Surprise
There was a xiǎo gōngzǐ in the village, who was so white and fat. The villagers passed by Shen Qiukui's house specifically to take a look at the xiǎo gōngzǐ. Aunt Li, who liked chattering, also found an excuse to go to Shen Qiukui's house to observe the xiǎo gōngzǐ. The xiǎo gōngzǐ was innocent and cute, he was willing to answer every question. It made the fine lines on Aunt Li's face squeezing into flowers.
"Auntie, this is my guest. So don't blabber around the village!" Before Aunt Li left, Shen Qiukui reminded.
Aunt Li fully agreed. But as soon she turned her head and saw a group of daughters-in-law washing clothes by the river, her mouth opened involuntarily. "Have you all seen that xiǎo gōngzǐ? Xiǎo gōngzǐ's round face is white and tender, like a peeled egg. The skin on his body is white and delicate as if poured by milk!"
"Aunt Li, do you think so?" The wife in a flower skirt covered her mouth and smiled.
Seeing someone following the conversation, Aunt Li was even more excited. "Such a soft xiǎo gōngzǐ, I can't bear to speak loud! And I dare not speak carelessly!" Her expression became mysterious. "Xiǎo gōngzǐ is full of nobility aura, what he wears from head to toe are not common products. What his young servant wears much better than the young servant of Li Yuanwai's family wears!"
"I see. Actually, I saw the xiǎo gōngzǐ from a distance that day going to the village chief's house with the steward. The steward looked calm and tactful, only a truly wealthy and influential family can have such a grand steward." A Shuānger admitted.
"Yes! That's the reason!" Aunt Li smiled.
A cold snort sounded, someone said impatiently, "Isn't he just a young master with fat intestines raised by a rich family. Don't you think you are so exaggerated, Aunt Li?"
"How can you regard a pig as a flower!"
Aunt Li found that it was Lin Wanru who was talking. Lin Wanru lowered her head and was washing her face with disdain. As the best-looking girl in Shenjia Village, she had always been the center of the conversation. What gōngzǐ? It was just a white pig! Flattering so high when you saw other people's wealth, what a snobbish attitude!
Thinking of this girl became the object of the whole village's teasing because of her propaganda the last time, Aunt Li didn't feel embarrassed either. She glanced at everyone and raised her eyebrows and asked, "You don't know, right? This xiǎo gōngzǐ is Shen Yan's Fulang's friend!"
Everyone was stunned.
"His Fulang? That Shuānger?"
When they talked about Gu Changfeng, everyone's expression was a bit complicated. You could say that at first, they felt pity for this Shuānger, and now they really were jealous of him. When the two were at home, they would walk around the village after dinner. As long as they were not blind, they could tell that the couple had a good relationship. Not to mention that the Shen's Family now had ricefields and raising fish and ducks. Although it was still unclear that they would have a good harvest, this kind of hope was quite enough to make them envy!
"It looks like Shen Xiucai's family is about to back to its glory..."
"Isn't it? Married a Fulang, have a book boy, farming and raising fish and ducks, it seems that their days are going better!"
"Yeah! This Shuānger looks quite rough, I didn't expect to be so Wang Fu*!"
*an ancient feudal idea, that is, a woman will let her husband go well and become rich, as opposed to Koff.
Everyone was talking about it, unanimously agreeing that although Gu Changfeng was not good in appearance and figure, he had such fortune aura. Since Shen Xiucai married Gu Changfeng, he had been so lucky that he fully recovered, and his mind had become more clear!
Lin Wanru interrupted everyone coldly, "Do you think that Shen Yan really treats his Fulang very well?"
The flower skirt daughter-in-law smiled and said, "Yeah, why not? Once I accidentally ran into Shen Xiucai. They were holding each other's hand and laughing, and he secretly kissed his Fulang!"
Everyone laughed.
"If he is really good to his Fulang, why he doesn't buy clothes and jewelry for him?" Lin Wanru stood up, wearing a water blue skirt to set off her good figure. She held the tub with one hand, and she pulled the fallen hair behind her ear with the other hand. The twisted silver bracelet dangling on that slender wrist, and there were earrings on the earlobes. There was a hairpin obliquely inserted on the black silk, which swaying like a waterfall.
Seeing everyone's eyes falling on her, Lin Wanru smiled lightly. "If someone really favors his lover, he will be willing to spend money for him!" Like what Shen Yan did for her. He would buy her headdress flower, rouge gouache, gadgets... …, Shen Yan gave her away without blinking!
Knowing the meaning of her words, everyone laughed. No matter how it was in the past, Shen Xiucai now really loved his family Fulang.
Lin Wanru's face was a little ugly seeing everyone mocked her. Knowing this, Aunt Li hurriedly turned the topic back. "Let's talk about xiǎo gōngzǐ! I asked him before, xiǎo gōngzǐ said he lives in the town and has a sister..."
"Then what does he do in our village?"
"He said that our Shenjia Village has beautiful scenery and outstanding people, so he came here to stay for a while to cultivate the body..."
What had to discuss about a fat man!
Lin Wanru frowned, holding the tub, and walked away angrily.
Su Qingze didn't know that he had become the center of the topic. He now was standing in the backyard of Shen Yanbei's house and watched Shen Yanbei practicing boxing enthusiastically.
"Shen Dàgē, your punches are pretty good-looking. Who did you learn from?"
Shen Yanbei smiled. Of course, he learned it from his wife!
After talking to Gu Changfeng that day that he wanted to learn some martial arts to keep fit, Gu Changfeng later taught him a set of soft boxing. During this period of time, he was in a good mood, had enough sleep, and always took medicine to nourish his body. When his body seemed fine, he started practicing for half an hour every day. But he still couldn't do too vigorous exercises right now. The rhythm might be slow but it really suited him well.
Seeing Su Qingze staring at him intently, he said, "This boxing technique can strengthen the body, how about you practice it too?"
"Okay!" Su Qingze didn't doubt at all. He followed Shen Yanbei to punch and kick.
In Gu Changfeng's opinion, Shen Yanbei's punches were not even fancy, but he did it seriously. When his clothes fluttered, it looked pretty good. Meanwhile, Su Qingze, who followed the gestures, looked clumsy and cute. People couldn't help but laugh.
After doing several tricks, Shen Yan began to sweat on his forehead. When he finished, he was already out of breath. Su Qingze was so tired that he fainted on the ground. Although he was not the type of person who unable to endure hardship, it didn't change the fact that he was pampered.
"More haste, less speed*. Take your time." Shen Yanbei persuaded.
*yùsùzébùdá: haste does not bring success.
That day, Su Qingze's family gave him hand-annotated books. When he was suspicious, he asked Su Qingze directly. The boy didn't hide it. He directly said that this was the book his brother-in-law had used during the imperial examination. He asked again, it turned out that Su Qingze's brother-in-law was the newly appointed county magistrate Li Zhiyuan. No wonder that day was so coincidental that he met Li Zhiyuan in the field and met Su Qingze at his house.
After understanding the relationship between the two, he also understood Li Zhiyuan's intention to send him the book.
It might shock him but on the other hand, it proactively expressed friendship.
He was a Xiucai, but the opponent was a second-class jinshi* who had fought through the imperial examination. There were too many places where the other party could Instruction him on the way of imperial examination. If he took good care of him, he would gain benefit a lot. If he didn't, since the other party was the county magistrate, he could easily make him suffer in many ways. Actually, he only wanted to help Su Qingze because of his wife, but now... Shen Yanbei was in a slightly complicated mood.
*The imperial examinations of the Sui and Tang Dynasties set up Jinshi, which is called Jinshi after admission. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Juren was called Jinshi after being admitted through the examinations and the palace examinations.
It was just to help people lose weight, but he didn't expect there would be so much involved. However, he didn't think too much. It still was a surprise to catch the attention of the county magistrate.
"Okay." After taking a breath, the flushed Su Qingze took the water that Ming'an handed over, and took two sips quickly.
"Young Master, let's sit there for a while," Ming'an said distressedly.
