The General's Wife
"Want to go to the market?" Chu Xiuming asked after Shen Jin finished talking about the various novel gadgets and cute little animals he heard there were at the market.
Shen Jin took a piece of lotus cake and handed it to Chu Xiuming in a flattering manner. She then personally held the teapot and refilled his cup to 80% full. Then she said, "Husband, can you take me to see it?" Her voice was soft and a little coquettish, just like a kitten's tender claws gently scratching one's hand.
Chu Xiuming took a sip of the tea slowly and carefully, then ate the lotus cake before saying, "Okay."
Happiness came so quickly that Shen Jin didn't react. When she realized that Chu Xiuming agreed, she showed her dimples on both sides of her face and said, "My husband is the best."
There was a smile in Chu Xiuming's eyes. In fact, even if Shen Jin didn't say anything, he was going to take her there. The border town was being rebuilt, and the general's mansion couldn't spare any staff to repair it. As a result, Shen Jin didn't even have a place to play and could only stay in the house every day. Nanny Zhao had said this several times in words and deeds. Even if Shen Jin had never complained, it made people feel distressed.
Shen Jin achieved her goal and stopped trying to please Chu Xiuming. She ate the lotus cake contentedly. Chu Xiuming poured her tea. "By the way, there are many rumors about me in the capital?"
"Yeah." Shen Jin swallowed the food in his mouth and said, "There are a lot of them. They are very scary."
Although Chu Xiuming did not speak, his eyes revealed that he wanted her to speak. Shen Jin thought for a moment and said, "Especially after my husband said he would return to Beijing to offer captives, but left halfway."
Without waiting for Chu Xiuming to ask again, Shen Jin started to talk about some rumors. Chu Xiuming took the pastry plate with only half of it left to the side, and saw that Shen Jin subconsciously took the pastry and took an empty one. However, she did not care and was still immersed in telling stories. She laughed secretly while talking, "It is said that my husband has a hideous face. The first fiancée was scared to death just by seeing my husband's portrait. The second one seemed to have died of illness. The third one was killed because my husband was not satisfied with the girl's appearance..."
"If my husband really returns to the capital, I'm afraid these rumors will be broken by themselves." Shen Jin's eyes were beautiful almond-shaped, looking moist and innocent. "My second sister is probably going to regret it. She also said that my husband likes to drink human blood and eat human flesh raw. If he doesn't kill someone for a day, his hands will itch and feel uncomfortable. My husband, do you like to eat insects?"
Even though Chu Xiuming heard so many unfavorable words, his expression did not change at all. However, when Shen Jin said the last sentence, he could not help but flicked her forehead, "Why do I like to eat insects?"
"Have you ever eaten it?" Shen Jin asked again.
Chu Xiuming lowered his eyes slightly and said, "I have eaten it, even the rat meat."
Shen Jin's face was full of surprise and anger. He looked at Chu Xiuming with urging in his eyes. Chu Xiuming said helplessly, "I was defeated that year. There were only a few dozen people left hiding in the forest. When I was hungry, I naturally caught and ate everything I could see."
Chu Xiuming simply described a life-threatening incident. Shen Jin seemed unaware of the danger and just said, "Thank goodness I don't have to eat those bugs and rat meat."
Seeing the obvious gloating on Shen Jin's face, Chu Xiuming flicked her forehead again. Shouldn't she be curious about why she lost the battle or whether he was injured at that time? However, after Shen Jin's disturbance, those regrets disappeared.
"These rumors started to spread about six or seven years ago." Shen Jin thought for a moment and said, "By the time I found out, it was already known to everyone, but at that time there weren't so many, and it wasn't so excessive."
Chu Xiuming raised his eyebrows and looked at Shen Jin. He thought his wife would be happy to spread those rumors in the border town.
Shen Jin puffed up his cheeks and said, "No one will believe it. In the capital, it's because no one has seen you before, and life is too boring every day. We always have to find something to talk about. In the border town, everyone is busy and has no time for that."
Chu Xiuming also thought about the matter of the seven or eight hundred and sixteen heads, and tried to deceive those who had never seen a murder.
Shen Jin muttered a lot, a lot of which were useful, but even more useless. "But it's strange, there is no rumor about my uncle in Beijing." The uncle she was referring to was Chu Xiuyuan.
Chu Xiuming's eyes showed some sarcasm, which soon disappeared, making Shen Jin think that she had seen it wrong, and she didn't care. Since her husband didn't want her to know, it was better not to know. Because it was almost time for dinner, Shen Jin didn't go back, but stayed with Chu Xiuming and went to the hall with him. Chu Xiuyuan had already arrived, and when he saw them, he smiled and said, "Brother, sister-in-law."
"Yes." Chu Xiuming responded, and then he washed his hands with the water brought by the maid. Anping also prepared water for Shen Jin. The two of them sat down after washing. Chu Xiuyuan also sat down next to Chu Xiuming.
The maid brought the food up quickly. When she saw the plate of diced chicken, her eyes lit up. She could already smell the faint spicy and sweet aroma. She first scooped a full spoonful on the plate, then picked up a piece with chopsticks and started to eat. The diced chicken was fried and had a slightly sweet and spicy taste. It was even better than she remembered. It was so delicious with the thick white porridge.
After finishing the meal, Chu Xiuming took Shen Jin's hand and sent her back to the courtyard. Shen Jin also felt that her husband was a good person, and she didn't care about him eavesdropping on her last time. At night, while soaking her feet with mugwort, she sighed to Zhao Ma, "My husband is really a good person."
