Chapter 21 Feed Him Spring Pancakes Feed Him Spring Pancakes
The gentle breeze brings fragrance, the sky is clear and blue.
The Zishui River flows quietly, with shimmering waves and clear water. You can see the bottom is densely covered with green moss and fish swimming leisurely in the air.
The shimmering light from the river penetrated the weeping willows, making Zhang Min's eyes appear quite dazzling. He was stunned and doubtful, and his mind almost went blank for a moment.
Beside them, Ye Jindian held up the portrait with curiosity: "So, this is what the Right Prime Minister looks like?"
No wonder everyone is afraid of him.
This body has a majestic appearance, but it is also a bit scary.
Zhang Min: “?!!”
How could this ugly thing be him!
This is such a huge injustice that there is no way to defend oneself.
"The Right Prime Minister can't look like this, can he?" Zhang Min complained, arguing from behind Ye Jindian. "Look at the scar across his face. He can't possibly attend court."
Historically, being untidy in the court was considered an offense to the emperor, let alone having such a long and deep scar.
"My husband, have you met the Right Prime Minister?" Ye Jindian looked at him curiously, with a hint of worry in her eyes.
It was as if the "Right Prime Minister" would beat him, "Zhang Baishi", for no reason, leaving him half dead and then walking away.
Zhang Min: “…No.”
He seldom looked in the mirror, and indeed had little opportunity to see himself.
The last time I looked in the mirror was five years ago, when I was looking at my breastplate.
Ye Jindian finally felt relieved and told him the rumors she had just heard at the meat stall. She sighed, "I thought Luoying and the others were kind people, and the Right Prime Minister might not be a bad person either. It's just that the rumors were wrong..."
Zhang Min screamed in his heart: This is wrong, my wife!
"But now that I think about it, we've never actually met the Right Prime Minister, so we should not make hasty conclusions." Ye Jindian put down the portrait in her hand. "After all, we may not meet the Right Prime Minister in this lifetime, so it's better to be cautious and avoid him if possible."
No matter whether the other party is good or bad, they, the common people, can do nothing but sigh.
Zhang Min: …
"So..." the old woman asked, "Young lady, do you really not want one? This door god is more effective than Shentu and Yulei. No evil spirits dare to enter."
Ye Jindian declined politely.
She carried the meat and went to a nearby clinic to buy some medicine.
"My wife, are you injured? Where are you injured?" Zhang Min didn't care about calming down his complicated emotions and looked her up and down.
Ye Jindian explained that this was for Luoying and the others, and asked him to carry it so that it would not rub against the lamb leg and get dirty.
Zhang Min finally felt relieved and walked home with her.
"By the way, my husband, today is your day off. Have you thought about what to do?"
They lived together for more than a month, and except for the first few days, he seemed to be busy all the time. Ye Jindian finally saw him rest once.
Zhang Min really hadn't thought about it.
In the past, he felt that the nobles' mansions were cruel and cruel, so he fled with his sister and followed the current emperor to conquer the world.
When it comes to conquering the world, your life is hanging on your belt every day, so there is no such thing as free time.
"What do you want to do today, my lady?" Zhang Min glanced at the piece of meat in her hand frequently and reached out to take it several times, but was held down and pushed away by Ye Jindian.
She just wanted him to take the medicine bag.
"Me..." Seeing that he was really persistent, Ye Jindian simply pulled his wrist and walked away, "I was planning to sweep up the fruitless peach and apricot blossoms, wash them, dry them, and make sachets, wine, or something like that."
After a few more days, when the flowers have fallen, green fruits will emerge.
By then, there will be no fallen flowers.
Zhang Min lowered his eyes, took a look at the two people's overlapping robe sleeves, and his wrist was tightly held, and the corners of his lips curled up.
"Then I'll accompany my wife."
Besides, he had nothing else to do.
Ye Jindian objected: "That won't work."
Zhang Min was shocked and hurt: "Why not?"
Is my wife tired of him?!
"What are you thinking about?" Ye Jindian shook his hand unhappily. "What I mean is that I didn't know my husband was on leave before, so I planned to do all these things. Now that I know my husband is on leave, I have to think carefully about how to rearrange today's schedule."
