Linque

The next day the weather was fine, and the snow that had fallen the night before gradually began to melt in large swaths.Snow water dripped down along the ice ridges formed on the tile eaves, and there were rows of palace people on both sides of the palace road busy clearing the snow from the next day.

After commanding the palace staff to sweep the snow, Gao Bandit, the head of the Jingcheng Palace, looked at the sun and guessed that it was almost the time, so he came out of the Jingzhang Palace, passed by the Zichen Palace and the Xuanzheng Palace, crossed half of Ziwei City, and then headed south. Then we arrived at Taiwei City, the outer dynasty in the former court of Jiuchongque, where the offices of the Taiwei Central Bureau of Dayin were located.

Bandit Gao went straight into Shangshutai, just in time to meet the Minister of Rites.

Li Shilang saw him at a glance, went forward to greet him with a polite smile and said, "Why did Gao Zhangdian come here in person, but His Majesty has an order?"

Bandit Gao glanced behind the screen in the Ming Room, and said with a smile: "It's not a decree, but there is indeed a matter. Her Highness the Queen Mother came to the Jingcheng Hall yesterday to discuss with the Holy Majesty where the Qianqiu banquet will be held. What does your Majesty mean?" This Qianqiu is not only the Empress Dowager’s birthday, but also a grand event for the court, so it’s a big matter, and it’s not convenient for me to make a decision on my own, it should be discussed with all the officials.”

"The Ministry of Rites presides over matters such as the Holy Spirit's thoughts, court banquets, rites and music system, etc., so I invite all the lords of the Ministry of Rites to go directly to the Palace of Cihe and discuss carefully with Her Majesty the Empress Dowager. When all matters are discussed and the regulations are discussed, report them to Your Majesty immediately." However, as a son of man, Your Majesty certainly hopes that everything will be perfect, as long as you have discussed it with the Queen Mother, Your Majesty will have no objection."

Li Shilang looked at the smiling bandit Gao who was full of wit in his words, and he couldn't help but "thump" in his heart. He glanced behind the screen from the corner of his eye and asked tentatively: "Dare to ask the master, did the queen mother mention it?" Where do you plan to set up the court banquet?"

Bandit Gao smiled, his eyes slowly swept over the people who were looking at this place from the corner of their ears, and said three words slowly: "Zichen Palace."

Throwing the hot potato into my arms, I couldn't throw it or hold it.Li Shilang's heart was suffocated, and he suddenly felt his head grow twice, and everyone in the bright room frequently looked behind the screen.

Li Shilang was facing Gao Bandit with a meaningful smile, and he couldn't follow everyone's eyes. He was hesitating, not knowing how to answer this question, when he finally heard a long-awaited voice from behind the screen. the sound of--

"Zichen Palace? She hasn't woken up yet? Go to Cihe Palace to deliver the imperial calendar, so that His Highness the Queen Mother can see the geometry of today and evening."

Today is the eighth day of the winter month, Su Lang accompanied Xiao Gaomin into the palace to greet the saint.

The arrogant and willful eldest son of Yong'an Hou Mansion finally behaved himself once, and put on the official noble court clothes.

The unprincipled one turned into Su Lang instead. When Chu Heng came to Jingcheng Hall, His Majesty was playing chess with Prince Yi Chong in the Xinuang Pavilion. Su Lang was wearing a military uniform and was sitting idly by the desk. Eating refreshments with a small dish, no matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like what it should be like to come to face Sheng after going out and returning to Beijing.

Su Lang saw Chu Heng at a glance, brought a Yulu ball on the table to the opposite side, and said with a smile to Chu Heng: "I left it for you, the freshly made Yulu Plum Blossom Fried, just now I wanted to eat, Your Majesty didn't even give it." ①

Ling Ye flew over with a sharp eye: "I didn't give it to you?"

Su Lang quickly raised his palm to stop, "Playing chess, playing chess—"

Ling Ye ignored him, turned to Chu Heng and said, "Come and taste it, the two of them have to eat Yulu Dumplings in cold weather. The snacks in the small tea room of Jingzhang Palace are good, let Zhu Geng know if you have any taboos, and let them eat it later." They don't want to serve it to the Hall of Jingcheng. There is a plate of small crisps on the table that should suit your taste."

