Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1593 The Emperor’s Concern!
After running around the Imperial Garden, Ye Mingsheng ended his exercise for the day, and then instructed a guard beside him:

"Go to the imperial kitchen and ask them to prepare a few dishes and send them to the Queen's courtyard!"

"Yes!"

After giving these instructions, Ye Mingsheng walked towards An Miaoyi's yard. Ye Mingsheng had rejected An Miaoyi's invitation a few days ago, so after recuperating for the past few days, Ye Mingsheng was ready to fight his queen for three hundred rounds!

As soon as he entered An Miaoyi's yard, although Ye Mingsheng had not seen An Miaoyi yet, he heard An Miaoyi scolding Jing Ren.

"Jingren, why didn't you memorize this passage?"

"Mom! Li Bai's The Road to Shu is Difficult is too long. I really can't memorize it!"

"Jingren, only those who endure the most hardships can become the best. Although the Shu Road is indeed very long, this is not a reason for you not to memorize it! Others can memorize it, why can't you?"

"Look at Jingxuan, he speaks without hesitation, and then look at yourself!"

Hearing his mother mention Jingxuan, Jingren was a little speechless for a moment. At this time, An Miaoyi in the room seemed to have received a hint from the maid beside her and knew that Ye Mingsheng had arrived. She immediately walked out of the room and saluted to Ye Mingsheng with a group of people:

"I, my concubine, see your majesty"

Looking at his wife who still looked sullen, and then at his eldest son who also looked unhappy, Ye Mingsheng felt a little embarrassed. He thought to himself that he had come at the wrong time. Why did he choose such a time to come to An Miaoyi!

But since he was here, he might as well make the best of it. Ye Mingsheng pretended nothing had happened and asked An Miaoyi, Jing Ren and others to excuse themselves before walking into the room. An Miaoyi, who was following behind Ye Mingshen, looked at Ye Mingsheng as if nothing had happened, but she felt a little more angry for no reason in her heart...

In the past, whenever Ye Mingsheng came to An Miaoyi, he would always show concern for Jingren's study and life. However, because of what happened just now, Ye Mingsheng did not bring up the issue, but changed the topic and started chatting with An Miaoyi and Jingren.

A moment later, Ye Mingsheng's dinner was served on the table. Ye Mingsheng was thinking of An Miaoyi at that time. Jingren might not have had dinner yet, so he asked someone to send dinner to An Miaoyi's palace, thinking of having dinner together as a family.

But An Miaoyi and Jingren had dinner earlier than Ye Mingsheng had expected. However, even after dinner, in order to avoid the embarrassment of Ye Mingsheng eating alone, An Miaoyi and Jingren sat down at the table.

Ye Mingsheng's dinner consisted of seven dishes: boiled shrimp, grilled lamb skewers, cucumber cold dish, braised pork, four-happiness lion head, boiled dried shredded pork, and squirrel fish!

Seven dishes were served on the table one by one. Just when Ye Mingsheng was about to feast on the food, the palace maid who served the squirrel fish placed this famous Jiangnan dish in front of Ye Mingsheng, and very deliberately pointed the fish head at Ye Mingsheng!
Ye Mingsheng, who was pointed at by the fish head, immediately frowned slightly. Seeing this, An Miaoyi glared at the palace maid who served the dish. Just when the little palace maid didn't know what she did wrong and was at a loss, An Miaoyi came over and pointed the squirrel fish's head at herself.

Ye Mingsheng was a little surprised to see An Miaoyi doing this. He looked at An Miaoyi in surprise, wondering why An Miaoyi knew his habit...

An Miaoyi ignored Ye Mingsheng's surprise. After adjusting the position of the fish head, she returned to her seat.

Seeing that An Miaoyi had no intention of saying anything, Ye Mingsheng also started to pick up his chopsticks and started to eat dinner. Although Jingren had already eaten dinner, facing the temptation of this table of delicious food, he finally couldn't suppress his appetite and kept eating the lion's head and grilled lamb skewers.

Only An Miaoyi ignored the delicious food. She symbolically picked up two pieces of cold dishes with her chopsticks and drank a cup of tea.

After eating two lion heads and three skewers of lamb, Jingren, who was already full, touched his bulging belly and put down his chopsticks. At this time, the Daqian prince seemed to have thought of something and immediately asked Ye Mingsheng:
"Dad, I heard someone say that there are certain rules for placing fish heads at a banquet?"

