Chapter 47 Pear Juice Paste "I've been slow-witted since childhood... I'm afraid of disappointing my young lady..."
Even after returning to the residence, Lu Qiong still couldn't figure out why Xie Xun had come out of the Xie residence, unless he was someone from the residence.
Besides, he also shares the surname Xie?
I recall someone mentioning that the Xie family had two sons, the elder son was an official, and the younger son... well, he disappeared after passing the imperial examination? Thinking about it this way, it seems to make sense, so Xie Xun might be the younger son of the Xie family.
But why is it said that he's still preparing for the autumn imperial examinations? And that he's concealing his identity? Does he enjoy playing the "pretending to be weak while actually being strong" game?
However, since this matter was none of her concern, she stopped thinking about anything related to Xie Xun, but decided to be more cautious around such important figures in the future.
But when she woke up the next day, she had completely forgotten about it.
For the past few days, Lu Qiong has been repeatedly rinsing rice, stewing porridge, and rinsing rice again... Today is finally a bit better, the craze for porridge hot pot has subsided quite a bit, and she has also become interested in making pear juice paste.
After autumn arrived, Bianjing remained dry. My face felt tight when I woke up in the morning, and my throat was sometimes dry. Fortunately, pears can moisturize the lungs, and making some pear juice paste can also prevent dryness, making these days a bit easier.
The concubines of the previous dynasty used pear juice paste to nourish their beauty, but this was too extravagant for Lu Qiong.
Then I went to the market to buy twenty catties of autumn pears, two liters of honey, and half a catty of ginger, which cost me nearly a hundred coins. It hurt my wallet!
All autumn pears need to be peeled and cored, then mashed in a mortar and pestle used for crushing bayberries. Finally, filter the mixture through a coarse cloth, put the pear juice into a pot, add ginger juice, and simmer over low heat until it becomes somewhat thick. Add honey and stir well.
She thought she had bought enough, but after she finished making it, she realized it was only enough for one jar.
Yang Jie'er was also frightened and hissed, "How many pears did the concubines of the previous dynasty have used up? This pear paste can also 'eat' pear juice, it's all gone, I just pounded it for a long time."
Lu Qiong didn't reply. She scooped out a spoonful of pear syrup, which was amber in color and had a slightly astringent smell, along with a medicinal fragrance that was refreshing and pleasant!
Just as the pear syrup was sealed away, Shen Erniang, who hadn't visited in a long time, came to visit.
Lu Qiong picked up a newly ordered cup of tea and pretended to be angry: "The great lawyer is so busy, he doesn't even have time to come to my humble shop?"
Perhaps she had come from elsewhere; Shen Erniang was still panting. After drinking half a cup of tea, she said, "I've been really busy these past few days. Yesterday I even took on a divorce case!"
"Divorce?" Sister Yang got excited when she heard this. There weren't many customers in the shop, so she simply pulled up a chair and sat down to listen.
Lu Xuan also enjoyed listening to her talk about her experiences as a lawyer, so she sat up straight, opened her eyes wide, and waited for Shen Erniang to talk about the divorce.
“My husband has been away for a long time and has brought back a young woman he doesn’t recognize. She wants a divorce and to take back her dowry, but he refuses.”
Yang Jie'er was puzzled and asked curiously with wide eyes, "What's the use of finding a lawyer for this?"
Shen Erniang said, "You don't know this. If a wife wants to divorce but her husband doesn't, this case can be solved by asking a lawyer to help draft a 'statement'. This way, she can get back her dowry and a share of the family property."
Sister Yang seemed to understand but not quite: "This is a good thing for that woman..."
Lu Xuan clearly didn't understand, but she still shook her head and swayed along. Shen Erniang found it rather cute and patted her head. Lu Qiong, on the other hand, seemed thoughtful, as if she had heard this story somewhere before.
However, Shen Erniang didn't go into too much detail, since she still had to work on cases for others after breakfast.
......
Tomorrow is the beginning of September, the day the results of the autumn imperial examinations will be announced. There are quite a few people in the shop discussing this, and Lu Qiong finds these trivial matters interesting.
