Border Cook

Chapter 707 Hungry, hungry, rice

"Glib tongue!"

"Then the lady should also taste this mouth and tongue to see if it is greasy..."

Xia Mingyue panicked and pulled Lu Qiyan into the house. After closing the door, she blocked the way.

If you don't stop him, I don't know what he's going to say next!
Since Lu Qiyan and Xia Yunji had already asked for leave from the military camp, the family did not delay too much. They packed up their things, informed their relatives and friends, and prepared to set off for the capital.

On the morning when everyone was ready to set off, several carriages were parked at the entrance of Xinghua Alley, blocking the entrance tightly, making it impossible for Xia Mingyue and her group's carriages to leave.

Xia Mingyue and Lu Qiyan came out of their house first, intending to negotiate with these carriages to see if they could be allowed to go first.

As a result, the couple had just approached the carriage and had not yet opened their mouths to exchange greetings when the curtain of the carriage blocking the entrance of the alley was suddenly lifted, revealing a familiar face.

"Mrs. He?"

Xia Mingyue and Lu Qiyan were immediately surprised, "Why are you here?"

Before leaving for the capital, Xia Mingyue and Fan Jinglan went to Dexin Garden to inform Old Madam He about the matter. At that time, the old lady smiled and talked for a long time, saying that she was getting older and didn't want to move around, so she would not come to see them off on the day they set off.

As a result, Mrs. He came after all.

"Is the old lady here to see us off?" Xia Mingyue asked with a smile.

"That's not the case." Mrs. He replied with a smile.

"Madam, aren't you here to see us off?" Xia Mingyue and Lu Qiyan looked at each other.

Madam He smiled like a peony, "Yes, I'm not here to see you off. I've packed my bags and am going back to the capital with you!"

Go back to the capital?

Xia Mingyue was even more surprised. "Didn't the old lady say before that she didn't want to move, and that there was nothing good about the capital and she was not willing to go there?"

"Yes, that was originally the case, but when I thought about how deserted Dexin Garden would be after you left, I thought it would be better to walk around."

Madam He said, "There are so many things wrong with the capital, but it's really interesting to have you here with me. I'll go back and sort things out, and dig out some things from the warehouse to add some joy to Yunji and Lan'er's wedding!"

This was not about finding the capital city interesting, nor was it about adding to the festive atmosphere. It was obvious that they were there to support Xia Yunji's wedding.

After all, although their Xia family is a new noble in the court, their foundation is quite shallow. Now that they are marrying into the Fan family, it is inevitable that people will talk about them behind their backs, and they will be quite inferior in public.

But with the support of Madam He, even if the situation cannot be reversed, it can still greatly enhance their glory.

Madam He also had good intentions.

Xia Mingyue's nose felt a little sour, "Old Madam, you..."

"Why, do you think that I am too old and it would be troublesome for me to travel on the road, so you don't want to go with me?"

Madam He narrowed her eyes. "Let me be frank. When you returned to Jinqiu County, you left me alone. If you leave me alone in Dexin Garden again this time, I will not allow it!"

Xia Mingyue curved her eyebrows and said, "Having an old man in the family is like having a treasure. I wish I could have Madam He accompany me on the road."

Madam He smiled and said, "In that case, you should have packed everything, so let's set off!"

"Let's go!"

Xia Mingyue's laughter was also extremely loud.

As the sun gradually rose higher, the group officially set out on the journey to the capital.

It has only been more than half a year since the last time I went to Beijing. I am familiar with the route now. Besides, the weather is hot and the days are long, so I can travel faster than last year.

In addition, this trip to Beijing was for the wedding of Xia Yunji and Fan Jinglan, and they were all relatives who were traveling together. They talked and laughed along the way, visited the mountains and rivers, and enjoyed delicious food...

It can be said that it was all fun, without any of the boredom of the usual journey, and I just felt that time passed faster than usual.

When the golden osmanthus was fragrant and the sky had become slightly cooler in the mornings and evenings, the group arrived safely in the capital.

In the mansion in the capital, apart from the changes in the vegetation landscape due to the changing seasons, it still retains the same appearance as when I left. Even the vegetable patch that Xia Mingyue personally led people to open up is still there.

However, the garlic she planted had already been harvested by the manager and his people, and now they were planting some seasonal vegetables such as peppers, eggplants, green beans, cabbage, and radishes.

Even in the greenhouse, cucumbers, tomatoes and other vegetables have been planted so that we can eat fresh vegetables in winter.

Xia Mingyue was very happy about this. On the first day after returning, she immersed herself in the vegetable garden and kept busy.

