A sigh
Bai Roushuang was teaching Yue'er how to cook mushrooms. Ever since they returned victoriously yesterday and brought back a bunch of small items including needles and thread, the servants in the Demon Palace treated them very kindly, especially the cook. He had finally let go of the knot in his heart that he had held for many years, and now he generously lent the kitchen to Bai Roushuang for her to use as she pleased.
She was going to make a dish of fried mushrooms, so she washed and blanched the mushrooms first. Yue'er and the cook looked at her blankly.
Bai Roushuang's mouth twitched. It would be fine if Yue'er was confused, but you, a cook, were also confused. Have you never even done the blanching step on a normal day?
She looked at Yue'er sincerely and said, "You have suffered."
“…”
After picking up the mushrooms, Bai Roushuang took a bird egg from the spare ingredients, broke it and sniffed it. It had a stronger fishy smell than eggs, but it would work.
"How do you usually eat these bird eggs?" Bai Roushuang asked.
"Just cook it and eat it," the cook scratched his head. "By the way, I heard that you have tiger skin eggs in the mortal world, but there are no tigers in our demon world. Can we use gecko skin instead?"
"..." Bai Roushuang began to feel sorry for the Demon Lord and his subordinates, "No, it really can't be done, don't do it."
The cook was quite regretful: "I will show my homemade recipes to the girl when I have a chance, and we can exchange ideas."
"...Okay." Bai Roushuang responded bravely with a trembling voice.
The fried mushrooms were quickly cooked, with bursts of aroma wafting from the frying pan. Bai Roushuang deftly scooped up the mushrooms, put them on a plate, and gave one portion to the cook. The latter took a bite and suddenly fell into deep thought.
Bai Roushuang waved in front of him, and seeing that he didn't respond, she didn't force him. She and Yue'er took the fried mushrooms and went to the garden, where they sat on the big mushroom cap and started eating.
If mushrooms had intelligence, the scene would be brutal.
Yue'er bit a mushroom and gave Bai Roushuang a thumbs up.
"Why does your name seem to be inconsistent with the styles of other people in the Demon Realm?" Bai Roushuang finally couldn't help but asked Ling Yuechan this question.
Yue'er smiled: "My name was given by my mother. When she was alive, she loved human poetry, 'Moon, moon, moon, white clouds condense, the moon is beautiful.'"
Bai Roushuang had no intention of touching upon her sorrow, and quickly added: "Your last name is also very nice, and it suits this name perfectly."
"Ling? Actually, my last name is not Ling. Ling Yuechan is just my name. My mother gave me this mortal name because she hoped that it would be easier for me to walk in the mortal world in the future. She especially yearned for the human world and always hoped that the demons and humans could coexist peacefully and share what they have. She also prepared a lot of beautiful dresses for me to wear in the human world," Yue'er shook her head, "It's a pity that she didn't live to see that day."
Bai Roushuang patted her shoulder and comforted her silently.
Yue Er continued, "So, my last name is not Ling, and neither is my father's. His last name is Qilu, ah wah ah ah eh Baru..."
Bai Roushuang listened in amazement as Yue'er made a series of strange noises. She laughed dryly and said, "That's a pretty long surname."
"Yes," Yue'er smiled, "You should have seen the pain he felt when he wrote his full name on the government document."
Bai Roushuang couldn't help but laugh too.
Yue Er explained, "When we are young, we demons only use our surnames. When we are fifteen, we can choose our own names, or ask our elders to help us choose our names."
"You mean... those names like Glazed Heart and Fearless Warrior were all given by them themselves?"
"Yeah." Yue'er nodded.
Bai Roushuang seemed to be thinking deeply: "It turns out that this is the name I chose when I was fifteen. It explains a lot of my questions."
"Can this name be changed again?" A female voice came faintly from behind them on the right, and then a head popped out from the mushroom stalk.
"Senior Sister?" Bai Roushuang was startled. "You slept in the garden last night?"
