Ink Burns

Chapter 130: What a Big Pie (Chubby Chapter)

Although the Nanfu's offices were not fully equipped, Mother Su had her own way of training people, and everyone in each office was very quick. Two bowls of mutton noodle soup were sent to the east wing soon. The mutton soup was white, and the hand-rolled noodles were added with eggs, which were yellow but chewy. The meat was thinly sliced, and the mutton with skin on the white soup had a layer of crystal clear, elastic and transparent gelatin under the skin. The green onions and coriander next to it were chopped finely and densely, and the white mist rose from the hot soup.

The air is filled with the smell of smoke and cooking, reflecting the moonlight, making it seem how precious it is to have enough food and drink.

Xue Xiao and Shan Yue sat face to face at a round stone table, eating noodles with their heads down.

Xue Xiao ate in a very polite manner, neither hurried nor slow, but he ate very quickly, putting his chopsticks down beside the bowl after taking a few bites.

Shan Yue hadn't finished eating yet. He lowered his head and used chopsticks to pick up the noodles and put them into his mouth. He took each bite very seriously. He never chewed with his mouth while looking away to think about what to eat next. Instead, he ate one bite at a time.

Xue Xiao unconsciously crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back slightly: He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he actually saw respect and piety in Shan Yue's attitude towards food.

As night falls, the breeze and white mist from the lotus fields gently hit the window frames, like a furry tail, tickling the most ticklish waist in the window corner.

The clear light of the oil lamp swayed in the narrow and bright glass pieces, and the yellow and square ones looked like ice cubes immersed in warm wine.

Xue Xiao's gaze unconsciously moved downwards and landed on Shan Yue's neck.

Her neck was long and slender, and because she was drinking soup, it was slightly bent forward. It was so delicate that it seemed impossible to hold it in one hand. Her skin was pale, and winding blue blood vessels were hidden under her skin, pulsating weakly.

Xue Xiao moved his throat unconsciously.

The fragrance on Shan Yue's body seemed to follow the pulsating veins, breaking through the white mist and steam and coming straight towards him.

Xue Xiao raised his chin slightly, put down his hands that were on his chest, lowered them to his body, stretched his joints in an empty space, and slowly opened his palms.

After Xue Xiao finished eating, Shan Yue silently quickened his pace.

"Eat slowly." Xue Xiao said in a low voice: "Eating at night is against nature, and it is even more taboo to swallow whole."

Shan Yue paused.

But she didn't obey: she was never used to being waited for.

Xue Xiao silently watched the girl in front of him maintain her speed, and even gradually increase it.

Frail and silent, but as stubborn as an old ox.

For some reason, Xue Xiao actually chuckled in his heart.

After Shan Yue finished the last mouthful of noodles, he wiped the corners of his mouth with a silk handkerchief. Although he couldn't taste anything, he could not deceive people by feeling full. His eyebrows relaxed a little, and he talked to Xue Xiao about Zhu's funeral: "The body was transported back from the Imperial Censorate yesterday and stopped at the Northern Palace. Xue Chen took over. Xue Chen cried so hard that he almost fainted. His steward came to ask us to take care of it twice."

The first branch of the Xue family has cut off ties with the second branch since Xue Huaijin's downfall; the third branch, who was born out of wedlock, had long since separated and was focused on taking care of her own family, never intending to interfere in the Xue family's main family.

The Xue family has a motto that "only if the wife has no children for five years can a concubine give birth to a child", so the family has not been prosperous for a hundred years, and the rest of the family are either distant relatives or sent to serve as officials, so they have no control over it.

Someone has to take care of it.

Xue Xiao glanced at the scar on Shanyue's face.

Shan Yue understood instantly, and the corners of his lips curled up slowly: "Inside the Nan Mansion, you and I share the same hatred for the enemy; outside the Nan Mansion, you and I are as cold as ice."

Xue Xiao smiled and glanced at the quiet corridor outside the west wing: Mother Su was usually afraid that he would starve to death if he didn't eat a bite, but now she is very restrained and has disappeared without a trace, not even bringing any snacks after the meal.

Since there was no more business to discuss and no fruit tea to liven up the atmosphere, Xue Xiao had no excuse to stay and stood up to leave.

