Since her own son hadn’t gotten to eat the instant noodles while that little bastard’s son had, Zhou Shi naturally wouldn’t let it go.
That very afternoon, she inquired from multiple sources and retraced the route home from the temple.
Only then did she confirm the shop in question.
The moment Zhao Da heard there was very fragrant noodles to eat, he immediately insisted on coming along.
But when he saw the tightly shut door, he was dumbfounded.
“Mother, what are we doing at this shabby shop? Da’er wants to eat noodles, the really, really fragrant kind! Let’s go quickly! The sun will be setting soon!”
In his young mind, he believed such fragrant noodles should be eaten in a grand, splendid restaurant, not in a run-down little shop that even villagers would look down upon.
“What do you know? Your grandfather brought Xiao’er here to eat noodles.”
It absolutely couldn’t be wrong. Auntie Niu from the village said she saw with her own eyes the child’s grandfather taking Zhao Xiao’er into this very shop!
She knew about this shop. Having married into the Zhao family for so many years, she had passed by it many times. But it was always closed, and it was said to have been abandoned for years.
Recently, however, there were rumors about a young married woman opening the shop.
Zhao Xiao’er also mentioned a “pretty older sister,” so it seemed correct.
Since they had come all this way, Zhou Shi wasn’t ready to give up.
She took a deep breath, stepped forward, and banged hard on the door several times, her hand turning red.
“Is anyone there?”
“We’re here to eat noodles!”
She was determined to get a free meal and certainly hadn’t brought any silver with her. If that didn’t work, she’d just bring up the child’s grandfather. After all, they’d already eaten for free twice; one more time wouldn’t matter.
She had tasted that candy—it was truly sweet!
A shop that could give away such delicious noodles and such tasty candy for free surely wouldn’t begrudge one more bowl of noodles. A young wife new to the area should understand basic social niceties!
“Shopkeeper, are you there?”
“We’ve brought you business!”
Zhou Shi waited at the door with Zhao Da for over an hour until the sky was completely dark. Her hand was sore from knocking, and her throat was hoarse.
Yet there wasn’t a single movement from inside the shop.
It wasn’t until Zhao Kun dragged her and their son back home that she reluctantly left, looking back over her shoulder with every step.
The next morning, before dawn.
Zhou Shi took Zhao Da and went to wait there again.
“Mother, will we get to eat noodles today?” Zhao Da looked at the closed door, yawning, unable to hold back his complaint.
“Stop your nonsense. Your mother will make sure you eat them no matter what!”
“Shopkeeper, open up! We’re here for noodles.”
This time, she brought all ten copper coins from her private savings.
Paying was fine, but the noodles had to be filling, and the candy had to be plentiful!
That little bastard’s son got to eat it, so her son couldn’t be outdone by him.
Since they were little, wasn’t it always her son who got to eat and taste things first, before Zhao Xiao’er?
Li Shi married into the family a year earlier than her but gave birth to a son after her. She had always been the one to overshadow Li Shi. How could she and that little bastard get a chance to show off this time?
She absolutely wouldn’t accept it!
Under the shade of a tree in the distance sat a man in plain clothes.
A horse was tethered beside him, and he held a pot of tea.
He appeared to be letting the horse graze, but in reality, his gaze never left the shop.
He hoped more than anyone that this shop would open.
He even hoped this petty, greedy woman would manage to knock the door open, no matter who came out.
Yesterday, although the Crown Prince hadn’t punished him, he was somewhat displeased. This time, he couldn’t afford to be careless again.
If something like that happened once more, Jiang Yi would be relegated to shoveling horse manure for the rest of his days.
Initially, when Jiang Yi accompanied the Crown Prince here to wait, and after three days with no one appearing, he began to suspect that the Crown Prince had seen a ghost or had simply been dreaming.
After all, this shop didn’t look like it was in operation at all.
There wasn’t even a signboard by the door, and nearby villagers all said the shop had been abandoned for a long time. How could there possibly be a young woman running a shop all alone in the middle of the night? Just the thought was enough to make one’s hair stand on end!
