Chapter 495 You are obvious

After dinner, I started making hawthorn cake.

Wash and core the hawthorns, add appropriate amount of water and boil. After they are softened, turn to low heat and simmer, stirring constantly, until they become a red meat paste.

Add an appropriate amount of powdered rock sugar and continue to cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a spatula until the spatula has obvious resistance.

Pour the boiled hawthorn syrup into the mold and spread it flat, then place it outside to cool and wait for it to solidify.

Su Ying poured some hawthorn sugar juice onto a layer of oiled gauze, spread it out and put it in the sun to dry, instead of putting it outdoors.

"What is this for?" Li Tai saw that the two methods were different.

"This is fruit leather. Let it air-dry for four or five days. After it's dried, it can be stored for a longer period of time and will be chewy when eaten." Su Ying explained.

Guodanpi originated during the reign of Emperor Kangxi. During the campaign against Galdan, the Eight Banners Army used a secret communication method called "Guozidan".

Secret orders were written on slices made of hawthorn juice, which officials would eat directly after reading. Or if intelligence soldiers were caught along the way, they would eat the fruit pills to ensure that secrets were not leaked.

Later it spread to the people, and continued to evolve and improve, becoming a favorite snack.

In Lingnan, Su Ying used sour jujube to make sour jujube cake and dried it, which is similar to fruit jelly.

The hawthorn cake was left to dry for a while, but the temperature outside was low, so it solidified quickly.

Cut into even small pieces and wrap with cooked glutinous rice flour. The crystal clear bright red hawthorn cake is covered with a thin layer of white frost, which is particularly tempting.

"Come, try it!" Su Ying filled a plate and asked everyone to taste it.

Li Chengqian picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. It had a sour and sweet taste, a different flavor.

"Hmm, delicious! Lord Xiao Su, I want to take some back for my father and mother!" Li Tai shouted as soon as he took a bite.

Li Chengqian was so angry that he looked at Li Tai and said, "You are the only one who is filial! You are so filial!"

"Master Su, please give me some, including the fruit leather." Prince Lu Li Yuanchang rarely asked.

His father was the retired emperor, over sixty years old, and moved to Da'an Palace.

The terrain there is low, and it is humid and hot in summer. My father often has no appetite, so I brought hawthorn cake back to stimulate his appetite.

"I want one too, I want one too!" Du He didn't fall behind either.

After a busy period, everyone took away a portion of hawthorn cake and fruit leather.

The fruit leather had not dried yet, so we took it away together with the flour and gauze to eat and carry.

"Thank you for bothering me today, Lord Su, for your hospitality!" Li Chengqian expressed his gratitude after he was escorted to the door.

"Master Xiao Su, thank you!" Li Tai said casually, "When the math book is finished, please let me know. I'll read it first."

"Yes, Your Highness the Fourth Prince!" Su Ying said respectfully.

"Qingque!" Li Chengqian frowned unhappily after hearing this, without even opening his mouth.

"It's okay. After it's compiled, I'll ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to review it and confirm that it's correct before distributing it." Su Ying had a headache, and she stroked the hair to save the Crown Prince's face.

Li Chengqian nodded and got on the carriage with satisfaction.

"Hmph!" Li Tai rolled his eyes. He was somewhat dissatisfied with his brother and also somewhat dissatisfied with Su Ying. It was clearly he who said it first.

"Your Highness, the activated carbon will be ready for production today. Lord Yan should deliver it to you. Do you have any brown sugar? When do you plan to make it?" Su Ying changed the subject.

"I don't have much brown sugar. Does Lord Su have any?" Li Tai looked uncomfortable. He liked to eat sweets, and there was not much brown sugar left from the ones he had distributed a few days ago.

"Then, come and learn from me!" Su Ying said helplessly.

"Good!" Li Tai said happily, having another excuse to leave the palace.

"I'm coming too!" Li Chengqian said.

Seeing that Su Ying and Li Tai were so close, he felt uncomfortable, because Lord Su was his own person.

