Yunyang Xiaoyingzheng [Da Qin]

Standing outside Zhao Ji's dormitory, Ah Zheng paused, not daring to enter for a while.

Lin Ju, who was following behind, caught up and saw Ah Zheng standing outside the hall, approached him quietly, held his hand, and said softly, "Don't be afraid, go in."

Ah Zheng glanced at Lin Ju beside him, then at little Fusu who was watching him cautiously, finally nodded, took Lin Ju's hand and strode into the hall.

In the hall, Zhao Ji was lying on the bed, her breathing was short, and her eyes were blurred. She could only vaguely see three figures walking in, and a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth: "Zheng'er, are you here?"

"Ma'am, I'm here." Ah Zheng responded.

Lin Ju stood aside, looking at Zhao Ji's complexion quietly, her complexion was rosy, there were few wrinkles on her face, her black hair was scattered on the pillow, although there were a few white hairs mixed in, she still looked beautiful, and she was not old at all. look.

Zhao Ji looked at the two vague figures in front of her except Ah Zheng, she could only see that they were one big and one small, about a child and a woman, and asked hesitantly, "Who are they?"

Ah Zheng replied softly, "Mother, this is my wife and child."

Zhao Ji lived in Yongcheng for a long time, but occasionally heard palace people mention that a eldest son suddenly appeared in the Qin Palace. Although she was surprised, she didn't want to pay more attention to these things, so she just sent some things back. , it should be the child in front of me.

Zhao Ji waved to Fusu: "Son, come forward."

Fusu walked to the bed and called out calmly: "Mother."

Zhao Ji called Lin Ju to come forward again, Lin Ju didn't know how to address her for a while, so she could only shout indiscriminately: "Hello."

Hearing the respectful title that came from nowhere, Zhao Ji laughed all of a sudden, she waved away Ah Zheng and Fu Su, leaving Lin Ju alone to talk.

Ah Zheng hesitated, wondering if he should leave: "Ah Niang, you kept her because..."

"Okay, okay, can I still eat your queen? Go out first, I want to talk to him alone." Zhao Ji's voice was full of anger as she waved back Ah Zheng, and there was no sign of a critically ill person at all. look.

Ah Zheng had no choice but to retreat out with Xiao Fusu.

Zhao Ji then ordered the servants in the palace: "You all go out too."

"Yes." The palace people filed out one by one, leaving only Zhao Ji and Lin Ju in the hall.

Lin Ju was a little nervous. She didn't understand why Zhao Ji left herself alone, so she couldn't help asking, "What's the matter with you looking for me?"

Zhao Ji smiled softly, and comforted her: "Don't be nervous, I'm keeping you, I just want to talk to you. Let me ask you, are you someone from outside?"

Lin Ju was puzzled. Ah Zheng's nonsense about her immortal status should not have spread to Zhao Ji's ears so quickly: "What do you mean by that?"

Zhao Ji suddenly laughed heartily: "Sure enough, the invisible person is you."

Lin Ju was a little confused: "What exactly do you want to say?"

Zhao Ji sighed and said: "Zheng'er has been separated from my mother and child since childhood, and when we reunite again, the child has already given birth to me. As a mother, I naturally have worries in my heart. When I brought him to look carefully, I found that he He often behaves in a daze, and the house often leaves a strange smell. Although he put some things that I don’t know into the brazier and burned them to cover up, no matter how they burn, there will always be ashes. I am a mother , how can you not see it?"

Lin Ju was silent, not knowing how to react for a while: "Then..."

Zhao Ji said again: "Ah Zheng was assassinated once when he was young. Two little children, one has never learned martial arts and the other knows some boxing skills. How did they manage to be surrounded by so many assassins?" Is it not surprising that I survived and could counterattack? When General Meng asked me, I knew that I gave Ah Zheng some powder for self-defense, but I knew it myself. I never gave those things. If so, those assassins And how did the strange redness in the eye come about?"

Lin Ju broke the jar and said, "So did you see the clue at that time?"

Zhao Ji smiled and said: "You probably always like to give that child something to eat. I don't know that the smell of those food will still stay in the house. I can only cover it up for him quietly. Zheng'er was lonely when he was young. If he really has some Oracle, as a mother, I naturally feel at ease."

Lin Ju thought for a while and said, "You are a very good mother."

Zhao Ji shook her head: "I have self-knowledge, you don't have to say that. What I hate the most in my life is being at the mercy of others like my mother. For this reason, I was wandering in the first half of my life, and finally got what I wanted in the second half of my life. It was a happy time. Life. Yu Zheng'er, I'm probably a very incompetent mother. Now that he has you by his side, I can feel more at ease. Okay, I'm done talking, you go out."

