Zhou Daqing drove the two of them to Raozhou City. He did not think much about it. He was a simple and honest man and did not ask many questions. He just thought that Wen and Gui really came to the city for something, so he responsibly sent the two of them to Raozhou City.
The snow stopped this morning, but there was still some snow on the road, so we didn't dare to hurry too fast.
Along the way, Wen and Gui didn't talk much.
Gui also kept trying to recall the clothes the little girl was wearing in the dream, her appearance, the appearance of the woman who called the little girl Shuniang, and the situation in the yard after the gate was opened, but it was all too vague and she couldn't remember it.
Gui was very worried, as she didn't know whether she could find her relatives on this trip.
If the Zhu family is really her blood relative, how will she face it? Can she still adapt after not seeing them for fifty years?
If not, how would my mood change?
Not only was Gui worried, but Wen was the same. She hoped her mother could find her relatives, but she was also worried that the Zhu family was not her mother's blood relative and her mother would definitely be disappointed and worried. She was also worried that Gui's body could not bear it.
Just like that, they arrived at Raozhou City after more than two hours. It was already past noon and the city gate had been opened. The two said they wanted to go to the prefectural government office, and Zhou Daqing directly sent them there. The two thanked him, and then Zhou Daqing left.
Gui and Wen still went to the backyard of the prefect's mansion and knocked on the door. The doorman was an old woman who recognized Wen.
Wen said, "Please help me tell the governor that the family that cooked for the old lady yesterday came to bother her again. They want to ask the governor something. If the governor is willing to see me, please come to the back door. I have a few words to say to him."
The old woman nodded and asked the two to wait while she went to inform the governor.
The prefect has put aside his official duties these days and has been staying with Old Lady Zhu, as he is worried that his mother may pass away at any time. With him by her side, she will have fewer regrets when she passes away.
After listening to the old woman's words, I was a little confused.
Zhu said, "Master, go and take a look. Maybe someone in their family has something urgent to ask the governor. Thanks to the little cook, my mother had a full day's meal. I saw that she slept more comfortably last night."
Governor Zhu nodded and said, "I was planning to go there too. You stay with mom first. I'll be back soon."
Zhu followed the old woman to the backyard door and asked, "Did the young cook come with you yesterday?"
He was thinking that if the young cook came, he would like to ask her to help prepare breakfast and evening meals for him.
The old woman said, "My Lord, the young lady did not come. It was another woman and an old woman who came."
The governor was even more confused.
He quickly arrived at the side room in the backyard and saw Wen and Gui standing at the door.
When he saw Gui, Governor Zhu did not think of his elder sister.
Seeing Governor Zhu, Gui was somewhat excited, her hands and feet were trembling. Both of them were no longer young, with gray hair and wrinkles on their faces, but she still felt somewhat close to the man in front of her.
Governor Zhu stepped forward and asked, "May I ask if you two are looking for me for something that I can help you with?"
At first he thought that the two men might be looking for him to help with some personal matters.
If it is not something that violates the law, he will definitely help if he can.
Wen glanced at the old woman guarding the gatehouse. Governor Zhu understood what was going on and waved his hand to let the old woman leave, then invited the two men into the ear room.
After entering, Wen took a deep breath and told the prefect what she had heard from the fat cook yesterday, that the prefect had a sister who was kidnapped when she was young. After that, she looked at Gui and said to the prefect, "Sir, this is my aunt. She was kidnapped when she was young and then sold to a pawnshop. She was bought by the Cheng family in the capital and became a maid for the eldest daughter of the Cheng family. Later, she followed the eldest daughter Cheng to marry into the Wen family..."
She briefly explained Gui's identity, saying that she was the illegitimate daughter of the Wen family, and also mentioned her identity in the Wen and Pei families.
The prefect was a little shocked. He really didn't expect that the woman in front of him was the former queen.
He knew that the emperor in the capital had changed two years ago, and the new emperor used the eldest prince's incident to exile the youngest prince's lineage and also exiled the empress. He thought it was nonsense at the time; how could he exile the empress and the princes and princesses?
I didn't expect that the woman in front of me was the queen, who was helping with chores in the kitchen yesterday.
Wen revealed her identity in order to pave the way for what she was going to say next. She wanted to tell the governor that she was not looking for an excuse to establish a relationship with the governor's mansion, nor was she greedy for fame and fortune. She was once an empress and would not be greedy for such a small gain.
