Chu Dingjiang’s standard meal was two cold dishes, three stir-fries, one braise, and a soup, with very little repetition in the dishes, unless it was something An Jiu particularly liked.
“I’ll make you a bowl of noodles with two eggs and stir-fry some beef.”
“Mm-hmm, good, good.” An Jiu nodded happily.
Chu Dingjiang flicked her forehead. “You think I, a noble lord, have fallen so low? But in your eyes, I must be dreaming to have fallen to this point.”
Chu Dingjiang turned and went to the kitchen. An Jiu thought about it for a moment, then put down her chopsticks and followed him out.
“Why are you following me?” Chu Dingjiang glanced at her.
An Jiu grabbed his hand. “I’m just curious. Where did you go just now?”
“Guess.” Chu Dingjiang said.
An Jiu’s spiritual power was strong, and she knew exactly how many people with martial arts skills were in this courtyard. The sudden appearance of two more martial arts masters did not escape her notice.
“I don’t know,” An Jiu answered honestly.
Chu Dingjiang sighed, “You’re smart, it wouldn’t be hard to guess. You just don’t usually want to use your brain.”
Faced with this criticism, An Jiu was unwilling. “In your eyes, only Wei Yuyi’s level is considered using the brain.”
“I captured Madam Mei,” Chu Dingjiang decided not to hide it from her since she asked.
An Jiu was puzzled, “Didn’t you say you were worried about alarming them?”
“It should still be able to be kept secret for a while.” Chu Dingjiang told her, “This time, it’s Yelu Jinglie and Yelu Huangwu plotting a rebellion together. But the news of Yelu Huangwu’s death has already spread, yet we can’t get any news about Yelu Jinglie’s whereabouts. People only say he has been executed, but there are still witnesses who saw him being captured alive. So I’ve been thinking about what the reason could be.”
An Jiu had met Yelu Jinglie before, and he looked very much like Gu Jingxiong, so she was especially interested. “Have you figured it out?”
“I suspect that Yelu Jinglie is also a ‘medicine person’.”
An Jiu’s steps suddenly halted, “He is too? Are you sure?”
“It’s just a guess. Firstly, Yelu Huangwu was also a direct descendant of the Yelu royal family. Given her age, she shouldn’t have been someone only concerned with power, yet she still rebelled. Why? Secondly, Yelu Huangwu had countless ways to scheme against Yelu Jinglie, she didn’t necessarily have to let Ningyan leave to help Yelu Jinglie. She might have sent an enigmatic physician to get close to Yelu Jinglie, most likely with another purpose.”
“The answer is simple – Yelu Huangwu found a way to prolong her life, and this method was related to Yelu Jinglie.”
An Jiu pursed her lips, the various encounters with Gu Jingxiong flashing through her mind, and then thinking of Yelu Jinglie’s face, which was extremely similar to his, and their shared fate…
“If I had known last time that Gu Jingxiong had decided to die, I think I would have tried to stop him.” An Jiu tightened her grip on Chu Dingjiang’s hand. “If I remember correctly, Yelu Jinglie is his uncle, right?”
Chu Dingjiang nodded.
“I want to save him.” An Jiu knew it would be difficult, but she just blurted out what was on her mind.
“Ajiu, he may not have given you his blood completely out of good intentions.” Chu Dingjiang had to tell her the cruel facts. “He hates the direct descendants, he just wants to leave a glimmer of hope for them, but can’t succeed.”
Getting the blood didn’t necessarily require a skilled physician like Mo Sihui to do it. Gu Jingxiong sought out Mo Sihui because he recognized his superior medical skills, knowing he would refine the blood into pills suitable for An Jiu to take, thus diminishing the effects of the heart’s blood by over sixty percent.
“Gaining his blood will also make you a target for the Yelu direct descendants to hunt you down. He never even considered your life.”
“But I still benefited from it,” An Jiu said.
Chu Dingjiang shook his head without further comment, just letting go of her hand and walking ahead.
An Jiu couldn’t tell if it was because of using Gu Jingxiong’s heart’s blood, or because she was more familiar with him, but she admitted that she had feelings for him that were not just those of a benefactor. She didn’t know why, whenever she thought of this person, her heart would constrict a bit.
Maybe she had come to see him as a friend?
But An Jiu didn’t have time to think about that now, because it seemed like Uncle Chu was unhappy!
She went to the kitchen, where Chu Dingjiang was slicing the beef.
The cattle in Hexi County were in short supply, so who would slaughter them to sell the meat? An Jiu didn’t know where he had gotten this fresh meat.
His tall figure made the cutting counter look quite low, forcing him to bend over to chop the vegetables. The lamp cast shadows, and he seemed very focused.
An Jiu sidled up to him. “Are you angry?”
“In your eyes, am I so petty-minded?” Chu Dingjiang continued chopping the vegetables quickly.
“Then why did you just walk away from me in silence?”
“You usually don’t think about unrealistic things after you’ve eaten your fill, so hurry up and come help with the cooking!” Chu Dingjiang neatly arranged the sliced beef, scallions, and ginger on a clean plate, then poured flour into a bowl, washed his hands, and started kneading the dough. “I’m afraid if you get an idea, you’ll order me to go rescue someone. I can go through fire and water for you with one word, but if it’s to save your former rival’s uncle, I’ll feel resentful.”
“Do I have such poor judgment? You’re far more important than him, I could never sacrifice you for him.” An Jiu said, then paused, realizing one of his words, “Former rival?”
“I consider it to be so.” Chu Dingjiang replied.
Chu Dingjiang wanted to ask if the one trapped now was not Gu Jingxiong’s uncle, but Gu Jingxiong himself, how would she act? But thinking that the man was already dead, asking this question didn’t matter anymore, so he let it go.
“The favor Gu Jingxiong did for you, we can return the gesture casually as well. But Yelu Quancang is investigating our whereabouts for unknown reasons, and now the capital is a tiger’s den for us. Risking our lives to rescue someone is not just a casual gesture.”
“I understand.”
Chu Dingjiang worked quickly, and by the time he finished speaking, everything was already prepared.
He lit the stove and had An Jiu start the fire. First, he let the dough rest, then with the fire roaring, in the blink of an eye a plate of stir-fried spicy beef was ready.
Bringing the meal back to the room, An Jiu put the previous matter out of her mind and eagerly dug in. Seeing her eating so heartily, Chu Dingjiang also had a bowl of noodles.
Just as he put down his chopsticks, someone outside reported, “Sir, Lingxi wishes to see you.”
“She’s quite impatient.” Chu Dingjiang told An Jiu, “You play here for a bit, I’ll finish up and come back to boil some water for you to bathe.”
“I don’t want to bathe.”
Chu Dingjiang smiled and said, “Do you want to keep warm for the mushrooms to grow?”
Chu Dingjiang refers to mushrooms as “junzi” (菌子).