The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

Min Xi was drinking tea and eating a few bites of snacks when Tao Sheng's servant came to tell him that the bath water was ready and asked Min Xi to go and take a bath.

The bathroom is connected to the bedroom in the upper room. After Min Xi entered, he found that this bathroom was similar to the bathhouse of Count Hernandez's family. It was also a pool. What was different from the bathhouse of the Count's family was that this bathhouse directly heated the pool water by burning wood. It was many times more advanced and convenient than the bathhouse of the Count's family.

Min Xixin was suspicious. It would take a long time to fill such a big pool with water and heat it up? He hadn't even finished his tea, but he said the water was ready. I'm afraid it was prepared in advance. Yun Ji didn't know when he would arrive, so he could only say that he was very thoughtful.

Min Xi soaked in the warm pool and washed himself thoroughly from head to toe. The servant wanted to come over to help him bathe and rub his back and shoulders, but Min Xi refused. He was not used to going to bathhouses like the northerners and was not used to being served. It would be better for him to wash himself.

With such favorable conditions, he certainly had to take a good bath. Although he had taken a bath in Quanzhou, he had not taken a bath since he left Quanzhou, which was almost a month. Compared with the days of not taking a bath for several months at sea, this was already good.

This soak took a long time. Until he heard voices outside the door, Min Xi stirred the water and could not hear clearly, but he heard the sound of the door opening and someone coming in.

Min Xi thought someone was urging him to eat, so he said, "I'll be right there."

A chuckle came from above: "Is it extra comfortable to take a bath here?"

Min Xi looked up suddenly and saw a familiar smiling face appearing from behind the screen.

"Seventh brother! You're back?" Min Xi's face was filled with joy. It had been more than a month since they last saw each other. It would be a lie to say that he didn't miss him.

Yun Ji came around from behind the screen, his eyes never leaving Min Xi: "You've lost some weight."

Min Xi looked up at him. Yun Ji was dressed completely differently this time. He wore a turban and a navy blue cloak with wide sleeves. He looked like a nobleman. He was good-looking to begin with, and now that he was dressed up, he looked so handsome that people couldn't take their eyes off him. He subconsciously reached out and touched his face: "No, I feel like I'm a little fatter than when I was at sea. After all, no matter how hard it is to come back, I still have to eat normally."

"I don't believe it. Let me see." Yun Ji said as he took off his hat and untied his belt.

Min Xi came back to his senses: "Seventh Brother, what are you doing?"

Yun Ji smiled and said, "I'll wash too."

Min Xi hurriedly stopped him: "No, this is the bath water I haven't used for a month. There's a layer of mud on it. If you come in, you'll get yourself dirty."

"You're not dirty." Yun Ji's hands kept moving, taking off his clothes one by one.

Min Xi held his forehead helplessly: "What's wrong with you? There's no shortage of water, why do you have to wash my bath water?"

Yun Ji looked at Min Xi with burning eyes: "But this is the only bathing pool this big in the whole house. It's not easy to prepare such a large pool of water. I haven't taken a bath for a long time." After he said that, he had already taken off his clothes, leaving only a pair of underwear, and walked into the pool.

Although it was not the first time they bathed together, Min Xi still couldn't remain calm. He said, "I'm done bathing, you go ahead." Then he was about to go up.

Yun Ji reached out and grabbed his arm: "Don't leave in a hurry, I'll rub your back. Rub mine too."

Min Xi had to stop, Yun Ji had already taken the towel and started rubbing his back.

Min Xi held onto the pool wall with his hands, turned his back to Yun Ji, and asked, "What's going on at home?"

Yun Ji paused and said, "It's a lawsuit. After Yun Xiao took over the position of the head of the family, within less than a year, he sold half of my family's private property. The good shops were transferred to other people in the family, and the merchants were also transferred to him."

"Fuck!" Min Xi couldn't help but swear, "Are you so shameless?"

Yun Ji sighed and said, "Isn't it because they are bullying my younger brother because he is too young to understand? My uncle's family are all scholars, and no one knows business."

"This is too much! Can I get it back?" Min Xi couldn't help getting angry when he thought of Yun Ji and his gang of ruthless people. They were too bullying!

Yun Ji shook his head: "It may be difficult to bring all of them back. Because I have been away from home for several years, I don't know which shops have been opened or closed. My father's right-hand man also died inexplicably, and no one knows the specific accounts."

"Could it be that they are trying to silence the witnesses? We must not let them go!" Min Xi felt a chill in his heart. For the sake of profit, people can actually do anything.

"I'm now beginning to doubt the cause of my father's death. Could it be that someone took advantage of his illness and secretly murdered him?" Yun Ji's voice gradually lowered.

Min Xi was startled when he heard this, and noticed that the hand behind him had dropped. He turned around and faced Yun Ji: "Is this just your suspicion, or do you have evidence or clues?"

