The little lady in the dining room

Chapter 149 Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, and the palaces and other courtyards are already a little bustling.

Xie Han, the Seventh King, was pacing up and down in the yard, obviously restless.

For Yi Shi's birth, it's fine for him to be a boy or a girl, but she herself hopes to be a daughter, and the imperial physician also said that it might be a daughter.

Xie Han was a little worried.The little prince in the prince's mansion can rely on his talents and learning to do practical things to fight for the title in the future, but his daughter will rely more on the title that is directly sealed, so there are big variables here.

According to Daqi's long-standing rules, the titles of feudal king's daughters are divided into three classes: Weng Lord, County Lord, and County Lord.As for how to seal it, except for the item "Wangzhu will be sealed by the concubine", the rest depends on the emperor's meaning.

In this way, if the child is lucky when he is born, if he is happy to catch up with the emperor, and the eunuch who reports the matter speaks more sharply and says a few auspicious words, even if it is a concubine who is named a lord, it is a matter of the emperor's words. The eldest daughter will be easier.

Bad luck, then maybe.

It stands to reason that Xie Han doesn't have to worry about this. He is the emperor's younger brother among the vassal kings, but the fifth king Xie Ming just mentioned something to him when he came here, which made him nervous. Well, it might really delay my daughter's future.

—— Xie Ming said that Xie Min, the eldest daughter of the second brother Xie Yun, was only appointed as a county head at the beginning, but now that she is seven years old, she is still only a county head.

When Xie Han heard this, his first reaction was to recall when the second brother offended the eldest brother, but the reason was not because of personal grievances.

The main reason was that the emperor was too busy at the time, and the second king, Xie Yun, had to wait until his daughter had passed a hundred days before officially entering the palace to reply—there would be less surprises in the first place, and the emperor must have heard about his daughter's appointment earlier. Having a niece, I was already happy once, but when I heard about it again, I was not so happy.

Then there was a bunch of political affairs on the desk, so the emperor didn't pay much attention, and handed over the memorial to the Ministry of Rites to be enthroned.If the emperor doesn't open his mouth, how can the Ministry of Rites dare to give it up?Seeing that it was from the concubine, he directly proposed a county head, and when he presented it back to the emperor, he didn't think much about it, so he just agreed.

Xie Ming said while thinking back, slapping his thigh straight: "At that time, the second brother was dumbfounded! But the order has been made, and he can't say he is dissatisfied, so he has to do this first. It may be time to wait for the child to get married again. , but after so many years as the county lord, when the time comes to add the Weng lord, it will probably be the best."

To put it bluntly, this loss is considered to be a loss all the way.Clan girls will always be rewarded when they marry. Originally, it belonged to the Weng Lord. There are many who give the title of princess when they marry. It is still the Weng Lord, but more dowries are made according to the princess's specifications; compared with the Weng Lord, The county owner is already a bit vain in this regard, as for the county owner...

Hehe, Xie Han knew that Fifth Brother's words of "adding to Wengzhu" were reassuring to him. In fact, it is more likely to give to the princess to marry directly.

Xie Han had no choice but to focus on matters related to her daughter's life.Xie Ming also said that ever since the second elder brother was born, when their daughter was born, they would always go to the palace to ask for the throne in person.In the past few years, except for the daughter born to a girl in the Fourth Prince's Mansion, and the adopted daughter from Princess Rong'an in the Third Prince's Mansion, they have all been turned into Weng Masters by them. High!

What Xie Ming meant was to remind the seventh brother, don't delay after working hard to run errands for his wife and daughter, but Xie Han calmed down and thought about it... This matter is too small!

It's not the same now as it was before.The emperor brother is now fighting with the queen mother, he is caught in the middle, and he has seen the faces of both parties. When Yi Shi gives birth five months later, who knows what it will be like?In case the emperor's brother was so depressed at that moment, seeing his mother's empress was particularly unpleasant, his daughter would be unlucky if he didn't know for sure, I'm afraid he couldn't even invite her!
Xie Han started to calculate carefully, thinking about making some arrangements in advance, and walking around as much as possible. On the one hand, he added his favor in front of the emperor's brother, and on the other hand, he had to do it even if he couldn't see the emperor's brother. I can do it for him.

In the Hanbing Pavilion, the prince Diji was so happy with the unexpected gift!
The Seven Kings sent two foals, only two-thirds of the height of a grown horse, and still docile.Ah Yao can already ride on it by himself, as long as there are people nearby to protect him. Although Ah Yuan still needs someone to hold the horse and another person to support him, it is better than sitting directly behind him when riding the horse last time. It would make him feel better to have a eunuch protecting him the whole time.

