What's wrong with me, a powerful minister, supporting a few female officials?

Chapter 145 Technology and Ruthless Work in Later Generations

A ruthless and majestic empress in the imperial court.

She has such a gentle, even slightly playful side.

This completely shattered Zhang Xuzu's worldview!
Su Mo harbored deep resentment towards Leng Liuxi.

He was doing a good job as a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and was about to present the Divine Arm Bow, hoping to get promoted based on his merits.

As a result, she was inexplicably transferred to Tianchang County and made a low-ranking official, a clerk.

Su Mo couldn't swallow this insult!

He snorted again and glared at Leng Liuxi: "This humble servant would appreciate it, but it would require Lord Leng's graciousness!"

Leng Liuxi replied softly, "How do you know I won't come if you don't invite me?"

Su Mo was too lazy to pay attention to her anymore.

Turning to look at the aloof Commander of Fengming Division, he instantly switched to a warm and enthusiastic smile: "You've come at the perfect time, sir!"

"Bai Yujing is preparing for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Why don't you preside over it, Your Excellency?"

A few beads of sweat glistened on the fair neck of the aloof Qianhu.

She really wanted to give Su Mo a piece of her mind.

Isn't this just digging your own grave?
With the Empress right behind her, she dared not reply to Su Mo and instinctively wanted to turn her head to look at the Empress.

Fortunately, Leng Liuxi smiled and said, "My lord, if Officer Su asks you to cut the ribbon, just go. It's hard to refuse such a kind offer!"

Just as the aloof Qianhu was about to speak...

The Empress added, "This humble servant wanted to go to the ribbon-cutting ceremony, but the Su Banner official wouldn't allow it!"

High-ranking official...

The words were swallowed back instantly.

There were even more tiny beads of sweat on her fair neck!

Su Mo rolled her eyes.

Anyway, her favorability rating hasn't decreased; it's actually risen to 13% now.

She always spoke gently and appeared weak and easily bullied; I had seen her like that two or three times before.

She even came to my house to freeload meals!

I'm not afraid of her at all!
He glared at Leng Liuxi with annoyance: "Lord Leng, please stop causing trouble!"

"This Baiyujing doesn't belong to me alone, it definitely needs to..."

As he spoke, Su Mo paused, unsure of how to address the aloof Commander Gao Leng.

He didn't even know her surname, and with so many people around, it wasn't good to expose her identity as the commander of the Fengming Division.

He could only say to the aloof commander, "My lord, it's time for the ribbon-cutting ceremony."

"Um……"

Su Mo secretly pointed to Zhang Xuzu, who was about to cut the ribbon, and took the opportunity to curry favor with the commander. He lowered his voice and said, "That is the eldest son of the Duke of Ningguo. I had a hard time getting him here!"

"With him around, Bai Yujing will have far fewer troubles in the future."

In Su Mo's view, the Duke of Ningguo held the highest position among the officials.

Introduce Zhang Xuzu to the commander and build a relationship; he'll surely gain the commander's favor.

Isn't this how connections are built?
Unexpectedly, the aloof Baihu still maintained his cold and aloof demeanor, remaining silent and motionless.

Su Mo was somewhat bewildered.

What exactly happened?
Don't want to associate with powerful nobles and close advisors? Or do you not want to be in the limelight at a ribbon-cutting ceremony?

If you didn't want to cut the ribbon, why would you get off the bus at such a crucial moment?
If you want to make a name for yourself, you've already set up a way out, so why isn't the Commander moving?
Ok?
Could it be that this centurion is afraid of the cold?

Although Leng Xixi's official rank is not high, she is a princess or even a county princess!

Su Mo's eyes darted around, and he immediately smiled at Leng Liuxi: "Lord Leng, please do me the honor of coming along too."

There are five pairs of scissors anyway.

Zhang Xuzu and his two companions, plus the commanders of a thousand and a hundred, make a perfect pair.

Whether Jiang Lan and I cut our hair or not is fine!

Leng Liuxi smiled slightly and said, "Since that's the case, then... I'll reluctantly accept!"

The aloof Qianhu finally breathed a sigh of relief!
Leng Liuxi stepped forward gracefully, took the scissors from Jiang Lan, and stood in the second position on the left.

Zhang Xuzu's legs went weak, he broke out in even more cold sweat, and his hands holding the scissors trembled.

Especially when she saw the noble sons she had summoned, including Li You and Wen Bi, staring at the Empress without any restraint, their faces so pale that not a trace of blood could be seen.

The aloof Qianhu, who was forcibly placed in the central seat, was in no better shape!
Fortunately, she was calm enough.

Thankfully, no flaws were revealed!
……

This time, the Empress didn't cause any more trouble.

Under Su Mo's direction, the five people simultaneously cut the red silk, thus concluding the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Since gunpowder hadn't been developed in this world, Su Mo certainly wouldn't go out of his way to develop gunpowder just to set off firecrackers.

