Chapter 96 Happy Daily Life in Yikun Palace
In the small kitchen, Xiu Yu took off her armor, put on an apron, and began to direct the servants to prepare the food. Xiao Tao assisted her by helping her prepare various fillings for after-dinner snacks.
"Master, I didn't take good care of the Eleventh Prince..." Xiao Tao whispered beside Xiu Yu, "I should have taken extra care of the Eleventh Prince when he was young."
As Xiu Yu filled the casserole with kelp shreds, she said, "This was a hurdle Yinzhen had to overcome. He's made it through now, which is great. Xiao Tao, you don't have to blame yourself."
Seeing that Xiao Tao still hadn't relaxed, Xiu Yu simply picked up a piece of hawthorn cake prepared for the children and personally put it into Xiao Tao's mouth: "Yinzhen is my child, and you are my dearest person. If you keep acting like this, I will be angry."
The sour and sweet taste spread in Xiao Tao's mouth, and Xiao Tao finally smiled for the first time in these days.
Xiu Yu said with a smile, "You, like Ke Jing and the others, are all gluttons! I must have been the one who didn't take you outside the Great Wall, and didn't have time to give you a gift when I came back, so you deliberately put on this face to show me."
Xiao Tao smiled and rarely refuted Xiu Yu.
Xiu Yu knew very well that this little girl felt from the bottom of her heart that she had let Yinzhen down, and this feeling of guilt would probably only fade away with the passage of time.
In the warm room, Yinzhen stood behind Tong Jia Zi Fu with a bunch of little kids, and it seemed as if Tong Jia Zi Fu was leading a group of children to fight against Xuanye.
Xiaozhuang sat aside and watched the joke.
The original rule for chess spectators was to "watch the game without speaking", but Yinzhen did not follow this rule at all this time. Every time Xuanye made a move, Yinzhen would carefully explain to his younger brothers and sisters the meaning behind Khan Ama's move, which was almost equivalent to giving Tong Jia Zi Fu a spoiler in advance.
Even if Tong Jia Zi Fu's chess skills were not very good, after listening to Yinzhen's analysis, she could play the subsequent moves almost correctly.
Xuanye initially found Yinzhen's analysis amusing, but once the chessboard was covered with black and white pieces, and he listened to Yinzhen's analysis again, Xuanye began to feel somewhat lost. "Does the Fourth Prince often play chess?"
Yinzhen replied, "Father, I think playing chess can help me practice arranging troops and forming battle formations, so I play it occasionally."
"With your mother's ability, she can't teach you to this level, right?" Xuanye chatted with Yinzhen while making a move. He wanted his cousin to win this game anyway, so it was pointless to spend too much time on it.
Yinzhen added, "I dare not lie to you, Father. When I came to the Yikun Palace to study, I often played chess with Concubine Yi's mother. I learned a lot of chess skills from her."
Xuanye nodded: "That's right. Xiuyu is well aware of my chess playing style. Since you are her disciple, it's not surprising that you are well aware of my style."
"Mother, be careful." Although Yinzhen was chatting with Xuanye, his eyes were always fixed on the chessboard. He was naturally aware of his mother's chess skills. It was not the first time for his mother to accidentally ruin a good hand of cards.
Xuanye usually didn't pay much attention to Yinzhen, but today's experience made him think that this child was indeed gifted and might become Yinreng's right-hand man in the future. With this in mind, he made his moves more casually.
When Su Moer brought the cooked milk tea over, Tong Jia Zifu excitedly said, "Cousin, you lost."
Xuanye threw the black piece back into the chess box and said with a smile, "Not bad, you still know you've won!"
Tong Jia Zifu glared at Xuanye fiercely and said, "Cousin, your Yu'er is not the only one in the harem who can play chess. Even if I am not as good as Yu'er, you can still tell who wins and who loses."
"Mother, my father gave you fifteen pieces in this game of chess. You should go back to Chengqian Palace and practice your chess skills more." Yinzhen bluntly exposed Tong Jia Zi Fu's shortcomings.
Tong Jia Zifu searched the back of her son's head and said, "Can't you just keep the words in your stomach? Do you have to expose them?"
Yinzhen smiled and said, "That's the truth. Mother, there's no need to deceive yourself."
Xuanye glanced at Yinzhen, then at the time on the western clock, and said to Yinzhen, "It's still early. Fourth Prince, please play another round with me on behalf of your mother. This time, I won't let you win."
Yinzhen had never thought that he would have the opportunity to play chess with his father. He hesitated, but Tong Jia Zifu had already stood up and made room for him: "I can't lose to you, father. If I lose, wouldn't it be a disgrace to your mother, Concubine Yi!"
Yinzhen sat down and said, "Mother, I will do my best."
At that time, Xiu Yu had already prepared the meal, but when she saw the situation in the warm room, she knew that they would not be able to eat the meal until Yinzhen and Xuanye finished their game of chess, so she ordered Xiao Tao to put the cooked dishes on the small stove to keep them warm, and she also joined Yinzhen's side.
Xuanye was not happy: "Yu'er, shouldn't you stand next to me?"
Xiu Yu shook her head. "The Fourth Prince learned some of his chess skills from me. It's unfair to him to stand behind you."
Xuanye couldn't help shaking his head: "The world is really going downhill, and people's hearts are no longer as they used to be."
