Ju Mu'er didn't move, and Long Er said again, "What? Miss Ju doesn't like the dishes I ordered?" As he spoke, he picked up another piece of fish with his chopsticks.
Upon hearing this, Ju Mu'er had no choice but to pick up her chopsticks. She carefully listened to the sound of Long Er picking up food, first touching the small plate with her left hand, and then reaching out with her chopsticks. She picked up a piece of fish and slowly put it into her mouth.
The fish was full of bones, and Ju Mu'er knew she was in trouble the moment she put her mouth on it. She couldn't chew it, and she couldn't swallow it either. If she wanted to spit it out, she couldn't see it and didn't know where to spit it out. So she just held a piece of fish that was sticking to her tongue in her mouth, without moving.
Long Er smiled, looking at her with satisfaction.
Ding Yanshan, who had been annoyed and unhappy when he served food to Ju Mu'er, finally understood what was going on. She burst out laughing and asked, "Miss Mu'er, how does this fish taste?"
Ju Mu'er took out a handkerchief from her sleeve, covered her mouth, and spat the fish meat into the handkerchief. After spitting it out, she sighed deeply: "The fish bones are prickly, and I can't taste anything."
"How could that be?" Ding Yanshan said with a coquettish smile. "Just remove the bones, and I've eaten two pieces. They're really delicious." As she spoke, she waved her hand, and the maid beside her picked up another piece of fish for her, removing the bones, and placed it in front of her. Ding Yanshan proudly picked it up and put it in her mouth.
Ju Mu'er smiled and said, "When I was little, my mother said that eating fish could make you smarter and nourish your brain. Now that my eyesight is bad, I can't eat it anymore. Miss Ding and Second Master must have forgotten that I am blind, so they should eat more fish to nourish me."
Long Er raised an eyebrow. "Oh, this blind girl is really not one to be bullied."
Ding Yanshan's smile froze, unsure if she had been mocked by Ju Mu'er. Her face darkened, and she asked directly, "Miss Mu'er, are you saying that Second Master and I forgot about your blindness and that you're not quite right in the head?"
“Of course not,” Ju Mu’er replied slowly. “It’s only natural to forget things. It’s really foolish to pretend to forget when you know something.”
Upon hearing this, Ding Yanshan was so angry that she almost dropped her chopsticks. She was about to lash out when she remembered that Long Er was still nearby. She gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and was about to retort when she heard a woman's voice from outside say, "Oh dear, what a coincidence! I didn't expect that Master Long Er would also be dining here."
Ding Yanshan looked up and saw that the person who had come was Jiang Hui, the daughter of the Jiang family, who was also eagerly hoping to marry into the Long family as the second wife. Ding Yanshan quickly turned to look at Long Er and saw that he also looked surprised, so it must not have been him who made the appointment.
Long Er was indeed surprised. He wanted to use Ding Yanshan to teach Ju Mu'er a lesson, but he didn't expect that a competition for the throne of Long Er's wife would be held in this Xianwei Restaurant.
One woman is troublesome, two women cause more trouble, and three women make a mess of things. Long Er was constantly pestered by women with various excuses, so he was well aware of the ways of it.
He frowned, watching Jiang Hui sit down on her own initiative and subtly exchange barbs with Ding Yanshan. He turned to look at Ju Mu'er, who was listening intently to the two girls' competitive and sarcastic conversation. Long Er swore that although the expression only flashed by, he did see a smug smile on Ju Mu'er's lips.
This immediately killed Long Er's interest in teasing her. He knew that his current problem was how to gracefully extricate himself from the rivalry between these two young ladies. Just as he was pondering this, a woman's voice suddenly came from the doorway of the private room: "Oh dear, what a coincidence! What brings you here today? Miss Ding, Miss Jiang, it's been so long, you're still as energetic as ever. Master Long, Qin'er greets you."
Another one?
5. Conceal your thoughts and launch a quiet counterattack.
Long Er's brow twitched, and he subconsciously glanced at Ju Mu'er again. The smile on her lips had deepened. Long Er felt his face stiffen. It was an embarrassing thing for a grown man to be entangled with several women. Although he knew she couldn't see him, he still turned his face to the side.
