After seeing Qiao Shi off, Yaoniang fell into silence.
Yuchan came up and changed her a cup of tea: "Your Majesty, don't think about it too much, Your Majesty must have regulations."
Yaoniang picked up the cup of tea, took a sip, and looked out the window.
The earth dragon was burning in the hall, but she felt a little bored, so she asked someone to open the window, just enough to see the red plum tree in the courtyard outside the window.
It's the first lunar month, but the weather is still a little cold, especially in the winter in the capital where there is constant rain and snow, and now there are fine flakes of snow. There was a hint of cool air coming in from the window, not only did Yaoniang not feel cold, but she felt refreshed, and her mind was unprecedentedly sober.
The Hall of Mental Cultivation is divided into the front hall and the back hall. At this moment, Emperor Jin'an is dealing with government affairs in the front.
After moving into the palace, Yaoniang knew how busy he was. He got up at Yin hour in the morning and went to court at Mao hour. The morning court ended early and late, and he was often so busy that he didn't have time for lunch. Sometimes there are two dynasties a day, and sometimes there are three dynasties. Except for the early dynasties, if there are any small dynasties, they are all held in the front hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. In the past, when the Supreme Emperor was in power, he was in the Qianqing Palace.
This is still the new year's day and the first month, and I don't know how busy I should be.
So even though Yaoniang has moved into the palace, she seldom sees Emperor Jin'an during the day, and he will come back during dinner. After dinner, the two of them didn't sit together and talk, or read books or something like before. They often went to watch the memorial again, and Yaoniang couldn't bear to disturb her, so she went to rest when she was sleepy, until the third watch. It feels like someone is lying next to you.
So Yaoniang knew that Yuchan was right, but she still felt worried, because Qiao Shi was right, and she couldn't blame him for everything.
It can be said that, after thinking for a long time, Yaoniang still has nothing to do. This matter is obviously beyond the scope of what she can solve. If her natal family is prominent, she can use some means, but the Su family doesn't even have a ninth-rank sesame official.
What should she do
Just thinking about this, I suddenly heard the voice of a child in the courtyard.
It was Xiaobao and Erbao who came back from Qianqing Palace.
Ever since the whole family moved into the palace, the two younger ones would go to pay respects to the Supreme Emperor every day, and it was usually Xiaobao who brought the second treasure. Today the two younger ones went again, but they were left in Qianqing Palace for lunch by the Supreme Emperor, and Yaoniang was alone for lunch.
Xiaobao and Erbao walked in surrounded by a group of court ladies and eunuchs. Erbao didn't even care to take off his hat and cloak, and threw it at Yaoniang like a small cannonball.
Yuchan intercepted him halfway and said, "Second prince, be careful not to fall." He hurriedly asked the maid to take off his warm hat, cape and boots before Erbao climbed onto the kang.
"Did you get naughty during lunch, did you make Grandpa Huang angry?"
Compared with the sensible Little Treasure, Er Treasure is a little devil in the world. The first time I went to Qianqing Palace, I had fun everywhere in it, and even used the Taishanghuang's favorite pen to wash, which made the Taishanghuang blew his beard and stared at him, but let him go the next day.
In the words of the Taishanghuang, this child is energetic, lively, and energetic. These words were relayed by Xiaobao to Yaoniang. Although Yaoniang knew that the Supreme Emperor was not really angry, she still had to ask again and again. Unfortunately, Erbao never listened to it, and often caused troubles in Qianqing Palace.
"I didn't cause trouble, Grandpa Huang didn't stare today." Er Bao said.
Xiaobao also added to his younger brother from the side: "Erbao is very obedient today, and he was praised by the emperor's grandfather."
"Really?" Yaoniang was a little disbelieving.
Seeing that Mother didn't believe it, Er Bao became a little anxious, and hurriedly said: "Mother, Grandpa Huang really praised Er Bao today, Er Bao had three bowls of rice for lunch, Grandpa Huang praised me for being able to eat."
Hearing this, even Yaoniang and a few court ladies couldn't help covering their mouths and smiling.
This is really a boast, a good boast.
