soy sauce lady

Chapter 3

In mid-March, the Gongyuan was under martial law, and the Spring Festival was held.

Xiao Zheng went to inspect the examination room after he got off court, and when he got out of Zhu Hong's gate, he looked worried.

The number of scholars taking part in the imperial examination this year is nearly half that of three years ago. The reason is that students from the Jiangdong and Jiangnan regions cannot come to participate in the scientific examination.

The Jiangdong Jiangnan area occupied by Xiao Jun is one of the areas with the strongest academic atmosphere, and it is also a place where talented scholars gather widely throughout the ages.It is a great loss for the court to lose so many candidates for the exam this year.

When he got into the carriage, Xiao Zheng pinched his brows, feeling very worried.

This was not the only thing he was worried about. He heard that Xiao Jun not only blocked the connection between Jiangdong Jiangnan and the outside world, but also set up his own imperial examinations to obtain scholars, just like a self-reliant emperor.

If those scholars really went to participate in Xiao Jun's imperial examination, then the imperial court would lose more than just talents, and it might be even more difficult to quell the rebellion in the future.Now Xiao Jun's court is still a puppet court, if there are people of insight to help, it may not be so.

When he returned to the palace, it began to rain in spring.Zhao Quan wanted to send his servants to get the umbrella, but Xiao Zheng jumped out of the car first, and headed towards the mansion in the rain. Under the hazy rain curtain, his sad face remained unchanged.

Holding an umbrella, Fu Qingyu was going from the front yard to her residence in the back yard. When she walked up the corridor, she saw the Prince Regent coming in the rain, followed by Zhao Quan, with an anxious expression on his face.

Xiao Zheng's black court clothes were hit by the rain and stuck tightly to his body, outlining his strong figure.The hair under the golden crown was also wet, and the broken hair combed on the forehead was scattered due to this relationship, covering the smooth forehead and reflecting the black jade-like eyes, even if you are embarrassed, you can't look away .

Fu Qingyu admired secretly in her heart, glanced at the umbrella in her hand, hesitated for a moment, stepped forward, and raised the umbrella high above Xiao Zheng's head, "My lord, the spring rain hurts my body, I'm worried about catching a cold."

Xiao Zheng stopped and turned to look at her.

Different from other women, although Fu Qingyu has a pretty face, her complexion is a bit dark, and her stature is also on the high side, making her look very heroic.She didn't dare to get too close, half of her body was outside the umbrella, and after saying this, she lowered her eyes and held the umbrella respectfully.

Xiao Zheng understood her kindness, pushed the umbrella towards her, and smiled, "Thank you, as a woman, you shouldn't get wet in the rain, I'm fine."

Fu Qingyu caught his gaze and was slightly taken aback.Although Xiao Zheng had a slight smile on his face, he always gave people a sense of alienation. Those eyes fell on her, but it made her feel that she was not looking at her at all, as if everything in this world had nothing to do with him. Just a spectator, indifferent and majestic.

In this moment of daze, Xiao Zheng had already passed her and walked forward, his footsteps were as fast as if he hadn't stopped at all just now, and the sadness was on his face again.

Fu Qingyu stared at his back in a daze, her heart felt hot.She wanted to be strong since she was a child, and other people's families only sent her to private schools for sons, but she favored her parents to send her there too. In private schools, she always dressed as a man, and her studies were always the best.But because of this, the playmates around her never treated her as a woman.

Today, although the regent only spoke a few words, he cared for her from the perspective of a woman.

The rain gradually became heavier, and she stood silently in the front yard for a long time before leaving with an umbrella.

"With the position of the Son of Heaven, taking advantage of the present time, because of the help of heaven, I am still afraid of taking danger as a safety and ordering chaos as a rule. If your majesty lives in Qihuan, will you not be in harmony with the princes and rule the world?"

"...Your Majesty knows that His Majesty can't..."

