Chapter 108: Snowy Night, Shochu, and Baked Buns
Mu Nanzhao's expression froze, he knew there was something wrong with He Jinglan's letter!
He calmly put his hand over the fire to warm himself, "Do you believe those rumors?"
"I just don't like crowds."
Gu Xixi stared at him with a half-smile, "Do you really just not like crowds? But how come I heard that..."
He Jinglan wrote in the letter that since she was mentioning the Lantern Festival, she also had some interesting stories related to it.
Because Mu Nanzhao had a good family background and was good-looking, when he passed the imperial examination and became the top scholar, several families who were looking for a son-in-law for him almost got into a fight.
Fortunately, the Mu family had some status and announced to the public that Mu Nanzhao wanted to concentrate on his career and would not consider his lifelong affairs for the time being. The competition among the various families to marry off their daughters came to an end.
After that, Mu Nanzhao's career went smoothly and he was soon highly valued by His Majesty, and was promoted three times in a short period of time.
It's really like a spring breeze, like oil boiling on a raging fire.
Because of this, he was nicknamed "The First Young Master of the Daye Dynasty".
As the dream man of all unmarried girls in Beijing, it is said that Mu Nanzhao once just walked out of the gate of his mansion on the night of the Lantern Festival.
Scented handkerchiefs, orchid branches, poetry notes with sandalwood beads, oranges, tangerines and other items were thrown at him like raindrops to express appreciation and admiration.
There was a girl who had just bought a big pear in her hand, and she smashed it in a panic.
Thanks to the guards' quick action, Mu Nanzhao's head was not injured.
So this time, Lord Mu only traveled a hundred meters before returning home.
After that, no matter how many people looked forward to it during the Lantern Festival, no one could witness Lord Mu’s extraordinary charm.
Gu Xixi took a sip of the hot wine and sighed, "It's a pity that I came too late."
"Otherwise I really want to see the excitement with my own eyes."
Coming too late? Mu Nanzhao thought, maybe she meant that we met too late?
Feather-like snowflakes seemed to fall from a dark bottomless pit, endlessly.
The two men, each wrapped in a thick cloak, sat around the fire.
The charcoal in the stove burned red, dispelling the cold and carving out a space belonging to the two of them in the snow.
Gu Xixi broke off the browned part of the edge of the steamed bun, divided it into two small pieces, and handed one to Mu Nanzhao.
"You said it was a rumor, but isn't it true that you almost got hit on the head by a big pear?"
Mu Nanzhao looked at Feixue with a smile on his face, "These are indeed true."
"But I didn't go to the Lantern Festival at that time, not because I was afraid, but because I suddenly felt it was very troublesome and boring."
"I remembered there were still a pile of documents in the study, so I went back."
Gu Xixi was surprised, "That's all?"
It was Mu Nanzhao’s first time eating toasted steamed buns.
It is hot and crispy, with a unique and pure wheat aroma after being roasted, and a sweet aftertaste after chewing.
It turned out to be unexpectedly delicious.
He couldn't help but relax his brows and said, "Every Lantern Festival, the morning court session will resume the next morning. The impeachment memorials against me have piled up like a mountain, and I have accumulated a lot of people to deal with."
"So, I'd rather prepare in advance than go out and waste time."
"When I got to the court, I saw those old guys who couldn't stand me, but couldn't do anything about me."
"And then they were speechless because of my impeachment, and fainted in court. Several of them were carried out every year."
Mu Nanzhao turned his head and looked at Gu Xixi, "Isn't this much more interesting than some stupid lantern festival?"
Gu Xixi broke out in a cold sweat. This guy really didn't shy away from his bad taste!
"Can the Lantern Festival be compared with what you are talking about? Are you allergic to elegance?"
Mu Nanzhao didn't comment and asked, "Are the buns not baked yet?"
Gu Xixi almost fell down.
This person! He just complained about the simplicity, but fell in love with it so quickly after taking a bite?
She picked up the toasted bun, turned it over and over in her hands, hissing as she explained:
"You haven't eaten it before, right? There are two ways to eat it. One is like we do now, bake one layer, break off another layer, and eat it slowly as a snack."
"The other way is to bake the whole steamed bun until the skin is golden brown, then cut it in half horizontally, and put braised meat, fried eggs, stir-fried celery, shredded radish... anything in it while it's still hot. You have to put a lot of stuff in it to make the bun full. When you take a bite, it's simply delicious..."
Gurgle...the sound of my stomach growling is particularly loud in the quiet night.
Gu Xixi turned to Mu Nanzhao and laughed. "First Master, you have lost your composure."
Mu Nanzhao didn't blush at all, "What's wrong with the First Young Master? The First Young Master can also starve to death."
"Gu Xixi, you were the one who woke me up, so you have to take responsibility."
Gu Xixi stuffed all the freshly-baked buns into his hands and said, "Eat it."
Mu Nanzhao, however, became willful for the first time in his life, "I'm not full, I want to eat something else."
Gu Xixi remembered the last two pages of the letter and asked in a good-natured manner, "What do you want to eat?"
Mu Nanzhao said with a straight face, "Toasted buns, vegetables, and fried eggs."
Gu Xixi: “…”
She really wanted to hit Mu Nanzhao on the head for making demands on someone who couldn't cook.
But considering what happened, Gu Xixi could only endure it and went into the kitchen with gritted teeth.
There are plenty of steamed buns, take two and toast them first.
Then she rummaged through the cupboard, and after a lot of trouble, she finally made two toasted buns with vegetable eggs in between.
Gu Xixi sat down and said, "The fried egg is a little mushy, just eat it."
The only side dishes were pickled snow mustard greens and fried boiled soybeans. Aunt Zhang made a lot and put them in jars for us to eat slowly.
Mu Nanzhao wasn't picky, he took it and took a bite, "Delicious."
Gu Xixi knew that he was a germaphobe and teased him intentionally, "The water is too cold. I didn't wash my hands just now."
Mu Nanzhao said calmly, "It doesn't matter. I ate all kinds of dirty things when I was in exile."
It was just a simple fact, but Gu Xixi felt sad when she heard it.
"Last time, when Magistrate Ma was involved, you faced the enemy alone and told the He brothers and sisters what they said."
"Thank you."
Mu Nanzhao paused while eating the steamed bun, then continued to bite it, humming vaguely.
Gu Xixi knew how much the ancients cared about keeping their bodies intact after death.
Mu Nanzhao, however, had his body disfigured and his limbs cut off.
All this was done so that she would not be traced or implicated after his death.
There was a long silence.
Mu Nanzhao muttered unhappily, "He Jinglan has a big mouth. She has never changed since she was a child."
Gu Xixi chuckled.
"Jinglan is concerned about you and hopes that I can treat you better after knowing the inside story."
Mu Nanzhao snorted coldly, "How long have you known her, and yet you obey her in everything she says."
Gu Xixi frowned, "What are you talking about? How could I obey her?"
Mu Nanzhao looked ahead without looking away, "You know it clearly in your heart."
Gu Xixi was confused, but when she saw the slight curve of Mu Nanzhao's mouth, she smiled knowingly.
It seems that he is in a good mood, and his previous unhappiness should be over.
So Gu Xixi drank the wine in her glass and asked frankly, "Why have you been so polite and distant to me recently?"
Mu Nanzhao didn't admit it, "Gu Xixi, are you thinking too much and taking yourself too seriously?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com