Shū Chángyù knew that Jǐng Mù was following him.
But so what?
Just because he followed him, did that mean he had to pay attention to him?
Truthfully, even Shū Chángyù himself did not know where this anger of his came from.
He only felt a knot forming in his heart.
Within that frustration was also a trace of grievance from being misunderstood.
These emotions intertwined inside him, making him feel inexplicably irritated.
Thus, he simply continued walking forward without sparing even a glance at the culprit behind all of this.
Behind him, Jǐng Mù also felt somewhat wronged.
I went out to handle a case and happened to see you drinking flower wine at a brothel. I haven’t even gotten angry yet, and you’re already throwing a temper at me?
But Shū Chángyù seemed to have been born specifically to restrain him.
No matter how great Jǐng Mù’s anger was, the moment he encountered Shū Chángyù, it would instantly collapse into nothingness.
Perhaps those foolish emperors of the previous dynasty who had overturned everything in a fit of rage for a beauty had the same mindset as him.
And so, Shū Chángyù dragged along this tail behind him all the way out of Chunshui Alley and onto Chángníng Street.
Both sides of Chángníng Street were filled with shops, and the area was extremely lively.
At this moment, Shū Chángyù was tired.
His legs had begun to feel weak.
Fortunately, there was a tea stall by the roadside.
Shū Chángyù thought that he should not continue fighting with himself out of anger, so he sat down at the stall.
Jǐng Mù followed closely behind.
Still holding the jar of wine, he sat down on Shū Chángyù’s left.
“Boss, two bowls of Longjing tea.”
Before Shū Chángyù could speak, Jǐng Mù had already ordered.
Shū Chángyù frowned and looked at him.
“Grand Tutor may not know this,” Jǐng Mù said.
The cold expression he had shown in the brothel earlier had completely disappeared. His face now carried a bright smile as he leaned closer.
“I have gone out in disguise several times before. The Longjing tea from this stall is no inferior to the tea in the palace.”
As he spoke, the owner had already brought the tea over.
Jǐng Mù placed silver into the owner’s hand while taking one of the bowls and placing it before Shū Chángyù.
“Grand Tutor, have a taste?”
Shū Chángyù gave a cold laugh.
“What? You’re no longer planning to keep a cold face and throw a tantrum at me?”
“I wasn’t angry at Grand Tutor. I was just…”
Jǐng Mù smiled and tried to explain.
Shū Chángyù only pursed his lips and stared at him.
“I know I was wrong.”
Jǐng Mù immediately admitted fault.
Only then did Shū Chángyù lower his eyes and pick up the tea from the table.
“How is it, Grand Tutor?”
Jǐng Mù leaned closer with a smile, waiting for his reaction.
Shū Chángyù gave a barely noticeable hum.
“Grand Tutor…”
Jǐng Mù carefully began.
“What were you doing at the brothel today?”
Shū Chángyù raised an eyebrow.
“What does it have to do with you?”
“I…”
Jǐng Mù scratched the back of his head, then muttered:
“I was only asking. If Grand Tutor doesn’t want to say, then forget it.”
After saying this, he did not know whether he was speaking to himself or deliberately letting someone hear.
He added:
“I’ll just investigate it myself.”
Investigate, investigate, investigate.
You entered the Dali Temple and really think you’re impressive now, don’t you?
Shū Chángyù’s face turned cold.
Reluctantly, he explained:
“It was only because of Fāng Yúqiān’s matter.”
After saying this, he added:
“He is a useful talent. It would truly be a pity to let him die for no reason.”
This answer clearly did not satisfy Jǐng Mù.
He quietly muttered:
“Why bother caring about him…”
“What?”
Shū Chángyù frowned.
“I mean, it is only a small matter. Leave it to me in the future.”
Jǐng Mù became serious.
“Grand Tutor does not need to personally go to such a filthy place anymore. Those women from the pleasure houses are all like wolves and tigers…”
Leave it to you?
Who are you to me that I should hand my affairs over to you?
Shū Chángyù did not want to hear the rest of his nonsense.
He simply picked up the tea bowl and drank again.
Seeing that Shū Chángyù ignored him, Jǐng Mù changed the topic.
“This tea is good, right? Grand Tutor, I am extremely familiar with Chángníng Street. The wontons from the stall a few shops away are truly one of the best in the capital…”
Hearing this, Shū Chángyù looked at him.
“You went on your undercover visits in your previous life specifically to find these things?”
“Not entirely.”
Jǐng Mù smiled faintly.
“But I still had to remember these places so I could bring Grand Tutor here to eat.”
Going around tasting snacks and restaurants was still better than those old lecherous emperors of the previous dynasty who used inspection tours as an excuse to chase women.
Hearing this, Shū Chángyù merely said:
“You are impressive. You even predicted that I would be reborn.”
Jǐng Mù smiled but did not answer.
He thought:
Of course.
I lived those additional ten years for only one purpose—to let you be reborn.
Now, this person was sitting right in front of him, drinking the tea he had specifically searched for.
At this moment, Jǐng Mù suddenly felt that even the sunlight falling upon him was warmer than usual.
After finishing his tea, Shū Chángyù intended to return home.
But Jǐng Mù stubbornly stopped him and insisted that he accompany him to the nearby stall for a bowl of wontons.
Unable to win against him, and unwilling to argue with him on the street, Shū Chángyù allowed himself to be dragged there.
“Boss, two portions of wontons. One without sesame oil, add extra cilantro, and add some vinegar.”
As soon as he pressed Shū Chángyù down into a seat, Jǐng Mù called out to the owner.
Shū Chángyù looked at him.
“Hm?”
Noticing his gaze, Jǐng Mù turned around.