"Could the second son of the Duan family take the top spot?"
"That's hard to say..."
They also secretly talked about the previous cheating incident in the imperial examinations, which reportedly implicated many people and even led to the suspension of the spring and autumn examinations... For the imperial court, it was just a word, but for the scholars who had studied hard for years, it meant an extra three years of delay.
When Xie Xun arrived, the diners who had been chatting about the imperial examinations had already left. He could smell a very rich aroma from afar, and saw a ceramic pot on each table. Were they making hot pot? But it was a little different.
Unexpectedly, Lu Ji has undergone such changes in just half a month. Who knows, maybe they will expand their shops next time?
Lu Qiong was still grinding tea leaves. Because the shop was making money, the tea in the shop had been changed to a new product. The price was a bit higher than before, but it was praised by many old customers, which was a good thing.
Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of the indigo hem of his robe out of the corner of her eye. She stopped what she was doing, looked up, and found that it was Xie Xun.
What a coincidence!
Thinking of his true identity, and the autumn imperial examination... Lu Qiong smiled more deeply than usual: "What would you like to order today, Xie Lang?"
Perhaps it was because autumn had arrived, Xie Xun felt a chill down his spine, then nodded reservedly: "Thank you, Manager Lu, one serving of plum blossom soup dumplings will suffice."
Since someone rarely orders soup noodles, Sister Yang, who had been eavesdropping nearby, quickly agreed: "Please wait a moment, sir! I'll knead the dough for you right away."
Lately, there haven't been many customers ordering soup noodles, since Third Sister's are better. Only the pastries and porridge here can keep customers coming back. Sister Yang hasn't been kneading as much dough as she did the day before, she's been so bored, now she can finally put her skills to good use.
Lu Qiong prepared the tea, finally sprinkling a small pinch of osmanthus flowers on top. The dark green tea surface, accompanied by the tender yellow osmanthus flowers, had a unique flavor.
Setting down her teacup, she casually brought up the autumn imperial examinations: "The results will be announced tomorrow. Will Xie Lang be worried?"
Xie Xun had just picked up his teacup and hadn't even taken a sip when he was startled by these words and choked. In his excitement, water from the teacup splashed onto his back.
He has long forgotten what he said before, so how can he make amends now?
Seeing Xie Xun's face flush red and show some unease, Lu Qiong's smile deepened: "On Mid-Autumn Festival, you still had the mind to visit our shop, which shows you did well on the exam. How about we go to see the results together tomorrow?"
Xie Xun pretended to be calm, but his back was already soaked with sweat: "Manager Lu is wrong."
Lu Qiong also joined in the performance: "What do you mean by that?"
Xie Xun didn't know how to respond. If he told the truth, people might think he was a hypocrite, but he would still be exposed after the results were announced...
He thought he had come up with a brilliant plan.
He shook his head and sighed, "I've been stupid since childhood, and no matter how many books I read, I can't learn it. I'm afraid I'll fail the exam and disappoint my young lady."
To cover up a lie, he actually hurt himself. Lu Qiong was amazed by his shamelessness and laughed in exasperation. She had to comfort him, saying, "Young master, don't say such discouraging things. You can take the exam again next year. Who knows, you might pass it."
Xie Xun also looked distressed: "The autumn examination is held once every three years. I failed this time, so I have to wait another three years... I'm not suited for this path, so I'd better give up now!"
Is this young man getting a little too into character?
Fortunately, Sister Yang came to the rescue in time, holding a bowl of freshly baked plum blossom soup dumplings, her eyes crinkling with laughter: "My lord's soup dumplings are here, they took me half a day to knead, you must enjoy them!"
She looked at the two of them with a "kind" expression, silently counting two fingers in her mind, thinking that this was a perfect match.
Seeing that they were all silent, Sister Yang smiled and waved her hand: "Am I in your way? I'll leave now... I'll leave now."
Being teased in public was nothing to Lu Qiong, but Xie Xun was practically cooked, and it was hard to tell whether the steaming soup was from the pancakes or from the hot soup he had made.
