Chapter 20: Home-style Tofu (Part Twenty)
Master Jing, having weathered countless storms in his lifetime, recovered from his momentary astonishment and stroked his beard. A genial smile spread across his well-maintained face. "So... you've both eaten already?"
Leng Yue instinctively glanced at Jing Yi, then caught her own reflection in his fox-like eyes—identical to his father's.
The man's blue robe, the unsheathed sword, her casually tied-up hair, and her sauce-smeared face and greasy lips.
Suddenly, Leng Yue realized something.
This was her first visit to the Jing family mansion since marrying Jing Yi.
Their wedding banquet had been held directly at Jing Yi's own residence. Meaning, this was her first formal visit to her in-laws' home as the legitimate daughter-in-law of the Jing family.
It was bad enough that she hadn't brought proper gifts...
As Leng Yue frantically debated whether to wipe her mouth, clean her face, redo her hair, or discard the handful of meat skewers first to minimize the embarrassment, Jing Yi obediently called out "Father," stepped forward, and cheerfully shoved his bundle of heavily spiced meat skewers into Master Jing's hands.
Master Jing narrowed his eyes slightly, amiably examined the skewers in his hand, then amiably looked at Leng Yue.
Panicked, Leng Yue hurriedly thrust her own skewers toward him as well.
After doing so, her panic intensified.
Jing Yi had given Master Jing a generous handful of plump meat skewers, whereas in her fluster, she had handed him a half-bunch of skewers, a half-bunch of used bamboo sticks, and one partially eaten skewer with half the meat still left...
Leng Yue wished she could find a sack to hide in.
Or at least cover her face.
This wasn't her first time meeting Master Jing, but it was destined to be the most unforgettable—a hundred times more memorable than her wedding day.
Master Jing's unfathomable gaze lingered between the two starkly different bundles of skewers. Leng Yue couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't looking at the skewers but rather...
Soul-Snatching Nails.
These were hidden weapons Jing Yi had written about in one of his storybooks—also held in a large handful by a kindly-looking old man, capable of piercing someone with the texture of frozen tofu with a casual toss.
Leng Yue's heart was about to leap out of her throat when Master Jing finally spoke, gripping the skewers steadily with a beaming smile. "Since you've eaten, I won't keep you for a meal... Whatever matter you have, you can discuss it here."
Leng Yue was taken aback.
...Matter?
What matter?
Leng Yue swore she had only thought the question silently, but Master Jing acted as if he had heard her clearly. He smiled at Jing Yi and gently shook the two large handfuls of skewers in his grasp. "No matter? If there were no matter, there wouldn't be any meat left on these bamboo sticks."
Before Leng Yue could process his meaning, Jing Yi was already grinning from ear to ear. "Father... as the ancestors said, where there's a will, there's a way, right? Hehe..."
Master Jing looked at Jing Yi, also smiling broadly. "That wasn't our family's ancestor who said that, hehe..."
"Regardless of whose ancestor said it, the saying exists, right? Hehe..."
"Since you haven't even memorized all of our own ancestors' teachings, yet you're busy remembering other families'—go kneel in the ancestral hall for a while before you leave, hehe..."
"Hehehehehehe..."Watching Jing Yi walk through the gate of the Jing family mansion with a smile that looked more like crying under Old Master Jing’s benevolent gaze, Leng Yue suddenly felt that, despite all her second sister Leng Yan’s faults, there might be one thing she was right about.
When it came to marrying Jing Yi, she had made the decision far too hastily.
No sooner had this thought crossed her mind than Leng Yue heard Old Master Jing’s kind and gentle voice.
“It’s alright. Let him kneel. You come along. No matter how big the matter is, we can talk over a meal.”
Leng Yue’s heart trembled.
She truly had no idea why Jing Yi had brought her here. Standing awkwardly at the entrance of the Jing residence was embarrassing enough, but to enter alone and sit at the Jing family’s three-generation dinner table, only to answer every question with an awkward laugh…
Leng Yue quickly waved her hands. “Jing…”
The habitual “Uncle Jing” nearly slipped out, but as she noticed Old Master Jing’s smile deepen, she jolted to awareness and swiftly redirected her tongue.
“Jing… Father, I’ve already eaten, so… I won’t join you.”
“Having eaten and being full are two different things. Come along.”
Leng Yue’s face flushed slightly. It was true, she wasn’t full yet, but…
The last time she had eaten at the Jing family mansion was nearly ten years ago, and back then, she probably hadn’t been such a big eater.
Leng Yue pulled out a handkerchief, wiping the grease from her lips as she spoke with utmost sincerity. “I’m full, I’m full… All those bamboo skewers in your hand were from me. There were so many! I’m full, truly full…”
Old Master Jing’s smile grew even more benevolent, exuding an air of contentment that seemed to surpass all worldly joys. “If you’re full, that’s good. Since you’re full, I won’t insist further. Hehe…”
Leng Yue breathed a genuine sigh of relief. “No need, no need. Since I’m already a daughter-in-law of the Jing family, you needn’t be so polite to me. Hehe…”
“Well said. Since you’re already part of the Jing family, I won’t stand on ceremony. Hehe…”
“Yes, yes, hehe…”
“Our Jing family has a tradition: if a family member lies to another, they must kneel in the ancestral hall. You should go kneel there for a while before leaving. Hehe…”
“Hehe…”
When Leng Yue was escorted by the servants to the Jing family ancestral hall and made to kneel side by side with Jing Yi before the densely packed ancestral tablets—three rows deep in front and three rows deep behind—she felt a strong urge to call off the marriage.
