siblings
Perhaps because he had found a backer, even though Ruan Shi, Ruan Jiaojiao and Shen Xiujin took turns to cause trouble for Zhao Fanghua that day, Zhao Fanghua still slept well that night.
Eat when you need to, sleep when you need to, and don't take anything to heart. This is the life creed that Zhao Fanghua has always practiced.
The next day, Zhao Fanghua finished washing up but the maid who served the dishes did not come for a long time. She sent someone to ask and found out that it was Ruan who ordered the kitchen not to send any more meals to Fanghuayuan, and threatened that no one from Fanghuayuan was allowed to enter the kitchen unless there was Ruan's order.
Zhao Fanghua just sneered when she heard the news. These people in the kitchen are a bunch of fence-sitters. After she drives away the blood-sucking bugs, the first thing she will do is sell all these traitors.
She has been the mistress of the Princess's Mansion for so many years, and Ruan has only been here for a few days, and this group of people are rushing to follow Ruan to bully her. But don't tell her that they have no choice. Since they have chosen a side, they should not take the benefits of choosing a side without bearing the disadvantages of choosing the wrong side.
She doesn't want anyone who is unfaithful to her. If he can listen to Ruan's words to bully her today, he can listen to anybody else's words to poison her tomorrow.
Zhao Fanghua inserted a butterfly hairpin inlaid with kingfisher feathers into her hair bun. "Alright, I'm not counting on them anyway. From now on, Tianxianglou will deliver all three meals a day to Fanghua Garden. Not only for me, but for everyone in the courtyard."
When the maids heard this, they all expressed their gratitude.
Those people in the kitchen even dared to withhold the food of the princess, not to mention the maids and servants in the courtyard. No matter what, Zhao Fanghua would never treat those who followed her in this situation badly. It was just a matter of spending a little more money.
Zhao Fanghua arrived at the Yangxin Palace just before lunch. Li Xi, who was waiting at the door, didn't seem surprised by Zhao Fanghua's arrival. After bowing, he greeted him warmly, "Oh, Your Highness is here again today?"
Zhao Fanghua nodded and glanced at Peihuan beside her: "I am also here to bring food to the emperor today."
Li Xi smiled and said, "Your Highness is thoughtful. I will report this to the Emperor right away."
Li Xi came out after a short while and said, "Your Highness, please come in."
When Zhao Fanghua heard this, he quickly called Peihuan and walked in with a swagger.
As the saying goes, the first time is strange, the second time is familiar. Yesterday, Zhao Fanghua was very nervous when entering the Yangxin Palace, but today he was much more relaxed. This might be because Zhao Qinglan was very approachable.
As she entered the hall, she subconsciously looked to the left. Sure enough, Zhao Qinglan was still sitting in the same seat as yesterday. He was still writing furiously, and his desk was still full of memorials.
Zhao Fanghua coughed twice and was about to salute Zhao Qinglan, but Zhao Qinglan suddenly stood up and looked up, and he suddenly bumped into Zhao Fanghua's heart.
Zhao Qinglan wasn't wearing his usual clothes today; he was wearing a bright yellow satin robe embroidered with a five-clawed golden dragon. On his head was a golden dragon crown embroidered with two dragons playing with a pearl. A dove-egg-sized night-shining pearl atop the crown cast a faint glow across the room. With his dragon-like demeanor and phoenix-like posture, he looked like a deity descended from heaven.
Zhao Fanghua was stunned for a moment.
Zhao Qinglan paused, looking at Zhao Fanghua, who was absorbed in her studies, with amusement, and asked calmly, "Is there something that happened to my sister today?"
Zhao Fanghua patted her head as if she had just woken up from a dream, and cursed inwardly that beauty could mislead people. She quickly took the food box from Peihuan beside her, and holding up her skirt in one hand, she walked quickly to Zhao Qinglan's side and placed the food box on the rosewood desk with a clang.
"I'm here to bring you something delicious!"
Zhao Qinglan inconspicuously shifted to the side as Zhao Fanghua approached. "Oh? What are Tianxianglou's signature dishes today?"
"It's not from Tianxianglou," Zhao Fanghua said as he opened the food box. The box was filled with ice cubes, with a blue and white porcelain bowl in the middle. Zhao Fanghua held the bowl in both hands and handed it to Zhao Qinglan like a treasure, saying proudly, "This is the rock candied bayberry I made myself!"
Zhao Qinglan leaned back, supporting her chin with one hand, staring at the bowl of dessert with rose-red soup floating in it.
"Try it! It's sweet and sour, very appetizing. I chose this time specifically to come here so that we can have lunch after eating." Zhao Fanghua tried his best to promote his handmade work, and while speaking, he took a step closer with the porcelain bowl in his hand.
Perhaps because they were too close, Zhao Fanghua could clearly see Zhao Qinglan's face, which was as white as jade. Zhao Fanghua felt a little itchy and wanted to pinch it to see if it was as tender as tofu.
Noticing Zhao Fanghua's slightly fiery gaze, Zhao Qinglan frowned slightly and moved back a little without leaving a trace. Perhaps because the plums were making him salivate, Zhao Qinglan swallowed his saliva.
Zhao Fanghua's attention was instantly attracted by Zhao Qinglan's Adam's apple rolling up and down. She tilted her head and looked at this organ that she didn't have. She even sketched Zhao Qinglan's Adam's apple in her mind, adding one more thing she wanted to touch.
The two of them stood face to face in a stalemate. Looking into Zhao Fanghua's bright eyes, Zhao Qinglan finally gave in and said, "Put it here."