She then put aside her thoughts and stopped disturbing Xie Xun: "My lord, please enjoy your meal slowly, there's no need to rush."
Xie Xun didn't dare to look up and nodded stiffly.
...
In the study of the Xie family mansion, a stick of incense was lit on the desk to refresh the mind, and the smoke gradually swirled around.
Qingxian gave a briefing on the caravan's current situation: "This trip from Bianjing to the Western Regions will take more than a month, and we'll return at the end of the year... These Western Region raisins can be exchanged for Jiangnan silk at ten times the price..."
After receiving no response for a while, he looked away from the letter and was speechless.
This is the first time I've seen the young man so distracted from official business. Where has he lost his mind? The medicine the doctor prescribed last time really didn't work.
"My lord, would you like to..."
Xie Xun waved his hand, interrupting him: "We'll talk about it tomorrow."
After he left, Qingxian finally finished speaking: "...Take a short rest."
Whenever Xie Xun felt melancholy, he would sit in the courtyard for a while. Now, there is a pot of wine on the stone table, which is still the osmanthus wine left over from the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The glass was filled to the brim, but there was no sign of drinking it.
It wasn't until late at night that Xie Zhan arrived. He poured himself a small cup, took a sip, and then smiled, saying, "I just came from the imperial court and heard that someone was distraught. What happened?"
Xie Xun could only sigh.
Xie Zhan smiled and asked, "Did you have a disagreement with your mother?"
He sighed again: "I just told a little lie, and now I realize I can't cover it up anymore."
This made Xie Zhan even more curious, as it was the first time he had ever heard him lie: "Who asked you to go to such lengths?"
This sorrow must hold a certain weight in his heart.
Xie Xun didn't reply, only puzzled. Why did he feel so troubled and hesitant today? Unable to figure it out, he could only stare blankly at the moonlight, feeling uneasy.
...
In the Song Dynasty, a housewarming banquet was held when people moved to a new residence. Lu Qiong decided to close his shop at night and invite everyone to his new home.
We cleared a space in the yard and, together with Sister Yang, moved the eight-immortal table from the main room. It was so heavy!
Lu Xuan and Shuang Jie were at the jujube orchard, each with a bamboo basket, tiptoeing down branches, almost climbing up to pick the jujubes. Some had fallen to the ground. Shuang Jie picked up a jujube, wiped it on her sleeve, and took a bite. It was crisp and sweet, so delicious it made her eyes squint!
Jinniang brought some things, saying she wanted to bury wheat, millet, and copper coins under the threshold. Lu Qiong didn't understand what this meant, but it was a good omen.
She burned mugwort and fumigated the new stove. Lu Qiong also cooked brown sugar dumplings in the new pot and, as usual, sprinkled osmanthus flowers on top as a garnish.
After they finished everything, they sat together in the moonlight.
On the table were roasted mutton, braised pork belly, and some vegetables. Jinniang served Shuangjie meat and added vegetables for herself. She talked about the Pei family: "When I came here just now, they were arguing again and even wanted to get a divorce!"
Lu Qiong didn't have any opinion on this matter. After all, she had a premonition when she heard Shen Erniang talk about the case earlier, and now it was within her expectations.
But Jinniang was worried and had no appetite: "I don't know what to do with Yaya..."
They then talked about other things, which eased their earlier sadness.
After everyone left, it was already late at night.
Before going to sleep, Lu Xuan suddenly brought up Jiang Su's matter: "Sister Su should be in Bianjing right now."
Lu Qiong didn't understand what she meant, but was she worried? So she continued to listen.
To her surprise, Lu Xuan's next words made her panic: "Sister is not young anymore, why are you not married yet? Yu Niang said that when other people's children can walk, I don't know if Sister will be able to get married."
Lu Qiong pinched her cheek and said irritably, "This is none of your business. You have to get up early tomorrow, go to sleep..."
More than this, she wanted to know what happened to Jiang Su's hairpin, and whether Li Jie'er and Yu Niang had really paid the money back.
By the time the lights in the Lu family's house were completely extinguished, it was already midnight.
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