Chapter 78 True or False Zhu Hao hooked the jade belt around his waist and played with it. ...
Since Song Xieqing returned home last year, it has been late autumn, but he has not suddenly disappeared like in previous years.
Some were happy and some were sad. The happy ones were Miaoli, Fang Xuyin and others. The reason was simple: although they disliked this bastard, they couldn't help but like Zhu Hao. In this case, keeping this guy could at least make Zhu Hao smile. The sad ones were those who gambled with Song Xieqing. For example, Zhang San from West Street bet ten copper coins that Song Xieqing would disappear within a month, and Li Si from East Pit bet a few taels of silver that Song Xieqing would leave home before the autumn scenery.
As a result, everyone lost so badly that they almost pawned their pants!
What? If you ask who won the bet, that would make sense. This person claims to be a distant cousin of the Zhu family, named Zhuoshui. Everyone who has seen her praises her beauty as being so beautiful! She looks no more than 28 years old. Wang Wu from Pianbei Street Village said that he saw this girl 20 years ago when Zhu the shopkeeper married someone named Song. How come she's still so beautiful after 20 years?
Zhang San slapped her in the face. "What nonsense are you talking about! I think you've been blinded by greed! Her appearance hasn't changed in twenty years. Do you think Miss Zhuoshui is a demon?!"
Wang Wu covered half of his burning face and said aggrievedly, "Yes, yes, yes... I must have lost all my money and become stupid! I was blinded by lard! Then again, how can a family member bully their own brother-in-law? Maybe that Song girl was in cahoots with her to cheat us out of our money!"
Li Si nodded and smacked his lips at first, then suddenly frowned and asked, "But that woman is betting that Song Xieqing will never leave again in this life... Is that really the case?"
"Based on Mr. Song's temper over the past twenty years, I don't think he'll be able to..."
The three of them rubbed their chins in silence. The husband of the Zhu family's shopkeeper was a well-known figure in Huaicheng. Initially, he caused a sensation in the city because he married a "disaster star." Later, in the twenty years since their marriage, he had been missing every now and then...
Zhang, Wang and Li racked their brains but could not figure out the reason, while on the other hand, Zhuoshui returned to the Zhu family with a bulging purse, humming a little tune and skipping.
Miaoli couldn't help but smile when he saw that she had made a lot of money. "How did you make money this time?"
Zhuoshui shrugged, a sly look flashing in his eyes, "The secret of heaven cannot be revealed."
In fact, she had no interest in silver and gold in the mortal world. If she really needed money, she could just make some money out of it. At the very least, she could go to the Qinse Palace and steal two of the Moon Goddess's magic tools and exchange them for mortal silver in the ghost market. The money she used to buy chestnut cakes from Aunt Zhang a few days ago came from that. As for why she got involved in the gambling game... it was just to see the funny looks of those idle old rascals who were humiliated. Just thinking about it was enough to make her happy for ten days or half a month.
"By the way, have you seen my brother-in-law?" Miaoli fished out the water-drenched tablecloth from the washbasin and asked, "My brother-in-law's birthday is coming up, and I haven't seen him today... I hope he doesn't disappear like before and waste all my preparations."
Zhuoshui paused, touched his nose and sneered, "Humph, what kind of birthday does a thief like him have... He never came home in previous years, yet he still prepares birthday wishes every year. Does he deserve it?"
After a moment's silence, she said in a disappointed tone, "...Sister Miao, I won't be back in the near future. You don't have to ask me for the meals. If you're craving fish, just put it on the table. Don't worry."
"How long will you be gone this time? Brother-in-law always comes home, but you're not there." She stopped what she was doing and asked, "Zhuoshui, have I really never seen you before?"
Zhuoshui rolled around in a flash. She didn't answer the previous question, but just smiled and said, "In the past? Tell me, when and where? How many years ago?"
Miao Li hesitated and said, "About... twenty years ago?"
"Good sister..." Zhuoshui spun closer, her skirt fluttering as she wafted a faint fragrance. She tilted her head, her long black hair cascading over her shoulders, looking quite charming and charming like a young girl in her twenties. "When you asked me this, did you think about it yourself? Twenty years ago...? Me?"
Miaoli was stunned. Wasn't her question really stupid...
…
The moon rose high in the sky, and the lights and candles in Zhu's house had all gone out, leaving only a small fire in the main room.
