The Marquise: I Earn My Own Worship

As he said this, he hugged the rabbit tightly in his arms. The little rabbit probably sensed the danger and kept trying to get into the arms of its little master.

Song Shengfu smiled awkwardly. She was old and only thought about eating rabbits, but children could hardly resist such cute creatures.

Song Shengfu then instructed the servants to prepare some grass and a nest for the rabbit to live in. The little rabbit, knowing its life was saved, soon laid down on the basket of grass and began to eat heartily.

Several children gathered around the rabbit, fascinated by it. Song Shengfu also took a look, but she wasn't interested at all. All she could think of were braised rabbit, Laifeng rabbit, fresh pot rabbit, spicy rabbit head, and red oil rabbit legs...

Oh, I can’t take it anymore. My saliva is watering just thinking about it. I have to tell the cook at home that people get greedy when they get old. They like to eat things with a lot of oil and salt.

On the second day, the whole family packed up and set off for the mountain. Duan Jingzong and Lu did not go with them, but went to visit another friend's farm.

Song Shengfu and her companions did not take the main road up the mountain. There was a small path behind their village leading up the mountain. It was made by the farmers in the village to facilitate the delivery of vegetables and exchange of goods to the temple on the mountain. Outsiders had no idea about it.

So Song Shengfu and a few others took this path up the mountain, stopping and walking along the way. Kang Ge was curious about everything, sometimes climbing a tree, sometimes running onto a rock.

Sister Wei picked some flowers along the way, put a few paulownia flowers on her hair, and put a few flowers on Song Shengfu. She even put a small flower on Xuan Ge'er's head.

Kang Ge'er refused to do flower arranging, thinking it was not manly. Seeing that Wei Jie'er was plotting against him, he ran away.

It didn't take long for them to reach the top of the mountain. Song Shengfu took a few children to the main hall to pay their respects. While kneeling on the cushion, Song Shengfu thought a lot about her parents in her previous life, her good friends, and the children in her current family.

He knelt for a long time before he stood up. He staggered when he stood up, and Mother Qi hurried to support him.

Everyone except Menkang asked curiously, "Grandma, what wish did you make? It took you so long. You can't make too many wishes at once, otherwise the gods won't be able to hear them all."

"Okay, okay, Grandma is greedy. But I can't tell you that this wish won't come true if you tell it to me."

It was almost noon when they prayed for the talismans. They heard that the vegetarian food here was quite good, so they did not rush to go down the mountain.

Lunch was a bowl of mushroom oil noodles per person, with many mushrooms in it, followed by a few dishes.

Kang Ge'er came forward, a little curious: "Isn't it a vegetarian meal? Why is there meat in it?"

Sister Wei also stepped forward, frowning slightly: "Could it be that we don't have to be vegetarian like monks, so we made a few meat dishes?"

Song Shengfu knew at a glance that these were made of beans, but she didn't explain. She just said to the children, "Eat first, and then we'll see."

Kang Ge'er was the first to pick up a piece of "fish ball". It tasted sour and sweet in his mouth and was soft and sticky when he bit it.

“It’s potatoes!”

Kang Ge'er's eyes lit up, and Wei Jie'er also picked one up to eat when she saw this.

“It’s really potatoes!”

After eating, Kangger extended his chopsticks to another plate, which should be "Twice-cooked Pork with Black Beans".

"This is obviously twice-cooked pork, it's definitely not vegetarian. Let me try it."

Kang Ge'er looked at the plate of fat and lean meat slices and thought it must be a meat dish. But after taking a bite, he found that the taste was similar to meat, but the texture was obviously not meat.

Kang Ge'er looked at Wei Jie'er with a look of disbelief. Wei Jie'er also tasted a piece and had the same shocked expression.

"Wow! It's amazing how this is done."

The two children exclaimed in amazement. Song Shengfu pointed at the twice-cooked pork they had just eaten and said, "This is made with soy products. The same is true for the vegetarian spare ribs. The taste is very similar to spare ribs."

Song Shengfu had eaten something similar in the south in her previous life. It was said to be made with soy products and was similar to the method used for vegetarian gluten, but she didn't know the details.

“This tastes better than real meat.”

Song Shengfu also nodded in agreement and answered without thinking, "Then let the cook at home try to make it. If it doesn't work, we can hire a chef who can cook vegetarian food."

Today was the day of Master Zhiyou's monthly lecture, and many families went up the mountain specifically to listen. Song Shengfu had no interest in these things, and when the sun was about to set, she got up and went back.

