Chapter 66 (Grilled Fish (Part 1)...)

Xue Mansion

Xue Jiahe hurriedly ran back to his mansion from the food street.

Went directly to the main courtyard.

It just so happened that Xue's parents were there too. Although it was not time for a day off, as the Minister of Revenue, Lord Xue's schedule was not that busy. Since he did not have much need for money, he would go home after finishing his work.

I was still eating the snacks I bought on the way back.

Mrs. Xue complained to him, "You are not home all day. I don't know how absurd your son is. I am waiting for the results to be announced and I want to settle down with Prince Jin first, but he is like a ghost bewitching him. He is not home all day and can't be seen until dark!"

"Children and grandchildren have their own blessings, why think so much? I asked the fifth brother, he said that he was still very confident in this exam. According to his age, even if he didn't get into the top three, he would definitely be an excellent young talent. Is he still worried that no girl would like him?"

Lord Xue looked chubby, just like a Maitreya Buddha. When he smiled, his eyes narrowed, and his chubby white face looked quite cute.

He spoke in a gentle voice and calmly soothed his wife. They had been together for decades, and although they had many frictions when they were young, he had already known how to treat his wife over the years.

As he spoke, he did not forget to hold an egg roll in his hand.

I don’t know why there are delicious foods every now and then in Kyoto recently. They smell fragrant and sweet, but he never gets tired of them.

Mrs. Xue glared at her husband, but her husband's attention was focused on this. She felt a little frustrated and said angrily, "Isn't it painful for me? Our family has spent all its efforts to train the eldest son, which is what we should do. Who knew that the fifth son would be so successful? If we don't help him, I'm afraid he will only favor the eldest son in the future..."

It happened that her husband came home early today, so she wanted him to help persuade her, but she found that her husband was so calm!

Mr. Xue said with a smile: "Old Five is a kind child, and he is not a calculating child. He will not blame you. If you make him happy, it is better than anything else."

Madam Xue sneered, "Happy? If he really marries the cook of the Xiao family, I wonder how he will be able to meet people in the future! Will he still be happy then? Especially when he sees that his eldest brother is marrying a noble lady!"

Lord Xue was embarrassed and didn't know how to answer this question.

At this moment, the protagonist of the conversation came over himself. The young man walked quickly and ran over, his face was flushed and his eyes were full of anxiety. Mrs. Xue thought something had happened. Her heart skipped a beat and she stood up to greet him.

Xue Jiahe was already angrily questioning: "Mom, did you hide from me that you went to the Xiao family to propose marriage?!"

Mrs. Xue froze and gave a dry laugh: "That's right, Lao Wu, mother did it, but the other person refused..."

Xue Jiahe confirmed it, and became even more furious. He was usually gentle, and it was rare for him to be so angry that he wanted to jump up and down. He didn't care about etiquette and growled, "You're crazy! You proposed to me to take a concubine! Why didn't she refuse? Why should she be my concubine? Isn't this an insult?!"

"What's wrong with taking a concubine? With her status, it's too high for her to be your concubine, not to mention that I gave her the position of a noble concubine!" Mrs. Xue was also angry when her son accused her, and said angrily: "She refused not because she didn't want to be a concubine, but because she didn't want to be your concubine. She came back with Xiao Liulang, and would rather stay in the Xiao family without a name and status, and cook for the Xiao family every day to please them!"

Xue Jiahe became even angrier: "No, you are talking nonsense!"

Madam Xue said angrily, "How could I be talking nonsense? It was Madam Jiang who proposed the marriage. She came back and told me in person that she was thinking about Xiao's sixth son!"

"Then she won't be my concubine!" Xue Jiahe said firmly.

Although he had known this girl for a short time, he still believed that she was not that kind of person, not to mention that when they first met, all the children called her sister, and it was obvious that she was not of the same generation as Xiao Jia Liulang.

Madam Xue sneered, "With her status, if she is not a concubine, what else can she be? Look, even if it is the second son of the Xiao family, he married the eldest daughter of the Song family! What does she have?"

Xue Jiahe calmed down. It was pointless to continue explaining to his mother who was used to looking at problems from the perspective of family background. He just shook his head and said, "You can think whatever you want. But mother, I'm here to say that you are not allowed to interfere in my marriage in the future!"

Mrs. Xue exploded: "I can't interfere? I'm your mother——"

"Okay, okay, Madam, I'll talk to Lao Wu, you calm down..." At the critical moment, Lord Xue, who had been watching the show for a long time, put down the package that his son had casually thrown on the table, wiped the cake crumbs from the corner of his mouth, and stopped his angry wife.