But yesterday, in broad daylight, under the sun, he had indeed seen a beautiful young woman walk out of the shop. Although her clothing was somewhat unusual, all her “parts” from head to toe were intact. That’s when Jiang Yi confirmed that what His Highness the Crown Prince said was all true…
The sun had risen, blazing and dazzling.
Zhou Shi’s legs ached from standing, and a thin layer of sweat dampened her back.
Zhao Da grew impatient. “Mother! When can we eat the noodles?! I’m hungry! If I don’t get to eat that really fragrant noodle soon, Zhao Xiao’er will laugh at me again when we get back!”
Dragged out before dawn without any breakfast, of course he was hungry now.
Zhou Shi’s stomach also growled audibly.
Just then, a man dressed in coarse linen approached.
“What’s all this commotion? There’s a pile of work at home. Mother has spoken: whoever doesn’t work doesn’t eat!”
The sight of him made Zhou Shi’s anger flare up instantly!
“It’s all because you dragged us away last night! Don’t you know your father ate the noodles around midnight? Maybe the shopkeeper only opens at midnight! It’s all your fault we missed it! You owe us noodles!”
When Zhao Da heard this, he also thought his father was the reason he couldn’t eat the noodles and started pounding on him with his fists.
“Dad, you owe me noodles! You owe me noodles! Da’er wants noodles, that really fragrant kind! Zhao Xiao’er already ate them! I want some too! I want some too!”
Relying on the fact that she married “down,” Zhou Shi never gave him face at home, often ordering him around, hitting or scolding him, which led even their child to have no respect for him.
The commotion drew quite a few villagers to watch. Zhao Kun felt utterly humiliated. He flung his sleeve in frustration.
“I’m done with this! If you go hungry, don’t come looking for me!”
This woman was truly mad! Over a bowl of noodles, of all things! She just had to make a scene!
Seeing the crowd growing larger and the sun becoming increasingly scorching, Zhou Shi stamped her foot and pulled Zhao Da away.
The man under the tree sighed with regret. Now he was the only one left guarding the place again.
At the Chen Manor.
Recently, Second Madam Wang Yue had been in high spirits.
Whenever she remembered the scene three days ago at the temple fair, where the Third Madam of the Zhao family was left speechless, she couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.
That little vixen, Sun Qiuxiang, knew she couldn’t surpass Wang Yue in beauty, so she had always mocked Wang Yue for her body odor.
At the temple fair, Wang Yue stood before her, exuding a fragrant scent and impeccably made-up, which nearly gave Sun Qiuxiang a heatstroke from anger.
Especially when two beautiful large butterflies kept fluttering around Wang Yue, following her fragrance wherever she went.
By then, Sun Qiuxiang had been playing on the mountain for most of the day, and her clothes were soaked with sweat. Even without body odor, the sour smell of sweat was quite improper for a young lady.
In the past, with Wang Yue the “Smelly One” around, Sun Qiuxiang’s sweat odor was practically negligible.
But today, this “Smelly One” had transformed into a “Fragrant One” even pursued by butterflies.
Sun Qiuxiang had always been slightly inferior in beauty, and now she was even outdone in scent.
Faced with Wang Yue’s taunts, Sun Qiuxiang was momentarily speechless and nearly sprained her ankle on the way down the mountain.
The madams who had previously joined Sun Qiuxiang in mocking Wang Yue now crowded around, eager to know what method she had used to become so fragrant.
After all, summer had arrived, and no lady wanted to carry any unpleasant odors.
If even Wang Yue the “Smelly One” could be cured, their minor issues were nothing.
Wang Yue remembered how they had joined Sun Qiuxiang in laughing at her, so naturally, she wouldn’t tell them the reason. She only vaguely mentioned that it was soap sent by a distant cousin, reportedly intended as tribute for the King of the Western Regions. Ordinary people couldn’t buy it even with money!
The ladies had no choice but to leave in disappointment.
Having achieved her goal, Wang Yue was happy all day.
However, by evening, the fragrance on her body seemed to have almost completely faded, and her natural body odor began to reappear.
To ensure the master would stay in her room that night, she took another bath.
That night, the master lingered with her for a long time. He was very satisfied, and she was very satisfied too!