"The last great general was a piece of shit!"
"What's wrong?"
"Look, it's all written on this notice! He allowed his youngest son to rob women and force them into prostitution! Fortunately, the new general was very observant and found out the identities of those poor women. He has already written a memorial to the capital, asking for the grace of the emperor to let those poor women return home!"
The notice posted at the city gate attracted the attention of passers-by. The discussions reached Jiang Yanyi's ears. She turned her head almost instantly to look at the notice, and her heart was filled with ecstasy.
At this time, the curtain of the carriage was completely lifted. The person in the carriage had a heroic face. Even when he was sitting, he was like an iron tower. He had a short beard and a majestic look. It was Chu Changping who was preparing to leave the city with the coffin.
The originally arrogant guard was intimidated by his aura, and his voice dropped three degrees: "What business do you do?"
Chu Changping handed over a bulging purse: "The spice business is a small business."
The guard felt that this man had an extraordinary demeanor and was generous, so he did not make things difficult for them and signaled his men to let them leave the city.
Chu Changping nodded in thanks. He glanced at the notice at the city gate with a heavy look in his eyes. He lowered the curtain and was about to look away when he suddenly saw a short, black-faced man also dived into the crowd reading the notice.
He tilted his head and squeezed in with difficulty.
Chu Changping took a quick glance and was shocked, as he felt that the person looked like his niece.
At this time, the carriage was leaving the city gate. Chu Changping had no choice but to lift the curtain and lean out most of his body to take a closer look.
“What are you doing!”
Seeing that he seemed to be about to go back into the city, the guards at the city gate shouted and pointed several spears at Chu Changping.
Seeing this, the henchmen who were dressed as bodyguards put their hands on the hilts of the knives at their waists.
Chu Changping did not see the black-faced man in the crowd. Instead, there were several men wearing the same clothes as the black-faced man crowding there to read the notice.
He recognized that it was the uniform of the miscellaneous troops of the Xizhou camp. Even if his niece was still alive, how could she, a girl living in seclusion, really join the army
Chu Changping thought that he was just worrying too much and was wrong. The important thing now was to transport the coffin back to the capital as soon as possible. If there was a conflict with the soldiers and they found the coffin, it would cause a lot of trouble.
He calmly gestured to his confidants not to act rashly.
Then he bowed to the head of the guards and said, "Don't blame me, sir. I just saw a man who looked like an old friend, so I'm leaving the city now."
The guard leader still had the bulging purse in his arms, and he said impatiently, "Hurry up, there are so many people waiting behind us!"
Chu Changping sat back in the carriage. Amid the sound of horse hooves, the carriage and several carts left Xizhou City one after another.
At the end of the winding official road are mountains. The sky is clear today, and the carriage is getting farther and farther away and fainter in the bright sunlight, until it can no longer be seen.
Jiang Yanyi squeezed for a long time before he got to the notice. Looking at the black words on the white paper and the bright red seal of the Xizhou government office, he felt like he was dreaming.
If her household registration is also approved, then she will be considered a good citizen of the Daxuan Dynasty from now on!
If you have your own capital, it is possible to open a shop and do business.
Several firemen squeezed in.
The people around him shouted in dissatisfaction: "Why are you pushing?"
"My shoes fell off! Ouch... someone stepped on my foot!"
Several firemen apologized repeatedly: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
Seeing that they were also soldiers, others were a little wary of them and just grumbled a few words before letting it go.
Several firemen were illiterate and could not understand what was written on the notice, but there was a literate person reading it nearby, so they got a general idea of what it said. Then they said to Jiang Yanyi with a happy look on their faces, "Master Jiang, you can leave the barracks now!"
Jiang Yanyi was abducted, and when the camp prostitutes were registered that day, the other women heard what she said.
The Huotou Camp had such a pretty, delicate and delicious camp prostitute who could cook well. The Huotou soldiers also privately inquired about Jiang Yanyi and knew that she was not sent here because of committing a crime.
A fireman who was about thirteen or fourteen years old heard what the big guy said and said, "Master Jiang is now a cook in the kitchen, and it's the same in the Xizhou camp."
He licked his lips. The braised pork pie made by Jiang Yanyi was delicious. He wanted to have it every meal in the future.
A bearded fireman slapped him on the head, "How can that be the same? What does a little kid know?"
The military camp is full of men, and the Xizhou camp used to have camp prostitutes. Even if you work in the Huotou Camp, people will always point fingers at you, unless Jiang Yanyi stays in the Huotou Camp all her life and never gets married, but how can that be possible
The younger fireman didn't understand this. He touched his head and said to the bearded fireman unconvincedly, "I'm fourteen, I'm not young!"
The bearded fireman laughed and said, "If it's a virgin chicken, it's still young!"
