After the salted fish is married

9. Braised Loach

Loach is slippery, and it is not easy to catch it, but this is the fun of catching loach.When pinching the neck of the loach and its body, and throwing them into the bucket smoothly, the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction in my heart cannot be described in words.

Yan Xining's master and servant had a great time catching him, they had already forgotten the pain of doing laundry.Their clothes were full of mud spots thrown by the loach, and their faces were dirty like cats with painted faces.

Happily infected the guards who cleared the mud, and it didn't take long for the guards to join the army of catching loaches.

It is unclear who threw a loach into the soil first, and then the big and small loach fell into the barrel from all directions with their tails flicking.The big brothers of the bodyguards showed all eighteen kinds of martial arts. Don't look at them with sullen faces, but everyone's movements are not slow.

Who would have thought that there were so many loaches hiding in the crooked canal, and not long after, the wooden barrel was half filled with loaches.

Yan Xining took the wooden basin, he put the bigger loach in the wooden basin, and kept the smaller loach and released it.

While picking the loach, he sighed: "The loach is so fat! Guard Yan, you and your brothers will have dinner at our house at noon today?"

Wenzhangyuan's kitchen is ready for cooking, and even if the servants of the palace forget to deliver the food, he can still rely on the existing ingredients for a period of time.When the vegetables grow in the vegetable field, as long as there is food, he will not starve.

Now Yan Xining already has the confidence to invite guests over for dinner.This is welcome progress!

However, Yan Ke firmly rejected him: "Thanks, no need."

They are the most elite guards in the palace, and they are responsible for three meals a day, how can they eat what they don't know well?What is the face of spreading out?

The loaches found a corner in the tub and became quiet, a layer of mucus formed between the crowded loaches.Generally speaking, the loach in autumn is the most plump, but the loach in the pot is not thin.

This is mainly because of the lake next to it. I heard that there is a group of koi in the lake, which is fed by a special person every day.The scattered fish feed has become the best food for the loaches, so the loaches in Wenzhangyuan are still so plump after sleeping in the soil all winter.

After Yan Xining walked around the wooden basin, she decided to braise part of the loach.

He went to the kitchen and slipped around, and when he came out he was holding a pair of sharp scissors in his right hand and a shauke made of bamboo in his left hand.

He squatted next to the wooden barrel, clasped his hands together and bowed to the wooden barrel: "I'm sorry. Have a good journey."

It is instinct for people to live in the world to kill and survive. He is not a vegetarian, on the contrary he quite likes to eat meat dishes.And eating meat means taking the lives of other creatures, all he can do is not to kill indiscriminately.

After the words fell, he raised the scissors and aimed at the neck of a loach.With a slight movement of the fingers, the scissors quickly tightened, and the loach's neck snapped.The bright red blood of the loach flowed out, and the body of the loach was slightly bent, and it could no longer jump violently.

As the clicking sound continued, the heads of the loaches in the barrel bid farewell to their bodies.After it was estimated that most of the pot of loach could be burned, Yan Xining finally stopped killing.

He casually picked up a loach from the basin, and stuffed half of it into the loach's belly with scissors.After a light stroke, the loach's belly was broken open.At this time, just use scissors to pick out the viscera in the belly of the loach, and the loach will be cleaned up.

Yan Xining put the blood-stained loach in the Shau Kei next to him. His swift movements made Yan Ke, who was watching, dumbfounded.

Seeing the loaches piled up one by one in Shau Kei, Yan Ke finally couldn't help it: "Did you eat this when you were young?"

Yan Xining didn't think much, he said casually: "Yes, I ate it when I was a child."

Before his parents bought a house in the city, his family lived in the country.At that time, loaches and frogs could be seen everywhere in the countryside, and it was not a rare thing.Dad knows how to catch fish. In spring and summer nights, he often goes out with the fish basket on his back. When he comes back, there will always be something in the fish basket.

His mother cooks good dishes, whether it is a big fish or a small shrimp, in the hands of his mother, it can become a delicacy for dinner.

