Chapter 12
Zhang Xihua said that her relationship with Zhu Mingji was an ill-fated one when she first traveled through time.
And this time, as long as her identity as a woman disguised as a man is not exposed, the relationship between her and Zhu Mingji is pure brotherhood.
There was still an hour before lunchtime, so Zhang Xihua found a copy of "Stories to Warn the World" on the bookshelf and read it on the carved couch under the window. He felt tired just after finishing the story "Du Shiniang Sinks the Treasure Box in Anger", and fell asleep after his eyelids couldn't hold up anymore.
The book slipped from Zhang Xihua's hand and fell to the ground with a "pa".
Zhu Mingji, who was sitting at the desk writing an article, looked towards the couch following the sound, found a brocade quilt, and tiptoed over to cover Zhang Xihua with it.
Seeing Zhang Xihua's snow-white and smooth face, Zhu Mingji couldn't help but gently pinch Zhang Xihua's cheek, and it felt really good.
Feeling playful, Zhu Mingji used the tip of his index finger to tap Zhang Xihua's eyebrows, nose tip, and lips in turn, and a tingling feeling spread in his heart.
It’s a pity that Erlang is a man, not a woman.
I don't have the tendency to be a homosexual, but I enjoy sharing peaches.
Although Erlang has sisters and cousins, and Zhu Mingji has seen them, none of them looks exactly like Erlang.
"Zhu Mingji..."
Zhu Mingji was certain that the unclear dream talk from Zhang Xihua was calling him.
Erlang still has his own thoughts in his heart.
Then Zhang Xihua continued, "You big bastard..."
Zhu Mingji: “…”
Do you curse him even in your dreams?
Zhu Mingji returned to the desk, dipped his pen in ink, and went to the couch to paint on Zhang Xihua's face.
He wants to live up to his reputation as a big bastard.
*
Zhang Xihua slept for most of the hour. After waking up, she walked out of the study and asked the maid for hot water to wash her face.
The maids smiled when they saw her.
It was only when Yu Lian held up a mirror for her to look at herself that she saw that her face was painted as Li Kui, the Black Whirlwind.
After washing the ink off her face, she went straight to complain to Princess Xiang.
Before lunch, Princess Xiang scolded Zhu Mingji.
Zhu Mingji said that he would mend his ways and be friendly with Zhang Xihua, but his true colors showed at the dinner table.
Zhu Mingji picked out the garlic slices from the dish and put them into Zhang Xihua's bowl.
Zhang Xihua was not to be outdone and kept picking up shredded ginger and putting it into Zhu Mingji's bowl.
Princess Xiang let them play around, and even helped Zhang Xihua pick out the shredded ginger and put it into Zhu Mingji's bowl.
This lunch was quite enjoyable.
*
On the night of the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, a lantern market was set up in the Xingyuefang area of Taiping Prefecture.
Except for Old Madam Zhang and Old Master Zhang, two elderly people who cannot stand the cold wind, almost everyone in the Zhang family went to the Lantern Festival to enjoy the lanterns.
The women of the Xu family and the brothers Xu Minyan and Xu Minde went out for fun with everyone from the Zhang family.
Because of the cold weather, Zhang Xihua, who usually rides a horse, also changed to traveling in a carriage tonight. Zhang Anhua, Xu Minyan, Xu Minde and Zhang Xihua rode in the same carriage.
Xu Minyan knew that his mother intended to marry his sister to Zhang Xihua, so he deliberately brought up the topic.
"Baoyin has been busy dressing up since lunch today. She's been taking her hair out and combing it, and changing her dresses at least twenty times. I just realized that young ladies need to set aside at least half a day to choose clothes and jewelry before going out. I wonder if my silly sister can be looked upon by someone?"
Zhang Xihua remained silent.
Zhang Anhua nudged Zhang Xihua with his elbow, "Second brother, is Brother Minyan asking you a question?"
"There are more than one young man from the Zhang family in this carriage. Who knows that Brother Minyan's words are not directed at you, the third brother?" Zhang Xihua pretended to be stupid. It was impossible for her to have any feelings for Xu Baoyin.
Xu Minde tried to save his sister's face by force, saying to Xu Minyan, "My younger sister has never tolerated a single misbehavior since she was little. She is not like those wild and flamboyant butterflies who only want to flaunt Erlang and dress up to attract his attention."
Xu Minyan was embarrassed.
After getting off the carriage, Zhang Xihua and others went to reunite with the female family members.
Cui Susu and Xu Baoyin both wore pomegranate red dresses, and they both had graceful figures. Although they wore veils to cover their beautiful faces, they still attracted many men to stop and look at them.
Zhang Yining was wearing a goose yellow dress. She had just received a request from Cui and Xu in the carriage, so she specially came to invite Zhang Xihua to go with them to watch the lanterns.
