The Ascension of Ghosts

The carriage rolled over the post road, and the sky became cloudy again. Unknowingly, a little bit of fine snow fell, fell to the ground, and melted away in a blink of an eye.

Yun Ye was so depressed, he finally turned his head again, stared at She Qingfeng and said, "...there are so many good men in the world, why do you have to pester Qingquan alone?"

She Qingfeng sneered and said: "There are many people older than you in the world, why do you insist on calling Lu Gongcao the eldest brother?"

Yun Ye was so choked that he couldn't speak. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of An Guohou, who was facing him with a gloomy face. He dared not speak up even if he wanted to argue, for fear that he would be self-defeating and would end up being accused of trying to cover up the crime. extreme.

Seeing that Yun Ye was on fire, Lu Sheng couldn't stop smiling wryly for a while, so he interrupted and asked, "Qingfeng, when did you meet Guo Yuan?"

Unexpectedly, one sentence made She Qingfeng look sad and inexplicable. He clenched his hands into fists and said in a hoarse voice, "I have known Ah Yuan since he was seven years old."

The young man raised his head and was fascinated: "I once asked him: Ah Yuan, would you like to marry me when you grow up? If you say a good word, I will treat you to eat gong cakes and almond tofu. He was clearly full back then. The face happily agreed, who knows that the world changes with time and people's hearts are fickle, but now he wants to marry someone else."

Yun Ye couldn't help closing his eyes and sighing: "What does a seven-year-old boy know about getting married? He promised you, but it was for the gong cake and almond tofu."

She Qingfeng was stunned for a moment, but then he was not convinced, and said again: "What do you know, Ah Yuan will never lie to me. He also discussed with me first if he wants to get married."

Yun Ye frowned: "Since we discussed it, why do you want to get in the way?"

She Qingfeng became annoyed, and said angrily: "I, I, I agreed before, but now I regret it!"

Guo Yuan is a talented person who is very good at learning. He is a rare talent in the Guozijian, but because he was born in a poor family, he is not reused. He has a passion for serving the country and can't use it. How can he be reconciled?

However, his foundation is weak, so he wants to borrow the strength of his in-laws.After thousands of choices, he fell in love with Xu Langzhong's contacts.Yun Ye and him are just classmates and friends. If they become relatives by marriage, even if they are separated by several blood lines, they will still be regarded as a family after all. This relationship is far closer than that of friends.

It was because of Guo Yuan and She Qingfeng's careful discussion and hard work that they got She Qingfeng's approval.Afterwards, Guo Yuan confessed his love to Xu Xiu, and asked Yun Ye for help, striving to form a good relationship between Qin and Jin.He promised She Qingfeng that when his position is consolidated in the future, he will take She Qingfeng back home under the guise of being a concubine.

When Lu Sheng heard this verse, he couldn't help but sullen, and reprimanded: "Nonsense!"

But She Qingfeng misunderstood, nodded repeatedly and said: "Ah Yuan is clearly in love with me, why should I be a concubine? You are really messing around!"

Yun Ye's face was also very ugly, he grabbed She Qingfeng's skirt, gritted his teeth and said angrily: "You evildoer, you actually tricked Qingquan to harm my cousin!"

She Qingfeng wanted to refute, but he caught a glimpse of gloomy faces in the carriage. Seeing that the situation was not good, he could only grab Yun Ye's wrist and said, "Who, who is going to harm your cousin? It was just a discussion, and he didn't take it seriously. ...Your cousin is not as good-looking as me..."

Yun Ye was furious, and raised his fist: "Naughty animal! When you two plotted against Axiu, did you ever think that she is a side branch of my Yun family after all, so where do you put my Yun family!"

She Qingfeng was stunned and said: "I really never thought about it...You mortals have been debating too much, how can you think clearly?"

Yun Ye was extremely annoyed, and punched She Qingfeng fiercely in the face, Lu Sheng hurriedly leaned forward to stop him, trying to persuade him.During the chaos, the car suddenly bumped, and he almost threw himself on Yun Ye, but Xie Rong stretched out his hand to fasten his waist, dragged him back to the opposite soft couch, and took advantage of the opportunity to sit on Xie Rong's lap, being hugged .

For a while, Yun Ye and She Qingfeng also forgot to fight, and stared blankly at the two of them opposite, Xie Rong took some time to rest, put one hand on Lu Sheng's knee and patted it calmly, squinting and said: "What are you looking at?"

Lu Sheng got up with a blank expression on his face, and sat upright beside him, before he said coldly, "Everyone sit down!"

