Chapter 126 She Doesn't Want to Marry Me, Thinking What She Thinks
Since Baiwei City opened, Lin Song has been studying at the academy in the prefectural city. He hasn't followed Lin Yao around like a little shadow for a long time.
Today, taking a rare day off, Lin Song went to Baiwei City with Lin Yao.
The young boy strolled around the first floor with his hands behind his back, and finally had a hearty meal at a fried food stall. After eating and drinking his fill, he slowly climbed back up to the second floor, quietly walked behind the counter, and startled the absent-minded Lin Yao.
"My sister has gone off on her own again."
Lin Yao poked his head: "You're never serious."
Lin Song stood on the chair and brought his small face close to Lin Yao's. "These past few days, Sister has been looking worried. Is something bothering you?"
"Be careful, or you'll fall flat on your backside." Lin Yao pinched his cheek and helped him off the chair. "What could be troubling you? It's just that Laba Festival is coming up in a few days, and I wonder what new dishes the shop will be making."
Lin Song was young but not stupid. He naturally realized that his older sister was not telling the truth, but since she was unwilling to say, he didn't ask any further.
However, when it comes to Laba Festival, Lin Song thinks of the Eight Treasure Duck he used to eat, which was truly sweet, soft and glutinous with rich layers of flavor.
Just like him, Xu Zhiheng, who was far away in Beijing, also missed the Eight Treasure Duck.
At this moment, the Xu family was having dinner, and many dishes were laid out on the table, with a plate of braised duck with a glossy sheen in the center.
Xu Zhiheng picked up a piece of braised duck and put it in his mouth to chew slowly. He felt that the duck meat was tender, but the oily aroma was lacking. In the end, there was only a light salty and fresh taste, which was far from the rich and lingering flavor of Eight Treasure Duck.
Just thinking about Eight Treasure Duck, with its belly stuffed with seven or eight kinds of fillings such as glutinous rice, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and ham, steamed until tender and falling off the bone, fills your mouth with the unique aroma of duck fat and the sweet and sticky taste of glutinous rice...
As he pondered, his chopsticks stopped in mid-air, and his gaze became somewhat dazed.
Madam Xu sat opposite him, looking at her youngest son's absent-minded appearance, and coughed lightly, "Eat properly."
General Xu glanced at his wife, then at his son, and lowered his head to continue eating.
Xu Zhiheng snapped out of his daze, met his mother's concerned gaze, picked up his chopsticks again and picked up some vegetables, but his interest in braised duck had largely dissipated.
The meal was neither particularly good nor bad. After the meal, the maid cleared the table, and Xu Zhiheng accompanied his mother to the side hall to warm themselves by the fire.
The silver charcoal in the charcoal brazier was burning brightly, and the warm steam dispelled the winter chill.
Madam Xu took the hot water bottle handed to her by the maid, glanced at the father and son sitting beside her, discussing the taste of roasted oranges by the charcoal brazier, and suddenly said, "The second young lady of the Duke of Wei's family is still unmarried. According to Her Majesty the Empress, His Majesty intends to bestow a marriage upon you."
Xu Zhiheng froze as he placed the oranges.
Madam Xu said earnestly, "You two met a few times at palace banquets when you were young, and you also played together for some time. You can be considered childhood sweethearts."
General Xu looked at his wife, then at his son, took a fresh orange from the table, and placed it on the charcoal fire.
Xu Zhiheng peeled the orange in his hand and offered it to his mother in a flattering manner: "Mother, my marriage is not in a hurry."
"No rush?" Madam Xu suddenly sat up straight, placing the hot water bottle on the low table. "Your older brother, at your age, already has two sons! And look at you, all alone, not even a single child?"
She grew angrier as she spoke, and reached out to tap Xu Zhiheng's forehead. "I think you've gone stupid from being in the army!"
Xu Zhiheng was startled by his mother's sudden outburst of anger.
Madam Xu turned and glared at General Xu, who was pretending to roast oranges, her anger rising even more: "And you! Like father, like son!"
These words hit the nail on the head, exposing General Xu's past. Back then, he believed that a good man should have ambitions beyond his hometown, so he volunteered to guard the border, and in the end, he wasted his twenties before finally getting married.
He was seven years older than Madam Xu, and when they got married, his colleagues teased him for being an old cow eating young grass.
He quickly put down the iron skewer and went to his wife's side to soothe her: "Madam, please calm down. Back then, we had to delay our marriage because of guarding the frontier. It was truly unavoidable. Ah Heng has also been training in the army for the past few years, constantly on the move. How could he have had time to meet girls? It's only natural that we wouldn't get married if we didn't have someone we liked." As he spoke, he didn't forget to give Xu Zhiheng a frantic wink.
Xu Zhiheng looked at his father's winking and then met his mother's still angry gaze. After hesitating for a long time, he finally spoke: "Mother, I have someone I love."
Xu Zhiheng's voice was not loud, but it was like a thunderclap from a clear sky.
General Xu's eyes widened, then he slapped his thigh and laughed: "Good lad! You've kept this a secret for a long time! Such a big thing has been kept from us for so long!"
Their anger vanished instantly, replaced by uncontrollable joy.
Mrs. Xu fired off a barrage of questions:
"What's the girl's name?"
How old are you this year?
What's his personality like?
Where do you live?
What do your parents do for a living?
General Xu also came over, "How's your skill?"
Madam Xu rolled her eyes at him, "You think I'm looking for a sparring partner? Why are you asking how skilled I am!"
Before Xu Zhiheng could answer, Madam Xu had already raised her voice and called out to her dowry maid, "Granny Zhang! Granny Zhang, come here quickly!"
