Changsheng was stunned and looked at Xie Wangzhi in surprise.
When he looked at her like that, her face, which was originally slightly hot, turned completely red. When the wind blew, the heat on her face was particularly obvious. Xie Wangzhi was anxious and annoyed, and couldn't speak clearly: "I... I didn't have lunch."
Just as he finished speaking, and before he removed his hand from the belly, there was another gurgling sound beneath his palm.
Xie Wangzhi was stunned: "I..."
Changsheng pretended not to hear, raised his hand and wiped his nose, using this action to forcefully swallow his laughter, and said vaguely: "It's nothing. Is crying so starving?"
Xie Wangzhi could hear the hint of laughter in his voice, and his whole face turned red. After holding it in for a long time, he pursed his lips and lowered his head in shame: "... I am really hungry."
"Yeah." Changsheng responded, "Do you like Hu Bing?"
There aren't too many Hu Bings sold in the stalls in the two cities. Xie Wangzhi has eaten them a few times and doesn't think they are special. He nodded and said, "It's OK."
"That's good." Changsheng said easily. He felt around in his arms and took out an oil-paper bag. He handed it over. "Eat it. I bought it in the East Market this morning."
After all, it was brought in from outside the palace and kept in Xie Wangzhi's arms for so long. The Hu Bing used a lot of oil, and the oil stains seeped into the paper package. The aroma of meat and flour mixed together, even though it was cold, immediately aroused Xie Wangzhi's appetite.
"Thank you." Xie Wangzhi swallowed, took the paper bag from Changsheng, and carefully opened a corner. "Are you buying this to take back to the palace to eat?"
"Almost." It didn't matter whether she ate it or not. Changsheng didn't care. He teased her intentionally and patted her chest. "The guards on duty today are not easy to talk to. I stuffed it close to my body before bringing it into the palace. If you had cried harder just now, maybe you could have eaten it directly as a noodle in the soup."
The heat on Xie Wangzhi's face, which had just subsided, rose again. However, it was her own fault that she had just cried while hugging Changsheng. She deserved to be laughed at. She held it in for a while, unable to speak, and simply lowered her head to take a bite of the Hu pancake.
The key to Hu Bing is the crispness right out of the oven. After being baked for such a long time, the crispy outer layer has been softened by the oil, making it more chewy when you bite it. This Hu Bing is stuffed with meat, which is finely chopped and very tasty. The dough is full of gravy, and when you take a bite, your mouth is filled with the aroma of juicy meat.
Xie Wangzhi was hungry to begin with, and he thought a cold Hu pancake was a real delicacy. He didn't bother to hold it in front of Changsheng, and took several bites in succession. When he suppressed the empty feeling in his stomach, he suddenly remembered that he was in front of a young man, and even if there was no one around, it would be rude to eat like this.
The Hu pancake in her hand was clearly cold, but it felt inexplicably hot. She didn’t know whether to eat it or stop eating it. She looked up awkwardly and said, “Thank you for giving me the pancake. I don’t eat well…”
"It's nothing bad. I think he's eating delicious food." Changsheng didn't care. He just thought that the way Xie Wangzhi lowered his head to chew just now was like a little squirrel. He loved it. He smiled and replied, "Keep eating."
Xie Wangzhi nodded, and ate more slowly, almost chewing it carefully. After finishing the whole Hu Bing, she licked the oil stains on the corner of her mouth and looked at Changsheng seriously: "I'm done."
This is actually a bit funny. It's like what a child under ten years old would say to his parents to prove that he is a good child who eats well. If someone else said this, Changsheng would probably just sneer.
But Xie Wangzhi stood in front of him, the blush on her face had not yet faded, her eyes looked at him steadily, the tear marks at the end of her eyes had not yet disappeared, and her pupils were covered with a thin layer of water. Changsheng looked at the girl, and an inexplicable warmth welled up in his heart, as if someone had finally plucked a long-forgotten guzheng very lightly.
"Is it delicious?" He smiled.
"tasty."
"Then I'll take you to eat freshly baked food next time." Changsheng said, "Take a handkerchief to wipe your face, tears and oil will mix together. When you go back, stay in the Shangshi Bureau and don't run out. If there is any news, I will come to you immediately."
"Okay." Xie Wangzhi nodded quickly, took out a handkerchief from her bosom and covered her face with it, rubbing it vigorously for a few times, and then rolled the handkerchief into her palm to make sure that there was nothing wrong with her face. It was easy to have wild thoughts after eating, and the worries that she had suppressed before surged up again. She folded her hands tightly and called Changsheng carefully.
"how?"
"I'm just a palace servant. I can't give you anything, nor can I repay you." Xie Wangzhi bit his lip. "I don't mean anything else. I just want to ask you. You really helped me many times, but I can't do anything for you... Don't you blame me in your heart?"
Changsheng was slightly startled. He really hadn't thought that Xie Wangzhi would ask this. After a little thought, his usual heartless smile appeared on his face: "Who said you didn't do anything for me?"
"… ah?"
"You make so many kinds of cakes, how can I eat and drink for free? What's more, there is this." Changsheng hooked the pouch under his belt, "Did you forget the things you embroidered?"
"You still have..."
