"Alright, it's just a small amount of money, here you go. Come on, let me teach you a few tricks. Maybe you can win the money back next time Hongzhou comes back."
Having spent so many years with Yinzhen, Geng Youran had grown accustomed to his unusually talkative manner around her.
Gao Wuyong, who was by Yinzhen's side, also noticed that only with Geng Gege could his master truly rest.
Gao Wuyong gave Qianxue a look, and the two of them went out of the house and waited outside the door. Inside the house, Geng Youran was learning to play chess with Yinzhen.
The two played chess for more than an hour without realizing it, until Geng Youran's stomach started to rumble in protest, at which point they stopped.
Hearing a noise inside, Qianxue came in and asked:
"Your Highness, Princess, shall we serve the dishes?"
"Um."
While Qianxue was serving the dishes, she was also helping the two masters wash their hands.
It is said that one should not speak while eating or sleeping, but Yinzhen broke this rule not long after Geng Youran entered the mansion.
"You Ran, what are your thoughts on Hong Zhou being a study companion?"
Geng Youran shook her head; she had never really cared about these things.
In ordinary households, a study companion might simply be a friend who studies together; as long as the person is of good character and has ambition, that's generally acceptable.
However, in the royal family, choosing a study companion for a prince was an extremely difficult task, involving many factors and complexities.
"These past few days, Your Highness has taken the time to select a few people. Some are members of the royal family, and the others are children of several ministers."
“Your Highness, why don’t you choose directly from the royal family? I feel that choosing from the families of officials would inevitably involve ‘fawning’. Choosing from the royal family would be relatively easier, since the children study together.”
Yinzhen nodded, agreeing with what Geng Youran said.
About five or six days later, Hongli and Hongzhou took advantage of the fewer classes and returned to the Yongqin Prince's Mansion in the afternoon to see their mother.
"mother!"
“I’m not deaf, keep your voice down. You’re a grown man, and you have no manners at all.”
"Mother, your son is hungry."
Geng Youran helplessly tugged at Hongzhou's cheek, and Hongzhou did not resist, letting his mother tug at him.
Only after Geng Youran was satisfied with kneading did she ask Qianxue to bring the pastries.
“Your father sent someone back this morning to say that you and Hongli were going back to the mansion this afternoon, so I immediately went to the small kitchen to make your favorite ‘fresh chrysanthemum pastry’ and ‘hawthorn cake’.”
The chrysanthemums were picked by Geng Youran and Qianxue a few days ago with Niu Hulu Wanru in the back garden, and the hawthorns were delivered by the steward yesterday. They are all very fresh.
So, in the morning, Geng Youran originally planned to try making hawthorn wine, but then she said that Hongzhou was coming back, so she changed her plan to make 'hawthorn cake' instead.
"Qianxue, where are the fresh chrysanthemum petals I asked you to save?"
"Princess, I have already washed them."
"Take them out, then chop them into small pieces and mix them with white sugar."
Geng Youran poured flour onto the board, stirred it, cracked in eggs, added lard, chrysanthemum juice, and baking soda.
Mix the ingredients together to form a dough, then let it rest for a while to allow the dough to relax.
While the dough was resting, Geng Youran put the pitted hawthorns into a pot and added an appropriate amount of water.
After bringing it to a boil over high heat, skim off the foam, then reduce to medium heat and continue cooking.
Stir constantly during cooking until the hawthorns are soft and the broth is thick.
At this point, remove the hawthorns from the pot and mash them into a paste.
Pour the filtered hawthorn puree back into the pot, add an appropriate amount of white sugar, and continue to simmer over medium-low heat, stirring constantly to ensure the hawthorn puree and white sugar are fully combined.
Turn off the heat when the hawthorn cake paste becomes quite thick.
Pour the cooked hawthorn cake paste into the mold and smooth the surface with a spoon. Place the mold in a pre-prepared ice cube tray and refrigerate.
When the 'hawthorn cake' was almost ready, Geng Youran rolled out the rested dough and pressed it into a thin sheet.
Cut the strips into three different lengths and stack them in order.
Cut it into thin strips and hold them together with chopsticks to form a chrysanthemum shape.
Heat a wok over a fire, pour in refined oil, and heat it to 60% of its maximum temperature.
Place the chrysanthemum-shaped pastry dough into the oil and fry until golden brown.
Remove from the oil and drain. Place in a dish.
Finally, sprinkle the fried chrysanthemum pastries with Qianxue flower stamens mixed with white sugar.
Qianxue brought out the pastries and then brewed tea again.
Hongzhou chatted with Geng Youran while eating snacks:
"Mother, do you know about Father choosing study companions for us?"
"I know, so what?"
"Do you know that Consort Nian's younger brother failed to be selected?"
Geng Youran was taken aback.
How did you know he was on the list?
Hongzhou snorted.
“He’s very magnanimous. Knowing that Fourth Brother is favored by the Emperor, he was busy trying to curry favor with him. But after Father saw his exam paper, he was the first one sent back.”
"No matter what, now that your father has chosen a study companion for you, you have to study hard from now on and stop thinking about slacking off. I won't expect you to be like Hongli, but at the very least, you need to have the courage and ability to take responsibility in the future. Do you understand?"
"Don't worry, my son knows."
Geng Youran was still a little worried.
After Hongzhou left that evening, Yinzhen arrived.
That night, before they went to bed, Geng Youran told Yinzhen about her worries.
“My lord, you know that I am not ambitious. Hongzhou is mischievous, but not stupid. I hope you can have someone keep a closer eye on him. He is not as self-disciplined as Hongli. I am always worried that he will cause trouble.”
Yinzhen tucked the blanket around Geng Youran beside him and comforted her:
"Don't worry, with me here, Hongzhou wouldn't dare."
Geng Youran then felt relieved and went to sleep.
The next day, Yinzhen added two more people to secretly watch over Hongli and Hongzhou.
In the morning, after the court session, Yinxiang followed an angry Yinzhen to the Yongqin Prince's residence.
"Fourth Brother, what's wrong with Father? How can he believe a Taoist priest!"
It turned out that Emperor Kangxi had issued an edict ordering the Taoist priest Li Qing'an to go to Barkol to assist the Qing army in its military operations against the Dzungar Khanate, hoping that he could use his "magic" to aid in the battle.
This unusual behavior puzzled and angered Yinzhen, Yinxiang, and others.
"We've been sending troops to Tibet for years, and now Father Emperor is actually sending a Taoist priest to assist us. What about all the soldiers we've lost over the years?!"
Yinxiang's words were practically an accusation that the current emperor was incompetent.
"Thirteenth brother, watch your words!"
Yinzhen quickly reprimanded Yinxiang to prevent him from saying anything further.
"I have already written to Nian Gengyao, asking him to keep an eye on Li Qing'an. Also, once Li Qing'an arrives, the Fourteenth Prince will not give him a good look."
However, things did not go as Yinzhen had planned.
After arriving in Barkul, Li Qing'an repeatedly performed his "magic" in public, leaving the officers and soldiers in awe.
During this period, Li Qing'an had a good relationship with General Fu Ning'an, who was in charge of suppressing rebellions. Li Qing'an proposed to select 800 young soldiers from the Manchu and Green Standard Army to form his "Divine Soldiers Unit" and conduct special training according to the "Six Ding Six Jia Divine Method".
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