Volume 1, Chapter 45: Sister, Shall We Go Check on Fan Xiu?

Guo Xiulan was also from the capital and had long been acquainted with Su Ying'er. The two could even be said to be as close as sisters.

Su Ying'er had a delicate stomach and was extremely picky about food.

Therefore, she frequently traveled through various cities large and small across the Great Yin Dynasty simply to hunt for all kinds of delicacies to satisfy her appetite.

However,

delicacies that could actually meet her standards were exceedingly rare.

This time, she happened to be in Pengcheng Prefecture, and her purpose in coming to Zhiyuan County was specifically to visit her good friend Guo Xiulan.

Coincidentally, Guo Xiulan had received the cold skin noodles sent by Fan Xiu, and had brought a portion over for her as well.

Never did she expect that even Su Ying'er, who was accustomed to rare mountain delicacies and maritime treasures, would fall deeply in love with the cold skin noodles upon tasting them.

Over the past few days, every time Fan Xiu delivered the cold skin noodles, Guo Xiulan would bring a portion over to Su Ying'er.

"Thank you, Sister Xiulan."

Su Ying'er stood up and gave a slight nod, her straight, long skirt accentuating her slender and graceful figure.

Guo Xiulan opened the container of cold skin noodles and served them to Su Ying'er.

"Ying'er, if you leave tomorrow, you won't be able to eat these cold skin noodles anymore," Guo Xiulan said with a smile.

Su Ying'er picked up her chopsticks and replied, "These cold skin noodles are indeed delicious. Over the past few days, I've figured out most of how they are made. I truly never expected that someone could turn ordinary flour into such a marvelous delicacy."

Guo Xiulan sat down beside Su Ying'er, gently waving a round cattail leaf fan, and said, "That young man is indeed talented, and quite handsome to boot. Your sister here has been craving them for days, but unfortunately, that stubborn young fellow is as dense as a block of wood and just won't take a hint!"

Su Ying'er shook her head with a smile and said, "Sister Xiulan, you are already a married woman; behaving like this doesn't suit you. What if you displease your husband and he ends up selling you back to the House of Drunken Immortals? Let's see what you would do then."

"He wouldn't dare."

Guo Xiulan laughed and said, "As for him, the more I act like this, the more uneasy he is about me, and the more he cares! Besides, it's not like I'm undiscerning; it's just that it's rare for me to take a fancy to a handsome scholar."

Saying this, she looked at Su Ying'er and suggested, "Why don't you just go with him, Ying'er? He is a provincial imperial scholar after all, handsome, intelligent, and has a head for business. Most importantly, the food he makes is delicious—especially these cold skin noodles. Don't you like them quite a bit yourself?"

Su Ying'er shook her head with a smile and replied, "Sister Xiulan, please stop teasing me. How could I marry someone just for a plate of cold skin noodles? Besides, the House of Drunken Immortals wouldn't let me go anyway, seeing as I am their premier attraction."

"True enough,"

Guo Xiulan agreed. "With your aloof and peerless talent, coupled with being the leading beauty of the House of Drunken Immortals, goodness knows how many men yearn to become your honored guests and fail. How could you ever fancy a mere scholar holding a provincial degree? By the way, have you figured out how to make these cold skin noodles? Won't you teach me?"

She knew very well how exceptionally clever Su Ying'er was.

That she had managed to deduce the recipe after eating just a few portions came as no surprise to her at all.

"I certainly cannot do that,"

Su Ying'er replied. "After all, these cold skin noodles are how the young man makes his living. If I were to teach you, and you passed it on to your husband, wouldn't I be cutting off another person's livelihood in a roundabout way?"

Guo Xiulan feigned anger and said, "After all these years of sisterly affection between us, in your heart, am I still less important than a scholar you've never even met? And you still claim you have no feelings for him?"

"Oh, please,"

Su Ying'er laughed and gave Guo Xiulan a gentle nudge. "This has nothing to do with that. You wouldn't want people pointing fingers behind my back, would you? Besides, these cold skin noodles aren't that difficult; people in other taverns are likely trying to figure out how to make them as well. In a month or two at most, quite a few establishments should be able to produce them."

