Chapter 165

The earth is full of love for life. After a heavy rain, the rice fields in Shuzhou are full of life again, and the farmers who make a living from the crops finally have hope.

The rainy summer weather always makes people sleepy.

A night of heavy rain washed away the hot summer air. Jiang Yanyi was lying in bed, unwilling to get up. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of rain outside and the birds singing in the distance. She felt satisfied and happy. She

turned over and bumped into a solid embrace. She opened her eyes in a daze, shining brightly, and Feng Shuo was still sleeping on her side.

She was stunned for a moment, then she sat up and pushed Feng Shuo: "Hurry up, the court session is going to be late!"

Feng Shuo stretched out his long arm and pulled her back to her. He was trapped in his arms, with his chin resting on her shoulder. He closed his eyes and said hoarsely: "It's a day off today."

Jiang Yan didn't want to worry about business matters. Apart from reading travel notes, she would cook on a whim. She was so free that she even forgot about the day off.

She felt at ease in Feng Shuo's arms, and laughed, "I've been so idle that I don't know how

many years have passed." The empress was supposed to be in charge of the six palaces, but she was the only one in charge of the six palaces. In addition, Feng Shuo promoted clean governance and released a large number of palace maids from the palace, so the palace's expense accounts were much more streamlined. Fu Xi, the chief eunuch of the palace, was a capable man who could handle everything properly. The accounts sent to Jiang Yanyi every month were all checked by him, and Jiang Yanyi only needed to review them.

When Feng Shuo heard her say this, his eyes froze for a moment, and after a moment, he stroked her long satin hair and said, "If you feel that the palace is too busy, you can go back to the Chu family to stay for a few days."

He finally felt that he owed her for letting her accompany him in this nine-story palace.

Jiang Yanyi turned over and reached out to touch the fine stubble on his chin. Her black hair covered the embroidered pillow, making her skin look like frost and snow. She half raised her eyes, like a lazy cat: "Can you bear to let me go back?"

Feng Shuo raised an eyebrow and pressed her waist directly, turned over and pressed on her. The pajamas that were already tied with a belt came apart, revealing his well-fitted chest. His arms were propped on Jiang Yanyi's sides, and the tendons on his arms were stretched due to the force, full of explosive power.

He stared at Jiang Yanyi with his dark eyes, looking at the red marks on her collarbone and snow-white shoulders that had not yet faded, his throat rolling, "I can't bear to

leave." After a lot of nonsense, the two got up at noon. After lunch, Feng Shuo asked Fu Xi to send someone to move the memorials that had been processed in Yu's study here. Jiang Yanyi nestled on the phoenix couch to read a book, and he processed the memorials on the opposite desk.

Because Jiang Yanyi liked to go barefoot in the summer, when the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs renovated Chengde Hall, Feng Shuo specially ordered a layer of wooden boards to be laid, so that even if Jiang Yanyi was barefoot, she would not catch a cold.

Jiang Yanyi read a book on the phoenix couch for a while, and when she looked up, she saw Feng Shuo concentrating on reading something on the memorial.

The second joint of his middle finger was against the pen, making his knuckles look particularly slender. It was a very common pen-holding posture, but when he did it, it seemed to be a bit more noble.

When this man was concentrating on doing something, he always pursed his lips lightly, with a serious expression, making people dare not disturb him easily. Jiang Yan thought about it for a while and felt that this was probably the legendary abstinence.

She simply stopped reading, propped up her head with her hands, half-leaning on the phoenix couch and staring at Feng Shuo.

Although Feng Shuo raised his head, he seemed to be aware of Jiang Yanyi's gaze. When he changed to review a memorial, he even teased: "Have you seen enough?"

Thanks to his daily interactions, Jiang Yanyi's earlier shyness had long been polished. She stood up, resting her elbows on her knees, her palm holding her chin, and continued to stare at him openly: "Yes."

Feng Shuo looked up at her in surprise, as if to say that she had improved a lot, and then lowered his head to continue processing the memorial.

Jiang Yanyi rarely saw him tease back, and couldn't help but smile. She took her own book and dragged the futon to his desk, put the futon in place, and sat down cross-legged next to him.

Feng Shuo just lowered his eyes and glanced at her, but didn't say anything.

Jiang Yanyi flipped through a few pages of a book and gently rubbed her chin on his knees, like a cat trying to attract the owner's attention.

Feng Shuo could never stand her teasing. He took a deep breath, grabbed her chin, half leaned over and asked, "Didn't you say your waist was sore when you got up?"

