Chapter 37
Chapter 36 – 036
The sky is already dark, there is no moon tonight, but the sky is full of stars, and the rivers and rivers are clearly defined, enveloping the entire Tanghe County in a magnificent luster.
Zhu Xing is shining, separated by a door, naturally they can see each other’s expressions clearly. The two stared at each other for a while, Yuan Cixian said first: “Lu Shilang.”
Lu Shiqing coughed lightly and said “um”.
“Are you looking for me?” she continued.
He froze slightly, slipped the word “yes” on his lips, and said instead: “Can’t sleep, come out for a walk.”
He really rushed out just now as soon as his head got hot, but he didn’t think of a suitable excuse. In addition, Yuan Cixian appeared suddenly, so he wanted to use “walking” as an excuse to relax.
After Lu Shiqing finished answering, he asked again: “What about you?”
Yuan Cixian curled her lips, snorted softly, looked at the toe of her shoe and said, “I can’t sleep either, so come out for a walk.”
He said “oh”, “then let’s go.” After speaking, he turned and went outside.
Yuan Cixian was stunned for a few moments, and realized that this seemed to be an invitation to take a walk with her, so she raised her heel. He seemed to be slowing down his steps so she was level with him in no time.
The two remained silent all the way until they crossed the entire courtyard, but suddenly they said in unison: “I…”
Lu Shiqing stopped and turned his head to look at her, probably asking her to speak first.
Yuan Cixian turned to face him, hesitated and said, “I’m sorry, Minister Lu, I’m actually here to apologize to you.”
Lu Shiqing was confused by her words: “What are you apologizing for?”
“I just heard about it from the boy in the courtyard. I just realized that today is your birthday. If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t be angry with you. Anyway, birthdays are the biggest, and on your birthday, you can be forgiven for anything you do.”
Her tone was sullen, and she didn’t sound very happy, as if she was reluctantly accommodating him.
Lu Shiqing couldn’t laugh or cry in his heart: “Anything can be forgiven?”
Yuan Cixian nodded, looked at the sky, and added: “It’s fine before dawn. After dawn, I may be angry with you again.”
When she spoke, she kept her head down, leaving him only to rest her head on her heart. Lu Shiqing looked down at her for a while, and smiled helplessly: “There is no need to be angry at dawn. What County Magistrate Zhu said is all nonsense.”
Yuan Cixian raised her head slightly surprised. She did remember that he denied something in the afternoon, but she didn’t believe it. After all, how could County Magistrate Zhu speak nonsense in front of the imperial envoy.
“How dare he lie to me, eat the bear’s heart and leopard’s guts?”
Lu Shiqing couldn’t explain it, and evaded: “How do I know why he suddenly lost his mind? You just need to know that I didn’t promise that kind of thing.”
Yuan Cixian showed suspicion: “I don’t believe it.” After speaking, he added, “Unless you swear a poisonous oath.”
He choked: “What poisonous oath?”
“If you’re lying to me now, you’ll be covered in dog hair before dawn.”
It’s poisonous enough. He was laughed out of anger for a moment, but he still swears word by word as she said.
Yuan Cixian barely believed it now, clapped her hands in a good mood and said, “Okay, I believe you for now.”
Lu Shiqing glanced at her, and was just about to tell her to go back to her room to rest, but suddenly heard a “gurgling” sound. He moved his eyes and moved down to where the sound came from—her stomach.
Yuan Cixian hugged her stomach awkwardly as early as the sound of “gu” and “lu” sounded, but he was still noticed by him, so she could only sneer and say: “Lu Shilang, I didn’t eat dinner I was full, I relied on you to support me at one breath, but now I forgive you, my stomach will be empty in one go.”
Lu Shiqing was angry and funny: “I see that you ate a lot for dinner, so I’m afraid I’m the one who didn’t move your chopsticks much?”
right. She nodded: “Then aren’t you hungry?”
He affirmed: “Not hungry.” As soon as the words fell, the silent night was once again broken by a “gurgling” sound.
Lu Shiqing was taken aback. It wasn’t his voice. Definitely Not.
Yuan Cixian had already burst into laughter: “You are really duplicity!”