"How boring,"

Guo Xiulan said, waving her cattail fan. "Sister is angry now anyway. If you don't find a way to coax me back into a good mood, sister won't talk to you anymore!"

Su Ying'er shook her head and smiled.

She then reached over to pick up a book and said, "Sister Xiulan, this is an autographed book by the great literary master Mo Changming, and it even contains several of his newly composed poems. Your little sister is giving this to you as an apology. How about that?"

A look of delight crossed Guo Xiulan's face as she immediately reached out and snatched the book away.

Mo Changming.

He was a legendary figure revered as a literary sage in the Great Yin Dynasty, and all his authored works had become widely celebrated masterpieces!

Back when Guo Xiulan was in the capital, Mo Changming was her absolute favorite.

It was a pity that in a small county town like Zhiyuan, one simply couldn't buy Mo Changming's books at all, let alone an autographed copy.

"Thank you!"

Guo Xiulan excitedly embraced Su Ying'er, gave her a resounding kiss on the cheek, and exclaimed, "Sister Ying'er, I truly adore you to pieces!"

"Sister Xiulan, please don't be like this."

Su Ying'er hurriedly pushed Guo Xiulan away, her face flushing with bashfulness.

Even though both she and Guo Xiulan were women, she still found it somewhat difficult to handle such intimate displays of affection.

Seeing Su Ying'er's reaction, Guo Xiulan couldn't resist teasing, "Sister Ying'er's bashful look is truly so pitifully charming that it makes one want to hold her tight and shower her with affection! I just wonder which scoundrel will end up benefiting from all this in the end."

"Sister Xiulan is making fun of me again," Su Ying'er said with her head lowered.

Just then,

a commotion suddenly erupted downstairs.

"Hm?"

Guo Xiulan said in surprise, "What's going on downstairs? Who dares to cause trouble at the House of Drunken Immortals?"

"Xiaohhe,"

Su Ying'er called out, "go down and see what is happening."

"Understood,"

the maid outside replied.

Moments later,

Xiaohhe returned.

"My lady, it's that scholar-turned-merchant Fan Xiu who has arrived. Scholar Liu Wenyuan and some other scholars from Zhiyuan County have gotten into a conflict with him."

Upon hearing this, Guo Xiulan frowned and said, "Fan Xiu? Why is he here? Could it be that he came looking for women too?"

Xiaohhe replied, "No. He said he wanted to see Miss Ying'er, which drew the mockery and ridicule of Scholar Liu and the other scholars."

Guo Xiulan looked at Su Ying'er, a playful smile curving the corner of her lips. "You really do have quite the allure, Sister Ying'er. Sister here has pestered him repeatedly, only for him to bolt the moment he sees me! Yet without even laying eyes on you once, he rushed right over just to see you and become your favored guest."

Su Ying'er replied, "Sister Xiulan, please refrain from making such jokes."

She then instructed Xiaohhe, "Go and ask the estate officials to handle it. No trouble is allowed at the House of Drunken Immortals."

"Wait,"

Guo Xiulan quickly stopped Xiaohhe and said to Su Ying'er, "Sister Ying'er, since Fan Xiu has come, why don't we go take a look? Who knows, you might just take one look at him and fall in love!"

Su Ying'er said helplessly, "Sister Xiulan, what is there to see? It's nothing more than literati bickering."

"Let's go,"

Guo Xiulan urged, pulling Su Ying'er along. "We'll just peek from upstairs. Aren't you even a little curious how Fan Xiu plans to handle the harassment from these scholars? Sister wants to see. Come on, accompany sister and let's have a look!"

With that,

she forcefully dragged Su Ying'er toward the exit.

Walking behind her, Su Ying'er could only offer a helpless, wry smile.

She truly had no way of dealing with Guo Xiulan.

When the two of them reached the window at the corner, Guo Xiulan gently parted a crack in the window and peered down into the hall below.

The hall was surrounded by a large crowd of people.

Business at the House of Drunken Immortals was always brisk, and at any given time, patrons were never lacking.

At this moment, however,

all eyes were turned toward the center of the hall, where a group of people dressed as scholars were standing.

"Right there!"

Guo Xiulan pointed her finger at Fan Xiu and said to Su Ying'er, "Do you see him? The one picking his nose right there! That's Fan Xiu!"