After a pause, Wen Su threw away the policy theory in his hand, scratched his head, what the hell, it's too difficult!The book in her hand was spread out on the table, and she fell headfirst on it, her head buried in the book, looking like a dead fish.

Is there an easier way to mix rice?
Fortunately, she is quite resilient, although she has always felt difficult, but she sat in the room and read the book for a long time.If her father was still alive, he would be delighted to see her so motivated.At the beginning, she had to sit on the board for a dozen times to memorize a poem completely. She never sat down and read a book on her own initiative. Compared with the past, this situation is a qualitative leap!
Although it is mainly because of the food, clothing and monthly salary in the palace...

She was depressed, when footsteps approached beside her, she looked up, and it turned out that Fu Qingyu had returned, but she looked dazed, she didn't know where she came from.

"Qingyu, what's wrong with you?" Out of concern for her roommate, Wen Su got up and waved her claws in front of her eyes.

Fu Qingyu came back to her senses and smiled at her, "I'm fine."

Wen Su was startled, oh my god, this person can laugh!

She was wondering what happened to Fu Qingyu when she heard someone calling her name loudly outside: "Susu, Susu..."

Wen Su recognized who the owner of the voice was, stroked her forehead immediately, and crouched on the ground with her head in her arms.

Fu Qingyu looked at her sympathetically, "Miss Qin came to ask you for dessert again?"

Wen Su nodded silently, wishing she could shrink to the size of a thumb and never be seen again.

The goal of several official daughters headed by Miss Qin Rong and Qin is obviously not officialdom, let alone a job, but the handsome, powerful and rich and unmarried His Royal Highness the Regent.

In order to capture the "heart" of the Prince Regent, the ladies, headed by Qin Rong, have engaged in various battles of superficial unity and internal rivalry since the day they entered the mansion.

One day, Miss Qin heard a sentence from nowhere: If you want to attack your heart, first attack your stomach.So the young ladies began to do it themselves, fighting bravely in the greasy kitchen with their slender fingers that did not touch the sun.

The results naturally speak for themselves.

This book has nothing to do with Wen Su, because one day she sneaked into the kitchen and ate it secretly, and saw that there was nothing but the half-made pastries put there by the cook, so she processed them into Jiangnan famous pastries by herself.Unexpectedly, she was met by a few young ladies who came to work overtime, so she suddenly became the savior of these young ladies.

It was good at first, Wen Su helped them make a few snacks, Qin Rong and others gave them back gifts with pearls, hairpins, brocade clothes and even silver taels, and they traded fairly and harmoniously.But when Qin Rong and the others happily delivered the snacks, what they saw was that the Regent rewarded Zhao Quan, his personal bodyguard, very generously.

Self-criticism is impossible, and several young ladies actively launched criticisms, thinking that Wen Su must have done a bad job, so they forced her to do it again.

During this period, the status of each other has begun to tilt, and Wen Su is reluctant to do it and has not yet received any compensation.

Afterwards, the dim sum was sent over. His Highness the Regent was still polite, but when he turned around, the dim sum was still cheaper for Zhao Quan.

Qin Rong was depressed, and the result of her depression was to torture Wen Su, forcing her to keep doing it until she made a dessert that satisfied the regent.

Wen Su squatted in the corner and drew circles silently. It was already troublesome enough to have a meal, but you people are not worried.Who is she messing with!

It's a pity that escaping won't solve the problem. Wen Su shrugged and swore to pretend to be a top, but someone had already lifted her up.

"Susu, be good, the prince just returned home, let's make another snack." Qin Rong looked at her with a smile, but her eyes told her clearly: If you don't go, I will kill you!
Wen Su glanced at Fu Qingyu silently, and followed her to go out with a sad face.

"Wait," Fu Qingyu called to them from behind, "You don't want to go today, I saw the prince's complexion just now, it's better not to make him angry."

Wen Su cheered in her heart, there should be no need to do it now.Turning around, she saw Qin Rong sneering at Fu Qingyu with her hips crossed, "Hmph, the lord won't be angry with this lady!"