"It is not advisable to sit down and rest immediately when you are tired. You have to stand up and walk slowly." Shen Yanbei frowned.
Hearing this, Su Qingze waved his hand to reject Ming'an. He stood up by supporting his knees. He then stared at Gu Changfeng with bright eyes, who was wearing a dark bunt that looked more tall and strong.
"Gu Dàgē, I'll help you feed the ducklings later!"
Shen Yanbei. "..."
So this boy stared at his wife for a day yesterday just to observe what his wife was doing?
Gu Changfeng nodded. "I have to go to the river to get some small fish snails."
"Can I go with you?" Su Qingze asked directly.
Shen Yanbei couldn't laugh or cry. "Just go if you like it. Zhou Yu is watching ducks in the field, so you can go and see."
"Okay, okay!" Su Qingze nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. After all, he was a teenager. It was normal to act lively and active. And as a newcomer, he was full of curiosity about everything around him.
After Gu Changfeng took the people out, Shen Yanbei went to wash his face then went into the study. The study was re-arranged according to his preferences. All the things left by the original owner were cleaned up by him. Useful books were put on the shelves in different categories and the unuseful kinds of stuff were packed in boxes. On the desk were the books he bought in the county before. Shen Yanbei took out the book given by Li Zhiyuan, while reading it, he held up a pen to make notes.
It had to be said that Li Zhiyuan, who had a background passing imperial examinations, was indeed good at learning! You could see the gap between the two by looking at the notes at the top of the book with the original owner's thinking to understand and compare. The vision of the young Xiucai in the countryside was too narrow. There were many shortcomings in considering issues. It seemed that he had to go out and took a look...
The atmosphere in the study was quiet. The young man wrote seriously, sometimes he curled his eyebrows in contemplation. Gu Changfeng stood at the door and looked at him quietly. He watched him until Shen Yanbei realized that there was no ink left in the inkstone and was about to get up to rub the ink.
"You're back? Why don't you come in?" Shen Yanbei hooked his lips.
"I don't want to disturb you." Gu Changfeng walked in. He added some water to the inkstone, and then ground the ink stick in there.
Shen Yanbei squinted at him with a smile and re-dipped the ink to write.
After brushing horizontally and vertically, three words suddenly appeared on the paper.
Putting down the pen, Shen Yanbei held the paper and asked Gu Changfeng, "Wife, look at this!"
Gu Changfeng stared blankly, his low voice slowly sounded. "Gu Changfeng..."
Shen Yanbei was slightly surprised that his wife was literate!
Not only could do martial arts, but also literate...
Shen Yan continued to write three more words on the paper without changing his expression.
"What about this?"
"Shen Yanbei."
"Say more." Shen Yanbei stared into his eyes.
Gu Changfeng was stunned. He said in a deep voice, "Shen Yanbei..."
"Yeah!" Shen Yanbei replied loudly, with smiles in his eyes.
Gu Changfeng's eyes were filled with confusion. His lips opened, and he whispered, "Yanbei..."
"Wife, you call it so nice!" Shen Yanbei smiled and kissed that lip.
The crowning day was getting close, so Shen Yanbei and Gu Changfeng ought to go to the county to buy the ingredients needed for the banquet. They also had to go to the cloth store to buy clothing materials and then asked the tailor to make them.
Su Qingze and Ming'an also followed them to the county for stopping by the government office. Since childhood, Su Qingze, who had never ridden an ox cart, was fortunate enough to experience this for the first time. He was busy looking around and didn't feel that it was a boring trip. His fleshy face was full of smiles. Holding a long reed in his hand, he was sitting calmly at the rear of the cart like an old man fishing. His two legs were drooping and swaying, following the rhythm of the cart's move. Although it was not as comfortable as a horse-drawn carriage, to sit this such ox-cart was still fun!
Ming'an who sat beside him was looking at the green seedling field in front of him, feeling very relaxed at the moment. Before they started to live in this village, Daye ordered him to take care of the Young Master very well. If he felt discomfort, he ought to bring back the Young Master home immediately. But these days, what he was worried about didn't happen. Shen Xiucai told the Young Master if he wanted to lose weight he had to restrain his mouth and do some physical activities instead. Although he still ate fish and meat, the portion was less. The salt and oil were also less. But the foods were still delicious!
The Young Master's figure indeed didn't change much, but he could feel that Young Master was having a great time. He had been with him for a long time. Unless when Ah Heng was there, he never saw the Young Master lived so happily!
Uncle Shen, who was driving the cart front, was also smiling. His younger son finally got back to work and he also was asked to deliver the vegetables to the restaurant every day. Not only that, different from before, his younger son also worked happily and his salary had been increased. Even his vegetables were bought at a good price!
The bullock cart was heading to the county. After parking the cart, Uncle Shen then would be waiting for them in the tea shop. In this way, they went in separate ways. Su Qingze waved to the two of them and went straight to the government office. While Shen Yanbei and Gu Changfeng went to the Tongfu restaurant to see the shopkeeper Liu.
The restaurant business was running well, the seats in the lobby were almost occupied. Shen Yanbei asked Shopkeeper Liu to take the account book and then started to calculate the accounts for the past few days. The shopkeeper Liu stood aside respectfully, as long as he watched him, he couldn't help but admire Shen Yanbei.
"Have those two people been to a restaurant recently?" Gu Changfeng asked in a low voice.
Shopkeeper Liu stroked his beard and said in a smile, "They still come here, but didn't dare to make trouble. And they honestly pay the bills." His tone became more subtle. "It's all thanks to the magistrate."
They became like this after being frightened by Gu Changfeng that day. They didn't make a fuss and obediently stayed at home for a while. After recovering from their illness, one day they ran straight to the restaurant for morning tea. It turned out that the private room they usually used was being occupied but they persisted to use that room. So they broke into the private room and threatened the visitor inside to give them the private room. But they never expected that the visitor was a beautiful woman. Li Sheng's eyeballs stuck straight to the person, his action of course offended the other party. As a result, he hit the iron plate at that time! That woman was actually the wife of the new county magistrate!
Although the county magistrate kept his face calm, he still rewarded the two of them by hitting them with the board. The magistrate said if they kept acting arrogant and domineering and insulting others, it would not be as simple as being hit by the board!
The two of them were so scared that they broke into a cold sweat, then obediently paid the bill. After that, they ran away while covering their buttock!
"The county magistrate knows right and wrong and governs strictly. It has to be a good thing." Shen Yanbei closed the account book and smiled lightly.
The shopkeeper Liu nodded appreciatively. Since the former county magistrate accepted the benefits of Li's Family, he let Li Sheng and others make a fuss around and Yamen did not dare to interfere in their affairs. It made many people who were insulted have nowhere to complain. Hopefully, this new magistrate was different. After he took the position, he judged justice, so people could live happily.
"Two days later, I will celebrate my crown ceremony. Laifu-gē will have to go back to the village to take charge. So the restaurant will be closed for one day, and the others will take a day off," Shen Yanbei explained.
Shopkeeper Liu hurriedly congratulated, and asked Shen Yanbei, "Is there a banquet for the county magistrate?" As a scholar under the county magistrate's rule, it was normal to send an invitation to the county magistrate. Even if the county magistrate wouldn't come, the courtesy must be done and the etiquette must also be thoughtful.
Shen Yanbei smiled and said, "I have sent the invitation."
It was okay if he didn't know him before. Now since Su Qingze was under his care and Li Zhiyuan had given him some books, he must invite him. Besides that, he still should come for a formal visit personally at the right time.
At this time, the invitation was placed in front of Li Zhiyuan.
"On the sixth day of the sixth year, it will be Shen Gēgē's crown ceremony. Because I came here to visit, I helped him to bring the invitation."
Su Qingze held his nephew high. The little doll grinned, revealing two small white teeth, which were very cute. Su Qingze couldn't help but kissed his soft cheek.
"Xiao Lin'er, do you miss Uncle?"
Little Doll stretched out his hand to touch his face and screamed "Uncle" vaguely. Su Qingze was pleased to hold him in circles.
