YangYue helped A’Rui back to his bed, and although his movements were a little difficult his attitude was respectful.
“Ms. Chun, why are you here?” Cen Shou wanted to step forward and help her but thinking back that she was the young miss, after all, and that the difference between men and women could be rather inconvenient, he could only stick out his hand and wait for her.
Jinxia hurriedly lifted Chun Yumin to her feet, while patting the dust off her dress.
“He… He… He, who is he?” Chun Yumin asked, still trying to recover from the shock, “Is he a person or a ghost?”
“A person, of course.” Jinxia pointed at the bed and explained, “You see the feet, his hands, they’re all complete. A ghost doesn’t have legs, therefore he’s a person.”
Cen Shou rolled his eyes.
Hearing this, Chun Yumin became somewhat relieved, “Then… Who is he?”
“About this, the story is quite long so this is not the best place to talk. If you don’t mind, we can go to the yard and have some tea.” Jinxia threw her bamboo chopsticks at Cen Shou, “In the kitchen, there is some boiling medicine, pay attention to it, don’t let it become dry.”
Because Chun Yumin was still there, Cen Shou didn’t dare to reveal his annoyance, hence he unhappily took the chopsticks and went to the kitchen.
***
There was a pavilion in the courtyard, small but nice. Jinxia led Chun Yumin to sit down and brought her hot tea to calm her down.
Chun Yumin took a few sips, then couldn’t help but ask, “Who is he? Why does he look like that?”
“Ms. Chun, you know that I am a LiuShanmen, right?” Jinxia didn’t answer her question but asked back with a smile.
Chun Yumin nodded.
Jinxia continued, “Actually, in the Capital, LiuShanmen and JinYiWei are like two different types of water. Although I am with Lu Daren on this trip, this is only because they’re short on people so I was transferred here, otherwise it’s all JinYiWei’s business. Even us LiuShanmen would never try to ask them about their business. Ms, Chun, do you understand what I mean?”
Chun Yumin was stunned for a moment, “You’re saying, I shouldn’t ask too many questions?”
“As expected of someone from an official family, you are indeed smart. After all, the less you know about JinYiWei’s business, the better.” Jinxia tried to scare her a little, then went back to praising her, “Look, you are Lu Daren’s younger cousin, your status is very special, so we have to take good care of you, right? Next time, don’t go into that room again, just pretend you didn’t see anyone and don’t tell anyone either, that way we will feel more secure and Lu Daren will be too, alright?”
Although her wording confused her, she understood the point of the conversation: just don’t ask too many questions or talk about anything and pretend this never happened.
“I know.” She said softly.
Jinxia happily reminded her again, “The maids, better not to discuss with them either.”
“I see.” Chun Yumin sipped her tea again and carefully said, “You people are doing great things, although I can’t help I won’t mess up on purpose.”
“Ms. Chun, your words are too much.” Her politeness made Jinxia feel a little guilty for no apparent reason, therefore she didn’t want to leave her right away, “Ms. Chun, where are you from?”
“I am a Xinhe person from Zhejiang.”
“Xinhe…” Jinxia tried to locate it in her head, “It still takes a few days to get there, is there anyone still living there?”
“My uncle’s family still lives in the city.”
“Oh, what does your uncle do for a living?”
As a LiuShanmen, Jinxia was used to asking people questions face to face. Luckily Chun Yumin’s temperament was good, she respected her and the other officials, therefore she didn’t hesitate to answer any of her questions. These two chatted not too long but Jinxia already understood her family’s background.
A maid’s voice was suddenly heard, “It turns out that Miss is here, I was looking for you. Miss, you’re hungry, right? In this Suhang area, there are some popular snacks. I told the kitchen staff to bring them, would you like to give it a try?”
“It’s really true. In the Capital, I have heard that sweet osmanthus-scented cakes and Longjing tea cakes are very delicious. In other places, they can’t match the taste here. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to try them.” Jinxia’s eyes lit up immediately.
Chun Yumin laughed and said, “Well then, get them to bring them here and we will both try it.” After saying that, she turned to look at the maid but she didn’t seem too happy; she quickly glanced at Jinxia for a moment and then left.
“In my family, Da Yang knows about these snacks best, I will go and call him here.”
After saying that, she went to pull YangYue to the pavilion. At first, YangYue didn’t care, letting her drag him to the place but, as soon as he saw Chun Yumin, he immediately stopped his movements.
“What’s the matter?” He asked Jinxia.
“Of course it’s a good thing. This is Hangzhou’s sweet-scented osmanthus cake and Longjing tea cake, do you want to try it?”
