Wei Tingsi looked not bad with an apron around his waist; on the contrary, he looked very sexy, and his busy appearance was charming.
Zhao Shu watched from the side, occasionally hearing Lao Liu's careful instruction. He learned very quickly, especially since Lao Liu was from Sichuan and his favorite food was cold noodles.
The raw materials were available; all that was needed was to make jelly. Zhao Shu waited for about an hour, witnessing the process of soaking the rice, grinding it into rice paste, and then cooking it into white jelly.
Then Wei Tingsi carefully cut the jelly into star shapes, placing them one by one in a porcelain bowl. They looked white and glossy, and were particularly pleasing to the eye.
Sprinkled with seasonings and chopped green onions, a bowl of Sichuan-style cold noodles was served to Zhao Shu. "Although it's not a star in the sky, I will always make it for you as long as you want it."
Zhao Shu's eyes welled up with tears, her pupils sparkling as if studded with stars. "Silly girl, the cook can handle this kind of thing." She lacked romance and her words were often hurtful.
“But it’s different,” he said, though he was hurt, he wasn’t angry.
After taking a bite, Zhao Shu didn't give a thumbs up insincerely, but genuinely did. "It tastes good, even better than Suzhou embroidery."
Upon receiving the praise, Wei Tingsi happily picked her up and spun her around, while Old Liu lowered his head in embarrassment.
Zhao Shu found it a bit strange. Shouldn't she be the one feeling embarrassed? Why was Lao Liu feeling embarrassed?
“I’ll make it for you when I get back,” he said. “Or, you can come with me, and I’ll make it for you every day.”
"Stop fooling around. You still have to fight a war. How can you make these things for me every day? I'll wait for you. I'll make them for you when you come back, okay?"
After finishing the small amount of cold noodles, the two lingered together for a while before Wei Tingsi sent Zhao Shu back to Jiangnan Prefecture, while he left Suzhou.
At night, a torrential downpour began again. Zhao Shu stood by the window, listening to the sound of rain pattering on the banana leaves. This beautiful landscape, if left unattended, would be torn to pieces.
A towering building rises from the ground, and a peaceful society can only be built after a period of chaos. There is no such thing as fairness in this world. If one person benefits, another will inevitably lose. Struggle has never stopped and will never stop in the future.
The emperor wanted to reduce the power of the vassal kings, the vassal kings wanted to rebel, the emperor wanted to centralize imperial power, and the powerful families wanted to weaken imperial power.
Some people want to preserve the privileges earned by their ancestors, while others want to be remembered for eternity.
Some people want to maintain their position, while others want to gain it.
Some wanted revenge, while others wanted to save their lives.
The conflict never stops.
Wang Jize and Hu Yichen have not yet returned. Apart from sending people to search for Zhen Qizhong and others, Zhao Shu has been taking pulses, examining patients, and writing prescriptions with the imperial physicians.
For the first time, she exposed her medical skills to the world, but people thought that since Physician Peng was close to her and knew medical principles, it was nothing special.
The only thing that seems unbelievable is that a princess like her would study medicine. Everyone who knows Jiang Ying thinks that she is indeed Jiang Ying's daughter, disregarding etiquette and looking down on all sorts of people.
Meanwhile, in the capital, things were in chaos. Qiu Cheng began to have minor arguments with the Minister of Revenue every day and major arguments every three days, all because the national treasury was not full and there was not enough food.
As usual, Emperor Mingde listened to the ministers' clamor from above, which sounded like a marketplace, making him annoyed and wishing he could kill them all.
Huo Baichuan still doesn't take anyone seriously, often skipping court sessions and not wearing court attire when he does attend. Recently, he has been locked in a fierce battle with Yang Zhong.
The ministers were arguing fiercely when a soldier came to report: "Report! Urgent dispatch from 800 li away!"
Another urgent dispatch? Usually, an urgent dispatch is not a good thing, and the officials' hearts were in their throats.
Emperor Mingde said weakly, "Summon."
Liang Yunsi shouted, "Summon them!"
A soldier carried a cylinder high into the Taihe Hall and knelt in the center. "Your Majesty," he said, "the rioters in Shuoyang have risen up and now number 100,000, completely surrounding the city. The prefect of Shuoyang requests the court to send troops."
"One hundred thousand people?" Emperor Mingde nearly fell off his dragon throne. "Where did so many people come from?" He voiced the question on the minds of his ministers.
"Your Majesty, they are all victims of the flood."
As soon as the soldier said this, Yang Zhong knew what was going on. Shuoyang was his ancestral home, and the Yang family's ancestral home was in Shuoyang. If he couldn't stay in the capital, he could go back to Shuoyang. He didn't expect the rioters to directly attack his headquarters.
No need to ask any more questions, no need to investigate, it must have been Huo Baichuan's idea! That damned man, he was definitely the one who incited the disaster victims to rob his family in Shuoyang!
The entire Shuoyang is almost entirely under the control of the Yang family. When there are rioters in Shuoyang, they steal all of the Yang family's things!
His heart ached so much that he felt like he was suffocating.
"Your Majesty, please order the troops to be dispatched." He was the first to kneel down, and once the leader knelt down, all the officials of the old party immediately followed suit.
Emperor Mingde hated nothing more than forming cliques and engaging in corrupt practices. Seeing so many people kneeling down to help Yang Zhong, he felt a chill in his heart and a very unpleasant feeling.
For the first time, Yang Zhong felt that having too many supporters around him was not a good thing. At the same time, he hated that these supporters were too stupid and dragged him down.
Emperor Mingde remained silent, but Xie Yun did speak. He explained that he had not been involved in court affairs much lately, and the Xie family no longer needed any further support, so he was being very cautious. In addition, he was the only official of the first rank with real power in the court, so he rarely spoke.
"Your Majesty, the common people are not a concern. As long as they have enough to eat and wear, they don't ask for much. The princes and foreign enemies are the real threats. These are insatiable people. We don't have enough troops at the moment. I implore Your Majesty to send a capable minister to persuade the people to return to their hometowns and farm."
Yang Zhong was so angry that he spat out a mouthful of blood. Wasn't this encouraging the disaster victims to loot?
Emperor Mingde listened and agreed wholeheartedly. Before Yang Zhong could speak, he nodded and said, "This plan is excellent, but I wonder who should be sent?"
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