He looked at the laughing man in front of him, and sighed for a while: “I’ll ask someone to bring some food, and one will be delivered to your yard. You can go back and wait.”
Yuan Cixian stopped him with a wave of his hand: “It’s late at night, why bother others, let’s do it ourselves and have enough food and clothing.”
Lu Shiqing suddenly had a bad premonition in his heart.
After a stick of incense, the two sneaked into Zhu’s kitchen. Yuan Cixian took the lead with her waist, but Lu Shiqing couldn’t hold back her and was forced to come back. Further outside, Xiao Hei, who was called by the master to watch the wind, squatted at the door of the kitchen.
Yuan Cixian wondered, this Zhu’s mansion is a county magistrate’s mansion after all, how come there are so few householders, especially around the kitchen, there is not even a gatekeeper.
Lu Shiqing understood. It is estimated that Zhu County Magistrate deliberately told him and Yuan Cixian to “tour” Zhu’s mansion without any worries tonight, so he evacuated everyone. So when Yuan Cixian was groping in the dark in the kitchen, struggling to find something to eat, he made a quick note.
Yuan Cixian was startled, raised her hand to put out the fire, and said in a low voice, “Someone will find out!”
He sideways dodged: “How about being found out? Can the county magistrate Zhu report to the police to arrest you and me?”
Oh, yes.
Seeing that she did not object anymore, Lu Shiqing lit the oil lamp in the house with the light of the fire pocket. The lights are bright on all sides, and there are several baskets of fresh vegetables and reconciled dough on the clean stove, but it seems to be a little hard after being left for a long time.
Yuan Cixian was taken aback, and muttered: “Why is there no ready-made food?”
Lu Shiqing knew that this must be the handwriting of County Magistrate Zhu, so he glanced at her: “Who said just now that you want to do it yourself?”
She wrinkled her face: “I’m right, but I thought it would be enough to serve a few dishes. I don’t know how to cook.” After she finished speaking, she looked at Lu Shiqing expectantly, “Maybe you will? “
The answer to her was of course a sharp eye.
He is a man with a cleanliness obsession, so he must hate the smoky kitchen. Yuan Cixian also understands this, but it’s not good if she doesn’t eat, she is about to starve to death.
Lu Shiqing saw that her face was pale with hunger, and sighed, “It’s better to call someone.” After saying that, he turned around and left.
When Yuan Cixian heard this, she didn’t agree, she grabbed his sleeve and said, “Don’t, I’ll try, what if I’m very talented?”
What if she was so gifted that she made a bowl of delicious noodles that would be unforgettable forever, and since then grabbed Lu Shiqing’s belly, so that he could never let her go again? What’s more, today is his birthday, so it’s perfect for a bowl of noodles, it’s a godsend.
Thinking of this, Yuan Cixian’s heart has already blossomed, and he rolled up his sleeves energetically, and washed his hands with water.
Lu Shiqing saw her attitude as if she was going to beat someone, although he didn’t agree with her, but he was curious about what she could do, so he stood aside without stopping her, until he saw her take a kitchen knife and chop the dough with one blow. go.
With a “snap”, the hardened dough was cut in half by the middle.
“…” Although Lu Shiqing entered the kitchen for the first time, he also knew that making noodles is definitely not like this, why not call it chopping noodles?
He recalled the last time he was in Chang’an West City, observing the dim sum shop guy making steamed buns, and then couldn’t bear to look at him and said: “I’ll come, you go chop the vegetables.”
She is so good at knives, she can cut vegetables.
Yuan Cixian also felt that it seemed inappropriate to act like this, so she pondered for a while, and said with a embarrassed smile: “Then I will trouble you.”
After cleaning his hands, Lu Shiqing went to make a face-to-face meeting, sighing as he made the face-to-face. After all, how many lifetimes of bad luck did he have to meet Yuan Cixian, and now he even has to do the job of a servant.
Yuan Cixian was cleaning the amaranth, looking at him, full of praise for his technique: “Lu Shilang, you are so lucky to be able to knead this piece of dough!”
I don’t know what important thought was poked in her words, Lu Shiqing paused, and suddenly his thoughts flashed.
He remembered that in that absurd dream, he had rubbed something like this.
