Yuwen Lan couldn’t hear the system, so at this moment he only heard this sentence——

“Yanglou Street, Ruyifang, the famous duck restaurant.”

“???”

Duck restaurant?

She just finished eating braised chicken, could it be that she wanted to eat duck again?

… I wonder what kind of duck is sold in Ruyifang?

Roast duck? Roast duck?

Or salted duck?

How can duck be so famous?

Yuwen Lan had many questions in his mind, and at this moment, he heard Yan Shu’s heart making a series of sighs——

[Sure enough, the pinnacle of women is still princesses! This fucking man can chop her up at will, and can eat ducks at will, and they are top brands! I’m so jealous!!! 】

"???"

He couldn't help but secretly raise his eyebrows. It's just eating a duck. Is there any need to be so jealous of Yuwen Yan?

So he said, "Are you not full yet?"

Yan Shu was looking at the direction where the princess's carriage drove away with envy. She just hummed casually, "No, I'm full."

Tsk, the stomach is full, but the eyes are still hungry.

I really want to see what the duck shop looks like...

Even if I can't eat, it's okay to take a look...

Yuwen Lan, who was listening silently, "..."

It's just a shop selling ducks. If you want to go, you can go. Is there any need to be so pitiful?

He simply took the initiative to speak, "I heard that there is a duck shop on Yanglou Street that is pretty good. Do you want to try it?"

After all, in order to enter the palace and be with him, she had been separated from her family for so long, which was indeed not easy

. So after hearing what she said just now, he decided to take good care of her from now on, even better than her father, so that she would have a solid sense of security.

After expressing his feelings, Yan Shu looked at him with wide eyes and a look of surprise, stammering, "Your Majesty, your majesty is talking about... Is it, is it a place called Ruyifang?"

[Does he also know that it is a duck shop? ? ? ]

Yuwen Lan nodded calmly and said, "It seems to be called this name."

Well, although he just knew it, it is not too late now.

So he added, "If you want to go, I'll take you there."

It's just a duck shop, how can it be out of reach?

But she still looked surprised and cautious, "I want to... but, but... can I go?"

Tsk, the ducks there are not something she can taste casually...

Yuwen Lan frowned and said, "Why not? Let's go now." Yuqi

actually pulled her out of the private room, down the stairs and got on the carriage on the side of the road. He gave an order to the driver and went straight to Yanglou Street.

~~

The wheels rolled all the way, and Yan Shu was excited, but also a little suspicious.

——The emperor actually wanted to take her to a duck shop? ? ?

No matter how she thought about it, it was unbelievable.

Tsk, is he going fishing? When we get there, will she be dazzled and ignore him?

Yu Wenlan, who was listening silently, said, "???"

Why did she think so? He

was just going to eat duck, so why would he worry about being ignored by her?

But then again, she had fooled him for food more than once or twice...

But it didn't matter. As a king, how could he argue with his woman over such a small matter?

It was just food, and he was her husband.

Thinking of this, they arrived at the place in the blink of an eye. When

they got off the car, they saw a restaurant on the side of the road, with three big characters hanging on the door, "Ruyifang".

After taking another look, they felt that the appearance looked very magnificent, and it was obviously much newer than other shops.

Yan Shu was very excited.

She had been curious about this place for so long, and today she finally came to check it out!!!

What more could one ask for in life if one could come to a place like this!!!

Yuwen Lan thought to himself, this shop looks like it has only been open for a few years, but it can actually make food that can stand out in the capital?

You know, those famous shops have been passed down for dozens or even hundreds of years.

But...

maybe there is some exclusive secret recipe here?

Anyway, since we are here, let's try it first.

Thinking of this, he stepped into the shop with her.

After entering and looking around, Yuwen Lan was a little surprised again -

it turned out that the decoration in this shop was even more gorgeous than it looked from the outside.

It can be said to be the most special restaurant he has ever seen.

——This restaurant is not filled with tables and chairs like the restaurants next to it. Instead, it is filled with potted green plants, rockeries and streams, and even a wooden pavilion in the center of the restaurant.

A man was playing a seven-stringed harp on it. He was wearing a white robe, had fair skin, and his hair was loosely draped behind him. There was a feminine look between his eyebrows.

