Playing tricks
Sitting opposite each other on the top of the east building, the pearl curtain swayed in the wind.
Cui Zhijun carefully unloaded the miscellaneous items that Taishi Zheng had bought along the way and placed them neatly on the table.
The uncle, standing nearby, picked up the teapot and filled it for the distinguished guests. He looked at the couple and said warmly, "My wife is so lucky! I've been working in Baifan Tower for so many years, and I've never met such a sensible husband. You've really trained him well—"
After these words were spoken, Cui Zhijun lowered his eyes and said nothing, continuing to fiddle with those things.
Tai Shi Zheng burst into laughter. "Training? Tsk, uncle, let me tell you! Don't look at him looking so aggrieved and submissive right now. If I hadn't caught him doing something wrong today, he would have ignored me normally! This man is so fickle!"
After saying this, Zheng crossed her arms and pouted her lips.
Uncle paused pouring tea, as if realizing he'd said something wrong. Seeing this, Cui Zhijun blankly took over and said, "Please, please order."
The uncle quickly echoed Cui Zhijun's words, "Yes, yes, yes, order the dishes."
But before the uncle could open his mouth to tell the two distinguished guests the names of the dishes at Baifanlou, Taishi Zheng suddenly raised his hand and said, "Oh, no need. Just remember what I say."
Upon hearing this, the uncle nodded in a daze.
Zheng then confidently said, "Roasted quail with bamboo shoots, silkworm soup, stir-fried lung with kidney, steamed chicken with wine, sea bass sashimi, shrimp with lotus root, and steamed buns stuffed with syrup! He doesn't want anything else, so he doesn't need to order. Just eat what I leave. Okay, that's all for now."
"Uncle, do you remember?"
My uncle does these kinds of chores every day, so he never forgets what he hears.
But the combination of five dishes, a soup, and a staple food really surprised the uncle. He asked in disbelief, "I remember it, I remember it. I remember it, but my lady and my husband ordered so many dishes. Are you entertaining guests? Then, do you want us to get you two a bigger table?"
Tai Shi Zheng shook her head and responded, "No, it's just the two of us. Why change places? This place is fine."
"Ah?" Uncle still couldn't believe his ears.
Cui Zhijun smiled inexplicably, looked up at his uncle and said, "Please prepare as my wife ordered. We can eat all these dishes. Thank you for your help."
Having said that, the couple had confirmed that everything was correct. How could a restaurant worker like him have any objections? He then retreated and said, "My dear, you are too polite. I will ask the kitchen to prepare it right away. Please be patient--"
The beaded curtain moved again, and only the young couple was left in the private room, staring at each other.
Cui Zhijun raised his cup of tea and drank something without saying anything.
Although Zheng's anger had subsided somewhat, she still stubbornly tilted her head away from the windowsill. After a long pause, she finally lost her temper and spoke, "So you're running away because you're afraid your students will find out you're even going to such a place of pleasure? But if you didn't want to come here, why did you even suggest it to me in the first place? Could it be that you were trying to trick me into copying scriptures to please my mother? Cui Erlang, you're not a honest person at all!"
Cui Zhijun's eyes were calm. He looked at the profile of the person in front of him and said, "I just thought that my wife would like it, and I didn't think too much about it. Who would have thought that seeing the lively scene in the tile house today would make me regret it? I overestimated myself. It is truly my fault. I hope my wife will forgive me. I will reflect on my mistakes."
Cui Zhiyun sincerely admitted his mistake. It was also the first time for him to interact with the opposite sex other than the women in his family.
Cui Zhijun feels that he still has a lot to learn.
Upon hearing this, Tai Shi Zheng's hunched shoulders gradually relaxed. When she turned around, she happened to meet Cui Zhijun's gaze and responded to him haltingly.
"Well...well...this won't happen again! Just tell me straight away if you have anything to say. If you don't tell me, how can I possibly guess what's going on in your mind? If I can't guess what you're thinking, you'll be uncomfortable, and I'll be even more uncomfortable. So, remember this, Cui Erlang!"
"I'll try." Cui Zhijun nodded, not quite understanding.
Taishi Zheng stopped talking and didn't bother to argue anymore. Seeing that she was still angry, he turned around and started humming a little tune and counting the things he had bought on the table.
