CH 51

Chapter 51: 试探

(Try out/ to probe)

In the evening, at the dinner table, Zhao Zheng’an ate spicy meat slices made by Zhong Ziqi. Inhaling the spicy air yet his mouth pretended to say without thinking, “My wife’s skill is good, is our Amu

(cooking skill) even better?”

“Ah … is fine, Amu said I already made it better than his, so he didn’t teach me anymore.” Zhong Ziqi said a little unnaturally, because the memory of his Amu, is not very good at cooking, just barely good enough to eat, very ordinary.

So, if he talked too much and later they met with someone who knows his Amu, wouldn’t he be exposed right away?!

Zhao Zheng’an suddenly realized that this is what they called ‘the color blue is made out of indigo but is more vivid than indigo’ right?!

[青出于蓝而胜于蓝 ( 青出於藍而勝於藍 )

qīng chū yú lán ér shèng yú lán

lit. The color blue is made out of indigo but is more vivid than indigo (idiom) / fig. the student surpasses the master]

Both of them were so preoccupied with their own thoughts and did not notice that something was wrong with each other.

“Our Amu (Shen Amu) is amazing. You’ve been taught to be so successful.I heard from my Amu that when your Amu gave birth to a Ger, many people ‘rejoiced in other people’s misfortune’ but now the whole village is envious!” Zhao Zheng’an looked excited (in high spirit) : “You say, your Amu is so good-looking, not like us, ordinary people. Is it possible ……”

Zhong Ziqi frowned and swallowed the rice in his mouth: “You mean that my Amu hid his identity?”

Zhao Zheng’an continue to bit into his chopsticks: “Just a guess, mainly because your Amu’s looks and temperament are not like our ordinary people.”

Zhong Ziqi searched his mind for the original Amu. Indeed, the tone of his voice, the way he was taught, his behavior, his manner, and his ‘literacy’ were all different from those of ordinary families. If Zhao Zheng’an didn’t say it, he didn’t notice it, but when he did, he felt that suspicions were everywhere.

Could it be?

Was his Amu really hiding his identity?

Once Zhao Zheng’an saw that he had listened to him, he spoke, trying even harder: “Hey ….it’s possible that if your Amu was born from a rich family, wouldn’t you be a…young master? Haha”

Zhong Ziqi looked at the laughing man with a black line.How come he had never realized he had such a big brain?

“Little Young Master (Xiao Zhao ye)?” Zhao Zheng’an called out in a teasing manner.

“Are you still going to eat or not? I’ll serve it away if you don’t.” Zhong Ziqi glared at him warningly.

“No, no, no, I’ll eat.” Zhao Zheng’an’s eyes and hands were quick to take a large chopstick of the dish and eat it into his mouth.

“You ah, don’t guess blindly either! All these years, no one has come looking for me. That means, you guessed it wrong. And if there was such a thing, even if they came, they would be them and I would be me. I wouldn’t accept ‘that unreal fame and money’. It doesn’t belong to me, of course it certainly doesn’t belong to you either!”

Zhong Ziqi’s voice rose an octave on the last sentence, just in case Zhao Zheng’an had any sneaky ideas. They had lived together for so long, he trusted him as a person, but wasn’t sure if he would be swayed by the lure of money.

“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think anything of it. Your husband, me, how could I be the kind of person who is greedy for money. You know me the best, don’t you?”

Zhao Zheng’an hurriedly explained, as he wasn’t able to steal the chicken and get himself ‘blackened’, leaving a bad impression on his wife: “I’m just curious. What if, for example one day, a rich relative from ….really comes looking for you. What do you do? Recognize it?”

[As he wasn’t able to found out about his wife’s feeling regarding his uncle, Shen Yu Bei searching for him, instead slandered himself]

Zhong Ziqi looked at him helplessly: “What’s wrong with you today? Why do you keep asking these questions?”

“Just… thought of it. You tell me, I’m curious! ” Zhao Zheng’an had a guilty conscience as he gave Zhong Ziqi the vegetable by using his chopstick.

