Chapter 259: Eat and Drink as Usual
Adhering to his principle of not wasting anything, Wen Xiuyi poured a cup of wine for Magistrate Chen. After all, the bottle was already opened; it would be a shame not to drink it.
Besides, it wasn’t easy to get a chance to come out for a meal under the guise of official business today, so he definitely had to enjoy a drink or two. Hehe, when I go back, my daughter won’t scold me, and my son will even prepare a sobriety soup for me. Life is good.
“I don’t know if there are any benefits, but as for the downsides—there’s certainly a whole lot of them,” Wen Xiuyi said.
Magistrate Chen felt a headache coming on. “Then why do you keep clashing with him? What kind of official rank do you have to go head-to-head with him? He’s a fourth-rank official, while you’re… seventh-rank. Calling us small-fry sesame officials isn’t an exaggeration at all.”
Wen Xiuyi delightfully rolled himself a roasted duck pancake, talking as he ate. “Was this up to me? From the moment he walked through that door, he’s been spouting passive-aggressive nonsense, targeting me at every turn and itching to tear me down to nothing. Couldn’t you tell?”
Seeing how heartily he was eating, and with his own stomach rumbling, Magistrate Chen simply joined in. After all, Zui Xian Tower wouldn’t give him a refund anyway, so it was better to eat and get his money’s worth.
Hearing Wen Xiuyi’s words, Magistrate Chen replied directly, “Honestly, I really couldn’t tell at first. I actually thought the two of you were close fellow disciples.”
Turns out, bah! What bad luck.
“Hahaha…” Wen Xiuyi burst out laughing without reservation. Seeing that Xun Feng and Magistrate Chen’s attendant were still standing, he casually motioned for them to sit down. “You two, sit down and eat with us. There’s no way the two of us can finish all these dishes.”
Xun Feng unhesitatingly took a seat opposite them. Magistrate Chen glanced at him, then looked at his own anxious attendant, and waved his hand in resignation. “Fine, you sit down and eat too.”
Anyway, none of them are acting normal today.
The table grew lively. Only then did Wen Xiuyi say to Magistrate Chen, “If this were in the past, our relationship as fellow disciples would definitely have been fine. Unfortunately, that’s not the case anymore. As you saw, he looks at me with complete disdain. If I were to still rush up to flatter him, wouldn’t that be lowering my own dignity?”
Magistrate Chen twitched his lips. “What dignity do you even have?”
“That’s where you’re wrong—this is called scholar’s pride,” Wen Xiuyi said with a chuckle.
Magistrate Chen wanted to say that “scholar’s pride” wasn’t meant to be used like this, but since things had reached this point, talking about it was useless. Since the man had already been offended, it was better to think about what to do going forward.
“Now that you’ve offended him, what if he gives us trouble behind our backs when he returns to the capital?” Magistrate Chen asked.
Wen Xiuyi tilted his head to look at him. “Does he serve in the Ministry of Works?”
Magistrate Chen shook his head.
Wen Xiuyi asked again, “Then is he in the Ministry of Revenue?”
Magistrate Chen shook his head again.
Wen Xiuyi pressed on, “The Ministry of Rites?”
Magistrate Chen still shook his head.
Wen Xiuyi spread his hands. “Exactly! He’s not in the Ministry of Rites, so he can’t stop us from getting promoted; he’s not in the Ministry of Revenue, so he can’t stop us from making money; and he’s not in the Ministry of Works, so he can’t manage our labor. What are you afraid of?”
Magistrate Chen suddenly froze.
Although most of Wen Xiuyi’s argument was fallacious reasoning, why did it sound so strangely sensible? That’s right—even though Meng De was a fourth-rank official, he was merely a civil official in the Hanlin Academy. Setting aside those intricate, interconnected relationships in the capital, this man really couldn’t control them!
Seeing the shifting expressions on his face, Wen Xiuyi raised an eyebrow. “Am I right? So, eat and drink as usual! Besides, who are the two of us working for right now?”