Erbao has been a small eater since he was a child. If there is one thing Erbao is better than Xiaobao, it is that he can eat better than Xiaobao. Xiaobao also likes to eat, but he eats well and has a tricky mouth. But Erbao is not taboo about meat and vegetables, he eats whatever he gives, and it was like that when the little milk baby just had a meal.
In folk terms, this child is easy to support.
Xiao Bao also had a smile on his face: "Grandpa Huang said that the soup that mother sent someone was delicious. Grandpa Huang drank two bowls, my son drank one bowl, and gave the rest to Erbao."
Erbao nodded again and again: "The soup is delicious, and my mother made it for me."
"real?"
This sentence is true, but it has a very different meaning from just now, with a bit of surprise and flattery.
In fact, the gift of soup was purely accidental.
Now that the weather is cold, Yao Niang will stew some soup every day to nourish Emperor Jin'an and the two children. She also stewed it today, and she is planning to use it for lunch, but Xiaobao and Erbao are staying in Qianqing Palace for lunch. meal.
This soup also pays attention to the heat. If it is stewed for a long time or not enough, it is not good. Yao Niang gave it to Emperor Jin'an, and she couldn't drink the rest alone, so she was given some to Qianqing Palace. I also think that the two children like to drink, and by the way, let's do my filial piety for Emperor Jin'an.
In fact, this desire to be filial has always been there, but Yaoniang didn't dare to do it before.
Seriously speaking, Yaoniang is mostly afraid of the Supreme Emperor.
She is a plain-headed commoner, while the Taishanghuang is the ninth-five-year-old, two people who will never get along, but because of the smoke from the Su family's ancestor's grave, Yaoniang can be qualified because of the status of Jin Wang's concubine and wife Look at the emperor from afar.
It wasn't until Xiaobao and King Jin heard all kinds of deeds about the Supreme Emperor that her fear gradually faded away. Later, the Supreme Emperor was seriously ill, Jin Wang and Xiaobao served the Supreme Emperor, and there was a rebellion in Beijing, and then the Supreme Emperor gave the throne to Jin Wang. Yaoniang's mentality changed again, and the Supreme Emperor at this time became a somewhat pitiful old man in her mind.
Father is not father and son is not son, and his wife still has ulterior motives, wishing to poison him to death, and now she is seriously ill.
Now that the king of Jin ascended the throne and became Emperor Jin'an, she also moved into the palace with her two children. There was no decent mother-in-law to ask her to be filial, so there was only this father-in-law left. Yaoniang inevitably wanted to be filial for Emperor Jin'an. It's a pity that she has this kind of thought, but she still doesn't know what to do. Apart from letting the two children go to the Qianqing Palace so as not to make the Emperor angry, she doesn't know anything else.
Now hearing that the Supreme Emperor likes the soup she made, Yaoniang is really overjoyed. At the same time, I couldn't help moving some other thoughts, and it could be regarded as rushing to the doctor in a hurry.
"Since the Supreme Emperor likes it, mother will go to stew some more and send it to Qianqing Palace for dinner."
Before Xiaobao could say anything to stop her, Yaoniang excitedly got off the kang and went out. He couldn't help being a little surprised, what happened
But Xiaobao didn't show it, and then he found out what happened by covering Hong Fei's head with his head.
Yao Niang came back from the small kitchen soon, she was very happy with a smile on her face.
"Mother stewed mutton soup. Drinking mutton soup in this weather is the most nourishing. I made a big pot, which happened to be used for our dinner, and I will send some to the Supreme Emperor. Your grandfather is not in good health, and no one around you knows With hot and cold people around, we should pay more attention to it, and the longevity of the elderly is the blessing of the younger generation."
Xiao Bao looked at the stupid woman, how could she think that there is no one around Grandpa Huang who knows the cold and the hot, isn't Li Dequan a human being? There are so many court ladies and eunuchs.
But after that, he patiently played with Er Bao, while Yao Niang was talking to the court ladies and watching them smiling, Xiao Bao suddenly had a feeling of enlightenment, and suddenly understood what it means to know the cold and know the heat.
That's not the case, every time he went to Qianqing Palace, it was always deserted, probably because Er Bao went there, and it would be more lively. Isn't it because of this reason that he brought more second treasures.
