Chapter 391

"Oh?"

The gazes of the women grew even more curious.

"Master said that to understand this sentence from Mencius, one should not look at the sentence in isolation, but should understand it by combining it with the full text and the historical context of that time."

"At that time, Mencius was indeed persuading the King of Qi to stay away from the arts of bloodshed and killing, and to implement benevolent governance; he was not truly telling King Xuan of Qi to stay away from the kitchen. Moreover, he did not believe that no one from ancient times to the present had understood the true meaning of this sentence. Take Su Dongpo, for instance; the fact that he created so many famous dishes shows that wise men are capable of truly understanding the meaning of this sentence."

"As for others who are willing to continue to distort the meaning of this sentence, it is merely to go to any lengths to deliberately elevate the status of the scholar-officials."

When speaking these words, even Liu Rushi could not help but lift her Bai Xi neck, revealing a hint of a proud expression.

Hearing Liu Rushi's words, the beautiful eyes of the women all shimmered with light, it was unknown whether it was envy or something else.

At the very least, Liu Rushi's small desire to show off was satisfied.

"Rushi, just tell us this story later; please do not spread it out, otherwise, even if my brother-in-law's status is high, he will be attacked by the scholars together."

At this moment, Bian Yujing was the first to react and quickly admonished Liu Rushi.

"Yes, yes, yes, Sister Bian is absolutely right."

Reminded by Bian Yujing, Liu Rushi also came back to her senses.

She was indeed a bit carried away by pride.

Fortunately, everyone present did not seem to be the type to spread rumors indiscriminately; otherwise, it would be hard to say what would happen later.

"Sister Liu, when exactly will my brother-in-law come out? We haven't even seen him yet, only heard you praising him, and I, the younger sister, am already curious."

Gu Hengbo, standing aside, covered her mouth while laughing and spoke to Liu Rushi.

Before Liu Rushi could even answer, Su Qiao had already arrived.

The banquet in the kitchen was already prepared; at this moment, with Su Qiao's appearance, the dishes were carried in one after another by the maids and servants and placed on the tables.

"What are you talking about that is so joyful?"

Seeing so many beauties before his eyes, Su Qiao actually felt a bit dazzled.

The Eight Beauties of Qin Huai each had their own unique charm; some were gentle, some were pretty, some were heroic and elegant, and some were dignified and generous.

Actually, it was not only Su Qiao who was a bit stunned.

The women were seeing Su Qiao for the first time as well, and they all curiously sized up the author of "If Life Could Only Be Like the First Meeting" standing before them.

Su Qiao's first impression on them was youth, carrying an air of unconstrained freedom.

The smile on his face was very warm and inviting.

As for being high and mighty, or putting on airs of noble elegance, those had absolutely nothing to do with Su Qiao.

Su Qiao sat down beside Liu Rushi and said with a smile, "To be honest, this is my first time in Jin Ling; I have long heard of everyone's names. Meeting you today truly lives up to your reputation, but I really do not know everyone. Would Rushi please help introduce them?"

Liu Rushi did not refuse and, with a smile, began to introduce them to Su Qiao one by one.

She introduced them to Su Qiao in order of age from oldest to youngest:

"This is Ma Xianglan, Sister Ma; her real name is Shouzhen, and her courtesy name is Xianglan. Of course, you can also call Sister Ma 'Fourth Lady'. Sister Ma is skilled in poetry and painting, especially orchids and bamboo. Precisely because Sister Ma's painting skills are exquisite, especially for orchids and bamboo, the dish is named Xianglan."

"Oh, hello, Sister Xianglan."

Following Liu Rushi's address, Su Qiao clasped his hands in greeting to Ma Xianglan.

Although Ma Xianglan had a bold and straightforward personality, she quickly bowed in respect. "Just call me Xianglan; let's follow Sister Liu's address. Brother-in-law is too polite."

After introducing Ma Xianglan, Liu Rushi introduced Bian Yujing to Su Qiao. "These two are the Bian sisters, Bian Yujing; this is the elder sister, Bian Yujing, and this is the younger sister, Bian Min."

"Oh, hello, Sister Yujing, and hello, Little Min." Su Qiao clasped his hands with a smile.

Bian Yujing, steady and dignified, bowed to Su Qiao with Bian Min. "Brother-in-law is too polite."