Magistrate Chen cupped his hands in a daze toward the direction of the capital. “Naturally, His Majesty.”
Wen Xiuyi shrugged and gave him an “understand now?” look before continuing to eat his food.
A sudden bolt of inspiration struck Magistrate Chen, instantly clearing his mind.
Indeed! His main task right now was to cooperate well with Wen Xiuyi to grow and cultivate the new high-yield crops. That was the absolute key to his future promotion!
When a bright, broad road was laid right in front of him, why on earth was he rushing to flatter this person or that person? All he needed to do was keep the man in front of him pleased!
“Brother Wen, you truly are my brother!” Having gained total enlightenment, Magistrate Chen became intensely enthusiastic after understanding the situation. He pulled Wen Xiuyi over, and the two of them drank quite a bit like close brothers.
Seeing that both of their faces were flushed and they were somewhat tipsy, Magistrate Chen grabbed hold of Wen Xiuyi and finally blurted out the question he had been bottling up inside all evening.
“Brother Wen… today, what… what did those words mean? Does that Mrs. Meng… still have something to do with you?” He simply had to finish eating this piece of gossip; otherwise, it would keep him in suspense. In any case, they were drinking—if anyone brought it up later, he could just claim he was drunk and remembered nothing.
Though fuddled, Wen Xiuyi wasn’t completely smashed and remained clear-headed. Hearing the question, he didn’t answer directly, merely playing dumb as he spoke, “Hehehe, it’s all in the past, all in the past! Hehe, come, drink! Old Chen, tonight we drink till we drop!”
Magistrate Chen felt as if a cat were scratching at his heart. But seeing that Wen Xiuyi didn’t wish to say more, he sensibly refrained from probing further.
In the end, though they didn’t finish every dish on the table, the leftovers were packed up by Magistrate Chen’s attendant to take home to his family. Furthermore, the milk tea and roasted duck that Manager Lu had packed were all taken home by Magistrate Chen for his family to enjoy.
For this meal, the main guest was driven away in anger, while the host who picked up the tab and the ones tagging along ate to their heart’s content.
Still unable to suppress his curiosity, Magistrate Chen secretly sent someone to inquire privately, only to learn that Wen Xiuyi’s former wife, Lady Liu, was the daughter of his teacher, and that the two had divorced two or three years ago before she remarried in the capital.
This gossip was so massive it nearly choked Magistrate Chen. No wonder—it would be a miracle if these two could get along!
Fortunately, Wen Xiuyi had given him brilliant guidance, allowing him to understand where he truly stood and adjust his attitude. Ever since that day, Magistrate Chen completely stopped trying to curry favor with Meng De.
Didn’t you come back to offer sacrifices to your ancestors? Then go do your ancestor worship and stop delaying our proper business!
Meanwhile, Meng De wasn’t idling either. After returning from Zui Xian Tower in a rage from Wen Xiuyi’s provocation, he threw a furious tantrum before sending people to thoroughly investigate the Wen family’s situation over the past few years. As a result, over the next few days, every piece of news uncovered shocked him more than the last, making him feel increasingly miserable.
That damned Wen Xiuyi had actually clung to the thigh of Prince Fu!
Not only that, but the famous Yunwu roasted duck was actually created by his teenage daughter! It was an immensely profitable business. Many people in the capital had heard of the roasted duck’s reputation, but due to the great distance, they had no way to taste it.
Some had mimicked it and opened a couple of shops, but the flavor couldn’t even begin to compare to the Yunwu roasted duck. To make matters worse, Prince Fu had somehow snuck out of the capital previously and come here to eat the Yunwu roasted duck, personally coming forward to confirm that the two roasted duck shops in the capital weren’t nearly as delicious as the Yunwu roasted duck.
With that, the fame of Yunwu roasted duck grew even grander.
Could it be that Prince Fu and Wen Xiuyi met back then?