Zhu Hao sorted out the account books on the desk in the light of the lamp, and flipped through a few pages of the book. When he looked up, he saw Song Xieqing beside him, who was supporting his chin and nodding repeatedly because he was so sleepy that he almost banged his head on the desk.
"Since you're tired, why don't you go and rest? Why are you still holding on and waiting for me?"
Song Xieqing suddenly woke up, staggered around to Zhu Hao, and clumsily massaged her shoulders and back, "Pianpian, I'm sorry... I wanted to accompany you, but I ended up going alone..."
He glanced at the pile of books on his desk and said lazily, "Are you still busy? This time I will be fully focused on accompanying you. Pianpian, can I grind for you?"
After saying this, he reached for the half-dry inkstone on the table.
Before his fingertips touched the edge of the table, Zhu Hao grabbed his wrist in her arms. The two of them stared at each other in the dim candlelight. Zhu Hao led him to the edge of the couch and sat down on his shoulder. She stroked his chin and whispered, "I won't be busy tonight. I'll just stay with you, okay? You don't have to sleep in the study anymore, Song Lang."
She held his chin and leaned closer, her moist breath brushing against Song Xieqing's lips. He stood up suddenly. Although there was only a single flickering lamp in the room, it was easy to see his burning ears. Song Xieqing stammered, "Pianpian... I, I tonight..."
"Oh." Zhu Hao played with the jade belt around his waist, and said with a rising tone, "What's going on again?"
"Hmm... Pianpian..." He covered his red cheek tightly, not daring to look her in the face. Zhu Hao laughed, "Song Lang, is there really something wrong, or... do you think I'm getting old and ugly because of my fading beauty? You still mind me after all, right?"
Song Xieqing raised his eyes, his expression slightly flustered. He opened his mouth, eager to argue, but she covered her lips with one hand and pointed to the door, "Since you have something to do, then go. Remember to go home tomorrow."
He couldn't help but shrink his foot as he stepped out of the door, and replied softly, "Okay."
After the sound of footsteps faded away completely, Zhu Hao locked the door and turned around to throw himself into the quilt, laughing out loud. His laughter finally stopped a little, but when he thought of the general's helpless and flushed face, he couldn't help but hold his stomach and laugh.
The next day, Zhu Hao took a leave from Qiong Yi Lou. Normally, he would not have had to go through so much trouble, but at the beginning of the year, Liu Rutang resigned from the position of head of Qiong Yi Lou and transferred the entire Qiong Yi Lou to Zhu Hao's name. He then patted his butt and moved to the capital to enjoy family happiness with his daughter.
The new manager has not yet been selected. If Zhu Hao is unable to come in person, he must at least greet the servants in the clothing building. Every year on this day, Zhu Hao always does it himself. Miao Li knows that he cannot help, so he takes the initiative to volunteer to go to the clothing building to help.
Normally, since there was no need to go to the clothing store to work today, I should have slept until noon, but Zhu Hao still got up early.
The scenery of the courtyard remained the same as it had been for many years, except that the water in the small pond was specially replaced today. Zhu Hao also carefully trimmed the flowers and plants in the courtyard. There were a few ripe red fruits hanging on the pomegranate tree. Zhu Hao climbed up the wooden ladder and carried a bamboo basket to pick the pomegranates to prevent them from hitting people.
The kitchen was filled with curls of white smoke, mixed with the aroma of food. There was also a sound of scrambling inside. Zhu Hao's cooking skills had improved a lot in recent years. Although he seemed flustered most of the time and the noise he made when cooking was like a war, the dishes he served were all good and each one tasted better than the last.
From the busy morning to noon, the stone table in the yard was finally filled with all kinds of meat and vegetables.
Zhu Haofang sat down to take a breath when the door creaked open. Looking up, he saw that the person who came was Song Xieqing.
"What a coincidence." She had a smile on her face, her eyebrows and eyes curved, but she couldn't hide the loneliness deep in her smile. "I wanted to buy some chestnut cakes from Aunt Zhang, but it happened that the stall was closed today."
Song Xieqing sat down and smiled slightly, saying, "Of all the delicacies on this table, which one isn't better than the chestnut cakes I bought outside?"
As long as there's no fish, everything is fine.
