Chapter 124 This is not what I want
Zhu Lan came to Yuxiang Pavilion, and Wang Yuchu pulled her to the utility room outside the back kitchen again.
"Master Wang, there are some things I want to confirm with you."
Zhu Lan had already memorized what Wang Yuchu had said last time about the preferences of the princes, but there were still some details that needed to be supplemented about the prince's preferences.
Zhu Lan asked about the princes' situations in great detail, some of which even Wang Yuchu could not answer, but Zhu Lan said it didn't matter.
After Zhu Lan finished asking questions, Wang Yuchu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said nervously:
"What exactly do you want to do by asking these questions?"
He risked his head to tell these things, so he should have the right to know, right?
"us?"
Zhu Lan keenly sensed something was wrong and asked with narrowed eyes.
"Yeah, that girl Qin Yuwei also came to me yesterday and asked me the same question as you did."
Zhu Lan's heart sank slightly.
Why is Yuwei asking these questions?
"Oh, maybe she also hopes that you can return to the imperial kitchen as the head steward as soon as possible." Zhu Lan said with a smile.
"I don't think so." Wang Yuchu said seriously, lowering his voice a few notches.
"She seems to be more interested in the prince's daily life, and even asked about the princess's wife. How could I know so much about these things?"
Zhu Lan was a little confused. "Maybe she's just curious. By the way, Master Wang, there's a great opportunity in front of you now. Do you want it?"
Wang Yuchu suddenly became alert and asked quickly.
"Longchang Academy is going to hold an anniversary celebration. A distinguished guest will be coming. After the celebration, the dean will have dinner with the distinguished guest."
"Who is the distinguished guest?" Wang Yuchu's heart beat faster when he thought of Zhu Lan's previous inquiry into the situations of the princes and princesses.
Zhu Lan shook his head, "I can't tell you now, you just need to prepare in advance."
As he spoke, he took out a few pieces of paper from his arms and handed them to Wang Yuchu.
The above are the recipes for seven or eight main dishes with various flavors. Chef Wang Yu couldn't guess the identity of the distinguished guest for a moment.
"Study these dishes thoroughly, and on the day of the celebration, I will tell you the identity of the distinguished guest."
…
When Zhu Lan returned to the academy, it was already dark.
She originally wanted to go back to Qingyayuan directly, but when she reached the door, she suddenly changed her mind and changed direction.
As expected, there was still light in the studio where Qin Yuwei was rehearsing her dance.
Zhu Lan didn't knock on the door, but pushed it open and walked in. Only Qin Yuwei was dancing alone inside. The candlelight reflected her dancing posture on the wall, making her like a goddess from Dunhuang.
Zhu Lan watched the dance in silence. Qin Yuwei didn't notice Zhu Lan's figure at the door until the dance was over.
Her face was extremely delicate to begin with, and the teardrop mole on her face made her look even more charming under the candlelight.
She panted slightly, wiped the sweat from her forehead and walked over, "Lanlan, why are you here?"
"Come and see you."
Zhu Lan walked into the classroom and closed the door.
"……What's wrong?"
Seeing that she didn't say anything and just stared at her dance dress, Qin Yuwei's expression flashed a bit of nervousness.
Zhu Lan looked carefully at the dance dress she was wearing.
I have seen Qin Yuwei rehearsing before. According to the original plan, sixty-four people were to dance together.
At that time, sixty-four people will stand in eight rows, with those with good dancing skills standing in the front row and average dancers standing in the back row. In addition, for the sake of overall coordination and beauty, their costumes must be completely uniform.
The dance dresses that everyone wore for this dance performance were specially custom-made by Zhu Lan and Qin Yuwei at a tailor shop, so Zhu Lan was very familiar with the styles.
The hem was clearly customized to be a deep red one, but the one Qin Yuwei was wearing now had been changed to a sapphire blue one, and the style had also been slightly modified, becoming more complicated than the previous one. Although the neckline was still tight, Zhu Lan could notice that it was a few centimeters lower than before.
