Seeing that Jiang Changning didn't mind the simplicity of the goods and bought something from them, the vendors immediately started shouting louder, and some even boldly solicited her directly, "Madam, please buy rouge. The rouge I have is definitely the best on this street. Many ladies use my rouge. I promise that you will be more beautiful after using it."
"Madam, I have the finest silk thread here. The things I embroider will last forever."
"Madam, this is a lucky lion from Ryukyu. Take a look. Isn't it cute?"
Jiang Changning was not interested in rouge or silk thread, but the delicate and brightly colored lion that brought good luck caught her eye, so she walked over.
After walking through street after street, Jiang Changning bought many small items, all of which were paid for by Prince Jin, and the things were carried by the maids and guards following behind.
At the beginning of noon, the group entered the restaurant.
The business at the restaurant is booming, and if you come at this time, you can usually only sit in the lobby.
But with a thorough follower like Chang Youzhong around, how could he let his two masters suffer any injustice? He had already sent someone to book a private room.
We sat down in a private room on the second floor of the restaurant and the waiter brought us tea and snacks.
"Bring in six of the restaurant's signature dishes, including meat and vegetables, and soup." Prince Jin ordered as he picked up the kettle and poured tea.
Jiang Changning chuckled, "Your way of ordering food is good."
"Now that I have learned this from you, remember to pay me tuition." The King of Jin joked.
"How many strips of bacon do you want?" Jiang Changning asked with a smile.
Shuxiu is a bundle of dried meat pickled with salt, also known as bacon.
"The more the better."
“Fresh pork tastes better.”
"The front leg meat is the most tender, and it is delicious when used as a filling. The tenderloin is pure lean meat, without fat, and is suitable for stir-frying. There are many ways to cook pork belly, such as braising or roasting." King Jin talked freely
"Yong Zhou is a good eater."
The conversation between the couple was full of everyday life.
As they were talking, the dishes were served. Just as King Jin had ordered, there were meat, vegetables, and soup.
The restaurant serves Huaiyang cuisine, and three of the four meat dishes are river fish.
Squirrel mandarin fish, soft-shelled eel, white-robed shrimp, and a meat dish of braised lion's head.
The vegetarian dish is stir-fried fresh vegetables, and the soup is water shield and whitebait soup.
The two of them ate at the same table. They didn't care about talking while eating, but talked about some legends and allusions of Huaiyang cuisine.
The King of Jin was knowledgeable and had a wide range of interests. It can be said that he knew astronomy, geography, and harmony among human beings.
What Jiang Changning has learned in modern times is enough to make him look down upon everyone in this dynasty. After coming here, there is no television, computer, or mobile phone, and the books he reads are also very miscellaneous.
She could always follow up on King Jin's topics.
This made Prince Jin feel like he had met a close friend, and he felt more and more that he had good taste and that his little princess was to his liking in every way.
After the meal, Chang Youzhong had already paid the bill. Jiang Changning said angrily, "It was agreed that it was my treat."
"Ningning, please treat me next time." Prince Jin said with a smile.
Jiang Changning skipped over the matter and asked, "Where are we going this afternoon?"
"Listen to Ningning." Prince Jin said with a smile.
"I heard there's a camellia garden next to the City God Temple. Let's go take a look."
The City God is a Taoist deity who protects cities, and most of his temples are built within the city.
Prince Jin had no objection and agreed that Jiang Changning would be the decision maker.
The City God Temple is located in the north of the city, close to the city wall. It is quite remote. The camellia garden covers a large area, and the half-person-high white wall encloses the beautiful scenery in the garden.
"Oh, this is a private garden." Jiang Changning originally thought it was the garden of the City God Temple, and anyone could come in and out freely.
"It's okay. Let Chang Youzhong tell the owner of the flower garden that we are here to buy flowers and he will let us in to enjoy them." Prince Jin said with a smile.
"If the flowers are good, it would be nice to buy some to take back." Jiang Changning said with a smile.
While Chang Youzhong went to find the owner of the flower garden, Prince Jin took Jiang Changning into the City God Temple.
"Ningning, do you remember where we first met?" asked King Jin.
"Wenxin Temple."
"Did I scare you by coming out so suddenly?"
Go to the temple to worship the gods and draw lots.
