Chapter 16: Long and Seductive
Zhang Qing came to look for someone, and even had his luggage ready. He just set up camp with Tang Ying and lived in the servants' room of the Fu Mansion.
Fu Chen's house was given by the emperor. When he first moved in, there were some young ladies among the servants. However, after two incidents where servants offered themselves for his bed, and after the self-righteous housekeeper came to try a match for him to have a concubine, there were only bachelors left in the house. Not even a female mosquito could be seen.
Commander Fu finally understood that there were two things in this world that he could not easily stop. One was the budding love of young girls, and the other was the strong desire of middle-aged and elderly women to act as matchmakers.
He even thought in a particularly harsh way that these hideous old women were spying on what was going on in his room because they had married unhappily when they were young and they were trying to compensate for that.
Since Commander Fu entered the Forbidden Cavalry Division, he has been responsible for countless deaths and witnessed the filthiness of human nature in the Forbidden Cavalry Division's prison. Seeing so much has inevitably developed an occupational disease, and his guessing of people's hearts always slides in the most unbearable direction.
No matter how much prejudice and contempt Commander Fu had towards the former maid in his family, he hid them well behind his icy face, so that others could not see any clues. He still maintained his usual cold and solemn expression and introduced Zhang Qing and his sister to the housekeeper Uncle Zhong.
"These are the Zhang brothers and sisters, the newly hired grooms of the mansion. They will look after the stables with Yu San from now on." In the surprised eyes of the servants, he added: "Miss Zhang is an expert in horse training. The Wild Horse King will be taken care of by her from now on."
The wild horse king is quite spiritual, but it can be understood from its perspective. It originally had a vast grassland in Tianshan Mountain and 3,000 beauties in its harem. It could gallop as it pleased and was followed by wild horses, just like an emperor. But once it became a prisoner, imprisoned in the small imperial stable, even the mares next door who were fawning on it looked stupid from being penned for a long time. The horse's life was boring, and its temper became worse. It would bite and kick anyone it caught.
Unexpectedly, it met Tang Ying, who had an even worse temper than it. A beating made it realize the reality. Now it stood obediently beside Tang Ying, followed Tang Ying all the way to stand in the Fu family courtyard, and shamelessly pushed away Lord Shen who was approaching, almost falling down. It let out a series of unpleasant sounds from its nostrils and rubbed its big head against Tang Ying's shoulder affectionately.
Lord Shen, who was sabotaged for the second time since entering the house: "..."
The servants of the Fu Mansion: "..."
Uncle Zhong pointed with trembling fingers: "It...it is the wild horse king imprisoned in the Imperial Stables?" Everyone in Beijing who has a bit of status knows about this.
But... this horse in front of me, which has been beaten beyond recognition, has a swollen face that is so ugly that people can't bear to look at it, and follows Miss Zhang closely... is it really the wild horse king that has been rumored in Beijing for a long time that no one should approach?
He expressed the thoughts of everyone in the mansion.
Fu Chen smiled slightly, and his eyes were especially gentle when he looked at the Wild Horse King (Miss Zhang): "The emperor gave it to me today, so you should take good care of it."
Uncle Zhong and the servants were all stunned. They all had the same thought as Arong and the others - would Miss Zhang move from the stable to the study?
They had secretly planned Tang Ying's future career path, and even looked at her with more eagerness. They even tried to grab the bag from Zhang Qing, "Brother Zhang, I'll help carry the bag."
Zhang Qing was robbed of his bag without knowing what was happening, and was also led by Uncle Zhong to a small courtyard in the mansion where servants lived. It was not far from the stables and kitchen, and next door was a dormitory for a group of bachelors: "If you have any problems, just shout through the wall, and those guys will definitely be willing to lend a hand."
Tang Ying followed Yu San, the keeper of the stables, and took the Wild Horse King to the stables of the Fu Mansion. After inspecting the Wild Horse King's food and accommodation conditions, the new groom mercilessly criticized Yu San severely.
"There's such a thick layer of horse manure and they haven't shoveled it out, and the grass they feed it isn't fresh. Look at it, will it eat it?" She grabbed a bunch of grass from the trough and handed it to him. The wild horse king turned his head away with disdain, his appetite loss.
By the time dinner was served in the evening, Tang Ying finally had a clear understanding of the treatment she had received at the Fu Mansion.
The chef was probably only good at cooking for a big pot, and he only added salt to make sure the food was not too salty. Therefore, both the people in the Fu Mansion and the Ma family developed the good qualities of being content with what they have, enduring hardships and standing hard work, and they were not too picky about food and accommodation.
Tang Ying looked up at the moon and sighed: ...Does everyone in the Fu family have problems with their sense of taste?
Lord Shen was also dissatisfied with the food in the Fu Mansion. No matter how many times he came, he could never get used to the food there. When the food was placed on the table, he took a bite and then, facing Fu Chen who was eating up the food in no time as if he was facing a table full of delicacies, he seemed to be at a loss for words.
"Just say it if you have something to say." Fu Chen caught a glimpse of his expression and knew that he was holding back something.
Lord Shen asked him earnestly, "Ah Chen, don't you want to get married?"