Someone beside him immediately elbowed him hard: "What nonsense are you talking about in front of Master Jiang!"
The bearded man then realized that what he said was inappropriate, and quickly apologized to Jiang Yanyi: "Master Jiang, I am a rough man and I don't know how to speak, please don't be offended!"
"It's okay. Let's go find Boss Zhao." Jiang Yanyi read the notice from beginning to end several times and confirmed that the Xizhou camp was going to let the decent women return home. After the ecstasy, his mind was full of thoughts about opening a hot pot restaurant.
I didn't pay any attention to what the firemen said.
It was difficult to squeeze in and it was also difficult to squeeze out. By the time they passed through the wall of people, Zhao Tou'er and a few firemen who were not interested in reading the notice had already drunk half a bowl of tea in the teahouse.
Without waiting for Jiang Yanyi to speak, several firemen rushed to tell Zhao Touer the contents of the notice. Those who didn't know would think that their relatives were trapped in the Xizhou camp and could finally return home.
After hearing this, Zhao Tou'er praised sincerely: "This new general is a good man. He not only improved the food for the soldiers, but also increased their salaries. Now those captured girls can also escape from their suffering."
He turned his head to look at Jiang Yanyi: "Girl, what are your plans?"
Jiang Yanyi could tell that Tou'er Zhao was asking questions for Chef Li. When Chef Li taught her how to cook this morning, she also felt that Chef Li was treating her as his apprentice.
If she is willing to stay in Huotouying, with the connections Chef Li has built up over the past few decades, he will definitely find a way to make her stay.
But she didn't want to stay in the military camp forever.
Being tired was secondary. She just wanted to be free. Besides, she was still frightened by the incident with the pockmarked face.
I was lucky enough to be rescued last time, but what about next time
I was very cautious when cooking for the generals, fearing that I would be punished if I did something wrong.
If you open a shop yourself, if you are happy, you can open it for the whole day. If you are unhappy or there is something urgent, you can open it for half a day or even not open it at all.
You have the final say in everything and don’t have to consider anyone’s feelings. There is no risk of being beheaded for not cooking well.
If you work harder, all the money you earn will go into your pocket.
This is probably the difference between being an employee and being your own boss.
She also wanted to save some money and buy a small courtyard in the Jiangnan area in a few years, raise a cat as a companion, plant flowers and cook in her spare time, so that she could live a leisurely life in her old age in advance.
Jiang Yanyi said, "Tou'er Zhao, you and Master Li have taken good care of me during these days in Huotouying, and I am always grateful to you two. But my father taught me this cooking skill, and I still want to open a small shop of my own and pass on his signature brand."
Zhao Tou'er nodded: "You are a filial person. Since you want to open a shop, have you thought about the way to go?"
Jiang Yanyi shook his head.
She has been in the Xizhou camp since she came here, and this is her first time coming out.
The original owner had never been to Xizhou.
When it comes to running a restaurant business, the more prosperous the place, the better. The most prosperous place in the entire Daxuan Dynasty is the capital, but that is a dangerous place and Jiang Yanyi doesn't have the courage to go there.
Who knows, she might meet an acquaintance one day and be recognized, and the male protagonist might have to send someone to kill her again.
Life at the border has been difficult since ancient times, but what surprised Jiang Yanyi was that Xizhou City was quite lively. While sitting in the teahouse for a while, she saw many peddlers walking along the street in front with their shelves.
At the door of the restaurant opposite, there was a Hu woman holding a pipa and singing, attracting many men to stop and watch. A few firemen who seldom came out were also itching to go and ran to the door of the restaurant opposite to listen to the music.
Zhao Tou'er said, "If you have no place to stay after leaving the military camp, I have a relative who owns a shop in Xizhou City, with a courtyard inside. The location is good, next to the Protectorate. He sells perfume and powder, but how many families outside the border can afford cosmetics?"
"He lost a lot of money. His wife was angry with him and took her son back to her parents' home in Jiangnan. He planned to sell the shop and settle down in Jiangnan with the money."
Jiang Yanyi was somewhat tempted at first, but when he heard that he had to buy the shop and the yard as well, he immediately became timid.
She waved her hands and said, "Boss Zhao, I don't have so much money..."
The only huge sum of money he had at the moment was the silver note for one hundred taels, in addition to the two taels of silver rewarded by the "military advisor" last night, and the one hundred coins he had received as a reward for making tofu pudding, which added up to a total of one hundred and three taels.
After deducting all these, he was left with only a hundred or so copper coins earned from his private kitchen.
The shop that Zhao Tou'er mentioned has a good location and a courtyard. I'm afraid it will cost at least three hundred taels to buy it.
