Jiang Yanyi considered letting Bing Shao be the manager of the noodle shop, and Chu Zhong would have to take care of Chu Yangui most of the time, so she hired a waiter through the introduction of Chef Yao and also hired a chef to cook in the kitchen, so that Aunt Guo could come out to help her.
That day, she was calculating the expenses in the accounts when Chu Changping suddenly came to the store.
It was afternoon and there were not many customers in the store. A few kittens were napping by the brazier under the counter. It was a rare moment of peace and quiet.
Jiang Yanyi poured Chu Changping a cup of hot tea: "Why is uncle here?"
Chu Changping avoided the main point and said, "You and Yan Gui have been out for a while. The old lady misses you. If you have time these days, you can go back to see her."
Jiang Yanyi said, "I recently made a new dish, and I was planning to go over and make it for my grandmother to try."
Chu Changping nodded and said, "I will be away from Xizhou for a while. I am afraid that she will worry. You and Yan Gui should work harder. Go over and talk to her from time to time to relieve her boredom. This will make her happier."
Jiang Yanyi asked in surprise: "Where did my uncle go after leaving Xizhou?"
Xizhou was ruled by Liaonan King Feng Shuo. Even though the south was in chaos, no one dared to come to the north for fear of offending Feng Shuo and ending up losing more than they gained.
Chu Changping looked at his niece and finally told the truth: "Chengmao took Chengbai from Yongzhou to Xizhou. On the way, Chengbai's concubine was delayed in giving birth and was caught up by the imperial court's pursuers. Now they are all in the hands of the imperial court. I took people to rob the prisoner car."
There was so much information in Chu Changping's words that Jiang Yanyi took a while to digest it.
Chu Chengbai is the eldest son of Uncle Chu. As Chu Changping is the only one in the Chu family serving as an official in the court, Chu Chengbai failed the imperial examinations several times. Uncle Chu entrusted Chu Chengbai to Chu Changping, saying that Chu Changping should take Chu Chengbai to gain more experience and broaden his horizons.
"Your grandmother must not know about this. It would be a problem if something bad happens to her." Chu Changping instructed Jiang Yanyi.
Jiang Yanyi finally understood the real purpose of Chu Changping's visit. She and Chu Yangui often went back to see Old Madam Chu to distract her attention so that she would not worry too much.
There is no wall that is impenetrable. If the news that Chu Changping went to rescue Chu Chengmao and Chu Chengbai reaches the ears of Old Madam Chu, the death of Madam Jiang has already dealt a great blow to the old lady. I am afraid that she will be so anxious that she will fall ill.
Older people can’t stand the tossing and turning.
Jiang Yanyi concealed his worries and said, "Don't worry, uncle. I will definitely go there more often to spend more time with my grandmother."
Chu Changping sighed, "Your aunt is incapable of managing things, your uncle and second uncle are only good at fighting among themselves, and your cousins are not bad-tempered, but they have not experienced enough to take charge of the overall situation. I will leave this afternoon. If anything happens to the Chu family, you will have to go over and take care of it. I have left about a hundred guards to guard the house. If you are short of manpower, you can transfer some people from there."
"There won't be any trouble here in Xizhou. Uncle, you go and rescue them. Bring more people with you and be careful on the road." A layer of worry covered Jiang Yanyi's brows.
Chu Changping nodded, looking at his niece's beautiful appearance, and thinking that this news was sent by the Liaonan King's people in an urgent manner for 800 miles, he finally said what he had not been able to say before: "The Liaonan King sent people to reinforce. Yi, your mother passed away early, and there are some things that your uncle should not tell you, but your uncle is afraid that if she never comes back, no one will tell you these things in the future. The Liaonan King is a hero, and he still has a long way to go in this life. It is good that he is loyal to you now, but if this affection fades in the future, there will inevitably be new people."
"Don't be like your mother, who tortured herself all her life. You should be more open-minded when the time comes. Whether it's saving some money or doing business to build your own connections, these are your ways out in the future."