Today Gao Bandit is not in Jingcheng Hall, Gao Bandit's apprentice Zhu Geng is serving in front of the imperial court, he is quite clever, seeing Chu Heng coming, he hastily moved a round stool for him.Hearing the emperor's order, he couldn't help but quietly raised his head to glance at the imperial servant Mo who was "not pleased by the emperor" in the rumors.

Chu Heng walked to the table and sat down according to the words, took the silver spoon that Su Lang handed him, tasted the jade dew ball, and the cool air spread along the tip of the tongue to the lungs.Chu Heng took a deep breath, put down the spoon, picked a piece of Xiaotian crisp, stuffed it in his mouth, pressed it, frowned and said, "Why do you think of eating this in the cold weather?"

Xiao Gaomin held up the chess piece and said briefly: "Fresh."

Su Lang laughed when he heard the words: "The Dongyue plum blossoms in the imperial garden, and the freshly carved crisps from the ice cellar in the imperial dining room are all His Majesty's things anyway, so you can't eat them for nothing."

"Did Yingguo's mansion short you for a bite?" Ling Ye glanced at him.

Su Lang didn't respond to this, but raised the corners of his lips and said to Zhu Geng who was standing beside him: "The Bijian kidney bean cake that I ate at His Majesty's place last time was very good, little Eunuch Zhu asked the waiter for two boxes for me, wait a while so that I can take it away."

Ling Ye raised his eyes, "Why don't you take the cook away too?"

"I really want it, but will your majesty reward me?"

Ling Ye turned his head and told Zhu Geng, "I won't give you any pastries, let the waiter copy the recipe for him."

Zhu Gengying said yes, smiled and withdrew.

"Hey——" Su Lang suddenly had an opinion: "It's fine if His Majesty refuses to reward the cook, why don't you even want to part with a plate of snacks."

Ling Ye ignored him and continued to play chess with Xiao Gaomin.Su Lang sighed, took the tea set on the table and made tea with Chu Heng.

This game of chess lasted for nearly half an hour. The elder son was arrogant and indulgent on weekdays, but he was quite a gentleman when it came to Lan Ke, but it was a pity that he lost to the wily and calculating third son of His Majesty in the end.

While they were playing chess, Chu Heng and Su Lang had tasted and commented on the dim sum on the table one by one, and drank several cups of tea.

After their game was over, they also sat at the table, and Chu Heng brought a plate of rose shortbread to His Majesty: "This tastes good, and it goes well with today's tea."

A slight smile appeared in Ling Ye's eyes, and he tasted a piece as he said.

The four of them ate tea for a while, and then began to talk about the Qianqiu Festival. Ling Ye told Su Lang: "In a few days, the foreign missions from all over the world should arrive one after another. Go to Honglu Temple to keep an eye on it." , Reception one or two, town hall."

Su Lang nodded, and before he could make a sound, the emperor suddenly said without any warning: "Yesterday, the Empress Dowager came to Jingcheng Hall and said that she wanted to hold the Qianqiu court banquet in Zichen Hall—"

"No."

Shangshutai, Yan Mao dropped the word, turned around from behind the screen holding the book, glanced at Gao Bandit and everyone who looked at him in the open room, and said softly: "Where is the Zichen Palace, she is not How could the emperor hold a banquet there, is there such a precedent in the hundreds of years since the founding of Dayin?"

Needle drop can be heard in the open room, everyone looks at me and I look at you, no one dares to say nothing.

After a long while, there was a book in the corner who was familiar with the history of the country, Ling Shi couldn't help whispering: "Master, Mr. Xiang, there is indeed such a precedent..."

"Oh, there is a precedent." Yan Mao glanced at him and spoke slowly in a drawn out voice.When the little official saw this, he broke into a cold sweat immediately, Yan Mao didn't feel sorry for him, he looked away and said slowly with no expression on his face: "Then is it King Qi who is sitting on the dragon chair in the Xuanzheng Palace?"

"Master Xiang is careful!"

As soon as these words came out, all the people in the Ming Room changed their expressions. They glanced at the Hall of Jingcheng who was still standing here, and cold sweat broke out from their backs.