Zhao Tou'er interrupted her and said, "Why are you in such a hurry? I haven't finished what I'm saying yet. He can't sell this shop for a while, so he plans to rent it out. He'll pay you 800 coins a month. If you're interested in renting the shop, I'll take you over to have a look and talk to him. It won't be difficult to give you 100 coins less."
After hearing these words, Jiang Yanyi was completely moved.
When she was in Huotouying, she could earn thirty-four cents from working in the private kitchen at night. If she opened her own shop outside, she would earn even more.
Moreover, you have sufficient capital, so you don’t have to worry about making ends meet. You can even sell at a loss in the first month of opening the store. First build up your reputation and then think about making money later.
If Xizhou is too poor and the restaurant business is not doing well, she can just stop renting the shop and start over in a more prosperous and bustling province.
Jiang Yanyi immediately said, "Then I'll trouble you, Mr. Zhao, to take me to see it."
Zhao Tou'er has been in charge of purchasing for decades. He knows what vegetables to buy in what season and has long-term cooperation with fixed vegetable farmers. He only needs to send a message and leave a few trusted firemen to look after them. After he finishes his work, he will come back to check that everything is correct and then take the goods back to the barracks.
The group arrived at the place in the east of the city to buy vegetables. After Zhao Touer negotiated with a few vegetable farmers and gave a few instructions to a few firemen, he took Jiang Yanyi to see the shop.
It was quite a distance from the east of the city to the main street of the Protectorate, so Zhao Touer stopped a mule cart and took the two of them there.
On the way, Jiang Yanyi discovered that there were quite a few restaurants, which was a good thing for him.
The fact that so many people open shops selling food shows that there is a market. If no one goes to restaurants at all, naturally no one will open shops.
However, the prosperity of Xizhou City was still a little beyond Jiang Yanyi's imagination. She asked, "Boss Zhao, Xizhou doesn't look very rich, so why are there so many restaurants?"
Zhao Tou'er said, "Those with women at home will definitely eat at home, but in this border area, there are few female rats. Most of them are single. If they have some money, they either spend it on restaurants or get seduced by the women in the brothels."
"Besides the Turks, there are also small countries such as Mengshan and Dayue outside the Western Province. There are often caravans coming back from outside the Great Wall. Can the merchants make fire and cook by themselves?"
After listening to Zhao Tou'er's explanation, Jiang Yanyi had a general understanding of the consumer groups who eat out in Xizhou.
Caravans will basically choose inns, which provide food and accommodation to save trouble.
If I open a small restaurant of my own, I won’t be able to do business with the caravan, and my main target will still be the local people of Xizhou.
The mule cart traveled for about half a quarter of an hour before arriving at the main street of the Protectorate.
Jiang Yanyi looked at the houses on both sides of the street and found that they were much more imposing than those in other places, with white walls and gray tiles. The restaurants and teahouses along the street were also very high-end and elegant. Most of the shops on this street were tailor shops and shops selling gold and silver jewelry.
Jiang Yanyi asked: "The people living around here are probably all dignitaries, right?"
Chef Li looked at her in surprise and nodded, saying, "The officials all live around here, so those ruffians don't dare to act recklessly in this area. You, a girl, can live here without worry."
This was something Jiang Yanyi had not considered yet. Zhao Touer thought so thoroughly that Jiang Yanyi felt even more grateful to him.
The shop that Zhao Tou'er mentioned is adjacent to the Protectorate.
The wall of the Protectorate was more than three feet higher than the shop. From a distance, the lintel of the shop seemed inexplicably low and somewhat pitiful.
In broad daylight, the door of the shop was closed.
Zhao Tou'er wondered if something had happened to his relative, so he knocked on the door and heard a middle-aged man's voice: "Who is it?"
"Nephew, it's me, your uncle!" Zhao Tou'er shouted outside the door.
Jiang Yanyi looked at the name of the rouge shop, "Liu Ji".
Zhao Tou'er called the owner of this shop his nephew, which shows that the owner's surname is also Zhao, but the shop is called "Liu Ji". Considering that the shop owner's wife has returned to her parents' home in Jiangnan, Zhao Tou'er's nephew plans to sell the shop and the house and move to Jiangnan.
It seems that the owner of this shop is henpecked, or his wife's family is very powerful.
While she was still guessing, the door of the shop opened and a wealthy middle-aged man came out. He looked somewhat like Zhao Tou'er and also had a mustache, but it was much thicker than Zhao Tou'er's.
When Zhao Tou'er saw his nephew, he asked him a lot of questions: "Why are you closing the door in broad daylight? Are you not doing business?"