Yun Ye let go of She Qingfeng's lapel, and She Qingfeng let go of Yun Ye's fist, and the two of them sat upright, both with their heads bowed and obediently listening to the training.

Lu Sheng was calm on the surface, but his heart had already turned into anger. He couldn't think of a precept, so he said: "Everyone should reflect on themselves. Before getting out of the car, don't speak again. If not, we will not interfere in this matter."

The two showed anxious looks, but they both wanted Xie and Lu to uphold justice, so they remembered their instructions, gritted their teeth and stopped talking, just nodded repeatedly.

The car was clean for a while, and Xie Rong was very satisfied when she saw this, so she put her hand on Lu Sheng's waist, and was pushed away by the scabbard. Lu Sheng said coldly, "You are not allowed to speak."

Xie Rong's face froze, and the two people on the opposite side turned one to the left and the other to the right, just staring at the snow falling outside the car like a wooden chicken, for fear that if they made a careless move, they would burn themselves.As for how to snicker in my heart, I don't know.

After another half a cup of tea time, the carriage arrived at the foot of Meihua Mountain.Yun Ye jumped out of the carriage in a hurry, becoming more and more anxious, but She Qingfeng still followed slowly, seeing him almost jumping, he felt more and more happy.

Until the two of Xie Rong also entered the main hall and ordered: "Let them go."

Then She Qingfeng bent down, lifted the big brass bell easily, and put it aside.

In the square inch of the clock, there is a soft couch, a tea table, a food box, tea and water on the table, it seems that he has not been wronged.Guo Yuan stood up from the soft couch, his expression a little sluggish, and when he saw Yun Ye and the two people beside him, he hurriedly saluted and said, "Thank you, everyone, for your help."

Yun Ye hurriedly stepped forward to look at him carefully, and sighed: "Brother Qingquan, fortunately you are safe and sound."

Guo Yuancai smiled wryly and wanted to speak, but he heard She Qingfeng snorted heavily, he paused, led She Qingfeng back, and said to Yun Ye: "My dear brother Yun Ye, Qingfeng is my childhood sweetheart's brother, he... I don't understand the world, if you offend me, please forgive me for Brother Yu's sake."

Yun Ye sighed: "Qingquan, he is ignorant, and you are also ignorant? Why did you come up with such a dirty trick, which almost dragged Axiu's life."

Guo Yuan said with a face full of shame: "Brother Yu was confused for a while...Brother Yu will try to make up for it in the future, please forgive me this time."

After saying that, he lifted the hem of his clothes and knelt down in front of Yun Ye.

She Qingfeng's expression changed, but Yun Ye was also at a loss. He couldn't help but look back at Lu Sheng, and then he sighed and gritted his teeth: "...That's all. Brother Qingquan, you can do it yourself in the future!"

Angry and helpless, he just clasped his fists at Xie Rong and Lu Sheng hastily, turned and walked out.

Xie Rong sneered and said, "It's just a trivial matter, which has delayed my time."

He also turned and walked out.

She Qingfeng was terrified, so he could only kneel down next to Guo Yuan, and whispered: "Xiefu...Master Gongcao, my sister has a lot of things to do every day, so don't bother her with this trivial matter. I...I know I was wrong."

The young man showed remorse, Guo Yuan held his wrist and sighed in a low voice, and said, "Lu Gongcao, this matter is all because of my insatiable greed, and my desire to look forward to Shu, which made Qingfeng implicated...Although he is a snake demon, his mind is extremely pure , I have absolutely no intention of harming anyone. I, Mr. Guo, accept the punishment and ask the meritorious Cao to intercede for Qingfeng in front of An Guohou."

She Qingfeng said: "Punish them together! There is no reason for me to stand by and watch!"

These two people scrambled to admit their mistakes, Lu Sheng was angry and funny, and simply sat aside, seeing the two of them arguing endlessly, he had to interrupt: "Get up, An Guohou doesn't want to be nosy, let me ask you a question first." , Guo Yuan, what are your plans?"

Guo Yuan turned his head and looked at She Qingfeng, and sighed: "Let's take a step and see one step. There is only one thing - no matter whether we live in a high temple or far away from the rivers and lakes, Qingfeng and I will never be separated again."

She Qingfeng's eyes lit up immediately, and he looked at Guo Yuan with joy, and couldn't stop smiling.

Lu Sheng nodded and said, "A gentleman keeps his word, and he will do what he says."

Guo Yuan quickly lowered his head and said, "I don't dare to say anything."

She Qingfeng pursed his lips and smiled, "If he repents again, I'll eat him!"

