Chapter 40: Reunion and the act of inciting chaos
After the assassination, there were no other unusual actions from Yao Ningde, and Zhou Tinglan stayed comfortably in the inn to recuperate.
Her body has fully recovered, and Xie Zechuan took Zhou Tinglan to the charity cemetery to visit Xiao Ruo as agreed.
The days of recuperation were peaceful and comfortable, and the only thing that bothered her was the two childish men who fought with each other in the inn all day long.
Every time it was dinner time, the two men would sit on either side of Zhou Tinglan with bruised faces.
Zhou Tinglan was furious and looked at them: "Can you guys stop being so childish? Fighting all day long without any respect!"
"Lan'er, I didn't do that. He was the one who started the trouble first!" Xie Zechuan took the initiative and pretended to be aggrieved to complain to Zhou Tinglan.
He thought proudly in his heart, Lan'er will definitely believe me.
As he spoke, he glanced at Su Mingzhuo who was sitting opposite him.
Su Mingzhuo glanced at Xie Zechuan indifferently, picked up a plate of barbecued meat from the table and handed it to Zhou Tinglan. "I know General Xie didn't really want to challenge me to a fight. I cooked this myself, so it might be a little light because General Xie took most of the meat to feed the stray dogs at the inn door."
He almost couldn't hold the plate steady. Zhou Tinglan hurriedly took the plate from him and glanced at the bruises on his fingers.
The bruises on the bony fingers were very obvious.
"Was this typed out by Xie Zechuan?" Zhou Tinglan indicated with his eyes.
"No, General Xie accidentally bumped into me when he was getting the meat."
"You're talking nonsense!" Xie Zechuan yelled angrily. He pointed at Su Mingzhuo and said to Zhou Tinglan, "He didn't even run into me when he did it today."
Su Mingzhuo, you actually dared to act pitiful in front of Lan'er, it really pissed him off!
"So..." Zhou Tinglan laughed inwardly: "Did you really use the barbecue he made to feed the dogs in the inn?"
"I..." Xie Zechuan was speechless for a moment.
"Miss Zhou, it's okay. There isn't much this time. If you like it, I can make it again next time."
Xie Zechuan watched Su Mingzhuo being attentive to Zhou Tinglan, feeling so angry that he had no place to vent.
He called the waiter and said, "Go and get me some jars of fine wine."
He stared at Su Mingzhuo's face and said, "Su Mingzhuo, I'm going to get you drunk and let Lan'er see how ugly you look when you're drunk!"
The wine was quickly brought to the table. Zhou Tinglan looked at the men on his left and right. Their eyes met, and sparks seemed to fly in the air.
There was helplessness in her eyes: "Drink less."
"We know our limits." The two responded in unison.
Zhou Tinglan then left the yard and went back to his room to rest, leaving the two childish guys to continue drinking in the yard.
She felt a little uneasy and thought about going down to take a look later.
When Zhou Tinglan walked into the yard again, the corners of her mouth twitched, and she thought to herself that she was right. The two drunkards were lying on the table motionless.
She walked over and gently patted Xie Zechuan's face, only to see Xie Zechuan mutter twice: "Lan'er, stop making trouble..."
"Let's ask the waiter to help the man upstairs first." Zhou Tinglan called the waiter to carry the man upstairs and put him on a bed.
Seeing that nothing was wrong, she left and went back to sleep.
The next day, Zhou Tinglan was awakened by a loud noise. She opened her eyes drowsily and said, "What's that noise? It's so loud."
Xie Zechuan rushed into the room, dragging his leg in a plaster cast, and cried, "Lan'er, my innocence, and look at how badly my leg has been beaten..."
Zhou Tinglan held his forehead with his hands, feeling so embarrassed.
She asked Su Mingzhuo, who followed Xie Zechuan into the room, "What happened to you?"
"General Xie woke up this morning and found himself in the same bed with me. He insisted that I had ruined his innocence. He attacked me, but it was only a scrape on his leg, and he called a doctor to put a cast on him."
Zhou Tinglan was speechless. She pushed Xie Zechuan away and said, "I never saw you like this in Beijiang City. What's wrong? You act like this after coming to the capital?"
Xie Zechuan cried, "You weren't so cold to me in Beijiang City. Lan'er, you've changed..."
Zhou Tinglan's lips twitched when she heard this. Xie Zechuan looked like she was having an affair, like the wife was meeting the mistress, and whoever was weaker was right.
She hugged Xie Zechuan and comforted him: "Okay, okay, go and remove the plaster. It's ugly."
Su Mingzhuo watched silently from the side. After a long while, he said, "You guys chat, I'll go out for a walk."
Looking at Su Mingzhuo's back, Zhou Tinglan fell into deep thought.
It's not that she doesn't know Su Mingzhuo's feelings for her, but now she has had physical contact with Xie Zechuan, and the emperor has granted the marriage and she cannot disobey. After all, the man has feelings for her, but she has no intention.
It was impossible for her to give Su Mingzhuo any response. Besides, he had never raised the issue directly, so it was naturally impossible for her to bring up the matter.
**
In the evening, as night fell, the two stepped into the hall of Duke Xie's mansion.
The maidservant who was serving nearby was the first to notice the two figures. She was surprised at first, and then her face instantly showed joy.
She excitedly tugged at the skirt of a beautiful woman who was bowing her head, and shouted, "Madam, the eldest master... the eldest master is back."
The beautiful woman frowned in dissatisfaction: "Why are you shouting? The eldest son's seventh day of mourning has already passed. Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, not the Qingming Festival. What is he coming back for?"