Speaking of business, Zhao Dabao's face was all red. He said, "Last night, a caravan bought all the spices in my shop. I was thinking of selling the shop and collecting enough money before going to Jiangnan. Now that I have recovered my capital, I plan to close the shop and go to Jiangnan first."
After he finished speaking, he saw Jiang Yanyi. Because Zhao Touer had been working in the Huotou Battalion, he recognized that the uniform Jiang Yanyi was from the Huotou Battalion and asked, "Who is this young man..."
Zhao Tou'er answered for Jiang Yanyi: "She is a girl with a miserable life. She wants to buy a store in Xizhou and open a restaurant. I thought your place wouldn't be able to sell for a while, so I brought her here to have a look."
Zhao Dabao was relieved that his uncle had introduced him to the shop, so he didn't ask too much about Jiang Yanyi. He introduced her warmly, "My shop is in a good location. You won't have to worry about lack of business if you take it over. Look at the floor tiles. They were blue-and-white tiles. Only the Fulai Restaurant across the street used these tiles..."
Jiang Yanyi took a quick look and found that the shop outside had been cleaned up. It looked to be about 60 square meters with good lighting.
She said, "I want to see the courtyard inside."
Zhao Dabao quickly led Jiang Yanyi inside. He seemed to be packing up his things. There were many cages and boxes in the yard.
Next to the courtyard wall there is a two-foot wide flower bed. The bougainvillea planted there has covered the entire wall. The lavender flowers blooming in this late autumn are indescribably beautiful.
There are three rooms in the house: a main room, a wing room and a kitchen.
Zhao Dabao asked, "Miss, what do you think? I'm not bragging, but if you look across the entire main street of the Protectorate, you definitely won't find a better place than this one."
Jiang Yanyi said "good" and walked into the kitchen, only to find that there was an open space about ten feet wide behind the kitchen. The ten and a half feet high wall opposite was the courtyard wall of the Protectorate.
She asked: "I run a restaurant and cook. After all, the kitchen is used all day long. Will it disturb the neighbors?"
Zhao Dabao hurriedly said, "Don't worry about that. The person living in this Protectorate Mansion is the newly appointed general of Xizhou. The general is usually in the barracks. There are only a few servants in the mansion. The entire Protectorate Mansion is like an empty one. And it is adjacent to the Protectorate Mansion. You don't have to worry about those petty thieves and robbers if you live here alone."
Jiang Yanyi thought that the uncle and nephew had a strange way of speaking.
However, this shop and yard are really to Jiang Yanyi's liking, and she plans to rent them.
If the neighbors were other officials' families, Jiang Yanyi would still be worried, but the newly appointed general was definitely an upright and good man!
As soon as he took office, he rescued the camp prostitutes, loved the soldiers like his own sons, and now he let these good women go home. Jiang Yanyi automatically put on the image of Justice Bao.
She had forgotten all the rumors she had heard when she first arrived at the Huotou Camp about how vicious the general was.
Jiang Yanyi asked Zhao Dabao when he would go to the south of the Yangtze River, and Zhao Dabao just said in the next two days.
Because of Zhao Tou'er's relationship, Jiang Yanyi rented the house to help Zhao Dabao out of his urgent need, and Jiang Yanyi only charged 500 coins for a month's rent.
Jiang Yanyi gave one hundred coins as a deposit.
The lease agreement would not be signed until Jiang Yanyi officially rented the house. Zhao Dabao was afraid that he would have gone to the south of the Yangtze River by then, so he asked Li Touer to help.
After discussing these things, Zhao Dabao was about to send Zhao Touer and Jiang Yanyi out, but he heard the sound of armor colliding coming from outside.
Zhao Dabao peeked through the crack in the door and saw that the soldiers were already standing at his door.
He didn't know what happened, so he said to Jiang Yanyi and Zhao Tou'er, "Wait a while before going out. For some reason, there are quite a few soldiers standing outside."
Jiang Yanyi thought to herself, could it be that the higher-ups knew that she had sneaked out of the Xizhou camp in disguise, and now they wanted to arrest her and question her
When I thought about it carefully, I felt that I didn't have that much nerve.
**
Outside the main street of the Protectorate, the Black Armor Guards stood from the beginning to the end of the street, with one person every two steps. Not even a fly dared to fly by. All the shops along the street quickly closed their doors. No one made a noise, and no one dared to look around.
A luxurious sedan chair decorated with gold and jade tassels, carried by eight people, slowly walked in.
Next to the sedan chair followed an old maid wearing a dark blue boa. The pattern on the cuffs was made with double-thread backstitch, a technique that only the embroiderers in the palace could master. She had a pair of jade bracelets of excellent quality on her hands and an emerald jade hairpin on her head.
However, the old lady's overall demeanor outshined those old ladies in officials' families, not to mention how valuable the person in the sedan chair was.