"Well, I want to try what it feels like to sleep in a mushroom." Xu Shulou stretched and rolled out of the giant mushroom stem.
Yue Er smiled and answered her question: "You can also add characters to your name. For example, the doorman was originally named Li San. Later, he encountered some bad things and changed his name to Li San. Beauty fades and love disappears."
“……”Can you tell me what it is in detail?
Xu Shulou slowly climbed up the mushroom cap and sat with them. Bai Roushuang noticed that she looked slightly tired: "Didn't you sleep well last night?"
Yue'er also asked, "Are you not used to the mushroom house?"
"No, the mushroom is soft inside. I just had a dream."
"Was it a good dream?"
Xu Shulou blinked and remembered his expression in his dream. There is a saying that the person who knows you best in this world is always yourself.
She shook her head: "I can't really say, but I think it's probably not a good dream."
Xu Shulou in the dream was already half crazy. Who said that she would stop after dealing with Fan Yang?
———
That night, Xu Shulou came into his dream again.
In the dream, it was still the courtyard full of pear blossoms, but time had moved forward for an unknown amount of time. This place probably used a very luxurious spiritual array to ensure that the pear blossoms would bloom all year round. A figure was holding onto the wall, limping out, passing through the courtyard and the corridors. Along the way, she met several maids and Taoist children, but everyone just passed by her, and no one came forward to help her, as if they didn't even see her.
"Xu Shulou." A very pleasant female voice sounded and called her.
The limping woman stopped and raised her head, revealing a slightly swollen face.
Luo Fusheng, who called her, quickly caught up. Both of them were wearing plain clothes, not pure white, but very low-key, as if something had happened here and it was not appropriate to be too high-profile.
Luo Fusheng hesitated for a moment, raised his hand to support Xu Shulou, "Are you okay? How could your husband... slap you so hard in front of outsiders?"
Xu Shulou's expression remained calm: "There have been incidents in the sect recently. Last time it was Elder Fan Yang, and this time it was...my husband would naturally be a little anxious, so it's inevitable that he would use some heavy hands."
Luo Fusheng shook his head in annoyance and looked down at her legs: "Can your legs still be cured?"
"Maybe he can't do it anymore. I've asked several doctors, and they all said that if he wasn't treated in time, he would have to limp like this from now on."
A hint of sympathy appeared in Luo Fusheng's eyes: "My husband knows that you are incapable of killing her, but he still wants to punish you..."
Xu Shulou was very reasonable: "Xiao Ya and I went out together. She was killed, so I am naturally to blame. It's a pity that my magic power is too low. I was knocked unconscious as soon as I saw the thief. I didn't even see the thief's face clearly."
Princess Xiao Ya was one of the more lively people in Lu Beichen's backyard. Thinking of her death, Luo Fusheng couldn't help but feel a little sad even though he had no friendship with her. "But you were obviously seriously injured, and your husband really shouldn't have made you kneel at the foot of the mountain for ten days and ten nights... You really don't have any resentment at all?"
Lu Beichen instructed the servants to watch over Xu Shulou and wake her up as soon as she fainted so that she could continue kneeling. Otherwise, she wouldn't have lost a leg. He didn't take it seriously and failed to ask a doctor to see her in time, which caused her to become lame.
Xu Shulou sighed: "Xiao Ya is the daughter of an emperor after all. Even if her father has passed away, she still has to give face to the Xiao Kingdom. It's impossible for her husband to kneel down by himself. As the leader of a faction, how can such an arrogant person bend his knees?"
"..." Such an attitude left Luo Fusheng speechless.
Xu Shulou was a princess of the Xu family back then. Her relationship with the Xiao Kingdom was obvious, but now she kneels willingly to the royal envoys of the Xiao Kingdom. It really makes people speechless.
However, it was precisely because she had no dignity and her cultivation was so low that even if there was this relationship, no one really suspected that she was the one who killed Xiao Ya. Lu Beichen did this just to let the Xiao royal family vent their anger.