Jiang Yanyi slapped his hand holding her chin, sat up straight and said, "I want to ask if you want to eat fried chicken."

She had made fried chicken a few times before, and Feng Shuo had an impression of this delicacy, with crispy skin and incredibly tender meat.

He couldn't help but pull the corner of his lip slightly. Since this queen was really lovable, it was rare for her to be so coquettish that she wanted to eat fried chicken. He said, "If you want to eat, tell the kitchen to make it."

Jiang Yanyi said, "Aren't you promoting clean government? As the queen, I must set an example. I can't finish it all by myself."

The implication was that someone had to eat with her.

Feng Shuo was doting on her, but his expression became more helpless: "Let the kitchen to make it."

Since he said this, he wanted to eat it with Jiang Yanyi.

Jiang Yanyi was satisfied and called Chenyu to go to the kitchen to pass on the message. In order to avoid having to cook it herself when she wanted to eat, she did not avoid the chef in the kitchen to make these delicacies. The chef tried many times, maybe the natural chickens in ancient times were more delicious, and the fried chicken made by them tasted better than the fried chicken in fast food restaurants now.

Half an hour later, the fried chicken arrived.

A large plate of chicken was fried until golden and crispy. Chef Yu only used the most tender wings of the chicken when making fried chicken. He also removed the bones and picked out the tendons when processing. When eating, the bone residue was removed. After biting open the crispy and fragrant shell, the chicken meat was so tender that it could chew and juicy.

Two small plates were filled with seasonings, one of which was finely ground cumin powder and the other was red chili powder.

Jiang Yanyi's red soup hot pot has opened up the market throughout the Daxuan Dynasty and has become a high-end food in the eyes of the nobles. Many restaurants have also begun to try to use chili in cooking.

Since peppers are rare in the Central Plains, the market price has remained high at first. However, the people in Xizhou have already planted peppers on a large scale, and peppers have even become the second industry in Xizhou besides porcelain. With such a huge supply, the market price of peppers in the Central Plains area has plummeted after a short time. The several prefectures

close to Xizhou saw that Xizhou was becoming more and more prosperous from the export of porcelain and the sale of peppers to the south, and was no longer as poor as before. They introduced pepper seedlings and began to plant peppers on a large scale in their prefectures.

If this trend continues, it will be just a matter of time before peppers become a condiment that ordinary people can afford.

Jiang Yanyi sprinkled a layer of cumin powder on the fried chicken nuggets, and then sprinkled some chili powder. When he put it in his mouth, he felt that it was spicy and fragrant, and it was delicious.

After a full meal, she could only hold a cup of tea to drink. She couldn't help but sigh: "It would be even better to have a cup of Coke at this time."

Fried chicken and Coke, that's a perfect match.

Feng Shuo had heard a lot of strange things from her, and now when he heard her talk about Coke, he just asked: "What is Coke?"

Jiang Yanyi said, "It's a kind of sugar water, dark brown in color, a bit like medicine juice, with a lot of bubbles on the surface. When you drink it, your tongue tip will feel numb, and when the bubbles burst in your throat, you will feel a burning sensation."

Feng Shuo pinched his brow and said, "It doesn't sound very good."

Jiang Yanyi quickly defended Coke, "It tastes good. People who like Coke, like people who like drinking, can't easily quit."

Feng Shuo still looked uninterested.

Jiang Yanyi wanted to immediately take a bottle of fat otaku Happy Water to open his eyes, but in ancient times, it was impossible to buy a bottle of Happy Water for a few dollars.

Moreover, as a drink that later swept the world, Coke has given enough mystery to its formula. It is said that only three people know the complete formula, and they cannot meet each other privately. When the factory was mass-producing Coca-Cola, the head office numbered each ingredient of Coca-Cola. A group of workers was only responsible for adding one type of raw material, but they didn't even know what that raw material was.

Regardless of whether this rumor is true or not, the Coca-Cola company has already won in marketing by making this gimmick known to everyone.

However, she remembered that there was a period of time when homemade Coca-Cola was popular on the Internet in her previous life. Many well-known bloggers made videos to try it, and she also joined in the fun.

Most bloggers who made homemade Coca-Cola followed the Coca-Cola recipe in an anime, using only four ingredients: honey, lime, coriander and carbonated water. Some succeeded and some failed, but they all said that coriander mixed with lime tasted like Coca-Cola.

