The General's Wife
The gifts that Shen Jin was going to send to the capital could not be sent via the post station, so after selecting the items, he wrote a gift list and put them together with the letter, and sealed the letter. Then Shen Jin washed his hands and ate red dates.
The pits of these red dates were not removed in advance. This was Shen Jin's special request. She liked to slowly chew off the thick flesh of the red dates and then hold the pit in her mouth. There was a layer of flesh tightly attached to the pit. She didn't know if it was an illusion, but Shen Jin always felt that the layer of flesh tasted sweeter.
Ever since Nanny Zhao came, Shen Jin has never eaten red dates with pits. It's like in the Rui Wang Mansion in the capital, no matter what fruit you eat, the kitchen will cut it into small pieces first and you can only eat it with a silver spoon. The only things you can eat whole are oranges and lychees, and there are special rules for that, as you need to cover your mouth with your sleeves and spit into a handkerchief, which is extremely troublesome. In addition, behaviors like holding the pit in your mouth are absolutely not allowed.
The pits of the red dates today were not removed. At first Shen Jin thought that Madam Zhao had forgotten about it. She secretly glanced at Madam Zhao a few times. Seeing that Madam Zhao was not paying attention to packing up other things, she narrowed her eyes and put the date pits in her mouth. She took another red date and continued to chew it. Then, she hid a few date pits on the left side and a few on the right side, and shook her calves unconsciously. She looked so beautiful.
Nanny Zhao saw it all and paused as she was packing up her brush. If the general hadn't specifically mentioned it today, Shen Jin probably still wouldn't be able to eat such red dates.
However, when he watched Shen Jin eat one, he secretly glanced at her. When she moved a little, Shen Jin's mouth immediately stopped moving. Even the embroidered shoes with small beads on his feet stopped shaking because of his nervousness. Madam Zhao would never admit that she deliberately walked twice more in front of Shen Jin.
"Madam, you should spit it out after you've almost finished your mouth." Madam Zhao suddenly said before leaving the study to open the door for Anping. She glanced at the bowl that was half empty and said, "The first few pieces should no longer be sweet."
Shen Jin's eyes widened, her mouth opened slightly and then immediately closed. She licked the date pit subconsciously and stared blankly at Nanny Zhao as she left.
When Nanny Zhao brought Anping in, they saw Shen Jin's face flushed, and he had spit all the date pits into a palm-sized bowl, which was placed on the desk side by side with the bowl of red dates.
"Anping, have they finished writing the memorial?" Shen Jin asked without waiting for Madam Zhao and the others to speak.
Anping didn't know what had just happened in the study, and said, "It hasn't been written yet. I asked someone to send food to the two adults, and they are having dinner now." The horse meat left over in the kitchen was too salty, and no one wanted to eat it, so it was stewed and sent to the two envoys and their servants.
Shen Jin frowned and said, "Why did it take so long? I have written six or seven letters, but they haven't even finished writing a single memorial."
An Ping smiled and said, "I'm afraid the two adults don't know how to start. After all, they have just arrived at the border town and don't know the situation here."
Shen Jin thought for a moment and said, "That's right. Deceiving the emperor is a serious crime. If they write something wrong, they will be held responsible. How about this, Nanny, you go ask your husband if he has any subordinates with better literary talent, and ask them to write a copy for the two adults. The two adults can just make some minor revisions and copy it again."
Madam Zhao responded respectfully. In fact, she still underestimated Madam. Although Madam was confused about small matters, she could distinguish big things clearly. "I will go right away."
Shen Jin nodded quickly and said, "Mammy, please have someone pass a message to the two adults. I will go to see them when I wake up."
"Yes." Nanny Zhao agreed, and left when she saw that Shen Jin had no other instructions.
Shen Jin heaved a sigh of relief when he heard the door close. He waved to An Ping and said, "Come quickly. Today's dates are very sweet."
An Ping smiled and said, "Madam, why do you look so guilty?"
"I didn't spit out the date pit and be discovered by the nanny, but Anping you came at the right time. I sent the nanny away. By the evening, the nanny will have forgotten about this matter and won't nag me anymore." Shen Jin said with some pride.
Anping didn't think that Nanny Zhao would forget. Besides, wasn't the date pit really left there by Nanny Zhao on purpose?
Zhao Mama silently withdrew her hand that was about to knock on the door. Before she left the house, she remembered that she had forgotten to take the letter that Shen Jin had written and was about to send through the post station. Who knew that she would hear all this? Surely I shouldn't have too much hope for the Madam? Sighing silently, Zhao Mama thought that she should let a little girl come to get it later.
Because Nanny Zhao was not around, Shen Jin and An Ping happily shared the remaining red dates. An Ping helped Shen Jin rinse his mouth and couldn't help asking, "I heard that after every imperial examination, the top three winners would wear flowers and parade through the streets?"
"Yes." Shen Jin changed into soft slippers and sat on the bed hugging the quilt. Her quilt cover was brought from the capital as a dowry. It was embroidered for her by Concubine Chen herself. There were two lifelike koi fish. Concubine Chen's embroidery skills were very good, but it was a pity that Shen Jin did not inherit this.