"Great! This is the task that my father assigned to me!" Li Tai was not happy with his brother's interference.

"Didn't you come to carry out the mission assigned to me by my father? Why can't I come?" Li Chengqian said lightly.

Qingque used his usual tricks, and now Li Chengqian returned them to him, walking in other people's paths and leaving them with no way to go.

"You, I..." Li Tai had no words to refute.

"It's getting late, Your Highnesses, please go back!" Su Ying interrupted hurriedly.

This is outside the palace. The two brothers are having a quarrel. If they are seen by someone with ulterior motives, they will either impeach them or take advantage of the situation.

After the carriages and horses left, the bustling gate of the Su Mansion became empty.

"Leaving?" Su Bucheng came out from the neighboring Jingzhao Prefecture.

On the last day of the year, I should have left the government office early, but I learned that the Crown Prince, the Fourth Prince and others were visiting my house.

Su Bucheng had no choice but to stay on duty in Jingzhao Prefecture.

They came to the mansion to see the eldest daughter. If I go back, I will have to pay my respects to them. I will disturb the interest of several princes, so I'd better stay in the government office.

"Well, Father, can you have a meal?" Su Ying asked.

"It's used!" Su Bucheng approached, "Let's go home!"

"Bang!" The door of Liangyi Hall was pushed open.

"Aye!" Qingque's joyful voice.

The emperor, who was reviewing memorials, looked up helplessly with a doting look in his eyes. This child was not afraid of him and was unruly.

He enjoyed his son's admiration and coquettishness.

"Qingque! What brings you here so late?" The emperor put down the imperial pen in his hand.

"Come on, try it and see if it tastes good!" Li Tai opened the food box.

"Oh, was it made by Lord Su?" The emperor looked at the hawthorn cake covered with white frost, smelled the sour and sweet taste, and his mouth kept secreting saliva.

"That's right, Dad, try it!" Li Tai took out a small piece and stuffed it into his father's mouth.

"Is it delicious?" Li Tai looked at his father hopefully, with a look that looked like he was asking for praise.

"Well, not bad! It just so happens that Aye is tired, and eating a piece will instantly relieve the sleepiness." The emperor felt that this was better than the candied haws from yesterday.

"My son has learned it. I will make it for Daddy from now on!" Li Tai hugged his father and rocked him coquettishly.

"Okay, okay! Aye is waiting to eat the hawthorn cake made by Qingque, haha..." Li Tai's coquettish words touched the emperor's heart, and the emperor was very pleased.

"Hey, Aye, today I finally got to see how knowledgeable Master Xiao Su is!"

Li Tai's eyes sparkled as he shared with his father what he had seen and heard today.

"Oh, no wonder. I was wondering why the bacon and sausages sent to you didn't taste like mutton." The emperor nodded.

Just as they were about to have their meal, Xu Zhi came in with a thermos lunch box and said that the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince were still at the Su Mansion and had not finished their studies yet, so he sent some home-cooked dishes for His Majesty to taste.

When the lunch box is opened, the first aroma to come out is the sour radish and old duck soup, followed by scrambled eggs with leeks, and the most eye-catching are the Cantonese sausage and the bacon fern cake fried with garlic sprouts.

The emperor, who was not very hungry originally, suddenly felt very hungry.

"Can the Queen have a meal?" The emperor wanted to share with his wife.

"One copy was sent from the Empress, and one was also given to Changle of Fengyang Pavilion and Princess Yuzhang!" Xu Zhi replied.

"In that case, then we won't call anymore, so the Queen won't have to run back and forth!" The Emperor nodded with satisfaction.

Sit down and eat slowly. The dishes are not big in portion, just enough for one person.

Su Ying had experienced the royal meal that day, so the portion was not extra.

"How can Lord Su be so stingy!" The emperor ate all the food without noticing and still felt hungry.

On the other hand, Xu Zhi was smiling. It was rare to see the emperor eating so happily.