He was very unhappy!
The new girl took her seat, leaving Long Er to face three opponents. The three girls began trying various methods to attract Long Er's attention, vying to talk to him, and even making sarcastic remarks and subtle insults at each other.
After exchanging a few words with them, Long Er called Li Ke in, instructing him to call the waiter for hot tea while giving him a wink. This was his secret signal, meaning for Li Ke to find an excuse to leave. Li Ke naturally understood; he nodded, turned, and went out to call the waiter.
No sooner had Li Ke left than two more female guests arrived. They were both impeccably dressed and spotless. It was quite a coincidence that they had come to Xianwei Restaurant for a meal and happened to bump into Master Long.
Long Er's face was as black as charcoal. In this pouring rain, they all dressed up like this to come out for a meal? It must have been really hard on them.
The table was filled with five women, and no one paid any attention to Ju Mu'er.
An ordinary woman in coarse cloth clothes was beneath their notice. Everyone knew perfectly well who their real rivals were. They had been secretly vying for power for a long time, and today they were going to have a chance to show off in front of Master Long. At the very least, they could ruin the chance for the other woman to meet Master Long, which would be good enough.
Long Er listened to their chattering, feeling annoyed and irritated. Just then, Ju Mu'er, who had seemed completely invisible, stood up and quietly took her leave. Long Er glared at the smile on her lips as she left, truly angry. Seeing how nimble she was as she left compared to when she arrived, he felt inexplicably angrier.
Watching Ju Mu'er leave so casually, leaving behind five flamboyant girls, each with a sharp-tongued maid standing behind her—ten women in total, twenty eyes staring intently at Long Er—Long Er felt that this terrifying scene was unbearable for any man.
Long Er admired himself, feeling that his patience and tolerance had improved a lot in the past two years, because he could still smile. He greeted everyone with a smile and urged them to eat, then he clenched his fist to his lips and coughed lightly.
This cough caused the five daughters to frown and show concern. They asked if she was feeling unwell, and then each used their own methods to introduce doctors, recommend folk remedies for coughs, and inquire about the thickness of her clothing, etc.
Just before Ryuji ran out of patience, Li Ke finally appeared.
Li Ke rushed in anxiously. Long Er straightened his expression, inwardly praising his acting: "Well done this time." He remained outwardly calm, only asking in a deep voice, "What's the matter that you're so panicked?"
Li Ke hurriedly bowed and, panting, said, "Chief Steward Tie sent someone to report that there has been an emergency at the manor and that Second Master should return immediately."
Long Er frowned, feigning concern: "I see..." He looked at the young ladies, who quickly seized the opportunity to show their understanding and virtuous nature, vying to say: "If Second Master has something to attend to, please return to the manor as soon as possible."
Long Er stood up and bowed, saying, "In that case, I'll take my leave first. This meal is on me, ladies, please don't stand on ceremony. We can meet again another day." With that, he turned and left.
Long Er went downstairs and walked out of the Xianwei Restaurant. He found that the rain had stopped, but the air was still damp, making people feel sticky and uncomfortable.
The coachman brought the carriage over, but Long Er waved his hand, indicating that it wasn't necessary. He walked in the direction Ju Mu'er had come from, and soon Li Ke caught up with him.
“Master, after you left, they said that each time we got together, it didn’t last long because either something happened at the Long residence or at one of the shops. It seems that we can’t use this trick anymore.”
Long Er was already displeased, and upon hearing this, he scolded him: "You're overacting. Everything was fine before, but when you came to report that something had happened at the manor, why are you breathing so heavily? It's not like you ran over from the manor to deliver the message."
Li Ke scratched his head, not daring to refute; he was a bodyguard, not an actor.
Long Er then snorted, "Ignore them. They have the nerve to complain. Since you know that every time they bother me, something happens in my mansion, you should understand what's going on. If you know what's good for you, then stop bothering me."
"But the families behind them are all powerful figures that the Second Master can use. It wouldn't make sense if they didn't handle things well every time..."
