Chapter 77 (Spicy Pork Belly with Garlic...)
Yan Qiushu felt uncomfortable after seeing this. She picked up the corn uncomfortably and took a big bite.
She bit off the corn kernels mixed with a little soup and ate them with her little mouth.
King Huai chuckled and said, "My Lord, you seem to like it very much."
Yan Qiushu replied casually, "Yes."
King Huai did not feel ignored and continued to talk about other things.
When Yan Qiushu was mentioned, she would respond with a few words. When someone else mentioned her, she would just bury her head in her food.
She was exhausted after working so long this afternoon.
She originally thought that the two families would have a meal together, and she would bring her children, the Xiao family, and Prince Chang and his wife to eat together. She didn't expect it to be such a formal occasion, with so many more people.
Yan Qiushu sighed silently.
Fortunately, the meal was finished quickly. The maids came in one after another and cleared away all the tableware. Everyone was about to leave.
Yan Qiushu immediately became alert and wanted to slip away.
However, as the host of this small banquet, she was pulled to the door by Xie Qingyun to see the guests off.
Because it was too formal, Ah Heng was unable to say a word to Yan Qiushu. When he left, he was very reluctant to leave: "Sister Ah Shu, I will come to play with you another day."
Yan Qiushu rubbed his head: "You are welcome anytime."
Only then did Ah Heng leave with satisfaction.
The next to leave was Prince Shun. As they passed by, he said with a smile, "Aqin was very happy to hear that you had been awarded the title of Xiangjun for your meritorious service. He has a share of the gift I sent him. If possible, please write him a letter."
The two were unfamiliar with each other and had only exchanged a few words at the banquet. Prince Shun's words at this moment made Yan Qiushu stunned for a moment, then she thought of the pitiful little boy and her eyes curved. "Yes, I will. Thank you, Your Highness."
Prince Shun waved his hand and strode away.
After that came Dongdong’s good friends. These kids were also very innocent. They ate very contentedly, with their little bellies bulging. When they left, they all followed Dongdong’s lead and called her Sister A Shu, and left with brisk steps.
Next came the Xiao family's relatives, followed by the Prince of Jin and Yan Qiuyuan. The two walked past one after the other. The former didn't look away, while the latter paused as he passed her and said meaningfully, "You've become quite successful now, and Dad doesn't even know it."
"I have a father?" Yan Qiushu blinked blankly. "Miss Yan Liu, you must be joking. My father has long been dead, and his body was torn apart by wild beasts. To be honest, they don't know how successful I am now. I'll tell them when I pay my respects in a few days."
Yan Qiuyuan's expression changed slightly, and she looked at her in shock and anger. She had never expected that she could talk about her father's sudden death so lightly! It seemed that she really had no feelings for the Yan family at all.
Yan Qiushu looked back with a smile.
After staring at each other for a few seconds, Yan Qiuyuan snorted and strode away.
Why is she laughing now? When she really enters the Sixth Prince's backyard and becomes a concubine, she will still have to pay her respects to her, especially since this concubine is the one Zhou Zejing doesn't want.
Xie Qingyun noticed the movement on her side and came over and whispered, "You have a bad relationship with her?"
Yan Qiushu nodded: "Last year, the Yan family's daughter got into trouble. It was her who did it, but she framed me. How can this relationship be good?"
Xie Qingyun's family had a good atmosphere, and the Xiao family was even more united. Although she had heard about the horrors of women's family feuds, she was still quite shocked by the experiences of those around her. She wondered, "How could two sisters from the same family end up like this?"
Just as he finished speaking, the Fourth Prince finished talking to Madam Xiao and walked over. As he passed Yan Qiushu, he smiled and said, "I had a very pleasant chat with the Country Lord today, and I still feel a little reluctant to leave. If there is a chance, I would like to invite the Country Lord to dinner and talk about the specialties of other places."
Yan Qiushu raised a polite smile and said, "That's not necessary. This is all I know. If Your Highness likes it, why not go to the food court? The chefs there are actually more skilled."
They don’t know each other, why would they make an appointment?
The smile on King Huai's lips froze. He looked at her deeply, said goodbye politely and left.
As soon as King Huai left, everyone else in the palace also left.
Xie Qingyun had been serving all day and was already exhausted. Without outsiders around, her shoulders slumped. She pounded her arm and frowned, "What's wrong with His Royal Highness Prince Huai? Why does he seem like..."
She muttered, but then thought it was impossible?
King Huai was fond of Buddhism. When his brothers were fighting for the throne, he was traveling outside to enjoy the scenery, which impressed many people.
