CH 68

Before Yan Mingting could make a move, Li Yucheng couldn’t wait to leap into action, and addressed Fu Qian excitedly: “I’m following orders, do you dare to fight back?”

Fu Qian didn’t dare, so he was punched several times until his face was bruised and swollen.

“Most beautiful man in the capital, go back and see what you look like now.” Li Yucheng laughed with his hands on his hips.

Zhao Yelan bought another set of shiba dumplings and turned around to enter the inn next door, then began to enjoy the food.

Fu Qian had already fled in despair.

“That person is the most beautiful man in the capital?” Zuo Ran asked curiously. “Who gave him that name?”

“Himself.” Li Yucheng picked up a dumpling and stuffed it into his mouth, his eyes immediately lighting up. “What is this thing, it’s so delicious!”

The taste was truly pretty good. The skin was thin, and the stuffing was rich. One bite into it and you could smell the fragrance first, then the smooth, tender stuffing burst in the mouth with sweet and salty flavors that were perfectly intertwined. The unique taste was very novel. Zhao Yelan, who was accustomed to delicious food, couldn’t help showing an expression of surprise.

Yan Mingting gave up on verbal praise and dug in wildly, eating five or six in the blink of an eye without fear of choking.

Zhao Yelan ordered a few sweet soups from the inn and placed the extra two bowls in front of Yan Mingting.

“Aiyo, I say, why are you not fat if you can eat so much?” Li Yucheng looked incredibly envious. Yan Mingting’s figure was the type he coveted the most. It seemed that no matter how much he ate, he wouldn’t get fat, and it would automatically turn into muscle. He looked very strong, and the broad shoulders gave one a great sense of security!

“It’s just that you came back to Beijing too late, otherwise what would have happened to that kid Fu Qian? He wouldn’t be called the most beautiful man in the capital, ba,” Li Yucheng said with a sneer.

“How did he come to be called that?” Zuo Ran asked.

“Among the children of noble families, compared to the others with big bellies and short hair, he is considered a little more attractive. One day when he drank too much, he embraced a woman in a restaurant to show off, and said that he was the most handsome man among the children of the noble families in the capital. After word spread, it became abbreviated somehow,” Li Yucheng said.

“But…..even if the General wasn’t in the capital, wasn’t there still Zhao-daren?” Zuo Ran turned her head to look at him. “How come no one mentioned Zhao-daren?”

“Hey, how can ordinary people see him, ah, most of them don’t know what Zhao Yelan looks like. Moreover, those who knew him were afraid of death, so how could they dare to judge him for being beautiful or not? In the case that someone grew angry and tossed them into prison for the rest of their lives, would they dare?” Li Yucheng said.

Zuo Ran was startled: “My lord is not so scary.”

“You don’t know much, ba. Didn’t you see how afraid Fu Qian was when he saw him? To be honest, I used to be afraid of him too.” After Li Yucheng spoke, he glanced over furtively and saw that the other party didn’t seem to be listening to him at all, and was tilting his head to whisper to Yan Mingting. He couldn’t help but sigh and shake his head. “I also never expected that I would see him so intimate with another man…..”

Suddenly, a sharp look shot over at him from Zhao Yelan. Li Yucheng was startled and ducked his head like a quail, behaving himself: “Zhao-daren and General Yan are the best match.”

Zuo Ran and Yin Pinglu exchanged a look, then lowered their heads and suppressed their smiles.

The group of people tasted several other delicious things. When they passed a silk shop, Zuo Ran and Yin Pinglu’s footsteps slowed a bit. They wanted to go in and have a look, but were too embarrassed to tell these big men.

Just when they were quietly discussing plans to come back at night, Zhao Yelan swaggered in front of them and entered the shop, followed by Yan Mingting, who seemed free of pressure and could even be said to be used to it.

Dumbfounded, the two of them immediately followed them in. They saw that Zhao Yelan had already begun to shop, and became dazzled at the sight.

Zhao Yelan bought a lot in one go. It had been so long since he came to Jiangnan, and he had yet to spend money to his heart’s content. He was going back to the capital soon, so why not buy more things he liked before returning?

In one afternoon, Zhao Yelan bought a lot of things.

Yan Mingting’s arms were full of silk, and he was carrying some pastries in his hands. There was also a small pouch of shortbread hanging on his scabbard, which could be said to have reached the greatest extent of its use.

“I’ll go back to the inn and put these things away, ba.” Yan Mingting was holding so many things that he almost couldn’t see the street.

“Fine.” Zhao Yelan pointed to a restaurant not far away, “We’ll wait for you there.”

“All right.” Yan Mingting wobbled back to the inn.

The others had things in their hands, but they hadn’t bought as much as Zhao Yelan. After all, the two girls didn’t have much money, and Li Yucheng had already reaped a lot of things from his uncle’s house.

“Waiter, serve up your most delicious dishes and two pots of good tea,” Li Yucheng called.

The group sat down in a private room. Zhao Yelan perched by the window, looked at the sunny weather, and wondered if it was still raining in Huaizhou and Zhizhou.

