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~Muse ?
Chapter 44 - Breakfast
Fu Wu Tian"s mother died when he was ten years old.
His father, Fu Xiao, spent his whole life on the battlefield, where he experienced both triumph and defeat. And his mother was a strange woman. She was not a gentle woman. Her character was very bold. She was not a citizen of Da Ya. Rumor has it that Fu Xiao brought her back from Guan Wai, and then the two got married not long after.
Fu Xiao was in Guan Wai all year round, and his wife stayed with him in Guan Wai. When Fu Xiao died, she was not reluctant to let him go. She only left behind a few words, and then she followed Fu Xiao.
These were all things that An Zi Ran heard about before he married into the Fu palace.
Nowadays, only Fu Wu Tian and Fu lao w.a.n.g ye, the two of them, were left behind to manage the Fu palace. The first day after marriage, one must honor the elder in-laws with a cup of tea. Since Fu Wu Tian"s parents were no longer alive, the only elder left to honor was Fu lao w.a.n.g ye.
Pa.s.sing through the corridor, the two arrived at the lobby.
Fu lao w.a.n.g ye had already woken up. At the moment, he was sitting in the main seat and drinking the hot tea poured by a servant. In the empty lobby there was only him and the servant serving him.
When he saw them coming into the lobby, Fu lao w.a.n.g ye immediately put down the teacup and stared straight at them.
Seeing that appearance, An Zi Ran"s instincts told him that Fu lao w.a.n.g ye was not in a clear state of mind. Fu Wu Tian must"ve deliberately taken advantage of the lao w.a.n.g ye"s condition to get him to agree to let his grandson take a man for his wife. If the lao w.a.n.g ye was not sick, An Zi Ran did not believe that he would agree.
[The two knelt down before Fu lao w.a.n.g ye.]
The servant came forward with a tray. An Zi Ran took the cup of tea from the tray and presented it to Fu lao w.a.n.g ye. "Grandfather, please drink tea."
Fu lao w.a.n.g ye received the cup of tea with a smile. He took a sip and then said, "My granddaughter-in-law is really good*." Then he stuffed a red envelope into An Zi Ran"s hands. It was thin and didn"t seem heavy. Later, An Zi Ran found that it was a ten thousand yuan bill. The generous amount surprised him.
[*T/N: The grandfather uses the term δΉ– guai, which means "obedient or well-behaved." It can sound a little patronizing in English, but in Chinese it"s meant as praise, usually from someone of higher seniority to someone of lower seniority. So I like to translate it as "good" sometimes.]
An Zi Ran deliberately ignored the address of "granddaughter-in-law." Without a change in his expression he received the red envelope and then thanked him.
Fu Wu Tian also honored his grandfather with a cup of tea, but the lao w.a.n.g ye was less enthusiastic about his own grandson.
When they got up, An Zi Ran heard Fu lao w.a.n.g ye said to his grandson with a smug tone of voice, "Wu Tian ah, you didn"t waste the good intoxication wine that grandfather brought out. You really didn"t let your grandfather down. But I heard from the servants that you were doing it very intensely last night. It is only the first day, you have to take care not to let your wife get too worn out."
Intoxication wine?
Could it be the wine that he drank last night?
An Zi Ran immediately looked at Fu Wu Tian only to see him say, "Grandfather, I know what I am doing."
Fu lao w.a.n.g ye was not rea.s.sured. "If you know what you are doing, then how could your wife be so loud yesterday? Don"t think that I don"t know, you must"ve been tossing your wife about excessively last night, otherwise, why would he get up so late in the morning. It must be your doing."
Even without listening all the way through to the end, An Zi Ran already wanted to dig a hole and bury himself in it.
When he recovered his senses last night, he knew that Fu Wu Tian once again hoodwinked him. Although he had prepared himself psychologically, but these words were said by Fu lao w.a.n.g ye. Suddenly he felt uncomfortable all over. He had thought that the wine was prepared by Fu Wu Tian, but unexpectedly the real culprit turned out to be Fu lao w.a.n.g ye. He was mistaken.
