Suddenly, a woman walked into the room. Dressed in an indigo thin gown and wearing a silver hairpin, she carried herself with grace and poise. It was the eldest daughter - in - law of Lady Yan, the young mistress of the Yan family.
The young mistress of the Yan family quickly walked to the bedside and said anxiously, "Mother, Mingli hasn't eaten a single bite since last night!"
Lady Yan maintained her smile and didn't seem too concerned. "It's okay. He won't starve himself."
"Mother! Yesterday, my husband came home and saw a poor beggar on the roadside. While Mingli was taking a bath, he gave away the cakes Mingli had hidden to the beggar. He also told me to leave some salted duck and steamed buns in the kitchen..." The young mistress of the Yan family couldn't hide her guilt when talking about this. After all, it was her kind - hearted husband who took Mingli's cakes.
The young mistress of the Yan family lowered her head, avoiding Lady Yan's gaze. "This morning, when I went to check, the salted duck and steamed buns were untouched."
Lady Yan finally became serious. "Really untouched?"
The young mistress of the Yan family nodded. "Not a single bite!"
Learning that her youngest son had gone hungry all night, Lady Yan quickly got up and started dressing. "It's rare to see Mingli seriously on a hunger strike. Come with me to take a look."
Soon, Lady Yan and the young mistress of the Yan family arrived at Mingli's courtyard.
Even through the door, they could hear the servant's persuasion. "I can even hear your stomach growling, young master. Please eat something."
"No! If mother doesn't agree to cancel my engagement, I'd rather starve to death than take a single bite!" Mingli was determined and refused to eat.
Hearing the words "canceling the engagement", Lady Yan felt a headache coming on. She pushed the door open and entered. "What are you up to? You were the one who agreed to the marriage with the Yong'an Marquis Mansion. Why do you want to call it off now? Moreover, the engagement has been changed to the eldest daughter of the Yong'an Marquis Mansion who just returned home. That eldest daughter is a student of Shen Heqing. Don't you always like Shen Heqing?"
Mingli was sitting on the bed, and the servant beside the bed was holding a plate of salted duck and steamed buns. Hearing the sound, they both looked towards the door.
Seeing Lady Yan, Mingli immediately burrowed under the quilt. "Mother, I want to cancel the engagement!"
"I fell in love with a girl at first sight yesterday. I can't chase her while still engaged. What do you take your son for!"
"Even if she was taught by Shen Heqing, it has nothing to do with me. I'm looking for a wife, not a brother!"
Mingli covered his head with the quilt, and his voice was muffled and hard to hear clearly.
Lady Yan reached out herself, pulling at the quilt while interrogating. "Isn't it because you're always talking about Shen Heqing? I thought you liked Shen Heqing!"
"Which girl is it? How old is she? What's her character like? Does she like you?"
"If you don't stop pulling the quilt, do you still want me to cancel the engagement!"
Hearing the words "canceling the engagement", Mingli popped out from under the quilt. "Yes! I don't know her name, but she must have a good relationship with my role - model because Su Qian took her into the poetry club. Su Qian and my role - model..."
Lady Yan's head was spinning. After sorting it out, she realized that Mingli didn't even know the girl's name. He only knew that the girl had a good relationship with Shen Heqing and had even joined Shen Heqing's poetry club.
Looking at her silly son, Lady Yan sneered and raised her hand.
"Mother, don't hit my face! I'm going to chase the girl today! Mother, mother, mother! Sister - in - law, save me!"
Mingli ran around the courtyard to avoid Lady Yan's blows. He got quite a few slaps but managed to keep his face unharmed.
When Lady Yan got tired of hitting, she had no choice but to agree to Mingli's request. She grabbed Mingli's ear and said fiercely, "If you can't win her heart, I'll beat your face swollen!"
"I'll go and cancel the engagement today. You take out your private money as compensation for the other family."
Mingli said weakly, "Leave me some money for getting married..."
...
In front of the Drunken Rhyme Pavilion.
Chen Miaochun helped Shen Baozhu off the carriage and immediately saw Mingli sitting at a table, eating steamed buns.
The young man was dressed in a bright red long robe. With delicate features and snow - white skin, he wore a gilded bamboo - patterned hair crown and had a Hetian jade ring hanging from his waist. He looked every bit a young master from a wealthy family.
Chen Miaochun's eyes flickered slightly. She whispered, "Baozhu, do you think the gold on his head is real?"
"It should be real. He looks very rich!"