"Then it's up to you. You come up with some interesting methods, and I'll be waiting." Long Er glared at him. How dare he say that after so many performances, he'd only improved a little bit?
Li Ke wanted to say that Ju Mu'er's tea-splashing move last time was indeed natural and effective, but it seemed inappropriate for him to do it. Before he could speak, Long Er suddenly waved his hand and leaped onto the roof.
Li Ke was startled. He looked around, but there was no one there because of the rain. He jumped up as well, only to find Long Er already lying motionless on the eaves. Li Ke didn't know what had happened, so he imitated his master's furtive behavior and crouched down beside him.
Peeking out, they saw Ju Mu'er talking to a girl named Su Qing in a corner of the alley. Su Qing took out a few steamed buns from her bosom and said, "Sister, are you hungry? You probably won't get much to eat at this kind of dinner party. Look, I bought you a few steamed buns, they're still warm. Eat them before you go, they'll get cold soon."
Ju Mu'er seemed to be hungry. She agreed, took a steamed bun, and ate it demurely in small bites. Su Qing, ever observant, held the umbrella horizontally to block the wind while asking, "Why did Second Master Long invite you to dinner?"
Ju Mu'er slowly finished eating a steamed bun before answering, "It's nothing much, I just wanted to ask my family about learning the piano."
"There's more to it than meets the eye." Su Qing handed another steamed bun to Ju Mu'er, seemingly somewhat disbelieving: "Then why did you ask me to use the excuse of selling flowers to tell the personal maids of those young ladies from wealthy families that Master Long is hosting a banquet here today?"
"If more young ladies come, I might be able to get more piano teaching jobs, wouldn't that be great?"
Su Qing tilted her head and thought for a moment, "That makes sense." She handed another bun to Ju Mu'er and said, "Next time someone asks about the zither like that, tell them to go to the wine shop. Your eyesight isn't good, and it's so hard for you to travel all that way without being able to eat."
Ju Mu'er smiled and agreed, but Long Er didn't listen any further. He turned around, jumped off the roof, and went back. Li Ke, not understanding what he meant, followed him.
Long Er remained silent the entire way. As he boarded the carriage, Li Ke heard him grit his teeth and say, "Cunning, truly cunning!"
The gathering at Xianweilou left Long Er's face dark for half a month.
Because from that day on, those five young ladies began to exert all their efforts to win over Master Long.
They sent visiting cards, gifts, and various other pretexts to invite Long Er to meet and chat. Now, Long Er can even "bump into" some young lady wherever he goes.
It seems they were spurred on by the dinner at Xianweilou that day, feeling that if they didn't step up their efforts, their golden husband would be snatched away by someone else.
Their proactive actions naturally inspired others. Several powerful families who were acquainted with Long Er came to inquire about his intention to marry. Others invited Long Er to meet and discuss business under various pretexts, but ended up promoting their own daughters in the process. Still others sent matchmakers to inquire about Long Er's intentions from Granny Yu in the Long family.
In short, Master Long's popularity was fully demonstrated during this period. Rumors even began to circulate in the town: could it be that the iron tree is finally blooming, and Master Long wants to get married?
Long Er was so angry his nose almost crooked. This trouble was all brought on by that annoying Ju Mu'er. He only wanted to embarrass her a little, a small prank, but he didn't expect her methods to be more ruthless than his.
The frequent actions of the young ladies from prominent families, along with the matchmakers' enthusiastic persuasion, finally caught the attention of Granny Yu of the Long family. She began to have some confidence in her master, Long Er's, marriage prospects. After some deliberation, she decided to invite the young ladies to the Long family mansion to admire the plum blossoms, using the name of Long San's wife, Feng Wu, as guests. She hoped this would give the Second Master a chance to take a look at them and quickly finalize the marriage.
“But the plum blossoms aren’t blooming well yet,” Feng Wu said.
"What does it matter? It's just a pretext. The important thing is to let the Second Master see the bride more often. Once he's interested, the marriage will be easier to arrange." Granny Yu was very concerned about arranging this.
