Wrong Changhuan

Saying goodbye to Chang Huan in the evening, An Cuo entered Zuixian Pavilion by himself, and saw that the downstairs was full of people, almost full.

In the afternoon, Murong Ji hired Zuixian Pavilion, not only did not affect the business here, but it seemed to increase the reputation of the place.

An Cuo was depressed, thinking to himself, if he had known this before, it would be better to just find a small shop with few people, and it would be better than here.

The waiter in the shop was able to observe her words and expressions, and seemed to sense her unhappiness, so he quickly put on a smile and said, "Guest, the private room on the second floor is quiet, please come with the little one--" He said and led the way.

An Cuo followed upstairs and entered the room. Although the room was not too big, the interior was very stylish.The room was dyed with a touch of incense, and potted flowers were placed on the high table by the door, but she didn't have the heart to appreciate it at the moment.

An made a mistake to walk to the window, pushed it away and looked out, and felt very familiar.Looking along the street again, I saw Chang Huan downstairs following Yang Yan slowly heading east.

The waiter in the shop wiped the spotless table again, poured the tea enthusiastically, "Guest, what do you want to eat? What do you want to drink?"

An made a mistake, "Just a few signature dishes, and two jugs of good wine."

"Okay--the honored guest will be here later--" the waiter in the shop said in a familiar long tone, just as he was about to go out, he saw three or four young men surrounded by the door.

The leader was a well-dressed man with a sultry face, who looked rich and powerful, and shouted loudly, "This is the room--"

Another man walking behind him said excitedly, "This is the place where the regent eats? Sure enough, it looks a bit extravagant..."

Another dandy followed suit, "Brother Li, it's all thanks to you that I can come here this time to get a little extravagant..."

The fat man seemed to be very useful after hearing it, and he showed off proudly, "Xiaoer, I will take care of this room, young master tonight, no matter how much money--the people in it, invite her to eat elsewhere--"

Xiaoer carefully squeezed out to the door, with a puzzled expression on his face, "My lord, there are guests in this room--the guests in the private room next door came early, and they are about to eat. The layout of that room is the same as this one. How about you Wait a moment..."

The fat man said disdainfully, "Who do you look down on? Young master, I have plenty of money. I want to treat guests to dinner, so I want the best room here." He pushed Xiaoer away and wanted to rush in, but just as he lifted his foot, he heard a whoosh .

The fat man was startled, and stopped immediately, turned his head to look, and saw an ebony chopsticks pierced into the wooden three fingers, nailed straight to the door frame three inches from his head.

Fatty suddenly broke out in cold sweat, and forgot to move. The companion behind him took a step back in fright, and hurriedly pulled his clothes again.

I saw the people in the room drinking tea with their heads bowed, without even raising their heads, they said coldly, "The next one is your eyes..."

The fat man originally thought that a weak woman would be easy to bully.Unexpectedly, it was Tongtian who saw people with her eyes and underestimated her.

An Cuo raised his eyes and said expressionlessly, "Get out--"

I don't know whether he was frightened by the precise blind shooting skill, or was shocked by the tone and expression of the people in the room, the fat man staggered back two steps, and then scrambled down the stairs.

It was only then that the door was quiet again, and Xiao Er hurriedly closed the door with a smile.

An Cuo inadvertently thought about the episode just now, his thoughts had already been occupied by the previous distress and worry.

Not long after, the shop waiter knocked on the door and set the table with wine and dishes, seeing her even more displeased, thinking that she was disturbed by the incident just now.

Xiaoer said, "Don't be angry, honored guests. This private room is not open to the public. Those people just now are all strangers. I think it's their first time here. They don't know the rules."

An mistakenly put down the teacup and said, "Not to the outside world?"

Xiao Er said, "That's not it... This room is reserved by our boss for the second young master of the Lin family and Mr. Yang... If I didn't see the girl today with Mr. Yang and Miss Chang Huan, I'm afraid I would have to stay upstairs too." I'm tired and crowded..."

An mistakenly poured a glass of wine and said, "Do they come here often to eat?"

After setting the dishes, Xiao Er stood by the table with his head down, and said, "Young Master Lin doesn't come here often, but Young Master Yang and Miss Chang Huan do come to have a drink once in a while for a change..."

Seeing that An Cuo was thoughtful and stopped talking, Xiao Er bowed his waist and said, "Then you, please slow down..." He said and exited the door.

For a change...

An Cuo drank a glass of wine quietly, and suddenly thought and doubted.

Will I also be like that dish that I am tired of eating, and A Huan will also have a day of disgust?

A Huan, have you always been so duplicity?

You are the one who clearly says that he hates Murong Ji and wants him to die, but privately says that he regrets it.

