Chapter 56: Qingqing Sees Qingqing

  The boss's wife led a woman to the front of Hu Zhongren and Liu Qingqing. The two people's hearts immediately surged with shock, but their faces remained calm as usual. Liu Qingqing thought to herself: "My goodness, this person looks just like me! If I weren't dressed up today, I would think I'm looking at myself in the mirror. The newcomer's figure and appearance are identical to mine. Hu Zhongren is also taken aback, if he didn't know that Liu Qingqing was sitting next to him, he would have thought it was her. Fortunately, he knew that Liu Qingqing was dressed as a man, and although they hadn't collected many items in the vast ocean, Liu Qingqing still managed to put on a small bag pack amidst the chaos. This is an essential item for modern women, having become an integral part of their bodies. Some sisters think that not wearing makeup is like not wearing clothes, but Liu Qingqing believes that men have it easier when going out, so she quickly applied some light makeup on her face.

  What we see now is that Liu Qingqing is a tall and handsome rich young master, but his face is slightly ugly. Standing with Hu Zhongren, they are quite matched. Hu Zhongren is tall and majestic, but he has a lame leg. However, since both of them are sitting in chairs now, Hu Zhongren takes the upper hand.

  Someone approached Hu Zhongren and Liu Qingqing, bowing to them, "Two guests, what brings you here?" As soon as the voice came out, both of their heart rates accelerated. Too similar, oh my god, how can they be so similar! At this moment, Liu Qingqing was certain that she was her own long-lost sister, left behind in another time by her mother who had traveled through time.

  Hu Zhongren took a look at Liu Qingqing, and Liu Qingqing signaled him to answer.

  Hu Zhongren smiled and replied: "There's nothing special, it's just that the chef's dishes are really good, we want to see what kind of person can make such delicious food."

  The newcomer listened and replied warmly: "Thank you for your appreciation. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave." The other party didn't pay any attention.

  Hu Zhongren looked at Liu Qingqing and meant I'm out of options, it's up to you.

  Liu Qingqin pondered for a moment before saying, "I have in my possession a copy of 'Yu Chu Fan Pu', would you like to take a look?" Hu Zhongren looked at Liu Qingqin in surprise, and the woman also revealed a surprised expression.

  Liu Qingqing's voice was exactly the same as Yue Qianshan's. This was too surprising. Liu Qingqing wanted this effect, as long as this woman was interested in her own voice and interested in "Yu Chu Fan Pu", this person was probably the real Liu Qingqing.

  "If you're interested, please come to our guest room for a visit." Liu Qingqing took the opportunity to invite. Before the woman could respond, Liu Qingqing swept her sleeves and stood up first, "Brother, you sit for a while, I'll go to the guest room to tidy up, and then brother can come over later."

  Liu Qingqing was actually telling Hu Zhongren not to stand up and show his crippled leg. She was worried that if this woman was really Liu Qingqing, she would recognize him through his crippled leg, so she signaled him to take a step back.

  Liu Qingqing and Hu Zhongren were engrossed in their game of Go, when a faint knock at the door came from outside. Liu Qingqing still using Yue Qianshan's voice said: "Come in!"

  The door opened and it was indeed that chef. It could almost be confirmed that this was the real Liu Qingqing. Hu Zhongren gestured with his hand, indicating that Liu Qingqing should take the lead in speaking.

  Liu Qingqing didn't mince words either. He nodded slightly towards the woman: "Sister, since you've come, it means you're willing to have an in-depth conversation, that's how I understand it, right?"

  The girl nodded slightly.

  "Since so, sit down and have some tea." said Liu Qingqing.

  Hu Zhongren hastily removed the chessboard, replaced it with tea utensils, and poured a cup of tea for each of them. Afterwards, he sat down on the bed, several steps away from the two people beside the table.

  Liu Qingqing said: "To be honest, we are friends of Yue Qianshan. My name is Mu Ou and his name is Gu Yue. We are both merchants from the vast sea. May I ask your surname and given name, sister?"

  The girl said, "You don't have to call me by my full name, just call me Xiao Liu." Liu Qingqing thought to herself, this is it, she's calling herself Xiao Liu, that's for sure. Big eyes blinked and spoke sweetly, "So you're Sister Xiao Liu, who taught you such great cooking skills?"

  "My culinary skills were taught by my brother, and actually, I also learned from the 'Imperial Chef's Recipes'." said Xiao Liu.

  Liu Qing let out a long sigh "It seems that sister doesn't really believe us and isn't being honest with us."

  Xiaoliu Dao: "Sir, what are you talking about? I didn't lie."

  Liu Qingqing said: "This 'Imperial Kitchen Recipe', is the token of my good brother Yue Qianshan and her lover's engagement. In those days, my good brother Yue Qianshan gave her family heirloom Biyu Buddha to her lover, while her lover also gave her family heirloom 'Imperial Kitchen Recipe' to my brother Yue Qianshan. You say your culinary skills come from the 'Imperial Kitchen Recipe', aren't you speaking nonsense?"

  Koyanagi's face turned red: "I really did learn cooking skills from 'Genghis Khan's Recipes'."

  Liu Qingqing said: "Then you are Liu Qingqing, the fiancée of Yue Qianshan. But how can I believe what you say? Unless you show me the token of your engagement with him."

  Xiaoliu Dao: "My jade Buddha is lost, I wasn't wearing it on me."

  Liu Qingqing said: "You don't have the Biyu Buddha, I can't be sure you're Liu Qingqing, and I won't let you see the 'Yu Chuan Fan Pu'. My brother Yue Qianshan came all the way from Sai Bei to Jiang Nan to find his fiancée, but now he's heard that she has fallen in love with someone else and married Hu Zhongren, the richest man in Jiang Nan. He's heartbroken and bedridden in Kyoto, on the verge of death. So, we two good friends brought the 'Yu Chuan Fan Pu' to search for his fiancée everywhere, hoping to see her one last time."

