After Tao Ti came out of Mingyue Palace, she went straight to the East Palace, but she didn't expect to bump into Pei Changzhou just when she reached Zhide Gate.
Looking at his direction, he should have just returned from Queen Zhou.
There is a straight road at Zhidemen, and the two of them bumped into each other, and they couldn't avoid it.
The four eyes met, apart from surprise, one was disgusted and the other was annoyed.
Now that they met head-on, Tao Ti adjusted her mood, and said with a smirk, "The Third Highness has lifted the ban? Congratulations."
Pei Changzhou stared at her, and snorted coldly, "I'm afraid you wish I could be locked up for a few more days."
"Look at how you're telling the truth." Tao Ti smiled politely, posing like a sister-in-law, and glanced at his face lightly, "I think the complexion of the third highness is still very good."
The irony was so full of meaning that Pei Changzhou's face turned red and then pale.
Tao Ti clearly saw his fists clenched tightly, and saw him forcefully hold back. She just stared at her sullenly, and said in a low voice, "How did you become so mean? You were not like this before."
Tao Ti sneered, "You still have the nerve to talk about the past, it seems that the last slap didn't make you understand, how about I wake you up again?"
Pei Changzhou's eyes flickered slightly, and he subconsciously took a step back.
He still remembers the pain of that slap last time, although she looks petite and cute, but her hand is surprisingly strong. That day, one side of his face was red and swollen like a pig's head, and the pain caused him to sleep on his side for three consecutive days.
Seeing him like this, Tao Ti snorted, didn't bother to talk nonsense with him, and left with Linglong.
Pei Changzhou looked at the back of her leaving, and a hint of predation flashed in his black eyes.
This ignorant woman...
Just wait and see, when she falls into his hands in the future, he must let her live or die!
...
"Ah-"
"Princess, what's wrong with you?" Linglong asked worriedly.
"It's okay, my nose is itchy." Tao Ti raised her hand and rubbed her nose. Could it be that someone scolded her behind her back
Thinking of Pei Changzhou's angry eyes, Tao Ti gently squeezed her fingers.
It was fun for a while, but after thinking about it, if Pei Changzhou really became the prince in a few years, would this guy retaliate against him
Perhaps Pei Changzhou didn't dare to do anything to himself, the prince's widow, under the pressure of Emperor Zhaokang in the first few years. But Emperor Zhaokang will retire to the second line or die sooner or later. When Pei Changzhou becomes emperor, if he wants to kill himself, wouldn't it be as simple as crushing an ant
It's over.
If that's the case, then he might as well die with Pei Yan.
The more Tao Ti thought about it, the more pessimistic she became: To be or not to be, this is a big question.
Linglong saw that her crown princess suddenly sighed and was still a little confused, just about to ask a question, she saw the crown princess suddenly stopped and turned around—
"Crown princess, where are you going? That's not the direction to return to the East Palace."
"Go to Qinzheng Palace."
"Qin... Qinzheng Palace?!!"
Linglong was startled, and when she came back to her senses, the princess had already walked a long distance, and she quickly chased after her.
—
It was dusk when Tao Ti returned to Yaoguang Palace again.
The setting sun dyed the clouds into a brilliant crimson, and the splendid flowers in the courtyard were also coated with a layer of quiet golden red, with a taste of the tranquility of the years.
Not long after she came back, Pei Yan also came.
Seeing her slumped lazily on the beauty bed, Pei Yan hooked the corners of her lips and said with a soft smile, "Are you tired after going to the Mingyue Palace?"
Hearing this voice, Tao Ti was taken aback, and quickly opened her eyes, "Your Highness."
She sat up from the couch, shrugged her thin taupe-colored gown, and looked at him with bright eyes, "Have you finished your government affairs?"
"En." Pei Yan nodded slightly, and saw a few strands of messy hair on her smooth forehead. His eyes moved slightly, and he couldn't help raising his hand to push her aside.
His knuckles are well defined, clean and very beautiful.
There was a little bit of coolness on the fingertips, like a piece of ice and snow falling between the eyebrows and eyes, inadvertently touched, and inadvertently melted.
Tao Ti stood dumbfounded, with the clear and pleasant smell of cold rosin lingering on the tip of her nose.
It wasn't until the man's gentle voice "Okay, no more chaos" came from above her head that she suddenly came back to her senses, stepped back a little, and whispered, "Thank you, Your Highness."
Seeing that her small, white and tender ear tips were dyed a touch of red, Pei Yan was also inexplicably happy.
The palace man quickly served tea and pastries, and the two sat and chatted.
"Your Highness, have you tried all the pastries I sent you today?"
"I've tried it, it's all delicious." Pei Yan replied.
"As long as you like to eat."
Pei Yan picked up the teacup, took a sip, and when he put down the teacup again, raised his eyebrows and looked at Tao Ti fixedly, "Ah Ti, there is only one thing I want to tell you."
Since the last time he called her "Ah Ti", he kept calling her like this.
At the beginning, Tao Ti was still a little uncomfortable, but every time she heard him call her with that gentle and extremely magnetic voice, her mind always fluttered for a while. After listening to it for half a month now, I barely have a little resistance.
