Tanhualang

In early spring, at dusk, a place surrounded by willow trees and apricot blossoms in the suburbs of Beijing.

Spring rain is coming.

Xiao Er was dragging thatch from the backyard in a hurry to cover the sundries in the yard. There was a rush of horseshoes, and a young guard in green flowers strewn about came in on horseback. He got off his horse and looked around, with a polite attitude:

"Who is Shopkeeper Shen?"

Holding the grass thatch in his arms, Xiaoer turned around and shouted in a daze:

"Brother Shen!"

A young man in a green shirt came out and looked at several guards with doubts on his face.

"You are Shopkeeper Shen?"

"Be quiet. Who are you?"

The leading guard looked him over from head to toe, nodded slightly as a salute, and cupped his hands:

"Wei Zheng is the school lieutenant of Xiayu Palace. I'm following the order of the prince. Please, Mr. Shen, come with us to the Hexi Palace?"

Although it is a request, the tone is undeniable.

Shen Jing was stunned.

On the other hand, Xiaoer next to him took the first step, with a smile on his face:

"Several military masters! I don't know why I passed on my brother Shen? Why is it so—"

Li Zheng swung his whip and interrupted him:

"The mansion is in a hurry to ask for someone, and we'll know when we get there—Master Shen, please follow us to the horse?"

Shen Jing and Li Zheng rode together, the horseshoes were bumpy all the way, and they were extremely disturbed.

Prince Yu's Mansion is well-known in the capital.Even if Shen Jing doesn't hear anything outside the window, he has heard the name of the young King Yu in the mansion: Zhao Mingheng, the only younger brother of His Majesty today, although he is a bit bohemian, and it is said that he is also a little moody, but he is deeply loved by the emperor. trust.

Shen Jing thought that she was just a commoner, so she shouldn't be involved with this high-ranking prince, so she must have offended someone in the palace?But living in the suburbs of Beijing for a year, he has not even had a quarrel with anyone, so why was he approached by people from the palace?

After entering the city gate, the horse galloped through the busy city again. After two moments, it turned into a wide street with few people, and turned into a narrow alley at the end.

The horses stopped outside a door with hanging flowers, Wei Zheng got off the horse, helped Shen Jing down as well, and walked into the door with him.

Shen Jing has no power to resist, he doesn't talk much, he doesn't know how to talk to people, so he just walked along the road in silence, passed through many twists and turns, and finally entered a small unnamed courtyard. Wei Zheng saluted a young man under the eaves together:

"There is a butler, and someone has brought it."

Shen Jing didn't dare to look up, only heard a slightly familiar laughter:

"It came so fast! Captain Wei must have frightened shopkeeper Shen by being so swift and resolute, right? Please don't blame shopkeeper Shen!"

Only then did he dare to look up at people, and when he saw the smiling young man in front of him, he recognized him:

"You—you—"

"Shopkeeper Shen has such a good memory, he still remembers me." The butler Xiaoyou smiled, "I invite you rashly today, to tell you the truth, I want to ask Shopkeeper Shen to make another day's medicinal food for a taste."

Seven or eight days ago, Shen Jing entertained this little butler, and she still vaguely remembers the scene at that time.

There were no more than three or four people in their party, and they ordered more than ten dishes, most of which were left in the end.Shen Jing was in the back kitchen at the time, and heard Xiao Er praise that these people are very particular, they eat and drink with silver bowls and chopsticks that they carry with them.

It must be either rich or expensive, and he specifically asked Xiao Er to be careful in serving her.

During the meal, the little butler went to the kitchen to ask for hot water to make ginseng tea.

Shen Jing recognized the precious yellow ginseng wrapped in a silk handkerchief in his hand, so she couldn't help saying:

"This ginseng has a strong bitter taste, making tea is better than making it into a medicinal diet that is easy to drink

After hearing this, Xiaoyou looked him up suspiciously, and ordered him to try it.

Soak yellow ginseng slices in a bowl of water, put a spoonful of chicken soup in the pot, no oil and salt, and it will be out of the pot in a quarter of an hour.Xiao You dubiously took the bowl of ginseng soup and left.

