. He politely said goodbye, and Qiao Jiaxing offered them some fried dumplings to try. "No need, we just..."

"Okay, okay, I'll try some." Qingjiu looked at the golden and crispy pan-fried dumplings, her mouth watering. She took a bite, and the crispy skin crumbled into pieces, releasing sweet juices. "So delicious!"

"Lord Lu, would you like to try some?" Qiao Jiaxing picked up a fried dumpling for Lu Zhao, and Lu Zhao had no choice but to eat one as well.

One bottle of green wine wasn't enough, so I ate the remaining two.

All the way there, he kept reminiscing about how delicious the fried dumplings were today.

The next day, when Qingjiu visited Ouyang Yi's house, she praised him, saying, "You've never eaten this before. Miss Qiao's cooking skills are truly amazing. These are the best pan-fried dumplings I've ever had!"

Ouyang Yi said it was a coincidence, "Your sister-in-law was worried that the dishes she made wouldn't suit your tastes, so she went to Qiao's Restaurant to get two dishes to go."

As he spoke, he poured wine for Lu Zhao and his servant, saying, "Come on, let's drink until we're drunk today. Let's have a drink first. Don't be afraid, this wine won't make you drunk. I drink it all the time."

Ouyang Yi drank first as a sign of respect, and Lu Zhao had no choice but to follow suit. However, the taste was fiery, and he felt his cheeks quickly burning.

The sweet and sour pork and braised small fish on the table were both bought from Qiao Ji. The small fish were only half the length of a palm, and both sides were fried until golden brown. The garlic sprouts and scallion leaves inside were soaked in the broth, making them even more flavorful.

The fish is tender and melts in your mouth. Thanks to the addition of aged vinegar, it tastes very refreshing.

"Come on, let's drink! Brother Lu, I'll toast you." Ouyang Yi raised his glass and downed it in one gulp before Lu Zhao could react, quite heartily.

Lu Zhao drank three cups in a row and then he was feeling a bit overwhelmed. He waved his hand and said, "I can't drink anymore, I really can't drink anymore, I'm going to get drunk."

"Then drink a bowl of soup first to warm your stomach." Ouyang Yi served soup to Lu Zhao. Seeing Lu Zhao's dazed eyes, he felt it was time. "You're not young anymore. As a colleague and a friend, I want to show you some concern. Have you noticed any particularly pretty girls lately?"

"Or perhaps, he just feels happy whenever he sees a girl?"

"Is it that if a girl says a few words to you, you'll dream about her at night?"

...

A barrage of questions left Lu Zhao bewildered. He was half-drunk and half-awake, unable to remember many of Ouyang Yi's questions, only recalling the last one, "I...I dreamt of..."

"Who did you dream about?" Ouyang Yi asked, leaning closer.

Qingjiu also looked over, wondering if his master really had someone he liked. How come he didn't know?

"Who is it?" Ouyang Yi asked, urging him after waiting for a long time without receiving a reply.

As it turned out, Lu Zhao had already forgotten Ouyang Yi's question. "Did you just say something?"

Ouyang Yi repeated the question, and Lu Zhao suddenly fell asleep on the table with a "thud".

"My lord?" Qingjiu patted his master, but failed to wake him. He sighed and said, "Lord Ouyang, you've drunk too much. My master has a very low alcohol tolerance. Back at the Qiao family, he only drank two cups of their homemade rice wine. You won't be able to get any information out of him today."

"Why didn't you say so sooner?" Ouyang Yi clicked his tongue.

"I thought you just wanted to invite me to dinner, I didn't know you were trying to get information out of me." Qingjiu finished eating and asked Ouyang Yi to help him up, as he planned to carry his master back.

Ouyang Yi glanced at Lu Zhao, who was eight feet tall, and suggested, "How about I call you a carriage?"

"No need for that trouble, I'm strong enough to carry you back." Qingjiu carried her master on her back. "Thank you for treating us today, we'll be going now."

Qingjiu carried her master on her back without stopping. When they met the Qiao family at the alley entrance, she smiled and offered them a helping hand.

"Oh dear, what's wrong?" Lin asked, noticing Lu Zhao's flushed cheeks.

"Lord Ouyang invited us to dinner, and as you all know, my master can't hold his liquor. He got drunk, so I had to carry him back." As Qingjiu spoke, the master on her back stirred.

Thinking about the burn on Lu Zhao's cheek, Qiao Mianmian went over to take a look and happened to meet Lu Zhao's suddenly opened eyes.

Lu Zhao's eyes were glazed over; he thought he was dreaming, and he smiled slightly.

His smile stunned Qiao Mianmian. Normally, Lu Zhao's smile didn't reach his eyes, but now, drunk, he no longer maintained proper etiquette, and his smile was remarkably natural and handsome.

As everyone knows, Qiao Mianmian likes good-looking people, and she admits that at this moment, she was attracted by Lu Zhao's appearance.

Madam Lin also came over to take a look. "Luckily, it was only a little bit, otherwise we would really be letting Lord Lu down." She looked at Qingjiu. "When we get back, have Cuizhi cook some hot soup and keep it warm on the stove. Give it to Lord Lu when he wakes up; it will make him feel better. Also, remember to apply the medicine for him. Such a handsome face shouldn't have scars."

Qingjiu agreed and went home without telling his master.

After Qiao Mianmian returned home, she intended to finish reading the remaining pages of the storybook. However, when she saw the description of the male protagonist as having "sword-like eyebrows and a pair of dark eyes that shone like jewels," she couldn't help but think of Lu Zhao's face.

"It's so beautiful!" Qiao Mianmian had just finished exclaiming when she saw someone pass by the window and quickly put the storybook into the drawer.

"Fifth Sister." It was Cao Yuan; she was knocking on the door.

