Chapter 38: Male charm is poison, just looking at him makes my heart skip a beat
Xia Zhongqiu temporarily gained the upper hand in the East, but his heart was filled with emptiness.
Because of that "despicable" word on her left forehead, she was already not in a good mood. After being asked about it in such a half-examining and half-ridiculing way, the next morning when she got up, she pressed down her usual servant's winter woolen hat by several points. However, this person is naturally optimistic, belonging to the kind of "old crow says pig black, self-ugly not feeling" type. If it's said that this matter has any great significance for her, then it would be making her even more curious about her own life.
"Plum, is Grandfather not at the post station today?"
Hugging the "Qingnang Book", she went to the Jade Emperor's Pavilion and the Post House, but couldn't find Zhao Zhu. She hummed a tune and returned to the West Wing. Mei Zi was airing clothes in the courtyard, while Lan Dashi crouched under the sour jujube tree, watching ants move house, without a care in the world.
"Yesterday I was on night duty, and early in the morning, I saw Grandfather go out." Mei's small face still had wine stains that hadn't faded away, and when she turned her head, it was full of red marks.
"Oh."
Toad jumps three times and still wants to rest, what is that Zhao villain doing all day?
She sat down beside him on a stone bench and pulled out a big apple she had picked up in the Jade Emperor's Pavilion to give to him.
"Look, an apple."
The fool smiled and took a bite, "The ants are moving house, it's going to rain."
Xia Zhong Qi cried and laughed at the same time, "You still understand this? Eat it then."
The servants here have a fixed amount of food, which is basically enough to fill their stomachs. But the fool has a big head and a big appetite, and he's also used to doing farm work as a rough man. By the seventh day of summer, she was afraid that he wouldn't be full, so from time to time, she would "borrow" some food from Zhao Zun and bring it back. Of course, she knew in her heart that the master was also turning a blind eye.
The fool ate with relish, Xia Zhong Qi gazed at Mei Zi's back for a while, suddenly a smile flashed across his lips, "Hey, Mei Zi."
Meizi turned around, "What's up?"
"Anyway, since the master is not here today and we don't have any other chores to do, why don't you tell me some more jokes from Beijing? I'm someone who particularly enjoys hearing about those big cases of catching thieves in the government offices, go ahead and tell a few for me to hear?"
She shook off the water droplets on her hand, but Mei Zi first looked around before walking over to sit beside her, lowering her voice. "You're asking me about this, and you've really asked the right person. It was last year... no, it should be the year before that... when a huge case happened in our capital... That day, I went to Rain Flower Terrace with an old lady on an errand, and we saw a row of prisoner carts being taken to the execution ground. They said it was over 70 people from the Wei Guo Gong Fu, oh dear, my bones turned cold just thinking about it... The blood from beheading those people flowed like a ditch..."
Jian Mei Zi was startled, and Xia Chu Qi also involuntarily imagined that thrilling scene of blood flowing like a river, her heart skipped a beat, savoring the aftertaste, she couldn't help but ask.
"Is anyone spared?"
"Hmm, not a single soul was left...” Mei Zi nodded heavily and continued to say that the current emperor was benevolent and did not implicate the nine clans of the rebellious Duke of Wei. Moreover, he even issued an edict allowing his younger brother to inherit the title, and still valued him in court... But Xia Chuyi had lost interest by then. Since everyone in the Duke of Wei's household had died, it naturally wouldn't have anything to do with her own life story.
She was slightly disappointed, but her curiosity grew even stronger, "Is there anything else?"
Plum blossom made a motion of spitting on the back of her neck, "This kind of thing, you'd better not ask about. It's unlucky! Spit, spit, spit, come and spit quickly."
“……”
Xia Zhiqiu shut her mouth and didn't dare to ask too deeply. Mei Zi was a simple girl, she would tell others what she ate for breakfast and what kind of feces she had at night, the more she said, the more trouble she would get into.
"Chu Qi, you and Grandpa, that, that... is it true? I heard the Commander-in-Chief also likes you... I thought about it all night, me, this, this... I don't quite believe it. But on the other hand, Chu Qi, do you think Grandpa and the Commander-in-Chief, who looks better?"
Meizi is someone who can't keep a secret and asked several sensitive questions in a row.
On the seventh day of summer, she handed over a few dates that had been hidden in her arms to the silly fool with a lazy expression, and smiled at her with an unclear meaning, "Men are poisonous medicine, just look at them and your heart will beat fast, they look good but don't taste good, if you eat them, you'll get sick."
"What does it mean?"
"Think about it yourself." Xia Chuqi smiled and sighed, "My life is so miserable!"
Plum blossom pouted, "Pitiful? Hmph, who doesn't say behind your back that you, Chu Qi, are our old master's treasured darling? For your sake, we almost clashed with the Grand Commander. What good fortune is this, that anyone in the Wang Manor has ever had? Enjoy it secretly. Besides, just because of the stinky water in your belly, you can deceive people into jumping into a dung pit and still say it smells sweet, where's the pitiful fate?"
Pfft!
This metaphor made Xia Zhi's eyes widen in surprise, "Am I really that bad?"
Before Mei could respond, Dafu, with a date in his mouth, began to murmur in protest.
"You're the bad guy, my son is a good person, the best person."
"Go, go, go! Eat yours!" Mei Zi puckered her mouth and laughed straight.
Xia Ziyu also smiled and looked up at the gloomy sky, as if it was really going to rain.