Fu Qingyu knew that her young lady was getting angry, so she sighed helplessly, shook her head and walked to the side of the room, and simply followed her.

Qin Rong pulled Wen Su to go out, and the affection she smiled at her was rippling with tenderness, "Susu, after you finish making the dim sum, you can send it there for me, but remember to say that I made it."

Wen Su is so embarrassing, no wonder you said that the prince will not be angry with you, but if he wants to be angry, he will be angry with the person who gave the pastry! ! !

Several staff members gathered in Xiao Zheng's study at the moment, of course they were not Wen Su Qin Rong and his like, but formally trained staff members.Just because what happened in Jiangdong really worried him, so he summoned these aides to discuss countermeasures as soon as he returned home.

Several of the staff members were insightful people who were hired by the regent from various places in Daliang with a lot of money, and some of them were even comparable to the top scholars, but faced with such a situation, they couldn't come up with a solution for a while.

It is obviously unwise to attack and suppress the rebellion now, as that will only invite foreign aggression and lure wolves into the house.But apart from this method, there seems to be no other way to stop King Wu's absurdity.

Xiao Zheng saw that everyone was squeaking and couldn't explain why, so he became more worried and a little angry in his heart, but his temper was forbearing and deep, and in the end he just frowned and waved his hands, dismissing a few people.

The few people had just left with a sigh of relief, when they heard Zhao Quan whisper outside the door: "My lord, Miss Wen, please see me."

Xiao Zheng was stunned for a moment, and it took him a while to remember that there was a female staff member in his house surnamed Wen, who was from Jiangnan.

Speaking of which, I haven't seen her since I saw her in Huxinting that day.In my impression, that woman doesn't seem to be very pushy, and she doesn't often walk around the front yard, but I don't know why she came today.

"Please come in."

As soon as the faint voice fell, the door was pushed open a crack, and then a pair of bright black eyes pierced into the study room. They glanced at the figure sitting behind the desk, and quickly shrank back. .

Xiao Zheng was stunned, what is this for?
Before His Royal Highness the Prince Regent finished thinking about the situation, after a moment of silence, the door was pushed open again, and then Xiao Zheng finally saw the whole picture of Wen Su.

Wearing a skirt with blue background and white flowers, her hair was casually tied behind her head with a headband, revealing a plain and fair face, her eyes were big and energetic, and the black and white eyeballs rolled slightly from time to time. Thinking about something, slightly cunning, but not annoying, but rather cute.

"My lord, Jin'an." Wen Su bowed his knees first, and then took out a plate of pastries from behind with trembling hands, "Minister is... to deliver the pastries."

Because of hearing Fu Qingyu's words and seeing the ugly faces of those staff members when they went out just now, Wen Su didn't dare to raise his head and his voice was as soft as a gnat.

"Bring it here."

Xiao Zheng saw that her appearance was a little strange, so he helplessly suppressed his aversion to the high exposure rate of pastries recently.

Only then did Wen Su look up at him, the person in front of him had already changed out of the rain-soaked court clothes, and put on Zhu Zi's deep clothes, and the smooth white silk and satin stuck to his body, with a natural charm.The golden crown on his head has been removed, and the hair on his forehead is half dry, half covering his bright eyes, but he can't stop him from looking directly at her.

This was a very ordinary look, but Wen Su felt guilty for a while, as if he didn't dare to accept the majesty, it took a long time before he approached with a plate.

The square pastry made of glutinous rice flour is as white as jade, and the carrot skin is cut into shreds and coiled in the shape of a flower.At first glance, it looks like a bright red peony blooming in the snow, and the bright colors make people appetite.

However, Xiao Zheng just glanced at her lightly, then raised his eyes and asked her: "You did this?"

"Yes." Wen Su replied naturally, and changed his words hastily as soon as the words came out: "No, no, it wasn't made by a folk girl, it was made by Miss Qin Rong."

I have to work hard and have to face the danger of being scolded, and in the end I have to give the credit to others, what a tragedy...

