Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 358: Tasting New Things
Xueyan went to the east room and got on the bed. When she closed her eyes, her mind was filled with the mandarin ducks embracing each other behind the curtains in the west room. Her face was hot and her heart was beating fast. She turned around to look at Daiyu, but she saw that she was still sleeping soundly.

After a while, there was a noise in the west corner, followed by footsteps. Li Weijian, who was wearing a middle-aged suit, entered the room. Xueyan, who was squinting at the situation, could no longer pretend to be asleep, so she had to pretend to be awake and stood up and asked in a low voice, "Master?"

Li Weijian said nothing, but waved his hand. Xueyan's heart suddenly started beating fast, thinking to herself, could it be that Zijuan alone was not enough, and now she needed me?
Yes, Xiuying was the most open-minded when she was talking in private. She had heard Xiuying say that the master was getting stronger and stronger, and an ordinary woman could not stand it. She also heard that Qingwen and Xiangling often served the master together... Was it finally her turn now?

Xueyan stood up with a red face, closed her coat, smoothed her hair, and headed for the door. Because she was thinking about things, she didn't notice her footing and fell forward with a cry.

I was about to throw myself down to grab the food, but unexpectedly I was supported by a pair of strong arms, and then I was able to stabilize my body. Looking up, meeting Li Weijian's gaze, Xueyan lowered her head in shame.

Li Weijian helped her up and whispered, "Zijuan is not in a good position to work right now, go and help her clean up."

"Oh." He asked her to make the bed. Xueyan looked a little disappointed for some reason.

Li Weijian saw this and smiled softly, "Don't worry, it will be your turn next time."

Xueyan was so embarrassed that she called "Master" with a red face, covered her face with a scarf and went to the west room. In her haste, she tripped over the table leg and fell to the ground with a cry.

There was no need for Li Weijian to help her. The girl got up and limped into the west room.

Li Weijian smiled and shook his head, wondering in his heart what Xueyan was thinking about. He yawned, walked slowly to the bed, took off his shoes, lifted the quilt, embraced the sleeping Daiyu, closed his eyes and took a nap.

In the western room, Xueyan tiptoed to the bed and saw that although Zijuan's hair was disheveled, her clothes were neatly arranged, and her face was rosy and even more rosy than usual. Xueyan was amazed and thought to herself that sex could have such an effect. It seemed to be more effective than the best rouge and powder.

Xueyan was looking at it in wonder, but Zijuan could not stand it and blushed as she asked, "You, what are you looking at?"

Seeing that she was embarrassed, Xueyan didn't want to ask any more questions, so she just asked, "Is my sister okay?"

"Ah."

Xueyan said, "Didn't you say it was the first time...it would be a little painful?"

"Not bad." Zijuan said briefly. At first, there was some swelling and pain, but then... Thinking of what happened just now, Zijuan's face became more and more flushed.

Xueyan stopped joking and saw the rolled-up bed sheet at the head of the bed. She reached out and grabbed it: "Master asked me to tidy it up. Sister, please take a good rest. Eh?"

The bed sheet felt smooth to the touch, as if it had been soaked in water. Xueyan was puzzled, how much sweat did these two people sweat just now? Then she felt something was wrong, why was it that other places were dry, but only this place seemed to be soaked in water?

She was wondering when Zijuan snatched it away from her: "No, no need, I can do it myself."

Xueyan didn't understand what was going on, so she just said, "Sister has just lost her virginity, it's not easy for her to work hard."

Zijuan just shook her head: "It's okay." Then she stood up and landed on the ground. After taking a few steps, she felt a little awkward, and then she walked out slowly. Xueyan was worried and hurriedly chased Zijuan to the outside.

But she didn't know that Zijuan was deliberately trying to get rid of her. Seeing her following her, she said, "It's still early. If you feel sleepy, you might as well go take a nap. Otherwise, go find the maid to boil some water. The master may need to take a bath early in the morning."

Xueyan agreed and went to the water room looking for him. When he was far away, Zijuan spread out the bed sheet, except for the center which was soaked in water, the rest was the same.

Zijuan sighed. It was said that the first time you have sex, you will see blood, but she didn't. At that time, Zijuan was very flustered and was about to cry. Unexpectedly, the master didn't care. Instead, he comforted her and then he was gentle and kind to her. They had a great time.