“This tea is pretty good, I want to take some to the capital.” Yin Pinglu took two sips. “My lord, do you want to taste it too?”

Zhao Yelan casually took a couple of sips. Although it wasn’t the best tea he had ever tasted, it was still a bit sweeter than ordinary tea. He nodded and asked the waiter to prepare some tea to be taken away.

“It’s a pity that a rough person like me can’t tell the difference between good and bad tea.” Zuo Ran drank the tea in one gulp, then spat out the dregs. “The last time I went to the General’s Mansion, Housekeeper Qin said that the tea made for me was good tea, but I can’t tell it apart from this one, ah.”

Zhao Yelan raised his eyes and looked at her while maintaining his composure.

“Hey, it’s not your fault.” Li Yucheng waved his hand. “His family’s tea is not expensive at all, it’s just picked from ordinary trees. If someone says it’s delicious, it must be for the sake of politeness.”

Zhao Yelan looked at him coolly: “Have you drunk it as well?”

“I drank it, ah, it was when my father and I came to the General’s Mansion,” Li Yucheng said.

Yin Pinglu smiled gently: “The General’s tea is not rich in variety, but rich in affection. The tea tree was planted by the old lady herself, and since he was at the border all the time, he sent letters back asking Housekeeper Qin to take care of it for him.”

Zhao Yelan finally couldn’t control his expression, and said a bit stiffly: “Haven’t you never been to Beijing? How did you come to drink his tea?”

“My lord doesn’t know, but although the General was at the border, Housekeeper Qin sent someone every year to deliver some dried tea leaves to him. I was fortunate enough to taste it once,” Yin Pinglu said.

Zhao Yelan nodded his head slowly.

“So that turns out to be the case. He must place much value on family and friends.” Li Yucheng sighed, then looked at Zhao Yelan with a laugh. “It’s such a pity for you. With such picky tastes, you have to drink his family’s tea every day.”

The other two also laughed.

Zhao Yelan was silent, unable to tell them that he had taken a sip himself and then was never able to drink it again.

“Hey, the General is here.” Zuo Ran pointed outside the window.

The group turned their heads to look out. It happened that Yan Mingting raised his head and nodded at him. He was just about to enter the door when he accidentally bumped into a girl.

“Are you all right?” Yan Mingting asked.

The people upstairs could clearly see that the girl had bumped into him on her own.

“It appears that Yan Mingting, this guy,  is loved by others,” Li Yucheng said gloatingly. “It’s not surprising. Yan Mingting is taller than most of the men in this city, not to mention handsome and dashing, with an air of nobility. Which girl wouldn’t be tempted?”

After speaking, he specially took a glance at Zhao Yelan, wanting to see if he was angry. But unexpectedly, the other party was just waving his fan calmly with a slight smile in his eyes, looking at the scene outside calmly, as if he didn’t care at all.

……Wrong! Li Yucheng’s eyes fell on Zhao Yelan’s hand. Although he was waving the fan calmly, the joints and veins in his hand were bulging as if he wanted to crush it.

Sure enough, no one could completely ignore this sort of thing, even Zhao Yelan.

The girl blushed and asked, “I’m fine, sir, thank you. May I ask what your name is and where you’re from?”

“You’re really okay?” Yan Mingting reconfirmed.

“I’m fine.”

“If you’re fine, how could you bump into someone?” Yan Mingting pointed to both sides of the road. “The road is so wide, yet you can still bump into people. Do you have eye problems or dizziness? Don’t you need to find a doctor to figure out what’s causing it?”

The girl’s face grew increasingly redder. After stamming for a long moment, she suddenly stomped her foot in frustration and turned to run away.

When Yan Mingting walked into the private room, this group of people still hadn’t stopped laughing. Especially Li Yucheng, who laughed so hard that he nearly fell off his chair.

“What are you laughing at?” Yan Mingting asked, mystified.

The group was stunned for a moment, and Zhao Yelan said: “He really doesn’t seem to know what we’re laughing about.”

“Save me, that’s even more ridiculous, ah!” Li Yucheng collapsed laughing on the chair.

Zhao Yelan laughed softly. Half of his face was obscured by the fan, and only a pair of star-like eyes were exposed, which were really beautiful when bent in a smile.

Yan Mingting was stunned for a moment, staring into his eyes. The mood was infectious, and he also laughed after a while.

After the meal, Yan Mingting learned the reason from Li Yucheng, and couldn’t help being surprised.

He really just thought that girl had an eye or head disease, and that was why she had bumped into him. After all, he wasn’t arrogant enough to think that everyone would like him, and his thoughts were all on Zhao Yelan, so he didn’t have time to pay attention to others.

But what could he say, hearing about Zhao Yelan’s angry and jealous look, he still felt a surge of joy in his heart. But it was only a moment of secret joy that soon turned to worry.

Jealousy was sometimes a good thing, and sometimes not. For example, at this time, he stood outside the door at the inn and knocked for a long time: “I have something to discuss with you, let me come in and talk…..”

