Emperor's Trophy

After the bow and horse class is the classics and righteousness class. The classics and righteousness class is over, and today's homework is over. However, when the clan members finished their homework and wanted to go back, Ding Dai, the chief eunuch beside Emperor Wu Cheng, was mighty He came with a gift from Emperor Wu Cheng.

In the spring festivals in the past, Guanglu Temple gave favors to the clans with titles, and for the rest of the spring festival, the sacrifices will be distributed to the ministers of the third rank and above who participated in the sacrifice together. Unexpectedly, this year, Ji Bingyuan thought that all the young masters were far away from their parents to study in the middle of the capital, and in order to appreciate their diligent study, he specially gave a seat, and sent them back to the palace quickly, and gave it to all the princes of the clan who are studying in the upper study. .

This can be regarded as the greatness of the emperor's grace. After the students knelt down to thank them, they watched a group of eunuchs put the food on the table one by one. The sacrificial dishes were basically all the meat of the five animals, and some of them were good-looking. Desserts and pastries that don't taste very good, as well as tea, cheese, etc. The students took their seats one by one and began to eat.

The students don't have a very strict ranking on weekdays. After all, most of them are members of the clan. It will be a matter of conferring the title after they become adults. They also sit in different places on weekdays. All of a sudden, all the students sat down in order according to the arrangement of the servants, but Ji Huaisu sat at the bottom of Yunzhen.

Yun Zhen didn't think too much about it. He lost his appetite looking at the greasy sacrificial dishes. He turned around and saw Ji Huaisu sitting on his right, with a plate of stewed pig's trotters with peanuts just in front of him. He brought it to him, and gave him a plate of oyster mushroom mixed with shredded bamboo shoots.

Zhu Jiang on his left muttered, "I don't like pig's trotters, what are you trading for?" But she thought Yun Zhen was trading for herself.

Ji Huaisu was obviously taken aback, and turned to look at Yunzhen. After Yunzhen looked at him, he was also taken aback, and then he realized.Ji Huaisu has never eaten peanuts, because after eating peanuts, he would cough all night and be out of breath, but the noble children always have to cover up their dietary taboos, so Ji Huaisu didn't make it public, but seldom dined outside, and in his previous life and He is familiar with him, knows his taboo, it is a habit that has become a matter of course - it is said that it is a lifetime away, counting the days, in fact, it was only a few months ago that he and himself were intimate.

He laughed at himself slightly in his heart that this old habit is hard to change, but he didn't show anything on his face, he just nodded slightly to Ji Huaisu, then turned his head, without any explanation.

Ji Huaisu was full of doubts, seeing him so naturally, guessed that he might really like to eat that stewed pig's trotters with peanuts, and this was an occasion for giving food, so it was inconvenient to discuss, so he had to suppress the strangeness.

But seeing Ding Dai smiling all over his face, he came over with a basket in his hand, and ordered someone to take the dishes on Yunzhen's table aside, but he brought out two dishes from the basket: "Master Hou, this is the emperor It was sent by the servant by name, you can taste it."

There were two dishes, one was preserved deer, and the other was wind duck. Yun Zhen was a little at a loss, so he could only get up and thank him again, but Ding Dai pushed him back: "This is good for the emperor to eat, and I specially told him to send it over." , all the way I used charcoal stove to simmer for fear of losing the smell, you just use it.”

The candied deer is crystal clear, and the duck is well-dried. The fat and thin are well-balanced, and they are all delicious. The two dishes are not much, which obviously took into account his appetite, but Yunzhen really doesn't know why Ji Bingyuan, who is so good, wants to reward him so much. Two dishes came, but he still sat down and ate like the other students. He left the table as usual and had nothing to say all day. Only Ji Huaisu hesitated to speak several times, but Zhu Jiang kept muttering around him, On the contrary, it makes other people who want to strike up a conversation stop, and it is an excellent social communication tool.

It wasn't until noon on the second day that the emperor returned to the palace and called him to Wenxin Hall for lunch as usual, then he said to him, "How did the duck sacrifice taste yesterday? If it is good, let Guanglu Temple send ten more." Go to the princess mansion, you should eat more ducks during the transition between winter and spring, it can nourish your deficiency and Qi."

Yun Zhen said casually: "Thank you, Your Majesty, the wind duck was cooked well yesterday. Since there are a lot of ducks in the palace, I would like to reward the ministers with a few. I think it is the emperor's favorite food, so let's save more for the emperor."

Ji Bingyuan said: "It's not necessary, the duck is considered to be raised by me, and it is specially used for sacrifices. I saw it yesterday and asked someone to bring it to you to taste. The preserved deer was taken by the way. I know that other dishes are too greasy, but It was also hunted by myself last autumn, so that the imperial dining room can cook well."

……

The emperor's duck?Yun Zhen looked at Ji Bingyuan, who was indifferent and looked like a mountain fairy, and his whole body was cracked. He couldn't imagine the feeling of the noble Tsinghua, taciturn Ji Bingyuan feeding ducks!

I don't want to keep raising it all the time, but I have fed it once, right?The ducks raised by the emperor himself are used to sacrifice to the ancestors of the royal family. It is indeed an honor for the ducks. Yun Zhen persuaded himself, but is there a palace custom that the emperor raises ducks that he doesn't know about?He couldn't understand, but seeing the joy in Ji Bingyuan's eyes, he could only thank the emperor for his kindness once more.

Ji Bingyuan waved his hand not to allow him to salute, and held chopsticks for him: "There is no need to be too polite."

When Yun Zhen woke up in the afternoon, Ji Bingyuan went to discuss matters with the ministers as usual, and Ding Dai helped him wash his face and change clothes. Yun Zhen asked him curiously: "The emperor really raises ducks?"