Xiao Zheng's eyelids drooped slightly, and he glanced at the pastry in front of him again, his eyes flashed, and when he raised his eyes to look at Wen Su again, he suddenly smiled, "You must have been bullied."

Wen Su was taken aback, and saw him reach out to the porcelain plate, and took a piece of pastry.

The slender fingers with well-defined knuckles held the delicate and small pastry, paused for a while, as if admiring it, and then put it into his mouth.

He actually ate it! ! !
Wen Su opened his mouth wide, the horror beyond measure.

"Go and give an answer, just say that the king has tasted it and is very satisfied."

Wen Su suddenly understood that he was trying to save himself.

Your lord, you are such a good man...

Seeing that she was about to cry with her pursed mouth, Xiao Zheng couldn't help laughing, the worry that was pressing on her heart was relieved a lot, and waved her hand to signal that she could go.

Wen Su hurriedly saluted with a thousand thanks, and exited happily.

Hearing that her footsteps had gone away, Xiao Zheng glanced at the pastry in front of him, and called out.

Zhao Quan immediately dodged in, and saw his master pointing to the plate in front of him and said, "I reward you."

As soon as he saw the cakes on the plate, Zhao Quan froze, turned his head silently, and sighed in his heart: My lord, Jiangnan cakes are easy to gain weight, do you want your subordinates to be laid off early?

The slander is the slander, Zhao Quan still reluctantly stepped forward to take the pastry, and glanced at the center of the plate, which was empty, he was stunned, and looked at Xiao Zheng in disbelief, "My lord actually used a pastry today?"

"En." Xiao Zheng buried his head in the government affairs in front of him, without even raising his head.

Zhao Quan opened his mouth wide and sighed in his heart: I can't tell, that girl surnamed Wen actually has this ability!

Feeling that he hadn't left yet, Xiao Zheng raised his eyes and saw his horrified and inexplicable expression, and shook his head helplessly.

There's nothing surprising about this, it's just a momentary feeling, so I just help her out.

Thinking back when he was a prince, he was bullied by other princes, and he knew better than anyone else the hard work of having to do everything on both sides.

Surviving in any environment is not easy, this is an eternal truth, and she is just a woman, she can help if she can, it is just a little effort, why not do it?

At the corner of the corridor outside Xiao Zheng's study, Qin Rong and four other officials blocked Wen Su, asking about the detailed process of the matter.

"Miss Qin, the lord said that he has already kept his heart for you." Wen Su still doesn't understand Qin Rong's thoughts, as long as she is linked with the lord.

Sure enough, Qin Rong immediately smiled when she heard the words, and glanced at the four lonely people around her with her head held high, with an air of arrogance.

Wen Su chuckled, "So, can I go?"

Miss Qin glared immediately, "What's the hurry?" As she spoke, she took out a bag of broken silver from her sleeve and stuffed it in her hand, winked at her, with a smile on her face, "Let's continue next time."

Wen Su's hand that took the silver trembled suddenly, and nodded sadly.

When is this day...

Just about to leave, a lady from the official family next to Qin Rong suddenly grabbed Wen Su's sleeve, turned to Qin Rong and said, "Don't you think it's weird? The prince didn't use snacks so many times, why did she eat it as soon as she left today?" gone?"

Wen Su's heart tensed immediately when he heard the words, it's over, His Royal Highness the Regent did something bad with good intentions.

After hearing this, Qin Rong really became suspicious, looked Wen Su up and down, and brushed Wen Su's hairs all over, but finally shook her head very simply, "Impossible, it is impossible for the prince to take a fancy to her !"

"Why?" The lady holding Wen Su was stunned.

Qin Rong raised her chin, leaned close to her and said in a low voice, "You don't know that, do you? The ones my lord dislikes the most are Jiangnan girls."

Wen Su was still worried at first, but after hearing this, she couldn't help becoming interested, "Eh? Why?"

