Chapter 37: Garlic White Meat (Part 12)
Leng Yue thought this moment would undoubtedly be the one she regretted marrying into the Jing family the most in her entire life—bar none. But when she mustered her courage to face Master Jing, she truly realized why the Jing family could remain unshakable in the capital despite its ever-changing political landscape: in the Jing household, nothing was ever "the most," only "even more."
For instance, she now regretted marrying into the Jing family even more.
She had no idea what Madam Jing had said to Master Jing, but the moment she stepped into the kitchen, he threw down his large iron ladle, abandoned a pot of bubbling, mushy concoction, and greeted her with a beaming smile. "Working right after coming home? You've worked hard, hehe..."
Leng Yue’s face flushed, and she inexplicably replied, "It’s no trouble..."
By the small stove, Madam Jing flipped a blackened, greasy slab in her pan and chimed in brightly, "Exactly! Our little Yue is doing all the work meant for men, while Old Four just stands there dumbstruck!"
Was Jing Yi dumbstruck?
Lost in the kiss, she hadn’t noticed his reaction at all...
Gritting her teeth, Leng Yue pursed her lips, tightened her grip on her sword, and forced out through her crimson face, "It doesn’t matter who does it..."
Jing Yi entered a few steps behind Leng Yue, having changed back into his still-damp white robe, his hands laden with the impeccably cleaned chickens, ducks, geese, fish, shrimp, and crabs that Leng Yue had butchered in her fervor to channel embarrassment into productivity.
Master Jing took the items from Jing Yi, held them up high, and squinted as he inspected them. "Excellent, excellent! General Leng’s daughter does splendid work... We’ll overlook your tardiness. Go rest outside—save the remaining tasks for after dark, hehe..."
"..."
Even as Jing Yi led her out of the kitchen by the hand, Leng Yue’s face remained beet red.
Her mind felt filled with whatever Master Jing had been boiling in that pot—something sticky, mushy, and bubbling "gurgle, gurgle."
Work. Tasks.
Leng Yue no longer dared to hastily interpret what those two words meant.
"Jing Yi..." Leng Yue walked stiffly, her voice tinged with guilt as she addressed the man leading her. "The Old Master said to wait until dark to work properly... Work on what?"
The man ahead didn’t break stride but shook his head. "I don’t know."
"Then... what are we doing now?"
"Going to the ancestral hall."
Leng Yue racked her brain but couldn’t recall Master Jing mentioning "ancestral hall" earlier. Dazedly, she asked, "When the Old Master said to go out and rest, did he mean kneel in the ancestral hall?"
A hint of laughter crept into the voice ahead. "No, we’re just going to eat."
Eat in the ancestral hall...
Leng Yue yanked Jing Yi to a halt and declared resolutely, "I’m not going."
Thanks to the blessings of the Leng ancestors, she’d finally avoided kneeling in the ancestral hall and eating offerings on a major holiday—and now he was rushing to do just that!
Jing Yi stopped, turned around, and looked seriously at his wife, whose face had darkened slightly. "Do you want to eat what those two cooked?"
"...No."
Forget eating—just looking at the contents of those pots made her regret slaughtering all those creatures of the sky, land, and water."The only edible things in the entire mansion today are the offerings that weren't prepared by those two."
"...Let's go."
After night truly fell, Leng Yue finally understood what Master Jing meant by "work."
Opera singing.
She would sing, while Jing Yi played the erhu.
She didn't know if anyone in the Jing family could sing opera, but the moment she stepped onto the stage that Jing Bai had spent most of the day building, her legs went weak.
She felt as if she was about to lose all dignity in the Jing family in one go.
"Father, Mother... I really don't know how to do this."
"No worries, just sing whatever," Master Jing said, sitting at a table below the stage, waving amiably at Leng Yue across a table of bizarrely aromatic dishes. "It's just family today, no need for formalities. Look, your mother and I just casually made some home-style dishes. Just sing casually, then come down and join us for a casual meal, hehe..."
Standing on the stage, Leng Yue clearly saw the eldest daughter-in-law of the Jing family take advantage of Master Jing's speech to pour the entire bowl of soup in front of her into the flowerpot beside her, then calmly take out a handkerchief and casually wipe the corner of her mouth.
Leng Yue suddenly didn't want to step down from the stage anymore.
"Alright... I'll give it a try."
Even decades later, Leng Yue never forgot the reaction of the Jing family, young and old, below the stage when she sang out, "Sharpen scissors—grind knives—" It was as if they had been paralyzed by an invisible force.
She also clearly remembered that after she finished that line, the person playing the erhu behind her immediately followed with a louder rendition of the same line.
But that wasn't important.
What was important was that after a moment of dead silence, the entire Jing family, young and old, sang it back in unison.
After that...
Leng Yue led the entire family in singing every street vendor's call they had heard during their travels while working on cases.
As they sang, they grew merry and started drinking.
As they drank, they grew even merrier and began talking nonsense.
Leng Yue had never celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival since she could remember, but she knew that the festival's mooncakes shouldn't be the thick, black, shoe-sole-like things that Lady Jing had fried in oil. She also knew that Mid-Autumn blessings shouldn't be the kind of sentences the Jing father and sons exchanged while choking each other, always starting with "your grandfather." Nevertheless, she genuinely felt that celebrating the festival this way wasn't so bad.
At the very least, the festival was one the family had created together with their own hands.
As Leng Yue watched the usually refined Jing Shi and Jing Bai wrestling and cursing each other's ancestors over who had stolen whose mung bean cake when they were children, she suddenly remembered the drunken words Jing Yi had mumbled to her on their wedding night after he had been tossed into the bridal chamber, dead drunk.