Looking at the two dumplings, Su Wanqing said with a smile, "Okay, stop making trouble." She stood up and hugged her son, and looked at Su Qingze carefully. She hadn't seen him for several days, now the young man was full of vigor and looked more energetic.
"You are getting darker." She didn't know if it was an illusion, she felt that her brother's fleshy face seemed to be thinner.
"Really?" Su Qingze looked at his hand and didn't care much. "Why does a manly man want to be so vain?" He had been playing outside in the village these days, of course, it would be different than when he was usually staying indoors at home! Recently he went into the water and fished, also went up to the tree to dig out bird eggs. Everything he found interesting and fun, he would do it all!
Su Wanqing groaned, "What nonsense are you talking about? Manly man? Stop talking like that as a little Shuānger! If you really become like a man, you are the one who will cry!"
Su Qingze curled his lips. "What's wrong with being like a man? Isn't Gu Dàgē just like that? I envy him so much!"
"Who is Gu Dàgē?" Su Wanqing asked suspiciously.
Li Zhiyuan coughed slightly. "It's Shen Xiucai's Fulang, a relatively tall and sturdy Shuānger."
"Gu Dàgē is really amazing!" Su Qingze was full of admiration. "He has a lot of strength! He can pick up a big tank of water with one hand! When he chopped the firewood, he did it quickly and neatly. Even each piece was about the same size! He also has good eyesight. He can see a rabbit from a distance. Once he threw a rock, it knocked the rabbit out!"
Su Wanqing asked in disbelief, "Is there really such a Shuānger?"
"Of course! If it wasn't for the mole on the center of eyebrows, Gu Dàgē would be a real man!"
Imagining the appearance of the other party, Su Wanqing frowned and said, "No matter what the other party looks like, don't ever think to be like that too."
Hearing that, Su Qingze just laughed. Su Wanqing glanced at him. "Since you come here, don't run around. I'll let people make a bird's nest soup for you."
Su Qingze shook his head. "No, I have to go! We have agreed to meet at the gate around this time."
After finishing talking, he was afraid that Su Wanqing would nag him again, so he hurriedly left words. "I'm just coming back to see Lin'er. I'm leaving now! Sister, the brother-in-law, take care!"
"What are you doing in such a hurry!" Su Wanqing glared at him. "Lin'er's birthday is coming soon, you ought to remember to be back on that day!"
"Okay!" Su Qingze responded from a distance, pulling Ming'an away.
"This stinky boy!" Su Wanqing sighed helplessly.
"Why? Isn't Qingze very well?" Li Zhiyuan opened the invitation card, glanced at it, then closed it.
"What's good? If a Shuānger acts so wild, who will dare to marry him?" Su Wanqing said in a sad tone.
Li Zhiyuan's eyes flashed. He smiled dryly. "Don't worry about it. If Shen Xiucai can like his Fulang really much, there will be people like Qingze too."
"I hope..." Su Wanqing touched her son's head, and said, "If Qingze can really lose weight, I have to thank Shen Xiucai!"
Her little brother was a beautiful boy, it was a pity that his body was weak so he had been given many supplements since he was a child. Otherwise, the people who came to their house to propose would definitely be able to exceed the threshold. But why when he was gonna at the end of his seventeen, there was still no news yet!
Li Zhiyuan touched his nose. "It's okay. He doesn't need to be too thin, it's better looking a little bit more fleshy."
Su Wanqing glanced at him strangely. Li Zhiyuan guiltily changed the subject. "How about we make a banquet on the day of our son's birthday? I have taken office but I haven't seen the local gentlemen, so why don't I take this opportunity to invite people to come and sit?"
"Okay, I can take this opportunity to meet the Furens by the way." Su Wanqing said, thinking of the Gu Dàgē mentioned by Su Qingze just now, she could invite him to see if he was as strong as Su Qingze said.
When the four of them met at the gate of the county seat, they all had a lot of things in their hands and filled the bullock carts with the food.
Uncle Shen yelled and threw the whip. The ox-cart slowly moved.
Everyone in the village knew that Shen Yanbei would hold a crown ceremony in Shen's Family Ancestral Hall. After the ceremony, he would entertain all the villagers to have a meal, so everyone was eagerly waiting. Seeing that the husband and wife came back from the county with large and small bags, they were very enthusiastic about coming to help, but Gu Changfeng himself actually could bring all the things with his two hands!
Shen Yanbei had no choice but to thank the villagers politely, then followed his wife back home.
"Wife, you are so capable!" Shen Yanbei chuckled as he watched him put down the things effortlessly and tidied them one by one.
Gu Changfeng looked at him with serious eyes. "You can study at ease, and I will take care of you." He couldn't do that much except for his strength, while Shen Yanbei had to study hard and found a way out to support his family. What Shen Yanbei did was much better than him but at the same time much harder than simply being a laborer. Therefore, he had to learn to take good care of his husband, so that he did not worry about the trivial matters of life.
"Okay!" Shen Yanbei enjoyed the concern of his wife very much. Seeing the sky was getting dark, it was time to prepare for dinner. So he took the people out to the bamboo forest he bought.
"I plan to use these ten acres of bamboo forest to raise chickens." Shen Yanbei asked Gu Changfeng to chop a few pieces of bamboo to prepare a bowl of bamboo rice.
"Alright." Raising chickens was good. Because reading was so hard, he must boil chicken soup every day to nourish his body.
Shen Yanbei was also thinking about eating chicken in his heart. Salt-baked chicken, fried chicken, boiled chicken, roasted chicken... he could eat whatever he wanted when he raised his own chicken! But before the chickens were here, he had to find someone to take care of these chickens, but he didn't know if there was any news from Uncle Zhong. Also, he still had to find someone to help him watching the ducks. Zhou Yu was his book boy, not his full-time worker. Therefore he still had to bring him out when the time came, so he couldn't stay in the field to watch the ducks.
Shen Yanbei wanted to talk about it with Zhou Yu at dinner later, but before he met Zhou Yu, Zhou Yu came to him with red eyes.
"Gōngzǐ, the ducks were stolen!"
The boy's eyes were red, his fists were tightly clenched, and he seemed very angry. "I counted that there were one hundred and eighty-four ducks last night, but when I drove the ducks into the stable just now, I counted that there were only one hundred and seventy!" It was his fault that he didn't count the ducks when they were released in the morning...
Seeing that there were fewer ducks, he immediately went to check the nets. But the nets surrounded the rice fields well, so it was impossible for the ducks to run away without holes in the nets! He decided to stay there all day, but no one came over, so it must have been stolen last night!
Patting Zhou Yu's shoulder, Shen Yanbei comforted. "It's not your fault. The other party wants to steal the duck, no matter if you count it right, he still steals it."
"But..." Zhou Yu gritted his teeth. "If I watched it at night..."
Shen Yanbei laughed. "How can people live all night in the fields?" In this era, the villagers' mind was simple. But there was no shortage of lurking ruffians who did things stealthily. It was indeed risky to raise ducks in the fields, but he did not expect that his ducks would be stolen before they were grown well. Everyone in the village knew that it was his field and his ducks...
Who stole his duck?
"That's fourteen ducks..." Zhou Yu blamed himself and felt distressed. When shen Yanbei wanted to raise ducks, he was so happy! So he took the initiative to take care of them. How cute those little plush things were! He drove them to the fields every day and watched them playing and pecking in the water. Besides that, he still could practice some simple moves, or use the sand table Shen Yanbei made for him to practice calligraphy, or do some manual work. The friends in the village could only envy him!
Now he messed up things, and he actually let someone steal the ducks... Still fourteen ducks! They all had white feathers, and they would be grown up soon!
Seeing his sorrow, Shen Yanbei said sternly, "Zhou Yu, Changfeng teaches you martial arts and I teach you literacy and hyphenation, not for you to raise the ducks."
