favors
Led by the guards, Zhao Fanghua came to Tianxianglou, the largest and most luxurious restaurant in the capital.
As the group arrived at the entrance of the restaurant, a sharp-eyed waiter came forward to greet them. The waiter was a sharp-eyed person. As soon as he saw Zhao Fanghua's attire, he knew that this person was either rich or noble. He hurriedly and attentively said, "Dear guest, please go to the private room on the second floor~"
With the waiter leading the way, Zhao Fanghua couldn't help but survey the restaurant. The first floor was a large open space, its high dome supported by vermilion lacquered pillars and topped with a mural of flying figures. To one side stood a three-foot-high stage, surrounded by a low railing. A storyteller was engaged in a captivating tale. Below the stage were dozens of tables, and although it wasn't even dinnertime yet, nearly half were already occupied, with maids and servants milling about.
The second floor housed a private room, its hollow section enclosed by a carved nanmu fence forming a viewing platform. As the group entered, the waiter quickly rolled up the bamboo curtain, through which they could glimpse the stage on the first floor.
The waiter held the bead curtain and asked, "Sir, would you please hang it up?"
Zhao Fanghua is a female family member after all. Some female family members value privacy and don't want to be seen when they go out to play. That's why the waiter asked this question.
"Hang it up." Zhao Fanghua didn't care about these things.
"Okay." The waiter quickly hung up the bead curtain after receiving the order, and the view suddenly became clear. Zhao Fanghua's private room was right in front of the stage. From Zhao Fanghua's perspective, he could even see every micro-expression of the storyteller.
"Bring out all your signature dishes!" Zhao Fanghua waved his hand and sat down boldly.
"Okay, sir, please wait a moment." The waiter did not forget to close the door when he left.
Soon, a large table of delicious dishes was placed in front of Zhao Fanghua.
Zhao Fanghua picked up a piece of fish. The fish was crispy and sweet and sour in the mouth. It really had a unique taste.
"Sir, please enjoy your meal." The waiter straightened his back proudly as he looked at Zhao Fanghua's satisfied expression. "These are all our signature dishes!"
Zhao Fanghua narrowed her eyes and savored the delicious food in her mouth. She had maids serving her and money in her pocket, so she was treated as a VIP wherever she went. This was the life a princess should live.
After eating and drinking, Zhao Fanghua burped contentedly and it was time to think about business.
Zhao Fanghua originally planned to go to the palace after dinner, but she found that she had been here for several days and had not seen her adopted brother. It would not be a good idea to go to him and ask for help rashly.
Zhao Fanghua stared at the table full of delicious leftover dishes in a daze, somewhat dejectedly.
Looking at the exquisite side dishes in front of me, I suddenly remembered that when I was browsing Kuaishou, a marketing account said that the emperors in the past did not live as well as everyone imagined. Although they had big fish and meat every day, they could not eat many seasonal dishes. This was because they were worried that the emperor would fall in love with a certain dish and suddenly want to eat it on a whim, but the season was out and the raw materials could not be obtained, so they were afraid of being punished.
As for whether what the marketing account said was true or false, Zhao Fanghua has no way to verify it at this moment. Even if she regrets not reading more historical books and watching less Kuaishou in college, time cannot be reversed.
Let's try our best. It's already like this, how can it get any worse?
Zhao Fanghua called the waiter over and asked, "What seasonal side dishes have you added recently?"
The waiter said, "Sir, you are indeed a connoisseur of food. We have just added pickled goose feet to our menu. We use freshly killed goose feet, boiled and deboned, then sealed in a jar and soaked in aged wine lees for three days. Finally, we serve it with fresh patchouli leaves. We also have steamed eggplant with soy sauce and Chinese toon with sesame oil. If you have any other dishes you'd like, please let me know. Our chef is as good as the chefs in the imperial kitchen."
"Okay, pack up all your seasonal side dishes for me and I'll take them away." Finally, Zhao Fanghua made the decision.
Before entering the palace, Zhao Fanghua was full of ambition and pride, but after entering, he felt less and less confident. Even Shuyu's evaluation of the empress dowager as kind-hearted made Zhao Fanghua frightened. Then, as the ruler of a country, the emperor would be more like an evil dragon entrenched in the palace, and if he made a mistake, he would die without a burial place?
Thinking of this, Zhao Fanghua couldn't help but tremble, and couldn't help but back out. But if she really backed out like this, she would be at the mercy of that old, wicked woman named Ruan when she returned to the Princess's Mansion.
Since you will definitely get chopped off if you shrink your head, and there's a chance you'll get chopped off if you stick your head out, you might as well try sticking your head out first, just in case you manage to turn over.
When Zhao Fanghua arrived outside the Yangxin Palace, a young eunuch immediately came up to greet her. He bowed and asked, "What a rare guest! Your Highness, the Princess, are you here to see the Emperor?"
