Ancient Foodie Survival Guide Chapter 20
Translated by Serena Love
Edited by Azure
Chapter 20: Old Debt
Jiang Shuyao was leaving the house for the first time, so she deliberately cleaned up and let Bai Zhi hold a thick stack of silver banknotes, excited like a student going on an autumn trip.
Xie Xun waited outside the room for her, but after a long time no one came out. It was also the first time in his life that he experienced a woman getting ready before going out. He walked up and down the corridor with his hands on his back. Just as he was getting impatient, Jiang Shuyao finally came out.
Xie Xun looked at her. Hmm... The hair was combed a bit more vigorously, and the clothes she wore were a bit prettier, except from that, it seemed that there was no difference.
"What are you packing up in the house for so long?" He asked with a frown, looking at the sun that was already high.
Jiang Shuyao looked surprised, "You didn't see the difference?"
Xie Xun said blankly, "What's the difference?"
After carefully dressing up and not being praised, Jiang Shuyao bypassed him and walked on her own, whispering in a low voice, "...it must be because I have too few clothes and jewelry, and my rouge and lipstick are not strong enough, so they didn't even raise my skin color. I need to purchase a new batch."
Xie Xun didn't know how depressed Jiang Shuyao was. Looking at her back, he was confused. With his long legs, he followed Jiang Shuyao in only a few steps.
After the two of them left the house, Xie Xun rode a horse and Jiang Shuyao took a carriage. On the road, there were many high-gate mansions, which were not much to look at, until they reached the market entrance.
Jiang Shuyao jumped out of the carriage and looked at the ancient bustling market in surprise. The long streets were wide, the tall buildings and short houses were densely packed together, the scenery was fluttering, there were noises from people, tea shops, bookstores, clothing shops, rouge shops... There was a dazzling array of things.
Without greeting Xie Xun, Jiang Shuyao dragged Bai Zhi to the nearest jewelry shop.
Xie Xun had no choice but to get off his horse and walk behind her into the crowd.
By coincidence, a row of wooden carts swayed from the side. Xie Xun was forced to take a step back, standing still, shouting to Jiang Shuyao who was walking away, "Be careful."
Jiang Shuyao reacted in a timely manner and took Bai Zhi's arm to avoid them. When the two turned around, Bai Zhi accidentally stepped on a scholar next to her and knocked him to the ground.
Jiang Shuyao hurriedly supported Bai Zhi, and was about to ask the scholar if he was hurt, but when the scholar looked up and saw Bai Zhi's face, his face went dark, and he shouted in shock and annoyance: "It's you?!"
Bai Zhi opened her mouth to apologize. But hearing the scholar's roar, she was taken aback for a moment, and suddenly remembered something. She withdrew immediately, with an expression of disgust she said, "It's you."
The scholar snorted coldly, patted his robe and stood up, his eyes suddenly falling to Jiang Shuyao. He frowned, and looked at her carefully.
Jiang Shuyao felt uncomfortable from his gaze, so she stepped back and glared at him.
The scholar did not look away, and asked Bai Zhi without daring to confirm, "This is your lady?"
After she got married, Jiang Shuyao's look was very different from the way she previously dressed. In addition, after having some meat, she became more charming and beautiful. It was very different from the previous appearance of the skinny, powder-coated face.
Bai Zhi folded her arms, glanced at the scholar obliquely, and said to Jiang Shuyao, "Miss, let's go."
Jiang Shuyao was confused and about to turn around, but the scholar ran a few steps to block them. "Stop."
Bai Zhi put her hands on her hips and sternly said: "What do you want?"
The scholar did not answer her question. He looked at Jiang Shuyao's high-groomed married woman's bun with a strange expression, "Are you married?"
Bai Zhi remembered that Xie Xun was still behind them, so she quickly turned around to look for Xie Xun's figure.
She was so busy with a guilty conscience that she ignored the scholar, and Jiang Shuyao became the one who confronted the scholar. She felt inexplicable, "You have something to say?"
"I don't know who Miss Jiang is married to now? Oh, does your husband have power or money, so that he can accommodate a woman like you as a wife."
This person was so handsome, she didn't expect that he would speak so rudely.
Bai Zhi saw Xie Xun who was standing a few steps behind them, and heard the scholar say such things. She suddenly panicked and stomped and cursed. "What nonsense are you talking about?"
"I'm talking nonsense?" He thought of this and angered, "Ms. Jiang played poems on me that day, isn't it true? Was it false that she used money to insult me? In the end, Zhang was expelled from the cultural society, and his future was destroyed—"
Bai Zhi was thinking that Xie Xun was not far behind, so she should have dragged the young lady to avoid this person, but when she heard the scholar's words, she impulsively said, "Bah! You didn't have the ability to learn, and you blame it on my lady's head, so shameless." After speaking, she pulled Jiang Shuyao forward.
The scholar chased after him and smashed into the crowd: "Miss Jiang, how can there be a shameless woman like you in the world? Does your husband know that you used to behave like a slut? Did he not know or is he just a green-headed turtle? Don't you think it's shameless to be married to you?"
[T/N: "Green headed turtle" means someone who is stupid and doesn't know he is wearing a green hat. "Wearing a green hat" means his wife is cheating on him.]
As he said so, passersby gradually stopped, and there was a faint tendency to watch the excitement.
Jiang Shuyao wanted to cry without tears, so this was a romantic debt owed by the original owner?
