Meng Lu sat in the chair very uncomfortably, twisting and turning restlessly. He wanted to pick up food but was afraid of damaging the exquisite porcelain. Meng Na also became very constrained, rolling up her wide sleeves to expose her pale white arms and carefully picking up dishes, causing Xinyue to steal constant glances and giggle—very impolitely.
Yun Ye suddenly ordered the servants to replace the fine porcelain, exchanging everything for coarse ceramic large bowls. Eating this way was torture for Meng Lu and the others—they couldn’t even eat properly anymore. Yun Ye also disliked using ivory chopsticks; picking up a green bean took forever, and white shrimp kept slipping off the chopsticks. The elder had already picked things up with his hands two or three times.
When all the dishes were placed by Yun Ye’s order into black ceramic large bowls, the elder, Meng Lu, and Meng Na visibly breathed sighs of relief. When bamboo chopsticks arrived, they won even more praise from the elder. Finding a mat, they placed all the food and dishes on the ground. The four people surrounded the food, picking with chopsticks, scooping with spoons, stabbing with knives, and when eating urgently, even grabbing with hands. They lifted soup bowls and drank directly—this was what eating should look like.
Watching her husband squatting on the ground competing for food with three dust-covered people, Xinyue suddenly felt heartache. Although Yun Ye had never spoken of his suffering in the jungle, always picking out fun and interesting things to talk about, as if that trip through the wilderness was merely taking Wang Cai for a stroll, seeing her husband use his hands to tear apart the chicken, giving the most tender chicken breast to the elder, one drumstick to Meng Lu and one to Meng Na, while taking the chicken neck for himself and slowly tearing off strips of meat—she knew these three were truly honored guests in their home. Chicken drumsticks had always been her husband’s favorite; even when Li Chengqian came, her husband never gave up the drumsticks.
Meng Lu’s, Meng Na’s, and the elder’s hands were all dark and grimy. Given her husband’s fastidiousness about cleanliness, when Meng Lu used his own chopsticks to place a large piece of meat in her husband’s bowl, her husband ate it without a second thought and even dumped the remaining meat chunks into Meng Na’s bowl. Through these details, Xinyue could imagine just how wretched her husband must have been when he emerged from the mountain forests.
Using bowls as large as human heads, Meng Na had already eaten two bowls of rice yet still looked regretfully at the unfinished food. After eating, they rinsed their large bowls with soup and drank it all in one gulp. Yun Ye lifted the wine jar and filled all four bowls with grape wine—they probably weren’t accustomed to strong liquor.
After three rounds of wine, Yun Ye smiled and asked the elder some casual questions: “Was the harvest in the village good this year? How many moon worship gatherings were held? Was there a celebration before you came?”
The elder proudly stroked his beard and said: “Last year, ah, the harvest was excellent. The princess collected very little tax. There’s always been enough grain. The banana groves never stopped producing this year—bananas from the beginning of the year to the end. Quite a bit of grain was left over, which we took to the market and exchanged for much cloth.”
“Did wild beasts come out to ravage the village? Or was the village bullied by others?”
Hearing Yun Ye’s question, Meng Lu patted his chest and said boldly: “No one dares. Heard you were fighting with others. I came to help you!”
Meng Lu’s half-fluent Chinese left Yun Ye with a “gulp” in his throat and nothing more to say, his eyes stinging terribly. His Liaodong campaign had long since ended, yet reinforcements only arrived now—an old man, a woman, and a strong man. These were his reinforcements. These were his only reinforcements.
The grandees in the court were all waiting for news of Yun Ye’s defeat. The noble lords in the military camps were also waiting for an excuse to deploy troops. Even the emperor had prepared for Yun Ye’s defeat. Who could have imagined that in a small village ten thousand miles away, a group of half-ignorant mountain people were worrying about their friend, wondering what would happen if their friend couldn’t defeat the enemy? To help their friend, they specially sent the village’s strongest man, the smartest elder, and the most beautiful woman to assist their friend. In the village’s mythological stories, wasn’t the combination of warriors precisely bravery, wisdom, and beauty? This was the most magnificent reinforcement they could dispatch—walking over ten thousand miles to help their friend.
What did it matter whether they caught the timing of battle? What did it matter whether they killed a single enemy? What did it even matter whether they were useful? They had traveled dusty roads all the way here. Having reinforcements was good—it was never too late.
Raising his large bowl, he heavily clinked bowls with Meng Lu and drained it. The elder felt somewhat embarrassed and after hemming and hawing finally said: “When entering the door, I heard from the steward that your battle had already finished—we didn’t catch it.”
“Don’t listen to his nonsense. The battle has only just begun. You’ve come at exactly the right time. The elder is wise, Meng Lu is brave, Meng Na is beautiful—what excellent reinforcements! With you rushing over, I dare to wage war against demons. Before, I only killed some small soldiers. The great demon hasn’t appeared yet. Rest and recuperate properly in Chang’an for a while. If the emperor prepares to fight the demon, we’ll go together. If the emperor doesn’t plan to wage war now, you can return to the village and await news. There will surely be a great battle someday.”
