Border Cook

Chapter 686: The Cruel Cauldron Falls from the Sky
"So, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is a smart man." Lu Qiyan smiled, "and he is quite resourceful."

After driving Li Junhao away, he did not immediately act like a superior, but instead made every effort to rescue Li Yanyang and restore his position as the king.

It can be said that he acted like a loyal minister and a filial son beautifully enough to make everyone, including Li Yanyang himself, believe that Li Juncheng was a kind, filial and righteous person.

When Li Juncheng successfully ascends the throne of the crown prince, no matter what accidents happen to Li Yanyang, others will never suspect that it was Li Juncheng who secretly did it.

After all, in the eyes of outsiders, Li Junhao is dead, and Li Juncheng is the only person who will inherit the throne in the future. It is only a matter of time for him to ascend to the throne, and he will never take such a risk at this time.

Furthermore, Li Yanyang had been ill before and had been placed under house arrest and treated harshly by Li Junhao for several days. Even when his condition suddenly worsened, he thought it was reasonable and there was nothing wrong with it. He even blamed Li Junhao for the death of the king.

Li Juncheng lost all the benefits but kept his reputation, and he was truly the biggest winner.

It has to be said that Li Juncheng seemed quite slow most of the time, but he was extremely smart in handling this matter.

Of course, it's cruel enough.

After all, the one who passed away was the king of Jinwei State, who was also his father.

But then again, the royal family is the most deserted place. They don't know what Li Juncheng has experienced since he was a child, or whether he has an irreconcilable hatred with Li Yanyang, so many times, they cannot judge Li Juncheng's behavior at this time.

It can only be said that Li Juncheng once had a private agreement with the Great Zhou Kingdom. Now that Li Juncheng is about to become the ruler of the Jinwei Kingdom, the agreement can be carried out as scheduled.

It is extremely good for the Great Zhou Kingdom.

Xia Yunji heard this and nodded, "Indeed."

However, the fact that they still have to stay in Jinweiguo for a long time is really annoying.

After all, what they do here every day is just staying in the villa, daily training and constant vigilance, which is really boring.

The most important thing is the food here in Jin Weiguo...

Although Li Juncheng paid great attention to them and sent them a lot of food, including cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, and everything else, and he often changed the food, the taste was...

At most, it just takes up the word "fresh", and has little to do with the word "delicious".

The longer he stayed in Jinweiguo and the more food he ate, the more Xia Yunji missed home and his sister.

He wanted to eat the meat buns, noodles, thousand-layer meat pie, pearl glutinous rice balls, tiger skin green peppers, stewed pork elbow, and braised pork belly made by his sister...

However, such thoughts must not stay in his mind for too long, otherwise the saliva in his mouth would flow out like a flood, and he would be unable to control it at all.

Even now, Xia Yunji only had this thought in his mind, and he felt his saliva surge. He swallowed it hastily and looked at Lu Qiyan, "Hey, brother-in-law, do you think my sister is still in the capital now?"

Lady?

Lu Qiyan paused, rolled his eyes and thought for a while, then took a sip of the hot tea in the cup, "If my estimate is correct, your sister should have walked half of the way now, and will reach Jinqiu County in a few days."

My sister and brother-in-law have a very good relationship and understand each other. Since my brother-in-law said so, it should be a good idea.

My sister is about to arrive in Jinqiu County!

Then after they return to the Western Frontier Army from Jinwei State, they will be able to see their sister soon.

"That's great." Xia Yunji suddenly became excited, "Sister is really thinking about me, so she wants to go home early."

Thinking about him?
Lu Qiyan curled his lips and said, "That's wrong. Madam is thinking about me. As for you, it's probably Madam Fan who is thinking about you."

You little rascal, you'll have your own wife soon, and you still want to snatch her from him?

not authentic!
After Lu Qiyan broke the window paper, Xia Yunji laughed, his face flushed with joy, but he became a little embarrassed, "Brother-in-law, don't talk nonsense..."

Lu Qiyan, "..."

I was clearly wearing warm clothes, drinking hot tea, and even added several pieces of new charcoal to the charcoal basin beside me, but why did I suddenly feel so cold and have goose bumps all over my body?
After the rain stopped, Xia Mingyue and his party stayed in the inn for two more days because the ground was too muddy. They only set out on their return journey when the sky cleared up completely and the ground returned to its usual dryness and firmness.