"I want to go home."
At the time, she hadn't thought much of it. But now, it occurred to her that he had moved out of this mansion on his own. No one had forced him to leave, and no one had forbidden him from returning. How could he have said such a thing to her on their wedding night?
Perhaps she had been mistaken about something from the very beginning...
Shortly after the first watch, Jing Yi was already heavily drunk.
In truth, all the men in the Jing family had drunk quite a bit. Leng Yue even witnessed Jing Qian crouching under the table, crying and wailing about wanting to be a woman.
Jing Yi's drinking manners weren't bad, though. When drunk, he had only one reaction, just like Master Jing: he clung tightly to his wife and refused to let go.
Even after they returned home and entered their room, Jing Yi still wouldn't let go.After much coaxing and threatening from Leng Yue, Jing Yi still refused to let go.
Finally, Leng Yue had no choice but to use force, prying him off and tossing him onto the bed. Only then could she free herself to instruct the maid to fetch hot water. She also prepared a bowl of honey-sweetened water for him. But as soon as she sat by the bedside, he clung to her again.
"I know... I know why you married me..."
Leng Yue froze, her hand trembling slightly as she held the bowl, nearly spilling the sweetened water.
Jing Yi seemed completely unaware of her reaction. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, resting his chin on her stiffened shoulder, and repeated with heavy drunkenness, "I know everything..."
"You know nothing..."
Steadying herself, Leng Yue cursed under her breath. Her expression hardened as she used one hand to push him off her shoulder and held the bowl in her other hand up to him. "Honey-sweetened water. I made it myself. Drink it all. If you leave even a single drop, you’ll be sleeping in the basin hugging Turtle Grandson tonight. Got it?"
Jing Yi seemed not to have heard at all. Instead of taking the bowl, he clung to her again, this time even tighter. "Thank you..."
Leng Yue tried pushing him away twice but couldn’t budge him.
"...I thank your entire family!"
"You’re welcome..."
"..."
Outside the window, a crack of thunder roared, perfectly mirroring Leng Yue’s current mood.
"Let go of me... If you don’t, heaven will strike you dead!"
No sooner had Leng Yue spoken than another clap of thunder sounded, followed by the pitter-patter of rain.
Whether startled by the thunder or frightened by Leng Yue’s mention of "death," Jing Yi froze for a moment, his grip loosening slightly. Seizing the opportunity, Leng Yue decisively pressed him down onto the bed.
Though lying down, Jing Yi’s hands remained wrapped around her waist, a pleading smile on his face. "Can I die beneath your pomegranate skirt?"
Leng Yue’s face darkened as she glared at him. "What nonsense are you spouting... I don’t own a pomegranate skirt!"
"I want to die beneath your pomegranate skirt..."
Leng Yue rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Will you ever stop?!"
"Promise me..."
Leng Yue’s next rebuke died in her throat.
Jing Yi hadn’t spoken those words with a smile—not on his lips, nor in his eyes. After murmuring softly, he gazed at her deeply and quietly, no longer seeming like he was teasing her in his drunken state, but rather making a genuine, heartfelt plea.
Leng Yue’s heart tightened under his gaze, leaving her speechless.
She might have agreed to other things, but this...
After a long moment of locked eyes, Leng Yue softened her voice and ruffled his slightly disheveled hair. "Be good. Drink this and go to sleep. You won’t have a headache when you wake up tomorrow."
Whether slowed by the alcohol or simply caught off guard by her gentle response, it took Jing Yi a long moment to release his hold on her waist. He sprawled out on the bed like a starfish and gave her a coquettish smile. "Feed me."
Leng Yue breathed a silent sigh of relief.
"Alright."
Jing Yi didn’t sit up, merely lying there with his mouth wide open. Leng Yue scooped a spoonful and brought it to his lips. Jing Yi lifted his head slightly, took the spoon into his mouth, and froze.Leng Yue watched him hold the mouthful of sugar water for a long moment before swallowing it, after which he slightly furrowed his brows and gazed at her deeply with a strange expression. She couldn't help but lower her head, glancing somewhat defeatedly at the soup bowl she held in her hands. "Is it that bad?"
Jing Yi didn't speak, but his face clearly showed an expression of being nearly brought to tears by the awful taste.
Leng Yue still couldn't quite accept it.
Wasn't it just a few scoops of ready-made ingredients mixed together with some warm water? Although it was her first time preparing this kind of thing, surely it couldn't be so terrible?
Leng Yue scooped up a spoonful and was about to bring it to her own mouth when Jing Yi suddenly sat up, grabbed her wrist, and stole the spoonful of sugar water into his own mouth.
After swallowing it, Jing Yi even delightfully licked his lips.
"What my wife prepared for me - no one else is allowed to drink it..."
"You're impossible..." Leng Yue was both annoyed and amused, shoving the bowl into his hands. "Drink it. Finish it all and lick the bowl clean. If there's even one drop left, your wife will skin you alive!"
Jing Yi truly raised it to his lips, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one go.
"Alright, alright..." Seeing that Jing Yi was really about to lick the bowl, Leng Yue snatched it back with a mix of laughter and exasperation. "Sleep now. I'm going out to hurry them with the hot water. I'll be back soon."
"Mmm... hurry back..."
"Mm."
When Leng Yue went out, she truly intended to return soon.
However, at that moment, she hadn't expected that on Mid-Autumn Festival, in the middle of the night during a downpour, Uncle Qi would come rushing to tell her that Jing Zhaoyin Sima had arrived.
It wasn't until Leng Yue reached the main hall that she realized it wasn't just Sima who had come.
Sima's entire family had come.
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