Luo Fusheng felt sad, but Xu Shulou started to defend Lu Beichen: "I heard that Xiaoguo donated a large sum of money to Lingxiaomen every year. Now that Xiao Ya is dead, the money has stopped. My husband is naturally sad and has been a little mean to me. It's understandable."
Luo Fusheng glanced at her sharply, and for a moment he was not sure whether she was really defending her husband or mocking him for caring more about the money than Xiao Ya's death.
Luo Fusheng observed her expression, but did not see any flaws. He soon felt that he was overthinking. The woman in front of him clearly loved Lu Beichen so much. Unlike Luo Fusheng, who could only accept Lu Beichen's arrangements after his family was destroyed, Xu Shulou was the eldest sister of Mingyue Peak on Wuchen Island. She had a choice, but she came to where she is now step by step. How could this be more than love? She clearly loved her husband terribly.
Xu Shulou raised his head, seemingly unaware of the ambiguity in his words: "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing," Luo Fusheng told her, "My husband has been in a bad mood these days, so you shouldn't leave the yard. You know he's anxious, but why don't you stay away from him? Instead, why do you get close to him?"
"I know that Xiaoguo's money has been cut off, and my husband has a lot of people waiting for money. Who of those who work for him doesn't spend money? Although there are other incomes for the time being, but... how can he be in a good mood? I understand," Xu Shulou nodded, her tone full of the virtue and tolerance of a wife, "but I can't bear to see him like this, so I can't help but want to make a few times of calming soup for him. I'm not bragging, when I was the eldest disciple of Mingyue Peak, the calming soup I made was liked by my master, fellow disciples, and my husband. Only my sister didn't like it."
“…”
At this time, another group of people passed by the yard. Xu Shulou felt that Luo Fusheng, who was supporting him, stiffened. She looked up and saw a beautiful girl with a head full of pearls and jade walking towards her from the other end of the corridor. When she saw the two of them, she said "Pah" and cursed them for bad luck.
Watching her walk away with her maid, Xu Shulou blinked: "She is the daughter of Gao Zhuo, the owner of Xuanwu Tower. Her name is Gao, Gao what?"
Luo Fusheng loosened his clenched fist: "Gao Ning'er."
"Oh, yes, look at my memory," Xu Shulou said with a smile, "Xiao Ya was at least a co-wife. After she passed away, Gao Ning'er, the concubine, actually dressed up so gorgeously. It's really interesting."
Luo Fusheng had a wooden face: "Gao Zhuo is the owner of Xuanwu Tower, and is favored by her husband. No matter how much Gao Ning'er flaunts herself, no one will bother her, so she dares to be arrogant. Unlike you and me, who have no one to protect us, we have to be cautious."
An obscure light flashed in Xu Shulou's eyes.
Seeing Luo Fusheng fall silent, Xu Shulou said, "Can you help me back to my room?"
"Of course," Luo Fusheng responded, looking at the maids and Taoist children around him who looked like they had nothing to do with the matter, and sighed, "These people are used to flattering the powerful and bullying the weak. How do they usually flatter Madam Bai? Their faces are really disgusting."
Xu Shulou smiled slightly and said, "How interesting! This place doesn't look like the cultivation world, but more like a mortal's backyard. I was born in the mortal world, so I feel at home here."
Luo Fusheng looked at her with strange eyes: "Kind? Don't you hate these guys who are accomplices to the evil?"
"I have decided not to hate," Xu Shulou lowered his eyes, "Hate is the most useless emotion. I have to... do something about it."
Luo Fusheng nodded: "It's good that you can comfort yourself in this way."
Xu Shulou suddenly laughed, and laughed so hard that he was out of breath: "Sister Luo, you are so cute."
"What nonsense?" Luo Fusheng shook his head, not taking it seriously, and helped her all the way to her residence.
———
When Xu Shulou woke up from his dream, all that was left was a long sigh.
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