"Oh..." Zhao Fanghua put down the porcelain bowl reluctantly. The pair of almond-shaped eyes that were bright just now suddenly lost their luster, and the whole person looked dejected as if all the energy was sucked out.
Zhao Qinglan sighed, gently stirring the rock sugar bayberry with the spoon that came with the bowl, and asked knowingly, "Did my sister make this herself?"
Zhao Fanghua instantly raised his head, nodded vigorously, and enthusiastically introduced: "Of course! I made it myself yesterday afternoon, from washing the bayberries to finally serving them, I did every step myself. After making it, I even kept it in the ice cellar to chill it all night! I also filled the lunch box with ice cubes on the way here to ensure the taste wouldn't be spoiled."
"It's really delicious, you should try it." At the end, Zhao Fanghua carefully pulled Zhao Qinglan's sleeve and shook it gently, looking at him pitifully.
Zhao Qinglan still had a faint smile on her face, but her eyes held a scrutiny that Zhao Fanghua couldn't understand. "Is there nothing else you're here for today besides giving me candied bayberries?"
Zhao Fanghua was instantly touched. She immediately released the hand that was tugging at Zhao Qinglan's sleeve, shaking her head and waving her hands as if to cover up her mistake. "No, no, I just came to bring you some food."
"Then why did my sister come to bring me food?" Zhao Qinglan asked calmly.
Zhao Fanghua felt a little guilty. He couldn't just say that he needed a favor from him. That would be so awkward. He could just give him some candied bayberries and some snacks from Tianxianglou, and expect the king of a country to do things for him?
Isn’t this the ancient version of “using this to test cadres”?
Zhao Fanghua's mind raced, drawing on all she had learned throughout her life. Suddenly, she said, "Of course it's because we have a good relationship as siblings!"
As soon as he said this, Zhao Fanghua wanted to jump up and slap his thigh, praising himself for his on-the-spot reaction that could win the MVP.
Zhao Fanghua, immersed in his own world, did not notice that Zhao Qinglan's expression suddenly cracked, and even the hand holding the soup spoon stopped instantly.
Zhao Qinglan looked at Zhao Fanghua in disbelief, but when he saw Zhao Fanghua with a silly smile on his face, immersed in his own world, his eyes darkened instantly.
Zhao Qinglan put down the spoon, his tone suddenly becoming a little stiff: "Put it here for now. I haven't finished reading today's memorials..."
"You have so many memorials. By the time you finish reading them, the bayberries will have gone bad!" Zhao Fanghua interrupted him, pointing at the pile of memorials that looked like a small mountain.
"Hmm?" Zhao Qinglan narrowed her eyes slightly and raised her eyebrows to look at Zhao Fanghua.
Zhao Fanghua's heart skipped a beat. Why did she feel a chill on her back just now? Is this the aura of an emperor?
Zhao Fanghua reacted instantly and turned into a quail. She shrank her head and shook her head: "No, no, you go ahead and do your thing first."
Zhao Qinglan was very satisfied with Zhao Fanghua's reaction. He casually put the approved memorial aside and said, "Since that's the case, please leave."
"Okay, okay." Zhao Fanghua nodded quickly, turned around and was about to leave. After thinking for a moment, he turned back and put the porcelain bowl back into the lunch box. "It will last longer with ice."
After doing all this, Zhao Fanghua could no longer find an excuse to stay, but she still looked at Zhao Qinglan with some hope, her tone even carrying a hint of desire: "Then you must remember to eat later..."
Zhao Qinglan: "Yeah."
Zhao Fanghua took a few steps and turned back every three steps, looking at Zhao Qinglan pitifully: "You must eat..."
Zhao Qinglan: ...
"Um."
When Zhao Fanghua took the maid out and closed the palace door, Zhao Qinglan suddenly smiled, and even he himself found it puzzled.
Yesterday, Li Xi reported that the top-ranked scholar, Shen Xiujin, had returned to the capital a few days ago with his mother, Ruan. They also brought Ruan's niece, Shen Xiujin's cousin, who was already one month pregnant. Unable to accept this, the eldest princess threatened to break off the engagement with her husband and even went to the palace to ask the empress dowager for her decision. However, the empress dowager not only disapproved of the breakup, but instead criticized the eldest princess and told her to fulfill her wifely duties and stay at home to take care of her husband and children.
"Supporting the husband and raising children... How can such words come from the Queen Mother's mouth." Zhao Qinglan chewed on these words, as if she had heard a huge joke.
Zhao Qinglan looked at the rosewood food box with a lotus pattern on the desk. Inside, a blue and white porcelain bowl filled with candied bayberries stood out among the pile of ice cubes.
He closed his eyes, counted to three in his mind, and randomly picked up a paper from the pile on the left and was about to review it, but his eyes couldn't help but glance at the lunch box. The plate of candied bayberries was quietly there, as if the air was filled with a sweet and sour aroma.
Zhao Qinglan couldn't help swallowing again. He was about to ask Li Xi to throw this thing and the food box out, but the words rolled over in his mouth for a few times and he didn't say it out loud. For some reason, those pitiful big eyes appeared in his mind.
Finally, Zhao Qinglan reached out and picked up the spoon, gently stirred it in the porcelain bowl, scooped up a spoonful and put it into his mouth. A refreshing breath rushed to his forehead, instantly soothing the heat of the day. The taste was even more sweet and sour, and the juice burst between his lips and teeth, with a unique flavor.
Zhao Qinglan lowered his eyebrows and chuckled, mocking himself, "You're not afraid of her poisoning you."
As he said this, his hands were already one step ahead of his brain and he scooped another spoonful into his mouth.
Thinking of Zhao Fanghua's timid appearance, he chuckled.
"I don't think she would dare."
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