Chapter 1: Home-style Tofu (Part 1)
"Married three days, I go shy-faced
To cook a soup with hands still fair.
To meet my mother-in-law's taste,
I send to her daughter the share."
— "Three Poems of a New Bride" by Wang Jian, Tang Dynasty
Jing Yi was awakened by sheer hunger after dreaming of a glistening roast duck. When he groggily opened his eyes, the disheveled wedding bed held only his naked self.
The sun was already high, its rays filtering through the red silk tied to the window frames, casting a warm, celebratory glow across the floor.
It seemed he had gotten married last night...
Hadn't he?
Before Jing Yi could ponder further, an aged yet booming voice wailed by the bedside, "Master, you're finally awake!"
It was Uncle Qi, the second steward of the Jing family mansion who had watched him grow up. The Old Master had declared that once Jing Yi married, Uncle Qi would become his personal steward.
As the fourth son of the Jing family, Uncle Qi had always addressed him as "Fourth Young Master." Now that he was being called "Master," those fragmented memories in his mind weren't just drunken hallucinations after all.
He really had gotten married...
At least he knew who the bride was.
The bride was the third daughter of General Leng's household across from the Jing residence, a female constable serving in the Ministry of Justice under An Wang's patronage, his cherished treasure since childhood—Leng Yue.
He also remembered how the bride looked last night.
Willow-leaf eyebrows, phoenix eyes, snow-white skin, crimson lips—heavily made-up with exquisite curves, devastatingly beautiful enough to cause chaos, tragedy, and howls of despair...
Wait, no...
The one who'd been a complete mess, tragically pathetic, and howling miserably seemed to have been him...
Never mind, he'd drunk too much. His head throbbed, and he couldn't recall clearly.
Anyway, he'd finally married the person he'd yearned for over a decade. A wonderful thing, truly worth celebrating with a grand feast.
Jing Yi closed his eyes again, rolling luxuriously in the blankets and wrapping the bright red brocade quilt entirely around himself before murmuring drowsily, "Uncle Qi, I'm hungry..."
With a mournful expression, Uncle Qi stuffed a set of festive clean clothes into Jing Yi's quilt. "Master, the entire household is starving... The Madam gave strict orders early this morning—no one can light the kitchen fires until you wake up and copy the Biographies of Exemplary Women. Anyone caught sneaking a bite of cucumber will be packed off immediately. If you don't get up and start copying soon, lives will be at stake!"
Biographies of Exemplary Women?
Did his precious wife—who hadn't even memorized the Hundred Family Surnames or Thousand Character Classic—actually know what the Biographies of Exemplary Women was...
Rubbing his forehead, Jing Yi sat up. "Such a situation... Why didn't you wake me earlier?"
Uncle Qi looked ready to weep. In half a lifetime of stewardship, he'd never encountered a situation where the entire household went unfed. "The Madam forbade it. She said you must sleep until fully rested and wake naturally, so you'd have no excuse to doze off while copying."
Jing Yi sighed with mixed bitterness and sweetness.
"Where is the Madam now?"
"Practicing swordplay in the rear courtyard. She's been at it all morning..." Uncle Qi pursed his lips, leaning close to Jing Yi's face to whisper, "Master, did you... fall asleep last night without accomplishing anything...?"
What had he done?All he could remember was that early yesterday morning, when Leng Yue returned from handling a case in Liangzhou, she dismounted at the entrance of the Dali Temple, dragged him out without a word, and insisted on marrying him immediately.
After all, this marriage had been arranged for many years. Both of them had reached the age for marriage, the bridal chamber was ready, and almost everyone in the capital knew about it. With a simple invitation, all their relatives and friends showed up. Since she wanted to marry, he went along without hesitation.
And then...
Many guests came, even the Crown Prince attended in person. He drank and drank until he was thoroughly drunk, and he couldn’t even remember who had pushed him into the bridal chamber.
However, judging by the punishment of copying Biographies of Exemplary Women, something must have happened last night.
But... what exactly happened?
