NCCnovel Chapter 577: What are you doing right now?
Chapter 577: What are you doing right now?
With her hands on her hips, she raised her voice and began to give orders, her clear and loud voice echoing in the courtyard: "Jinyan, go and chop the firewood, and be quick about it."
Changqing, you and Wenjian move the table to the middle of the yard and set it up.
"Tuoba, go to the kitchen and get all the ingredients. Remember to bring the apricot blossom wine I hid; I'm going to have a few drinks tonight."
As she spoke, she slightly raised her chin and scanned the crowd, her posture resembling that of a general commanding thousands of troops on the battlefield.
At this moment, she was thinking that she had to use this hot pot and fine wine to properly dispel the anger she had suffered at the Jing'an Marquis's residence today.
Although the husbands were somewhat bewildered by the sudden order, they could tell from Fang Xiaoxiao's angry face that their wife was not in a good mood.
Long Jinyan sighed silently in his heart, thinking that his wife must have encountered a great trouble. He quickly picked up the axe, walked to the woodpile, and chopped the wood again and again, sparks flying everywhere.
He secretly hoped that doing more work would cheer his wife up.
Fang Xiaoxiao strolled into the kitchen and saw Ouyang Tuoba washing vegetables, his hands quickly turning the vegetable leaves in the water.
Fang Xiaoxiao stepped forward, picked up a piece of washed green vegetable, examined it carefully, and said with satisfaction, "Hmm, Tuoba, it's washed quite clean."
A hint of approval flashed in her eyes, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, revealing a faint smile.
In truth, she knew that her husbands usually doted on her, and she felt somewhat guilty for ordering them around today. But at this moment, she really needed this lively atmosphere to dispel the gloom in her heart.
At this moment, Zhou Wenjian was cutting tofu, each cut steady and precise.
Fang Xiaoxiao leaned closer, looking at the tofu cut into even cubes, and teased with a smile, "Wenjian, you cut this tofu so beautifully, did you secretly practice?"
Zhou Wenjian scratched his head sheepishly, and Fang Xiaoxiao patted him on the shoulder, encouraging him, "Not bad, not bad, keep it up."
Zhou Wenjian felt a sweet warmth in his heart. He felt that all the hard work was worthwhile because he could receive praise from his wife, and he cut the tofu even more skillfully.
Murong Changqing sliced mutton on the side, his movements fluid and graceful, each slice as thin as a cicada's wing born under his knife.
Fang Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up as she looked at the blue and white porcelain plate filled with slices of mutton. She couldn't help but praise, "Changqing, your knife skills are absolutely amazing!"
With your lamb in tonight's hot pot, it's sure to be incredibly delicious.
As she spoke, she reached out and gently touched the neatly arranged slices of mutton on the plate, as if admiring a precious work of art.
Murong Changqing felt proud upon hearing the praise, and he thought he must cut the mutton even more perfectly so that his wife would be happy with the meal.
With everyone working together, all kinds of ingredients were quickly prepared.
Fang Xiaoxiao walked out of the kitchen and looked at the table full of ingredients in the yard and the people setting out bowls and chopsticks. A gratified smile appeared on her face.
Her shoulders relaxed slightly, and she took a deep breath, as if she had left all the unpleasantness of the Jing'an Marquis's residence behind.
At this moment, her heart was filled with warmth. With such a group of caring husbands, even the biggest troubles seemed to disappear.
Li Wan'er returned to her room first. She sat on the edge of the bed, hugging her knees, her eyes somewhat vacant.
Recalling everything that happened at the Jing'an Marquis's residence today, her emotions remained complex and difficult to calm. She took a deep breath, trying to compose herself.
Liu Ruyan enthusiastically joined Fang Xiaoxiao's command team, skipping and hopping among the crowd, pointing at Long Jinyan and saying, "You're chopping wood too slowly, give it your all!"
A moment later, he called out to Ouyang Tuoba, "Tuoba, be careful, don't drop the ingredients!"
Her face beamed with excitement, as if it were a fun game.
Half an hour later, everything was ready.
The group sat around a table laden with ingredients, the soup in the copper pot bubbling and steaming, its aroma filling the air.
Fang Xiaoxiao picked up her chopsticks, took a slice of mutton, put it into the pot, and said loudly, "Everyone, don't be shy, eat as much as you want! I'm exhausted and furious today!"
Everyone echoed in agreement, and for a moment, laughter and cheerful chatter filled the entire courtyard.
While enjoying hotpot, everyone listened to Fang Xiaoxiao recount the thrilling experiences at the Jing'an Marquis's residence, occasionally letting out exclamations and laughter, creating a lively atmosphere as if it were Chinese New Year.
Meanwhile, in the imperial city, Crown Prince Pei Yan's residence appeared exceptionally lonely and desolate. He sat alone by the bed, the room dimly lit, casting only a long shadow of himself.
Looking up at the moonless sky, all around was silent, with only the occasional sound of the night watchman striking the gong.
For some reason, Fang Xiaoxiao's image suddenly appeared in his mind's eye, the wife who always had a faint smile and loved to stand with her hands on her hips and direct them to do their work.
A hint of loneliness and longing flickered in his eyes, and a slight smile appeared on his lips, only to vanish quickly as he murmured softly, "What are you doing now..."
Just as Pei Yan was immersed in his thoughts of Fang Xiaoxiao, a sudden sound of footsteps broke the silence.
The door was gently pushed open, and the Second Prince, Pei Changqing, walked in with a pot of wine in his hand and a faint smile on his face.
Pei Yan frowned slightly, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes, and asked coldly, "What are you doing here?"
His voice sounded particularly cold in the quiet room, as if it were covered with a layer of frost.
Pei Changqing seemed oblivious to Pei Yan's coldness, still smiling apologetically as he walked to the table and poured wine into a glass.
His eyes darted around the room, and taking advantage of Pei Yan's inattention, he quickly pulled out a small paper packet from his pocket and carefully added the white powder inside to Pei Yan's wine glass.
After doing all this, he picked up the wine glass and handed it to Pei Yan, his face full of fake enthusiasm: "Brother, it has been a long time since we brothers sat down to drink together. Today, your elder brother has specially prepared this fine wine. I hope that you will do me the honor of having a drink with me."
Pei Yan looked at the wine glass handed to him, a hint of hesitation rising in his heart.
He didn't want to get too involved with Pei Changqing, but he couldn't refuse out of consideration for their brotherhood.
After hesitating for a moment, he reached out and took the glass, tilted his head back and drank it down in one gulp.
As the wine went down his throat, he frowned slightly, finding it tasted a little more bitter than usual.
However, he was unaware that behind this bitterness lay Pei Changqing's sinister intentions; the wine had already been laced with Five-Stone Powder.
Seeing that his plan had succeeded, Pei Changqing was secretly pleased with himself and drank the wine in his hand in one gulp.
The two then began to drink in silence, the only sounds in the room being the clinking of glasses and the sipping of alcohol.
As time went by, both of them had drunk quite a bit, and Pei Changqing finally stood up, swaying as he took his leave.
As soon as Pei Changqing left, Pei Yan felt a strong wave of dizziness wash over him.
He tried to sit back down at his desk, but found his body wouldn't obey him. His legs went weak, and he stumbled and fell to the ground.
His consciousness began to blur, and he felt as if he were floating on clouds.
Strange illusions appeared before his eyes, and he tried desperately to grasp at something, but to no avail.