The emperor was very surprised that the Cantonese sausages and bacon did not have that strong smell. He thought Su Ying was a great cook, but he didn't expect that they were castrated piglets.

"Father, Master Su said that if this technology is promoted, live pigs will replace mutton, saving a lot of arable land." Li Tai remembered Su Ying's words.

496. How great it would be if she were a man

"Oh, what does Qingque think?" The emperor looked at his son with relief.

"Father, I think what Master Xiao Su said makes sense. Guanzhong is densely populated. If we can reduce the number of sheep raised and encourage the people to raise pigs, we can save a lot of arable land."

Li Tai said excitedly that this was his own independent thinking, not just a simple agreement.

"Well, then, Aye will give you another task. Write a memorial to promote pig farming, and discuss it at the grand court meeting after the New Year! How do you think?"

The emperor wants to see his son's political ability.

"Yes, Aye!" Li Tai happily responded while hugging his father, a very well-behaved baby.

"Father, the child brought back a book, take a look!" Li Tai presented another treasure to his father and took out the new book.

The emperor took the book and slowly flipped through it.

At first I didn't think much of it. Although it looked strange, it came with instructions and I could understand the symbols that represented one, two, three, etc.

Then look at the operations that follow, horizontal and vertical forms, multi-digit addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, as well as word problems.

The emperor took a deep breath. After learning this book, not only the mobilization of food and fodder in wars, but also the daily allocation of various materials such as the construction of city walls and river dams became simple and easy.

Even the abacus can be saved, and calculations can be done with a wooden stick on the ground.

Moreover, using this symbol to keep accounts makes it clear and concise, with a table showing two lines of income and expenditure.

"Well, this book is good! It's quite suitable for the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War." The emperor looked at the woodblock print and asked, "Is this book popular in Lingnan's official schools?"

"Only in Wuzhou did Lord Su suggest to Gao Ming that the Agricultural College and the Engineering College should offer this course." Li Tai did not take credit for it and spoke the truth.

"Well, that's a good idea!" The emperor nodded. His sons are growing up and have independent opinions, which is great!

Seeing the sparkle in his son's eyes, as if he had something else to say, he asked, "Anything else?"

"Aye, you didn't go to the workshop to supervise the smelting. When the bellows were pulled, the fire in the furnace became dazzling. Standing far away, the heat was billowing..."

Li Tai told his father what happened in the smelting plant. He was shocked. By adding coke and lime, the smelting time could be greatly reduced and the iron output could be increased.

There are also steelmaking furnaces, which are connected to smelting blast furnaces to save time, labor and fuel...

What he saw and heard that day was like a soaring flight, breaking his previous cognition. Li Tai talked incessantly, repeating the principles that Su Ying had said.

In the past, the lessons were nothing more than self-cultivation, the cultivation of gentlemanly conduct, and how to be a good prince with both good morals and virtues.

But today we are talking about science and technology, people's livelihood, education, and other industries that drive the country's strength and development.

Li Tai talked a lot, and the emperor listened with great interest.

"Mother, please try it!" Li Chengqian from Lizheng Hall brought out a plate of hawthorn cake.

Zhinu, who was less than three years old, and Chengyang, who was five or six months old, went to bed early, otherwise they would definitely come to grab food.

Empress Changsun looked at the exquisite and tempting hawthorn cake with a gentle and approving look, but did not reach out to pick it up.

Instead, he asked, "Does your father have any?"

"Yes, Qingque will deliver it! We have them in Changle and Yuzhang!" Li Chengqian picked up a piece and handed it to his mother, "Eat it quickly, mother!"

"You child!" Empress Changsun took it with a smile and took a light bite.

The eldest son was the crown prince that the couple had spent a lot of effort to cultivate. For some reason, the eldest son was close and casual with her, but was reserved and uncomfortable in front of her husband.

This is not acceptable, as it will affect the emotional communication between father and son.

The second son, on the other hand, is good at coaxing people and acting coquettishly, which makes her husband quite happy.