Yuwen Lan secretly raised his eyebrows.

——This was the first time he saw someone playing a seven-stringed harp in a restaurant, and it was a man who looked like this.

Looking around again, he saw some tables and chairs placed around the pavilion, which were separated by specially carved wooden railings. There were also curtains on the wooden railings, so people could only vaguely see the figures of the diners inside, but could not see their faces clearly.

However, when someone came out from inside, they were always a man and a woman.

It was totally different from other places where diners would gather in groups of three or five, or sit in a circle of seven or eight people, and there would be some lively fighting and drinking.

The women were all wearing veils or curtains, so their faces could not be seen clearly, but no matter how tall or short, fat or thin, they were all dressed very gorgeously.

The men accompanying them were all in their early twenties, and they were all strong and tall...

Especially... there is a strange aroma in this restaurant, and there is obviously no aroma of food.

Yuwen Lan has already frowned.

——Why is this place so strange?

Looking around, he saw Yan Shu looking around through the curtain with eyes wide open, and he was shocked in his heart, [This turned out to be a duck restaurant! The environment is really good! ! ! Look at how well designed this private room is, no one can recognize who is who, and it can protect privacy! ]

Yuwen Lan, "???"

What do you mean by "privacy?"

He still couldn't figure it out, but he heard her say, [Tsk tsk, these men really have great bodies! They are worthy of being the best in Beijing! Huh? There are actually foreigners? ]

Foreigners?

Yuwen Lan followed her gaze and saw several men walking in the hall. They all had high eyebrows and deep eyes, and their hair was slightly brown.

He couldn't help but think of the man next to Yuwen Yan just now...

and suddenly felt vaguely that something was wrong.

- This place is a little distance from the foreign posthouse on Mashi Street. How could there be so many foreigners here?

He was just suspicious, but saw a man in the store passing by the two of them, but stopped and looked him up, and asked, "New here?"

Yuwen Lan was stunned.

New here?

The waiter here greeted the guests like this?

But before he could say anything, he saw the other party look at Yan Shu again, and smiled at him, "You are lucky to be able to serve this lady today."

After speaking, he entered a compartment with carved railings.

Yuwen Lan, "???"

What does this mean?

He was frowning when he heard a woman's voice behind him -

"This one is not bad, how much is it?"

Then, a fat, half-masked woman came up to him with a feather fan and looked him up and down.

Another woman hurriedly followed and said with a smile, "I'm afraid this young man is from our store..." As

she said that, she also looked him up and suddenly her eyes were full of surprise, "Although he is not a foreigner, his figure and appearance are really rare and outstanding..."

Yuwen Lan, "???"

... These two people dared to evaluate him like this? ? ?

At this moment, Yan Shu suddenly blocked him and said very impolitely, "This is my man, stay away."

As she said that, she took off the veil on her head and put it on his head.

Yuwen Lan, "???"

Then, the fat woman waving the feather fan laughed, "This girl, since she has a man, why is she here? Is she here to show off? How about this, you make an offer and lend me your man for one night."

What???

Make an offer?

Lend him for one night???

This woman actually dares to do this!!!

Yuwen Lan was angry, and Yan Shu said, "Stay away, no one can think of being my man!"

Then she pulled him up and walked out, saying, "Let's go, this place is not suitable for us."

But just as he raised his foot, he heard the woman say, "You think it's too little? How about this, I'll take the initiative to offer, how about 500 taels of silver? The top star in this store is only 600 taels, and I don't want him for a whole night, just two hours to return it to you, how about it?"

After the voice fell, Yan Shu paused.

Yuwen Lan, "???"

What does this mean,

she wouldn't do it for money...

Fortunately, she just turned around and sneered at the woman, "Is the old lady short of that 500 taels of silver? It's so funny! 50,000 taels is impossible!!!"

Then she still pulled him out.

Yuwen Lan breathed a sigh of relief, feeling relieved.

However, the fat woman behind him still didn't give up. She snorted again, "You look young, but you are so arrogant! If you don't sell, why did you bring a man here? Are you trying to attract others' attention??"

