Yan Cigui

 Xu Miao ate this dinner absentmindedly.

 She likes the food and the taste is familiar to her. Every bite is nostalgic. She should be happy, but she can't make up her mind.

 She could only think about Cheng Niang.

She knew that Cheng Niang was in the capital, and they had met by chance at Guangde Temple last time.

At that time, she couldn't say a few words. Xu Yan also said that Cheng Niang had the opportunity to come to see her, but unfortunately they did not meet again.

 Later, a lot of things happened in the Liu family. Xu Miao lived in Guangde Temple for a while, but he hadn’t been there for a long time...

 In addition to regrets, there is more concern.

 She could hardly control her excitement now that she could eat Cheng Niang's cooking.

 Why did Cheng Niang come to the house?

 The matter of her and Li Gui's return home has become a hot topic, Cheng Niang must have heard about it, right?

A Jian was treated for his injuries and had not gone to court for a long time. Xu Bai mentioned that many people in the capital were talking about it. Maybe it also made Cheng Niang worried?

Thinking about it, Xu Miao ate and unknowingly consumed half a bowl more than usual.

Seeing this, Grandma Xia breathed a sigh of relief.

 mistakes.

 In fact, the reason is very simple. Madam is worried about Duke Fu’s leg injury.

 I can’t let go, no matter what medicine I take, it won’t help.

 Now it seems that we still need to adjust the dishes.

 Liu Ping was also observing Xu Miao. She saw every move of her mother.

Seeing that Xu Miao had a good appetite, Liu Ping also moved her chopsticks a few more times and praised her from time to time, saying this one smells good and that one good.

When she was finished, she asked: "Mom, who is 'Cheng Niang'?"

Xu Miao said: "She was the cook in the old mansion. She left the mansion many years ago. I liked her very much when I was a child."

 “Because the food she cooks is delicious?” Liu Ping asked.

 “Not entirely,” Xu Miao laughed, “Maybe it’s just a coincidence...”

Recalling the past, Xu Miao said softly: "When I was very young, my mother once said that the two most unforgettable things in a person's life are tunes and taste.

My mother plays the piano very well. I used to listen to her play, and I also learned from her. I learned a little bit, but before I could improve, she left first.

 Later on, I kept practicing, practicing various pieces of music she played, but something just wasn’t quite right. The tunes I played were never the same as the ones she played to me back then.

I have asked many masters to teach me, and I have also asked other piano girls to play. Each one has its own advantages, but it is still not what I remember.

 Later, I could only ask my father.

He laughed at that time and kept laughing. He said, "Of course it's different." The frontier fortress songs I played were all according to the music scores. The same is true for the master piano girls. Some people may have experienced the romance of the frontier fortress and played it. It's more passionate, but my mother is different.

The songs she played for me in the past were all just to amuse me. From frontier songs to battle songs, she played them in tunes to coax children. They were gentler than Jiangnan minor tunes.

I still can’t learn those tunes, but I remember them and keep them in my heart. "

Xu Miao didn't speak quickly. When she talked about those old things, her eyes were smiling but also a little wet.

Just like before, after listening to her father's explanation, she held Qin in her arms and thought about it by herself. After a long time, she raised her head and saw her father still sitting there, with moisture in her eyes.

The tune she tried so hard to imitate, but was completely different, made her father recall many past events at that moment.

Xu Miao rolled her eyes: "Mother is right."

 She remembered her mother's tunes, and she also remembered the taste of Cheng Niang's cooking.

 She followed Cheng Niang and learned to cook the dishes her mother liked. Even if her mother could never taste them again, she also learned some dishes her father liked and let him try them when his father returned home.

Those scenes were rolling around at this moment, making Xu Miao involuntarily let out a sigh of relief.

 She had to rely on this tone to hold back her tears.

Liu Ping loved hearing her mother talk about these past events, and her curiosity grew. She turned around and asked Xu Jian, "When will Mrs. Cheng come over?"

 Xu Jian asked Aunt Xia to send someone to the kitchen to deliver a message, and then said to Liu Ping: "You call her 'Aunt He'."

 Liu Ping nodded naturally.

It seems that Cheng Niang’s husband’s surname is now.

"She came to the house on her own?" Xu Miao asked, "How did Ah Jian know her? I have many things to ask her. How did she come to the capital, when did she come back, and how is she doing now..."

Xu Jian said: "I heard her mention that there were some reasons why she left the government at that time. Her marriage was also influenced by her grandfather. Her husband's family opened a shop in the capital. I have often gone to her place to eat in the past few years. County The Lord has been there before and knows that you like grandma’s craftsmanship, so he gave me the opportunity to invite grandma over.”

