Jizhou...
It's Jizhou again.
Zhao Changqing lowered his head, raised his hand, and pinched his brow bone hard.
A faint blush immediately appeared on the skin of the brow bone.
A deathly silence fell over the tent.
Zuo Ming simply stood there quietly, waiting.
"Show me the news from Jizhou." He paused, then added, "All of it."
"yes."
Upon hearing this, Zuo Ming quickly took out a brocade pouch from his bosom.
He took a few steps forward, knelt down in front of the table, and poured out all the small bamboo tubes inside the brocade pouch with the opening facing downwards.
Then, in chronological order, they were placed one by one in front of Zhao Changqing.
Zhao Changqing sat up straight on the couch and pulled his sable fur coat tighter around himself.
A slender hand emerged from beneath the mink coat, picked up a bamboo tube, and poured out the scroll of paper inside.
The bamboo tubes are made from the cold-resistant yellow-groove bamboo of northern China.
The paper is a specialty of Jizhou, made from grey hemp paper.
It slowly unfolds, revealing tiny characters written in regular script.
The text above is concise and plain, like a casual conversation: "The mistress has been welcomed into the house, and everything is going smoothly."
Zhao Changqing remained expressionless, tossed the scroll onto the table, and opened the second one.
"The mistress sold off all the family's land."
The third one.
"The mistress burned down the house of the Sun family in the neighboring village."
Zhao Changqing's eyebrows began to furrow in one direction.
I opened another one.
"The mistress visited a brothel with Master Ma, a local tyrant from Jizhou."
Bang--
He slammed the note down on the table with a heavy thud.
Zuo Ming looked over in confusion and asked, "Master, what's wrong...?"
Zhao Changqing ignored him completely and grabbed the next bamboo tube.
"The mistress bought a handsome young male prostitute from a brothel. He was exceptionally handsome, with a heavenly appearance that made one forget the mundane world."
outrageous!
A hint of anger appeared on Zhao Changqing's face.
Mr. Qian misjudged people, actually letting this kind of woman into his home.
Foolish!
Seeing his displeased expression, cold and indifferent demeanor, stiff as an ice pillar, neither speaking nor moving, Zuo Ming thoughtfully reminded him, "Sir, there's one more."
Zhao Changqing glanced at the last bamboo tube out of the corner of his eye, but did not move.
After a short while, he finally gritted his teeth, raised his hand, and took the bamboo tube in his hand.
The paper roll inside was slowly unrolled.
"The mistress adopted a son for the Han family, who was of lowly birth."
Zhao Changqing hardened his fist.
His hardened fist slammed down on the table.
"Return to Jizhou!"
"Yes!" Zuo Ming received the order and left the tent to make arrangements.
Only Zhao Changqing remained in the tent, his body shrouded in a thin layer of anger, alone facing the scattered bamboo tubes and paper scrolls on the table.
A charcoal brazier burned beside the couch, slightly dispelling the bitter cold of the northern wilderness.
Swoosh—
The scrolls on the table were thrown into the charcoal fire. A few flames rose up, then died down, leaving only a few charred lumps.
It was as black as Zhao Changqing's face at that moment.
"Buying New Year's goods?"
He Youyou sat in the hall with a hand warmer tucked into her arms.
"Yes," Butler Qian replied. "At this time of year, we usually start preparing for the New Year. The servants do their preparations according to the usual practice. But this year, since the mistress has just joined the family, I've come to inquire if there's anything special that needs to be prepared?"
He Youyou thought to herself, what could she possibly need to prepare? She'd never celebrated the New Year in ancient times.
Just as he was about to refuse, a sudden inspiration struck him.
No, there really is.
"We always need to buy some new clothes for the children for the New Year. Have someone keep an eye out for where we can buy fur coats and get Ali a fox fur or mink fur cloak."
The housekeeper agreed.
In modern times, there's nothing exciting or anticipated about the Lunar New Year anymore for He Youyou.
You can enjoy whatever you want to eat, play, or wear anytime you want, without having to wait until the Lunar New Year.
But people are different now.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