Zhou Yu stared at him blankly. Shen Yanbei kept saying, "I'm just asking you to help watch them temporarily. Someone will take over the job in the future. Since the ducks are lost, we can't find them. The most important thing is to prevent being stolen next time!" He could understand this young man's thoughts. It was because he had to do his best at work since he got the monthly money. After finally finding something to do, but not doing it well, he felt guilty and uneasy.
"My husband is right," Gu Changfeng said solemnly. "Catch the thief is the most important thing."
These kinds of things, as long as they kept silent, the thief would definitely come again.
"I'll keep it in my mind, Shīfu!" Zhou Yu finally was calm, but the fist beside him was clenched tighter. For the thief who stole his ducks, he would definitely not let him go!
"Well, Zhou Yu, you can go back first. We will take care of this matter, so don't worry," Shen Yanbei calmly said.
"Yes, Gōngzǐ."
Zhou Yu nodded. As soon as he went out, he met Su Qingze who came to eat.
Seeing the boy's stinking face, he couldn't help asking, "What's wrong with him?"
"A dozen ducks in the field have been stolen, he feels uneasy." Shen Yanbei greeted people and led them over for dinner.
"Who dares to steal Master Xiucai's ducks? This thief is quite greedy!" Su Qingze frowned. He had lived here for several days, and knew that most of the villagers were honest.
"It's better to be stolen now than to be stolen when they have been grown up."
"What should you do then?" Su Qingze looked at the empty dining table blankly, looking forward to dinner. He ate a bowl of red rice last night and the side dishes were a little steamed fish, dried radish omelet, and patted cucumber. It might look a little lighter, but the taste was pretty good. It made him accustomed to fish and meat having a different kind of experience!
"Catch the thief first, and then put two dogs to watch the ducks." He prepared all the weight-loss meals for Su Qingze after careful consideration. In his previous life, some people who wanted to lose weight as soon as possible using quick-acting weight loss methods, which could lose several kilograms a week, but it was too harmful to the body. For the sake of Su Qingze's health, he did not dare to push people too hard at once. Instead, after observing his appetite and understanding his eating habits, he adopted a gradual method to adjust his eating habits and control his appetite. Then proceed to the next exercise.
Su Qingze's eyes lit up. "How to catch?"
Shen Yanbei did not answer but helped Gu Changfeng put the cooked food on the table.
"What is this?" Su Qingze curiously looked at several bamboo tubes that were burnt to black and yellow, his nose sniffing it. It actually had a very fragrant smell...
"Bamboo rice."
According to what Shen Yanbei said, Gu Changfeng used a knife to split the bamboo joints a bit, then broke the bamboo tube apart, and suddenly the full and crystal rice was revealed.
Su Qingze's eyes widened and couldn't help sniffing more. "It smells good!"
"This is yours." Shen Yanbei pushed a piece of bamboo rice with fungus and eggs over it.
Su Qingze looked down at his own and then at Shen Yanbei and Gu Changfeng's. Everyone was different, but it all looked delicious! Picking up the chopsticks, Su Qingze was not polite, he put it directly into his mouth. The hot rice had a distinctive fragrance, mixed with the fragrance of eggs, fungus, and chicken breast, which made people unable to stop eating!
"It's delicious!" Su Qingze took fried green vegetables with chopsticks, eating it with satisfaction.
Ming'an was holding his share and ate it carefully. There was bacon in his rice, so he shouldn't let the young master know!
After the dinner, Su Qingze was told to walk around to digest it. While Shen Yanbei and Gu Changfeng went to the field to check the duck stable.
Unlike a house built with bricks, the duck stable was built with bamboo. Even if it was locked, the bamboo could be pried away to steal the duck.
"Wife, it makes you have to work hard tonight." No one guarded it at night, even if the duck stable was built firmly, it would still be targeted by someone. Now what they could do was killing chickens to show monkeys*.
*Shājījìnghóu: the metaphor is to punish one person to warn others.
At night, Gu Changfeng crouched near the duck house. Perhaps, because they had just stolen the duck, the culprits were vigilant, so did not steal again that night. On the second night, Gu Changfeng was guarding, the culprits did not come yet. On the third night, the culprit still did not come.
Shen Yanbei's complexion became very bad, even a little angry. Your uncle, why was not coming yet! It made my wife and I couldn't sleep well, and also made Laozi stay with a lonely pillow and it became difficult to sleep!
"It's okay, I'm not tired." Gu Changfeng said seriously. It was just a night watch. It was not a big deal anyway, but... he couldn't help but miss the warm temperature that was always next to him.
Finally, on the fourth night, a black shadow appeared beside the ridge. Gu Changfeng immediately took a breath and hid in the dark.
The thin man looked around with a sneaky expression, first hid on the side of the field and watched for a while. After finding that there was no one near the duck house, he let go of his hands and feet to steal the duck.
Under the bright moonlight, Gu Changfeng could clearly see what the thief looked like: a young man in his twenties, with a thin face, pockmarked face, and frivolous eyes, really looked like a rascal.
The young man took a cloth bag with him, pried the bamboo apart, stretched out his hand, grabbed the duck, and pulled it out.
"Quack!" the frightened duck yelled, flapping its wings. The young man didn't change his face, grabbed the duck, and stuffed it in his cloth bag.
Gu Changfeng frowned and wanted to stop him, but thinking of Shen Yanbei's explanation, he could only wait calmly.
After catching a dozen ducks, the young man stopped, put the cloth bag on his back, and turned away with a smug smile on his face.
Gu Changfeng followed him far behind.
The young man walked around in the rice fields, and finally crossed the boundaries of the farmland of Shenjia Village and entered Lijia Village!
No wonder. This thief actually was from Lijia village!
Entering the village, the young man let his guard off and walked toward his house with the quacking duck on his back. It was just that he hadn't taken two steps yet, suddenly his eyes went dark, and then fainted. When the young man woke up again, he found that he was lying at the intersection of Shenjia Village and Lijia Village to the county, surrounded by villagers from the two villages who were going to the county. The young man was frightened immediately.
"Haha..." The young man hurriedly got up with a chuckle. Unexpectedly, when the cloth bag in his hand loosened, the ducks in it came out one after another!
"!" The blood on the young man's face faded, and his smile froze on his face.
"Li Masan? Where did you get so many ducks?" Lijia villager asked.
Li Masan was in a cold sweat, and his heart was terrified. What a ghost! Obviously, he stole a dozen ducks last night. Why did dozens of ducks come out from the bag? Also, wasn't he about to go home? Why was he here?
Li Masan, who regained his senses, realized that his neck pain was severe.
A villager in Shenjia Village who knew Li Masan well smiled disdainfully and said, "There are so many ducks, I'm afraid it's..."
The unfinished meaning of the words was clear to everyone. This Li Masan was a lazy man and he liked to do some sneaky things.
Li Masan swallowed with difficulty. "You... don't talk nonsense!"
"What nonsense? Do you dare to say that you bought these ducks..." The villager of Shenjia Village who was speaking was taken aback for a moment, and asked, "Don't say that you stole it from our village?"
"You...you 're slinging mud at me!" Li Masan who was so guilty yelled out that made his neck artery was about to burst.
Hearing this, the arrogant Lijia villagers became unhappy, and immediately shouted, "Did your own eyes see him stealing from your village? Has this duck had your Shenjia Village name written on it?"
Seeing the villagers supporting him, Li Masan pushed the other person with an arrogant tone. "I bought this duck! What else can you say!"
"Then why are you lying here?"
Li Masan poked the other's chest with three fingers. "I love to lie down here! What? Is this way yours?"
The villagers of Shenjia Village had been pushed back a step by the jab.
"Such a dog trying to catch mice*!" Li Masan snorted, turned around, and caught the duck that ran out again.
*Gǒu ná hàozi: poke one's nose into other people's business.
Looking at the ducks, a villager of Shenjia Village murmured, "Shen Xiucai seems to have a lot of ducks..."
As soon as these words were out, the expressions of the rest of the villagers of Shenjia Village changed. The villager who spoke first stopped Li Masan, "If you don't tell us where the ducks come from, you can't take it away!"
"Hey!" The young man lowered his face and stared at him fiercely. "Why should I tell you? How old are you? Get out of me!"
