Chapter 436: Just a Mention

Lv Jing felt pleased for her master, "Moreover, this reputation of being afraid of his wife is still spread by the Regent Prince himself, known throughout the world."

"Such a man is hard to come by; the master must keep him firmly in her palm!"

Gu Xixi spat out a mouthful of water and said, "Actually, I've come to realize this recently."

"His doing this is a strategy that yields multiple gains at once,"

Gu Xixi rinsed her mouth again, counted on her fingers, and explained in detail to Lv Jing: "First, to pour out her heart and express loyalty, I am pleased."

"Then, the Regent Prince is now a married man, a fact even the Emperor has approved, with an announcement issued by the Imperial Court; thereafter, if anyone tries to slip him some concubines or suggest a marriage alliance, they'll have to think twice, which saves him a lot of trouble."

"Finally, if he thus becomes less prone to attract admirers, he'll be safe, and I'll also be at ease,"

Lv Jing suddenly understood, nodded, and said, "That really is a case of achieving multiple gains with one action."

She laughed and said, "Although I don't understand court affairs, the Regent Prince oversees such a great undertaking dynasty; surely he has endless work every day, and when he's busy he doesn't have the energy to indulge in those scheming thoughts."

Gu Xixi walked toward the kitchen and asked with a smile, "Why do you say that when one gets busy, they can't?"

Lv Jing said seriously, "In the past, my father devoted himself entirely to the tea garden; my mother said that was good, for if he idled, he'd be like my uncle who drinks all day, keeping secret concubines and fooling around with other men's wives—better to keep him busy."

Gu Xixi thought that although Lv Jing came from a humble family, she was also raised with extra affection by her parents and kept in the inner quarters.

Moreover, given her age, in modern times she would still be in high school.

Naturally, one cannot expect her to have a very thorough understanding of views on marriage between men and women.

But…

As a young woman, one can't let her remain ignorant and naive; otherwise, if she chooses the wrong match, she'll suffer for life, right?

So Gu Xixi hesitated repeatedly, then said, "So you also think that if a man stays busy, he won't have a divided heart?"

Lv Jing knew the master was testing her, although she didn't know the reason, but she still thought carefully.

"Hmm…"

"I think that's not entirely correct."

Her tone was hesitant, lacking her usual decisiveness.

Gu Xixi opened the cupboard, picking what to eat today, and said, "If a person's nature is just bad, liking to fool around, they never have a notion of fidelity to their wife."

"Oh, that's exactly what you called scheming thoughts."

"Then even if you keep him busy to death every day, he can still find idle moments to sneak a bite."

"As a wife, trying to guard against him is just futile."

Lv Jing, lost in thought, then began to recount a past incident,

"When I was young, I remember my mother taking my aunt to catch someone in the act at another's house."

"They told me to wait outside the courtyard, not to enter, but I actually saw everything—my aunt and that woman tearing at each other from inside the house to outside."

"That woman's clothes were disheveled, her hair pulled loose by my aunt, yet she showed no weakness, rolling on the ground grappling with my aunt."

"My mother certainly couldn't stand to see her sister suffer, so it turned into the three of them scratching faces, pulling hair, rolling all over in the mud."

"But they fought so fiercely they didn't notice the instigator had already run away."

While speaking, Lv Jing's hands were not idle; she took a small stool, sat by the stove, stacked firewood, and lit it.

"That person ran out the gate, passing right in front of me, and he gave me a fierce glare."

"He probably blamed my mother for meddling."

After saying that, Lv Jing let out a soft sigh.

Gu Xixi took out vegetables, eggs, and a bundle of dried dragon-beard noodles.

For breakfast, it's fitting to cook a pot of mixed vegetable and egg noodles—light, fresh, and easy to eat.

She scooped water to wash the vegetables, smiling, and said, "That scene must have been pretty ugly, right?"

Lv Jing turned her head and nodded vigorously, "Ugly!"

"Actually, I've never understood it."

"What does my uncle's kind of person have going for him, that they'd fight over him?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Xixi actually felt more reassured about Lv Jing's future.

"Perhaps because a husband is their livelihood for life."

"Or maybe… love?"

"Anyway, everyone has their own thoughts."

Gu Xixi no longer continued the topic, saying, "The water's about to boil—you chop the vegetables, I'll handle the seasoning."

The small pot of cooked dragon-beard noodles, rinsed in cool water, was scooped into the bowl holding the egg and vegetable soup.

The noodles are smooth, flavorful, and won't be too hot even in summer.

Lv Jing slurped the soup and praised, "Xixi, your seasoning is always so delicious."

"It's such a pity you can't cook."

Gu Xixi thought, "The seasoning tastes good because I'm a foodie."

When studying, I knew which cafeteria stall served the tastiest food.

After work, wherever I go, I must eat the local specialty.

The more I eat, the more naturally my tongue develops discernment.

She makes various sweet soups for the same reason, though making sweet soup doesn't require cooking skill.

Gu Xixi was pondering where to go later when she heard a commotion outside.

Lv Jing put down her bowl and chopsticks, stood up, and said, "I've finished eating; I'll go out to see what's happening."

"Take your time eating, don't move the bowl—I'll wash it when I return!"

Gu Xixi continued to finish her remaining rice.

On the stove, sour plum soup was still simmering; the ingredients she had brought were each wrapped in oil paper.

Now that it's hot, if Mu Nan Zhao were to come back, perhaps he'd like a sip of this.

When the sour plum soup came to a boil, Lv Jing hurried back.

"Early this morning, two little kids went missing in the village; both are girls."

"By chance, someone saw those two Beili women in the village."

"Everyone blocked them so they couldn't leave, demanding an explanation."

Gu Xixi set down the clay pot, frowning, "Didn't we agree with them not to enter the village?"

"What did these two people say about it?"

Lv Jing said, "That older woman, however, explained in broken Chinese."

"She said they hadn't eaten vegetables in a long time, knowing each household in the village grows some, and wanted to buy some from a family."

"But nobody believed her."

"Some said they saw them acting sneaky, claiming they must be there to steal."

"Others said the two missing girls were abducted by them."

"When I came back just now, the villagers had been gathering more and more, the crowd agitated."

"Aunt Lin still hasn't shown up for some reason; I'm really afraid something will happen, so I hurried back to get you."

Gu Xixi pondered briefly, "Let's go take a look."

The site of the argument isn't far from the small courtyard.

As Gu Xixi walked over, she saw the military families surrounding the two Beili women, shouting.

The older Beili woman gestured with her hands, her face anxious as she said something to the crowd.

Perhaps because she was too anxious, she spoke only in the Beili dialect, and no one present could understand.

Looking at the young pregnant woman, she stood with her head held high, silent, even wearing a cold smile at the corner of her mouth.

Such an attitude only further angered the military families.

"I've heard she can speak our Daye language!"

"What, did you do something bad and now pretend to be deaf and mute!"