He first poured half a bowl of hot soup for Zhu Hao, and then slowly picked up the dishes with chopsticks. However, the sharpened wooden chopsticks stopped in mid-air as soon as he stretched them out. His brows and eyes were furrowed, and the chopsticks fell from his hand, hit the stone table and rolled on the ground, but he didn't react at all.
Zhu Hao bent down to pick it up and was about to go inside to change a pair, but the person sitting opposite him had already stood up. He snatched the muddy chopsticks from Zhu Hao's hand without hesitation and said, "I'll go. You sit here and don't have to go anywhere."
The golden wind passed through the courtyard and took the opportunity to sneak into her clothes. The hem of her skirt rolled up and blew away the scorched golden leaves all over the ground. The pomegranate trees above her head swayed in the wind, and the red osmanthus rustled like golden snow, shaking off the fragrance all over the ground. Zhu Hao stared at the table full of food in silence, and her eyes and nose were sore.
She listened to the sound of footsteps gradually getting closer and farther away. Zhu Hao wiped the moisture from the corners of her eyes as if nothing had happened. When she looked up, she smiled again. She looked at the man in a snow-blue robe who was approaching and said, "I'm just going to change a pair of chopsticks. Why did you change your clothes?"
She pointed at the table and said, "What are you standing there for? Sit down and eat. The food will get cold if you delay any longer."
The man sat down upon hearing that, but did not move his chopsticks. Instead, he held her face in his hands, and his rough fingertips traced her eyebrows and eyes like a spring breeze blowing on willows, and brushed across every inch of her skin.
Zhu Hao was stunned for a moment, then pinched his cheek. "What are you...washing...doing? Is there dust on my face? The wind and sand just now blinded me, making my eyes red. It's really annoying."
She pushed his hand away and wiped her face with her sleeve. Seeing that he still hadn't touched his chopsticks, she picked up a piece of sugar-filled shortbread and placed it in his bowl. "Eat."
He was usually very obedient, but now he seemed to be deaf to her words. He stared at her for who knows how long before he fixed his gaze on the table full of food. In the middle was a bowl of soup noodles with a few water spinach floating in it, and to one side was a palm-sized white-faced longevity peach.
He raised his eyes and asked, "How did Pianpian know that I would go home today?"
The surroundings fell into dead silence. A completely ripe pomegranate hidden deep in the green branches and leaves fell into the small pond, breaking the autumn water. Zhu Hao trembled all over and tears instantly burst out. She stood up with the help of the round table, and just as she was about to take a step towards him, Song Xieqing had already knelt in front of her. Zhu Hao's tears fell on his cheeks, and she wiped them away with trembling fingers. Just like him just now, Zhu Hao was also tracing the corners of his eyes and eyebrows, and rolling over every inch of his skin.
In order to match her age, the man used magic that changed with her changes, but the Song Xieqing who was kneeling beside him was no different from twenty years ago, although he often removed the magic when they were alone.
"I'm not a god, how can I know when you'll be home?" Zhu Hao sniffed and said in a trembling voice, "It's just that I finally caught you this year..."
Under the corridor not far away, Zhuoshui was standing leaning against a pillar. The corners of her lips rose unconsciously, but the smile had not fully spread out, and half of her face had not yet faded, still maintaining the mold of Song Xieqing, half female and half male, which was a bit weird.
Chi Xing took a quick glance and said jokingly, "Little Zhuoshui, now you can finally have a few days of leisure."
Zhuoshui shrugged, spreading his hands and saying, "Aside from the fact that impersonating his mouth, nose, eyes, and eyebrows makes me sick, the rest... isn't bad at all. Madam Zhu is beautiful, has a good temper, and is an excellent cook... Tell me, how many lifetimes of blessings has that guy accumulated?"
Chi Xing said with a smile, "I've noticed these days that your sister-in-law is treating you like a fish in a pond. When she's free, she'll tease you, and when she's busy, she'll stuff candy into your mouth, fearing you'll starve."
"Bah!" Zhuoshui said anxiously, "Stop your nonsense, you stinking immortal! I take her home every day, accompany her to check accounts and read books every night, and massage her shoulders and back. How can I not be a good and competent husband? I might even be more attentive than Song Lang! And I will also attract the love of Madam Zhu! With my acting skills... I can pack up and go to the demon world to tell stories one day."
Chi Xing: I just saw you were enjoying your performance and couldn't bear to expose you, so I just teased you...
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