On regular days, enjoying these snacks wouldn’t be a problem but right now, Chun Yumin was here; she was a lady from a respected family, and YangYue felt a little uncomfortable, “I’ll taste it later.”
At that time, the maid walked into the courtyard with a tray filled with sweet-scented osmanthus cakes, Longjing tea cakes and Dingsheng cakes.
“Ms. Chun doesn’t think of us as outsiders. You’re a grown man, why are you being shy?” Jinxia pulled YangYue into the pavilion, forced him to sit down, then she turned to look at the cakes and smiled, “Da Yang, look! The decorations are beautiful and the cakes are so neatly cut.”
Everyone was constantly praising the osmanthus cake. YangYue had also never seen anything like this in the Capital, each cake was cut to resemble a flower, from top to bottom divided into two layers, the top layer was shiny and transparent, the bottom layer was snow white, just looking at it made the heart warm and happy.
YangYue looked at it carefully, couldn’t help but secretly admire the work in his heart. He was about to reach out for it but, remembering that Chun Yumin hadn’t moved yet, he stopped and hurriedly said, “Ms. Chun, please have a taste.”
Chun Yumin said with a smile, “Brother Yang, you don’t have to be polite.”
The two of them hesitantly looked at each other. Jinxia, who was sitting on the side, chewing the osmanthus cake, nodded her head and said, “It’s delicious, not much sugar and not sticky.”
YangYue finally took a piece and bit it, the fragrance slowly spreading in his mouth, “…They’re very clever. I didn’t think they would use fresh coconut milk, instead of regular milk. The coconut milk makes the osmanthus cake more sweet, no wonder there was no stickiness.”
Chun Yumin did not think that this tall and burly constable would be so knowledgeable in cooking. Without realizing it, she stared at YangYue again.
“You should learn it. Once we return to the Capital, we can eat it again.” Jinxia said while finishing the osmanthus cake. Then she grabbed the Longjing tea cake.
YangYue shook his head, “You think it’s easy to obtain coconut milk in the Capital? Don’t even try.”
At the entrance of the yard, the inn’s servants brought in a group of people, some were carrying crates, some holding stacking boxes, some were carrying a stretcher… There were two stretchers at the entrance. The yard was actually not so big and now almost the entire place was filled with the newcomers and the stuff they brought along.
Jinxia tried to swallow the Longjing tea cake, curiously observing them.
The head of the group, wearing a watermelon shaped hat, turned his head to look at YangYue, Jinxia and the others, then quickly raised his hands to greet them, “Constables, what a long journey.”
This kind of situation, Jinxia had never met him and still greeted him back, “Not too bad… Not too tired… You are?”
“We’re here on behalf of Governor General Hu. He was afraid that Lu Daren and everyone would be uncomfortable from the long trip so he especially sent over some important necessities.” The person wearing a watermelon hat laughed as he talked. He seemed friendly, talking without a single disrespectful tone.
Jinxia had yet to answer when, with the corner of her eyes, she saw Cen Shou hurriedly come over.
“Who are you people?!?” Cen Shou snapped, as soon as he opened his mouth.
The watermelon hat man repeated his words to Cen Shou, not waiting for Cen Shou’s answer, he immediately turned towards the other person and ordered them all to lower the items.
“Wait! Wait…” Cen Shou stopped them, “The Young Master isn’t here right now, we can’t accept any of this, please bring them back.”
The man laughed and said, “Lu Daren and the General are together right now. I just came from their place, you can accept it without any worry.”
Hearing what he’d said, it indicated that Lu Yi already knew about the matter. Cen Shou fell silent and thought: ‘If the Young Master had agreed to it, what should I do?’ Moreover, those items were from the General, it was not right to offend him…’
While he was contemplating, the man ordered his men to step back, leaving the items and the stretchers there.
“Is there anyone in these stretchers?”
Jinxia was very curious. She circled the stacked crates and boxes on the floor, stepped forward and was about to lift the curtain of the stretcher when as her finger touched the curtain, the curtain was opened from the inside and a slender and graceful woman, wearing a pink dress, stepped out of it. She immediately smiled at everyone; her attitude was gentle, charming and graceful. On the other stretcher, a woman in a light purple dress also stepped out. Both of them wore red lipsticks, their skin was milk white, their movements careful.
“Them…Who are you?” Cen Shou said while furrowing his eyebrows.
“I’m Lianlian.”
“I am SiSi… We have come to serve Lu Daren.”
Both of them replied simultaneously, and even their voice sounded clear and melodious, so pleasant to hear.
