9. Let go
◎Hold it up heavily, put it down gently.◎
Chapter 9 Letting Go
Ji Ci acted quickly. Within two days, he had arrested 23 main rumormongers and put them in jail. It was heard that these people were each beaten with ten boards and then released. Although the punishment was not light or severe, they were scared and dared not spread rumors again.
The rumors were quickly stopped, and no one openly talked about Prince Qi anymore.
However, after Ji Ci came to teach Jiang Qiuye a lesson that night, he never showed up again.
However, the hard-to-find figures of the secret guards around made Jiang Qiuye realize that he was still under Ji Ci's surveillance.
Yes, she was related to the Zhang family massacre. Since she said she would be his bait, even if she didn't show up, everything must be under his control.
But this made Jiang Qiuye a little worried.
How could she get close to Ji Ci when he discovered her scheming and made her feel disgusted?
In the evening, the weather is a bit gloomy these days.
When Ji Ci returned home from outside, the food was already on the table. It was a few simple dishes, small in quantity. After sitting down, he looked at the food on the table, resisted the churning in his stomach, and sighed softly.
Tian Qu handed over the medicine bottle. After Ji Ci took the pill for half an incense stick of time, he started to eat.
The shredded chicken tasted like wax and was difficult to swallow.
After finishing dinner with difficulty, there were still some dishes left on the table.
Tian Qu said with some concern, "Your Highness, you've been eating less and less lately, but you're so busy right now. I'm afraid you're running out of energy. Should we ask Imperial Physician Wang to come back and check on you?"
Ji Ci wiped his mouth with the handkerchief in his hand and waved his hand towards the sky, "No need today. I have a lot of important things to do these days. It will be fine in a few days. Clear away the remaining dinner."
"yes."
The servants rushed over, quickly cleared away all the dishes on the table that seemed to be untouched, and left.
The evening breeze lifted a few strands of hair, and he looked down at his wrists. He had been eating less these days, so he had lost some weight.
After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Wait, let's leave the dinner behind."
The servants were stunned and then put the food they were about to remove back on the table.
Ji Ci sat down again and picked up the bowl and chopsticks. His mind, which was full of national politics and wars, suddenly stopped when faced with this, and he found it a little difficult to decide how to pick up the chopsticks.
"Your Majesty."
Just when Ji Ci was hesitating, he saw the butler Fu Shu coming forward with a food box in his hand.
"What is this?"
The housekeeper replied respectfully, "A young lady named Qiu has just come to our house and asked me to give this to Your Highness. She said she knew she was wrong and begged Your Highness to forgive her."
Ji Ci looked at the exquisite food box expressionlessly. After a moment, he simply replied, "Throw it away."
The young widow touched his bottom line, and he tried to protect the twenty-three people who spread rumors and make a big deal out of a small matter. This really cost him a lot of effort in front of the emperor.
The former Jin Kingdom once unified the Central Plains, extending its rule for over three hundred years. Unexpectedly, fifteen years earlier, King Li of the Yan clan, following the example of the feudal lords in history, united the northern nobles, proclaimed himself emperor, split the former Jin Kingdom, led his troops to capture the capital, Ganyang, and established the Li Kingdom.
During the reign of Emperor An of Jin, he was arrogant and extravagant, and his luck ran out. He fled with the harem and the princes, and the empress died. After Emperor An of Jin arrived in Shengjing, he married into the aristocratic families and rebuilt the present-day Later Jin Dynasty.
That escape was the shame of the Jin royal family and the destruction of their country.
Over the past decade, the two countries have been at war. The Later Jin Dynasty wanted to regain the dignity it lost due to the destruction of its country, while the Li Kingdom wanted to achieve a unified hegemony.
In troubled times, it is difficult to protect yourself, let alone protect the world.
Therefore, the current emperor is most afraid of anything that disrespects the royal majesty. He launched a literary inquisition in the past, but fortunately this time it was dealt with in time and the rumor was limited to him. If it involved the emperor, there would probably be no less than a hundred people executed.
The housekeeper was stunned and tightened his grip, "Oh, yes."
He was about to leave with the food box in his hand, thinking that the girl had given him some silver, but in the end he didn't get anything done, so should he return the silver?
Listening to the footsteps gradually leaving, Ji Ci tightened the chopsticks in his hand, looked at the unfinished dinner in front of him, and thought of the bowl of soup he had drunk in Guihong Hall last time, and swallowed his saliva.
For the sake of living...
"Wait." Ji Ci closed his eyes and suddenly called the housekeeper who was leaving, "Leave it and put it on the table."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Ji Ci opened the lid of the food box, and a familiar aroma immediately hit his nose. It was the same bowl of aconite and mutton soup.
The hot water in the food box keeps the soup bowl warm, and the residual heat and flavor last for a long time, still so appetizing.