Xiu Yu didn't consider herself a gentleman, but with her standing behind Yinzhen, Yinzhen had a clearer understanding of Xuanye's tactics. The Fourth Prince, who was originally at a disadvantage, quickly caught up, and gradually, it became unclear who was winning or losing on the chessboard.
Until Liang Jiugong came forward and bowed to Xuanye, he said: "Your Majesty, the painter of Ruyi Pavilion has finished the painting. Please preview it."
Xuanye was still looking at the pieces on the chessboard. Yinzhen was still young, and his chess skills hadn't yet reached perfection, so it would be easy for Xuanye to win. However, as a child, encouragement would only help them improve. So, Xuanye put the pieces back into the box and said to Yinzhen, "How about a draw for this game?"
Yinzhen knew very well that if the game continued, his father would most likely win. Now that his father had taken the initiative to draw, he, as a son, naturally agreed: "My son thinks a draw is the best."
Xuanye was very satisfied with Yinzhen's answer. He stood up and walked to the painting that the painter of Ruyi Pavilion had just painted. In the painting, Xuanye and Yinzhen were playing chess, Xiu Yu was assisting Yinzhen in military affairs, Tong Jia and Zi Fu were following Xiaozhuang, watching the situation on the chessboard, Ke Jing felt bored and was caught yawning by the painter. Everyone was portrayed vividly.
Xuanye was very satisfied and immediately rewarded the painter with some rare and interesting things. Only then did he feel like eating.
Xiu Yu walked beside Xuanye and asked in a low voice, "When did you call the painter in? Wasn't it just me?"
Xuanye laughed and said, "It would be a shame not to record such a grand occasion with so many people present. Why do I need to ask for permission even for Concubine Yi's place when I send a painter to paint it?"
Xiu Yu was amused by Xuan Ye, but then her face turned serious and she said, "It's hard for me to work so hard to make such a large table of food, and then I have to use a small stove to keep it warm. It won't taste the same as if it was freshly made."
"That's all right." Xuanye invited Xiaozhuang to sit down first, then said to Xiuyu, "With your cooking skills, even if we warm it for an hour or more, it will still be delicious."
Tong Jia, Zi Fu, and Xuan Ye sat on either side of Xiao Zhuang, with Xiu Yu naturally sitting next to Xuan Ye. The table was filled with dishes ranging from common white meat and meatballs from the outside of the Great Wall to exquisite snacks from Jiangnan, and there was more than one kind of soup. Xiao Zhuang was also quite surprised: "Yu Er, you didn't cook all the dishes on this table, did you?"
Xiu Yu smiled and replied, "Grandfather is wise. Yu'er still has helpers to prepare the dishes. Otherwise, I'm afraid we won't be able to eat this meal until sunset."
"That's quite a feat." Empress Xiaozhuang looked at Su Moer and said, "You've been outdone by the younger generation."
Su Moer was pouring milk tea for Empress Xiaozhuang when she replied, "When it comes to cooking, I really don't dare to compete with Concubine Yi. In the Yikun Palace, the only skill I'm good at is making milk tea."
Xuanye deliberately said, "That nanny may not know this, but this time when I took Yu'er to the border area, Yu'er's mother also showed off her skills. Her ability to make milk tea is not inferior to that of the nanny."
Xiaozhuang glanced at Tong Jia Zifu's expression and deliberately changed the subject: "Xuanye, aren't you hungry yet? Your Royal Mama is hungry. If you delay any longer, aren't you afraid of ruining Yu'er's table of delicious food?"
Xuanye immediately understood the meaning of Xiaozhuang's words: "Ma Ma is right, we can't waste Yu'er's delicious food." He took the lead in picking up a piece of food with chopsticks, and then the empresses, princes, and princesses sitting around the table started to pick up their chopsticks.
The meal ended with plum blossom cakes made by Xiu Yu herself. The plum blossom cakes with different fillings and shapes really attracted the children's love, and even Tong Jia Zi Fu praised them.
"Yu'er's pastries are probably no less delicious than those made by century-old pastry chefs in Jiangnan."
Xiu Yu laughed and said, "It's nothing more than a toy to amuse children. For example, the Fourth Prince doesn't like sweets..."
"Mother Yifei, mine is salty." Yinzhen ate the salty plum cake and originally thought that he was lucky. Unexpectedly, it was Mother Yifei who remembered his preference. Suddenly, he felt warm in his heart. You know, his biological mother didn't even know that he liked salty or sweet.
Xiu Yu nodded: "You don't like sweet food, so I have to put some sesame salt in your dessert. I hope you don't mind it."
Yinzhen praised it, saying, "This cake must be unique in heaven and on earth. It should only exist in heaven, and it is unlikely to be seen on earth."
Xuanye had never known that the Fourth Prince could flatter even more than his father, so he looked at Yinzhen and said, "Fourth Prince, did you learn these words from your mother Tong?"
Tong Jia Zifu immediately waved her hands and said, "Cousin, do you think I am someone who can teach Yinzhen these words? I guess Yinzhen probably learned them from Yu'er."
Unexpectedly, Xiu Yu also shook her head: "I am also going to cry out for justice. No one teaches others how to praise themselves."
Finally, Yinqi said, "Khan Ama, Fourth Brother is self-taught!"
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