Yan Mao didn't care, and said with a sneer, "Then it's over? She's not Empress Chengde, and the one sitting on the throne is not King Qi, so why talk about a precedent? The court banquet will be held in Linde Hall, so it's settled. It’s worth discussing.”

There was a moment of silence in the morning.

"How about this, let the Ministry of Rites bring a few people..." Yan Mao half-spoken, glanced at Gao Bandit who was still respectful, suddenly threw the book in his hand on the table, and said lightly: "No, I'll go, I have to See what kind of moth she is trying to fix."

Before going out, Yan Mao did not forget to order: "Go and get me a brand new imperial calendar, so that I can give it to Her Royal Highness as a birthday gift to the Queen Mother."

In the Hall of Jingcheng, as soon as the emperor finished speaking, Su Lang and Xiao Gaomin stopped holding the teacup together, and the two looked at each other, their expressions slightly changed.

Ling Ye couldn't see any joy or anger on his face, so he picked up the tea leaves with the lid of the cup, and said: "A month ago, the Nanxi Kingdom capital worshiped the gods, and the priests in charge of the ceremony were the left and right priests. Attend."

Mirror, snow, and inside.

Chu Heng's eyes moved slightly. The moment he heard the name, his expression turned cold for a moment, but he returned to normal in the blink of an eye, with only his eyelids drooping slightly.

Xiao Gaomin held the cup, thought for a moment and said, "Worshiping the gods in Nanxi is an important matter for the country. If Jing Xueli didn't show up the whole time, it can only be that she is not in the capital of Nanxi. So this Qianqiu banquet, Nanxi Is the envoy Xi Lai the famous master of the country?"

"In the past, the Yanxi Zhong family had contacts with the Nanxi Wu clan, and the Yanxi city even had a marriage with Wu Xinghai." Su Lang glanced at the emperor's expression, paused for a moment, and said: "Besides, the Zhong family respects the princess. He once studied in Wu Xinghai, so he is Jing Xueli's disciple. Because Jing Xueli is coming, why does the Empress Dowager want to hold a banquet in Zichen Palace?"

——In order to show that even if he retired to the Cihe Palace, he still has potential influence in Dayin's court.

Su Lang didn't say anything later, but only raised his eyes to look at the emperor.

Ling Ye still looked calm, nodded slowly, and said in a low voice: "The road to Nanxi is far away, and the list of missions has not yet arrived in the imperial capital. It doesn't matter who comes, just prepare as usual."

Su Lang should be.

They sat for a while, then Su Lang and Xiao Gaomin got up and left to go to the Hall of Martial Arts.Su Lang directly put on military uniforms and came into the palace today, not for any other reason, but later, he had to go to Nandian to get back the face they had lost for several months.

Before leaving, seeing Zhu Geng enter the hall with a food box and a piece of pastry recipe, Su Lang took the things and smiled, and said to Ling Ye: "I have given you the snacks and recipes, why don't you just be generous to the end, and the cook will also be generous." Rewarded together?"

Ling Ye didn't raise his head: "Get lost."

Su Lang shook his head and sighed, and had no choice but to leave.

When the backs of the two of them turned out of the hall, Chu Heng turned his head and asked, "Is Bijian Cake delicious?"

Ling Ye thought for a while, nodded and said: "It's pretty good." He paused, looked at Chu Heng and said solemnly: "But don't eat now, you will serve dinner at noon later."

"Oh."

After a while, Zhu Geng, who was standing by the gate of the palace, heard the imperial servant Mo who was "not happy for the emperor" say again——

"...The cook don't give it to Su Lang."

Then His Majesty, who is "accustomed to studying and grinding the imperial servant Mo" on weekdays, said: "Well, don't give it to him, and have cake at noon."

Zhu Geng gave a soft "tsk", don't say anything, don't say anything.

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① Yulu Tuan: A dessert similar to creamy ice cream, taken from Tang Dynasty dim sum.From then on, imperial servant Mo lived a life of eating and drinking.

②Nanxi (xi second tone)

Jing Xueli: Don’t ask, I’m here for sightseeing.