Chapter Nineteenth An Old Man

  Yi took over the hand warmer handed over by Qindai and said: "I've inquired about it, she just got a fright and didn't have a miscarriage."

  "Really?" The tone was surprisingly tense, even to himself unnoticed.

  "It should be accurate, it was the person who sent the grain back to say, only said that the old master was very angry and wanted to investigate thoroughly. The aunt was just frightened, and the child was fine." Holding the hand warmer, her body gradually warmed up, and she spoke more fluently.

  Qin Dai let out a sigh of relief, but then began to worry again, who was going to plot against them this time?

  "Miss, don't worry, after this incident, the aunt will be even more cautious, isn't there a wet nurse by her side?" Ruyi comforted: "Master is so concerned, he must catch the person who harmed Aunt, you can rest assured!"

  I'm afraid this matter isn't that simple, how did Qin Fengge go and in just a few days, such a thing happened? Is she playing tricks again? Qin Dai's heart didn't notice, but it involuntarily ached.

  "Miss?" Ruyi had never seen Qindai Xin so distracted before, and hurriedly asked.

  "It's all right. Chunli, tell the kitchen to make some ginger soup for Ruyi, to dispel the cold. If she gets sick, it would be terrible. Also, let them prepare, we'll have hot pot tonight." With a plan in mind, there was no need to hesitate, just go with the flow!

  The two girls cheered and each went about their own business.

  This great Yong state has a strong national power, and many cultural styles are similar to those of the Tang Dynasty, but the degree of openness is not as high. Hot pot had already appeared before the Tang Dynasty, but at that time, hot pot was only available to wealthy families, and by the time of the Tang Dynasty, hot pot became more common, but this great Yong did not have it. Qin Dai Xin had previously asked craftsmen to make an old-fashioned hot pot, and she also drew a diagram of a barbecue stove according to her memory, asking people to make it together, and then selected many accessories, spices, etc., before sending them over together. Previously, Ruyi complained that she wasted money, but since eating once a few days ago, she no longer mentioned it. The two maids who originally refused to eat with her at the same table compromised because of her words "hot pot is only delicious when surrounded by close people".

  The marinade and sauce for the barbecue were all made by Qindai according to her memories of her past life. At that time, Feng'er liked it the most, but because of her identity, she couldn't casually taste it like ordinary people, so she had to learn how to make it herself and cook it for her.

  Whenever she mentioned the wind, her heart seemed less painful...

  The three masters and servants ate hot pot together happily, Chunli and Ruyi went to the outer room to do needlework, while Qindai lay on the bed reading a book.

  Before she had turned three pages, a faint noise came from the roof. Qin Dai narrowed her eyes and became angry.

  Who is it this time?

  The noise on the roof was just a single sound, and then it disappeared. Less than a minute later, it sounded again, still just one sound, followed by disappearance. After repeating this several times, Qin Dai's patience finally ran out.

  Obviously playing with her. Could it be him? Qin Dai thought of those gem-like eyes, low and magnetic voice, and the fatal wound on his body...

  The young lady of the Yue family had already fallen asleep, Qin Dai's heart was patiently waiting. Since they had come to her doorstep, she had no reason to shut the door and refuse them hospitality. She might as well consider it a warm-up exercise before sleep.

  On the rooftop, a faint sound that was almost inaudible recurred. Qin Dai's patience had reached its limit, she turned around and rushed out, casually tossing out Hei Mei Ren, and in just a few strides, she climbed up onto the house.

  ……

  Qin Dai Xin's heart was steady, but she couldn't describe her emotions at that moment.

  An old man wearing ordinary clothes and looking very ordinary was sitting on the rooftop, leisurely tossing small stones in his hand.

  Strange things happen every year, and recently there have been many. First, a handsome man with an unknown identity came, severely injured. Now, an old man has arrived, wearing ordinary clothes and looking unremarkable, but Qin Dai feels that she senses a noble aura from him.

  An imposing old man with a pair of equally sharp and astute eyes was looking at her with an expression of curiosity.

  "Girl, why aren't you sleeping properly in the house? What are you doing running out here in the middle of the night?" The old man's voice was slightly hoarse, but it had a warm and familiar tone.

  Qin Dai Xin was so infuriated by these words that she almost vomited blood, but after enduring for a moment, she couldn't help but say: "I didn't want to run here to blow wind either, it's just that the noise on the rooftop kept me from sleeping."

  Such a soft voice, ordinary people can't hear it at all, but she heard it clearly. The old man smiled in his heart, what an interesting little girl.

  "Everyone else can fall asleep, but you can't. Hehe." The old man smiled and suddenly threw a stone at Qindai Xin.

  Qin Dai's heart saw clearly that this throw contained a lot of doorways, with great power and fast rotation speed. According to the trajectory of the stone, it was hitting her directly in the face.

  Qin Dai's heart didn't dare to slack off, hearing the sound of breaking air approaching, she hastily dodged to the side. Although her feet were standing very steadily, her body shape was still affected, she quickly held her breath and stabilized her body.

  "Hehe, it's really fun." The tone was as if a child had gotten their way.

  "Old man, where did you come from in the middle of the night? What's your purpose?" Qin Dai's anger flared up for no reason. Why was it that there were always people mysteriously running around and interfering with her life?

