Chapter 53 "It's kind of you to still remember me, but..."
"It's kind of you to still remember me. So much time has passed; I would have assumed you had forgotten me."
"Heh," Zhu Mingyue sneered, "I think you've almost forgotten about me. Not only did you give me the cold shoulder, but you also had to play tricks on me with fruit peels." He couldn't help but feel a little annoyed when he said this.
Xu Lingguang smirked and retorted, "You've even changed your gender, how could anyone know it's you?"
"You're blaming him!" Zhu Mingyue was even angrier. Wasn't the message he had Huanxue convey clearly enough?
Neither of them felt they were wrong, and they remained deadlocked. After several rounds of back and forth, Xu Lingguang was the first to give in, and he softened his tone: "Alright, next time you come, I guarantee I'll recognize you even if you dress up as an old woman."
"By the way, is that food box you're holding for me?" He shifted his gaze to Zhu Mingyue's hands and began to change the subject.
Zhu Mingyue's anger came and went quickly, but she was still stubborn. Hearing this, she still kept a straight face and pouted, saying, "That was true before, but not anymore. I'm taking it back to feed my dog!"
Xu Lingguang's face almost turned black. He was used to being pampered, and whether in the past or now, he always had to be treated with the same humility. He had never been insulted like this before. If it were anyone else, he would have already dealt with them severely. No, he wouldn't have given anyone else a chance to speak.
But the situation was different when the person in front of him was Zhu Mingyue. The rampant violence within him frequently failed when he encountered this person, and he couldn't bring himself to be ruthless even if he wanted to. He seemed to have a strange tolerance for Zhu Mingyue.
He took a deep breath, trying to soften his tone, but his words were still irritating: "Stop messing around, you can't even support yourself, how can you support a dog?" Without waiting for Zhu Mingyue's reaction, he snatched the food box and opened it with lightning speed.
He wasn't greedy; he was simply curious about what Zhu Mingyue had personally made for him.
He gasped when he opened the food box. Good. Stewed mutton, stir-fried pork kidneys with chives, and at the bottom was a basket of things he had never seen before.
Xu Lingguang gave him a meaningful look: "It seems you're quite concerned about my sexual function." Both dishes were for male enhancement.
Zhu Mingyue said, "If you don't want to eat it, then forget it," and tried to snatch the food box back. Both mutton and pork kidneys have a strong, unpleasant smell, and Zhu Mingyue didn't cut corners when cooking them, spending considerable effort to remove the odor. He had tasted both dishes; he didn't know how they compared to those from upscale restaurants, but he thought they were quite delicious.
"Eat, of course I'll eat! I'm starving." Xu Lingguang called out to a servant and ordered him to reheat the dishes before serving them.
The servant dared not delay and soon brought out the heated dishes.
Xu Lingguang didn't rush to pick up any food. Instead, he picked up a dumpling and asked with interest, "What is this?"
Zhu Mingyue: "You eat first, and see if it's good."
Xu Linguang took a bite, revealing the filling inside, which was still mutton. But strangely, it didn't have the characteristic gamey smell of mutton. There was also some pickled cabbage mixed in, which cleverly neutralized the greasiness and made people's appetites soar.
He ate slowly at first, but then quickened his pace, enjoying each bite immensely.
Zhu Mingyue's lips curled up slightly. She reminded him at the right moment, "Don't just focus on eating dumplings; the food won't taste good if it gets cold."
The food tasted quite good, but Xu Linguang immediately sensed something was wrong as soon as he took a bite.
Lamb and pork kidneys have always been considered inferior and filthy meats by the wealthy and powerful, and only common people who lack oil and fat would flock to them.
Xu Lingguang had never touched these kinds of things before, and the cooks below would never prepare these dishes for him without permission. If it weren't for Zhu Mingyue, he wouldn't even know that mutton and pork kidneys could be cooked so deliciously.
After a whirlwind of eating, Xu Linguang wiped his mouth with satisfaction and, for the first time ever, uttered a word of praise: "Not bad."
“Of course it’s good,” Zhu Mingyue raised her chin proudly. “Don’t you even know who made it? Putting everything else aside, I could sell the sauerkraut and mutton dumplings you’re eating for over twenty coins.”
Xu Lingguang's focus, however, wasn't on that. He raised an eyebrow. "You've found a job?" With such delicious cooking, you must be working as a head chef at some tavern. Not bad. When he first met Zhu Mingyue, she looked like a bean sprout, only her face could pique anyone's interest. Now she's managed to keep herself so fair and delicate; it seems she's living a comfortable life.
At this point, Zhu Mingyue finally smiled and softened her voice: "I bought a shop myself, in a town not far from here. It specializes in selling the dumplings you just ate, and occasionally seasonal vegetables as well, but not many."
“Actually, I planned to come to the county town to see you a long time ago, but my family was so poor at first that I was busy making money. Later, I did earn some money, but I spent it all on buying land and shops, and I still owe a lot. After I paid off the debts, suddenly there were many refugees here, and I didn’t dare to go out during that time, so I had to postpone it until now.” He said so much in one breath, and what he meant was: See, I’m not like you. I’ve always kept you in my heart.