Empress Changsun sighed secretly in her heart, feeling worried that the story of Yang Guang and Yang Yong would happen again, and she was even more afraid that the Xuanwu Gate Incident would happen again.

The eldest son was filial and thought of his mother first. She was happy and relieved, but also worried.

Logically, the eldest son should go to Liangyi Hall first, but it was the second son who went!

Empress Changsun wondered if she was too sensitive and was very nervous.

"Mother, here is a book that I think is very useful." Li Chengqian presented the mathematics book.

Empress Changsun flipped through the book silently, nodding her head repeatedly. "Did Lord Xiao Su compile this?"

"That's right! Mother has a lot of accounts to take care of. If we use this method, it will save a lot of time." Li Chengqian said in a soft voice.

He saw his mother working hard and losing weight, and he wanted to share her worries.

When he saw this book, he thought of asking his mother to learn it so that she could free herself from the tedious chores.

"That's very thoughtful!" Empress Changsun patted her eldest son's shoulder lovingly.

"Mother, today I met several female teachers from Lingnan Women's Official School. They all have good manners. Why don't we invite them to teach Changle and Yuzhang some new mathematics?" Li Chengqian suggested.

"Well, let's wait until after the New Year! I still need to teach you about silkworms," ​​Empress Changsun said, then changed the subject, "I heard that Minister Lu's wife came to the Su Mansion to ask for help?"

"When did this happen? The child doesn't even know about it?" Li Chengqian was surprised.

He said indignantly: "I didn't hear anything today at the Su Mansion. Yesterday at the grand court meeting, my father demoted Minister Lu.

His old lady is taking action today? This Lu family is so hypocritical!

It was because of this old lady that the Su family agreed to this marriage!

The Su family was exiled, the Lu family pursued them to break off the engagement, and humiliated young Master Su, but there was no sign of the old lady.

Minister Lu was demoted, so she stopped pretending to be deaf and dumb and came to visit him today! "I absolutely cannot enter the Lu family!"

"You kid!" Empress Changsun found it funny to see her eldest son indignant.

It is rare for the eldest son, who has always been self-controlled and steady, to show such intense emotions.

"That's right! Old people become cunning, and that old lady Lu is very cunning! When the Lu family is safe, she remains motionless and steady like an old dog. When the Lu family is in trouble, she will come out immediately!

Come to think of it, I should really thank the Lu family for breaking off the engagement.

Otherwise, it would be a real shame for Lady Su, marrying into a den of tigers and wolves, and being tortured for the rest of her life! The court would have lost a talented person in vain! "

From the perspective of the emperor and the crown prince, Li Chengqian would rather Su Ying be used by the court than be confined to the harem as an ordinary woman.

"A blessed person should not enter the door of an unfortunate one! The Lu family is not worthy of having Little Master Su!" Empress Zhang Sun said, "It would be so great if she were a man!"

If you are a man, you don't need to be bound by marriage, and marriage may even be a help.

But Su Ying is a woman. Once she gets married, she will most likely have to take off her official robes, live in the backyard, and take care of her husband and children for the rest of her life!

The mother and son chatted for a while before taking their leave. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and there will be a grand palace banquet.

"Your Majesty, go to bed early!" Helan Rongrong saw the Queen sitting there in a daze.

"Hmm!" The queen stood up and sighed imperceptibly.

"Why is Her Majesty sighing? His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is so filial!" Helan Rongrong was puzzled.

These past few days, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been lively and active, unlike his dull self in the past. He is truly in the state a child of this age should be.

"Gao Ming is a good boy!" Empress Changsun said with a smile.

I wanted to say something but then I shook my head and smiled, saying, "Take it slow, everything will be fine when you grow up."

From the current perspective, Gao Ming is doing a good job as the crown prince. He participates in politics and discusses state affairs. He has vision and pattern, and handles government affairs in an orderly manner.

With more time and experience, he will surely be a wise and benevolent ruler in the future.