  The old man smiled wryly, this was the first time in his life that someone had called him "old head", things were really interesting.

  "I suddenly had a craving for wine and wanted to find a place to drink, so I ran here." The old man spoke very casually, pointing to the several wine jars beside him.

  Drink? Qin Dai's mind felt as if countless black ducks flew over her head.

  "Girl, it's no fun drinking alone. Why don't you keep me company for a few cups?" The old man kicked out with one foot, sending a nearby jug flying towards Qindai Xin.

  Qin Dai's mind didn't have time to think carefully, so she had no choice but to go forward and forcibly receive the wine jar, but was shocked by a strong force that made her arm numb, barely holding onto the wine jar.

  What's going on? She's actually accompanying an old man to go crazy in the middle of the night. Tearing off the seal, Qin Dai raised the wine jug and started drinking heavily, hoping to quench her anger. Unfortunately, she was drinking wine, not water, drowning her sorrows with wine only made her more sorrowful, and her anger remained the same.

  "Great!" The old man did not expect that a girl who looked like 13 or 14 years old would have such guts, and was not afraid of him poisoning the wine. She truly had a few parts of his own youthful shadow. He felt happy in his heart, and also opened a jar of wine to drink.

  On a dark and windy night, an old man and a young boy on the rooftop, opened their throats and sang loudly, the scene was quite exaggerated.

  "Girl, you're really lucky to have this wine. I carried it for over a hundred miles to get it here. How is it? The taste isn't bad, right?" After drinking the wine, she didn't cough or gasp, and her face didn't turn red. This girl's capacity for liquor isn't small. Are all the young ladies nowadays developing into wine enthusiasts?

  "This is also called good wine? It's really laughable." Qin Dai was unconvinced and threw the empty wine jar over.

  The old man easily caught the wine jar, and his mind was filled with wonder. This little girl, looking like an ordinary young woman, how did she have such strength? She clearly had martial arts skills on her body, but it didn't seem like she had internal power either. It was indeed strange.

  "This is indeed a fine wine from the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion, young lady. You don't know its value." The old man thought she was raised in a secluded boudoir and didn't know about this wine.

  Qin Dai Xin savored the flavor for a moment, then said: "The color is pleasing to the eye, clear and pure. The aroma is fragrant but not common, the entrance is pure and soft. After swallowing, there is a lingering fragrance in the mouth, rich and mellow, with an endless aftertaste. This is truly good wine." The old man was startled by Qin Dai Xin's words, thinking that he didn't expect this young girl to be a connoisseur. He thought that at such a young age, and being a girl, it was already not easy to have such knowledge. But what Qin Dai Xin said next made him jump in fright.

  "The wine is good, but unfortunately not strong enough. It's just something for a young lady to drink at home, not suitable for serving to guests." Qin Dai's expression was mature and confident, leaving the old man stunned and unsure what to believe.

  "Girl, this is 'strong wine'! You still say the wine is not strong enough?" The old man said with a serious face.

  Qin Dai's heart smiled and replied, "Old man, can this wine be called 'intoxication'? A truly good wine should be sweet when entering the mouth, lingering when falling, and have a long aftertaste. When a thread of wine enters the abdomen, one only feels the fragrance left on the lips and teeth, soft and sweet, drunk but not dizzy, with a slight intoxicating aroma that is not turbid. This is what good wine should be."

  The old man listened to Qin Dai's words, his eyes wide with surprise. Instead of getting angry, he opened all the unopened wine and tasted each one carefully. In the end, his eyebrows were furrowed tightly, muttering "It doesn't make sense?" before suddenly bursting into laughter and staring intently at her.

  "I've never had such wine before, it's simply impossible." The childlike tone was back again, leaving one speechless and amused.

  "You've never had it, so you don't know? How rare! Maybe you just haven't seen the world. Even if Taizhou doesn't have it, maybe the capital does! Even if Dayong doesn't have it, somewhere else might!" Qin Dai replied calmly, but secretly smiled to herself.

  "It's impossible, it's impossible. Wherever you find it, bring it to me and I'll drink it. The wine in my house is the best, no one can rival me when it comes to wine." He already had a rough and rude look of a street thug, although his face wasn't red and his neck wasn't thick, but his eyes were wide with anger, clearly very disgruntled.

  "Immortal in wine? Hmph, you haven't seen many yet!" Of course, red wine, cocktails, there are many varieties! Don't say I'm bullying the ancients!

  The wine of this period was similar to that of the Tang Dynasty, with a low degree. Because before the Yuan Dynasty, all wines had been made using fermentation techniques, so the degree of the wine had always been around 20 degrees or even lower. Later generations after the Yuan Dynasty adopted distillation methods, which greatly increased the degree of the wine.

  "After messing around for half a day, I'm tired too, I'm going back, you do as you please." Knowing that the old man didn't have any ill intentions, Qin Dai's heart was also too lazy to bother with him, so she simply jumped down from the rooftop and went back to sleep.

  The old man gazed in the direction where Qin Dai Xin had disappeared, revealing a smile that sent shivers down one's spine. This lass, indeed, did not disappoint him. However, this kind of skill, who knows which blind fool taught her? What a waste of a good seedling! She only learned external family fist and footwork but didn't cultivate internal family heart method. What a pity! Perhaps he should think it over carefully...