Zhao Yonggang wanted to step forward and say some words of comfort.
Then Yao Lan's expression was one-third angry, one-third panic, and one-third ashamed, and she said: "Didn't the king agree with me to reward me with plum blossoms? Why... humiliate me like this? The king has not married today, and I am not married yet. How can we lose it? Concubine...please retreat." Without waiting for Zhao Yong's agreement, the beauty turned around and walked out of the garden.
"Wait a minute!" When Zhao Yong saw that the other party was really about to leave, he hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed the other party's sleeves, saying with a sincere expression: "Your grace is like this cold plum in the snow. I couldn't help myself for a moment, so... But it is indeed rude. Okay, I will apologize to you now." After saying that, he loosened his sleeves and bowed to the other party in a decent manner.
Yao Lan looked at the serious look on Zhao Yong's face and couldn't help but feel happy in her heart, even though she said so.
But there is that woman who doesn't like to hear flattery from a man, and besides, the man is a supreme emperor.
Yao Lan seemed to suddenly realize her rude behavior just now, and bowed back to Zhao Yong in a panic.
The snow in the sky seems to have no intention of stopping.
The bamboo umbrella that covered the snow had been blown away by the wind.
Fortunately, there was a stone pavilion not far from the two of them.
The two of them walked into the stone pavilion one after the other. There was nothing in the center of the pavilion except a well. At this time, the wellhead happened to be covered with a bluestone slab. Zhao Yong then used it as a natural stone bench and sat on it, wanting to continue what he had just unfinished.
Yao Lan looked pretty on the side and thoughtfully used her sleeves to brush off the snowflakes on Zhao Yong's robe.
Seeing the beauty's serious look, Zhao Yong couldn't bear to disturb her.
After a while, Yao Lan thought of something and suddenly covered her lips and smiled.
"Why are you laughing?" Zhao Yong looked at the beauty's smile in confusion. Suddenly reacting, he stood up quickly and shook off the snowflakes from his crown and hair.
"Look there, sir." A hint of cunning flashed in Zhao Yong's eyes.
Yao Lan couldn't help but follow the direction of Zhao Yong's finger and looked over curiously.
Zhao Yong reached out and reached out with his right hand to hug her waist again. He was very careful to do it step by step this time, so as not to overly stimulate Yao Lan and cause her to have an overreaction.
"Your Majesty..." Yao Lan whispered softly, turned her head and tried to get up, but her shoulders were clamped by the opponent's big hands, and it seemed that she couldn't go anywhere. She was trembling in Zhao Yong's arms, like a little white rabbit that was surprised and hiding. Zhao Yong felt very pitiful, so his movements were slow and gentle.
Yao Lan sat on Zhao Yong's lap, turned her head, and stared at Zhao Yong angrily with a flushed face, her meaning self-evident. He had no choice but to stop and did not push any further, but he did not give up on the soft waist position he had obtained.
Zhao Yong suddenly lowered his head and stared at her. Yao Lan thought that the other party was going to do something bad again, so she hurriedly turned her head away. The lips she imagined did not come, but she heard the king speaking affectionately in her ear: "The Book of Songs once said that we grow old together to describe the love between men and women. Today, I am showering in the snow with you, so this life can be regarded as growing old together. Alright."
Yao Lan suddenly turned her head and stared at the other party with her beautiful eyes. She couldn't imagine that such words could come from Zhao Yong's mouth.
Zhao Yong put his mouth to the other person's ear, smelling the faint sandalwood in his nose, and asked softly: "Are you right?"
Yao Lan is obviously a lady who was influenced by poetry, calligraphy, etiquette and music. She has never experienced any troubles, and her courage is completely inferior to Zhao Yong... But Zhao Yong said that risking one's life is just casual. He then said some soft words: "You are so beautiful. I really like you so much, so just let me touch you a few times. No piece of flesh will fall off..."
His hand moved up dishonestly inch by inch. Zhao Yong's heart was beating very hard and he was very nervous, as if exploring an unexploited holy land. He was almost pious and a little guilty, cautiously, but did not look back.
Yao Lan's body trembled slightly, her whole body felt limp and hot. Except for the delicate hands that were still tightly holding Zhao Yong's wrist, she could no longer resist and allowed him to talk nonsense in her ears. The bones in her body were trembling slightly all the time. She exhaled heavily and inhaled softly, as if she was a seriously ill person with a weak life.
"Your Majesty... don't put your hand in, I'm afraid." The trembling voice was full of pleading.
The sound of wind and snow outside the pavilion gradually stopped...
Not long after, Yao Lan struggled to stand up from Zhao Yong, but after finally standing up, he staggered and fell on Zhao Yong again.