In addition, I also informed the prefect in advance that if my mother was really his eldest sister, he'd better make plans first. This matter must not be told to anyone else and must be kept secret.
Seeing that the governor was a little shocked, Wen continued, "I know that the governor's abducted elder sister has a small mole behind her right ear and a red birthmark on her lower back. My mother also has both of them, and my mother is probably between 54 and 55 years old. I think it's too coincidental, so I came to talk to the governor."
After hearing this, the prefect was shocked and a little confused.
In fact, he felt yesterday that Wen looked like his mother, but he felt that Wen's age didn't match. Now that he heard Wen say this, if the old woman in front of him was really the eldest sister, it would be normal for the daughter she gave birth to to look like her mother.
But could the old woman in front of me really be my eldest sister?
He couldn't make a judgment based on these two points alone.
It was too much of a coincidence, and he had been disappointed too many times. He was even more afraid that the old woman in front of him was not his eldest sister, and his mother would be disappointed too.
Gui asked with a trembling voice, "Do you remember what the front door of your home looked like when you were a child? My impression of my childhood is very vague, but I remember that the front door of my home was a wooden door, shabby and old, with several cracks and a hole in the upper left corner."
As soon as she finished speaking, Governor Zhu's expression changed.
Having lived in this house for more than ten years, he naturally remembered that there were indeed cracks and a hole in the wooden door.
What Gui said next made Zhu shed tears. He heard Gui say, "Because it was so long ago, I can't remember anything else, and I don't remember my own name, but last night I dreamed of a woman behind the shabby wooden door shouting, "There's a little girl outside the door, about four or five years old, named Shu Niang, and she was calling Shu Niang to come back to the house for dinner."
Governor Zhu's head was buzzing and he wanted to say something, but he found that he could not make a sound.
As for the wooden door in the house and the maiden name of his eldest sister, Governor Zhu and his mother had never told anyone about it to outsiders because they were worried that someone might come pretending to be their relative. Being able to mention the maiden name of his eldest sister would naturally explain everything. Moreover, the old woman in front of them even described the appearance of the wooden door in the house, so there was no doubt about it.
Seeing the prefect like this, Wen and Gui already understood.
Gui also burst into tears.
Governor Zhu choked with sobs for a long time before he finally called out "elder sister".
Gui also covered her mouth and cried. It had been exactly fifty years. But she did feel a little fortunate. Even though fifty years had passed, her mother was still alive. She and her mother could still see each other, and they had no regrets.
If it weren't for the opportunity that Yu Niang got, she and her family would probably have missed it.
Wen also wiped away tears.
Even though he knew that the old woman in front of him was most likely his eldest sister, Governor Zhu still needed to know what the birthmark on her lower back looked like.
The shapes of birthmarks are all different. In the past, he was able to expose those women who pretended to be the eldest sister because the shapes of their birthmarks were different. As long as the birthmark on the old woman in front of him matches, he can bring her to see his mother.
Zhu Taishou wiped his tears and told the two about the birthmark. Gui also smiled and wiped her tears, "It should be."
Governor Zhu led the two men back to the main courtyard.
He didn't dare to disturb my mother, so he asked the two of them to go to the side room, and then went to my mother's room to call Zhu.
He took Zhu to the side room and told her about the matter.
Zhu was a little shocked, it was too much of a coincidence, but all the other information matched. In fact, without looking at the birthmark, she knew that the old woman in front of her should be her mother-in-law's lost daughter. It was also God's will that allowed her mother-in-law to fulfill her wish before her death.
After Governor Zhu left, Gui took off her clothes, revealing the birthmark on her lower back.
Zhu had never heard her father describe what the birthmark on her eldest sister's lower back looked like in detail. She just wanted to see it and draw it.
She drew the shape and size of the birthmark on Gui's lower back and showed it to Governor Zhu.
When Governor Zhu saw this, he started to cry again and said in a trembling voice, "God has eyes, God has eyes, thank God so much." He allowed my mother to get rid of the biggest regret of her life before she died.
Zhu breathed a sigh of relief.
After Gui had put on her clothes, Prefect Zhu knocked on the door and came in. The two met, and this time Prefect Zhu could no longer hold back. He knelt in front of Gui and cried, calling her "elder sister".
