Daughter of aristocratic family

Chapter 66 Chinese Valentine's Day
  "I lost." The middle-aged Confucian scholar felt relieved.

"Promise." The "young man" said with a slight smile.

The middle-aged Confucian scholar took out a piece of silver, handed it to the waiter waiting next to him, turned around and left.

The "young man" looked at Zhao Wangshu and Yun Hao, "I wonder who wants to confront me?"

"I have only learned chess for a few years and my chess skills are average. Go and play with her." Zhao Wangshu is very self-aware.

"You want to watch me play chess?" Yun Hao asked.

"Well, I'm very curious about your chess skills." Zhao Wangshu nodded, his eyes full of expectation.

Yun Hao smiled slightly, stepped forward and sat opposite the "young man".

"Sir, please." The "young man" asked Yun Hao to hold the black chess piece.

Yun Hao showed his superb chess skills from the beginning. His moves were flying, and every move was carried with a calm and unhurried momentum.

Although the "boy" is young, his chess skills are also very good, and his speed in making moves is not inferior to him.

Suddenly, the situation on the chessboard changed, and murderous intent was everywhere.

From time to time, exclamations and applause came from the onlookers.

After a fierce battle, the situation on the chessboard gradually became clear.

Yun Hao's black chess gradually gained the advantage, while "Youth"'s white chess seemed a little passive.

After a fierce competition, Yun Hao narrowly defeated the "youngster" by half an eye.

The "young man" was sincerely convinced, raised his hands and said, "I am truly lucky to see your superb chess skills today. I wonder what your name is?"

"The chess game is over, let's go." Zhao Wangshu stopped Yun Hao from telling the "young man" his name. She didn't know why she did this, but she just didn't want the "young man" to know Yun Hao's name.

After saying that, she pulled Yun Hao out.

Yun Hao obediently let her pull her out, his lips slightly raised with a light smile.

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency." The "young man" called repeatedly from behind.

Yun Hao didn't look back. In his eyes, there was only the girl in red who was pulling him away, her eyes full of tenderness and doting.

After leaving the chess garden, Zhao Wangshu loosened Yun Hao's clothes and said, "I just feel that strangers don't need to tell their names."

"You're right." Yun Hao smiled and nodded.

"Let's go to the market over there."

Lu Zhi, who followed the two people out, heard this and reminded her bravely, "Girl, it's getting late."

Zhao Wangshu pouted, and Yun Hao smiled and said, "I'll see you off when we go back next time."

Although the two of them made an appointment to go to the market five days later, Hong Chang came back the next day and told Zhao Wangshu, "Master Yun left Beijing on business this morning."

Not to mention going to the market in five days, it was the Chinese Valentine's Day, and Zhao Wangshu couldn't even make a date with him in the evening.

The day before the Chinese Valentine's Day, Zhao Yuzhen carved melons and prepared them to be sent to Tianhe Bo's Mansion. The other girls followed the cook to fry the melons.

Zhao Yuzhen carved various exquisite patterns on the skin of the melon, including magpies, mandarin ducks, orchids, etc., which represented auspiciousness and happiness. She put the carved melons into a basket and sent them to the upper room for Mrs. Zhao to see.

"How many melons were broken?" asked Mrs. Zhao.

"Five, the sixth melon is carved." Zhao Yuzhen gently touched his fingertips, where there were several wounds cut by the carving knife. Fortunately, after she got married, she would not need to carve anymore.

Mrs. Zhao carefully looked at the flower melons in the basket, "Carving flower melons takes time and patience. You are pretty good at carving them."

"Thank you for the compliment, old lady." Zhao Yuzhen showed a slight smile on his lips. "Magpie collected the flowers and melons and sent them to the uncle's house tomorrow together with Qiaoguo." Mrs. Zhao asked with concern, "Is your hand okay? Do you want to ask the doctor to take a look?"