Qin Rong glanced at her contemptuously, then turned her head and continued to whisper to the four of them: "My father told me that the prince's biological mother was a beauty offered by Xirong Jinxian, and the late emperor's biological mother was from a Jiangnan family. , it was only later that he successfully ascended to the throne, otherwise the prince may not be just a prince now..."

Because the discussion was about the secrets of the royal family, Qin Rong's voice could not be lowered any further.

Everyone was suddenly enlightened when they heard the words, no wonder, this involves a lot, it is not impossible for the prince to hate Jiangnan women to the point of sitting down.

After a few people thought about it, they still didn't forget to turn their heads to look at Wen Su in unison, to the effect: You should die of that heart.

Wen Su also had a dazed look on his face, it was because of this reason that the prince dared to hold on to the government, well, he was bullied by Lao Tzu, so he turned to bully his son!

My lord, what a ambition!Good idea!
The royal family has always had the most gossip, but what Qin Rong said was a bit exaggerated.

While tasting the delicious cakes, Zhao Quan listened to the words of several people, and then wiped his mouth to inform Xiao Zheng.

"My lord, Master Qin even said such things casually to his family members, it's really outrageous!"

Xiao Zheng was filled with Zhao Quan's righteous indignation, noncommittal, he glanced at him indifferently, and then continued to bury his head in government affairs, without any sign of anger.

Zhao Quan no longer had a sense of existence, and it took him a long time to call out to him aggrievedly: "My lord..."

"Okay, anyway, they won't be here for a few days, it's just gossip, so let's talk."

Zhao Quan straightened up in a jerk, and the excited factor, who was a first-class guard, swam across his body in an instant, raised his hand to make a knife, and made a gloomy gesture between his neck, "My lord, when do you want your subordinates to do it?"

Xiao Zheng raised his head and glanced at him lightly, "No need, the test will be at the end of March soon, and this king can send them out of the mansion in a fair manner."

Uh...Zhao Quan turned his head silently. Your lord is so gentle, you use such a civilized way to drive people away...

"My lord..."

Someone outside the door suddenly spoke in a low voice, Zhao Quan heard that it was the old housekeeper of the palace, and quickly adjusted his posture to open the door.

Xiao Zheng put down the brush in his hand, looked towards the door, "What's the matter?"

The old butler frowned, hesitant to speak, "My lord, uh...Ping, Pingyang King has returned to Beijing."

Xiao Zheng was taken aback, and his voice sank: "When did this happen?"

The old housekeeper flinched, "Just, just now..."

Xiao Zheng's sitting body was as motionless as a rock, and frost gradually formed in his eyes, "You bastard, you dare to go back to Beijing without the emperor's edict."

Although the content was angry, the tone was as deep and steady as ever.However, this appearance made the old housekeeper's body tremble so badly that he was about to cry, and he was even closer to the door, as if he was ready to run away at any time.

The old butler had stayed in the mansion for a long time, and he was most aware of his prince's temper. His anger was not sudden and earth-shattering, but the kind of pressure that was overwhelming and steady, the kind that people couldn't escape even if they wanted to.

When he got the news, he was worried about this scene, but it didn't happen!This enemy, King Pingyang, why are you restless and want to return to Beijing?The old slave really doesn't want to be a pond fish...

After the room was quiet for a moment, Xiao Zheng's expression softened a little, and he waved his hand to the old housekeeper, "Forget it, where is he now?"

The old butler breathed a sigh of relief, and quickly replied: "If you go back to the prince, you haven't entered the city yet."

"Hmph, he still has some brains." Xiao Zheng glanced at Zhao Quan, "Go and bring him to the palace, remember not to let outsiders see him."

Since you can't let outsiders see it, you can use the superb lightness kung fu of coming and going without a trace!
Zhao Quan was instantly revived when he heard the words, and the suppressed first-class bodyguard's excitement factor revived again, and he immediately replied clearly with the word "yes".However, the moment he rushed out to fly up, he felt a kind of speechless desolation.

Jiangnan pastry is harmful...

(End of this chapter)