Then she said to the woman beside her, "You are really getting more and more outrageous in Ruyifang! You agreed to let me come to see Zaian, but you asked him to be called out by others. Are you kidding me?"

The woman in the shop smiled and said, "Zai'an is going to accompany the eldest princess tonight. You know who in the world dares to snatch someone from the eldest princess? Don't be angry."

Yuwen Lan was stunned when he heard this.

The eldest princess?

So the foreign man next to Yuwen Yan just now was also from here?

At this time, the woman in the shop said, "We have several handsome guys here. I'll call them out. You can choose any one you want."

The fat woman snorted with little interest, "They are just ordinary women."

As soon as she finished speaking, a tall man came down from the second floor and said, "Madam, who are you calling ordinary women? I haven't seen Yi Cai for a few days, and you don't like him anymore?"

The fat woman glanced at him, but squinted her eyes and snorted, "You damn ghost, I thought you were going to stay in Yangzhou and not come back."

The man named Yi Cai smiled again and said, "But you were delayed on the road for a few days, so you are here now?"

Then he stepped forward, put his arm around the woman's waist, and went up to the private room on the second floor with her.

Yuwen Lan, "..."

Seeing this scene, even the dumbest person can understand what this place is.

He glanced at Yan Shu through the curtain and said meaningfully, "So this is not a place to eat."

So this is what she called... "Duck"?

She actually wanted to come to such a place???

However, Yan Shu said with a look of indifference, "That's right, I also think this is not a place to eat at all. My husband must have made a mistake... Let's go first."

As she said that, she continued to pull him out, and she was tut-tutting in her heart, [Oh my God, the emperor actually thought this was a place to eat??? No way, no way, hurry up, hurry up, it would be bad if he learned bad things if he stayed any longer.]

Yuwen Lan, "..."

Would he learn bad things from those men who sell their bodies? ? ?

As soon as the two of them walked out of the store and before they got on the carriage, Yan Shu hurriedly pulled Yuwen Lan to the dark side. She

seemed to be hiding from someone.

Yuwen Lan asked, "What's wrong?"

But she pointed at a woman who had just got off the carriage on the side of the road and whispered, "That person... seems to be the Lord of Ankang County."

What?

Lord of Ankang County?

That is, the daughter of the eldest princess?

Yuwen Lan hurriedly took a closer look.

Although she was wearing a veil, her figure really looked a bit like his cousin.

When she landed, five or six young men in the store came out to greet her, calling out, "The Lord of the County is here."

Yuwen Lan, "..."

It's really Ankang.