An Zi Ran found that Fu lao w.a.n.g ye only lost part of his memories on occasion. But whether it was before his amnesia or after, his brain was still very good. Unexpectedly, he knew how to scheme for his grandson"s benefit. However, An Zi Ran did not know that it was precisely because of Fu lao w.a.n.g ye"s actions that it allowed him to escape the calamity of having to use his back door to consummate the marriage, otherwise, it wouldn"t have been as simple as mutual masturbation.
[T/N: Meaning FWT was going to eat AZR up if he was in the right state of mind.]
"Grandfather, I will take heed next time."
Fu Wu Tian was incomparably calm. The amnesiac lao w.a.n.g ye was extremely talkative.
An Zi Ran glanced at Fu Wu Tian. There would be no next time.
Fu lao w.a.n.g ye did not notice the "turbulent undercurrent" between them and happily brought his grandson and granddaughter-in-law to go eat breakfast. The Fu palace did not have a particularly luxuriant or extravagant breakfast. It was similar to what was eaten in the An family: congee, eggs, buns, and savory pancakes.
An Zi Ran did not feel surprised. He could see the nature of the Fu palace in the food that they ate. Compared to those who liked to scheme with a belly full of deceit, they were more real and authentic.
Fu Wu Tian placed a steamed bun and savory pancake into An Zi Ran"s bowl. The congee was fresh from the pot. Steamy fragrance wafted from the congee, instigating one"s appet.i.te.
An Zi Ran didn"t talk. Instead he pa.s.sed a slice of savory pancake to the lao w.a.n.g ye who was watching them with a face full of smiles. After hesitating, he also gave Fu Wu Tian a slice. His expression was extremely reluctant, but he still received a thank you from Fu Wu Tian.
[T/N: Even though they could just serve themselves, culturally, it is a sign of affection and care to put food in someone else"s bowl. It means you care that they are getting enough to eat or that you want to share a delicious dish with them.]
A little bit of warmth, and then the three no longer talked.
Fu Wu Tian was an adult, so his appet.i.te was comparatively larger. He ate three slices of savory pancakes and four steamed buns before stopping. Then he peeled two hard-boiled eggs and placed one in An Zi Ran"s bowl.
"Now that you have my granddaughter-in-law you are forgetting this grandfather."
Fu lao w.a.n.g ye complained.
He even rhymed his words.
An Zi Ran lifted his head and saw Fu lao w.a.n.g ye looking at them with hidden bitterness. In his bowl was an unpeeled egg. It seems that Fu Wu Tian had put it in there. After hearing the complaint, the corner of An Zi Ran"s mouth faintly twitched and he switched out his peeled egg with the grandfather"s unpeeled one.
"My granddaughter-in-law is still the best (compared to my grandson)." Fu lao w.a.n.g ye immediately smiled.
With incomparable calmness, Fu Wu Tian picked up the egg in An Zi Ran"s bowl and peeled it for him, continuing to show favoritism to the very end.
Fu lao w.a.n.g ye gnashed his teeth and ate the egg.
Such a childish pair of grandfather and grandson!
An Zi Ran reached this conclusion without words.
Fu Wu Tian suddenly had a servant serve up a bowl of congee for An Zi Ran. This was the second bowl. Before that, he had already eaten a slice of savory pancake, a steamed bun, and an egg. He was already full, so he immediately stopped him, "No need."
"You are in your growing stage, you should eat more." Fu Wu Tian was unmoving.
An Zi Ran said, "I am losing weight."
His weight had not been reduced to the extent that he was satisfied with, especially the baby fat still on his face. Every time he looked in the mirror, he felt particularly unsightly, so weight loss must continue.
Fu Wu Tian turned to him, looked him up and down, and finally stopped on his face. "w.a.n.g fei, I like the meat on you, it feels good to touch, so there"s no need to lose weight."
In response to those words, An Zi Ran decided to keep up his diet until the bitter end.