Shan Yue stood up to see the guest off, stepped over the threshold, and asked casually, "I think Xue Chen is very kind, and he is different from his biological mother and father."

There's nothing good to give.

The doors of the two wing rooms are opposite each other, without even a corner turning.

Xue Xiao slowed down his pace: "Xue Chen?"

This was the first time Shan Yue took the initiative to mention someone in front of him.

Xue Xiao whispered, "Since ancient times, when the mother is strong, the son is weak. Zhu is very shrewd and does things very carefully. She personally handles everything related to Xue Chen, and takes care of every brick and tile, every meal and every drink. When Xue Chen was young, he was sent to the Imperial Academy for a short time. Because he was taciturn and had a mild personality, he was ridiculed and insulted by the son of Dingnan Marquis for a long time. After Zhu found out, she devoted herself to dealing with Zhou, the wife of Guanbei Marquis Chang's family, and even learned how to make incense that Mrs. Zhou liked. By the way, the son of the Chang family and Xue Chen also had some incense feelings. When the son of Dingnan Marquis offended Xue Chen again, it was Chang Yusu who stood up to protect him."

Xue Xiao continued, "Two years later, the prince of Dingnan got infected with the Five Stones Powder from nowhere, and was sent back to his hometown in Cangzhou by his family. The position of prince was also taken by someone else, and there was no such person in the capital anymore."

"Was it done by Zhu?" Shanyue frowned.

Xue Xiao stood at the entrance of the two side rooms and shook his head: "That's not the case. The capital has long forgotten about the prince of Dingnan Marquis bullying Xue Chen."

A piece of trash who is well protected by his mother.

Shanyue held the butterfly bone knife in his heart and carved a portrait for Xue Chen.

"What about you and Xue Chen?" Shan Yue said, "It seems that Xue Chen treats you very well and respects you. It seems that you two have a good relationship?"

Xue Xiao looked at Ding Shanyue deeply: "Xue Chen and Xue Changfeng are actually the same type of people, good at hiding behind others and living a stable life. I hate Xue Changfeng so much, how could I have too much connection with Xue Chen?"

Shan Yue exhaled.

There happened to be a gust of wind, which disturbed the flame of the candle hanging on the beam.

The candlelight in the corridor of the South Mansion was not covered with a glass lampshade or fireproof varnished cloth. The flames were spreading in all directions. Although they were far away, they still looked like a ball of fire approaching with heat. Shan Yue subconsciously stepped aside.

"Are you afraid of fire?" Xue Xiao frowned.

Shan Yue pursed her lips and smiled: "Who is not afraid of fire? It's human nature."

But it is not human nature that would make people so afraid.

He was so scared that he felt as if the flame of a candle half a meter away could burn a big hole in his body.

Xue Xiao raised his eyebrows, without commenting, and stood at the end of the corridor with his back turned: "Go to bed early. The day after tomorrow is the seventh day after Zhu's death. Since Zhu is innocent, the funeral cannot be saved. You have troubled me. I will take care of Xue Changfeng. Even if a saint has his own thoughts, I will overcome difficulties and try my best to achieve both. I will make sure that he can't utter a word from now on, and at the same time, let the saint get what he wants."

Shan Yue curled the corners of her lips and nodded slowly: It's really nice to have a reliable teammate. Xue Xiao is smart and reliable, has strong execution ability, never asks questions, gives enough respect and trust, and although he acts ruthlessly, he is emotionally stable. No matter what he does, he has a sense of confidence that it is easy. If she could have met him earlier, she would not have searched door to door in Songjiang Prefecture for so long. I'm afraid that even the girl with the wisteria tear mole would have been a skeleton long ago!

What a waste of time!
"It's a pleasure to form an alliance with you." Shan Yue said frankly.

Xue Xiao pursed his lips tightly, and the word "结" was originally "盟".
Xue Xiao smiled and said nothing, then turned around and went back to his room, his peripheral vision glancing over the flickering flames.

He remembered another person who was also afraid of fire.
——Xue Chen.

In his memory of returning to the capital to worship his ancestors during the Spring Festival, ten years ago, after Xue Chen returned to Beijing from Jiangnan to visit the ancestral temple, he suddenly became very afraid of fire.

Ten years ago, I went to the south of the Yangtze River.