Shen Baozhu followed Chen Miaochun's gaze. She saw her new friend in red, eating steamed buns. There were also all kinds of food on the table, including roast duck, roast goose, pancakes, candied haws... and many other delicious foods that Shen Baozhu didn't recognize but looked very appetizing.
Looking at those delicious foods, Shen Baozhu nodded in agreement. "Buying such delicious things, he must be very rich!"
Dragon King: [Everyone is looking at Mingli. Chen Miaochun only has money on her mind, while the cute one only thinks about food.]
Chen Miaochun understood and led Shen Baozhu to Mingli. "Baozhu likes you very much. Could you please play with her for a while? I'll be back soon."
Since the study plan hadn't been finalized yet, Chen Miaochun came here today to deliver a message to Ning Shanyuan. It would only take a few words.
Mingli stared blankly at Chen Miaochun and stood there like a fool. It wasn't until Shen Baozhu poked him that he blushed and nodded. "Okay."
Dragon King: [Hahaha, a big fool!]
Even after Chen Miaochun entered the Drunken Rhyme Pavilion, Mingli still stared blankly at her back.
Dragon King: [Your eyeballs are about to fall out.]
With the food on the table in front of her, Shen Baozhu reached out and tugged at Mingli. "Can I have a bite of the candied haws..."
"You can't eat that. These candied haws are left over from yesterday. They're not fresh." Mingli pushed the candied haws aside and moved the freshly - made pancakes, roast duck, and rice cakes in front of Shen Baozhu.
He said with a flattering smile, "These are fresh. They were just made this morning. Try them, Baozhu."
This made Shen Baozhu a little scared. She nervously looked at Mingli. "Do you want to sell me? Mother said that anyone who gives me food for no reason is a bad person who wants to sell me!"
Mingli shouted that he was wronged. He did have other motives, but it wasn't to sell Shen Baozhu. Instead, he wanted to find out about his sweetheart through Shen Baozhu.
"I don't want to sell you. I gave you food yesterday, and I didn't sell you either." Mingli used yesterday's incident as an example.
But Shen Baozhu shook her head. "It's different. I also shared the candied haws with you yesterday. We were exchanging."
Mingli, who had never thought of this, stared with wide eyes. So they were exchanging yesterday?
Dragon King: [Hahahaha, the cute one is so smart. She completely outsmarts Mingli.]
Lin Yu: [Does Brother Baozhu really not dislike how stupid he is?]
Watching the daily interactions between Shen Heqing and Shen Baozhu, Lin Yu could sense that Shen Heqing had a bit of an aversion to stupidity. If Mingli was as silly in front of Shen Heqing, he would definitely be disliked.
In front of the smart Shen Baozhu, Mingli was at a loss. He stammered for a long time and didn't dare to say his real purpose.
The on - looking Dragon King was getting impatient. He "kindly" helped Mingli explain. [Cute one, Mingli doesn't want to sell you. He has his eye on Chen Miaochun!]
Shen Baozhu was skeptical. "You have your eye on Sister Miaochun?"
Seeing that Shen Baozhu "understood" him, Mingli nodded. "Yes, yes, yes. I want to know what she likes. So her name is Miaochun. It's such a nice name..."
Shen Baozhu suddenly realized and got very angry. "You want to find out what Sister Miaochun likes and then use things to lure her and sell her!"
"In a way, it can be considered luring..." Mingli lowered his head, feeling a bit embarrassed. But when he heard the second half of the sentence, he was completely stunned and hurriedly explained, "Sell who? Who am I going to sell? I'm really not a human trafficker!"
Dragon King: [Hahahahahaha.]
Dragon King: [The cute one is so smart. He really wants to lure Chen Miaochun.]
With the Dragon King's confirmation, Shen Baozhu was even more determined in her thoughts.
Seeing Mingli's face turn red and him on the verge of exploding, it was Lin Yu who kindly reminded. [Baozhu misunderstood. Mingli likes Miaochun. He wants to pursue her and make her his wife.]
[He brought you food today because he wants to know what Miaochun likes so that he can court her according to her preferences.]
Looking at the subtitles, Shen Baozhu finally understood.
She asked curiously, "Sister Miaochun is already engaged to Mingli. She will definitely marry him. Why does he still need to pursue her?"
Lin Yu: [They're playing the game of falling in love after marriage. They decide to be together first and then pursue each other.]
Dragon King: [They really know how to play. Hahaha.]