Chapter 19, The Nineteenth Ordinary Side
Jiang Linzhi, still half-asleep, felt like she couldn't breathe, as if she were being crushed under a mountain. She tried to sit up, but the movement aggravated the wound on her back. The pain pulled her back to reality. She looked around, got out of bed, poured herself a glass of water, drank it, and then went out into the courtyard.
Looking out at the distant cold mountains, and nearby a green gate, and two acres of plum blossoms.
Jiang Linzhi saw smoke coming from the kitchen chimney, so he went over and saw an old man with a long beard sitting by the stove with his legs crossed, eating a chicken leg.
Jiang Linzhi also moved a stool and sat down to the side, saying familiarly, "You should crush some fresh scallions and tender ginger, pour some oil on them, and then dip them in the oil for a more delicious flavor."
Huang Banxian wasn't surprised to see her awake. He reached out his oily fingers and felt her pulse. "You're recovering very quickly. Where am I supposed to find tender ginger in this freezing winter?"
"If you have no ambition, then just eat like this." Jiang Linzhi wiped the oil stains off his wrist with disgust.
He could overlook anything people said about him, even if they called his medical skills as bad as a pile of shit, but they couldn't say he had no taste in food. Master Huang instantly became angry and retorted, "You're the one who has no taste!"
“Yes, yes, I have no ambition,” Jiang Linzhi said, glancing around at the ingredients in the messy kitchen. “You can make a special oil with scallions, sugar, and soy sauce. It’s delicious for dipping meat or mixing with noodles.”
Spurred on, Huang Banxian immediately rolled up his sleeves and got to work. Jiang Lin asked, "Where is he?"
Judging from their tone, the two were actually acquainted.
Without even looking up, Huang Banxian said, "It's in the village. Look for it yourself."
As soon as Jiang Linzhi stepped out of the kitchen, he said softly, "Chen."
A man in blue robes wearing a white mask appeared behind Jiang Linzhi like a ghost. Jiang Linzhi said in a deep voice, "He got the medicine from Xu Yang, right?"
"yes."
"Have you dealt with Huo Zhuo?"
"Not yet, but it alarmed the prefect."
"Trying to use your father's knife to kill someone, huh? Huo Zhuo is becoming less and less like a military general, so cunning and sly. No wonder Jiang Jinyi is so difficult to deal with... Tsk, troublesome." After commenting, Jiang Linzhi asked, "How's the situation in the capital?"
"The Regent's side has larger military supplies, while Huo Zhuo's hole is too big. The Regent didn't go all out because of old feelings, but he confiscated everything in our T Mansion and told the outside world that we had been attacked by bandits." Chen had always been very hot-tempered, but when he talked about this, his tone was calm, as if he was used to it.
Jiang Linzhi, used to this, said, "Alright, after you've finished dealing with things here, shall we go back and take a look?"
The person behind the mask shook his head and said with an exceptionally firm tone, "Five years ago, I had nothing to do with him anymore. He is him, and I am me."
The topic became particularly heavy when it came to Chen's father, so Jiang Linzhi changed the subject: "Where is he?"
"The third house in the south of the village."
The moment Jiang Linzhi stepped out, the courtyard returned to its previous silence. Where he had just stood, there was nothing but Jiang Linzhi's footprints.
Where there is no conscience, beauty cannot flourish. Those with power and influence will always seize the land of the common people, build houses, and then force them to buy them back. This is just one method; the powerful and wealthy oppress the people in countless ways.
Those without money were assigned to all sorts of menial jobs. Those who lacked even the strength were relegated to the lowest social class and enslaved for generations.
But Guanshan Village is different. The fields are scattered everywhere. Although they rely on the weather for their livelihood, it is a paradise compared to places where powerful and nouveau riche call the shots.
As Jiang Linzhi walked, he came to someone else's field. He turned over the snow cover in the field and saw wheat sprouting small green shoots resting in the fertile soil, which looked delightful.
Jiang Linzhi was not involved in farming and did not recognize these things. One summer, the Regent's mother, Lady Jiang, took her to play in the wheat field. She rubbed and blew on the golden wheat ears in her hands, and among the flying bran, only the slightly green wheat kernels remained in her hands.
The wheat kernels are exceptionally chewy, slightly sticky on the teeth, sweet, and have a rich wheat aroma.
Standing in the wheat fields, watching several tenant farmers bending over to harvest the wheat, Jiang sighed, "If it weren't for the abundance of grain in Wu, which forced us small farmers to starve, we should still be able to see wheat fields here next year."
Jiang carefully broke off a sheaf of wheat with her hands, which were used to holding a spear. Jiang Linzhi also broke off one, but ate it on the way back.
The following year, the place was covered in blooming red flowers. Later, the entire Wuliang area was covered in red flowers.
She never ate wheat from the Sui Kingdom again.
Suddenly remembering these things, Jiang Linzhi sniffed, her nose slightly sore, and stood up to continue walking south of the village.
Lu Huantang was reinforcing the cowshed at Erhua's house, while Erhua was weaving cloth inside. Estimating that it was almost time, she hurriedly went to add more hot water.
Once inside the yard, not only was the cowshed new, but even the family's fence was completely renovated, deeply embedded in the soil, so that it wouldn't collapse even if there was a flood, let alone a strong wind.
Erhua quickly took the clean handkerchief and water and said, "It's too much trouble for Brother Wang. Don't work anymore. Go inside and rest. If you stay here for a few days, I, Erhua, will take care of your meals for those days."
These were a piece of cake for Lu Huantang. He didn't even break a sweat. He wiped the dust off his hands with a handkerchief and said politely, "No need to be polite. The food you sent yesterday is enough for us to eat for a while. We'll leave as soon as my wife recovers."