Xu Lingguang's mood improved considerably. He subconsciously opened his mouth to say, "You're smart enough," but seeing Zhu Mingyue's bright smile, he swallowed his words and instead gave a curt compliment: "Very impressive." It sounded somewhat perfunctory, but in his twenty-year career, he had praised almost no one. The only two compliments he had ever given were to the person in front of him.
Fortunately, Zhu Mingyue knew his nature well and didn't care at all. Besides, he was already used to having a cold-faced iceberg at home.
He waved his hand humbly and said, "It's alright! If Xie Pei hadn't been willing to support me in the beginning, I wouldn't even have the capital to start a business." He was telling the truth. If Xie Pei hadn't saved him from the villagers, he might have become a wandering ghost long ago. If Xie Pei hadn't taken out his own savings to support him in setting up a stall to sell steamed buns, he wouldn't be where he is today.
"Xie Pei?" Xu Linguang's face visibly turned cold, and he repeatedly chewed on those two words.
"What's wrong?" Zhu Mingyue asked, puzzled.
Xu Linguang asked directly, "Who is Xie Pei?"
"Oh, he's my brother-in-law."
"You got married?" Xu Lingguang tried to laugh, but the stiff smile he gave looked like a forced grin to Zhu Mingyue.
"After leaving here, I was sold to a village. A few days later, I got married to a man." Speaking of the past, Zhu Mingyue was calm and composed.
Conversely, Xu Lingguang felt a brief surge of turmoil in his heart, but after calming down, he felt somewhat relieved. From the moment he devised the plan to send Zhu Mingyue out of Nanfeng Pavilion, he had already foreseen her fate, hadn't he? With Zhu Mingyue's looks, she was destined to be sold to someone else when she was powerless.
However, seeing him still clinging to hope today, convincing himself that perhaps Zhu Mingyue is lucky and can live well on her own, it seems he's overthinking it.
He had a lot of questions he wanted to ask, but they all came out as one: "Is your man good to you?" After saying that, he felt like he had asked a pointless question.
To his surprise, Zhu Mingyue replied in a serious tone: "No, actually I'm not familiar with him."
"What?" Xu Lingguang was taken aback. "You're not familiar with him?" This was utterly bizarre. Who wouldn't be familiar with their husband? It was utterly ridiculous. Was the man who married Zhu Mingyue impotent, simply marrying her as a decorative object, which led to this unfamiliar situation?
But once Zhu Mingyue said it, he believed her. After proactively helping the other person make amends, he felt inexplicably happy. At the end, he even confirmed with her again: "Are you really not familiar with each other?"
Zhu Mingyue repeated helplessly, "We're really not familiar with each other."
Xu Lingguang suddenly became serious: "Then he must not cherish you."
Zhu Mingyue nodded without hesitation. Strictly speaking, that was indeed the case. He still remembered the days when he served Xie Hong. Every day, he and Xie Pei ate boiled taro in plain water while watching Xie Hong drink thick rice porridge and eat eggs every meal.
Xu Lingguang coughed twice, feigning seriousness. "Since he treats you badly, just divorce him. You're a good cook; you won't have trouble supporting yourself." He paused, glancing quickly at Zhu Mingtian before continuing, "Even if you can't support yourself, it's okay. You can come to me, and I can too."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhu Mingyue scratched her face and interrupted him, her expression troubled: "We can't get a divorce."
"How could this be?" Xu Lingguang frowned. The Li Dynasty had a relatively open system regarding marriage. As long as one party was determined to divorce, the divorce would be successful. Therefore, although divorce was not common, it did happen.
There was only one possibility: "Did he threaten you?" He then chuckled.
"Tch, don't be afraid of being threatened. I can beat him up for you."
In Xu Linguang's eyes, the image of Zhu Mingyue, whom he had never met, was already extremely negative.
It's bad enough that this impotent man keeps Zhu Mingyue by his side, making her live a life of widowhood, but he doesn't even treat her well. It would be better to give Zhu Mingyue to him; at least he could… Xu Linguang's face darkened further as he thought about it.
Zhu Mingyue secretly observed him and was somewhat surprised to see him suddenly become agitated. She explained softly, "No, he can't threaten me, and you can't beat him up either."
He pointed to the ground, and Xu Linguang understood, his brows furrowing even deeper, as if they could trap a fly: "Downstairs?"
Pfft! Zhu Mingyue was both amused and exasperated, and corrected him: "It's not downstairs, it's underground."
Xu Linguang's mind went blank for a moment, then his face instantly relaxed, and he looked like he was bathed in a spring breeze.
"Dead?" Good riddance! A wonderful death! He couldn't suppress the upward curve of his lips and said insincerely, "That's a pity, my condolences."
Zhu Mingyue shook her head. "He fell seriously ill on the day I married him and died soon after. From then on, the villagers called me a jinx, saying that I had caused his death."
"Nonsense," Xu Lingguang retorted lightly. "What does his death have to do with you? It's just a coincidence."
He had mixed feelings, thinking the man's death was both timely and untimely.
If only she could die sooner, Zhu Mingyue wouldn't be cursed as a jinx. But then she thought, if she died sooner, Zhu Mingyue would be sold elsewhere, and she might not be so lucky then.
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