The husband's son-in-law

"I'll try it first, if it's overdue, don't eat it for kids."

Gu Zhao held a cut piece of meat that was sizzling with mutton fat and said.

Zheng Hui: ...

"Eat together." Yan Jinxin said with a serious face, "I will try too."

"Then I'll come too."

The three surrounded the grill, and the other two restrained themselves, waiting for the cook to cut it off and put it on a plate, and then ate it with chopsticks.Gu Zhao took the knife himself, picked which piece to cut which piece, and he sent two pieces into the import, huh, huh, kept saying try again.

Yan Jinxin and Zheng Hui were around the meat, and it was impossible to be fragrant. Zheng Hui explained to the cook: "Don't pretend to be so much, I will try it first."

When the plate is in hand, use the chopsticks to hold the chopsticks and put them in the mouth.

Zheng Hui:! ! !

Yan Jingxin's expression didn't change, he just said hello.

"The mutton roasted with cumin is fragrant, I can't tell what it tastes like." Zheng Hui put down his chopsticks again.

When the people in Beijing enter winter, they like to eat lamb more than pork, but the method is basically stewed with big white radish, or sliced ​​into slices in a shabu-shabu, mixed with sesame sauce for dipping, and grilled, such as blue radish. My mother grilled a bowl of mutton last year in her thirties, and the taste was actually pretty good.

Maybe the sheep are grazing now, the air is good, the sheep are eaten and killed immediately, the smell of the sheep is less, and the fishy smell can be removed with ginger sliced ​​rice wine. Use coarse salt heated in an iron pan, sprinkle some finely, and the roasted lamb is salty. Fragrant, the mutton flavor is more prominent, not bad.

One side of the water and soil supports the other side, and the people in Beijing are used to eating sheep like this.

Gu Zhao was not the first to discover cumin, but only a small number of people in the middle and upper circles of Beijing. When roasting mutton with cumin, they don't advertise it when they meet people.

So this way of eating must have not been spread by the minority.

Gu Zhao was right. Later, he gave cumin to Senior Brother Liang’s house. His teacher, Sun Mu, laughed when he saw it, and said to his apprentice, “You like to eat. If Ziqing saw something rare, let’s go to you first.” Send, I can't get used to this taste."

Liang Zizhi also laughed, "I knew that he went to Zhuangzi to eat roast lamb, I love this one, I have a lot left in my house and brought it to him, mine is still fresh, he doesn't know how long he has kept this box. "After that, let the servants in the mansion send a box to Li Mansion.

In fact, Mingyuan also loves this way of eating roasted lamb with cumin. He said that it has a strong taste, and the lamb is also delicious when cut into slices, but the two flavors have their own advantages.

Later, Gu Zhao received a box of granular cumin from his senior brother's residence. When he opened it, the smell of cumin was strong and pungent. It was much fresher than what Zheng Hui brought back from the Ministry of Rites. He immediately said: ...囧.

Just say it will.

Gu Zhao took a mouthful of grilled oily cumin mutton, and couldn't help sighing: "It would be great if I had some chili noodles."

"What chili noodles?" Zheng Hui asked casually.

Gu Zhao: "...not now, I'll look for it later." Changed the subject, "How are you eating? If you don't have a stomachache, I'll go and give it to the children."

Zheng Hui immediately didn't want chili noodles, anyway, he didn't have any, so he said, "Wait a little longer, I'll eat it." It was another piece of meat with chopsticks, delicious to eat.

Gu Zhao felt that the problem was not serious, so he gave Zhou Zhouduan a piece to taste first, and Xian Bao seemed to say, "This piece is delicious, fat and thin, take a bite every week, be careful not to burn it."

This will be outside, Gu Zhao refrained from giving his wife a mouthful.

Li Zhouzhou tasted it, Fu Bao sat on the bamboo couch and poked his head to look at the two fathers, licked his mouth with his tongue, the mung bean cake that he just finished eating would be tasteless now, and waved his arms to attract the attention of the two fathers Li, babbled and said: "Fu Fu also needs to be next~"

"Daddy, daddy!"

Gu Zhao turned around and said, "You take a good look at Dabai, I'll get you a piece, but don't feed it to Dabai, he can't eat this."