"Then you have a good rest." Lin Ju saw Zhao Ji's tiredly closed eyes, and walked out of the hall lightly.

Ah Zheng was waiting outside the shop, when he saw Lin Ju coming out, he quickly asked her, "What did A Niang say to you?"

Lin Ju thought for a while, picked up Xiao Fusu and kissed her: "I won't tell you."

Little Fusu was suddenly kissed by A Niang, happily embraced Lin Ju's face, and also kissed Lin Ju's face.

Ah Zheng frowned, but seeing that the expression on Ah Ju's face was not distressed, thinking that Ah Niang hadn't said anything strange to her, she didn't ask any more questions.

In the next few days, Ah Zheng dealt with the government affairs that came from Xianyang in the morning, and went to Zhao Ji's residence in the afternoon to feed the sickness.Zhao Ji seems to like Lin Ju very much, and always drives Ah Zheng out, leaving Lin Ju to talk in the hall.

One day, the plum blossoms in the courtyard were in full bloom. Zhao Ji smelled the fragrance of plum blossoms in the house, so she asked the palace servants to carry her to the courtyard to enjoy the plum blossoms.Ah Zheng and Lin Ju took care of her, Zhao Ji said to little Fusu, "Son, what song have you learned now? Can you sing Handan song?"

Little Fusu shook his head: "Mother, sir hasn't taught me yet."

"It's okay, it's okay," Zhao Ji smiled, "Zheng'er, please sing a song for Auntie."

Ah Zheng's face froze instantly, and Xiao Fusu and Lin Ju whispered beside them like small animals, whispering:

"Mother, can Father actually sing?"

"I don't know, I don't seem to have heard him sing."

"I don't know if my father's singing will be difficult to listen to?"

Ah Zheng: "..."

With a straight face, Ah Zheng knocked a chestnut on the heads of Lin Ju and Xiao Fusu respectively, and whispered: "...you two shut up."

"Father seems to be getting angry from embarrassment."

"Uh-huh."

Zhao Ji didn't hear Ah Zheng's singing for a long time, so she couldn't help urging: "Zheng'er?..."

Ah Zheng saw that he couldn't fool the past, so he opened his mouth stiffly:

"...

Lady Hyeser,

Weinan Qiuyue.

Under the sycamore tree,

sky full of stars

......"

The warm winter sun was shining, and the plum branches in the courtyard were fragrant. Zhao Ji listened to the Handan song of her hometown, with a smile on her mouth, and closed her eyes forever.

After Ah Zheng sang a song, he looked back at A Niang who would never wake up again, and finally shed tears.

He said calmly, "It is said that the Empress Dowager has passed away."

"Tell, the empress dowager—"

"The empress dowager—"

"death of a prince--"

After the death of the queen mother, Yingzheng conferred her posthumous posthumous title as empress dowager, and was buried in Zhiyang with the emperor of Taishang.

The main hall of Zhangtai Palace was quiet, Lin Ju walked in lightly, seeing that Ah Zheng was still dealing with official duties, he was tireless, so he couldn't help persuading him: "Ah Zheng, take a rest, eat something first and then deal with it. "

Ah Zheng casually picked up a memorial on the table, spread it flat on the table, flipped through it and said, "Although we say that we have been absent from court for five days, the official documents will not be reduced. These things always need to be read."

Lin Ju sighed helplessly: "But there's no reason why you can't close your eyes and deal with official business for three or two consecutive days. If you feel sad, you can go to the Empress Dowager's funeral and cry heartily. If you really want to deal with official business, you can eat Go rest for a while, and deal with it when you wake up, how can there be someone like you who doesn't stop for a moment?"

Ah Zheng paused his pen: "...I just don't know what to do for a while."

Lin Ju snatched the brush from Ah Zheng's hand neatly, hugged his head and buried it in her arms: "A Zheng, you can cry if you want to, and I won't laugh at you."

Ah Zheng didn't make a sound for a long time, he only clenched Lin Ju's sleeve with his hands: "Yes."

Lin Ju felt the faint moistness in her chest, and gently stroked Ah Zheng's hair like stroking little Fusu, one stroke after another, only silently comforting her.

I don't know how long it took, probably until the front of Lin Ju's chest was dry before Ah Zheng raised his head and smiled at Lin Ju: "Thank you, Ah Ju."

Lin Ju pinched Ah Zheng's cheek with one hand, and said helplessly, "You are really just like a child, you can pass the meal on now."

"Ah."