Xu Miao was stunned for a while after hearing this.

 She doesn’t know any of these things.

It turned out that she and Cheng Niang had always been close to each other, but they had not seen each other due to various reasons.

However, Xu Miao was happy when she heard that Xu Jian had often eaten Cheng Niang's food over the years. Firstly, she felt relieved when Cheng Niang cooked the food. Secondly, it was the taste of "home" in her memory, and A Jian loved to eat it. , they have another connection between the blood mother and son who have been separated for many years.

Just as we were talking, Grandma He’s family came.

She had already changed her clothes, and there was no fumes from the kitchen. After entering the house, she stood under the floor covering and did not take a step closer.

Obviously she was born in the imperial kitchen and worked in the Duke's palace for several years. She is not a person who suffers from stage fright. But at this moment, when she saw Xu Miao again, her body even trembled slightly.

 Subconsciously, Grandma He looked around.

It was still the room where Miss Miao lived, and it was decorated very much like before. If it weren't for the Duke and Miss Ping sitting at the table, Aunt He thought, she wouldn't be able to tell what night it was.

“Mommy, let’s talk for a while,” Xu Jian stood up, “I’m going to walk around in the garden to eat, and I’ll come over later.”

Liu Ping was smart and stood up immediately.

How could Xu Miao not know that they were making room for her?

"You're not allowed to go into the garden," she said urgently, looking at Xu Jian, "Are you going to eat in a soft sedan chair?"

Liu Ping burst into laughter.

Xu Jian also laughed, but did not respond to these words for a while.

"My brother and I are in the middle room," Liu Ping said with a smile as he came to the rescue. "Don't worry, I won't let him go out to enjoy the cold wind."

The brother and sister went to the middle room, and Grandma He's family followed the instructions and went into the second room and took a seat.

With her children not around, Xu Miao couldn't hold it back anymore, and tears rolled down her face: "I haven't eaten your food in years..."

“I’ll make more of it in the future,” said the He family’s grandma with red eyes. “If you want to eat it, I’ll make it. I’m also sad that I haven’t let you eat this delicious dish all these years.”

 Xu Miao raised her hand to wipe away her tears: "Ah Jian ate it for me."

“Yes, the Duke will eat it,” said Nanny He, “and the princess. The princess likes to drink the soup I make. Except for the sweet snacks, the princess’s other tastes are very similar to yours.

 You don’t know, but as I’ve gotten older over the past few years, my taste has gradually become lighter.

The princess likes me to use oil and sauce. She often lived in the palace when she was a child, and the cooking techniques of the imperial kitchen were the same as the ones I used to cook.

 She said she was used to eating it when she was a child, and she couldn't forget it when she grew up. "

 When mentioning the princess, Xu Miao smiled with tears in her eyes: "I can't forget it."

“She tasted it after just one sip,” Aunt He said with a smile, “What about you? Did you taste it just now?”

"Why can't you taste it?" Xu Miao said, "After you left the house, why didn't you receive any letters? I thought you had gone back to your hometown. The mountains are high and the rivers are far away. It's normal to lose news, but you are clearly in Beijing. inside…"

 Aunt He's family is talking.

She could confess the inside story of leaving the mansion to the auxiliary Duke and the princess that day, but she really couldn't tell it to Miss Miao. Even if it was all in the past, she could not say it outright "because she had a deep admiration for the old man" and "because neither the old man nor herself wanted to make Miss Miao feel embarrassed or uneasy."

The white lies told back then were all hidden, and it is naturally impossible to mention them today.

Seeing the hesitation of Nanny He, Xu Miao did not ask further questions.

 It has been more than twenty years. If it is something that is difficult to tell, she certainly cannot ask more questions.

As long as we can keep in touch with each other more in the future and no longer lose contact, she will be very satisfied.

So, Xu Miao took the initiative to change the topic: "Why does A Jian often go to your shop?"

 There is nothing that cannot be said.

Aunt He said: "When the old injury relapsed, the old Duke also wanted to taste the old taste, so he asked him to find him, and I cooked for him. After that, the Duke went to Yumen Pass , I will come often when I come back to Beijing.”

Xu Miao was stunned for a moment: "Did you take care of all three meals before my father left?"

"No," the He family's grandma shook her head, "I only cooked a few dishes, all of which the old man liked. I remember that I taught you many years ago..."

 Xu Miao was stunned.

 In the middle room, Xu Jian and Liu Ping didn't speak, they just sat quietly.

Xu Jian has a good ear, and he can understand most of the dialogue in the room.

Hearing this, he lowered his eyes. The light cast a deep arc under his eyes, covering his eyebrows and hiding many emotions.

