boyutpedia Chapter 164 Thanks
Chapter 164 Thanks
Dongfang Han greeted Zisu first: "Princess, it's been a long time!"
Before Zisu could answer, Prince Duan glared at him and said, "What do you mean it's been a long time? Didn't we just see each other two days ago? What nonsense are you spouting? If you keep talking nonsense, I'll kick you out of Wuliping!"
Zisu smiled nonchalantly: "Brother Shen, could you please take them to the thatched cottage to settle in? Lunch is ready, I'll have someone call you over for lunch!"
"Yes, young lady," Shen Laihui replied respectfully, and then led the three of them to the thatched cottage.
"Your Highness, please enjoy your tea and conversation. If you need anything, just call me!" Shen Laihui put down the tea, some snacks, melon seeds, wild fruits, and salted peanuts, left these words, and turned to leave the reception room.
Dongfang Han watched his departing figure and said curiously, "Who is this? He's got quite the airs. In front of the prince, he dares not refer to himself as 'this humble servant' or 'this slave'."
Prince Duan: "This is Shen Laihui, the eldest disciple of the old divine physician of Medicine King Valley. His martial arts are extremely high. There are probably very few people in the entire Western Liang Kingdom who can defeat him."
Song Mo: "Oh, that explains it. Anyone with a bit of ability is bound to be a little arrogant. By the way, what's his relationship with the princess?"
Prince Duan: "He is the commander of the guards in the Protectorate General's Mansion, and also the personal bodyguard of Princess Yulin. The princess saved his life. Therefore, he serves the princess wholeheartedly. He is a very good person, both in martial arts and character!"
Dongfang Han: "Wow, someone with such high martial arts skills is willing to be a woman's personal bodyguard. It's clear that Princess Yulin is a very good person. Otherwise, if he had spent two years in the army, he could definitely have become a fourth-rank general!"
Song Mo: "Yes, that's why this guy is amazing! To be honest, if it were me, I probably couldn't do what he did."
Dongfang Han: "That's right. There are very few people in this world who can do what he did."
Prince Duan: "Perhaps everyone has their own way of living. Shen Laihui used to be a man of the martial world, so he must have liked a free and unrestrained life. Joining the army or serving in the court would probably not have been what he wanted. He worked under Princess Yulin, and she never restricted or restrained him, letting him do whatever he wanted. However, he was also very self-disciplined, never lazy, and extremely loyal to Princess Yulin."
"Wow, if only I had one or two subordinates like that!" Song Mo couldn't help but feel very envious.
Prince Duan: "When Princess Yulin saved him, it was also the most difficult time for her. At that time, everyone thought that the General Protector of the Nation had died for his country, and Princess Yulin's uncle's family was eyeing her and her mother with hostility. At that time, Princess Yulin was helpless and could hardly protect herself. However, even in her most distressed and helpless moment, she was still willing to lend a helping hand to a stranger."
To save Shen Laihui, she even paid a large sum of money to bring him back from the brink of death. Most other people wouldn't have done that; at most, they would have taken him to a clinic and left a few taels of silver. However, Princess Yulin did it, even when she herself desperately needed money!
Song Mo: "This is because good people are rewarded. That's why the princess was able to get Shen Laihui as a capable assistant. You reap what you sow!"
Prince Duan: "That's right. If it weren't for Shen Laihui, the princess's uncle, who is now Minister of Personnel, Lord Yu, she might not have survived to leave Yi County. If Lord Yu had died in the line of duty in Yi County, Princess Yulin's life afterward would not have been so smooth."
Dongfang Han remained silent, but a tremendous storm raged within him.
What a wonderful woman! If Prince Duan is not with her a year from now, he will definitely go to the Protector General's Mansion to ask for her hand in marriage! If he misses out on such a good girl, it will definitely be the biggest regret of his life.
The wait was long, and the three of them got bored, so they took out a deck of cards and started playing a game of "Upgrading" (a card game). The playing cards were "invented" by Shangguan Zhihua.