You clearly promised me to stay away from her, why do you still stop me, the one who won't let me kill her is you.

Is it because she was sent by Murong Ji, so you also developed feelings for that secret guard named Chen Yang?

Is it compassion?Mercy?still...

Chang Huan's words that night suddenly sounded in An Cuo's mind.

Ah Cuo, do you know, if I hadn't seen her appearance... I would have thought it was you who came...

Then, An Cuo remembered the trace of love and distress in Chang Huan's expression when he said this.And the same look appeared again when facing Chen Yang in the evening.

Changhuan, is that love and distress for me?Or for her?

Lin Changhuan, is it really me that you like?

Or, you originally liked this tune? !That's why you are so reluctant when you meet Chenyang, and you have that look, isn't it?

Thinking of this, my heart seems to be blocked, and the inside is churning up and down.An dropped the glass by mistake, picked up the jug on the table, and took a few sips with his head raised.

Only in this way can we extinguish thoughts and relieve worries.

But the wine enters the heart of sorrow, the sorrow is not over, and the sorrow is even more sorrowful.

The sleeve wiped the wine glass by the table, and fell on the wooden floor, making a dull sound, and rolled a few times before stopping.

There was a light knock on the door outside the house, and the shopkeeper returned with a tray in his hand.

An Cuo raised his eyes, and said coldly, "There's no need to serve any more food—two jugs of wine—"

The waiter saw the table full of dishes, so many people stepped over the threshold and came here admiringly, all for this reason, but there was no chopsticks moved here.Xiao Er pointed to a plate of dishes just put down, "This dish is given to the distinguished guests by the host. I apologize for the incident just now... You can use it slowly--" He pushed the door out as he spoke.

Qingxiao, more slow, thin and long.

An Cuo continued to drink dull wine, upset, unable to stop, and had nowhere to hide.

After some time, outside the door of the private room, a woman about twenty-five six took off her white apron, handed it to Xiao Er beside her, took the two jugs of wine from Xiao Er's arms, and brought a smile on her face. Smiling, without knocking on the door, he opened the door unceremoniously and entered.

The sudden intruder made An Cuo stop his movements.

I saw that the woman was dressed plainly, with thick calluses on her hands, and only a jade hairpin on her head, without any other decorations.

An Cuo looked her up and down, and asked warily, "Who are you?"

"I'm the cook here." The woman walked to the table and took a seat opposite An Cuo.

"This is not the kitchen." An Cuo only glanced at it, and then only focused on drinking.

"I am also the host here, Zhu Sanniang." Zhu Sanniang said, seeing the wine glass at her feet, bent down to pick it up, and put it on the table.

"What are you doing here? You won't lose your drink money."

"I heard that Yang Yan and Chang Huan's friends came to this room. I was a little curious, so I came to have a look."

Zhu Sanniang came to drink with Lin Xun half a month ago, and told her about An Cuo and Chang Huan. When she asked her opinion, she became curious about An Cuo, and happened to meet the person waiting at the gate of Zuixian Pavilion at noon today , I knew a general idea in my heart.

"After reading it, you can go out."

After Zhu Sanniang heard this, she was not angry, nor did she get up, she still said softly, "You are not young, and you have a good temper."

An Cuo asked angrily, "Friends of Yang Yan and Chang Huan, you used to come here like this, did you watch other people eat?"

Zhu Sanniang shook her head, raised her finger to point to the dishes on the table, and said, "But you are the first one who doesn't take a bite of my dishes."

An Cuo looked at Zhu Sanniang, took a piece of green vegetables into his mouth, chewed slowly, and said, "Now, you can go."

Zhu Sanniang burst out laughing.

"Tell me, what's bothering you? Wait...don't tell me yet..."

Zhu Sanniang poured a glass of wine and said, "Let me guess...drinking alone like this, but for your little lover?...long happiness?"

The surprise on An Cuo's face didn't hide it, but he felt defensive, and frowned, "How...how do you know?"

Zhu Sanniang nodded her head with her right index finger, and smiled mysteriously, "It depends on the feeling here, you can call it inspiration, or the sixth sense."

Seeing An Cuo's suspicious expression, Zhu Sanniang said again, "I've known Chang Huan for so many years, and I've figured it out a long time ago. She's very special...There aren't many people like us, and it's not hard to identify her."

"What do you want to say? I'm not interested in chatting with you." An Cuo couldn't help but issued the eviction order again.

Zhu Sanniang drank the wine in the glass and sighed, "This wine is really good...it tastes even better when it is served with food..." Looking up and seeing An Cuo staring at her, she said, "Then How about you eat food and drink, let me tell a story? If you listen to it, if you don’t have any inspiration, I will treat you to this meal... Besides, drinking alone is so boring..."