After two days of sunshine, the whole earth has regained the warmth it should have in spring. At the same time, due to the continuous spring rain for many days, the air is extremely moist and has a bit more freshness, making the scenery more ethereal and pleasing to the eye.

As they were getting closer to Jinqiu County, everyone became happier and more excited.

Even Wu Jin was more energetic than before. He no longer lay beside the coachman in front of the carriage. Instead, he got off the carriage and ran along with the horses to stretch his muscles.

Influenced by Wu Jin, Fan Jinglan, who was bored with riding in a carriage, simply decided not to take the carriage and just took Xia Mingyue with her on horseback.

Xia Mingyue can ride a horse, but not very often. She felt very uncomfortable when she suddenly started riding. She was quite nervous sitting on the horse, with her whole body stretched straight.

Seeing this, Fan Jinglan drove her horse to follow, slowing down her pace as much as possible. While talking to Xia Mingyue, she taught her some important points of horse riding.

Xia Mingyue had some basic knowledge and learned quite quickly. After half a day of getting used to it, she was basically able to ride a horse easily and maintain the same speed as a carriage.

The horseback riding was a bit bumpy, which made Xia Mingyue not quite adapted to it, but the breeze on her face, the fresh air, and the wider vision made Xia Mingyue feel very comfortable.

So in the next few days, seeing that the weather was good, Xia Mingyue simply gave up riding in the soft carriage and rode on horseback with Fan Jinglan, galloping freely.

After a few more days of travel, Xia Mingyue and his party arrived at Jinqiu County in the afternoon of that day, bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun.

The large group of people was about to pass through the city gate, and the soldiers guarding the gate checked their identity documents and past papers according to the rules.

But before Xia Mingyue and others could take out the relevant things, the soldier who came to change shifts recognized Xia Mingyue's face.

"Madam Xia?" The soldier exclaimed at first, then quickly covered his mouth and quickly changed his words, "It's the Lord of Anle Village!"

Apparently, the news of their royal honors had reached here.

Xia Mingyue nodded with a smile, "It's me."

"You're back?" The soldier rubbed his hands excitedly, "You're finally back!"

After that, the soldier hurriedly said to the newcomers around him, "No need to check, this is the Lord of Anle Township, the Lady Xia we used to talk about!"

"Master Anle, please come in. I'm going to tell the county magistrate!"

After saying that, without waiting for Xia Mingyue's response, he ran towards the county government office.

The other soldiers at the city gate respectfully and warmly welcomed Xia Mingyue and his party into the city.

Fan Jinglan and Master Yin Lingyou and his apprentice were already used to this, but the guards and attendants from the capital were seeing such a scene for the first time, and they were proud of Xia Mingyue being so respected. The group walked along West Street towards home.

Along the way, you can't help but say hello to people you know.

The people of Jinqiu County naturally knew that Xia Mingyue had been conferred the title of Lord of Anle Township. Seeing that Xia Mingyue was still kind and friendly despite his high position, they respected and admired him even more.

When they reached the entrance of the alley, Lu, Qingju, and Song from the central kitchen, who had already learned the news of Xia Mingyue's return, were already waiting impatiently at the entrance of the alley.

After seeing Xia Mingyue's true face, they realized that the news they had just heard was not a rumor. Even the straightforward Fan Jinglan came back with them. They were all delighted and their smiles were almost overflowing.

Everyone was very excited and kept asking Xia Mingyue, Fan Jinglan and others about their well-being.

Ask if the journey was safe, ask if everything was okay in the capital, ask if you were happy during this period...

After chattering for a long time, Lu and others realized that it was inappropriate for them to stand at the entrance of the alley and talk, so they surrounded Xia Mingyue, Fan Jinglan and others and went home.

After arriving home, he fetched stools and pulled out chairs, made tea and served fruit. After a busy and enthusiastic performance, he still pulled Xia Mingyue and Fan Jinglan aside and talked affectionately.

After all, we haven't seen each other for several months, so we must make up for everything we haven't said during this period at once!
Xia Mingyue and Fan Jinglan were the center of attention, which made Yin Lingyou feel very lost.

They have been away from home for several months. Why would they be ignored without the master and disciple?

Yin Lingyou drank his tea and coughed heavily twice.

When Lu and others noticed the sound, they all turned to look at Yin Lingyou who made the sound.