He immediately put on a serious face when someone passed by, and waited before they disappeared before knocking again: “I’m begging you…..”

After a while, Zhao Yelan opened the door: “What’s the matter?”

Yan Mingting stared in a daze, seeing that he had changed into brand new clothes. The thin, emerald green shirt with fluttering sleeves made him seem to transcend worldly affairs, unstained by dust. His eyes lit up: “So beautiful.”

Zhao Yelan gave him a haughty look and turned sideways to go out.

“Where are you going?” Yan Mingting followed along.

“Just for a stroll.” Zhao Yelan walked to the market. It was rare that he could wander around at will, so he wanted to take a look.

Tonight, Yan Mingting seemed to be having sudden spasms as he followed at his side. Whenever a passing woman took a look at Yan Mingting, he would raise his hand vigilantly to prevent her from approaching: “Sorry, I’m married.”

“I have a wife.”

“Don’t look at me, I’m a family man.”

The women passing by regarded him as if they were looking at a handsome but brainless idiot.

Zhao Yelan pressed his forehead and opened his fan to cover his face, not wanting to be seen with him.

“General Yan! It’s really you!” An old woman walked over with joy, her eyes shining.

“Sorry, I’m really married.” Yan Mingting stopped her.

Zhao Yelan: “……”

“Of course I know you’re married, and you’re married to Zhao-daren.” The old woman said with a smile.

“You know us?” Yan Mingting asked.

“En, I’m from Huaizhou, and I was sent here by your people to join my relatives. I’m staying at my brother’s house now, and I’ll go back in a while.” The old woman smiled kindly and enthusiastically handed over a basket. “These are the tomatoes planted by my younger brother and sister. They’re very sweet. My lords should take a taste.”

Yan Mingting couldn’t refuse, so he smiled and took two: “Many thanks, we just had dinner, so these two are enough.”

“I’m the one who should thank you, our family survived only because of you. I heard that many people died in droughts in previous years. This time it is all thanks to you discovering it early that more losses were prevented.”

After returning to the inn, Yan Mingting washed the bright red tomatoes and handed him one: “Try it?”

Zhao Yelan lowered his head and took a bite of it from his hand. He nodded: “It’s pretty sweet.”

Yan Mingting was stunned, staring at his face for a moment. After a while, Zhao Yelan lowered his head and took another bite. His thick eyelashes fluttered, his skin porcelain-like before the other’s eyes. Yan Mingting felt his heart beat harder, and his hands shook imperceptibly.

The tomato tasted sweet and was very juicy. When Zhao Yelan raised his head, there was a lot of juice at the corner of his mouth, which flowed down to his jaw.

Yan Mingting also had some of it on his hands but couldn’t bother with it, watching him first stick out his tender red tongue to lick the corner of his mouth, and then take out a brocade handkerchief to wipe other places.

“Don’t you want to try it?” Zhao Yelan asked.

Yan Mingting stuffed the remaining half of the tomato into his mouth in one breath, then stretched out his hand in front of him and beckoned for him to wipe it.

“The handkerchief is already dirty,” Zhao Yelan said.

What a pity, Yan Mingting thought to himself. The next moment, Zhao Yelan took his hand and leaned down to put his juice-stained finger into his mouth, raising his eyes to look at him.

A fuse seemed to have ignited within Yan Mingting. As if on fire, his face was redder than the tomato, the blush spreading to his neck. His whole body was scorching hot, all of it like a bright red ripe tomato.

“Is this all right?” Zhao Yelan let go of his hand.

“All right, all right!” Yan Mingting nodded hard, wishing he would do it a few more times, preferably every day!

He had eaten so fast that he didn’t even realize there was a little bit of juice at the corner of his mouth. Zhao Yelan took a few glances, and then leaned over and licked it away. Just as he was about to retreat, the other party hooked his neck and irresistibly pried open his lips, tasting the sweet tomato juice again.

It was not until footsteps sounded outside that the two parted with unfinished business.

“Let me tell you, Fu Qian is just a gift!” Li Yucheng traipsed in happily and sat down on the other side of the table, saying, “Guess what he did today?”

The two didn’t answer his words at all, and he continued on his own: “He bought a lot of things today, all of which you bought! Whichever clothes you bought, he immediately followed and secretly bought them, as well as sachets, teas, calligraphy, and paintings, ah, none of these were spared. I think he just wants to learn from you, and is mimicking you but making a fool of himself!”

After he finished speaking excitedly, he found that the other two did not respond, and asked: “Why aren’t you speaking?”

“Have you finished?” Zhao Yelan asked. “Since you’re done, get out. Don’t disturb our business.”

“It’s so late, what business could you do, ah?” Li Yucheng asked without thinking.

Zhao Yelan turned his head to the side, kissed Yan Mingting on the lips, and then looked back at him gravely: “This kind of business.”

Caught off guard, Li Yucheng fell off his stool in fright: “Ex, excuse me, goodbye!” Saying this, he ran out as if about to piss his pants in terror, then turned back in a flash and closed the door. “Don’t mind me, please continue.”