——There are trees in the mountains, and the trees have branches. My heart is happy for you, but you don’t know it.
Nowadays, it makes me laugh to think about it.
Except for the time when his father died of illness when he was young, the disaster in the prison was the biggest disaster in Wei Yu's life.
Physically and mentally exhausted, she was slowly recuperated in a situation where she thought she would die.
She was tortured by hunger and illness in the sky jail, which had made her no longer willing to eat. After escaping from prison, she drank bitter medicine for a long time. Not only was she unwilling to eat the food given by the servants, she even smelled it. The smell will make you nauseous.
She didn't resist, she just waited for the final outcome.
What first brought Wei Yu back to her soul was a bowl of the simplest radish soup.
She was given half a bowl of concoction that day, and in her confusion, she suddenly smelled a very faint smell, which was not like food, but a bit like medicine, but also gave off a fresh aroma.
She thought it was medicine, but there was no one in the room. Out of curiosity, she followed the smell and found a white porcelain bowl on the table with a small spoon on the side. The inside of the bowl was translucent and green. The color of the soup is fluttering with very thin strands of light blue, as crystal clear as jade.
Although she saw something, Wei Yu still couldn't tell what it was. She stared at it for a long time, seduced by the indescribable smell.
Finally I couldn't help it anymore and picked up the spoon with trembling hands.
Only a little juice touched the lips, and the sweet taste quickly spread on the tip of the tongue.
She followed King Ji, from Li Xingyuan's Qianlong Yuyuan to Long Fei Jiutian, she had seen all kinds of delicacies from mountains and seas or dishes and meals in the world, but she didn't know what this thing was. It didn't look very precious and rare, but the taste was... So unique and irresistible.
She picked up some silk strands and saw that the silk strands were distinct. The mouth was very soft, like porridge, but not as thick as porridge. It was easy to swallow, which made her forget the taste of food.
When I came to my senses, I had eaten half a bowl without realizing it, but I was already full.
The next day, Wei Yu was still vaguely thinking about it, but she didn't want to talk to the people around Su Jiuyao, not to mention that it wasn't worth it just for a bite to eat, so she didn't ask.
That afternoon when she dreamed back, she looked at the white porcelain bowl on the table. She actually liked it a little, but the smell was not the same as the day before. Instead, it had a sweet smell, which seemed to be absent, refreshing.
Her curiosity suddenly emerged again, and when she got closer, she realized that it was a bowl of sweet-scented osmanthus and fresh chestnut soup.
When Wei Yu went to the south of the Yangtze River on an errand for King Ji, he had a meal in Lingyin Temple once, which left a deep memory. Although I thought about it from time to time, it was something from Jiangnan after all, and I had never tasted it again.
I was surprised when I saw this suddenly. Although it was not the radish soup before, I still wanted to take a taste, not to mention it was so fragrant and tempting.
Unexpectedly, with this lift of the spoon, he actually ate less than half of the bowl.
On the third day, there was honey bergamot porridge that Wei Yu had never heard of. This can be regarded as a medicinal diet. Bergamot and turtle shells are decoctioned in water. Only the juice is cooked with barley, japonica rice, and water chestnuts. It soothes the liver and nourishes qi. It has a unique taste and nourishes yin. Hidden Yang is of great benefit.
A few days later, her health was much better than before... Later, when she was able to talk to Su Xuehui, she once asked what the first bowl of food she ate that day was.
At that time, he replied that it was called Shunqi Carrot Soup.
Wei Yu seemed to casually ask why he was still cooking when he didn't see him. Could it be that the cook was gone?
She remembered that Su Xuehuai looked at her with a strange look and asked, "Do you want to eat?"
Wei Yu thought he was laughing at her, so she said, "I know my taste is average, what's so funny about it."
He lowered his head and raised the corners of his lips slightly: "No, I just..." She didn't hear the low words behind him.
For a long time, Wei Yu thought that Su Xuehui had found a good cook somewhere.
Until Li Xingyuan revealed to her that the bowl of radish soup was made by Su Xuehui himself, and even the dishes she liked later were made by him.
Little was known about this incident, and he did not tell anyone, including Wei Yu.
The reason why Li Xingyuan knew it was because King Ji's eyes and ears were everywhere, including in Su Xuehui's general mansion.
Even some of them were arranged by Wei Yu himself.
After Wei Yu knew the truth, he felt that he was really smart and confused for a while.
No wonder that later, after Su Xuehui went on an expedition again, that clever "cook" also disappeared.
When asked, he said that he was leaving the city with the general.
She was so gullible.
Today, that taste lingers in my heart.
That person was right in front of him.
Wei Yu sighed with emotion, raised his eyes, and accidentally discovered that the young man had hurriedly averted his eyes.
She looked at Su Jiuyao's long, twinkling eyelashes and realized that he was staring at her just now.
Wei Yu stared at his face carefully. It was a very good-looking face, impeccable except for looking a little childish because of his young age.
Prince Ji Li Xingyuan has always been known for his beauty, and there are no shortage of beauties in and out of Prince Ji's palace, both men and women.
But the young man in front of him is obviously an outstanding one.
It was precisely because of her excessive beauty that Wei Yu felt in a trance.
She recalled what she jokingly said to her colleagues, "I don't like ugly men."
Wei Yu really didn't like it.
However, she was not simply unhappy with Su Xuehui, but subconsciously did not dare.
The Taotie is a ferocious and strange animal shape. Tattooing the Taotie on the face is an even more shocking act, its horror is beyond words.
