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墨書 Inktalez
Because beneath him, a large lobster was currently flaunting its claws in a certain direction, just waving its tail...
Xia Muxin's lips twitched slightly, a hint of complexity flashing in her eyes as she glanced at Feng Liulang, who was crying and jumping around aimlessly. She couldn't help but frown in disapproval.
Could it be that Feng Liulang had some sort of mental issue?
Though they hadn't known each other for long, in her heart, a child from the mountains who studied should be quite sensible, understanding the importance of propriety, valuing reputation, and most importantly, focusing wholeheartedly on their studies, thinking about how to stand out and repay their parents for their upbringing.
But Feng Liulang gave her the exact opposite impression.
He was arrogant and self-righteous, more inclined to consider others' problems from his own perspective without ever taking into account their feelings. This might have something to do with his upbringing; looking at Feng San Niang, it seemed he learned how to navigate the world from her.
After pondering this, anger inevitably flared within her eyes as she coldly addressed Feng Liulang:
"Your parents worked tirelessly to raise you, saving every penny to support your education. But look at yourself now—pathetic enough to be compared to a shrimp. At least a shrimp has countless people willing to cook and eat it. As for someone like you, even if you died a thousand times or ten thousand times, in the end, it would still be your parents who would be left to collect your remains."
Feng Liulang had been wailing in pain, bending down to poke at the lobster with a stick. Some onlookers wanted to help him remove it, but as soon as someone touched the lobster's tail, they were met with Feng Liulang's ear-piercing scream. It turned out that the creature had clamped down even tighter.
Seeing this, no one dared to step forward again until Xia Muxin spoke up. Remarkably, Feng Liulang stopped his cries altogether, and the villagers looked on in astonishment at Xia Muxin's calm demeanor.
Xia Muxin shot him a cold glance and kicked a few pebbles into the air. One of them struck the lobster squarely on its body, causing it to loosen its grip and fall to the ground, scuttling away aimlessly.
Feng Liulang took a deep breath, various emotions flashing across his face as he turned red. It seemed he had something to say but could only watch Xia Muxin's retreating figure.
With his head lowered and eyes dimmed, he felt increasingly convinced by what he had just witnessed. So many villagers had tried to help him but failed; yet with just a kick from Xia Muxin, a few stones resolved his predicament. It seemed that only she could help him escape from various calamities.
So, marrying her is a necessity and a goal that must be achieved...
Kyoto!
The city is engulfed in a state of heightened vigilance and panic due to the new emperor's ascension.
It is said that just yesterday, after the old emperor issued his last edict, the palace was subjected to an unprecedented assassination attempt. Fortunately, Shen Heir was present, preventing the newly crowned Prince Bloodshed on the Spot from meeting a tragic fate.
Three months ago, the old emperor suddenly fell ill, and the palace physicians were at a loss. The prince Tian Ming Rui, who has never been fond of court affairs, found himself in a difficult position. The emperor's offspring were few; the Second Prince was violent and ambitious, not fit to be a wise ruler, while the Fourth Prince preferred a free-spirited life away from politics. The Sixth Prince was still too young. Under pressure from all the ministers, Prince Tian Ming Rui had no choice but to accept this burden, leading to today's coronation ceremony.
Since childhood, he had maintained a good relationship with the two heirs of the Shen Family. It can be said that the ministers' efforts to elevate him to the throne were largely aimed at currying favor with the Shen Family.
At the same time he was crowned emperor, Shen Muhan was granted a title of nobility.
Regent!
This was the last thing he wanted to see, yet he had no choice but to accept this identity.
"Long live our emperor! Long live our emperor! Long live our emperor!"
In the grand Qingyang Palace, civil and military officials knelt on the ground. The coronation ceremony had just concluded, and the new emperor Tian Ming Rui sat upon the dragon throne. Hearing the synchronized cheers, he furrowed his brow slightly but then raised his hand and called out loudly:
"All ministers, rise!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The old emperor is now the Retired Emperor. At this moment, he lay uneasily on an exquisite and luxurious chaise longue, watching as this grand coronation ceremony for the new emperor proceeded smoothly. He finally let out a sigh of relief, though a fleeting glimmer of cunning flashed in his eyes.
The coronation ceremony of the new emperor had just concluded, and the next event was the royal sealing ceremony.
Throughout this journey, Shen Muhan maintained a stern expression, with every movement and every facial expression clearly displaying his dissatisfaction.
