Niu Baoquan first took out plates of condiments from the large food box and placed them on the long table that had been brought over. Looking at these condiments, there were coriander, crushed peanuts, chili oil, cumin powder, pepper, Sichuan peppercorn powder, and various dark liquids, which he guessed were soy sauce and vinegar.
Just looking at these, Lanqin thought to herself: These noodles must be delicious.
After all the seasonings were taken, Niu Baoquan ordered a little eunuch to hold the handle of the large pot while he took a utensil that looked like a fork and scooped noodles out of the pot.
Only he can do this job well; if it were given to someone else, they probably wouldn't be able to do it well, or they would just end up splashing soup everywhere.
Niu Baoquan scooped the noodles into a small bowl, then used a small spoon, about the size of a thumb, to scoop out a little bit of the seasonings he had taken out earlier and put them into the noodles, mixing them well.
The handmade noodles, about one centimeter wide, looked very chewy, and when paired with various seasonings, Lanqin could only swallow her saliva.
Sure enough, the noodles were delicious. They were perfectly soft and chewy, and the temperature was just right. Lanqin ate four or five small bowls in one go, and the cold dishes were also completely gone. Seeing Lanqin eating with such satisfaction, Fourth Master, who had already eaten a bowl of noodles, was also encouraged to eat two more small bowls.
"A reward! These noodles are well made." Fourth Master put down his chopsticks, took the napkin from Su Peisheng, and looked satisfied, his gloomy expression instantly vanishing.
As the saying goes: In life, eating and drinking are the two essentials; if you can enjoy both, your troubles will disappear.
"Thank you for the reward, Master!" Niu Baoquan knelt down excitedly. To receive a word of praise from his master was truly the result of ten years of hard work behind the scenes.
"Tomorrow morning, give this noodle to the First Prince, the Third Prince, the Eighth Prince, the Ninth Prince, the Tenth Prince, and have the Fourteenth Prince send one jar to each of them. There's no need for cold dishes; it'll be nice to have it for breakfast." Lan Qin thought to herself: Good things should be shared. Some of them are already asleep, so I won't disturb them.
Fourth Master glanced at Lanqin and instructed Su Peisheng, "Just do as Princess Niu said. Arrange their breakfast early tomorrow. I'll eat with Qin'er here, so you don't need to serve me."
Su Peisheng responded with a "Yes, ma'am," thinking to himself: It all depends on your abilities, Niu Gege. If you can resolve the master's inner conflict, you'll receive unexpected favor in the future.
Niu Baoquan and the serving eunuchs cleared away the plates and bowls, and then he left.
After serving the two men their hands and mouths, Nianxue, Xicha, and Huanbi tactfully withdrew.
Damn it, should I still keep an eye on this guy's mood today? Lanqin wailed inwardly, thinking: What's not yours, you can't have; what's yours to suffer, you can't escape.
"Master, the moon is beautiful tonight. Let's go to the lotus pond to admire the moon and help us digest our food." Seeing that the Fourth Master was sitting there motionless, Lanqin had no choice but to take the initiative to suggest it, trying to divert his thoughts to something else and ease his inner sorrow.
Seeing that Lanqin usually seemed lazy, it was quite rare for her to suggest going out for a walk after dinner today.
Therefore, the Fourth Prince felt that this rare opportunity should be granted.
Su Peisheng carried the lantern and walked in front, Fourth Master and Lanqin walked in the middle, and Nianxue and Huanbi followed behind carrying the teapot. The teapot was wrapped in a cotton sleeve, which helped keep the tea warm for longer.
Upon reaching the lotus pond, the Fourth Prince instructed Su Peisheng and several maids to stand there without following him, and then he took Lanqin's hand and began walking around the pond. Normally, there were no streetlights in ancient times, but the area around the lotus pond wasn't dark. It turned out that servants had already hung thick candles covered with glass domes on the trees along the path, much like modern streetlights.
"They even have glass in the Qing Dynasty!" Lanqin murmured to herself, looking at the "streetlights."
"The Qing Dynasty is rich in resources and has everything, but this glass was introduced by foreigners." Fourth Master explained, knowing that Lanqin liked Western things.
Alas, the Qing Dynasty's policy of isolationism led to the Opium War. Lanqin thought to herself: Should I remind the Fourth Prince to pay attention to those blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners?
"What are you thinking about?" Seeing Lanqin remain silent, Fourth Master looked up at the round moon in the sky and asked casually.
A summer breeze blew by, carrying the fragrance of lotus blossoms. Lanqin couldn't help but recall the enchanting moment she shared with Fourth Master in the middle of the lotus pond that morning, and the heart-stirring moments they experienced together that afternoon.
“Actually, you care about your brothers very much, but why do you always wear such an aloof expression? Because of this, he may not be able to understand what you do.” Lanqin slowly exhaled and said nervously, “I saw you in the woods, I saw that mother and baby black bear.”
Fourth Master slowly shifted his gaze from the moon to that beautiful, moon-like face, but remained silent.
Oh no, did I upset him?
Lanqin saw that Fourth Master was pulling her hand harder, and she felt a bit of pain in her hand.
No one could tell that no one had ever spoken like this to the Prince before! This little princess was indeed extremely intelligent and bold. When other women encountered the Prince's sullen silence, they would only stand trembling beside him or simply kneel down to beg for forgiveness. Outsiders only saw the Prince as cold-hearted, even giving him nicknames like "Cold-Faced Prince" or "Poker-Eyed Prince." Little did they see that what the Prince did was far more substantial than those who only knew how to talk.
"On my estate, I naturally have to take care of their safety." The Fourth Prince's tone remained indifferent. When he saw the Fourteenth Prince being chased by a black bear, the Fourth Prince wasn't afraid, but he never considered running away, not even for a moment. This younger brother, though rarely close to him and always seemed to go against him, he couldn't let anything happen to him.
"When Yinzhu died, Mother almost cried herself blind. At that time, I was still with Empress Xiaoyiren. His death, I..." The Fourth Prince's eyes welled up with tears, and his hands even trembled slightly.
Yinzhuo! So it was Consort De's sixth prince, the one who died young at six! Lanqin was startled. She clearly saw that the Fourth Prince had hesitated to speak just now, but could Yinzhuo's death be related to the Fourth Prince?!
"My lord, it's better to speak out. I am foolish and cannot understand even a fraction of your troubles, but I am willing to listen to the knot in your heart!" Lanqin placed one hand on the back of the hand that the Fourth Prince was holding.
Fourth Master frowned, seemingly reluctant to bring up the past that had been buried in his heart for over a decade. But that incident haunted him like a ghost, causing him unbearable pain every time he tried to speak of it.
Who could possibly imagine the feelings involved?
Fourth Master suddenly pulled his hand away from Lanqin's, turned his back, and stared silently at the pitch-black lotus pond.
Lanqin bravely stepped forward and pressed her cheek against his back.
She could feel the Fourth Master's heartbeat and his increasingly erratic breathing.
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