He was usually very competitive. As soon as the academy expelled him and demoted him to a handyman, he found a job teaching the soldiers in the prime minister's mansion. Even after dinner, he would secretly train without telling her...
She felt that the soup she cooked could not restore his lost energy, and she had to help him relax the tension in his mind.
"Then..." Zhang Min pursed his lips and asked, "Madam, do you want to join me?"
Ye Jindian: "Of course."
In this way, Zhang Min was happy again.
*
The two chatted all the way and walked together to the end of the alley.
There is a tall banyan tree next to the well at the end of the alley. Its roots are spread out and many strands of silk hang down. Someone has also built a simple shrine on the concave side of the tree roots for worship.
I don't know who lit incense, burned paper money, and hung up a few new red cloths this morning.
The red cloth was bright and eye-catching, completely different from the strips of cloth that had turned white due to sun exposure last year. When it was hung densely, it looked like a huge curtain.
The big-eyed scholar walked out of the door on the side of the huge red curtain, with hurried steps and his head down. He was not paying attention and almost bumped into them who were coming from the other side.
Zhang Min raised his hand and put his arm around Ye Jindian's arm. Ye Jindian also subconsciously stretched out his hand across his chest, placed it on his shoulder, stepped back and avoided him.
The big-eyed scholar seemed not to have expected anyone to come. He caught a glimpse of a piece of clothing from the corner of his eye and stopped in a hurry, but accidentally dropped the books in his arms and scattered them all over the floor.
"I'm so sorry." He didn't even see clearly, so he hurriedly bowed and apologized, "I was so reckless and scared you two."
Ye Jindian glanced at him and subconsciously looked down at the fallen books.
Zhang Min has good eyesight, and with a single glance, he can see the title of the book clearly -
"Days and Nights with the Bookworm", "Two or Three Things about the Old Fool", "Seducing Him", "Three Thousand Concubines, Only Favoring the Scholar"...
The familiar name made his eyelids jump, and he raised his hand to cover Ye Jindian's eyes: "My lady, don't look."
Ye Jindian didn't know what was going on. She blinked in confusion and her thick eyelashes swept across Zhang Min's palm, but it didn't move.
Zhang Min's fingers twitched slightly and felt itchy.
But he still didn't move an inch, staring at the scholar frantically picking up all of them before stopping.
A brush rolled down to the roots of a tree and lay not far from Ye Jindian's toes.
Seeing that the scholar was about to leave, she called him back, "Sir, wait a moment."
The scholar hesitated and turned back: "This young..." He met Zhang Min's slightly displeased eyes and immediately changed his words, "Madam called me?"
Ye Jindian loosened her grip, picked up the pen, and handed it back to the scholar: "My dear, you left a pen behind."
"Thank you very much."
The scholar took it and thanked her shyly.
Ye Jindian smiled at him: "It's just a small favor, you're welcome."
The big-eyed scholar nodded slightly, glanced at Zhang Min cautiously, and when he met his gaze, he shrank as if he had touched a sharp blade. He retracted his gaze, took a few steps back, and then turned and left.
This lady is kind, and her husband seems a bit difficult to deal with.
He quickened his pace and hurried away.
Ye Jindian watched the thin figure go away, and always felt that she saw the elegance and courtesy common to scholars in him.
She sighed, "You scholars are so gentle."
She might never be so shy in her entire life.
Thinking about it, she touched her slightly thick skin.
The face of the person who was not easy to mess with darkened.
What does it mean when the lady touches his face? He is just a pale-faced scholar with bigger eyes, redder lips, taller stature and more handsome features!
What's so good about it?
Zhang Min gritted his teeth secretly, moved quietly, and blocked her sight.
"We were just talking about mountain climbing and outings..." He calmly shifted her focus. "In all of Shengjing, there's no place more beautiful than Dongshan. Would you like to go up the mountain or just walk around the foothills?"
Ye Jindian followed his words and remembered the last time she went into the mountains and encountered the Prime Minister's Mansion clearing out the wandering army, so she decisively chose to go for an outing.