“If someone really comes to me …” Zhong Ziqi thought about the scenario: “I also have to see how the other party’s attitude is, whether he wants me to recognize it or not. If the relative is like my uncle’s family, then there’s no need to make it worse for myself, right? If he’s nice, it’s good to admit it as a new friend, moreover, it’s a big shot friend! I, myself, like to live a simple and peaceful life. As you know, bring me into a big and wealthy family, I probably wouldn’t fit in, we’d be like country bumpkins. It would just bring misfortune to yourself…”

What Zhong didn’t say was that what If he come across a complicated family, a fight for the heir to the throne or something like that.Then everything could be a threat for him, he would end up becoming cannon fodder,in the end, you wouldn’t even know how you died. Why should he go then? He hadn’t lived long enough!

“That’s a good point.” Zhao Zheng’an modestly pat on his thigh: “If you go then what about me? What if your relatives don’t like me and kick me out?” Zhao Zheng’an said exaggeratedly. In his heart, he was relieved. It seems that his Fu Lang was not disgusted. That would be easy to handle then.

“Oh..You …” Zhong Ziqi looked at him once again,harboring not a good intention, then shook his head with a disgusted look: “Really! You look so ugly,your family also has no money, not to mention you have no land either, moreover, also in poor health. You tell me, Why should I follow you? I’m tired already! If I had relatives like that, I would have dumped it”

“….” Zhao Zheng’an took a look at what he said, he indeed seemed to have taken advantage of it all. In fact, Zhong Ziqi could have had a better family. If he (ZZQ) had suffered grief, that was something supposed to be.

“If you really want to leave me to go and find a better family. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely let you go.”

Zhao Zheng’an said it very seriously.There are times when he has an inferiority complex too. His Fu Lang was very capable so he was naturally under a lot of pressure. He feels that he can’t be compared to him,yet his body acts up twice a day (he means his headache). Moreover,now his wife had such an uncle, his mood was simply like a real mess, he also felt a sense of powerlessness.

Zhong Ziqi’s words were like a fuse, a fuse that triggered a hidden uneasiness and depression in his heart.

“What do you mean? I’m…I’m joking with you? You’re not taking it seriously, are you?” Zhong Ziqi seriously reflected on what he had just said. It seemed that he had spoken a little too much. He had only said it as a joke but he had accidentally poked him in his sore spot?

“I took it seriously.” Zhao Zheng’an put down his dishes and sat back down.

“Are you serious? I’m joking with you, if I wanted to divorce you, would I have waited until now? I would have thrown you far away while you were stupid.” Zhong Ziqi was also a little anxious, afraid that his thoughtless words would hit his self-esteem.

“Oh, that makes sense. Then why didn’t you, at that moment divorce me?” Zhao Zheng’an asked curiously, wanting to hear what he was thinking.

“At the time, I didn’t think you’d be recovered! I just thought I’d raise you as a son ……”

Zhao Zheng’an’s face was so dark as he looked at him. He was glad he asked him, otherwise, he wouldn’t have known that he had been treated like a son by his wife. It was too damaging to his tall image.

“Oh, what about now?”

“That’s even more unlikely, you know how hard it is to be a divorced ger these days. Let’s just let it be bei! ” Zhong Ziqi said with a ‘ha ha’.

[Passable bei! = bring it together bei! =There’s not much we can do but let it be, bei!* I like Zhong Ziqi end his sentence with bei]

“There’s no need to force it.” Zhao Zheng’an said very ‘understandingly’.

“No…are you suffering from irritation today? What’s wrong? Want to divorce me, huh? Then you say it straight bei!” Zhong Ziqi looked at him suspiciously in the eyes.

“How can I be willing to divorce with you? I’ve told you, my heart and my mind is full of you. I’m just afraid you will….He he,” Zhao Zheng’an gave a ‘dull laugh’.

“He he ……” Zhong Ziqi also put on a ‘fake smile’, so here he is waiting for him! Want him to confess his love?

“Do you want to know?”

Zhao Zheng’an nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice.

Zhong Ziqi smiled faintly and leaned down to move his head closer. Zhao Zheng’an thought his wife was embarrassed so he was particularly happy to stick his ear out.

Then, a loud voice suddenly rang out in rage in his ears: “Hurry up and clean up the table and the dishes! You’re so idle all day, thinking about everything. Are you one of those ‘gossipers’ at the center of the village?”

[The original text of thinking about everything here is : thinking from the west and the east.]