Seeing that An Cuo didn't object, Zhu Sanniang said slowly, "The dishes I cook taste good, right? I'm a cook, but it's not just that I cook for a while."

Zhu Sanniang told her story slowly, and An Cuo listened quietly while drinking.

The following is her account.

Nine years ago, I just came to Jiangling, and the Zuixian Pavilion was also built at that time.

Before that, I had been living in the capital, and I was just a fire girl in the capital's sixth-rank official family Du's house.

When I came to Du's house at the age of 12, I thought I would be there for three or four years, and then just like my parents expected, I would find someone to marry, take care of my husband and raise my children, and then live my life in a normal way.

Unexpectedly, in the second year in the Du Mansion, I met someone who made my heart beat.

That person is the young lady of the Du family, her boudoir name is A Heng.

Mr. Du has a son and a daughter, his official position is not high, and his family is well-off, but he is very patriarchal. In addition, Mrs. Du is the successor of Mr. Du, so Ah Heng's life is not good.

However, she is small and weak, and she doesn't like to laugh on weekdays. She doesn't like Mr. Du, and she is regarded as a thorn in the side of Mrs. Du.

The first time I saw her was one night.

At that time, I was sleeping in the servant's room in the kitchen courtyard, and suddenly heard a movement in the middle of the night.

At that time, things were lost in the kitchen every now and then, and I thought there was a thief.

I took the courage to go with a broom.

I was very surprised, I didn't expect that the person squatting on the ground was actually her, Miss Du's family, Ah Heng.

When the kitchen was short-staffed before, I also went to help serve dishes, so I met her, but I didn't speak to her.

She squatted on the ground, and when she saw me, she acted as if she had a guilty conscience, and hurriedly put her hands behind her, as if she was hiding something and didn't want me to see it.

I said, miss, why don't you sleep in the middle of the night, what are you doing here?

Then I saw that the pot lid on the stove was not closed tightly, and I knew the general reason.

I said, Miss, are you hungry?

Seeing that I was not malicious, she nodded and took out the cold steamed bun with two bites from behind tremblingly.

That look made me feel bad.

In the past, I just listened to people's comments, saying that Miss was not valued, but I didn't expect to see it with my own eyes, it was actually true.

I said, miss, what do you want to eat, I will make it for you.

At that time, my cooking skills were not very good, and I only knew a few home-cooked dishes, but when I saw her like that, the first thing I thought of was volunteering to cook for her.

I thought it would be nice to at least let her have a mouthful of something warm.

I lit a candle in the kitchen, but she blew it out in one gulp.

She said, don't light the lamp, let the old lady know, and I will be punished again.

Seeing her cautious appearance, I don't know how to comfort her other than my heart aches.

I said, let me bake steamed buns for you, the stove is very small, no one will know.

She nodded and handed the buns to me.

Later, I started a fire and baked steamed buns.

She asked, my name is Du Heng, what's your name?

I said, they all call me Sanniang, Zhu Sanniang.

She asked, are you third?

I said, yes.

She said, I have a younger brother, but I will soon have another younger brother.

But the expression and tone of her words did not show a hint of happiness.

Then, I saw the bruise on her wrist.

The madam is already domineering by giving birth to a young master, another reliance will only make her life worse.

But I didn't know what to say, so I could only pretend I didn't see it.

Then, I burned the steamed buns.

I am very embarrassed.I said, how about I bake you another one.

But she didn't mind, took a bite of the steamed bun, and said, delicious.

Then, she smiled.

The light from the stove was weak, reflecting her face and her smile.

That was the best-looking, most charming smile I had ever seen growing up.It's the one that hurts me the most.

Also from then on, I thought, I must be a cook in the future and cook the most delicious meals in the world.For her, for her smile.

Since then, she still often comes to the kitchen in the middle of the night, and I prepare food in advance and wait for her.

During this period, I learned how to cook from the chef in the kitchen.

Every time I learned something, I made it for her.

She always said it was delicious, but I knew it wasn't.Sometimes I put too much salt, sometimes I put less vinegar...

She said that as long as it is made by Sanniang, they are all delicious. Although each has its own flavor, there is one ingredient that is the same.

I asked, what is it?

She said, there is your love.

Those words made me blush and my heart beat fast.

That was the first time I heard the word love from her mouth.

But I dare not answer.

I live my life cautiously, not daring to go overboard.

In this way, he stayed in the mansion for another two years.Every day is both anticipation and fear.

Looking forward to seeing her, but also afraid that others will find out about us.