Jiang Yanyi thought she was a chef, so she was not confident about this overly simple recipe at the time, and she even looked up the detailed recipe of Coke. What

impressed her most was that the vanilla in the Coke recipe was actually not grass, but vanilla beans. Jiang Yanyi didn't know that this kind of raw material originated from the tropical rainforests of Africa, because she had never seen it before, so she wanted to send someone to find it. The

reason why Coke is called a carbonated beverage is that the bubbles are its soul.

It is also a misunderstanding that many bloggers use soda water instead of carbonated water. Carbonated water is weakly acidic, while soda water is weakly alkaline. This is also the reason why soda water nourishes the stomach, as it can neutralize some stomach acid.

Using soda water instead of carbonated water will have bubbles, but the taste of the finished Coke will become strange.

In ancient times, making carbonated water was a difficult problem. In order to restore the taste of cola as much as possible, some raw materials had to be collected with great effort. She had her own caravan, which went out all year round. With some effort, it was very likely that she could find cocoa beans and coffee beans.

In this era, coffee has replaced tea, and the tea culture is long and profound, with a unique flavor. It is difficult for coffee to open up the market. Jiang Yanyi plans to launch coffee, but with cocoa beans, in addition to trying to make cola by herself, she can also try to make chocolate.

Jiang Yanyi was lost in thought while thinking about these. Feng Shuo raised his eyebrows in surprise when he approved a memorial. He raised his eyes to think about what Jiang Yanyi said, and saw that she was still holding the teacup, so he called her: "What are you thinking about?"

"Huh?" Jiang Yanyi heard the voice and turned around to look at him, with a confused expression, obviously hearing what Feng Shuo had just said.

Feng Shuo pointed at the teacup in her hand with his eyes: "The tea is cold."

Jiang Yanyi then put it down in a sullen manner.

Feng Shuo asked: "What are you thinking about so absent-mindedly?"

She went over and sat on the futon, sighed and said: "I want to make Coke and ask you to try it, but I don't know if I can find many raw materials."

Feng Shuo pinched her fair neck: "Take your time to look for it, there is no need to rush."

​​Jiang Yanyi thought about it and couldn't help but smile.

Feng Shuo used moderate force to pinch the back of her neck. She had been reading for too long and her neck was a little sore. This pinch was surprisingly comfortable. She even called out, "A little lower, at the position of the trapezius muscle. Yes, yes, right there!"

Feng Shuo also made her laugh, "Are you itching here?"

Jiang Yanyi said obediently, "This is much more comfortable than itching."

Feng Shuo laughed and continued to knead the back of her neck with one hand. Holding a memorial in one hand, he said, "Your brother has submitted a memorial, asking me to grant him a marriage with Princess Jiawu."

When he was in Xizhou, the marriage between Xing'an Hou and Feng Shuo failed. In order to stabilize Xing'an Hou, Feng Shuo recognized Yang Zheng as his sister. Now that he has ascended the throne, Yang Zheng has also been given the title of Princess Jiawu and the title of Huaiyi County. After the emperor's death, she still has 5,000 soldiers under her command, making her the only princess with military power since the founding of Daxuan.

Jiang Yanyi remembered Chu Chengmao's misconduct in Yufang when she returned to Beijing last year, and she didn't find it strange that he asked to marry Yang Zheng, so she asked, "What are your plans, Your

Majesty?" Feng Shuo said, "You have to ask Princess Jiawu's wishes before you can help her."

Jiang Yanyi rested her head on his knees, and squinted her eyes because of the strength of his kneading her neck, and said, "Then I'll go and test Princess Jiawu's attitude."

Feng Shuo nodded in approval.

Jiang Yanyi was still concerned about Chu Chengmao's life event. A few days later, she invited Yang Zheng to the palace.

After a few days of scorching sun, the coolness brought by the previous rainstorm instantly returned. Yang Zheng finished a bowl of iced rose jelly dumplings and said it was delicious. She smiled and said, "I heard that the Queen's Building has iced cold drinks. They are very delicious. I went there several times and ate them. Today, I am in the Empress's Palace and I can finally satisfy my appetite."

"Queen's Building?" Jiang Yanyi was a little confused. After she made this rose jelly dumplings, she thought that it would be a bastard not to make money. She immediately gave the recipe to Xue and asked her to sell rose dumplings in Ruyi Building to attract a lot of food in summer. How come the Queen's Building suddenly appeared?

Yang Zheng explained, "As for the Ruyi Tower you opened in the capital, a rumor spread from somewhere that the emperor and you were able to get married because he ate a few meals at Ruyi Tower and was amazed by the food. That's how he got to know you. People call Ruyi Tower the Empress Tower, and many people go there because of its reputation."