Qiao Mianmian went to open the door, "Second Sister-in-law, what brings you here?"

"I...I have something I wanted to ask if you're free." Cao Yuan was a little embarrassed.

Qiao Mianmian asked what was wrong.

"I heard that Xichan Temple in the north of the city is very efficacious, and I'd like to go and pray there. But I don't want your second brother to know. After thinking about it, I wanted to ask if you're free tomorrow afternoon?" Cao Yuan didn't say it directly, but Qiao Mianmian understood.

"If you have time, I'll go with you. We can just say we're going shopping together, and they definitely won't ask any questions."

Qiao Mianmian knew that her second sister-in-law wanted a child. Although no one in the family had mentioned it, her second sister-in-law herself felt insecure. Her eldest sister-in-law had her maternal family to support her, while the Cao family were just distant relatives who never exchanged greetings during holidays. Moreover, Cao's second uncle's family lived too far away, so her second sister-in-law was somewhat anxious about having a child.

Hearing Qiao Mianmian's thoughtfulness, Cao Yuan said gratefully, "Thank you."

"Don't be so polite with me, we're all family. I'm going to pray for Fourth Sister anyway," Qiao Mianmian said.

"Mmm." When Cao Yuan returned, she saw that the bed had been made and Qiao Jiaxing had even prepared hot tea for her.

“Living at home is good too, the house is much more spacious.” Qiao Jiaxing is now married, and his sister-in-law has given birth, so his elder brother suggested that everyone take turns staying at the food stall, one person per month.

The food stall was even smaller; after putting in a bed, there was only room for a wooden table, which was not as comfortable as home.

Cao Yuan said it's all about the same. "I don't really care about that, but since my brother said so, we should just listen to him. But this was probably brought up by my sister-in-law." Her brother wouldn't think that much about it.

Qiao Jiaxing said, "By the way, do you really not want me to go shopping with you tomorrow?"

"No need. What would a woman need you to do when she's shopping? I'll call you when I need you to carry things." Cao Yuan smiled and blew out the candle. After lying down, she felt Qiao Jiaxing's arm around her and wanted to sigh.

Since she married into the family, she and her husband have been loving and harmonious, her in-laws have been reasonable, and the rest of the household has also been peaceful and harmonious. The more harmonious the life was, the more she wanted to contribute, but she hadn't conceived, and every time she thought about it, she became very anxious.

That night, Cao Yuan didn't fall asleep for a while. The next afternoon, she invited Qiao Mianmian to go out together.

Qiao Mianmian was thoughtful and asked her sister-in-law another question because she knew her sister-in-law would be taking care of Le Ge'er and wouldn't be able to go, but she didn't want her sister-in-law to feel that she was favoring one over the other.

"I won't go. Le'er can recognize people. If I leave, it will be hard on Mom." Hu Qianqian hugged her son and played with him.

"Okay, then when I see something suitable for you, I'll come back and tell you." Qiao Mianmian took her second sister-in-law's arm and they went out.

They went to Xichan Temple to pray. Qiao Mianmian wished that her fourth sister would have a smooth delivery, while Cao Yuan prayed to Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, who grants children.

After paying her respects, Qiao Mianmian went to find her second sister-in-law, but on the way she ran into Lu Zhao. She thought to herself, what a coincidence, that she had actually met Lu Zhao dressed in official robes.

Previously, Qiao Mianmian had been trying to avoid suspicion by keeping her distance from Lu Zhao. However, thinking about the burn on Lu Zhao's face, she wanted to check if it was healed, so she went over to greet him, "Lord Lu, what a coincidence! I didn't expect to run into you here. Why are you alone? Where's Qingjiu?"

Mentioning Qingjiu, Lu Zhao frowned slightly. Just now, while patrolling past the entrance of Xichan Temple, Qingjiu suddenly ran in with a stomachache. He had no choice but to come in and wait.

Now that Qiao Mianmian has asked, Lu Zhao can only make up a random excuse, "Qingjiu went somewhere else, what are you doing here?"

"I'm just browsing around." Qiao Mianmian looked up at Lu Zhao's face, but Lu Zhao was more than half a head taller than her, so she had to stand on tiptoe to see him. "Lord Lu, how... how is your face?"

"Oh, you mean this burn?" Lu Zhao turned his head slightly, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Qiao Mianmian standing on tiptoe. His thin lips curved up. "Actually, it's nothing serious. It should be completely healed in a few days."

"That's good. Your face is so beautiful, you can't have any scars." Qiao Mianmian looked at the small red spots on Lu Zhao's face and silently breathed a sigh of relief. If Lu Zhao had scars, she would really be letting down the craftsmanship of the Goddess Nuwa.

Hearing Qiao Mianmian say that she was pretty again, Lu Zhao blinked her long eyelashes, and her tone naturally became much gentler, "Fifth Miss Qiao, you seem to be very afraid that I will have scars, is that right?"

"Of course, you got burned because of my actions. If you get scarred and become ugly, and people dislike you when you try to find a spouse, I will feel very guilty." Qiao Mianmian saw that Lu Zhao's burn was not a big deal, and thinking that her sister-in-law was almost finished, she said goodbye to Lu Zhao, "Then I'll go first, see you later."

"Okay, see you later." Lu Zhao raised his hand and waved, watching Qiao Mianmian walk away without moving an inch.

Even as Qingjiu walked past him, Lu Zhao didn't notice her until she suddenly jumped in front of him, startling him so much that he frowned. "Why did you appear like a ghost?"

"I called you just now, but you didn't hear me," Qingjiu said, feeling wronged. "You've been so mean to me lately. Did I do something wrong?"

"No."

"Is something bothering you?"

"I'm very happy." Lu Zhao strode out, thinking to himself that Qing Jiu was still stupid; he was clearly very happy.