A quarter of an hour later, he came back happily, and threw a small silver ingot beside the quiet stove:

"Thank you shopkeeper for your heart."

Now, Shen Jing understands the identity of this little butler, but regrets that she was so talkative back then that caused trouble today:

"I didn't know it was a nobleman of the palace back then, so I offended him so much, so don't blame me."

"Shopkeeper Shen is too modest." Xiao You smiled, his words and demeanor were even and steady, which did not match his appearance, which seemed to be only sixteen or seventeen years old, "I invite you rashly, and shopkeeper Shen, please do not blame me. The shopkeeper will make another bowl of ginseng soup and herbal diet from that day, please don't refuse."

Xiaoyou said politely, but he was quiet but did not dare to relax. He stood all the time, maintaining a respectful look with his face lowered. Hearing this, he hurriedly nodded:

"Don't dare to call it trouble."

The two arrived in the backyard kitchen:

"This is my small kitchen. Things may not be complete. If there is anything missing, shopkeeper Shen just ask. Here, it doesn't matter how much you have. The important thing is to make it delicious."

Shen Jing nodded with a cautious smile and rolled up his sleeves.

The place here is not big, but the stove is clean, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar, fruits and vegetables are all available.The side closet is open, and pots and pans are readily available.He put the yellow ginseng on the stove into a basin of water to soak and clean, and there was a pot of chopped and washed silky chicken next to him. Shen Jing took it over and looked at it, and then went to find ginger on the stove to slice and cook chicken soup.

Not more than half an hour later, Xiao You stepped into the kitchen and smelled the rich aroma of chicken soup. Seeing that Shen Jing was using a spoon to remove the oil on the hot chicken soup, he filled half a spoonful into a bowl, tasted it, and put the bowl down again. , I added some salt to the chicken stock pot.

Seeing him so carefully, Xiaoyou couldn't help laughing:

"Sure enough, I didn't miss it. Shopkeeper Shen is really a clean and careful person, so you don't need to ask more."

Shen Jing smiled, without making a sound, took a knife to cut the ginseng slices.He is not very skilled in knife skills, but he is more careful. Xiao You looked at him and said with a smile:

"Shopkeeper Shen doesn't cook for long, does he?"

Shen Jing lowered his eyes and said:

"It's just over a year. I don't have much craftsmanship in the mountain village."

Xiao You smiled and said:

"Craftsmanship doesn't matter, what matters is heart."

The soup was simmering over a low fire, and the flavor came out after a while.There is no trace of oil in the chicken soup, the color of the soup is clear, and there is a hint of yellow ginseng in the fragrance.Shen Jing took the porcelain bowl from Xiaoyou, filled it up, put it on the tray, and handed it over respectfully.

"Okay, thanks for your hard work." Xiao You took the tray with a smile, "The tea is ready in the west room of the yard, shopkeeper Shen, please move over there to drink tea."

Say hello to the boy outside the door:

"Little boy, take Mr. Shen to sit and drink tea."

Sitting quietly in the seat, drinking tea in An An'an, with half-closed eyes, covering up the uneasiness in his heart.

Xiaotong stood beside him and said a few words, probably he didn't want to say a word, he didn't want to look at him, he looked cautious, afraid that he would be uncomfortable, so he found an excuse and went out.

Only then did Shen Jing put down the tea bowl, stood under the window, and looked at the yard outside.

The yard is not big, and it is swept clean.The ground is covered with blue bricks, and moss is growing sporadically between the bricks, which shows that there are few people coming and going.The courtyard is square, with the east wing, west wing and main house connected by corridors under the eaves. Outside the corridors of the east and west wing rooms, there are flower ponds built with blue bricks. The apricot tree stands quietly under the window, and when you look up, you can see the apricot blossoms full of trees.

A gust of wind blows away the powdery flowers.

Shen Jing stared at the scattered fallen flowers on the ground, not knowing at this moment that the apricot tree outside the window would accompany him for a long time in the future.