When the red cloth was to be unveiled, Zhang Xuzu, who was originally scheduled to participate, refused to go up no matter what.

Even the Commander-in-Chief refused!
We can't let a centurion steal the limelight from the eldest son of the Duke of Ningguo's family and his superior.

Finally, Su Mo had no choice but to step forward and lift the red cloth himself.

It was a strangely shaped columnar rock.

It bears an inscription of a poem written in bold, elegant strokes!
Everyone's eyes naturally fell on the poem, and then they all gasped in surprise!
This poem has such a boastful tone!

Leng Liuxi narrowed her phoenix eyes slightly and said softly, "The Jade Capital in the heavens, with its twelve towers and five cities. An immortal touched my head, granting me eternal life?"

She looked at Su Mo and asked, "What is the meaning of this poem?"

Su Mo dared to be even a clerk, so of course he wouldn't mind being a copyist.

It's not like it's the first time.

In his eyes, anything that could advertise Bai Yujing and increase its popularity was worthwhile.

Don't even mention borrowing Li Bai's poem.

We could also borrow some poems by Du Fu, Wang Wei, and others!
It's just that the world's intellectuals have a particular fondness for this kind of thing.

They release a different poem every month to attract so-called literary figures, but they don't monetize poetry.

Su Mo smiled and said, "It's nothing."

"It's just a small dream of mine!"

A strange light flashed in the Empress's eyes, but she covered her mouth and smiled: "A little dream?"

"I find it to be quite large!"

"Could it be that in the eyes of the Su Banner Official, being a terrestrial immortal is not enough, and he wants to be a celestial immortal from the heavens?"

Su Mo waved her hands repeatedly: "No, no, no!"

"You've misunderstood, sir!"

"What I'm saying is that my dream is to open twelve chain restaurants like Baiyujing, plus five entertainment complexes!"

Leng Liuxi...

"That immortal touched my head? And granted me immortality by tying my hair together? What does that mean?"

Su Mo blinked: "Easy!"

"In Baiyujing, the food is like heavenly cuisine and has the effect of nourishing the body. If you dine at the restaurant often, you can prolong your life."

Everyone was both amused and exasperated upon hearing this!

This poem can be interpreted like this? The Empress almost laughed in anger, and snorted, "I won't learn it..."

He stopped abruptly and changed his tune, saying, "That's utter nonsense! A perfectly good poem has been misinterpreted like this; he deserves a beating!"

She is a saint.

If one were to publicly say that Su Mo is ignorant and incompetent.

Su Mo's career in officialdom and literature was completely cut off!
They can only follow the path of the saint's henchmen to the bitter end!
The Empress certainly didn't want it this way, and this wasn't how she was supposed to discipline Su Mo.

After a pause, the Empress suddenly became curious again: "The White Jade Capital has this poem, but what about the Misty Rain Pavilion?"

Su Mo chuckled: "This humble servant of Yanyu Tower didn't write a poem, but it's half a couplet. If you can complete it, you can dine at Yanyu Tower for free for a month!"

The Empress became even more curious upon hearing this.

This guy is so greedy, he actually let someone eat for free for a month?

Presumably, in his eyes, that pair must have been extremely difficult.

The empress was somewhat unconvinced.

She considered herself a literary master, well-versed in both ancient and modern knowledge, with extremely high literary attainments, proficient in poetry, prose, calligraphy, painting, music, chess, and chess, and couldn't help but ask, "What couplet is it?"

Su Mo said calmly, "It's just an ordinary couplet."

The first line reads: "Smoke locks the willows by the pond."

Upon hearing this, the Empress frowned instantly and began to ponder deeply.

Zhang Xuzu, who was standing next to him, immediately became excited.

This is a great opportunity to appear before a sage!

If my father knew that I had helped the sage solve a difficult problem, he would praise me to death.

He gritted his teeth, mustered his courage, and smiled, "Lord Su, I do have a second line: Clouds encircle the misty rain pavilion. May I ask what you think?"

Su Mo gasped in shock, staring at Zhang Xuzu in astonishment: "Brother Zhang, what a brilliant writing you are!"

"Clouds swirl around the misty rain-shrouded pavilion, and guests arrive like clouds!"

"Good luck!"

As he spoke, he pulled out a gold card from his sleeve: "Brother Zhang, please keep this safe!"

"This is the Gold VIP Card of Yanyu Tower, which grants you one month of free dining in the tower, and a 30% discount on future dining!"

Zhang Xuzu proudly accepted the card!

After taking a closer look, I found it to be quite exquisitely crafted, featuring cloud and sea patterns, a bamboo motif, and a string of strange symbols in the lower right corner.

Leng Liuxi gave Su Mo a disgruntled look.

But he didn’t say much.

I'm still thinking about how to make this couplet a perfect match!