This is also the reason why he never interfered when he saw Jiang Yanyi opening a restaurant after he found Xizhou. After experiencing so many changes, Chu Changping knew that he could not protect the Chu family for a lifetime. Only by letting the younger generations succeed on their own can they have a smooth life in the second half of their lives.
Chu Changping has never felt happy that his niece is favored by the King of Liaonan. After all, which king, prince, general and minister is not a playboy
You may say you like someone today, but you may find someone new tomorrow.
Madam Jiang had been married to Minister Jiang for all these years. Whenever she got mad, she would run back to her parents’ home, and her family would still scold Minister Jiang. In the future, if Jiang Yanyi got mad in the palace, they wouldn’t even be able to scold him.
Privately, Chu Changping would rather find a steady young man with an ordinary family background for Jiang Yanyi.
But it’s too late to put all this into practice.
Seeing that Jiang Yanyi's eyes were slightly red because of what he said, Chu Changping quickly stopped talking: "Uncle is gone."
Jiang Yanyi wiped the corners of his eyes with a handkerchief and chased after him: "Uncle, be careful on your journey."
Chu Changping got on his horse and waved to Jiang Yanyi: "It's cold outside, go back to the house."
After saying this, he pulled the reins, turned the horse's head, and gently squeezed the horse's belly. The horse carried him into the vast snow. The black cloak behind him hung on the horse's back like a flag.
**
With such a big thing happening to the Chu family, Jiang Yanyi naturally had to put other things aside and explained the store's affairs in detail that day.
When preparing to let Yang Xiu go to the car dealership to rent a car, Feng Shuo seemed to have guessed that Chu Changping would tell her this, and had already asked the coachman from the mansion to drive two carriages to the door of the store.
However, the carriage used this time was much more low-key, and its specifications looked no different from those of an ordinary carriage.
Chu Zhong carried Chu Yangui onto the carriage. Because the space in the carriage was small, Jiang Yanyi let Chu Zhong and Chu Yangui ride in the same carriage and went to the carriage at the back.
She was shocked when she lifted the car curtain and saw the person sitting inside.
Feng Shuo was wearing a dark brocade robe, his long hair was tied up high with a jade crown, and his face was elegant and handsome. Only when he saw Jiang Yanyi did his narrow and long phoenix eyes soften a little, and he uttered two words: "Come in."
Jiang Yanyi was afraid of being seen, so he quickly lowered the curtain and got into the carriage: "Are you planning to go to the Chu family with me?"
Feng Shuo raised his eyebrows slightly: "If you don't mind, it's not impossible for me to just go there."
Seeing Jiang Yanyi frown, he stopped joking and said truthfully: "The Turkic prince escaped from prison and is now being hunted in the city. Just in case, the Xizhou camp must be ready for war at any time, and I have to go there to deploy defenses. Your two cousins are now being escorted back to the capital by the governor of Danzhou. I have sent three thousand elite cavalry to go with your uncle to rescue them. There are risks, of course, but the chances of success are higher."
Jiang Yanyi didn't expect that he came to see her specially just to tell her these things to put her at ease.
But what Feng Shuo said about the Turkic prince's prison escape quickly reminded her of the plot of the original novel.
Logically speaking, Jiang Yanxi should have arrived in Xizhou by now. If she could not escape fatalism, Jiang Yanxi and the Turkic prince would most likely have met.
If Jiang Yanxi wanted to go from the capital to Xizhou, he must have a household registration document. Shangshu Jiang was the Minister of Revenue, so forging a household registration document would not be a problem.
In this era, transportation was not convenient, and those who traveled all over the country were generally merchants. Ordinary people would not easily travel far. Besides, Xizhou was bitterly cold, and even those who fled from the south were unwilling to settle here.
In this way, it would be much easier to screen out the people who had come to Xizhou from the capital recently.
If we find Jiang Yanxi, perhaps we can capture the Turkic prince.
Jiang Yan had no idea how to tell Feng Shuo the news, and was worried that the two countries would go to war if the Turkic prince escaped back to Turkic, so he could only bite the bullet and say, "Perhaps we can check the people who came from the capital recently?"
