Chapter 22
The dish was ready. Wen Weili flicked her wrist, and a red and yellow dish of scrambled eggs with persimmons fell on the wooden plate like scattered flowers.
The old lady came over and shook her head, saying, "No, young lady, even though the food has become cheaper, how can it be delicious?"
Wen Weili pretended to be a proud young lady, so she didn't explain too much and just handed the lady a pair of chopsticks, "Please use it."
The old lady glanced at Wen Weili, picked up a piece of egg and put it in her mouth. In the kitchen filled with smoke, she was suddenly stunned. "How could this happen? The taste, the taste is completely different!"
The old lady was very shocked. If the golden powder was good-looking, then this scrambled eggs was both good-looking and extremely delicious. The usual greasy and dry taste of scrambled eggs was completely gone. The aroma of the moist eggs was mixed with a hint of sourness, which not only neutralized the greasiness of the scrambled eggs just right, but also brought with it the sour taste of persimmon juice, which eliminated the choking taste.
It was amazing! The old lady hesitantly picked up a piece of red persimmon. She was a little worried because she had tasted red persimmons before and they were very sour, the kind she never wanted to try again. But the delicious egg she had just had gave her a glimmer of confidence. She resolutely put the red persimmon in her mouth and chewed it slowly, waiting for the sour taste to pierce her teeth.
The result was beyond the old lady's expectation. The originally sour red persimmons had greatly reduced their astringency after being fried, leaving only some sourness. This sourness was particularly unnoticeable under the impact of white sugar and eggs. Not only did it not make her teeth ache when she ate it, but it made her feel more refreshed.
"I'm really enlightened." The old lady spoke with an accent excitedly, and smiled embarrassedly. Before, she was very dissatisfied with a girl who was so arrogant and came to work. She thought she was a relative of the prison boss who came here to make a living. But she didn't expect that this girl was really good at it. The dishes she made were both cost-effective and met the requirements of meat dishes.
"．．．．．．." Wen Weili didn't say anything, but nodded slightly with a proud attitude.
The old lady no longer thought Wen Weili was just a straw pillow. She said to her with a smile: "Good girl, just work hard here. I guarantee you will become a chef in the future."
Wen Weili nodded, her attitude still arrogant, "Yeah."
"I have to go and tell the jailer that I must keep you here." Seeing that Wen Weili had no objection, the old lady hurried to the jailer.
Wen Weili stood at the kitchen door. From there, she walked east, turned left, and passed through two doors, revealing the interior of the Imperial Prison. Although she desperately wanted to go in and look for Zhiyun, Wen Weili's body seemed frozen, her head lowered in thought.
She was extremely excited and kept telling herself: Calm down, this is the first step, there are many more steps to come, you must not panic, this is the only way to rescue Zhiyun, you must not mess it up!
Forcing herself to suppress the excitement in her heart, Wen Weili nodded to the jailers on both sides and left.
The jailer also greeted Wen Weili in a friendly manner, and after Wen Weili left, he couldn't help but start discussing.
"It seems this girl has some good skills, otherwise Aunt Zhou wouldn't be so excited. Look, she's so excited that she went straight to the boss."
"That's right, but I wonder if we can have a free meal. Didn't the boss say that we can have extra meals while on duty?"
"Yes, you can have extra meals," the jailer on the left said with a bitter face, "but you know Aunt Zhou's temper. Being on duty is tiring enough, and I don't want to be scolded by her again."
"That's true," the jailer on the right shuddered, recalling how a newcomer, on duty, woke up Aunt Zhou in the middle of the night for a snack, only to have Aunt Zhou stand in the yard and scold him for three hours straight. "Let's not bother her. I really hope the new cook has a good temper."
"Don't you want to sleep? What a pity. After staying with the tigress for too long, the beautiful lady will also become a Hedong Lion." The jailer on the left shrugged.
The jailer on the right, remembering Wen Weili's polite nod, offered a different opinion. "I don't think so. The new cook is a gentle person, so she won't be very fierce."
"Impossible. How about a bet? One or two taels of silver?" The one on the left was not convinced.
"Bet, two taels of silver." The jailer on the right was very confident.
"Two young men, what are you talking about, are you going to bet or not, huh?" Aunt Zhou came back happily with something, and suddenly heard the word "tiger mother". She listened quietly to the two people talking until they started to bet, then she walked over with a sinister look.
“…”
“…”
Silence, silence is the prison of tonight, silence is the uneasiness of this moment.
Convinced by the two jailers' foreboding, Aunt Zhou threw herself on her hips and launched into a barrage of abuse, leaving the two men utterly drenched in rage, yet they dared not retort. They knew that Aunt Zhou, having vented her anger, would not complain to the jail warden. Gambling was forbidden in prison, and if caught by the warden, it wouldn't just be a scolding; in serious cases, they could even receive a beating.
After two hours of spraying, Aunt Zhou finally left. The two jailers looked at each other, still terrified, and didn't dare mention the bet again.
As soon as Aunt Zhou was out of the jailer's sight, she immediately went to the head of the prison to complain: "...This is what happened, Old Man Zhang, please judge for yourself. A young unmarried girl should be the subject of their bet?!"