His fat body stood in front of the mother and son, persuading them from both sides, then he pulled his son and ran out.

As they walked away, Xue Jiahe's anger faded. He was not a very strong-willed person, but this time his mother's behavior was too insulting. No wonder the girl looked at him like that. When he thought of the other person's eyes, he felt ashamed and uncomfortable. He felt listless, but more of a powerless person.

This is his mother. Even if he is angry, he can't really do anything. He and that girl are not destined to be together after all.

At this moment, he didn't want to face his father's advice, so he said, "Dad, I want to be alone for a while."

"Son, wait a minute, tell dad first, where did you buy this cake?" Lord Xue grabbed his son.

Xue Jiahe: “…”

He told the location in frustration and continued walking. Lord Xue took note of it, but did not let go. Instead, he pulled him to a pavilion and said seriously, "Son, although your mother did something wrong, she is doing it for your own good. You have to think clearly. If you really don't want the daughter-in-law she chose for you, then your father will not be able to help you much in the officialdom in the future. Don't feel unfair."

Xue Jiahe pursed his lips and said in a deep voice: "Son can fight for it himself. Besides, son does not want to be a high-ranking official. He just wants to be a parent official. In the past three years, son has traveled abroad and seen a lot. He will not care about these things."

"That's good." Master Xue smiled cheerfully, "You are still sensible. I will remember what you said. But there is one more thing."

"You say." Xue Jiahe said.

Master Xue muttered, "Who is that girl? How can you like her?"

Xue Jiahe shook his head: "In fact, she didn't tell me her name. I heard the children of the Xiao family call her Sister Shu, but I don't know her last name, and she doesn't like me. From what my mother said, she should be a distant relative who is staying at the Xiao family."

Mr. Xue touched his chubby chin, thought for a moment, and said to his son: "If you really like it, try again."

"In fact, Prince Chang has risen. The situation is completely different now. As a father, I think Prince Chang is likely to be the final winner. The Xiao family has always clearly supported Prince Chang. Once Prince Chang ascends the throne, the Xiao family will definitely be the center of attention. Dad will also try his best to help you and see if you can make that girl not angry. Reconsider it."

Xue Jiahe was immediately surprised: "Really?"

Master Xue patted his belly and said with certainty: "Of course it's true! But whether it will work or not, Dad doesn't know. It depends on whether the girl likes you or not."

This answer successfully brought the listless boy back to life.

The father and son smiled in tacit understanding and went their separate ways.

One went back to the study, and the other went to the food street.

The one who went to the food street was Lord Xue.

As he walked, he kept complaining, "Wow, a food street has actually opened. It's all his fault that he was too busy lately. He really had no idea about it. He doesn't know how many delicious foods he has missed!"

So Mrs. Xue, who was waiting for her husband to come back in the main courtyard, waited and waited, until the housekeeper said that her husband had gone out to eat.

Madam Xue stamped her feet angrily: "All you do all day is eat! Is this the reincarnation of a pig?!"

February 25th is the day when the results of the joint examination are announced.

On this day, the sound of firecrackers could be heard from time to time in various places in Kyoto. The major government offices sent notices to the candidates who had passed the exam, and the candidates' families would set off firecrackers to celebrate.

Although no one from the Xiao family took the exam, many well-off families had children who took it.

Some people who pass the exam will give gifts and then receive gifts in return.

Some families are wealthy and powerful, and the gifts they give are also very powerful, such as cherries!

A lot of cherries were delivered, and Yan Qiushu also shared a lot of them. She really liked eating cherries, so every time the cherries were delivered to her, she would finish them within half a day.

Maybe she ate too fast, which made the Xiao family think that she really liked it, so they bought a lot of it themselves. It happened that cherries were ripe during this period, and many families would get some as gifts. For example, the Chang Palace sent a lot of gifts, and gave some specifically to Yan Qiushu.

So when Yan Qiushu came to her senses, the cherries almost drowned her.

This is a bit too much to finish!

The main reason is that two of the three children go to school, so I can only play with her at night. Wan'er also has a small appetite, so it would be a waste if the cherries are not finished and go bad.

She was thinking about making grilled fish with lychees, but unfortunately lychees only mature in May, June and July, so it would be difficult to eat them now.

Yan Qiushu looked at the pile of cherries and subconsciously thought of replacing them.

Anyway, grilled lychee fish does not involve cooking lychees in the dish, but just placing them on top as decoration. The same goes if cherries are used.

