Sister Zhao smiled faintly and asked, "Does the concubine know how to play the zither?"
Lanqin's head spun at the thought of instruments like the guzheng and guqin. She shook her head and said, "No, I don't know. Sister must be very proficient in them, otherwise she would have set up a special music room."
Sister Zhao shook her head and said, "I'm the same as you, I can't play the zither either. It's just that I saw someone play it once, and it was really beautiful, so I set up this zither room, and sometimes I invite musicians who can play to come and play."
Lanqin knew that Zhao Sijie had opened her heart to her today. Someone like her must be very lonely. Her childhood playmates had all married other men's wives, while she herself had fallen on hard times and become a concubine to a man who was old enough to be her father. How much untold bitterness and sorrow did she have to tell others?
However, judging from Zhao Si'er's actions today, Lanqin doesn't seem to have much bitterness to complain about; on the contrary, she seems to be enjoying this kind of life.
"Perhaps Lord Long possesses qualities that others cannot match. It is a blessing that Sister Zhao is so favored by Lord Long," Lanqin could only say.
Seeing that Lanqin spoke like this, and that it didn't seem like she was just being perfunctory, Zhao Sijie said, "Doesn't Consort think I'm shallow and a vixen?"
Lanqin shook her head and said, "I think Sister Zhao is a generous and honest person. How could she be such a shallow and wicked person? If you're talking about those rumors circulating in the streets, they're just hearsay. Now that I've met Sister Zhao, she's nothing like what the rumors say."
"What if I told you that those rumors are true? That the master almost killed his eldest son because of me?" Sister Zhao said with a mocking laugh.
Lanqin smiled and said, "The eldest son is such an important person. Lord Long is not the kind of person who would let his concubine kill the eldest son. He must have done something that is outrageous to both gods and men for Lord Long to do this. Otherwise, would Lord Long be crazy?"
A glint of brilliance flashed in Zhao Si's eyes as she said coldly, "What a pity, a hero has no descendants. He was indeed a beast."
Lanqin felt her eyelids twitch and looked at Zhao Sijie with slight surprise.
"Alright, let's not talk about these awful things anymore. Why hasn't Sister Zhaojia arrived yet? I'm going to have a good game of cards with you guys today," said Sister Zhao Si.
Zhao Jia finally arrived, and the three of them set up a table in Zhao Si Jie's main room. Lan Qin had bad luck this time, losing almost all of her gold melon seeds to Zhao Si Jie and Zhao Jia.
"Your mind isn't on this today, is it?" Sister Zhao Si said, shaking the small box containing the golden melon seeds in front of her.
"I had a bad day and lost almost all my money. Sister Zhao, please have mercy on me," Lanqin said with a wry smile.
"Qin'er, are you promoting marriages within the household? I heard that your second prince is getting married and your third princess is about to be married off," Zhao Jia asked.
"The Second Prince is getting married, and our Prince asked me to build him a new courtyard. The Third Princess is getting married, and Sister Wu from the manor is taking care of the preparations," Lanqin said. "I'm a little hungry. Didn't Sister Zhao say there's a place where the food is much better than what's in the Prince's manor? I wonder if we can try it today?"
Lanqin naturally couldn't tell them that it was after listening to Sister Zhao's words that she couldn't help but think about Longkodo's family affairs, which was why she hadn't been playing cards properly.
"No need to go out, you can stay right here. I've already told them to prepare. Wait a minute, and I guarantee you'll want to come back to eat here again." Zhao Si said smugly.
Lanqin was indeed a little impatient. She had tried countless delicacies and was quite skeptical of what Sister Zhao Si said.
"I don't believe it, is it really that delicious?" Lanqin said bluntly.
"If you don't believe me, let's make a bet. If it doesn't taste good, I'll give you back all the golden melon seeds I lost today," said Sister Zhao.
"What if I lose?" Lanqin asked with interest.
"Then I'll punish you by making you lose this many gold melon seeds to me again next time!" Sister Zhao said with a smile.
“Alright, Wenxiu is my witness!” Lanqin said with a smile.
After Lanqin and Zhaojia followed Zhao Sijie to her dining table and sat down, the delicious dishes served made Lanqin forget about the bet.
"This dish is called 'Braised Dragon Tongue,' it's very tender, try it!" Sister Zhao Si pointed to a dish that looked very ordinary.
Lanqin and Zhaojia exchanged a glance. Indeed, this was the first time they had heard such a dish name. They were both filled with curiosity about this "dragon tongue." So Lanqin asked, "What is this 'dragon tongue' made of? It can't really be made from a dragon's tongue, can it?"
Sister Zhao smiled and said, "Of course it's not a real dragon. Who would dare to get their hands on a real dragon? Besides, you wouldn't be able to find one anyway. Stop talking and try it first."
Lanqin and Zhaojia each picked up a piece with their chopsticks and put it in their mouths. They had eaten tender food before and expected it to be similar. But after actually eating it, Lanqin found it to be really delicious.
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