Ding Dai smiled and said: "Master Hou didn't know something. When Xijing was conquered, the emperor led a team and had to stay in a rural mountain village for several months. He had to raise a group of ducks to supply the army rations." , Later, Xijing was captured, and the ducks pulled out of the camp before they finished eating. Afterwards, the emperor broke the city in one fell swoop and won every victory. These ducks were raised by the local farmers, saying that the ducks brought their own blessings and auspiciousness. They were nicknamed Shengli Duck and Kaixuan Duck. Later, when the emperor heard about it, he also found it interesting, so he asked people to raise them in the palace. After the emperor ascended the throne, these ducks were moved from the palace to the palace. , and gave birth to a lot of ducklings, the origin is very big, and now it is exclusively for His Majesty."

Yun Zhen's eyes widened: "It turns out that there is such a relationship!"

Ding Dai smiled, and then said in a low voice: "At that time... there was a villain who followed the late emperor and slandered that His Majesty was in a bad situation. He spent every day in the military camp with nothing to do, and just watched ducks swimming in the pond every day. It was indeed true. He cut duck grass and fed ducks."

Yun Zhen also remembered that this matter was not a secret among the veterans at the time. When they fought in Xijing, the first emperor was jealous of his son, a young and promising young man with outstanding military exploits, so he only let him guard the periphery, and went to attack by himself. Xijing was attacked for a few months and could not be conquered. In the end, it was Princess Dingxiang who spoke, and finally let the prince personally lead troops to attack, captured Xijing in one fell swoop, and subdued the Central Plains.

Ding Dai said meaningfully: "Our Majesty is rich in the world now, but it is not easy to reward people casually. If you make a random move, the courtiers will come up with other ideas, but Lord Hou was raised by the emperor, and the eldest princess has made great achievements in battle." Biao Bing, it is rare for the emperor to be able to reward people with peace of mind, Lord Hou just need to be at ease."

Yun Zhen asked very curiously, "Can I go and see those ducks?"

Ding Dai: "..." It's useless for him to worry, okay, this young master is rare to have no distracting thoughts. Ordinary people get a reward from the emperor, but those who are guilty will tremble and guess repeatedly. This man is interested in ducks!Ask him why he is so clear?It is really a way to inquire too much with him, the chief executive of the imperial court.

This young master skipped classes every day anyway, the emperor was blatantly showing favoritism, look... just look, every day this young master accompanied the emperor for lunch, the emperor could eat a few more chopsticks.Ding Dai bowed his waist deeply: "The servant girl took Master Hou to see it, and it was raised in the courtyard behind Guanglu Temple. It is just a local pickle. Don't be disgusted by Master Hou."

So Yun Zhenke skipped the bow and horse class again to go to see the ducks.

It just so happened that Ji Bingyuan had some free time this day, and wanted to see how the young masters were doing with their bow and horse, but he arrived at the school grounds after discussing the matter, and Gao Xin hurriedly led the young masters forward to salute.

Ji Bingyuan called them up, but after a glance, he didn't see Yunzhen. He smiled and turned to Gao Xin, "Marquis Zhaoxin was ill just a few years ago, and his body is still weak. I will let him rest for a while. I didn't get up today even thinking about it, I asked someone to call him over, at least you have to be patient and teach him more."

Gao Xin said with a smile: "Humble post obeys the order."

Ji Bingyuan nodded, turned around and ordered someone to call Yunzhen, and asked gently how the young masters were doing archery, and ordered a few to try their skills. Ji Huaiqing was eager to try, but he was not called, but Ji Huaisu was.

Ji Huaisu stepped forward and shot a few arrows, but it was nine rings and ten rings. His face was calm and his brows were calm. Ji Bingyuan couldn't help but look at him twice, and asked him to come forward and ask: "Qing is Huai Su, the fourth son of King Jin, right?" ?”

With a calm posture, Ji Huaisu stepped forward to salute and said, "Huaisu has seen Your Majesty." His expression was still calm.

Neither humble nor overbearing, he is a talent for making, Ji Bingyuan was quite puzzled, with a smile on the corner of his mouth: "You are not like your father, I still remember that your father is not as calm as you..." At a glance, he saw someone looking for Yun Zhen next to him Qingsong came back, turned around and asked, "Where is Marquis Zhaoxin?"

Qingsong bowed her head deeply: "Marquis Zhaoxin said he wanted to see ducks, but Director Ding took him to Guanglu Temple to watch ducks. The servants are afraid that the emperor will wait for a long time, so I came here to answer."

"..."

Everyone was silent, knowing that Hou Zhaoxin was a little weird on weekdays, but what kind of unconstrained behavior is watching ducks in the palace?

Ji Bingyuan was obviously also taken aback by Yun Zhen's amazing stroke, and after a while he couldn't help laughing: "Okay, let him go and see, there is no need to call over."

He was obviously in a good mood, turned his head to look at Ji Huaisu, but forgot what he was going to say to him just now, just nodded his head scribbled and said: "I remember you. But it’s practical. The bow horse seems to have worked hard, so I have to reward it. Ding Dai, a batch of rare materials just came in from the south, and I rewarded three bolts of cloud crane satin for Mr. Huaisu to make clothes for when he goes back.”

Ji Huaisu kowtowed his head to thank him, after all, he was young and received this award, a trace of excitement appeared on his face.

And Ji Bingyuan obviously didn't have the patience to look at other people anymore, he stood up and smiled and said: "They all shot well, go on, Gao Xin, put more effort into it, I'll come back for the test next time."

Gao Xin quickly stepped forward to agree, and everyone knelt down to send Ji Bingyuan onto the chariot.

But Ji Bingyuan ordered to go down: "Go to Guanglu Temple, I haven't seen those triumphant ducks of mine for a long time."