Zhao Yuzhen shook his head and said, "It's just a minor injury, nothing to worry about."

"Okay, then you go to the kitchen and fry the qiaoguo." Mrs. Zhao said.

Qiaoguo is a snack unique to the Chinese Valentine's Day. It is made with a mixture of flour, sugar and oil. It comes in different shapes, such as diamond, square, round, fan-shaped, etc., and is filled with various fillings, such as bean paste, date paste, sesame, etc.

The fried qiaoguo is golden in color, sweet and delicious.

When Zhao Yuzhen arrived in the kitchen, a pot of fried fruits happened to be fried, and the cook was calling, "Girls, come here and have a taste."

The girls gathered around, and Zhao Shuangzhi asked: "What kind of stuffing is this diamond-shaped one?"

"Has your memory been eaten by a dog?" Zhao Jiahua glanced at her, "I told you when I made it that the diamond-shaped buns are filled with red bean paste."

"I didn't ask you." Zhao Shuangzhi rolled his eyes.

Zhao Yuxiu ate a square with jujube paste filling, and suddenly thought, "Can there be meat filling in this Qiaoguo?"

"Is that still a Qiaoguo?" Zhao Yuying asked hesitantly.

"The meat pie tastes good too." Zhao Wangshu said with a smile.

"Ms. Fu, can you make something to try?" Zhao Yuxiu looked at the cook expectantly.

Mrs. Fu thought for a moment and said, "I haven't tried it, but I can give it a try." After that, she started to make preparations.

Zhao Yuxiu rubbed her hands excitedly and said, "I knew Mrs. Fu was the most powerful and could do anything."

Mrs. Fu mixed the flour into dough, rolled it into thin slices, then added minced meat filling and wrapped it into a small and exquisite round shape.

She put the wrapped qiaoguo into the oil pan, fried it until golden brown on both sides, took it out and drained the oil.

Zhao Yuxiu couldn't wait to pick one up, "Oh, it's so hot, so hot."

"Hurry up and put it down." Zhao Shuhui smiled, "You are not afraid of burning your hands because of your stuttering."

Zhao Yuxiu blew a few breaths on the meat pie, grabbed it, and took a bite. The rich aroma of meat filled her mouth. The outside was crispy and the inside was delicious. "It's delicious."

The other girls also tasted it one after another, and they all felt that this meat-filled fruit had a unique flavor.

However, Qiaoguo stuffed with meat will not be sent to Tianhe Bofu.

The next day, Mrs. Zhao arranged for someone to send the flowers and melons carved by Zhao Yu and a basket of sweet fruits to Tianhe Bofu.

Mrs. Bo glanced at Hua Gua and said, "It's an ordinary trick. After all, she is a country girl. She has no knowledge and her craftsmanship is very rough."

"When the Crown Prince gets married, Madam will teach her slowly, and she will definitely be able to teach the Crown Prince an obedient wife." The confidant's mother-in-law said with a smile.

"I hope so." Madam Bo snorted, "Let the servants of the Zhao family take the prepared return gift back."

Mrs. Bo took the handkerchief handed by the maid, wiped her hands, picked up a piece of Qiaoguo and ate it, "It's too sweet, take it and share it."

She only tasted that piece of fruit and stopped eating it. Whether it didn't suit her taste or she disliked it, only she knew in her heart.

There was a piece of cloth in the uncle's return gift, and Mrs. Zhao gave this piece to Zhao Yuzhen, "You can use it to make clothes."

Old Mrs. Zhao asked her servants to put the other things into the warehouse, "These will be added to the dowry when Yuzhen gets married."

Mrs. Zhao frowned. When she married her second aunt, her family spent three thousand taels on a dowry. Is it possible that she should also buy a dowry of three thousand taels for Yu Zhen?
  To be honest, she was unwilling to do so. The Zhao family's property would all belong to her son in the future. The three thousand left and the right three thousand would deplete the family's wealth.

(End of this chapter)