The two children were riding a pony in the spacious yard. In the room, Yuxiang drooled and looked out the window: meat...!
When Sydney made bean curd soup powder and came in with almonds, Yu Xiang almost slipped out while the door was open. She kicked the door hard and put a bowl of boiled beef in her hand on the ground: " Be good, Yuxiang, I know you're greedy, but the one outside...that one can't be eaten alive! Come and eat this!"

Yu Xiang hummed and lowered his head to eat the beef, not to mention how obvious his reluctance was.Sydney curled her lips and tapped its forehead: "It doesn't matter whether it's good or bad! This must be better than horse meat, you know!"

After so many years of cooking, Sydney has a good understanding of various ingredients.The reason why people often eat things like cattle, sheep and pigs and make hundreds of ways to do them is because they are really delicious and common.But among the things that are not so common, venison also has various cooking methods. This... probably because it is so delicious and nourishing.

Horses are also very common, at least much more common than deer!But Sydney has never learned how to make horse meat, and has never seen anyone eat horse meat, so it can basically be concluded that it is really not delicious.

I am in China, and my pursuit of food is firm!Eat everything that is delicious and edible!It's delicious but can't be eaten, such as poisonous...you can eat a little less and try!
In this way, Xue Li laughed and scolded Yu Xiang, who was greedy for horse meat, in the main room. At the end, she rubbed her head as a consolation, and then continued to walk to the bedroom.

In the bedroom, Xie Zhao is holding back a smile, drinking tea and listening to her voice teaching Yu Xiang.

Xue Li stopped abruptly: "...Your Majesty hasn't returned to Qingliang Palace yet!" She thought he was about to leave after delivering the horses to the children!
Xie Zhao put down the teacup with a smile, and nodded, "I'm not busy today, so I'll stay with you for a while."

Sydney Xin said that fortunately, I made two bowls of soup noodles.

One bowl was because she was greedy, and the other bowl was intended to be shared with Ah Yao and Yuan, but they probably didn't have the mood to eat it now, so I just gave it to him.

Recently, the heat has become more and more serious, and she has become more and more greedy for these simple foods. In the past two days, she has even saved cooking, and directly puts all kinds of noodles, threads, and noodles on the road of "light taste" Gone forever.

Xie Zhao looked at this bowl of noodle soup for a while.

The bowl is a simple white porcelain bowl, and there are only some white dark lines on the outer wall that can only be seen by light.In the bowl is a light yellow soup, which seems to be chicken soup. In the soup is a group of rice noodles, each of which is fat. Minced garlic with half the amount of sour chili.

Try hard to find some oily spots, other than that, there is nothing...but it looks so appetizing!
He wanted to tell her that it is better not to eat too simple, and he has been used to eating like this recently, and the result is that he gets hungry after watching the memorial, and he gets hungry after watching the memorial—isn’t this stuff full? !

This made him eat very solid snacks in the morning and afternoon recently, and he didn't bring any leftovers for supper.He was sincerely a little depressed about this situation, but now that he was in front of him, he couldn't say it again...

I think it's good to eat like this!

So Xie Zhao didn't say anything, turned his chopsticks and picked up a big mouthful of powder. When he took it, the fragrance swelled in his nasal cavity, and he even whetted his appetite.

Xueli asked while eating: "Shall I prepare a return gift for His Royal Highness? I heard that these two horses are very precious?"

It was quite precious, and when it was brought to Xie Zhao, he could tell it at a glance.Both horses are black, without any variegation, and they are well-bred and strong, with shiny coats.

The seventh brother said that it was a pair of pony cubs born by Nanwu Ma that a good friend of Nanwu gave him on his birthday.

——As a well-informed emperor, Xie Zhao didn't show anything on the surface at that time, but he couldn't hold back a cry from the bottom of his heart: Huh...

The "Nanwu friend" mentioned by the seventh brother, he knows, is a dude from the Nanwu country. His family is a wealthy businessman, richer than the king.

The disadvantage is that he has no real skills, and the advantage is that he has money.

So there are always a lot of rare treasures in his hands. Many people from surrounding countries, including Daqi who is worshiped by all countries, will prepare gifts through him-he can get so many good things!When the gift arrives, half of the big problem can be solved!

Thinking of this, the emperor frowned slightly, glanced at the seventh younger brother, stretched out his hand to caress the horse's mane and asked casually: "Are you asking me for something? Tell me, if I can help you, I will do it for you; If not, you take the horse back."