Returning to the house, she went straight into the kitchen.
Zhang Min went to the next door, threw the medicine bag to his subordinates, said "a gift from my wife" and ran away, leaving everyone confused and stunned, wondering who had been injured recently and seriously needed medicine.
The secret guard appeared before he left and asked if he needed to tear up all the door god portraits in secret.
Thinking of the portrait that smeared him, Zhang Min's eyes twitched.
He held it down with his hand. "No need for that. Since the people feel safe posting this portrait, then let them do as they please."
"yes."
The secret guards retreated.
kitchen.
Ye Jindian chopped the cleaned meat first, mixed it with oil, salt and homemade bean paste and set it aside to marinate. The removed bones were hung on the hook on the beam together with the basket.
The weather is cool in spring, so you can save the meat and make soup tonight.
The basket was hoisted up, and Zhang Min returned. He rolled up his sleeves and asked her, "Madam, what food are you planning to make to take back?"
"Since it's an outing, a spring plate will be enough."
Ye Jindian opened the cupboard and took out the garlic, shallots, leeks, rapeseed, coriander, and mustard greens she had picked when she woke up, giving them to Zhang Min to wash. She then washed the perilla, jujubes, and licorice, removed the pits from the jujubes, and put them in a clay pot to cook the perilla drink.
After the fire was lit, she kneaded the dough to make pancakes, and chopped the side dishes to fry separately later and put them into the small compartments of the food box.
The pancake only had a thin layer of oil and the aroma was not strong, but the dish just now was made of pungent vegetables and had a strong flavor. When fried with lard, the aroma mixed together and rushed to the tip of the nose, making people drool.
She was quick and efficient and quickly prepared everything.
Zhang Min came over and praised: "It smells so good."
Ye Jindian picked up a pancake, spread the side dishes and minced meat evenly on it, rolled it up, and brought it to his mouth: "Would you like to eat one while it's hot?"
When we get to Dongshan, we will have cold food.
Zhang Min looked at the spring pancake being fed to his mouth, was stunned for a moment, reached out to take it, but retracted his hand halfway, lowered his head and opened his mouth.
He opened his mouth slowly and kept staring at Ye Jindian's expression, fearing that she would be unhappy.
But even after the spring roll was bitten off, she didn't retract her hand. Instead, she looked into his eyes and asked, "How is it? Is it salty or bland?"
If the taste is not right, you can still stir-fry it in a pan to save it.
"Same as usual."
The remaining spring pancake was only a hair's breadth away from Ye Jindian's fingertips. Zhang Min was afraid of biting her fingertips, so she reached out to take the spring pancake and stuffed it into her mouth, making her cheeks bulge slightly.
Seeing that he was enjoying his meal, Ye Jindian closed the food box and poured the perilla drink into a long earthenware jar.
She carried the food box, he the earthenware jar, and together they headed eastwards towards Dongshan. Quite a few people were out and about today, some carrying loads on their shoulders or large packages on their backs, like small vendors.
There were even more vehicles and horses coming and going towards the city gate.
Zhang Min looked at the crowds of people around him, worried that they would be separated. He casually extended his hand to Ye Jindian, "There are so many people here, my lady, please be careful."
Ye Jindian looked at the palm open to her and hesitated slightly.
For her, there is a slight difference between holding hands and holding wrists through sleeves.
Seeing her hesitation, Zhang Min quickly raised his elbow to reveal his sleeve: "Madam, please pull my sleeve."
The next moment, Ye Jindian placed her fingers in his palm and pressed his elbow down: "Let's go."
As if afraid that she would go back on her word, Zhang Min subconsciously tightened his grip.
"Huh? Oh."
He followed slowly.
After a few chaotic steps, his steps became unusually brisk, and even his heels showed obvious joy.
*
The spring day is warm and the flowers and trees are lush.
Dozens of Taoist temples are dotted among the rolling mountains, hidden among the dense woods.
The Zishui River, which runs across the entire Shengjing, winds around the mountains like a silver belt tied in the middle of the mountain range. Ships and small boats pass through it, carrying the children of noble families.
