Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 34 Daily life in the royal residence
Zhao Zhanyun seemed a little tired and his expression was not good.

"Nothing, nothing. Huiyun practiced music a little late two days ago. She's just a little tired. She'll be fine after eating two light porridge and rice. She's a person who goes to Sanguan and Sixth Pier, not your mansion. How can the female relatives in the palace be so delicate?" Zhao Zhanyun explained.

When he came out of Tangliyuan, it was already raining heavily. The flute master gave him an oil-paper umbrella. The heavy rain washed away the heat and made him feel cool.

At dinner in the evening, Wang Heng saw Xiaocai peeling pickled duck eggs and said with a smile: "I just ate pickled duck eggs in the beginning of summer, why did I eat them again?"

"I heard from my cousin that Aunt Zhou has lost her appetite in the past few days. She sent the maid next to her to poke around in the kitchen for a long time. She always felt that there was nothing delicious. The pickled duck eggs still tasted good after eating with salt. That's right. Aunt Zhou had some in her house, so the other courtyards simply gave them to her," Xiaocai said.

Aunt Zhou is the uncle's concubine. Even though she is a concubine, she comes from a good family. She has served the uncle for longer than her step-sibling Feng.

Wang Heng said: "Aunt Zhou is very silent. She doesn't look like someone who is picky about food and drinks."

Xiaocai said: "Isn't that right? Aunt Zhou has been chanting Buddhist scriptures and copying scriptures in the hall all year round. She has not yet become a vegetarian. People in her house don't go out of the house for free. Today she went to the kitchen to pick vegetables to eat. My aunt was stunned. Where’s Dodge.”

Wang Heng raised his hand to pour a cup of tea, took a sip and said, "Miss Huiyun is actually the elder sister who gave us cakes on the way."

Wang Cai said: "Sometimes when I think about it, I wonder what that group of people do. If they are a theater troupe, then that's right. Let's go see Miss Huiyun."

Wang Heng said: "But Miss Huiyun seems to have completely forgotten you and me."

The summer night after the rain is particularly restless, with bursts of cheerful frogs making it difficult to fall asleep.

Wang Heng got up early in the morning and found himself in the mirror with two dark circles under his eyes.

The day's plan begins in the morning. When you get up early, you must practice a set of Ba Duan Jin.It turns out that Mr. Wei didn't practice well when he taught him. Since he was in danger on his last trip, he felt that his body was very weak and he decided to practice well.

Then he began to sit under the sweet-scented osmanthus tree and recite. Yes, it was an endorsement. Since there was no one to guide him, Wang Heng had to memorize the Cheng Wen left by his eldest brother first. He was not very old, so he recited many articles in a daze. I feel like I have something in my stomach.

The wall between Helai Hall is the Moon Cave Gate, which connects the garden and the inner courtyard.At this time, the east was white, and two maids came toward the garden carrying food boxes. They seemed to be the ones delivering the morning meal from the kitchen.

I heard a maid say with a smile: "Sister Vanilla, Qian'er, didn't you say that the little sister at home wants to be selected to work in the inner courtyard."

Vanilla said in surprise: "Sister Yancao, do you have any connections?"

Yan Cao said: "I'll tell you a Qiao Zong. Miss Huiyun from the Dengyun class lives in Tangli courtyard. When the opera is finished on the eldest master's birthday, she will most likely be raised as a new concubine. She will have to. Pick a room full of people to serve, you go to Miss Huiyun to flatter her a few times, and then ask for a favor from Aunt Wang Gen, then it will be done."

Vanilla said: "You didn't mean to invite me to celebrate my birthday and sing Lord Yuming's new play. Why do you have anything to do with me again?"

Yancao whispered: "Ah Xing, the second doorman, told me personally that the uncle came back once at dusk yesterday. He paid his respects to his wife and then went to Tangliyuan. He didn't leave until midnight to meet the eldest grandma. I didn’t even take a photo of my face.”

Vanilla hesitated and said: "But an actor, even though he is a popular female actor, can enter our house?"

Yancao pinched her forehead with his fingers: "Otherwise, you are too stupid. You can't do anything that the uncle wants to do. Besides, there is not even a young master in the house. Madam often You said that I want you to buy more side houses, why would you slap me in the face at this time?"

Wang Heng was fascinated by what he heard and couldn't help but walk out the door. He knew that the maids in the mansion were all the little girls doing odd jobs, and the maids with the fragrant names were the maids in charge of each room.

