Chapter 338

·

·

·

Protagonist:

Song Miao

Zhao Yu's rear palace had no concubines, only Deng Empress alone.

Monogamy naturally saved him worry.

Perhaps because he was adopted, or perhaps because she herself had a strong nature, back then she was the sole favorite in the Pepper Chamber; even though the Emperor and Empress had no children for a time, Empress Dowager Yang had never pressured her.

Precisely because she never interfered, Deng Empress always felt grateful toward this Empress Dowager.

Not treating the Emperor as an emperor, only as an ordinary husband, with her mother-in-law above giving full tolerance, Deng Empress could naturally devote herself wholeheartedly to planning for her husband.

She said: "I see that the Empress Dowager usually loves trying fresh things. Last time when the wife of Duke of Wei entered the palace, she mentioned that on Yu Jie there was a shop selling fish soup that tasted different from other places; she couldn't wait until the next day, and that very night, taking advantage of the palace gates not yet closed, she had someone buy some back to taste..."

"Previously I didn't think of it at the time. Old and old, the Empress Dowager is also getting on in years. In the future, if Your Majesty comes across any new delicacies or novelties, you can send her more."

Zhao Yu hesitated for a moment, then said: "Today can be considered a case of special circumstances. If in the future the frequency of sending things becomes too high, I fear people outside will talk again, saying I seek fame and reputation, merely fishing for a name of filial piety. If there is something suitable, I'll take it back, and you can send it to Ciming Palace on my behalf!"

"Who cares about them!" Deng Empress said impolitely. "Whatever Your Majesty does or says, people outside always have something to say. In my opinion, you care too much about what others say. It's not about court affairs or state matters; we are family, living our days behind closed palace gates. Who can manage us?!"

"Moreover, although I can send and serve, it's ultimately different from Your Majesty personally giving it!"

Everything has its advantages and disadvantages.

The Emperor had a generous character, inevitably being somewhat indecisive. Often when he heard this minister speak, he would lean toward that one; when he saw a minister or prime minister submit a memorial, he would listen to that one too, and he always cared very much about outside judgments—this was good, but also not good.

Also because he was adopted, he had suffered hardship in childhood, his position was gained by luck, and he often held a cautious and humble heart, being more willing to consider others. Indeed, he lacked a bit of decisiveness and severity.

Now his Imperial Uncle Lu Wang was still alive, not yet sent to his fiefdom, and still often came and went with a group of powerful nobles and clansmen. When they gathered, they privately criticized the Emperor, and someone even commented to his face that "the current ruler lacks imperial majesty."

Lu Wang, hearing such words, actually still laughed and drank wine.

Even so, after Zhao Yu heard about it, although he was annoyed in his heart, he said nothing and did nothing, only able to touch his nose and swallow this anger.

At this time, having heard the Empress's words, he neither agreed nor disagreed, only saying: "Hurry and eat. You've waited for me half a day; you must be hungry by now!"

Deng Empress saw that Zhao Yu was covered in dust, yet she had palace attendants bring clothes and, not relying on others, personally helped him.

Just as she was taking off his narrow robe, her hand touched somewhere, and the Emperor suddenly hissed, obviously in pain.

Deng Empress was stunned, wondering what was wrong, and hurriedly removed his inner shirt to look. She saw that his right shoulder was red and swollen, even with some bruising, but it was a flat, long, strip-like wound.

She was startled and asked: "What happened? Your Majesty, where did you get this?"

She wanted to call someone to summon the Imperial Physician.

Zhao Yu was also a bit embarrassed. He grabbed her and said: "It's nothing. Today I went to He Dao Shang and saw many common laborers carrying loads, so I followed and carried a few trips. Unexpectedly, sand and stones were so heavy that I felt something was wrong at the time. But since I had already started, it wasn't proper to give up halfway..."

He added: "Don't call the Imperial Physician anymore. Too much commotion. If word gets out, it will be embarrassing!"

Deng Empress felt both heartache and helplessness, saying: "For no reason at all, you were supposed to inspect the embankment. Why did you go carry sand and stones!"

After speaking, she hurriedly urged someone to bring medicine oil.

Zhao Yu smiled bitterly and said: "If common laborers can carry, I naturally can too. I only carried this one time, but they carry every day. Only by shouldering the burden oneself can one know the hardship... Alas, this year's flood season is really too long! After this is over, we must properly placate them and let all places rest and recuperate."

For a moment, Deng Empress also thought of the several times Jingcheng had been flooded for long periods. Not to mention the streets outside, even several palaces in the Imperial Palace had been flooded and leaked rain. Ordinary commoners found it even harder to make a living. She felt lingering fear and replied: "Fortunately, it will pass soon. Once autumn comes, everything will be fine!"

She added: "I have already had someone tally the names of Palace Maids and Palace Attendants. Taking advantage of autumn, I'll release a batch. First, to reduce expenses; second, so they can reunite with their families and celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. Release them earlier, and in winter the palace can save on firewood and winter clothes."

The two applied medicine while chatting about trivial matters, and finally sat down to eat.

