King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 402
Let's say that Zhu Jinghong and his wife came to Shanglinyuan and were stunned after getting off the carriage.

In front of him was a brand new thatched house, with a bamboo fence surrounding a yard in front of the house, and there were even weeds growing in the yard.

"Eunuch Cheng, is this your... residence?" Zhu Jinghong asked in astonishment. He was sure that this hut was built less than half a month ago.

Cheng Ying replied calmly: "Since you are a farmer, you have to live in a thatched cottage!"

I saw him walking to the front, opening the fence and entering the courtyard, and then said: "Thirteenth Master, this is the granary, this is the bedroom, this is the kitchen..."

"The palace maids will come here to cook for the first ten days. You two must learn how to do it. After that, you will have to cook it yourself..."

Hearing this, Zhu Jinghong and Baochai were shocked. They didn't expect to cook by themselves.

After showing Zhu Jinghong and his wife the house, Cheng Ying took them into the courtyard, pointed to the land in front of them and said, "Master Thirteen...this is the royal field. There are five acres in total, and it has been fallow for a year. You gotta plant it this year!”

"Someone will teach you about farming, so you don't have to worry about it..."

Listening to Cheng Ying's crackling words, Zhu Jinghong's heart went cold.

After Cheng Ying left, the two of them entered the hut together and came to the place where they slept.

Opening a wardrobe, there were indeed clothes in it, but they were all the most ordinary common clothes.

Commoner, since Zhu Jinghong traveled through time, he has never touched this thing, let alone worn it.

Of course, Baochai was in the same situation as him.

Taking out one of the sets of clothes, Baochai said with a smile: "Since you are returning to the countryside... you should look like a farmer. Let's change clothes!"

"Let's change, let's change... We're all ready. If we don't wear it, won't the old man be angry?"

Compared with their current robes, the cloth clothes prepared here are ordinary attire, which is much easier to wear, but the two of them also helped each other to put them on.

It is said to be a cloth, but the fabric is not bad. At least it does not feel uncomfortable when worn on the body. It is much better than coarse cloth or even linen.

Of course, in their opinion, this is only wearable, and the feel is far inferior to that of fine silk.

In addition to the different body feel, this cloth also has no pattern decoration, it is really just a piece of clothing.

After wrapping her hair in a scarf, Baochai walked out of the bedroom and saw Zhu Jinghong playing with a hoe.

"This thing... I haven't used it for many years!" Zhu Jinghong sighed unconsciously.

At this time Baochai asked: "Did the prince use it before?"

"I used it in my dream!" Zhu Jinghong gave a casual explanation.

Baochai couldn't help but smile and said: "So... Your Majesty also has the intention of returning to farming, and he has just been thinking about it day by day and dreaming about it at night!"

Seeing that Baochai could still laugh, Zhu Jinghong couldn't help but marveled that the huge change in her current living standards did not make her mentality unbalanced.

How could Zhu Jinghong know that for Baochai, she was already the luckiest person in the world if she could choose the princess and marry the person she loved as his first wife.

The two chatted and laughed for a while, but someone came to kowtow to them outside.

When Zhu Jinghong went out, he found that two old eunuchs and an old palace maid were coming.

"What are you doing?" Zhu Jinghong was a little curious.

Just listen to the eunuch reply: "Your Majesty, these two servants are here to sow seeds and cook food!"

Zhu Jinghong asked slowly: "I heard Cheng Ying say that you will only stay here for ten days? Then we will have to do it ourselves?"

"This...the Lord has given you such an order, how dare you, the servants, disobey!"

The old eunuch emphasized that this was the emperor's order, which was to prevent Zhu Jinghong from angering him.

"So today is the first day?" Zhu Jinghong asked again.

"Exactly!"

Glancing at Baochai beside him, Zhu Jinghong said with a smile: "Princess...time is very tight!"

Baochai smiled and said, "Then let's each take care of one thing, and I'll learn how to cook along with you!"

She now understands more and more that this so-called return to farming is actually more of a test for her, so Baochai takes the initiative to get work for herself.

Even though she doesn't have a finger to touch the spring water, most women in the world have to cook, so why can't she!
"Alright!"

Zhu Jinghong responded, and then said to the old eunuch in front of him: "Let's go... let's go for a walk in the fields!"

"My lord, please!"

Hearing this, Zhu Jinghong sneered, and then said: "Have you ever seen a prince who farms his own land!"

The old eunuch didn't dare to answer this, so he could only laugh twice and follow him.

Zhu Jinghong and the two left with their hoes on their shoulders, while Baochai stayed in the yard and entered the kitchen under the guidance of the old palace maid.

The so-called kitchen is naturally very simple. In addition to the stove and iron pot, there is also a stove for boiling water.

As for bowls, chopsticks, cups and plates, they are naturally the most ordinary things.

When you open the rice vat, you will see that the rice inside is the most ordinary, but it is much better than that of real farmers.

"Princess, today we learn to cook. Before cooking, we must wash the rice grains, scoop them up with this ladle, add water, and then..."

The old palace maid started teaching. As a grassroots "employee" of Shangshi Bureau, she did these things every day, so she was very comfortable in demonstrating.