Gui was crying so hard that she couldn't speak, so she pulled the man up.
Both Mrs. Wen and Mrs. Zhu felt unhappy.
After both of them had cried, Zhu wiped her eyes and smiled, "This is a good thing. Let's go to mother-in-law's place now."
After Zhu finished speaking, she asked hesitantly, "Master, my elder sister and my niece are of special status. Can you tell the children?"
"No need." Zhu Taishou's voice was still a little hoarse, and he waved his hand and said, "This matter cannot be told to outsiders. I will talk to you after you have seen my elder sister. I am sure you will understand."
If this matter were to get out and the two people in the capital knew that he was the brother of the Empress's mother's family, he would have no chance of keeping his position as prefect.
He was not just doing it for himself, but also for his eldest sister's family. If those two knew that the empress had an uncle who was the governor of the southwest, and that he also held some military power, I'm afraid the new emperor and the empress dowager would find ways to get rid of the fourth prince and his eldest sister's family.
Therefore, this matter must be kept secret. Apart from Zhu, he did not plan to tell anyone else, including his own children and grandchildren, for fear that they would tell the truth. He knew Zhu's character well, so he felt comfortable telling her.
Zhu nodded, and she understood it very clearly in her heart.
Several people went to the room of old lady Zhu next door.
Old Madam Zhu was still in a coma. Gui approached her cautiously. Looking at her gaunt face and body, she couldn't help but shed tears.
Even though she had forgotten many things from her childhood, she could still vividly remember the scene in her dream where the woman gently called her "Shu Niang" and asked her to go back for dinner.
"Mom." Gui called softly.
No, it should be Zhu at this moment.
After Zhu finished shouting, she thought the old lady would not respond, but unexpectedly the old lady moved her fingers and shouted in a daze, "But my Shu Niang is back?"
"Mom." Zhu couldn't help but cried out.
The old lady was fully awake now. She could no longer see anything, but she could hear the word "mother" clearly.
She murmured, "Could it be that I have already returned on my way home?" She thought she was dead, so she could hear Shu Niang calling her.
Zhu went forward and held the old lady's hand, tears dripping down the back of her hand, "Mother, I am Shu Niang, I am back, mother."
"Shuniang? Is it really Shuniang who's back?" The old lady was so shocked that she struggled to get up.
Governor Zhu stepped forward and helped the old lady up, letting her lean on a large soft pillow. He then told her the whole story in detail, and also told the old lady everything that Zhu Shu had experienced in her life, even the matter of Empress Wen.
"So it is, so it is. I finally found my Shu Niang. I'm so sorry. I should apologize to you." Old Lady Zhu struggled to get out of bed. If she had been more careful, Shu Niang would never have been lost and would never have suffered so much.
Old Madam Zhu struggled to get off the bed, and the others followed suit, and there was another round of panic.
Fortunately, after a while, the old lady finally calmed down and held Zhu's hand tightly and refused to let go.
He said nothing, just held Zhu's hand and called her "Shun Niang".
The pair of eyes that had long been blind were crying out with tears in their eyes.
Zhu also responded one by one, not feeling annoyed at all.
Magistrate Zhu looked at his elder sister and mother, then turned around and motioned for Zhu and Wen to move to the side room, leaving this place to the mother and daughter.
After going to the side room, the three of them discussed what to do next.
The old lady didn't live for many days, so Governor Zhu wanted his eldest sister to stay in the governor's mansion and be with the old lady.
But it would be difficult to find an excuse when the children and grandchildren asked about it. Although they were not staying at their mother's place, they would come to pay their respects every day. When they asked about it, he could not say that his eldest sister was a servant hired to accompany the old lady.
For a moment, Governor Zhu didn't know how to deal with it.
No one has had breakfast yet, so let’s go and have breakfast first.
Food was also sent over to the old lady, but she was just like she was in the past few days, unable to eat. Even if she found her daughter, she still couldn't eat.
Zhu coaxed the old lady into eating a few bites, but the old lady didn't want to eat anymore and fell into a deep sleep again. This time, she held Zhu's hand and refused to let go, so Zhu had no choice but to stay with her for now.
Wen was worried about her mother as well as Yu Niang at home. Yu Niang's restaurant must be open today, and the manager should have asked Meng for help, but she was also thinking about going back to help Yu Niang.