In the crowd, two figures dressed in eunuch attire, both slender and short, were hiding beneath a well-trimmed flowerbed, peering out.
These two were none other than the fuming Tian Yuxin and the second young lady of the Su Family, Su Xiuning.
"See, I told you I would bring Shen Muhan back. Our bet is settled now; from here on out, we’ll have nothing to do with each other!"
Tian Yuxin pouted and pushed the lovesick Su Xiuning with annoyance, speaking in a low voice before proudly lifting her chin and exhaling through her nose.
"Princess, it was Xiu Ning who was disrespectful. I hope you can forgive her and not take it to heart."
Su Xiuning could indeed be considered a stunning beauty, with skin whiter than snow, features like a painting, an elegant figure, and a charming smile. Her pair of sparkling eyes seemed almost capable of speech; just one glance could draw someone in irresistibly.
Yet she could not draw in the one person she desired at that moment. He spoke respectfully, but his brows were furrowed with deep sorrow.
"I don't understand why you would choose someone like that cold-faced blockhead instead of anyone else."
Seeing her on the verge of tears, Tian Yuxin shot her a sideways glance and pointed at her forehead with her finger as a muted reminder.
In response, Su Xiuning smiled gently, as if lost in deep memories. After a long pause, she softly said, "Perhaps this is the redemption of love!"
Tian Yuxin took a deep breath, looking at her with an expression that suggested she thought Su Xiuning was out of her mind. With hands on her hips, she turned to leave.
Meanwhile, after all the ceremonies were completed and the civil and military officials had been dismissed, Shen Muhan entered the Imperial Study with Tian Ming Rui.
"What's wrong? Did the old folks give you a hard time?"
Tian Ming Rui sat in front of the dragon throne, sipping tea casually. Noticing that Shen Muhan had not shown any expression from beginning to end, he teased him.
"Your royal family is nothing but trouble!"
Shen Muhan shot him a cold glance, sitting down beside him without any regard for their status. He downed a cup of tea in one go before speaking coldly.
In the entire court and even in the Tianli Kingdom, perhaps only he, Shen Heir—oh no, now he should be called Regent—would dare to say such things.
"You know how the old man is. With your grandfather and your uncle working together, it's a mess for us younger ones."
Tian Ming Rui patted his shoulder sympathetically, a hint of bitterness in his eyes as he shook his head and sighed.
"Alright, you've taken the throne and been crowned king. This has nothing to do with me anymore. I'm taking my leave."
At this moment, Shen Muhan was eager to return home, though where that home was, only he knew in his heart.
"How long has Xiu Ning been waiting outside? Do you want to see her? It can't keep dragging on like this. Otherwise, I could issue an edict right now to betroth her to you and pick an auspicious date for the wedding. Your grandfather and great-grandfather are probably going gray over this."
Just as he stood up, Tian Ming Rui's voice came from behind him. Shen Muhan turned around with a gloomy face and glared at Tian Ming Rui before coldly saying:
"I already have my own wife. If you want to marry her, do it yourself. If you force it on me, I have a thousand ways to ensure you won't marry Jiao Jiao."
After saying this, a jade cup flew towards him, but Shen Muhan merely waved his hand, and the cup landed steadily back in its place. Without looking back, he walked out of the Imperial Study.
Su Xiuning saw that all the ceremonial rites had been completed and had the palace maid take her to change into an orange floor-length summer dress. After being carefully groomed and bringing along the pastries she made that morning, she waited in the Imperial Garden. However, after nearly an hour without anyone coming to summon her into the palace, an uneasy feeling surged within her. Just as she lifted her skirt to rush to the Imperial Study, she saw Tian Ming Rui approaching with a gloomy expression.
"Your servant has come to pay respects to Your Majesty."
"No need for formalities!"
Upon seeing this, Tian Ming Rui waved his hand, and the Court Ladies retreated several dozen meters, leaving space for them.
Su Xiuning raised her head, anxiously glancing behind him. After a long moment, two clear tears slid down her stunning face as she choked out, "Your Majesty, he..."
"Xiu Ning, we grew up together. You understand Mu Han's temperament better than anyone. He wants you to forget him and has said... he already has someone he likes."
Buzz...
Su Xiuning felt a splitting headache, her mind buzzing as darkness enveloped her vision. Fortunately, the pillar beside her prevented her from collapsing awkwardly.
He has someone he likes...