Zijuan was still feeling depressed at the moment, and then she thought silently... Yes, last year, the second grandmother sent a few tricycles, and she and Xueyan found them interesting, so they rode them several times every day. Then one day, she came back with spotting, and at first she thought it was her period, but it was gone the next day, and it was not until two days later that she had her period.

Thinking of this, doesn’t it coincide with what the master said before?
Zijuan found a wooden basin, soaked the bed sheet, and walked out with it. Although her walking was awkward, it was not a big deal, and she even had a smile on her face without checking herself.

Fortunately, the girl married Master Jian Si, who was gentle and knowledgeable. If she had married someone else, I'm afraid that even if he didn't say it, he would have been tired of her and thought she was a dissolute person, and would have gradually distanced himself from her. After a while, they arrived at the stream. Zijuan rubbed her hair with soap beans and couldn't help humming softly.

I thought of the beautiful scene just now and thought... Fortunately it was Fourth Master Jian.

In the western room.

The sun was rising, and the summer was coming. Daiyu, curled up in Li Weijian's arms, couldn't stand the heat, kicked off the quilt, and broke free from Li Weijian's arms. Suddenly, Daiyu woke up, and when she opened her eyes, she saw Li Weijian looking at her with burning eyes.

Daiyu reacted after a moment and giggled, "Why is Fourth Brother here?" She moved a little closer and smelled the familiar scent mixed with sweat and powder.

Daiyu wrinkled her nose and said playfully, "Fourth brother, are you happy now?"

Li Weijian got the advantage and acted cute, saying with a smile: "It's hard to fail the beauty's kindness."

Daiyu said, "Why do you look so reluctant? It's as if Fourth Brother has suffered a loss."

Li Weijian said, "My sister's family is poor, and her dowry is small. If I don't marry Zijuan and Xueyan, how will my sister be the head of the family?"

Daiyu pretended to be angry and said, "So that's the case. I thought Fourth Brother was still thinking about her. If that's the case, they can just find a boy to marry. Then they can still work in the mansion."

Li Weijian smiled and said, "How can it be the same? If I marry into a family, I will have to think about my husband and children, and I am afraid I will be separated from my sister."

Daiyu hit Li Weijian lightly in annoyance, then laid in his arms and said, "Fourth brother, don't lie to me. You know what I'm thinking. It's good that you're thinking about me. I don't know when I can recover from this illness. I can't delay Fourth brother from having children."

"There's no need to rush this."

The confusion between legitimate and illegitimate children is the source of trouble now. Let's not talk about Sister Lin's health, but don't forget about Xiangyun, who is also her legitimate daughter. That girl is very strong.

"I'll ask the imperial physician to come and give my sister another consultation in the next two days."

Daiyu said hurriedly, "That's fine, but please only invite one person. If there are too many people, I'm afraid it will be difficult to tell the truth."

"it is good."

After a moment of silence, Daiyu said, "Fourth brother must remember to thank Miss Xing."

Li Weijian blinked and suddenly said, "Yes, why didn't Miss Xing appear at the banquet yesterday?"

Daiyu said angrily, "How can Miss Xing participate in such a family feast? What will happen if the news gets out?"

Li Weijian thought about it and said with a smile, "I just happened to have a prescription that I need someone to verify. I thought it would be better not to bother two people, so I'll ask Miss Xing to help me. When the canning factory opens, I'll give her a 20% share."

Daiyu said, "When you ask for help, you have to give benefits. As for the matter of the share, it's up to Fourth Brother. But Miss Xing told me yesterday that her parents are not doing well in Rong Mansion now."

It would be strange if it could be good! The Xing Zhong couple were not presentable. Xing Zhong was greedy and drunkard, and his wife was snobbish and liked to gossip about her. Now the head of the family is Feng Jieer, and the housekeeper is Tanchun. They are also relatives of Mrs. Xing, so one is in charge of the stable and the other is in charge of the teahouse. They have no money at all and only receive a monthly salary of one hundred yuan. Xing Zhong is also an alcoholic. If he had not taken half of Xing Xiuyan's monthly salary every month, I'm afraid he would have been unable to make ends meet.

Outside, Zijuan and Xueyan had already returned. The new maids asked in a low voice, and the two of them instructed the maids to tidy up the surroundings.

Although the noise was tiny, it made it impossible to fall asleep, especially when the quacking of ducks came from the lake behind.

Daiyu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said, "The frogs' croaking was quiet at night, and I was woken up by the ducks in the morning."

Li Weijian laughed loudly and lingered with Daiyu for a while before calling a maid to come in and help the two of them get up.

