Xie Wangzhi was puzzled, stared at Changsheng for a while, and said honestly: "I don't want you to repay me."
Changsheng didn't believe it: "Really?"
"Really. I applied medicine and gave you snacks because it's within my power. It's not easy for everyone in the palace. Now that I know you, I want to be good to you. I want to be a good person, not to ask for your reward." Xie Wangzhi looked at him and said seriously, "If I do this for your reward, then I'm not being good to you, and I'm a bad person."
The twelve-year-old girl, who had not grown up yet and was thin and small, looked at him intently. She was clearly in the Daming Palace, and Chang'an was in the midst of the bloody storm. She was still saying childish words like "good guy" and "bad guy", and her seriousness made Changsheng want to laugh.
But Changsheng couldn't smile. After so many years, this was the first person who really wanted to be nice to him. Even if this "nice" was just out of kindness, if he just picked up a wild cat with an injured front paw and gave it to Xie Wangzhi, this girl would definitely hug it out of heartache and carefully wash the paw and apply medicine.
Changsheng felt bored. It was really stupid to compete with Xie Wangzhi just now. He sat back dejectedly: "Don't you have anything to do now?"
"It's not even Si time yet. His Majesty Qiu has gone, so we have a lot less work to do. It's still in time to prepare lunch at Si time, and I'm just a palace servant, so they don't need me." Xie Wangzhi opened the lunch box, "I got up this morning and made these. I was going to go find someone..."
There were a few snacks in the food box, not very big, only two or three pieces each, like something you can eat for fun. The sweet aroma of the red bean paste wafted over my face, quite strong, but not unpleasant.
Changsheng wasn't very interested in sweets. He took a quick glance at two or three pale pink pastries and thought they looked pretty, but couldn't tell if they were peach blossoms or cherry blossoms. "I've never seen anything like this before."
"Which one?" Xie Wangzhi followed his line of sight and took a look. "Oh, this is cherry blossom cake, made of red bean paste and dyed with flower juice. It doesn't taste anything special, I just think it looks good. Do you want to try it?"
Changsheng shook his head: "I don't like sweet things, but it does look good."
People have different tastes, and Xie Wangzhi doesn't mind. He looks at the food box and feels a little regretful: "It's a pity that all I made today are sweet... Come to me next time, and I'll make you something salty. My fried cold dishes are delicious, and Zhang Dianshan even praised me for my good frying skills."
Changsheng didn't know where this young lady got the obsession from. She had to feed him like a cat. If she didn't want to eat this, there were other things. But he didn't want to refuse her kindness, so he changed the subject: "By the way, why do you need someone to help you with all this food?"
This was the point. After all, this was done in private. Xie Wangzhi was embarrassed to say it, and hesitantly said, "Well, it's just... I want to ask someone something."
"What do you want to ask?"
Xie Wangzhi looked around, approached Changsheng, and whispered, "Concubine Xiao's matter."
"Oh?" Changsheng's pupils shrank, but he didn't show it on his face.
Xie Wangzhi was worried, so he didn't notice such a change in him. He licked his lips and told the story hesitantly, a little embarrassed: "... That's what happened. We thought about asking, but we don't know anyone... This is the only way."
Changsheng was stunned, then found it funny. These young ladies really don't know much about things. They vaguely know that some things can be smoothed out by connections, but they don't know how to do it. Concubine Xiao was born in the Lanling Xiao family, and she has been favored until now. There are countless people in the palace who want to get close to her. What kind of information can a box of cakes exchange for
He sighed, as if to do a good deed: "I know."
Xie Wangzhi was shocked: "...Really?"
"Really." Changsheng nodded, "Or I'll tell you, believe it or not."
"Of course I believe it. It won't do you any good to lie to me." Xie Wangzhi thought it was simple. "Then can you tell me? I can do it for you..."
"… Forget about food." Changsheng interrupted her quickly, "As for pastries, Concubine Xiao likes to eat the flower glutinous rice cake."
The ingredients of Touhuaci are nothing but glutinous rice and red bean paste, but it is very troublesome to make. The outer glutinous rice skin must be rolled thin again and again, and the red bean paste inside must be pounded very finely, and only the stuffing that can be called "Lingshag" can be used as the filling. But it is nothing more than that, no matter how much you make it, you can't make it more fancy, and you will accidentally bump into people who don't know about it.
Xie Wangzhi scratched his face: "Well, I know, thank you."
"I haven't finished yet." Changsheng glanced at her and said slowly, "She ate the flower glutinous rice cake thoroughly, so she needs to add three more drops of sugar."
“… How sweet is that?!”
"I can't say for sure. Maybe she just likes sweet things like this." Changsheng continued, "But she likes bitter and strong tea. The bitterer the better."
Their taste preferences were completely opposite. Xie Wangzhi couldn't figure out what was going on. Maybe Concubine Xiao's taste was just weird. She didn't say much and nodded: "I'll consider it."
"I don't know anything else. I don't know her well."
Xie Wangzhi couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Who among us is familiar with Concubine Xiao? If we want to be familiar with her, who would be here?"
Changsheng looked down at the eunuch's clothes on his body, felt that it was right, and stood up: "I should go back. Thank you for bothering me today and for your elixir."