What kind of woman could catch his eye? She had spent ten years trying to win his affection, hoping that at some moment he would look back at her, even if it was just a smile of pity. But it never happened; it turned out she had always been deluding herself, always one-sided in her feelings.
Before it even began, she had lost miserably.
"Your Majesty, may I ask which young lady has caught the Regent's eye?"
Finally, she could not accept the outcome of losing before the game had even started. She needed to know which young lady possessed the ability to attract Shen Muhan.
Su Xiuning had always been perceived as noble and graceful, earning the title of the most beautiful woman in the capital. Yet at this moment, Tian Ming Rui saw boundless hatred reflected in her eyes.
He sighed and replied, "Many things cannot be forced. If you like someone, you like them; if you don't, you don't. That's all I can say. Think carefully and do not act in a way that you'll regret later."
If he had known a day earlier, Jiao Jiao wouldn't have...
*
For the next three days, Liu Mazi and the others would come over on time with their tools, while Er Dan Ge, under Muxin's instructions, kept a close watch on them.
Meanwhile, Xia Muxin's family continued to gather firewood and sell game meat. In just a few days, they managed to save up a hundred taels to buy a piece of wasteland behind their new plot. The land was a small hill, quite large, with no trees—just some weeds and withered vines. The villagers were puzzled, wondering if the Xia family's daughter had lost her mind for buying land that no one wanted.
This land couldn't be used for planting or building houses, and the red clay looked ominous. Even if they cleared a small path, no one dared to walk there.
They could only speculate while watching from the sidelines, feeling anxious but powerless.
Despite the vastness of the land, Xia Muxin couldn't help but smile widely; she felt like she had struck gold. She had explored the area over the past couple of days and discovered that the clay was perfect for making bricks. Soon, she would be the first person in Tianli Kingdom to sell fire bricks. Just thinking about it excited her.
Of course, she first needed to train a group of professionals and sign agreements before she could teach them how to operate the kilns.
"Sister, tomorrow is your birthday. Do you think Brother Shen and the others will come back?"
Xia Muxin was deep in thought while making pancakes when Songzi noticed her distracted demeanor. Assuming it was because Shen Muhan and the others had left, she pouted and cautiously asked.
Xia Muxin glanced at Songzi for a moment before silently smiling and returning to her task.
Due to the hot weather, they often needed to irrigate the fields. Early that morning, Summer Forest went out to fertilize the fields and remove weeds.
Once Xia Muxin finished making pancakes, she cooked a large pot of mung bean porridge.
Although Liu Mazi and his crew were not of good character, she didn't want anything bad to happen to them in this heat. Mung bean porridge was perfect for cooling off, so once they started working, she instructed Er Dan Ge to take some over to them.
Father had not returned yet, so they were not in a hurry to start the meal. Xia Muxin changed the water for the Apple Snail and brought out the baked dried fish to lay it out in the sun.
She also took out the half-dried chili peppers from yesterday to dry them further.
Seeing Aunt Xia had gotten up, she hurried over to support her.
“Oh, Muxin, I’m feeling much better now. I can walk and eat by myself, so you don’t need to worry so much!”
Aunt Xia’s eyesight had improved significantly. She gently patted the small hand that was supporting her arm with one hand while affectionately stroking Xia Muxin’s tender face with the other, smiling lovingly.
“Mother, are you hungry? Would you like to eat something first?”
Xia Muxin affectionately rubbed against her and helped her sit down on the lounge chair under the eaves, softly asking.
“I’m not hungry. The little one is very well-behaved and said he wants to wait for Father to come back and eat together.”
Aunt Xia’s eyes sparkled with love as she placed one hand on her slightly rounded belly and smiled up at Xia Muxin.
Xia Muxin couldn’t help but laugh at her mother’s childish gesture. She squatted down and pressed her ear against Aunt Xia’s belly, listening for a while before giggling and getting busy with other things.
Songzi helped arrange the remaining chili peppers. When she saw her sister bringing over two large jars, she placed them at the entrance of the yard, then went back to fetch a bucket of clean water along with a clean loofah.
Soon after, she scooped water into the jars while bending down to stir with the loofah inside. After filling them three times, she finally set down the ladle and loofah, then moved the jars upside down onto a wooden board that was left out from drying the chili peppers.
“Mother, does anyone in this village have wine?”
After finishing all this, Xia Muxin seemed to remember something and asked Aunt Xia while carrying an empty bucket back.
It was not a suitable season for brewing wine, and since they did not grow glutinous rice at home, they had no choice but to buy some from the neighbor.