  Xiaoliu listened and tears welled up in her eyes. "I am indeed Liu Qingqing, I can tell you about my life in the Liu family to prove that I am Liu Qingqing."

  Huzhongren thought for a hundred years and wondered in his heart: "Two green willows, what's the point of that?" He'll ask clearly later.

  "I and Yue Qianshan have secretly agreed to marry, but my adoptive father doesn't know. Only my brother Liu Qingyang is aware of it. I've been secretly meeting with Yue Qianshan for several years, but I didn't dare let my adoptive father know. Because the Yue family is also developing their restaurant business, if I were to marry Yue Qianshan, I would help them develop their business, since my culinary skills are far superior to my brother's. Although both my brother and I follow the same recipes, his dishes always turn out not as delicious as mine. Liu Qingyun is the biological daughter of Liu Fengchun, also known as my adoptive father, and she has a close relationship with my brother. My adoptive father intends for her to marry my brother. But I am an outsider, especially since I'm marrying Yue Qianshan, which is not allowed. I originally thought it was just because of business rivalry, thinking that as my brother's culinary skills improved, my adoptive father might not mind so much. But there's another reason."

  Liu Qingqing said: "What? I didn't hear Yueshan say any other reason!"

  "Me neither," said Xiao Liu with a sigh. "But when I married Qing Luan on your behalf, I found out."

  Liu Qingqing remembered that the woman holding the roasted duck in the garden was this Qingqing. It was because of her shortness that she had almost gotten herself into trouble.

  Xiaoliu didn't know that the young master in front of her was actually the substitute bride, so she thought back and recalled: "At that time, I wanted to go back to Qingluan's room to retrieve the roasted duck and tray, but unexpectedly saw a shocking secret:"

  The old lady and the maid helped someone into the house, put her on the bed, and began to change her into a new bride's clothes. The young lady followed behind, looking very flustered, saying "Mother, is this okay? Won't it harm Qingqing?"

  "How could that be? She's just a servant girl, and being able to marry into such a good family is her good fortune!" The old lady scoffed.

  "People say that Hu Zhongren is cruel and violent, the eight wives before were all killed by him. If we let her marry him, he will harm her." The young lady still didn't feel at ease.

  "It's Si Ke who died." said Xiaoyu Chun Tao, "I heard his life was very hard, and he even killed his own wife."

  "Then your mother can't marry you off to her even more. Don't worry, I've even sent the engagement letter to the Hu family in green ink, so there won't be any mistakes. You and Cui'er should hurry up and leave tonight for Beijing to find Qingyang. Didn't you like Qingyang a long time ago?"

  The young lady was about to say something else, when suddenly a servant came over, and I hastily hid in the shadows, holding my breath.

  I waited until the servant left, and then I hurriedly ran away. Although I didn't know who the woman in the house was, but I knew one thing, they thought it was me, they wanted me to replace Qing Luan Miss to get married. I already had Qian Shan, so I took advantage of the night to escape from Liu's village and planned to find Yue Qian Shan. Unexpectedly, after traveling thousands of miles to Sai Bei, I didn't see Yue Qian Shan, and Yue Ye personally told me that Yue Qian Shan didn't want to see me, he had already decided to marry a beautiful woman.

  Liu Qing was shocked, "How is that possible? Qian Shan said he wouldn't marry a fatty, he can't possibly be married to another woman, and he isn't married to another woman. Why would Yue Ye say such a thing?" Liu Qing furrowed her brow, unable to understand. This doesn't add up, looking at the way Qian Shan treats me with affection, his feelings are genuine without any pretence! Of course, he mistakenly thinks I'm his little Liu.

  "I understand now. Because Yueno and my godfather, Liu Fengchun, were sworn enemies. The two of them fought to the death over Madame Yueno, but at that time, my godfather had not yet risen to prominence, so Yueno got the upper hand and took Madame Yueno away. Their grudge against each other runs very deep. How could they possibly bless my union with Qianshan?" As he spoke, two lines of tears fell again.

  Liu Qingqing listened with indignation: "What kind of thinking is this, how can the grudges of the older generation be placed on the children? They also don't take the happiness of the children seriously enough. When I return to Kyoto, I will definitely go find Liu Fengchun and Yue Ye, those two old guys, to reason with them and ask why they trample on the happiness of the children!

  "Don't cry, tomorrow you'll return to the capital with us. Yue Qianshan has always been faithful to you and didn't betray you by marrying someone else. It was all a lie told by that old man Yue Ye. Since you can't produce the Biyu Buddha, I won't show you the 'Yu Chufang Rice Spectrum' either. Anyway, once we're in the capital, you can ask Yue Qianshan for it, and then we'll know if you're really his lover or not."

  "Hu Zhongren finally spoke up, 'If you don't believe me, you can go to the Hu family silk store in the capital city yourself. That's where your substitute husband is. He and Yue Qianshan are good friends, he can help you find him. Besides, as far as I know, he has already cancelled the engagement with your Liu family. He has no interest in you, just like you have no interest in him.'"

  "Yes, as long as you arrive in the capital, you will definitely be able to see Yue Qianshan. I can also help you achieve a happy marriage and let you have a loving relationship." Liu Qingqing added. "Tonight, think carefully about it. If you are willing to go with us, I will take you with me. If you haven't appeared in the front hall after breakfast tomorrow morning, we will consider that you are unwilling to go with us, and we will leave."