Chapter 524 Unknown
At the spring banquet held at the Lingyang Marquis Mansion, some people appreciated the flowers, some recited poems, and it was very lively.
A group of noblemen were sitting together and chatting, when suddenly someone mentioned the battle between Daliang and Dongyi.
"It is a great relief that the Southwestern Army defeated the Dongyi. In recent years, we have heard that the Dongyi people always take the opportunity to cause trouble on the border. This time, we have finally taught them a lesson."
"I feel happy too. This time we not only taught the Dongyi a lesson, but also deterred those small countries in the southwest that were ready to make a move. The facts are before us, and our previous tolerance is unnecessary. Only this war can enhance our national prestige."
"I heard that the one leading the troops this time seems to be General Yan's granddaughter Yan Yan."
"What? After such a great victory, the leader of the army was actually General Yan's granddaughter?"
"Yan Yan has been with General Yan since she was a child. Not only is she skilled in martial arts, she also follows him to the battlefield. This time the Dongyi went too far, so the court decided to attack them. It just so happened that General Yan had an old illness, so his granddaughter was sent to take over. Unexpectedly, General Yan's granddaughter is even better than her father."
"I remember Yan Yan from the Yan family. At the end of last year, His Majesty gave her a red tassel spear, praising her for being as brave as a man. It seems that His Majesty is indeed a wise man. He discovered Yan Yan's military talent very early on."
Someone, holding a wine glass, suddenly said meaningfully: "I also knew about that incident at that time, and I also know why His Majesty gave me the red tassel spear."
When the others heard this, they became curious and couldn't help but ask questions at once -
"Your Majesty bestowed the Red Tassel Spear on Yan Yan. Doesn't that mean he values Yan Yan's talent?"
"Yes, didn't His Majesty praise her for being as brave as a man? That must have been out of admiration for her military talent."
"Stop guessing, can't you just let Brother Chen tell you?"
"Brother Chen, you better tell me. Otherwise we will keep guessing."
The man called "Brother Chen" then said mysteriously: "Do you still remember the cancellation of the engagement between the He and Yan families?"
"Of course I remember."
The others nodded; of course they remembered.
Not only remember, but also have a deep impression.
"Are you talking about the time when He Qiming wanted to break off the engagement with the Yan family just for a peasant girl?"
Some of you here were also students of the Imperial College and were fortunate enough to witness the famous scene where he was whipped by Yan Yan. Now when you talk about it, you feel a sense of emotion.
"This incident caused a big stir. The whole capital knew about it. Wasn't He Qiming beaten by Yan Yan at the gate of the Imperial College?"
"Not only that, after the marriage between the two families was dissolved, He Qiming brought that peasant girl to stop Yan Yan at the entrance of Yipinlou. He wanted to find trouble with her, but ended up getting taught a lesson instead."
"Hahaha, I know about this. I was having dinner at Yipinlou at the time, and I even went up to the first floor to watch the show. It was much more exciting than the show in the theater."
"Okay, you guys are off topic again. Brother Chen, tell me what's going on?"
Everyone urged...
"Yes, didn't Brother Chen want to tell us why His Majesty gave the Red Tassel Spear to Yan Yan?"
"That's right. You've whetted our appetite, but why are you suddenly silent?"
The person who had just brought up the topic felt very proud when he saw that his companions all looked anxious.
He put down his wine glass and then slowly said, "Actually, these things did cause a big stir at the time, and even His Majesty knew about it. His Majesty gave the Red Tassel Spear to Yan Yan, firstly because she followed General Yan to the battlefield several times, and secondly to appease the Yan family."
Appease the Yan family?
Everyone quickly understood the meaning of this statement. He Qiming was in the wrong in that matter.
The engagement between the two families had been made long ago, but he suddenly canceled it, making such a big fuss, and repeatedly slapped the Yan family in the face for a peasant girl.
When people knew about this, many of them privately scolded He Qiming for being dishonest.
As a man and the eldest son of the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion, He Qiming has natural advantages.
Even if his marriage with Yan Yan failed, he could still marry the peasant girl.
Even if this matter became known to everyone, as long as some time passed and the matter gradually faded away, he could marry another wife with a good family background and good conditions in all aspects.
If he passes the imperial examination in the future, his status will be completely different.
Even if someone mentions this matter again, they will only attribute it to one of He Qiming's romantic affairs.
It won't have much impact on him at all.
But Yan Yan was different. She was a woman and the one whose engagement was broken off.