Aunt Zhao didn't know what to say. Normally, Shen Jin would be distracted no matter how many good things she said about the general. But today, just one dish made Shen Jin sigh for a long time. An Ping smiled and said, "As long as Madam likes it."
"In fact, I've eaten another dish. Not only is the meat smooth and tender, but the side dishes are also delicious." Shen Jin looked at Madam Zhao expectantly and described the taste in detail. He almost told Madam Zhao to go and tell the general. Shen Jin felt happy thinking that this dish would appear on his dinner table in a few days.
An Ping and Madam Zhao both saw what Shen Jin meant. Madam Zhao said, "If Madam had spoken, the general would have given the order."
"No." Shen Jin said without thinking, "It would make me look like I love eating too much."
Not only Madam Zhao, but even Anping was speechless. Could it be that if one didn't ask for it personally, it wouldn't seem like he loved it too much?
Aunt Zhao felt helpless and amused at the same time, so she could only say, "Yes, I understand."
Shen Jin gave a sweet smile of satisfaction, but when she went to bed at night, she woke up because of the pain in her lower abdomen. She didn't know if it was because her purpose was achieved or because Nanny Zhao's conditioning during this period was effective. Shen Jin's menstruation, which had stopped for a long time, came suddenly. Not to mention the smooth and tender flesh, this time the menstrual pain made her face pale. Every day she could only lie in bed with a hand warmer, and Nanny Zhao fed her brown sugar water, and ate no chili but no vegetables, which made her even more miserable.
However, her period came at the right time, and it ended just before the opening of the trade. She felt a lot more relaxed. She was woken up by Nanny Zhao before dawn, and drank a bowl of almond goat milk in a daze. Then she woke up, changed her clothes and washed up. Today, Anping simply tied up Shen Jin's hair and fixed it with a silver crown. She wore a dark blue dress, which made her look refreshing. Finally, he wrapped a dark cloak around her and sent Shen Jin out. Chu Xiuming, who was wearing brown shorts, was already standing outside. When he saw Shen Jin, he stretched out his hand. Shen Jin took her hand out from the cloak and placed it on Chu Xiuming's palm.
Chu Xiuming's hands were warm, dispelling the chill of the early morning. He reached out and put the hood on Shen Jin, then took her hand and walked towards the back door. Seeing this, Nanny Zhao handed the small bag she was carrying to Anping, who followed behind Shen Jin with the bag. She would not go with them today, but she had already asked for leave and was ready to go home.
Shen Jin's clothes today are very plain, but the details are particularly exquisite, like the sleeves. The cuffs of the inner dress have butterfly-shaped buttons, and because they are tightened, her wrists show more slenderness. The outer dress has slightly shorter wide sleeves, and there is a circle of floral patterns on the edge. At first glance, it looks like a colorful butterfly just flew out from the flowers.
The other party for the trade was not far from the border town, and it would take only one hour to get there by horse. Shen Jin was riding on the same horse with Chu Xiuming. Chu Xiuming first carried Shen Jin onto the horse, then he took the cloak handed to him by the servant, put it on, climbed onto the horse and sat behind Shen Jin, holding the reins with one hand. Anping handed the things prepared by Madam Zhao to Shen Jin.
Chu Xiuming helped Shen Jin adjust her position so that she could sit more comfortably, then he wrapped her in his cloak, fastened the secret button inside the cloak with his other hand, and then hugged Shen Jin's waist tightly.
Shen Jin unbuttoned one of the hidden buttons with some reluctance, poked his head out, and said, "I can't even see outside."
Chu Xiuyuan also got on the horse, and when he heard Chu Xiuming's words, he said, "Sister-in-law, my brother is afraid that if the horse runs away, you will get wind."
Shen Jin realized that he had misunderstood Chu Xiuming. He scratched the back of Chu Xiuming's hand with his soft fingers and said, "I'll go in later."
Chu Xiuming was not angry. Seeing that everyone was ready, he said, "Let's go." Then he pressed Shen Jin into his arms again and made sure that Shen Jin had buttoned up his clothes before riding forward.
Shen Jin had ridden a horse before, but at that time she just sat on the horse and was pulled around by the servants. Later, the princess and others did not allow her to ride a horse again, saying that it was not good for girls to ride a horse because it would make their legs look ugly. In the end, she could not help her curiosity, so she untied one more knot, pulled a crack and looked out. The border town was exceptionally quiet today.
As soon as they got out of the city gate, the horse started galloping. Shen Jin found that not only could he not see the scenery clearly, but the wind also made his face uncomfortable. So he obediently hid in Chu Xiuming's arms. Feeling a little hungry, he opened the bag prepared by Nanny Zhao, took out the dried meat and pastries wrapped in oil paper, and slowly started to eat them.
Chu Xiuming and Chu Xiuyuan walked side by side, followed by the servants of the mansion. Gradually, more and more people came, all of whom were going to the trade, so Chu Xiuming and his friends slowed down.
Chu Xiuyuan wanted to talk to Chu Xiuming, but he saw his brother's cloak moved, and then moved again. First an arm came out, with a piece of dried meat in his hand, and then poked Chu Xiuming's cheek. Chu Xiuming showed some helplessness in his eyes. When Chu Xiuyuan thought his brother would refuse, he saw him lower his head and eat the piece of dried meat, then patted the place where the head should be inside the cloak, and this time it moved further away, the arm was retracted, and then the head popped out instead.
Chu Xiuming did not push her back, but let the horse run slowly. Chu Xiuyuan looked at Chu Xiuming, then at Shen Jin, and suddenly thought, could that piece of dried meat be something his sister-in-law came out to bribe his brother?
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