Feng Shuo frowned slightly, thinking that it was Chu Changping who told her the truth about how the Turkic prince was able to sneak into Xizhou City.
Although Feng Shuo trusted Jiang Yanyi, Chu Changping had been in the army for many years and should know that he should not tell others about important military matters.
He wanted to marry Jiang Yanyi because he knew that it was difficult for women to live in this world. Without a strong family, they would be easily looked down upon. He was willing to give opportunities to capable members of the Chu family and help Jiang Yanyi build a strong family.
But if they were just a bunch of mediocre people, he would not joke about the lives of his soldiers.
Feng Shuo asked: "Did your uncle tell you that the Turkic prince had connections with the capital?"
Jiang Yanyi didn't expect that she had hit the mark by accident, but Feng Shuo's question might be a secret that couldn't be passed on. She hesitated for a moment and said, "I just heard him mention it to his subordinates when I was delivering soup to my uncle at the Chu family."
Feng Shuo didn't say anything in front of Jiang Yanyi, but he had already decided that when Chu Changping came back, he must warn Chu Changping. Jiang Yanyi could have overheard it accidentally when he delivered the soup, and someone with ulterior motives would surely have been able to overhear the news.
Jiang Yanyi was afraid that what he said might backfire, so he secretly glanced at Feng Shuo.
Her worry and fear were written all over her face. Feng Shuo softened his heart a little and said, "The south is in chaos. If there is another war in the north, it is not what the court wants to see."
Just after saying this, Feng Shuo suddenly paused.
The imperial court does not want to fight in the north, but the rebels who are being besieged do hope so.
The chaos in the north dispersed the imperial forces, giving the rebels in the south a chance to catch their breath.
People from the Fan family had contacted the Turkic prince before, so it is not impossible for them to cooperate again.
Feng Shuo shouted to the driver: "Stop!"
The coachman was a member of the Feng family and obeyed Feng Shuo's orders. He let out a "whoa" and stopped the carriage.
Their carriage was behind and suddenly stopped. Chu Yangui, who was in a carriage in front, couldn't notice anything.
Before Jiang Yanyi could react, Feng Shuo's big palm rubbed his face several times. There was some joy in his voice: "I will go to work first, and reward you later."
When Feng Shuo lifted the curtain of the carriage and left, Jiang Yanyi was still in a daze.
He had just denied her words a second ago, so what did he suddenly think of now
There seemed to be still some warmth from his fingertips kneading her face, and Jiang Yanyi touched his face uncomfortably.
Fortunately, she didn't wear rouge, otherwise, after being rubbed by him, her face would have become a clown.
**
The carriage stopped in front of the Chu Mansion. Chu Zhong carried Chu Yangui inside and the housekeeper came to greet them.
Jiang Yanyi asked him, "Are your grandma and grandpa doing well these days?"
Perhaps Chu Changping had said something before he left, the housekeeper was much more respectful to the two siblings than before, "To reply to the second young lady, the master is in good health, but the old lady has a poor appetite these days and can't eat much."
Jiang Yanyi and Chu Yangui were both included in the Chu family's genealogy, and the ranking between the sisters naturally changed.
Chu Shubao is the eldest, Jiang Yanyi is the second, Chu Jiabao from the second room is the third, and Chu Huibao is the youngest.
As they were talking, they had already arrived at the courtyard where Old Madam Chu lived. The old woman waiting at the door lifted the heavy windproof curtain. Chu Zhong carried Chu Yangui into the house, and Jiang Yanyi followed closely behind.
A charcoal basin was burning in the room, making it warm. Old Madam Chu was half-sitting on the kang, with a few royal blue pillows with floral patterns behind her. Madam Jiang's death might have been too much of a blow to her, as her hair, which had been mostly gray before, was now mostly white. She wore a headband inlaid with an emerald on her forehead, and although she was watching the three sisters of the Chu family embroidering beside her, she was obviously not in good spirits.
Seeing Jiang Yanyi and Chu Yangui, Mrs. Chu smiled: "I was nagging the third child yesterday, saying that you two children would not come back to see me when you went out, and you are back today!"
She patted the cushion beside her and said to Jiang Yanyi, "Come sit here, grandma."
