Xu Zhen was a fifth-rank official. Although his rank was not high, he controlled important resources, and local officials dared not neglect him.
If one can still gain recognition in the imperial court, one will naturally not easily get angry or curse.
The courtyard was very quiet. The constables and guards standing guard outside did not hear the expected outburst of anger, but judging from the purple faces of the prefect and magistrate who came out, they could guess that the prefect and magistrate had suffered a great blow.
After Prefect Wan Liang and County Magistrate Du Yuan left, the courtyard returned to calm.
Ruan Meng and Xu Zhen entered the room to check. Madam Xu was still asleep and sleeping soundly.
Perhaps because she slept soundly and her body recovered, she looked much more peaceful.
On behalf of the three families, Song Shiwen sincerely thanked Xu Zhen, who waved goodbye calmly.
After nodding her thanks, Ruan Meng went straight to the kitchen.
Ruan Meng asked her third brother to slaughter a duck, and Xiao Kai volunteered to help clean up the small fish. Ruan Meng used the fresh bamboo shoots sent by the He family restaurant to stew duck soup.
Madam Xu ate half a bowl of bamboo shoots cooked in fresh duck broth. Xu Zhen's expression didn't change, but after leaving the house, his hand holding the rice bowl trembled slightly. He was so happy that he couldn't speak when facing Ruan Meng.
Ruan Meng asked her second brother to serve rice to Xu Zhen. The rice consisted of duck soup with bamboo shoots and pan-fried small fish. Xu Zhen ate about half a bowl of the rice.
As darkness fell, Xu Zhen noticed that the people in the courtyard were all bored, so he took the initiative to speak:
"You like beachcombing? You can go ahead! It's alright, we'll stay here and keep watch, no one will dare to give you any trouble!"
Upon hearing Xu Zhen's words, the second and third brothers were truly tempted, and Xiao Kai was also eager to try.
A-Yuan stared longingly at his young master, not daring to utter a sound.
Ruan Meng found an oil lamp in the courtyard and urged her second and third brothers to bring out wooden basins and buckets. They were about to leave...
Sun Chengen suddenly spoke up, "Let's go! Let's go join the fun!"
In the end, Song Shiwen and his brother, together with the guards, protected Xu Zhen and his wife in the courtyard, while Fan Zizhong and his brother accompanied Ruan Meng and his brother to go beachcombing.
Just as she was about to step out of the courtyard, Xu Zhen came out and waved to Ruan Meng, his attitude much more familiar than when they first met.
Mrs. Xu sent her husband away, asking him to wait outside. She was too embarrassed to speak.
"Young lady, you have excellent skills. May I ask for your help?"
Ruan Meng was in a bit of a predicament. It wasn't that she was unwilling to do it, but where could she catch tree frogs so late at night?
But ever since meeting Madam Xu, I've realized that she doesn't easily ask for favors, and the fact that she's asking me for help stems from her trust and approval of me...
Ruan Mengxian agreed, but explained that it would be difficult to catch or buy tree frogs at night, and that the He family's restaurant would help out...
Taking advantage of the phototaxis of flying fish and shrimp, and with the oil lamps prepared in advance by the stewards of the He and Sun families, catching flying fish and shrimp was a piece of cake.
Just as Xu Zhen had said, when they went beachcombing that night, not only did no one stop them, but passersby quickly made way for them...
The contrast between the before and after facial expressions is striking.
Just as the group was about to return home laden with their spoils...
The second child, without a doubt, cried out in surprise.
Originally, there was a chance to catch more prawns and flying fish, but they were all scared away.
The third brother sighed and looked helplessly at his second brother.
The others, though angry, dared not speak out and all lowered their heads to cover their anger.
Before Ruan Meng could speak, the second brother took the initiative to explain, pointing to something thrashing about in the wooden basin.
"Little sister, it's really not my fault! Something hit me!"
Ruan Meng stepped forward, worried that her second brother might accidentally misbehave again, and asked:
What hit you?
The second son said with a serious face, "There's a stinky thing that hit me in the face!"
The third brother couldn't stand it anymore, and the second brother, to avoid his sister's criticism, started spouting nonsense.
"Second brother, I was right next to you the whole time. I didn't see anything hit you, let alone hit your face! Look at your face, there wasn't even a splash of water!"
“But,” the second son argued, “it’s so ugly, so incredibly ugly! It almost scared me so much I fell into the water. What else could it be but a slap in the face?”
The second child was very confident, with a serious expression.
Ruan Meng knew her second brother well; although he was always easily startled, he never made things up.
Therefore, the second and third brothers were asked to bring up the wooden basins they had just pointed to, and to sort through the seafood one by one and put it into other wooden basins and buckets.
Until, among the flying fish, one large one revealed its true form!
Those who saw it were all startled.
Even the Fan brothers took a half step back.
"Little sister, what is this?"
"The Ruan siblings made a mistake; it was really embarrassing!"
"How can there be such an ugly fish in this world?"
......
The second brother looked smug. "I told you so! I wasn't lying to you, was I?"
Sun Chengen saw it clearly by the light of the oil lamp and couldn't help but turn his head away indifferently.
It's so ugly!
The second child was still asking, "Did you hit someone in the face? Did it hurt?"
The people around her nodded, but Ruan Meng couldn't help but smile. The matter that Madam Xu had asked for had been delivered to her so quickly!
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