Chapter 304 The Virtuous Empress Used as Cannon Fodder (Part 3) Besides being plump...
Besides plump river shrimp, there are many other foods that can only be eaten during this time of year in spring.
For example, egg pancakes made with tender toon shoots, meat buns wrapped with freshly budding locust flowers, and stir-fried goji berry sprouts are the most refreshing. Blanching shepherd's purse and then mixing it with dried tofu makes the taste even richer.
Ye Yunhua had no interest in the exquisite dishes in the restaurant, but she craved the fresh and tender taste the most. She became much more enthusiastic about eating every day, and in just a few days, her complexion improved.
I heard there were fresh flower cakes on South Street today, so I dragged Lin You out to try them. When we passed an alley, we saw a boy who was crying and making a fuss staggering out.
It turned out to be a couple who wanted to find a wife for their eldest son, so they planned to sell their younger son, who was weaker but handsome.
The boy was only seven or eight years old, and his face did look somewhat sickly, but that only added to his endearing appearance.
Perhaps recognizing their identities, the boy's eyes lit up, and he immediately rushed to them, pleading:
"Two bodhisattvas, please save me! My mother only wanted six taels of silver to sell me. I promise to pay back the six taels of silver within a year. I will work for you for ten years. I can do anything. If I go to that kind of place, my life will be ruined."
The alley was filled with vibrant flowers and willows, and red sleeves fluttering in the breeze; it was clearly not a pleasant place. The couple who originally wanted to capture the boy saw that Lin You and his companion were obviously dressed as wealthy people, so they decided not to continue.
Lin You was about to make a move, but at that moment, he received a request for help from the Heavenly Dao of the current small world.
The boy in front of me is the protagonist chosen by Xiaotiandao. Originally, Xiaotiandao planned to sell him to a family to be a servant, and then the boy would be chosen as a page because of his outstanding intelligence, laying a certain foundation for his learning.
Xiao Tiandao had everything arranged. Just then, a wealthy family was looking to hire a servant and offered five taels of silver. But then the servant said, "Although it's not as much as what you'd get in the brothels, it's still a good place for the child."
The couple refused to sell anymore and dragged the boy to this red-light district, all for the extra tael of silver.
Lin You put down her hand that was about to take out silver and looked at Ye Yunhua. Since the young man was the protagonist, his luck would definitely be good in the future. If Ye Yunhua had any interaction with him, it would be a guarantee after she left.
As for Xiaotiandao's plan to first suppress and then torment the protagonist, that plan definitely won't work on Ye Yunhua.
[I have connections with every one of my mission targets. If any Heavenly Dao violates the rules and takes action personally, I've complained to the lesser Heavenly Dao before. I heard that one is currently in solitary confinement in a dark room.]
The little budding idea of Xiao Tiandao was immediately nipped in the bud, and he hurriedly promised that he would never do such a despicable thing.
Although Ye Yunhua was puzzled as to why Lin You hadn't made a move, she still gave him the silver and rescued the boy.
"I don't need you to write any indenture. Just write the severance letter and then go to the yamen to open a new household for him." That way, the boy won't be considered a slave.
This kind of thing can be done by going to the government office and paying money, but running back and forth takes up half a day.
The boy refused to reveal his name, only asking Ye Yunhua to give him a new name, which was changed to Ye Yi'an.
After the couple left with the silver, the boy knelt down in front of Ye Yunhua with a thud, saying, "Thank you, Madam, for saving my life. Thank you for not letting Yi'an become a slave."
After helping the man up, Ye Yunhua gave him two taels of silver and then dismissed him. Ye Yi'an did not insist on staying. He took two steps back, kowtowed to her again, and then turned and left.
"I thought it was because I was a girl that my family treated me this way, but I didn't expect that this doesn't discriminate between men and women. It's just that my parents' relationship was weak." Ye Yunhua sighed as she watched the boy walk away.
In her heart, her parents have always been the most important part. She has always been bothered by the fact that her parents treated her as a tool to be married off because she was a girl. Now she realizes that being abandoned was more about interests.
This incident seemed to be just an ordinary interlude; apart from Ye Yunhua missing out on the new flower cakes on South Street, it had no other impact.
On that day, in a private school in Jiangnan with the lowest tuition fees, a seven or eight-year-old student appeared. He was simply dressed, quiet, but had a photographic memory.
It has been almost half a month since Ye Yunhua left the palace, and she has begun to adapt to her current life. After getting to know Lin You better, she no longer calls him "Mr. Lin" but instead calls him "Youyou" affectionately. She even learned to cook from the aunt next door.
She didn't treat it as housework; she just learned it out of interest. She would cook when she felt like it, and when she didn't, she would go out to buy food. At first, Lin You was worried that she would get tired, so she would lend a hand from time to time. Later, she found that Ye Yunhua was just interested and doing it for fun, so she let her be.
The first batch of freshly sprouted chives, paired with golden-brown fried tofu cubes and specially stir-fried fluffy and tender eggs, make the most delicious vegetarian dumplings.
Ye Yunhua had also learned to cook; it was one of her many subjects. However, there were few times when she needed to do it herself. She basically only needed to use her mouth to direct the servants and at most add some seasonings herself.
Unlike now, she used to do everything herself, from washing and chopping vegetables to frying eggs and tofu, kneading dough, rolling out wrappers, and seasoning.
I made two bowls of vegetarian dumplings. They were all round and steaming hot after cooking, with the unique aroma of noodles.