Not only will those gossipers talk about her behind her back, but they may also affect other women in the Yan family.
The Yan family has been loyal for generations, so Emperor Jingning naturally could not allow He Qiming to trample on the Yan family's reputation like this.
Only then was the red tasseled spear bestowed as a token of royal favor.
The man took another sip of wine and continued, "There is another thing. When Yan Yan attacked the Dongyi this time, she used the red tassel spear given to her by His Majesty. Moreover, General Yan and Yan Yan will soon return to the capital with the Southwest Army to receive the imperial court's reward."
As soon as these words came out, everyone started to discuss again -
"Yan Yan has made such a great contribution, and His Majesty is a man who loves talents, so he will at least make her a general."
"It is normal for soldiers at the border to be promoted based on their military merits, not to mention that Yan Yan fought such a beautiful battle."
"Anyway, promotion is essential."
"In this case, the He family really missed a good marriage opportunity."
"If He Qiming knew about these things, he would probably regret it so much that his intestines would turn green."
"That's for sure. A good general was pushed out by him. Now he has no place to cry."
"I think so too. He should have regretted it. He might even be planning to wait for General Yan to come back and then ask for forgiveness and continue the marriage."
"...That can't be possible...I don't think He Qiming is that shameless."
"One of them is now a commoner, and the other is a hero of Daliang who is about to be promoted to a higher position. The gap is huge, not to mention that he had done so many bad things before. The Yan family did not turn against the He family because of the kindness of the elders."
"It's useless to be thick-skinned. You need to be thick-skinned. I heard that General Yan has a bad temper. If He Qiming bullies his granddaughter and dares to come to his house, he will definitely be beaten out. If he dares to ask to continue the engagement, he might be chopped off."
"I guess the He family is so angry that a good marriage was ruined by their stupid son."
"That's not true. If He Qiming hadn't caused those things and had married Yan Yan smoothly, the southwest would have lost a great general."
"That's right, He Qiming only knows how to make trouble, which is really embarrassing for us men."
Someone suddenly thought of something: "Keep your voices down. It seems He Qiming is here today too. I just saw him over there. It would be bad if he heard us."
As soon as these words were spoken, the surroundings suddenly became quiet.
How come they didn’t know that He Qiming was here today too?
Everyone gathered together privately to chat and talked about some interesting stories about people in the capital, which was not a big deal.
But if the person involved hears you while you are joking, that would be bad.
No matter what you do in private, you still have to be more restrained in public.
Otherwise, if it really happens, everyone will be embarrassed.
Soon, someone started talking about other topics——
"I think you should have made reservations for the spring food event at the food court."
Everyone's attention was drawn away and everyone started discussing the matter again.
"Of course I made an appointment. Just looking at the brochure makes me hungry."
"I've had a feeling that every time a certain festival comes, there will be a new wave of activities at the food court."
"I've been keeping an eye on it, fearing that there would be an event and I'd miss it. Last time I didn't get a reservation in the first batch, so I had to wait until the second batch to get one. This time I finally made it."
"I've also asked someone to keep an eye out for it. As soon as I learned about the spring food event, I made a reservation immediately. I want to be the first one to enter and try all the special spring food."
"And the Spring Snack Gift Box. I want every one of them. But some of them are limited edition, so they're probably hard to get."
"Me too, I want that Spring Blossoms gift box, but it's not only limited, but you have to draw a lottery."
Everyone was discussing this matter one after another.
No one noticed that He Qiming was quietly leaving the corner without disturbing anyone.
*
Chen Huazheng and others were boating on the lake while enjoying snacks that suited the occasion with their family, feeling very comfortable.
"This chicken crispy corner is crispy and fragrant, sweet but not greasy, and quite delicious."
Chen Keheng ate the chicken crispy corners with great relish, praising them highly.
He usually doesn't particularly like sweet food, but chicken-stuffed desserts are an exception.
It tastes fragrant enough without being too sweet.
This time, Shen Zhaonian ate with his youngest son: "It is indeed delicious. Although all snacks with chicken-shaped fillings are delicious, I still think the chicken-shaped crispy corners are the most delicious."
Apart from anything else, at least among Ji Ying soft pancakes, Ji Ying bread and Ji Ying crispy corners, his favorite is Ji Ying crispy corners.
Although it is also called Sujiao, it is not quite the same as the Sujiao we eat during the Spring Festival.
The outer skin is crispy and delicious, and the chicken filling inside is extremely delicate and smooth, with a rich egg flavor.