Yun Ji shook his head: "It's just a suspicion. It's a mess right now. My mind is in a mess and I don't know when I can sort these things out."

Min Xi put his hand on his shoulder and said, "Seventh brother, don't worry. Take your time. I'll accompany you. As long as they have done something, it can't be perfect. Let's investigate one by one. Let's start with the cause of death of your father's assistant. While you investigate, spread the news. If they really did it, they will definitely lose their composure and reveal their flaws."

Yun Ji nodded after hearing this: "Okay! Fortunately, you are here. Now that you are here, I feel much more at ease."

Min Xi said, "I know you've been away from home for many years. Now that you're back, I don't know if the old people there are reliable or not, and there aren't many people around you who can be used."

"Yes, I always feel isolated and helpless. Now, you come to help me." Yun Ji smiled.

Min Xi looked at his smiling face and couldn't help but reach out and touch the corner of his mouth: "That's right, you smile so beautifully, you should smile more."

Yun Ji took his hand and held it in his palm: "You like to see me smile, so I will smile more."

Min Xi's face instantly turned red. He pulled back his hand and coughed softly: "Are grandparents in good health? Is your brother okay too?"

"My grandparents have aged a lot after what happened to my parents. Lin'er is fine, he is healthier than I expected, but he is thin and small. People say it is a weakness he brought from the womb. My grandmother said Lin'er looks just like me when I was a child. He is very well behaved and sticks to me." When talking about his younger brother, Yun Ji's smile softened.

Min Xi looked at his gentle face and thought that he would definitely be a good father in the future.

After Yun Ji finished speaking, he looked at Min Xi and said, "Ninth brother, I will take you to see my grandfather tomorrow, and to see Lin Er by the way."

Min Xi readily agreed: "Okay. We should have gone to visit anyway. We are brothers, and your grandfather is also my grandfather."

Yun Ji raised his hand and touched his face: "We are both alone and helpless now, and we feel sorry for each other."

Min Xi said, "It's okay. At least we still have each other, right? After the mourning period is over, it's almost time for you to get married. If you have a bunch of children, you will have a large family."

Yun Ji's hands dropped: "I won't get married."

Min Xi's eyes widened: "Why?"

"Miss Cao, my fiancée, has found another man and got married last year." When Yun Ji said this, a relaxed smile appeared on his face.

"Because everyone has decided that you're gone?"

Yun Ji shrugged, "Maybe. It just so happens that I don't want to get married. Miss Cao is a brave person. She didn't cling to her chastity. I am very grateful to her. If I wasn't afraid that her husband would think too much, I would have sent her a generous gift to express my apology and blessings."

Min Xi knew that during the Ming and Qing dynasties, when Neo-Confucianism flourished, oppression of women reached its peak, and women were required to remain chaste to an outrageous degree. The most horrible thing was to be widowed, where after the engagement the man died, the woman had to remain a widow for the rest of her life for a man she had never even met.

"It seems that Miss Cao is a heroine. She is not trapped by the rules and lives a transparent life." Min Xi said.

Yun Ji nodded: "Yes. So I am very grateful to her, otherwise I really don't know how it would end." He only had Min Xi in his heart and didn't want to get married. If Miss Cao remained a widow for him, he would never abandon this woman. Fortunately, she was open-minded.

"Without Miss Cao, you can still discuss marriage and marry another one after your mourning period is over. Although you are a little older, you are considered a golden bachelor and should be able to find a good marriage." Min Xi said this with a smile on his face. He didn't know why he felt happy that Miss Cao got married.

Yun Ji pinched his ears and said, "Are your ears for decoration? I've already said that I won't marry again."

"Why?" Min Xi stared at him with wide eyes.

"You don't know?" Yun Ji took a step forward.

Min Xi stepped back and played dumb: "How should I know?"

Yun Ji continued to move forward, forcing him back against the wall of the pool, placed both hands on Min Xi's sides, encircled him, and slowly moved closer.

Min Xixin was beating like a drum. He could feel Yun Ji's hot breath on his face. His ears slowly turned red and he called out weakly, "Seventh Brother."

Yun Ji rested his forehead against his: "I used to feel that I was not qualified to say these things to you, so I tried my best to suppress my thoughts. Now that I have no worries, I just want to stay with someone. Are you willing to fulfill my wish?"

Min Xi felt his whole body burning, and his knees felt weak: "I, I..." He muttered for a long time, not knowing what to say.

"Do you want to get married? If you do, I will help you find a beautiful woman." Yun Ji's eyes turned red when he said this.

Min Xi swallowed hard, licked his dry lips and tongue, and said after a long while: "I, I haven't thought about it."

Yun Ji raised the corners of his mouth, and his smile was like a peony in the spring breeze, so bright and moving that Min Xi's eyes were dazzled and his heart was intoxicated.