Behind the old maid were four maids of excellent appearance, all wearing pomegranate bodices and pleated flowered skirts. Even the ugliest one wore a pure gold bracelet on her hand.
The sedan stopped in front of the main gate of the Protectorate, but the people in the sedan did not get out.
The sound of hurried horse hooves came from the long street in the distance. Looking up, I saw a man on horseback galloping towards me. The black cloak behind the man rolled up in the cold wind, like a strong dark cloud.
“Ouch—”
The visitor tightened the reins three feet away from the sedan chair, sat on his warhorse, raised his front hooves high, and stopped after a neigh.
It was Feng Shuo.
He dismounted and walked quickly to the sedan chair, "Mother, I am late in welcoming you."
The bearers pushed the sedan forward, and an old maid at the side pushed aside the curtain. A pair of jade hands painted with bright red cardamom placed on the old maid's hands. The woman in the sedan, who was too beautiful to be an ordinary person, uttered only two cold words from her bright red lips: "Kneel down."
The old lady next to her looked at her worriedly: "Madam..."
The Grand Concubine Dowager remained unmoved.
Feng Shuo was silent for a moment, then knelt on the ground.
The Grand Concubine Dowager curled her lips coldly and stepped on Feng Shuo's back to get out of the sedan chair.
Her long sleeves embroidered with golden peonies spread out behind her, gleaming with twinkling lights in the sunlight.
Four maids hurried forward to hold up the hem of the dress.
The Grand Concubine Dowager looked at Feng Shuo who was still kneeling there, with a deep disgust in her eyes: "You are the son of a bitch, are you worthy of calling me your majesty?"
Nanny Song, who was holding her hand, tried to hide the sadness in her eyes and said softly, "Madam, you must be tired from the journey. Come to the mansion and rest first."
The Grand Concubine Dowager then snorted coldly and was supported by Nanny Song into the palace.
The old butler, who was over fifty years old, hurried forward to help Feng Shuo up: "My Lord, please get up quickly. The queen is just sick again..."
Feng Shuo looked in the direction where the Grand Concubine left, his eyes suppressing something, but his voice was surprisingly calm: "I know."
He turned his head and glanced at the dead silent Duhufu Street, and ordered: "Let them all leave, the people on this street still need to do business."
When the butler saw Feng Shuo's look, he couldn't tell for a moment whether he really didn't mind or was just enduring it all, so he stood there without moving.
Feng Shuo's tone turned cold: "Don't you understand what I'm saying?"
The butler then gave the leader of the Black Armor Guard a look, and the sound of uniform armor colliding was heard. The Black Armor Guards who had blocked the entire street of the Protectorate retreated like a tide.
But every household still kept their doors and windows closed.
Feng Shuo glanced at the bright sun above his head. The emotions that he had been deliberately suppressing were clamoring loudly at this moment, but his face remained expressionless.
He only ordered the housekeeper: "Serve mother well, and follow her original habits in food, clothing, housing and transportation. Don't make any mistakes. Xizhou has been uneasy recently. I will go back to visit mother later."
The housekeeper quickly responded.
All those who surrounded the main street of the Protectorate today were his private soldiers. They had no eyes to see when they shouldn't, and no ears to hear when they shouldn't. No one would know what happened just now.
Feng Shuo was walking back, leading the horse. He had hurried back after receiving the letter from the Grand Empress Dowager that she had entered the territory of Xizhou. He didn't even bring his personal bodyguard Xing Yao with him.
The horse's hooves stepped on the bluestone tiles, making a clear and monotonous "trample" sound.
He narrowed his eyes, and the corners of his mouth raised in a cruel and self-deprecating arc.
The veins on his hands that were gripping the reins were bulging from excessive force, and blood even slid down the reins from his palms and dripped onto the bluestone bricks.
Suddenly, a mother and son appeared on the deserted street ahead. The mother looked like the young Empress Dowager, extremely bright and beautiful. The child took after his mother's appearance, a baby as beautiful as a jade ball.
The mother was making her child giggle a second ago, with tenderness in her eyes.
The next second, the mother looked at the man in the dragon robe, tears streaming down her face. She bit her lip and raised her hand to hit the child hard, cursing as she hit him: "You son of a bitch, are you worthy of calling me a concubine?"
Feng Shuo looked at the child who was crying and curled up in a ball after being beaten, but still reaching out to hug his mother, and walked over with an expressionless face, leading the horse.
He passed through the mother and child.
The cries of children and mothers in his ears disappeared, the streets were empty, and everything was just a memory of his childhood that he buried deep in his heart.
***
The Imperial Palace.
Autumn always comes later in the south than in the north. The leaves of the ginkgo tree in front of the Cining Palace have just turned green and yellow.
