Just now, after looking around and noticing one person was missing, Ye Wanmian belatedly realized that Xiao Jingcheng seemed to be angry. Otherwise, he wouldn't have shut himself in the room and refused to come out.
But she had no idea what he was angry about.
Clearly, she hadn't provoked him on the way back home from the small tavern. Moreover, it should be her who got angry! For no reason, she had become a heartless woman who was looking for a son - in - law and discarding her "husband" today!
Back in the capital city, she only knew that the crown prince was aloof, taciturn, and hard to approach. She never thought that his temper was even bigger than that of a three - year - old child.
She figured that it couldn't be anything good for him to shut himself in the room. She wasn't going to invite him out, lest she run into trouble.
Ye Wanmian didn't move, and neither Qi Wen nor Li Zhao got up to call Xiao Jingcheng.
It was Mo Zhizhang who said, "Brother Gou Dan hasn't come out yet. I'll go and call him."
Mo Zhizhang stood up and walked towards Xiao Jingcheng's room.
"Hey, Uncle..." Ye Wanmian was helping Li Zhao serve rice and didn't have time to stop him. Mo Zhizhang had already reached the door.
"Brother Gou Dan, it's time for dinner."
He was just about to raise his hand and knock on the door when the door was suddenly yanked open from the inside. Xiao Jingcheng stood behind the door with a frosty face, staring coldly at the man with a gentle smile and elegant features. He gritted his teeth and said word by word:
"Who are you calling 'Gou Dan'?"
Xiao Jingcheng was wearing a yellow amulet. After Mo Zhizhang saw his face, he forgot his appearance immediately. But even so, he could sense the danger and strong hostility from Xiao Jingcheng's gaze.
Ye Wanmian quickly handed the bowl of rice to Li Zhao and ran towards them. First, she glared at Xiao Jingcheng. "Uncle didn't provoke you. Why are you so fierce?"
Then she smiled apologetically at Mo Zhizhang. "Uncle, don't take it to heart. He's been like this since he was a child. He never learned to control his temper. His aunt has always been very worried about it, so she specifically sent him here to me to temper his character."
Xiao Jingcheng ground his back teeth.
Who asked her to come and explain for him? And what was she smiling at that man for while talking?!
Mo Zhizhang didn't care about Xiao Jingcheng's attitude. He said indifferently, "It's okay. It was really my rudeness. I didn't know your age and just assumed I was older than you. I'm twenty - three this year, born in the Chen month. May I ask how old you are?"
He looked at Xiao Jingcheng.
Ye Wanmian also looked over and almost choked on her own saliva.
How come Xiao Jingcheng had changed his clothes again in just a short while?
He was now wearing that dark blue short - sleeved fighting outfit. Compared with the one he wore when they left the tailor shop, this one looked even more neat and tidy.
She knew he had a cleanliness fetish and loved to be clean, but she never thought it had reached this extent. He had changed two sets of clothes in less than a day!
Xiao Jingcheng noticed Ye Wanmian was sizing him up. He quietly straightened his chest, suppressed his temper a bit, and said indifferently, "I'm also twenty - three, born in the Yin month."
Mo Zhizhang said, "Oh, in that case, I should call you Brother Gou Dan."
Just as Xiao Jingcheng was about to flare up again, Ye Wanmian said, "Alright, alright. Let's sit down and have dinner quickly. If we delay any longer, the food will get cold."
She gave Xiao Jingcheng a warning look and then turned around and left.
Xiao Jingcheng paused for a moment and then followed her with a step.
However, when he saw Mo Zhizhang take the initiative to sit on Ye Wanmian's left - hand side, surrounding her together with Li Zhao, and leaving the seats beside Qi Wen and Li Zhao for him, his eyebrows knitted together again.
"Brother Jing, sit down quickly," Qi Wen greeted. "I'll go and serve you some rice!"
As he said that, he was about to pick up an empty clay bowl and get up to fill it with rice. Xiao Jingcheng held him back, coughed lightly, and took out a shiny golden bowl.
"From today on, I'll use this."
As soon as the shiny golden bowl was taken out, it attracted everyone's attention. Even Dahuang lying in the corner pricked up its ears, and the bone in its mouth dropped in fright.
"Woof?!"
[What a shiny bowl, Little Purple Man. It's even shinier than Dahuang's bowl.] Dahuang let out an envious whine.
Seeing that everyone's attention was drawn to him, Xiao Jingcheng flicked his sleeves, lifted the hem of his clothes, and sat down on the chair with a bit of arrogance.
Qi Wen gasped, and his hand holding the bowl trembled a bit. "This... this... is this made of gold?"
Li Zhao frowned and said to Ye Wanmian, "Such a bowl must cost a lot of money, right?"
When Ye Wanmian saw the bowl, she remembered Xiao Jingcheng's "heroic deeds" in the market and the experience of being regarded as his wife by others. She glared at Xiao Jingcheng irritably, cleared her throat, and said, "It doesn't cost much. It's not pure gold. It's made of copper with just a layer of gold plating."
Hearing that it wasn't pure gold, Li Zhao and Qi Wen both breathed a sigh of relief.
If they really bought a gold bowl back from the market, I'm afraid the King of Xuan and the King of Ning would lead their troops to arrest them tonight.
Even so, Li Zhao didn't quite approve of their act of buying this gold bowl. He said to Ye Wanmian, "Even so, it's too ostentatious."
He didn't care whether Xiao Jingcheng would be discovered or not, but he didn't want Ye Wanmian to get hurt because of this.
Xiao Jingcheng heard the accusing meaning in Li Zhao's words. Seeing Ye Wanmian looking guilty, Xiao Jingcheng frowned and said, "Why are you blaming her? I insisted on buying it."
Seeing the atmosphere getting a bit stiff, Mo Zhizhang smiled and said, "I can actually understand Brother Gou Dan. They say food is the paramount necessity of the people. If I could also have such a gold bowl, I'd have a better appetite than others when eating."
It had been said, don't call him Gou Dan!
Besides ordering a banquet at the restaurant, Ye Wanmian and Xiao Jingcheng also brought back a pot of wine. She first filled Li Zhao's cup with water, then filled the cups of Mo Zhizhang, Xiao Jingcheng, and Qi Wen with wine in turn. Then she picked up her wine cup and said:
"Thank you all for helping me out today and quelling a storm for me. If it weren't for everyone's help, both I and Huichuntang would have been in trouble for a while."
Xiao Jingcheng was rubbing his finger on the rim of the cup. He picked up his wine cup and was about to raise it when Qi Wen beat him to it and clinked glasses with Ye Wanmian. "Don't be so polite, Sister Jiang. You've taken good care of me and even brought me to make money. You're just like my elder sister. I'll continue to have your back in the future!"
After saying that, he tilted his head and drank the wine in one gulp.
Li Zhao then clinked glasses with Ye Wanmian again. His voice was gentle and loving. "Thanks to Mujuan for saving me. I was able to have a place to settle down. Seeing you is just like seeing my own child. If I don't protect you, who else will?"
"If possible, I hope I can always stay in Huichuntang," Li Zhao said meaningfully and then drank the tea in his cup in one go.
Xiao Jingcheng endured his impatience and waited for Li Zhao to finish speaking. Just as he was about to clink glasses, who would have thought that Mo Zhizhang beat him to it again!