The three sisters of the Chu family were also looking at Jiang Yanyi and his brother. Chu Jiabao, because of her biological mother's divorce, only glanced at them and looked away, with unhappiness written all over her face. Chu Huibao was still young and ignorant.
Chu Shubao was a few years older and a generous and plump person. Seeing that Jiang Yanyi's cloak was steaming from the heat, she smiled and said to Old Madam Chu, "Grandma, let Sister Yanyi warm herself by the fire first. It's been so cold all the way here, I'm afraid her hands and feet are cold."
Madam Chu smiled and said, "You should be more careful. Yi Yatou and Yan Gui should warm their hands."
Chu Yangui didn't say a word except for answering a few questions from Old Madam Chu. His crow-feather-like eyelashes drooped, half covering his eyes, and his skin was as cold and white as porcelain.
Chu Jiabao glared at them secretly, and Chu Yangui suddenly raised his head and locked his eyes on Chu Jiabao. His dark eyes were cold and filled with a sense of hostility.
Chu Jiabao was startled and looked away in panic.
Jiang Yanyi was talking to Madam Chu and didn't notice this. Chu Yangui had difficulty walking and couldn't sit in front of the charcoal basin, so Jiang Yanyi gave him a hot water bottle.
Madam Chu kept on talking: "I don't know what the third son is busy with. He rarely eats at home these days. I asked him when Mao and Bo would arrive in Xizhou, and he just said they were on the way. I dreamt last night that Mao and Bo were in trouble, and I feel uneasy all the time."
Jiang Yanyi was also uneasy, but she still comforted Madam Chu: "Grandma, don't worry too much. Cousin Chengmao has been practicing martial arts with his uncle since he was young. He will be fine."
Madam Chu tapped her forehead and said, "You still call him cousin, but he is your brother now."
Jiang Yanyi smiled embarrassedly. It took her a while to change the way she addressed him.
The grandparents and grandchildren chatted for a while, and it was time to cook. Jiang Yan thought that Mrs. Chu had a poor appetite, so he said, "Grandma, I learned a new dish from the chef in the antique soup shop recently. I'll cook it for you to try."
When she heard that she was going to cook, Chu Huibao, who was holding the embroidery frame, immediately raised her head and said eagerly, "There is fish in the kitchen."
The pickled fish that Jiang Yanyi made last time was so delicious that the girl had been thinking about it for a long time. Unfortunately, the food made by the chef in the mansion didn’t taste the same.
Jiang Yanyi smiled and said, "What a coincidence, I also brought a fish."
She also brought the iron tray and oven for grilling fish.
Fishing in winter is not easy. Her store does not have a stable supply of goods. Occasionally, she buys fish just to cook for herself.
In order to eat grilled fish, Jiang Yanyi even asked a blacksmith to make an iron tray specifically for grilling fish.
Jiang Yanyi went to the kitchen. Chu Huibao was only concerned with eating and wanted to go over to see what was going on, but was called back by Chu Shubao. Instead, Chu Shubao went to the kitchen with Jiang Yanyi in the name of helping.
Old Madam Chu was a little tired and planned to take a short rest, so she didn't keep her granddaughters in the room anymore.
Chu Huibao was not allowed to go to the kitchen, so she pouted and looked unhappy.
As soon as she left the room, Chu Jiabao from the second room said to her sarcastically, "You are a silly girl who only knows how to eat. You don't even remember how your mother was punished."
Chu Huibao stared at Chu Jiabao with her black and white eyes: "Sister said that it was mother who did something wrong."
Chu Jiabao sneered: "It's in vain that your aunt has fought so hard for you two sisters. Chu Shubao is heartless and always cheats on you. You are stupid and your brain must have been eaten by a dog!"
Chu Huibao's eyes turned red with tears falling from her eyes. "Third sister, you are too much. My eldest sister said that you lost your mother, so she told me not to argue with you about everything."
Chu Jiabao sneered and said, "Who caused me to lose my mother?"
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Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution during 2020-12-21 23:27:57~2020-12-22 23:59:44~
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