Served with a dipping sauce of minced garlic and sesame oil, and a sesame sauce with chopped scallions and cilantro, the seemingly simple food was far more tempting than the elaborate imperial dishes she had prepared back then.
"Youyou, the dumplings are ready, come and have a taste." Ye Yunhua called to Lin You, who was meditating inside the house. At first, she didn't dare to disturb her, but after Lin You said it wouldn't be a problem, she started calling her at mealtimes.
Lin You pushed open the door and came out. The bowls and plates were placed on the stone table in the courtyard. With the dust-removing talisman, the place was always clean.
"It smells good. Ah Hua is getting better and better." The two of them didn't care much about etiquette. Each of them had a bowl and ate it with dipping sauce, enjoying it immensely while chatting.
"Aunt Li said she's going to dig bamboo shoots in the bamboo forest to the east this afternoon, and I want to go with her to see," Ye Yunhua said with curiosity.
Before, when she was in the palace, she had never even tasted fresh bamboo shoots, let alone dug them up. At most, she would drink some soup made from dried bamboo shoots.
"Of course, no problem, but don't dig too much. Just treat it as a trip. If you encounter any trouble, remember to send me a message." Lin You said while eating vegetarian dumplings, and Ye Yunhua nodded obediently beside her.
Lin You has always supported her desire to go out alone; her interest in exploring the world shows that her inner conflicts are gradually being resolved.
As for safety, Lin You had naturally thought of it long ago; she left a protective charm on Ye Yunhua on the first day.
With her current talisman-making skills, unless the Heavenly Dao intervenes, no one in the current world can break through Ye Yunhua's defenses.
Aunt Li, who went to dig bamboo shoots, was the neighbor who taught her how to make dumplings. The tuition fee was just a bunch of chives and a piece of tofu. The items weren't expensive, and she wouldn't feel any burden accepting them.
Aunt Li's family consists of only her and her young daughter. Her husband passed away years ago, and both she and her daughter were kicked out by her husband's family.
Fortunately, she was skilled at raising silkworms, which was enough to support herself and her daughter. Having experienced the hardships of marriage, she used the excuse of remaining chaste to avoid looking for anyone else.
In ancient times, girls who did not want to marry were always subjected to all sorts of difficulties and sarcastic remarks, with claims that they would affect the national birth rate and that not marrying would ruin the country.
However, they lavish praise on women who are willing to remain chaste, as if it were a noble thing to make a beautiful woman remain chaste for her entire life.
Fortunately, it was because of these people's praise that no one dared to force the chaste widow to remarry, and Aunt Li was also quite capable, so there were far fewer people coming to cause trouble.
Ye Yunhua's public identity was that of a widow whose husband had died. Seeing that she was listless and never lifted a finger, Aunt Li assumed that Ye Yunhua had also been kicked out by her husband's family, so she always took extra care of her.
Now that she heard that she was interested in going out for a walk, Aunt Li was also happy and thoughtfully gave her the bamboo shoot digging tools that her own little girl used.
"That's right. You can't stay cooped up at home all day. Go out and wander around, and your mood will naturally improve. Nothing is more important than your own health."
Although Ye Yunhua only half understood the soft, gentle Wu dialect unique to Jiangnan, she knew that the woman was trying to persuade her. She smiled and nodded, picked up the small bamboo basket and a delicate little hoe, and followed her out the door.
Just as Lin You was about to return to her room to cultivate, she received another private message from Xiao Tiandao. She finally understood what it meant by the title "often asked for help by Xiao Tiandao." This guy actually wanted her to deliver an opportunity to the male lead.
Opportunities were few and far between, amounting to only a few taels of silver. The main reason for the protagonist's hard work was to survive and earn money to pay off his debts. During the day, he studied at a private school, and after class, he would go out to catch fish, shrimp, and dig wild vegetables to sell at restaurants. He slept for less than two hours a day.
Xiao Tiandao could also find an opportunity for him to pick up a few taels of silver, but now is the time to temper the male protagonist's character, and he does not want the male protagonist to have the idea of getting something for nothing.
Lin You eventually found a bookstore, gave them ten taels of silver under the guise of Ye Yunhua, and told them that the boy had a conflict with his family and asked them to find the boy to copy books to help make ends meet.
Ten taels of silver was not a small amount, and it was not a difficult matter either. Soon someone found Ye Yi'an.
Ye Yi'an, who had just finished school, was about to run off to continue digging for wild vegetables when a young shop assistant stopped him and quickly took him to a bookstore to copy books.
You get ten coins for copying a copy of the Hundred Family Surnames, and fifteen coins for copying a copy of the Three Character Classic or the Thousand Character Classic. If you copy three copies in a day, you get two extra steamed buns.
Ye Yi'an earned only a dozen or so coins from the wild vegetables he picked and the fish he caught every day from school until dark. He never imagined that he could earn so much by copying books.
“This book is commonly used for children’s early education. Our shop is small, and we only sell one or two sets a day. The cost of printing is the same, but printing a lot at once would just lead to inventory buildup. It’s more convenient to do it this way. Your handwriting is also quite good.”
After the young waiter finished speaking the excuse the shopkeeper had prepared, he pointed to a table in the corner with the best light, "You can copy here. If there is any ink left, you can do your own homework. There are broken ink sticks on both sides that the shop couldn't sell, so just don't waste them."
Ye Yunhua carried her small basket and went for a walk. She only managed to dig up two bamboo shoots when it was almost dark. Satisfied, she followed Aunt Li back. The small basket also contained a bunch of wildflowers and a few fragrant magnolia blossoms.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