Loneliness, deeply rooted in the bone marrow in the previous life, Xiaobao has been deliberately avoiding it since he was reborn. In fact, he is not alone. When he was young, he had his mother, Chuner and Qiuer, and when he grew up, he had Erbao, a torturer, and Brother Yan and Brother Xuan. He has not known what loneliness is for a long time.
He suddenly understood why in the past few days, Grandpa Huang always urged them to leave. He didn't think much about it, he only thought that the emperor's grandfather was out of energy, or that the second treasure was too noisy, but at this moment he understood in an instant.
During dinner, Emperor Jin'an came back from outside.
Yaoniang helped him clean his face and hands, and while ordering people to prepare meals, she told him that he had made soup today.
Xiao Bao, who had been lying on the kang for half an afternoon, suddenly jumped off the kang and said, "I'm going to deliver soup to the emperor's grandfather."
"Let the eunuchs send it off."
"It's better for the son to go in person."
Emperor Jin'an asked curiously, "What soup are you sending?"
Yaoniang covered it up and said: "It's just that I boiled mutton soup today, and I accidentally boiled too much. Xiaobao said that the emperor likes it, so he wanted to send some to Qianqing Palace."
Emperor Jin'an did not speak, but glanced at her. Yaoniang has already turned around to let the red silk dress Xiaobao, and then told Xiaobao to let him go and come back quickly.
In fact, Xiaobao still didn't come back until the meal was served here, but he sent the eunuch back and forth, saying that he would stay in Qianqing Palace to accompany the Supreme Emperor to have dinner.
Qing Palace
"Why are you here at this time? Didn't you always say that you want to go back to have dinner with your mother?"
In fact, not every time, just once, and then let the Taishang Huang remember it.
"My mother made soup, let me bring some to Grandpa Huang." Xiaobao said, and the little eunuch beside him handed over the food box in his hand to Li Dequan respectfully.
The Supreme Emperor glanced at the food box: "I have already delivered it once today, why send it again."
"My mother said that it is cold in winter, and mutton soup is the most nourishing, so give the emperor grandpa more nourishment."
"Mutton soup? The smell is too strong."
"My mother boiled it so that there is no smell of mutton, do you want to taste it, Grandpa?"
Xiaobao asked Li Dequan to help open the food box, and there was a huge soup bowl with a lid inside. It's also because Yaoniang is too sincere, the soup in the palace is always served in a soup cup, so she might as well just serve it in a soup bowl.
In fact, Yaoniang used to use soup cups instead of soup bowls, but now she doesn't know why, but she is so generous.
Xiaobao seemed to see the surprise of Li Dequan and the Supreme Emperor, and couldn't help being a little embarrassed. He explained: "You have to use a big bowl to drink mutton soup, and a small bowl is not good." To emphasize, he added a sentence: " It was my dad who said it."
These words made the two suspicious, would Emperor Jin'an say such things? At the same time, it also aroused the interest of the Supreme Emperor, he glanced at the soup bowl: "Then I will try it."
As soon as the words fell, Li Dequan said beside him: "It's time for the Supreme Emperor to have dinner."
"Then let's put it away, and you can keep it for use." The latter sentence was said to Xiaobao.
Xiaobao could only tell the eunuchs around him to go back to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to pass on the message.
The royal meal was quickly put on the table.
The Supreme Emperor suffered from a stroke and was unable to move half of his body. After receiving acupuncture from Dr. Liu Liang, it is still difficult to move, but it is not as stiff as before, and he can also sit up with external force.
There was a big soft pillow behind him, the kang table in front of him had been cleaned up, and two young eunuchs put food on it with their heads lowered. There are not many dishes, most of them are light, with less frying and more steaming.
Dr. Liu Liang said that nowadays, the Supreme Emperor must eat light food, and it is best to be mainly vegetarian. The Taishanghuang originally liked meat but not vegetables, and his taste was heavy. Because of this reason, the Taishanghuang has always had a poor appetite, and he can't eat much every time he eats.
Xiaobao sat down opposite the Supreme Emperor, Li Dequan poured out the soup with his own hands, and placed a bowl in front of the two of them.
