Seventy-fourth bowl of soup (5)
The days are always getting better and better, except for one thing - since the guy named Shuanzi came here once, he basically comes here every now and then. Sometimes I send some rice noodles, sometimes I get some game, and when I come, I help Ah Chou carry water and cultivate land, and he is extremely diligent. The attitude towards the prince is also very good, even if the prince loves to ignore him, he has never even seen his face, and he speaks politely to please him. A Chou has a dull personality, and when people send so many things, she makes clothes for Shuan Zi with her own hands, and often brings home herbal medicines, dried meat, pickled vegetables, etc., to Shuan Zi. Also familiar.
But is the prince so easy to fool? It's strange that he can't see the embolism! So he didn't give Shuanzi a good face even more, Shuanzi was also persistent, and every time he came back, he had to go to the house to say hello to the prince.
Shuanzi didn't come again until the snow thawed and the mountain road could be walked again, he came to report again, carrying a few catties of freshly cut pork and a bag of rice on his back. Ah Chou and the others were really inconvenient for some things on the mountain, thanks to Shuan Zi's help.
A Chou took the meat and went to the kitchen to prepare it. Shuan Zi saw that she stuffed a lot of things into his basket, which made him a little discouraged. No matter what he brought to A Chou, she would return it to him. Really. If you think about it, the herbal medicine she gave is probably more valuable. But this also made Shuanzi confirm one thing again, Ah Chou is really a good girl.
While Ah Chou was in the kitchen, Shuanzi straightened the wrinkled corners of his clothes, patted the dust off his legs, entered the room and talked to the prince through the curtain: "That... big brother..."
The prince said coldly, "Who is your elder brother?"
Shuanzi was stabbed and scratched his head, "Then what should I call you?"
"snort."
He didn't know how to bark, so he stopped barking. First, he took a peek at the kitchen and saw that Ah Chou was not paying attention to the room, so he hurriedly said to the prince, "I want to marry Ah Chou as my wife. Don't worry, Brother A Chou. I will designate you in the future." Raise you as my own brother, I will treat you as Ah Chou treats you, and I will never teach you to live a hard life, you see—"
The crown prince interrupted him: "You are worthy?"
Shuanzi was stunned, he didn't expect Ah Chou's brother to speak so impolitely, he didn't know how to answer for a while, he hesitated, and the prince said again: "Where did you come from an ignorant man, you are worthy to marry her, you have a reputation Still have military merits in life? Ah Chou marries you, and you will have to wash and cook for you in the future, you are easy to plan." After finishing speaking, he paused, and said, "A Chou does not marry."
Shuanzi was not happy when he heard this: "If Ah Chou doesn't get married, will she still be able to serve you all her life? It's too difficult for her to live as a girl. She can still serve you now. When she reaches the age in a few years, Can't carry shoulders or lift hands, can't you two survive this day? I—"
"Get out." The prince was irritated by what he said. "I'll say it again, Ah Chou doesn't marry."
Shuanzi was angry. He felt that he and Brother Ah Chou couldn't go together. This man had a weird temper and was so rude when he spoke. He wanted to marry Ah Chou, so he just said no to him? Thinking of this, he couldn't care less about being shy, and got up to go out. The prince heard his movements on the bed and wanted to chase him anxiously, but his upper body moved, but his legs felt as if they were dead.
Yes, he is used to it, but today he still has to suffer from his crippled legs.
A Chou scalded the pork with water and cut it into slices, marinated it in coarse salt for a while, and at the same time prepared the stewed wild vegetables for seasoning, when he saw Shuanzi rush in, blushing and said to her: "Ah Ugly! I, I have something to tell you!"
Just say it, what are you so excited about? Ah Chou smiled: "Don't worry, speak slowly if you have something to say."
speak slowly? Then he dare not say it! In fact, this idea has been in Shuanzi's mind for a long time, but he just didn't have the courage to bring it up, and now he gritted his teeth: "Ah Chou, are you willing to be my daughter-in-law?"
The spatula in Ah Chou's hand fell to the pot, she couldn't believe what she heard: "You, what did you say?"
"I want to marry you as my daughter-in-law." Shuanzi blushed and scratched his head habitually, "Well, my parents have passed away long ago, and I have three houses of my own in the village at the foot of the mountain, and several acres of paddy fields. You have great strength and can hunt, and you have saved dozens of taels of silver, I, I will not teach you to suffer!"
Ah Chou smiled slightly, she really didn't expect that someone would want to marry her as a wife regardless of her ugly appearance. But unfortunately, she had to reject Shuanzi's kindness: "Brother Shuanzi, let me tell you the truth, I have no intention of getting married, and I have to take care of my brother."
"It's okay, I can take care of it with you. There is a labor force in the family, it's easier than you alone." Shuanzi was very persistent, "I think the two of us are old enough."
Ah Chou sighed: "I will embarrass you if I look like this."