The old lady was sometimes awake and sometimes asleep, and she kept calling for Shu Niang. Every time she woke up, she told the prefect that she had a dream. In her dream, she found Shu Niang. When she found out it was not a dream, she would cry again.
By the time of dinner, the old lady finally came to her senses and realized that she had found her daughter. She still didn't eat much at dinner, because she just couldn't eat, not because she didn't want to eat on purpose.
Zhu thought that the old lady couldn't stay away from food like this. Even though the doctor said she didn't have many days left, she couldn't stop eating. She thought that if the old lady could eat, maybe she could recover and live longer, and she could show more filial piety to her.
So Zhu thought that the old lady was willing to eat the food cooked by Yu Niang, but Yu Niang had to neglect her livelihood and come to Raozhou City to cook for the old lady. In addition, given her and her daughter's family's status, it was not appropriate for others to know that they were related by blood to the prefect's family. They had to keep it a secret, and it would be difficult for her to keep it a secret if she stayed in Raozhou City. It would be better to let the old lady go back to Yuanbao Town with her so that she could eat the food cooked by Yu Niang.
They could also tell outsiders that the old lady could only eat the food made by Yu Niang, so she was sent to Yuanbao Town to recuperate.
Maybe if the old lady eats well, her health will recover a little.
Zhu discussed the matter with Governor Zhu and Zhu.
Governor Zhu thought this was fine. The old lady was like this, so everything must be based on her wishes.
In the evening, Governor Zhu asked the old lady, who was also happy to do so and told them to set off right away.
Qi Chengzi was definitely not able to do it now, so Governor Zhu invited a doctor and asked if the old lady could take a carriage to another place to recuperate. He said that the old lady could only eat the food of a young cook in Yuanbao Town, so they wanted to send her there to recuperate.
The old doctor said, "It's fine to go to Yuanbao Town. Just drive slowly on the road. There are thick mattresses on the carriage. It's good to send her there. If the old lady can eat more, she may live a few more days."
The old doctor agreed, so Governor Zhu asked Zhu to help pack the luggage. He would help the old lady go there tomorrow and then stay there for a few more days.
Naturally, this matter had to be discussed with the children and grandchildren at home. Governor Zhu told them that the old lady only ate the food prepared by Miss Xu, so she was sent to Yuanbao Town to recuperate.
But the children and grandchildren all thought that it would be better to invite a young cook to the prefect's mansion.
Governor Zhu told his children and grandchildren with a stern face that the restaurant opened by the other party was doing well just because they came here yesterday, and why should they use the status of the governor's office to force the other party to come to the governor's office? He gave his children and grandchildren a lecture, and they admitted their mistake obediently.
…
Yuanbao Town.
When Xu Qinyu returned home after work at the restaurant, it was already dark. In winter, it gets dark very quickly, so Cheng Ge'er had to take her back.
After returning home, Xu Qinyu washed up first. Ning Jie'er knew that she would be back at this time, so she prepared hot water for her. After thanking Ning Jie'er, Xu Qinyu went back to the room to wash up. She now smelled like a hot pot.
When winter just came, she prepared a copper pot to cook mutton hotpot.
A lot of copper pots were specially ordered, with charcoal fire burning inside and pots around the outside to cook some clear soup, which was used to dip various mutton and other foods.
First, boil the sheep tail oil, so that the pot has the smell of oil, then start to boil various kinds of mutton. The mutton hot pot needs standard sesame sauce seasoning, which she also makes herself, with the wooden barrel fermented bean curd she makes, plus appropriate water, some other seasonings, pour in sesame oil, and finally add chopped coriander and chopped green onions, and a bowl of fragrant and refreshing sesame sauce seasoning is ready.
The flavor of sesame sauce is simply fragrant. It smells good when you put it in your mouth and when you eat it in your stomach. You can smell the fragrance from far away.
The sheep tail oil has a strong smell. After being rinsed, dip the sheep tail oil in sesame sauce and eat it. Although it is a bit oily, the smell is much less. It is oily, satisfying and fragrant.
After blanching the sheep tail oil, you can blanch various mutton and black tripe. The mutton is delicate and tender. It can be taken out after being boiled in the pot for a few seconds. Then dip it in sesame sauce. It is so delicious that you can't stop eating it.