[长舌妇 ( 長舌婦 ) : cháng shé fùe: gossiper / busybody]

Zhao Zheng’an’s heart had a lingering fear as he lined up his chest, his ears buzzing, really surprised him to death. One moment he was a gentle person, who thought that in the blink of an eye he turned into a tigress. His little heart just couldn’t take it.

Zhao Zheng’an, under Zhong Ziqi’s glare, got up and cleaned up the dishes. What sadness? What anxiety? He left it all behind.

“Fool…” Zhong Ziqi said, sitting on a chair while covering his mouth,secretly laughing at him.

Lying in bed at night, Zhao Zheng’an approached Zhong Ziqi for reassurance with ostensible purpose in the name of a broken heart.

Zhong Ziqi pushed his face away speechlessly: “I’m so tired. I’m going to sleep.”

“That’s okay! You sleep yours,I’ll move mine.” Zhao Zheng’an said with a malicious smile.

Zhong Ziqi gave him an angry sideways glance. He turned his body around and put his hands in fists in front of his body. ‘I’ll see what you can do’.

It’s true that sometimes a man has some things that he can naturally ‘learn without a teacher’. Zhao Zheng’an sat behind him and looked at him for half a day before a sound of ‘fiddling and rustling’ came from under the quilt.

[无师自通 ( 無師自通 )wú shī zì tōng

self-taught / to learn without a teacher (idiom)]

Zhong Ziqi who turned his back to him, pricked up his ears, not knowing what he was doing. Suddenly, there was a chill on his lower body. The underpant he was wearing were stripped off by Zhao Zheng’an.

“What are you doing?”

Zhong Ziqi’s hands and feet tried to pull the underwear trousers up again, but unfortunately, Zhao Zheng’an interfered. He couldn’t win against him

“Aren’t you tired,wife? In that case, I’ll let you rest today, no need to move.”

Zhong Ziqi had the look of ‘Fuck you! Think I’m stupid?!’ on his face.

Zhao Zheng’an ignored him, pretended not to see it and flipped him over, turning his back to himself.

Zhong Ziqi moved restlessly, his hands were bound. He was about to move his feet when a leg was placed on top of him.Before he could react, a hot object squeezed into the base of his thigh.

Zhong Ziqi’s face immediately burst red as he realised what it was.

Ashamed and resentful, he tried to struggle, but was pinned down hard by Zhao Zheng’an, who then mimicked some kind of movement by stroking(dash in) forward and back.

Moonlight streamed through the window into the small room with its charming atmosphere, casting an ambiguous glow. After a low roar, the cabin regained its calm, leaving only the sound of two rising and falling gasps one after another.

Zhong Ziqi silently touched his thighs, which were hot and sore underneath him, so angry that it was unbearable, he pinched fiercely Zhao Zheng’an’s arm in a cycle.

“Ouch! Be gentle! Be gentle!” Zhao Zheng’an sucked in his breath in pain.

“In the future, if you dare …to do what you did just now… again,” Zhong Ziqi found it hard to speak about something, this rascal!

“Aiyoo…wife, my head hurts… let me rest and be quiet for a while…” Zhao Zheng’an suddenly held his head, interrupting Zhong Ziqi’s words.

“Does it hurt again? Do you want me to rub it for you?” Zhong Ziqi really forgot what he was going to say and sat up in a hurry, only then did he remember that his bottom was still naked and slippery. It was still sticky and wet so he picked up a cleaning rag, casually wiped it off. Immediately, he fished out his own trouser from the bed and put it on.

He tried to light the oil lamp, but Zhao Zheng’an pulled his hand away.

“You can lie with me for a while, it will be fine in a while.”

Hearing that, Zhong Ziqi obeyed and lay down on the bed, Zhao Zheng’an opened his arms and took him in his arms, burying his head in his neck.

Zhong Ziqi shrank into his arms, not daring to move. He was so concerned that he didn’t notice how Zhao Zheng’an, who usually never cried out in pain with him, suddenly cried out in pain today.

In the darkness, Zhao Zheng’an grinned triumphantly... What happens after that is up to him (beyond his control)!

[ Tl notes on grinned triumpbantly ; smiling as he draw back the corners of his mouth since he get his own way]

They only do ‘Sumata’ if you ask me, what they were doing. (｡>﹏<｡)