Border Cook

Chapter 651: Attitude and Means (4K Large Chapter)

"The so-called experience and growth is your business as a man. It has nothing to do with Lan'er. I might as well explain it to you today. If possible, I don't mind Lan'er being so naive and straightforward all her life and not having to consider anything!"

Don’t say that a sword’s sharpness comes from sharpening, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold. The reason why a sword is a sword is that its material is different from that of ordinary objects, and the reason why plum blossoms are fragrant is because they are plum blossoms. Whether it is bitter or cold, it will still be fragrant.

The reason why people often say that one cannot become a man without experiencing suffering is simply because suffering is unavoidable and they have to use this to comfort themselves.

However, this does not mean that suffering is worthy of being praised, nor is there any need to deliberately create suffering when there is no suffering.

The Empress Dowager understands these principles and hopes that the Emperor can understand them as well.

Seeing the Queen Mother was furious, the Emperor, although he did not quite agree, hurriedly said, "Mother, please calm down. I know I was wrong and will never do that again."

Seeing this, the Queen Mother sighed slightly.

As the ruler of a country, the emperor is in charge of the entire world and holds the power of life and death over the people. He has a lot of things to consider. It is not easy for him to admit his mistakes so sincerely at this time.

"It is a great virtue to correct one's mistakes," said the Queen Mother. "Lan'er has suffered a great deal of injustice today. You should also show some appreciation, lest the child has a grudge in the future and no longer wants to be close to you, her uncle."

"Besides, logically speaking, I shouldn't interfere in state affairs, but this old woman has come to the capital these past two days and has been talking about the good things about some people in my ears all day long. I think this old woman has always been very picky, and those who can catch her eye must not be bad people."

"Besides, Lu Qiyan was recommended by Honghui, so he must be a loyal and patriotic person. As for some of the things involved, we should not be too concerned about them. If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. If many things are left vague, it will be good for you, me, and everyone. Isn't it a happy thing?"

"Yes, I understand." The emperor nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, mother."

"I am naturally relieved when the emperor does something. The previous dynasty was busy, and the peace delegation has been resting at the post station for two days. Whatever the emperor plans to do, it is time to act early."

The Queen Mother smiled and said, "Don't delay this year's New Year's Eve banquet."

The emperor was relieved to see the empress dowager smiling, but he was also very curious, "Mother, you always feel that the New Year's Eve banquet is very tiring because you have to face the ladies and kowtow to each other. Every time the New Year's Eve approaches, you always feel like you are facing a great enemy. Why are you looking forward to the New Year's Eve banquet so much this year? Is there anything exciting?"

"Of course it's a happy thing." The Queen Mother smiled knowingly, and even deliberately kept it a secret, "But the Emperor doesn't need to ask so clearly, just prepare the key to the storehouse, and then you can take out rare treasures from the storehouse at any time to add to the makeup."

Add makeup?

The emperor was slightly startled.

There are not many people in the world who can add to his makeup.

But looking around, there is only one person of the right age, and that is Fan Jinglan.

Fan Jinglan actually agreed to choose a son-in-law?
And seeing how happy my mother is, it's probably not just as simple as agreeing to choose a son-in-law. Maybe she even has the man she likes.

"This is something that people are looking forward to." The emperor laughed happily. "When the wedding comes, all the things in this storehouse will be available for Lan'er to choose from."

"Now you are more like an uncle." Seeing the emperor being so generous, the queen mother smiled more and more, and stood up, "Okay, okay, you have been busy all day, go back and rest as soon as possible, I am also going to rest."

"Yes, I'll take my leave."

The emperor stood up and went to Chongyang Palace.

After arriving at Chongyang Palace, Ding Dahai asked someone to prepare tea for the emperor while saying, "Your Majesty, the Third Prince's memorial."

"Hmm." The emperor took it and opened it to examine it for a moment before closing it again and placing it in front of him. "I remember that the day before yesterday, when I was in court, the censor Tan Qingfeng reported that the prefect of Ronghe City, Ruan Zhiheng, had secretly opened a mine, enriched himself, and exploited the people."

"I remember it, it seems so." Ding Dahai nodded.

"Don't you think this is interesting?" The emperor chuckled. "It took more than two months from the time I received the letter to the time An'er investigated the key points of the matter. During this period, no one has ever made any judgment on the matter of Meiling."

