Border Cook

Chapter 652: Entering the Palace (4K Large Chapter)

"Zuihuayan sells rouge and powder. Many of the royal perfumes and creams have substitutes here. Therefore, many concubines or maids of low status in the palace often ask people to buy various items from here."

"Jinyixuan, the most famous shop in the capital that makes clothes and sells fabrics..."

Fan Jinglan gave a detailed and eloquent introduction, which made Xia Mingyue's mouth open wide.

Sensing Xia Mingyue's reaction, Fan Jinglan stopped talking and tilted her head to ask, "What's wrong, sister?"

"When we were in Jinqiu County before, I rarely saw you going to shops on the street. I thought you didn't like shopping, so I didn't expect you to know so much about the shops." Xia Mingyue did not hide anything and told the truth directly.

"Well, I really don't like shopping everywhere." Fan Jinglan said with a smile.

"That……"

"After all, I live in the capital. It would be wrong if I didn't even know what was on the land beneath my feet. So I often ride my horse and stroll through the streets at night to get to know the entire capital." Fan Jinglan answered truthfully.

"So." Xia Mingyue understood immediately.

Given Fan Jinglan's personality, this is indeed something she can do.

Just imagine, the moonlight is bright, the stars are shining, and Fan Jinglan is dressed in fine clothes and riding a horse, galloping freely on the streets of the capital. How free and happy she must be.

but……

Wouldn't it seem a bit too weird?
After all, Xia Mingyue had heard too many stories about ghosts and cases along the way. When she imagined such a scene again, she felt a chill on her back.

In other words, the protagonist of the picture in her mind was Fan Jinglan, and Xia Mingyue felt somewhat relieved, otherwise, she might scream right now.

Xia Mingyue coughed lightly, "After listening to you talk about so much, I feel that every shop is very interesting. Why don't we go shopping?"

Jewelry, perfume, cosmetics, fabrics...

For the capital city, the most prosperous city in the entire Great Zhou Kingdom, these items that are not sold in other places can be called capital specialties, and are very suitable to be brought back to Jinqiu County to share with relatives and friends.

"Okay." Fan Jinglan agreed very readily and took Xia Mingyue to have a look around the Treasure Pavilion that was mentioned at the beginning.

Just as Fan Jinglan introduced, each of these is the best shop in the capital. Not only are the shops spacious and luxurious, the goods sold are exquisite and of high quality. Even the guys who are responsible for greeting customers are smiling and extremely enthusiastic.

But at the same time……

The price is also very beautiful.

A small hairpin would cost more than ten taels of silver, a pair of slightly heavy filigree bracelets would cost dozens of taels, a small jade pendant would cost over a hundred taels, and a set of head ornaments would cost at least a hundred taels or up to a thousand taels.

In the spice shop, there is a small cup of lily soothing incense, a small box of laurel thread perfume, a facial cream mixed with pearls in the spice shop, and the Suzhou embroidery and brocade in the Jinyixuan are even more valuable.

After a round of shopping, Xia Mingyue bought several hairpins and earrings with good value for money, good style and texture. She also bought two boxes of facial cream and hand cream from Zuihuayan.

In addition, he bought some cloth from Jinyixuan so that he could make new clothes for himself, Lu Qiyan, and Xia Yunji during his stay in the capital.

After all this spending, Xia Mingyue's wallet, which was quite bulging when she went out, was completely deflated. She refused to go to such stores again to prevent herself from being unable to resist further spending.

But it was still early and it was not time to go back, so Xia Mingyue suggested going to the bookstore to see if there were any novels or books they liked.

The bookstores in the capital were bigger than Xia Mingyue had imagined and had a wider variety of books, even storybooks.

Xia Mingyue read through the books carefully and found many storybooks that she had read before in Jinqiu County, but she also saw many books that she had never heard of but had very exciting plots. She even found "The Mistress of the House" written by Shen Shujun.

After some selection, Xia Mingyue bought more than ten books in one go, and contentedly asked Yin Qiao to help her load them onto the carriage.

As it was getting close to evening, Fan Jinglan and Xia Mingyue went together to taste the delicacies sold in a restaurant in the capital.

The two arrived at Wangyue Tower, the most famous and prosperous restaurant in the entire capital.

"Sister, let me tell you, the Yan Du Xian in Wang Yue Tower is the most delicious, and the signature dishes here, braised shark's fin and crab meat stewed lion's head, are also unforgettable..."