Dabai is a few days away from one year old, and he can eat supplementary food, and meat is fine, but eat less, such as minced meat with egg custard, cumin mutton is fine, especially cumin powder that has been stored for a long time.

Fu Bao nodded his head, "It's been a while~" After his father left, he looked at Dabai's younger brother, his fleshy face was full of sympathy, and he spread his hands together, saying, "Dabai can't do it again." He even reached out and touched him. Touch Dabai's head.

"It's good that the mud looks as big as Fufujie."

He can eat, he is a big baby!Fubao is proud.

Gu Zhao personally picked a thinner one with little cumin flavor, the width of his index finger, and the length of a joint, took it and wrapped it in oiled paper, and asked Fu Bao to chew it with his molars, and tasted it.

"You can eat it, but my brother is still young and can't eat it. It will hurt his stomach if he eats it." Gu Zhao looked at his son's greedy appearance, and looked at Dabai, with the posture of "big brother will cover you for a while and give you a lick". .

Fu Bao's eyes widened, with a look of 'how does Daddy know that Fu Fu misses Senmo', "Don't you want to lick it?"

"Do you think your brother has a stomachache?"

"Fu Fu doesn't want to." Fu Bao shook his head, then nodded his head, assuring his father, "My brother drools all the time."

Only then did Gu Zhao give the meat that had almost dried out to his son, and said very seriously: "Yes, a brother must be ruthless, and you can't just feel sorry for the man."

Once the sympathy is pitiful, it is a bad dish.

"What did Xianggong say, Fubao is still young."

Gu Zhao turned to look at his wife pitifully.Li Zhouzhou was silent for a second, what Xianggong said was also reasonable, so he was caught by him.

But Dabai is still young, only one year old.Gu Zhao just didn't have any fun in his mouth.

The three families of roasted whole lamb ate more than half a fan, and the rest of the village was used by people, so it was not wasted.There was peace here, but Steward Ma suddenly came over and said, "Master Gu, the son of the Rong family is here."

"The Rong family?" Gu Zhao put down the things in his hands. He saw the carriage of the Rong family on the way back from the temple yesterday, but neither of them got out of the carriage. , how come to find, "Who?"

Butler Ma said: "The steward of the Zhuangzi in the Rong's Mansion brought a few gifts, all of which are common goats and rabbits near the Zhuangzi, nothing unusual. Have you seen Mr. Gu?"

"...Didn't he say what he's here for?"

"The words say: 'The two villages are close to each other. My master just came over yesterday. I happened to meet him. He sent me today to say hello and hello'." Steward Ma said the exact words.

Gu Zhao didn't want to see him, he didn't want to have anything to do with the Rong family, besides, this Zhuangzi belonged to Brother Liang, and the Rong family sent people here, presumably for the sake of the brother, so he didn't want to be the master, so he said: "I will It's gone, and the senior brother is not in the village, and the gift is not expensive, then you accept it, and give some other wild vegetables and pickles tomorrow, and I will tell the senior brother later."

It seems to be polite and decent words.

Butler Ma responded and went down to deal with it.

Before the sun set, the elders said it was time to go back. The children were sweating lightly after running all afternoon, and it was very cold outside. Don’t be cold. Go back and wash and change into new clothes.

The three families went back to Zhuangzi with their children in their arms, and each took care of the children.

Bamboo couches, grills, dishes and cups are naturally cleaned up.

Gu Zhao went back with Fu Bao in his arms. When he touched his son's hands, his hands were still warm, and when he touched his head, he felt a little sweaty, "You just sat and didn't run much, how can you still be sweating?"

Fu Bao showed his father a cute smile of "the nest is very cute, Daddy Suo Senmo".

Gu Zhao: ... This set was played by your father!

He squeezed his son's face, and said to Zhou Zhou: "The appointment is to follow Dabai to crawl back and forth on the bamboo couch."

Li Zhouzhou took a change of clean clothes and said, "You two are just playing around."

Mother Lan called for hot water, and the doors and windows were closed. Li Zhouzhou cleaned Fubao in bed, scrubbed Fubao with a hot towel, and quickly changed into new clothes, so that Fubao would be fresh and dry. , no sweat.