The breakfast was quite light, just ordinary green-stem rice porridge with small rolls and some pickled vegetables. Li Weijian ate the Beijing-style shredded pork rolls with great appetite, and even Daiyu ate one more roll.

Li Weijian praised her endlessly, "Miss Xing's cooking skills have reached perfection. She can cook it just the way I told her to."

Daiyu immediately called Zijuan over, and suddenly remembered something. She asked Xueyan to send a purse to Xing Xiuyan, and asked her to invite Xing Xiuyan over to talk.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the breakfast was cleared away, and Zijuan served them warm red date water. Xing Xiuyan and Xueyan came in a moment later. Xing Xiuyan was holding a purse in her hand. After greeting, she said, "Sister Lin, why are you being so polite? Now we are a partnership, but I just helped to prepare a table for you. Why do you need a thank you gift?"

The purse was not big, but inside it were two golden gourds, weighing about two taels, and probably worth twenty taels of silver.

Daiyu laughed and said, "Sister, what are you talking about? Even if we invite a chef from outside, we should give him a thank-you gift. This is what we call sisters settling accounts clearly."

Because Li Weijian was present, Xing Xiuyan felt a little reserved and did not refuse.

Daiyu saw this and said, "I invited you here because my fourth brother has something to ask for your help."

Xing Xiuyan had just sat down. Hearing this, she looked at Li Weijian in surprise and asked, "How can I help you, Master?"

Li Weijian nodded and said, "I have a recipe. Miss Xing, please try it a few more times to see if you can make it."

As she spoke, she placed the paper on the table and Xueyan quickly passed it to Xing Xiuyan.

Xing Xiuyan took it and took a look with surprise, and saw that the main ingredients were just pork, starch, and flour, and the side ingredients were a bit mixed. It looked somewhat similar to the steamed lion head with rice flour?
Li Weijian said, "This is for military supplies. Miss, please try to figure out a ratio to make it the most flavorful, the longest-lasting, and the cheapest."

When Xing Xiuyan heard that it was military supplies, she hurriedly asked, "Excuse me, sir, do you want to keep this recipe secret?"

Li Weijian shook his head and said, "That's fine." Xing Xiuyan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "In this case, we can try it in the shop. Otherwise, I'm afraid we'll have to find a house to rent."

After this, Daiyu wanted Xing Xiuyan to stay in the garden for two more days. Xing Xiuyan was quite tempted, but she was a bit shy, so she said, "The shop has been renovated, so I'll try to make some boxed dishes in the next few days to test the sales. I can't delay any longer."

Daiyu did not force her to stay, and told Xueyan to prepare a carriage to send Xing Xiuyan back.

When the time came, Li Weijian said goodbye to Daiyu and went to Yuchun Garden in a carriage.

When they arrived outside the palace gate, Li Weijian got off the carriage and was about to go inside after being checked by the guards, but was stopped by the leading Long Jinwei.

"Master Li, may I ask what is inside this tin box?"

Li Weijian said: "This is a new product of mine, called canned food, which is the most durable. I will present it to the emperor today."

The leading Dragon Guard frowned and bowed, saying, "Please forgive me, Master Li. According to the palace ban, this item is not allowed to be brought in. You must hand it over to us for careful inspection before you can bring it into the palace."

Yes, this thing is just a sealed tin box. There was no X-ray these days, so who knows what’s inside?
Li Weijian was in a dilemma and asked, "We don't have to pry them open one by one, do we?"

Long Jinwei pondered for a while and said, "Since it is presented to the emperor, we must pry it open and inspect it one by one."

What's the point of prying it open and showing it to the saint?
Li Weijian was in a dilemma when he suddenly saw Dai Quan, the chief eunuch of Daming Palace, hurriedly approaching the palace gate. Li Weijian's eyes immediately lit up and he hurriedly greeted him, "Excuse me, Eunuch Dai. I have something to present to the emperor."

Dai Quan caught a glimpse of Li Weijian and hurriedly said, "Uncle Li, please wait a moment. I'll come back to look for you after I've given instructions." He then hurried to the palace gate and gave instructions to the guards before heading towards Li Weijian.

When he got closer, Dai Quan said, "The sage is testing the prince and the king of Jin in agronomy, and ordered people to pull some rice from the rice fields. What is Master Li doing--"

Li Weijian immediately told Dai Quan about his dilemma. Dai Quan had no say on this matter, so he said, "I'm afraid we have to report this to the Saint. Uncle Li, why don't you leave this can here first and wait until we get back to the Saint before making a decision."

