Chapter 634 The Xuan Family Girl
Although Xiao Yan couldn't come to see her during this period, he would often send things over. Even Gu Helian often tried to find ways to send food and drinks to her and her aunt, as if she was afraid that they had been wronged in the palace.
Seeing Zhou Yuchang's surprise, Tang Ning explained to her with a smile in his eyes.
"This should be what my brother got from the Gu family. Someone in the Gu family got some off-season vegetables that are not available anywhere else in the capital." She asked Yue Jian, "How did these things get here? Do other palaces have them?"
Yue Jian replied, "Don't worry, young lady. These dishes were sent in from the imperial kitchen. Besides the ones Shi Lan sent to Marquis Wenxin's wife, they are also available in Shoukang Palace and at other people's places."
However, there were only a few at the Empress Dowager's and other people's places, while there were more at the South Side Hall where the wife of Marquis Wenxin and Rong Yue were talking.
Tang Ning finally felt relieved.
Hot pot is the warmest food in winter. Put the burned silver charcoal in the stove and put the copper pot on it. The soup inside will boil in just a few moments.
The extremely thinly sliced mutton can be eaten after just a brief boil in the soup. Dipped in the sauce prepared in the imperial kitchen, it has no smell of mutton at all.
"tasty!"
Qian Qiyue's eyes lit up, and her face was full of surprise at having eaten something delicious. Even Zhou Yuchang, who was always well-behaved, moved her chopsticks a little faster. The meat slices floating in the pot were scooped out in just a few moments, and Yuejian put some more in.
"This mutton tastes so fresh and tender, without even a hint of mutton smell, unlike the mutton we usually eat," said Qian Qiyue.
Yue Jian stood aside and said, "This sheep is a precious sheep unique to Zuozhou. I heard that it feeds on the freshest grass shipped from the north and drinks the mountain spring water from Lingya in Zuozhou. Moreover, because it is castrated at a very young age, it is only sold as a young sheep within a year, so it has no smell of mutton."
Zhou Yuchang's eyes widened: "So this is the precious sheep?"
She said with some surprise, "This lamb was sold at Xijue Tower before. A small dish of meat, just ten or so thin slices, cost more than ten taels. I heard that this lamb is very rare in Zuozhou because it is not easy to raise. A young lamb can be sold at a sky-high price. Many powerful families in the capital lined up but couldn't buy it."
Qian Qiyue tilted her chopsticks: "A dozen taels?? That's it?!"
She looked at the mutton she had just stuffed into her mouth and suddenly felt a little pain in her liver. Didn't she just eat a lot of silver?
Tang Ning laughed when he heard this: "This sheep is indeed good, but it's not that rare. It's just that scarcity makes things valuable."
This precious sheep is actually a cross between the herbivorous sheep from Beiling and a type of beach sheep from Southern Qi. Because of its tender meat and sweet taste, it is extremely popular in Zuozhou and Yanzhong. Gu Helian probably saw the business opportunity and ordered people to publicize the preciousness of this mutton.
It is fed with pure grass in the north and Lingya mountain spring water. It is very nutritious and can prolong life.
Also, because Gu Helian spread the news that these sheep were difficult to raise, grass was precious, and the annual output was not much, he ordered people to block the sales of these sheep. As a result, the lambs that originally cost only a few taels of silver were sold at a sky-high price.
The situation in Zuozhou and Yanzhong is not so bad, with the price of a sheep being around ten or twenty taels at most. But as you go south to the territory of Southern Qi and north to the capital of Wei, the price of the sheep increases a hundred times. A lamb can even be sold for several hundred taels of silver, and it is extremely difficult to find one.
The capital is full of powerful people, and people from aristocratic families love to compare with each other. Ordinary people would not even dare to look at such expensive things, but for those who are rich, they are objects of comparison. Everyone wants to prove that they are better off than others.
Tang Ning had met people from Gu's Trading Company before. He had heard with his own ears how Gu Helian taught the manager to instigate those wealthy customers and trick them into spending money. He had also witnessed with his own eyes that the price of sheep had been rising day by day since the beginning of winter.
Tang Ning picked up a piece of mutton with chopsticks and put it into Qian Qiyue's bowl: "It's all delivered. No matter how expensive it is, we don't have to spend money. Let's eat it quickly."
Upon hearing this, Qian Qiyue stuffed a chopstick into her mouth and said, "That's right, it would be a waste if I don't eat it."
If she had to buy this thing herself, her father would have broken her legs for being such a spendthrift.
It’s free now, so eat a few more bites!
Tang Ning and Zhou Yuchang couldn't help laughing when they saw her eating meat with big mouthfuls.
Steam was billowing from the copper pot. The three of them were chatting and laughing while eating happily. Tang Ning didn't think about the Queen Mother for a while. When they finished eating, the three of them were a little full and leaned back on the soft couch to take a break. Qian Qiyue rubbed her stomach and was about to speak when she heard the sound of laughter coming from outside the room.
There was an open window next to the couch, and one could see the courtyard as soon as he raised his eyes. Fu Jinrou, wearing a white cloak, walked in with two other young girls, talking and laughing.
Qian Qiyue leaned against the window and curled her lips: "She seems to be taking to it like a duck in water. It's only been a few days, and she's already got along so well with the Xuan family girl."
Zhou Yuchang couldn't help but frown. She had been good friends with Fu Jinrou before, but after Qian Qiyue's "guidance" that day and knowing all the things about Fu Jinrou, she became more wary of Fu Jinrou. However, she did not take the initiative to make enemies with Fu Jinrou. She just chose to trust her friend because of her many years of friendship with Qian Qiyue.
Fu Jinrou's personality had nothing to do with her, but she was on good terms with the Xuan family...
Zhou Yuchang whispered, "The Empress Dowager has treated Jinrou differently these past few days. It's no surprise that she's on good terms with Xuan Qiwen."
Qian Qiyue rolled her eyes: "Then she should at least consider the Fu family's reputation."
The Xuan family had been in such a mess because of the incident with Cui Lin that Madam Xuan fell ill right after the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet and passed away in her mansion in less than half a month. I heard that the Xuan family put her in a thin coffin and sent her out of the city for a random burial, without even going into the Xuan family's ancestral tomb.
Let’s not talk about the fact that Xuan Qiwen dressed up beautifully just two months after her mother died, let’s talk about the Xuan family.
Many people in the capital were afraid that the bad reputation of the Xuan family would tarnish their own reputation. Even Madam Cui, who had a very close "relationship" with the Xuan family, avoided Xuan Qiwen after entering the palace.
Fu Jinrou was better. She became as familiar with people as if they were old friends in just two or three days.
"If Madam Fu knew about this, she'd be so angry that she'd get sick." Qian Qiyue muttered.
Zhou Yuchang frowned when she heard this and stopped just as she was about to speak. It turned out that Xuan Qiwen, who was originally walking inside, suddenly turned around and walked towards the east wing hall.
Zhou Yuchang lowered her voice and said, "Tang Ning, Xuan Qiwen and the others are coming."
Tang Ning leaned on the couch without saying a word, just looked out the window, and sure enough, he saw those people coming towards him.
Yue Jian whispered, "Girl, do you want me to go out and stop them?"
Tang Ning said calmly: "No need."
She was a little curious about what Fu Jinrou wanted to do by encouraging the girl from the Xuan family to come over.
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