Yan Cigui.

Xu Miao ate this dinner absentmindedly.

The food was her favorite, and the taste was familiar to her. Every bite was filled with nostalgia. She should be happy, but she couldn't make up her mind.

All she could think about was Cheng Niang.

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

At that time, she didn't say a few words. Xu Miao also told Cheng Niang that she must come to see her if she had a chance. Unfortunately, they didn't meet again.

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

In addition to regrets, there is more concern.

It was hard for her to control her excitement now that she could eat Cheng Niang's cooking.

Why did Cheng Niang come to the house?
There was a lot of buzz about her and Li Gui's return home. Cheng Niang must have heard about it, right?

A Jian was recovering from 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?

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

Seeing this, Grandma Xia breathed a sigh of relief.

Madam's appetite has been mediocre recently. She once asked Dr. Yue to write an appetizing recipe, but Madam refused.

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

I can't let go, and no medicine is of any use.

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

Liu Ping was also observing Xu Miao, and she saw her mother's every move.

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

After she finished using it, 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 matter of fate..."

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 it, and I also learned from her. I learned a little bit, but before I could get any better, she left first.

Later, I kept practicing the various pieces she played, but something just wasn’t 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 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 hymns, she played them all in tunes to coax children. They were gentler than Jiangnan 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 back then, 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 somewhat different tune she tried to imitate 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 her mother's favorite dishes. Even if her mother could never taste them again, she also learned some of her father's favorite dishes and let him try them when he returned home.

Those scenes were rolling around at the 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 'Auntie He'."

Liu Ping nodded naturally.

It seems that Mrs. Cheng's husband's surname is He now.

"She came to the house on her own?" Xu Miao asked, "How did Ajian know her? I have a lot of questions to ask her. Why is she in the capital, when did she come back, 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 didn'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 for 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 they 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-standing hood without taking a step closer.

She was obviously from the imperial kitchen and had worked in the Duke's Mansion for several years. She was not a person prone to 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 in her boudoir, and the decoration was very similar to that of the past. If it weren't for the Duke and Miss Ping sitting at the table, Grandma He thought, she would not 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 raised her voice 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 didn't answer the question for a while.

"My brother and I are in the middle room," Liu Ping smiled and 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 Aunt He's family followed the instructions and went into the second room and took a seat.

The children were not around, but Xu Miao couldn't hold it back anymore, tears rolled down her eyes: "I haven't eaten your cooking for how many years..."

"I'll make more of it in the future," the He family's grandma also blushed. "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 her tears: "Ajian ate it for me."

"Yes, the Duke eats 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 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. "

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

"She tasted it after just one sip," Nanny 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 wife was chattering.

She could confess the inside story of leaving the mansion to the Duke of Fu 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 Mr. Guo" and "because neither the old Mr. Guo nor herself wanted to make Miss Miao feel embarrassed or uneasy."

All the white lies told back then were hidden, and it is naturally impossible to mention them again today.

Seeing Aunt He's hesitation, Xu Miao stopped asking.

It's been more than 20 years, and if it's something that's hard to tell, she definitely can't ask more questions.

As long as she can have more contact 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 recurred, the old man also wanted to taste the old taste, so he asked him to find him, and I cooked for him. After that, he went to Yumen Pass , I will come back 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, and 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 in the beginning, 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.

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

Next time at the table, Xu Miao said nothing for a long time.

Nanny He 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 didn't 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.

"The ones I have learned?" she asked, "Are there any that my mother likes?"

Aunt He’s family 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 and Miss Miao can live in the kitchen, he will...

This father and daughter are really...

Xu Miao cried.

Holding Grandma He in her arms, she cried until she was out of breath.

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

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

It's good 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.

Perhaps because he had 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, so he didn't move and only focused on thinking about what Mrs. Xu just said.

Tune and flavour.

Lin Yunyan knew how to play chess, calligraphy and calligraphy, but rarely played the harp. However, she had a sweet tooth, so sweet that Xu Jian could easily tell whether the little princess liked it or disliked any snack she ate outside.

Of course, he also remembered other smells.

For example, the bowl of plain 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.

Or delicacies from the mountains and sea.

Let the little princess remember more good things.

In the next moment, Xu Miao's mood slowly calmed down.

Aunt Xia brought a basin and washed her face.

Aunt He's family also cleaned 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 leave her, he didn't keep her any longer and asked Xu Jian to make arrangements for her mother.

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

Under the lamp, only Xu Miao and Xu Jian sat across the table.

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

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

"No delay," Xu Miao said, "As long as I can see it, I won't delay."

This is the truth.

"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 Dr. 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 anything suitable or inappropriate for treating injuries?"

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

See you all tomorrow~~~