Madam Jiang said, "The sisters rarely go out to join in the fun. Erlang, you can go and play with the sisters. You are talented in writing, so you can help them guess some lantern riddles and win some lanterns."
Xiao Jiang and Zhang Mingzhu also joined in.
Zhang Xihua naturally understood the intentions of her elders, and she also knew that Madam Jiang wanted to match her with Xu Baoyin. She thought that Xu Baoyin must have promised Madam Jiang some benefits.
But I don’t know if Xu Baoyin has a lover this time, just like she did the last time she traveled through time.
Zhang Xihua followed her mother's orders and followed Xu Baoyin, Cui Susu and Zhang Yining. If they saw any gadgets they wanted to buy, Zhang Xihua would buy them. If they wanted to play any games, Zhang Xihua would play with them... When Xu Baoyin and Cui Susu showed their goodwill and talked to them, Zhang Xihua was very frugal with her words and did not give them any room to have any impure thoughts about her.
But Xu Baoyin and Cui Susu were still keen on pestering their cousin Zhang Xihua, and Zhang Xihua didn't even notice when Zhang Yining left the team.
*
There are still a few steps ahead to the entrance of Baoguang Temple.
Cui Susu accidentally sprained her ankle.
Cui Susu's personal maid, Jinying, supported her and suggested, "I often accompany the ladies to Baoguang Temple to burn incense. Why don't you, Erlang, accompany my young lady to the temple's meditation room to rest for a while? Then, please ask Miss Xu to find my eldest grandmother and eldest aunt to come to Baoguang Temple to take my young lady home."
Before Cui Susu went out, her mother planned with her to use the excuse of spraining her ankle to get Erlang to go with her to the meditation room of Baoguang Temple. Then she would put some medicinal powder into the tea that Erlang drank, and make the relationship a fait accompli with Erlang without anyone knowing.
When Madam Jiang and her companions arrived at Baoguang Temple and opened the door of the Zen room, they would see Erlang sleeping in the same bed with her. At that time, Erlang would have to marry her even if he didn't want to.
Her methods were a bit despicable, but as long as she could marry Erlang, she didn't care what others thought of her.
"Oh, I'm a little dizzy too." Xu Baoyin held her forehead, her body swaying, and then she held the maid's arm. "Erlang, I'll accompany Susu to the Zen room to rest. I'll ask the maid who follows me to find my aunt and my mother. It would be best if you could help us find a doctor."
The nearest clinic that was still open during the first month of the lunar year took Zhang Xihua more than half an hour to go there and back.
But Zhang Xihua agreed readily, as she would definitely feel uncomfortable staying in the Zen room with Cui Susu.
Seeing that the original plan had changed, Cui Susu entered Baoguang Temple with Xu Baoyin with a disappointed look on her face.
*
Zhang Xihua did not go to the clinic honestly. He sent two servants to do this job and took the other two servants to visit the Lantern Festival.
Thinking of the maids in her yard who asked her to buy lanterns for them to play with, Zhang Xihua stood in front of a lantern stand and picked up lanterns of various colors.
Suddenly, Zhang Xihua heard a familiar voice behind him. He turned around and saw a handsome man running wildly on the street with Zhang Yining, followed by a group of guards chasing them.
The guards were divided into two groups, one group had a sign of Prince Fu's Palace hanging around their waists, and the other group had a sign of Prince Xiang's Palace hanging around their waists.
As a responsible son of the Zhang family, Zhang Xihua naturally had to follow to see what trouble Zhang Yining had encountered.
Zhang Xihua followed Zhang Yining and the others to the Crescent Bridge. On one side of the bridge were two guards from the palace, and on the other side of the bridge was Zhu Mingji leading a dozen guards who blocked the way of the young man holding Zhang Yining's hand.
Zhang Xihua heard the young man say to Zhang Yining, "I will definitely pay you back for the noodles you bought me. Now tell me, who are you from?"
Zhang Yining shyly introduced herself to the young man.
The young man lifted the gauze curtain that covered Zhang Yining's face, kissed Zhang Yining on the cheek unexpectedly, and then jumped off the bridge without hesitation.
Unfortunately, the young man’s attempt to escape by water failed.
At Zhu Mingji's command, the guards hiding under the river used a large fishing net to pull the young man ashore.
Zhang Xihua had already run to Zhang Yining to inquire about her safety.
Zhang Yining answered Zhang Xihua absentmindedly, her mind already on the man who was soaked to the skin by the river.
Zhu Mingji saw Zhang Xihua and came over to greet her.
Zhang Xihua asked, "Who is the person who just jumped into the river?"
Zhu Mingji: "This is Minghe, the third son of my uncle Prince Fu. He ran away from home some time ago. I happened to find him in a restaurant in the Lantern Market tonight, so I followed my father's orders to capture him."
Zhang Xihua casually asked, "Why did he run away from home?"
