Xie Wangzhi's heart skipped a beat and he thought, here it comes.
Before she could reply, she heard Lou Hanyue say politely, "Your Highness, the three of us are maids in the Imperial Food Bureau. We usually prepare and serve meals."
Concubine Xiao said "Oh", and put her nail polish-painted fingertips on one of the plates of pastries, and picked it up twice: "This pastry looks good to me, can you make it?"
Lou Hanyue took a look and saw that it was just a dish of rice brocade. There was a mold when steaming it, but it would take some time to dye it. She nodded and said, "Yes."
"In both cities?"
Xie Wangzhi and Yao Yupan looked at each other and answered in unison, "Yes."
"That's good. I quite like it. It's pleasing to the eyes to see beautiful things in front of me." Concubine Xiao picked up a piece of rice brocade but didn't eat it. She seemed to be appreciating the color of the dye. "The small kitchen in Hanxiang Hall is still short of people. Do you want to stay? You don't have to do anything else, just do this."
When these words were spoken, the three girls standing in front of the pavilion were stunned. For a moment they didn’t know if there was something wrong with their ears.
Hanxiang Palace, Concubine Xiao, although the emperor's favor comes and goes like the wind, and it is hard to say when it will disappear, at least Concubine Xiao is the only one favored at the moment, and other concubines are jealous and bleeding. Being able to enter Hanxiang Palace, you don't need to be rich, being a female official is more than enough, even if you decide to leave the palace at the age of 20, you can take home a lot of money.
But Xie Wangzhi was not short of money, nor did she seek a future. Moreover, she had to live under the thumb of Concubine Xiao in Hanxiang Palace. She thought for a moment and lowered her head: "Thank you, Madam. But I am stupid and I am afraid I can't do it well. I dare not enter the palace and offend you."
"It's okay. I think you're quite clever." Concubine Xiao had no intention of keeping Xie Wangzhi, so she was happy to let him go. "Then go back to the Shangshi Bureau. If you want to come someday, ask someone to tell Zui Chun who is beside me."
Zuichun immediately stepped forward and said to Xie Wangzhi in a gentle voice, "It's me, remember?"
Xie Wangzhi nodded: "I remember my sister."
"What about you?" Concubine Xiao asked Lou Hanyue again.
"Thank you, Madam. I am not good at cooking and I am not good at etiquette. I am afraid that it will bother you." Lou Hanyue said, "If you like rice brocade, I will prepare it in the Shangshi Bureau and send it to you."
"Hanxiang Palace is far away. As a girl, you should walk less. Forget it." Concubine Xiao's eyes fell on Yao Yupan's face, "You are not coming either, are you?"
Given Yao Yupan's personality, if the first two refused to go, Xie Wangzhi thought she would definitely agree. But unexpectedly, Yao Yupan knelt down and bowed, and said firmly: "Thank you, Madam. I am willing."
Xie Wangzhi was startled and instinctively looked at Lou Hanyue, and saw the same surprise on her face.
"That's great." Concubine Xiao seemed really happy. She covered the lower half of her face and laughed for a while. She still smiled when she spoke, "Then come over today. Zuichun, you make the arrangements."
Zuichun responded and smiled at the three people, but he spoke to Yao Yupan, took her hand, and directly took off the jade bracelet on her wrist and put it on her wrist: "Let's go, pack up first."
His wrist sank, Yao Yupan glanced at it, pursed his lips and said, "Yes."
**
Yao Yupan didn't have much stuff. Apart from the bedding and pillows prepared in Hanxiang Palace, she packed up all the odds and ends into a small box. It was not yet time to prepare meals in the evening, and the bedding was still on her couch, but she had arrived in Hanxiang Palace.
Xie Wangzhi always felt that something was wrong with Concubine Xiao, but he had no clue for the time being. Lou Hanyue was both happy and worried. She was happy that Yao Yupan had a way out, but she was worried about how to eat the fish stew tonight. She borrowed a big stove. A fish weighed four and a half pounds, and it filled the pot. The two of them couldn't finish it.
But the fish was already killed, so they had to eat it. They ate the whole pot of fish in bits and pieces for almost an hour. The two girls really couldn't eat another bite. Every time they exhaled, they could smell the delicious taste of fish soup coming up in their throats.
After that, they cleaned up the stove, washed up, and blew out the candles before Lou Hanyue paused for an inexplicable moment: "Wangzhi, you said Yu Pan went to Hanxiang Palace, he still thinks about us, right?"
Going back to Xie's mansion is more beautiful than going to Hanxiang Palace. Xie Wangzhi put himself in her shoes and said confidently: "Yes, I guess she will come back to see us."
Lou Hanyue was happy. He moved closer to the candle, took a deep breath, and turned off the light.
I ate something spicy before going to bed and had a dreamless night. When I got up the next day, as soon as I finished washing up, Xie Wangzhi and Lou Hanyue hurried to the big kitchen to prepare the banquet.
The New Year's Eve banquet is a rare big banquet in a year. The emperor entertains all the ministers. From the hour of Yin to the hour of Chou on the first day of the next year, no one can rest. Xie Wangzhi was fine. The female official knew her background. She was usually busy in the first half of the night. In the second half of the night, she could rush to see her brother and father-in-law while the banquet was still going on.
This year, it was the same. When it was almost halfway through the Hai hour, Sun Dianshan came into the kitchen and patted Xie Wangzhi on the shoulder. Xie Wangzhi understood and followed Sun Dianshan to sneak out. After leaving the Shangshi Bureau, she walked a few steps and saw a young man standing on the palace road. He had an upright figure and his eyebrows and eyes looked a bit like hers.