Otherwise, when the wind blows at night, those who sweat will be cold.

There are also activities at night, and Zhuangzi invited a small opera troupe to sing.The garden lights were lit, and Mrs. Ma prepared several braziers for offerings, because she had children and was afraid of the cold.

Gu Zhao is not good at operas, the operas are sung gracefully, and sometimes the lyrics are too long, he is always anxious about the plot, so he prefers storytelling.But everyone loves singing.

Let's join in the fun today.

The theatrical troupe invited was a small troupe, not a big one, but Gu Zhao couldn’t tell the difference between good and bad. I was sleepy after eating in the dark, but now it is different, my eyes are shining brightly.

It is not difficult to imagine that if the villagers want to watch and listen to the opera, if the squires in the town have some big happy event, they spend money to invite them to have fun. Villagers from all over the world come to see.

There were too many people, and after watching the play of the squire and the landlord, it was natural to say auspicious words and pass them on back home, but not everyone knew what theater troupe Mr. X had invited for his birthday, and that Mr. X was rich!

Have face.

There are very few such opportunities. Ordinary people are busy all year round for their livelihoods. How can they have time to care about everything that is not boring, spiritual world, hobbies and entertainment activities.

No.

His family and Yan's family like to go to the theater, Gu Zhao can still think of it, but why Zheng Hui's family also likes it, "It stands to reason that your family should be a rich household where the country gentry invites the theater, so how can you be short of theaters? "

"My family can't keep a theatrical troupe at home, and I can't invite the troupe over every day, otherwise the townspeople will say that my family will be crazy, and I will beat and listen to the opera all day long." Zheng Hui explained to Zhaodi, "It used to be me. Invite grandpa and grandma to celebrate their birthdays, and sometimes invite them to be lively during Chinese New Year."

The same goes for the Tang family, they all have rules.

As a concubine, Tang Rou sometimes held banquets in the mansion, and if the aunt didn't bring her out to meet people, she would stay in her small courtyard and not leave the gate, and could only listen to a vague opera tune from afar.

Gu Zhao thinks about it too, taking the theater as a modern example of inviting a favorite celebrity to come to his home for a concert, you can’t spend money to invite people to come here every day, this kind of person spends most of the year watching theaters and having fun, and a rich family is a dandy , too flamboyant and unruly.

I figured it out, Gu Zhao cherished the opportunity to watch a play, but he couldn't understand it, so he wanted to join in the fun.

Not long after seeing Zhou Zhou's eyes flushed, Gu Zhao leaned over to pass the handkerchief, he looked confused, and asked in a low voice, "This little general is still alive." He didn't die in battle.

"That treacherous minister has plots and tricks. He wants to cut off the food and grass for the little general and starve to death." Can Li Zhouzhou feel uncomfortable?The little general fought so hard, but there are still such villains in the end.

Gu Zhao nodded and scolded a bad guy.

This play excerpt is a popular classic play in Dali now. It is about the ruined dynasty before the Dali. The emperor was fatuous and innocent. , Selling sons and daughters, Dali's Taizu was justice from heaven, sent by God to save the people.

Every time this play is played, the people will naturally scold the former emperor and treacherous ministers after watching and listening to it.

Public opinion builds momentum.

It was almost late at night after the two-part show, the children were all asleep, Mama Zhang carried her down and went back to the house, the adults had red eyes and were reluctant to part, but they couldn’t listen to the whole set, which was seven pieces.

Gu Zhao said that he would listen to it in the daytime tomorrow.

When the play is over, and the actor salutes, then of course there will be a reward.Almost everyone present gave it, even the elders who lived frugally, more or less, it can be seen that everyone thought this drama was good after listening to it, and they praised it.

The servant lights up the lamp and goes back, Liu Shu walks behind the man, still clenched his fists angrily, saying the indignant words from watching the play just now, when he turned his head, he saw his man's solemn face and his eyes flushed.

The man just cried too?

"Are you crying?" Liu Shu asked in a low voice to save the man's face.

Yan Jinxin denied it, "No, the wind was strong at night, and sand and soil were blown into my eyes, so I rubbed it."

Willow: "Then you decided to cry secretly behind my back, otherwise how could you explain to me so much."