After losing her memory, this was the first time Ye Jindian walked here. She didn’t know that the east and west sides of Dongshan were so far apart.
"There are Taoist temples on both sides of the river. Isn't this kind of extravagant behavior and promotion of extravagance a bit too much?"
Listening carefully, one can still hear the sound of golden bells in the mountains, but it is covered by the sound of drums and zithers.
Zhang Min couldn't stand the dandy's behavior, but this kind of chaos had persisted for centuries. With Dayan newly established, eradicating it in one fell swoop was no easy task. Therefore, he could only sneer inwardly.
"They are all children of nobles. Even if the emperor wants to intervene, he must first stabilize the country." He plucked a large leaf from the roadside to shield Ye Jindian from the scorching sun. "Let's find a quiet place to sit."
The riverside is still too noisy.
Ye Jindian looked up, pulled his wrist, and pushed Daye towards him, covering both of them.
"Let's go."
She also felt it was too noisy here.
There were a lot of female relatives burning incense in Dongshan Courtyard. Their graceful figures in light clothes and the appearance of beauties lifting their hoods would cause a sensation among the literati, and poems would flow out like running water and merge into the huge lake in front.
Therefore, the lake at the foot of Dongshanyuan is also known as Beauty Lake.
This area was mostly inhabited by unmarried talented men and beautiful women. Ye Jindian pulled Zhang Min away and found a small slope with shade from trees and a view.
This place faces the Zishui River and Meiren Lake, and there are no outsiders coming and going. It is as quiet as ancient times.
She put down the food box and asked Zhang Min, "Are you hungry, my husband?"
Zhang Min opened his lips, as if he wanted to say something, but he hesitated, not knowing whether he should say it or not.
Ye Jindian put down the lunch box: "What's wrong? Don't you like it here?"
She turned to look at the surroundings shaded by trees, then looked at a deserted garden built by the water at the bottom of the slope, feeling very puzzled.
"Huh? What is this place? Such a good piece of land, why is it abandoned?"
Though the garden below was overgrown with weeds, one could clearly make out the rockery, ponds, pavilions, and towers dotting the landscape. The gravel path, compacted enough to avoid overgrown grass, was still faintly discernible. Green bamboos lined the path, winding its way through the secluded surroundings.
The eastern fence surrounds the garden, dotted with plum trees, whose knotty branches give it a quiet and distant atmosphere.
The pavilions in the distance are not clear, but the stone house below is covered with dense plum branches and shrouded in mist and haze, which is detached from the world. It is obviously a good place to escape the heat in summer and enjoy the New Year in winter and spring.
How could such a nice place, located near Dongshan Temple, be so desolate?
Zhang Min's hesitation was due to this very reason.
However, the reason for the desolation of this place was extremely bloody and brutal, and it involved Xie Zhaoming's sister. He carefully considered his words:
"This place was originally the villa of a royal relative from the previous dynasty. About ten years ago, a horrific murder occurred here. Thirty young men and women were captured and massacred by a death row inmate who had escaped prison."
It is called a massacre, but in fact it is even more cruel than a massacre.
The prisoner was resentful of the noble family for convicting him, so he kidnapped the children of each family in revenge.
Ye Jindian: “!!”
How could such a tragic thing happen?
Looking at the deserted garden again, it seemed to be covered with a layer of gloomy gray fog that lingered for a long time.
"So they were all..." Ye Jindian felt a little reluctant, "Were they killed?"
Zhang Min shook his head. "Two of them cleverly maneuvered with the condemned prisoners, waited for reinforcements, and ultimately escaped. However, one of them has completely forgotten what happened, and the other is occasionally awakened by nightmares."
Ye Jindian felt sorry for the thirty young men and women whom she had never met before.
"This is too tragic..." The tender pain in her eyes gradually turned into cold anger. "What happened to the death row prisoner? Was he caught?"
More than just being caught.
Xie Huli almost went crazy after he found Xie Ling, who was in a dishevel, with fear in his eyes but still trying hard to force a smile to comfort him, saying, "Brother, I'm not afraid."
However, seeing that her injuries were not serious and she had just fainted, he still had some rationality.