Guo Yuan also smiled at him and said, "I don't regret it."

Lu Sheng saw that the two were full of affection and could no longer tolerate others, so he could only sigh softly, turn around and walk out the door.Walking around to the backyard, I found Xie Rong's figure. He was actually directing Ruo Song Ruo Zhu to cut down the cherry trees.

Lu Sheng stepped forward and couldn't help sighing: "Ah Rong, even if these two mess around and waste time, why do you want to vent your anger on the cherry tree?"

Xie Rong said, "This was cut for you."

Lu Sheng said in a daze, "I'm not going to vent my anger on a few trees."

Xie Rong was still in a good mood, took the dagger, cut a piece of wood from the branches piled on the ground, put it on Lu Sheng's nose, and then said: "The cherry trees in this courtyard are all over sixty years old. It bears fruit every year, and now the branches are permeated with the fragrance of cherries, which is perfect for barbecue."

Lu Sheng was shocked immediately. He took a deep sniff, only to feel the warm and fresh woody fragrance, which hinted at the fragrance of cherry fruit, which was very attractive.He recalled that the lychee wood he asked for in the Xu Mansion earlier might have the same magical effect, so he couldn't wait to hold Xie Rong's wrist and said: "Let's go, let's go back. This time, no one will be gone!"

It's just that his prophecy came true unfortunately, the carriage arrived in front of the gate of Xie Mansion, when he met a servant from Lu Mansion, and said to Lu Yuan: "The eldest lady will cook in person today, please go back and have dinner with the second master."

Xie Rong was getting out of the car, she seemed to ignore him, but her face sank again, she walked past Lu Sheng without saying a word, and entered the gate.

Lu Sheng watched his back disappear behind the door, hesitated for a moment, and still ordered: "Apologize to sister-in-law for me... I have something important to do today, so I won't go back."

Without waiting for the servant to speak again, he hurriedly stepped into the gate and searched for the backyard.

Sure enough, in the spacious courtyard, Ruoxia and the others were already busy, setting up an oven on the cobblestone floor, lighting a fire and adding firewood, and on the tables beside them were bright brown and red wild boar meat, which looked like pearls, and began to prepare the barbecue.

Xie Rong stood aside, inspecting the lychee wood sent by Xu's mansion.Mrs. Xu prepared meticulously, and ordered people to cut the lychee wood into two-inch thick pieces, spliced ​​them into a whole board, submerged in well water, and sent it to Xie's residence.

Lu Sheng sniffed it closer, and said, "The aroma of lychee goes best with chicken, Ruosong, go get some chicken."

Xie Rong then ordered: "Look at the ingredients in the kitchen, and take some of them. Please Mr. Zhu to cook in person."

Ruo Song responded with a grin, and trotted away.

Lu Sheng squinted at Xie Rong, and when he saw him come in just now, the boy's face had already cleared up after the rain, but he was still stern.According to Lu Sheng's experience, at this time Xie Rong is like a big cat who is angry, just stroke its fur, and it will turn danger into good luck, and everything will go against it.

The three ovens lit the silver charcoal, set up the grill, smoked the meat with cherry wood, lychee wood, and apple wood chips, and then closed the lid.In addition, three wooden boards soaked in well water were placed on the grill, and the smoke and roast were combined. After a long time, the wild boar fat was roasted, and as the heat sizzled, the rich aroma full of fruity meat gradually rose. Diffuse.

Lu Sheng followed Xie Rong and sat on a table a little far away. Xie Rong drank, and he followed suit. Xie Rong took a dried peach, and he first put a piece of dried peach with a silver fork and brought it to Xie Rong's mouth. Zan said: "I thought that barbecue was just a matter of lighting a fire and roasting until cooked. I didn't expect that there was a lot of knowledge in it. Ah Rong is really a master who knows everything and is omnipotent."

Xie Rong opened her mouth to eat the dried peaches, and it happened that Ruosong led Chef Zhu and the other cooks, and came in with various food boxes and bamboo baskets.He nodded slightly and said: "There is a specialization in art, if you are talking about barbecue, you should ask Mr. Zhu."

Chef Zhu hurriedly bowed his hands to the two and said, "I dare not do it."