Fan Jinglan enthusiastically introduced Xia Mingyue, but when the carriage stopped, she suddenly stopped talking and said "Huh"

"What's wrong?" Xia Mingyue followed Fan Jinglan's gaze and looked outside.

"That carriage..." Fan Jinglan pointed at the carriage parked at the entrance of Wangyue Tower, "It seems to be my eldest brother's carriage."

Xia Mingyue knew that Fan Jinglan's elder brother Fan Hongyu was the current Minister of Revenue, so she said, "Maybe Lord Fan made an appointment with someone else to have dinner together."

"probably."

Fan Hongyu holds a high position and the Fan family is very popular, so socializing is naturally indispensable.

Fan Jinglan didn't care and just took Xia Mingyue's arm and went into Wangyue Tower to have dinner.

At this moment, in the private room on the third floor of Wangyue Tower, Fan Hongyu was having dinner with the guests he had invited today.

The people he invited to the banquet were not others, but Lu Qiyan and Xia Yunji.

"I'm sorry to have let Lord Fan spend money today." Lu Qiyan bowed and smiled.

"Commander Lu is too polite." Fan Hongyu smiled. "When I was at the border, I often wrote back to you, mentioning Commander Lu and Commander Xia's dedicated assistance."

"Although I have studied military tactics since I was young and have been loyal to my country, I am still young and have never had any actual combat experience. When I went to the border, my father and I were very worried. It can be said that Commander Lu and Commander Xia have made great contributions to my ability to gain a firm foothold in the Western Frontier Army and to win successive victories in the subsequent wars, as well as to facilitate peace talks between the Great Zhou Kingdom and the Jin Wei Kingdom."

"I'd like to invite you two to a simple meal to express my gratitude to you two." Fan Hongyu said as he stood up. "Thank you, Commander Lu and Commander Xia."

"Master Fan, you are too polite." Lu Qiyan and Xia Yunji also stood up and bowed in return. "Assisting the commander of the wing is our duty as the commander of the army. We really don't deserve the word 'thank you' that Master Fan said."

This statement is polite, but it also means making one's position clear.

Fan Hongyu had been in the officialdom for a long time, so he understood everything clearly. He smiled and said, "In that case, let's treat this meal as an acquaintance between us. As the host, I will invite you two to taste the delicious food of Wangyue Tower."

"In that case, we won't be polite." Lu Qiyan and Xia Yunji smiled and suggested that they order the dishes.

Fan Hongyu naturally did not refuse, and was even prepared to be slaughtered by them.

It’s just that Lu Qiyan and Xia Yunji ordered more common dishes.

Braised goose, rouge duck, cherry meat, steamed preserved meat...

It can be said that all of these dishes have plenty of meat, are enough to fill your stomach, and are very satisfying to eat.

After all, the Fan family was descended from military generals, and Fan Hongyu was educated in an informal manner. When it came to food, he did not pay much attention to the exquisite style and quality of the ingredients. Instead, he would use the word "enjoyable" to evaluate the quality of a meal.

Such dishes can be eaten with great relish, and are also very much in line with Fan Hongyu's taste. No wonder I can get along well with these two people, and I admire them very much. Now it seems that the temperaments of these two people are indeed likable.

At the very least, they should be liked by the Fan family.

The dishes on the table suit the tastes of three people at the same time, so this meal is destined to be a great pleasure.

The three of them finished most of the food on the table and were very satisfied.

But at this time, Lu Qiyan and Xia Yunji each ordered a dish.

Lu Qiyan ordered a crab meat ball dish, and Xia Yunji ordered an osmanthus shark's fin dish, and asked the waiter to pack it up and take it away.

Fan Hongyu knew that Xia Mingyue had also come to Beijing with Lu Qiyan and Xia Yunji, and the two of them behaved like this, obviously intending to bring the food back for him as a midnight snack.

When going out to eat, he can still think about his wife and sister...

Not bad!

Fan Hongyu had a greater respect for the two people, and their status in his heart also rose to a higher level.

Of course, it would be even better if they used their own money.

After all, his salary is not that much, and he does not have the extra subsidies from the Queen Mother and the Emperor like my younger sister does. Apart from the money given to the family, he does not have much to spend at will...

The three of them left Wangyue Tower and said goodbye at the door.

Lu Qiyan and Xia Yunji walked all the way back, and when they arrived home, Xia Mingyue had also returned home.

Seeing the two people coming back, he smiled and said, "Madam Fan and I went out shopping and just came back. Before we came back, I thought you two had dinner at home, so I brought you some food from Wangyue Tower."

"That's a coincidence. We just had dinner with Master Fan at the Moon Watching Tower, and we also brought food back for my wife."