"You shouldn't have done that. I'll punish you severely later. You won't dare to gamble with girls again." Prisoner Zhang wiped the sweat off his face and comforted Aunt Zhou. He knew that this little girl had caught Aunt Zhou's eye as soon as she arrived, and she couldn't be treated lightly.
"Hmph, that's true, too. Last time, that new guy with poor eyesight treated me like a joke. Not only did he touch me, he even asked me to massage his feet. I'll massage his legs!" Aunt Zhou's rage grew as she spoke of this. "If you hadn't stopped me, I would have stood at his door and scolded him. Why would he just say something casually in the yard?"
"Calm down, calm down," Prisoner Zhang sighed. "I gave him thirty lashes that day, and he apologized afterward."
"Hmph," Aunt Zhou snorted coldly, "Don't think I don't know what tricks you men have. And why did those cooks quit? If they're attracted to each other, I'll let them go. But if someone tries to force their way, don't blame me for not giving them face."
Zhang the prison boss smiled shyly, "No, no, we all know our limits."
Aunt Zhou said in a loud voice, "I know nothing!" and then turned and left.
×
×
After Wen Weili contacted the secret guards, she has been compiling the relevant lists. This guard team in the dark is usually led by Duanmu Huaixin, but now Duanmu Huaixin has been unconscious, so she took the initiative to get to know Duanmu Huaixin's subordinates, including the secret guards and the visible troops.
Wen Weili was shocked to see this. Duanmu Huaixin had once commanded an "Ironclad Army" of approximately ten thousand men while guarding the frontier. After returning to the Imperial City and being forced to surrender his military power, the Armored Army was disbanded and incorporated into various armies or sinecures. Some were assigned to guarding the Imperial City, while others were involved in the Imperial Prison.
The emperor's original intention was to disperse these armored troops so that Duanmu Huaixin would lose control of the army. However, he did not expect that this group of people were loyal to Duanmu Huaixin, and even after being dispersed, they still did not forget Prince Huai.
When the Crown Prince launched an attack, someone secretly helped Duanmu Huaixin, which allowed them to escape without any danger. Even that night, even if Duanmu Huaixin was caught by the search team, they would rescue Prince Huai at all costs. Because they all knew that the Crown Prince wanted Prince Huai's life!
The secret forces were divided into those responsible for intelligence, combat, guarding, etc., all managed by Duanmu Huaixin for emergencies. That night, after Wen Weili injured three members of that team, the secret guards who followed the trail cut off their retreat, completely confusing the prince's sight and making him think that Duanmu Huaixin and Wen Weili had escaped from the imperial city.
Regardless of whether they were the armored troops in the open or the secret guards in the dark, they all recognized Prince Duanmu Huaixin, but Duanmu Huaixin also had a trick up his sleeve. If he was in crisis, they would obey Wen Weili's orders. In order to prevent impersonation or the enemy from confusing them, Duanmu Huaixin also left a token. When Wen Weili held this token, even if he issued an order, he would obey Wen Weili's instructions first.
After understanding Duanmu Huaixin's good intentions, Wen Weili could only sigh, "She is worthy of being Xinxin."
While Wen Weili was busy reading the report brought by the hidden guard, the hidden guard kept explaining it to her. He thought it would be difficult for Mrs. Li to understand, but he didn't expect that after listening to some of his proprietary words and codes, Mrs. Li suddenly realized it and got started on the work very quickly.
A full moon was in the sky, and the faint moonlight shone into the room from the window. Wen Weili quickly divided the personnel in the secret guard. She made it clear to the secret guard that their key now was to give priority to treating Duanmu Huaixin while not alerting the enemy. They had to bring in qualified doctors for treatment while avoiding leaks of information.
Wen Weili emphasized to the secret guards that rescuing Zhiyun was not the main purpose at the moment, but her personal selfishness. However, this selfishness was crucial and would greatly boost their morale and deal a heavy blow to the prince who thought he was in control of the imperial city. Moreover, the city's defense was weak at this moment, making it easier to infiltrate and rescue. If they missed the time, they would pay a higher price.
Wen Weili pointed out that the Crown Prince's smear campaign against Duanmu Huaixin showed his deep anger. The hidden guards' report indicated that the Crown Prince had continuously dispatched elite teams throughout the country to search for Duanmu Huaixin's whereabouts. Therefore, the Imperial City was a place he had neglected, and they should seize the opportunity to rescue Zhiyun and then retreat at their leisure.
The hidden guard stood silently in the shadows. He listened to Wen Weili's analysis and agreed with her opinion in his heart. After listening, he knelt on one knee and completely obeyed Mrs. Li's order.
Seeing that it was getting late, Wen Weili asked the guards to leave and yawned involuntarily. No wonder Xinxin was always busy until late, because he had a lot of things to do, and all of them fell on his shoulders.
Faint morning light streamed into the room. Wen Weili had no time to pack, so she washed up briefly before heading to the Imperial Prison. Before leaving, she visited Duanmu Huaixin's room once more, listening to his heartbeat as usual. This time, however, she understood the man who had previously seemed like a child to her more deeply.
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