Later, after someone told the master and miss that she went to the kitchen to eat secretly in the middle of the night, the master called me over for questioning, and then let me go back without saying anything or punishing me.

However, the number of times I saw her became less and less.

But fortunately, we agreed on the code in advance.

One day, the servants in the mansion were talking about the young lady's engagement.When I heard this, I was chopping vegetables, and accidentally cut my finger.

I endured the pain and made a rice cake stuffed with red bean wine.

She once said that when she wants to meet up, just make a red bean soup cake, and she will definitely come out.

But that night, she didn't show up.

On the second day, I made a red bean rice porridge.

On the third day, I made red bean and jujube soup.

For three days in a row, she did not show up.

Coincidentally, my family wanted me to go back at that time, so I resigned my job in a fit of anger, and left the Du Mansion with resentment and sullenness.

I thought at the time, if she came to see me and told me to take her away, I would definitely take her away.If she doesn't want to see me, what else should I do in the mansion.

With no rush and anticipation, I went home, but the grievances did not diminish as the days passed.

One day, he met a servant of the Du Mansion on the street, and couldn't help but go up to inquire about her.

The servant said, haven't you heard?The young lady is sick, and she has been sick for a month. The doctors said that she will die soon. I am afraid that it will only be a few days, and the house is starting to prepare for the funeral.

When I heard the news, it was like being struck by lightning.

Counting the days, it has been exactly one month since I left the Du Mansion.

I entered the mansion and asked the housekeeper.The butler sighed, but took me to her anyway.

When I saw her, I finally understood why the butler sighed like that, and why he leniently allowed me to meet her.

She was all skinny and out of shape.

It turned out that she wanted me to see her one last time.

Seeing her like that, all the reprimands and resentment disappeared.

At that time, I only regretted that I spent a month and made myself sad every day.But she is no better than me.

Zhu Sanniang suddenly stopped talking, poured a glass of wine, and drank it down.

An Cuo was curious, and asked, "Why didn't she see you back then?"

Zhu Sanniang looked up at An Cuo and said, "Before death, is this still important?"

An Cuo was silent, thought for a moment, and then said, "If I'm not sure, does she love me?"

Is love more important than death?

Zhu Sanniang said softly, "I heard from Second Master Lin that Chang Huan went to Jiangdong and risked his life to find an antidote for you?"

An Cuo was disappointed, and murmured, "Yes...she also risked her life for me."

"Since you know it, why do you need to ask why you know it, and cause this worry for no reason..."

This time, An Cuo completely stopped making a sound.

It turns out that the person who can't see his own heart clearly is not Chang Huan, but myself...

Seeing that An Cuo was like an eggplant beaten by frost, Zhu Sanniang drooped her head and said in relief, "I've talked so much tonight, but I really want to say two sentences...the first sentence is, Except for life and death, they are all trivial matters. When it comes to worrying about yourself, think about whether the other person is really happy? If you are still so worried in the face of life and death, you can take it easy...I didn't say anything today..."

Dang-dang-dang-a slight knock on the door interrupted Zhu Sanniang's words.

A beautiful woman about Zhu Sanniang's age, fair and delicate, wearing a white fur coat, and holding a cloak in her hand, gently opened the door and stood at the door.

When Zhu Sanniang saw her, she rushed up to greet her, and said angrily, "Why did you come out in such a cold day?" She said and patted the residual snow on her body.

The woman said, "It's snowing outside, I'm afraid you don't know how to take care of yourself... Go home in the snow, catch the wind and cold..." As she spoke, she handed over the things in her hand, and took a look inside. An Cuo looked straight at her, and nodded slightly in greeting.

An Cuo stiffly returned the same salute.

The woman turned her head and whispered again, "Brother Yang's friend?"

Zhu Sanniang nodded and dragged her into the house.

"I was wondering just now. When I first came here, I saw the Second Young Master and Brother Yang walking to the west, but the servant said you were in this private room..."

An misheard, put a silver coin on the table, got up and said, "Thank you for your story."

Zhu Sanniang looked at the silver and suddenly smiled.It seemed that she listened to what she said.

An Cuo just walked to the door, turned around again, and asked curiously, "The second sentence, what is it?"

Zhu Sanniang said with a smile, "The second sentence is that once the person is identified, although the process is tortuous, it is still worth working hard and looking forward to..." After a pause, he turned to look at the person beside him. The woman asked with utmost gentleness, "Are you right, Ah Heng?"

When An heard the name by mistake, he was taken aback. He couldn't help but look at the woman again, and asked, "She didn't die? How did you do it?"

I saw two people in the room looking at each other and smiling.

Zhu Sanniang said, "If you are interested in what happened later, you can ask Chang Huan to tell you... Right now, I should go home with my wife..."