To be honest, cooking is not too difficult, it’s just that the process is a little tedious.

Baochai is an extremely smart woman. When watching demonstrations, she will take the initiative to ask questions, such as how many times to wash rice, how much water to add to cooking, how to control the heat...

Even in order to learn it as quickly as possible, Baochai practiced it for the first time and successfully made the rice cake an hour later.

"This... seems to be broken, so I have to throw it away!"

"Your Majesty, you have made such a big pot. If you throw it away...it won't be enough in just a few days!" the old palace maid reminded.

"Why?"

"Rice, flour, grains, oils, fruits, vegetables and meat are delivered here every three days... I wasted so much today, and I'm afraid I'll starve in the next two days!"

Upon hearing this, Baochai suddenly lost his composure and asked, "Can't you give me more?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. This is what the Lord has decreed. How dare you, the servants, change it without authorization?"

Looking at the rice dumplings turned out of the pot, Baochai hesitated and said, "If you keep this thing, can it be eaten?"

"To be honest, my dearest lady, ordinary people cannot afford to eat this kind of polished rice every day. Even crispy rice is a good thing to satisfy hunger!"

"You said this is polished rice?"

The old palace maid replied: "To ordinary people, it is just polished rice!"

"Mother, now that the rice is ready, it's time to cook!"

"Ok!"

This time, Baochai didn't dare to do it randomly. After all, there were still nine days left, so she could study hard for two days before operating.

The so-called cooking, the current conditions can only ensure cleanliness and hygiene, and any complicated dishes are not possible, which also means that it is not difficult to learn.

Even if Baochai is smart, he can't learn all these aspects in a short time.

The sun was going to set soon. Zhu Jinghong, who was following the hoeing, put down his hoe, poured himself a bowl of water and drank it, then he felt a little better.

"Five acres of land, one race...won't it exhaust me to death!" Zhu Jinghong was about to cry but had no tears.

Just because he knows how to farm does not mean he loves farming. Normal people would find this kind of life of pure hardship repulsive.

"Master Thirteen, how about we stop here today?"

"Okay, okay...that's it!" Zhu Jinghong clapped his hands, picked up the hoe and walked back.

It was about to have dinner. Zhu Jinghong originally invited the old eunuch to have dinner with him, but the guy said he was afraid of not having enough food and left.

When Zhu Jinghong returned to the courtyard, Baochai had already laid out food under the eaves.

"Your Majesty...it's time to eat!"

Putting the hoe down along the wall, Zhu Jinghong said, "What's the meal today?"

Baochai replied: "The staple food is white rice, a scrambled egg, a fried lentil, and winter melon soup!"

Seeing that there was no one around, Zhu Jinghong asked in surprise: "Did you do all this?" "How can I, my concubine, have such ability? It was the old mother who did it just now, and she is gone now!"

"Ok!"

Then Zhu Jinghong sat down at the table. When he saw the two dishes on the table, he felt that they were not real.

"Your Majesty, please use it!" Baochai scooped up a bowl of white rice and handed it to Zhu Jinghong.

"Princess, you can eat too!" Zhu Jinghong said with a smile.

After the two sat across from each other, they each picked up their rice bowls and started eating.

Zhu Jinghong didn't even take two bites when he saw that Baochai was eating very hard, so he smiled and said, "Baochai... this is not a good life!"

"It's all my fault... that the prince suffered this!" Baochai put down the bowl and said sadly.

As soon as she put the bowl down, Zhu Jinghong realized that the bowl was full of crispy rice, and secretly thought that it was no wonder he had to eat so hard.

"Baochai...what are you doing?"

Quickly picking up the bowl, Baochai replied calmly: "I think this kind of rice is quite delicious, but it's a bit toothsome!"

Although she acted like nothing was wrong, Zhu Jinghong still noticed that she didn't mean what she said.

How could a noble lady who grew up in fine clothes and fine food think that hard rice cakes are delicious?
After smiling helplessly, Zhu Jinghong said: "A gentleman will not take away others' beauty, but you know that I am not a gentleman... so I won't be polite!"

After saying this, he snatched Baochai's rice bowl and handed his own over at the same time.

"Your Majesty... I made this, let me eat it!" Baochai couldn't bear it, and felt more guilty.

"Why... you still can't bear to part with a bowl of rice, okay, just eat it!" Zhu Jinghong started to eat.

He had excellent teeth, so he didn't feel too uncomfortable eating it, but he felt a little choked.

Fortunately, Baochai was observant and immediately served him a bowl of winter melon soup.

"Baochai, the rice is made like this...why don't you throw it away? Why don't you have to eat it!"

Hearing this question, Baochai felt a little guilty and said: "The old mother said that the food and vegetables here have a certain amount. If we throw them away... I'm afraid there won't be enough to eat!"

"You mean... there's not enough food?" Zhu Jinghong became more and more surprised. The situation was worse than he imagined.

"Exactly!"

"The old man is really cruel. I don't think he regards me as his son. Maybe we were enemies in our previous life!" Zhu Jinghong said with great dissatisfaction.

Even though there was no one around, Baochai was deeply panicked when he heard what he said, and quickly advised: "Your Majesty, please stop saying a few words!"

