After the rain, the sky clears, the air is particularly fresh, and a looming rainbow can still be seen in Xuan'an City.

The lighting in the small courtyard on the outskirts of the city is not very good, and only a trace of sunlight leaks into the atrium due to the blocking of the trees around the courtyard.

There was a sound of shaking wooden boards. Zhongli Min was sitting in the dim light washing clothes. The sunlight hit her face. Perhaps it was a bit dazzling. She slightly curled up her right fist soaked in water to cover her forehead.

Although Situ Xi and Qingyu refused to allow her to do the laundry herself, she said it was boring to be idle, so she insisted that Qingyu carry the bucket to the stream to fetch water for her.

A gust of spring breeze blew by, gently picking up the paper on the stone table like a bird. The rice paper rolled several times in the air, and finally fell at Zhongli Xin's feet.

He stood up and straightened his slender hands. Zhongli wiped the water on his hands on his knees, then bent down to pick up the paper on the ground and looked at the writing on it curiously:

"Trying wine in single clothes, lonely among guests, time is wasted. May spring stay for a while, and return like a wing. It will leave without a trace."

"I asked where the flowers were, but there was a storm at night."

"The wind and rain came at night, is the burial... not finished yet?" The words on the paper stopped abruptly at this point, leaving only a few small ink spots on the rice paper. It looked like the poet had lost his inspiration and was writing.

The wording is general.

But what an amazing talent.

After reciting half of the poems on the paper again, there was an inexplicable look in Zhongli's eyes. She knew books and was polite, and she had loved reading from the bottom of her heart since she was a child. Although she was already twenty-nine years old and married, in the final analysis

She had just taken off her title as a girl.

Most sentimental women love beautiful poems, and Zhongli Min is the same, but she seems to have no special talent in writing poems and lyrics, so she longs for those talented women even more.

In the morning, Situ Xi just sat in the courtyard for a while. Unexpectedly, with just a few strokes of pen and ink, such a masterpiece was born, even though it was only half written.

Speaking of which, what kind of person was your husband before? What kind of prince was he in Zhaoguo?

When her thoughts came to this point, Zhongli was startled and a little sad. She was lucky. This period of time together gave her a preliminary understanding of Situ Xi. But how long can such a peaceful life last? Zhongli didn't know.

"Miss, I filled this wooden bucket too full, and it became a little heavy, causing a lot of spills along the way."

Seeing Qingyu coming in carrying the bucket with difficulty, Zhongli quickly picked up the papers scattered on the ground, sorted them neatly and placed them on the table with an inkstone to hold them down. Then he quickly came to Qingyu to pick them up together.

He said with a chuckle:

"Who told you to be greedy?"

…

Xuan'an City, Yupan Street, sake restaurants.

"Old Zhangtou, are you really closed today?" The door of the restaurant was closed, and there was only one customer in the hall, Situ Xi.

"Mr. Sir, everything must be done with all your heart and soul. This is what you said. The spring food party is about to start, and I plan to cook one or two new dishes with my daughter before the party." A middle-aged man with a somewhat fat figure.

Sitting opposite Situ Xi, he was smiling. He called himself an old man, but he was not very old.

Situ Xi discovered this restaurant when he passed by it a few days ago. He went out for a stroll that day and smelled a strong fragrance on the way back to his house. He followed the smell and found this restaurant.

Yupan Street is a relatively famous snack street in Xuan'an City, but most of the shops here are small and medium-sized shops. Xuan'an's famous catering and entertainment "enterprises" are all opened on Lezhen Road, but there are some dignitaries behind those restaurants.

The noble people are supporting you.

The Spring Food Festival is an event that will be held in two days. It is led by the government and participated by many businesses. It aims to select some of the best food in Xuan'an City this spring.

Those who get the ranking will not only receive silver rewards, but also receive some additional favors, such as being able to set up stalls on Yupan Street, or being allowed to use some normally prohibited marketing methods before the Spring Festival ends.

The State of Chu has very strict controls on merchants. Even common methods such as discounts and hunger marketing have detailed restrictions, not to mention Guanpu and the like.