A person walking in the desert, short of water, finds an oasis after a long absence. Although he knows that he must leave the desert and should not linger too much, he still cannot help but want to leave. But perhaps staying for a while is to prepare for a better start.
He lifted the soup bowl with both hands and drank it all in one gulp, finally swallowing the mutton, red dates, ginseng and other herbs in the soup together. His movements were smooth and fluid, without any pause or vomiting.
After finishing it, a warm current flowed through his stomach into his limbs, and he once again thought of those two words: satisfied.
In this world, only the medicinal food made by the young widow can satisfy his taste so well.
"What has she been doing lately?"
Tian Qu quickly realized this time that the "she" here referred to was Qiu Ziye.
"Qiu Ziye recently hired five more employees for Guihongtang, which shows that Guihongtang's business is getting better and better. The rest of the time, besides going to the pharmacy to buy supplies, he stays in the kitchen researching medicinal food recipes."
Thinking of those tearful peach blossom eyes, crying and making excuses, she seemed to have suffered a great injustice even though she had clearly done something wrong. Then she pretended to bang her head against the wall and fainted, and Ji Ci sighed slightly.
It's a little scheming, but I have to admit that it's also a little cute.
A little bit cute.
The young widow was truly determined. These days, women all regard their husbands as their heaven, like vines clinging to a large tree. Having lost her husband and not been favored by her family, it was not easy for her to gain a foothold in Shengjing.
Forget it, forget it. Considering she is still young, I won’t care as long as she doesn’t make such mistakes again in the future.
Pick it up heavily and put it down gently.
Just this once.
…
Jiang Qiuye, on the other hand, didn't know that Ji Ci had forgiven her because of this bowl of mutton soup.
Even though she still couldn't figure out why Ji Cisheng was so generous, she knew that pleasing him was the most important thing at this moment.
Every evening, she would promptly deliver a prepared medicinal meal to Prince Qi's residence. Not limited to the aconite and mutton soup, she also tried black-bone chicken and turtle soups, all of which were infused with secret herbs to treat anorexia and stimulate appetite.
However, he was never allowed into the palace, nor did he see Ji Ci. Even more outrageous was that he never even returned the soup bowl and food box.
If the old housekeeper had not told her the next day that Prince Qi had taken her medicinal food, she would have thought he had thrown it away.
Yes, even if you are angry with her, you shouldn't be angry about food.
After Guihongtang added more staff, Jiang Qiuye began to slowly let go of the affairs and began to research new recipes and special meals for Prince Qi.
Outside the house, red leaves were falling, swirling across the hems of passersby's clothes.
The scholars gradually left Shengjing, leaving behind only poems and songs in Guihong Hall. Fortunately, the shop had gained a reputation due to the scholars and the rumors they had caused some time ago, and even in their absence, customers continued to come in an endless stream.
This is mainly due to the fact that Guihongtang’s medicinal food is indeed memorable and inspiring.
Among all the calligraphy and paintings, Jiang Qiuye's favorite is "Lady and Wild Geese Returning in Autumn".
That’s right, the painting is of her in Guihong Hall.
Her eyes and eyebrows are charming, her cheeks are as delicate as lotus, she has a stunning bun and wears a green pearl hairpin, with small tender maple trees on both sides as her companions, she is graceful and slender, leaning against the porch.
Apart from showing her beautiful and pure face, it was mostly just a dream.
It was as if she really was the owner of Guihongtang, as if Shengjing was her home, as if she was Qiu Ziye.
The painting of a lady was hung in Jiang Qiuye's room on the second floor. She picked up a pen and wrote on a piece of paper the recipe that she had improved dozens of times.
Jinhong looked at the painting of the ladies and sighed, "Young lady, you have truly become the head of Guihong Hall now. You don't have to worry about Prince Qi not seeing you."
Jiang Qiuye ignored Jinhong's sarcasm, smiled slightly, and stopped writing. "It's urgent. I've only been sending her medicinal food for a few days. You'll know after half a month."
She picked up the written recipe on the table and admired it. "Now that the scholar has left, Guihongtang is still profitable, but it's not a long-term solution. During my time in Shengjing, I've noticed that those who love to go out and have the strongest purchasing power are all women. This research on beauty-enhancing medicinal food is the next step for Guihongtang."
Jinhong took the recipe, but glanced to the side, pursing her lips. "I'm also worried that they won't give us the antidote before the month is up."
"Well, that's a problem." Jiang Qiuye smiled disapprovingly, "But you should send this recipe to the kitchen downstairs first."
Jinhong's heart tightened. She turned her head away, unwilling to look directly into those eyes, and quickly left the room.
At this time, Xiaopang came upstairs and said, "Boss, someone is looking for you. It seems... it's your sister."
"Got it. I'll be down right away."