Dongfang Han: "Shangguan Zhihua, the inventor of playing cards, was actually a very intelligent woman. Unfortunately, she misused her intelligence. Otherwise, she could have lived a very successful life!"
Song Mo: "That's right, it's such a pity. Such a clever woman, yet she ended up with such a tragic fate. She and Princess Yulin were cousins; one was kind and simple, the other treacherous and ruthless. Kind people live happier and happier lives; ruthless people are destined for a bad end!"
Prince Duan: "If I had known Princess Yulin back then when I was in the capital, I would definitely have helped her vent her anger! Oh dear, why didn't you two lend a hand to Princess Yulin back then? So, Dongfang Han, you are not qualified to compete with me for Princess Yulin now!"
Song Mo: "At that time, he only had eyes for his dear cousin Feng'er, how could he see Princess Yulin!"
Prince Duan couldn't help but become interested: "Oh, so you're in love with your cousin? If that's the case, what right do you have to pursue Princess Yulin?"
Dongfang Han rolled his eyes at Song Mo: "You little rascal, are you just trying to stir up trouble?" He then said to Prince Duan: "I heard you say that if cousins get married, they will give birth to a freak or a child who will be very weak! After hearing what you said, I did a lot of research and found that it was true. I had no choice but to cut off contact with my cousin."
Prince Duan: "You cut off all contact, and your cousin agreed? You know, you're a very good catch. There must be at least a hundred, if not a thousand, women who want to marry you. How could your cousin be willing to give that up?" Back then, he had gone to great lengths to get rid of Qin Caihong.
Dongfang Han: "Of course she refused, she was so dramatic, no matter how much I tried to persuade or beg her, she wouldn't agree. In the end, she even said that she was willing to drink a sterilization drug as long as she could be with me. Oh my, you have no idea, it scared me to death! You tell me, if she drank the sterilization drug on her own, I would have no choice but to marry her! But I want to have legitimate sons and daughters, not illegitimate daughters and sons."
Song Mo: "So now, is your cousin still bothering you?"
Dongfang Han: "No, I was forced into a corner, so I had to talk to both sets of parents and lay out the dangers of marrying someone close to me. In the end, after countless arguments, both sets of parents finally reached a consensus and canceled my engagement with her! Sigh, the difficulties I went through still make me shudder when I think about it. During that time, I couldn't eat or sleep, and I was on the verge of a breakdown!"
Fortunately, my aunt was eventually understanding and personally escorted my cousin back to her hometown, thousands of miles away, where she found her a husband and quickly married her off! Otherwise, I would have had to take up a post in another region. At that time, I was already prepared to go to Yi County, where the uncle of the Princess of Yulin had once been. My cousin is a coward who loves life and enjoys pleasure; if I went to Yi County, she definitely wouldn't bother me anymore!
Prince Duan couldn't help but say disdainfully, "You, you cowardly woman who loves pleasure, how could you fall in love with her? Alas, there are so many good women in this world, why did you have to fall in love with someone like her? This kind of person is destined to only share the good times, not the bad!"
Take Jiang Chun's mother, for example. She's a woman who can't endure hardship, even less so than a pampered princess. Marrying such a woman might make life easy, but if anything goes wrong, she'll either abandon her husband and children or constantly complain, making an already difficult life even worse.
Lunch was prepared by Zisu and Sister-in-law Shuisheng. Xiangli was busy at the tourist park and didn't have time to come over. Today, she made six dishes and a soup. Instead of inviting the old clan chief, she sent the food to the thatched cottage and asked Shen Laihui to be in charge of entertaining him. She herself ate in the bamboo garden with Shangguan Yi and Yu Han.
Shui Sheng's wife always ate alone in the kitchen. At first, Zi Su asked her to eat with her, but she firmly refused, so Zi Su didn't force her.
Lunch was plentiful, including steamed fish head with chopped chili peppers, braised deer meat, stewed chicken with mushrooms, stir-fried rabbit with chili peppers, two stir-fried wild vegetables, and four side dishes. The side dishes were pickled vegetables made by Zisu herself, which were very refreshing and delicious.