She actually came here too? ! ! You know ,

she is not like Yuwen Yan who has divorced Zhao Chengwen. She still has a husband!!! On the way back to the palace, Yuwen Lan kept thinking about this matter with a gloomy face. Thinking about it, he couldn't help but sneer, "There is such a place in the capital!" ——He remembered that when he took her out of the palace for the first time on the Lantern Festival, she had mentioned this place, but at that time he only thought it was far away from him, but he didn't expect that he would actually step into it today. It's okay to step into it, but just now the fat woman actually wanted to pay him to go... It's simply unreasonable!!! Hearing this, Yan Shu secretly glanced at his face, thought for a while and said, "I thought it was a hotel, but I didn't expect it to be such a dirty place! It's really disgusting!!!" But in his heart, he couldn't help but sigh, [Those men are really good-looking, no wonder they can stand in the capital. Yuwen Lan, "???" What do you mean "okay?" Could it be that she is attracted to someone??? He raised his eyebrows and looked at her, "Do you like that place too?" "No, no." But she shook her head like a wave drum and said seriously, "Why would I like that kind of place? I felt creepy when I walked in just now!" But in her heart she said, [Tsk, this is what every woman likes, after all, no matter how tall or short, fat or thin, as soon as you walk in you will be surrounded by handsome men and called darling, it makes you feel so warm and confident!!!] Anyway... it's probably just like men like to visit brothels. Yuwen Lan, "???" What, that kind of stuff can actually be called a handsome man??? He couldn't help but ask again, "Do you like the man in there too?" But she immediately shook her head again, "How is it possible? How can those mediocre women be compared with Your Majesty? There is only Your Majesty in my heart!" Yuwen Lan, "..." Is this a compliment to him? But why does it sound so awkward? ? ? At this moment, Yan Shu asked him again, "Why did Your Majesty take me there? How did you know about this place?" - Tsk, even if he mistakenly thought it was a place to eat, where did he hear it from? You know, Ruyifang is a secret that only exists in a few circles of noble ladies in the capital! It's too strange that he, the emperor, knows about it, right? Yuwen Lan, "..." He couldn't say that he heard it from her heart, so he had to say, "I heard it unintentionally..." Yan Shu, "???" He heard it unintentionally? She thought to herself, could it be from the ministers? That's not right, if those old-fashioned ministers knew that the place was for women to have fun... Tsk, such a violation of the patriarchal order, they would immediately report to the court to raze the Ruyifang to the ground! Yuwen Lan laughed in his heart. That's right, he wanted to send people to raze that disgusting place to the ground! How dare they ask him how much? ? ? It's simply unreasonable! ! ! ~~ After returning to the palace, Yuwen Lan immediately sent the Jinyiwei to investigate the Ruyifang. Around the evening of the second day, the Imperial Guards came to report, "Your Majesty, we have found out that Ruyifang was originally opened by a female merchant named Ji three years ago. At first, it was an embroidery shop that also sold jewelry to please the powerful families in the capital. After gradually gaining fame, this female merchant hired various young men to start the current business." Yuwen Lan asked again, "What's the matter with the foreigners in her shop?" The Imperial Guards said "Because the tastes of the customers in her store are becoming more and more picky, the merchant went to the border to recruit a group of foreign men, most of whom are from Dangxia and Rouran. On the surface, they are no different from the men before, all of whom are trying to please women and make money from them." Yuwen Lan frowned and said, "Those men are strong and don't look like ordinary people. Continue to investigate, especially the one who has been dating the eldest princess recently...his name is Zai'an." The Jinyi Guard immediately agreed. ~~ At this time, the Queen Mother's Thousand Years Festival is approaching. In recent days, many families of princes and nobles from other places have come to Beijing one after another to congratulate the Queen Mother on her thousand years. Some of them with high status entered the palace in advance to pay homage to the Queen Mother, so Yan Shu, as a concubine in the harem, was fortunate to accompany the Queen Mother and meet many faces again. The empress dowager was indifferent to most of the people who came, with only one exception. That was the old lady Mu Yunying of the Haihou Mansion in Mingzhou Town. It was said that this old lady Mu and the empress dowager were close friends, and she would travel thousands of miles to Beijing every year to celebrate the empress dowager's birthday. The empress dowager would always receive them in person, and even let them stay in the palace for a while, which showed their deep affection.

However, Yan Shu originally thought that the other party was an old lady with white hair. When they met, she found out that this old lady was only in her early forties and very young.

——It turned out that her husband died early, and later her eldest son inherited the title of marquis after getting married and became the new Marquis of Zhenhai. She was then respected as the old lady of the mansion.

At this time, facing her surprised eyes, Madam Mu stepped into Ci'an Palace and saluted everyone in the palace.

"Your servant pays homage to the Empress Dowager and all the ladies." The Empress

Dowager hurriedly smiled and said, "Hurry up, you and I don't have to be so polite." She

didn't even call herself "I".

After she finished speaking, she even reached out her hand to help Madam Mu.

When she saw Yan Shu looking at Mu with surprise, the Queen Mother laughed again, "Look, your title of old lady scared them all."

Yan Shu also laughed, "The Queen Mother is right. I didn't expect the old lady to be so young." After

the voice fell, Concubine Zhou on the side quietly rolled her eyes.

——This Li Yan Shu, in order to curry favor with the Queen Mother, even praised Mu so much, how shameless!

Of course, the Queen Mother was present, she only dared to mutter in her heart, and no one heard it.

Hearing Yan Shu's words, Mu also laughed, "Empress Yipin is too much, which makes me ashamed."

Then, she called the little girl of twelve or thirteen years old behind her and said, "Xiangwan, why don't you come and greet the Queen Mother and the ladies?"

It turned out that this was Mu's adopted daughter, named Ni Xiangwan.

