dinner party
At noon on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Taishi Zheng opened her powder box and sat at the dressing table, applying scented cotton to her face endlessly.
Cui Zhijun lay on the bed with his eyes open in a daze.
After New Year's Eve, the Bo residence was filled with a festive atmosphere of peace. Yet, he felt it was the calm before the storm, unsettling. Fortunately, he was supposed to be on duty tomorrow, and all the trivialities would dissipate amidst the busyness of the Imperial College.
Because the provincial examination is approaching.
Suppressing his anger, Cui Zhijun turned to look at Taishi Zheng. A thick cloud of dust hung in front of the dressing table. The scented cotton was lifted and dropped on Taishi Zheng's face with a thumping sound. This left Cui Zhijun bewildered. Did this stuff need to be applied so forcefully?
"Madam, are you going out?" Cui Zhijun sat up curiously.
He gazed at Taishi Zheng's lovely face reflected in the mirror, wishing he could smile. Such a life of harmony and warmth was something Cui Zhijun had never dared to imagine. Taishi Zheng's arrival wasn't inevitable; he considered her a blessing.
Zheng hummed, "I'm going out. Eleven and the others have agreed to come and support Old Five! Let's not even talk about the first class. He won't even make it to the second class. If he can get into the third class and be awarded the title of Jinshi, we'll be thankful. But I'm afraid he won't even make it to the palace examination..."
But as soon as she finished speaking, Zheng felt something was amiss. She immediately put down her powder box and slapped her mouth. "Pfft, pfft, pfft! The exam hasn't even started yet! Why am I saying something so unlucky? Old Five will definitely pass. He absolutely must. Otherwise, Uncle Xia might send him to Weizhou to guard the border with Big Brother... Oh my God, I can't even imagine what Big Brother will torture him like with that clueless Old Five."
Tortured by Big Brother?
Is his brother-in-law so scary?
Cui Zhijun sneered, but when he thought of his sister-in-law whom he met that day, he changed his mind.
It is possible.
Cui Zhijun still stared at Taishi Zheng intently. He asked, "It's already this late, Xia Buyu, are you still in the mood for a party?"
"Of course we did. It was Old Five who invited us. He also booked the restaurant." Zheng stood up and shook her skirt. Who was this Xia Buyu? Even if Mount Tai was about to collapse, he would still eat a good meal first. A playboy like him who lives for pleasure in the moment wouldn't have any sense of crisis until the very last moment.
Cui Zhijun also admired Xia Buyu's calmness.
But Cui Zhijun didn't care whether Xia Buyu cared about the provincial exam or not. He had already done his best and followed his wife's orders. As for Xia Buyu's final score, it had nothing to do with him. Cui Zhijun knew that the only thing that mattered to him was whether Taishi Zheng had left him behind and gone out alone today. Cui Zhijun asked in a deep voice, "Then Madam, are you going out today without me?"
Zheng turned around inexplicably and walked to the bed with a smile on her face.
Look at her holding Cui Zhijun's face, looking at his expectant eyes, and uttering two cold words in a gentle tone.
"No."
Cui Zhijun instantly lost his temper.
He no longer looked at her. He simply put her hands down gently and said softly, "Then Madam, please take your time on your journey and have a good time. I'm a little sleepy, so I won't see you off."
Zheng dropped her hands, confused.
Everything was fine just now, how come they suddenly turned against each other?
Is this angry? Or jealous?
Men are really hard to understand.
"Oh well."
Zheng looked at this stingy man, who was lying down with his back to her slowly in front of her, and deliberately turned away.
But Cui Zhijun secretly turned his head to look back, and was caught by her peripheral vision.
Zheng took advantage of his unpreparedness and quickly jumped onto the bed. Lying on top of Cui Zhijun, she said, "Oh, my husband, I didn't mean to leave you out. It was Xia Laowu who said that seeing you made him nervous about the provincial exam, so he didn't let me take you. Don't be angry. I will definitely come back early and bring you something delicious! Okay?"
The zheng was half hanging by the bed, acting coquettishly and shaking the person lying on the bed.
The word "husband" made Cui Zhijun's heart itch, so how could he be angry? Cui Zhijun was not angry at all, he was just pretending to be angry to make Taishi Zheng angry. Reaching out to hold Zheng's head, Cui Zhijun was about to lower his eyes and kiss her, but the powder on his beloved wife's face was choking him and he coughed.
"Ahem, Xiao Zheng... your makeup is... ahem, too thick."
“Ahem…”
-
Renhe Store outside Songmen,
It is one of the best restaurants in Bianjing, and even officials often order food from it for delivery.
A young man from Wuling like Xia Buyu wouldn't lose face when hosting a dinner. Therefore, places like Baifanlou and Renhedian became their first choice. Climbing to the top floor of Renhedian, Zheng spotted several wealthy men in brocade robes and golden hairpins waving to greet her in a half-open, exquisitely decorated room.
Zheng walked in with her skirt lifted. Outside the window with carved beams, the towering Song Gate and the azure sky merged into one.
The scenery in Bianjing is beautiful and the wind is gentle today.
Everyone is familiar with each other and there is no restraint.
As Zheng entered the room, she looked up and saw Xia Laowu leaning against the window. Without greeting anyone, she couldn't help but tease, "Laowu, why did you decide to invite us to the Renhe Store today? Didn't our Master Xia always go to Baifanlou? Why has he changed his ways?"
Xia Buyu was mortified when he heard this. "Don't mention it anymore. Do you think I don't want to? It's my father who has told them not to let me go to Baifanlou again. You know, they've already told the general, how can they dare to entertain me? Just make do with it. This Renhe Inn is pretty good too."
