First-rank palace maid Su Jixiang

Chapter 146 What kind of silver shop is this?

Few people in the army would ask about his age. He was stunned for a moment. "I should be 20 during the Chinese New Year!" He scratched his head embarrassedly. "If my sister-in-law hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten how old I am."

He usually interacted with people from the military camp, so after talking to Zhao Xiuwan for a while, his face turned red.

The sister-in-law in front of me is really beautiful, her skin looks very white, and her hand is on her helmet, occasionally picking at the pattern on the helmet with her fingers. Her fingers are beautiful and slender, as fresh as spring onions, and her nails are also beautifully painted, a bright red, which makes her fingers look even whiter.

Nangong Rui only looked at it for a moment and felt a slight discomfort in his throat. The fingers digging into his helmet seemed to be really touching his skin.

Nangong Rui quickly looked away and looked awkwardly at the table in front of him.

"You're already twenty." Zhao Xiuwan couldn't help laughing when she saw Nangong Rui's neck was slightly red. "Do you have someone you like?"

"No." Nangong Rui shook his head. He was in the military camp all day, and all he saw were a bunch of men. How could he find any happy people?

It turns out there isn’t any!

Zhao Xiuwan looked Nangong Rui up and down again. His waist was narrow and tight, and his legs hidden under the armor looked straight and slender. His arms were supported on his legs, and his muscles were a little tense. Even through the clothes, she could feel the strength and lines contained inside.

The men in the army all have good figures, and Qian Feng's is also very good, but Qian Feng is slightly shorter than Nangong Rui and not as tall as him. In addition, Qian Feng and Nangong Rui are incomparable in appearance, so in Zhao Xiuwan's eyes, Nangong Rui is very pleasing to the eye.

The waiter came in and brought several hot dishes, which stopped Zhao Xiuwan from looking at Nangong Rui.

"You live alone, right? Where do you live?" Zhao Xiuwan asked with a smile as she enthusiastically handed the chopsticks to Nangong Rui.

"In reply to my sister-in-law, I rented a yard in the south of the city and brought my parents and brothers and sisters to live with me. There are too many people there and not enough rooms. I just go back to visit on weekdays and don't live there. I live in the military barracks by myself." Nangong Rui smiled, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

"How many people are there in your family?" Zhao Xiuwan asked curiously.

"I have seven brothers, two of whom starved to death. I am the eighth, and I have two younger sisters." Nangong Rui smiled, "My brothers are all married now. One of my two younger sisters is still to be married, and the other will be looking for a husband in two years." He was very straightforward. He answered in detail whatever Zhao Xiuwan asked, and he did not treat Zhao Xiuwan as an outsider at all.

Over the years, his family has been living on his military salary. Fortunately, he earns a lot of money, and brothers from all over the place often visit his home to see his family and bring a lot of things with them. So although life is tight, it is still bearable.

"You are already 20 years old, why haven't you found a husband?" Zhao Xiuwan asked curiously. "When the palace maids came to choose a husband, why wasn't you on the list?"

At the beginning, she did not see Nangong Rui's name among the candidates for marriage.

Zhao Xiuwan studied the list of candidates for marriage thoroughly. Even after being married for so long, she could still recite the list.

"Oh, Master Xie stipulated that if you want to get married, you must have a savings of 100 taels of silver. I can't afford that much silver." Nangong Rui smiled embarrassedly. "I gave all my silver to my mother."

Zhao Xiuwan...

Her expression when she looked at Nangong Rui suddenly became complicated.

She heard that Nangong Rui's original official rank was two levels higher than her own Qian Feng. It was because Nangong Rui failed to discover the spies entering the city in time when the Turks attacked Mangcheng that Wei Ling demoted Nangong Rui's official position. Now he and Qian Feng are both captains.

However, it is a bit unreasonable that after serving as a captain in Mangcheng for so many years, he failed to save up a hundred taels of silver.

So... Zhao Xiuwan immediately understood that Nangong Rui was being dragged down by his family.

"Don't your father and brother have anything to do?" Zhao Xiuwan asked. "You're not the only one supporting the family, are you?"

"We originally had land to farm, but because of the war, the land was sold, so there is nothing to do for the time being. My brothers are illiterate, and it is very difficult for them to find jobs in the city. They went to help carry heavy bags in the past two years, but they were all injured, so they are recuperating at home for the time being." Nangong Rui said with a smile.

Zhao Xiuwan...for a moment she didn't know what to say...

She felt a little suffocated just by listening to this. It turned out that Nangong Rui's family was actually supported by Nangong Rui alone. No wonder he couldn't save any money.

"You're already twenty. Hasn't your family found a partner for you? Does your family have any opinion on your marriage?" Zhao Xiuwan had been thinking of teasing Nangong Rui before, but now, for some reason, she suddenly gave up the idea.

"My parents have told me that if I get married, my family might not be able to take care of me for the time being. It would be better to wait until my two younger sisters are married, and then help me find a marriage. Now that I have an official position, I don't have to worry about not finding someone willing to marry me." Nangong Rui said with a smile.

"Please eat some food first." Zhao Xiuwan didn't know what to say.

She was a pampered and arrogant person, but even so, she felt that Nangong Rui was a soft persimmon...

She prepared some dishes for Nangong Rui.

Zhao Xiuwan suddenly remembered that she had just seen Nangong Rui eating only vegetarian food, so he was saving money...

Zhao Xiuwan unexpectedly picked up a bowl of meat for Nangong Rui.

"Have you ever thought that your family's behavior might be a bit unfair to you?" Although Zhao Xiuwan was not very familiar with Nangong Rui, she still couldn't help asking.

She has just that kind of temper and can't hide things!

"I've thought about it." Nangong Rui paused while eating meat, "But after all, they gave birth to me and raised me. Now that I have the ability, I should give back."

Zhao Xiuwan...well, she didn't want to say anything anymore.

Originally, Zhao Xiuwan wanted to tease this young man, but now she feels a little guilty.

"Is the meat delicious?" Zhao Xiuwan couldn't help asking again when she saw him eating with relish.

"Delicious!" Nangong Rui stuffed his mouth with meat, raised his eyes and smiled at Zhao Xiuwan. Although his mouth was full of oil, Zhao Xiuwan didn't dislike it at all. Instead, she thought Nangong Rui's smile was dazzling.

"If you think it's delicious, come here often in the future." Zhao Xiuwan softened her voice unconsciously, "Sister-in-law, I'll open a restaurant here."

Zhao Xiuwan thought, why should she open a silver shop? She could just open a restaurant and save money on decoration!