After returning to the palace, Jiang Changning first went back to Rujingyuan and changed into his previous clothes before following Prince Jin to Liuxuanyuan to pay his respects to the Dowager Concubine.
The toffee's eyes were red, and it was obvious that she had been crying.
Prince Jin asked with concern: "Mother, what happened?"
"The man who chanted the ballad has passed away." The concubine replied.
King Jin saw Jiang Changning's eyes and asked, "My second uncle's daughter."
Jiang Changning's eyebrows twitched slightly. Could this be the daughter of the Yan family that the concubine wanted to marry to her eldest son
"Brother Yu, please send someone to bring Yin Yao and her daughter to the capital." said the concubine.
"Okay." King Jin agreed without hesitation.
After the husband's death, the woman should return to her parents' home. What's the point of taking her to her aunt's home
Could it be that my second uncle is no longer around
When they left Liuxuan Courtyard and were on their way back to Rujing Courtyard, the Prince of Jin explained to her, "The current second aunt is the third wife of the second uncle. The original wife divorced. Cousin Yinyao's biological mother died of illness, and she and her stepmother did not get along very well. When she was eight years old, her mother took her, cousin Yinsong, and cousin Yinshi to live in the palace. They were all raised until they were about to get married, and then sent back to the Yan family."
"It can be seen that my mother has a deep affection for her." Jiang Changning hesitated for a moment and did not ask the concubine whether she wanted to marry Yan Yinyao to her eldest son.
"Before Yin Yao remarries, I'm afraid she will live in the mansion. I'll have to trouble you to take care of her."
It is neither easy nor difficult for a widow to remarry.
Moreover, Yan Yinyao had to observe mourning for three years. She definitely couldn't do something like what happened in Prince Qing's mansion, where she climbed into her cousin's bed and became his concubine just after the 100-day mourning period.
By this calculation, Yan Yinyao will have to live in the palace for at least three years.
Jiang Changning pulled the corner of his mouth, smiled falsely and asked, "Which courtyard did she live in before? I'll have the servants clean it up."
"Ou Xiang Zhai."
Jiang Changning's eyes flickered slightly. Ouxiangzhai was too close to Rujingyuan. It would be better to keep a distance before knowing his cousin's temperament.
"I just heard from mother that my cousin has a daughter. I'm afraid it's not convenient for her to live in Ou Xiang Zhai. It would be better for her and her daughter to live in Shuang Qiu Yuan, which is close to mother and she can spend more time with mother."
"You are right, then let them live in Shuangqiu Courtyard." Prince Jin let her arrange it however she wanted.
After returning to Rujing Courtyard, Jiang Changning asked the maid to prepare the meal. It was a banquet, and most people were not full. Moreover, she had practiced ice skating for a long time in the afternoon, and the amount of exercise was too much, so she was already hungry.
When the King of Jin saw the maid bringing the exquisite little stove, he asked, "Shall we have hot pot today?"
"In this kind of weather, hot pot is perfect." Jiang Changning took off his shoes and got on the kang. "The farm sent a few lambs yesterday, so it's perfect for hot pot."
"The lamb meat is tender and delicious, not smelly or greasy." The King of Jin also liked to eat it.
The soup base of the hot pot is old hen soup. Jiang Changning said yesterday that he wanted to eat hot pot, so Madam Cui started stewing old hen soup in a casserole early this morning.
After stewing for several hours, the chicken is tender and the meat and bones are separated.
There was no seasoning in the soup, only salt and pepper, so it was quite light.
"Yong Zhou, have a bowl of soup first. It's old hen soup with pepper in it, which can remove dampness." Jiang Changning scooped a small bowl of soup and handed it to King Jin.
King Jin took the bowl, scooped a spoonful, blew on it, and put it into his mouth.
"How is it?" Jiang Changning asked.
"The meat is tender and tasty, and the soup is sweet and delicious." Prince Jin said with a smile.
The soup base is light, but the seasoning is rich.