Jing Yi shook his head in confusion. "I don’t know..."
"..."
At least he had married her.
Jing Yi took a deep breath. Hmm, he really wanted to eat roasted lamb...
The more he thought about it, the more he craved it, and he even seemed to catch a faint whiff of roasted meat.
No, if he kept starving like this, he would really fall ill.
Jing Yi yawned and patted Uncle Qi on the shoulder. "Go about your business for now. My wife has always been gentle, virtuous, and reasonable. I’ll go talk to her... I promise they’ll have food to eat within an hour."
"Alright!"
After Uncle Qi wiped away his tears of excitement and hurried off, Jing Yi, half-asleep, put on his clothes, washed his face, and carried a pot of tea to the backyard.
It was mid-autumn, the eighth month, and the osmanthus flowers were in full bloom, filling the garden with their rich fragrance. Amidst the branches, a tall woman in red was practicing with her long sword, completely absorbed, as if no one else were around.
In recent years, many women in the capital had taken up sword dancing, but few practiced alone among the flowers with such fierce intensity.
No matter how fiercely she danced, he still found it a delight to watch.
Even if she were just standing still, he would still find her captivating.
Jing Yi slowly approached her, standing properly with the teapot held respectfully in both hands. He greeted her three times in a row, "Good morning, my lady," but the swordswoman didn’t even glance at him.
He then said "I was wrong" three more times, but Leng Yue still paid him no attention.
Jing Yi sighed.
"My lady, I just promised Uncle Qi that they would have food to eat within an hour. Breaking a promise would damage my credibility, don’t you agree?"
The swordswoman twirled her sword, her steps so swift that her figure blurred into a red shadow. She remained silent.
"My lady, you might not know this, but Biographies of Exemplary Women has seven volumes in total... If I copy all of them, our estate will be littered with corpses. How about I just copy two volumes? Two is a lucky number, what do you think?"
"Or... three volumes? Three brings prosperity..."
"Four volumes? Four symbolizes peace and blessings..."
"Five volumes would work too—five fortunes arriving at the door..."
"Six volumes... six represents smoothness and success in solving cases?"
"Seven volumes..."
"Seven stars shining bright, wealth from all directions, hearts united as one, perfection in all things... My lady, I’ll leave the tea here."
"My lady, this tea is tribute Pu'er from the south. It’s mellow and fragrant, quite beneficial for beauty and complexion."
"My lady, take a break after practicing for a while. Don’t overexert yourself—it pains me to see you tired."
"My lady, I’ll go copy the books now..."A cool, composed voice finally emerged from the crimson figure, steady as if spoken from a seated position, "Go back to your room and change clothes. We’ll have guests later."
Guests?
According to the capital’s customs, a bride was supposed to return to her family the day after the wedding. However, General Leng was stationed long-term at the northern border camp, and Madam Leng had gone to Liangzhou to visit relatives recently and hadn’t returned yet. Leng Yue’s two older brothers were away leading troops in battle, and her two older sisters—one had followed some chieftain in Miaojiang, while the other served as the guard captain at the Crown Prince Manor—so there was no one at home to return to. Thus, there was no need for the visit.
As for what guests were coming, perhaps they were those who hadn’t made it to yesterday’s wedding banquet.
Who should have come yesterday but didn’t?
And important enough that he needed to change clothes again.
He couldn’t remember, couldn’t remember at all...
"I just changed into this when I got up..." Jing Yi lowered his head to glance at the strikingly bright red robe tightly wrapped around him. "But this outfit is indeed a bit tight, a bit short, and a bit too flashy and gaudy... it’s really unattractive. I’ve never worn it before—no idea which corner Uncle Qi dug it out from."
"Hmm... that’s my dress, newly bought."
"...I knew it! Pretty people look good in anything, while ugly people waste any outfit. Such a stylish, well-tailored piece like this is completely wasted on me... Madam, I’ll head back to my room right away to copy the book!"
