Back then, who didn't know that Consort Rong had taken the initiative to go to the Empress's palace to attend to her when she was ill?
Consort Rong and the Empress are mortal enemies, but her younger sister, Consort Rong, is of one mind with the Empress.
Thinking about this, Consort Lin felt increasingly distressed.
Why did Consort Rong choose the Empress while ignoring my advances? She seems to be nothing but a brainless fool!
The Lin family head and his wife exchanged a glance. It was certainly infuriating that the prince was gone, but was it more important to hold a grudge about what happened before?
With His Majesty not in the palace, it's impossible for the concubines in the harem to gain status through their sons.
There is only one legitimate son in the entire harem. If His Majesty disappears without a trace, only the legitimate son will inherit the throne.
When the legitimate son succeeds to the throne, the Zhang family will be the only powerful family, and what role will the Lin family play?
The Lin family was originally a merchant family. If it weren't for the emergence of Consort Shu, they would have had no chance to compete with the Zhang family.
If one wants to maintain a place in the harem, then one must make some choices.
For example, the legitimate son of the Empress.
—
When Ning Yao heard the news, she was already outside Qingzhou City.
"Finding a water source is a good thing."
Zhilan nodded. She had heard the news on the street and couldn't believe it at first. She confirmed it several times before reporting it to Ningyao.
"In this way, at least the people of Nanjiang City are saved. If there are any people who want to go to Nanjiang City, they can stay there temporarily. I just don't know how long this drought will last?"
Ning Yao didn't speak; she knew the original text said the drought would last for three years.
There was no mention of finding a water source in Nanjiang City. Was it because she hadn't seen it yet, or because her arrival caused a subtle change in the plot?
To understand what a three-year drought means, it's likely that by the time the drought ends, most of the people of Yan will have perished.
Early March is the season when spring returns to the earth and all things revive.
But the scenery along the way was desolate.
Compared to the area north of the Kunlun Mountains, this place is relatively better.
At least in the plains and dams, there is more land, so the people have better harvests and more stored grain than in the north.
So although the cities and villages here are desolate, you can still see people.
Some cities and villages even have wells that are tens of meters deep, with groundwater at the bottom, though not much.
A place with both food and water is indeed much better than the north.
"Father, how much longer until we reach Licheng?" Ning Yao asked.
Ning Wenyi looked up: "Soon. After passing Qingzhou City, we will reach Licheng. However, the distance between the two cities is quite far, and it will probably take a few more days to get there."
Ning Yao nodded. A few days isn't a long time; she could manage.
Instead of staying in Qingzhou City, the group found a dilapidated temple outside the city.
The dilapidated temple is a Guanyin temple that grants children. Judging from the condition of the temple, one can imagine that it used to be quite popular.
Perhaps because of the drought, people were too busy with their own lives to have time to worship the Guanyin who grants children.
The temple is very large, a two-courtyard house. The main hall in the first courtyard houses a huge statue of Guanyin.
Ning Yao didn't believe in these things, but Madam Ning was very devout and even personally prayed to the Guanyin statue.
The second courtyard has several side rooms and a kitchen, forming a small courtyard. There is also a back door at the very back, which is just enough to drive a carriage in and park it.
Zhilan, Zhimei, and Dongyue quickly tidied up several rooms.
The house wasn't very dirty, it was just that no one had lived there for a long time, so there was a thick layer of dust.
Ning Yao went to the kitchen.
The kitchen was fully equipped with all the necessary utensils. Although it was covered in dust, just like the side room, it was clear that it had been cleaned up very well before.
Zhilan came in and asked, "Is Miss going to start preparing dinner?"
Ning Yao nodded: "I'll do it, you can help me."
"Yes, miss."
Ning Yao took out pots and pans from the secret realm; she didn't intend to use the ones already in the kitchen.
Firstly, all those kitchen utensils were dirty, and washing them would require water, even though she had them in her space, it wasn't necessary.
Secondly, she didn't know who had used those kitchen utensils, and she had a slight case of mysophobia and didn't want to use things that other people had used.
Although it wasn't the first time she had witnessed Ning Yao's abilities, and although she herself possessed a storage space, Zhi Lan was still astonished.
Her daughter is such a good actress.
So far, Ning Yao has taken out two pots, two stoves, seven or eight plates, more than a dozen sets of bowls and chopsticks, and a bucket of water.
In addition, there are fresh vegetables, fruits, raw meat, and a variety of seasonings.
When Zhilan saw these things, her eyes lit up: "Miss, would you like to make a hot pot?"
Ning Yao nodded: "It's springtime in March, but it's still chilly in the mornings and evenings. Let's have a hot pot tonight to warm ourselves up, and I'll also make a pot of soup so we can drink it tomorrow morning before we set off."
There is food available in the secret realm, but eating something freshly made is always different.
The "hot pot" that Zhilan mentioned was actually a hot pot, which Ningyao made out of boredom after entering the palace.
Life without hot pot is destined to be boring.
During her year or so in the palace, besides teasing the Empress and Consort Lin, she also spent her time teaching Zhilan martial arts and cooking delicious food.
In her past life, she was a foodie, but she avoided cooking altogether.
For some reason, in this life, it seems like my Ren and Du meridians have suddenly been opened up, and the food I make is incredibly delicious.
Not many people in the capital eat spicy food, so she went to great lengths to have a large quantity of chili peppers bought from Qingzhou City just to make this hot pot base.
Later, they found a way to get beef tallow, which made up the two most basic ingredients for hot pot base.
The remaining ingredients were pieced together from various sources to barely make up the total.
Even so, the finished product still doesn't taste nearly as good as it did in the previous life.
She even had Ning Wenyi find a Sichuan pepper tree to plant in the secret realm, and now they have harvested several hundred kilograms of it.
Ning Yao had one pot, and Zhi Lan had one pot; each of them also had a stove.
The method is very simple. If you want it even simpler, just boil the base ingredients in water, then add the prepared vegetables to cook. The base ingredients are already cooked, but this is just for simplicity.
Ning Yao, on the other hand, stir-fried oil and seasonings until fragrant before adding the base ingredients and stir-frying again until the base ingredients were completely melted, and finally added water.
Although we try to keep things simple when traveling, we can't let any opportunity pass us by, since we haven't had a proper meal along the way.
By this time, the aroma had already wafted out, making everyone in the courtyard swallow hard.
Shen Wei kept glancing into the kitchen: "What are you making? It smells so pungent yet delicious!"
Ning Wenyi was even more anxious than him, but he pretended to be calm: "What's the rush? We'll find out in a bit."
A group of people were approaching not far from the dilapidated temple.
The man in the lead suddenly stopped and sniffed warily: "What's that smell?"
His subordinate behind him sniffed, suddenly feeling a bit hungry: "Is someone's meal ready?"
"How could anyone possibly cook in this desolate place?"
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