Ink Burns

Chapter 99: Anxious Return

Queen Ruchun proudly let go of the grip of the dwarf carrot, put away the scissors and couplets on the table, invited Shanyue into the house to eat hot pot, and announced the names of the dishes: "My mother stewed sour radish and old duck, and used the soup pot to cook frozen bangzi vegetables, pig blood, small intestines, and kidneys."

All the food she reported was her favorite.

Queen Ruchun drooled as she reported.

Wei Chen's face turned red: "Miss He, prepare pork and mutton slices as well."

What a stupid kid, he only reported some worthless pickles and offal - he clearly cut a whole pork belly and a lamb hind leg specially for Miss He!
Shanyue pursed her lips and gave Wei Chen a stiff smile: She hadn't smiled so sincerely for a long time, and it seemed a little strange.

Doctor Wei was lame, and he used his walking stick to chase people away, and hurriedly said, "It's cold this day, Miss He, please come in quickly, there's charcoal burning inside!"

Please, please give me a kohlrabi!
This is someone else’s house!
You can take the initiative and invite them in!

I have some idea in my mind!

Wei Chen roared in her heart, and the smile on her face was similar to Shan Yue’s stiffness: “We came out of the deep mountains and old forests, so we are a little lacking in etiquette and simplicity, and we are more simple and honest.”

Oh, I found the source.

Shui Guang takes after her adoptive father, with the same kind of dullness and honesty that is untainted by the world.

Shanyue recalled how Shuiguang took care of the female patient sensitively and tactfully.

Loving people is like growing flowers.

The Wei family really took good care of Shui Guang.

The house was filled with fog and had been tidied up neatly by the Wei family. The narrow main room could only accommodate a square table and a few stools. Even the few pieces of furniture such as the flower mirror, basin and bookshelf were placed close to the wall, being careful not to take up too much space.

Originally, this house was rented by Shanyue for a long time as her residence when she went from Suzhou Prefecture to Songjiang Prefecture: the post station was not very convenient as she needed to register for a travel permit and a name card. As a woman, her frequent visits to the two prefectures would have attracted attention. In order to reduce unnecessary trouble, Shanyue simply rented a villa in Songjiang Prefecture. Of course, she borrowed Lao Lu's name. After all, it was a strange thing for a woman to rent a house by herself in this world.

Shanyue has never been interested in arranging food, drink or clothing, let alone housing and transportation.

The house in Qiaotou Nong was simple. It only had a stove for cooking noodles, a table for eating, a bed for sleeping, and a toilet. Except for the east wing, other places were just boxes for holding bodies.

Now that the Wei family has moved in, in just six or seven days, the reading mirror has been polished to a shine, the missing paint on the bookshelf beam has been repaired, the water-soaked roof has had its paint scraped off and re-putty, and there's even an empty wine gourd on the bookshelf with two or three wintersweets stuck in it.

The house suddenly came alive.

Nowadays, there is a small copper stove on the square table, which is bubbling with soup, and the steam rising from the bottom of the soup rushes straight up to the beams of the house.

Doctor Wei raised his glass first: "To that damned old Cheng, the black-hearted and idiotic man, to the west!"

His leg was broken by the Cheng family!

Wei Chen slapped her husband on the chest: "Oh my god! It's New Year's Day, and the first glass of wine is for the dead!"
He glanced at Cheng Xinghe and said: No matter how bad Cheng Daxing is, he is still Erlang's biological father!

Although Li Chengxing didn't react, he caught a glimpse of Shanyue looking up and drinking the wine in the glass.

Cheers to Cheng Daxing, you have to drink this glass of wine.

The burning knife choked his mouth, and Doctor Wei put down the cup with a grimace, but Shanyue remained indifferent.

Wei Ruchun raised his thumbs up with great enthusiasm: "Sister, you can drink a lot!"

Shan Yue curled the corners of her lips: Then wait for me to show you how to eat chili peppers with my empty mouth.

When the second glass of wine was raised, Doctor Wei said, "I would like to congratulate Erlang for his righteousness, his benevolence as a doctor, and his mutual respect. Miss He is generous in donating money to help. Help, help. You have the secret to keep your youth!"

Wei Chen closed her eyes in despair: she knew her husband had tried his best.

Wei Ruchun continued to raise his thumb with great enthusiasm: "Daddy is so talented in writing!"

Shan Yue: Why does Shui Guang praise everything? Isn’t that too blind?

She was just about to open her mouth to continue with the idiom, but was interrupted by Doctor Wei's final offer of wine.

"The third cup is for this disgusting world!"

