Chapter 13: No Feast Without a Purpose

Fengmen County, Zhang Mansion.

In the main hall of the Zhang Mansion, two men and a woman sat at an eight-immortals table. The two men were Landlord Zhang and Li Si, while the woman was Landlord Zhang’s wife, Madam Zhang Guo.

Li Si observed that Madam Zhang Guo appeared to be only in her early twenties, with fair skin and beautiful features. Although not as stunning as the fox spirit he had seen earlier, she had a delicate beauty, an extremely attractive person.

This was his first time seeing her, and he felt puzzled. Such a young woman had married Landlord Zhang, who was more than twenty years her senior. Truly, the world was in decline.

“Come, come, Young Master Li, this is soup made from free-range chickens we received from Sun Family Village yesterday. It’s quite good,” Madam Zhang Guo stood up, ladled a bowl of soup, and attentively handed it to Li Si.

“Madam Zhang, please don’t be so polite. I feel truly honored,” Li Si appeared as if he had never been in such a grand household before, nor seen such a beautiful woman. He seemed somewhat constrained, standing up to accept the soup.

This was, of course, an act. Li Si was merely imitating the original owner, to avoid these two noticing anything unusual, and also to lower Landlord Zhang’s guard.

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing. Inviting Young Master Li here, we are still indebted to you,” Landlord Zhang laughed heartily from the side, clapping his hands. Immediately, a servant walked out from behind the hall carrying a tray.

“Here are 500 taels of silver, consider it compensation for Young Master Li,” Landlord Zhang smiled, his smile appearing particularly benevolent on his face, like an elder looking at a younger relative of the same clan.

“One should not accept rewards without merit. I appreciate your kindness, Master Zhang,” Li Si, seeing this situation, thought to himself, ‘This isn’t good.’ Gifts given to people always come with expectations. Thinking this, he immediately stood up, cupped his hands, and declined.

There was no helping it, who knew if after taking this silver, he would still have the chance to leave this place.

“Young Master Li, please accept this silver. Otherwise, my husband will be very displeased,” At this moment, a hint of coquettishness flashed in Madam Zhang Guo’s eyes, her clear gaze constantly falling on Li Si, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

“This silver is yours now, it’s settled. Later, I’ll have a servant send it to the Small Bamboo Courtyard for you,” Landlord Zhang smiled, then waved his hand. The servant immediately left. Then, pointing at the dining table with his chopsticks, he smiled and said, “Come, come, let’s eat.”

“Then Li will humbly accept,” Li Si had no choice but to bow in thanks. Landlord Zhang was clearly forcing the gift on him, and not accepting wasn’t an option. There was nothing he could do but sit down to eat. He would wait and see what Landlord Zhang’s true intentions were.

Picking up his chopsticks, Li Si was stunned. It was only then that he realized all seven or eight dishes here were meat dishes. There was chicken soup, roast duck, steamed fish, stir-fried pork belly, spicy beef, and so on. But there wasn’t a single vegetable dish. Not even a hint of green.

Li Si felt somewhat strange and speechless. Was this a typical example of “wine and meat reek behind vermilion gates, while frozen bones lie by the road”?

Suddenly, Li Si’s expression changed slightly. He looked under the table. He saw a delicate small foot rubbing against his calf. Even through his pants, he could feel the softness and slenderness of that small foot.

Looking at the appearance of this jade foot, it was like a peeled egg, like white jade or milk, making one’s heart itch, wanting to hold it in hand and play with it.

Raising his head, Li Si saw that the delicately beautiful Madam Zhang Guo’s cheeks had a hint of blush, and she was looking at him with an ambiguous smile. Frightened, Li Si immediately pulled his leg back. Was this woman sick? Her husband was right beside her, yet she was seducing him like this. If she wanted a man, she shouldn’t look for him. He wasn’t interested in other men’s wives.

“Master, here’s the dish you requested,” At this moment, a servant’s voice interrupted Li Si’s thoughts. He placed a small plate of food on the table.

Li Si looked closely and saw it was a small plate of pig’s ears. These pig’s ears were mixed with a sauce color and cilantro, along with some peanuts, looking very appetizing.

“Come, try these pig’s ears,” Landlord Zhang pointed at the small plate of pig’s ears, inviting Li Si to taste.

“No, no, I don’t like eating pig’s ears,” Li Si looked at the pig’s ears, involuntarily recalling the scene of Landlord Zhang cutting off the servant’s ear. How could he eat this dish?

Of course, he didn’t think these ears were human ears. After all, he had some understanding of cooking, and he could tell whether they were pig’s ears or not.

“Haha, then you’re missing out on a delicacy. You should know that the chef I hired makes excellent pig’s ears,” Landlord Zhang laughed heartily, appearing somewhat generous.

Then he said to Li Si, “Young Master Li, don’t be too formal here. Treat this place as your own home. Back then, Young Master Li’s father and I had many dealings. If Young Master Li doesn’t mind, you can call me Uncle.”

“Then I’ll be in Uncle’s care from now on,” Li Si seized the opportunity and agreed. A few more compliments wouldn’t hurt. As for whether he truly regarded the other party as an uncle in his heart, they both knew the truth.

“Haha, then I’ll be thick-skinned and call you worthy nephew,” Landlord Zhang seemed extremely happy, picking up his wine cup and draining it in one gulp.

“My son is actually very diligent in his studies, always learning from worthy nephew Li. In the future, I hope worthy nephew Li can interact more with my son on academic matters,” Landlord Zhang seemed to think of something, and asked the servant beside him, “By the way, where’s Yuer? Quickly have him come pay his respects to worthy nephew.”

Hearing Landlord Zhang’s words, the servant’s forehead immediately began to sweat, and he stammered, “Young Master… Young Master hasn’t gotten up yet.”

“Ahem…” Landlord Zhang’s facial expression immediately froze, then he sighed, “Look at my memory. My son has recently been frightened by ghost creatures and caught a cold. He’s been resting in bed these past two days. I’ve made a fool of myself in front of worthy nephew.”

“It’s alright. Then after I finish eating, I’ll go see Brother Zhang Yu,” Li Si laughed coldly in his heart, but on the surface, he seemed to believe Landlord Zhang’s words, his face showing concern.

A flash of embarrassment crossed Landlord Zhang’s face, then he gently said to Li Si, “Yuer is sick, if you go see him, you might catch his illness. Let’s talk about it in a few days.”

How could he possibly take Li Si to see his son at this time? After all, he had just made an excuse for his son. If he took Li Si to see Zhang Yu, it would be unbearably embarrassing.

“I heard that worthy nephew subdued demons and exorcised evil at the market yesterday?” Landlord Zhang changed the subject, also taking the opportunity to ask about what he particularly wanted to know.

Li Si was stunned when he heard this, then seemed to think of something. He suddenly laughed and shook his head, saying, “Yesterday, I merely chased away a fox wearing clothes and beheaded a newly risen jiangshi. Anyone else could have done the same.”

A hint of doubt flashed in Landlord Zhang’s eyes, and he asked again, “Oh? This is not something an ordinary person can do. And I heard that the fox spirit was driven away by you?”

“How could that fox spirit have been driven away by me?” Li Si had an innocent look on his face and laughed wryly, “That fox spirit was merely exposed by me, and then fled in fear seeing the crowd of people.”