"Forget it...I don't have the same experience as him!"

After saying that, he took a big mouthful of rice and chewed the rice with a loud bang.

Seeing him like this, Baochai felt extremely distressed. At the same time, she secretly made up her mind to learn how to cook seriously and not to let her husband suffer.

Soon night fell. After eating, they washed the dishes together and then sat down side by side in front of the hut.

Shanglinyuan is a large area. They are currently located close to the imperial city. There are some houses and warehouses a few hundred meters away from the huts, all of which are managed and guarded by eunuchs.

Therefore, eunuchs and maids would pass by from time to time outside their courtyard, but they were not really isolated from the world.

Compared with the palace, it is very quiet after nightfall, and there is not even a light around. It is an environment that Baochai has never experienced.

There were insects buzzing all around, and Baochai held onto the corner of Zhu Jinghong's clothes tightly. It was obvious that this scene did not make her feel sleepy, but made her feel particularly scared.

Reaching out to take Baochai into his arms, Zhu Jinghong turned to look at her.

"This is not a good life!"

Baochai replied: "Your Majesty and your nobles can pass, so what can't I do as a concubine?"

Zhu Jinghong smiled and said: "I'm afraid nothing in your life will be more difficult than now!"

After twisting her body and lying more comfortably in Zhu Jinghong's arms, Baochai said slowly: "This prince is wrong!"

"Do you have any more miserable days than now?" Zhu Jinghong became more and more surprised.

Baochai answered very seriously: "When I was running for the title of princess, I was in panic all the time, for fear that I would not be able to accompany the prince. Those days were much more painful than now!"

"Baochai...why are you so devoted to me?"

Baochai stood up and asked with a matter-of-fact expression: "Does a hero like Master Thirteen need a reason to be admired?"

Whether it was the affection that started when they were attacked outside Yingtian City, or the affection that they cultivated after entering the palace... Baochai himself couldn't tell.

"I also have questions...Why is the Thirteenth Master so determined to go his own way and choose me as the princess even if he goes against the Queen's wishes?"

"My concubine lost her father at a young age. She is really not a good match...why did the prince bother to do this? Otherwise, what happened today would not have happened!"

Hearing this, Zhu Jinghong smiled even more and asked in a relaxed tone: "Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"

"Of course..." Baochai was about to blurt out, but then changed his words: "I'll listen to lies first!"

Since you listen to lies first, it means that you still want to hear the truth. This is obviously a suspicion of cheating, but it is also the interest between husband and wife.

"Of course it's because you are so beautiful..."

Confident in her appearance, Baochai then asked: "What about the truth?"

Zhu Jinghong smiled and replied: "It's because you are talented, and you are extremely talented!"

After hearing what Zhu Jinghong said, Baochai was not sure which sentence was true and which was false.

In fact, like Baochai, Zhu Jinghong couldn't figure out when this relationship became so deep.

While the two were silent, a gust of wind blew outside, and the cold wind of late autumn made people feel chilly.

"Baochai... let's go in, it's so cold outside!"

"Ok!"

The two of them entered the house together, but it was also dark inside.

Of course there were no candles. There were only oil lamps in the hut. The key was that lighting the oil lamp was better than nothing.

In the end, Zhu Jinghong simply fell down and was about to sleep, but Baochai pulled him up.

"what happened?"

"I haven't washed up yet!" Baochai reminded.

"In this situation...how to wash up? Why do you need to wash up?" Zhu Jinghong said helplessly.

Baochai then said: "Heat the hot water and I'll fetch it for you!"

After saying that, she turned around and went to the kitchen next door. After a while, she brought a wooden basin over, and a towel was already placed in the steaming water.

"You wash up first...I'll get the footbath!"

At this moment, Baochai acted very neatly, reminding Zhu Jinghong of his girlfriend in his previous life, but unfortunately nothing happened between them.

Reaching out and twisting the towel, Zhu Jinghong wiped his face, then put the towel into the water and scrubbed it.

He traveled back in time for more than a year, and every day he had to put on his clothes, put out his hands for food, and open his mouth, which made him feel unfamiliar doing these things.

Soon Baochai came back with the wooden basin, and Zhu Jinghong didn't leave her busy alone. He consciously poured the water from the basin into the foot basin.

While he was washing his feet, Baochai also fetched water to wash her face. Normally, someone would take care of her to remove her makeup at this time.

After the two of them washed up, they went to bed and covered themselves with quilts to rest. Tomorrow will be a new and difficult day.

But not long after he fell asleep, Zhu Jinghong was pushed awake by Baochai and asked drowsily: "What's wrong?"

"I...I want...to relieve myself!" Baochai said extremely shyly.

Although there was a Gong bucket in the house, she was afraid of getting up alone at night, so she woke Zhu Jinghong up too.

"Well...then get up and I'll accompany you!" Zhu Jinghong sat up from the bed.

After some tossing, the two lay down on the bed to sleep again, and this time Baochai took the initiative to move into Zhu Jinghong's arms.

It wasn't because she was afraid of the cold, but because she relied on Zhu Jinghong to feel safe.

(End of this chapter)