Doctor Wei drank two glasses of wine and his face flushed: "What I sold to the Cheng family were good medicinal materials, but the Cheng family said they were bad medicines when they were put into bags and only gave me two cents. I went to seek justice, but instead the county magistrate beat me with ten sticks without distinguishing between loyalty and treachery! On the third day, someone covered my head and broke one of my legs. I couldn't believe it, so I followed Erlang all the way to sue, but was turned away everywhere." Wei Chen subconsciously covered Doctor Wei's mouth, but thought that this was not outside, but inside the house, with all the doors and windows closed, so she just let him do what he wanted.

If a poor person who lives a hard life gets drunk, closes the door and curses the government, is that not illegal?

Doctor Wei slammed the table and said, "I have been digging herbs with my father since I was thirteen years old. The herbs I dug saved countless lives. Even the county magistrate's father-in-law has eaten the herbs I dug! When poor people want medicine, I either don't charge them or just give them a bowl of porridge. I haven't done anything bad, have I? How come I am lame!"

Shanyue raised his head and finished the three cups of wine.

Cheng Xingyu thought about it and drank three cups as well.

Wei Chen was worried: "This wine is strong after drinking with water. It is the grain wine roasted by the family at the end of the alley. Miss and Erlang should drink slowly."

Doctor Wei filled the glass again: "These officials are bad! These rich people are also bad! The most hateful thing is that the county magistrate was obviously a student from our village who studied hard and passed the exam. His family was very poor. He ate eggs and slept on cotton quilts given by the villagers. When he was studying, he was grateful to the villagers with tears. But when he passed the imperial examination and became an official, what difference is there between him and those officials with noses flying up to the sky!"

Jiangnan was a prosperous economy and trade city with extensive transportation links, and its calligraphy and painting education flourished. On the surface, it seemed as if a raging fire was boiling oil, but few people knew that the Jiangnan literati community, which was as deeply rooted as a big tree, had long been rotten and stank, emitting a foul odor in invisible places.

Doctor Wei rested his forehead against the wine glass, burped loudly after a long while, and sat down on the stool.

"Eat, eat, eat! Eat the lamb shank slices! Eat the lamb shanks! Eat eat, eat! Don't listen to my drunken rants!"

Doctor Wei laughed and said, "Let's toast to the New Year while we have our last reunion wine!"

The atmosphere relaxed.

Wei Chen glanced at her husband: People are allowed to complain, but if they are not even allowed to complain, they will be driven crazy.

During this time, Wei Chen said to Shan Yue: "We will leave tomorrow. Today is the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month. We can't stay at someone else's house to celebrate the New Year."

Not sudden.

Before Shan Yue went up to the fortress, if Shui Guang and Wei Chen had not suddenly fallen ill, the Wei family would have left long ago.

Shan Yue's eyes swept over the girl who had eaten meat and drank two sips of wine, with two red spots on her wheat-colored face. She lowered her eyes and wiped her lips with a plain silk handkerchief: "Let's go after the New Year. It's hard to find a donkey cart willing to travel during the New Year. It will be warmer on the road if we go back after the New Year."

Wei Chen thought about it and stopped insisting, but said firmly: "Then we have to pay the rent according to the market price."

Shan Yue did not refuse and nodded slightly: "Okay, all is fine."

Without money, the Wei family will not feel at ease living there.

Wei Chen breathed a sigh of relief: This Miss He looks cold, but she is actually warm-hearted and treats their family especially well.

Wei Chen was less fearful of Shan Yue than when they first met, and more friendly. She asked with a smile, "You were not in Songjiang Prefecture a few days ago. I heard from Aunt Pang that your elders took you to see a fortune teller. How was the meeting? Did you like him?"

Cheng Xingyu was talking about medicine with Doctor Wei when he heard Wei Chen's question. The smile on his face froze, and after hesitating for a moment, he solemnly put down his wine glass.

Although Shanyue couldn't taste the spiciness of the wine, it didn't mean she wasn't drunk.

Taking advantage of the rare moment of worldly life, she allowed herself to relax for a moment and answer this question that had nothing to do with the Wei family.

Shan Yue smiled and said, "I don't know yet. Maybe we have to wait until after the Lantern Festival to know for sure."

There is no need to celebrate the Lantern Festival.

On the night of the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, big red lanterns were hung high in the Xue Mansion.

The capable doorman was sweeping the snow with a willow broom. The young maids all had regular features and were dressed in bright red padded jackets and satin jackets. They had makeup on their faces, which was unusual for them, and were busy coming in and out with moderately festive smiles on their faces.

The sound of horse hooves came from far away, breaking through thousands of miles of flying snow and coming quickly.

Not long after, Xue Xiao, the third-rank imperial censor of the Censorate, dressed in indigo casual clothes, lifted his robe and dismounted from his horse.

The flying corners of the clothes rolled up the snow under the steps.

The accumulated snow and mud moved up into the sky, showing only the travellers' hardship and exhaustion from the journey.

(End of this chapter)