He took out a brocade box from his sleeve and placed it on the stone table. When he opened it, there were all kinds of sparkling jewelry, including pearls, agate, red gold, coral, gold inlaid with jade, and jade carvings. Each one was exquisite and small.
Jiang Rui said in surprise: “This, this is…”
“There are several Mingshan Village properties in the city. I went to check them out in the morning. I happened to see this jewelry, so I asked the shopkeeper to take a few of them. See if there is anything you like.”
“Why do I need to wear such expensive jewelry?” Jiang Rui waved her hands repeatedly.
“Why don’t you need it?” Ling Yuan said with a smile, “If you and I are trapped somewhere again next time, we may have to rely on them to change rations and beds.”
“The Owner made fun of me again.” Jiang Rui heard what he meant.
Seeing how she tilted her head and her cheeks were slightly bulging, Ling Yuan found that it quite interesting.
Although he wanted her to be well-behaved, since she came out of the valley, she had been a little bit too well-behaved. If she became like everyone else, it would not be interesting, but for now, it’s more interesting than just being well-behaved.
He pushed the brocade box forward with a smile, “I’m not teasing you, just accept it. Think of it as a thank-you gift for your hard work going down the cliff to find me.”
“That’s what I should do. Why should the Owner say thanks?”
Ling Yuan said again: “Otherwise, you should do it to show my dignity. In the future, when you follow me and are seen by others, you must have some decent jewelry.”
He originally thought that the little cook was going to refuse again, but he didn’t expect that after hearing this, she thought seriously for a while and nodded.
“What the Owner said makes sense. Now I am walking around outside with the Owner, and I often see distinguished guests. I really can’t be as casual as before, which would bring shame to our Mingshan Village. Then, I will keep this jewelry for the Owner for the time being.”
He saw her carefully touching the jewelry box, stretched out her fingers, and gently touched the glazed hairpin. From the look on her face, it was clear that she liked it very much, but she had insisted on not accepting it before.
Jiang Rui picked up a pair of earrings in the shape of lilies of the valley. The petals were carved from a single piece of white jade, and a drop-shaped beige pearl hung in the middle as the stamen. When she shook her fingers, the pearl stamen trembled slightly, which was very small and cute.
“What interesting things did you and Ningxiang talk about just now?” Ling Yuan suddenly asked.
Jiang Rui raised her eyes to look at him. He was drinking tea with his head down. He seemed to be asking casually, so she said casually, “Sister Ningxiang asked me what happened after I got off the cliff. She was also very worried about the Owner of the village.”
“Oh?” Ling Yuan smiled and said nothing.
They stayed for three days, preparing to continue their departure.
In the previous confrontation with the enemy, although Ling Yuan and Liu Xingfeng dealt with the most men in black, their skills were good. So, although they were injured, it was not serious. On the contrary, the guards and Young Master Gu had been recuperating these days.
After setting off again, Jiang Rui still rode a carriage with Ningxiang, and the Gu family siblings drove a carriage. Young Master Gu fell seriously ill and lost all his energy. The whole person seemed to have lost all the vitality he had before. He was helpless in doing anything and had no energy to trouble others anymore.
Because they were delayed for some time, they hurried on their way and did not deliberately stop in the town. That evening, seeing the sun going down, they had no way to go to the village or a store, so they spent the night in the mountains and forests.
Everyone gathered around the fire in twos and threes, taking out dried meat and sesame seed cakes to satisfy their hunger. They bought this at the last place they stayed at noon. After a long time, the sesame cakes were already hard and had no taste at all.
Young Master Gu was unwilling to eat and was having a tantrum. Fortunately, there were some snacks in the carriage. Miss Gu took them out to comfort him, but he was still unhappy and cried to go home.
Young Master Gu was crying so hard that Liu Xingfeng wanted to pack it up and kick him away immediately. Just when he was feeling irritable, he suddenly smelled a fragrance. He sniffed and looked around, and then he realized that Brother Ling and Sanniang had disappeared at some point.
By the side of the water pool not far away, Jiang Rui was roasting a pheasant, which was naturally caught by Ling Yuan. The skin of the chicken was roasted until it was golden yellow, and the oily chicken juice kept dripping down, making a sizzling sound when it fell into the fire.
She baked it for a while and then turned it over. She kept brushing the seasonings with a small bristle brush. With each layer she brushed, the aroma became stronger.
She turned her head and asked Ling Yuan: “Owner, do you really not need to share it with everyone?”
“Where is one chicken enough? It will only arouse their gluttons at that time, but there is nothing to relieve the gluttons, which is not good.” Ling Yuan said thoughtfully with a smile.
Jiang Rui said: “Then, we can bake a few more.”
Ling Yuan said gently: “If they wanted to eat it, they would have baked it themselves before. It shows that they prefer sesame seed cakes to roast chicken.”
“Really?”
“Of course, it’s true.” He said, “I can smell it, and it seems to be cooked.”
“Let me take a look.” Jiang Rui looked at the chicken carefully, shook her head, and said, “It’s almost.”
“Then, bake for a while.” Ling Yuan said with a smile when he saw that the little cook had forgotten to share it with others.
Liu Xingfeng poked his head out from behind the tree and was about to shout when he grabbed the two people who were burning the small stove. Apparently, they were joking, and they stopped again.
He suddenly remembered something. He had told Brother Ling before that if Sanniang agreed to go back to Liu Mansion with him, Brother Ling could not speak to obstruct him.
He wondered if he still remembered this.
*****
Translator’s Comment:
Old Eight: Who are they? Why should I share what my wife cooks? Heh–
Little Drama:
Liu Xingfeng: Brother, do you still remember our agreement?
Old Eight: What agreement? *drew the sword*
Jiang Rui: No, no, the sword is used to slice our meal!
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Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152