Jiang Changning inexplicably recalled an interlude from an old Hong Kong film, "Pray to God, pray to God," "Pray to God," and sincerely worship Buddha to pray to the gods, and he smiled.
"Did you get a good fortune?" asked King Jin.
"The seventh lot, I don't know whether it's good or bad." Jiang Changning shook the bamboo stick in his hand.
There is a priest at the temple gate who interprets the lots. You hand the lots to him and give him money.
The temple keeper found the fortune paper and said with a smile, "Congratulations, madam. This is a good fortune. You two will be married. It's a perfect match. You are in a good mood. A noble person will lead you to a bright future. You will have a small success and a big success. You two will be happily married and live together until old age."
King Jin smiled and said, "Thank you for your good words. We will definitely do it."
At this time, Chang Youzhong came to report, "Master, Madam, you can go into the flower garden to enjoy the flowers."
The camellia flowers in the flowerbed are in full bloom. Some of the petals have fully opened, revealing the tender yellow stamens; some are about to bloom, with a faint pink on the tips.
"I wonder if I can see the Eighteen Scholars here?" Jiang Changning was familiar with the famous varieties of camellia, but had never seen the real thing.
The Eighteen Scholars are treasures among camellias. There is a certain gap between the real thing and the Eighteen Scholars in the book.
The book says that the Eighteen Scholars are camellias with eighteen colors of flowers. In reality, the camellias have eighteen circles of petals arranged in two adjacent corners, so they are called the Eighteen Scholars.
According to the color of the flowers, they can be divided into pink Eighteen Bachelors, white Eighteen Bachelors and red Eighteen Bachelors. Most of them are single-color flowers, and the mutated ones are two-color. It is basically impossible to mutate into eighteen colors.
Although the owner of the flower garden knows how to cultivate them, the Eighteen Scholars are too rare. There are no Eighteen Scholars in the flower garden, but there is Chi Dan.
The bright red flowers are as charming as peonies and as delicate as roses.
"Ningning, stand under the flower tree." Prince Jin suddenly said.
Jiang Changning followed his instructions and stood under the flower tree, with camellia flowers blooming above his head, looking gorgeous and tempting.
"Turn around and smile." Prince Jin commanded.
Jiang Changning turned around, the corners of his lips raised, and his smile was as beautiful as a flower.
King Jin said with satisfaction: "She is more beautiful than flowers."
"Thank you for the compliment." Jiang Changning lowered his head and pretended to be shy.
Camellia has a long flowering period, from October to May of the following year, adding warmth and joy to the cold winter.
"Yong Zhou, what do you think of this pot?" Jiang Changning took a fancy to a pot of camellia with abundant flowers, beautiful shapes, and a fresh and rich fragrance.
King Jin smiled and said, "You picked very well."
There are just the right number of flower buds, growing in an orderly manner on the branches.
The leaves are lush, glossy and thick, the branches are strong and sturdy, with no signs of pruning or falling off.
The soil is loose and breathable, and there is no need to change the soil. It is cultivated from seedlings, not transplanted after it grows up.
Jiang Changning carefully selected a few pots of flowers and asked Chang Youzhong to arrange someone to send them back to the palace first.
After coming out of the flower garden, Prince Jin took Jiang Changning to the Lin'an Guild Hall.
When they were leaving, Jiang Changning said she would treat him to some famous Hangzhou dishes. He thought she must be homesick.
He is a prince and has to stay in the capital. According to the law, he cannot go out at will and cannot make friends with local officials privately.
For the time being, he couldn't take her back to Hangzhou, so he could only accompany her to eat Hangzhou cuisine to comfort her homesickness.
"This place is quite far from Lin'an Guild Hall, let's go to another one." Jiang Changning said.
"Are you hungry?" asked King Jin.
Jiang Changning shook his head, "I'm not hungry."
"Then let's go to Lin'an Guild Hall. I want to try Hangzhou's famous dishes." Prince Jin said with a smile.
Jiang Changning said nothing more and followed his advice.
Two quarters of an hour later, the carriage entered the store from the side door of Lin'an Guild Hall. The carriage stopped, and Prince Jin got off first. He turned around to help Jiang Changning, and then he heard someone shouting, "Prince Jin."
(End of this chapter)