The carriage was pulled by four horses, and I felt as if I were sitting on flat ground. When I wanted to go take another look, Xie Yuancheng rode over on his horse, and there was still a lot of noise going on ahead.
"What's wrong? Is it because some girl doesn't want you to leave?"
"Stop trying to talk your way out of this. Let Wang Fei handle it. I don't like getting involved in this kind of trouble. I was just worried you'd complain even while sitting in the carriage, so I came to check it out."
"Little Chengcheng~ would you like to sit in the carriage? I'm so bored sitting here all alone."
I winked at Xie Yuancheng, occasionally throwing him a few flirty glances. Seeing him blush, I finally closed the curtain. Xie Yuancheng must be furious outside. Just as I was about to listen for Wang Fei's voice, the curtain was lifted.
"You, how did you get in here? Didn't you say you weren't coming to the carriage this morning?" Seeing that his expression was off, I quickly retreated a bit to the back. This carriage was like a small room, so it was easy to back out.
"Ying'er~ I asked you to tease me earlier." I had barely dodged a little when he grabbed me and pulled me into his arms. The carriage moved slightly, and I quickly covered his mouth.
"There are a lot of people outside, so please explain quickly so we can leave."
“I’m not leaving. I want you to see the people around here. They’re all ordinary people, so you won’t always say you don’t know the hardships of ordinary people.”
He tried to lean in again, so I kissed his cheek first, then between his eyebrows and eyes. "Okay, okay, I won't tease you next time, little Chengcheng, you're a marquis after all~"
"Hmph~" What is he hmphing for? I should be the one hmphing.
I wrapped my arms around him from behind and said, "He's just a little rascal, but you're a grown man, you can't get angry with me."
They were still talking outside. I wanted to go listen, but I was afraid he would say I wasn't comforting him. It was so difficult! Luckily, Xie Yuancheng was happy. He turned around and kissed me, and actually took me outside. It was so heartwarming.
“I have already told you about the ingredients and contents of your combination. You put some poisonous mushrooms in there. You should be grateful that the Marquis is not going to hold you accountable. Why are you still causing trouble?”
We had barely reached the front when we heard Wang Fei's confident voice. I turned around and asked Xie Yuancheng. He said that something had been added to last night's meal—a filling made with mushrooms. If someone ate it, they would fall into a deep sleep and not remember anything while they were unconscious.
"Wow? This mushroom is amazing! Looks like you can't just eat mushrooms anywhere!"
"Yes, I already told them. They were making a scene, so I went to play with Ying'er." He actually pinched my waist. I waved his hand away. My face was covered by a veil, which could protect me from the wind.
When I got to Wang Fei's side, I started to look at the girl in the lead. She was wearing a coarse linen dress and a skirt while doing things in this cold weather. Didn't she feel cold?
Behind them knelt several younger girls, their clothes and pants were a bit dirty, and their shoes were worn out. Luckily, they weren't wearing skirts, or I would have felt cold for them. Their hair was tied up, with some of it hanging down, just like the girls kneeling in front.
On the far left, two elderly women, presumably their grandmothers, are kneeling and crying out for justice. But they're the ones who prepared the ingredients; why are they crying injustice?
I saw the younger children picking their noses and fidgeting, their hands and feet were a bit dirty; I wondered if they had washed their hands while cooking. The girl in front knelt down and kowtowed, saying that she was the one who picked the mushrooms and hadn't noticed, hoping Wang Fei would give her a chance.
"Lord Wang, what are they making a fuss about here?" I went to talk to Wang Fei, but Xie Yuancheng nudged my waist. What a stingy guy. I'll ask him first next time.
"Reporting to Madam, she is Su, the cook. She said that the blame for this incident does not lie with her, but with someone else."
"Did they cook the food?"
"Yes, but they said they cooked with great sincerity. They just didn't know it was for the Marquis's wife. We will be extra careful in the future to prevent such a thing from happening again."
"Just explain things clearly. The people in town aren't all ignorant. Why do they have to come here crying and complaining?"
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the girl in the skirt. Her gaze was truly irritating when she looked up; she was staring intently at Xie Yuancheng. Was she perhaps trying to make a name for herself and get involved with powerful families again?
I nudged Xie Yuancheng, and he finally spoke, “Don’t let them block the way. Leave this matter entirely to Lord Wang. Lord Wang is discerning and won’t make things difficult for anyone over a few dishes. Besides, I’m just passing through and shouldn’t interfere in local affairs.”
His words were effective. The soldiers on both sides quickly moved the people over. The younger ones rolled around and kicked their legs, their pants almost falling down, and they were still crying and saying that they were wronged.
What injustice? There was no threat of beheading or punishment. They took over the cooking duties and instead of preparing fresh and delicious food, they're making a fuss now.
"Sister, Grandma, we're so good at cooking! It's amazing! Even the gods would say it's delicious! We want to go to the capital too—we want to ride in a beautiful carriage and wear beautiful clothes!" Someone shouted this when Xie Yuancheng was taking me back. They were really cunning.
"Grandma, your pants are all torn, so pitiful~ Big sister is a lucky girl, let big sister sew them up for you~"
"Whoosh!" A burst of trumpet and drum sounds finally drowned out their voices.
"What is milk?" I asked Xie Yuancheng as I got into the carriage. He said it was the word for grandmother in some places. "That's strange. Let's go. I hate the sound of it."
"They're already moving. Close the curtain." He rode his horse beside the carriage. He had set out happily, but why did he always seem to encounter people who tried to pull tricks?
As they passed by that group of people, they were still desperately calling out "Lord Marquis, Lord Marquis." They might as well have gone and clung to Wang Fei's coattails. This guy wasn't married, and he was an official; he'd have plenty of opportunities for promotion in the future.
I have heard some people say that some nobles who had fallen on hard times received help from peasant girls while they were in distress, and later made them empresses or concubines. But this is just a story. If you want to imitate it, you'd better prepare some trouble, knock out a member of the royal family, take him away, cast a spell on him or something, and then turn it into a story of a beauty saving a hero.
The surroundings finally quieted down. The people in front, waving flags and floral banners, were quite effective; they could intimidate people. I don't know what people said after they left, but I've developed a bit of a resistance to the village cook.
The food looked awful, and thinking about their dirty hands and feet, the snot on their faces, and the greasy hair, I'm glad I didn't eat it. What's wrong with this restaurant? Why are they letting farm girls cook such simple things? Is the chef just incompetent and coasting along for a paycheck?
"Ying'er?" I was lost in thought and didn't even notice when Xie Yuancheng got into the carriage. "What are you thinking about now?"
"Huh? I wasn't thinking about that. I was just thinking about the dirt under their fingernails. Luckily, I didn't eat last night's food."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
