Chapter 97: Dog Food
The Ministry of Works reported that the Martial Hall was completed on the thirtieth of the first month, and Shen Zhishu and Jiang Yu went to the site to inspect it in person.
This project was supervised by Vice Minister Wen Zhizhong. She stood by the side, somewhat apprehensive. While Jiang Yu was away to relieve herself, she shyly sidled up to Shen Zhishu and asked, “Does General Shen find anything unsatisfactory?”
Shen Zhishu smiled, “Lord Wen is meticulous and considerate, so of course everything is good.”
“Then does Her Highness Huai’an have any complaints?”
Shen Zhishu said with a serious air, “You’ll have to ask her. I’m not a worm in her stomach.”
Vice Minister Wen turned her head, “The General is joking. The General and Her Highness have been in the same bed for so many days, and you still don’t know what your pillow companion is thinking?”
“Do you have to know what the other person is thinking just because you sleep together?” Shen Zhishu raised an eyebrow. “I heard that Lord Wen and your esteemed father still sleep in the same bed. Why don’t you tell me what your esteemed father is thinking now?”
Vice Minister Wen’s face turned red, “How does the General know…”
Shen Zhishu let out a “Ha” twice, thinking to herself that it was naturally the First Imperial Princess who had gossiped with them. But she saw Vice Minister Wen turn her head and complain to the gracefully approaching Jiang Yu, “Your Highness! The General just told me that she doesn’t know what you’re thinking about the Martial Hall!”
Shen Zhishu: ????? Is that what I said???
Jiang Yu said, “Oh,” and said half-flatly, half-faintly, “It’s alright, the General doesn’t need to know my thoughts. The General’s meaning is my meaning.”
The suddenly stuffed with a mouthful of dog food Vice Minister Wen: …
But Vice Minister Wen quickly became happy, because since Shen Zhishu had no objections to the Martial Hall, and Jiang Yu listened to Shen Zhishu, it meant that her work was perfectly completed.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled, handing Shen Zhishu and Jiang Yu an invitation, “This subordinate was thinking of holding a celebration banquet tonight. The General and Your Highness must grace us with your presence.”
“Who else is coming?” Shen Zhishu asked.
Vice Minister Wen counted on her fingers, “A few sisters from our Ministry of Works, plus General Xie Jin, General Han Peiying, General Qi Wending, and Teacher Huamei.”
The four of them were all teachers at the Martial Hall.
Shen Zhishu nodded, and suddenly remembered something, and said to Jiang Yu, “Huamei doesn’t seem to have spent the New Year in the capital. I wonder if she has returned now.”
Vice Minister Wen smiled, “I was just worrying about where to find Teacher Huamei. General Shen’s words have reminded me. Since the General has a connection with Teacher Huamei, why don’t you convey this to her, alright?”
So Shen Zhishu and Jiang Yu made a trip to the Shen Residence.
Shen Hantan was working at the Ministry of Rites, and Mistress He and the ten aunts were sitting in a circle in the middle of the courtyard.
As soon as the First Concubine saw Shen Zhishu, her eyes lit up, “The eleven of us can’t make up three tables of mahjong, and we were just worrying about being one person short! Please take a seat, General!”
Shen Zhishu was a little amused, “Did I come to the Shen Residence specifically to play mahjong? Her Highness is still here, Mother and Aunts, don’t be so casual.”
The Second Concubine nodded, a little worried, “That’s right, we have been inhospitable… forget it, I won’t play, I’ll give my seat to Your Highness!”
Shen Zhishu: …May I ask if this is about whether Jiang Yu has a mahjong seat or not?
She was still standing by the table, but Jiang Yu had already naturally taken her seat and had set up the mahjong tiles in front of her with a smooth and flowing motion.
The Third Concubine was surprised, “Your Highness even knows this! This servant originally thought that Your Highness was busy with official business and never played these things.”
Jiang Yu opened her mouth, “I actually don’t. How do you play this?”
Shen Zhishu: …You don’t know, so why are you joining in the fun?
Shen Zhishu felt that her group of aunts had a magical ability to assimilate people. If Jiang Yu were to stay with them for too long, she would probably also become neurotic.
Look, that person’s eyes were already becoming clear as she stared at the mahjong table…
Jiang Yu lost the first game because she was not familiar with the rules, but after that, she won every game. After five games, she had won a lot.
The Second Concubine stared and turned her head, saying to Shen Zhishu, “It must be the General who taught Her Highness to pretend to be a pig to eat a tiger and win our money!”
Shen Zhishu: …I’m more wronged than Dou E.
Fortunately, Jiang Yu was not completely assimilated by the aunts. After ten games, she finally remembered the purpose of this trip, reluctantly let go of her hand, stood up, and said, “I came to ask the aunts if Teacher Huamei is at the manor?”
The aunts were terrified and said in a chorus, “We are not worthy of being called ‘aunt’ by Your Highness,” and then said in unison, “Huamei has left the capital and has not yet returned.”
