There is love here for three hundred taels

Laba porridge

Ever since Master Dou sent Dou Akou to Qingyong City, Dou Akou has fallen into Fu Jiuxin's hands.

Fu Jiuxin is the Dou family's accountant, in charge of Dou Akou's white rice and braised pork; Fu Jiuxin is also the Dou family's tutor, in charge of Dou Akou's etiquette, manners, and skills in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

— Fu Jiuxin is Dou Akou's Achilles' heel; a single touch will send her into a state of ecstasy and near death.

This fatal flaw occurred a month ago when Dou Akou left Qingyong City to collect debts south for Master Dou. Dou Akou, now in control, looked up and saw a bright, clear sky over Qingyong City, which she greatly admired.

Overjoyed, Dou Akou stopped studying and writing. Occasionally, she would practice martial arts and wield a knife. This small amount of exercise couldn't stop her from gaining weight. So, after Fu Jiuxin left for a month, Dou Akou had gained a lot of weight.

On the morning of Laba Festival, Dou Akou was drinking Laba porridge in her dream, drooling all over her pillow. Suddenly, she jolted awake, her body trembling in bed.

Dou Akou's intuition for bad news has always been very accurate. It was the same three years ago, the night before she was to be sent away by Master Dou. And it is the same now.

She got up nervously, straightened her clothes, and ran to the gate of Qingyong City to inquire about the situation.

Today, her senior brother Gu Huaibi is guarding the mountain gate.

Gu Huaibi set up a reclining chair under a large pine tree at the mountain gate, crossed his legs, and ate a blade of grass. A thin Autumn Water Blade nimbly twirled between his fingers. As soon as he saw Dou Akou, he quickly sheathed the dagger, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Are there any distinguished guests coming to Qingyong City today?"

"Hmm? I haven't heard of it, I don't know..." Gu Huaibi said halfway, then suddenly squinted at the thousands of stone steps below Qingyong City, "Oh, maybe someone is coming."

Dou Akou followed Gu Huaibi's gaze downwards. Her martial arts skills were not proficient, and her eyesight was not as sharp as Gu Huaibi's. She could only vaguely see a figure dressed in black, but the aura emanating from that person could reach Dou Akou from thousands of miles away.

With a "crack," Dou Akou's fragile heart and the bright sky above her collapsed at the same time. Terrified, she turned around and ran away, fleeing in a panic to the Dance Elephant Stage.

On the dance platform stood several plum blossom stakes taller than Dou Akou. Dou Akou swiftly climbed up one of them, stood on one foot, and pretended to be diligently practicing.

Perhaps because she had been breathing heavily for the past month, she didn't feel as light as a swallow when standing on the plum blossom stakes as before. Fortunately, after swaying a few times, she managed to stay steady.

Dou Akou may not have much else, but she has plenty of self-righteous cleverness.

To hide the weight she had gained from a month of eating and being lazy, she took off a belt and wrapped it tightly around her stomach.

Just as all this was done, the man leisurely found his way here.

Dou Akou secretly opened her eyes a crack and peeked at Fu Jiuxin. She was standing on a plum blossom stake that was more than a meter tall, while Fu Jiuxin was standing on the ground. So from her angle looking down, she could only see Fu Jiuxin's slanted eyebrows and high nose bridge.

Dou Akou quietly closed her eyes again, pretending to be completely unaware.

"Miss, you practice martial arts very diligently." Fu Jiuxin looked at the misty peaks high above Qingyong City.

Dou Akou suddenly opened her eyes and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my! Sir, you're back! Why didn't you let me know beforehand? I could have gone to the mountain gate to welcome you back."

"Oh. Does Miss practice her calligraphy diligently? Have you finished reading your books? Have you thoroughly studied the chess manual?"

"...Sir, I'll stand on the plum blossom stakes to show you."

Upon hearing this, Fu Jiuxin looked up at Dou Akou, and their eyes met. Dou Akou looked guilty.

Dou Akou saw the face slowly rising at her feet. In addition to his usual handsome features, he also showed signs of the hardships he had endured while traveling, which gave him a sharper look, much like a gleaming autumn blade.