However--
When they arrived at the room where the young boys were imprisoned and saw clumps of peeled flesh and skins nailed to wooden frames, Xie Fox went completely mad.
Not to mention Xie Huli, even these young men, who were prone to getting into trouble, would be shocked to see such a scene. And this was especially true of little Xie Ling, who had been hiding behind Xie Huli since childhood, pinching the corner of his sleeve, peeking out half an eye, timidly looking at them, and softly calling them "Brother".
Afterwards, Xie Huli asked someone to find a life-size bronze mirror, locked himself and the death row prisoner in the room, and retaliated.
If Xie Ling hadn't woken up and wanted to find no one but him, he probably wouldn't have been able to stop and would have had a mental breakdown.
But this is not the most heartbreaking thing.
The most distressing, even chilling, thing is that the aristocratic families, fearing shame, were unwilling to even take the body back, and only asked a small temple nearby to help pray for the soul. They even dug a grave casually on a nearby hill, and rolled up a straw mat and threw it in for burial.
At that time, the world was in great strife and wars were frequent. Shallowly buried corpses were not uncommon, and could even be considered common.
But their behavior is really despicable.
The twenty-eight corpses were finally put to rest by these passionate young men.
Zhang Min had not yet left the family at that time, and like Xie Zhaoming, he only had a younger sister who he had depended on since childhood.
This incident also made him feel scared.
"Xie Langjun actually has such a past?" Hearing that it was a story about someone close to her, Ye Jindian sighed even more.
She turned to look at Zhang Min, feeling a little sorry for what he had gone through. "Although I don't know what happened, my husband would rather have nothing to rely on than to leave the big family. I'm sure he must have suffered a lot of grievances."
Zhang Min was stunned. He didn't expect that she would notice such a remote place.
"Yes." He looked into the eyes that reflected only him, and his brows softened. "Thanks to meeting my wife, all the grievances of the past have been smoothed out."
Therefore, he never regretted leaving his family, taking his sister to join His Majesty, and heading to the Yellow Sand Desert to gradually gain his own military exploits.
The breeze blows, and the branches and leaves rustle.
Ye Jindian picked up the food box again and took Zhang Min's finger. "Since we're here, why don't we go pay them a visit?"
Zhang Min nodded and said okay.
Fearing that spring rolls and perilla water alone would be too shabby, Ye Jindian picked a lot of flowers and leaves along the way and made them into small wreaths and grasshoppers.
She asked Zhang Min, "They were still so young when they left this world. They should like little things like this, right?"
Zhang Min said: "They will definitely like it."
*
The tomb is right behind the small temple that existed back then.
The small temple was deserted and lacked much worship. The statue perched high on the altar had lost its luster, its eyes cast down in silence. The flaking, mottled paint on its face resembled the passage of time, etched within it, yet sooner or later, it would peel away, leaving it no longer a part of its being.
But look carefully, no matter where you stand in the church, His eyes will be looking at you.
Ye Jindian suddenly felt a little dizzy.
The image of herself bowing to the gods and Buddhas flashed through her mind, and it seemed... it was also in this temple.
"My wife?"
Zhang Min gently pulled her sleeve, bringing her back to her senses from her momentary trance.
He looked at her with concern: "What's wrong with you?"
"I'm fine."
Ye Jindian shook her head slightly, bent down and took out a handful of incense from under the incense table of the statue.
Zhang Min's heart skipped a beat: "You...recovered your memory?"
At this moment, he thought of many things, but all the voices converged into one sentence: Now that my wife has recovered her memory, will she no longer want him?
"No." Ye Jindian still shook her head, also feeling very strange, "But I think I seem to have come here to make a wish, and this incense was lit by me."
Moreover, there was an inexplicable, strong impulse controlling her body and thoughts, urging her to burn incense quickly.
It seemed as if she would regret it to death if she didn't do this.
But why would she burn incense for no reason?
The key point is that there is not much ash on this incense, and it looks like it has not been eroded by time, like a new incense.
Ye Jindian didn't like to think too much. If she couldn't figure it out, she would just put it aside, take out the flint, and light three incense sticks for the Buddha statue. After lighting them, she bowed.