Upon hearing the noise, the old woman guarding the door hurried in and bowed, asking, "What are your orders, Madam?"
"Go and get the dowry list I prepared for this young man to find a wife!" Madam Xu smiled so much that fine lines appeared at the corners of her eyes. "See if anything is missing from the list, and we'll quickly make up for it. We can't let the girl suffer!"
Mrs. Xu then asked, "When shall we visit our future in-laws?"
Xu Zhiheng opened his mouth again to answer.
Mrs. Xu had already made her decision: "I think tomorrow is a good day. I'll have the kitchen prepare some decent snacks as gifts."
General Xu chimed in, "Yes, yes, I'm off tomorrow, so I can go with you. It'll show our sincerity!"
Seeing his parents' overjoyed expressions, as if they couldn't wait to propose marriage, Xu Zhiheng sighed.
He had been afraid to reveal the truth because he feared his parents would make such a fuss.
He interrupted his parents helplessly: "Mom, Dad, stop what you're doing. She doesn't want to marry me."
The conversation in the hall abruptly stopped. Zhang Mama sensed something was wrong and quietly left through the door.
Xu Zhiheng met his parents' astonished gazes, awkwardly scratched his head, and forced a stiff smile: "Hehe..."
"Laughing! All you do is laugh!" Madam Xu slapped his hand in annoyance, but her tone was less angry. "You're just like your father, both of you are stupid! No wonder girls don't want to marry you."
People tend to feel sleepy after eating, especially in a warm indoor environment.
The excitement from before had completely vanished, and Madam Xu felt utterly exhausted. She waved her hand, leaving the father and son behind, and went to rest.
The father and son stared at each other, the sparks in the charcoal brazier flickering intermittently.
General Xu suddenly picked up an iron skewer and poked at the charcoal fire, breaking the silence: "Your mother was a famous beauty in the capital back then, well-educated and reasonable. The young men who came to propose marriage were so numerous that, if you were to exaggerate, they could line up from the gate of the mansion to the end of the street. But she hesitated to agree."
Xu Zhiheng raised an eyebrow. He only knew that his parents had a harmonious relationship, but he didn't know that they had such a past.
“I’m just a rough guy, stationed on the frontier for many years, with scars from battles on my face. In terms of looks, I can’t compare to those refined young masters from noble families. In terms of family background, although the Xu family has meritorious service, it can’t compare to those great families that have been officials for generations.” General Xu smiled nonchalantly, but his eyes gradually softened. “But your mother chose me in the end. At that time, I felt like a huge blessing had fallen on my head, and I was even floating on air.”
"Later I asked your mother why she chose me." General Xu recalled the scene from back then, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up. "Your mother said that when she was shopping in her early years, she saw a gambler beating his wife in the street. Many people gathered around to watch the commotion, but I was the only one who rushed up and stopped him, and took the gambler to the government office. She remembered me because of that one incident."
Xu Zhiheng listened intently.
"On the day of the marriage proposal, those sons of civil officials only knew how to spout high-sounding words. I spoke the truth that day," General Xu straightened his back, "Although I am crude, I can guarantee that I will only marry your mother in this life, never take a concubine, and she will not have to get up before dawn every day to pay her respects and serve others. She can sleep until the sun is high in the sky if she wants, and do whatever she wants. I, Xu, will do everything in my power to protect her freedom and comfort."
He looked at Xu Zhiheng and said solemnly, "Those young masters all laughed at me for being uncouth and said my family had no manners. But they didn't know that what your mother disliked most were those restrictive rules."
General Xu patted his son on the shoulder and said, "Son, it's not about having a generous dowry or a good family background to win a girl's heart. You need to figure out what she really cares about."
Xu Zhiheng listened to his father's words and suddenly realized that when it came to marriage, some people cared about family background, some about appearance, and some about freedom. He seemed to know what she cared about.
"Achoo, achoo—" Lin Yao sniffed and hugged the hot water bottle in her hand even tighter.
When Ah Zhu passed by, he heard Lin Yao sneeze twice in a row and asked with concern, "Is the shopkeeper catching a cold?"
Lin Yao casually said, "I stay indoors every day, where can I find any wind? I'm afraid someone is talking about me."
It wasn't Lin Yao making things up. In the back room of Zuixianlou not far away, the young master Wang Chengyu was frowning at a bowl of sesame paste.
Zuixianlou specializes in mutton hot pot, and the restaurant used to be packed almost every day. However, since Baiweicheng introduced the option of dipping mutton in sesame sauce, the number of customers ordering mutton at their restaurant has decreased by more than half.
Wang Chengyu was unwilling to give up, so he went to Baiwei City a few times and found the food to be really good.
He specially bought a jar of sesame paste from Baiweicheng and asked the chefs to try to replicate it.
Today is the fourth time I've tried making it, and the sauce in the white porcelain bowl is either bland or has a burnt, bitter taste, which is a far cry from the original.
"Useless! You're all useless!" Wang Chengyu slammed his chopsticks on the table, his face flushed with anger. "It's just a jar of broken sauce. You've been trying to figure it out for so long and still can't make it. What use are you all!"
The cooks in the kitchen were so frightened that they all bowed down and dared not utter a sound.
Master Wang walked in, stroking his beard. Looking at his son's agitated state, he said in a deep voice, "What's the panic? It's a fact that Baiwei City has taken away our business. What's the use of just throwing a tantrum? Tell me, how do you plan to deal with this situation?"
Wang Chengyu suppressed his anger, and an idea quickly formed in his eyes.
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Author's Note: Writing is hard work, please add this to your favorites! [cat emoji]
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