——I heard that Mu, who had been a widow for many years, was in the temple one day to burn incense for her late husband. When she was going down the mountain, she ran into a baby crying in the grass by the roadside. Mu couldn't bear it, so she took the baby home to adopt it, and gave it the surname Ni after her husband's family name, and named it Xiang Wan.

At this time, hearing what her adoptive mother said, the adopted girl of the Ni family responded, stepped forward and saluted to several people, "Xiang Wan greets the Queen Mother, and greets all the queens."

The Queen Mother sighed, "Xiang Wan is so tall? Come over and let me see."

The girl of the Ni family responded, and then stepped forward a few steps. The Queen Mother

pulled her aside and looked at her carefully, then nodded and said, "You are getting more and more beautiful. Good child, it is not easy to accompany your mother all the way here, sit down and have a rest."

After that, she asked the palace maids to serve the best West Lake Longjing before the rain, as well as the chestnut cake, lotus seed cake, cloud cake and other snacks made this morning.

This level of enthusiasm is obviously different from that towards other people.

Yan Shu saw it, and while eating snacks, she asked the system quietly, "Given the Queen Mother's personality, it should be difficult for her to be so enthusiastic towards others. Could it be that this old lady Mu saved the Queen Mother's life?" 】

System,【More or less, the Queen Mother and this Madam Mu grew up together, and their friendship is indeed deeper than that of others. When the Queen Mother's legitimate son was seriously ill, and there was no good doctor in the capital, Madam Mu found a secret recipe after hearing the news, and sent it all the way from Mingzhou to the capital. Although it was not used in the end, it comforted the Queen Mother. After the eldest son died, Madam Mu left her family in Mingzhou and accompanied the Queen Mother in the palace for two full months. It can be said that Madam Mu was an important reason for the Queen Mother to survive.】

Yan Shu nodded when she heard this.

Indeed, it is impossible for ordinary friendships to come to the capital to deliver medicine in person from thousands of miles away.

Especially when the Queen Mother was about to lose her legitimate son, and the late emperor favored someone else, the Queen Mother was also in an uncertain future.

System, [Good, so later when the Queen Mother took control of the country, she intended to confer the title of Duke on her son, but Mrs. Mu refused, which made the Queen Mother value her more.]

Yan Shu, [Let alone other things, Mrs. Mu is a truly wise person, no wonder she is such a good friend of the Queen Mother.]

At this time, the Queen Mother asked the girl from the Ni family, "Xiang Wan, is my palace good?"

Ni Xiang Wan smiled and said, "There are so many nobles in the palace, it is naturally the best place in the world."

The Queen Mother said, "In this case, I will ask your mother to go back to Mingzhou this time, and you stay to accompany me, okay?" As soon as

these words came out, everyone was stunned -

the Queen Mother said this...

Could it be that she has taken a fancy to this little girl? She wants to keep her by her side and raise her before sending her to the harem?

But the little girl from the Ni family said, "Thank you very much, Queen Mother, for your kindness. However, there are several ladies in the palace accompanying the Queen Mother, but mother is only accompanied by me. If I stay, mother will be lonely, so I'd better accompany mother back to Mingzhou and come to visit you next year."

Mu also laughed and said, "The Queen Mother really thinks highly of her. If she really stays, you will regret it within three days. You will be naughty all day long."

After the queen mother finished speaking, she also laughed, "But I'm just teasing you. This is your beloved child, how can I bear to take her away? Just remember to come back to see me every year in the future." After that,

she specifically instructed the little girl, "Even if you get married in the future, don't stay too far away from your mother, otherwise she will miss you to death."

The little girl from the Ni family replied yes with a shy smile.

After hearing this, everyone dared to believe that the Queen Mother was just joking.

Yan Shu also sighed in her heart -

it seems that the Queen Mother really loves her best friend, otherwise if she insisted on keeping this little girl as her pawn, Madam Mu would not be able to refuse.

However, the relationship between this foster mother and daughter is too good, isn't it?

The little girl of the Ni family was raised so pure and innocent, obviously the result of the foster mother's love.

And the look in Madam Mu's eyes when looking at her is just like other mothers looking at their own flesh and blood, full of pampering and doting.

At this moment, the system said, [Oh, that's her own flesh and blood. ]