The milky white soup exudes a strong fragrance, but it does not have a fishy smell, but it is somewhat attractive. In fact, this kind of mutton soup is a very common folk stewing method. If you eat too many finely crafted things, occasionally Yaoniang will cook in person and cook some folk food, which will also welcome the support of one big and two young ones.
The Supreme Emperor has lived such a long time, and he has never eaten any delicacies, but this is really the first time he has tasted this mutton soup. He has never liked the smell of mutton, let alone such a simple mutton soup. There is neither ginseng nor other precious medicinal materials in it, except for a few chopped green onions, which are translucent stewed pieces. of water radish.
But it looks really tempting. Because the Taishanghuang had to take medicine every day during this period, some saliva could not help but appear in his tasteless mouth.
"Grandpa, hurry up, drink this soup while it's hot." Saying that, Xiao Bao picked up the bowl and took a big gulp.
The Supreme Emperor couldn't help picking up the bowl, and as soon as the porcelain bowl got closer, there was a pungent spicy smell. It's got some pepper in it.
You can taste it carefully after drinking, but it doesn't feel spicy, but very delicious.
"My mother's stewed soup is different from other people's. There is fish in this mutton soup, and the two are very delicious when stewed together."
While speaking, the Supreme Emperor had already drank up the whole bowl of soup, leaving a few pieces of radish at the bottom of the bowl. He couldn't use one hand flexibly, so he put the small porcelain bowl on the kang table, and then picked up the radish in the bowl with silver chopsticks to eat.
The radish is also delicious, it melts in the mouth and is very delicious.
"Is it delicious, Grandpa Huang?" Because of the soup, his whole body was warm, and because the earth dragon was burning in the hall, Xiaobao's fair face was flushed, and his eyes were extraordinarily bright.
"Not bad." The Supreme Emperor was very reserved, but signaled Li Dequan to fill another bowl for himself.
After eating a meal, not only Xiaobao's belly will be full, but the Supreme Emperor will also feel comfortable all over. Standing by the side, Li Dequan narrowed his eyes with a smile, repeatedly saying that the Supreme Emperor has a big appetite today.
Xiaobao talked with the Supreme Emperor for a while, until he looked sleepy, and then returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Knowing that the Supreme Emperor likes the soup he stewed, he sent Yaoniang the stewed soup that has been changing for many days.
Fearing that it would conflict with the power of the Supreme Emperor's medicine, she specifically asked Doctor Liu Liang for advice. Because Xiaobao was not around sometimes, besides, she couldn't always make the child go to Qianqing Palace three times a day, she didn't shy away from it, and sent Yuchan to Qianqing Palace after stewing the soup. Anyway, the Hall of Mental Cultivation is not far from the Qianqing Palace, so I sent it to drink.
There was a lot of commotion outside, but Yaoniang here still delivered soup every day.
Today, when Li Dequan said that the Hall of Mental Cultivation had brought soup again, the Supreme Emperor said: "You are a fool, you know how to send soup, so why don't you try something else?"
Of course Li Dequan knew what the Supreme Emperor was talking about, so he answered with a smile beside him: "This lady was born in the common people, and she is an honest and responsible person when she sees that your Highness speaks on a daily basis. Most likely she has nowhere to ask for help. Seeing that the Supreme Emperor is willing to reward her face, she rushed here Work hard."
The Supreme Emperor hummed in confusion: "Now that I have abdicated, I naturally ignore government affairs, and it is useless to try my best."
Li Dequan didn't dare to speak.
In the past, the Supreme Emperor's temper was known to be unpredictable. After this serious illness, he experienced several incidents in a row, and his temper became even weirder. Li Dequan couldn't tell what kind of strange method it was, but he always felt that the emperor's temper was becoming more and more like a child's.
Old and young, maybe that's the way to say it.
"Why did Lao Wu marry such a stupid daughter-in-law? My Zhao family is of good blood. Fortunately, the two children, Xiaobao and Erbao, didn't follow her. She's really stupid, and she doesn't know how to please others. As for her, she can probably only find a corner to stay, and never get out of her head."
The Supreme Emperor angrily asked Li Dequan to serve him and lie down, and soon there was no movement on the kang.
Li Dequan laughed and sighed secretly, and called a little eunuch to guard him, while he left the Qianqing Palace and went to the study.