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Liu Zhoucheng didn’t blame anyone; instead, he smiled gently, a smile that seemed to warm the heart. “It’s fine, this bowl is too hot for you to handle. Let me carry it.”
He said this as he lifted the steaming bowl of soup from the stove, turned around, and placed it on the table. After wiping his hands with a cloth, he sat back down. His slender fingers, though slightly reddened from the heat, didn’t cause him to furrow his brow even once.
Tan Xiaomei lifted her head slightly to look at him. For some reason, just gazing at his figure made her feel inexplicably at ease.
She snapped back to her senses, turned around, and fetched the bowls and chopsticks, smiling as she said, “Liu Shiye, thank you, thank you! Come, have some dishes.”
Liu Zhoucheng glanced toward the door and replied, “Let’s wait until Brother Tan and the children return before we eat.”
“Alright, Liu Shiye, you can drink some water first.” Tan Xiaomei smiled and poured him another cup of water.
Liu Zhoucheng picked up the cup and took a sip. Usually, he was very laid-back, but this time, he was particular, waiting for the Tan family to gather before he would start eating.
Everyone in the Tan family knew that this was Liu Shiye showing them respect and politeness.
This time, Old Tan had really asked his wife to fetch a jar of wine.
As he poured the wine for Liu Zhoucheng, he laughed and said, “Liu Shiye, have some wine, have some wine. Eat some dishes, eat some dishes.”
Wan Chunmei, holding little Qiyue, picked up a few pieces of cured meat for him, smiling as she said, “Here, eat more.”
Liu Zhoucheng politely smiled and replied, “Brother Tan, Sister Tan, you should eat too, you should eat too.”
The children sitting at the corner of the table, with their little carrot-like heads, quietly stuffed meat into their mouths, observing the polite exchange between the three adults.
Old Tan poured more wine for Liu Zhoucheng, laughing, “Liu Shiye, our poor farmer’s family only has such humble food. Please bear with it.”
Liu Zhoucheng lifted his wine cup for a toast, saying, “Brother Tan, this isn’t humble food at all! It’s even more lavish than what you’d find at the magistrate’s residence.”
Old Tan laughed and replied, “But doesn’t the magistrate’s family feast on rare delicacies? How could they eat something like this?”
Liu Zhoucheng chuckled dismissively, “Brother Tan, you might not know, but the County magistrate Cao, though his family is fairly wealthy, is actually a very miserly man. He has meat at home but doesn’t eat it, soup but doesn’t drink it, silver but never spends it.”
Old Tan couldn’t help but show a trace of sarcastic laughter. The County magistrate Cao, the kind of person who would even abandon his own daughter, truly only cared for himself.
He deliberately probed, “A few days ago, I heard that the wife of your Magistrate Cao passed away due to complications during childbirth.”
Liu Zhoucheng nodded slightly and took a bite of food. “Yes, it’s been a few months now. Lord Cao has been grieving over it for quite some time.”
Old Tan continued, “And do you know what happened to the child?”
Liu Zhoucheng thought for a moment and then replied, “Yes, I heard from someone in the manor that the child passed away shortly after birth.”
Old Tan glanced at little Qiyue. Thinking of the child who had died in others’ words, now sitting right in front of him, his heart felt full of gratitude. He was glad that he had saved this child, giving her a home.
Little Qiyue blinked her large grape-like eyes, her chubby red face flashing with a happy expression.
At this moment, Liu Zhoucheng continued, “But it’s strange. Ever since that child passed away, the County magistrate Cao’s family has had nothing but misfortunes.”
Old Tan and Wan Chunmei both became more interested upon hearing this.
They enjoyed these kinds of gossip and were eager to hear of the Cao family’s misfortune.
“What kind of misfortunes?” they asked in unison.
Liu Zhoucheng usually didn’t talk about such things with others, but since Old Tan and Wan Chunmei asked, he was more than willing to share. He had been hoping for an opportunity to stay a little longer.
Now was the perfect time.
After a brief pause, he began recounting some of the recent misfortunes that had befallen the Cao family.
He explained that ever since the death of the wife and the stillbirth of the child, the once-healthy Magistrate had gradually become weaker day by day. The beautiful concubines in his household, though still around, could only look at him as his health deteriorated, and he could no longer fulfill his desires.
Soon, the concubines, who were never truly loyal, began seeking out other men. The magistrate’s household ended up with a few cuckolded incidents.
One particularly dramatic incident involved the second concubine. After a miscarriage, she became pregnant again, but it was another man’s child. A wild man stormed into the Magistrate’s residence, causing such a ruckus that the second concubine miscarried again, this time losing both the child and some of her internal organs.
Enraged, the Magistrate threw the second concubine out of the house. After being cast out, she found that even the wild man rejected her. She was sold off to a black brothel.