Erhua was somewhat disappointed. She had never seen a man with such beautiful fingers before, and he was leaving so soon.
"My lord~" A clear voice came from outside the fence, interrupting their conversation.
Lu Huantang turned around and saw Jiang Linzhi smiling ambiguously. Suddenly, he felt as embarrassed as if he had been caught in the act of fantasizing.
Jiang Linzhi knew it was a ruse, and that calling him that was just to tease Lu Huantang. She walked over and asked, "Aren't you happy that I'm awake?"
Since they're already husband and wife, they might as well go all the way. Lu Huantang held her arm and asked, "Is there anything that's bothering you?"
Jiang Linzhi took his hand in return, interlocked their fingers, and said with a smile, "Dr. Huang's medicine is very effective; a layer of pink flesh has already grown back."
Erhua and her friends sometimes went to the capital to shop. The women there were beautiful, but they had never seen anyone so beautiful. She was stunned and after a long while, she managed to stammer out, "You... hello."
Jiang Linzhi smiled and went over to take Erhua's hand, saying, "Sister's cooking is really good. That roast chicken smells so good. But it's a pity that Doctor Huang told me to eat vegetarian food for the next few days."
Erhua hurriedly wiped her hands on her apron, afraid of getting Jiang Linzhi's hands dirty, before she shook them.
Jiang Linzhi didn't care at all and chatted enthusiastically for a long time. When Lu Huantang realized that if they continued chatting, Jiang Linzhi would have to stay at Erhua's house, he quickly grabbed Jiang Linzhi and left under the pretext of applying medicine.
As the two walked along the ridge of the field, Lu Huantang asked, "Does the princess get along so well with just anyone?"
Jiang Linzhi didn't answer, but said, "Her family only has five chickens. If we stay any longer, do you want to bankrupt her?"
"Is your injury really healed?"
"When you go back and apply my medicine, could you check on me while you're at it?" Jiang Linzhi winked at Lu Huantang, "Husband~"
Lu Huantang coughed from the choking, his face turning red from his ears all the way to his neck. He explained, "That was just a temporary measure to cover things up."
Jiang Linzhi smiled without saying a word, as if to say: I'll listen to you continue making things up.
Despite the ambiguous disbelief, Lu Huantang repeatedly said, "It's true, otherwise why would those people come to our door every day to deliver this and that?"
Jiang Linzhi tilted his head, admiring Lu Huantang's speechless predicament, and said unhurriedly, "Whatever my husband says goes."
Lu Huantang knew that Jiang Linzhi was toying with him, so he stopped, let go of Jiang Linzhi's hand, and said, "Miss, I only want to complete the mission and don't want to care about anything else."
The meaning was clear. Jiang Linzhi was a shrewd person, so how could she not understand? But she pretended not to understand. "If you marry me, you can still use my wealth to get promoted and become a high-ranking official, without having to do such a dangerous thing."
They really wouldn't stop until they'd driven him to his wits' end. Lu Huantang looked at the "sincere" Jiang Linzhi and suddenly felt furious. He pretended to be serious, and Jiang Linzhi took advantage of his seriousness. There were so many men in the world who pretended to be serious, but they were all just like him—beasts in human clothing. How could she possibly deal with them? She was truly weak without realizing it, like a fat sheep brazenly walking among wolves.
This almost irrational thought overwhelmed his reason. He carried Jiang Linzhi back to Huang Banxian's house and slammed the door shut.
She needs to be taught a lesson.
Lu Huantang approached Jiang Linzhi step by step like a cheetah. Jiang Linzhi saw the anger in his eyes and knew that he had gone too far, provoking the man's initiative and self-esteem, so he kept retreating.
“You wouldn’t be at a loss marrying me, would you? I’m not bad looking, and my family is rich.” Jiang Linzhi tried to ease the tense atmosphere, but with each word he spoke, Lu Huantang’s face darkened.
When there was nowhere left to retreat, Jiang Linzhi braced himself against the mud wall covered with straw to prevent his back from touching his wounds. "Don't come any closer, I'm still injured."
Lu Huantang did not approach, but he immediately began to undress Jiang Linzhi.
"It wasn't just going too far, it went way too far," Jiang Linzhi said, her voice trembling with tears. "I'm still injured."
Lu Huantang's eyes turned sinister, his usual gentleness and aloofness gone. He said coldly, "Since Miss wants to marry me, she has to take some action, not just talk."
As he spoke, he flipped Jiang Linzhi over, pressed her shoulders against the wall, and ripped off her clothes.
A snow-white back and slender waist, her snow-capped peaks forming a silhouette, came into view, her skirt hanging loosely at her waist. Jiang Linzhi leaned against the wall, his lips slightly parted, breathing softly, the scar on his back trembling with the movement of his shoulder blades. Although he didn't know how many times they had been intimate, this time it added a touch of forbidden allure that could drive one mad.
His initial intention to merely scare her had changed. Lu Huantang leaned down and bit Jiang Linzhi's ear, his mouth filled with desire as he licked her earlobe. "Is Miss satisfied now?"
Jiang Linzhi shook her head in fright and pleaded, "I can marry you, but you can't treat me like this."
"Pretending, still pretending." Lu Huantang thought to himself, he was nothing more than a plaything to her. If he continued to play like this, when would he ever catch her eye? He should reveal his true nature and scare her, let her understand that all men are the same, and let her understand that he was different from the men she had been with before.
I'm going to see what she's like this time.
Thinking this, his hand slid down to Jiang Linzhi's navel, untied her clothes, and then kneaded her slender waist, forcing her to reveal her true appearance.
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