Li Weijian smiled and agreed, then went to the duty room. Just pass the message to the emperor, I think the sage will make the decision.

Dai Quan arrived at Qingxi Study. At this time, the Crown Prince and Prince of Jin had already left. Emperor Zhenghe was looking at the petitions copied by the cabinet one by one. He then selected a thick stack of petitions and threw it in front of the Prime Minister Chen Hongmou.

"Look at this, Prime Minister. It's totally incomprehensible!"

Dai Quan quietly came behind the Saint and took a look. It turned out to be a memorial submitted by the prefect of Laizhou. It was summed up in one sentence: Your Highness, I, Li Laitai, wish you the best. And the reply in red at the end: I am well.

This went on for more than a dozen petitions. When it came to the last petition, Emperor Zhenghe became angry and wrote in red: You are making trouble out of nothing, and I feel uneasy!

Chen Hongmou didn't know whether to laugh or cry. After a moment's reflection, he said, "Li Laitai has always been mediocre. In the next imperial examination, such mediocre people will definitely be dismissed."

Emperor Zhenghe breathed a sigh of relief. The supreme ruler of the world was being harassed by a prefect every month. Who would believe it if he told others about it?

Chen Hongmou added: "I think that most of these memorials of respect are written by the clerks and advisors around you. The sage should control his anger."

Emperor Zhenghe waved his hand and got down to business: "The Western Expedition to Beijing will return victoriously soon, and all rewards have been given. Have you prepared the baggage for Wuyi Town?"

General Yue Zhongqi proposed to follow the remnants of the quasi-thieves into Shentu, but it was rejected by the court. Not to mention the difficulty in delivering supplies, the idea of ​​using the route through the Khanate of Kokand was extremely unreliable. Haven't you heard of using the route through the Khanate of Kokand to attack the State of Guo? No matter how much the ruler of Kokand hated the quasi-thieves, he would not agree to this.

Sure enough, Yue Zhongqi later submitted another memorial, requesting to lead a garrison of the Beijing troops from U-Tsang into Brunei, and then to attack Sindhu.

At this time, all kinds of news about Sindhu have been collected. The Mughals in the north are not the only powerful one. There are also Chand, Brunei, Oudh, Bhutan, Jaintia, Subh, Bengal, etc., and there are countless states under them. General Yue Zhongqi said that one town of Beijing camp can resist 200,000 local troops.

Although the Dashun court was worried, Emperor Zhenghe made a dictatorial decision and approved Yue Zhongqi's risky behavior. This was because a merchant had sent news about Sindhu, saying that the remaining troops of the Quanzhen bandits were only more than 6,000, and they had fought repeatedly and forced the Mughal to cede territory and pay compensation.

If they can even do it against would-be thieves, how can they not do it to destroy the would-be thieves' Dashun Jingying?
Chen Hongmou immediately said with a bitter face: "Jia Hua of the Ministry of War has already collected supplies. It will take about three months to send them to U-Tsang. This will be enough for the Beijing camp to use for three major battles."

"Only enough for three wars?"

Chen Hongmou added: "So I think Yue Zhongqi must capture Bengal and take a coastal town so that our Dashun can resupply ammunition and baggage by sea."

Emperor Zhenghe thought for a while, then nodded hesitantly and said, "Okay, let's do it this way. Order the Ministry of War to write back to Yue Zhongqi."

At that moment, the emperor and his minister discussed the construction of the Yongding River embankment, and Chen Hongmou immediately took his leave.

Emperor Zhenghe stood up to stretch his muscles. At this time, Dai Quan came up to him and said, "Your Majesty, I was just on my way to do my work and happened to see Master Li being stopped by the Dragon Guard in front of the palace gate."

"Oh?"

Dai Quan smiled and said, "Originally, Master Li presented it as a gift, but because of this, everything was wrapped in iron sheets. Captain Long Jin didn't know what was hidden inside, so he had to pry it open for inspection."

"What's inside?"

"I heard from Uncle Li that it is a vegetable that is convenient for transportation and preservation."

Emperor Zhenghe had two meals a day and three snacks. Seeing that it was already the morning hour, he felt a little hungry, so he ordered: "Can Li Fusheng harm me? Go and tell him to randomly select two and send the rest in."