Zhao Yong reluctantly hugged her waist again.
"Your Majesty, please leave me," Yao Lan said angrily. Maybe you're not just angry with the other person.
Zhao Yong didn't try to force her. He felt that she looked very pitiful and couldn't bear it.
Yao Lan finally got up. Then Zhao Yong also stood up. I saw that the large cloaks of the two people had been thrown to the ground at some point, and the other party's plain white cotton robe was also ripped open with great force.
Zhao Yong hurriedly picked up his relatively clean brown soft fur from the ground, gently put it on the other party's trembling body, stared at her apologetically and said, "I send you off."
Yao Lan said nothing and rolled her eyes helplessly at him.
…
... Returning to the Wu Mansion, Yao Lan had just entered the inner courtyard when she saw Xiao Zhu sitting on a bench under the porterhouse in the verandah, looking around outside the door from time to time.
"Young Master! Young Master!" As soon as she saw her young master, the little girl hurriedly rushed forward to greet him. Without waiting for Yao Lan to speak, she grabbed her sleeve and walked towards the hall.
The moment Yao Lan saw her parents, her face turned red: "Lan says hello to dad and aunt."
At this time, a very cute little lady suddenly walked in from outside the curtain of the inner hall. She was eleven or twelve years old, and her face was as round as Xiao Zhu beside her, with some baby fat. But looking at his dress and makeup, it is obvious that he is the owner.
Sure enough, when the young lady entered the house, she obediently bowed to Wu Guang and the beautiful woman: "Say hello to daddy and grandma." Then she looked at Yao Lan and said, "Hey, sister, why is your face so red? Are you infected with the cold? "
"Huh?" Wu Guang said with concern and majesty in his voice: "If Lan'er feels uncomfortable, ask the doctor to take a look. It is easiest for cold air to enter the body during winter. In the past few days, many people in Handan City have been affected. Infected with cold..."
The identification of diseases through facial expressions was popularized by the newly established Imperial Medical Office of the State of Zhao to the majority of Handan subjects. Now even ten-year-old Yao Wa is familiar with it.
"Sister, this robe is so beautiful." Yao Wa then saw Zhao Yong's robe that Yao Lan was wearing.
As soon as these words came out, Yao Lan's face turned even redder.
Only then did Wu Guang notice that the cloak his daughter was wearing had been replaced by a men's cape at some point, and it looked a little familiar.
"Father, I heard that Lan'er was picking plums in the plum garden today and met the king?"
Yao Lan blushed and nodded.
"What did the king say to you?" Wu Guang asked calmly.
Yao Lan glanced at her father doubtfully, said nothing, and just shook her head.
Wu Guang glanced at her and did not continue to ask further questions. Then he continued: "The wedding date of the King and Princess Han has been decided. As a father, I hope..."
Yao Lan suddenly interrupted: "Dad, are you saying that the king will marry Princess Han as his queen soon?"
"That's right. If the king doesn't marry the Han princess, how can he accept his favor?" Wu Guang said matter-of-factly.
"But he just..." Yao Lan suddenly said aggrieved.
Wu Guang waved his hand: "My father's intention is that after the king's wedding is completed and the queen's position is determined, I will send you to the palace. According to the king's wishes, you should be his wife."
Yao Lan glanced at her father resentfully, and replied in a slightly aggrieved voice: "Since father and aunt have agreed, how dare Lan'er disobey your wishes..."
"Yes, yes." Wu Guang nodded after hearing this, "Lan'er thinks so. As a father, I am very happy. Don't think about those illusory and rootless things all day long. In this world, there is nothing better than Longtai Palace. Woolen cloth?"
After Yao Lan finished speaking, she returned to her living room from the front hall. She stretched out her hand to touch her cheek and let out a long breath. I touched my forehead again and felt that I was in a daze all day long.
Her face was still flushed, and she sat quietly for a moment, comforting herself: maybe her father was right, and she could become the king's woman, so there was nothing dissatisfied about her. He is the king, how could he only be kind to himself... However, judging from his attitude today, it seems that he really likes himself... Hey, as long as he likes himself, it will be fine. After a while, he will marry her, and it will be his after all. Man, those things today are not so wrong.
Yao Lan dragged her hands on her cheeks and sighed quietly, maybe this was her fate. She suddenly felt that the world seemed different from what she had imagined before.
Growing old together...can we really grow old together?
Suddenly a cold wind hit behind her, "Sister." Yao Wa behind her pestered her as she entered the door, "Sister, what's wrong with you? Are you sick?"