Mistress He added, “She left the capital before the New Year and said she would be back in the second month, so it should be soon.”
**
So for the celebration banquet at night, only a group of generals, a group of officials from the Ministry of Works, and Her Highness Huai’an were present.
Xie Jin, probably because she wanted to give this newlywed couple some personal space, had not been going to Shen Zhishu’s manor every day these past few days to catch her.
The last time she had seen Shen Zhishu was three days ago. At this moment, she jumped up straight, looked Shen Zhishu up and down, nodded, and said with satisfaction, “You’ve gotten fatter. It seems you’ve been very happy these past few days.”
Shen Zhishu smiled and gave her a punch, “Are your eyes a ruler? It’s only been three days since we’ve seen each other.”
Xie Jin muttered, “After three days of separation, one should be looked at with new eyes,” and immediately turned to Jiang Yu to complain, “Your Highness, look at her! She’s hitting me again!”
Jiang Yu nodded and said, “Mm, that’s a bad habit. Which hand did she hit you with, General?”
Xie Jin blinked, “Her right hand?”
So Jiang Yu took out a brocade rope from somewhere, tied Shen Zhishu’s right hand, and held the other end of the rope in her own hand.
Xie Jin’s eyes widened.
On the one hand, she thought to herself, The little couple is playing quite a lot, and on the other hand, she watched as Shen Zhishu shook her right hand, but she did not struggle or refute, and let Jiang Yu lead her.
So Xie Jin coughed, slipped into the restaurant’s private room before them, and smiled so much that her eyes were not eyes, and her nose was not a nose.
Vice Minister Wen said, “Oh,” “What’s with that expression, Lord Xie?”
Xie Jin rubbed her face to put her features back in place, “I ran into Her Highness Huai’an and Shen Zhishu. The two of them are very much in love.”
Vice Minister Wen let out a “Oh” with a nine-bend, eighteen-turn air, thought for a moment, and then said, “Of course, Her Highness Huai’an and General Shen are a match made in heaven, and they have boundless love. Lord Xie doesn’t have to be surprised.”
Xie Jin thought to herself, You’re saying that so well now, but if you saw their posture, you would also be surprised. She smiled and teased, “I heard that Vice Minister Wen used to have a lot of admiration for Her Highness Huai’an, but now you seem to be very open-minded.”
Wen Zhizhong coughed in embarrassment and then said with a serious air, “I know that I am not a good match, so I have given up on that thought.”
General Han chimed in at the right time, “By the way, what was the situation when Her Highness Huai’an was selecting a consort that day?”
Wen Zhizhong shrugged and said, “It wasn’t a selection of a consort at all. We each wrote a poem, received a reward, and that was it. It was more like a poetry gathering.”
As they were talking, Shen Zhishu and Jiang Yu gracefully entered the private room.
Xie Jin keenly noticed that the rope on a certain person’s wrist was gone.
She stood up with everyone else to greet them, and her handsome face was again wrinkled into a bun from smiling.
Wen Zhizhong was a little puzzled by this, “What are you laughing at this time, my lord? Her Highness Huai’an and General Shen are clearly not doing anything out of line.”
Xie Jin shook her head and only said, “You don’t understand.”
Wen Zhizhong was not satisfied with Xie Jin’s answer and thought hard for a while, and had a sudden realization, “I know—you and General Shen have been friends for many years, and you are also many years older than her. You see her as your own child, so you find everything she does cute!”
The more Vice Minister Wen spoke, the more she felt that she had grasped the truth, and she shyly added, “I see my sister’s child in the same way.”
Xie Jin: …
Just as Xie Jin was about to say something to retort, her peripheral vision caught sight of a young girl from the Ministry of Works frequently glancing at Vice Minister Wen. With every glance, her face would turn a shade redder.
Xie Jin understood and immediately smiled even more brightly, saying, “You are a candle of eighteen feet, you can see other people’s houses, but not your own.”
Vice Minister Wen was very confused, “What do you mean by that?”
“You can think about it yourself,” after Xie Jin had finished her words, she saw that Shen Zhishu was chatting and laughing with General Han, and Jiang Yu, who was on the side, was leisurely picking up a piece of fish, removing the bones, and then… putting it in Shen Zhishu’s bowl!
And when Shen Zhishu was chatting with General Qi, Jiang Yu was peeling shrimp for her; when the person she was chatting with turned to Vice Minister Wen, Jiang Yu was searching the whole table for fresh food for her…
A quarter of an hour later, Shen Zhishu finished her small talk and glanced at the small mountain that had been piled up in her bowl. She was startled and naturally swapped her own bowl with Jiang Yu’s.
So all these foods ended up in Jiang Yu’s stomach.
After an hour, Xie Jin had not eaten much, but she was full of dog food.
Bad news, the Martial Hall was going to start classes in a week—there was not much time left for her to be carefree.
Good news, Vice Minister Wen finally understood her feelings and also smiled like a bun.