Feng Wu stroked her chin: "Actually, I think that if the girls bring their dowry lists and we compare their wealth directly, Second Uncle will be more likely to be tempted. Or we could also have them compete in reading the accounts and using the abacus; that would make it easier to win over Second Uncle's money-grubbing heart."
Feng Wu was speaking happily when Granny Yu suddenly coughed twice. Feng Wu was startled, and a chill ran down her spine. She realized what was going on and slowly turned around, only to see Long Er standing behind her.
At this moment, Feng Wu was sitting in the garden with Granny Yu, discussing the arrangements for entertaining the young ladies from various families when they arrived at the mansion the next day. Unexpectedly, Long Er, who should have been in the study looking at the files, came over.
Feng Wu chuckled, pretending she hadn't said anything. This marriage was her second uncle's Achilles' heel; touching it would cause trouble, especially since lately, every time she saw him, he had a face as black as if he'd swallowed croton. She didn't want to anger him and cause her dear husband to be sent to some wretched place to painstakingly collect debts.
Long Er's face was indeed dark. He was very unhappy and snorted, "Sister-in-law really cares about me."
"That's right." Feng Wu subtly shifted her position, trying to get Granny Yu to shield her. She continued, "Second Uncle is the pillar of the family; everyone in the household cares about him. Right, Granny Yu?"
Long Er didn't give Granny Yu a chance to help out, and immediately asked, "Besides comparing wealth and accounting skills, what other good ideas does your sister-in-law have?"
He clearly intended to make Feng Wu look bad, which angered Feng Wu. She was the type of person who needed to be appeased and coaxed, and she was unhappy that Long Er wasn't giving her a way out. So she said, "I do have a solution, but it's not my idea; it's what my sister-in-law suggested."
She tilted her head back, looking arrogant: "My sister-in-law said that given Second Uncle's personality, it won't be easy for him to find a wife. If all else fails, she'll have him go and kidnap a bride for him like a bandit. See, my sister-in-law cares about you too, but after comparing everything, my method is more respectable and will save Second Uncle a lot of trouble. Right, Second Uncle?"
How could he be considered easy to manage? His two sisters-in-law say he's greedy, only interested in money and not women, while she says he's stubborn and unlikable, making it difficult for him to find a wife. With such high praise from them, how could he be easy to manage?
Long Er took a deep breath and told himself that he shouldn't stoop to the level of a woman. No, he shouldn't stoop to the level of the women in his own family. But he should still hold other people's families accountable.
Long Er was about to say something more and teach Feng Wu a lesson. She was a mother of two; she should be dignified and virtuous, not bring shame to the Long family, and not lead the children astray. But before he could speak, Granny Yu spoke first.
"Second Master, look, the eldest master's young master can ride a horse now, and the third master's young lady can call him father."
Long Er's heart skipped a beat. He caught a glimpse of Feng Wu secretly laughing to herself, and his face began to twitch. He quickly replied, "Yes, yes, time flies. Granny, you've worked so hard taking care of the baby for Third Brother." As he spoke, he glared at Feng Wu.
"It's not hard work, it's not hard work." Granny Yu spoke with a very sincere expression. "Second Master, these past few days, Master and Madam have been looking for me in their dreams. They asked me how things are at home? Are all three sons well? I told them everything that's going on at home. Master and Madam are satisfied with everything else, but the fact that Second Master hasn't started a family yet is something that's been making them anxious."
Long Er forced a smile. This Granny Yu is getting more and more shrewd as she gets older. Her parents have been gone for many years, yet she still feels anxious. What kind of story is she making up?
But his parents were gone. Although Granny Yu was a servant, she was like a mother to him. No matter what, Long Er couldn't find fault with her. He could only say, "Granny, then you should comfort my parents. My eldest brother and the third brother already have children. The Long family already has an heir. I'm not in a hurry, not in a hurry."
Granny Yu sniffled, took out a handkerchief, and tears welled up in her eyes. Feng Wu watched from the side, full of admiration, and secretly gave her a thumbs up.
