Chapter 11 – A Small and Humble Family

Liu Miantang, as a virtuous wife, how can she let her husband go to bed smelly?

So when she saw Cui Jiu’s unhappy expression, she just coaxed him like coaxing a mischievous child: “Just lie down and I’ll wipe it for you. The newly changed quilt cover at home has not been dried. If it stinks, there will be nothing to change.”

Cui Xingzhou had never heard people outspokenly said that the wine he drank will make him smell bad. For a moment, he could not help but open his eyes slightly, stare at Liu Miantang, and say: “Get out!”

If the residence maid is scolded like this, their face will turn pale and leaves.

However, Liu Miantang only acted as if her husband was making a fuss after drinking. Men! There will always be different behavior and losing oneself after drinking. Even her husband, who has always been modest and polite, can not avoid vulgarity.

She was tolerant to ignore her husband’s behavior and continues to put a hot towel on Cui Xingzhou’s face.

In fact, she can also guess why her husband has a bad attitude.

After all, being exiled to Lingquan town is also a great blow to her husband. A good family business has been ruined. It is difficult to put it on any man.

However, it’s not a good thing to act with a bad attitude after drinking. She should console her husband so that he doesn’t always store his sadness in his heart and can only vent it by getting drunk.

“It’s unsure of what the wine outside is mixed with. Drinking it hard will harm your health. Next time if you want to drink again, I’ll ask Servant Li to buy sweet potato wine from the distillery in the street and give it to you. When the wine is hot, you can also have a good night’s sleep. It’s better than walking in the street at night and having to inhale a stomach full of cold air.”

Miantang’s voice, just like her appearance, is very pleasant, but it is not that kind of deliberate tenderness. It has some bass, which is very refreshing and comforting.

When Cui Xingzhou saw that he could not get rid of her, he closed his eyes and let her wipe for him. Now that he wants to use her, there is no need to make her suspicious.

Liu Miantang saw that her husband was not moving, so he must have heard her words in his heart. So she whispered: “As for other affairs, you needn’t be upset. Who doesn’t have a dilemma? Even the emperor doesn’t have things that will always go his way. Although our mansion is not as big as the capital, we still have enough to eat and wear. If you are tired of running the business, just rent out the shop. I’ve calculated that even if we don’t do business and by being frugality, it’s enough to rely on the rental money for living… I’ll learn from the neighbor’s women in the street and get some needles to work. Even if I don’t earn much for sewing, we can still buy some meat every few days. By then, when we don’t have to worry about having enough to eat and wear, you can go out to play chess and visit your friends. “

It’s like the fairy from the Ninth Heavens who came down to the world to help the poor boy. All sorrows are easily solved like myths.

Hearing her talk vigorously, Cui Jiu slowly opened his eyes and stared at Miantang who was massaging his legs.

Miantang was embarrassed to be stared at by him. She touched her face and asked, “What are you looking at?”

At this time, Cui Xingzhou was still tired and lazy, although he was just slightly drunk, hearing Miantang’s question, he replied: “No one has ever said that I can rest. He felt some emotions… It seems that being in small families has its advantages too…”

His words were half true and half false, but the feeling in his heart was true. His mother was weak, and he had to contend with several concubines and his step brothers who were pressing on his mother since childhood.

After inheriting his father’s throne, he had to fight against the courtiers who wanted to withdraw his title of The King and take back his fief.

No one has ever told him anything like “Take a break and play”. However, some people always reminded him that if he falls, he will lose everything. Don’t think about making a comeback

For a little while, Cui Xingzhou suddenly envied Cui Jiu. Although he was a poor businessman and married a chastised woman. However, according to the words of Lady Liu, everything was not so bad. It was even better than the houses of The Princes.

At this time, he raised his eyes to look at the woman on the side of the bed. Her long braids were placed on her ears, which were particularly radiant and vivacious. With a warm smile, her eyes were bright like condensing the stars in the sky

It’s good that she has lost her memory. She can’t remember what happened in the den of bandits. After the matter is over, he will give her some money. Whether to remarry or go to the temple for a nunnery, he will leave it to her to decide.

Thinking of this, the dizzyness from the wine came again. Cui Xingzhou closed his eyes and went to sleep.

He didn’t worry about this woman’s assassination. If she wanted to, she would have had countless opportunities before, and as Zhao Quan said, he helped the girl escape from the den of bandits. She should have a heart of gratitude towards him. Why bother to help the tyrant and do wicked deeds for the rebels?

On the second day, when the morning sunlight was slightly bright, Cui Xingzhou opened his eyes and looked at Miantang, who was sleeping sweetly in his arms. He is more determined that she was a gentle lady.

But if he had not been drunk, he would not have stayed with the woman for another night.

Although her reputation has been damaged, she will need to be entrusted to an individual in the future. If the stories in this house are publicized, her remarriage will be more difficult. But if she were to marry far away, it won’t matter.

Cui Xingzhou has always been a self-disciplined person. The situation of him going out while he’s in high spirits like last night rarely occurs.

Every morning when he got up, he always had to exercise a set of boxing to relax his muscles and bones. Over the years, unless he was busy, he rarely interrupted.

He got up early today. Naturally, he would play a set of boxing in the yard.

Because it was not a martial arts training ground, Cui Xingzhou only chose a set of short punches to practice. His tall stature, extraordinary demeanor, and ferocity in boxing were very impressive.

When Miantang wakes up and doesn’t see her husband beside her, she naturally steps on her sandals and looked out of the window lattice.

