Seeing Han Dongwen eating so well that he even scraped the bowl clean, Little Hongdou on the side was even startled.
The teachings at Yingchun Palace have always been that His Highness is physically weak and has not had a good appetite for a long time. He often just eats some of the most expensive parts of the extremely exquisite meals and throws away the rest.
Not like now——
"Wow, delicious!"
Han Dongwen used a porridge spoon to scrape off the last bit of the bowl, then took the last piece of duck skin into his mouth and wiped his mouth with satisfaction.
Then, he remembered that Xiao Hongdou had been standing beside him, and scratched his head in embarrassment:
"The porridge cooked today is really good. If you have it, I should give it to you to try."
Xiao Hongdou pursed her lips, lowered her head and said, "Your Highness also got up very early today. The imperial kitchen specially prepared a meal suitable for morning use. It's great if Your Highness likes it."
Han Dongwen stood up and stretched, and Xiao Hongdou stepped forward to take away the meal tray and handed it to the maid waiting outside the hall. She came back to get the boiled water and brewed a new pot of tea.
For some reason, her movements today are much calmer than yesterday. Besides, she has always liked making tea.
"Little Hongdou, make yourself another cup."
Han Dongwen suddenly said seriously.
Xiao Hongdou was stunned for a moment, then nodded in agreement and made herself a cup.
"Come, sit down for a while and tell me how things went after you returned yesterday."
He patted a chair in front of the desk. Xiao Hongdou swallowed and nodded slightly.
This was not the first time that she sat next to His Highness.
But she still couldn't figure out why.
"Back to Your Highness, the maids were notified by Yingchun Palace last night. From now on, they will comply with Your Highness's request when entering and exiting the dormitory and will not change their clothes."
She hesitated for a moment and then added: "Thank you, Your Highness."
Han Dongwen nodded and asked, "You spent the day with me yesterday. What's the problem?"
Xiao Hongdou blinked: "What do you mean, Your Highness...?"
"I mean, did I make any etiquette mistakes?"
Xiao Hongdou is a maid and has read some books, but asking her to advise on state affairs is too difficult.
But just because she is a maid, she must master the rules and etiquette. After all, for them, if they are rude, failure to protect them will be a disaster.
I wonder if they also learned other etiquette when they learned these palace rules?
"This... Your Highness, slave..."
Her face turned red, but it was just because of nervousness.
Etiquette mistake?
Bad rules?
Your Highness, aren’t you following the rules?
"Hey, don't call me Your Highness, and don't talk about slaves. Just you and me."
Han Dongwen shook his head. It was okay in the movie, but if it was really around his ears all day long, he would just think it sounded a bit awkward.
"Slave..."
Xiaohongdou pursed her lips habitually.
"The way to accompany the king is to obey orders as one. You are not ministers and virtuous people. You don't have that much knowledge and insight, so you don't need to think so much. Just do what the Holy One wants you to do."
This is something Mi Niangniang emphasized repeatedly in the Yingchun Palace.
"I dare not..."
She still didn't resist.
Han Dongwen was stunned and sighed.
This sigh startled Xiao Hongdou.
Is this considered disobedience?
What have I done!
"I, I, I...!" she said anxiously.
Han Wendong blinked and said happily: "Okay, that's it."
However, under Xiao Hongdou's various prayers, Han Dongwen agreed to treat each other as you and me only in private.
Maybe there was some truth to this. He thought that if he suddenly changed his appearance, he would only cause unnecessary trouble. He couldn't go back, so he couldn't take it lightly.
"So, what was my problem yesterday?"
He asked: "You can't hide it."
Xiao Hongdou's face was a little red due to nervousness, and she took a deep breath as if to cheer herself up.
His Highness's intention is very clear. If he says some reassuring words, he will punish her for deceiving the emperor!
"Your Majesty... you did make a few unintentional mistakes yesterday and yesterday. If we look at it according to the most stringent standards, it can be more polite."
Han Dongwen's eyes opened wider.
This was said very carefully, first saying that it was an honest mistake, and then saying that it was done according to the strictest standards. It did not say that it was not in line with etiquette, but that it "could be more in line with etiquette."
Han Dongwen couldn't help but sigh, could this be office talk?
Little did he know that this was simply the survival skill of maids like Xiao Hongdou.
"you say."
He nodded.
"Master Wen, Master Wen Yongxing, was also your teacher when you were young. It would be more polite if you were a little humble and treated Master Wen with the courtesy of a teacher instead of a monarch and a minister."
"Yeah……"
Han Dongwen frowned, but he never thought that Wen Yongxing was once Lord Wen's teacher.
Seeing him pondering, Xiao Hongdou thought he had some ideas and hurriedly added: "Of course, Mr. Wen is well-educated and sensible. After receiving the gift of your apprentice, and in front of an outsider, he will definitely return the favor and insist on treating each other as a monarch and a minister. In the end, you still talked to Master Wen as a monarch and his minister, but this back and forth was more polite."
I see.
To put it simply, I'm afraid it's just pulling.
Han Dongwen nodded: "You said it very well. How much do you know about the outsider yesterday, Mr. Zhong?"
——————
To Han Dongwen's expectation, Xiaohongdou talked a lot.
Zhong Lilin is the only son of General Zhong Sheng. He has been a prodigy in martial arts since he was a child, and his spiritual understanding is extremely high. His spiritual quality has appeared at the age of three. At the age of seven, he learned swordsmanship from Zhong Sheng himself. After he was eight years old, Zhong Sheng took him under his guidance. When he joins the army, he will be fed, housed and trained together with the soldiers.
When he was twelve years old, Zhong Lilin had been incorporated into the Eight Gates Department of the National Military Department, and was to guard Siyang, the imperial capital, for the palace guards.
Four years later, pirates were causing trouble in Haizhou, Simeng port, and the national military commander mobilized naval troops to suppress them.
However, the pirates who are causing trouble in Haizhou are by no means ordinary pirates. Their soldiers have fought hundreds of battles and their ships are sophisticated. The national military department has been defeated repeatedly in the territorial waters. This is why the imperial edict ordered General Zhong Sheng to garrison Haizhou with heavy troops.
However, this Zhong Sheng was a faint general. He had the superior force of many ships. He actually chased the pirates out of Simeng territorial waters when he ordered to pursue them. He also mistook the ships of Taka, a big country on the high seas, and sank them with the pirates, costing lives. Below, the truth of Takakou has fallen since then.
As a result, the great power Taqqa forced Simeng to "entrust" the security of its territorial waters and trade lines to Taqqa on the pretext of helping Simeng protect maritime trade lines and a win-win situation, on top of the trade that was already suffering losses. He also ate it hard and took away a lot of gold and silver from Simeng.
Since then, the Taka ship has been dragging wildly in the Simeng Sea. Zhong Sheng felt that he was not to blame and hanged himself in Haizhou Port.
In the same year, Zhong Sheng's only son Zhong Lilin was also transferred out of the Xiu Ministry. He was ordered by the Holy Spirit to cut off his spiritual roots to pay for his father's sins. Later, he was pardoned by the Holy Lord and was transferred to Taishu Pavilion as the supervisor of the pavilion.
Xiao Hongdou's story was a bit fragmented, using folk tales to scold corrupt officials. If anyone else were listening, they would probably only hate Zhong Sheng, a faint general, for defeating Simeng's national destiny again.
Han Dongwen only felt a cold sweat on his back.
Well, I sent his father to guard the border. If something happened, his father would die directly there. It was me who cut off his spiritual roots and sent him to the bench!
How dare I drink his tea!