Black tripe is wool tripe. It is also blanched for a few seconds and tastes crispy and tender. It is then coated with plenty of sesame sauce. Your mouth will be covered with sesame sauce after you eat it. The aroma of sesame sauce and the crispness of the tripe are paired together, leaving you with an endless aftertaste.
There is also hand-cut lamb leg meat, which is blanched for a few seconds longer. When you put it in your mouth, the thick lamb leg meat is wrapped in sesame sauce and the gravy is rich.
Hand-cut lamb topside, alternating between fat and lean.
Vegetables include cabbage, radish, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, tofu, and lotus roots.
When the shabu-shabu mutton hotpot first came out, the waiters and Cheng Ge'er in the restaurant ate it for several days in a row, saying that they were so addicted to the aroma.
Even the diners in the restaurant almost ate there for several days in a row.
After the beginning of winter, this mutton hotpot is the most popular dish, and almost every table must order it. Few people order other food. Only some diners eat it for several days in a row and switch to other stir-fried dishes or stews when they are full, and start eating mutton hotpot again within two days.
Actually, Xu Qinyu wanted to make hot pot.
But for hot pot, you must use butter to make the bottom of the pot.
Usually hot pot is a spicy butter hot pot with a variety of hot pot bases, including tomato hot pot base, big bone soup hot pot base, pork belly and chicken hot pot base, mushroom hot pot base and so on.
But there are no tomatoes here, and it is difficult to serve mushrooms to the diners. If it is just a separate big bone soup pot, the taste of the hot pot will be much less.
When she can buy beef butter in the future, she can make some beef butter spicy hot pot base for her family.
After washing up, when it was time to go to bed, Wen and Gui had not returned yet. Xu Qinyu knew in her heart that Gui must be a blood relative of the Zhu family. Now that they had recognized each other as relatives, she would live there first. As for the subsequent arrangements, it depended on what the other side planned.
On the afternoon of the next day, Mrs. Zhu and her entourage arrived at Yuanbao Town.
They ran very slowly on the road, and it took them three and a half hours. Governor Zhu came with Mrs. Zhu. They first settled the old lady in Pei's house. They originally wanted to buy a small house on West Street or East Street, but the old lady refused, saying that she also wanted to live in Guihua Lane. Later, they bought a yard in Guihua Lane that was almost the same size as Pei's house, and hired someone to clean it up. Food, clothing and other daily necessities were also quickly prepared.
Originally, Mrs. Wen wanted the old lady to live at home, but there were many of Yu Niang's jars and pots at home, and she was afraid that the old lady would feel a little crowded.
Moreover, living outside can also dispel other people's suspicion. Otherwise, the old lady came to Yuanbao Town to recuperate, but why did she live in Pei's house?
So after discussion, they decided to buy a yard nearby. It wasn't too far away, but just a few dozen steps away, and Zhu moved in directly.
In less than two hours, the old lady moved into the new yard.
For dinner in the evening, we had the hot pot of mutton that Wen brought from the restaurant.
Wen went to the restaurant. Xu Qinyu was not busy at this time because the mutton hotpot was very simple to prepare and she did not have to worry about the ingredients. Cheng Ge'er and Xu Feng had prepared the vegetables, including washing and cutting, and the side dishes. She only had to cook the soup and prepare the sesame sauce. The weather had been colder these days than in early winter, so there were more diners eating hotpot. Almost everyone in the restaurant was eating mutton hotpot.
When Xu Qinyu saw Wen, she felt relieved. They went to the store and talked for a while. She learned that her grandmother was really the lost daughter of old lady Zhu. Xu Qinyu was happy for them, but she couldn't help but curse the human traffickers harshly in her heart. No matter what era, human traffickers were worse than animals.
At night, Governor Zhu and Madam Zhu will also stay here for meals and lodging. They will stay with the old lady for a few days.
Xu Qinyu asked Gongger and Xu Feng to carry the ingredients for the pot to Guihua Lane.
So the first night that Governor Zhu and the old lady came to Yuanbao Town, they ate a hot pot of mutton.
This evening meal was eaten in the old lady's yard. Sister Ning went there with Brother Feng and Sister Yuan.
This matter was not hidden from Ning Jie'er. When Ning Jie'er saw the old lady, she obediently called her great-grandmother. Although the old lady couldn't see it, she still touched Ning Jie'er's hand and said a few words to her, "Good girl."