“What is it, Grand Tutor?”
“Nothing.”
It was merely surprising that Jǐng Mù actually knew his tastes so clearly.
Seeing that he did not ask further, Jǐng Mù only smiled and did not explain.
When the steaming hot wontons arrived, Jǐng Mù first pushed the bowl with extra cilantro and vinegar toward Shū Chángyù.
Then he carefully wiped the chopsticks with tea water and handed them to him.
Shū Chángyù had been born into a military family.
Since childhood, he had always handled small matters himself and never relied on others.
Therefore, Jǐng Mù’s thorough and natural service made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
“You…”
Holding the chopsticks Jǐng Mù had wiped, he opened his mouth but did not know what to say.
“Hmm?”
Seeing that Shū Chángyù was holding the chopsticks without moving, Jǐng Mù looked up.
After a pause, he smiled and explained:
“Roadside stalls like this usually do not pay much attention to hygiene. Chopsticks should be wiped before using.”
For some reason, perhaps because this place was so simple and ordinary, Shū Chángyù suddenly felt that Jǐng Mù’s smile was dazzlingly bright.
Bright enough to make his chest beat wildly.
He calmly lowered his eyes and picked up a wonton.
Jǐng Mù did not move his chopsticks.
He only watched Shū Chángyù’s reaction with anticipation.
The wonton skin was thin enough to almost be transparent.
With a gentle bite, it broke open, releasing the juicy filling inside.
The filling seemed to be minced lamb, yet there was no unpleasant smell. Mixed with the specially prepared soup, it created a rich and fresh flavor that filled his mouth.
Shū Chángyù had never eaten food from roadside stalls before.
Although these wontons were not as refined as those prepared at home or in the palace, they possessed a naturally created deliciousness.
Compared to this, the exquisite palace dishes seemed trapped by their own refinement and were actually inferior.
For a moment, Shū Chángyù became completely immersed in the taste.
He finally understood why those retired ministers in his previous life had abandoned their great power and wealth, choosing instead to travel the world and taste every delicacy.
Compared with such delicious food, what did all the power and riches in the world amount to?
When he recovered from his thoughts, he saw Jǐng Mù resting his chin on his hand and staring at him brightly.
Shū Chángyù frowned.
“What are you looking at? Don’t you have food in your own bowl?”
Jǐng Mù only smiled.
Shū Chángyù naturally did not know how tempting his slightly moist lips looked at this moment.
Nor did he know that his usual indifferent and distant expression had become so vivid and stunning.
All of this, in Jǐng Mù’s eyes, was no different from gold and jade falling before a miser.
Jǐng Mù happily lowered his eyes and placed a wonton into his mouth.
The wontons from this roadside stall only cost a dozen copper coins per bowl, but the portion was quite large.
Shū Chángyù had always controlled his diet.
In the end, he had five or six wontons left that he truly could not finish, so he put down his chopsticks.
Jǐng Mù, who had already finished eating, noticed his movement.
He looked at Shū Chángyù, then at his bowl.
Shū Chángyù was narrowing his eyes while wiping his mouth, looking rather like a cat licking its paws after being full.
Jǐng Mù’s throat moved slightly.
He said nothing.
“What is it?”
Shū Chángyù asked.
Jǐng Mù paused.
Then he quietly said:
“I’m not full.”
Shū Chángyù froze.
Then he laughed.
“So you were staring at me because of this? I wasn’t stopping you from eating. If you’re not full, then just…”
Before he finished speaking, Jǐng Mù’s eyes lit up.
“Thank you, Grand Tutor!”
Before the words finished leaving his mouth, his hand reached over and smoothly took away Shū Chángyù’s bowl.
“You…”
Shū Chángyù was stunned.
He could only watch as Jǐng Mù took his bowl and finished all the remaining wontons.
Then, using the edge of the bowl that Shū Chángyù had just used, he reluctantly drank the remaining soup.
With a satisfied expression, he went to pay the owner.
Only then did Shū Chángyù belatedly realize what had happened.
He stood up and stopped Jǐng Mù.
“The two of us came out to eat. How could I let you pay?”
Shū Chángyù said.
It was not that he cared about the dozen or so copper coins.
But Jǐng Mù’s familiar and natural actions earlier made him vaguely feel that his authority as an elder had been shaken.
A strange feeling—both sour and sweet—rose in his heart, making him instantly alert.
Such intimate behavior, and then letting the other person pay…
What kind of conduct was this?
Jǐng Mù did not let him succeed.
He placed a piece of broken silver into the owner’s hand, did not even wait for change, and pushed Shū Chángyù back toward the road.
“It was me who insisted you accompany me to eat. Naturally, I should pay.”
“I am your elder.”
Shū Chángyù emphasized.
“Yes.”
Jǐng Mù answered rather perfunctorily.
Then he picked up the jar of apricot blossom wine and smiled.
“I saw that Grand Tutor liked it earlier, so I bought a jar. I’ll give it to Grand Tutor.”
He actually gave him a gift!
The strange feeling in Shū Chángyù’s heart grew stronger.
His brows furrowed.
Seeing this, Jǐng Mù hurriedly said:
“If Grand Tutor feels uncomfortable accepting it, then buy something for me as well.”
Only then did Shū Chángyù relax.
“What do you want?”
The moment he asked, he realized something was wrong.
Who gives someone a gift and then asks what they want in return?
Jǐng Mù looked around.
After a moment, he said:
“Grand Tutor, buy me a candied hawthorn stick.”
As he spoke, he smiled.
“I ate too much just now. I want something to help with digestion.”
At this moment, dusk had fallen.
The surrounding shops had lit their lamps.
The streets were lively and bright, even more dazzling than the river of stars above.