Rigorous letter: ...

"Haha, don't be ashamed, what's the matter, I just cried and blew my nose." Liu Shu suddenly realized that there was nothing scary about a man with a dark face, and he didn't dare to be upright when he watched a play and cried secretly!

Tonight, there was no one to take a bath in the hot spring, so everyone fell asleep when they were sleepy, and woke up on time the next day to watch the play.

Gu Zhao: ...

I haven't finished watching it all morning, but after lunch, I have to go back to Beijing, otherwise the city gate will be closed and I won't be able to go back, and the three of them will have to go to work the next day.

"Wait until the next time you invite the theater troupe over and listen to the [-]% off later." Gu Zhao told Zhou Zhou.

But at this time, Gu Zhao didn't know that it would be many years before the three families could get together to watch a play.

Everyone packed up and returned to Beijing.

On the way back, I met the fifth prince who was riding a horse to the direction of Zhuangzi in the outskirts. The three carriages kept out of the way as usual.

It's just that I don't know why, the fifth prince is in such a hurry.

Back in Beijing, each of the three families went back to their own houses, tidying up and not mentioning it.The food that day was light, and it was a feast for two consecutive days. Gu Zhao said that he would cook some porridge and eat it with some pickles. After eating, he would take a shower and rest early.

The next day continued to resume the daily life of the small officials in the Imperial Academy of Beijing.

Gu Zhao went to Senior Brother Liang's house to hand in his homework, and after being teased by Senior Brother Liang about the treasure, Gu Zhao changed the subject and talked about the matter of Zhuangzi in Rong's mansion sending sheep and rabbits, "...I didn't see the manager of the Rong family, Let Steward Ma send some pickles and wild vegetables to pass away every few days."

"Is it done?"

Liang Zizhi smiled brightly, and said: "Success. It's just a manager of Zhuangzi, it's nothing." He also said: "The Rong family has some relationship with my uncle, and it has nothing to do with me."

Gu Zhao's guess is correct, it's just polite words.

Nowadays, etiquette is very important for people, and the more powerful and noble the more important, the manager of the Rong family village brought some small gifts and special products to the door, which shows that it is not to make friends, but to say hello.

After seeing the teachers and brothers, and harvesting a bunch of homework, Gu Zhao went home by car.

The following days were nothing special. Gu Zhaohe and Yan Jinxin were reading and drinking tea in the Hanlin Academy. They didn’t revise their books. Drink and chat, and exchange recent work and life.

"...By the way, I almost forgot. Didn't we meet the fifth prince when we came back from Zhuangzi last time? After I came back, I heard from the boss that the astonishingly talented Fourth Young Master Rong of the Rong family was ill and went to Zhuangzi. To recover from illness, the fifth prince probably went to see his cousin." Zheng Hui said.

Gu Zhao has never heard of the name of the Fourth Young Master Rong, so he doesn’t blame him. There are no gossip tabloids now, and the information is blocked. When he goes to Beijing, he only goes to work and goes home. There are too many second and third generations of officials, and there are too many names. I haven't heard of it. It's normal, so I don't count him as a bumpkin.

"How terrible?"

Zheng Hui said: "...Anyway, it's amazing. I heard that all the noble girls in Beijing are willing to marry Rong Ye."

That is, she is extremely good-looking and has a good background, which is not difficult to understand.The Rong family is now considered a low-key luxury aristocrat.Gu Zhao nodded, pretending to listen to the gossip.

Maybe Gu Zhao and Yan Jinxin didn't care much about their attitudes. Zheng Hui said that the gossip was boring, so he protested, "You don't want to ask more questions?"

"Brother, it's not that I'm inflated. If I only look at my appearance, I'll go home and look in the mirror." After Gu Zhao shamelessly finished, he added, "Big Brother has the talent to write poems."

Zheng Hui: "..." That's true.

After Gu Zhao's swelling was over, he still said honestly, "It's okay to visit if you mainly want to see." It's best to hide as long as you can, and he didn't ask for anything, so why come to flatter others with rainbow farts.

Now the days of peace and stability are very happy.

Then he changed the subject and talked about something else. When they were gone, Gu Zhao suddenly remembered, and mentioned: "The family of the fifth prince's wife does not seem to be the Rong family..."