The villagers in Shenjia Village did not move.
Upon seeing this, the villagers of Lijia Village stepped forward and surrounded the villagers of Shenjia Village. "Do you think you are the magistrate of the county that has to inquire into the root of the matter? Do I have to tell you what posture I use to go to the latrine?"
"Hahaha..." The villagers of Lijia Village laughed all together.
"Because he doesn't have the face to think of himself as the county magistrate, so he thinks of himself as a dog!"
"No wonder! As the saying goes, dog loves eating shit*. Are you, the villagers of Shenjia, addicted to eating this?" The two villages had had friction from time to time, but Lijia Village always won the case! And this Shenjia Village was like a bereaved dog and always failed to learn, always loved to die!
*Gǒu gǎi bùliǎo chī shǐ: it is used to describe the bad habit of repeated teaching and the unchangeable nature
With such wanton insults, the villagers of Shenjia Village's face turned to be ugly and couldn't help but try to refute. "It's clear that this Li Masan's duck has such unclear origin at first sight. Yet you still shield him regardless of your conscience! Is this what you, Lijia Village, usually do by working hand in glove*?"
*lángbèiwéijiān: work in collusion with someone for some evil purpose.
"F**k you shit!" The villagers of Lijia Village punched him over.
The villager of Shenjia Village was caught off guard to be punched, his face suddenly became blue.
Seeing that their villagers were beaten, the villagers of Shenjia Village hurriedly stepped forward to help. The villagers of Lijia Village also didn't want to lose. So the villagers of the two villages immediately fought in chaos.
At this time, a carriage slowly stopped on the side, a young man dressed as a small servant asked, "What are you doing around here? Get out of the way of Master Juren!"
Master Juren! The eyes of villagers of Lijia Village lit up. Li Masan immediately cried and said, "I beg Master Juren to find justice for this lowly person!"
The one who was sitting in the carriage was Li Yi. Hearing this, Li Yi frowned and asked the servant to lift up the curtain. "What happened?"
Li Masan threw himself in front of the carriage with an extremely aggrieved expression. "These shameless people from Shenjia Village have falsely accused me of stealing! I beg Master Juren to take full responsibility for this matter and make a decision for me!"
"Is there such a thing?" Li Yi got out of the carriage after hearing this.
The villagers in the two villages stopped fighting. They stood apart from each other.
Standing with folded arms, Li Yi glanced impatiently at the villagers of Shenjia Village, and said coldly, "You know that framing others will get the caning?"
The villager of Shenjia Village, who was confronting Li Masan just now, said, "As everyone knows, Li Masan is a sly dog who loves to do things stealthily. Just now he is lying in the middle of the road with a big bag of ducks, yet he can't tell the origin of these ducks when we ask him. It's obviously suspicious. This lowly person just wants to ask some questions."
Li Yi glanced at Li Masan who was catching a duck, and a trace of disgust flashed in his eyes. He still said this to the villagers of Shenjia Village, "You dare to talk nonsense when you have no evidence?"
"Apologize or else we'll meet you in the yamen."
The face of villagers of Shenjia Village paled. They dared not to speak.
"Don't you hear it!" After Li Masan stuffed the duck into the cloth bag, he walked up to him pretentiously. "Hurry up to apologize to me, otherwise I will take you to see the official!"
The villagers of Lijia Village laughed triumphantly, they urged, "Quickly apologize!"
"What happened?"
An anxious voice came from afar. The villagers of Shenjia Village looked back and found that it was the village chief and Shen Yanbei. It turned out that some villagers in Shenjia Village saw that the situation went wrong so they ran back to call for someone!
The villagers of Shenjia Village breathed a sigh of relief when the two came. When Li Masan saw Shen Yanbei, his eyes flickered. He felt that the cloth bag in his hand was hardly lifted.
"I meet Li Juren." Shen Yanbei joined his hand to Li Yi.
Li Yi glanced at him arrogantly and sneered. "Shen Xiucai, you have to teach the people of the Shenjia Village what propriety, justice, and shame are."
Shen Yanbei smiled slightly. "If it is really our Shenjia villagers' fault, I will make amends for them." He asked the villagers to tell the ins and outs of the matter.
Li Yi raised his eyebrows. "Have you heard it clearly? What else do you have to say?"
Shen Yanbei didn't reply to him, but said, "My book boy reported to me, he found that there were fewer ducks when he was releasing the ducks. Li xiǎogē, can you open the cloth bag and show me?"
"I counted the ducks! There were 14 missing a few days ago, and 30 missing this morning!" Zhou Yu was full of anger. "I recognize my ducks! So open the cloth bag!"
Hearing that, Li Yi's expression was hard to describe.
Li Masan had cold sweat on his forehead, he yelled, "My ducks are different from others, they are so beautiful!"
Zhou Yu glared at him. "Do you have a guilty conscience?"
Li Yi said coldly, "Open the cloth bag!"
"I brought this duck from my mother-in-law. It has white fur..." Li Masan hesitated and didn't want to open it.
Zhou Yu immediately grabbed it. Li Masan's expression changed greatly and hurriedly kicked his feet. Zhou Yu dodged and avoided. The villagers of Shenjia Village on the side hurriedly helped him pour out the duck in the cloth bag.
"Quack!" The little duckling who was regained freedom spread out its fledgling wings and ran away.
"It's our duck!" Zhou Yu pointed to the red rope on the duck's feet. "After the duck was stolen for the first time, I marked each duck with a red rope!"
"Nonsense!" Li Masan shouted tremblingly. "This is what my mother-in-law did to distinguish her ducks!"
Li Yi said with no expression on his face. "Just because a red rope is tied on their feet does not mean that this is your duck." People in rural areas would give marks to their chickens and ducks.
"That's right! Our chickens and ducks are all tied with red ropes!" Lijia Village villagers said with help.
"We lost thirty ducks. It happens to be thirty here too!" Zhou Yu shouted angrily, really pissed off at the rascals of Lijia villagers.
Li Masan's feet were a little soft, but his mouth was still stiff. "My... my mother-in-law gave me 30 ducks?"
The villagers of Lijia Village immediately answered, "It's just a coincidence. What's all the fuss about!"
Zhou Yu gave them a fierce look, and waved to the ducks: "Lilililili!"
Hearing Zhou Yu's call, the ducks ran towards Zhou Yu.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead with his hand, Li Masan supported his shaky body and said with difficulty, "All... all people who raise ducks will call them like that..."
"Yes, that's right! Everyone has the same trick to call ducks..." The villagers of Lijia Village agreed in unison.
"Enough!" Li Yi exclaimed. "I will send someone to his mother-in-law's house to ask."
Li Masan said loudly and agitatedly. "Why don't you believe me? Don't you believe it Master Juren? Even if Juren..."
"Don't need to make it troublesome." Shen Yanbei looked at Li Yi directly. "The weather is getting hot. In order to prevent snakes, insects, mice, and ants, I sprinkled a lot of sulfur around the duck stable."
"If the ducks smell of sulfur..."
Li Masan's eyes widened in horror. He hurriedly sniffed his body, there really was an unpleasant smell of rotten eggs!
They were busy arguing just now, so no one noticed it...
Seeing Li Masan kneeling and sitting on the ground with a pale face, the villagers of Lijia Village looked at each other. Zhou Yu deliberately walked over to smell it, then clutched his nose, and said contemptuously, "It's really stinking!"
Li Yi's face was gloomy. With a flick of his sleeves, he dropped a sentence, "Send him to the government!"
According to court law, the thief should be sentenced to the crime. The light one required the thief to compensate the other party for damages and give an apology. The heavy one had to double the compensation and to get the hit by the board...
These thirty ducks were enough for Li Masan to eat ten big plates!
Shen Yanbei smiled and folded his hands. "Li Juren understands righteousness!"
Li Yi ignored it. Shen Yanbei said again, "Xiǎo shēng will wait for your coming on my crown ceremony! Please do me the favour!"
Li Yi snorted and turned back into the carriage.