Then he directed the help cooks to get busy, and explained to Lu Sheng: "The meat quality is different in different positions, so there are corresponding cooking methods to bring out the best taste. For example, the tenderloin here is also divided into shoulder tenderloin and small tenderloin. The tenderloin, the shoulder tenderloin is slightly tougher than the small tenderloin, and is most suitable for frying and grilling. It is cut into square bricks and placed on a wooden board for slow roasting. No matter what kind of fruity and fragrant wood it can be paired with, each has a wonderful taste. The small tenderloin is delicate , the most suitable for cutting into thin slices, roasted and eaten now, cherry wood is best paired with a small roast, the meat is melt-in-your-mouth, fragrant and sweet, and the serving is wonderful. Another example is this plum-blossom meat, which is sandwiched with thin red meat The fat layer should be fully beaten before roasting, and the fat will seep into the meat during roasting, and the taste is like jade agar, just sprinkle a little salt to enhance the taste, it is thick but not greasy, and it is sweet and refreshing."

When Chef Zhu talked about his profession, his eloquence was eloquent, while the helpers sliced ​​and diced meat, or ground it into minced meat, and they were busy in an orderly manner. On the one hand, they had already placed the grilled thin sliced ​​tenderloin and sweetfish on the crispy green lettuce leaves sent up.

It is also served with a variety of sauces, which can not only taste the original flavor, but also change the flavor as you like.Lu Sheng took a sip, his eyes lit up, and he repeatedly praised the delicious taste, which made Chef Zhu's face shine even more, and the creases on his jaw trembled with joy.

Xie Rong tasted it and praised it, but then asked: "How to roast snake meat?"

Chef Zhu was stunned for a moment, and pondered: "Snake meat has more than enough tendons, but not enough balsamic fat. It is purely roasted on fire, easy to dry and easy to burn, and the taste is not good. It is best to make soup or snake soup. Roast, and let the villain try it first..."

Lu Sheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and hurriedly said, "No need, but just ask."

Xie Rong snorted in a low voice: "It doesn't need to be roasted. If that kid makes more trouble, I will make him into snake meat soup."

She Qingfeng was probably feeling cold all over his body at this time.

Sure enough, it's okay to offend anyone, but you must not offend Lord Xie.After thinking about it, Lu Sheng simply asked, "Besides these three kinds of fruit trees, what other fragrant woods can be used for barbecue?"

Seeing that he was diligent and inquisitive, Xie Rong no longer bothered about She Qingfeng's affairs, and replied: "The aroma of meat is already strong, so the main way to add fragrance is light, such as sandalwood agarwood, etc. If the aroma is too strong, it will overwhelm the guests and distract the others." It is not advisable to be unclear about the priority. Therefore, we should choose more fruit trees, such as apple wood, pear wood, and apricot wood, and some gourmets are not satisfied with this, and they also use cypress, pine, and paulownia.”

Lu Sheng clapped his hands together and sighed, "Guqins are mostly made of paulownia wood, so burning a qin and cooking a crane can be regarded as an elegant thing that never tires of food."

Xie Rong paused, and finally laughed and said: "It's not difficult if you want to taste it. There are a few pieces of paulownia wood stored in the warehouse in the backyard. Even if you can't roast a crane, you can roast a duck. Ruosong, take someone to get some paulownia wood Come."

Lu Sheng had tasted all kinds of fruit wood barbecue, and was very excited, so he volunteered to go with Ruo Song, but the paulownia in the warehouse were all whole trunks, so Ruo Song ordered someone to take a saw and chop them up on the spot.Lu Sheng waited bored. He turned his head and saw outside the warehouse. A few plum trees had died at some point beside the rockery.

With a thought, he picked up the ax and went out, picked up the driest branches of each tree and chopped them down. Before Ruosong prepared the paulownia wood, he rushed back to the courtyard with a bundle of dead branches, and said with a smile: "Ah Rong, Ah Rong! Also try the grilled meat with plum branches! It is elegant and delicious, and it is no worse than burning the piano and cooking the crane."

Unexpectedly, Xie Rong stared wide-eyed at the plum branch in his hand, and didn't even notice that the wine cup in his hand fell off. The whole glass of sweet-scented osmanthus wine was sprinkled on the cloak, and Ruoxia Ruodee who was accompanying her also Each of them covered their mouths, looking surprised but not daring to speak out.

Xie Rong then asked: "You... cut off the plum tree branches beside the rockery?"

Lu Sheng had a bad intuition, so he put the branches on the ground, and replied in a low voice: "Then... those trees seem to be dead, and they grow in strange shapes. I'm afraid they were seriously ill before they were alive, and they will be cut down sooner or later. I, I I just... took a few branches..."