Tao Ti wanted to reply "you said", but when she saw the serious look in his handsome brows, she suddenly realized something, and quickly stopped him, "Wait!"
Pei Yan, "...?"
"Well, it's getting late. It's time for dinner. The wild pepper I soaked earlier is almost ready to eat. I'm going to make a sour soup with fat beef." Tao Ti stood up while talking, "What's the matter, let's Shall we talk after dinner?"
Seeing her evasive reaction, Pei Yan had some doubts in his eyes.
After a while, he didn't say anything, he just responded gently, "Okay, let's talk after dinner."
Tao Ti smiled, turned around and ran to the kitchen.
The soul of sour soup fat beef lies in the sour soup, and to make delicious sour soup, you must have good chili.
The hot and sour pickled wild sansho is chopped, the green and red millet pepper is cut into rings, the yellow lantern pepper is finely chopped, and the green onion, ginger and garlic are cut out for later use.
Although there was no machine-cut fat beef slices in ancient times, Tao Ti’s knife skill was unstoppable. He chose a very fresh beef tenderloin, moved a kitchen knife flexibly in his hand, and sliced fat beef slices of appropriate thickness.
Blanch the fat beef and take it out for later use. Set up another oil pan, sauté minced garlic, minced ginger, wild pepper, and yellow lantern pepper until fragrant, and finally add the thick broth.
The soup base is an attractive golden yellow color. Flammulina velutipes mushrooms and mung bean sprouts are placed on the bottom of the plate, topped with beef slices, and finally poured with a spoonful of hot oil sautéed with green and red millet peppers.
There is only a sound of "stabbing", and the aroma is overflowing. The golden soup, white enoki mushrooms and bean sprouts, fresh and tender beef, and red and green millet peppers are really delicious. It makes people move their index fingers.
The palace people sniffed the sour, spicy and fragrant smell in the air, and felt that the tip of their tongues was crazily secreting saliva.
"The princess is really amazing. Simple ingredients can make such a delicious taste."
"Who said it wasn't! When she poured hot oil at the end, I almost drool!"
"If I were to talk about the princess' knife skills, that would be amazing. I see that the beef slices she cuts are all the same size and thickness, thin, fat and thin, like snowflakes, tsk tsk tsk, this beef must be very tender after blanching!"
The palace people here can only smell the lingering fragrance and try new things with their brains. Tao Ti has already picked up a bowl of rice, and said to Pei Yan, "His Royal Highness, let's eat!"
In addition to the fat beef in sour soup made by her on the table, there are also several refreshing side dishes from the dining room, light soup, meat and vegetable combination, simple and warm.
But the fat beef in sour soup is undoubtedly the most attractive. From the moment this dish is served on the table, the strong hot and sour aroma will go straight into people's noses, making it impossible to ignore its existence.
"Your Highness, this fat beef will taste even better if it is dipped in soup." Tao Ti said, holding a chopstick as a demonstration.
The thick and moderate fat beef is dipped in the sour soup, the surface of the beef is full of soup, and it is delivered to the mouth in time. The hot and sour soup mixed with the tender and smooth fat beef is so delicious that it will fly.
Seeing her shaking her head in satisfaction, Pei Yan followed her example and ate a piece.
Sour, spicy, fresh, fragrant...
These kinds of sensations burst out on the tip of his tongue one by one. The beef slices are not old at all, soft and tender, and it goes perfectly with this soup.
"The hot and sour taste of this soup is just right." Pei Yan commented.
He tasted the enoki mushrooms and bean sprouts under the beef slices. The enoki mushrooms are sweet and chewy, and the bean sprouts are crispy and delicious. These two have been buried in the bottom of the soup, and they have already absorbed the hot, sour, and hot soup. Cattle.
"This dish is the best for rice. It's hot and sour in summer to appetize, and it's warm in winter to warm your stomach." Tao Ti said, taking a spoon to pour the soup on the rice.
Simple mixing, the crystal clear white rice is wrapped in the soup, the entrance is full of rich and delicious, after a few mouthfuls of rice, the hot and sour taste turns into a warm current flowing all over the body, and the meridians of the whole body are opened up In general, satisfied and carefree, there is also a sense of happiness that is difficult to describe in words.
After a while, the two ate up the big bowl of fat beef in sour soup.
After eating the third bowl of rice, Tao Ti leaned back in her chair contentedly, feeling that life is really wonderful.
Pei Yan rinsed his mouth with green tea, wiped the corners of his mouth gracefully, sat quietly for a while, and asked, "Walk in the courtyard to digest food?"
Tao Ti agreed and got up leisurely.
The sky outside has already darkened, and there are scattered stars hanging in the black sky, few but bright.
The backyard of Yaoguang Palace is very large, with yellow palace lanterns hanging everywhere, emitting a dim light.
The two walked side by side, the late spring wind gently blowing.
After walking for a while, Pei Yan stopped and looked down at Tao Ti, "What I want to tell you..."
Tao Ti paused, and grabbed the lead again, "His Royal Highness, may I speak first?"