“You better go back, our Young Master doesn’t need your service.” Cen Shou didn’t like dealing with women, especially the gentle ones like them; he couldn’t scold or punish them, which frustrated him.
“The two of us were sent here, which means that we have become Lu Daren’s people. Brother, why do you tell us to leave? Do you want us to sleep on the street?” LianLian pretended to say in a fragile tone.
As they said that, the two of them started heading toward the inn. Cen Shou hurriedly blocked them.
“The Young Master hasn’t agreed to it, meaning you two can’t enter.” He said in a stern voice.
“Brother, you’re being too harsh, if you don’t let us inside, do you want us to stand here as if we’re being punished?” SiSi said in annoyance.
Cen Shou didn’t care about her words, his face didn’t change at all, “Either way, you can’t enter.”
The tree of them continued to argue. Jinxia, who was in the pavilion, couldn’t help but laugh. On the other side of the yard, in her entire life, Chun Yumin had never seen a woman with such a seductive appearance, surely she would have been lying if she had said she wasn’t curious, therefore she couldn’t help but continue to stare at them. Only YangYue frowned, leaning closer to Jinxia and whispering in her ear, “A’Rui is here, if these two stay, it’s very troublesome.”
“I know, Cen Shou will definitely not let them in.”
In front of her eyes, LianLian’s hand was about to grab Cen Shou’s shoulder, but Cen Shou was someone who had never hit a woman, nor used force on them, he could only tried his best to avoid them as much as possible. Jinxia shook her head as she witnessed the scene. After clearing her throat, she exclaimed in a high tone, “Sisters, why do you have to argue with him, come here and have a sit, how about a cup of tea first?”
LianLian and SiSi turned to look at her, at the moment, they were unsure who she was and could only remain silent.
In the Capital, as a LiuShanmen, Jinxia had dealt with many women like this, therefore she was very familiar with what to do. At this time, she walked towards them with a smile and pulled on LianLian’s arm, “You still can’t see that he won’t change his mind? Plus, if Lu Daren comes home and sees this scene, you ladies will definitely be punished. Just leave him alone and sit down in the Pavilion. Once Lu Daren is home, you still think he won’t let you in?”
Cen Shou snorted heavily after hearing her words. Fortunately, he also knew that Jinxia was helping him so he didn’t say much.
YangYue helped A’Rui back to his bed, and although his movements were a little difficult his attitude was respectful.
“Ms. Chun, why are you here?” Cen Shou wanted to step forward and help her but thinking back that she was the young miss, after all, and that the difference between men and women could be rather inconvenient, he could only stick out his hand and wait for her.
Jinxia hurriedly lifted Chun Yumin to her feet, while patting the dust off her dress.
“He… He… He, who is he?” Chun Yumin asked, still trying to recover from the shock, “Is he a person or a ghost?”
“A person, of course.” Jinxia pointed at the bed and explained, “You see the feet, his hands, they’re all complete. A ghost doesn’t have legs, therefore he’s a person.”
Cen Shou rolled his eyes.
Hearing this, Chun Yumin became somewhat relieved, “Then… Who is he?”
“About this, the story is quite long so this is not the best place to talk. If you don’t mind, we can go to the yard and have some tea.” Jinxia threw her bamboo chopsticks at Cen Shou, “In the kitchen, there is some boiling medicine, pay attention to it, don’t let it become dry.”
Because Chun Yumin was still there, Cen Shou didn’t dare to reveal his annoyance, hence he unhappily took the chopsticks and went to the kitchen.
***
There was a pavilion in the courtyard, small but nice. Jinxia led Chun Yumin to sit down and brought her hot tea to calm her down.
Chun Yumin took a few sips, then couldn’t help but ask, “Who is he? Why does he look like that?”
“Ms. Chun, you know that I am a LiuShanmen, right?” Jinxia didn’t answer her question but asked back with a smile.
Chun Yumin nodded.
Jinxia continued, “Actually, in the Capital, LiuShanmen and JinYiWei are like two different types of water. Although I am with Lu Daren on this trip, this is only because they’re short on people so I was transferred here, otherwise it’s all JinYiWei’s business. Even us LiuShanmen would never try to ask them about their business. Ms, Chun, do you understand what I mean?”
Chun Yumin was stunned for a moment, “You’re saying, I shouldn’t ask too many questions?”
“As expected of someone from an official family, you are indeed smart. After all, the less you know about JinYiWei’s business, the better.” Jinxia tried to scare her a little, then went back to praising her, “Look, you are Lu Daren’s younger cousin, your status is very special, so we have to take good care of you, right? Next time, don’t go into that room again, just pretend you didn’t see anyone and don’t tell anyone either, that way we will feel more secure and Lu Daren will be too, alright?”