"Hmm," Zhao Fanghua nodded, pointing to the ring behind her. "I had some delicious dishes at Tianxianglou today, and I thought I'd give them to the emperor to try.
Li Xi smiled and said, "Your Highness is thoughtful. I will report this to the Emperor right away."
Zhao Fanghua tilted his head and looked at Li Xi's back as he walked forward with small steps, bending over, and thought to himself: This is the most popular person around the emperor, the eunuch Li Xi. From this point of view, even the emperor's close ministers have to bow down to him.
After a while, Li Xi came out. He stepped forward, flicked his whisk, and made a gesture of invitation: "Your Highness, please come in."
Zhao Fanghua coughed twice to hide her inner nervousness, waved her hand and went in with the ring.
As soon as he entered the room, he smelled a faint scent of ambergris. He saw that there was no one behind the desk facing the door. Zhao Fanghua took a few steps forward and looked to the left with his head tilted. He saw a man writing furiously at the desk. As if he had noticed Zhao Fanghua's gaze, he raised his head and met Zhao Fanghua's eyes.
For a moment, Zhao Fanghua felt her breathing stopped. She had never seen such a handsome person.
The man was very young, his face still tinged with childishness. His complexion was as radiant as jade, and his skin shone like porcelain in the sunlight filtering through the window. His phoenix eyes, shimmering with cold stars, were slightly upturned at the corners, where a small teardrop mole lay. Even when he wasn't smiling, he had a certain fierceness to him. His lips were pursed, his jawline clean and sharp. He was like a sword unsheathed, sharp yet restrained.
If Shen Xiujin had an elegant scholarly air, then the man in front of him just sitting there quietly made Zhao Fanghua feel the pressure of his long-term high position, as if even the air became stagnant because of his presence.
This is her half-brother, the current emperor, Zhao Qinglan.
"Imperial sister?" Zhao Qinglan spoke, her voice as clear as the sound of a mountain stream.
Zhao Fanghua finally woke up from her dream and hurriedly saluted Zhao Qinglan: "Your Majesty."
Zhao Qinglan smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "My dear sister, why did you come to see me?"
Zhao Fanghua quickly waved back, and Peihuan immediately stepped forward. She took the food box from Peihuan, holding it in one hand and her long, floor-length skirt in the other. She quickly made her way to Zhao Qinglan's side, and laid out the packed meals one by one like a treasure. She excitedly introduced them, "These are the new seasonal dishes Tianxianglou has recently added. I figured with summer approaching, the Emperor might have a poor appetite, so I brought them here especially to whet your appetite."
After Zhao Fanghua finished speaking, her almond-shaped eyes flickered as she looked at Zhao Qinglan, her face full of anticipation.
As soon as Zhao Fanghua came forward with the food box, Zhao Qinglan quietly moved to the other side, deliberately keeping a distance. At this moment, his phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, and he looked at Zhao Fanghua with an examining gaze, who looked expectant. He said lightly, "My royal sister is thoughtful."
Hearing Zhao Qinglan's words, Zhao Fanghua seemed to have received affirmation and handed a pair of silver chopsticks to Zhao Qinglan: "Then try it and see if it suits your taste."
Zhao Qinglan looked at Zhao Fanghua's face, carefully examining it for a moment, then turned to look at the silver chopsticks in her hand and said, "Put them here for now, my dear sister. I still have official business to attend to."
Zhao Fanghua then noticed that there were several piles of folded notes on the entire rosewood table. She touched her nose, put her chopsticks next to the plate, and said embarrassedly: "Then... then I won't bother you anymore..."
After saying this, Zhao Fanghua wanted to turn around and run away immediately.
"Royal sister." Zhao Qinglan called out to Zhao Fanghua who was turning away.
Zhao Fanghua turned around and tilted her head: "Hmm?"
Zhao Qinglan still had that faint smile on her face: "Is there anything wrong, Imperial Sister?"
Zhao Fanghua's heart instantly rose to her throat. At a certain moment, she wanted to pour out everything that had happened recently, hoping to get Zhao Qinglan's help to completely break off ties with the two vampires in the mansion, and preferably humiliate them severely.
But she also knew that relationships had to be cultivated slowly. It would be too ignorant of the ways of the world to ask for favors as soon as someone showed up with gifts. Besides, it was not the right way to test cadres with such things.
Zhao Fanghua lowered his head and tapped his toes before saying, "It's nothing, I just wanted to see you." He scratched the back of his head, feeling that this was a bit too corny, and quickly added, "You go ahead and do your work first."
After saying that, he quickly grabbed the ring and ran out of the room.
After Zhao Fanghua left, Zhao Qinglan stared at the dishes on the table, tapping them lightly with his slender fingers. "Li Xi."
Li Xi, who was waiting outside the door, heard the noise and immediately bowed and entered the room: "What are your instructions, Your Majesty?"
"Go check what happened recently in the Princess's Mansion."
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