In the end, the seventh brother nodded and bowed his head and said that there is no way to do it, to give something to his nephew and niece, it's a trivial matter!
Xie Zhao chuckled inwardly and said that the boy had a ghost in his heart, and then accepted the gift openly - anyway, he asked him if he was okay, but he refused to say it himself, so it's not his fault for ignoring him afterwards !

Now when Xue Li asked if he wanted to reciprocate the courtesy, he thought of this again, laughed at the seventh brother again in his heart, and then took a sip of the fresh soup with soup powder: "No, you just keep it, you don't need so much courtesy with the seventh brother, The kids have to like it."

Oh...that's right, it's not good to be too polite.

Two days later, it was the Dragon Boat Festival, and there was a palace banquet in the palace at night, but in the morning, the emperor asked someone to invite Sydney to the Hanliang Restaurant, and asked her to go to the Moon Peak with her child.

The eunuch who came to pass the message said: "Your Majesty and some of your highnesses are watching the scene in Fuyun Pavilion. Looking west from Yulei Pavilion, you can see the Ying River in the distance, and you can vaguely see the scene of folk dragon boat racing."

Sydney went with him, took the children and the palace people together, and walked the gentle mountain road to the south of Yuefeng - she still remembered that she and a few maids from the royal dining room delivered snacks to Yuefeng the year before last , walked the straight and steep Buyun Corridor in the north, and they were almost exhausted.

This mountain road is much more comfortable. Walking on it, you can see the mountain scenery everywhere.There are many mountains in the distance, and there are pleasant flowers and plants nearby. The lacquered wood railings beside the mountain road are well repaired. Even if you are tired from walking, you can rest for a while.

A Yao happily ran ahead, and A Yuan followed at the beginning, but she let the nanny hug her when she was tired from running.Xueli let the sour plum and Wumei follow A Yao, and she followed behind in a leisurely manner.When she got to the peak, Ah Yao was already standing on tiptoe beside the low stone wall built around the peak to look at the Ying River over there.

"Mother, look! There are really dragon boats!" Ah Yao pointed to the distance with his little hand, and Sydney looked along. In the distance, on a jasper-like river, several dragon boats that were only the size of index fingers were moving quickly from here. You can see many people crowding and watching by the river, which shows that it is very lively there.

"Mother! Suanmei said that they would throw zongzi into the river to feed the fish, is that true?" A Yao asked Sydney with blinking eyes.

Xue Li nodded and said yes, saying that throwing the zongzi in to feed the fish would stop biting Qu Yuan.

Then Ayao threw another question bluntly: "But I heard from Fu's mother that Qu Yuan threw himself into the Miluo River in Yingdu, not the Yingjiang River beside Yingshan Mountain! It's useless for them to throw rice dumplings here. ah!"

Sydney: "..." Too bad I won't answer.

She coaxed A Yao with a pleasant face: "Come on, let's sit with your father and uncles for a while, you can ask your father."

"Oh, good!" Ah Yao nodded in agreement, and then remembered how happy he was running all the way just now. After getting up, he came directly to watch the dragon boat, and didn't go to say hello to his father and uncles.

So after entering the Fuyun Pavilion, Ayao obediently greeted his father and uncles one by one, and then he didn't even care about the fact that there were many cousins ​​who could play together, and ran over and took the The question was thrown to Xie Zhao.

Xie Li clearly saw Xie Zhao's expression froze for a moment, and was worried about what to do when he was trapped by a child. Xie Zhao raised his brows: "Who said throwing rice dumplings into the river is to keep the fish from biting?" Qu Yuan's?"

A Yao tilted his head and thought: Isn't it?

A Yuan answered his father's question first, pointing at Sydney: "Mom!"

Sydney: "..." Well done son!You are selling your mother!
Xie Zhao glanced at her indifferently, obviously wanting to laugh at her, but Xue Li couldn't stare back in front of all the feudal lords, so she just lowered her head and drank tea to pretend she didn't notice.

Xie Zhao embraced his daughter and explained: "Well, at first the purpose of throwing zongzi was to keep the fish from biting Qu Yuan. But later, it became a custom and was passed down, not to keep the fish from biting Qu Yuan. , more to commemorate Qu Yuan and remember his affairs."

"Oh..." A Yao nodded thoughtfully, then turned to ask again, "What is a 'custom'?"

... This is a long story.

Fortunately, everyone has a sense of "need to chat", and use this to open up the topic, and explain to Di Ji one by one.From throwing zongzi to eating zongzi, the customs of the Dragon Boat Festival have been said again.

Then, Xie Han, the Seventh King, snatched up the white in time, and gave more examples for Ah Yao seriously. He said: "Eat spring pancakes in Lichun, rice cakes in Spring Festival, glutinous rice balls in Lantern Festival, green balls in Qingming Festival, and Qixi Festival." Begging for clever fruits and eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival are also customs."