"I don't know either." Zhu Mingji and Zhang Xihua linked arms, "Let's go down the bridge and ask him." He glanced at Zhang Yining again, "Would Madam Zhang Si like to come with us? My cousin just rudely offended Madam Zhang Si. Erlang and I will give him a good beating for you."
Zhang Yining nodded, followed Zhu Mingji and Zhang Xihua down the bridge and to the river bank.
Zhu Minghe had been tied up, and when he saw Zhu Mingji, his brows furrowed and his eyes were filled with anger.
"I would rather die than go home and admit my fault to my father. Cousin, please ask them to loosen the ropes on me."
"Let me ask you, why did you run away from home?" Zhu Mingji took a silk handkerchief and wiped the water droplets from Zhu Minghe's hair.
"My father gave my elder brother and my second brother 5,000 soldiers each and asked us to train an army each. My elder brother trained an artillery unit, my second brother trained a cavalry unit, and I trained a fire unit. My father scolded me for being more of a hindrance than a help. I had a quarrel with my unreasonable father and ran away from home." Zhu Minghe was angry when he talked about it.
Zhang Xihua asked, "What is a fireman?"
Zhu Mingji said, "The fire corps is the soldier who is responsible for setting up the stove and cooking during the march and the battle." He then helplessly shot Zhu Minghe a glare, "You pig-brained guy, you've trained 5,000 soldiers to be fire corps, do you want your soldiers to defend and attack with spatulas?"
"Five thousand firemen cannot cook for an army of one hundred thousand." Zhang Xihua said.
"The prince's garrison limit is 30,000 troops, so not a single soldier can be wasted. Uncle Fu cherishes his strong soldiers and generals, so he naturally cannot bear to see Minghe waste his troops like this." Zhu Mingji turned to Zhu Minghe and said, "I know that you have never been interested in marching and fighting since you were a child. You like to taste delicious food, brew wine and cook, and training the firemen is indeed your style. But a father may not be kind, and a son cannot be unfilial. You should go home and apologize to Uncle Fu."
"No." Zhu Minghe shook his head like a rattle.
Zhang Yining also advised: "It's the first month of the year. The prince and princess must be very worried about you, my lord. You have suffered a lot outside. It would be safer for you to go home."
Zhu Minghe thought for a moment and said to Zhu Mingji, "Cousin, Miss Zhang just treated me to twelve bowls of noodles at the restaurant. Please pay her back for her."
Zhu Mingji generously handed Zhang Yining a silver note worth one hundred taels.
Zhang Yining waved his hands to refuse.
Zhu Minghe said, "Ms. Zhang, please accept this banknote. If you think it's too much, you can treat me to noodles someday, and then you can tell me how to make soy sauce."
Zhang Xihua remembered that Zhang Yining also liked to study diet, and Zhang Yining and Zhu Minghe were like-minded.
Suddenly, Mother Xue came running out from nowhere, panting and saying to Zhang Xihua, "Erlang, something terrible has happened. Madam has asked me to find you and the Fourth Young Miss and ask you to hurry home."
Zhang Xihua hurriedly said goodbye to Zhu Mingji and the others, and went home with Zhang Yining and Mother Xue.
*
Zhang Mansion, Chonghua Courtyard.
In the main room, Mrs. Jiang was comforting Zhang Shining who was crying sadly.
Half an hour ago, Madam Jiang, Little Jiang, and Zhang Mingzhu led the maids to Baoguang Temple to pick up Cui Susu and Xu Baoyin and take them home.
When passing by a Zen room, I heard moans coming from inside, mixed with some obscene words, which made me blush.
Mrs. Jiang and the others didn't want to bother with this trivial matter, but they saw Shuangxi, the maid who followed Xu Baoyin, coming towards the meditation room. Shuangxi ran away when she saw them.
Then I heard voices coming from the Zen room.
"Your Highness, I am pregnant with your child. If I don't marry soon, I won't be able to hide this pregnancy anymore. Your Highness, please go back and talk to your good princess, and ask her to urge the second son of the Zhang family to marry me as soon as possible."
"You might as well be my concubine. Sooner or later, I'll kill that jealous woman Zhang Shining, and then make you my princess."
"How dare I believe your lies, Your Highness? As long as the Imperial Concubine is still here in the palace, Your Highness will still worship Zhang Shining like a Bodhisattva."
"Your Majesty is not in good health. He has been ill since last autumn. The Imperial Concubine in the palace will lose her power sooner or later."
Hearing this, Mrs. Jiang couldn't help but push the door open and come in. Little Jiang wanted to stop her, but Mrs. Jiang had already rushed behind the screen, and the two naked people on the bed were still entangled together.
Prince Jing Zhu Mingqing hurriedly pulled the quilt to cover Xu Baoyin's body.
Madam Jiang pointed at Xu Baoyin and said to Madam Jiang: "This is the shameless child you raised. She even climbed into her cousin's husband's bed."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