Lu Qiyan did not stop them. Instead, he helped out by picking fresh peppers, eggplants and other vegetables, and pulling out some newly grown cabbages.

Fresh vegetables are delicious no matter how you eat them.

Especially since Xia Mingyue had not had a chance to cook a proper meal on the way to the capital because of the kitchen utensils and ingredients she used. Now she couldn't wait to cook some light and delicious side dishes herself.

Green pepper fried with meat, green pepper fried with eggs, tiger skin green pepper, green pepper fried with bean curd, green pepper fried with dried bean curd, green pepper fried with tofu, green pepper preserved egg...

Braised eggplant, fish-flavored eggplant, garlic eggplant, minced meat eggplant, fried eggplant box, roasted eggplant, roasted eggplant with beans...

The Chinese cabbage can be cooked into a bowl of light and delicious Chinese cabbage noodle soup.

While Xia Mingyue was busy showing off her cooking skills, she did not forget to make two special dishes and asked Lu Qiyan to send them to the palace for the Queen Mother and the Empress.

The two dishes chosen were tiger skin green peppers stuffed with meat and fried eggplant boxes.

Not only is it delicious, but even if it gets cold in the food box, the taste is still as good as ever, and it has a unique flavor.

While Lu Qiyan ordered someone to take her to the palace, he hugged Xia Mingyue and said, "Now that we are in the capital, if you want to honor the Queen Mother and the Empress, there will be plenty of time in the future. Why do you have to work so hard today?"

"Let me say something that might hurt Madam's feelings. The Queen Mother and the Empress have always lived a life of luxury. Even though Madam is a great cook, I am a little worried that the Queen Mother and the Empress will not appreciate this home-cooked dish and will be picky about it, wasting Madam's hard work."

"The Queen Mother and the Empress must have known that we arrived in the capital today. The first thing we did after arriving in the capital was to honor you two. Even though this is not a great achievement, it is still hard work. They will always remember this in the future."

Xia Mingyue smiled and said, "As for whether the Queen Mother and the Empress like these home-cooked dishes or not, that's their business. Whether I send them or not is my business." "Besides, I need to send them some home-cooked dishes. Ordinary things can always remind the Queen Mother and the Empress that I am just an ordinary woman in the market, and my husband is just an ordinary soldier. I don't care about so many other things, but just one or two plates of home-cooked dishes in front of me."

This is exactly the same as Lu Qiyan's behavior of hiding his edge and deliberately exposing his weaknesses.

Rather than saying that the couple had a tacit understanding, it would be better to say that his wife was extremely smart. She saw through his actions and did the same as him, completely concealing her brilliance.

To cover up her own, and even more to cover up his.

If you get a wife like this, what more can a husband ask for?
Lu Qiyan hugged Xia Mingyue tightly, buried his head in her neck, and greedily inhaled the fragrance from her body.

"Miss."

"What's wrong?" Xia Mingyue felt tickled by the hot air exhaled by Lu Qiyan and couldn't help giggling.

"I'm hungry."

"Then let's eat!"

Xia Mingyue was about to raise her hand to call for help when she suddenly felt her body lighten and she was picked up by Lu Qiyan.

"Aren't you hungry? What are you doing?"

"I'm just hungry." Lu Qiyan said with a playful smile, "Didn't my wife just agree to have dinner? Let's have dinner!"

Xia Mingyue, "..."

Some people seem to be getting more shameless!
The two dishes, tiger skin green peppers stuffed with meat and fried eggplant boxes, soon appeared in front of the Queen Mother.

That night, the Queen Mother invited the Emperor and the Queen to have dinner together in the palace.

The three of them ate without having palace servants serve them. They sat around a small table, and the meal was intimate and lively.

The two dishes were placed in front of them.

The Queen laughed when she saw this. "This dish doesn't seem to be common in my mother's palace. Is it newly made?"

"Indeed, these are not dishes from my palace, but were specially sent by Marquis Dingyuan and his wife. They said they were made from fresh vegetables picked from their small vegetable garden, so that I and the two of you can have a taste of the freshness."

As the Queen Mother spoke, she personally picked up a fried eggplant box and placed it on the plates of the Emperor and the Queen. "It tastes good. Mingyue's cooking skills seem to have improved a lot. You two should try it too."

"Thank you, Queen Mother."

The emperor and the empress thanked them and then picked up the eggplant box and put it in their mouths.

The skin is crispy, the eggplant is soft and tender, and the meat filling inside is tender and juicy...

"Yes, it is delicious." The emperor was the first to express his approval of the fried eggplant box.