It tastes rich and layered, and is extremely delicious.
Compared with the Jiying soft pancake, he felt that the Jiying crispy corner was more fragrant.
They are not very big, just one or two bites are enough.
Paired with a cup of tea to relieve the greasiness, it is simply first-class.
Zhou and Shen Kesi have a special liking for lotus crisps. They say that they are so beautiful and taste great.
The crust of the lotus pastry is so crispy that you have to be very careful even when picking it up.
Just take a light bite of the lotus crisp, and the crispy outer skin will fall into your mouth.
It is crispy and yet has a bit of chewiness.
If you bite deeper, you will taste the solid and dense filling inside.
It is crispy, soft and glutinous, yet has a pleasant sweetness.
Lotus cakes of different colors have different tastes.
Each one has a unique flavor, and each taste brings a completely different feeling.
The matcha-flavored green petals and the pumpkin-flavored yellow stamens in the middle complement each other perfectly. Just one chew and your mouth is instantly filled with sweetness.
If you taste it carefully, you can taste the aroma of coconut milk.
The fragrance of nature comes slowly and blooms gracefully on the tip of your tongue.
The bean paste made from white kidney beans is also added with butter, which is perfectly combined with the peach-flavored pink petals.
When the delicate and soft filling and the crust slowly spread in your mouth, a sense of satisfaction arises.
As you chew, the fruity aroma of peaches, the sweet aroma of bean paste and the milky flavor of butter intertwine in your mouth, making you intoxicated.
The purple petals made of purple rice look very eye-catching. Pick up a piece with chopsticks and taste it, and you will immediately feel the fragrance in your mouth.
Berries are added to it, which tastes sour and sweet and is very delicious.
Chen Ke Ting took a sip of tea and raised his eyebrows slightly: "These snacks are all delicious, but I think the salty tea cakes are more fragrant. Especially the ones with black bean filling."
In the past, he only knew that black-eyed peas could be used together with peanuts to make peanut, black-eyed pea and chicken feet soup, but he didn't expect that they could also be used as fillings.
The combination of the black-pea filling and the soft and glutinous outer skin of the tea cake is an unexpected match.
Shen Keheng also agreed, "Yes, salty tea cakes are very fragrant. My favorite ones are the ones with salted egg yolk, pork meat and seafood fillings."
Shen Kesi drank the tea in the cup and sighed comfortably: "In weather like this, it's really time to go out for fun. With the snacks prepared by Zheng'er, it's simply a pleasure."
Enjoy the beautiful spring scenery, eat special spring snacks. Even if you just sit quietly in the boat and do nothing, you will feel much better.
Seeing that her family liked the snacks she prepared, Shen Huazheng smiled with curved eyebrows.
As expected, no matter what time it is, sweet and salty foods each have their own supporters.
Thinking of sweet and salty foods, Shen Huazheng couldn't help but think of zongzi.
After Qingming Festival, it is the Dragon Boat Festival.
During the Dragon Boat Festival, rice dumplings are of course indispensable.
[My parents and my second brother like sweet snacks, so they will probably like sweet rice dumplings. Lotus paste, red bean paste, jujube paste, chestnut paste, ash water rice dumplings...]
Shen Zhaonian & Shen Kesi: (⊙⊙)
Why did Zheng'er suddenly think of zongzi out of the blue?
But then again, after Qingming Festival, it’s Dragon Boat Festival.
Moreover, the taste of these rice dumplings does sound tempting.
Zhou: (*^_^*)
Mother’s little cotton-padded jacket.
[My eldest and third brothers like salty food, so salty pork dumplings are just right. There are also roast goose dumplings, barbecued pork dumplings, roast chicken dumplings, egg yolk scallops, mushrooms and mung beans dumplings, steamed dumplings, seafood and egg yolk dumplings, and polo dumplings...]
Shen Zhaonian & Shen Keheng: !!!
Zheng'er really understands them. They like every kind of food mentioned here, and they will definitely be delicious when made into fillings and wrapped in rice dumplings.
Although I don’t know what wrapped steamed rice dumplings and bolo rice dumplings are, but since Zheng’er specifically mentioned them, they must be delicious.
Zhou & Chen Keting & Chen Kesi: ω
Wait, even though they like sweet food, that doesn’t mean they don’t eat salty food!!
It turns out that zongzi can come in so many flavors.
I really hope the Dragon Boat Festival will come soon so that I can try all these flavors of rice dumplings.
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