"Just when An'er found out some clues, someone commented on this matter. Don't you think it's a bit coincidental?"

"I do feel that something is not right about what Your Majesty said. It seems that those people have very good information." Ding Dahai said.

"Not only is he well-informed, but he is also very clever." The emperor frowned.

Moreover, it’s not just the Wen family.

Take Xiao Luoan's memorial for example. It was sent urgently over 400 miles. Logically, it should have been delivered to him long ago, but it arrived so late.

I'm afraid the purpose is to deliberately suppress the situation so that the people from the Wen family will jump out first and make the Wen family's actions seem a little funny.

Xiao Luoan may not have this intention, but the Cui family may think this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Oh, do these noble families really think that he, the emperor, is just a decoration that they can manipulate at will?
In that case, let them see his attitude and methods.

The emperor thought for a moment, raised his hand and said, "Send someone to pass on my oral order. Xiao Luoan's urgent memorial from 400 miles away failed to arrive in Beijing on time. This is due to the negligence of the post stations along the way. Send someone to investigate this matter carefully and make sure to find the culprit."

"In addition, I remember that Tan Qingfeng, as an imperial censor, should have advised the emperor on his mistakes and the ministers on their faults. He should have supervised the ministers to abide by the law and etiquette, but Tan Qingfeng himself kept a concubine and favored his concubine over his wife at home. He is unworthy of being a husband and a minister, let alone a censor. It would be better for him to give up his position as soon as possible, so as not to delay the truly useful people from serving the country."

This move is intended to both warn the Cui family and make the Wen family look bad.

I just don't know if the Cui family and the Wen family will just sit there and wait for death.

It looks like this year's New Year's Eve and New Year will be very lively.

Ding Dahai smiled and replied, "Yes."

The next day, Xia Mingyue got up early and started to get busy. The food in the capital is rich, and many ingredients that were difficult to obtain in Jinqiu County before are available here, and they are extremely fresh.

This aroused Xia Mingyue's interest, and she wanted to make breakfast for Lu Qiyan and Xia Yunji herself.

In addition, because I had an appointment with Fan Jinglan to go out for a stroll in the capital, I also wanted to cook some food for her.

There's no reason to let the tour guide go hungry, right?
Xia Mingyue quickly prepared breakfast and brought it to the table.

The soft and sweet milk-flavored pancakes are made from milk and flour. They are small and exquisite, and you can eat one in one bite.

The steamed rice cake is made with rice paste and flour with old yeast, and decorated with raisins and black sesame seeds. It is soft and fluffy, with a delicate taste and a strong rice aroma.

Mix the egg liquid with carrot and cucumber cubes, season with a little salt, and pour into an oiled pan. When the bottom of the egg liquid begins to solidify slightly while the egg liquid on the top is still in liquid state, roll up the egg skin from the edge little by little to form a thick egg roll. Cut into small pieces, serve on a plate and eat.

The egg roll has a slightly crispy crust, while the inside is tender and full of egg flavor. It is very satisfying to eat.

The dough is kneaded from the hot flour and rolled into small thin round cakes, then fully baked in a pan and rolled with shredded pork tenderloin, spinach fried vermicelli and other dishes, and rolled into small round rolls. When eating, the dough is chewy yet soft, the shredded pork tenderloin is fresh and tender, the spinach is sweet, the vermicelli is smooth and delicious!

The soup-filled meat buns are made with enough bone broth mixed into the meat filling. After being steamed, the bun skin is soft and the fragrant gravy almost flows out from the corners of your mouth.

In addition, Xia Mingyue even made a pot of yam and hibiscus soup.

Peel and crush the iron stick yam, add chopped mushrooms, carrots, green vegetables, etc., stir-fry in a pan with a little oil for a while, then add boiling water and simmer for a while until the soup in the pot becomes sticky, then add beaten eggs and season with salt. Drizzle some sesame oil to enhance the flavor before serving.

This yam and hibiscus soup tastes extremely delicate because it is made with fresh vegetables. Every sip is full of fragrance. It is an excellent enjoyment to pour the entire bowl of soup into your stomach while it is still slightly hot.

Considering that Lu Qiyan and Xia Yunji were both big eaters, Xia Mingyue prepared twice the amount of food and soup that an average person would eat.