“Why are you here too?”
Leng Yue stared straight ahead at the tablet of some unknown Jing ancestor, focusing on the name where she only recognized the character “Jing” among the three characters, and answered truthfully, “I lied to the Old Master.”
“What did you lie about?”
“I said I was already full…”
Jing Yi was taken aback for a moment, then reached out to take a plate of Red Bean Cake from the offering table and shoved it into Leng Yue’s arms, his smile gentle. “These were freshly replaced this morning. Make do with these for now.”
This was her first time entering the Jing family ancestral hall, and she had been caught by Old Master Jing and punished to kneel here. Yet her husband actually wanted her to…
Eat the offerings in front of his ancestors?!
Leng Yue held the plate and stared deeply at Jing Yi, trying to discern from his radiant smile whether he was teasing her, when two slow, dry coughs came from the entrance of the ancestral hall.
Leng Yue was so startled she nearly dropped the plate.Master Jing walked in with his hands clasped behind his back, his face clearly showing displeasure. Leng Yue was anxiously wondering how to explain why the plate of offerings was in her hands when Master Jing approached her. He gently patted her shoulder with one hand while picking up a jug of wine from the altar table with the other.
"Don't eat it dry, you'll choke."
As he spoke, Master Jing knelt down side by side with Leng Yue and Jing Yi. Casually picking up a piece of Red Bean Cake from the plate in Leng Yue's hands, he took a calm bite.
"Hmm... they changed chefs again."
Jing Yi also took a piece from the plate, bit into it, savored it for a moment, then frowned. "Hmm... indeed. It wasn't this sweet last month."
"Hmm... the chef who retired and returned to his hometown before the New Year made the most authentic offerings. The texture was so fine, the flavor so perfect—no one else could compare."
"Right, I think so too..."
Leng Yue held the plate, feeling like crying.
Jing Yi quickly finished the Red Bean Cake in his hand, took the wine jug from Master Jing, and gulped down two mouthfuls. Watching his father reach for another plate of White Bean Roll from the altar table, he frowned. "Father... my matter isn't that urgent. Why didn't you finish eating up front before coming? At your age, eating offerings every other day isn't good for your teeth either."
Every other day...
Leng Yue silently looked up and deeply scanned the portraits of the Jing family ancestors. Then, with a sidelong glance, she observed the father and son kneeling on either side of her, eating the offerings with complete nonchalance.
Her second sister was right—the Jing family was truly an unfathomable household.
Master Jing bit off half a White Bean Roll with an unfathomable intensity, chewing as he spoke. "I know you're not in a hurry. If you were, you wouldn't have come through the main gate... Your mother was upset that I came back late and gave me the cold shoulder. I told her I was delayed buying meat skewers for her on the street, but then Third Brother... Ah, never mind. What exactly do you two want? Hurry up and say it. After I finish eating, I still have to go to the Ministry of Personnel for official business..."
"Father, you're familiar with all the officials in the court. I wanted to ask—that Minister Qin Qian who used to come often to play chess and admire paintings with you, is his daughter Qin Hehuan his biological child?"
Leng Yue was startled, then suddenly understood.
Right.
When she heard the vendor mention Qin Hehuan's situation earlier, something felt off. Yes, this was exactly what was wrong.
Calculating the timing, Qin Hehuan's miscarriage and Zhang Lao Wu being beaten by the Qin family in the street should have happened almost simultaneously, one right after the other.
On one hand, the Qin family had left Qin Hehuan neglected in a desolate alley courtyard for half a year without care. On the other hand, right after something happened to her, they immediately gathered their servants and urgently went after Zhang Chong, who had already been burned into a charred corpse but could still bring harm to Qin Hehuan.
Such actions by the Qin family really didn't seem like how one would treat their own young lady.
Given the Qin family's power and peculiarities, asking anyone else about this matter would be troublesome. Only asking one's own father—especially when that father happened to be the Crown Prince's Tutor, Master Jing Zhi—was absolutely the most appropriate approach.
Master Jing, while eating, shook his head firmly.
Leng Yue was slightly astonished—so she really wasn't?
Master Jing swallowed the White Bean Roll in his mouth before leisurely saying, "I don't know. Anyway, she's not my child..."
Leng Yue's forehead darkened with exasperation, and the plate in her hands trembled slightly.Jing Yi quickly took the plate into his own hands and whispered to Leng Yue, "Don't worry, my lady, I didn't give birth to it either."
"..."
Leng Yue wasn't sure what the odds would be of the Jing family ancestors taking her side if she were to divorce Jing Yi immediately.
At the very least, she hadn't eaten their offerings.
Just as this thought crossed Leng Yue's mind, Master Jing cheerfully picked up a piece of White Bean Roll and handed it to her. "Haven't had this before, have you? Try it, it's quite delicious."
"..."
As Leng Yue reluctantly put this sacrificial offering into her mouth, she felt a profound sense of tragic solidarity, as if she had formed a blood pact to live and die with this father and son.
Even counting Qin Hehuan, was there any daughter-in-law in the world more unfortunate than her...
"Qin Hehuan..." Master Jing slowly repeated the name that had just flashed through Leng Yue's mind. "That name sounds somewhat familiar. The sixth young lady of the Qin family, or was it the seventh... Didn't she pass away about half a year ago? How come, which one of you dug her up?"
"...She's dead?!"
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