Thinking of Yan Qiushu, I went to do it. There was everything in the house. After the winter, Manager Yao started raising fish. The chickens and ducks were well fed, so the fish naturally ate well too and grew fat.

When Manager Yao heard that she wanted to cook fish, he immediately sent someone to deliver the fish.

They were all big and fat, and Yan Qiushu was afraid that she couldn’t handle making the grilled fish.

As it turned out, she really couldn't do it, and in the end it was Nanny Xu who did it, and she was the one who guided her from the side.

After a whole big fish is processed, it is split in the middle and the belly is cut open. It is then marinated with soy sauce, salt and other seasonings. When the time is right, it can be greased with oil and put into the oven for baking.

While the fish is grilling, the seasoning has to be prepared on the other side. After eating the grilled fish, you can also eat the side dishes inside. You also need to keep adding soup. Since there is limited chili, the soup has a spicy and slightly sweet taste.

Lotus root slices, corn, bean sprouts and other side dishes are placed in the dish as a base. When the grilled fish is taken out of the oven, the texture of the fish has become much tighter, the fish skin is slightly browned, and because it has been marinated, it now exudes a light and non-fishy fish aroma.

Put the cooked ingredients in the prepared large iron plate, then put the whole fish on it with its back facing upwards. Pour the soup in the pot on it and let it slide down a little bit, submerging half of the body of the grilled fish, leaving only the cut back exposed. Put four bright red cherries on the body of the fish and finally put it on the barbecue stove to continue heating it.

So this grilled fish is ready!

There was no one else in the yard at this time. When the grilled fish was ready, only Shui Yu and Aunt Xu came to support it. However, the two of them were very considerate. When they saw the finished product, they exclaimed: "It smells so good!"

"It smells sweet and the cherries look nice too. I'm sure many people will like this grilled fish!"

Yan Qiushu nodded in satisfaction, looking at the grilled fish that was already bubbling with juice due to the fire at the bottom. She took a deep breath, smelled the fragrance it gave off, and said softly, "Besides, the price of the fish doesn't seem expensive. If it really works, we might be able to earn more."

Shui Yu chuckled: "Of course you can, but will you eat this grilled fish yourself, or send it to Madam Xiao?"

Yan Qiushu looked at the sky and said, "It's still early, we can make another one. Let's have this one sent to Prince Chang's Mansion for Ah Heng and the others to eat as a return gift."

None of the gifts sent by other guests were given to her individually, except for the cherries sent by Prince Chang's Palace, which were given to her alone.

Then of course she had to return the gift individually.

They already have everything else, just order something delicious.

"Okay, I'll send someone to deliver it right away." Shui Yu responded immediately, and Yan Qiushu rolled up her sleeves and started to make the second pot.

Here, delicious food is still being cooked, and it is a leisurely and relaxing place.

However, the court was once again caught in a strange situation because of a military report.

Just as the court was about to end, another battle report appeared, and this time it was another victory!

More than ten days ago, Xiao Huai Ting captured three cities of Wuta Kingdom in one fell swoop. It was the biggest victory since the two countries went to war. At that time, the people of Kyoto were very happy.

Another piece of good news at this time would probably be a good thing.

However, the bad thing is that some people still don't want this war to continue.

In fact, this war was not necessarily fought at the beginning. It was just that some people wanted the Xiao family to leave. But who knew that this war would be so evenly matched?

This Xiao family's sixth son is too powerful.

Even surpassed his father and brother!

Obviously, the military pay was not high, and everyone was lucky to have enough food to eat, so how could they have the energy to fight? After a while of struggling and giving up some interests, this war should have come to an end in the minds of some people.

However, this almost broke through the Uta!

The old emperor didn't want him to continue fighting, otherwise the military merit would be taken away by the Xiao family. In fact, he could also find a trusted general to obtain the rights of marshal and snatch the military merit away.

However, he had done this once many years ago, and the commander never returned, saying that he had contact with the enemy and was killed directly.

But the old emperor knew that the Xiao family had killed him on purpose, and he really couldn't control some things that the general was doing outside, so at this time he didn't think of sending another general to attack, he just thought that it was enough.

He was old and didn't want to bother with so much. He just wanted to enjoy his old age. Of course, before he died, he had to kill the heads of the Xiao family, who were his biggest threat, to ensure that the Xiao family would not overthrow the dynasty.