Although her wording confused her, she understood the point of the conversation: just don’t ask too many questions or talk about anything and pretend this never happened.
“I know.” She said softly.
Jinxia happily reminded her again, “The maids, better not to discuss with them either.”
“I see.” Chun Yumin sipped her tea again and carefully said, “You people are doing great things, although I can’t help I won’t mess up on purpose.”
“Ms. Chun, your words are too much.” Her politeness made Jinxia feel a little guilty for no apparent reason, therefore she didn’t want to leave her right away, “Ms. Chun, where are you from?”
“I am a Xinhe person from Zhejiang.”
“Xinhe…” Jinxia tried to locate it in her head, “It still takes a few days to get there, is there anyone still living there?”
“My uncle’s family still lives in the city.”
“Oh, what does your uncle do for a living?”
As a LiuShanmen, Jinxia was used to asking people questions face to face. Luckily Chun Yumin’s temperament was good, she respected her and the other officials, therefore she didn’t hesitate to answer any of her questions. These two chatted not too long but Jinxia already understood her family’s background.
A maid’s voice was suddenly heard, “It turns out that Miss is here, I was looking for you. Miss, you’re hungry, right? In this Suhang area, there are some popular snacks. I told the kitchen staff to bring them, would you like to give it a try?”
“It’s really true. In the Capital, I have heard that sweet osmanthus-scented cakes and Longjing tea cakes are very delicious. In other places, they can’t match the taste here. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to try them.” Jinxia’s eyes lit up immediately.
Chun Yumin laughed and said, “Well then, get them to bring them here and we will both try it.” After saying that, she turned to look at the maid but she didn’t seem too happy; she quickly glanced at Jinxia for a moment and then left.
“In my family, Da Yang knows about these snacks best, I will go and call him here.”
After saying that, she went to pull YangYue to the pavilion. At first, YangYue didn’t care, letting her drag him to the place but, as soon as he saw Chun Yumin, he immediately stopped his movements.
“What’s the matter?” He asked Jinxia.
“Of course it’s a good thing. This is Hangzhou’s sweet-scented osmanthus cake and Longjing tea cake, do you want to try it?”
On regular days, enjoying these snacks wouldn’t be a problem but right now, Chun Yumin was here; she was a lady from a respected family, and YangYue felt a little uncomfortable, “I’ll taste it later.”
At that time, the maid walked into the courtyard with a tray filled with sweet-scented osmanthus cakes, Longjing tea cakes and Dingsheng cakes.
“Ms. Chun doesn’t think of us as outsiders. You’re a grown man, why are you being shy?” Jinxia pulled YangYue into the pavilion, forced him to sit down, then she turned to look at the cakes and smiled, “Da Yang, look! The decorations are beautiful and the cakes are so neatly cut.”
Everyone was constantly praising the osmanthus cake. YangYue had also never seen anything like this in the Capital, each cake was cut to resemble a flower, from top to bottom divided into two layers, the top layer was shiny and transparent, the bottom layer was snow white, just looking at it made the heart warm and happy.
YangYue looked at it carefully, couldn’t help but secretly admire the work in his heart. He was about to reach out for it but, remembering that Chun Yumin hadn’t moved yet, he stopped and hurriedly said, “Ms. Chun, please have a taste.”
Chun Yumin said with a smile, “Brother Yang, you don’t have to be polite.”
The two of them hesitantly looked at each other. Jinxia, who was sitting on the side, chewing the osmanthus cake, nodded her head and said, “It’s delicious, not much sugar and not sticky.”
YangYue finally took a piece and bit it, the fragrance slowly spreading in his mouth, “…They’re very clever. I didn’t think they would use fresh coconut milk, instead of regular milk. The coconut milk makes the osmanthus cake more sweet, no wonder there was no stickiness.”
Chun Yumin did not think that this tall and burly constable would be so knowledgeable in cooking. Without realizing it, she stared at YangYue again.
“You should learn it. Once we return to the Capital, we can eat it again.” Jinxia said while finishing the osmanthus cake. Then she grabbed the Longjing tea cake.
YangYue shook his head, “You think it’s easy to obtain coconut milk in the Capital? Don’t even try.”
At the entrance of the yard, the inn’s servants brought in a group of people, some were carrying crates, some holding stacking boxes, some were carrying a stretcher… There were two stretchers at the entrance. The yard was actually not so big and now almost the entire place was filled with the newcomers and the stuff they brought along.
