Chapter 200 Attacking the Heart
Gu Huan thought for a moment, and whispered to Chiyu: "Send someone to keep an eye on Jiang Duo and his men. Follow them whenever they meet anyone or leave the city. If they meet with someone from the enemy country, arrest them on the spot and lock them up in secret until... Deputy General Qi returns and then deal with them."
"yes!"
Gu Huan couldn't help but smile as she watched Zhao Luoxuan happily continue to distribute porridge and steamed buns, and the palace maids and servants were also busy.
Did she help Mu Junyan?
Is she considered a capable woman?
After a busy day, Gu Huan suggested that Zhao Luoxuan have meals in the orphanage. Aunt Mo was shocked and strongly opposed it, but Zhao Luoxuan excitedly agreed.
She said that as a princess she had to understand the people's sentiments on behalf of her father so that she could hear the people's needs.
These words shut Aunt Mo up.
There was no special room in the orphanage for the princess to eat, so Gu Huan took Zhao Luoxuan to eat in the yard, and the other children ate at other tables.
This is very difficult for the chef.
The royal chef looked at the ingredients which he called pig food and felt at a loss what to do. He almost cried.
Gu Huan simply let Zhao Luoxuan try the big pot dish. Aunt Mo was originally against it, but she couldn't resist Zhao Luoxuan's curiosity, so she had to let the imperial chef watch from the side.
Although he was eating with everyone, he actually made separate small pots of dishes for the princess and Gu Huan. He also specially got a chicken and made chicken bone soup and chicken stewed potatoes.
This is the specialty of the orphanage camp cook.
It was Zhao Luoxuan’s first time to dine with a group of commoners. She looked at the three dishes and one soup on her table, two of which were meat dishes.
Then I looked at the children, each of them had a big bowl of rice without a piece of meat, and I felt a little unhappy.
He immediately told Aunt Mo to use her money to buy fifty chickens, fifty ducks, and five pigs for the orphanage.
The children in the orphanage were so happy that they all knelt down and kowtowed to praise the princess.
Zhao Luoxuan's face turned red with excitement. Such praise was much more pleasant than those fake compliments that tried to please her.
At the end of the day, she saw with her own eyes the suffering of the people, and then saw a large group of orphans who had lost their parents due to the war. Her feeling of novelty gradually turned into shock and lament, and the complicated feeling stayed with her all day.
I also saw with my own eyes how Gu Huan mingled with the common people and the soldiers defending the city. She was also a little girl, and a concubine of lowly status, but she shone so brightly.
She was envious of the people's admiring eyes towards Gu Huan.
As the most honorable legitimate princess, she often received compliments from everyone, but she had never felt such expectant eyes.
It was like Gu Huan was a fairy who could bring them happiness.
This feeling is completely different from the feeling of being a princess and being admired from a high place.
The dignity of a princess is very fragile.
Even she and her sixth brother lived in fear in the palace, fearing that their mother would be reprimanded by the Empress Dowager and the position of Queen would be taken away by Concubine Jiang.
Even though she was brought up in a pampered manner, she was often bullied by Concubine Jiang's children and felt wronged and resentful.
But the support that Gu Huan received was like the tide, one wave higher than the other, it would never dry up and would never recede.
Gu Huan and Zhao Luoxuan returned to the residence after a busy day, both of their faces red.
Although it was winter, the sun was shining brightly today. They had no time to hold an umbrella and were busy running around, and their faces were sunburned.
Aunt Mo was so anxious that she applied facial masks and ointments.
Zhao Luoxuan pulled Gu Huan together, and the two girls, with a thick layer of white cream on their faces, leaned on the couch to read.
Gu Huan specially found some miscellaneous books about southern Xinjiang for Zhao Luoxuan so that she could understand the history, customs and folkways here.
This was also the first time that Zhao Luoxuan read this kind of book. She read it with great interest and found it extremely interesting.
"Sister Huan, I feel that life outside the palace is much more interesting than inside. I've been busy all day, but I feel fulfilled. It's not like before in the palace, where I had nothing to do all day and could only watch the women in the palace fight and play."
Gu Huan nodded: "Well, they just have nothing to do and only care about trivial matters. Look at ordinary people, they are busy every day just to make ends meet, how can they have the time to gossip."
Gu Huan came closer and asked in a low voice, "Princess, do you know Shopkeeper Qiu of Linlang Tower? She is the owner herself. She is a role model of a self-reliant woman."
Zhao Luoxuan tilted her head and thought for a while: "I know Linlanglou. I like their jewelry very much. The styles are unique. Unlike the jewelry in the palace, which is just piled with expensive jewels without any spiritual charm. However, I didn't know that the owner is a woman."
