jdhmnovel Chapter 307 Writing a letter to my younger brother, but where to send it?
Chapter 307 Writing a letter to my younger brother, but where to send it?
"A mistake? A real mistake? But when did Mingfei ever meet this person?"
Dong Jin was completely bewildered. If his wife and sister-in-law didn't have the opportunity to meet such noblemen, did his brother-in-law have?
Let alone a scholar who has achieved the highest honors in the imperial examinations, even a scholar who has passed the highest level of the imperial examinations wouldn't have a very high chance of meeting a prince who isn't in court or observing politics.
"This is just my guess. After all, my second sister's letter arrived a few days ago. According to her, he, like me, has absolutely no chance of having any contact with this fourth prince."
It was only after you described the appearance and attire of the people around the Fourth Prince today that I dared to make this assumption.
Rather than saying the Fourth Prince is collecting people who resemble me and my second sister, it's more accurate to say he's looking for replacements who resemble Mingfei.
Dong Jin was starting to believe his wife's assumptions. Fortunately, the Fourth Prince wasn't after his wife.
No way! What a load of rubbish! He might not be thinking about his wife anymore, but he's thinking about his brother-in-law! How dare he!
"This! Isn't this bullying?! Does being a member of the royal family give you the right to act with impunity? How can Ming Fei, a dignified man, be coveted by him like this!"
To make those servants dress in rags and act like scholars is an insult to scholars and a contempt for Mingfei.
Dong Jin was nearly driven to madness, wishing he could take back what he had said today and stop letting the advisor take him sightseeing. Now he just wanted to kick this damned prince out of Linhai County!
“Husband, don’t worry. Anyway, Mingfei isn’t in Linhai County. Let him travel if he wants. He’ll come back to the capital when he gets bored.”
Dong Jin slapped his forehead. "Concern makes me lose my bearings. I forgot about that. Right, right, Mingfei isn't here. If he wants to go sightseeing, he can go!"
Dong Jin, who had just come to his senses, fell silent again. Jiang Xiwen asked helplessly, "What is it now?"
"He knew Mingfei wasn't here, so why did he still come to our Linhai County? He couldn't have just been passing by, could he?"
Don't say there are no waterways in Linhai. Even if there were, it should be the officials from the Ministry of Works leading the teams. Why didn't I receive any notification?
According to the clerk, only the Fourth Prince and his men disembarked from the official ship; not a single official from the Ministry of Works was seen!
What? You two set off from the capital together, but parted ways halfway through the journey?
"That is indeed strange, but it shouldn't be too difficult to find out. Since the clerk has been with them these past few days, could we take the opportunity to inquire about it?"
After a moment's thought, Dong Jin decided that it was inappropriate to send his advisor to investigate.
“That’s not appropriate. Master Yun is a teacher in the county government, not one of our own. We initially thought we could use a ready-made advisor first, but later found that he was quite capable, so we kept him.”
It seems that I still need someone completely loyal to me, like my father-in-law.
Jiang Xiwen also felt that Dong Jin's words made sense. "Then should we write a letter to Ming Fei and inform him about what's going on here?"
Although Mingfei is not in Linhai County now, what if he happens to want to come and visit us?
"Wouldn't that mean running into the Fourth Prince? Although the chances are slim, we can't afford to be careless."
Upon hearing this, Dong Jin nodded repeatedly, "What you say is absolutely right. It would be best to inform Mingfei in advance, just in case, to prevent any unforeseen circumstances."
Dong Jin was about to grind the ink and pick up the brush, but then put it down again.
"what happened?"
"My lady, the letter is finished. Where should we send it?"
"Um...this..."
The couple remained silent.
After Mingfei left Beijing, he sent things over a few times, but each time they were sent from different places.
There are prefectures and counties very close to the capital, as well as prefectures and counties in the south. It's really hard to say where Mingfei has taken his mother now.
The last time I received anything from Mingfei was two months ago. Since then, I haven't received any local specialties.
Where was it last time? Sichuan?
It's really hard to guess where she is now. Even if we could guess, what if the letter was delivered, and Mingfei took his mother to another place?
After all, they were always the ones receiving things, and had never sent anything to Mingfei, precisely because the other party's whereabouts were unpredictable.
Just as the two were struggling with their dilemma, there was a knock on the study door.
"Mom? Why are you here?"
Mrs. Dong brought over a food box and took out two small bowls of chicken soup wontons, which were still steaming hot.
“Ah Jin went to the front office as soon as he came back, and didn’t even eat dinner. Xiwen, you did too. You waited for him all night and only ate a little bit of dinner.”
Come on, try my homemade wontons! The broth is made with old hen soup, it's incredibly flavorful, and I've added dried shrimp and seaweed, which are unique to Linhai County—it goes so well together!
Dried shrimp and chicken soup wontons are another innovation by Dong's mother after she came to Linhai County. Local people in Linhai County also use dried shrimp and seaweed to make wontons, but they use them differently.
Locals in Linhai chop up dried shrimp and seaweed and use them as filling for wontons, dumplings, or buns.
The way Dong's mother added chopped green onions and cilantro to the wonton soup base was something no one in Linhai County had ever done before.
Jiang Xiwen's eyes lit up. Her mother-in-law had made new dishes again. She had to try them. Her mother-in-law's new creations rarely failed.
"Mom, you're amazing! How did you come up with this combination? If we opened a wonton shop like this, the business would be booming!"
Dong Jin didn't say anything, but the speed at which he ate the wontons said it all.
There's a distance between the kitchen and the study, just enough to keep the wontons at a comfortable temperature for eating.
It's not too hot, nor does it feel too cold.
"Oh, it's not as exaggerated as you say. It's just a little bit of local flavor added. Who would have thought it would actually go so well with it? Look at the colors, don't they look even richer now?"
In the clear and bright wonton soup, green chopped scallions and cilantro, purplish-black seaweed, pinkish-white dried shrimp, and off-white wontons are all served in the same porcelain bowl, complementing each other perfectly.
"It looks beautiful and tastes delicious, it's a double treat!"
The couple temporarily forgot their troubles because of a bowl of wontons, but of course, only temporarily.
Mother Dong was aware that a distinguished guest had arrived in Linhai County. She brought over small wontons today to see if her son needed any help.
She hadn't heard what the young couple had been talking about, but she could see a trace of lingering sorrow in their expressions as soon as they entered the room.
"Wen Niang, A Jin, who is this distinguished guest who has come to our Linhai?"
The two finished all the wontons and even drank the soup. After putting down their bowls, they said helplessly, "Alas, it is the fourth son of the current emperor, Zhao Hongsheng."
"What? Why would the prince come to this remote place? Is it on official business or... you know, on a clandestine visit?"
Dong Jin pinched the bridge of his nose. How should I put this?
Could it be that I told my mother that the Fourth Prince had taken a liking to his brother-in-law and was coveting his good looks?
The fourth prince might have a penchant for homosexuality, but he really couldn't bring himself to say it!
What's the matter!
Oh, it's New Year's Eve! In my birth year, I wish everyone a prosperous Year of the Snake, all the best, and great wealth in the new year!