Finally, the villagers in Shenjia Village felt very relieved.
Shen Dezhong was sad. "You have offended him. How could he come on the day of the crown ceremony?"
Shen Yanbei smiled. "It's okay. At least I have shown my courtesy."
The invitation was sent, and he also had invited it in person. If Li Yi wouldn't come... it would be better!
On the sixth day, it was suitable for the crown ceremony, sacrifices*, or banquet friends. It was early in the morning that Shen Yanbei got up to prepare for the ceremony.
*jìsì: old and customary offerings salute to gods, buddhas, or ancestors to show respect and blessings.
The crown ceremony was quite tedious. First, you had to do divination at the gate of the ancestral hall, chose an auspicious day as the day of the crown ceremony, and made a list for the guests to be invited to the ceremony. Later, the father and brother led him to bow to heaven and earth at the ancestral temple to respect the ancestors. Before the crown ceremony, the participants in the crown ceremony must bathe and fast. On the day of the ceremony, the recipient of the crown should prepare a washstand, crown clothes, toiletry items, and wine for rituals that needed during the crown ceremony, and greeted the guests...
The crowning ceremony was held in the ancestral temple. The crowned person's hair would be comb, rolled into a bun, and wrapped with a black ribbon. The guests gave a congratulatory speech to the crowned person and then crowned them three times. Not only that, they would give three different materials hat with three meaning to the crowned person. Every crowned, the guests had to express different wishes to the crowned person. Then the crowned person must go back to the room and put on clothes of different colors before accepting the next crowning.
After the ceremony, a banquet would be held. There were many small details on the banquet. For example, the crowned person did a ceremony to express respect to the ancestors by serving food and wine, used the etiquette for adults to meet the guest, paid respect to the parents, picked up the character, and many more.
The original owner's parents were no longer there, and he was not a noble child, so this crown ceremony was held simply.
The staffs were not much, and the relations were not that much too.
The sun was shining, the breeze was gentle, and the willow shoots were whistling. In front of the ancestral hall of the Shen's Family in Shenjia Village, all villagers came to watch the ceremony. Several tables and chairs were placed in the open space on the west side of the ancestral hall. Village Chief Shen Dezhong who sat on the third chair frowned.
The sand in the hourglass poured little by little, but the guest they invited still hadn't come yet. It made Shen Dezhong couldn't help but feel anxious.
Today was Shen Yanbei's crown ceremony. He had already greeted the borough chief and the village chiefs of several nearby villages before. The auspicious hour was almost past, but no one came!
"Village chief!" A man ran to Shen Dezhong's side, panting and whispering in his ear.
"The borough chief is not at home. His family said that Li Juren from Lijia Village sent someone over early in the morning to call the borough chief away!"
"What?" Shen Dezhong opened his eyes slightly, blue veins on the forehead throbbing.
Another teenager also hurried over. "Chief, the village chief of Liujia Village is not at home. The neighbor next door said that he saw people from Lijia Village invite him over to Lijia Village!"
One after another, all the villagers sent out by Shen Dezhong to invite people came back but no one guest followed behind. It turned out that all guests were called to Lijia Village without exception!
"Unreasonable!" Shen Dezhong slapped the armrest fiercely, gritted his teeth, and said, "It's really bullying!"
On the day of the incident, Shen Yanbei directly sent the thief to the government. That thief's crime really slapped Li Yi's face. Since was already worried that Li Yi wouldn't come, he didn't hope for him to come. Who had thought that he would take all the guests over? Really such a narrow-minded person! Such a very cruel-hearted person!
What to do then? Shen Dezhong looked at the empty table beside him, his expression was unreadable.
"Why hasn't anyone come yet?"
"That's right! The time has already arrived, right?"
The villagers talked to each other, looking at these empty seats strangely.
Shen Dezhong suppressed the anger in his heart and hurriedly got up to find Shen Yanbei.
Shen Yanbei, who was changing his clothes, opened his hands and smiled at Gu Changfeng, who lowered his head in front of him to tie his shirt and belt.
The man lowered his eyes. He clumsily moved his hand to tie a knot in the belt. His slightly trembling fingers exposed his uneasy heart.
This crown ceremony was to celebrate for someone to indicate adulthood. His husband would be a real man after the ceremony. The frail scholar who was still lying in the bed yesterday turned into a gentleman who was as gentle as jade. His body gesture and temperament were constantly changing, but the young man's eyes never changed since the first time he saw it. Just as the young man said at the beginning that he would always like him and treat him well, now he could know the feeling of being loved and cherished all the time. The young man used his not generous chest to build a warm harbor for himself and used his weak warms to hold a sky for himself...
"Shen Yan!"
An angry voice interrupted Gu Changfeng's thoughts. As soon as the two turned their heads, they saw Shen Dezhong walking closer with an angry face.
"What's wrong, Uncle Zhong?" Shen Yanbei asked.
Shen Dezhong said indignantly. "All the guests are being called away by Li Juren! As a result, no one of the invited guests come!"
"Too despicable and shameless!" Zhou Yu exclaimed in anger.
Gu Changfeng pressed his lips tightly, his fists clenched, and his black eyes sparkled with anger.
Shen Yanbei frowned slightly. He pondered for a while and said, "The guest's seat cannot be left vacant. Uncle Lao Zhong, please helps me to invite all the senior elders in the village." The original host's direct line elders had been passed away, so they could only invite Li Yi, the borough chief, and village chiefs of other villages. Now since that these people were not coming, he could only invite the elders in the village.
Shen Dezhong sighed. "It can only be so." After that, he hurriedly asked someone to invite them.
Seeing Gu Changfeng's eyes turned to be cold and his face was tense, Shen Yanbei took his hand and comforted him. "Don't be angry. Whatever if they want to come or not. I really don't care about that though."
Gu Changfeng's voice sounded bitter. "How can he!" The crown ceremony was held only once in a lifetime, how dared he insulted his husband like this!
Shen Yanbei kissed him dearly, "It's okay. I can afford to lose!"
"What is going on?" Su Qingze, who noticed that the atmosphere suddenly became weird, asked Zhou Yu. After listening to the whole story, Su Qingze was also shocked by Li Yi's methods.
"This... is too vicious, right?"
"Because Li Juren can't protect his villagers, he came with a grudge. That's how he settled the account to our Gōngzǐ!"
"Why is this Li Juren again?" Ming An snorted, his eyes full of disgust. "Young Master, we can't let him succeed!"
Su Qingze nodded. Last time he was humiliated by the two rascals in the restaurant because this Li Juren supporting them. He had stayed in Shenjia Village quite long, so he already heard that a lot of people of Lijia Village oppressed the villagers of Shenjia Village. It was all because Li Juren did not stop the wrong behavior and help to cover it up.
Gu Dàgē and Shen Dàgē were his friends, so he must not let this Li Juren arbitrarily bullied them!
There was a lot of noise in front of the ancestral hall.
"How can the list guest change?"
"Yes, why are there no other guests here?"
"Could it be that no one wants to come?"
Seeing that the elders of Shenjia Village were invited to the seats, the people watching the ceremony were full of discussions.
"Xiǎo gōngzǐ of Qinghe Qīngzhōu Su's Family is here!" Suddenly someone shouted loudly, made everyone stunned.
Someone asked, "Qingzhou Qinghe? What is this?"
A villager who knew a little bit replied, "Qingzou is the capital of Qinghe County!"
"Then the Su's Family?"
"The Su's Family is a well-known family in Qinghe County. The prime minister Su of the previous dynasty came from the Su's Family in Qinghe..."
Unbelievable. This was a big shot! Everyone was stunned and hurriedly cast their gazes on the path. They saw he wore a gold-stranded shoe, dressed in a brocade robe with auspicious clouds outlined in gold and silver threads, with a white jade pendant on the waist, holding a folding fan of incense sandalwood. He raised his hands and moved his feet*... This young fat man, in the eyes of every one's astonishment, sat calmly in the guest's seat.
*jǔ shǒu tóu zú: showing a kind of graceful demeanor.