"She is very smart and capable. When she returns to the capital, the princess can summon her to an audience and listen to her opinions."
Zhao Luoxuan's eyes lit up: "Okay. After returning to Beijing, take me to see her. I want her to make jewelry for me personally."
"good."
The two girls chattered about interesting things, and before they knew it, it was getting dark.
Aunt Mo came in and reported: "Princess, it's time to eat."
Gu Huan hurriedly said goodbye, but Zhao Luoxuan held her back and said, "Eat with me. I always ate alone before, which was boring."
Gu Huan didn't hesitate and stayed to accompany her.
The palace maids came in one after another and served ten exquisite dishes.
Zhao Luoxuan picked up a piece of her favorite chicken with pearl meatballs with chopsticks and suddenly frowned: "Why is it not as delicious as the chicken I ate during the day?"
Aunt Mo hurriedly said, "Then let the imperial chef make it again. I'm afraid the seasoning is not correct."
Gu Huan said hurriedly: "Let me try it."
She picked up a piece and put it in her mouth: "Mm, it's delicious."
Zhao Luoxuan tilted her head and looked at her: "Do you think it tastes better than the chicken stewed with beans we had during the day?"
Gu Huan smiled and said, "That's chicken stewed with potatoes. Potatoes are not originally a crop in Daliang. Because they are suitable for large-scale planting and have high yields, people in southern Xinjiang like to grow them."
"I know why the princess thinks that daytime chicken tastes better. Because the chicken you eat is wild and free-range in the mountains, and the chicken is more tender. In addition, the royal chef washes the chicken many times, and adds various operations such as marinating and removing the fishy smell, so the original flavor of the chicken is gone. The orphanage cook makes chicken much simpler. She just adds salt, and the original flavor is naturally more original."
Zhao Luoxuan's eyes widened: "I see."
"The cooking methods of the rich families and the palace should be similar. If too many cooking methods are used, the food will not be fresh enough and the original flavor of the ingredients will be lost. When I transported grain here, I ate roasted and cooked food on the road. After arriving in southern Xinjiang, I ate simple food made from fresh ingredients every day. The big pot dishes I ate in the military camp were particularly delicious."
"You've been to the military camp?" Zhao Luoxuan was extremely surprised.
"Yeah. Didn't I say I also participated in the battle in Shicheng County?"
Zhao Luoxuan's eyes were full of stars and she admired Gu Huan very much.
"Princess, I'm still learning self-defense. Now I can handle an average man once or twice."
Zhao Luoxuan gave her a thumbs up: "That's amazing! I also want to learn, can you teach me?"
Aunt Mo quickly stopped her: "Princess, you've made us worried just by eating those foods, and you're still learning martial arts, that's not okay."
"Why not?"
"That's all vulgar stuff."
Gu Huan raised her eyebrows: "Aunt Mo, you are wrong. My mother-in-law, Grand Lady Mu, is the best female general in Daliang, and all the maids around me are good at martial arts. Women learn martial arts just to protect themselves, so what's wrong with that?"
Aunt Mo looked embarrassed: "Auntie Huan, you don't know that our princess is born with a deficiency and has been carefully taken care of in the palace. She can get sick easily. I'm afraid that the princess will have indigestion and stomachache if she eats outside today, so how can she practice martial arts?"
Gu Huan smiled: "It's just that taking care of yourself too carefully is bad for your health. Princess, do you have a stomachache today?"
Zhao Luoxuan shook her head vigorously: "Well, no. Not at all. Didn't I eat an extra bowl of rice today? Aunt Mo, you are still happy."
Aunt Mo was speechless.
"Practicing martial arts can strengthen your body and make it better. My health wasn't good before, but now I'm doing fine. Just take it step by step, it won't hurt your body."
Zhao Luoxuan couldn't wait any longer and grabbed Gu Huan's hand: "Then can I study with you?"
"Okay, maybe you can get up at 11:00 AM?"
Zhao Luoxuan's eyes widened: "Ah? Mao Shizheng? So early?"
Gu Huan deliberately said, "If you can't get up, forget it."
Zhao Luoxuan hurriedly said, "You can get up, you must get up. I will look for you at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow."
Aunt Mo and the eunuch both widened their eyes.
Princess Shuhe has become a completely different person. She used to be lazy and unwilling to get out of bed, and would get angry and curse when people asked her to get up.
Gu Huan pursed her lips and smiled.
She just wanted Zhao Luoxuan to have a closer relationship with her and make her feel happy in Juzhou.
People always make comparisons.
When one thinks of the happiness of Juzhou and then the sorrow of the marriage, anyone would choose the former.
As long as we capture the princess' heart, the peace delegation will not be able to negotiate peace.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