Looking back at Zhang Min, his face was pale and he was sweating.
She quickly took out her handkerchief to wipe the sweat off his face, and blamed herself for walking so fast and hurriedly when she knew he was weak and frail.
Zhang Min's heart also calmed down after her wiping.
They took the remaining incense and went to the small temple to pay tribute to the dead souls.
There were fifty spring rolls in total, and she placed twenty-eight of them, adorned them with small garlands and little grasshoppers, and then offered a circle of perilla water and burned incense.
She planned to sit in front of the grave with Zhang Min, chat in front of the tombstone, and eat the remaining 22 cakes.
"Just treat this spring roll as that unscrupulous villain, like this—" Ye Jindian stuffed the rolled spring roll into her mouth, chewed it hard, and swallowed it into her stomach. "Eat it, and you won't have nightmares anymore."
She ate too fast and choked a little, so she pounded her chest.
Zhang Min quickly poured her a bowl of water: "Madam, drink some perilla water first."
She reached out to take it and rushed down the spring pancake: "Thank you, husband."
At this moment, a chuckle sounded behind them.
"My sister-in-law is really a wonderful person."
Zhang Min turned his head and looked, who else could it be but Xie Zhaoming.
However, traveling with him was Wei Chulan, and a girl wearing a veiled hat who was timidly holding Wei Chulan's sleeve and hiding behind her.
Ye Jindian: “!!”
She wanted to lift the lid of the lunch box to shield her face.
Xie Zhaoming didn't mean to tease her. Instead, he asked her seriously, "May I ask if my sister can have one of these spring rolls?"
Just now, they didn't want to go up and bother them, and planned to wait for the two to leave before appearing again.
Unexpectedly, Xie Ling, who always avoided people, would take the initiative to pull his sleeve and say to him: "Brother, I want to eat that spring roll too."
Ye Jindian quickly got rid of her previous awkwardness and annoyance and handed the box over: "Thank you, Sir and Madam Lan, for your great help. It's just a spring roll, please feel free to help yourself."
Zhang Min, who had only eaten one piece right out of the pot, never ate any more: "..."
He felt that Xie Ling could be free, but Xie Zhaoming was less so.
After thinking about it, Ye Jindian put the extra dragonflies and small flower baskets she had folded on it.
"If your sister doesn't mind, you can take it and play with it."
"Thank you." Xie Zhaoming put his hand on his sleeve, picked up the lunch box, walked towards Xie Ling, and protected her to eat the roll-up pancake next to her.
Ye Jindian vaguely heard a soft and extremely gentle "Thank you, brother".
At the sweet words, she looked over there twice more.
However, the veil covered her face so tightly that not only could her true appearance but even her figure could not be seen.
Not wanting to frighten the other person, Ye Jindian retracted her gaze and looked at the food box in Wei Chulan's hand. She asked her curiously, "Is Madam Lan here to pay her respects as well?"
Wei Chulan squatted in front of the tomb and brought out the offerings and sweet water: "Yes, we come here every year to talk to these young boys."
Knowing that Xie Ling was a little afraid of strangers, Ye Jindian pulled Zhang Min away, far away, to make room for her to pay tribute.
I stood there for a while, just as I was thinking about whether to say goodbye, another group of people came.
After the sacrifice, Xie Ling stood up and was so scared when he saw a group of swaying shadows that he ran to hide behind Wei Chulan, hugging his sister-in-law tightly and not daring to show his face.
Wei Chulan patted the back of her hand gently on her waist and said to Xie Zhaoming, "I'll take my sister back first, you two can talk slowly."
Xie Zhaoming looked at the couple in the crowd and could only nod helplessly: "My wife, be careful on the road."
He watched the two of them go away, reluctant to part.
Those eyes, pulling like hooks.
Zhang Min felt a headache when he saw the emperor and empress surrounded by the crowd, especially His Majesty who looked particularly excited.
He had a bad feeling.
The excited Majesty winked at him with a teasing look in his eyes.
Zhang Min added in his heart with a blank expression——
Quite unknown.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