The palace maids all had their own things to do, and Xie Wangzhi knew this: "Okay, be careful on the road. If you want to eat something, you can ask someone to bring a message to me, and I will make everything I can for you."
… Why is it food again!
Changsheng began to wonder if he had a face that was not full. He wanted to rub his face, but his hands hurt, so he had to give up. After walking two steps, he suddenly remembered and turned around and said, "... I almost forgot about this. Remember, it doesn't matter whether the things you make can please Concubine Xiao, but there is one thing, don't make it look like a crabapple, and don't use crabapple fruit."
Xie Wang was stunned: "Why?"
"It's a taboo." Changsheng said.
**
Qingsi Palace.
Seeing a figure in green clothes and loose hair approaching from afar, Shaojian Changzu immediately went to meet him, looked around Li Qishen, and his face was wrinkled like a cucumber that had been hanging on a vine for a long time: "Your Highness, why are you still wearing this clothes? Master Xu is waiting for you in the hall, why don't you change into something now?"
"No need. The master was angry because I wore this dress, but now he seems to have calmed down." Li Qishen didn't care. "Where's Le Yan?"
"Mr. Cui just left and said he would return to the palace in two days."
"It's true." Li Qishen sighed, "It's said that we were study partners, and when we played together, I was the one who got beaten."
Chang Zu decisively changed the subject: "Your Highness, would you like to comb your hair?"
"I'm not even twenty yet, so I don't need to." Li Qishen understood Changzu's meaning and lifted the thin braid that fell on his shoulders. "I like this look, it looks good."
With his face, he looks good dressed like this, but the problem is that others don't like it, such as scholar Xu Xuguang and Emperor Li Chengjin. Changzu couldn't say it clearly, and hesitated: "I think it doesn't matter, right? I heard that the prince tied his hair up after he turned ten, and you are going to meet scholar Xu..."
"Brother?" Li Qishen paused and suddenly smiled, "Don't say such things, and don't mention him casually."
Chang Su thought that Li Qishen was in awe of his elder brother, so he responded and followed him into the hall. Just as he stepped through the hall door, he suddenly heard Li Qishen speak, his voice was light, and there was even a hint of a smile at the end.
He said softly, "How can a Xianbei bastard like me be compared with the Crown Prince?"
Chang Zu felt cold all over, with a layer of cold sweat oozing out of his forehead, but Li Qishen was normal. He walked a few steps inside, turned to the person sitting, and saluted properly: "Hello, sir."
Xu Xuguang did not hear the words Li Qishen whispered when he entered the palace. His face was calm. He stood up to return the greeting and straightened his back: "Your Highness is still wearing this dress at this time. Are you resentful of me?"
"I dare not. The saints said that one should have a proper appearance, but you think this is not proper. As a teacher, it is reasonable for you to punish me." Li Qishen said, "But I also think that this body is just a shell, and my heart is not affected by the clothes."
"That is indeed the case. But your Highness, this piece of clothing also has other uses. Is it for the convenience of entering and leaving the palace?"
Being exposed by his teacher, Li Qishen was not at all flustered, and nodded: "I learned the words of the sage from you, but when I left the palace and entered Chang'an, I realized how big the world is and where all the people are."
To be fair, Li Qishen was indeed a smart kid, and he studied very hard, but Xu Xuguang could not appreciate what he did. Several times, he ran into Li Qishen walking around the palace in eunuch's clothes, entering and leaving the palace unscrupulously.
A fourteen-year-old boy is at the age when he loves to play. Xu Xuguang did not have the beard he has now when he was born. He also knows that children love to play, but he really wants to teach this child and cannot tolerate his misbehavior.
He sighed, speaking in the tone of an elder to a younger person, rather than a teacher to a student: "Your Highness, after the New Year, you will be fifteen years old. You must know your limits."
"I understand." Li Qishen was still the same, calm and indifferent, looking like a cold and beautiful jade sculpture when he was not smiling.
Xu Xuguang closed his eyes, took out a small white porcelain bottle from his sleeve, and handed it to Chang Zu beside him: "My father's family has been practicing medicine for generations, and they have some secret recipes. The ointment in the bottle has a miraculous effect in promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. If Your Highness doesn't mind, you can use it."
"Thank you, sir."
This look was too dull. Xu Xuguang couldn't guess what Li Qishen was thinking. He sighed again and continued his previous words: "This time I was impulsive and whipped Your Highness. When Your Majesty returns to the court, I will accept the punishment. But Your Highness needs to know that sometimes you have to calm down."
"It's my fault, sir, you don't need to worry about it." Li Qishen didn't dislike Xu Xuguang. At least this scholar from the Hongwen Academy was open and honest. He was really angry and apologized sincerely. "Maybe there will be danger outside the palace. I think you are just worried. If my brother is like me, I'm afraid you will be even more angry, right?"
The royal family had a cold relationship, and Li Qishen and Li Taoqi were not born of the same mother. Xu Xuguang had no way of responding to this, and could only bow to him again: "I will take my leave. Your Highness, please review what I have learned today."
Li Qishen nodded and watched Xu Xuguang walk out step by step.
The sun was shining brightly outside the hall, the door was wide open, the sun gradually rose higher and shone into the hall, but it only shone in front of Li Qishen. His face was still in the shadow and blurry.