"This pair of porcelain bowls is for my mother. This set of rice paper is for Mingyue. Although she offended me last time, I can see that she is not a bad person. I will be magnanimous and forgive her. And then... this piece of pine soot ink is for Sanlang. What about this collar brush? It's for my sister-in-law. I saw her collar brush was old last time, but she couldn't bear to throw it away. This new one looks good, so I'll give it to my sister-in-law."
"And... this Fengchi inkstone is for you..." Zheng said, raising her hand and timidly pushing the inkstone towards Cui Zhijun. Cui Zhijun looked at her blankly, "And mine?"
Zheng didn't say anything.
Cui Zhijun took the Fengchi inkstone made of clay and thanked him.
"Why are you being so polite? I don't even remember Song Mingyue's grudge, so why should I remember yours?" Tai Shi Zheng smiled.
Cui Zhijun didn't respond. He just said, "Madam, you bought so much for everyone. Didn't you buy some for yourself?" Zheng pointed to the other side of the table and said, "Of course not. The rest are all mine."
Cui Zhijun nodded, lowered his eyes and stared at the inkstone on the table without saying a word.
Zheng reached out to touch the collar she was going to give to Cang Yi, and suddenly remembered what happened yesterday. She asked in a deep voice, "Erlang, I heard my second aunt say that my eldest sister-in-law was an orphan who sold fermented rice wine and small fish in front of the Suzaku Gate. I'm very curious, how could the Bo Mansion, which values family background so much, agree to let my eldest brother marry my eldest sister-in-law?"
"Do you know how they got married?"
"Brother and sister-in-law? Why is Madam asking this?" Cui Zhijun was puzzled. Tai Shizheng thought Cui Zhijun didn't want to talk, so he withdrew his outstretched hand and said, "It's nothing, I was just asking casually. If my husband doesn't know, forget it."
Cui Zhijun carefully put away the Fengchi inkstone that Zheng gave her, and searched for the old stories about Cang Yi and Cui Zhijian in her memory.
"I do know a little, but I only heard it from Aunt Wu and the others, so it's probably a mixture of truth and falsehood. I can talk to Madam about it. Madam, just listen."
Tai Shi Zheng nodded.
Cui Zhijun then told her, "It was probably four or five years ago when my father arranged a marriage for my eldest brother. The other party was the fourth daughter of the Shen family, who was also a Hanlin scholar. In a family like ours, marriages are usually arranged by parents and matchmakers. But my eldest brother has never been one to obey his father. Even when he chose to learn martial arts, and later passed the martial arts exam and was assigned to the Palace Front Department, he did it all behind my father's back."
"Father was furious about this and almost kicked my eldest brother out of the house. Fortunately, my mother begged him so hard that father gave up and only punished him with some family rules."
"If you don't follow your family's instructions on starting a business, your father can still let it go for now."
"But getting married was a matter of great importance to the reputation of the Bo's family. My eldest brother once again disobeyed the elders and openly opposed our father. On the day Mother sent someone to the Shen family to propose marriage, he brought our eldest sister-in-law home, declaring that he would marry no one but her. If the family disagreed, he would die in retaliation. I vaguely remember that this matter caused a big uproar, but I never asked about it, and Mother didn't ask me to get involved. So, I only know that it seemed that my grandmother intervened and suppressed the matter in the end. And so, my eldest sister-in-law married my eldest brother and entered the Bo's family, but our family didn't hold a wedding for her."
"As for more, I have no idea. But after that, my eldest brother and father haven't spoken to each other for many years."
How could this be? This was completely different from the Cui Zhijian that Taishi Zheng had seen.
His attitude towards Cang Yi that day was simply that of a coward!
"I never thought that Big Brother was so brave back then." Zheng grinned. If she had heard these words from someone else, she would have thought they were deceiving her. But once these words were spoken by Cui Zhijun, she felt that they could not be false.
As a result, she became even more curious about the story that happened to Cang Yi and Cui Zhijian.
Night fell over Tokyo City. The lights of Yuanliang were bright. The wind from the attic ruffled Zheng's hair. She gazed out at the distant world dotted with stars and asked Cui Zhijun, "Erlang, since my eldest brother was so determined at the beginning, he must love my eldest sister-in-law, right?"
Tai Shi Zheng couldn't find the answer to this question.