Xue Xiao stepped into the east wing. Xuetuan fluttered his big furry white wings and stood proudly on Xue Xiao's shoulder.

Luo Feng was squatting among the flowers, eating mutton noodle soup.

Xue Xiao:.
Just looking at it makes me angry.

He carried it back from East and West Twelve Alleys himself. Was it for him to eat?
Xue Xiao raised his eyebrows, and the bullying parrot Xuetuan flew to Luo Feng's head with a "whoosh", standing on one leg, with its single eyelids raised high, and cursed, "You fat bastard, you're still eating! You fat bastard, you're still eating!"

Innocent Luo Feng was eating mutton noodles when suddenly a bird appeared on his head.

The bird's claws grabbed my hair very hard.

Luo Feng shuddered, feeling extremely sad and angry: I didn’t have much hair to begin with!
Just grab the hair!

And called him "fatty"!
What an impolite fat bird!
Luo Feng put the bowl down with a thump. He was about to fight the fat white bird for three hundred rounds, but he heard a deep male voice behind him: "Go check where Xue Chen went to Jiangnan ten years ago, and see if there was any overlap with Shan Yue's whereabouts."

Luo Feng stood up quickly and replied "yes".

Then Xue Xiao said, "Starting tomorrow, Xiong Wu and Yao Zao will be transferred to Simianzhuang to work. Xiong Wu will go to the inner room, and Yao Zao will be outside the courtyard."

Simian Manor is a villa set up by the Censorate outside the city, and it is where Xue Changfeng is now.

Luo Feng responded quickly, "Yes!"

Seeing that it had accomplished its mission of forcing Luo Feng to put down the mutton soup and start working overtime, the big fat bird Xuetuan raised its fat buttocks and flew back to Xue Xiao's shoulder in a domineering manner. Its two paws jumped back and forth happily, and it took the opportunity to rub its furry head against Xue Xiao's cheek, like a fat dog that could only talk and wag its tail.

Xue Xiao turned sideways and looked up. Outside the window was a corner of the west wing with lights on.

The windows of the west wing were slightly closed, and the swaying light looked like egg white swaying under a thin film.

But in the blink of an eye, the light in the west wing went out.

Xue Xiao:?
Asleep again?
He seems to be in good spirits and has a good appetite. However, feeling sleepy all day long is not a good sign according to Taoists. It may be due to physical weakness or mental worries, and requires patient care.

"Please ask Madam Su to accompany the doctor from the Women's Clinic to take a good look at Shan Yue tomorrow."

Xue Xiao said, "Also, replace the candles in the South Mansion with lanterns covered with gauze and glazed corner lamps. The hot pots and baked snacks do not need to be brought to the West Wing."

Luo Feng shrank his neck: "Boss, I am a servant, not a butler."

Please call me the Minister of State Affairs, or you can call me the Captain of the Guards, not the Chief Eunuch who takes care of the food and daily life of everyone in your mansion!
Isn't it a bit too much to ask him to do things like changing lanterns and eating pots?

Xue Xiao was depressed after hearing this.

Also.

Since he entered the officialdom, he has been a loyal minister and has been alone in everything. Even Luo Feng was a boy he saved unintentionally.

In the court, apart from Xiao Bo, who was admitted to the capital from the southwestern border, and Bai Yusi, the current prefect of Songjiang Prefecture, these two civil officials with simple family backgrounds and who rely on themselves for everything, no one else interacts with them.

The life in the inner house was even simpler. Before getting married, there was no cook. Everything was done by Mother Su.

Not to mention the steward who is in charge of the entire mansion.

Mother Su often stays in the inner house. She is good at cooking and making soup, but she is not smart enough and not lively enough.

If there is no capable manager, the burden will naturally fall on the lady in the inner chamber.

Xue Xiao pursed his lips, and gave a single blow with one hand. He did not need Xuetuan to bully others, and chose to do it himself: ".Do it first! Young people should not bargain or negotiate conditions when doing things, but look forward. It is good to do more things! Do not underestimate the chores like warming pots and changing lanterns. They are not chores, and they are not small things. Every step is the way to the past, and every step counts!"

Luo Feng covered the top of his head with his hands, which had just eaten a thin chestnut, and couldn't help but smack his lips: What a big cake!