Since ancient times, King Lanling wore a mask and went into battle because he was too beautiful. But to get a tattoo on his face, Wei Yu simply couldn't imagine what kind of pain and torture he would have to go through and how cruel he would be to make a decision.
At first, Wei Yu and many curious and bored people in the capital had speculated why Su Xuehuai was like this.
Some people even speculated that he originally had scars on his face, or that he had tattoos that were worn by prisoners, and that he had his face tattooed deliberately in order to cover them up.
But more speculation is that Su Xuehui was originally a very ugly person, which is why he was so "icing on the cake".
But I never thought that he was actually a stunning person.
At this moment, Wei Yu stared at the face in front of him that was even better than Pan An Song Yu's, and gasped for air.
...If the original owner had such an outstanding appearance and ended up like that, it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was wasting all his resources and acting recklessly.
She was thinking about it, her heart was twitching, and she couldn't help but sigh.
Su Jiuyao asked: "What, is it not to your taste?"
Ming Li also looked at Wei Yu in surprise: "No way? I feel that although these dishes are not as expensive as shark's fins and bird's nests, they are worth a thousand pieces of money, and they are no worse than the royal chef in the palace. Does the Inspector Wei think they are more valuable?" Are there any shortcomings?”
Wei Yu made a pretense: "That's it. I'm worried that if I leave here, I won't be able to eat such good food again."
Mingli chuckled: "Let me tell you, the health inspector is very smart and well-informed. Of course he is not the kind of person who has eyesight but cannot see gold and jade."
Su Jiuyao pursed his lips.
Unexpectedly, Fei Lian caught sight of Su Jiu Yao's raised lips. The child's eyes rolled and he immediately jumped in and said, "What's the problem? Just stay here for inspection. You can have good food every day."
Wei Yu was startled and suddenly found Su Jiuyao staring at her.
She didn't know what he meant, but the vaguely familiar look in his eyes made her cheeks heat up.
Wei Yu coughed and said, "I still have official duties, so I can't delay. I should leave today."
Ming Li looked at Wei Yu, then at the young man, and said with a smile: "I want to stay for a few more days to patrol and fulfill my friendship as a landlord. Besides, your umbrella is still with me."
Wei Yu stood up and said, "It's just right. It's getting late. I'll go with Shopkeeper Ming."
Su Jiuyao's expression changed, as if he was disappointed. Mingli didn't expect Wei Yu to be so happy, her mouth was half open, but she reacted the fastest and said with a smile: "It's okay, I'm driving here, and I just happened to drive the guards there for inspection. Seeing that winter is coming, I have to be careful. If it rains or snows, it’s best to bring an umbrella with you.”
Fei Lian was shocked and said, "You're leaving now?"
Wei Yu didn't dare to look at Su Jiuyao's face and said with a smile: "It's just a chance meeting, now it's time for me to finish my business and leave."
Mingli only understood the first half of the sentence, but the last sentence was in a daze.
At this moment, Taoist Baishi in the room said: "'Kill a person in ten steps, leave no trace for a thousand miles, brush off your clothes when the matter is over, hide your body and name', such a loud tone, are you bragging?"
Wei Yu turned around and said, "Senior, I misunderstood. I actually wanted to use the first four sentences of "Xia Ke Xing" to praise Master Su Jiu."
The old Taoist priest laughed twice and said, "Oh, that's not bad. You are an interesting person."
The first four sentences of Li Bai's "Xia Ke Xing" are "Zhao Keman's Hu Ying, Wu Gou's frost and snow are bright, the silver saddle shines on the white horse, rustling like a shooting star", whether it is Su Xuehuai or Su Jiuyao, they are worthy of it.
Shopkeeper Ming drove Wei Yu back to the inn.
Wei Yu actually didn't want to take back the umbrella, he just found an excuse to leave Chunyang Temple.
Ming Li was familiar with the road, and turned around and said: "The health inspector is from Beijing, so he naturally looks down on our small place. There is a saying that 'a small temple cannot accommodate a big Buddha', so it would be better to leave early."
Wei Yu said: "That's not true. Big ones are good, small ones are wonderful. I would like to keep them longer..."
Seeing that she didn't continue, Mingli asked with a smile: "Then why do you have to leave?"
Wei Yu lowered his eyes: "It's hard to explain in a word."
Ming Li frowned. She was about to ask, but then she thought, why bother? Some people have things they can't afford to cause.
"That's fine, I'll send the guards back after the inspection. I have to pack up and go have a wedding banquet," Ming Li said, "Half of the prominent people in Changhuai County have gone to the Xu family today. I wanted to go to the Xu family for inspection." Let’s go and join in the fun too.”
This sentence struck Zhong Weiyu's heart again, and she couldn't help but ask: "Xu family? Xu family...could it be that they are in the silk business?"
"Exactly. The patrol inspector also knows?"
Wei Yu sat up straighter and asked, "Is the family that is married to the Xu family a tea business?"
"Yes, shopkeeper Wu from the tea shop." Mingli heard something wrong in Wei Yu's voice: "What's wrong?"
Wei Yu took a deep breath and looked solemn.
When Mingli talked about this matter with Taoist Baishi, the old Taoist said something about "Sanniang's evil sun" and "bloody disaster". At that time, she only felt that something was wrong.
Only now do we know the crux of the matter.
She saw the marriage between the Xu and Wu families from the criminal records.
Along with this marriage, there are a few words that appear on the case record that are deeply memorable: the case of the extermination of sixteen members of the Xu family.