Shen Qikui, who was also watching the ceremony, stared at him in disbelief. My goodness! Such a precious xiǎo gōngzǐ actually lived in his house!
Shen Dezhong was also stunned.
"Su... Su Xiǎo Gōngzǐ?"
Su Qingze tried his best to show the courtesy of the gōngzǐ of the aristocratic family. He nodded gently. "Village Chief, I think the time is about to come, right? Should we start the salute rituals now?"
"Of...of course!" Shen Dezhong was greatly relieved. He was about to ask Zhou Yu to led Shen Yanbei to come out. Unexpectedly, a middle-aged man holding a brocade box appeared in front of everyone.
The person who came was not someone else, but it was the steward who came with Su Qingze last time. The steward looked a little anxious. When he found the ceremony didn't start yet, his tense loosened up a little bit.
Seeing the steward, Su Qingze's eyes lit up. "Housekeeper Li!"
Guan Shi hurriedly stepped forward and greeted, "Su Gōngzǐ."
Su Qingze glanced at the brocade box in his hand and asked, "What is this?"
The steward smiled and said, "Unfortunately Dàrén can't come, so he especially ordered this servant to come to congratulate Shen Xiucai. The carriage broke down on the road, so I'm a bit late."
Housekeeper? Dàrén?
After hearing the conversation between the two, everyone was dumbfounded. Shen Dezhong was also at a loss. "Your Dàrén is?"
"My Dàrén is the newly appointed magistrate Li." The manager smiled lightly.
Everyone was shocked again! The county magistrate actually sent his housekeeper to congratulate Shen Yanbei? Li Juren even didn't enjoy this such treatment back then!
Shen Dezhong was surprised and delighted. He quickly got up and asked the housekeeper to sit down.
"The good time is coming-" Zhou Yu sang loudly, everyone was quiet.
A thin young man dressed in white silk slowly walked out and kneeled under the steps. Su Qingze immediately stood by his side and combed the young man's hair in a bun. After Su Qingze wrapped the hair bun with ribbon, Shen Dezhong took the cloth crown from Zhou Yu and put it on the young man...
After wearing a crown and changing the clothes, at the third crowning, the young man went back to the room to change clothes.
"Go out toast with me later?" Shen Yanbei leaned forward and asked Gu Changfeng, who dressed him in a light cyan shirt.
"Alright." The heat sprayed to his ears made Gu Changfeng involuntarily shrink back. When he raised his head, he couldn't help but be stunned. The young man who wore many layers of brocade clothes looked different from the usual gentle scholars. The young man in front of him looked very noble and influential as if he should have been like this. But when the corner of the young man's mouth was curled, his temperament changed to be careless and undisciplined...
"Does it look good?" Shen Yanbei chuckled lightly.
Gu Changfeng nodded blankly. "It looks good..."
Shen Yanbei hooked his lips with satisfaction. "Then shall we go out now?"
"…Okay."
When everyone saw Shen Yanbei again, the young man in a beautiful dress was standing tall and straight like bamboo on the stairs. Although the eyebrows were still those eyebrows, there was an inexplicable momentum in the young man's eyes, which made people afraid to take a peek. The man standing beside him had a calm face, as peaceful as Mount Tai. Although the two of them were slightly different in body shape, they stood together as harmonious as green hills and blue waters. Especially between the eye contact of the two, it seemed like flowing water around the green hills, showing that they could understand each other without saying a word.
Everyone was in a daze for a moment. Shen Dezhong coughed lightly and let Shen Yanbei sit in.
The original owner's parents had died and he had no brothers and sisters, so had no other direct blood relatives. So Shen Dezhong immediately let Shen Yanbei spoke a word to greet. Shen Yanbei thanked the guests one by one. As the host, he invited everyone to have a drink.
Then the crown ceremony had ended smoothly.
"On the twelfth day of this month will be our Young Master's birthday. Taking this opportunity, Dàrén specially invited the gentlemen and young talents of Dongjiang County to have lunch together. He also wanted to meet Shen Gōngzǐ in person."
Before leaving, the housekeeper gave Shen Yanbei the invitation to the birthday banquet. Shen Yanbei received it and sent him out in person.
The housekeeper smiled and politely refused his courtesy. After this, he still had to go to Lijia Village to give the invitation to Li Yi.
In Li Yi's house, the village chiefs who were going to attend the Shen Yanbe's crown ceremony were all sitting in the hall, looking at each other. On the seat of the owner, Li Yi drank tea slowly, without speaking.
The head of Lijia Village, who was sitting in the first seat on the left row, coughed lightly. "Today, I asked everyone to come here to ask about the financing for building the public school. Is there any village that has collected the funds?"
The borough chief frowned slightly. "Didn't you say the duration for raising funds is one month?"
"Juren just wants to ask you if you have any difficulties that need to be solved." The village chief of Lijia Village laughed. "For example, some ignorant villagers are unwilling to do this, or some people make trouble... …"
As soon as these words came out, the village chiefs who had been called over early in the morning to sit idle for half an hour were angry but did not dare to complain. Today was Shen Xiucai's of Shenjia Village crown ceremony and he had prepared a banquet to entertain them. But when they were about to go, someone from Lijia Village came to say that Li Juren had something important to tell them. When the other party said this was a serious matter, they thought it was really urgent. So they rushed to come but when they finally arrived, the chiefs of every village were there except for the head of Shenjia Village! After asking what was the matter, it was actually this trivial thing. Moreover, why it had to be this day. Obviously, it was just to prevent them from attending the crown ceremony of Shen Xiucai!
They heard that Shen Xiucai succeed to prove the crime of the thief from Lijia Village, so perhaps, Li Juren did it to get revenge!
Everyone sighed. On the one hand, they sighed because never expecting that Li Yi would seek revenge for the smallest grievance, and on the other hand, they were thankful that they did not offend Li Yi.
When they were on chat, the servant of Li's Family reported that the county magistrate's housekeeper came to visit.
Everyone was stunned. Li Yi got up to greet him.
The housekeeper glanced at the curious eyes of the village heads, handed the invitation to Li Yi with a smile.
"Housekeeper Lao has come to visit from far, why don't you sit down to have a cup of tea?" Li Yi who was holding the invitation was surprised and happy. The last time he went to the county office, he couldn't see the county magistrate so he thought the magistrate didn't want to meet him at all. Yet he didn't expect the housekeeper would come in person to invite him over!
The village chiefs looked at each other, they could clearly see the shock in the eyes of the other person.
It seemed that the county magistrate valued Li Juren so much...
"Thank you, but I still have to go back to report to Lǎoyé, so I won't disturb."
Li Yi personally sent the housekeeper out. "I don't know what the xiǎo gōngzǐ likes? So I can prepare it well."
The housekeeper smiled and said, "The feeling is profound*. As long as sufficient-to-purpose with kindly feeling."
*the gift is trifling but the feeling is profound; the thoughtfulness is worth far more than the gift itself.
Li Yi nodded. When the housekeeper left, he walked in leisurely with his hands clasped behind his back. The village chiefs who were silent just now immediately stated that they would hand in the funds within the agreed time limit. Li Yi sat back in the main seat, took the tea lid, and dialed it gently. "Thank you, everyone."
A village chief nodded and bowed his head. He said, "Of course!"
With that flattering look, Li Yi felt more at ease, but he shook his head in his heart.
After the meeting was over, the other village heads returned home one after another, and only the borough chief went to Shenjia Village.
"Lao Guo?" When Shen Dezhong saw him coming, he waved quickly. "Come and sit!"
"Borough chief."
Shen Yanbei greeted the borough chief. The borough chief looked at him from top to bottom, his eyes were full of admiration.
As tall and straight like bamboo, this handsome young man had clear and bright eyes,
The bamboo-like young man has handsome features and clear eyes. He even looked more radiant when wearing brocade clothes.
"I come in a hurry, forgot to prepare a gift." The borough chief apologized. Actually, he had prepared the gift, who knew Li Juren would call him over and he forgot to bring the gift with him.