"Wow!" Ah Yao's pretty little face suddenly glowed, and she clapped her hands and said, "Understood! I understand! The custom is that there are delicious foods for any festival!"

"Ahem!" Xueli choked on her tea, thinking that the custom was not determined by your mother!Why is there only food!

While praising his daughter for being so smart and able to sum up, Xie Zhao gave Seventh Brother a hard look: What nonsense!
After the rice dumplings were served, the focus really shifted to eating. The female family members peeled the rice dumplings for the children, and the older children peeled and ate the rice dumplings by themselves.

Xie Li was peeling zongzi for A Yao and A Yuan, Xie Zhao was also very interested, and thinking that all the vassal kings were present, it happened to click on Xue Li's identity again.

He asked her lightly what kind of stuffing she wanted to eat, and Xueli replied "fresh meat", and he picked one from the plate tied with a brown-red cotton rope and peeled it.

In addition to the meat and glutinous rice, the rice dumplings with fresh meat also have seasonings such as soy sauce, oyster sauce, and pepper. The whole rice dumpling will turn into an even brown color after steaming, and the two pieces of meat are wrapped inside. , the rice fragrance smudged by the meat fragrance has also become more attractive, mixed with the fragrance of zong leaves to arouse appetite.

When he was halfway through peeling, he saw Sydney's shining eyes sweeping the rice dumplings in his hand from time to time. After peeling, he was holding the rice dumplings to feed them, and the seventh brother came to prove his existence again!
Xie Han asked Ah Yao with a deep smile: "Di Ji, what stuffing do you eat?"

Ah Yao looked up: "It's bean paste, do you want Uncle Qi to eat?"

"Ah Yao, Uncle Seven doesn't want it." Xie Han asked again with a loving face, "Is it delicious?"

Xie Zhao looked at him sideways and said, why do you talk so much today?Can you not disturb my daughter eating zongzi?

Ah Yao lowered his head and sniffled, and the answer he gave was very solid: "It's okay, it's not as delicious as mother's cooking."

Xie Han, who had originally planned to peel one for her after she answered "delicious", froze.

The emperor smiled secretly and said "well done", and finally delivered the fresh meat dumpling to Sydney's mouth.

Others thought that the emperor was peeling himself to eat!

Then they were all stunned by this unavoidable intimacy.

Xueli was still feeding A Yuan in her hand, and she turned her head slightly and took a bite out of habit. The mellow meaty aroma and soft glutinous rice bloomed in her mouth together, and she just felt that "it tastes good"...

My stomach trembled for a while!

Xueli covered her mouth violently, quickly spit out the zongzi in her mouth into a handkerchief, threw it down, put A Yuan on the ground, and rushed out of Fuyun Pavilion, leaning on the low wall and retching non-stop Stop, and can't spit out anything.

In Fuyun Pavilion, Xie Han's face turned green.

He thought to himself, you mother and daughter hit me in the face together?It's not as good as what you make, it's not so bad, right?Isn't it something from the imperial dining room? !

Beside Xie Han, Yi Shi turned his head slightly stiffly: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty?"

"Huh?" Xie Zhao, who was also begging God, turned around.

Mrs. Yi looked at Sydney and then at him: "Ms. Ruan, is this, is this embarrassing...?"

Everyone was shocked.Outside the pavilion, Sydney wanted to look up at Yi Shi in surprise, but before she could fix her eyes, something upset in her stomach.

"Ugh—" She couldn't control herself at all. Although it wasn't as intense as the seasickness that time, it still felt really abnormal.

She wanted to vomit again, but she was thrown into a fight on her shoulders and legs, her vision blurred, and when she saw clearly again, she was already hugged by Xie Zhao.

"Tell the imperial doctor." The emperor said and went to Yulei Pavilion, intending to let her lie down for a while in Yulei Pavilion.

Xueli grabbed his collar nervously, and asked in a low voice: "What if it's just heatstroke!" Heatstroke will also make you sick!

"It's not wrong to ask the imperial doctor for heat stroke." Xie Zhao raised his eyebrows, and looked at her again, dispelling his original suspicion of heat stroke—is he really pregnant?This is the beginning of the "one pregnancy and three years stupid" battle!
After being pleasantly surprised, he felt a little worried again.

When a woman gives birth, she has to go around before the gate of hell closes. Last time, although she gave birth smoothly, he still sweated a lot.

this time……

He suddenly turned his head and ordered: "Call all the imperial physicians who are accompanying you, hurry up."

(End of this chapter)