My sister... she wasn't close to him, so why was she looking for him? Could it be because of that stupid cheap dad?
She walked down the stairs slowly and found that Qiu Ying was not the only one there. She had also brought a young man with her. He was good-looking, but his eyes were too shrewd. Compared to Ji Ci, he was far inferior.
"Sister!" Qiu Ying waved at her with a smile, her face full of affection and shyness.
Jiang Qiuye knew at a glance that her adopted sister's visit had nothing to do with the old man.
"Second sister, you haven't come to see me for a long time. I miss you very much." Jiang Qiuye quickly stepped forward and took Qiu Ying's hands, her joy beyond words.
Qiu Ying pulled her wrist away uncomfortably, glanced at the man beside her and introduced him, "This is Young Master Huo, Huo Heng, my fiancé. My cousin specially accompanied me to the street today, and suddenly I remembered that my sister hadn't met my cousin yet, so I stopped by to see her."
Jiang Qiuye didn't believe a word her step-sister said. She looked at Huo Heng standing aside with her eyes wide open and secretly mocked him. It turned out that this sister's brain was really dumber than her father's.
Jiang Qiuye's peach blossom eyes wavered, her eyebrows slightly raised, the corners of her mouth turned up, two dimples were faintly visible, her cheeks were slightly red, as if with shyness, "Ye'er greets Young Master Huo."
"Hey, logically speaking, Ying'er is my cousin, and sister Ye'er is also my cousin. You can just call me cousin like Ying'er does." Huo Heng's heart was moved by those two glances. He thought Qiu Ying was already a beauty, but he never thought that her sister was even more stunning.
In comparison, Qiu Ying's appearance seems a little too vulgar.
Qiu Ying noticed that there was a hint of affection in Huo Heng's eyes, and she was very unhappy.
But a few days ago, Duke Anguo disregarded his status and dignity and caused a big commotion in Guihong Hall, and was impeached in the court. His already bad situation has now become even worse.
The Huo family felt that the Qiu family was bullying the weak. They had the title of Duke but treated their eldest daughter in such a way. In addition, Qiu Ying was only a concubine's daughter, so they were already considering whether to cancel the engagement.
But how can this be possible?
She had finally managed to hold on to Huo Heng, a big tree, and even gave her body to him unwillingly and secretly. If she couldn't marry him in the end, what would her dignity be, and how could she talk about marrying into a wealthy family?
This time, she finally got Huo Heng to go out with her, so her mother asked her to bring the little boy to see Qiu Ziye to show their sisterly love, and the rumors might be self-defeating.
But I didn't expect that he would covet Qiu Ziye's beauty so blatantly.
Qiu Ying swallowed her resentment, took the initiative to step forward and hooked Young Master Huo's arm, then smiled at Jiang Qiuye and said, "The Queen is going to hold a chrysanthemum viewing banquet in a while. We are going to go to Jinpin Pavilion next to prepare some noodles. Do you want to come, sister?"
She just wanted to pretend to ask, knowing that Qiu Ziye never participated in any royal banquets, and the face of Jinpin Pavilion could not afford it, so he would take the initiative to withdraw.
Huo Heng, who was standing by, was delighted when he heard this.
Before Jiang Qiuye could answer, Qiu Ying continued, "But Sister probably doesn't have the time. After becoming a businessman, it's always difficult for her to socialize with us. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked Sister when she was so busy."
Huo Heng glanced at Qiu Ying, feeling unhappy, and immediately replied, "It doesn't matter. If Sister Ye'er likes anything, I'll give it to her."
Qiu Ying's hands tightened, and her expression began to turn pale. "I'm afraid my sister doesn't have time..."
"Okay." Jiang Qiuye replied smoothly. Looking at Qiu Ying's ugly and self-deprecating face, he felt that it was fun to tease this stupid sister.
"I haven't been to Jinpin Pavilion, one of the three treasures of Shengjing. I have more employees now, so I can be considered a hands-off boss. Especially today, it just so happens that I'm not very busy." Jiang Qiuye deliberately emphasized the fact that he was not very busy when he spoke.
Qiu Ying's face darkened even more when she heard this, and the fake smile on her face disappeared.
Jiang Qiuye smiled innocently and said, "Then I'll have to trouble my second sister and... my cousin."
Jiang Qiuye's voice was like that of an oriole, soft and pleasant, and the word "cousin" aroused Huo Heng's soul.
Qiu Ying looked at Huo Heng, whose eyes were beginning to blur, and clenched her fists, with the scarlet nails embedded in her palms.
After a struggle, he loosened his hands, lowered his eyes and curled his lips.
The author has something to say:
Ji Ci: If you try to trick me again, I won’t forgive you.
Jiang Qiuye: Oh, really? Brother Jian Xi.
Ji Ci:......
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