Yin Lingyou, aware that he had attracted everyone's attention, pretended to clear his throat and was about to speak, but he heard Lu Shi ask, "Doctor Yin, would you like some more tea and fruit?"

Without waiting for Yin Lingyou to respond, Lu waved her hand hastily, "Qingju, quickly help Doctor Yin add some tea and some fruit."

Yin Lingyou, "..."

What's going on?

"You still remember to add some tea and fruit for me. I just thought that I didn't exist at all in your eyes!" Yin Lingyou said slowly, with sourness in his words.

This made Xia Mingyue and the others couldn't help laughing. Even Mrs. Lu couldn't help laughing, but she still kept a straight face, "It's good that you can remember Doctor Yin!"

"We had agreed to wait for my sister-in-law to come back together, but you sneaked away with Sanli and disappeared. We were so worried at first. We thought something had happened to you two, and that you had met some robbers. We even reported it to the police."

"As a result, they said there was no sign of fighting at home, and there was even the sound of packing. After we thought about it, we understood that it was not that you encountered any danger, but that you couldn't wait and took your apprentice to the capital."

"To be honest, when they first told me about this, I thought it was impossible. I even made a bet with them, saying that you must have gone into the mountains to look for medicinal herbs. Now that you have returned with your sister-in-law, my face really hurts."

"So, I'm already pretty good at remembering you and not kicking you two out!"

Lu scolded angrily, but Yin Lingyou scratched the back of his head.

A cauldron falls from the sky!

But I have to memorize it!

After all, this kind of thing had already been discussed with Xia Mingyue and others in the capital, and the fewer people who knew about it, the less it would be known.

Even if it is slander, it is groundless in the eyes of many people. They will always speculate and talk about it privately. Once the rumor spreads, it will be like a flood and cannot be easily stopped by ordinary people.

"As for this matter..." Yin Lingyou's eyes wandered, and at the end he slapped the back of his head fiercely, "It is indeed my fault, I admit it!"

"First punish yourself with ten plates of fruit as an apology!"

Ten plates of fruit?

Those who know this think it is a punishment, but those who don’t know think it is a reward!
You know, because Xia Mingyue, Fan Jinglan and others came back, Mrs. Lu took out all the delicious food they had hidden in the bottom of the box.

The crispy, sweet and sour candied plums, the soft and delicious preserved fruits with just the right sweetness, the hawthorn strips made with pure hawthorn and coated with sugar...

Everything is delicious and they are all good things that are hard to find on the market.

Yin Lingyou didn't mean to punish himself at all, he was clearly planning to steal the fruit!
By the time Lu and the others realized this, Yin Lingyou and Mao Sanli had already slowly taken out the oil paper they carried with them, and began to pour the various fruits and foods in the plates onto the oil paper, preparing to pack them up and take them away.

"Stop them quickly!"

"You can eat, but you are not allowed to take it away!"

"I dare not say such words..."

Suddenly, the yard was filled with laughter and noise.

The excitement of the evening lasted until late at night. Seeing that Xia Mingyue and others were getting very sleepy, everyone dispersed.

On the second day, the excitement continued and was even more intense than the previous afternoon.

In addition to the greetings after a long separation, more people came from all over to explain the situation in the recent period to Xia Mingyue.

First, the Song and Lu families talked about the situation of the central kitchen and vendors in various parts of Jinqiu County.

Business is going on as usual, not much different from before, and revenue is growing steadily.

"Among the people who do the work, Mrs. Liu resigned because her two daughters-in-law gave birth at almost the same time, one of whom was twins, and she needed help to take care of them. She really couldn't get away, so she resigned."

Song answered truthfully, "There is also Niu. She usually has no problem doing her work. I don't know if it's because her husband suddenly fell ill and couldn't work anymore, so she became unscrupulous and stole things from the central kitchen for several days in a row, either eating or selling them. She was caught in the act."

"I fired her on the spot, but I didn't deduct her salary. I just asked her to pack up and leave. I have already found suitable new people for both vacancies, and everything is going well so far."

"Yeah." Xia Mingyue nodded, "You handled Madam Niu's matter very well."

There can be no tolerance for matters of principle, and direct dismissal is the best option.

Not deducting wages is Xia Ji’s principle in dealing with people and has nothing to do with anything else.

"Besides..." Song opened her mouth again, but stopped herself from speaking.

(End of this chapter)