Dou Akou was startled and almost collapsed. She stammered, "Sir, today is Laba Festival. Why don't you go and have some porridge to cleanse yourself? I'll stand here a little longer, just a little longer, hehehehe."

Dou Akou was quite pleased with herself for knowing that Fu Jiuxin wouldn't be able to get her off the plum blossom stake.

Fu Jiuxin glanced at Dou Akou again, silently drew a sword from the weapon rack beside him, and slapped it down at Dou Akou's feet, causing the wooden stake to sink several inches into the ground.

Dou Akou screamed and jumped up and down, howling like a banshee as she squatted down on the stake, hugging it tightly and weeping in the wind.

Fu Jiuxin patiently peeled Dou Akou off the wooden stake, then casually weighed her in his hand: "She's gotten heavier."

Dou Akou retorted, "It's not heavy. Sir, look at my waist."

They both looked down at Dou Akou's waist. Dou Akou secretly held her breath and tucked her stomach in. Fu Jiuxin wrapped his arms around Dou Akou's waist and touched her waist. Dou Akou couldn't help but feel ticklish and burst into laughter.

With a smile, the results of her month of indulging in food were revealed. Fu Jiuxin pointed to her waist and slowly spread two fingers to indicate that it had gotten a little thicker.

Looking at Fu Jiuxin, Dou Akou seemed to see her own bland breakfasts, lunches, and dinners from now on, and tears streamed down her face.

Unexpectedly, Fu Jiuxin suddenly withdrew his hand and calmly walked forward: "Miss, practice calligraphy three times today."

Dou Akou followed behind him, bargaining: "Sir, today is Laba Festival, can you skip practicing one character?"

Fu Jiuxin didn't even turn his head: "One hundred copper coins for each character you practice."

"Ten words?"

"Ten hundred copper coins."

"What about a hundred words?"

"One hundred copper coins."

Fu Jiuxin was the Dou family's accountant. He had a very sharp mind and could calculate money and accounts very clearly. One word was worth one hundred copper coins, ten words should be worth one thousand copper coins per string of cash, and one hundred words should be worth ten strings of cash per tael of silver. In the end, one hundred words were still worth one hundred copper coins.

Dou Akou was a fool. She counted on her fingers and then happily went to carry paper, ink, brushes, and inkstones.

The people of Qingyong City were already used to this scene, and they all passed by, nodding to Fu Jiuxin: "Young Master, you've worked hard."

It was indeed very difficult to educate Dou Akou, that silly girl.

After watching Dou Akou finish practicing calligraphy, Fu Jiuxin finally had time to go back to his room to wash and change. He had traveled a long way from Ziwei Qingdu back to Qingyong City, and before he could even have a sip of water, he was already annoyed by Dou Akou.

He was originally the Dou family's accountant and didn't need to come to Qingyong City with Dou Akou. However, Master Dou felt that his daughter without Fu Jiuxin was like pork without salt—she wouldn't even know how she died. So he begged Fu Jiuxin to come to Qingyong City with Dou Akou, and the two became disciples of the city's wandering wine and meat hermit.

Just like his name suggests, the Wine and Meat Hermit was a man who couldn't live without wine and meat. He spent his days wandering around the Huang Dynasty and rarely returned to the city. Even his master didn't care about him anymore, so no one in the city paid any attention to Dou Akou. If it weren't for Fu Jiuxin, Dou Akou would have truly earned the reputation of being a parasite.

On this day, dinner in Qingyong City was naturally Laba porridge. According to the city's rules, disciples were not allowed to eat in their rooms; they had to gather at Xianfang Hall in the city for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Fu Jiuxin changed his clothes and went to Xianfang Hall with Gu Huaibi.

He returned to the city and resumed his status as a disciple. Naturally, he no longer wore the loose-fitting blue robe with wide sleeves, but instead changed into a black tight-fitting outfit, looking as tall and slender as a bamboo stalk.

When he stepped into Xianfang Hall, the female disciples exchanged a knowing glance, their eyes sweeping over Fu Jiuxin's figure as if they were looking at a tempting chicken leg.

Dou Akou not

……