But on second thought, Ah Shu is a good girl, and King Huai does not like power. Although Ah Shu is now named Xiangjun, it is just a title. According to the old emperor's character, if Ah Shu did not have other fathers and brothers, this reward would definitely not fall on her.
The woman's identity, and possibly the Xiao family's influence, made the old emperor only intend to give her a nominal title to get the matter over with. However, if such a woman were married, it would also help to dispel the suspicions of other princes and prevent them from being involved in the struggle for the throne.
The more Xie Qingyun thought about it, the more she felt it made sense. However, looking at the girl beside her, she felt a little unhappy. She was brought back by Lao Liu, so she tentatively asked, "A Shu, what do you think of His Royal Highness Prince Huai?"
Yan Qiushu frowned slightly and said decisively: "Not very good, he doesn't look like a gentleman."
How could a man who could take advantage of Xiao Huaiya's weakness be a good person? She hated such people.
Xie Qingyun was stunned. She didn't expect to get such an answer. She thought that even if he didn't like her, he just didn't feel anything. Unexpectedly, he seemed to dislike her. After a moment's hesitation, she said, "Just now, I saw that His Royal Highness Prince Huai seemed to be interested in you."
Yan Qiushu's eyebrows jumped when she heard this, and she thought of the biography of Ping Niang that Xiao Huaiya was reading.
Although she couldn't find an excuse to hint at that incident because King Huai could no longer contact Xiao Huaiya, she gave up temporarily, but in her heart, King Huai was not a good person.
He seemed to be indifferent to worldly affairs, but in his previous life, he was able to give up the throne and leave Kyoto openly after killing the fifth and sixth princes. Such courage showed that he was not an ordinary person.
After knowing the other dark version of what happened between him and Xiao Huaiya, this man seemed particularly terrifying.
Why did he deliberately try to make a woman who had lived in a Taoist temple for several years like him? It was impossible that it was not for the Xiao family!
Now that he can't conquer Xiao Huaiya, he turns to conquer himself?
It was no wonder Yan Qiushu thought too much. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that she was right. Then she thought about the way Yan Qiuyuan suddenly looked at her halfway through the banquet. She always felt that there was some hostility in her eyes before, but after King Huai started talking to her, the look Yan Qiuyuan gave her was no longer hostile, but very strange, which made her feel uncomfortable.
If this is true...there are actually clues to follow?
Because he pointed out the shortcomings of potatoes, people might have noticed it. The Xiao family's big move in the food court has definitely attracted the attention of many people. Many people are jealous and want to follow suit, but there are very few who can make food as delicious as those in the food court.
The Xiao family never took credit for her work. All the prescriptions were invented by her. If you ask around, you will know that in the eyes of those people, she is definitely not as important as Xiao Huaiya. If they want to use her, it will be much easier.
This is also the reason why she doesn't want to run a restaurant herself. In this class society, it is difficult for her to keep these things. Those in power may make all her efforts go to waste with just a word.
But the point now is not this, but what will King Huai do to her?
Shouldn't it be necessary to ask for permission directly?
Yan Qiushu shook her head. Not really. They had just met once, and they were going to ask for permission right away. Moreover, it happened to be at the time when she was named Xiangjun for her contribution to potatoes. Even though her status was not prominent, it was still a bit ambiguous.
So just wait and see, when the enemy comes, we will fight him with our soldiers, and when the water comes, we will block it with earth
Prince Huai's Palace.
Summer nights seem especially short.
After returning from Xiao Mansion and resting for a while, King Huai had to get up and attend court. After the court was over, he had to go to the planting area specially planted by the royal family to see if the potatoes had sprouted.
Because it was he who presented such a good thing as potatoes, the emperor was very supportive and directly put him in charge of potato planting. However, he did not have to do anything personally, he just had to control the overall situation.
But because of this, countless people came to please him.
In everyone's mind, this is a prince who is destined to go down in history!
It would not be impossible for him to be the crown prince, right?
The third prince is gone, and Prince Shun has Concubine Lu above him. His Royal Highness Prince Chang and His Majesty often have different political views. There was also the previous confinement incident. Who knows if this will happen again in the future?
Although the Sixth Prince, Prince Xuan, seemed capable, he was not outstanding enough. The Fourth Prince, Prince Huai, was the first choice of many ministers who wanted the best for the country.
Of course, there are also people who want to get a piece of the pie, such as promoting the contribution of potatoes to benefit people all over the world.