Su Mo wouldn't leave these big shots standing there dumbfounded at the door, so he immediately invited everyone to take their seats in the VIP rooms upstairs.

People who had been watching finally started to come over.

Many scholars gathered around the strangely shaped rocks in front of the building, praising them with admiration.

The poem is beautiful, and the calligraphy is beautiful too!
It seems that this old man from Baiyujing is a cultured person.

As a scholar, it is only natural for me to dine in the restaurant; I am not here for the complimentary stir-fried dishes and half a pot of aged wine!

The VIP box upstairs actually only had six people: Su Mo, the Empress, Qianhu, Zhang Xuzu, Li You, and Wen Bi!
Other sons of noble families, who had wanted to join in the fun, were sternly dismissed by Zhang Xuzu.

Leng Liuxi surveyed the private room.

It was spacious and quiet, with calligraphy and paintings by literati hanging on the walls, a guzheng on one side, and bonsai decorations.

She frowned and said to Su Mo, "Why are they all just ordinary paintings and calligraphy?"

"I have heard that Officer Su is a master of poetry. Why not compose a famous piece to enhance the ambiance of the restaurant?"

Su Mo said irritably, "This humble servant knows his place, so please don't tease me, Lord Leng."

Leng Liuxi blinked: "Who wrote that poem outside the building?"

Su Mo didn't hide anything: "It was written by Lin Moyin, the commander of the Left Guard."

Leng Liuxi nodded slightly: "Your handwriting is quite good."

Then he turned to Su Mo and said, "Commander Su, you'd better learn calligraphy properly from him, or your handwriting will look... like a dog's paddle, utterly unsightly!"

Zhang Xuzu was speechless.

This Su Mo must have accumulated good fortune over many lifetimes to receive such gentle and persuasive instructions from the Empress!

How wonderful it would be to say this to myself!
His handwriting is quite good, and his poetry skills are also extremely high!
"Smoke locks the willows by the pond," the perfect couplet came to mind instantly!
The Empress did not continue the topic: "I wonder what kind of meal Official Su has prepared for us today?"

He paused, then couldn't help asking again, "Is it the sea cucumber from last time?"

Su Mo clapped her hands.

A young maidservant immediately entered the private room and handed over several booklets with both hands.

Su Mo distributed the booklet to everyone: "The restaurant's dishes are all listed here, along with their corresponding prices."

"Lord Qianhu, Commander Leng, Brother Zhang, Brother Li, Brother Wen, you may choose your preferred dishes and inform the waiter."

"This meal is on me!"

Upon hearing this, everyone became curious and felt a sense of novelty.

Most restaurants don't accept this kind of ordering.

Even on the first floor that day, there were only a few signature dishes, written on bamboo slips, for customers to choose from.

After all, most restaurants simply boil, steam, or grill food, so there's no need to order dishes.

Everyone took the booklet and looked at it.

It has more than a dozen pages, listing dozens of dishes.

Even someone like Zhang Xuzu, who frequented restaurants, boat shops, and brothels, was completely bewildered and couldn't recognize many of the dishes!
At the very end, the dishes (chef's name) written in vermilion made Zhang Xuzu's eyelids twitch!

Cheap ones start at five taels of silver!

The most expensive dish, braised two-headed abalone, costs fifteen taels of silver per serving!
Is this what they call food?
They're eating silver, aren't they?

They had previously risked offending the Left Office to plot against Baiyujing, which was worth no more than six or seven thousand taels of silver.

How many dishes are enough for us here?

However, the ones in front are much cheaper.

For example, stir-frying vegetables costs around 100 coins.

It's much cheaper than Tianyilou!
Even the cheapest ones, costing as little as twenty dollars a serving, are available.

Leng Liuxi frowned and looked at Su Mo.

Does anyone actually eat dishes that are this expensive?
She thought for a moment, then handed the booklet to Su Mo: "I'll take one serving of braised sea cucumber, and the rest, Officer Su, can decide."

Since the Empress said so, the aloof Commander and Zhang Xuzu naturally handed the booklet to Su Mo as well.

Li You and Wen Bi originally wanted to order food, but in this situation, it wasn't their place as the heirs of a marquis to speak.

Su Mo thought for a moment and said, "Hmm!"

"I will take this opportunity to act on my own."

He then instructed the maids: "Braised sea cucumber, stir-fried lamb tripe, braised prawns, braised ark shell, chicken stew with mushrooms, steamed egg custard..."

"Another serving of plain cabbage soup... and fish head tofu soup, please."

The dishes were rather ordinary.

It's not that we can't get bear paws and bird's nest, it's just that there's no need for them.

Ordinary ingredients better showcase Chef Jiang Lan's skills and the immense power of MSG!
Let these ancient bumpkins amaze future generations with their culinary skills, technology, and incredible abilities!
(End of this chapter)