After noon, the rain didn't fall, and Zhao Zun didn't come back. Xia Chuyi also gave up on translating "Qingnang Book". After a brief discussion, she went to the front and told Yuedu about it, then headed to the county government office to continue her "reckless" behavior. Along the way, in every big and small alley, she could hear a few sentences of children's rhymes about "Weaving Girl", which made her even more puzzled about what kind of trickery Dongfang Daxiaoyao and Zhao Jianren were up to, what kind of play they were acting out.
But she knew her plan was ripe.
Only after finishing this errand, taking back her mirror, and finding an opportunity to take the fool away is the right thing to do.
This time, there was no need for the king of Jin to write a letter, and a single dispatch from the imperial court was enough. Fan Zhenliang immediately came out to greet her. It seemed that he had just come down from the hall, still wearing his official uniform without changing, and respectfully led her through the six rooms of the county government building with its green tiles and gray walls, directly to the backyard.
Mr. Fan's complexion has indeed improved a lot.
She saw Xia Chuqi, who looked like she wanted to say something but didn't dare to recognize her again.
As usual, he felt the pulse, wrote a prescription, and then made a show of saying some nonsense. Only then did Xia Chuqi size up the normally obedient Fan Congliang, bowing to him with a slow and respectful gesture.
"Lord Fan, may I have a word with you?"
Fan Zongliang led her to the guest hall, ordered someone to make tea, and after dismissing those around him, he asked humbly, "Does Doctor Chu have any instructions?"
Xia Chui's eyes narrowed slightly, "How dare Chu Mou order you around? Today, I'm doing this on behalf of the young master."
Fan Congliang heard this and hastily bowed in the direction of the post station, "Thanks to your lordship's favor, I am willing to die for it."
"Hmph..." Xia Chuqi took a sip of tea, and the corners of his mouth curled up. "Lord Fan is thinking too much, who needs you to sacrifice your life? This matter, I guarantee that you will be promoted and wealthy, with a bright future ahead."
"Oh? I don't know..."
On the seventh day of summer, he slightly corrected his god, staring at his eyes, "Although Qinggang is located in a corner, but as for the affairs of the court, Mr. Fan should also have heard about it? Moreover, where did the nursery rhyme 'Weaving Girl' come from? As a parent official, Mr. Fan's heart is probably bright and clear."
She used a definite sentence, Fan Zongliang paused for a moment, then admitted, "I dare not hide it, the lower official has indeed heard of it."
"You should also know that the Grand Commander of the Imperial Guards is still at the station. He and Prince Jin have a deep relationship. Moreover, who does the Imperial Guards obey? Whose orders do they carry out... Lord Fan, need I say more?"
He pointed at the sky, Xia Chuyi just smiled and didn't speak.
Fan Congliang was startled for a moment, as if he had just realized it. "Your meaning is that the weather is going to change?"
Xinzhī tā xìn le zì gè er de huà, zhēn yǐ wéi nà liǎng gè shuǐ huǒ bù róng de nán rén shì gù jiāo, ér qiě lǎo huáng dì hái yǒu xīn yào lì zhào zūn wèi chǔ, gù yì tì tā pū lù, xià chū qī qiān xiào yī xià, shùn zhe gǎn zi jì xù wǎng shàng pá, "Fàn dà ren shì gè míng bái rén, nín xiàn zài yào tì diàn xià zuò shì, wǎng hòu hái néng duǎn le nín de hǎo chù?"
"Yes, yes, yes! Imperial Physician Chu is absolutely right. But this... Fan, a humble county magistrate, what can he do about it?"
Covering the tea cup, Xia Zhong Qi's expression turned serious, "The establishment of the crown prince is an ancestral tradition, and it requires a good reason. A children's nursery rhyme is not enough! Lord Fan, why don't you add more fuel to the fire, so that the emperor can follow the will of heaven and the people's hearts, and put in some more effort?"
"Mandate of Heaven? People's Heart?"
He muttered to himself, Fan Congliang hesitated, "Your subordinate understands, only..."
At the beginning of summer, on the seventh day, Xia randomly said haha and then whispered a few words in his ear. Fan Congliang's eyes condensed, and he nodded slightly.
"Please convey to Chu Taishi that I thank you for your support and I will definitely do my best."
"Haha, don't worry, don't worry. So it's settled then? Chu Mou will take his leave and wait quietly for your good news?"
Dian pulled out a silver ingot from Fan Zongliang, and Xia Qi didn't delay any longer. Of course, as a "quack doctor", she had to get some benefits. This time, however, she was smarter - although she didn't ask for much silver, she slaughtered the big white goose even more ruthlessly, asking for twenty taels of silver as pocket money and also swindling him out of a high-quality gold Guanyin pendant worth one block.
On her way back home, touching those banknotes, she didn't feel quite at ease.
Won't I be cheated by that scoundrel Zhao again?
Digression
Thank you, dear [13810839110], for promoting me to be the champion. This this this... how can I repay you? My body... seems not quite suitable? Men and women are different, no no no, women won't do, right?
Additionally, thank you dear [Qing Lan 00] for promoting Yuan Da Guan Ren. However, this name, Qing Lang? One sweat! Am I close or not close?
Today's chapter is about the plot and also has some foreshadowing, maybe some girls will feel a bit bored. But how can I put it, romance without a plot would be dull and uninteresting, we need to balance the plot with emotions, keep walking and walking until September 6th, haha, only then will we have September 6th, right? Haha, same old phrase, let's continue to chase after it, hoping not to disappoint the girls.
What are you singing? Are you kidding me, this is going to drive people crazy? Can't a patient with severe second-degree snake spirit disease and annoying middle school syndrome be treated on the seventh day of the lunar month?
Two Jins (thick-skinned): I won't say it, I have medicine that I don't take. Bye.