King Huai had to receive many guests every day because of official business. Finally, he returned to the palace exhausted. He rested for a while. The maid massaged his limbs. He lay on the soft couch. When the massage became comfortable and his limbs, tired from the day's work, relaxed, he dismissed the maid and asked softly, "Have you finished what I asked you to do?"
The personal attendant immediately responded: "It has been completed and will be delivered this morning. May I show it to Your Highness?"
After getting permission, the servant took a letter from the bookshelf, opened it and handed it over.
King Huai took it and took a look at it, but his brows slowly furrowed.
This was the information he had people collect about De'an Xiangjun the day before yesterday, starting from everything that happened after she returned to Kyoto as Yan Shu. However, there was only information about her - eating and drinking!
She followed Xiao Huaiting back, but didn't do anything else. She was either eating or on the way to find food. The only time she was different was when she went out to join in the fun on the Lantern Festival and sold some popcorn.
After seeing what happened next, King Huai's expression finally improved.
She still has some weaknesses. She wants to go out and buy a farm.
Although the Xiao family gave her the farm, she still couldn't move out. It was probably because the Xiao family was reluctant to part with such a cash cow and wouldn't let her go. Since then, she gave the Xiao family obviously more recipes, and the food street was established soon after.
The Xiao family wouldn't be so stingy as to exchange a farm worth several hundred cars for so many prescriptions, right?
King Huai curled his lips and smiled. He had been worried that this girl would be very loyal to the Xiao family because of Xiao Huaiting's life-saving grace, and would be difficult to deal with. Now it seems that she is quite easy to deal with.
He said, "Send a letter to this king."
It's time to get in touch. If she can agree, it will be less troublesome. After all, he is going to marry the daughter of the Minister of War, and it is not good to take a concubine before she gets married.
It is most appropriate to be a mistress first.
This is the best. If a woman really likes someone, she can be humble to the dust, especially Yan Qiushu's identity. She was born as a concubine's daughter, abandoned by her family, and lived in the Xiao Mansion under the care of others. In order to live a good life, she would rather be a cook in the Xiao Mansion to coax a group of young masters.
It's still easy to grasp.
King Huai gave the order and the attendants immediately did so.
But within half an hour, the person returned, with a look of helplessness and embarrassment on his face: "Your Highness, the Lady of De'an said that their status is different and it is inconvenient. Plus, she doesn't like going out, so she won't go."
King Huai: “…”
He frowned in displeasure, but then he remembered that the information recording Yan Qiushu's schedule also showed that this girl really didn't like to go out. When she was in the Yan family, she was trying her best to go out, begging her stepmother to take care of her and coaxing her stepsister to take care of her. But in the Xiao family, Yan Qiushu really didn't spend much time going out.
But is he so easy to refuse?
King Huai continued, "Send another letter, saying she has something to ask about potatoes, and invite her to her favorite food court. After all, she knows so much about potatoes, and she saved King Chang because of it. I want to ask her what else she knows about potatoes."
The attendant nodded again: "Yes."
Yan Qiushu felt helpless when she received this letter.
It turned out that King Huai wanted to conquer her.
After being rejected once, he gave her a compliment the second time so that she had no choice but to accept.
Shui Yu knew that she disliked Prince Huai and was very worried: "Miss, are you going?"
"Of course I have to go. What else can I do now that he has said so?" Yan Qiushu shrugged, still very calm. She had many ways to deal with this situation and was not too worried as long as he did not bring up the old emperor.
It is extremely easy to make a prince who has always been spoiled hate a woman.
Seeing this, Shui Yu said, "Then I will go and prepare the carriage."
Yan Qiushu nodded and simply dressed up. She wore the plain clothes she usually wore in the mansion. As for her makeup, except for changing her eyebrows and eyes as usual, she did not do much to cover up the other parts.
When she arrived at the gate of Xiao's house, Shui Yu was already waiting there and the carriage was ready.
The food court was located in a remote area, and the carriage took a while to arrive. As soon as we got off the carriage, a clean-looking man with no stubble and a slightly shrill voice came over and said, "Greetings, my master is already waiting in the store. Please come in."
Yan Qiushu nodded and followed.
King Huai booked a formal stir-fry restaurant, which was also run by the Xiao family. Except for some Kyoto specialties and Da Zhou specialties, all the other dishes were made by her.
The food court was as crowded as usual, and this store was also very crowded, but because the store had expanded to the back, it was spacious and had many private rooms.
Yan Qiushu was led to one of the private rooms.
King Huai was sitting there.