This is where the disagreement lies. People headed by King Chang and King Shun firmly support continuing the fight, while King Xuan, King Jin and others support not fighting. Currently, the pro-war faction has the upper hand and their reasons are very sufficient, but the two sides are at a stalemate.

Because the old emperor didn't give in.

After struggling for a long time, the old emperor finally slowly looked at Mr. Xue from the Ministry of Revenue. This old man was smart and knew how to protect himself. He pretended to be distressed and sighed, "My dear Xue, what do you think?"

This sentence successfully attracted the attention of all the civil and military officials in the court. Lord Xue touched his fat belly and habitually wanted to laugh it off and get away with it.

But before he finished speaking, his eyes fell on Prince Chang, his eyes sparkled, he took a deep breath, gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty, I don't understand war, I don't know whether this war should be fought, but the Ministry of Revenue can only allocate funds once at most. If it takes too long, for example three months, then it won't work..."

The old emperor smiled gently: "I think so too. After all, if we collect taxes again, I'm afraid the people will complain!"

However, Prince Chang stood up at this time and said loudly: "Father, I think this difficulty is not difficult to solve. Although I am poor, I am willing to donate three years of taxes from my fiefdom to support the Duke of Zhenguo!"

The old emperor, King Xuan and others: "???"

Then Prince Shun came forward and said, "Father, I am also willing to donate 200,000 taels of silver to ensure that the people of our Great Zhou live and work in peace and contentment!" He then looked at the ministers behind him and said, "I'm sure all the adults feel the same way."

Courtiers: “???”

One of them even bumped into Lord Xue in secret. It was all his fault that they had to bleed.

Following this blatant compliment, many people came out one after another and gave a lot of silver. The old emperor was so angry that he rolled his eyes, but he still gritted his teeth and agreed to the idea of ​​continuing the fight.

"Since Prince Chang is so supportive, let Prince Chang escort the military pay this time." The old emperor gave an order, glanced coldly at his son who had been hurt, and shouted, "Dismiss the court!"

"Farewell, Your Majesty!" the court officials bowed and said in unison.

The court is dismissed.

Many people secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Lord Xue wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and slowly walked behind him with his fat body swaying.

It's not that he didn't want to walk fast, he was just fat and didn't have enough strength. It was a long way from the Golden Throne Hall to outside the palace, so he couldn't sit in a sedan chair.

Suddenly, a gentle voice sounded in my ears: "Thank you, Lord Xue, for your help in the court."

Lord Xue chuckled and said, "Your Highness is too polite. I am only trying my best."

Prince Chang smiled slightly and said, "You have just solved a big problem for the Xiao family army. I should be grateful. Sir Xue, are you busy for a while? If not, why don't we go to Prince Chang's mansion for a drink? Regarding the allocation of military pay, I still need to ask Sir Xue for advice."

Master Xue was startled and smacked his lips: "Isn't this too bad?"

Are you sure he is not forming a clique for personal gain? Will His Majesty think that he has joined Prince Chang's camp?

He has always been neutral and has not helped anyone in order to avoid being dragged into the mess. Now it's just a matter of a thought. Will he decide on his faction?

Prince Chang laughed and said, "No, I really want to ask Master Xue for advice. If we are honest, no one will care. If we hide, people will think too much. After all, this money must be handed over to the Ministry of Revenue by you all, and then the Ministry of Revenue will allocate the funds. I am only responsible for the transportation."

Yes, that makes sense!

It just so happened that Lord Xue also wanted to inquire about the girl. He originally planned to find someone else who was on good terms with the Xiao family, but if he could really get in touch with Prince Chang directly, it would be a good choice.

So he nodded and said, "I'm sorry to bother you."

"You are too polite, Lord Xue." Prince Chang bowed and smiled, his attitude humble.

The two of them walked side by side. Although they walked slowly, they were seen by many adults. However, they only asked a few questions, but when they heard that Prince Chang had something to ask, they were very understanding and ignored the question.

These two people should not form an alliance for the time being. After all, just now in the court, the three years' tax revenue of King Chang's fiefdom was taken away by this stingy rooster!

Some people laughed secretly, but when they thought about how they had also been cheated, they couldn't laugh anymore. The fat man looked unpleasant to the eye.

Lord Xue noticed the look, and found nothing strange in it, so he felt more at ease. He followed Prince Chang into Prince Chang's mansion, and as soon as he sat down in the living room, he was about to ask a tentative question.

Suddenly he smelled a fragrance that made him drool.

Master Xue was choked by his saliva and said directly: "Your Highness, the cooking skills of the chef in your mansion are really good. This smells so delicious!"