"Aunt Liu has some; she has a habit of needing a sip with every meal. If she doesn't drink, she really feels uncomfortable," Aunt Xia said without much thought.
Everyone in the village knew that Aunt Liu drank, and there were even times when she got drunk. It was Swallow who had to call her husband and Iron Tree to help carry her back to bed, as she usually got drunk during the cold winter months.
Hearing this, Xia Muxin's eyes darkened. Aunt Liu was a good person; perhaps she used alcohol to numb herself due to the sorrow over her son. At least it provided some solace for her soul...
After dinner, the family got busy. Xia Muxin went to Aunt Liu's house to buy wine. Aunt Liu insisted on not accepting any money, claiming that it was homemade and not worth anything. However, Xia Muxin refused to back down and placed a piece of silver on her table before bringing half a jar of wine back home.
It was best not to open the wine before using it, so she kicked the jar over and said she would return it after finishing her tasks. Aunt Liu was easygoing and only let her take the jar back.
Once home, she picked out a few large pieces of ginger, washed them, and sliced them into shreds for later use. She was preparing a traditional dish from her hometown called Wine-Pickled Fish.
The preparation was quite simple: just mix dried fish, chili powder, ginger shreds, and salt together, place them in the jar, add an appropriate amount of rice wine, and if possible, some fermented black beans from home. If conditions allowed, she could also add some oil that had been boiled and cooled.
Of course, she hadn't had time to make the fermented black beans yet, and this was just an experimental batch; how well it sold would depend on the final product.
After breakfast, they went out to gather firewood again while Xia Muxin hunted some game meat. Since they returned a bit late, they planned to eat lunch before heading to town to sell the game meat.
"Excuse me... is this Miss Muxin's home?"
Just as they entered the house, a gentle voice came from behind them.
Turning around in surprise, Xia Muxin paused for a moment before politely nodding. "Mr. Ye!"
Because she was working at home, she wore her oldest clothes, which had been washed so many times that their colors were indistinguishable.
Yet her eyes still sparkled with vitality, as if no matter how difficult the circumstances, she could greet others with a smile, like the sun in the sky, always bringing a ray of hope.
Ye Feng felt somewhat dazed as he looked at the dilapidated thatched cottage, unable to associate it with her. Even though he had thought about her family's conditions, he had never imagined it would be this bad.
The yard was filled with a pile of medicinal residue, seemingly dried out for some time. However, even from a distance, the strong scent of medicine lingered in the air.
Ye Feng furrowed his brow and pushed open the fence to enter the yard.
At that moment, Xia Muxin had just washed her hands and brought out a cup of tea. Songzi followed behind her, carrying a stool.
"Our family conditions are limited, so please make do with it!"
As she approached him, Xia Muxin was not awkward at all. She handed him the tea and then took the stool from Songzi's hands, placing it aside for him to sit down. Throughout this time, she never indicated that she wanted to invite him into the house.
Since there was a canopy set up outside, it not only served to store some firewood but also provided shade. Xia Muxin placed the stool in the cool area beneath the canopy.
Looking at the tea in his hand, he noticed a few flower petals floating alongside several red seeds. Ye Feng was somewhat surprised; weren't these ordinary medicinal ingredients?
Jihua and Goji Berries...
He lowered his head and took a small sip. His eyes brightened as he looked up at Xia Muxin.
However, Xia Muxin's thoughts were not on him but rather on several figures in the courtyard of the Zhou family.
Her grandfather hadn't returned this month, and her parents had mentioned it several times. But they couldn't enter the school; during their time in town, her father had waited outside the school multiple times but had never seen her grandfather come out. She felt anxious inside.
After a long while, as if sensing a burning gaze, she finally snapped back to reality.
Pausing for a moment, Xia Muxin spoke up:
"If Boss Ye doesn’t mind, please join me for a meal at my humble abode!"
It had been almost two months since Ye Feng had last come, and it seemed her journey with tea was still promising. Xia Muxin had always been generous to those willing to help her. Having just hunted some game meat, she could prepare a delicious meal as a basic form of hospitality.
Considering the last meal at Fushou Tower, they had all savored it immensely. They had tried to go back several times and asked Su Yan-Chu to arrange another feast, but Su Yan-Chu seemed disheartened and claimed he was powerless to help.
At this moment, with Xia Muxin personally extending the invitation, there was no reason for him to refuse. He immediately replied:
"I would be delighted!"
- End of Chapter -
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