"Actually, you can just do what the shops around you do and go look for Zhang Xiucai. He has the same surname as you, right? He might even give you some discounts." Situ Xi took a sip of hot tea and looked at the squinting man in front of him.

The fat man with narrowed eyes said.

Not everyone can participate in the Spring Food Festival. Not only does the store required to operate must reach a certain scale, but it also needs to go through an "audition".

The food merchants on Yupan Street will also compete in two days. However, to participate, you must not only report to the officials on the street, but also prepare corresponding "recommendations". The prepared dishes and recommendations will be

Send it to the judging officials who participate in the tasting.

Through these days of communication, Fatty Zhang knew that the handsome and gentle young man in front of him was a scholar, and he frequently spoke golden sentences, so he thought of entrusting Situ Xi to write this recommendation for him.

"Mr. Lang, do you really think you are an old fool? Most of the dozens of restaurants on this street are looking for Zhang Xiucai, how can you differentiate between them? Besides, although the old fool doesn't know a few big words, he can

She also hired a husband for her daughter. She still recognized the four words "delicious food in the world" that Zhang Xiucai wrote for the noodle shop next door. She had to charge five taels of silver for these four words and said "delicious food in the world". After five failed provincial examinations, she really thought

Have you already become a high-ranking official?"

"Daddy!" A delicate woman came out of the kitchen at this time and said angrily.

Fortunately, he closed the shop early, otherwise his father would be talking nonsense again. A scholar is a scholar after all, and this is not something they, a merchant, can discuss.

This woman is dressed in green and white. She is about 1.6 meters tall, has a slim body and a slender waist. She looks a little delicate and naive. When she speaks, she has the gentle charm unique to Jiangnan women.

"Okay, I've also brought you this recommendation. Take a look, but I've agreed first that in addition to the deposit, if you really win the place at the Spring Food Festival, you will share 30% of the proceeds with me."

Situ Xi greeted the woman, then took out the paper in his hand and handed it to the two of them.

Looking at the rice paper with neat handwriting on the table, Fatty Zhang immediately beamed. If nothing else, the handwriting looked much more correct than that written by the scholar Zhang.

"Yu'er, hurry up and give Brother Xi some wine!" Fatty Zhang carefully folded the rice paper and put it into his arms. He quickly got up and brought several plates of hot dishes to Situ Xi from the kitchen, and then took his daughter with him.

After going up to the second floor, I guess he should ask her to "translate" the recommendation for him.

Looking at the food on the table, Situ Xi was very satisfied. He decided to help the father and daughter not only to make some spare money, but also because their craftsmanship was really good and they dared to innovate and integrate their own whims.

Collected in the food.

Especially Zhang Yu'er's sophora leaf cold pottery and shrimp cakes, the taste is absolutely top-notch.

This shrimp cake should be her own idea, and the record of shrimp cake in later generations is also in the "Suiyuan Food List" of the Qing Dynasty.

After one bite, the outer layer was not greasy, and the inner shrimp meat was tender and smooth. This meal was free of charge, and Situ Xi felt very good.

After a while, Lao Zhangtou came downstairs with Zhang Yu'er. The smile on his face became a little brighter. Zhang Yu'er kept his head lowered, secretly looking at Situ Xi from time to time, with surprise that couldn't be hidden in his eyes. When Situ Xi turned to

It seemed to her that she was staring at the ground and not looking up.

"Brother Xi, I won't say that I am too old. During the Spring Festival, you can come to my restaurant to eat. I will cover all the meals. And you still have the money. Don't be too short. Recently, Yu'er and I

I purchased a lot of ingredients, but I don't have much money on hand..." Old Zhangtou took out a heavy bag and handed it to Situ Xi.

Situ Xi took the money bag without refusing, and told the two of them to prepare well. He believed that as long as they performed normally, they would at least be able to get out of Yupan Street.

"Then I'll take my leave. Thank you for your hospitality. I'll wait for your good news." Situ Xi picked up the steamed cakes and shrimp cakes packed for the two of his family and waved to leave.

After he left the store, he opened the money bag in his hand and counted it carefully. He found that there were fifteen taels of silver. He couldn't help but laugh. This old Zhangtou was quite kind.