"As my mother said, Mingyue's cooking skills have indeed improved." The queen lowered her eyes and smiled, "But this little girl Mingyue is really interesting."

"What do you mean, Queen?" the Queen Mother asked with a smile.

The Queen smiled and replied, "In other people's yards, there are either rockeries and streams, or green plants and flowers. The more particular ones will plant flowers and trees for each season, so that there are beautiful scenery all year round. But there are not many of these in Sheng Mingyue's yard. There are only fruits and vegetables. Isn't it interesting?"

"Growing fruits and vegetables is pleasing to the eye, economical and practical, and most importantly, they always taste fresh."

The Queen Mother said, "I think that piece of vacant land of mine should be used to plant some valuable flowers and trees from the south of the Yangtze River. It can also be turned into a small vegetable garden. When I have free time, I can take care of some of it to kill time and stretch my muscles. It's all good."

"Then I will accompany my mother." The queen said with a smile, "When there are fresh vegetables, let me taste them too."

"Then I will shamelessly ask for some from my mother." The emperor interrupted and nodded with a smile, "The Dingyuan Marquis and his wife are indeed good. They just arrived in the capital today and they are thinking of paying respects to you. What's more rare is that they have not forgotten their original intentions and are not afraid of the world's gaze."

"Since you think he's good, you can't treat him unfairly." The Queen Mother changed the subject, "Earlier, Marquis Dingyuan and General Shenhu went deep into the Kingdom of Jinwei alone, escaping death, and brought peace to the two countries. This contribution is unmatched. But now that a long time has passed, Marquis Dingyuan has also arrived in the capital, the emperor should also reward him a little, otherwise the previous dynasty will talk about it, which will always be unpleasant."

"Your Majesty, what you said is absolutely right." The Emperor put down his chopsticks, frowning, "Marquis Dingyuan and General Shenhu are smart, capable, and loyal. You can say they are all good, but these two are obsessed with their personal affairs and have no ambitions, which is also criticized by others."

"This is evident from the fact that these two people have abandoned their military affairs. They just arrived in the capital today, and the memorial of remonstrance has already arrived in front of me, bluntly saying that the two of them neglected their duties and failed to fulfill their responsibilities."

"So, I am having a headache right now. I don't know how to judge the merits and rewards of these two people."

“No one is perfect, and no one is perfect. A person is called a person only if he has some shortcomings. Otherwise, he would be a god.”

The Queen Mother glanced at the Emperor and said, "Besides, the fact that these two people are indulging in their love affairs shows that they have no intention of abusing power and are people who value friendship and loyalty. Wouldn't it be more reassuring for the Emperor to use such people?"

"Yes, what the Queen Mother said is very true." The Emperor nodded, "It's just about the reward..."

"And since they are like this, the emperor might as well increase the reward a bit. This way, it will seem like a lot of reward and very respectable, but there is no need to worry about being too powerful."

The Queen Mother said, "Moreover, this husband can go to the battlefield and fight the enemy without worry, because he has a sensible and virtuous wife at home. This higher reward is also to tell women all over the world that their husband's glory is half of theirs. In the future, this woman will have the confidence and motivation to take care of her husband and children."

"Your Majesty, what you said is absolutely right." The Emperor said with a smile, "I have been troubled by this matter for a long time. Fortunately, your Majesty has given me some advice. Now I have finally understood what to do."

The Queen Mother smiled upon seeing this.

She had seen the emperor grow up since she was a child, and as his mother, she knew the emperor's temperament very well.

It's not that he didn't know what to do, he just wanted these words to come out of the mouth of her, the queen mother.

As a result, no one dared to say anything about the rewards for Lu Qiyan and others.

My own son...

The Queen Mother smiled helplessly and shook her head, then asked the Emperor and the Queen to continue eating.

The next day, the imperial edict to reward Lu Qiyan and Xia Yunji arrived at the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion.

Lu Qiyan's title of Marquis Dingyuan was extended from being inherited for three generations to being inherited for five generations, and he was rewarded with three thousand taels of gold, five hundred acres of land, and countless treasures and cloth.

Xia Yunji was granted the title of conqueror of Xibo, and his legacy lasted for three generations. He was rewarded with two thousand taels of gold and three hundred acres of land, and the rest of the rewards were undetermined.

Xia Mingyue was granted the title of the second rank, and her title of Anle Township Lord could be inherited by her daughter. The Empress Dowager personally bestowed upon her two sets of jadeite headpieces, and the Empress also bestowed upon her two sets of pearl headpieces, as well as a number of jade and porcelain articles...