Seeing him, everything seemed to make sense.
Because the person behind it all was Cheng Wenzhang, he was able to remain calm when the seal was affixed, to disregard the seal from the yamen, and to remove the seal without even receiving an order from the Dali Temple.
Having accepted the bribe, Cheng Wenzhang was obligated to seek benefits for the gambling den, so the seals needed to be removed as quickly as possible. The clerk, acting on Cheng Wenzhang's orders, rushed to the gambling den.
Lu Huai happened to recognize him, and then sent someone to inform Prime Minister Qin. Prime Minister Qin investigated and found that it was exactly as he had suspected. This is why Minister Liu publicly presented Cheng's article in court, and yet another official fell from grace.
Historical records state that in the fourteenth year of the reign of Emperor Yuming, Cheng Wenzhang, the former Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was accused of corruption and abuse of power by Liu Mumou, the Minister of Personnel. According to the law, he should have been executed along with his entire family. However, the Emperor, being benevolent and righteous, considered Cheng's merits during his tenure and exiled his entire clan. Li Ningqi, the former Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was promoted to Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, thus bringing the matter of the Court of Judicial Review to a close.
...
...
Time flies, and before we know it, the Dragon Boat Festival is almost here. It seems like just a few days ago we attended the New Year's Eve banquet, and now it's already been more than five months. It's hard to believe.
The weather was getting increasingly hot and humid, and Minister Lu, worried that Qin Qi might feel too hot, specially sent people to bring in a lot of ice, placing several blocks in her room and courtyard. If she hadn't insisted on refusing, Minister Lu probably would have even made her an ice bed.
This action aroused Lu Huai's envy, and he even began to doubt his relationship with Minister Lu.
"Take care, Uncle Chang." Qin Qi saw Butler Lu off, then turned around to see Lu Huai staring at her with resentment in his eyes.
Qin Xi chuckled, "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Lu Huai pouted, somewhat annoyed, "I might have been adopted, but you're definitely my biological child, right?"
With a slight twitch of her lips, Qin Xi ignored his nonsense and went to the small kitchen to watch the cooks and maids wrap zongzi (sticky rice dumplings).
Upon seeing her arrive, the cook put down what she was holding and was about to rise to greet her. Qin Xi raised her hand to stop them, indicating that they could dispense with the formalities, and instead took a chair and sat down next to them.
The servants dared not sit on equal footing with her and hurriedly tried to get up, but Qin Xi stopped them.
"I'd like to try too. Could you teach me?" she asked with a slight smile.
"This..." The cooks looked at each other, noting that some of their masters had expressed interest in learning the skills, but they only had a short attention span and threw the food away before finishing wrapping it.
But since they were the masters, they had to do as they were told.
Chef Zou smiled and said, "If the young mistress wants to learn, we servants will naturally wrap them well. Please take two bamboo leaves, young mistress."
Qin Qi's eyes widened slightly. "Don't we need to wash our hands first?"
As is customary, hands should be washed thoroughly before wrapping zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) to ensure hygiene. Although Qin Xi had never done it before, she was still aware of this common knowledge.
But when Chef Zou told her to just take the leaves, it made her seem a bit unprofessional.
Cook Zou hadn't expected that her mistress would know this. If she suspected that she hadn't washed her hands before preparing food for her mistress, she would definitely be punished.
Seeing that Qin Xi didn't mean anything by it, she felt a little embarrassed.
Fortunately, several other cooks noticed her embarrassment and came to her rescue, saying, "Yes, you should wash your hands first. Sister Zou and we have already washed our hands, which is why we forgot to remind the young mistress."
"Take Sister Zou for example, she's the oldest among us. Isn't she starting to forget things? Young Madam, please don't take it to heart."
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