"Are you bored? Even with so many women in the mansion, they can't stop you from meddling in other people's business?" Fu Chen put down his chopsticks and his appetite disappeared immediately.
Others were forced to get married by their parents and elders, but he was so unlucky that his childhood friend forced him to get married.
Lord Shen used chopsticks to pick up a piece of fat white meat on the plate, sighed, and kindly gave his childhood friend some advice: "Ah Chen, I think if you don't hire a good cook, even if you marry a wife, she will be driven to cheat on you by your bad food and leave you."
Fu Chen's forehead veins jumped a few times, mocking his friend's view on mate selection: "I'm not as greedy as you are. After getting the peony, I still want the golden osmanthus. After getting the golden osmanthus, I still want the red plum. I wish I could occupy all four seasons and move them all back to the Marquis' Mansion."
"What do you know?" Lord Shen smiled ambiguously: "The beauty of peony and the fragrance of golden osmanthus, both have their own merits, you will understand when there are more people in your backyard." He stretched and snatched Fu Chen's chopsticks: "Don't eat, I know that the food in your house is terrible, I have sent people to order two tables outside. Although Miss Zhang is a bit fierce, she can tame the wild horse king. She is a rare and extraordinary woman. She should be rewarded with a table of wine. You are reluctant to spend money on the wine, so I, your brother, will pay for it for you." He raised his eyebrows proudly: "Remember to send a few more jars of wine to thank you in the future."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Fu Tan was so angry at Lord Shen's unreasonable behavior that veins on his forehead were about to jump out: "The girl is innocent, don't slander her reputation."
"You haven't even got the person yet, but you're already protecting him?" Lord Shen has always been a hedonist and never tried to hide his true nature. He even mocked Fu Tan for his obvious attempt to hide his true nature: "Look at how you've wasted time until now, and it turns out you like this type, tsk." He has a weird aesthetic sense, and I don't know if he accidentally led the way astray when he was in the Forbidden Cavalry Division, facing a bunch of young ladies who were shouting for war and killing every day.
Fu Chen: “…” Facing Shen Qian, who was unreasonable but still wanted to make trouble, he couldn’t use the ruthless methods used by the Forbidden Cavalry Division to investigate cases, so he could only admit .
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Tang Ying and Zhang Qing had just taken up the job of grooms, and they were determined to make things happen. First, they cleaned an exceptionally tidy home for the Wild Horse King overnight, with loess mats, clean water on the ground, and the freshest hay in the stable. If she were given a guitar, she would really like to play a folk song with a rural flavor for the Wild Horse King to accompany his meal, so that it could better integrate into the new environment as quickly as possible.
Then he urged Yu Sanba to improve the living environment of the neighbors next door to Ye Ma Wang, and even said confidently: "If you don't clean up your side, the smell will spread."
How could Yu San, an old hand who had been working for Fu Chen since he founded his mansion, listen to the orders of a young girl? He originally intended to refuse, but the girl didn't say a word and chopped the unused tree stump in front of the stable with her bare hands.
The tree stump as big as a millstone was from a tree that was more than two hundred years old that the original owner of the mansion wanted to dig a pond. However, the mansion changed hands before the pond was built. A five-foot-high section of the tree stump was left idle next to the stable, and Yu San sometimes used it as a stool when he was tired from work.
Tang Ying not only split it in half with one palm, but also flew around with her palm. Soon, a neatly stacked piece of firewood of the same thickness and length was placed beside Yu San's feet. She looked around as if nothing had happened and said, "Brother Yu San, where is the kitchen? I'll take it there."
Yu San: “…” Can’t I just do it?
While he secretly complained to Fu Chen about where he picked up such a terrible girl, he honestly concentrated on cleaning the stable. In the meantime, the little girl's honest and simple brother lent a hand, and while she was delivering Chai He, the honest young man apologized to him embarrassedly.
"Brother Yu, my sister has been spoiled by her family since she was a child, so she has a bad temper. Please bear with me. If you need anything, you can order me around."
With this sharp contrast, Yu San felt afraid of Tang Ying, but his liking for Zhang Qing soared. That night, Zhang Qing forcibly dragged him to share a banquet sent by Lord Shen. The relationship between the new colleagues finally maintained a superficial harmony.
Tang Ying moved into the Fu residence. Not only her new colleague Yu San was upset, but also the Ninth Princess and the people around her.
When Arong returned that day, the Ninth Princess noticed something was wrong as there were so many injured people, many of whom had wounds on their faces and had trouble walking.
"Did you have a fight with anyone today?"
The others shrank their necks. Ah Rong had grown up with the Ninth Princess since she was a child, and he knew her thoughts even better. He exaggerated the story of Tang Ying following Fu Chen into the mansion: "...That girl is so shameless that she actually followed Commander Fu. Is Commander Fu something she can even dream of?"
Ever since Yuan Shu first met Fu Chen, she has engraved this person in her heart and inquired about him from many sources. Later, she heard that he didn't even have a maid to serve him in his house and that all the men were bachelors. She couldn't tell how happy she was.
Today, I suddenly heard that he actually brought a young girl back home. Even though the girl is an expert who can tame wild horses, it is hard to tolerate.
"Is she attractive?"