For a moment, he thought about going in and interrupting the conversation inside, but he still held back.

Just like he never reminded Aunt He not to touch upon the topic of his grandfather’s death.

 There are some old things that Mrs. Xu should know about.

Mrs. Xu would want to know, just as she stood outside the cell, stubbornly wanting to hear Liu Jing finish everything.

 At the table this time, Xu Miao said nothing for a long time.

The He family's nanny also noticed something and couldn't help but hold her hand: "Miss Miao..."

Xu Miao's eyelashes trembled. She looked at Aunt He and wanted to speak several times, but no sound came out of her throat.

 But she did not give up. She pursed her lips, with tears in her eyes, and tried again and again, and finally forced out a voice.

 One word after another, each word is like crying blood.

“Are they the ones I have learned?” she asked, “Are there any that my mother likes?”

Grandma He nodded heavily.

“I did it all, right?” Xu Miao asked again.

 Aunt He nodded again.

 It was also at this moment that she suddenly understood.

What the old man missed during his illness was not her cooking skills, but the dishes that Miss Miao tried to cook for him.

 Obviously, as long as he opens his mouth, Miss Miao can live in the kitchen, he will...

 This father and daughter are really...

 Xu Miao cried.

Hold Grandma He in her arms and cried until she was out of breath.

Grandma He patted her back, just like she did many, many years ago.

Beside, Grandma Xia was also wiping tears behind her back.

 It’s better to cry.

Madam, of course she has cried in the past few months, but she has held it back. She has shed a lot of tears, but her emotions have not been cleared up enough.

You still have to cry loudly, even if your eyes are swollen and your voice is hoarse from crying, it will be fine again. Your mood will be relieved, and you will feel much more relaxed.

 The cry was also heard in the middle room.

Liu Ping was stunned for a moment, then stood up quickly, stretching her neck to look inside.

Xu Jian shook his head at her and signaled her not to go in.

Liu Ping listened to him and sat down again with heartache.

 Xu Jian raised his hand and pressed his eyebrows.

Probably because he lit the charcoal pot early, the room was warm and a bit stuffy. He actually wanted to go out and get some fresh air.

But he really didn’t want to provoke Mrs. Xu for such a trivial matter anymore, so he didn’t move and only focused on thinking about what Mrs. Xu just said.

 Tune and taste.

Lin Yunyan is good at chess, calligraphy, and calligraphy, but rarely plays the harp. However, she has a sweet tooth, so sweet that Xu Jian can easily tell whether the little princess likes it or dislikes it if she eats any snacks outside.

Of course, he also remembered other smells.

 For example, the bowl of vegetarian noodles that you share, the game that you occasionally hunt and put on the grill...

Both of them grew up in fine clothing and fine food, and had eaten countless delicacies from the mountains and seas, but what remained in his memory most profoundly was the extremely simple food during times of shared adversity.

Keep it in mind, but I don’t want Lin Yunyan to eat it again.

 Let’s just stick to delicacies from mountains and seas.

 Let the little princess remember more good things.

 Over time, Xu Miao's mood slowly calmed down.

 Mother Xia brought a basin of water and washed her face.

The He family's nanny also tidied up and said: "It's getting late, I'll go back first. Miss Miao is thinking about me. I will come here often. Just tell me what you want to eat."

Although Xu Miao was reluctant to part with her, she didn't keep her any longer and asked Xu Jian to make arrangements for her.

Liu Ping comforted her mother for a few words. Seeing that Xu Jian seemed to have something to say to her mother, she went back to the house first.

 Under the lamp, in the end, only Xu Miao and Xu Jian were sitting across the table.

 Xu Miao's eyes were still very red and she smiled sheepishly.

Xu Jian said: "I wanted to have Nanny He come over a long time ago, but I didn't expect it would be delayed until today."

"Don't delay," Xu Miao said, "As long as you can see it, don't delay."

 This is true.

"I plan to go to court in half a month," Xu Jian said, "I have been resting for a long time."

Xu Miao's eyes widened and her gaze fell on Xu Jian's legs: "What did Doctor Yue say? A Jian, the most important thing is to treat the injury. Anyway, I have rested. It is better to rest at once to avoid recurrence in the future."

“It’s too long,” Xu Jian said. “It won’t be appropriate any longer.”

"How could it be inappropriate?" Xu Miao didn't understand. "Is there any other suitable or inappropriate way to treat injuries?"

Xu Jian lowered his voice and said: "You know the reason for my injury. The Holy Emperor has been angry with His Highness the Crown Prince for this, and His Highness has been grounded for too long this time..."

 See you all tomorrow~~~