He stared straight at the snow-white dough under his hands, quickly suppressed a trace of strangeness in his body, and continued making peace in silence.
Yuan Cixian managed to cut the vegetables, except that the knife swung a little too hard and almost split the chopping board, nothing unexpected happened, but when she finished her work, she turned her head and saw that there were little fingers in Lu Shiqing’s hands. I was taken aback by the thick noodles.
She didn’t seem to have eaten such noodles.
But she was embarrassed to pick and choose, and praised against her will: “Lu Shilang, you are really amazing, this job is really exquisite.”
Lu Shiqing couldn’t hear what was in her heart. He glanced at her, but he didn’t want to be modest. After all, it was not easy for him to figure it out like this for the first time, so he said, “Okay, you can go down.”
She nodded with encouragement, and when she had arranged the ingredients and noodles one by one, she picked up the spatula, but was suddenly taken aback.
She frowned and thought about it, and couldn’t help asking: “Did we do something less?”
Lu Shiqing looked back after washing his hands, his eyes moved down to the stove hole full of firewood, and said wearily: “I forgot to light the fire.”
He had no choice but to rush back to the stove.
Soon, the kitchen was full of smoke and fire, and while sitting on the twig to burn firewood, Lu Shiqing asked the superior, Yuan Cixian, “Is the fire enough?”
Yuan Cixian didn’t know how to measure. Seeing that the pot of water hadn’t boiled for a long time, she kept saying: “Not enough, keep adding!”
Lu Shiqing threw the firewood in bundles one by one, and when she said “enough”, his handsome face was already sooted by the smoke, and he was too embarrassed to recognize his face.
Seeing Yuan Cixian, she laughed so hard that her flowers trembled, she almost threw a shovelful of salt into the pot with a shaking hand, and Lu Shiqing was so angry that she threw herself into the water to wipe her face.
Although the process was a bit chaotic, when the amaranth noodles with clear soup and little water came out of the pot, the two actually held a little hope. One of them pulled out a pair of chopsticks, stood in front of the stove, held a porcelain bowl and looked at each other face to face, as if they were in love with each other. Waiting for the other party to try first.
After hesitating for a while, Yuan Cixian said, “Why don’t I count to three and let’s move the chopsticks together?”
It’s just a noodle, and it’s not poisonous, so why bother. Lu Shiqing frowned: “No need, I’ll eat first.” After he finished speaking, he picked up a few thick noodles and stuffed them into his mouth.
Yuan Cixian stared at his face for a moment, a little afraid and a little expectant, but saw that his expression remained the same without any change.
She asked nervously, “How is it?”
Lu Shiqing swallowed the noodles slowly, and then said calmly: “It’s pretty good, you’ll know it after you eat it.”
Yuan Cixian was overjoyed, and hurriedly put down her chopsticks, but her face froze when she just stuffed a piece of noodles into her mouth.
So, so salty! Her own mother!
Lu Shiqing looked at her with a smile, pretending to be questioning.
She glanced at him, and had no choice but to continue trying to chew.
Ah bah, so, so hard!
Yuan Cixian was about to cry. So in order to trick her into eating the noodles, he deliberately acted calm and breezy?
She turned her head and wanted to vomit, but she heard the enemy cough in a deep voice, as if warning her.
This side was made by him so hard, so she vomited like this, isn’t it appropriate?
Yuan Cixian naturally understood what he meant, but she was so salty that tears overflowed, she bit the noodles and said vaguely and aggrievedly: “If you have the ability to finish it, I will never waste it.”
“you said?”
Seeing her nodding, Lu Shiqing sneered, bowed his head and started eating.
Yuan Cixian was dumbfounded, but he couldn’t take back the words and the water that was thrown out, so he had to bury his head and follow his footsteps.
Lu Shiqing was still calm at first, but finally couldn’t continue acting after eating, his brows were deeply frowned, and the corners of his mouth twitched. Yuan Cixian was even more exaggerated. While crying, she bit the bullet and sucked and poured fiercely into her mouth.
It wasn’t until the bottom of the two bowls of amaranth noodles that the two of them put down the porcelain bowls together, and stared sullenly at each other while chewing the noodles that were still in their mouths.