Ye Mingsheng, who was peeling shrimps, nodded when he heard his son's words.
"This is called fish head wine! It's very popular in the Central Plains!"

"Fish head wine? How do you drink it?"

Putting the peeled shrimp into his mouth, Ye Mingsheng ate the shrimp while looking at Jingren who was like a curious baby. After swallowing the shrimp, Ye Mingsheng slowly said:

“Customs vary from place to place, but in the north, fish is not a complete feast, so fish is an indispensable dish in a banquet, and the fish head must be served to the person with the highest status at the banquet. There are many rules to follow, such as the guest of honor, the deputy guest, the main companion, the second companion, the third companion…”

At this point, Ye Mingsheng seemed to have remembered something, and a nostalgic smile appeared on his face. He then raised his chopsticks and pointed at the squirrel fish's eye and said:

"Jingren, when someone gives you a fish eye at a banquet, do you know what that means?"

Jingren glanced at the fish eyes after hearing this, and after thinking for a while, he shook his head honestly. Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng did not keep him in suspense and said directly:
"Clipping the fish's eyes for you means looking up to you! Clipping the fish's tail means entrusting you with an important task; clipping the fish's fins means flying high; clipping the fish's belly means sharing one's heart with you. In addition to these, you also need to offer wine, and there are rules for offering wine!"

Hearing this, Jingren was also a little surprised and said:
"There are so many stories about this fish head wine. How did you know about it, Dad?"

Facing Jingren's question, Ye Mingsheng hadn't spoken yet, and An Miaoyi on the side said in a somewhat gloomy tone:
"Humph! Your father was famous for his sociability in Yijing. He could get along well with all kinds of people!"

After saying this, An Miaoyi glanced at Ye Mingsheng intentionally or unintentionally.

Ye Mingsheng was also a little surprised to hear An Miaoyi say this. He felt that An Miaoyi was really strange today. Apart from helping him turn the fish head away just now, she seemed very cold to him. Moreover, her words were sarcastic, and he had not come to provoke her in the past few days.

While Ye Mingsheng was thinking, Jingren remembered what happened just now, and asked with some doubt:

"Dad, if the fish head was meant for the person with the highest status, why did mom move the fish head away just now?"

Ye Mingsheng explained:
“Drinking fish head wine is a custom when entertaining guests, but we’re a family having dinner here so we don’t care about those things. And I personally don’t like being greeted by fish heads…”

Jingren nodded thoughtfully after hearing this. After the family of three chatted for a few more words, Ye Mingsheng saw that it was almost time to rest, so he prepared to do the work of the night with An Miaoyi. However, before he opened his mouth, An Miaoyi spoke first:

"Your Majesty, I am not feeling well today!"

Ye Mingsheng was a little surprised when he heard this, and immediately took a look at An Miaoyi's complexion. Although he felt that An Miaoyi looked very good and did not seem to have any health problems, Ye Mingsheng still said with concern:

"Miaoyi, have you seen the imperial physician?" "Yes! The imperial physician said that I should rest and recuperate for a while!"

Seeing An Miaoyi saying these words expressionlessly, Ye Mingsheng also understood his wife's thoughts. He immediately glanced at An Miaoyi and said:
"In that case, I understand! Miaoyi, you should take good care of yourself!"

After that, Ye Mingsheng chatted with Jingren for about a quarter of an hour before leaving An Miaoyi's courtyard. After Ye Mingsheng left, Jingren asked his mother with great concern:

"Mom, are you feeling unwell? I will study hard, please stop being angry!"

When An Miaoyi heard Jingren talking about studying, she said unhappily:

"If you had put the same attention you spend on eating and playing into studying, you would have finished your homework long ago!"

Hearing his mother say this, Jingren's expression immediately became unhappy, but after a moment he couldn't help but ask his mother:

"Mom, why doesn't my dad like the fish head facing him?"

After driving Ye Mingsheng away, An Miaoyi was feeling a little irritated. She didn't want to pay attention to Jingren at first, but then she thought that Ye Mingsheng would occasionally take Jingren on a private visit and eat outside. It would be bad if he said something wrong or did something wrong outside and violated Ye Mingsheng's taboos...