The two little maids were startled when they saw someone standing at the gate of the courtyard early in the morning. They greeted Wang Hengfu and walked away quickly, disappearing behind the moon cave door.

Wang Cai, the Seventh Young Master, is enjoying his life these days. He is still young and no one asks him to work. Wang Cai's cousin is the lady in charge of the big kitchen, so he just plays in the big kitchen when he has nothing to do.He was a little interested in both red and white cases, and he could watch the master chef cooking with great interest. Chef Yuan saw that he was having fun, and he didn't need to steal punches, so he taught him a few tricks.

As a young man, he liked to eat sweets, so he thought about making fried sweet potato balls. At that time, sweet potato had only been introduced to China for a short period of time, and the varieties of flowers and colors were not as rich and diverse as those of later generations.Grind the glutinous rice flour with sweet potato filling and water, then roll it into balls. It doesn't require much hand strength, just put it in the oil pan and it will be cooked. It tastes pretty good.Master Yuan tried a new product on Mrs. Zhu once and received praise.He was so excited that he worked happily in the kitchen every day.

Wang Heng saw that he was good at cooking and asked him if he had any secrets. The young man said implicitly: "What are the secrets to making raw food cooked, salty and hot?" He became humble and different from usual. Two people.

According to the rules of the Wang House, except for the second lady who lives in the back garden, meals are delivered from the kitchen, and the rest of the houses send servants to pick up the meals according to the meal times.

In just a few dozen days, Wang Cai had already gotten to know more than half of the various people in the mansion.There is also a little maid who respectfully calls him a talented uncle, and she can't wait to write a letter to Zhuge Village to show off to Zhuge Xian.

On this day, the sun had already set in the west. Wang Cai packed He Laitang's portion in a food box and was about to take it back on foot.

I saw a maid taking the basket from Yan Cao and leaving. Wang Cai looked at her back and felt a little thump in his heart. This person was a bit familiar. He must have seen it somewhere. His back was about to disappear in the corridor. Wang Cai then remembered that this person was... , isn't it Fei Yue, the murderer who framed them in the official circles? The young master said she was a girl, it's true.

Wang Cai jumped three feet high and rushed out shouting: "Hey, stop, stop."

The maid looked back and immediately ran very fast, holding such a heavy basket in her hand, and she suddenly threw the young man away with an arrow.He ran into the Moon Cave Gate in the back garden in two steps. There were many rockeries and rocks in the garden, and he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Xiaocai gasped from exhaustion and stamped his feet in anger.It was inconvenient to stay in the garden any longer, so I had to go back to the kitchen.

When I asked Yancao where the unfamiliar girl was from, Yancao didn't recognize her either. He only knew that she was from the Tangliyuan theater troupe.

This girl was really cunning. She lured him into the garden, clearly pointing here and there, making him think she was someone in the second lady's room.

Xiaocai returned to Helaitang dejectedly and told Wang Heng what he had just experienced.

"I can't understand, I can't understand. My Wang Cai has long legs and is famous for his nimble legs, but I can't outrun a hairy girl." Xiao Cai scratched his head.

"You have to get up early every day and practice Baduanjin twice a month." Wang Heng then comforted his followers: "It's okay if you can't catch up. This girl obviously has some skills. If she hadn't still She has been avoiding people for a long time, and she has already been promoted. It really makes her anxious, and she can kill you. "

"Let's go to Tangliyuan to block her. I don't believe she won't go out." Xiao Cai felt resentful to himself.

"She has either run away now or is hiding in a corner. Where can you go to find her? She is from Miss Huiyun's troupe, so you can't ask Butler Wang Gen to take her." Wang Heng said: "I don't know. Is it a coincidence or does she have some agenda?"

Xiaocai said in horror: "Maybe they were sent by Jiangyang's thieves to trample the market?"

Wang Heng put his hands on his back, pondered for a moment, and said: "It's just you and me, we have no money, and my father is just a sesame mung bean official. Naturally, there is no place for others to covet. If someone wants to plot something, it can only be from the Wang's house." People, eldest uncle, eldest brother Chenyu, or Miss Huiyun. But I don’t think they are bandits. In the peaceful and prosperous times, there are no robbers in the city who dare to attack Ge Lao’s mansion. "

Xiaocai nodded and said: "We have to pretend that nothing is wrong and keep an eye on it. If we say it rashly, we won't scare the snake, and also scare the ladies and grandmothers."

Wang Heng suppressed a smile and said: "It's very true, we accidentally happened to Dao on the way. It's too damaging to our image. It's better not to tell us."

Xiaocai took it for granted.

(End of this chapter)