Within the imperial city, the Changqiu Palace stands majestically, its soaring eaves displaying the ostentation of the imperial family.
A beautiful palace maid carrying a tray walked quickly into the hall.
Although it moved quickly, it made no sound.
A woman in palace attire, who looked to be no more than thirty years old, was reclining on the chaise longue. She loosely clasped her hands together and rubbed her temples with her middle finger.
Her eyes were closed, her face expressionless, as if she were lost in thought.
A palace maid quickly approached the woman and whispered, "Your Highness, the First Prince did not return to Chang Le Palace today."
Chang Le Palace was the residence of the eldest prince, Zhao Yang. He had not yet come of age and had not yet left the palace to establish his own residence, so he still lived in Chang Le Palace in the West Palace.
The woman before him was Zhao Yang's birth mother, now Empress Lu.
Although Empress Lu had her eyes closed, she did not seem to be frightened by the maid's sudden reply.
Upon hearing this, she opened her eyes, slowly sat up, and sighed.
"This child is so old, yet he still fools around with his sister every day."
After the palace maid finished speaking, she stood respectfully to the side and dared not reply.
Empress Lu beckoned to her, "Hengfang, come here. Massage my head."
Hengfang obediently agreed, and quietly went around behind Empress Lu, carefully avoiding Empress Lu's jeweled hair, and began to massage it.
As if she was pressing very comfortably, Empress Lu let out a satisfied moan.
Hengfang also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"How is the construction of the Crown Prince's residence progressing?"
Empress Lu suddenly spoke.
Hengfang paused slightly in her movements.
After the princes of the Dacheng Dynasty came of age, they were required to establish their own residences. The eldest prince was about to come of age, so the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Works naturally prepared the residence for him after he left the palace.
The eldest prince is the only prince born to the emperor who has reached adulthood, and it's only a matter of time before he is made crown prince. However, since the eldest prince has not yet been promoted to crown prince, the empress dares to say such a thing, while she, a mere maid, certainly wouldn't dare.
"Your Highness, the Ministry of Works sent someone to report the other day that everything is ready in the manor and they are just waiting for you."
She only vaguely mentioned the mansion and her master.
Empress Lu seemed oblivious and gave a soft "hmm".
Seeing that Empress Lu seemed uninterested, Hengfang tried to ingratiate herself by saying, "I heard that this new residence is twice the size of the Princess's residence. His Majesty specifically designated a location on the west side near Shanglin Garden so that His Highness could live comfortably and expand the residence."
His Majesty truly values Your Highness.
Empress Lu showed no obvious joy, and sighed softly in her gentle tone, "Yes. It's just a bit far. It will be a hassle for him to come to the palace to visit after he leaves. It's still better for Yao Yao to live closer."
Hengfang chuckled, "Since Your Highness and the Princess live close by, they can visit Her Majesty in the palace together from now on."
Empress Lu smiled kindly, "Yes. They will be together as siblings from now on."
The person whose future residence his mother was worrying about was now frowning at the feathers that had just been plucked from the pheasant.
Black and white pheasants are rare. He had heard from his cousin Guo Yunwei that she was practicing a dance and needed a snow-white fan. Upon seeing this pheasant with a snow-white tail today, he chased after it.
Fearing that blood would stain its beautiful plumage, he even used a slingshot. After catching the pheasant, he ordered his men to carefully pluck its feathers before it died and bled.
However, the person below was clumsy and still managed to get scratched, getting a few feathers dirty.
The long tail feathers that were to be used to make a feather fan for Guo Yunwei were not affected.
But this pheasant had unusual plumage, and he originally planned to use the rest of its short feathers to make a shuttlecock for each of the three girls in the village today.
The girl loved these pretty things. But she ended up getting a few feathers dirty, so she could only make three shuttlecocks.
Enraged, Zhao Yang kicked the young guard who was lying on the ground, his arm still bleeding from the bloodstains.
Lu Jing'an and his guards were busily cutting bamboo in the back mountain to make bamboo skewers.
He had already changed into clean robes, moved a reclining chair to the side, sat down, fanned himself, ate melon seeds, and occasionally commented on his guards, pointing out whose movements could be improved.
The head of the Lu family guards remained expressionless, and with swift movements, he swiftly swung his sword twice, creating a finely shaped, perfectly round bamboo skewer without any barbs.
Many hands make light work, and the swords and knives in the guards' hands were far sharper than the kitchen knives and wood-chopping knives. Before long, the bamboo basket at Lu Jing'an's feet was filled with sharpened bamboo skewers.
Seeing that it was almost done, Lu Jing'an ordered the head guard to carry the bamboo basket and follow him to the kitchen.
The kitchen staff had already cut the meat delivered today according to Yao Niang's instructions and filtered out the blood in clean water.
Yao Niang is seasoning the ingredients.
She said the same thing, and Bitao took out a small porcelain bottle from the wooden box they had brought.
Salt, Sichuan peppercorns, chili peppers, cumin, star anise, cinnamon, pepper, cardamom, perilla seeds...
Lu Jing'an had no idea that there were so many different kinds of seasonings used in the kitchen.
But that wasn't what surprised him the most.
It was her own second brother, who was always cold-faced. He was standing by the stove, holding a chopstick, and with a smile on his lips, he was mixing the various seasonings and meats that Madam Gu had sprinkled in!
Lu Jing'an should not only be surprised that there is someone in the world who looks so much like him, but also surprised that his second brother could actually roll up his sleeves and do such a thing.
It was really hard to accept. Lu Zhaoan saw him standing there dumbfounded outside the door and smiled at him.
Lu Jing'an immediately sensed something was wrong.
Sure enough, Lu Zhaoan glanced at a spot and said, "Go wash yourself."
Lu Jing'an looked in that direction and was surprised to see the bamboo fungus he had brought back. The mud on it had dried somewhat and no one had washed it yet.
Lu Jing'an felt a pang of heartache, but didn't want to do it himself, saying, "Is there no one left in the manor's kitchen? Why isn't it washed yet!"
Lu Zhaoan said coolly, "I know you care about the bamboo fungus. The servants are clumsy and will ruin it if they wash it, and you'll feel bad about that too. I specially saved it for you."
Lu Jing'an was furious.
He took the bamboo basket from the guard, and because it was so heavy, he staggered a little, but he forced himself to remain calm and cover it up.
Lu Jing'an slammed the bamboo basket hard on the ground, or perhaps he didn't hold it properly and it fell to the ground.
He asked Yao Niang, "Is that enough?"
Yao Niang was trying hard to suppress her laughter, not knowing why the two Lu brothers seemed to be sulking and teasing each other.
Hearing Lu Jing'an ask her, she quickly suppressed a laugh and said, "That's enough, that's enough."
Reluctantly, Lu Jing'an rolled up his sleeves and carefully rinsed the small bamboo fungus in the clear water again and again. He was afraid of damaging it and didn't dare to rub it at all.
Yao Niang whispered to Lu Zhao'an, "Why didn't you tell him? Maybe it wasn't clean enough. There are still dried bamboo fungus in the kitchen that we can eat."
Lu Zhaoan didn't even look up: "He needs to have something to do, so he won't cause trouble everywhere."
Gu Yaoniang remained silent. The Second Young Master Lu treated his younger brother like a father would.
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