"You deserve it, Xia Laowu. I think you're just being naughty." Qi Jiami sat in front of the small couch, crossed her left leg, and peeled peanuts leisurely.
She continued, "You don't do the job that the family has bestowed upon you. The Hanlin Academy of Painting is a place that many people want to enter but can't. It would be so nice to just stay with Brother Ten and paint. You're good at it, but you just run around and have fun. Now you've pissed off Uncle Xia, haven't you? But Uncle Xia is right. Asking you to take the imperial examination? It would be better to ask you to go to Qingfeng Tower to roast duck—"
These two childhood sweethearts who have lived next door to each other since birth have been at odds with each other for more than a day or two.
"What? You asked me to go roast duck!"
As soon as Qi Jiami opened her mouth, Xia Buyu's eyebrows knitted together, and he stretched out his hand to argue with her, "Stop making sarcastic remarks here! Why don't you go to the Hanlin Academy of Painting and try it? Do you know how those old men bully me all day long? Their skills in picking fish bones are wasted if they don't go to Baifanlou to pick fish bones for customers."
"If you go to the Painting Academy, I guarantee you won't stay there for more than three days."
Qi Jiami looked at Xia Buyu's silly look and slowly said, "That's not necessarily true." Then she raised her hand and flicked the peanut shell onto his forehead.
"Qi Jiami!"
"What? You want me to take you to roast duck?"
Qi Jiami looked up, Xia Buyu clenched his fists, and the two of them were about to fight. Zheng rolled her eyes, wondering how these two could still be like this after all these years. Helplessly, she crossed her arms and inserted herself between the two of them. Zheng spoke to them, "Stop it! Go back and start arguing. I'm hungry."
If it's the zheng, it will have miraculous effects.
Xia Buyu immediately loosened his fist, and Qi Jiami clapped her hands and stood up happily, "Oh, Zheng is hungry. Let's eat then."
The two enemies sat on both sides, one on the left and the other on the right, neither of them bothering the other.
Zheng breathed a sigh of relief, but when she turned to look at Yi Zishi, who was standing alone by the window, feeling melancholy and silent for a long time, she couldn't help but feel suspicious. Usually, when they argued, Yi Zishi was always the first to speak. What was wrong with her today? Zheng walked over, "Sister Yi, why do you seem so unhappy? Did something happen?"
Yi Zishi turned away in surprise, looked at Taishi Zheng's face and smiled, "Nothing, let's eat."
Qi Jiami glanced toward the window. How could she hold back her outspokenness? She propped her face up with both hands and said slowly, "You and Zheng, stop hiding it. Zheng, let me tell you, she—after the results are announced, the Yi family is worried about finding a husband for her. They're planning to find her the number one scholar."
"What?" Zheng was incredulous.
Choosing a son-in-law from the list means that Yi Zishi will marry a completely unknown man, and she will not even be able to make a choice.
Her melancholy is also natural.
"Does the young lady know about this?" Zheng turned to look at Yi Zishi.
Yi Zishi said, "This was my aunt's idea."
Since it was the order of Concubine Xian, there is no turning back.
For a moment, Zheng didn't know how to comfort the person in front of her, but Yi Zishi smiled. She understood that as a daughter of an aristocratic family, her life would be difficult to make choices. If the Taishi family hadn't had Taishi Zhengjiang, an enlightened person like the sage, Zheng would have lived the same life as her.
She had already determined this fate.
Yi Zishi was the one who replaced Si Kou Jue among them. She comforted Tai Shi Zheng, "It's okay, Zheng, you don't have to worry about me. The person who passed the imperial examination must be an excellent person. My aunt is doing this for my own good. Let her take her own course. We are here today to cheer up Xia Laowu, don't let these things affect you. Come on, sit down, aren't you hungry? Let's eat."
"Sister Yi." Zheng called softly.
Yi Zishi shook his head and took Zheng to sit at the table. Qi Jiami spoke quickly, bringing the atmosphere back to normal. "Zheng, what are you worried about? Are you worried that this top scholar doesn't know his background? It doesn't matter. Don't we have another candidate here? Maybe the fifth brother is a hidden talent who will suddenly become the top scholar. When the young lady sees that this is not a reliable way to find a husband, she will turn around and not let her choose. This matter will be solved smoothly."
"Hey, Lao Wu, this all depends on you——"
Qi Jiami, relying on her strength, offended two people with a single sentence. He kicked her left and right under the table, forcing her to shut up and smile. Yi Zishi, however, suddenly laughed, "If Lao Wu really does become the top scorer, even if he's the one caught on the list, I'll accept it."
"That's true. But that's not called catching a son-in-law under the list. It should be called catching a duck under the list."
“Roast duck.”
Qi Jiami quickly responded, and she was very happy to bully Xia Buyu. After hearing this, Xia Buyu no longer wanted to look at the two of them. He turned around and said to Taishi Zheng, "Zheng, ignore them. Come on, come on, order some food. Aren't you hungry?"
Zheng said to Xia Buyu sincerely, "I want to eat roast duck."
“…”
Xia Buyu just thought that Tai Shi Zheng was not learning a good lesson by following them, so he rejected Tai Shi Zheng's request for the first time.
"No roast duck."
Zheng thought about it and then compromised, "Then I want to eat lotus skewer duck."
Xia Buyu roared angrily, "You are not allowed to eat roast duck, you are not allowed to eat lotus skewers duck, you are not allowed to eat duck, ga——"
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