"Hu Yunzhi! I heard that you brought a beautiful young lady to dinner. You really have the leisure time! Let me see how beautiful the young lady is..."
With a "bang", the door of the box was suddenly opened, and a young man dressed in colorful and flamboyant clothes rushed in from outside, followed by several people.
"Mr. Wen! What are you doing? I'm entertaining distinguished guests from the capital, don't scare them!" When Hu Yunzhi saw his mortal enemy, his face turned dark and he warned in a deep voice.
Young Master Wen had completely ignored what Hu Yunzhi said at this time. He stared at Xu Shichu in a daze. His arrogant expression just now suddenly turned into shy and well-behaved, as if he had suddenly transformed into a living person.
"This... young lady, I, I... am sorry..." Master Wen stuttered, trying to introduce himself to Xu Shichu.
Hu Yunzhi glared at him and interrupted him: "You are indeed very rude. And don't call her a young lady. This lady's husband's surname is Luo, so you can just call her Madam Luo. If you have nothing to do, don't disturb us while we are having dinner!"
Master Wen finally came to his senses and said to Xu Shichu with a red face, "Mrs. Luo, I'm so sorry. I was just joking with Hu Yunzhi. How about this? I'll treat you to a meal as an apology..."
"Do I need you to treat me? I have no money. Take your followers and leave here quickly." Hu Yunzhi said impatiently. He didn't want this group of uninvited people to disturb him and Madam Luo from their meal.
"Brother Hu, don't say that. Madam Luo is from the capital? She must not know much about our place. We can do our best to be a good host and serve as a guide for Madam Luo." Another young man who followed in said gently.
"Yes, yes, we are very familiar with this city. We know everything about fun and delicious places. Madam Luo, don't worry, we won't cheat you." Master Wen added quickly.
They don't have any bad intentions, they just can't help but want to show off in front of beautiful opposite sex, even if this opposite sex is already married.
Xu Shichu looked at this group of young gentlemen as if they were her juniors. Even though she looked only in her twenties, who could blame her for being a mother-in-law now
So she smiled and said, "I don't have any problem with that, as long as Mr. Hu has no objection. Mr. Hu happened to say that you have a famous cherry blossom forest here, so I want to go and see it."
"Yes, the cherry blossom forest in Fosheng Mountain is in full bloom now. Madam, you have come to the right place!" Young Master Wen echoed, "The cherry blossom forest is very famous here. Every year, people from other cities around will come here to enjoy the flowers. Some scholars will even come here to recite poems and paint."
At this time, the waiter finally came with people to serve the dishes. The fragrant delicacies were placed on the table. Master Wen and his gang were even more reluctant to leave. They shamelessly asked the waiter to add tables and chairs and stayed here.
Hu Yunzhi was so angry that he was fuming, but there was nothing he could do about them.
Xu Shichu started eating the delicacies of Jiangnan and squinted his eyes in enjoyment. Jiangnan is indeed a rich and prosperous place, where the taste of food is pursued to the extreme. Xu Shichu felt that he was really blessed and it was right to come to Jiangnan.
Even little Zhaozhao ate like a little pig. He had a great appetite and his little mouth hardly ever stopped eating.
After eating for most of an hour, several young men began to chat with Xu Shichu, trying to find out in a roundabout way what family she came from in the capital and whether she had any unmarried sisters.
… Xu Shichu was a little speechless. The shallow minds of these young men were written all over their faces. She pretended to be regretful and said that she had no sisters, which made the group of people feel disappointed.
Of course Xu Shichu has sisters, but the sisters from the Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion are not at the same level of beauty as hers, and she doesn't have a good relationship with them, so why bother herself to talk about it with these young masters
As for those questions about his identity, Xu Shichu avoided them with great ease, and instead found out all about the backgrounds of these young masters without leaving any trace.
Hu Yunzhi was the eldest son of the governor of Wen'an Prefecture, while Master Wen was the son of the Tongpan of Wen'an Prefecture. Their family backgrounds were similar, and their fathers served in the same place. Logically, they should have a good relationship, but unfortunately, they had different tempers. Whenever they met, they would argue with each other. You scolded me, and I punched you. Over time, they became sworn enemies.
This time, Master Wen heard that Hu Yunzhi brought a strange beautiful woman to Zhenweilou for dinner, so he wanted to catch Hu Yunzhi in the act and embarrass him. However, after meeting Xu Shichu, he also fell into depravity and for the first time ever lived in peace with his mortal enemy.
Xu Shichu asked these young masters about fun places, and seeing little Zhaozhao's little head nodding like a chicken pecking at rice, he knew that he was sleepy.
So she said, "Thank you all for your hospitality today. It's getting late today. I plan to go to the cherry blossom forest you mentioned to enjoy the flowers tomorrow morning. If you are interested, you can bring your wives or sisters with you tomorrow. It will be more fun to enjoy the scenery with more people."
"Okay! I'll bring my sister with me tomorrow!" Hu Yunzhi was the first to respond.
"Me too. Not only did I bring my sister, I also brought my mother and sister-in-law!" Master Wen was not willing to be left behind.
Others also expressed that they would definitely bring their sisters along.
Xu Shichu was satisfied. She didn't care about her reputation and dared to travel with these young men. But she couldn't be too presumptuous. She had to give some face to Luo Changqing who was far away in the capital. After all, if the rumor that the prime minister's wife took a group of young men to enjoy the flowers in Jiangnan spread back to the capital, how would Luo Changqing be viewed by his colleagues and subordinates
Xu Shichu had to admit that Luo Changqing and she had the same current interests. They would prosper together and suffer together. She had to consider Luo Changqing's situation before doing anything.
That's why she would let these young men bring their wives with them when they go to enjoy the cherry blossoms tomorrow, so that she wouldn't be so conspicuous.
Xu Shichu made an appointment with them to meet at the city gate, and then they all went to the cherry blossom forest together before saying goodbye and leaving.
After getting on the carriage, Zhichun put the already snoring Du Zhao on the blanket and covered him with a quilt. Then he said hesitantly to Xu Shichu, "Madam, we have been away from home for so long. Shouldn't we send a letter back to the mansion to report that we are safe? This will prevent the Prime Minister from worrying."
Although Xu Shichu felt that Luo Changqing would not worry about him at all, he saw that Zhichun seemed to take this matter very seriously, so he nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll write a letter back."
So she really wrote a letter to Luo Changqing, and the letter was very brief:
"Prime Minister: I am glad to see you in this letter. I have arrived at Wen'an Mansion in Jiangnan. I am safe. Don't worry."
She really meant it when she said she was reporting safety, without any ambiguity. But no one knew how Luo Changqing would feel after receiving her letter.