Her husband had specially brought food back, so Deng Empress was naturally happy and would give him face no matter what.

She didn't take other staples, only took steamed buns, and had palace attendants place several plates of small dishes in front of her, preparing to eat them with the buns.

After inspecting the embankment and learning the river water had receded; after going to Taixue and seeing officials improve in time and scholars not being mistreated; after returning, she also visited Ciming Palace to show filial piety. Zhao Yu felt everything today had gone smoothly, full of hope. Although his shoulder hurt a little, his mood was very good, and his spirits were high.

Seeing Deng Empress take a steamed bun, he hurriedly said: "Eat that Grilled Meat Chashao Bun—that flavor is the most special. I've never tasted it before. Also, that Suan Pa Cai Man Tou is good, very appetizing! Today the students urged me for half a day, having me try everything, saying it's all delicious. You should try it too!"

These several sentences in a row seemed to be urging her to eat buns, but were actually secretly showing off that this Emperor had students who understood him.

After being husband and wife for several years, how could Deng Empress not know her husband's reserved nature? She couldn't help but praise him.

I don't know if it's because one's mood is good that everything tastes delicious. Both Deng Empress and the Emperor felt that today's buns were exceptionally delicious.

The bun skins were either soft or tender, some were fluffy, and some had a bit of chewiness. Different fillings paired with different skins, and one bite could reveal the difference. Relying on the different skins, the characteristics of the fillings were more obviously highlighted.

Tofu Steamed Buns, Suan Pa Cai Man Tou, Mutton Buns, and such were common flavors, but his seasoning was very good. Without being novel, it was the flavor most familiar to people. The saltiness, meat and vegetables, filling and skin proportions were just right, making the buns especially harmonious upon entering the mouth.

Even after being left for half a day, relying on the charcoal in the food box's interlayer to keep warm, they were still very fragrant.

These few already tasted very good. There were also several new flavors: Grilled Meat Chashao Bun, Golden Sand Bun, and Flaky Crisp Bun. Each had its own deliciousness, and because the flavors were new, they seemed a little more delicious.

What surprised Deng Empress most were two of them.

One was the Golden Sand Bun. Inside the salted egg yolk, a thick milky fragrance seeped out. The taste was very rich. One bite and the filling burst out, flowing sand and flowing syrup. Salty and sweet intertwined, seeming like milk sweetness had the upper hand, but upon careful tasting, the fine salted egg yolk seemed to have smeared a layer of salty and fresh fine sand in the mouth, making it impossible to ignore.

The other was the Flaky Crisp Bun. Cured ham cubes mixed with meat filling and finely chopped shiitake mushroom cubes. One bite and the meat juice also flowed out, carrying the unique salty and fresh taste of cured ham. The skin was especially soft, a kind of crisp tenderness, layer upon layer, stacked upon stacked, oily, moist, fresh, and fragrant...

She couldn't help but urge him: "Your Majesty, this one is good. Quickly try this one!"

Inside Funing Palace, a couple was eating happily. In Taixue, after Zhao Yu left, he searched around for Cao Fuzi, finally caught him, and brought several old men to block Deng Jijiu inside the Teaching Hall.

As soon as they entered, Deng Jijiu heard the commotion and had already come to the door. He greeted them in a good voice: "It's Lao Cao! Eh, Lao Sun, Ping Song, Xiao Gao is here too? Senior Brother?"

Cao Fuzi didn't argue with him. Getting straight to the point, he asked about Song Ji's dishes: "Offering buns to the Emperor is one thing, but I have another food box. The people below said that food box was given to you, Jijiu—where is it?"

Deng Jijiu put on a surprised look and said: "Wasn't that Song Ji providing side dishes for Taixue?"

While Cao Fuzi held him here, other teachers had already gone to the back and almost simultaneously cried out in pain.

"Lao Cao! Over here!"

"You guys come quickly!"

A crowd surged into the inner room all at once.

Among them, two writing desks had been temporarily joined, with only leftover scraps and cold roasted meat remaining on top.

There were eight or nine plates and bowls. Some plates had more food left, while others had been eaten cleanly, leaving only empty plates.

Just then, someone standing in a corner lifted a food box from the ground and called out, "Isn't this Song Ji's?!"

Everyone looked toward the sound, and sure enough, the handle of the food box bore a clear "Song Ji" seal.

Everyone glared at Deng Jijiu, and the several xuezheng who had been sitting at the table now hurriedly stood up.

The xuezheng shook their robes and stretched their sleeves in a flurry.

Before long, someone discovered another piece of evidence.

"Isn't that salt-baked shrimp?!"

In the bone dish on the table, shrimp shells were piled high, and there was also a long leftover rib bone.

Seeing that bone, an old teacher nearly lost his footing and said angrily, "That's Song Xiaoniangzi's roasted long ribs! I specially ordered them, asking her to roast them tender and fragrant, to keep enough juice, to marinate them thoroughly before roasting—it all went to you!"

And Lao Cao's heart was broken too.

In the bone dish on the table, several places on the shrimp still had uncleaned coarse salt grains on the shrimp guns and shrimp mouths—clearly his own salt-baked shrimp!