Yao Lan said with a straight face: "You don't understand. Maybe you won't understand until a few years later." Yao Wa touched Qiong's nose and said aggrievedly: "I don't understand, sister, can't you teach me?" Yao Lan nodded. He put his hand on her forehead and said, "You are too stupid to teach me."
…
…
Back at Longtai Palace, it was just past noon and the snow in Handan had completely stopped, but the weather still looked gray.
After changing out of his robe, Zhao Yong discovered that his shoulders had been stained with a few pieces of white plum blossoms. Zhao Yong picked it up from the ground, put it to his nose and smelled it. There was a faint scent of sandalwood on it. He didn't know when he got it.
The maid next to her looked blankly at the king's actions.
Zhao Yong stopped sniffing the flowers in his hands and suddenly remembered the 'custom of eating plums' that Chen Zhong told him in the morning. He couldn't help but become interested in this, and then asked Chen Zhong outside the hall: "Your Majesty, is lunch ready?"
"Old minister, go ahead and urge him." Chen Zhong hurriedly replied.
"No need, I will go with you to the dining room." After Zhao Yong said that, he walked towards the front hall.
"Let's go, why are you still standing there?"
"Here." Chen Zhong had no choice but to follow him.
Although the imperial dining room of the Zhao Palace is not far from the palace where Zhao Yong lives, it is not within the scope of the Longtai Palace (harem), but is in a corner close to the outer palace and the court hall. Because the meals in the palace are not only for the royal family and their palace residents living in Zhao Palace, but also occasionally for the courtiers who come to the palace to pay homage.
But the distance was indeed not far. The group walked through several corridors and then walked through the inner palace wall.
The accurate name of the imperial dining room in this era should be called the cook.
However, whether it is the imperial dining room or the chef, it is just a title. After all, the rulers at this time did not have the habit of naming the palaces where they lived. Just like Zhao Yong's current residence, it can only be called King Zhao's palace. There is no such lofty and elegant names as "Taihe Palace", "Qianqing Palace" and "Weiyang Palace" in later generations.
There are quite a lot of "royal chefs" in the kitchen. There are about twenty or thirty people in the kitchen alone, not counting the eunuchs among them. The head chef is also called Cuanren. (It means burning fire to cook, adopted from Zhou rites) The area of the kitchen is really not small. There are seven or eight operating rooms used for cooking alone, which are divided into meat and vegetables. The preparation of the two kinds of dishes is very convenient. What surprised Zhao Yong was the subdivision of tastes: sour, sweet, bitter and spicy.
This is the first time Zhao Yong has entered the kitchen. He usually just eats and has never paid attention to this "outside place" in the palace. Now, the reason why I want to come and see for myself, apart from the curiosity aroused, is because of the salt!
Zhao Yong did not enter the food-making operation room, and there was nothing to see there. He asked Cuanren to accompany him and went to the place where salt was stored in the palace.
After passing through several cooking rooms in front, I saw a closed hut covered with cloth.
Cuanren bowed to Zhao Yong, then stepped forward and opened the tightly sealed wooden door. In just a moment, Cuanren took out a piece of coarse salt and placed it in front of Zhao Yong. Yes, it was a piece. The salt block was in an irregular oval shape. Zhao Yong took the salt block in his hand and weighed it. It felt more like a stone and the color was yellow, but if you look closely, you can see that Stones are made up of tiny particles.
In fact, if Chen Zhong hadn't mentioned it today, he would have almost forgotten it. Salt was a luxury item at this time and the most precious currency. Ordinary people cannot sell this thing, otherwise the consequences will be serious. Since Guan Zhongfu of Qi State transformed salt and iron from private ownership to state ownership, implemented a salt and iron monopoly system, and opened up a tax system, other countries in China have followed suit. Nowadays, all the princes and countries are basically salt and iron state-run, and salt has become a good thing used to pay tribute.
Reading with rice balls
"Can this thing be eaten directly?" Zhao Yong turned to Cuan Ren and asked.
Cuan Ren didn't understand what the king meant, and he didn't dare to ask more. He had no choice but to reply truthfully: "Your Majesty, this is the first thing collected from the salt pond. If it is to be eaten, it needs to be chipped and then ground into powder before it can be eaten."
"Oh? Show the salt to me." Zhao Yong ordered Cuan Ren.
Not long after, Cuan Ren presented an exquisite small clay pot in front of Zhao Yong.
Zhao Yong used his fingers to pick up a small ball of coarse salt from the clay pot, put it in his hand and looked at it carefully. The color is yellow and the large particles are obvious.
Then he put a little coarse salt into his mouth under the surprised eyes of everyone.
The taste is okay, but quite bitter...