The three of them thoroughly enjoyed the meal and kept praising it.
Dongfang Han added, "My mother hasn't had a good appetite lately. If she had a dish of pickled vegetables like this, I guarantee she could eat two bowls of rice."
Shen Laihui rolled his eyes at him: "These vegetables were pickled by the princess herself. She sent several jars back to the capital. There aren't many left in Wuliping now. Don't even think about taking the pickled vegetables."
Dongfang Han was taken aback: "The princess can actually make pickled vegetables?"
Shen Laihui said proudly, "Of course! The special dishes at Good Days Restaurant and all the recipes at Wuliping Restaurant are all from the Princess's hand! My Princess is capable in both the court and the kitchen; she is truly unparalleled! Otherwise, how could so many people like her!"
After listening for a while, Song Mo suddenly said, "Since your princess is so wonderful, why don't you pursue her?"
Shen Laihui smiled faintly and said calmly, "I know where I belong. My greatest wish in this life is to protect her and let her live a peaceful and happy life. As for other things, I will never covet them! In my heart, she is both my master and my sister!"
Upon hearing this, Prince Duan's heart stirred slightly, and his initial wariness and dislike for Shen Laihui gradually faded.
Hmm, this guy is pretty good. He's self-aware and incredibly loyal to Zisu. With someone like him by her side, he can feel much more at ease and doesn't have to worry about her safety all the time.
Upon hearing this, Dongfang Han couldn't help but clap his hands enthusiastically: "Good, very good! You're excellent, I truly admire and respect you!"
Shen Laihui blushed, a rare occurrence for him: "What's the big deal? I was just doing my duty. I can never repay the Princess for saving my life back then, no matter what I do for her!"
In this way, Shen Laihui finally opened up and had many topics to discuss with Dongfang Han and Song Mo. The three of them felt as if they had known each other for a long time.
Dongfang Han put his hand on Shen Laihui's shoulder: "Brother Shen, do you want to be an official? If so, I happen to have a vacancy for a fifth-rank military officer. Why don't you come and help me in the Imperial Guard?"
Song Mo quickly added, "I also have a vacancy. Why don't you come and help me? Working under me won't be as tiring!"
Shen Laihui shook his head: "No, I'm fine now. Being by the princess's side is better than anywhere else. I have no intention of moving! Moreover, I will stay by the princess's side for the rest of my life and will not go anywhere else!"
Prince Duan rolled his eyes at the two of them: "Stop fooling around. If you keep doing this, I'll tell the princess that I won't teach you how to wrap zongzi anymore! Even if I cook zongzi, there won't be any for you! The princess only has one highly skilled subordinate by her side. How can you be so heartless? Don't you have any conscience?"
Dongfang Han touched his nose and smiled sheepishly.
Song Mo quickly replied, "I was just joking. We can't possibly steal anyone from the princess's side!"
Shen Laihui: "Your Highness, don't worry, I'm not easily swayed, and I won't be easily coaxed away!"
After lunch and a rest for an hour, Zisu sent Sister-in-law Shuisheng to the thatched cottage to call for help.
It was the first time that Shui Sheng's wife had met so many distinguished people, and she was a little timid. She didn't even dare to raise her head. Standing at the door of the reception room of the thatched cottage, she called out, "Your Highness, Your Excellencies, the Princess said that she is going to start wrapping zongzi and asked if you really want to learn?"
Dongfang Han quickly replied, "Thank you. Please tell the princess that we will be there soon!" Before leaving, he needed to go to the outhouse and tidy up his slightly messy hair.
Prince Duan, however, was already prepared. He started walking and said as he went, "I'll go first, you all take your time!"
Dongfang Han: "Hey, wait for us! You ungrateful bastard!"
Prince Duan didn't turn his head back, and even walked ahead of Sister-in-law Shuisheng.