She looked up at the sky, ‘Sister, original owner, no matter what, you are the daughter of a count. You shouldn't be such an idiot. In the end, you lost your life because of Xie Xun.‘
In the meantime, Bai Zhi was blue and white with anger at the scholar's words. She would usually kick and scold, but now the master was following behind them! What can she do if he heard these words!
She didn't know what to do, and it seemed too guilty if she pulled the young lady away, but it was not good for the young lady to be entangled with him here, or if the master saw it. Her forehead was sweating in a hurry.
Jiang Shuyao hates being watched. She was going left and right trying to get around, but the scholar always blocked her. Finally, she was annoyed, and said impatiently, "This young master, I think you are a scholar who splashes people with dirty water and tarnishes people's reputation. Is this the way of you literati?"
"Oh, you dare not to admit it? You were entangled after seeing Zhang's skin at first sight, and you also gifted me gold and silver tokens in order to get acquainted with me——"
"Wait." Jiang Shuyao interrupted him, staring at the scholar's face for a few moments, "Fancy your skin?"
Hearing this, the scholar raised his head as if he were confident of his appearance and wanted passersby to see that he did not lie.
To be honest, this man looks really good. He has clear eyes and fair face, white and tender skin, and wearing a broad robe which has a sense of frailty unique to scholars. But for Jiang Shuyao, who was used to seeing Xie Xun, this person still has a long way to go. Not to mention his looks, Xie Xun could just dump him out ten streets just with his temperament.
It is impossible for her to carry the black pot left by the original owner, so she frankly said, "I don't know what your purpose is for stopping me with all kinds of humiliation today. I know myself to be honest and innocent. If you insist on entanglement, then I will let you see what it means to have power and money."
She was born graceful, luxurious and charming, and today she has deliberately dressed up, with gold and silver hairpins, rich and magnificent, and her words were overwhelming. The passersby who were watching the show are unavoidably frightened and scared, and gradually scattered.
The scholar choked for a while. The former Jiang Shuyao was humble and considerate to him, and she wasted money to give gifts. He scolded her casually. When would she ever put on air because of her identity?
His voice became a little weaker, "I'm a juror, and I'm a member of the government. If you dare to do anything to me..." At this point, he became angry again, "If it were not for you, I would not lose face and be expelled from the poetry society. This autumn, I will definitely be an Imperial Scholar, and enter the Emperor's hall——"
He hasn't finished his words, and was interrupted again.
"Just you? The court is not so blind." Xie Xun finally passed through the crowd and came to Jiang Shuyao.
The scholar couldn’t hold his breath and almost choked. Who interrupted him again?! How come these random strangers kept interrupting others! They should learn how to respect others!
Jiang Shuyao couldn't help but shake when she heard his voice. Although she wasn't the one who did the nonsense things in the past, she still has a guilty conscience, not to mention Xie Xun's cold tone... Was he angry?
She froze in place. The ancients were conservative in their thinking and had more masculine pride. Even if she was just a nominal wife, it was estimated that only a few people could tolerate such things.
The scholar was taken aback and looked up at Xie Xun.
Xie Xun's posture is tall and straight, taller than the scholar's head, and he stood next to Jiang Shuyao. His tall body was as beautiful as a crown jade, and his every movement was breathtaking. The scholar had to feel ashamed.
The scholar quickly retracted his gaze, and a bit of jealousy emerged from his self-conscious mind. He looked at the expensive and exquisite workmanship of the robe worn by Xie Xun, and he sneered in his heart.
"Yes, just rely on my ability. I am a disciple of Mr. Qingyun's school and an Imperial Scholar. Who are you, let us talk about it." He felt emboldened. What kind of good things could be mixed with Jiang Shuyao? He was nothing more than an ignorant person. He was nothing more than a wealthy boy with a hollow mind.
Xie Xun's tone was dull, "Third place in the 27th year of Chengping, Xie Xun."
[T/N: The scholar was saying that he definitely will become a Jinshi (Imperial Scholar) which is a title for the top 100 in the imperial examination, but he hadn’t got it yet. But Xie Xun was a Tanhua (third place) already.]
The scholar was ready to mock him, but when he heard these words suddenly, he was ashamed for a while.
Xie—Xie Xun? The literati, Xie Boyuan, knew of him... He was still reading his article before going to bed last night.
He didn't want to believe it, but seeing Xie Xun's graceful demeanor, he had mostly believed it.
His face was sullen, and his mind was in confusion. After a long while, he only said to Jiang Shuyao, "Whatever," and then hurriedly left.
Jiang Shuyao didn't expect that this farce would be so simple to solve. She took a peek at Xie Xun and saw that his expression was cold and unhappy, and her heart felt guilty.
"That..." She wanted to explain, but Xie Xun stepped away.
"Aren't you going to buy jewelry, let's go." His tone was stiff and cold, and at first she thought he was talking to himself.
Jiang Shuyao saw him walking a few steps away, and quickly followed. Xie Xun stepped into the jewelry store. The guests in the store avoided him, he looked like a person who was about to freeze people to death. He realized that his expression was not good, and he frowned to suppress his irritability.
This woman, Jiang-shi, was as absurd as the rumors.
That scholar told their past in a few words. Then when he looked at Bai Zhi's pale and panicked expression, what else didn't he understand.
Xie Xun was even more angry when he saw Jiang Shuyao follow him with an annoyed look.
That person, who looked a bit older than him, was just a man with a plain appearance and wretched behaviour. Coupled with that horrible and hateful attitude, could that kind of man also catch her fancy?
He looked at Jiang Shuyao's figure, gritted his teeth and thought, ‘That kind of person is worthy for her to give poems and silvers. She really, really... doesn't have vision!’
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