"That's right, the fifth prince's father-in-law is Zhou Zuoqian's censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, but the sixth prince married his cousin from the Rong family." Zheng Hui replied, why was he not curious just now, but now he is asking?

Zuoqian is the censor of the fourth rank, and his official position is not big or small, but the procuratorate is a speech officer, and the Chinese, military and military officials can avoid it if they don't provoke it. , at least on the surface.

Impossible to favoritism.

Gu Zhao went back and sat in the car thinking, the fifth prince’s Yue’s family looks decent and has a good background, but he can’t take advantage of it, especially that Zhou Zuoqian, the capital censor, is even more upright and will catch anyone who is wrong. , I will scold you to death.

If the relatives made a mistake, they would be scolded even more fiercely. Sometimes Emperor Kang Jing felt that the crime was not related to this when he saw it, so there was no need to make a fuss, and he was naturally dismissed by righteous words.

The officials of the Dali Dynasty were still very "good", but they were also bitter. Other officials made money and received filial piety.

Only when he is upright can he play a supervisory role.

Such a marriage, Gu Zhaoxiang also knew that the Fifth Prince and the Concubine Xian should not be interested in it. He was afraid that the Holy Majesty would arrange it, and when it was the turn of the Sixth Prince, he would point out the Rong family.

What a slap and a sweet date.

The two brothers are not in the same faction, so naturally they can't hold each other tightly, and it also means to restrain the Rong family from growing bigger.

The way to balance is the best policy.

In the current situation, the five or six princes are all involved, so who is the Rong family going to support? After thinking about it, it is clear that they are closer to the sixth prince. After all, the daughter of the Rong family married the sixth prince and gave birth to a son. If the sixth prince After ascending to Dabao, one of the daughters of the Rong family was the queen mother and the other was the queen, and the grandson she gave birth to was the prince.

Although the fifth prince is also the grandson of the Rong family, he is not as good as the sixth prince.

Marriage is very important now.

No wonder the fifth prince cared about the Rong family, and his cousin visited him personally when he was sick.

Gu Zhao also thought about it, he is a little Xiami, and people look down on him.

The days were smooth and busy, and it was mid-November in a blink of an eye. During this period, there was a good thing. Zheng Hui's wife, Tang Rou, had a baby, and the pulse was a little lighter. There were more than two months and less than three months. Counting the days, it seems that The one who tied the doll in the temple won the prize.

Zheng Hui was naturally happy when he mentioned it, and said that the temple was very accurate.

However, Gu Zhao felt that it was very likely that it was the night of the hot spring. Everyone got up late the next day. If you are in a good mood during the holiday, it is easier to get pregnant, right?

Having it is a good thing, and everyone congratulated them one after another.

"No hurry, no hurry, wait until March stabilizes, I'm glad that our own people can't hold back." Zheng Hui said that when it stabilizes, he invites everyone to have a drink and watch a show.

Gu Zhao counted the days, "That's just right, it just so happens that we can have some fun during the Chinese New Year." Zhou Zhou and his father hadn't finished watching the play last time, and Zhou Zhou and his father kept thinking about it, and now Zheng Hui wants to invite him to the play, so that's just right.

Their small group gatherings are all arranged, but the plan can't keep up with the changes.

The temperature in Beijing dropped suddenly, and the temperature changed too fast. Gu Zhao felt something was wrong when he woke up in the morning. As soon as he opened the door, the cold wind outside was piercing, the fog was thick, and he felt cold when he spoke.

Mother Lan brought hot water over, and when she saw the weather, she said, "I've been in Beijing for so many years, and the weather is as cold as winter." She suddenly remembered, and her expression changed.

Li Zhouzhou asked what happened.

"One year, the weather was the same as this. In the 28th year of Kang Jing, even the heavy snowfall became a disaster—" Mother Lan was afraid when she thought about it, and she almost couldn't survive. She quickly pouted a few times in her heart and said, " Not necessarily, maybe it will be sunny in a few days.”

Mother Lan said so, and then she said, "Ma'am, we need to save more rice, meat, and charcoal at home."