Across the half-open window, she saw the figure of Cui Jiu waving his fist, wearing thin clothes, and sweating diligently.

Penetrating the wet thin shirt he’s wearing, she can see that although her husband is very thin, his muscles are strong. The body shape is not like the scholar who has an emaciated body!

She has always preferred martial arts to literature. She used to like to practice boxing, but now it seems that her hands and feet are too weak because of injuries. She has long stopped thinking about it.

But she didn’t expect that her husband also likes boxing. It seems that he is playing well. Liu Miantang is urged to play it too.

Her husband was sweating all over, and the newly bought bath bucket could finally come in handy. Servant Li was familiar with the master’s habits. Without Miantang’s orders, she had prepared hot water long ago, mixed the water temperature in the bath bucket, and sprinkled the fragrant dew from nowhere.

After Cui Xingzhou’s boxing practice, he can take a bath without rushing.

When Miantang got up to wash, she scattered her long braid, gathered it around her shoulder, and combed it slowly. After a night’s sleep, the originally black waterfall-like long hair became wavy and misted due to the braiding, which slightly took on the style of western region dancers. It seemed that her jade-like arm of combing hair was more beautiful, and a thin waist was also partly visible in the long hair, which brought some provocative meaning.

As Cui Xingzhou walked in, he glanced at his Lady Liu, who was combing her hair.

Liu Miantang felt that she was too clumsy. Without the help of Servant Li, her hair could not be combed well. She tilted her head and smiled shyly at her husband. The scarlet lips are red without any putting any lipstick. They are lined with a row of white teeth, like pearls

When the four eyes met each other, Cui Xingzhou turned his head and stopped looking. Then, he went into the small room beside the inner room and rinsed himself under the service of Servant Li.

Liu Miantang felt a sigh of relief when she saw that he had gone in.

She’s afraid that her husband will ask her to go in and serve him. When she saw him boxing earlier, she was blushing and had a fast heartbeat. If she was to serve him up close for bathing… Her face was so hot that she thought it could fry an egg just by thinking of it!

Taking advantage of when the master is bathing, Servant Li quickly gets the meals prepared.

The breakfast is particularly about being few and exquisite. The dishes prepared by Servant Li are all beautifully arranged.

In addition to a small bowl of braised pork with marinated eggs, there is also hyacinth bean fried with preserved meat, steamed egg soup with shrimp paste, and even the most precious treasure in the Cui’s mansion of North Street, the dried radish. It can be swallowed with thick rice porridge.

When the two sat down and had breakfast together, Liu Miantang mentioned the opening of his family’s shop. Cui Xingzhou drank the porridge and casually said, “You can fully be in charge of these affairs. I’m going to study chess with my new master recently. I’m afraid it’s difficult for me to take these into account.”

If it was told from somebody else regarding this excuse of neglecting the family business to play chess, he will be regarded as a good-for-nothing young man from a wealthy family who neglects his career. It will be strange if his wife doesn’t curse him!

But at this time, a gentle and handsome young man was sitting in front of Miantang. Looking at his gentle and deep eyes, such words of ignoring worldly affairs suddenly became reasonable.

Miantang also felt that it was too difficult for her husband, a dedicated man, to sort out money and stuff.

What’s more, he has ruined so many stores in the capital, which shows that he is not a businessman. In that case, why bother her husband?

Anyway, she has nothing to do. She can just bring these trivial things and arrange them properly before handing them to her husband for management

Being husband and wife are supposed to be united as one. How can they be differentiated from each other? Thinking about how her husband took care of herself who was seriously ill before, the true meaning of never will abandon each other was enough to make Miantang remember with gratitude.

So after hearing Cui Jiu say this, Miantang immediately replied: “In that case, let me take care of the opening. I don’t know if you have any relatives and friends here. I’d better send a post to let them come and join us.”

Cui Xingzhou did not take Miantang’s words to heart. It was almost absurd for him to go out one night. It was time for him to hurry back to greet his mother.

Last night was the celebration with the congregation. His mother, who loves to listen to plays, must have stayed up late. She probably got up late too. It should be just right for him to go back after breakfast.

So after a few mouthfuls of food, he rinsed his mouth with tea and said, “There are no relatives or friends. You can save your time for it. Just prepare some firecrackers to put it off for the opening ceremony.”

In the future, Liu Miantang will be in charge of the business and will be able to contact more people. If the rebel wanted to take back his wife, he would have many opportunities to get in touch with her.

Therefore, Cui Xingzhou is happy to see Liu Miantang’s managing the store.

But Miantang took this matter seriously and thought for a while and said, “We need to invite Doctor Zhao to come. I don’t know who is in his family. If he has children, we must prepare some honey buds and fruits in advance.”

Cui Xingzhou had already got up and dressed. Without looking at her, he said, “He’s busy these days and might not be able to come.”

Liu Miantang came to tidy up his collar for him. She hesitated and said, “But Doctor Zhao asked me to tell him when the shop is ready for opening. He also asked me about the opening date. But I haven’t discussed it with you yet, so I didn’t tell him the date for the opening…”

Cui Xingzhou’s eyes lit up. He didn’t expect that Zhao Quan was so obsessed that he sent a servant to do this yesterday.

TL/Notes: Hello everyone. How’s the reading going? Are you enjoying? Although the story in going a little slow, the stories behind will get more interesting:) So similarly, you guys can hit me up on the comments section or in the NU website to discuss more about the story. By the way, any errors or improvement comments are accepted too. Kudos!!