Xie Rong's face suddenly turned black like dark clouds over the city, but Ruodee couldn't bear it, and burst out laughing, Ruoxia hurriedly covered her mouth, took a look at Xie Rong's face, and then forced a smile to explain to Lu Sheng: "My son has found more than ten big plum-growing families. It took seven years to grow these five plum trees with great difficulty. The branches are winding and winding, and they were all cultivated with exhaustion. They were only transplanted half a month ago. Entering the mansion. I thought that after a few days of heavy snowfall, I would be able to walk on the snow with Mr. Baoyang to admire the plum branches, but I didn’t expect Mr. Baoyang to cut it first as a respect..."

Xie Rong got up suddenly, walked towards the direction of the wing room, and said, "Change a cloak for me."

Lu Sheng felt guilty, followed behind him with a sad face, step by step into the wing room, but Xie Rong said: "Go out."

Lu Sheng misunderstood that it was Xie Rong who drove him away, he was stunned for a moment, and then he was about to be shocked and angry, but he saw that Xie Rong was giving orders to Ruo Shuang and others in the wing.

A row of servants saluted and filed out of the room, Xie Rong said: "Change it for me."

Lu Sheng obediently stepped forward to untie the cloak for him, and took it off his shoulders, but Xie Rong reached out and pulled him into his arms.

The room was as warm as spring, and the incense of potpourri was burning, dispelling the chill from the clothes, leaving only the lingering lingering feeling that was about to melt into his flesh and blood. Lu Sheng lost his mind for a moment, and the heavy cloak fell from his hands to his feet, muttering Said: "Ah Rong..."

Xie Rong didn't let him go with both hands, her chin rested on her shoulder, she rubbed along Lu Sheng's back, slid down to her waist, pulled him into her arms, slapped him hard on the buttocks, and snorted coldly: "In Baoyang's heart, I'm afraid I can't even take half of it."

Through the thick robe, the palm sounded loud, but it was actually painless, and Lu Sheng didn't care at all.On the contrary, he heard that his tone of voice seemed unruly but actually resentful, the corners of his mouth couldn't stop rising, but he could only hold back his smile, rubbed Xie Rong's shoulder repeatedly, and said softly: "Ah Rong naturally took it."

Xie Rong's complexion became darker, pinched his cheek and said angrily: "Only half?"

Lu Sheng couldn't laugh or cry, this person's ability to make progress is unparalleled in the world, although it was somewhat due to Xie Rong's own temperament, Lu Sheng's connivance was also indispensable.Now he can only sigh and say: "Ah Rong, what are you going to do to calm down?"

Xie Rong said: "I want you to have only me inside and out, up and down."

Lu Sheng just wanted to ask, "How can you be the only one inside and out, up and down?" But Xie Rong sank down, picked him up, and walked towards the stroller bed.

Lu Sheng's heart was hot, but he still remembered the pile of fruit trees outside the room, hooked Xie Rong's neck, and murmured: "... BBQ..."

Before he finished speaking, he felt his body soaring into the air, and when he came back to his senses, he had already landed in the thick and soft bedding.

Xie Rong was sullen, her behavior was unavoidably rough, she hastily tore the soft silk jacket on Lu Sheng's body, showing a bit of coercion, as if Lu Sheng was extremely unwilling, he bent down and bit On the side of Lu Sheng's neck, he gnawed and said vaguely: "Now you are still thinking about barbecue, but barbecue is more important than me?"

Lu Sheng was sore and itchy from being bitten by him, and finally turned his head to the side and laughed out loud. He threw the ripped clothes aside, held Xie Rong's cheeks in both hands, and touched the tip of his nose lightly, tenderly. Said: "Ah Rong is more important."

Xie Rong snorted coldly, finally restrained herself a bit, and slowly drew circles with her slender fingers against the young man's naked upper body, while kissing his eyelids, cheeks, nose tip and lip corners, and asked in a hoarse voice: "How important is Ah Rong? "

Lu Sheng admired the beauty from close at hand, followed his kiss and raised his head, gently inserted his fingers into the thick black hair, pressed against the scalp, and still said softly: "I am inside and out, up and down, There is only Ah Rong alone, so naturally it cannot be more important."

Xie Rong froze for a moment, her eyes became darker, she gritted her teeth and said, "Monster." She leaned over and pressed him firmly.

Then the fragrance melted into the tent and warmed up, lingering all night.

Chef Zhu waited by the oven for a long time with the cooks and servants, and then he had to withdraw the banquet and dispersed.

Ruo Song saw that the bundle of plum branches was still in place, and didn't know what to do with it, so he asked Ruo Xia for advice.Ruoxia smiled and said: "Just put it away, my master will really make roasted duck with plum branches in the future." Then he ordered people to put it into the warehouse together with the rest of various fruits and trees.