After Lu Qiyan finished speaking, Xia Yunji echoed, "Yes, we brought the signature dishes of Wangyue Tower."

"What I brought is also Wangyue Tower's signature dish." Xia Mingyue asked someone to bring the food box over.

Lu Qiyan and Xia Yunji also opened their lunch boxes.

The former are crab meat lion head and osmanthus shark's fin.

The latter are osmanthus shark's fin and crab meat lion head.

Seeing that they were all food boxes brought back from Wangyue Tower, and the dishes inside the boxes were exactly the same, even the patterns of the bowls and plates were the same, the three of them laughed at the same time.

This is what is called telepathy.

This is simply an incredibly beautiful picture.

However, they all packed up the food and brought it back, and the three of them were quite full that night and could not have any midnight snack. They could only save these two sets of four dishes for breakfast the next morning.

Just as they were cleaning up the people who were eating, someone came home.

The visitor was from the palace, and he came to convey the Emperor and the Empress' oral order, ordering Xia Mingyue, Lu Qiyan and Xia Yunji to enter the palace for an audience at 3:15 am tomorrow.

Upon hearing this, the three of them immediately started to prepare.

This place is some distance away from the palace, and even if they take a carriage, it will take half an hour. Moreover, the three of them were not familiar with the procedures for entering the palace, and in order to avoid unexpected accidents on the road, they left home a full hour in advance.

Dress neatly, bring a hand warmer to warm your hands, and some small pieces of cake to fill your stomach in case of emergency.

But after arriving at the palace gate, they found that the rules for entering the palace were not as complicated as they had imagined.

There were palace servants at the door who received them and led them into the palace.

Lu Qiyan and Xia Yunji went to the main hall of Chongyang Palace where the emperor held court, while Xia Mingyue went to Fenghua Palace where the empress held court.

They didn't stop along the way. When they arrived at Fenghua Palace, it was already bright and Xia Mingyue was a little hungry.

He ate two bites of food when he got up in the morning, but he was inevitably nervous about entering the palace. Plus, eating and drinking too much would make him go to the toilet frequently, so he had to endure it a little.

But after walking so much along the way, and it was winter, I consumed a lot of energy, so my stomach naturally protested.

While staying in the side hall for a while, Xia Mingyue was thinking whether she should secretly take out the pastries wrapped in oil paper to fill the stomach with food.

But before she could start to implement this idea, there was a sudden noise outside.

"elder sister!"

Before anyone arrives, the sound comes first.

Xia Mingyue recognized that it was Fan Jinglan's voice and immediately became alert. After a moment, she indeed saw Fan Jinglan walking towards her with a little girl.

"The Queen said that my sister would enter the palace today. I have been waiting in the palace since early morning. Finally, my sister is here."

Fan Jinglan entered the side hall and took Xia Mingyue's arm affectionately, and did not forget to introduce her to Xiao Yufei beside her, "Xiao Wu, this is Madam Xia."

"Hello, Madam Xia." Xiao Yufei nodded and smiled. "I often heard Sister Lan talk about Madam Xia in the palace. Today I finally saw Madam Xia's true appearance. It is exactly the same as I imagined."

"Oh?" Fan Jinglan tilted her head and asked, "Then tell me, what kind of person is Madam Xia in your imagination?"

"Well..." Xiao Yufei laughed, "Like the Queen Mother."

Gentle and virtuous, yet strong and strong.

Xia Mingyue bowed and said, "I have met the Fifth Princess. I am ashamed to receive your praise."

"Madam Xia, please don't be so polite." Xiao Yufei reached out and helped Xia Mingyue up. "Since Sister Lan calls you sister, then you are my sister. There is absolutely no reason for sisters to be so distant. Sister Xia, just be casual. There is no need to pay so much attention to false formalities in the Queen Mother's palace."

"Yes." Xia Mingyue responded, a little less restrained than when she first arrived at the palace, but she did not dare to relax too much.

After all, the other party was being polite, so she couldn't take it seriously.

The three of them talked for a while, and when the palace servant brought back the message that breakfast was ready, the three of them went over together.

The breakfast in the palace was extremely sumptuous.

The crystal shrimp dumplings with a translucent skin and pink shrimps inside are fresh and fragrant. The millet rolls are soft and fragrant, fragrant and delicious, and even the soup is rich and delicious. The steamed pork ribs with taro in Lipu, thin skin and large fillings, with glutinous rice, mushrooms, pork...

There are various styles, colors, aromas and tastes, which are very appetizing.