There was no one around, so Xie Wangzhi didn't hold back and trotted over to throw himself into Xie Yunzhi's arms, hugged his waist and buried his face in his arms: "Brother."
"Don't hold me so tight." Xie Yunzhi thought this was really a sweet pain, and patted his sister's shoulder, "Brother is here, you can't run away."
Xie Wangzhi obediently let go, stepped back a few steps, and sniffed: "Haven't seen you for half a year, how are you, brother?"
"It's fine. If Aye hadn't proposed marriage to me, I would probably be able to do better." Xie Yunzhi didn't want to talk about this. He looked Xie Wangzhi up and down, raised his hand to gesture twice, and touched Xie Wangzhi's head. "Okay, you've grown a lot taller."
"Don't touch your head, it won't grow taller." Xie Wangzhi quickly turned his head away.
"Why are you so tall, young lady?" Xie Wangzhi glared at him, so Xie Yunzhi quickly changed his words, "Some are taller, don't worry, it will at least grow this much taller."
He measured at a position one inch above his jaw. Xie Wangzhi looked up and was quite satisfied with the height: "You are good at talking, otherwise I would beat you."
"I'm scared of you." Xie Yunzhi replied casually, took out a red envelope from his sleeve and handed it over, "Here, New Year's money."
Xie Wang was stunned: "It's not even midnight yet..."
"I sneaked out. There were two Taoist priests at the palace banquet this year. They said they would come to wish His Majesty a happy new year at midnight. His Majesty was very happy and asked us to stay and watch. I have to hurry back." Xie had believed in the Taoist priests since the previous dynasty, so Xie Yunzhi didn't dislike it. "My father and his wife are still at the banquet and can't come over."
Hearing him mention it, Xie Wangzhi was still smiling, but her smile suddenly stopped. In fact, she thought it was good that these two people didn't come. Meeting them in previous years was just awkward. She took the New Year's money given by Aye, and her hands were heavy, but her heart was empty. She couldn't say a word. It would be better to get along with Xie Yunzhi now.
But it would seem heartless to say this, so Xie Wangzhi held it in for a while: "... That's a pity."
Xie Yun knew at a glance that his sister was not sincere, so he did not force her and turned his attention away: "Hey, why is there a cat? Where did this cat come from?"
Xie Wangzhi was often deceived by Xie Yunzhi in her early years. Xie Yunzhi could say anything he wanted, such as "There are big flying fish in the sky" and "There are snakes with human faces on the wall". She didn't believe him and said, "Don't try to deceive me..."
"… This cat is so fierce!" Before Xie Wangzhi could finish his words, Xie Yunzhi hissed first.
Xie Wangzhi looked over quickly and saw a pitch-black cat on the wall, with a pair of amber eyes staring at her steadily. She turned her sight again and saw a gray plum blossom mark on Xie Yunzhi's face. Coal Ball was a wild cat that could catch birds after all. It was probably because Xie Yunzhi, who loved cats since childhood, wanted to touch it, but was slapped by Coal Ball instead.
"Brother." Xie Wangzhi thanked Meiqiu in his heart for not using his claws, and took out a silk handkerchief and handed it to Xie Yunzhi, "Wipe it, your face is dirty."
Xie Yunzhi had never seen such a ferocious cat before. He took the towel and wiped it twice: "Is it still dirty?"
“Not dirty anymore.”
"Okay, then I'll go back. Be good, and send me a message whenever you want to go home." Xie Yunzhi turned and left.
"Okay, goodbye, brother." They only see each other a few times a year. He usually thinks about it, but when they really meet, it seems that this is the case. Xie Yunzhi is definitely asking for a beating. Xie Wangzhi scratched his face and suddenly thought of something, "Hey, brother, give me back my handkerchief!"
"You have to take back even a handkerchief. How can you be so stingy?" Xie Yunzhi kept walking, and his voice came from afar, "It belongs to me."
How could this person be so confident? Xie Wangzhi was shocked and held his breath for a while: "... Then your gift is gone."
Xie Yunzhi had already walked away and couldn't hear her at all. She exhaled and reached out to the coal briquettes on the wall. Knowing that it couldn't understand, Xie Wangzhi still said, "What about you?"
"I'm coming to see you."
Suddenly a voice came out. Meiqiu obviously couldn't speak human language, otherwise he wouldn't squat on the wall and meow. Xie Wangzhi was startled and turned his sight. A young man came out from behind the corner of the wall. He was dressed in green and had a thin braid hanging in front of his shoulders.
Changsheng looked at her, seemingly indifferent: "Who was that just now?"
"My brother." Xie Wangzhi was puzzled. "Why are you here too?"
It turned out to be my brother. Thinking of the time when Xie Wangzhi jumped on him, Changsheng felt that it was acceptable. His tone became relaxed and he said naturally, "I have nothing to do. Since it's the New Year, I came to play with you."
"Okay." From now until the next day, Xie Wangzhi doesn't have to worry about the food bureau. She didn't care about many things. Xie Yunzhi solved the family ties that weighed on her heart, and when it came to longevity, it was friendship. She smiled and said, "Where are we going to play?"
There were only a few places to go in Daming Palace, so Changsheng was in no hurry to go shopping. He felt in his sleeve and found a red envelope. It was quite thick and looked like it contained a lot of copper coins. He handed the red envelope over and said with a smile, "Take it. It's New Year's money."