Chapter 177 176. Three Wives and Four Concubines
After staying in Xiling Prefecture for half a month, Lei Li and his group were about to set off back to Qingmi County.
We ate, drank and went shopping every day, collecting stamps of all the scenic spots and delicacies in the city. Everyone bought a lot of things, with Lei Li buying the most.
It seems that after spending so much time with Zhou Yi, Lei Li has also developed a bad habit of shopping. This husband likes to buy! That little ginger wants to buy!
This fabric is novel and beautiful. All the old ladies in the capital like it, and my grandmother likes it too, but they think it is expensive and not worth it for an old country woman like me to wear it.
Lei Li bought five pieces directly, and also selected several pieces of cloth for her grandfather and parents, as well as some for her husband and her son Jiang Jingsheng, and of course some for herself as well.
There are many pearls in Xiling Prefecture, including freshwater pearls from Nanjiang and saltwater pearls from Baihui, each beautiful in its own way. Lei Li bought a box of pearls.
They are all freshwater.
Freshwater pearls come in many beautiful colors, including white, white-pink, orange-pink, gold, purple, bronze, etc. I don’t know how the clam farmers raise them, but they are so beautiful that people can’t take their eyes off them.
Saltwater pearls are also colorful, shiny and dense in texture, but they are expensive. Besides, most people cannot tell the difference between freshwater and saltwater pearls, so a box of freshwater pearls is enough.
She can make a headband for grandma, embroider it on clothes, twist silver and gold threads into pearl hairpins, and apply pearl makeup for Lei Jingsheng and Sister Huaer.
Some young ladies from wealthy families in the capital city had their pearls painted and shown around the streets. These two girls couldn't forget them after seeing them, so they cut half of the box of pearls into halves so that they could stick them on their faces.
It’s not just pearl makeup either.
The girls and boys in the capital city spend a lot of time on their makeup. There are many kinds of rouge and powder in the capital city, and many beautiful makeup decorations, such as distant mountain eyebrows, peach blossom hairpins, and apricot blossom cheeks. At first glance, it is really a dazzling sight.
Even though Lei Li didn't like dressing up, she bought two boxes of lip balm under Zhou Yi's eager gaze.
Used it on the same day.
First, it was applied on Lei Li's lips and body, and slowly, it reached Zhou Yi's cheeks, lips, neck and chest... The ointment was also rubbed all over Zhou Yi's body. Both of them smelled very good, and even the drops of sweat had a faint fragrance.
I don’t know if it’s because the ointment contains a small amount of aphrodisiac ingredients, or if the handsome and smiling man is too hot, but every time Zhou Yi applies it, he feels hot in his heart and face, and he unknowingly goes too far from dusk to dawn.
On the way back, half of the box of ointment was used up. Lei Li put more than a dozen boxes into his pocket and asked Zhou Yi to keep them with a smile.
"From now on, I'll have to trouble you to wipe it for me."
"……Um."
Zhou Yi's face flushed and his ears flushed, as if those were not ordinary balms and ointments, but more than a dozen boxes of small umbrellas, full of ambiguous sexual innuendos.
The boat was loaded with bags and bags.
It was not the busy farming season, and there was no Meng family fleet on the way back, so Lei Li found another fleet going the same way. Although there were many ships traveling on this route and the probability of an accident was small, it was still better to be safe than sorry.
But what Lei Li and Zhou Yi did not expect was that Meng Luo also returned to Qingmi County from Zhongchuan, arriving just two days after them.
"Didn't you say you hadn't been home for over a year and wanted to stay in Zhongchuan longer?"
Lei Li took a sip of tea and said, "Your parents didn't approve of your relationship with Mei Yuqing, so you were kicked out?"
"Oh..."
Meng Luo waved his hands, looking worried. "Pretty much. My parents dislike Xiaoqing because she's an actress, so they won't let her into the family. Even if she wants to come in, she'll have to be a concubine, and only after I marry my first wife can I bring Xiaoqing into the family."
"Otherwise, it would be embarrassing to tell others that you have a concubine before you have a wife."
Lei Li glanced at him and asked, "So what do you think?"
"Me? What else can I think?"
Meng Luo sighed, "Of course I want to marry Xiaoqing in a grand ceremony, but my parents don't agree, and Xiaoqing definitely doesn't want to be a concubine."
"Besides, I don't want to marry a stranger casually. I don't like her, and wouldn't it hurt her if I married her?"
Lei Li looked at him with a higher opinion. "Doesn't your father have many concubines? I always hear you talking about this concubine and that concubine. I thought you didn't care that much about taking concubines."
"Besides, don't children from your wealthy families usually have maids? What about those maids? Will they be maids all their lives or will they also have concubines?"
"No! I didn't!"
Meng Luo stood up suddenly, his face flushed. "My eldest brother did have two concubines, but I really didn't! I followed my second brother and ran away from home when I was thirteen, so where did I get a concubine from?... My eldest brother actually made those two concubines his concubines."
"But my second brother doesn't have any. I'm young, so my mother doesn't have to worry about me. I don't like doing this kind of thing. I'm happier making money."
Meng Luo sighed again, "I used to be a very well behaved person, but this time I suddenly brought Xiaoqing back home, and my father almost broke my legs. I was finally locked up in the ancestral hall for several days."
"It was my mother who loved me so much that she secretly released me and gave me some money. That's how I was able to bring Xiaoqing back. I don't know what to do next."