Jiang Yan had expected that someone had made up such a story about Ruyi Tower. He was so amused that he remembered the serious matter and beat around the bush. She asked, "Is Marquis Xing'an in good health?"

Yang Zheng said, "The imperial physician of the Imperial Hospital often checks my father's pulse, and he is much better now." Jiang Yanyi

smiled and said, "I heard that the matchmakers who came to the Marquis's mansion to propose marriage have almost worn out the threshold. Do the princess and the marquis have any favorite candidates?"

Yang Zheng smiled brightly, "My father is in poor health, and I am his only daughter. I want to stay with him for two more years."

The implication was that there was someone he liked.

Jiang Yanyi sighed and said, "You are a straightforward person, so I'll just tell you the truth. General Jinwu has requested His Majesty to grant you a marriage. Although he is my brother, marriage is a matter of personal will. His Majesty will agree only if you are interested. I invited the princess to the palace today, and I also want to ask what she thinks of General Jinwu."

General Jinwu is a second-rank military officer. He is the first person in the history of Chu Chengmao to hold this position at such a young age.

Feng Shuo promoted him to this position, one of the reasons was that Chu Changping gave way to Chu Chengmao, because one family could not produce two military commanders with heavy troops. Chu Changping followed Feng Shuo and made great contributions. According to his military achievements, he could have been made a Duke, but Chu Changping privately refused the favor, so Feng Shuo only made him Jing'an Hou, which could be considered to avoid attracting attention.

Yang Zheng was slightly startled when she heard Jiang Yanyi's words. She didn't know what she was thinking. After a moment of silence, she said, "Thank you, the Queen and His Majesty, for your concern. Yang Zheng is willing to be a wife of the Chu family." Jiang Yanyi

breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this answer. She was really afraid that Yang Zheng would not turn back.

As for Chu Chengmao, he has some big problems, but also a lot of small problems. He is too obsessed with face and suffers in life. He is also vicious and can't please girls.

You could say he deserved it, but when Jiang Yanyi left the palace, she saw Chu Chengmao always being bothered by official business, and he would find time to find some rare things to send to Yang Zheng. Every time Yang Zheng returned something, he would be so frustrated and pretend to be nothing, like a big dog abandoned by someone. It was quite pitiful to see.

When Yang Zheng said goodbye to Jiang Yanyi and left the palace, she was rushing to the court.

Wujin Lane is the only way for the Chu family's carriage to return home. When the coachman was driving the carriage past, a servant suddenly appeared from the side and blocked the way. The coachman pulled the reins tightly and scolded: "What are you doing? You dare to block General Chu's carriage?"

The servant said unmoved: "My master's surname is Yang. Please come to the teahouse for a talk, General Chu."

Chu Chengmao was originally sitting in the carriage with his eyes closed, but when he heard this, he opened his eyelids.

Chu Yangui, who was sitting opposite him, was holding a scroll and leaning against the window. His green court dress made his face more elegant and handsome. He entered the Hanlin Academy and served as a sixth-rank editor. It seemed that he was only responsible for compiling history books and had no real power, but in previous years, this position could only be held by the top scholar after entering the court.

There is an old saying in the officialdom: "Only Jinshi can enter the Hanlin Academy, and only Hanlin can enter the inner cabinet." He is quick-witted, but his knowledge is still shallow. By spending two years in the Hanlin Academy to compile historical books, he can not only sharpen his own knowledge, but also not make the Chu family too eye-catching, and he has a better chance of entering the inner cabinet in the future.

Hearing the words of the servant outside the car, Chu Yangui raised his head and saw Chu Chengmao's loss of composure. He understood and smiled, "Go, second brother."

Chu Chengmao raised the curtain and went out. Half of his body was out and he turned back and told Chu Yangui: "Then be careful on the road."

He turned around and told the driver: "Steady the car, and remember to help the fifth brother when you get off the car."

The driver responded repeatedly.

Chu Yangui's leg injury has been treated by many famous doctors in the past few years, and acupuncture and moxibustion have also been discontinued. Now he is no longer normal when walking, but he still has a dull pain when carrying heavy objects, and the pain is severe even in rain or cold.

After Chu Chengmao got out of the car, his eyes fell on the book in his hand again. Because he had been ill for a long time and could not see the sun for a long time, his complexion was a bit fairer than ordinary people, with a faint feeling of weakness. His half-downcast eyes were so dark that they seemed to hide some evil energy that could not be seen.