Granny Yu pushed Feng Wu's hand behind her back, squeezed it, conveying a "let me do it" meaning, and said to Long Er, "Second Master, this old servant knows that you have supported the Long family all these years, and it has truly been hard on you. Now life is better, and everything is going smoothly inside and out, but there is not even a trace of your wife. This old servant has no face to face the Master and Madam, how dare I offer them any words of comfort? This old servant is getting old, and I'm afraid I won't last many more years. If I meet the Master and Madam in the afterlife, and if Second Master is still unmarried, how can this old servant explain to them?"
Long Erqing coughed twice, then twice more: "Granny, you know it's not easy to support a family, especially our Long family. So many people outside are watching, waiting to find fault with us. We're better off now than when our parents first passed away, but we can't let our guard down. This business is huge, and we have to be careful about everything. My eldest brother is away most of the time, so I have to take care of his connections in the officialdom, and there's also my third brother's situation..."
Upon hearing that her husband was being dragged into this, Feng Wu quickly replied, "What does this have to do with my Long San?"
Granny Yu waved her hand with great authority, taking over the conversation, and asked quite seriously, "Second Master, how does this conflict with your marriage?"
Long Er choked, knowing that Yu Mama's soft approach had failed and that his hard approach was no longer effective. He carefully considered his words and replied, "Well, it's not that I don't want to get married, but there are many women in and out of the family... Mama, please don't be angry. I mean, I need to carefully find a good one. Otherwise, if someone covets my family's property, tries to profit from the Long family, or colludes with outsiders to bully the Long family, how can that be allowed?"
Granny Yu replied irritably, "Second Master, you're even more worried than this old woman. Let's not comment on your own abilities, but look at the First Master's wife, she's reasonable, and the Third Master's wife is skilled in martial arts. Now that the Second Master's wife has entered the family, with the sisters-in-law looking out for each other, how could she possibly cause any trouble?"
Feng Wu nodded vigorously, feeling really good to see her second uncle get the short end of the stick.
Long Er was speechless for a long time before finally saying, "Granny really has a lot of faith in my sister-in-law and my brother's wife."
"I have great confidence in Second Master. If he really marries and starts a family, he will surely be a powerful and influential husband with a virtuous wife and filial children."
"That's right, that's right," Long Er replied awkwardly; how could he possibly say no?
"In that case, Second Master, you should arrange the marriage quickly."
Long Er smiled, and then said, "A lifelong matter like this can't be decided so easily. It can't be rushed. Don't worry, Granny, I will carefully choose a good one."
"If you'd like to choose, that's fine." Granny Yu, though old, was still vigorous and sprightly. She jumped up from the chair and quickly darted out. A moment later, she appeared out of nowhere and brought over a large bamboo tube filled with scrolls.
Long Er's smile almost faltered as he heard Granny Yu say, "These are all carefully selected girls. I've looked them over thoroughly. In terms of appearance, character, age, and family background, they are all excellent. Second Master, just take your time and choose carefully. Once you've chosen a family, I'll arrange the marriage proposal immediately." After she finished speaking, she took out a piece of paper and handed it to Long Er: "It's definitely too late this year. These are auspicious days for next year, the most lucky days for weddings and celebrations. Second Master, hurry up, choose your girl, pick a date, and hold the wedding. I can arrange everything that needs to be prepared and taken care of at any time."
Long Er was no longer able to laugh. He casually replied "okay," then said that he remembered he still had a few urgent files to deal with at the library, and then quickly fled.
Granny Yu chased after him, calling out, "Second Master, you must come to the plum blossom tea party tomorrow!"
Feng Wu watched as Long Er stiffened and quickened his pace, and couldn't help but laugh until she was exhausted. She thought to herself, "My second uncle always uses 'busy' as an excuse to get away with things. It's so boring." She bet that her second uncle would be busy tomorrow too.
The next day, Long Er was indeed very busy. He said that he had received a report from his subordinates the night before that there was some trouble in the business in the neighboring city, and he had to deal with it personally, so he couldn't accompany the young ladies for tea. He made a point of informing Granny Yu, then got into his carriage and hurriedly left the city.