But even so, not only was the entire table of breakfast eaten up, but Lu Qiyan and Xia Yunji were still not satisfied. They felt their stomachs were not completely full yet, so they ate a few of the meat buns that Xia Mingyue had prepared for Wu Jin.

Wu Jin: "..."

Although it is not a human, some people are real dogs.

So, after finishing breakfast, Lu Qiyan and Xia Yunji went out very quickly.

One is that he needs to get to the post station earlier, and the other is that he is being chased by Wu Jin behind him.

After Wu Jin chased the two men out of the house, he continued to curse and bark for a long time until Xia Mingyue took out more soup dumplings, then he stopped.

This incident made Xia Mingyue sigh.

It seems that the appetite of these two people is still steadily increasing, so we need to prepare more food in the future.

After breakfast, the two of them went to the post station again. Xia Mingyue packed up, prepared food, and waited for Fan Jinglan to come.

As the sun rose higher, Fan Jinglan arrived as promised, excitedly.

Xia Mingyue brought Yinqiao on the carriage and handed the prepared food to Fan Jinglan, "Newly made water chestnut cake and red date walnut cake, eat them on the way."

"Thank you, sister." Fan Jinglan hurriedly took the food, opened the food box and put the two pastries into her mouth.

The water chestnut cake is chewy and tender, while the red date and walnut cake is soft. They have two completely different tastes, but both are slightly sweet, with an overall fresh taste, and are both very delicious pastries.

Fan Jinglan was eating with great pleasure, her cheeks were bulging with food, and she didn't even have time to talk to Xia Mingyue.

"Eat slowly." Xia Mingyue smiled dotingly, "Looking at the way you eat, could it be that you haven't had breakfast?"

"I did have breakfast, but it was in the Queen's palace. During the breakfast, an aunt in the palace whispered a few words in the Queen's ear. The Queen's face suddenly changed, and then she said she had something to deal with, and left. I didn't feel like eating anymore, so I just left."

Fan Jinglan's words were a little unclear because she had food in her mouth. After she swallowed all the food in her mouth, she frowned and said, "This is the first time I have seen the Queen's face look so bad. I don't know what happened."

"But it's probably not something that can't be solved. When I came out of the palace, I saw the Empress coming out of the Emperor's Chongyang Palace. She looked calm and relieved. I guess everything is fine."

"It was me. I didn't have a full breakfast and I was in a hurry when I came out. Ying'er didn't have time to prepare some snacks. I was already starving. Fortunately, the cakes prepared by my sister saved my life."

As Fan Jinglan spoke, she ate both cakes and drank some of the milk tea prepared by Xia Mingyue. She then let out a long sigh and rubbed her now chubby belly. "I'm full now. This way I'll have the energy to take my sister for a good stroll around the capital."

"That's what I thought, so I specially prepared these." Xia Mingyue smiled, "You have to be grateful to others. Since you have eaten my food, you have to lead the way for me and let me see the beautiful scenery of the capital."

"No problem, leave it to me!" Fan Jinglan straightened up and agreed readily. She just opened the curtain of the carriage and introduced to Xia Mingyue their current route, the streets they passed by, and the shops.

All the roads in the capital are horizontal and vertical, with roads running from east to west and streets running from north to south. They crisscross and divide the entire capital into small squares.

And now they were walking on Qinglong Street, one of the two most prosperous and spacious streets in the entire capital.

Qinglong Street is usually very busy with people and cars coming and going. Now that it is near the end of the year, it is even more crowded with people and cars, and it is even more lively.

On both sides of the road, three- or four-story buildings stand in rows, which is very spectacular. There are all kinds of shops, and the shop assistants greet and see off customers at the door with great courtesy.

Traveling on such a noisy and busy road, the carriage had a limited speed and could only move slowly, and Fan Jinglan took the opportunity to introduce the signature features of these shops.

"The Treasure Pavilion over there sells gold, silver and jewellery. I heard that many of the craftsmen who make jewellery for the Treasure Pavilion are masters or apprentices from the palace. Their craftsmanship is exquisite and not inferior to that of the palace. It is the shop that the dignitaries in the entire capital love to buy jewellery from the most. If it is an auspicious wedding day, it is difficult to make an appointment even half a year in advance."

Fan Jinglan smiled and said, "The Juxianglou over there is the largest spice shop in the entire capital. It has a complete range of spices, even those from the Jinwei Kingdom or the Dayu Kingdom. As long as you want, you can buy them."