The empress dowager was resting her head on a soft golden pillow while a palace maid was kneeling on the bed, gently massaging her legs. A purple-gold beast-mouthed incense burner beside her was emitting curls of smoke.
The Queen Mother lay on the couch, feeling more comfortable than ever before.
She married into the Eastern Palace at the age of sixteen. Just after she gave birth to the eldest grandson of the emperor, the prince was killed by a mob on his way to Jiangnan to control floods.
Everyone thought that her tenure as Crown Princess would soon end, but the late emperor never appointed another Crown Prince until his death and instead passed the throne to her son.
She served as the Crown Princess for twenty-two years with a heavy heart, and was only named Empress Dowager on the day her son ascended the throne.
But she still felt uncomfortable because there was a Grand Concubine Dowager above her, even though she was a crazy woman.
Now, in these nine-story palace, no one can be more powerful than her.
Perhaps because she felt relieved, her voice was a little longer than usual: "Tinglan, do you think the one from Ci'an Palace has arrived in Xizhou?"
Her chief maid, Tinglan, said with a smile, "Counting the days, it's time."
The Queen Mother said in a bland voice: "She is a blessed woman. Her son is still thinking of taking her out."
Tinglan knew what the Queen Mother wanted to hear, so she picked out what she liked to hear and said, "How can a crazy person be considered a blessed person? The Western Province is a notoriously poor place, how can it be compared with the imperial palace? If I were to say, the most capable and blessed person in the world is you, the Queen Mother. You taught His Majesty well, and that's why His Majesty was able to sit on the throne."
The Queen Mother's smile deepened a little, and it was obvious that she was very pleased with what she said. However, when it came to the Emperor, the Queen Mother thought of her recent troubles again: "The Emperor is good in every way, except that he has fallen in love with that little bitch named Jiang!"
Tinglan said, "That Concubine Jiang is not very pretty, and Your Majesty is just looking for something new. Look at how the late emperor favored the one in Ci'an Palace? Didn't he almost get her killed by a cup of poison wine? In terms of beauty, Concubine Jiang is not even worthy of carrying shoes for the one in Ci'an Palace. When spring comes and another group of beauties enter the palace, how can Your Majesty still remember such a plain-looking girl?"
The empress dowager did not respond. Not long after she gave birth to the emperor's eldest grandson, the girl from Ci'an Palace entered the palace. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the late emperor favored her the most among all the concubines.
The empress dowager was in a difficult situation at that time. In order to stabilize the position of the Eastern Palace, she placed many spies in the palace. However, she heard a secret that it was the one in Ci'an Palace who looked very similar to the deceased queen of the previous emperor.
The late emperor’s queen died of complications during childbirth of the crown prince, and the empress dowager had never met her mother-in-law.
She was worried that the late emperor would appoint another crown prince, so she bought the eunuchs who served in the late emperor's bedroom. However, she learned from the eunuchs that every time the late emperor summoned the maid from the Cining Palace to sleep with him, he would make her wear the clothes worn by the dead queen and imitate the queen's words and deeds. He even asked her to pretend to be the queen and call her a shameless vixen and a slut who climbed into bed...
The one in Ci'an Palace went crazy because she was tortured by the late emperor for so long.
Later on, she could no longer tell whether she was the late emperor's empress or Concubine Li.
She was a poor person, but that poor person had been stepping on her head for so many years, and the son she gave birth to had made her live in fear for decades. The empress dowager could no longer feel pity for the grand empress dowager.
She fiddled with the Buddhist beads on her hand, and felt relieved when she thought that the man was no longer in the palace. "Forget it, the one in Kunning Palace is already there. Tell her to take good care of the baby and wait until she gives birth to the prince. Who among the women in the harem can surpass her?"
The one who lives in Kunning Palace is naturally the queen.
"I heard that Minister Jiang will come to the palace to see his beautiful daughter today. Please inform the eunuch who led the way and warn him that Concubine Jiang must abide by the palace rules after entering the palace! As a palace concubine, she didn't even go to the Queen's palace to pay respects in the morning and evening. How shameless!"
The Palace of Cangjiao.
Jiang Yanxi sat on the edge of the bed, slowly embroidering a royal blue robe in her hands.
Her appearance was not stunning, but she was very attractive, with a delicate nose, red lips, and a pretty face.
Her skin was as white as milk, with a few ambiguous purple streaks on the side of her neck that were particularly eye-catching. A strand of her jet-black hair hung down in front of her body, half-hiding the marks, making them even more obvious.
The maid who was close to her advised her, "You should have submitted to His Majesty long ago. His Majesty loves you the most."
Jiang Yanxi's eyes were cold, "Why should I give in to him?"