"The Lord of the Country is finally here. I've been waiting for a long time and thought he wouldn't come."
"Greetings, His Royal Highness Prince Huai." Yan Qiushu smiled faintly, "Your Highness, you're joking. How could I not come to such an important event related to potatoes?"
King Huai's eyes darkened, and his fair and handsome face showed a bit of depression: "If it weren't for potatoes, the county lord wouldn't have come out?"
"Of course." Yan Qiushu spoke bluntly.
King Huai sighed, his expression growing increasingly gloomy. He forced a smile and stopped talking about the topic. "I ordered some blanched greens. What would you like to eat, my Lord?"
Yan Qiushu knocked on the menu. The private room had a special menu, which was the same as that of an ordinary restaurant, listing the main dishes, meat dishes, vegetarian dishes, and various drinks.
She glanced up and down and said, "Give me a plate of spicy garlic pork belly, garlic chicken wings, garlic spare ribs, and a glass of iced milk tea."
She calmly announced the dishes, but the young man's face gradually stiffened. As a prince, he had never allowed the palace people around him to eat such strong-flavored food since he was a child, for fear that the smell would offend his master.
The woman in front of him was the only one who dared to order a bunch of garlic dishes in front of him!
The waiter also looked strange, but since the customer had ordered, he took the order and then asked, "Sirs, what else do you need?"
“…No need.” said King Huai.
The waiter nodded immediately: "Okay, I'll bring it to you right away."
He went out quickly and told the kitchen to fry first.
Silence returned to the private room.
King Huai tried to speak several times, but Yan Qiushu kept lowering her eyes and playing with her fingers. When the milk tea came, she just drank it, completely ignoring the fact that there was someone beside her. This made the smile on King Huai's face become more and more forced.
"The Lord is a straightforward person." King Huai sighed.
Yan Qiushu smiled modestly: "It's okay, it's okay. The main reason is that life is short. If I don't act more freely, I will not be comfortable and it will make me uncomfortable."
King Huai raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, "Do you intend to stay in the Xiao Mansion forever?"
"Well, it looks pretty good at the moment." Yan Qiushu said.
King Huai was about to say something when the waiter knocked on the door and brought the dishes.
Yan Qiushu's eyes lit up immediately, and she looked at the dish with great anticipation. The aroma of garlic filled the elegant private room as soon as they entered the room. "This smells so good. The chef's cooking skills are really good."
"Thank you for your compliment, Mr. Xiang." The waiter smiled happily, put down the dishes, and left respectfully.
Yan Qiushu picked up the chopsticks and said with a smile, "Your Highness, would you like to eat?"
"...Eat." King Huai nodded with a forced smile and picked up a piece of plain green vegetable with chopsticks.
Yan Qiushu had a chopstick full of sliced meat.
The spicy garlic pork belly is made in a similar way to the crispy pork, except that the batter is not as thick as the crispy pork. Finally, it is stir-fried in the pan to allow the spicy garlic sauce to adhere to each piece of pork belly.
The pork belly that Yan Qiushu picked up with her chopsticks was slightly curled and covered with minced garlic and peppercorns. When she took a bite, the salty and fragrant garlic mixed with the spicy taste rolled on her tongue along with the crispy pork belly.
Every bite is full of juice, and the aroma of garlic fills your nose.
The not-too-strong spicy flavor enriches the overall taste, making the pork belly neither greasy nor oily, and very delicious.
"It's delicious, isn't it, Your Highness?" Yan Qiushu ate it and asked the people around her, her eyes full of anticipation: "This is my absolute favorite dish! Eating meat without garlic will reduce the flavor by half. Your Highness, eat more. Doesn't it smell and taste delicious?"
King Huai: “…”
The corners of his mouth twitched, and he moved away from her in resistance, saying perfunctorily, "The girl has a very special taste."
"It's okay, it's okay." Yan Qiushu smiled. "It's a pity there's no stinky tofu. But Your Highness may not have tried it. It's made by letting tofu ferment and become smelly. Then you put it in a pan and deep-fry it. It smells stinky but tastes delicious. Next time, I'll bring some for Your Highness."
Stinky tofu is too smelly and has not yet conquered many people. Xiao Huaiqi was afraid that it would drive away diners who were unaware of the smell, so he did not allow it to appear in the food court, which made Yan Qiushu very regretful.
Otherwise she would have ordered a lot of stinky tofu by now!
Of course, such a description was enough to make King Huai's face turn green, his appetite was lost, and he couldn't even take the second bite of food.
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