When the words reached Yan Ke's ears, it didn't mean that.

Speaking of it, Yan Xining is also an unlucky guy, originally it was not his turn to be happy, but he has a eccentric father.Yan Boyong didn't want his eldest son to marry their master, so he pushed out his illegitimate son.

I thought he was a playboy, but I didn't expect that he even regarded loach as a delicacy.It is hard to imagine how he survived these years in the Shangshu Mansion.

Yan Ke's eyes changed again and again, and his words were sympathetic: "It's not easy for you."

Yan Xining smiled cheerfully: "It's okay." Although his small family suffered a sudden change later, he had a happy childhood.Later, in the difficult days, as long as he thought of the sweetness of his childhood, he felt that there was nothing he could not endure.

He got up and picked up the Shau Kei to greet Yan Ke and the others: "I'm going to wash the loach."

Ever since the courtyard wall to the east fell down, Yan Xining discovered a new world.

Opposite the stone bridge is the island in the middle of the lake, which is four or five times larger than Wenzhang Garden.Probably because of fear of soil erosion, stones are piled up around the island to form steps, and these steps are the best docks.

And the island in the middle of the lake is overgrown with weeds and wild vines, and it seems to have become a wasteland.Wasteland has the benefits of wasteland. The nest of garlic that I ate in the morning was dug from the edge of the wasteland.

After crossing the stone bridge and turning right, Yan Xining came to the nearest pier.He skillfully stepped on the stones to the steps closest to the water, then lifted the hem of his clothes and bent over to squat down.

After the Shau Kei swung a few times in the clear water, the mucus and blood stains visible to the naked eye on the loaches slipped away from the Shau Kei hole.The loaches that have been bathed are clean and look very fresh.

Yan Xining reached out to wash the loach in the Shau Kei, when he heard Yan Ke's voice next to his ear: "Do you know where you are standing now?"

Yan Xining looked up, and saw Yan Ke standing on the stone bridge, with his hands crossed over his chest, and his eyes were a bit malicious.

Yan Xining smiled and asked, "Where?"

Yan Ke looked around: "This is the forbidden area of ​​the palace, the former Plum Garden. The place where His Majesty's favorite concubine once lived."

Yan Xining skillfully lifted the Shau Kei out of the water and weighed it: "Oh. Then?"

Yan Ke looked deeply at Yan Xining: "That concubine has a beautiful appearance and is deeply loved by Your Majesty. But God is jealous of her beauty. One night, a fire broke out in Plum Garden, and the concubine was burned alive here. Poor pretty lady, The fragrance disappears, the jade dies, the soul is broken, and the plum garden is destroyed."

Yan Xining followed suit and sighed: "Poor."

Yan Ke hadn't finished his sentence yet, what he said next was the key point: "After that, the Plum Garden was haunted. At night, there were cries in the Plum Garden, and someone saw a woman in pink by the lake. Dance. You have lived in Wenzhangyuan for so long, have you heard a woman crying at night?"

Yan Ke's tone was solemn, and when he said this, Bai Tao was passing behind him with a wooden basin.

Before Yan Xining could speak, Bai Tao let out a howl, and he threw the wooden basin in his hand aside: "Mother!! It's haunted!! Ahhhh——I'm afraid, young master!"

Yan Ke originally wanted to scare Yan Xining, but Bai Tao howled until his head was buzzing.He stared at Bai Tao convulsively, this boy's voice was louder than a war drum!

Bai Tao screamed and ran towards his master: "No wonder I heard the sound of suffering these two nights, it turned out to be a female ghost crying! Master! What should I do?"

Bai Tao looked very ugly when he cried, and his voice was loud. When Yan Xining was holding Yan Xining and crying, Yan Xining felt a loudspeaker blasting beside his ears.

Yan Xining glanced at Yan Ke, and he patted Bai Tao's shoulder reassuringly: "That's not the female ghost crying, it's the cuckoo. The cuckoo is a kind of bird, and it doesn't sing very well."

