Chapter 45 Longevity Noodles
It's not yet time to lock the city gates, but there is a lot of traffic outside Luoyang City.
There are people who go to the city to buy things and go home, carrying their hands and shoulders and looking tired and pinching their purses from time to time; there are vendors who rush in before the city gate closes, standing on tiptoes in panic to take a look at the majestic city tower; There were even hungry beggars who sneaked in when the city gate officials were not paying attention, eager to beg for a meal in the city.
These common people kept far away from the cavalry escorting the eunuchs to announce the decree, for fear of accidentally bumping into them.
Wei Ji, on the other hand, walked quickly and stood in front of the eunuch who announced the decree.
"Please go back and report to Your Majesty," he said, "Princess Anguo is not in good health and needs to go back to the mansion to rest first."
"This..." the chamberlain just murmured, and then quickly saluted, "I will follow the Young Master's arrangements. I hope the Young Master will let you know when I can see His Majesty."
A group of people drove away. Wei Ji stood beside the carriage and looked at their backs, with a look of caution and coldness in the corners of his eyes.
"Xiaohe," he paused and said from outside the car curtain, "I'll take you home."
Jiang He has a home in Luoyang City.
Wei Ji arranged a home for her.
There was only one street between the spacious house and Wei Ji's residence. As soon as he got off the carriage, a man who looked like a steward came up to him. He knelt down and saluted: "Your Highness, please."
Wei Ji smiled and signaled Jiang He to relax, but Zongjun, who had followed Jiang He, had already driven the carriage into the side door in a swaggering manner.
Entering the house, you are greeted by a brick screen the appearance is simple, the joints of the bricks are neatly connected, and the auspicious beast of the house is pieced together in the center. It is obvious that a lot of effort has been put into the fine carving.
After walking around the screen wall, I saw Kuolang's courtyard full of kneeling guards and maids.
Seeing Jiang He entering the courtyard, they all said in unison: "The slaves and maids are waiting to welcome Her Royal Highness."
Jiang He took a quick look and felt that there were no less than a hundred people there.
"Why do you use so many?" she asked in surprise.
"Not many," Wei Ji smiled brightly, and led Jiang He past the servants, past the hall, around the bedrooms, and to see the backyard. "Originally, we prepared more than 50, but since you were promoted to a princess, we naturally had to have more. Luoyang City tends to follow the influence of the enemy. Those who bully the weak and fear the strong will not let others look down upon us."
Passing through the corner door, the backyard in the twilight is in sight.
"So beautiful!" Jiang He couldn't help but admired.
A pear tree as thick as two people hugging each other was planted in the middle of the courtyard. It was mid-autumn at this time, and the golden pears were hanging from the branches, swaying gently in the breeze.
Jiang He ran forward, reached out and picked one, without rinsing it, he smiled and took a bite.
Wei Ji also picked one off, wiped it carefully with a silk handkerchief, and gave it to Jiang He.
"Is it delicious?" he asked.
The Yali pear is rich in juice and sweet in the mouth, and the flesh is delicate and slightly crisp. Jiang He took several bites to quench his thirst after the journey.
"It's delicious," she said with a smile, "Can all the pear trees in Wei State bear such good pears?"
Wei Ji was like a child who was praised, and called out: "Give this tree a bucket of water tonight!"
A servant answered from a distance, and he answered Jiang He with a smile, "That year when we returned to Qi State together, the pear blossoms were in bloom. You said that Yangxin in Qi State had the most delicious pears. Later, when I came back, I simply went north and took a detour to Yangzhou. I wrote a letter and bought more than a dozen pear trees. Perhaps it was the wrong season for transplanting, and none of the ones planted in my house were able to grow. But Lord Long Yang asked for my tree to survive. I simply bought his. This private residence is given to you."
It turned out to be the case.
How hard it must be to transport such a thick tree, a dozen or so, back from Yangxin.
"It's also thanks to you that when you returned to Qi State, you gave me all your belongings as a means of payment," Wei Ji laughed, "otherwise, you wouldn't have the financial resources to do this."
The young man in white clothes stood under the pear tree and smiled lightly, his eyes reflected the morning glow, and his expression was as warm as spring seedlings embroidered on the edge of the robe are covered with a layer of soft light, and the river runes at the intersection seem to be flowing.
"Mr. Wei," Jiang He said with a slight movement, "where is the kitchen?"
The kitchen was in a wing next to the backyard, and Wei Ji invited a cook who had worked in the imperial dining room of Qi State to take Jiang He enter the door, he bowed and said in Qi dialect: "Your Highness, the villain has prepared a lot of hometown dishes to wash away the princess."
When Jiang He heard the local accent, warmth flowed in his eyes, and he smiled and said, "I want to cook by myself, you can help me."
The cook quickly stepped aside.
Although he was the one who started, he was watching Jiang He's movements throughout the whole process, and gradually showed an excited expression.