She sighed in her heart, thinking that there were indeed too many things going on recently, even the maid had hallucinations.
Well, I don’t know if Duke Xie’s Mansion can survive this crisis.
"Why hasn't today's meal been served yet?"
Seeing his mother like this, Duke Xie, who was sitting next to him, coughed. Lady Lin, the wife of Duke Xie, raised her head and glanced at her husband, but was stunned the moment she saw who was coming at the door.
With a clang, the teacup in Lin's hand fell to the ground.
"Brother Chuan, I'm not dreaming, am I? Isn't today the Dragon Boat Festival? How...how can even the dead come back? Am I hallucinating?"
She was too tired. Not only did the maid have hallucinations, but she also...
The old lady was very calm when she saw her grandson who had been lost and found again. However, her hands were shaking in the air. She cleared her throat and said, "Lin, it's not an illusion. It's Brother Chuan who has returned."
Xie Zechuan's brother Xie Zeqing saw his mother Lin's loss of composure and could not help but speak to comfort her: "Mother, you are not mistaken, it is my eldest brother who has returned."
Lin hurriedly stood up and walked towards Xie Zechuan. Just as Xie Zechuan was about to step forward, he whispered, "Mother."
However, Lin brushed past him, walked up to Zhou Tinglan, and held her hand.
"You must be the jewel in the crown of Prime Minister Zhou's family, you are so beautiful, and you are such a good gift to this stinky boy of mine."
Everyone in the hall: "..."
Lin ignored the gazes of the people in the hall and pulled Zhou Tinglan to the table and sat down. "Lan'er, can I call you Lan'er?"
Seeing Zhou Tinglan nod, she continued, "Today is the Dragon Boat Festival. I asked the kitchen to prepare a table full of delicious dishes. Come and sit down."
Xie Zechuan hadn't reacted to his mother's transformation yet, and he stood there in a daze. However, Xie Zeqing couldn't bear to see his silly look, so she pulled him to the table and sat next to Zhou Tinglan.
The maids and servants had already brought the food to the table. Zhou Tinglan looked over and saw steamed duck with fermented rice wine, fish sashimi, and pork...
No one at the table picked up their chopsticks. After the old lady picked up her chopsticks and took a bite of food, everyone picked up their chopsticks and started eating.
There were all kinds of dishes. Seeing that Zhou Tinglan hadn't picked up her chopsticks yet, Lin looked at Xie Zechuan beside her and said, "Brother Chuan, why don't you pick some food for Lan'er?"
His Majesty finally issued an edict to grant him a wife, but I still have to remind him. I really don’t know how Lan’er has the bad luck to meet a scoundrel like you.
Xie Zechuan was called by his mother, and he hurriedly picked up a piece of fish, removed the fish bones and placed it in front of Zhou Tinglan.
"Lan'er, the fish cooked by the cook in the mansion is better than the ones in the restaurants in the city. Come and try it."
Zhou Tinglan picked up the fish and took a bite. The fish was smooth and crisp, and indeed tasted much better than the fresh stewed fish that Xie Zechuan bought in the restaurant a few days ago.
"Lan'er, there are other dishes, take your time." Lin ate, lowered her eyebrows and sighed, "I don't know if there will be another meal after I finish this."
Recalling the purpose of Xie Guofu, Xie Zechuan put down his chopsticks and looked at his father: "Father, what is going on?"
Duke Xie snorted coldly, "It's nothing more than a bunch of scoundrels banding together to tamper with the imperial government, mislead Your Majesty, and incite rebellion."
Lin looked at the indignant Lord Xie and placed a piece of duck meat in front of him: "Don't think about it. Look, Qing'er is about to finish the whole plate of duck meat."
"He just eats a lot. The other day the teacher at school complained to me about him, saying he was inattentive in class."
There was a glint of joy in Duke Xie's eyes. He happily ate the duck meat that Lin had picked up, while still complaining about his youngest son.
Lin put a few more dishes on his plate and said, "Eat more and stop talking. You don't have a single nice word to say."
The old lady looked at the people in the mansion and said cheerfully, "Don't make a fuss. This is the first time that Miss Zhou has come to the mansion. If you act like this, you won't make people laugh."
Zhou Tinglan poured the old lady a cup of tea and said, "Don't be ridiculous, old lady. I like the atmosphere in the mansion very much. It's not as bad as you say."
Lin echoed, "Lan'er is right. I don't know when I'll see an atmosphere like this again. Let's have some fun for now. Do you think it's inappropriate?"
"Grandma, there are still important things to do in the mansion tomorrow. Let's relax and eat some food first!" Xie Zeqing said to the old lady with a smile.
Zhou Tinglan narrowed his eyes slightly. Big deal?
She pretended to be confused: "Mother, what is the big thing that Qing Ge'er is talking about?"
Lin sighed, "It's nothing. Don't listen to his nonsense. It's just that we have to send some servants away and sell them off tomorrow. It's not a big deal."
Zhou Tinglan secretly exchanged glances with Xie Zechuan. It seemed that the situation in Duke Xie's Mansion was not good. The dignified Duke's Mansion had actually fallen to the point of selling out its servants.
No one at the table mentioned the matter again. Everyone raised their glasses and drank, eating the delicious food on the table. The atmosphere was very happy.
Just then, a servant ran into the hall, breathless. He shouted in panic, "Oh no! Something's happened! Yao Ningde and his men have surrounded our house!"
Everyone paused in their meal.
So fast! He's here right now!
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