Chapter 158 Lychee Cream
Shu Tong booked a room at a medium-sized restaurant not far from the clinic, and the group quickly entered the restaurant.
There were four large rivers in Bianjing City, three of which passed through the city. One of them, the Jinshui River, led directly from the imperial city to the outside of the city. It was impossible to choose this river for dragon boat racing as it was not conducive to the safety of the imperial city.
But it couldn't be too far. For example, Cai River was in the south of Bianjing City, just in front of the Imperial Street where Su Ruojin and others lived. It was far from the imperial city, so it was impossible to choose this river. The dragon boat race chose Wuzhang River, which was close to the imperial city but a bit far away. This area was the north of the city.
The people watching the dragon boat race dispersed, and the area near the Wuzhang River was suddenly empty except for houses and shops. Willow trees stood quietly by the river, their silk ribbons hanging over the surface of the river, sparkling. A boat passed by, startling the birds perched on the branches by the river.
The windows on the second floor of the restaurant face the moat bank. The wind blows over, bringing the cool air from the water, like a natural fan.
At the dinner table, Su Yanli apologized to the student, "I'm sorry for delaying your work. Let's drink a glass of tea instead of wine."
Zhao Lan smiled gently, "You're welcome, teacher."
In fact, he was impatient to deal with interpersonal relationships like the Crown Prince. He liked a simple life, just like now, sitting with the simple Su family, not on guard against anything. He was very relaxed and had an appetite even for the average-tasting dishes.
Su Yanli and Zhao Lan ate their food and chatted leisurely.
Su Sanlang was a small boy, so he would eat when he was hungry, but he could not sit still when he was full. He would kick his legs, slide off the chair, and run to the window to watch the birds flying outside, the horses walking on the street, and the mules running.
After Su Ruojin had eaten her fill, she was still reserved for a while, waiting for Su Sanlang to take a bite. "Sister, come and see, there are people selling ice and snow cold yuanzi, mung bean and licorice ice and snow cold water, and lychee paste."
She asked, "Did you want to eat?"
The little guy shook his head, "They're not as delicious as the milk tea and juice my sister makes."
Su Ruojin: ...
Bingxue Leng Yuanzi, recorded in Dongjing Menghualu, is a nice-sounding and poetic name of a food. In fact, Yuanzi is the glutinous rice balls of later generations. Bingxue Leng Yuanzi means iced glutinous rice balls. Has it become ordinary in an instant?
There is also lychee paste. Lychees are no longer a problem in later generations because they are transported in refrigerated trucks, but in ancient times, if you wanted to eat lychees, only emperors, empresses and other people could enjoy a few of them.
The main reason is that the shelf life of this thing is too short, so short that it goes bad before reaching its destination. Then why is it called lychee paste in the streets and alleys?
Su Ruojin was also very curious when she heard about it for the first time, so she bought it back to study it and asked the aunties and grandmas in the alley. Finally, she found out that there are no lychees in the lychee paste. It is made by boiling black plums, cinnamon, lactose, ginger and other ingredients. It is quite laborious and the taste is similar to that of Chinese medicine. Probably only the ancients were used to it. She was not used to it, but it can relieve heat and thirst, and drinking it for a long time also has health benefits.
Su Sanlang smacked his lips, "Sister, when we pass by the milk tea shop on our way back, can we buy a few cups of milk tea to drink?"
"Okay!" Su Ruojin felt sleepy after eating, so she stretched out her arms and rested them on the window frame, preparing to lie down and take a nap. She thought that her brother was talking about milk tea, so she had the illusion of seeing the Yang family. Why did she seem to see an acquaintance - Yang Si Niang's father, the Censor of the Imperial Court.
In order to avoid being dazzled, she suddenly raised her head, rubbed her eyes and looked carefully at the pedestrians on the street. Yes, it was Yang Si Niang's father. The Yang family was on the right side of the Su family. Their family would inevitably pass by the door of the Su family when leaving the alley, so they would occasionally meet him when playing in the alley, and they should not be mistaken.
Su Ruojin was not surprised that Lord Yang did not return home with his wife and children. From what Yang Si Niang had inadvertently revealed, she knew that Lord Yang was not a good husband or father. He was often away from home, and when he was outside he would either find fault with this or that, and then report it to the emperor. It was said that he was a famous censor.
Su Ruojin turned around and said, "Dad, little prince, I wonder who Lord Yang is going to mess with again. He walks like a gust of wind, just like a woman catching..."
Su Yanli and Zhao Lan both looked at her, and then listened to what she was going to say. As soon as the word "catch" came out, Su Yanli's face turned serious, "Ajin..."
Su Ruojin had already realized that what she said would be rude and indecent, so she quickly stopped the last word, chuckled, and said, "I'll continue to enjoy the scenery." Then she turned and looked out the window. Lord Yang had disappeared from the sight of the Su siblings.
Cheng Yingzhen had no appetite and didn't eat much. She sat next to her husband and poured him a glass of warm water from time to time. The couple had been married for more than ten years and were still getting along like a newlywed couple.
Zhao Lan pretended not to see the interaction between the two. He lowered his head to drink a sip of tea, then looked up again. This time he saw the young lady sticking her head out of the window, as if looking for something. He put down the cup and walked a few steps behind the young lady.
"Ajin, what's wrong?"
Su Ruojin replied, "Last time I went to your house to see the flower show, a girl blocked Sister Ling Chun's way. I think her name was Ling Shuang. I saw her on Wenshan Street half a month ago, and I saw her passing by here again just now. Do the maids in the palace have free access?"
How is this possible? If that were true, anyone could enter the palace freely.
Zhao Lan narrowed his eyes slightly. "She is the daughter of Manager Xu and a second-class maidservant by my mother's side. She may be freer than other maidservants."
"oh."
Talking about Granny Xu, Su Ruojin couldn't help but gossip a little, "I heard that Steward Xu is not valued by the princess, right?"
Zhao Lan nodded: "Yes."
Su Ruojin curled her lips and turned to continue looking at the street and the scenery.
Zhao Lan was amused by the young lady's actions, "Are you angry that Granny Xu took your recipe to curry favor with Prince Jin's Mansion?"
Hey, how did he know?
Su Ruojin turned her head again.
The young lady looked confused, but he kept smiling, "The recipes she gave to the palace as a gift were all served on my table."
Su Ruojin was stunned: “…” What’s going on?
"The first time I went to your house for dinner, the pickled fish made me realize something. It turns out that you, Jin, are the original creator of this dish."
Su Ruojin: ...She is not the original creator, okay!
For a moment, she felt quite guilty.
I quickly changed the subject: "I didn't expect the young prince to be so smart. He knew that Granny Xu had taken over my recipes the first time he came to my house as a guest."
Zhao Lan snorted coldly, "The Xu sisters took your recipe and opened a medium-sized restaurant in Wangchunmen. It attracted many businessmen and I heard that the business is good."
Wangchun Gate is in the east of the city, this place is in the north of the city, and Prince Jin's Mansion is in the Xihua Gate area of the palace city. One is in the east, and the other is in the west, and they can be said to pass through the entire imperial city area.
Judging from the direction she was walking just now, she seemed to have come from Songmen in the south, not from the north where she watched the dragon boat race. I don't know what happened that made her circle the city.
Zhao Lan winked at Santai.
Santai quietly retreated and left the private room without anyone noticing.
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