Qin Zhao and Jing Li were sitting on the same side and also saw Yue Qingzi's little movements.
He understood and stood up to return the greeting: "Greetings, Master Yue."
Jing Li returned the greeting and heard the prefect say with a smile, "Please sit down. Qingzi's cooking skills are excellent. Even the chefs in the Beijing restaurant can't compare with his cakes. Mr. Qin, would you like to try some?"
Qin Zhao: “Yes.”
The cakes had been placed on the small table between Qin Zhao and Jing Li. Qin Zhao handed one to Jing Li personally: "Eat it."
A Zi named this bunny-shaped pastry Jade Rabbit Bun. He came up with the recipe after learning from a pastry chef in his hometown. The taste is indeed unique.
After eating it last time, Jing Li couldn't stop thinking about it, not to mention the little cub in his arms.
He was already waving his arms, eager for Jing Li to feed him.
After delivering the pastries, Yue Qingzi did not leave. Instead, he waited quietly by the side, helping them pour tea and water.
This is actually not what a young master in a mansion should do, but no one present thought there was anything wrong with this action.
In this era when Shuang'er's status is low, even the young master in the mansion can't have a high status.
Besides, Yue Qingzi is not the prefect’s biological son.
Jing Li has come into contact with many Shuang'ers in this world, but the only one he is familiar with is Ayi, who runs a medicine shop in the county town.
Ayi is good at business and is more independent than many Shuang'er. If it weren't for his special appearance and soft personality, he would be no different from the boys Jingli knew.
But Yue Qingzi is different.
This person is closer to the most typical Shuang'er of this era. She has been brought up by her parents since she was young. She is sensible and polite. Her speech and behavior show that she was born in a wealthy family.
Such a girl would usually be married off to a wealthy family by her parents. Even if she cannot become the legal wife, she will not be bullied.
For Shuang'er, this is their best destiny.
Thinking of this, the reason why the prefect specially asked Yue Qingzi to come and serve tea is self-evident.
Jing Li was in a mixed mood, biting the pastry with his head down without any appetite.
Yue Qingzi poured more tea for the prefect and suddenly said, "Second uncle, it's rare for Madam Qin to bring the young master to your house. It's so boring to sit here and drink tea. It just so happens that the flowers in the backyard have bloomed. I want to invite Madam Qin to the backyard to enjoy the flowers."
Jing Li blinked, and when he looked up he saw Yue Qingzi smiling at him.
The smile was still a little strange, but very friendly.
"That's fine." The prefect smiled and said, "You and Madam Qin are about the same age. You can hang out more often and make more friends. What do you think, Mr. Qin?"
He didn't ask Jing Li what he thought, but asked Qin Zhao directly.
"It depends on my husband's wishes." Qin Zhao turned back to look at Jing Li, "Do you want to go?"
Of course Jing Li was willing.
He nodded in agreement and was about to stand up holding the little fish.
The baby fish still had cakes and pastries in its mouth. Suddenly, it was about to be taken away. It looked back at the cakes reluctantly.
Yue Qingzi walked forward and whispered in Xiaoyuzi's ear, "There are more in the backyard."
After saying this, he bowed to the prefect and Qin Zhao, then smiled at Jing Li and took him out of the hall.
The two young men left together. The prefect looked at their backs and smiled happily: "It seems that Madam Qin and Qingzi get along very well."
Qin Zhao nodded in agreement.
The prefect stroked his beard and said slowly, "My nephew has also reached the age of marriage..."
The backyard of the prefect's residence was larger than that of an ordinary family. It was spring, and there were flowers in full bloom in the courtyard. There was also a pond of moderate size. Yue Qingzi took Jing Li and Xiao Yuzai into the pavilion beside the pond and asked the servants to serve two trays of refreshments.
"Please have some tea." Yue Qingzi sent the servant away and personally poured a cup of tea for Jing Li, "Mrs. Qin."
He deliberately emphasized the last word, but his eyes were full of smiles. Jing Li understood what he meant and smiled as well: "Thank you, Master Yue."