Cui Zhijun was as confused as she was.
Love?... He found it hard to see the appearance of love in them. Everything was so conventional and smooth. But in fact, Cui Zhijun had never seen what true love looked like.
He simply said: People are all different individuals, so how should love be defined? Can love be defined?
Cui Zhijun shook his head. "I can't say for sure."
Zheng smiled and said to herself: "Maybe it's love." It's just that we are not involved.
People are so contradictory.
As she pondered, dishes and bowls of fragrant food arrived on the table. Taishi Zheng temporarily put aside her worries and embraced the feast with joy. Cui Zhijun also accompanied her, quietly enjoying the delicious food from the legendary Baifan Tower.
During the meal, the two of them exchanged a few words briefly about the taste of the food, and there was no other conversation.
They waited until Taishi Zheng had finished her meal and put down her chopsticks, and the food on the table was completely wiped out. This brief date, reserved for the two of them, was drawing to a close. Cui Zhijun waved his hand in exchange for his uncle, but when he received the bill, his face suddenly turned pale...
Just look at Tai Shi Zheng's meal today, it actually cost him half a month's salary at the Imperial College.
"What's wrong, sir? Is there something wrong?"
Zheng innocently looked across at the hesitant Cui Zhijun, who was staring at the piece of paper in his hand that held his half-month salary, trembling slightly. Seeing this, the uncle followed suit and asked, "My dear, do you have any questions?"
"No..." Cui Zhijun took out his purse with a forced smile and handed it to his uncle.
The uncle raised his hand to take it, but he didn't take it away after grabbing it once, and he grabbed it twice without letting go. This person looks like a normal person, is he trying to eat for free? The uncle was so anxious that he scratched his head. Fortunately, Tai Shi Zheng reminded him, "Erlang, what are you thinking?"
"No, nothing..." Cui Zhijun finally came to his senses and reluctantly handed over the money bag. The uncle was afraid that the person in front of him would change his mind, so he quickly counted the money and put it in his sleeve, smiling and seeing him off. "The amount is just right. I will go and get busy now. Please feel free to come back often for delicious food--"
Tai Shi Zheng nodded, stood up and smoothed the hem of her skirt, "Okay, we're full, let's go."
After hearing this, Cui Zhijun stood up in a daze, picked up the things on the table and put them in his arms, then walked out without saying a word. Zheng looked at his stupid look and followed him with a puzzled look on her face, but no matter how Zheng poked Cui Zhijun in the back, Cui Zhijun did not react.
Tai Shi Zheng was in a dilemma.
How could this meal make someone stupid? Then, as they walked to the suspension bridge at the corner, Zheng said to the people around her as if she had suddenly realized something: "Ah! Cui Zhijun, you are not feeling sorry for the meal you treated me to, are you——"
Cui Zhijun walked past Taishi Zheng quietly, saying, "I don't have it." Then he walked away like a lost soul.
"You have it!" Zheng followed.
Cui Zhijun still defended himself: "I didn't."
"You have it." Zheng still refused to give up.
So, the two of them walked out of the magnificent building in a circle, gradually blended into the hustle and bustle, and walked towards the direction they came from.
-
Then, at the intersection of a long street, the carriage heading home stopped.
Taishi Zheng, perhaps tired of arguing with Cui Zhijun, actually clung to Cui Zhijun's arm and was dragged all the way to the carriage. Fu Yuanzi saw the host happily waved and quickly stepped forward to greet her. After she took the things from Cui Zhijun's hand, she asked, "Madam, where did you and your husband sneak off to?"
"We—" Zheng kept the secret, still holding Cui Zhijun tightly. Fu Yuanzi pricked up his ears to listen, but all he heard was: "This is a secret, I won't tell you."
The young couple got into the car.
Outside the carriage, Fu Yuanzi was holding something and stomped his feet in anger.
Inside the carriage, Taishi Zheng was in a good mood and yawned while leaning against the window.
At this moment, Cui Zhijun looked at the person sitting opposite him, his eyes no longer dull. Zheng's eyelids, however, began to droop as the carriage moved forward. The bumpy road made her body sway, and her head on her neck spun uncontrollably from side to side.
One circle, two circles, three circles.
Cui Zhijun looked up, as if watching when and where her head would fall.