"I'm just sorry, Master Dongpo. I only sold your poems for about three thousand yuan this time."

…

Minghe Palace, this is where the Emperor of Chu reviewed memorials and handled political affairs, but at this time there were only two people in this huge hall.

The serving maids and eunuchs had all been removed, and the Emperor of Chu was sitting on a palace chair in front of a red sandalwood desk, staring at the kneeling old man in front of him, with no emotion or anger on his face.

"Chen Zhitong's own book, why did you hand it over to me?"

"Reporting to the Holy Emperor, Xu Shi, the admonishing doctor, happened to see me being summoned into the palace. Moreover, his memorial also has something to do with my Star Observation Courtyard."

The old man is the chief bachelor of the Academy of Star Observation, and is in charge of the astronomy and meteorology of the Chu Kingdom. His white hair shows that he is old. He should be old enough to see through the world of mortals, but his voice is a bit trembling at this time.

"Read it." Without arguing with him, Emperor Chu's voice was neither salty nor bland.

"Yes." The old man listened to the order, opened the memorial in his hands, and began to recite.

"There is a saying in "Spring and Autumn Prophecy": the sky will cast a shadow, the world will complain, and the sea will be in chaos. A few days ago, there was a heavy rain in Xuan'an, the capital city. After the rain, a rainbow pierced the sky. This is an ominous sign. Your Majesty, please, this..."

After reading this, the old man's hands trembled, and he raised his eyes anxiously to observe the holy face, somewhat afraid to continue reading.

"Continue." Emperor Chu narrowed his eyes slightly, and the old man did not dare to look at him.

"A long rainbow pierces the sky. This is an ominous sign. Your Majesty, please examine yourself, eliminate your bad virtues, and do good deeds. I sincerely request your Majesty to forgive yourself and appease the wrath of God."

The voice became smaller and smaller, and the old man buried his head on the ground after reading, lying on his knees waiting for the thunder to come.

Unexpectedly, Emperor Chu was not only not angry, but also laughed out loud:

"Wang Aiqing, you are really old. The older this person is, the less courageous he becomes. He raised his head and looked at me. I remember that when the late emperor was here, you were also working in the Star Observation Academy, and you were very high-spirited at that time."

"I am old and no longer useful." The old man's voice was filled with tears.

"The Star Observation Courtyard can't live without you. Get up, the ground is cold." Emperor Chu said with one hand.

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Old minister, I'm scared!" The old man buried his head lower and deliberately emphasized the word "老".

"Get up. Let's talk about the nursery rhyme sung on the street." Emperor Chu ordered in a commanding tone, and the old man stood up.

Speaking of nursery rhymes, the old man sorted out his thoughts and said:

"Your Majesty, there is hidden malice in the words of that nursery rhyme. It must have been deliberately done by someone with ulterior motives. After the minister sent people to conduct a thorough investigation, they found something. According to several children in the countryside, a masked woman taught them it.

"

Silver-armored knees, black-hammered arms, and a dark arrow shot into the clouds. This hinted that there might be a mutiny in Chu.

The mutual movement of heaven and earth means the exchange of heaven and earth, and Ziwei star is the master of Dou Shu.

"Oh? You are so brave. You have done a good job. I will send people to investigate and ask your people to cooperate." Emperor Chu was finally angry. This matter had touched his bottom line.

"I accept my order." The old man bowed and saluted, letting out a sigh of relief in his heart. It seems that he has survived today. Chen Zhitong, Chen Zhitong, I almost killed this old man in order to repay your favor.

"Back off."

Hearing the three words "Chu Huang", the old man felt as if he were listening to a fairy voice. He bowed in panic and then tiptoed out of the Minghe Palace.

"What has Duke Huaiming been busy with recently?" After the bachelor of Star Observation Academy exited the palace, Emperor Chu threw a stack of books on the table and asked in a lazy tone towards the empty palace.

As soon as he finished speaking, a man in regular clothes walked out from behind the curtain beside Emperor Chu. He bowed slightly and replied:

"Back to the emperor, Duke Huaiming is living in seclusion, drinking and having fun at home. He has not left the Duke's residence for ten days."


Chapter completed!