"General Qiu, I understand your love for your daughter, but I cannot grant this marriage. Have you forgotten that Cen Xiao is a son-in-law who lives with his wife's family?"
Qiu Tianyun's request was to give his daughter, Qiu Mingxuan, to Cen Xiao as a concubine, but now that Cen Xiao is a son-in-law, the situation is different.
The status of a son-in-law is lower than that of the wife. If a son-in-law can marry a wife of equal status, then a son-in-law who is also a son-in-law can also marry one. In that case, what will become of the princess's dignity? What will become of the royal family's dignity?
“How could Yang, a divorced woman who has been married twice, be worthy of Cen Xiao? He is a first-rank general of our dynasty, yet he is becoming someone else’s live-in son-in-law.”
“What you say is true, my dear minister. Yang’s status is indeed low, but it is an indisputable fact that Cen Xiao married into the Yang family. It would be too unfair for Xuan’er to be Cen Xiao’s concubine. There are more than just Cen Xiao as a good man in our dynasty. Why not find another suitable husband?”
Qiu Tianyun was also troubled, so he took out the two letters and showed them to the emperor.
After reading the letter, the emperor said, "I never imagined that Xuan'er would be so infatuated with Cen Xiao. But even so, I still cannot issue an imperial decree to grant you marriage. If you are also determined to marry Cen Xiao, then go and discuss it with Cen Xiao and Yang Shi yourself."
"Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty. This old minister takes his leave."
After Qiu Tianyun withdrew, the emperor asked Liu, the chief eunuch beside him, "Liu Qing, do you think this marriage will work out?"
"Your Majesty, this servant believes it cannot be done."
"Oh? Why? The Qiu family only has Qiu Mingxuan as their child. Marrying her is equivalent to marrying the entire Duke's mansion."
Qiu Tianyun currently commands 60,000 elite troops, while Cen Xiao has 160,000 soldiers. If Cen Xiao were to unite with the Qiu family, a large portion of the military power in the entire court would fall into Cen Xiao's hands, something no emperor would want.
**
Yang Cui was unaware of what was happening in the capital.
It was already March 12th, and tomorrow would be March 13th, the day the earth dragon in Jinjiang County was said to rise again. Disasters are merciless, and she was worried about Cen Xiao.
But she couldn't be of much help; going there would only cause more trouble.
Yang Cui then purchased nearly two tons of grain, including sorghum, rice, and millet, in Wan'an, Gaoxin County, and Huangtang Town. She knew that grain prices would definitely rise once a disaster occurred, and Yang Cui's two tons of grain could help the people in the disaster area.
When poor, one should cultivate one's own virtue; when successful, one should benefit all under heaven.
That's considered accumulating good fortune.
On the morning of March 14th, Dao San personally led a team of grain transporters to Jinjiang County to provide support.
Jinjiang County is not very far from Wan'an, but Yang Cui did not feel any aftershocks, so she thought that this earthquake should not be too serious.
Because of An's lawsuit and Yang Cui's worry about Cen Xiao, the pig-slaughtering feast was postponed again and again.
It's now March 16th, and Manager Yu says it's an auspicious day, so the pig-slaughtering feast is set for this day.
The day before, Manager Yu brought the county's most famous executioner to slaughter the pig.
Shouldn't the one who slaughters the pig be the butcher?
Later, Yang Cui thought about it and realized that Manager Yu probably felt that slaughtering pigs and killing people were similar.
Yang Cui didn't know anything about slaughtering pigs, but she had seen people slaughter pigs in the countryside when she was a child, so she briefly described what she had seen to him.
Only a small portion of the pork was kept; the rest, including the pig's blood and offal, was transported to the Star Gazing Tower in the county town.
Manager Yu had already announced that on March 16th and 17th, a brand new menu and way of eating would be launched, with Yang Cui personally in charge of the cooking. Everyone only needed to pay an entrance fee of ten taels of silver to eat as much food as they wanted inside, except for drinks. Children under four feet tall only needed to pay an entrance fee of five taels of silver.
Because only Yang Cui can cook these dishes, and everyone else can only assist, we will only be able to serve 38 guests for lunch and 32 guests for dinner over the next two days. The number of guests is limited and will be served on a first-come, first-served basis.
Putting aside Yang Cui's reputation for excellent cooking skills, the idea of paying an entrance fee to eat as much as you want is novel and unique. The entrance fee may seem high, but for wealthy people, it's just a drop in the bucket.
As soon as the news broke, the restaurant was packed with people waiting outside before it even opened.
Mo Zijun and Ren Donghui had eaten pork at Yang Cui's house last year, so as soon as the news of the Star Gazing Tower came out, they immediately went to reserve a table. The Kuang sisters, who were on good terms with Yang Cui, also arrived early.
To maintain an air of mystery, the restaurant did not open early, but instead set up tables and chairs, fruits and snacks at the entrance so that guests could eat while they waited.
These two days are destined to be very busy.
Yang Cui and Manager Yu led their men to start work almost at dawn.
At noon, the gates of the observatory slowly opened, and guests filed in.
The aroma of delicious food wafting towards you is invigorating, and the brand-new layout is refreshing.
At this moment, Manager Yu stepped forward and said to the guests with a smile, "Today and tomorrow will be the two days of our new dining experience at the Star Gazing Pavilion, which we call a buffet."
Then, Manager Yu explained the eating method to the guests and introduced the dishes.
Braised pork ribs, sweet and sour pork ribs, lotus root sandwiches, braised pork belly, braised pork with dried green beans, braised pork belly with preserved mustard greens, braised lion's head meatballs, pork blood and sauerkraut soup, pork lung soup, hot and sour shredded pork tripe...
Mo Zijun and Ren Donghui were too lazy to listen to Manager Yu's introduction and had already rushed to their favorite dishes with their plates.
The others couldn't resist the aroma any longer.
"Manager Yu, please stop talking. We'll eat by ourselves. Please don't delay us or block our way."
"Wow, this is delicious!"
"My God, I have never eaten such delicious food before."
"Everyone says pork is cheap meat, but I think it's a delicacy."
"This...this is so delicious!"
...
Praise poured in.
When Manager Yu heard these sounds, he was so happy he couldn't stop smiling.
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