The maid thought she was just being stubborn and said, "Your clothes will be ready in a few days. His Majesty will be very happy when he sees them."
Jiang Yanxi suddenly dropped her needle and thread: "Who said this is for him?"
The maid quickly looked outside and saw that there was no one else in the hall. She breathed a sigh of relief and said, "My queen, please don't say such things!"
She sewed a men's robe, but not for His Majesty. Isn't this waiting to be beheaded
Jiang Yanxi sneered and said, "I was abducted into the palace by him for no apparent reason, and now I can't even make a piece of clothing for my father?"
When the maid heard that the dress was made for Minister Jiang, she breathed a sigh of relief and advised, "Your Majesty, why are you so stubborn? Young Master Lu has been demoted to the border. If you want him to have a better life, try to obey His Majesty."
Hearing this, Jiang Yanxi felt no pain when the needle pierced her fingertips. The blood that spilled out left a dark spot on her robe. She closed her eyes, tears falling from her eyes: "It was me who hurt Brother Lu..."
The maid was almost crying with fear: "Madam, just think of it as for Mr. Lu's good and for your own good, just forget about him and don't mention his name anymore. If His Majesty finds out, what will we do?"
Jiang Yanxi closed her eyes as if accepting her fate, "Maybe one day he will get tired of me and let me go."
At this moment, a palace maid's voice came from outside, reporting that Minister Jiang had arrived.
Minister Jiang wore the purple official robe of the third rank and had a long beard, which made him look even more elegant.
The maid quickly retreated.
Jiang Yanxi looked at her father and cried bitterly.
After she finished crying, she told him the real reason why she had sent the letter to ask Minister Jiang to come to the palace.
"Father, I accidentally heard His Majesty was angry a few days ago. It seemed that the Chu family had committed something. I was afraid that you would be implicated."
Minister Jiang said, "The Chu family only has the third master serving as an official in the court. What could possibly happen to your majesty when he takes office in Yongzhou? There are many ministers with the surname Chu in the court. My son is overly worried."
Jiang Yanxi shook her head: "I heard His Majesty say the three words Chu Changping with my own ears."
Minister Jiang couldn't help but frown. Thinking of his own daughter who died in Xizhou, his face changed drastically. Could it be that the warrior Chu Changping was impulsive and ran to collect Jiang Yanyi's body
He said angrily: "That warrior, is he really going to take advantage of his momentary rage and drag everyone down with him?"
Jiang Yanxi had a hunch that Minister Jiang was hiding something from her, so after some detailed questioning, she learned that the emperor had secretly sent her younger sister to the Xizhou camp to be a prostitute.
Minister Jiang sighed: "It is unfortunate for our family. That rebellious girl has been a vicious person since she was a child. Even after her death, she still makes the family uneasy..."
Jiang Yanxi did not respond. She still vividly remembered the day when her younger sister framed her and she almost lost her virginity to the son of the Minister of Works. She thought her younger sister was at most punished by her father to kneel in the ancestral hall. After all, every time she was wronged over the years, this was the heaviest punishment her younger sister had ever received.
But I didn't expect that my younger sister would end up like this.
No wonder Jiang Chu went crazy.
Thinking of his aunt who had passed away many years ago but was often scolded by Jiang Chu, Jiang Yanxi didn't know why he said such words: "Father, if His Majesty really wants to punish the Chu family, I'm afraid you will be implicated. Otherwise... you can give mother a letter of divorce?"
Minister Jiang was stunned. He had been married to Jiang Chu for nearly twenty years. Although they had quarreled all the time, he had never thought of divorcing her.
Seeing that Minister Jiang was silent, Jiang Yanxi smiled bitterly, "Xier was disrespectful. After all, mother is my third brother's biological mother. What Xier said was inconsiderate. If His Majesty wants to vent his anger on you, Xier will definitely try her best to deal with it."
Minister Jiang felt heartbroken when he thought of Jiang Chu's harsh treatment of Jiang Yanxi over the years and the beating he received from the eunuchs on the way here.
"My son, I know that it's not easy for you in the palace, and you have suffered a lot at home these years. But your mother is not in her right mind now, and if I divorce her now, people will criticize me."
Jiang Yanxi said: "Xier is not suffering, Xier just feels guilty. Now that Xier has entered the palace, she cannot fulfill her filial duty in front of father. Father, Yanhong is the maid left to me by my aunt. Now she is past the age of arranged marriage, and I can't take care of her in the palace. In the past, when mother was angry, she also blocked a lot of punishments for me."
Jiang Yanxi raised her eyes: "Father, the only thing I am worried about now is Yanhong. Please take care of her for me when you are at home... I want to ask you for the title of aunt for Yanhong."