Dai Quan agreed and quickly ordered the eunuch to pass on the oral order.

After a long while, Dai Quan went outside the study, picked up a package, and brought it in happily.

"Look, Saint. Everything Lord Li presented is here."

Clang…

Even though Dai Quan moved very carefully, the package made quite a bit of noise when placed on the table.

Emperor Zhenghe stopped writing and reached out to pick up a jar. The jar was square and made of iron sheet. He was surprised and said, "What a waste! We are using such good iron sheet to wrap food?"

Dai Quan smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you don't know that iron is cheap now. The iron produced in Leting is piled up like a mountain. The price of iron in the market is less than 30% of what it was two years ago. Master Li is thinking of finding a market for the iron. Oh, Master Li said that if this thing is sealed with food, it can ensure immortality for one or two years."

"It's rare that it won't decay after one or two years." Emperor Zhenghe became interested and ordered, "Open two and let me taste them."

Dai Quan hurriedly said, "Master Li said that this thing must be steamed in water before it can be pried open."

He immediately called the eunuch to heat it up and brought it over after a while. Emperor Zhenghe took action himself and used a dagger to pry open the pieces one by one. Immediately, the air was filled with fragrance.

This batch of canned food was produced on trial basis for the convenience of food during the northern tour, so the ingredients used were sufficient.

There were four cans in total, one of which was a vegetarian dish, which was stewed lentils with bacon, and the rest were meat dishes, including braised pork, braised lamb, and chicken with potatoes.

Emperor Zhenghe looked at the food and tasted them one by one. He immediately felt that his appetite was good. As mentioned in the previous article, the imperial meals in the palace are all warm-cooked dishes. The recipes have been handed down since the Ming Dynasty and have not been changed for many years. It looks like a variety of delicacies from land and sea, but in fact the taste is just average.

The dishes in the can seemed not suitable for banquets, as they were heavy in oil, salt and spices. Emperor Zhenghe tried them for the first time and immediately found them appealing.

After eating three fist-sized multigrain flower rolls, Emperor Zhenghe was still not satisfied and asked the imperial kitchen to send a few more, which made Dai Quan hurriedly advise: "Saint, eating until you are 70% full is the way to stay healthy."

Emperor Zhenghe was already full, and reluctantly put down his chopsticks after hearing this. Thinking of Li Weijian, he was about to praise him, but suddenly remembered that Li Weijian had been willful and reckless the previous time, and even exposed the prince's face. He immediately said, "Li Fusheng doesn't want to change the rules of the inner court, but he wants to spend time on these little things."

Dai Quan got a share of Li Weijian's shares, and seeing his wealth rising, he naturally wanted to say a few good words. He said, "Sir, I think if Master Li had not spent his time on such trivial matters, he would not have been able to create water and cement businesses."

Emperor Zhenghe thought about it and agreed. If Li Weijian really devoted himself to being an official, there would be one more bureaucrat in the world and one less God of Wealth.

Although he wanted to reward her, he couldn't just give her out of his desire for food. It would be embarrassing if he told others about it. After a little thought, Emperor Zhenghe ordered, "The imperial concubine will invite ladies to visit the garden soon. Remember to invite Li Lin as well."

Dai Quan quickly agreed and kept it in mind. He couldn't help but think to himself that Lord Li was still in the emperor's heart. Most of the ladies invited by Concubine Wu were princes, and the lowest rank was the Marquis of Cheng'en. But this time, the newly married lady of the Bo Mansion was also invited.

Seeing that there were still a few cans left on the table, Emperor Zhenghe ordered: "Send two to the Imperial Concubine, and one to Concubine Li. Send one to Concubine Zhang each -" After a pause, he said: "Send one to Concubine Xian De as well."

Dai Quan agreed and hurriedly picked up the bag to deliver it in person.

Danning Palace.

At this moment, Concubine Wu was talking about child-rearing with Concubine Zhang and Concubine Li. Perhaps because the reform was successful and the enemy, the quasi-thief, was destroyed, the Emperor Zhenghe was in a good mood and finally got close to women. So after Concubine Li, Concubine Zhang also became pregnant.

The female official came to report that Dai Quan wanted to see her. Concubine Wu stopped talking and hurriedly invited him in.

After a while, Dai Quan came in with a bag, greeted with a smile, and said the purpose of his visit: "Madam, this is presented by Jingling Bo. The saint thought it was good, so he sent this old servant to bring some to the ladies to taste."

(End of this chapter)