Upon arriving at the Bamboo Pavilion, Zisu was busy under the osmanthus tree in the center of the courtyard. On the stone table under the osmanthus tree, there were three small winnowing baskets. Two of the baskets were filled with soaked rice, and the other was filled with bright green bamboo leaves for making zongzi (sticky rice dumplings).
Zisu has already started wrapping zongzi (sticky rice dumplings).
Prince Duan walked over and sat down naturally next to Zisu: "I'd like to learn too, please give me some pointers."
"Alright, take a look carefully." Zisu picked up a bamboo leaf and began to demonstrate. After only demonstrating two rice dumplings, he wrapped them quite well. He truly deserves to be called a prince who is skilled in both literature and martial arts.
Zisu couldn't help but admire him in her heart: Well done! He's a skillful man! Even if one day he can't be a prince and has to make a living with his skills, he definitely won't go hungry.
Soon after, Dongfang Han and Song Mo arrived.
Zisu stood up and said to Prince Duan, "Now that you know how to wrap zongzi, you can instruct them. There's a bucket of rice in the kitchen; I'll go there to wrap zongzi!"
Prince Duan was quite familiar with them, but Dongfang Han and Song Mo were only acquaintances. This era was, after all, a very feudal one, so it was best to avoid any appearance of impropriety.
Prince Duan: "Go ahead, I'll take care of things here!"
Dongfang Han and Song Mo were dumbfounded, but dared not be angry or speak out.
Shui Sheng's wife was in the kitchen, battling with rice and bamboo leaves. It was her first time wrapping zongzi, so her skills weren't very good yet, but after wrapping a few, she gradually got the hang of it.
Seeing Zisu come in, she smiled and said, "Princess, I've already learned how to wrap zongzi. You go and do your important work, leave this to me!"
Zisu shook her head: "No, it's too much trouble for you to carry such a big bucket of rice by yourself. Why don't you come with me?"
After hearing what she said, Sister Shuisheng stopped trying to persuade her.
Zisu is a very opinionated person; once she makes a decision, she generally won't change it.
This time, the bamboo leaves that Prince Duan and his companions picked were mostly very small. Prince Duan had overheard Zisu mentioning that smaller bamboo leaves were better when they were wrapping bamboo leaves last time. Wrapping bamboo leaves too big and eating one at a time is still too much. Especially for children, it's not advisable to eat so many.
Therefore, this time, he instructed Dongfang Han and Song Mo to specifically select small zongzi leaves to pick.
By evening, the zongzi were cooked. Zisu filled several winnowing baskets with them and placed them on the stone table and chairs in the courtyard, letting the cool autumn breeze cool them down so they would keep longer.
Zisu was tired from wrapping zongzi today, so she simply cooked a few dishes, and everyone enjoyed a unique dinner with the zongzi. After dinner, Zisu took three small, lidded wooden buckets, filled them with zongzi, and gave them to Prince Duan, Dongfang Han, and Song Mo: "These are for you. Take them back for your families to try. If you spread them out in this weather, they can last for six or seven days!"
"Thank you, thank you so much!" Song Mo was overjoyed and sincerely expressed his gratitude.
Dongfang Han: "Princess, thank you, thank you so much! We're heading back to the capital tomorrow. It's autumn now, and there will be many flower festivals. Why don't you come back to the capital with us, Princess?"
Zisu thought for a moment and then nodded: "Alright, I just received an invitation from the Princess, she's also holding a flower festival. So, everyone come to my place for breakfast tomorrow morning! After breakfast, we'll all head back to the capital together!"
Now, Shen Laihui is the only one left by her side, and Yu Han and Shangguan Yi both go home for lunch and dinner every day. If she returns to Beijing, Shen Laihui has to stay, otherwise she really can't rest easy!
After seeing the three off, Zisu instructed Shen Laihui: "I will return to the capital early tomorrow morning and will probably be back in five or six days. After I leave tomorrow, go to Wuliping Scenic Area and tell Xiangli to come back to Xiaoshitan tonight with Luo Jianming!"
Thank you everyone for your support and encouragement! So grateful! Goodnight! I'll keep working hard tomorrow.