"Why can't I take the things I like?" Changsheng sighed, put his hands on Xie Wangzhi's shoulders, bent his knees and lowered his body to be almost level with Xie Wangzhi. He looked at the slightly confused eyes and smiled slightly, "Listen carefully. I help you not for anything else, nor do I ask you to repay me. It's purely because I am happy to do it."
"… Um."
"So don't think about repaying or not. If I ask for this, it's called repaying a favor, and I never do such a thing." Changsheng retracted his hands, and retracted his fingers in front of Xie Wangzhi's eyes, leaving only the index fingers of his left and right hands, and then tapped the corners of her mouth, one on the left and one on the right, "I can see that you are sad, but the dead are gone, and what you should do is to protect yourself. Whether you can find out the news depends on luck, just leave it to me."
He smiled, put a little force on his fingertips, and raised the corner of the girl's mouth, and actually drew a faint smile. Changsheng said softly, "Come on, smile. You are not ugly when you cry, but you always look good when you smile."
It would have been better if she hadn't said it. After saying this, Xie Wangzhi's eyes became hot again. Facing Changsheng's gaze, she blinked her eyes, with tiny drops of water on her eyelashes, but her lips were pursed and raised, giving a real smile.
"Thank you." She said softly, "Now that I think about it, I'm really happy that you can be my friend."
"Yeah." Changsheng really stopped this time and rubbed Xie Wangzhi's head. "Wait for my news."
**
At that time, he talked to Xie Wangzhi about fate, but Li Qishen didn't believe it in his heart, so he really spent time to find out. After all, it was a matter of Hanxiang Palace, and he couldn't show up himself. It happened that Cui Shi was a good person among the people he knew, so this matter naturally fell on Cui Shi's head.
Cui Shi had been in the palace for four or five years. He had a good family background and was well-connected. He came back with news the next day.
As soon as he entered the Qingsi Hall, he ignored Li Qishen, pulled off his belt in a few seconds, and threw the whole coat into the brazier. The coat was thin and made of brocade, so it caught fire as soon as it was put into the fire, and there was a burning smell.
"I asked someone to light a brazier and boil vinegar to get rid of the evil spirit. Why don't you want the whole piece of clothing?" Li Qishen sat behind the table, supporting his chin.
"It's unlucky."
"oh?"
"I just came back from there. There were only newly dead people there. I also heard other news. I will never wear this dress again. Burn it." Cui Shi took the outer robe from the eunuch, put it on, and sat down at the table. "Go down."
The palace servants responded and all left. Once the door of Qingsi Palace was closed, only the sound of the burning brazier could be heard.
Li Qishen smiled and said, "Go ahead."
"The Hanxiang Palace is insisting that the maid committed suicide by hanging. It's New Year's Day, and she doesn't seem to be from Chang'an. Her family won't come to claim her body so soon." Cui Shi frowned, "I spent almost five taels of silver and persuaded them to let me take a quick look."
"It's hard work." Li Qishen said, "How is it going?"
Cui Shi recalled the glimpse he had at that time. The fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl had a pretty face and could be considered a beauty if she dressed up. She was clearly a flower that was about to bloom, but it withered in the mud. He was playing with a pen, and he was born sentimental, so he felt a little sorry and just shook his head: "It's nothing."
"Yeah."
"I just took a look, but it was far away, so I couldn't see clearly." Cui Shi frowned even more and lowered his voice, "I always feel that... it doesn't seem like suicide."
Li Qishen said calmly, "What do you mean?"
"There are indeed marks on her neck, but you can tell they were in different locations. I've never heard of using multiple ropes to hang someone."
"How serious?"
"Yes. The lighter part is lighter, and the deeper part is heavier. She just died, and you can still see the marks of strangulation." Cui Shi raised his hands and gestured on both sides of his neck. "This place is particularly heavy, while the middle is lighter. But if she was hanged, the force should be applied here."
Li Qishen nodded, and suddenly stretched out his hand, gently pinching Cui Shi's neck, and then withdrew his hand: "What if this is the case?"
The two had the same guess, but Cui Shi didn't dare to say it. He just scratched his brow and smiled bitterly.
Li Qishen thought about it, but didn't say what he had guessed. He just looked up at Cui Shi and said, "You said you heard some other news. What kind of news is so unlucky?"
Cui Shi felt sick just thinking about it, but he held back his anger and said, "I heard two eunuchs talking on the road, saying that they were going to select palace ladies."
"Ahead of schedule?"
"Yes, it's early, and this year they seem to have picked a lot more girls. In previous years, most of them were eight-year-old girls, but this year they specifically asked for eleven or twelve-year-old girls."
Li Qishen paused: "Why?"
"It was the idea of those two Taoists. They said they wanted to take..." This was what made Cui Shi sick. He felt hair all over his body. He rubbed his arms and reluctantly continued, "Take red lead and peach wine."
"Um?"
"… It's something Taoists use to make elixirs. They say it can prolong life. I've heard of it before and it's disgusting. I don't believe it either." Cui Shi felt that even talking about it was offensive. "Red lead refers to a woman's first menstrual period, and peach wine… refers to an unmarried woman who can't get pregnant and uses drugs to induce pregnancy…"
Li Qishen's pupils shrank, and without even listening to the rest of the words, he simply left Cui Shi behind and stood up to walk out.
The author has something to say: It’s good to have a holiday_(:3)∠)_ I can write more words. This was written yesterday, but today I found a new entertainment activity (…
Sure enough, nothing is more fun than typing (x)