Fang Xuanling jolted to his feet, hastily waving his hand at the woman.
"My dear, don't misunderstand. I was merely discussing state affairs with Brother Du."
The woman's eyebrows shot up, and the cleaver in her hand was raised high. "Discussing state affairs? And is that little hussy from Baihua Tower worthy of discussion as a state affair by two dukes of the Great Tang?"
"Has your old mother lost her strength to wield the cleaver, or have you old geezers become too arrogant?"
"Speak! Where did the money for the wine come from!"
After speaking, the woman lunged forward, striking the table with the cleaver. The teacups jumped, then fell, rolling to the floor and shattering into pieces.
Du Ruhui was so startled he trembled, quickly rising. Carrying the half-full jar of Drunken Immortal Brew, he addressed the woman.
"Sister-in-law, please forgive me. This wine was brought by Du. I shall take my leave now, I shall take my leave."
With that, he truly withdrew from the study.
Standing outside the study door, Du Ruhui wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and gave Fang Xuanling inside a meaningful glance. "Brother Fang, you're on your own!"
Fang Xuanling, far from being angry that Du Ruhui had taken the wine, felt immensely fortunate.
He knew that this jar of wine had cost him half a year's private savings, bought in secret.
He feared his wife, Lady Lu, would find out. This formidable woman was precisely Lady Lu.
This Lady Lu was a member of the Fanyang Lu clan, recently annihilated by Li Shimin.
Although she hailed from a prominent clan, Lady Lu never used her family background to bully Fang Xuanling.
Because there was no need!
With her physique, she could take on ten of old Fang!
Not only could she fight, but she was also extremely jealous, the progenitor of the later generations' "vinegar jar."
There was even an anecdote about this.
It was said that at the beginning of Li Yuan and his son's rebellion, during a banquet for his ministers, old Fang, after a few cups of wine, started boasting about his status at home.
But his fear of his wife was legendary; who among those present didn't know about it?
Therefore, Li Shimin directly bestowed two beauties upon him: "Since this is the case, and you are my king's pillar, I shall bestow these upon your Fang family to continue your lineage."
Old Fang was so scared he sobered up instantly. But to deny what he had boasted about would be defiance, and to admit it meant, well, he could only grit his teeth and accept.
After the banquet, old Fang was consumed by worry.尉迟敬德 (Yuchi Jingde) saw him and made a great joke of it.
Old Fang, with a pained expression, sought advice from 尉迟敬德 (Yuchi Jingde). In the end, 尉迟敬德 (Yuchi Jingde) said, "These are beauties bestowed by the Emperor. Even if that Lady Lu is fierce and jealous, she cannot do anything to them."
This statement gave old Fang a bit of confidence, and he brought the two beauties home.
However, when Lady Lu saw the two beautiful young women, she paid no heed to whether they were bestowed by the Emperor. She directly grabbed a chicken feather duster and drove them out.
Fang Xuanling had no choice but to send the two women back to Li Shimin.
Although the emperor had bestowed the beauties at the banquet to have a laugh at Fang Xuanling's expense, Lady Lu's actions showed no respect for him, the Prince of Qin.
Thus, he summoned Lady Lu to the palace.
After Lady Lu entered the palace, Li Shimin had a jar of wine sent over.
Pointing to the jar, he said, "I will not hold you accountable for defying my decree. You have two paths to choose from: one is to take back the two beauties and live a harmonious life; the other is to drink this jar of poisoned wine and spare others your jealousy."
Fang Xuanling pleaded with him, but Li Shimin would not be swayed.
Lady Lu looked at the two beauties and thought about her own aging appearance. If these two were truly to enter the manor, she would likely be angered to death sooner or later.
Death was death, whether early or late. So, she picked up the jar and downed it in big gulps.
Old Fang watched Lady Lu drink the poisoned wine and was terrified. He embraced his wife and began to weep profusely.
The officials around Li Shimin burst into laughter. In reality, the jar contained no poisoned wine, only a jar of the finest vinegar.
After a while, Li Shimin looked at Lady Lu and said, "Though you are jealous, I will let this matter pass in consideration of your willingness to die for Lao Qiao. This matter is now closed."
Lady Fang did not expect her act of drinking poisoned wine to the death to result in such an outcome. Though her mouth puckered from the sourness, she was overjoyed in her heart. Fang Xuanling also stopped weeping and broke into a smile.
From that moment on, "eating vinegar" and "vinegar jar" became synonymous with female jealousy.
It seems I've strayed from the topic (Persimmons: dog head protecting life!)
Fang Xuanling looked at his wife before him, his heart filled with trepidation.
This old woman was usually very sensible. Even after Lady Lu was annihilated by Li Shimin, she never said anything to Fang Xuanling.
However, whenever he indulged in wealth or pleasure, he was sure to receive a beating.
"My dear, that wine was truly brought by Duke Du. Don't misunderstand!"
Lady Lu pulled the cleaver from the table and placed its spine against Fang Xuanling's neck. "Then where did this bag of beans come from!"
Seeing that he had managed to get past the wine issue, Fang Xuanling quickly continued his explanation. "These beans were given to me by the Marquis of Liaodong. My dear only gives me ten copper coins a month for pocket money. How could I afford to buy such a bag of beans?"
Mentioning the beans, Fang Xuanling suddenly reached into the bag, grabbed a handful, and offered it to Lady Lu. "My dear, have a taste. These beans are truly incredibly delicious!"
He said this with a fawning expression.
Lady Lu, half-believing, picked up a small pinch of beans and put them in her mouth.
After only a few chews, the wrinkles on her face scrunched together. "Something this delicious, and you didn't let your old mother taste it first, but instead invited others over to accompany the wine!"
"See if I don't beat you to death!"
With that, she threw down the cleaver, pinned old Fang to the ground, and gave him a thorough thrashing.
However, old Fang had swallowed two small blue pills. As the beating continued, the medicine began to take effect, and he suddenly flipped Lady Lu to the ground.
Lady Lu was stunned. Where did this old beast suddenly get such strength?
Immediately, she felt that something was not right. Her gaze swept over old Fang from head to toe, and her wrinkled old face suddenly turned red.
ps: Second update