"I'm not afraid!" Shuanzi said earnestly, "I think you are wonderful, you are the best girl I have ever seen."
Ah Chou has never heard someone praise herself like this, her face flushed slightly, but she still shook her head: "I won't marry, Brother Shuanzi, you are so nice, you will definitely find a suitable girl, I can't."
Shuanzi was extremely disappointed when he heard that she had no possibility of agreeing. He was not a shameless person, so he turned and walked out silently and disappointed. I didn't bring any jerky or anything, and the baskets are all there.
The way she looked around made the prince very unhappy: "What are you looking for?"
"...It's nothing." She smiled, "Your Highness, hurry up and eat while it's hot. This servant made bone soup for His Highness today."
She carefully took out a bowl of thick and white bone soup, and fed it to the prince one by one with a spoon. He didn't know when he had the problem, but she had to wait on him when he took the medicine, otherwise he wouldn't take a sip.
The prince observed her expression while drinking the soup, and then pretended to be casual and asked: "What did the villager tell you?"
Ah Chou was stunned for a moment, and only planned to prevaricate, not wanting His Highness to know about these trivial matters. "Don't worry, Your Highness, it's just some interesting things that happened in the village."
She lied! The prince turned cold, "Really? Then he didn't mention wanting to marry you?"
After being exposed by the prince, Ah Chou knew that Shuanzi had told the prince about it, she immediately put down the soup bowl and knelt down: "Your Highness, forgive me!"
The prince didn't want her to kneel again, "What's wrong with you?"
"Your Highness shouldn't be disturbed by these trivial matters. Don't worry, Your Highness. I won't let him come here again in the future. Your Highness..."
Before she finished speaking, the prince interrupted her: "Okay."
"?"
"It's not bad for him to come." The prince said such a sentence without thinking, but Ah Chou tilted his head and didn't understand.
When she tilted her head, her eyes looked extraordinarily simple and innocent, she was actually very cute, the prince's heart skipped a beat, so he didn't tell her that it was because of the embolism, and she didn't have to do a lot of rough work. "I'm going to eat."
"yes."
After this day, Shuanzi never came again, Ah Chou breathed a sigh of relief, and the prince couldn't hide his inner joy, and he was in a good mood all the time. Winter is over, and the mountains and forests are beginning to show a lively scene. Ah Chou is also going to go into the mountains to dig some fresh wild vegetables and herbs. She has eaten pickled vegetables for a long time, but she can bear it, but she has wronged His Highness. So when the weather was a little better, she prepared a basket of ropes and a sickle and went out.
The prince is worried about her every time. If she is not allowed to go, she can always take the time to go secretly. He is raised by her very well and has a normal routine, but she can stay up all night. In short, Ah Chou is very obedient. What he said, but she also has her own ideas, and even he can't change what she decides.
In fact, when Shuanzi wanted to marry Ah Chou, the prince almost let Ah Chou go, so that she could live a better life. She is so sensible and hardworking, so she must be well-organized to take care of a family, but.
He is not willing.
Thinking that Ah Chou would treat another man like him, the prince felt very uncomfortable. He has never been contaminated by love, and he doesn't know what it means. He only knows that if this is the only way to do this in his life, he only wants to be with Ah Chou.
Even though she looks ugly, her heart is the most cherished treasure in this world.
As usual, he waited for Ah Chou to come back at home, thinking that she would bring him a bouquet of flowers when she came back. It’s winter and I haven’t seen flowers for a long time. She is usually cute and dull, but she is actually a little girl who always likes Fragrant and beautiful things. It's a pity that he is no longer the aloof prince and can't give her anything. Then she should pick some edible wild fruits, and maybe catch a little rabbit or something to entertain him.
The rabbit I caught in the summer is so fat that I can’t even look at it, and it eats more than Ah Chou, but it doesn’t do any work at all. It’s really useless.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help pinching the long ears of the rabbit on his lap, "You, what's the use, you just know how to eat."
The rabbit blinked red eyes, very cheerful, yes, yes, it is exactly the same as your master.
But today, for some reason, Ah Chou didn't come back when it was dark. Normally, she would come back at noon because she had to make lunch for him. The prince had no intention of eating, he just felt a little flustered and always had some bad premonitions.
After waiting for a while, until the tip of the moon, the whole forest was eerily quiet, only the occasional crackling of the oil lamp. The prince became more and more miserable, and couldn't help but wonder if she had encountered some kind of beast? Or a sprained ankle? The mountain road is rugged, and the ice and snow are just melting, what should I do if I stumble
Just when he was burning with anxiety, A Chou came back.
But when she came back, she was covered in dust. In the past, she sometimes came back dirty, but the first thing she did was to clean herself before coming to him, but today she came directly, and the prince saw that her basket was not there. Return empty-handed.
Before he could ask, Ah Chou grabbed him: "Your Highness! The Ninth Prince's people have entered the mountain!"