"Then just hold on for now."
Lei Li said, "Didn't you say your second brother's marriage hasn't been decided yet? It's not the younger brother's turn if his elder brother hasn't gotten married yet. The most important thing they should be concerned about is your second brother, not you. Just put it off until your second brother gets married."
"What about after my second brother gets married?"
"Keep dragging it out."
Lei Li said confidently, "What you did wasn't anything against the law. If you keep delaying coming home, write a letter to your parents and send them something from time to time to make your presence felt."
"Just act cute and coquettishly, telling them how wonderful things are going for you and Mei and Qing lately. They'll naturally agree over time."
"Then my father..."
Meng Luo thought of his father's ugly face and shrank his neck. "This trick should work on my mother, but my father is very stubborn. What should I do if he still doesn't agree?"
"As the saying goes, there's no such thing as an overnight grudge between father and son."
Lei Li said, "After a while, your father will surely calm down, but he might not be able to save face. So, you have to test your mother's attitude and take the initiative to go find your father."
"You're playing the victim and trying to be soft, just to fan the flames of the father-son relationship between you and your father."
"It's better to eat thinner when you go back. She looks so sad because she misses her dad so much. She said she misses him so much that she can't eat or sleep. She wants to go home and serve him day and night, but she's afraid he'll be angry and doesn't dare to come back."
"If possible, bring a child back. The little guy will call me grandpa all the time. I don't believe your father won't be soft-hearted."
"It seems to work..."
Meng Luo's eyes lit up, but when he heard the word "child", he hesitated and became confused. "I still need to find a child to take back? Where can I find one?"
“……?”
Lei Li looked at him like he was stupid. "Your child with Mei Yuqing? Didn't you say Mei Yuqing was your brother?"
"this……"
Meng Luo suddenly hesitated, his face red as a monkey's butt, "Xiao Qing is my brother, it's just... it's just... we are not the same as you and Zhou Yi."
"What's the difference?"
Lei Li asked him suspiciously, "Is he infertile, or are you infertile? Are both of you infertile?"
“No, no!”
Meng Luo's face flushed even redder, and he gritted his teeth and whispered, "Xiaoqing and I are...Xiaoqing is on top...I can't get pregnant, I can't have a baby!"
“?!”
Lei Li's eyes widened slightly in surprise, "Is this really possible?"
“Yes, yes…”
Meng Luo was very embarrassed and said, "In Zhongchuan and Kyoto, some men will marry and start their own families, but they cannot let women get pregnant."
"I've never heard of a brother suppressing a man, but it should...it should happen."
Lei Li was a little curious when he heard this, "Is it the same when a man oppresses a man or a man oppresses a man?"
"I have no idea……"
Meng Luo was also stunned for a moment, "I have only done that kind of thing with Xiaoqing, not with anyone else..."
Suddenly realizing what was happening, he blushed. "Oh, look at you with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, why do you keep asking this kind of thing... If it's different, you can try it with Zhou Yi and you'll know."
"Um?"
Zhou Yi, who had just come from the backyard, was a little confused after hearing the second half of the sentence. He looked at Lei Li and then at Meng Luo and asked, "What do you want to try with me?"
He was holding a plate of chicken in his hand. The skin was crispy, the meat was tender, and the juice was overflowing. The aroma was fragrant. It was a whole lotus leaf chicken, and there was a dish of cumin and chili powder dipping sauce on the side.
It's been hot recently, and the lotus flowers in the ponds are reflected in the sun by the lotus leaves. Lei Li saw the lotus leaves and said he wanted to eat lotus leaf chicken, so Zhou Yi made it for him. He was still in the backyard when Meng Luo came.
"nothing."
Lei Li smiled and gave Meng Luo a meaningful look. "I just didn't expect Meng Luo to be so devoted to love. Tsk tsk, I was wrong before. I thought he was the kind of man with three wives and four concubines."
What level?
Zhou Yi became even more confused.
But he didn't ask, and Lei Li didn't say it directly, so it must be inconvenient to tell others.
"I originally thought I would follow my parents' plan and have a biological child, but then I met Xiaoqing. I don't want anyone else but him."
Meng Luo shook his head and wanted to say something, but the lotus leaf chicken was so delicious that his eyes unconsciously fell over and he sat down at the table.
He smiled sheepishly, but said bluntly, "Can I have a share of this chicken too?"
Since they are all so familiar with each other and are doing business together, eating lotus leaf chicken is certainly no big deal.
Meng Luo also knew that Lei Li and Zhou Yi were not particular about details, so he was a little reserved at first and would not go over unless he was asked. But later, when he saw something delicious, he went over on his own initiative.
"certainly."
Lei Li smiled and sat down at the table. Fortunately, the lotus leaf chicken Zhou Yi made was big enough, and there were several more in the backyard, so there was no need to worry that it would not be enough for three adult men to eat.
With food in hand, Mengluo no longer cared about his parents' love and ate voraciously, as if he wanted to use his grief and anger to satisfy his appetite.
"If you keep eating like this, you won't lose weight. I'm afraid you'll be fat and pale when your parents see you again."
Lei Li said with a bit of amusement.
"ah……"
Meng Luo looked at the greasy chicken leg in his hand, struggled for a moment, and continued to eat the chicken leg, saying vaguely, "Then I'll lose weight when the time comes. If it doesn't work, I'll cry to my mother. My mother is the best to talk..."
"Since you've said that, what are you still worried about?"
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