While Jing Yi was holed up in the study copying the beginning of the second volume, Uncle Qi walked in beaming, radiating the rich aroma of roasted lamb leg, and said energetically, "Young Master, Prince An has arrived and is waiting in the front hall. Madam requests your presence."
Jing Yi didn’t catch a single word of what Uncle Qi said. His attention had been completely captured by the distinct, intense aroma of roasted lamb the moment Uncle Qi entered.
Such a rich scent couldn’t possibly be his imagination.
"Is there cooking going on in the kitchen?"
Uncle Qi nodded repeatedly. "Yes, we just finished eating... Madam personally roasted a lamb leg, saying everyone worked hard yesterday. Since you agreed to copy the Biographies of Exemplary Women seven times, she won’t make things difficult for the rest of us..."
"Wait a minute!" Jing Yi jolted, his hand trembling so much he nearly dropped the brush. "Seven times, or seven volumes?"
"Seven times! Madam was praising you while roasting the lamb leg, saying you insisted on copying it seven times instead of just once, something about the seven stars shining bright... The wind was a bit strong, so she didn’t catch it all clearly, but that was the gist of it!"
Jing Yi felt his vision darken.
Seven times...
He took a deep breath and silently swallowed.
Roasted lamb leg...
It was his favorite food...
Leng Yue was the best at cooking meat, and her roasted lamb leg was unparalleled...
No wonder he’d kept sensing a faint aroma of roasted meat while copying in the study earlier...
What on earth happened last night?!
Jing Yi sighed mournfully. "Did Madam also say... I have to finish copying all seven times of the Biographies of Exemplary Women before I can eat?"
"Oh, she didn’t mention that, but the roasted lamb leg has already been completely finished... You’d better ask Madam yourself. She’s in the front hall speaking with Prince An right now."Jing Yi finally grasped the most crucial point in Uncle Qi's words. "Prince An is here?"
"Yes... Madam sent him an invitation early this morning. Didn't you know, young master?"
Jing Yi realized that after fainting for an entire night, there were far too many things he didn't know.
Prince An, Xiao Jin Yu, was the seventh son born of the same mother as the current emperor. He was the same age as Jing Yi, both eighteen years old, and held authority over the Three Judicial Offices in the court. Although they had some personal rapport, ultimately both he and Leng Yue carried out this man's orders. Currently, during the autumn judicial review, Xiao Jin Yu was swamped with work and his temper was easily provoked. Everyone serving in the Three Judicial Offices avoided him. Having finally managed to request three days of leave from the Dali Temple for his wedding, why would Leng Yue invite him to their home?
Perhaps she had mentioned it last night...
Or perhaps it was related to what happened last night...
Jing Yi rubbed his throbbing temples.
"I suppose... I know."
"..."
Jing Yi racked his brains all the way but couldn't recall whether Leng Yue had mentioned why she invited Prince An to their home the day after their wedding. As soon as he entered the drawing room and saw the fruit platter piled high on the tea table, his empty stomach rumbled emotionally, making it even harder to remember.
Jing Yi politely greeted Prince An, who was seated, and as soon as he took his seat, he eagerly grabbed a bright red apple from the fruit platter. Before he could bring it to his mouth, Leng Yue shot him a chilly glance.
Jing Yi immediately cupped the apple in both hands and offered it to Prince An, saying with an enthusiastic smile of domestic harmony, "Your Highness, have an apple. It's from Laizhou—crisp and sweet... Please, don't stand on ceremony!"
Xiao Jin Yu looked at the apple in his hand with amusement. "How do you know it's from Laizhou?"
Jing Yi was taken aback for a moment, then smiled. "How do you know it's not from Laizhou, Your Highness?"
"Because I bought it when I passed by an orchard on the outskirts of the capital."
"Well... Your Highness is truly Your Highness! Even a casual purchase can make a native capital apple exude the charm of Laizhou..."
Before Jing Yi could finish, Xiao Jin Yu set the capital apple with Laizhou charm lightly on the table and calmly cut him off. "There's a charred corpse under your wedding bed. Do you know how it got there?"
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