Chapter 188: Sweetness
Editor: Atlas Studios
Mu Shi had five days off this time. He told Mu Yangling that he had now settled down in Hanzhong Prefecture and would probably have to be a spy there for a long time. He could only go home every now and then to stay for a few days.
Qi Haoran did not expect Mu Shi to immediately tell his wife and daughter about this after he instructed him to keep it a secret.
He did not know that Mu Shi would never hide anything from his wife, for she was unlike others in his eyes. Also, now that his daughter was in charge, it was even more impossible for Mu Shi to hide it from her for safety reasons.
It would have been fine if his daughter was a child, but this daughter had acted differently from others since she was young. Sensible and obedient, she was already like an adult at the age of six. Mu Shi was already used to discussing serious matters with her, and it was the same this time.
“I don’t have access to information over there, and it’s even more impossible for me to interact with you after I go over. I can only ask Little General to bring you some things and a message when I deliver news to him. Fortunately, I can obtain some money from time to time over there. Little General won’t ask us to hand it over, so our family’s livelihood shouldn’t be a problem.”
Shu Wanniang was stronger than Mu Yangling had imagined. Upon hearing this news, she was only slightly stunned before instructing Mu Shi matter-of-factly, “You have to stay alive!”
Mu Shi nodded. “Don’t worry. I claimed that my father is a Jin, so the Hu people over there won’t make things difficult for me. You have to be careful at home. Ah Ling, I’ll be away for a long time. If anyone dares to come and make trouble, don’t hold back. Just throw them out. If anything happens, I’ll take responsibility for you.”
“Father, don’t worry. Qi Haoran is very fair. He won’t sit back and do nothing.”
“What did Great-aunt say earlier?” Mu Shi asked with a frown.
Stunned, Mu Yangling smiled and said, “Father, there are thieves everywhere. I’ll try to give them a warning later. I guarantee that they won’t dare to pass by our land for three years.”
A bloodthirsty glint flashed across Mu Shi’s eyes as he said, “Since I’m at home, I’ll go with you. At the same time, call your uncles over and ask them to help build a straw hut. I’ll also ask them to take good care of you.”
Frightened by Mu Shi’s aura, Shu Wanniang was momentarily at a loss. Mu Shi quickly restrained his sharpness and patted his wife’s hand apologetically.
Mu Yangling sighed in her heart. She knew that her father had seen blood or that he had killed too many people at once and had yet to recover. Otherwise, he would have been able to restrain his aura.
As Mu Yangling stood up to leave, she said in a low voice, “Father, rest first. I’ll go find Uncle and the others tomorrow morning.”
Mu Shi nodded. Seeing his daughter close the door, he held his wife’s hand tightly and asked in a low voice, “Are you afraid of me?”
Shu Wanniang shook her head and leaned her head on his shoulder. She said gently, “You’re my husband. Why should I be afraid of you?”
Mu Shi’s heart warmed. He lowered his head and kissed his wife’s lips, then carried her and walked towards the brick bed.
Mu Yangling, who was about to carry Bosi and Kejia to her parents, suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned to return to the house.
Xiuhong asked in surprise, “Cousin, why did you bring them back?”
“Bosi and Kejia will sleep with me tonight.”
Xiuhong looked at her suspiciously. “Are Bosi and Kejia willing to sleep with you? They’ll wake up in the night.” Previously, when her aunt was sick and could not take care of the babies, her grandmother had helped to take care of them for the entire night. Tormented by these two babies, she had not slept for almost the entire night. She really did not know how her aunt usually served them.
Mu Yangling waved her hand and said, “It’s no big deal. I was the one who took care of Bowen in the past.”
Bowen pursed his lips and said disdainfully, “You’re talking nonsense. Father already said that it was Mother who brought me up until I was three years old before she handed me over to you.”
Mu Yangling glared at him. “Do you dare to say that I didn’t attend to you when you woke up in the middle of the night to pee?”
Bowen’s face flushed red as he shouted, “You’re lying. I went to pee myself. I remember it all!”
“Alright, I remembered wrongly.”
Only then was Bowen satisfied. Pouting, he turned around and crawled into the brick bed to sleep.
Mu Yangling placed the two little ones in the middle and lay at the outermost side. Looking at the two energetic ones, she immediately had a headache. When were these two going to sleep?
The next day, when Mu Yangling got up, her eyes were half-closed. Mu Shi was already in high spirits after filling the two water vats in the courtyard.
Seeing that his daughter’s eyes were half-closed, he reached out and flicked her forehead. Smiling, he asked, “What did you do last night? You can barely open your eyes.”
Mu Yangling looked at him bitterly. “I took care of the two little ones. They’re still sleeping on the brick bed.”
Mu Shi blushed. He wondered if his daughter knew something, but wouldn’t that make her too mature? Although his daughter was sensible, she shouldn’t be so sensible, right?
Mu Yangling didn’t give him time to think too much. After splashing cold water on her face, she asked, “Father, should I go to Uncle’s house now?”
“Ah? Oh, let’s go after breakfast.”
“Mother, did you make pancakes?” Detecting the fragrance, Mu Yangling tilted her head towards the kitchen.
Mu Shi nodded and said, “Egg pancakes. You can grab a few to eat on the way later.”
Drooling, Mu Yangling said, “Father, chop up the leftover braised pork from last night and put it in the pancakes. Then add some vegetables to remove the taste.”
Mu Shi widened his eyes and said, “How can a child eat so much?”
“It’s delicious this way.” As Mu Yangling spoke, she stopped dozing off and ran to rinse her mouth and brush her teeth. Then, she wiped her face and ran into the kitchen. She picked up a kitchen knife and took the initiative to chop up the remaining braised pork from last night. She drooled as she said, “If only there were more chili. Add a little bit of chili and it’ll taste superb. It’s a pity that Emperor Shizong didn’t get anyone to bring back chili back then…”
Mu Yangling said the last sentence softly. Shu Wanniang didn’t hear it, but the person in front did. Hearing this, he said, “There are many chili peppers in Chuan Prefecture and Guizhou. If you want to eat them, you can check with any merchants that come over from there. However, no one here likes to eat this.”
Mu Yangling widened her eyes and said, “There’s chili in Great Zhou?”
Shu Wanniang burst out laughing and said in amusement, “If there’s no chili in Great Zhou, where did you hear about this thing? It existed 100 years ago and was also brought back from a foreign land by Emperor Shizong. He said that it was delicious when added to dishes, but no one could get used to it. The first time Emperor Shizong ate it, he had diarrhea. Later on, the people in the imperial kitchen insisted on not preparing food with chili for him. The court officials also objected, saying that if the emperor liked spicy food, he could eat ginger, which they considered good stuff. Later on, chili slowly disappeared in the capital. However, the people in Chuan Prefecture and Guizhou liked to eat it very much. When I was at my maternal house in the past, I had once read in ‘The Alternate Matter Records’ that the people there loved this.”
Mu Yangling was extremely surprised. “The court officials and the imperial kitchen even have to care about what the emperor eats?”
Smiling, Shu Wanniang said, “Of course. How can they let His Majesty mess around when his health concerns the world?” As she spoke, she sighed and said, “Emperor Shizong damaged his health precisely because he loved to try these things too much. He died early at the age of 56. If he could live for a few more years, who knows how glorious our Great Zhou would be.”
Mu Yangling said sincerely, “Emperor Shizong is so pitiful!”