Li Zhouzhou nodded in agreement, and later told Xiaoshu and the shop to buy more rice, grain, charcoal, cotton, etc.His house started to move, and people in the old Beijing saw it, and every household bought it, and the price of these things was also a penny or two more expensive.

After about five or six days, the weather turned warmer, and Mother Lan patted her chest, saying that she had made a false alarm, and said apologetically, "Ma'am, it's all my fault, these things are too expensive."

"It's okay, it's just something that I can use at home." Anyway, I'm going to spend the winter, so stock up more for peace of mind.Li Zhouzhou said.

Until the beginning of December, it was winter in Beijing, and the weather was getting colder every day.But it wasn't snowing, just dry and cold.

This morning, Gu Zhao didn't need to go to the morning court. He got into the car and went to work with the stove in his arms. It started at the beginning of January, and it continued for about a month. There were hardly a few days of good weather. The magistrate over there was afraid of being held responsible, so he kept hiding it and did not report it.

But some officials at the bottom couldn't stand it anymore, and came to Beijing with a blood book. The thirteen towns and villages in the four prefectures and counties of Ningxi Prefecture were not counted, and countless people died of freezing and starvation. The tragic situation was terrible, and this matter was spread out.

The magistrate of Ningxi Prefecture also stopped the victims from going to Beijing and would not allow them to flee. Anyone who dared to run would be beaten to death.

Gu Zhao listened to others, and frowned tightly. Ningxi Prefecture is not far from the capital. No wonder the weather in Beijing dropped sharply in mid-November. Mother Lan said that there was going to be a snowstorm, but I didn't expect it to be from the capital, but from the capital. Ningxi Prefecture not far from the capital...

The common people have nothing to eat, and they cannot keep out the cold if they are not covered with clothes. When they are forced to this point, they are only bloody.

Since ancient times, there have been disasters and troubles.

The Zhizhou of Ningxi Prefecture also said that because the Chinese New Year is coming soon, he dare not disturb the Holy One, so it is natural to seek stability and peace on such a big festival.

...Emperor Kang Jing ordered to cut it down immediately.

The living fifth prince, who had dealt with the snow disaster, appeased the victims, and sent food and relief, volunteered to stand up. Unfortunately, the sage did not let him. He sent the King of Kangjun and the sixth prince to Ningxi Prefecture, and asked the fifth prince to be in charge of the outside of the capital to check from time to time. If there is a disaster, the refugees should be resettled immediately.

For such a disaster, at the end of the year, no one in the court dared to propose any congratulations. The high-ranking officials in the front of the capital who were named at the Holy Master's place gave porridge relief to the disaster-spontaneously.

The female relatives copied the Buddhist scriptures and knelt down to pray for the blessing of the Bodhisattva Buddha every day-this is the case for the empresses in the harem, so the high-ranking officials and ladies in Beijing naturally learned it.

Zheng Hui said before that please go to the theater to see the excitement, of course it doesn't count. Gu Zhaohe and Yan Yanxin are not blind.

Furthermore, the three of them were not in that mood either.

As long as he heard the tragedy in Ningxi Prefecture, who would want to have fun.The common people in this era are the bottom ones, especially the peasants who depend on the sky for their food. The heavy snow and drought killed a family.

The victims who escaped from Ningxi Prefecture also went outside the capital, and the gate of the capital was strictly guarded to prevent the victims from entering, otherwise things would really go wrong.I heard that the Fifth Prince had been outside the city for more than ten days and did not return to the mansion, and had been making arrangements for the victims.

However, more and more victims of disasters were left outside the city and couldn't be driven away. It seemed that when they went to Beijing, they had the hope of surviving when they saw the gate of the capital.

In the past two days, it has snowed again in Beijing. Those victims who sleep outside the city gate don't know if they can survive this winter. There are three sad faces in the small courtyard of Li's family. Li Zhouzhou is soft-hearted and wants to help the disaster. Forget it I wanted to take half of the family account, and told my husband, but before I finished, Gu Zhao nodded, "Sure, let me ask my second brother, if you have the money, you can contribute the money, if you have the money, you can buy the rice flour quilt and cotton coat, and we will send it to you." go out."

Although it is a drop in the bucket, we can only do our best.

My heart is solid.