Several servants gradually walked away. Yue Qingzi's straight back suddenly softened and he let out a long sigh: "I'm suffocating to death."
He seemed to be extremely tired, and leaned over the stone table in the pavilion, not at all solemn and polite as he had just been in front of the prefect.
He turned back into A Zi, the person Jing Li had met before.
Jing Li asked: "What on earth is going on?"
"You're still asking me." Yue Qingzi raised his eyelids and glanced at him, "What's your answer?"
"I… "
Jing Li didn't know how to explain for a moment when he asked this question.
Yue Qingzi handed a piece of cake to Xiao Yuzai, not caring too much about it: "Forget it, you didn't tell me you were Madam Qin, and I didn't tell you I was Master Yue, we're even now."
"I really didn't mean to hide it from you." Jing Li said, "I wanted to tell you the truth that day, but you left suddenly. Later I went to the tea shop to look for you, but you didn't show up..."
"Because my aunt found out that I sneaked out to play, she has been keeping a close eye on me these past few days." Yue Qingzi sighed, "I haven't been out for several days."
It's not surprising that Yue Qingzi comes from a family with such strict family traditions and is not allowed to go out alone.
Although he went out, he just wanted to wait at the door of his house.
Jing Li thought about it again and felt strange: "But since you are the nephew of the prefect, if you want to see Qin Zhaowei, why don't you go to find him yourself?"
Just like this time when Qin Zhao came to visit, with Yue Qingzi's identity, he had countless ways to meet Qin Zhao, so why should he be stupid enough to wait at his door
"This is different." Yue Qingzi said.
Jing Li: "What's the difference?"
"If we meet here, he is Mr. Qin and I am Master Yue. Even if we meet, we can only exchange a few pleasantries like today. Is that meaningful?" Yue Qingzi said while biting a piece of cake, "I want to see Mr. Zhaoli, not Mr. Qin."
"So... you really have no interest in him?"
"You treat me like a nobody!" Yue Qingzi snorted, then quickly figured out Jing Li's thoughts and laughed, "I know, you're jealous."
"I, I didn't..."
"Of course not. You also acted strange when I mentioned Mr. Zhao Li last time." Yue Qingzi said, "I thought it was strange at that time, but now I understand. You are worried that I will fall in love with Qin Zhao, so you are jealous, right?"
Jing Li looked away, his ears turning red.
"Mr. Qin is really good." Yue Qingzi supported his chin with both hands, thinking, "He won the third place at such a young age, his appearance and character are impeccable, and he loves his wife and children. He is indeed a very good husband."
"Come to think of it, my aunt just arranged for me to deliver cakes, wasn't it because of this idea?"
Jing Li was startled: "Did you figure it out?"
"How can you not see that? My aunt specially made me wear new clothes." Yue Qingzi was wearing a sky-blue coat with dark patterns today. The hem and sleeves were embroidered with delicate patterns. The waist was tightly tied, outlining her slender waist.
"So...what do you think?"
"Me? How can I have such an idea?" Yue Qingzi poured some tea for Jing Li and said with a smile, "Silly Ah Li, haven't you noticed that your Mr. Qin only has eyes for you? Even if others put countless beauties around him, he won't notice them."
Jing Li pursed his lips, and the corners of his lips slightly raised: "Really?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, I didn't get to know Mr. Qin before he knew Yue Qingzi." Yue Qingzi's eyes dimmed slightly. "Now, if I get close to him again, he will definitely think that I have other purposes. And if others know about it, who knows what they will say."
Jing Li looked at the young man beside him, and his heart was touched: "Why do you like Zhao Li so much?"
"I like the kind of life he wants." Yue Qingzi said, "Since I was a child, whether it is my parents or my uncle and aunt, they all hope that I will marry a good family in the future, serve my husband well, and not be bullied. But this is not what I want."
Yue Qingzi yearned: "The life I want is like Mr. Zhaoli's. He only has me in his eyes and loves me. He may not be so rich and powerful, but even in the most difficult times, he will leave the best things for me."
"Whether what he wrote is true or not, Mr. Zhaoli can write such a story, so he must be a very gentle and kind person who is worth making friends with. That's why I want to know who he is."