I don't know when he developed the habit. When he was reading, he always liked to twist the string of nanmu Buddhist beads with his other hand.

Now, the road he wants is still far away.

Chu Chengmao entered the teahouse's private room and looked at Yang Zheng sitting by the window. He was still in a trance and his throat was a little dry. He tried his best to sound calm: "What do you want from me?"

The bite wound on the corner of her mouth was aching again.

Yang Zheng snorted. The sunlight shone in from the window, and the agate brow pendant on her forehead reflected a dazzling light. She leaned back in the armchair, her eyes full of mockery: "General Chu, this is all you have. Do you think I will marry you if you ask His Majesty for a marriage?"

Chu Chengmao subconsciously touched the wound at the corner of his lip with the tip of his tongue, looked up at Yang Zheng and said, "I have to try. Yang Zheng, I won't try anything else."

Over the past year, he has tried every way he could think of to please her, but her heart is as cold as a knife now. What can he do?

Yang Zheng looked at him and said viciously, "Your Majesty is sensible. His Majesty will only agree to grant me the marriage after I express my opinion. I refuse."

Chu Chengmao turned his head away in a wolfish manner. It was a long time before he turned back with red eyes. "Princess, you called me here just to tell me about this. There is no need. I have something else to do. Bye."

Chu Chengmao got up and went out. When he went out, he bumped into the waiter who came to serve tea and stumbled, but he did not stop.

Seeing this, the maidservant beside Yang Zheng said anxiously: "Princess, are we going too far this time? General Chu's eyes are so red..."

Yang Zheng said: "The Chu family has a really good family tradition. I have provoked him so much, but he has not crossed the line. How can his temper not be wild at all?"

The maidservant was stunned and finally understood a fact. Her princess likes wild things. No wonder her mouth was so swollen after meeting General Chu last time...

After Chu Chengmao left the teahouse, he didn't go anywhere and went directly to a wine shop to get drunk.

The imperial decree of marriage was issued, but no one was found to receive it. The servants of the Chu family were so anxious that they looked for Chu Chengmao everywhere.

Chu Chengmao, however, was drunk and daring. He no longer had the restraints of the Three Principles and Five Constant Virtues when he was sober. He secretly hijacked Yang Zheng's carriage and drove all the way to the outskirts of the city.

Yang Zheng had learned martial arts since she was young, but Chu Chengmao gagged her and tied her up in just a few moves.

This drunk and bandit-like guy was completely different from the usual polite Jinwu general, and Yang Zheng was stunned.

After reaching a lake full of reeds on the outskirts of the city, he carried Yang Zheng off the carriage, took off his outer robe and laid it on a big rock.

Yang Zheng was dumbfounded to see him suddenly undress, and wondered if this guy was going to be a beast after drinking?

In the end, Chu Chengmao just held her and sat on the big rock, watching the sunset over Yanghu Lake with her.

The evening breeze blew the reeds, and the sunset light fell on the lake in the distance and the reeds nearby. The lake surface was sparkling, and the reeds were also rippled by the wind.

Chu Chengmao said nothing the entire time, and only when the last ray of sunset disappeared in the sky, he said hoarsely: "The rushes are lush and green, and the white dew turns to frost."

Yang Zheng thought he was sober and tried to break the cloth strap around her wrist, "Untie it for me."

Chu Chengmao burped, stared at her for a while, shook his head a little slowly, and said stubbornly: "No."

After getting drunk, he finally stopped hiding his sadness and hugged Yang Zheng tightly, just like when he was a child, knowing that his mother was seriously ill and would not live long, he really thought that as long as he hugged her tightly, she would not leave.

Tears flowed from his eyes, and he murmured: "The sunset in Yanghu is the most beautiful, I want to watch it with you."

Yang Zheng's struggle weakened. It turned out that he went to great lengths to kidnap her just to watch a sunset with her.

She whispered: "I'm sorry."

But a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth: "Chu Chengmao, how can I not like you..."

When she said this, she raised her head and kissed Chu Chengmao's lips.

She was reluctant to return every gift he sent her. After receiving it, she sent someone to find a similar one and sent it back, pretending to return it to him.

She was the only daughter of Marquis Xing'an and the current head of the entire Yang family. If she had a simple personality, I'm afraid that this line of Marquis Xing'an would be over. If

the man she liked couldn't be moved by her sincerity alone, then she didn't mind using tricks to win the man's heart step by step, when to be cold, when to be warm, when to be distant... She had calculated everything.

He was the prey that she had spent so much effort to catch, and now he was finally caught.