"It isn't a big deal because Someone had given a big gift today. Just sit down!" Shen Dezhong smiled and poured him a glass of wine.
Smelling the mellow taste of wine, Borough Chief Gu stopped talking. He took a sip first, and then his eyes lit up. "It's a good wine!"
"Of course it is. This is made by the Lady of the wine!" Shen Dezhong smacked his mouth, carefully experiencing the wonderful feeling of the fragrance in his lips and teeth.
"Is that so." The borough chief sigh. "Such a good wine, but unfortunately they couldn't taste it..." He immediately told him what happened in Li Yi's house and finally lowered his voice. "The thing we worry about the most is still happening. Now, this new magistrate gives him a face. I'm afraid that..."
Shen Dezhong. "..."
Seeing that he was silent, the borough chief consoled. "Perhaps I think too much. The thing may not turn to be the worst."
"Do you know who the new magistrate is?" Shen Dezhong asked suddenly.
The borough chief directly replied, "Didn't you say that his surname is Li?"
"Do you know who you were walking with in the fields that day?" Shen Dezhong asked again.
"It's a Gōngzǐ from an aristocratic family who came out for a walk..." The borough chief's eyes widened as he said. "It's that him?"
"Yes, that's the new county magistrate." Shen Dezhong seemed to be happy to see the surprised look of the borough chief. He asked, "Did you know that the magistrate's housekeeper comes to visit just now?"
What? The borough chief paused lifting his bowl and suddenly raised his head to look at Shen Dezhong.
"Can you guess why the housekeeper especially come in person to hand him the invitation?"
The borough chief was still silent. Shen Dezhong smiled. "It's the county magistrate who asked the housekeeper to come over and give a gift. By the way, he also gave Yanbei an invitation for his son's birthday banquet."
Eyes filled with consternation.
Shen Dezhong took a sip of wine and said slowly, "In fact, the housekeeper doesn't need to come in person. Someone even can use his status to intimidate people."
"Who?" The chief asked subconsciously following his words.
Shen Dezhong raised his chin at the table of Su Qingze, who was surrounded by a bunch of aunts who asked questions. The borough chief looked at Su Qingze, who dressed expensively, "I am a rich man" written on his face, with a complicated expression. "Who is he?" "
"Xiǎo Gōngzǐ of the Su's Family in Qinghe County."
"Uhuk..." Li Chang was choked by the wine, and his face flushed due to the cough. He held onto Shen Dezhong tightly. "Lao...Lao Zhong, what did you just say?"
"Actually, it isn't that bid." Shen Dezhong kindly gave him humility. "This xiǎo gōngzǐ
happens to be the magistrate's brother-in-law."
"He and Yanbei's Fulang are friends."
"Uhuk uhuk uhuk ..." Li Chang coughed even harder.
Although there were many twists and turns, Shen Yanbei, who finally used his original name as he wished, was still very happy. With this joy, he drank two more glasses.
The alcohol content was not high, but it was still intoxicating. When the banquet was over, Shen Yanbei, whose face was red, was being brought back home by Gu Changfeng. The banquet was managed by the sisters-in-law and aunts, so they could leave the things to them. Moreover, the dishes at today's banquet were delicious and large in portion. So the villagers were happy and of course, didn't mind helping to clean up the rest.
"Wife..." Shen Yanbei yelled as he laid on the bed.
"I'm here." Gu Changfeng wrung out a hot towel then wiped his face and hands. Shen Yanbei grabbed the person and looked at him with lightly gleaming eyes. "Sleep with me for a while."
The young man's voice sounded lazy. The corner of his mouth rose slightly, unexpectedly matching with his smiling eyes.
Gu Changfeng was startled, and said, "...Okay."
"It's uncomfortable to sleep with so many clothes." Shen Yanbei pulled his shirt impatiently. The weather was hot. For his crown ceremony, he had to wear a cumbersome dress. He also wore three layers of hats and boots, which made his whole body was wrapped tightly. Plus he was drunk now, the hot made him more uncomfortable.
Gu Changfeng helped him take off his hat, his shoes, socks, and then took off his robe. "It's fine now?"
"It's still hot." Shen Yanbei struggled to take off his belt.
Gu Changfeng had to help him loosen his belt. During this period of time, the young man had gradually exercised while taking supplements, which made the body looked much stronger than before. The most obvious manifestation was the waist was gradually becoming thin and strong.
When did this waist get a bit more fleshy, and when did it become a bit more vigor, no one knew it better than him...
"Take off the coat..." Shen Yanbei frowned.
Gu Changfeng hesitated. "It will be cold if you take it off." Shen Yanbei didn't like to be covered by the quilt when he was sleeping.
"It's okay, you can hold me instead." Shen Yanbei licked his lips and smiled ambiguously.
Gu Changfeng's face was hot, and he hummed softly.
Shen Yanbei laid so lazily waiting for his wife to come. Gu Changfeng didn't dare to look at him. He always felt that there was something in his smiling eyes that made him powerless.
"Changfeng..." Shen Yanbei whispered in a hoarse voice. When the voice fell in Gu Changfeng's ears, his fingers trembled.
He was the one who put the clothes on for Shen Yanbei one by one, and now he also the one who put the clothes off one by one. He didn't know why but Shen Yanbei's inexplicable smile always could make him panic.
Facts had proved that the master of martial art's intuition for danger was so accurate.
When only the inner shirt was left, Shen Yanbei pulled the person over. Gu Changfeng was startled and hurriedly supported his body with his hands.
Shen Yanbei smiled innocently under him. "I just want to help you undress."
Gu Changfeng's face turned red. "I... I'll take it off myself."
Shen Yanbei smiled and stared at him for a while. The heat began to spread around his neck, Gu Changfeng was so nervous and at a loss what to do.
This was not the first time this had happened, but today's Shen Yanbei was unexpectedly teasing people actively. Thinking of today's crown ceremony, Gu Changfeng lowered his eyes.
Perhaps because he was so happy now?
The struggle in his heart was only a moment, Gu Changfeng took off his shirt without hesitation under that hot gaze.
With his eyes fixed on that strong and sexy chest, Shen Yanbei's throat rolled, feeling that the fire in his heart made his throat thirsty.
"Wife...wife..., I'm thirsty."
Gu Changfeng was taken aback, then got up to pour him water.
Looking at that slender waist and powerful arms, Shen Yanbei felt his heart beat a drum, and a sense of tension that hadn't been seen for a long time enveloped him.
When Gu Changfeng brought water over, he found that Shen Yanbei's face was even redder.
"Do you feel any uncomfortable?" Gu Changfeng looked worried.
Shen Yanbei nodded and took a sip of water to moisturize his throat.
Gu Changfeng held his hand, preparing to inject qi into his body to help him get the wine out. But the next moment, his lips were blocked by a warm object. Unlike the usual gentle kiss, this kiss was eager and strong. When he was dazed, his lips and teeth were forced to open so Shen Yanbei could capture territory.
"Changfeng..."
The young man's voice was suppressed and low with a certain naked desire. His eyes staring at him were frighteningly bright.
His face burned all at once.
"Changfeng."
Shen Yanbei held the back of his head with one hand, entangled his lips and tongue, and slid down his shoulder and neck with the other. With scorching heat in his hand, the honey-colored skin instantly flushed wherever he went.
His breathing gradually became confused. Gu Changfeng only felt his heart beating frantically, pounding like he was about to jump out of his chest. His muscles tightened unnaturally.
Trying to control the hand that wanted to hug each other, Gu Changfeng's voice became hoarse. "Husband...husband..."
After taking a heavy bite on his lips, Shen Yanbei's eyes were dark and deep. "Wrong."
Gu Changfeng breathed. His lips trembled. "Yan...Yanbei..."
"En." Shen Yanbei responded with a smile, with a fire flickering in his eyes.
"Today is my coming-of-age ceremony. Don't you have anything to give me?"
Gu Changfeng suddenly panicked. "I...I don't..."
Shen Yanbei bowed his head and kissed his ear. "Alright, it doesn't matter..."
"Just give yourself to me."