Minister Jiang had not expected his daughter, who had always been well-behaved and sensible, to say such a thing, and he immediately scolded her, "Nonsense!"
Jiang Yanxi's tone also became tough: "Yanhong admires you, and I don't want her to be ordered around like a servant anymore. Just think of her as a freeloader in your home."
The conversation ended unpleasantly.
After Minister Jiang left, Jiang Yanxi took off the jade pendant hanging around her neck, stroked it with her fingers, and shed tears secretly: "Aunt, I will get back what Jiang Chu owes you bit by bit for you."
The jade pendant was given to her by Minister Jiang some years ago and was said to be a relic of her aunt.
Minister Jiang said that her aunt died shortly after giving birth to her, but Jiang Chu hated her aunt so much that she called her a bitch. Jiang Yanxi was sure that Madam Jiang had something to do with her aunt's death.
Jiang Chu cared most about her status, so she took away her status as Madam Jiang.
Making his maid become Minister Jiang's concubine was just the first step.
***
Western state.
When Jiang Yanyi and Li Tou'er left, the Black Armor Guards on the main street of the Protectorate had already withdrawn.
Shops along the street also opened one after another.
Jiang Yanyi asked: "What happened just now?"
It was also the first time that Zhao Dabao saw such a scene, and he said he had never encountered such a scene before.
"It's just a coincidence today. Don't you think these teahouses and restaurants are still open?"
His words seemed to imply that he was afraid that Jiang Yanyi would not rent the shop.
Jiang Yanyi thought about it and felt that at this price, he would not be able to find such a place even if he ran all over Xizhou City. What Zhao Dabao said was also true. Aren’t there other shops on this street as well
She told Zhao Dabao that she would rent the shop, and Zhao Dabao smiled happily and gave her a box of rouge.
Being a cook, one needs to have a keen sense of taste and a keen nose. Jiang Yanyi immediately discovered that the scent of the rouge was similar to the scent of the caravan she smelled at the city gate.
Could it be that all the rouge in Zhao Dabao's shop was bought by that caravan
Jiang Yanyi didn't ask much about other people's business.
After leaving the shop, Zhao Touer had to rush back to the east of the city to check the purchased ingredients, which would take quite a while.
Jiang Yanyi wanted to buy some things, so he and Zhao Touer went their separate ways and agreed to meet in the east of the city at 3 p.m.
Every autumn rain brings a chill. Since it rained yesterday, the weather has become even colder. Jiang Yanyi was woken up by the cold several times last night.
She went to the clothing store and bought two sets of thick clothes, one for herself and one for Qiu Kui.
He also bought two cakes of good tea, planning to give one to Zhao Tou'er to thank him for taking him to see the house, and the other to Chef Li to thank him for taking care of him these days.
As it got closer to noon, more and more people started going to restaurants on the street.
Jiang Yanyi wanted to do some market research at the same time, so he carried a lot of bags into a restaurant that was doing good business and ordered their signature dishes.
Private room on the second floor.
There were already several wine jars at Feng Shuo's feet.
He finished the jar of wine in his hand like drinking water. Apart from the burning sensation in his throat, he couldn't taste anything else.
Feng Shuo threw away the wine jar in his hand, his throat hoarse from the strong liquor: "Waiter, serve some wine!"
When the waiter came in and saw the wine jars all over the floor, he was shocked. Then he looked at the gentleman inside and saw that he didn't look drunk at all. He thought that this guest really had a big appetite, so he quickly carried several more jars of wine upstairs.
After opening the seal of the jar, Feng Shuo tilted his head back and drank it as he did before, but this time most of the wine spilled out and he choked and coughed.
He seemed to... taste alcohol!
He originally thought that it was Huotouying of Xizhou Camp who restored his sense of taste, but he had tried it in the morning and it was not Huotouying's fault.
Feng Shuo's seat was next to the window. When he looked up, he saw the cook with a painted face sitting downstairs, gnawing on a pig's trotter.
The fireman's clothes were eye-catching, and he had seen Jiang Yanyi several times, so he could naturally recognize her from her coal-like face.
Feng Shuo frowned.
He went to Huotouying this morning and didn't see her. He also asked the cooks in the kitchen, and they said she had taken leave because she was not feeling well.
How come someone who took a leave of absence showed up in this restaurant to eat pig's trotters
An absurd idea suddenly flashed through Feng Shuo's mind.
My sense of taste suddenly recovered. Could it be related to this cook
Jiang Yanyi was devouring a pork elbow when he suddenly felt a gaze that made his scalp tingle.
She looked up and saw the military advisor walking towards her at great speed with a light in his eyes that made her hair stand on end.
The author has something to say: Jiang Yanyi (scared to death): I’m going to die, what should I do!