Thinking of this, An Miaoyi said patiently:

"Does your dad have PTSD?"

"What is PTSD? What is this thing?"

Seeing Jingren's surprised and confused expression, An Miaoyi also remembered her expression when she first heard this word, but she continued to speak:
"This is something your father learned from those Western books. Your father said that translated into Daqian's words, it is post-traumatic stress disorder. In simple terms, it means that you have been stimulated and have a mental illness!"

"Ah? My father has something wrong with his heart? What is it?"

"Ye Kui told me that when the Imperial Guards and the Cumans fought in Zhalantun, the Xuanwu Imperial Guards where your father was were on the front line. The battle was so fierce that the Zhalantun River was dyed red!"

"One night, your father led people out to clean up the battlefield. When they were clearing the remains of the fallen soldiers, they saw rats and fish from the Zalan River gnawing at the heads of the fallen soldiers. Your father suddenly jumped up and chopped the rats and fish with a knife. Ye Kui said at the time that your father looked like a madman, which scared them all!"

"Your father has been traumatized since then. At first, he couldn't stand the sight of mice and fish. But as the years went by, his condition has improved. But if you point the fish head at him, your father might easily recall the scene of that year..."

After hearing his mother's story, Jingren's mind flashed with a horrifying picture, and his whole body shivered involuntarily!
Seeing her son trembling here, An Miaoyi couldn't help but scold:
"Jingren, can you be a little more promising?"

"You haven't seen anything yet? I've already scared you like this. If I really drag you to the battlefield, you'll be so scared that you'll pee your pants. Why did I give birth to such a useless thing like you!"

Jingren heard this and said in a low voice, somewhat unconvinced:

"My dad said it's normal to feel scared on the battlefield. His legs were weak when he first went to the battlefield, so it's normal for me to feel scared!"

Hearing her son using Ye Mingsheng as an example, An Miaoyi was a little speechless for a moment, but seeing her son lowering his head, she became even more angry and immediately said without thinking:
"You are still comparing yourself with your father. Why don't you compare yourself with a good person?"

"Your father is only a third-rate military commander. If he weren't the emperor, he wouldn't even be able to be a commander. Why are you trying to compare yourself with him? Why don't you learn from him?"

Hearing his mother say this, Jingren raised his head and said seriously:
"Mom! My dad is a great hero who unified the world. How could he not even be a leader?"

After hearing these words, An Miaoyi couldn't help but sneer:

"Your father has little martial arts skills and is even more incompetent in leading troops in battle. Over the years, he has relied on others to give him advice!"

After saying this, seeing Jingren's disbelieving expression, An Miaoyi could no longer control her emotions, and immediately began to speak:
"Why was your father able to become the commander of the Imperial Guards? Do you think he relied on his military achievements? He relied on gifts. Your father was well-known for his scheming in the Imperial Guards. Many good generals looked down on him..."

"Why does your father know so much about Fish Head Wine? He even looks at it with a high regard, spreads his wings, and confides in it. I don't know how much he drank in Yijing back then!"

Although An Miaoyi revealed Ye Mingsheng's past, Jingren still didn't believe it. He said firmly:

"Mom, you speak so badly of my father? Then why was my father able to unify the world?"

Hearing Jingren ask this question, An Miaoyi was startled, then regained some of her sanity and pondered for a while before slowly saying:
"Your father may not be good at leading troops in battle, but he has one great advantage!"

"What's the advantage?"

"Your father has a very accurate understanding of himself! He knows that he is not good at leading troops in battle, so he has never given blind orders over the years and has left all the fighting matters to generals who are good at fighting, such as Yuan Song and He Jingyun!"

"In addition, your father is very proficient in human nature and political tactics. This may be the important magic weapon that enabled him to ascend to the throne!"

After speaking, An Miaoyi paused for a moment and then continued:
"Jingren, keep everything I told you to yourself. Don't tell anyone!"

Seeing his mother's serious expression, Jingren also understood the pros and cons, and immediately nodded heavily and said:
"Mom! Don't worry! I won't tell anyone!"

After getting Jingren's affirmative answer, An Miaoyi felt relieved, then touched Jingren's head and said:

"Next time you go out to eat with your father, if the fish head is pointed at your father, Jingren, remember to help your father move it away..."