Meng Lu smiled and nodded, then raised his wine bowl and clinked with Yun Ye again. Meng Na stood up and took out her pouch, pouring out many dried bananas and quite a few dried porcini mushrooms. Meng Na scooped up a large handful, preparing to place it in Xinyue’s hands, but seeing Xinyue’s fair, delicate hands, she gestured for her to lift her skirt to hold them.
Yun Ye ignored the flustered Xinyue, picking up a slice of dried banana and placing it in his mouth to moisten it, slowly chewing. He felt this was an incomparable delicacy of the mortal world.
Wang Cai poked his head in and whinnied once. Meng Na joyfully scooped up some more to feed Wang Cai. Seeing Wang Cai use his tongue to roll the food and eat continuously, she giggled.
“Meng Lu, have you two married yet?” Having calmed his emotions somewhat, Yun Ye began gossiping about their affairs.
“Meng Lu hasn’t married over yet. Meng Na has moved in with him though, and there will probably be a child soon. It’s just deciding whom to give the child to that gives this old man a headache.” Xinyue ate her dried banana while listening in astonishment to things she had never heard of before—a man marrying into a woman’s family. Glancing at the honest Meng Lu, then looking at Meng Na constantly playing with Wang Cai, she seemed to understand something.
Those who had traveled far needed most to bathe properly and then sleep well. After Yun Ye explained to Meng Lu and Meng Na how to bathe, he handed the matter over to the steward. Old Qian would naturally handle things properly and securely.
When only the Yun couple remained in the room, Xinyue put down the dried banana in her hand and asked softly: “When you initially walked from Nanzhao to Lingnan, your situation couldn’t have been better than theirs now, could it?”
Yun Ye sighed and said: “How much better could it be? In the boundless wilderness, the slightest negligence meant death. You can’t even imagine what things I encountered—giant pythons, ferocious leopards. Once when crossing a small river, if Wang Cai hadn’t been clever, I would have fed the crocodiles. Guan Tinglong said one thing correctly: when I emerged from the mountain forests, if I hadn’t encountered them, I might have become extremely violent. When a person is suppressed to the extreme, they rebound. I truly began killing from that time, and once I started, it became unstoppable.”
“These honored guests mustn’t be neglected. Your wife will go see if Meng Na has any other needs. Your wife always feels she resembles Na Rimu, just with an added trace of heroism compared to Na Rimu.”
Having a maid collect the dried bananas, Yun Ye personally stored away the dark truffles one by one. These things might become a major source of income for the village—they mustn’t be wasted.
Meng Family Village was destined to become a place of concern for him. Having rolled in the mortal world for so long, he needed a place where he could completely relax his spirit. In the village, there was still the new house Meng Lu had built for him. If he had time to go to Lingnan, he’d stay there properly for a few days.
From afar, he could hear Meng Na’s strange cries coming from the bathhouse. Yun Ye smiled knowingly, carrying the truffle pouch back to his study, carefully spreading out the truffles to dry. They had gotten somewhat damp. Taking advantage of the remaining bit of sunlight, he aired out the moisture.
Li Anlan walked like a cat, quietly approaching behind Yun Ye and covering his eyes, making him guess who she was. This used to be Na Rimu’s favorite game—how had it now become Li Anlan’s hobby? His mouth randomly called out “Ahua, kitty, doggy,” provoking Li Anlan’s coquettish reproach.
Pressing her into a chair, he looked her up and down. This woman had now undergone earth-shaking changes. If the former Li Anlan had been a stubborn donkey that wouldn’t move when pulled and backed up when beaten, then the current Li Anlan was a blooming flower. Looking at her pouting expression, she was like a sulking child.
“Already a child’s mother, yet still playing endlessly. Knowing you must return to Lingnan in just over a month, are you reluctant to leave this home? These days I’ve been waiting for His Majesty to speak, but who knew His Majesty would say nothing at all. Having you marry in as an equal wife doesn’t look good for the imperial family’s face. As the principal wife, you yourself wouldn’t want that, right? Everyone prefers days like these—stable, peaceful, and quiet—how nice. His Majesty will give the Lingnan fief to Li Rong, absolutely not to Yun Rong. You’ve always wanted to be independent, to be self-reliant—how have you now become less confident?”
“I’m very tired. I just want to find a shoulder to lean on. Embroidering flowers every day and watching the children isn’t bad either. I used to always think Heaven owed me something, that I needed to take it all back. Now I’ve discovered that Heaven doesn’t owe me anything at all. Why should I stubbornly oppose Heaven alone? If not for you, if not for my bold recklessness back then, not only would I have harmed myself, I would have harmed Lingdang too. Don’t they say all men are lustful? Lingdang is such a beautiful woman, yet you can still resist not touching her?”
“Forget it, let’s not discuss this. There’s a secret I need to tell you.” Bringing up Lingdang gave Yun Ye a headache. Now when he saw Lingdang, he had to walk around her. The young girl’s resentful gaze always made Yun Ye feel he owed her something.
“What secret?” Li Anlan was always very interested in other people’s secrets.
“Actually, Spring Breeze Powder is just a kidney-tonifying and yang-strengthening medicine with a slight aphrodisiac effect. It absolutely can’t achieve an irresistible effect.” After saying this, Yun Ye smiled mischievously at Li Anlan.