I have never discussed these with myself.
Zhu Lan was silent for a long time, looked into Qin Yuwei's eyes and asked, "Do you want to attract the prince's attention?"
Qin Yuwei looked back at her with complicated eyes, and after a moment she chuckled.
"I knew I couldn't hide it from you."
It's considered as a default.
"Don't worry, even if I dress like this, I will not disrupt your entire celebration arrangements." She is absolutely confident in her dancing skills.
"I'm not worried about that!" Zhu Lan's eyes were filled with anger. "Why?"
Qin Yuwei looked away, the smile on her face slowly faded, and she opened her red lips slightly:
"Because I don't want to be controlled by others anymore."
"It's still about the shop, but hasn't that been resolved?"
Qin Yuwei shook her head gently, "No, it's not solved."
She raised her eyes and looked at Zhu Lan, "I always thought that the shop was the foundation of my life. If I had money, I would have a foothold in this era, but I was wrong.
Do you remember, when we first came here, I told Youyou about the 'scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans', and that merchants would always be at the bottom of the social ladder? I was just talking at the time, but now I experience it firsthand.
Lanlan, do you know that I have worked hard to build such a big shop over the past few years, but I have no power to resist those powerful people. A piece of official document without any reason can close it down, and even a few small yamen runners in the government office can smash it at will?"
"But you have a reputation..."
"What's the use of fame?" Qin Yuwei interrupted without hesitation, raising her voice a few degrees.
"Now I have only passed the college entrance examination. After the college entrance examination, there are still provincial examinations and metropolitan examinations... Let alone how many years it will take, even if I become an official in the future, won't I have to kneel down to others?"
Qin Yuwei took a deep breath, "Lanlan, this is not what I want."
"But even if you enter the palace, what can you do? Can you get what you want?" Zhu Lan was a little anxious.
"...I don't know, but it's better than now, when anyone can come and step on it."
Zhu Lan looked at the determination in her eyes and knew that his persuasion would be useless. He hesitated for a long time and then let out a long sigh.
"Yuwei, there is something I have never told you. We traveled through a book, and I have read it."
"What?" Qin Yuwei's face showed such surprise for the first time, "Why... have you never mentioned it?"
Zhu Lan smiled bitterly: "I said that the content of this book was originally only related to me, and you have never appeared at all. Do you believe it?"
Qin Yuwei was silent.
Before Zhu Lan said this, she was about to ask herself what would happen in the book, what her fate would be like, and whether her current choice was correct.
She naturally believed Zhu Lan, but this matter was really hard for her to accept.
"I haven't finished reading the book, so I haven't told you about it. First, the original plot has nothing to do with you. I really don't know what will happen to you. Telling you about it will only add more concerns and disturb everyone's minds.
Secondly, many things in the original plot have changed since the moment we traveled through time, and the real situation may have been completely different from what was in the book."
Qin Yuwei was silent for a moment, knowing that Zhu Lan was right, so she quickly digested the information and asked with fixed eyes:
"So what now? Are there any valuable clues?"
Zhu Lan shook his head: "I'm not sure. In the original plot, the prince's position didn't seem that stable. But the political situation is unpredictable. I really don't know what the specific situation is now."
After all, the original book is written from Zhu Qingyan's perspective. Zhu Lan only knows that after Zhu Qingyan entered the officialdom, he chose the camp of the third prince, Prince Qi, for some reason, and rose rapidly all the way. The power of the third prince and the prince gradually formed a rivalry.
Seeing that Qin Yuwei didn't say anything and seemed to be considering, Zhu Lan stepped forward and held her hand.
“Choosing to go to the prince now is undoubtedly a gamble. If you lose the bet, you will be doomed. At that time, your situation will only be more difficult than it is now.
Think about it again, entering the palace as a woman would require a lot of sacrifice. Is it really worth it? We are clearly not at that stage yet."
Qin Yuwei's eyes were somewhat shaken.
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