Finally, after the fifth round, Zheng lived up to Cui Zhijun's expectations and her head hit the center in front of him accurately. If Cui Zhijun had not been paying attention to her every move, the dream of continuing the hope of the Bo Mansion would have suffered another heavy blow today.
In a flash, Cui Zhijun placed his palms on his abdomen and firmly stopped Taishi Zheng's head. Don't be fooled by the small head of the man in front of you, he is quite strong.
Cui Zhijun held Zheng's forehead, feeling at a loss as to what to do.
He looked out the window, wanting to call out, but was interrupted by the sudden jolt. Taishi Zheng fell into Cui Zhijun's arms involuntarily, and Zheng was awakened by the jolt. She looked at the embrace in front of her in a daze, stunned for a long time.
Cui Zhiyun thought she would leave on her own accord.
Unexpectedly, Taishi Zheng fell asleep again where he woke up.
No matter how hard Cui Zhijun pushed, it was difficult to push it open.
"Taishi Zheng, I know you're awake. Get up." Cui Zhijun rubbed Taishi Zheng's arm. But Taishi Zheng closed her eyes tightly and hid in Cui Zhijun's arms, saying, "No."
"No? Then why are you talking?!" Cui Zhijun asked in a deep voice. Zheng replied, "I was talking in my sleep, can't you hear it——"
“…”
A scoundrel.
Cui Zhijun was helpless and could only let the person in his arms do whatever he wanted.
He crossed his arms and hung them, not wanting to touch Taishi Zheng at all, which was his last act of resistance. Zheng, however, slowly moved her bottom to Cui Zhijun's side, using him as a soft cushion, and fell into a deep sleep.
But what should I do when I get home?
Later, the carriage's jolting became less and less intense until it came to a complete stop outside the Bo residence. As the driver shouted, Cui Zhijun tapped Taishi Zheng's face, hoping she would rise on her own. Unexpectedly, Taishi Zheng covered her face with her hands and stopped moving.
"We're home now, get up quickly. Otherwise I'll get up and it won't be my fault if you fall." Cui Zhijun couldn't help but warn him, and he pretended to lift his leg as he spoke.
Only then did Taishi Zheng suddenly sit up. She looked at the person in front of her and said dissatisfiedly, "Okay—if you need me today, just call me Madam. If you don't need me anymore, just call me by my first name. Cui Zhijun, you're so ungrateful and ungrateful!"
"What do you want to do if you don't get off the car when you get home?" Cui Zhijun was at a loss.
Why is she the first to complain?
What do you want?
Taishi Zheng narrowed her eyes upon hearing this, "Oh, I can't walk anymore. Please, my husband, carry me back home."
"you."
That day, Cui Zhijun had only reluctantly carried her on his back because she was being punished to kneel. Today, Taishi Zheng was strolling freely through the streets and alleys, so how could she be unable to walk? Besides, Cui Zhijun had apologized, paid the compensation, eaten, and even lost half a month's salary.
How can we let her go so far!
"I won't carry you." Cui Zhijun showed his toughness for once, turned around and walked out of the car.
He had never thought that he was even more naive than Taishi Zheng when it came to cheating. But just as he had planted his feet in front of the carriage, the person behind him jumped onto his back from the side of the carriage frame, causing the messengers from the Bo Mansion who had come to greet him to exclaim in unison.
Cui Zhijun instantly felt embarrassed and whispered to Zheng, "There are so many people watching, come down quickly."
Zheng Pianyan said, "I won't get off. It's perfectly reasonable for you to carry me. I don't believe anyone can say anything! Besides, you've already carried me once, so what are you afraid of? Erlang, just carry me! It's better for us to stay here and be watched, or for you to carry me and leave quickly. You choose."
Obviously, neither of these two options is a good one, but when Cui Zhijun looked at the door, he was forced to choose the latter.
People laughed as they watched him skillfully carry his wife on his back.
So, seeing this handsome man who was so proud and reserved before marriage and kept people at a distance become like this, everyone can only say: love really makes people "self-degrading".
Then, walking into an empty corner, Cui Zhijun thought he could finally breathe a sigh of relief, but unexpectedly, a voice came from behind him that frightened both him and Taishi Zheng: "Wife Zhijun, my son has only been well for a few days, and you, you are going to rebel again——"
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