Chapter 59 - 59 Borrowing Food
59 Borrowing Food
No one expected Duke Ping to kill his own brother and replace him at such a difficult time for the Yan Kingdom.
Duke Ping and Qinghe’s fief was adjacent to Huaiyang. After Duke Ping ascended the throne, he would definitely target the number one family in Qinghe and force his elder brother to lead the noble families in Qinghe to hand over all their food and money.
Even if they handed them over, Duke Ping would never give up a fat piece of meat like Qinghe.
Even Cui Shize could think of it on his way to the border, let alone Cui Shiji, who had been secretly observing the situation.
They must have been prepared. Perhaps they had already followed Cui Muzhi and the others when they set off.
Cui Shize frowned and said, “The flood will subside in two days at most. We still have horses and food in Jiangyuan City. Contact your uncle and we’ll continue on our way with Muzhi.” He looked at the hungry villagers who were walking weakly and said, “Besides, you can’t bear to, right?”
Cui Lingyi said coldly, “So you want to bring someone else to the throne? What do you know about Duke Chu?”
Duke Chu could fight a war, but who knew what kind of dog emperor he would be when he sat on the throne.
Cui Shize did not hide anything from his daughter. “I’m about to find out.”
Cui Lingyi knew that he had always had the dream of supporting a virtuous monarch to create a peaceful and prosperous world, but was that easy? How could Duke Chu use him, a prime minister whose disciples spread throughout the entire Yan Kingdom?
He would be afraid that he would instigate others to restore the dynasty of the Yan Kingdom. The possibility of killing him was higher than trusting in him.
Cui Lingyi said angrily, “You can go to Ling Kingdom to settle down and teach. You can send someone to seek refuge with Duke Chu, but you can’t.”
“Xiaoxiao, Dad isn’t old yet.” Cui Shize wanted to fight for himself.
Cui Lingyi glanced at his pitiful face. In the end, she could not bear to see him like this, so she took a step back. “Unless Duke Chu personally invites you back to the court, you definitely can’t!”
“I didn’t save you from the flood to send you to your death!”
Cui Lingyi showed an expression that said that there was no room for discussion. Cui Shize could only say, “Father promises you. Then will Xiaoxiao give these poor villagers a bowl of warm soup?”
Cui Lingyi gave him a cool look that said, “You don’t have to kill the horse. Go borrow food yourself.”
“…” Borrow food?
The used floating ring ropes were all tidied up. Cui Lingyi brought her father to the place where Bai Wutong and the others had built the shed.
Bai Wutong and the others were getting better at setting up camp. Depending on the terrain, they could quickly build sheds with different materials that could block the wind and rain.
Cui Lingyi’s eyes flashed with envy when she saw Bai Wutong in front of a small shed grilling fish and eating.
To be able to eat, live, and drink in such an environment was simply the life of a god.
Seeing her arrive, Bai Wutong stood up and looked at Cui Shize’s elegant face. She seemed to be looking at an amiable guard at the school gate.
Cui Lingyi introduced him. “This is my father. It’s all thanks to your floating rings and ropes. Otherwise, I don’t know what we could have done today. He specially came to thank you, so I brought him here.”
Cui Shize, who had specially come to thank her, stiffened unnaturally and bowed to Bai Wutong. “Thank you for saving us many times, Madam Bai.” He did not just want to borrow food. Of course, he also wanted to seriously thank Bai Wutong, who had saved his precious daughter and take the initiative to take her as her friend.
The person who could become the Prime Minister of two dynasties was very different from Bai Wutong’s expected dignified and solemn appearance, so her impression of him improved. She returned the greeting and said, “Prime Minister Cui, there’s no need to be so polite.”
Cui Shize exchanged a few simple pleasantries with Bai Wutong and understood why Xiaoxiao had treated her as her confidant. She was smart, rational, and had a pair of eyes that could see through people’s hearts. It made him a little unable to say what he was going to say next.
Bai Wutong had been talking to them for a long time. Chu Tianbao was getting a little impatient. He raised the grilled fish in front of Bai Wutong and said, “Wife, the fish is ready. Let’s eat the fish and ignore them.”
Chu Tianbao’s sudden appearance shocked Cui Shize. When he looked at him, he felt that he had seen Chu Tianbao’s eyes somewhere before, but he felt that he had never seen him before.
He looked at it more closely. It was probably because he was getting old. It felt familiar. But he just couldn’t think of the reason.
Bai Wutong held Chu Tianbao’s hand and looked apologetically at Cui Shize and his daughter. She said to Chu Tianbao, “I’ll give you another chance to speak nicely.”
Under Bai Wutong’s cold warning gaze, Chu Tianbao said with a flustered expression, “Wife, don’t make Tianbao sleep with Lin Yue. His feet will stink me to death. I’ll treat them to fish. Don’t be angry.” With that, he handed one of the fish that he had painstakingly roasted to Cui Shize and the others. He threatened, “Eat fish!”
If they dared not eat, he would secretly teach them a lesson. Bai Wutong’s face darkened and she said firmly, “Sleep with Lin Yue tonight.”
“Wife—”
Bai Wutong glanced at him, and Chu Tianbao immediately didn’t dare to speak again, afraid that one night would become two nights.
Cui Lingyi stole a glance at Chu Tianbao. It didn’t seem like the two of them didn’t have any true feelings for each other.
She boldly guessed that Chu Tianbao’s mind was different from ordinary people’s. Bai Wutong could not bring herself to take initiative, so the two of them did not have a good time.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt that this was the case. She made up her mind to find an opportunity to let Granny Wang enlighten Bai Wutong.
A woman should not let herself down in any way.
In critical times, food was equivalent to life. When Cui Shize asked Bai Wutong, he was already prepared to be rejected.
“Madam Bai, can you lend me some food so that the villagers can have a bowl of hot soup to get rid of the cold?” He continued, “When the flood subsides, we’ll return all the food in our storage to you when we enter the city.” Qinghe City had a rich production of food, and the Cui family also had a chain food store in Jiangyuan City.
50 kilograms of food was enough for them to cook a bowl of porridge. Bai Wutong could still afford it and agreed readily.
When Cui Lingyi left, Bai Wutong even gave her a few grilled fish so that she did not have to secretly swallow her saliva, thinking that she did not notice.
After borrowing food from Bai Wutong, Cui Lingyi and the others quickly lit a fire in the cold wind and cooked porridge.
Although it was only a bowl of porridge, everyone felt warm after drinking it.
The next morning, Bai Wutong opened her eyes while hugging Stinky and suddenly met Chu Tianbao’s resentful expression.
It was so early in the morning that it startled her.
Bai Wutong rubbed her brows and sat up unhappily. “Didn’t I tell you to sleep with Lin Yue? Why are you here again?” He was as silent as a ghost.
Chu Tianbao pouted sadly. “I did, but I couldn’t sleep. He smells so bad, even worse than Stinky. I don’t want to sleep with him.”
Stinky seemed to have heard someone talking about him. He opened his eyes and wailed even more aggrievedly than Chu Tianbao.
Bai Wutong glared at Chu Tianbao and hurriedly picked up the frightened Stinky.
After Bai Wutong finally coaxed Stinky, Village Chief Zhao’s anxious cry came from outside the shed. “Madam, after Madam Cui and the others ate our food, many of them have a fever and diarrhea. Do you want to take a look?”