"I searched for a long time, and then my uncle accidentally showed me Mr. Qin's examination paper, and I found that the handwriting on it was exactly the same as the handwriting that Mr. Zhaoli wrote on the book cover."
"It was only then that I was completely sure of his identity."
"It turned out to be a test paper." Jing Li suddenly realized.
"How about it, am I awesome?" Yue Qingzi said with satisfaction, "Recently many people in the city want to find out who Mr. Zhao Li is, and I'm the first one to find out."
"But how can you be sure that the cover and the contents were written by the same person?" Jing Li asked.
Yue Qingzi was stunned for a moment, then suddenly thought of something and sat up straight.
If the book cover and the content were not written by the same person, then who else could have obtained the handwritten inscription of Qin Zhao, the third-place winner
Plus, the story is told in Shuang'er's voice, with delicate and soft writing...
He stared at Jing Li in amazement, and said in astonishment: "Could it be that you..."
"Let me tell you a secret." Jing Li blinked at him and whispered, "Actually, I am Zhao Li."
Qin Zhao and Jing Li did not stay in the prefect's mansion for too long. After they left, Yue Qingzi went straight into the kitchen and continued to study new dim sum, humming a song from his hometown.
He seems to be in a good mood.
The prefect's wife saw him like this and secretly pulled the prefect over to ask for details: "Qingzi seems to like Mr. Qin very much? Did they have a good chat?"
The magistrate was confused upon hearing this.
He thought to himself that Qin Zhao and Qing Zi only said one sentence to each other when they greeted each other. How could this be considered a good conversation
The wife of the prefect had a good impression of Qin Zhao since she met him at Gu's house last time. Although the prefect said that he had other pursuits and it was difficult to recruit him, since it was not possible to win him over in politics, it might be a good idea to try other places.
It just so happened that Yue Qingzi came to the provincial capital for a short stay recently, so the prefect's wife naturally had the idea of arranging a marriage for him.
Not to mention the capital city, even in those remote and poor villages, it is rare for a family to marry only one wife, and let her be named Shuang'er.
The prefect's wife didn't know much about him and thought that Qin Zhao probably didn't like women. In that case, let Yue Qingzi go over and give it a try.
As for the prefect, he has always valued Qin Zhao. If Qin Zhao could really become his relative, he would naturally be willing.
That’s why he did this in front of Qin Zhao today.
only…
"Madam, I have already told Qin Zhaozhi, but he has no intention of remarrying." The prefect sighed, "This man is very devoted to his husband, you should give up this idea."
"Why is Qingzi so happy?" the prefect's wife asked curiously.
"How would I know?" The prefect spread his hands and said blankly, "Could it be that... this kid really has a crush on Mr. Qin?"
"That won't do!" The wife of the prefect was as if she was facing a great enemy. "The Qin woman doesn't care about him at all. If I really marry her, I will be wronged. It's absolutely not possible."
The two of them guessed for a long time but couldn't figure it out. They couldn't get any information from Yue Qingzi, so they had to give up for the time being.
However, in the next few days, Yue Qingzi went out of the mansion every day, contrary to her usual behavior. When asked, she went to Qin Zhao's mansion to play with Mrs. Qin. The prefect and his wife were suspicious all day long, and they couldn't help but ask Gu Changzhou to pass the news to Qin Zhao.
"If Mr. Qin has no feelings for Qingzi, I hope you can explain it to him as soon as possible to avoid the child being unwilling to give up and to avoid Madam Qin misunderstanding."
When Ah Qi delivered the message, Qin Zhao was reading in the study. Hearing this, he sighed helplessly and gently opened the back window of the study.
Looking across the corridor with hanging flowers, one could see from afar two young men carrying chairs and sitting in the yard. They were chatting about some unknown topic, but one could hear their cheerful laughter.
Qin Zhao said expressionlessly: "Let Gu Changzhou tell the Lord that Madam Qin will not misunderstand. Madam Qin and the young master are having a lot of fun."
Kai Xin almost no longer had him as her husband in her eyes.