"Tell me more." Although An Ping is steady, he is actually not very old. He has never been to the capital, so it is normal for him to be curious about these things. However, Shen Jin rarely goes out, so she is not as familiar with the streets of the capital as she is with the border town. There is really nothing much to say, but she does know what An Ping asked today.
Shen Jin changed her position, and An Ping stuffed a cushion behind her back so that she could nestle more comfortably. However, Shen Jin refused to speak. She glanced at the cushion behind her. An Ping said helplessly, "I will sew a big cushion for you tomorrow. It will be the same as you said last time, thick and soft, so you can sink into it."
"Okay." Shen Jin said, "In fact, I've only seen it once. My eldest sister took me there..."
At the door, Chu Xiuming stopped Nanny Zhao who was about to report, gestured for silence, then moved a small round chair to the side and sat at the door of Shen Jin's bedroom. In fact, Shen Jin and An Ping's voices were not loud, and Nanny Zhao could only hear roughly, but Chu Xiuming had sharp ears and eyes, and was even more perceptive because of his martial arts training, so he heard everything clearly.
The corners of Zhao Ma's eyes twitched. Looking at the general who was sitting there eavesdropping with a calm expression on his face, she felt a little sorry for the master and mistress who had passed away so young.
"Is the top scholar really an old man?" Anping asked.
Shen Jin nodded vigorously, "I was also scared at the time. Even if he passed the imperial examination and became the top scholar, how long could he be an official at such an old age? But the chicken made in that restaurant is delicious. It seems to be fried first and then stir-fried. It has a spicy and sweet taste. But my eldest sister doesn't let me eat too much spicy food. She also said that the food outside is not clean. It's very wasteful to use only a few chopsticks for a dish..." Looking at Anping's expression, he said helplessly, "Oh, okay, let's talk about the top scholar. His beard is all white."
An Ping was full of curiosity, "What about the runner-up? It can't be an old man again, right?" After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "Is the fried chicken really delicious?"
"Yeah." Shen Jin said without hesitation, "I think this dish might have honey in it. It's really good. It's a pity that my sisters didn't eat it... I don't have much impression of the second place, but I remember the third place. I heard that the third place is usually the most handsome one."
"Is he really handsome?" Anping asked.
Shen Jin really couldn't remember clearly. Besides, she was sitting on the second floor and couldn't lean against the window to watch. She also had to eat a few more bites of spicy chicken while her elder sister wasn't noticing. "I think so."
"How about comparing with the general?" Anping asked after hearing Shen Jin's words.
Shen Jin said without hesitation, "Of course it's the general."
Chu Xiuming, who was eavesdropping openly outside the door, had a hint of smile in his eyes.
"I didn't see the appearance of the top scholar clearly." Shen Jin rubbed the soft cushion and said, "But I think the general is different from what I imagined!"
Chu Xiuming sat up straight unconsciously.
"I thought the general had a strong build, eyes like copper bells, a full beard, dark skin and a ferocious face..." Shen Jin selected and summarized all the rumors he had heard, "He had a bad temper and enjoyed killing people. He drank three cups of blood from foreign races every day, ate fresh meat raw, and occasionally tasted human flesh..."
Nanny Zhao heard what was said intermittently, but even so, she took two steps to the side without leaving a trace, a little further away from Chu Xiuming. She should remind the lady next time not to mention anyone's name behind their back. She mentioned it twice that day, and both times the person concerned heard it. What luck!
Chu Xiuming, on the other hand, had a thoughtful look on his face. Was it true that the beautiful lady he described was not the monsters and demons in unofficial history books?
"Madam, why do you think so?" An Ping was surprised and looked at Shen Jin in disbelief.
Shen Jin looked at An Ping innocently and said, "I've heard more than this. There are human skulls under the chairs in the Yongning Marquis's mansion. Yongning Marquis likes to eat more than one person..."
As Anping listened, he was gradually attracted. Chu Xiuming, who was standing at the door, had already heard Shen Jin start to talk about how in the capital, mentioning the name of Earl Yongning could make children stop crying. He was just short of sticking his portrait on the door as a door god to drive away evil spirits and protect the house. It was not that he did not want to put up the portrait, but he had never seen the real person, so there was no portrait to stick up.
Shen Jin was talking about how Chu Xiuming broke into a bandit den alone at night. He yelled and all the bandits were frightened to kneel down and beg for mercy and cry. He chopped off 786 heads with a big knife, and even the newborn babies were not spared. That day, when there was a thunderstorm...
There was a sudden knock on the door, startling both Shen Jin and An Ping. They saw the bedroom door was slowly pushed open, and Chu Xiuming, dressed in a brocade robe, was standing at the door, along with Aunt Zhao, who had a particularly conflicted expression.
Chu Xiuming walked in and first glanced at Anping, who immediately stood up, saluted and said, "General."
Shen Jin was only wearing a pink dress under the quilt. She looked at Chu Xiuming and then at Aunt Zhao, and asked with her lips moving, "Husband, when did you come here?"
Chu Xiuming did not answer, but looked at Madam Zhao. Madam Zhao said, "Madam, please go to bed early. I will take my leave now. I will deliver Madam's letter to the two adults from the capital, and I will ensure that they send it together with the memorial."
Anping also reacted and said, "I'll take my leave." After that, she and Nanny Zhao left the room and closed the door considerately.
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