The palace servants brought in new tables and chairs and spread the food. Lin Ju pulled Ah Zheng to sit on the dining table and stared at him to eat.

Because it was the mourning period, there was no meat on the table, so Lin Ju had no choice but to find a way to have someone make a stone mill to grind out tofu, and tried to add some vegetable protein to replace animal protein.

Lin Ju helped Ah Zheng scoop up a bowl of tofu nao, sprinkled it with honey, sprinkled with dried osmanthus, and watched Ah Zheng finish his meal before bringing it to him.

Azheng tasted the smooth and tender taste in his mouth, and knew that this was a new food that Aju had figured out again, so he couldn't help asking: "What is this made of?"

"This is called tofu, and it's made from soybeans. In Qin's way, it should be called Shu." Lin Ju explained, "Soak the soybeans in water, grind them into powder, remove the dregs, cook them, and add more Salt marinade or mountain alum juice, coagulated into a block, you can get tofu. Tofu is easier to digest than soybeans, and it does not cause the problem of farting like soybeans..."

"Cough, cough, cough—" Ah Zheng was startled by Lin Ju's startling words, and said awkwardly, "Ah Ju, there is no need to explain the latter sentence."

"Okay, I forgot you were eating." Lin Ju didn't show any embarrassment on her face, "I think if conditions permit, we can actually spread more about various eating practices. After all, a person's life is nothing but clothes. Clothes and food, if people in all parts of the state of Qin can eat more delicious food, it will actually help improve people's happiness and reduce rebellion."

Ah Zheng put down the bowl and wiped his mouth: "What Ah Ju said makes sense, so what do you want to do?"

"Cooking food is nothing more than three aspects. The first is the ingredients, the second is the method, and the third is the seasoning. As for the ingredients, because of the different climates in different places, there is no way to unify them. As for the method, Ah Zheng, the iron pot is actually very good It is useful, but are you assured of handing over iron utensils to the people everywhere?"

Ah Zheng didn't answer this question, but continued to ask, "What about the seasoning?"

"Sour, sweet, bitter, spicy and salty are the five tastes in the world, the most important of which are sweet and salty, that is, sugar and salt." Lin Ju paused, and continued, "At present, the only sugar I have seen in Qin is maltose and honey, but When I was in the mall yesterday, I discovered a new sweet crop, sugarcane, and if it is popularized on a large scale, it should help increase the sugar production in Qin."

"Sugar cane? What is it?"

Lin Ju said to everyone in the hall: "Go out first."

"Yes."

Seeing that only herself and Ah Zheng were left in the hall, Lin Ju turned a long sugarcane with outer leaves with her backhand, pointed to the roots and knots on it and said to Ah Zheng: "Look, Ah Zheng, this is the root of the sugar cane , this is the bud of sugarcane, as long as these two parts survive, the sugarcane should be able to grow alive."

Ah Zheng looked at the thing like a long bamboo pole that appeared out of nowhere, feeling a little helpless and amused: "Then, how do we eat this thing?"

Lin Ju was stunned for a moment, and asked Ah Zheng: "Do you have a knife on you? Or if you have enough strength."

Ah Zheng had no choice but to take out the second dagger that Lin Ju had given him, and asked her, "What should I do?"

Lin Ju struggled to peel off the outer leaves of the sugarcane: "Peel off all the outer leaves, and then use a knife to cut it into sections."

Ah Zheng directly grabbed the sugar cane from Lin Ju's hand, smiled and shook his head: "Let me do it, be careful not to hurt your hand." He carefully removed the withered outer leaves of the sugar cane, and chopped the sugar cane into sections according to Lin Ju's instructions Section by section, carefully remove the hard knots in the middle.

Lin Ju picked up a small piece of sugarcane, split a circle of its outer skin with her teeth, bit off a small piece of white inner core, chewed and sucked out the sweet water in the sugarcane inner core, and then sucked out the white inner core that had been sucked dry. Spit it out and put it on a spare plate on the table, and said to Ah Zheng, "You can eat as I do, but be careful not to hurt your teeth."

Ah Zheng took a deep breath and ate sugar cane like Lin Ju.Although he felt that this thing was sweeter than honey, he couldn't help but feel that this way of eating it was too rude.

The author has something to say:

World Famous Painting: The First Emperor Eating Sugarcane.

1. The Handan song in the article was randomly modified from "Qin Gongci" written by Yao Nai in the Qing Dynasty.

2. In history, Zhao Ji died in the 19th year of Qin Shihuang (228 BC). At that time, Qin Shihuang had almost just conquered Zhao State and personally attacked Handan City.