It is said that a gentleman cooks far away from home, but Her Royal Highness is actually very good at this unattractive thing.
Jiang He kneaded the noodles with clean hands, kneaded them for three times and then stretched them into strips. Then he removed the chicken bones and boiled the soup. Cut the sauerkraut below. After the noodles were cooked, he stirred in shredded chicken for seasoning. He took the pot and filled it like a soup cauldron.
Two noodles, the noodles grow continuously, making two bowls of rice.
The maid placed the soup cauldron on the tray and followed Jiang He into the front Ji was sitting on his knees playing the harp. Seeing Jiang He enter the door, he smiled and moved the harp away and asked, "What is it? It smells so good."
Jiang He knelt down opposite him and took out the soup cauldron and placed it in front of said with a smile: "Congratulations on your birthday, longevity noodles."
August [-]th was Wei Ji's birthday, and she always remembered it.
Wei Ji was well-dressed, well-fed, loved by his mother, and followed by followers. Gold, silver, and jewelry were readily available to him, and this meal was made by Jiang He himself.
She still remembered that he ate lightly and used less salt on purpose.
"You actually remembered my birthday! Did you do it yourself?"
Wei Ji picked up his chopsticks as if he was flattered, raised his face slightly, looked at Jiang He, and said softly: "Master said, 'A basket of food, a ladle of drink, in a back alley, people can't bear their worries, and they won't change their joy when they return. .’ I used to think I couldn’t do it, but with your bowl of noodles, I really have nothing to worry about.”
"Eat quickly." Jiang He took out his noodles from the tray and said warmly.
Although she also likes Master, she also knows that the noodles will become lumpy if left out for too long.
"Okay." Wei Ji lowered his head to eat the noodles, but before he put the noodles in his mouth, he heard someone reporting from outside.
"Sir, the Queen Mother has summoned you."
Wei Ji raised his head in confusion and asked, "Didn't you tell me to go back and rest?"
"It is Your Majesty who is letting the young master rest. This is the Queen Mother." The visitor looked eager, as if he could not wait for a moment.
Wei Ji frowned and stopped eating chopsticks with some nostalgia. Jiang He thought for a while and persuaded him: "Today is your birthday. You should go to see the Queen Mother."
"It's my fault," Wei Ji thought thoughtfully, "I thought it was already too late, so I didn't bother entering the palace."
"Go quickly." Jiang He urged him, "As a mother, who would think that it is disturbing for a child to visit her? This time you went to Dayong, you met an assassin first and then lost your sight. Before leaving, you were killed again in Jiu There is a confrontation between Weishan and King Yong, and the Queen Mother does not know how worried she is."
It was indeed not smooth sailing, but in the end, it all came true.
Thinking of this, Wei Ji put down his chopsticks emotionally and stroked Jiang He's sleeves, "Then I'll come back tomorrow."
He reluctantly left, leaving Jiang He alone in the front hall.
I picked up the noodles and took a bite. Although it was a little bland, it had a strong taste.
Jiang He scooped up a spoonful of soup. When he heard the sound of the carriage leaving outside, he turned to the maid and said, "Zongjun, who is coming with me, please summon him."
Zongjun came happily and asked what his orders were.
"Have you eaten?" Jiang He asked.
"I ate a lot of seafood." Zong Jun said with a smile, "Master Wei is so extravagant that he brought a lot of strange seafood on ice from Qi State. The kitchen cooked some for the slave to eat, but the slave found that half of the seafood was there. The leftover noodle soup in the bowl is very delicious."
Jiang He smiled.
"The noodle soup is delicious. Do you want some noodles?"
Zong Jun walked over and saw the longevity noodles on the dining table.
"So it's this! No wonder it tastes better than seafood! Did His Highness make it himself?"
Every word in his mouth was filled with exaggerated exclamations, making the empty front hall lively.
"Young Master Wei hasn't eaten yet, so he has given this bowl to you as a reward." Jiang He pointed and said, "In my hometown, if there are any longevity noodles left, there will be disaster. Come and help Mr. Wei." How about eliminating the disaster?"
Zong Jun immediately stepped forward to pick up the bronze tripod, thanked him repeatedly, sat down at the lower position not far from Jiang He, and began to eat seriously.
Every bite is full of flavor and every bite is a delight.
Having someone to eat with makes it feel like home.
Jiang He finished eating the noodles with a smile and smiled slightly.
After rescuing his father, he can be considered a real home.
In just five days, the water diversion project called "Han Canal" started smoothly.
Originally, Han An, the king of Korea, was worried that Yong would attack Korea after repairing the canal. However, at the ceremony that day, Zhao Zheng threatened to attack Wei first, so Han An was overjoyed and sent many plumbers who were good at diverting water and dredging channels.
As long as they don't attack South Korea, Han An can't wait to go into the water with a shovel.
In order to supervise the progress of the project, Zhao Zheng personally went to the Jingshui River on the day when the construction started.
It is also closer to Wei State.
(End of this chapter)