Next came Kou Baimen, Gu Hengbo, Li Xiangjun, and Dong Xiaowan, among the women.

Su Qiao got to know them one by one, just as the banquet began.

Amidst laughter and conversation, the unfamiliar atmosphere among everyone melted away; they became somewhat acquainted, and their relationships with each other grew much closer.

The sliced fish, crispy-scaled sea bass, and boiled fish specially prepared by the kitchen for Su Qiao also greatly whetted the appetites of the women...

After finishing the banquet, the leftovers on the dining tables were cleared away.

Everyone gathered together to drink tea and chat.

Su Qiao knew that Liu Rushi and the others would have private matters to discuss among women, so he naturally would not stay to be a killjoy.

So he found an excuse to go to the first floor to fish.

After the women boarded, the painted boat moved directly away from the shore and stopped in the center of the river.

With nothing else to do, Su Qiao actually grew to like the sport of fishing.

Mainly because it could pass the time, and occasionally there would be pleasant surprises.

After Su Qiao left the second floor, the women suddenly felt much more relaxed and at ease.

No matter how approachable and easy to get along with Su Qiao was.

He was still a man, and the intimate words between women were still not easy to speak in front of him.

Now that Su Qiao had left, leaving them space, the women all relaxed.

At the very least, they didn't have to put on airs anymore!

"Sister Liu, you truly have good luck. Your brother-in-law has such great ability, yet is so approachable and easy to talk to; it is truly rare."

Ma Xianglan had the boldest personality and dared to speak, so she directly voiced the thoughts of all the women.

Indeed, everyone originally started from about the same point.

As a result, Liu Rushi suddenly bought her freedom and found a good match; it is impossible to say that the others were not envious.

A smile lingered on Liu Rushi's lips. "You don't need to envy me. To be honest, meeting him back then was also my luck. If I hadn't shamelessly thrown myself into it, I probably would have missed him."

"Oh? It seems there is a story in between. Tell us quickly!" Hearing this, Gu Hengbo's eyes lit up; she hurriedly leaned forward and tugged at Liu Rushi's sleeve, urging her.

The beautiful eyes of the other women also lit up, their faces full of gossipy curiosity.

Although Liu Rushi felt a bit embarrassed being surrounded by everyone,

her curved eyebrows betrayed her inner joy and pride.

She had deliberately goaded Su Qiao to come to Jin Ling and deliver invitations to the Qinhuaihe for the ladies just for this moment of showing off.

The envious gazes of the ladies also satisfied her vanity.

"Alright, I'll tell you, but don't reveal it to anyone else."

"Who could we tell? Besides, don't you know us?"

246, Urgent Military Intelligence!

The reunion between Liu Rushi and her old friend was extremely joyful.

They chatted with great relish, only stopping when the sky darkened and the sun tilted west, still reluctant to part.

The painted boat returned and stopped by the embankment of the Qinhuaihe.

Liu Rushi and Su Qiao personally helped each of the ladies disembark.

During Su Qiao's absence, they had also coaxed quite a bit of information about Su Qiao from Liu Rushi.

This satisfied their curiosity and made them understand Su Qiao even better,

yet their curiosity about Su Qiao did not diminish; instead, it increased by a few degrees.

Su Qiao could not stay in Jin Ling for too long.

Shortly after Su Qiao and Liu Rushi returned from the Qinhuaihe to the post station, Ma Kui came to report.

"Mr. Su, Grand Secretary Sun sent a letter today."

Saying this, he handed over an envelope.

Su Qiao took it, examining the wax seal carefully.

Seeing no signs of tampering, he tore open the wax seal and the envelope while casually asking Ma Kui, "When was it delivered?"

"It was delivered while you were boating this afternoon," Ma Kui hastened to say.

Su Qiao nodded.

When he was boating that afternoon, he was in the center of the Qinhuaihe, far from the riverbank.

It was understandable that the letter had not reached his hands in time. 28

It was likely Sun Chuanting urging him to head south to Quanzhou.

After all, he had been in Jiangnan for so long; the news must have reached Sun Chuanting's ears long ago.

Opening the letter, Su Qiao glanced at it and, as expected,

the content was brief: first establishing a connection with Su Qiao, then beginning to complain.

For instance, not enough personnel, too few trustworthy subordinates, and the Maritime Trade Office and guard posts playing tricks, and so on.