Jinxia tried to swallow the Longjing tea cake, curiously observing them.
The head of the group, wearing a watermelon shaped hat, turned his head to look at YangYue, Jinxia and the others, then quickly raised his hands to greet them, “Constables, what a long journey.”
This kind of situation, Jinxia had never met him and still greeted him back, “Not too bad… Not too tired… You are?”
“We’re here on behalf of Governor General Hu. He was afraid that Lu Daren and everyone would be uncomfortable from the long trip so he especially sent over some important necessities.” The person wearing a watermelon hat laughed as he talked. He seemed friendly, talking without a single disrespectful tone.
Jinxia had yet to answer when, with the corner of her eyes, she saw Cen Shou hurriedly come over.
“Who are you people?!?” Cen Shou snapped, as soon as he opened his mouth.
The watermelon hat man repeated his words to Cen Shou, not waiting for Cen Shou’s answer, he immediately turned towards the other person and ordered them all to lower the items.
“Wait! Wait…” Cen Shou stopped them, “The Young Master isn’t here right now, we can’t accept any of this, please bring them back.”
The man laughed and said, “Lu Daren and the General are together right now. I just came from their place, you can accept it without any worry.”
Hearing what he’d said, it indicated that Lu Yi already knew about the matter. Cen Shou fell silent and thought: ‘If the Young Master had agreed to it, what should I do?’ Moreover, those items were from the General, it was not right to offend him…’
While he was contemplating, the man ordered his men to step back, leaving the items and the stretchers there.
“Is there anyone in these stretchers?”
Jinxia was very curious. She circled the stacked crates and boxes on the floor, stepped forward and was about to lift the curtain of the stretcher when as her finger touched the curtain, the curtain was opened from the inside and a slender and graceful woman, wearing a pink dress, stepped out of it. She immediately smiled at everyone; her attitude was gentle, charming and graceful. On the other stretcher, a woman in a light purple dress also stepped out. Both of them wore red lipsticks, their skin was milk white, their movements careful.
“Them…Who are you?” Cen Shou said while furrowing his eyebrows.
“I’m Lianlian.”
“I am SiSi… We have come to serve Lu Daren.”
Both of them replied simultaneously, and even their voice sounded clear and melodious, so pleasant to hear.
“You better go back, our Young Master doesn’t need your service.” Cen Shou didn’t like dealing with women, especially the gentle ones like them; he couldn’t scold or punish them, which frustrated him.
“The two of us were sent here, which means that we have become Lu Daren’s people. Brother, why do you tell us to leave? Do you want us to sleep on the street?” LianLian pretended to say in a fragile tone.
As they said that, the two of them started heading toward the inn. Cen Shou hurriedly blocked them.
“The Young Master hasn’t agreed to it, meaning you two can’t enter.” He said in a stern voice.
“Brother, you’re being too harsh, if you don’t let us inside, do you want us to stand here as if we’re being punished?” SiSi said in annoyance.
Cen Shou didn’t care about her words, his face didn’t change at all, “Either way, you can’t enter.”
The tree of them continued to argue. Jinxia, who was in the pavilion, couldn’t help but laugh. On the other side of the yard, in her entire life, Chun Yumin had never seen a woman with such a seductive appearance, surely she would have been lying if she had said she wasn’t curious, therefore she couldn’t help but continue to stare at them. Only YangYue frowned, leaning closer to Jinxia and whispering in her ear, “A’Rui is here, if these two stay, it’s very troublesome.”
“I know, Cen Shou will definitely not let them in.”
In front of her eyes, LianLian’s hand was about to grab Cen Shou’s shoulder, but Cen Shou was someone who had never hit a woman, nor used force on them, he could only tried his best to avoid them as much as possible. Jinxia shook her head as she witnessed the scene. After clearing her throat, she exclaimed in a high tone, “Sisters, why do you have to argue with him, come here and have a sit, how about a cup of tea first?”
LianLian and SiSi turned to look at her, at the moment, they were unsure who she was and could only remain silent.
In the Capital, as a LiuShanmen, Jinxia had dealt with many women like this, therefore she was very familiar with what to do. At this time, she walked towards them with a smile and pulled on LianLian’s arm, “You still can’t see that he won’t change his mind? Plus, if Lu Daren comes home and sees this scene, you ladies will definitely be punished. Just leave him alone and sit down in the Pavilion. Once Lu Daren is home, you still think he won’t let you in?”
Cen Shou snorted heavily after hearing her words. Fortunately, he also knew that Jinxia was helping him so he didn’t say much.
