The Cousin Is About to Marry，The Abstinent Young Lord Loses Control-Chapter 148: Mingzhu, I’ve Been Looking for You for a Long Time
After leaving the Imperial Palace, Xie Yunzhen waited again at the palace gate.
Ji Mingzhu wanted to ask about that matter but didn’t know how to start.
The words twisted in her mouth.
"You don’t have anything important?"
Xie Yunzhen touched her head, "Picking up the wife and taking her home is the most important thing."
He then reached out to hold Ji Mingzhu’s hand.
This time she did not struggle, nor did she scold him.
Xie Yunzhen felt surprised, and then a smile slowly spread across his eyes.
"You’ve been through a lot during this time, the Dragon Boat banquet has already been prepared, how about we don’t return to the mansion for dinner today and celebrate in advance?"
Ji Mingzhu inexplicably wanted to laugh, "Celebrate what?"
The man curled his lips, his eyes full of teasing.
In a voice only the two of them could hear, he said, "Celebrate not having to go to bed early tonight, we can have a battle of three hundred rounds."
Ji Mingzhu was furious and stomped hard on his foot.
"Xie Yunzhen!"
A shallow footprint was left on the satin boot.
Xie Yunzhen didn’t mind much and led Ji Mingzhu onto the carriage.
"There’s an iced rice wine shop in the west of the city, it tastes sweet and fragrant, you girls should like it, let’s try it first, if it’s good, we’ll bring a portion for Second Aunt and Yun Ling."
Ji Mingzhu deliberately sought out his discomfort.
"Not bringing any for your grandmother, and your mother?"
Xie Yunzhen cleared his throat, "Grandmother is too old, it’s not suitable for her, as for your mother-in-law, we can send a portion."
"She’s not my mother-in-law."
"It’s no use denying it, she is your mother-in-law."
She looked at Xie Yunzhen gloomily and suddenly said, "The Young Master still has the skill of balancing water."
Xie Yunzhen felt guilty.
In his past life, he never reconciled the relationship between his mother and Mingzhu.
That was his mistake.
In this life, he doesn’t hope for them to get along, as long as their issues don’t affect each other, it’s fine.
He played with Ji Mingzhu’s fingertips, deliberately changing the subject.
"If you find the rice wine tasty, you can ask the cook to prepare some, use it to cook eggs, or make sweet soup, it is said to have health benefits."
"The Young Master knows quite a lot."
"Not much, I’ll learn more slowly in the future."
Ji Mingzhu gave him a cold look and said nothing more.
Having cleverly diverted the topic from mother-in-law issues, Xie Yunzhen wiped the nonexistent sweat off his brow.
No one was troubling him, yet he still felt a weight.
In her past life, Mingzhu was alone and suffered a lot.
Secretly holding Ji Mingzhu’s hand, intertwining their fingers in a tight grip.
Xie Yunzhen forcefully kissed the back of her hand, "Aside from rice wine, is there anything else you want to eat?"
Ji Mingzhu’s lips moved and She recited a long list of dishes.
"Golden Chicken, Braised Bass, Spicy Golden Prawns..."
Xie Yunzhen agreed to all.
Ji Mingzhu finally asked the question, "I heard you’ve been docked three years of salary, can you still afford the meal?"
Though her expression was awkward, Xie Yunzhen knew that Mingzhu was concerned about him.
He laughed brightly, feeling extremely happy.
Simply lifted her to sit on his lap.
"My dear wife is wealthy, if I can’t afford it, you’ll have to cover for me temporarily, and later on, I’ll repay you with my body."
Ji Mingzhu bit her lip, cursing herself for being talkative, giving him an opportunity to be shameless.
"No more eating, let’s go home."
Xie Yunzhen hurriedly coaxed her, "I want to eat, won’t my wife accompany me?"
Ji Mingzhu covered her ears, not wanting to hear him speak.
This time, Xie Yunzhen truly shut his mouth.
It was hard enough to get Mingzhu to show signs of softening and start to care about him actively.
If he upset her again, where would he go to cry?
Following the address given by Xie Yunzhen, the carriage slowly headed toward the west of the city.
Although the family lacked no delicacies, the atmosphere outside was entirely different from that in the mansion.
She truly was exhausted during this time, and there was still a tough battle ahead.
He wanted Mingzhu to relax.
Not to be too afraid of what comes next, he would protect her well.
Arriving in the west of the city, the couple first went to taste the rice wine.
Its taste was indeed sweet, with a faint aroma of wine, and it was chilled, Ji Mingzhu drank a bowl and felt refreshed.
Seeing she liked it, Xie Yunzhen knew he had made the right choice.
Immediately dispatched orders to send a portion to various people in the mansion. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
At the Duke Mansion.
Princess An He received the rice wine, initially disdainful, thinking it was something those disrespectful concubines from the backyard used to curry favor.
Upon hearing it was sent by her son, her face immediately brightened.
"It’s been too hot these days, the sun has already set, but it’s still so muggy. I was thinking of having a cold drink, didn’t expect Ah Zhen to send it over, is this a case of mother-son telepathy?"
Previously, Xie Yunzhen occasionally sent food to the elders.
Then too many things happened, the mansion was almost torn apart.
Princess An He refused to accept Ji Mingzhu, she often made things difficult, causing the mother-son relationship to worsen.
Last time she received something from her son, Princess An He could barely recall.
Just one small bowl of sweet wine made Princess An He jubilant.
She asked, "Has Ji Mingzhu returned to the mansion?"
The nanny replied, "According to Tian Shui, the Young Master and madam are dining outside, they haven’t returned yet."
Her good mood vanished, Princess An He threw the spoon, her face devoid of smiles.
"Taking the wife to a restaurant to squander, sending the old mother just a bowl of sweet wine, no wonder they say marrying a wife makes you forget your mother, this son really is wasted raising."
"The Young Master is filial to you, look at the second house, her son is always out traveling, disappearing, can’t even see him, wants sweet wine but has to rely on our Young Master."
With the comparison made, Princess An He felt much better.
Setting that aside, Ah Zhen is accomplished in both civil and martial arts and has a place in the court now, far surpassing Xie Yunxuan.
Her expression eased, "One wonders how Brother Yun is doing, if he’s studying diligently at the academy, he and Ah Zhen are brothers, they must support each other in the future, he must quickly obtain a degree and secure some official position, otherwise what if he’s a burden to Ah Zhen?"
The nanny quickly suggested, "The second young master is very knowledgeable, passing exams is as easy as reaching into a bag, if he had a capable family through marriage, he will definitely not be a burden to the Young Master."
Princess An He felt a bit conflicted.
On one hand, she wanted to leverage Xie Yunxuan’s marriage to gain support for her own son.
On the other hand, she worried that once Xie Yunxuan gained independence, he might covet what wasn’t his.
Her vermilion-painted nails fiddled with the spoon, unconsciously stirring the sweet wine.
"Eventually Brother Yun has to marry, I’ll choose a good wife for him myself to prevent him from emulating others and marrying some powerless orphan girl, the Duke Mansion will be ridiculed citywide, thinking Xie’s sons have issues, incapable of marrying good wives!"
The nanny agreed, "Princess, you’re considerate, if the second lady knew, she would definitely be grateful to you."
The Princess snorted, "It’s already good if she doesn’t curse me behind my back!"
...
If people had powers to foresee the future, Xie Yunzhen would not have brought Ji Mingzhu out to roam.
The person in front was tall and thin to a frightening degree.
Wearing a moon-colored brocade robe, crowned with jade, still as he was in memory.
"Mingzhu, I’ve been looking for you for a long time."