Seeing the scene was turning ugly, Deng Jijiu cleared his throat and said, "The lower-ranking people said Song Ji brought this as a side dish for the teachers, so I didn't think much of it, and we hadn't had time to eat yet……"

"You say it's a side dish for the Taixue teachers—are you lot of xuezheng Taixue teachers?!"

"When you usually do your work, I never see you 'not thinking much' before snatching things away, but at mealtime, you suddenly 'don't think much'!"

A group of old men who did not want to become officials and feared no superiors, relying on their deep seniority and high standing, and with Chen and Cao Fuzi backing them behind, scolded them without the slightest fear.

The Grand Secretary stood to one side, seeing that the superior official could not free himself, so he had to step in and help, saying, "It was truly an unintentional mistake—why don't we return some dishes to the gentlemen? Shall I have the canteen make them?"

This was as good as saying nothing.

The old men immediately exploded.

"Return dishes? You actually dare say to return Song Xiaoniangzi's dishes with canteen food?! Shameless!!"

"Now you know about the canteen? Why didn't you only eat canteen food before?!"

"You're always out doing odd jobs, setting questions here and there, fine, but when you come back, you hold us back from behind—where is your righteousness, where is your conscience?"

"What's this about meals included? What do the law students and the Ministry of Personnel eat all day? Song Ji sends steamed buns to Taixue every day without sending a few to us, and we have to figure it out ourselves—figure it out all you want, it was almost in our hands, but you snatched it away, with no explanation at all!"

"I've been waiting half a day for salt-baked crab and salt-baked shrimp—you're saying now they all went into your bellies?!"

The xuezheng were in the wrong after all, and when scolded they dared not talk back, but upon hearing this last sentence, they all looked up at once.

"What salt-baked crab?!"

"Is there salt-baked crab?"

"And salt-baked crab too?! How come we didn't see any?"

The voices came one after another, the tones differed, but the shock within remained unchanged.

Five or six pairs of eyes almost simultaneously turned toward one side.

The person being stared at saw that everyone's gaze was off, and hurriedly said, "When I took it in, there was only this much, nothing else—what, do you suspect me of stealing food?!"

"No, call that miscellaneous servant over, I must wash my name clean!"

"Stop talking nonsense—so is there crab or not?!"

The xuezheng quarreled among themselves, the old men shouted, and in the end Deng Jijiu was no longer Deng Jijiu, but instead produced a treasure—"It's my fault, let me send someone to that Song Ji food shop you mentioned to order a table, and have them deliver food and dishes for everyone to have a meal, is that alright?"

"You've all worked hard these past days, setting questions everywhere, just right to reward you!"

"That's not the same thing—setting questions is setting questions, today is today—there should be two meals!" But Chen Fuzi, who had been standing in a corner all along without a word, casually interjected.

While these fellow disciples quarreled over salt-baked shrimp and salt-baked crab here, in Suanzao Alley two streets away, Song Miao still did not know about all these things happening because of the steamed buns and side dishes.

She was facing a group of escort guards quarreling over shift rotation.

The thieves who climbed over the wall into the house last night, along with their coachmen, had all been caught, and the three fraudulent old men had also surrendered; Minister Cao had also come to take back the copied official documents, so results should come soon.

Since it was so, Song Ji no longer needed so many people guarding here; just one or two left on rotation would do.

But who to leave behind became a great problem.

"Escort Chief, arrange it for me!"

"Forget it, still arrange it for me, little brother is young and ultimately not as steady as me—it's not for the few meals and food here either; I've run escort missions for twenty-odd years, I'm very familiar and meticulous, if on rotation, I'm the most suitable, won't be negligent in the slightest, and won't trouble Song Xiaoniangzi at all!!"

"Arrange it for me! I sleep less at night!"

"You sleep less, I sleep less too! I can rotate day and night!"

Xu Erlang tried several times to say a couple of words, but seeing such a scene, he dared not speak.

Just as they were arguing lively, someone carrying a bundle came in from outside, listened for a while, and said, "Rotation? Then it should be me! You're all men, and the food shop is all women; when there's an emergency and many people, it doesn't matter, but now there are only one or two—how is that convenient—But I'm different! I'm also a woman; though I can't compare to Sister-in-law running escort missions with all her skills, am I inferior to you?!"

It was Xu Niangzi, who had forgotten she still had an anxious nephew to show off for, thinking of the late-night snacks she had eaten at Song Ji, and now she was eager to show off here too.

Who would dare argue with the account room that handles money?

Moreover, what she said did make sense.

So that evening, Xu Niangzi happily stayed overnight at Song Ji.

She was very hardworking; having eaten, she wouldn't eat for nothing. Aside from her proper duties, after sending off the long- and short-term hires, she was not idle, insisting on helping clear the tables and chairs. Seeing it was getting late, she was about to take the initiative to latch the door when she suddenly heard horse hoof sounds outside. She raised a lamp and went out to look, and saw someone riding a horse coming from outside the alley.

Seeing who it was, Xu Niangzi didn't think much and hurriedly asked, "It's Young Master Han—so late, are you here to eat?"