The scenery was particularly beautiful when going down the mountain. The setting sun dyed the entire mountain red, which reminded Song Shengfu of a poem: The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it is near dusk.

It turns out that the ancients ate so well. She had thought that many of the ancient paintings she had seen in art galleries were freehand, but now she realized that they were realistic.

During dinner in the evening, Duan Chengkang chattered endlessly with Duan Jingzong and Lu about the new and interesting things that happened today.

Sister Wei was a little envious. She used to be able to tell her parents about the interesting things she saw, just like her cousin Kang, but now...

Mrs. Lu noticed that Sister Wei was in a low mood, and found that she looked at Brother Kang with some envy, and she understood something inside.

So he picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork and put it in Sister Wei's bowl, and touched Sister Wei's bun.

"I heard Sister Wei picked a lot of flowers today. Could you give a few to my aunt? I'll keep them in a vase in the back room."

Sister Wei's eyes lit up, and she looked at her gentle aunt with a gleaming look of excitement.

"Okay, okay, I picked a basket of flowers. You can pick whatever you want after dinner."

Then she started talking about what flowers she had picked, and when she couldn't name some of the varieties, she turned around and asked Song Shengfu.

After a few days, the weather became too hot, so the Emperor of Chu ordered everyone to go to the temporary palace to escape the heat.

Duan Jing'an, as he held a low official rank and did not need to follow the imperial team, also came to the farm to escape the summer heat.

The next day, the brothers Duan Jingzong and Duan Jingan made an appointment to go fishing in the mountains. Lu took a few children to play nearby, and Song Shengfu sat on a big rock nearby and fanned herself.

They ate outside at noon, accompanied by the maids and the cook. Song Shengfu joked that if they couldn't catch any fish today, they would have to go hungry.

Having said that, the maids and cooks were looking for wild goods in the mountains and found some mushrooms to make soup.

Duan Jing'an didn't catch any fish, but Duan Jingzong caught four fat mandarin fish.

Duan Jing'an was a little annoyed. Why couldn't he catch any fish?

Duan Jingzong smiled and said to him, "You, if your mind is not at peace, you will not be able to catch any fish."

Duan Jing'an smiled and replied, "Then Big Brother will be in charge of fishing, and I'll be in charge of grilling."

Looking at his elder brother's calm profile, Duan Jing'an knew that his elder brother actually knew everything, but he had been in poor health in recent years and had been taking care of himself.

The fact that my eldest brother has been holding a sinecure and recuperating at home for so many years does not mean that he is mediocre. On the contrary, it is very clear that as long as he is alive, the Duan family will always be an earl's mansion.

That's why he has been holding on all these years without worrying about anything. In fact, he understands that keeping his health in good condition is his greatest contribution to the family.

This is why Duan Jing'an has always studied hard and never dared to slack off. Because the Duan family desperately needs a descendant in the officialdom, no matter how low the position is.

Duan Jing'an had always known that he wasn't very good at studying. As the saying goes, what you lack in talent, you make up for with effort. He had endured so much hardship over the years, so many nights spent burning with candlelight.

"Big brother is right. I've been feeling a bit confused lately."

"Don't overthink it. You've finally found happiness after all the hard work, so why worry about other things? Remember, you still have the Duan family behind you. Although our family isn't prominent, we're still related by marriage. Now that you've entered the officialdom, your sister-in-law's family, your two brothers-in-law, and your future wife's family can all be a force for you to rely on."

"But at the same time, you must also remember that these in-laws, even your future wife's family, cannot support you as wholeheartedly as your own family. Each family has its own way, and all support is based on interests."

"Jing'an will keep it in mind. Thank you for your guidance, big brother."

Duan Jingzong looked at his younger brother, who was half a head taller than him, and was filled with joy. The Duan family had finally produced a promising young man. As the head of the family, he would definitely support him in his future. After a hundred years, he would have lived up to the Duan family's ancestors.

"You've suffered a lot these past few years, but better days are still to come. If you have any problems, just tell me, or you can discuss it with mother. Although mother is a woman in the inner chamber, her knowledge is broader than ours, so it's always right to listen to her."

Duan Jing'an was shocked at first, then deeply moved, when his elder brother said this. His elder brother knew his difficulties and how hard it was for him. With his elder brother's words, he had no regrets.

"Brother, I will do my best for the Duan family, shoulder the responsibilities of a son of the Duan family, and live up to the family's expectations."

It is easy to ruin a family, but it is extremely difficult to revive it. The two brothers understood each other's thoughts when they looked at each other.