Seventeen or eighteen small bowls are filled with green and red pepper rings, chili oil, white sesame seeds, sesame oil, bean paste, meat sauce, sesame paste, vinegar, etc.
"What is this?" King Jin asked, pointing at the green and red peppers.
Jiang Changning smiled, "This is chili."
At the beginning of the year, there were pepper seeds among the cargo smuggled on the ship, so Boss Zheng, who was in charge of the farm, had people plant some.
When the fruits were ripe, they looked like the peppers that Jiang Changning had described before, so he brought a basket of them into the palace.
The spiciness of Sichuan pepper, pepper, mustard, and dogwood is really not enough.
King Jin dipped his chopsticks in the chili sauce and ate it. "Shh, this chili has a strong flavor!"
"This pepper is quite spicy, you'd better not put it in. Use other seasonings." Jiang Changning also only scooped a spoonful.
"It's okay, you can try it." King Jin was willing to try something new.
After preparing the sauce, Jiang Changning put a plate of mutton into the hot pot.
The mutton was sliced very thinly; Mrs. Cui’s knife skills were quite good.
After cooking for a while, the mutton was cooked. Jiang Changning took it out, dipped it in the sauce, and started eating it in big mouthfuls.
The mutton dipped in the sauce is a bit spicy, but the mutton is tender, fragrant, smooth and refreshing, so delicious that it cannot be described in words.
If I have to describe it, it’s so delicious that you can swallow your tongue.
After eating the steaming food, I felt warm all over.
King Jin even sweated while eating, and said with a smile: "It is really refreshing to eat like this, and the coldness has gone away."
When they had almost finished eating the dishes, Jiang Changning poured another plate of sweet potato flour into the hot pot.
"What is this?" asked King Jin.
"Sweet potato noodles." Jiang Changning said with a smile.
What was smuggled in by ships was not only pepper seeds, but also sweet potato seeds.
Boss Zheng strictly followed Jiang Changning's instructions and planted all the seeds he had never seen before. Only when something grew out of them would he know whether they were useful or not.
"What are sweet potatoes?" asked King Jin.
Jiang Changning lowered his voice and said, "It's something from overseas. I asked the head of the manor where I married my daughter to plant an acre of it. I didn't expect it to grow well. I saw that the skin was red, so I named it sweet potato."
There was still a maritime ban, and if people knew that she bought things from the ship, she would be in trouble.
"What if the skin is black?" King Jin asked curiously.
"Then it's black potato, the purple one is purple potato, and the yellow one is yellow potato." Jiang Changning named it simply and crudely.
But she looked at Prince Jin with her watery eyes, as if she was proud of the name.
King Jin smiled and said, "This is a good name."
"Of course I must." Jiang Changning was beaming with joy.
The sweet potato noodles are already cooked. Just blanch them in the hot pot and you can pick them up and eat them.
"Try it, isn't it better than noodles?" Jiang Changning picked up a piece of vermicelli with a serving chopstick and said, "Add some vinegar."
Prince Jin handed the bowl over, took it and mixed it with the sauce.
After taking a bite, I felt that the sweet potato noodles were smoother than noodles and had a different flavor.
After eating a bowl, the King of Jin said, "This sweet potato noodle tastes good. You can cook it often in the future."
Jiang Changning put down the bowl, wiped the oil stains from his mouth with a handkerchief, took a few sips of tea, and then said casually: "Sweet potatoes are drought-resistant and easy to grow. You don't need to spend too much time to take care of them. You can grow dozens of kilograms. If you plant them in good soil, the sweet potatoes will be this big."
Prince Jin looked at the size she gestured and seemed to be thinking about something.
Jiang Changning continued, "This sweet potato can be used to make sweet potato vermicelli, French fries, and potato chips. It can also be steamed, dried, and ground into powder. When you want to eat it, just rinse it with hot water. It tastes better than lotus root powder."
"Why did Ningning think of growing sweet potatoes?" asked King Jin.
"I will ask the village head to buy any seeds smuggled in by ships and plant them. I want to find a food that is large enough to fill the stomach and fulfill my father's last wish." Jiang Changning said seriously.