With tears in his eyes and a snot in his nose, Bai Tao was dubious: "Really?"

Yan Xining said seriously: "Of course it's true, when have I lied to you?"

Only then did Bai Tao relax, but before he could completely relax, he heard Yan Ke make up the knife: "After the fire, the concubine's remains were burned to ashes, and she is still sleeping in Plum Garden until now."

Yan Ke did it on purpose, he was taking revenge on Yan Xining.Who told Yan Xining to saw off a dead branch and cause him to crash into a tree?

Bai Tao cried even louder: "Master, I'm afraid!"

Yan Xining wished she could hang Yan Ke up and smoke her, but Bai Tao was timid, so frightened by him, he would not get better during the day, maybe it would last until night.

Yan Ke smiled sadly: "Little guy, if you open your eyes tonight, you might see that imperial concubine from Pinmei Garden standing in front of you."

Bai Tao cried even louder, Yan Xining couldn't be coaxed anymore.He panicked: "Yan Ke! What kind of a hero are you to scare children!"

Yan Ke said slowly: "I didn't want to scare him, I was just introducing the origin of Pinmeiyuan to you."

Yan Xining didn't care about these things at all: "The country is made up of bones, where in the world is there no soul of the dead?"

He comforted Bai Tao in a gentle voice: "Don't cry, we haven't done anything wrong and we are not afraid of ghosts knocking at the door. I think a girl who can be His Majesty's noble concubine must be gentle and virtuous, and she will not harm us."

Now it was Yan Ke's turn to be stunned, the legend of Pinmei Garden could frighten his newcomers, but it couldn't frighten Yan Xining?If he is not particularly bold, then he is very frank.

Yan Xining walked towards Wenzhang Garden with Shau Kei in one hand and twitching white pottery in the other. When he passed by Yan Ke, he gave Yan Ke a look: "Guard Yan, if you scare Baitao next time, you won't want to eat it again. It's my meal."

Yan Ke rubbed his nose and his momentum was a little weaker. In fact, the food made by Yan Xining was quite delicious, and he was willing to try the dishes by himself instead of his subordinates.

Blue and white smoke rose from the chimney of the kitchen, and Bai Tao sat behind the stove with swollen eyes and sniffled his nose, lighting the fire.The firelight imprinted on his face, and the small freckles were very clear.

Yan Ke crossed his legs and sat on Yan Xining's special chair, saying sarcastic words: "A man has no guts at all. What can you expect from you in a critical situation?"

Bai Tao's tears welled up in his eyes again, his voice was trembling and out of breath: "I, I will protect the young master!"

Yan Ke laughed twice: "How dare you talk back."

At this time, Yan Xining came in from the kitchen with a handful of side dishes, Yan Ke took the opportunity and said, "Give me your little servant to practice? You have been in our guard for more than a month, and you are a different little servant. "

Bai Tao burst into tears, and his head turned into a rattle: "Master, I won't go, even if I'm beaten to death!"

Yan Xining put the side dishes in her hand on the table: "Don't scare Bai Tao, how can he stand up to your practice?"

The guards of the palace have practiced martial arts since they were young, and they need to go through layers of selection before they can stay.Bai Tao was so delicate, and in their hands, he would cry thirteen times a day.

Suddenly Yan Ke put down Erlang's legs and stood up: "What are you doing with this?"

Yan Xining didn't understand, so she asked, "What? Which one?"

He looked at the side dishes he found, a piece of old ginger, a few peppers, two heads of garlic and a handful of shallots.A handful of shallots should have been added, but the shallots hadn't sprouted yet.

Yan Ke picked up a slender red pepper: "Grind this and apply it on the weapon, which can double the pain of the opponent. The water soaked in the pepper is also very effective for interrogating prisoners."

He looked serious: "Where did this thing come from?"

Yan Xining explained in a gentle voice: "I asked Steward Leng to find it for me to cook. Don't worry, it's not poisonous."