She was standing face to face with him. He was 1.85 meters tall. If she wanted to meet his gaze, she had to raise her head.
There was a bit of pleading in those big watery eyes, and the voice was soft and soft, which made it impossible to refuse, and could not bear to refuse.
Pei Yan slightly nodded, and said softly, "Well, tell me."
Tao Ti seemed to muster up her courage, took a deep breath, and said softly, "I know you are going to Luoyang, I...I want to go with you."
Hearing this, Pei Yan's usually calm pupils quickly flashed a touch of surprise, like waves rising in an abyss.
After a while, his eyes became focused and serious, and he said in a deep voice, "No."
Tao Ti was taken aback, not expecting him to react like this at all.
After being in contact with Pei Yan for so many years, it seems that he has never said no to her. No matter when and where, he always says "yes", "ok", "as you wish"...
Before, she secretly thought that if she could accompany him, he should be happy, right
After all, going all the way to Luoyang is boring and tiring, and it would be much better to have someone as a companion.
But now, he refused so simply, as if pouring a basin of cold water on Tao Ti's heart.
She looked at him in astonishment, her clear black eyes seemed to be stained with a layer of wet mist, and asked in a low voice, "Why..."
Pei Yannong frowned, as if thinking about how to answer.
Tao Ti said, "I'm not afraid of suffering or tiredness, and I'm not squeamish. You take me with you, and I can cook delicious food for you and take care of you. I won't cause you any trouble..."
As if to give herself some confidence, she stood on the steps aside, shortening the height gap with Pei Yan.
Looking at the little girl in front of him, Pei Yan pondered for a moment, and then said, "If you go to Luoyang, you may have to eat and sleep in the open, or you may encounter wolves, tigers and leopards, or... other dangers. It is safer for you to stay in the palace."
Hearing his words, countless guesses popped up in Tao Ti's mind—
When I used to watch TV shows with my mother, it seemed that when the emperor, the prince, and the prince went out, they would inevitably encounter some kind of rebellious party, assassin, bandit, and the like.
Could it be these that Pei Yan was referring to
Tao Ti blinked her eyes. In ancient times, transportation was underdeveloped, and public security in the wilderness was not good. Thinking about it this way... it's really scary.
Seeing her drooping eyes, Pei Yan thought she had lost her mind, but in the next second, she saw her looking at him seriously, "Are you afraid?"
Pei Yan was taken aback, and for a moment didn't know how to answer.
Tao Ti didn't want him to answer either, and said to herself, "If you're not afraid, then I'm not a coward. If you're afraid, go back if you're afraid. Your courage is amazing...then I have nothing to be afraid of."
Tao Ti felt that since Emperor Zhaokang dared to send his precious son to travel far away, he would definitely arrange enough guards to ensure safety. She was still very confident in the emperor's arrangement.
"Your Highness, can you take me there, well, Your Majesty agrees that I will go with you!"
"... Father?" Pei Yan's brows moved slightly.
"Well, I'm going to the Palace of Qinzheng to find His Majesty today."
Tao Ti told Pei Yan about going to Qinzheng Hall to find Emperor Zhaokang in the afternoon.
Emperor Zhaokang was also very surprised when he saw her coming to the door at first, but he invited her in anyway.
She went straight to the point and said that she wanted to accompany the prince to Luoyang, but Emperor Zhaokang reprimanded her for messing around, how could she take the female relatives with her when she went out to do errands? Get in the way and drag you down.
Ever since, Tao Ti listed one, two or three reasons with him, and promised to know the hot and cold, and take good care of the prince.
Emperor Zhaokang saw that she spoke clearly and clearly, and that she showed concern for the prince inside and out, so his mind was also shaken.
In the end, Tao Ti pretended to be pitiful and reluctant, saying that she was reluctant to part with the prince, was worried, and missed him too much.
When Emperor Zhaokang saw her weeping and crying, his temples throbbed, making him look like a villain who breaks up lovers.
In the end, he waved his hand and said in a deep voice, "You can go as you want, but what you said today counts. If the prince comes back and loses half a cent, I only ask you!"
…
"Father is still very considerate. As soon as he heard that I could take care of you, he let me accompany you."
Tao Ti said with a sincere face, automatically ignoring the nasty words of "reluctant" she said in front of Emperor Zhaokang.
Pei Yan never thought that she would have the courage to go directly to find her father.
Who is the father, even the princesses are afraid of him, respect him, dare not get too close to him, and tremble with fear when they say a word.
"Why did you think of looking for him?" Pei Yan asked.
Hearing his question, Tao Ti glanced at him, her misty eyes seemed to be filled with a little grievance, "I thought, if I want to go out with you, His Majesty is the one who would object..."
Unexpectedly, the not-so-talkative emperor agreed, but the always-talkative prince refused.
Alas, she is so difficult!
Pei Yan's handsome profile became deeper and deeper in the hazy light and shadow, the evening wind blew, and the surrounding was extraordinarily quiet.
After a long while, he finally said, "Why do you want to go out with Gu?"
When he asked this, he stared straight into Tao Ti's eyes, as if he wanted to find something from her eyes.