The carriage drove slowly on the bluestone pavement, and Zige held Yaoqin and sat opposite Hongshang. The two of them were silent www.biquge.info only heard the sound of the driver scolding passers-by from time to time to make way. Today is the moon worship party, and there are stages set up by various bands on several main streets in the city, in order to attract customers and increase fame, so the streets are crowded with people, shoulder to shoulder, and the traffic is very slow.

Zige looked at the small bridge and flowing water outside the window, a group of naughty children were frolicking wantonly, chasing a few river lamps that had just been put down from the water, and the faint firelight fell into her eyes, which made her think of Xie Miao and the memories of the river lanterns here as a child.

"Okay, you wait for me."

The smile on the corner of his mouth is clear, his white clothes are fluttering, and his slender figure has always been a warm companion by her side.

It's just that now, the sky is on different sides, and Zige doesn't know if his August and autumn are smooth. After more than 20 days of separation, life has been turned upside down. By the time he was named on the gold list, he had already been unrecognizable.

Zige withdrew her envious gaze and sighed softly, staring at her with a melancholy look on her face.

I don't know how long it took, but the carriage finally stopped. Zige lifted the curtain and got out of the car first, Yaoqin was in her arms, and she looked around curiously. It was a very large courtyard, and they were standing at the side gate at this time, so there were slightly fewer pedestrians. She saw a few people galloping past on the main road, one of them was Gao Zhan, presumably Zhao Yu was greeting him in front of the mansion at this moment.

"Let's go, we still need to prepare."

Hongshang urged, Zige retracted his gaze, and followed the subordinate into the house.

Zhao Yu's family has run a silk business, which has lasted for several generations, and is considered a wealthy party in Changzhou. His house has just been renovated, and although it is beautifully decorated, it is quite deliberate and showy, and the scenery is unnatural. Although Zige and Hongshang were invited by Gao Zhan, they were female dependents, so they needed to visit Mrs. Zhao first after entering the house.

Mrs. Zhao sat in the chair of the box, looking a little older, and her heavy makeup could not hide her twilight color. There were several young women beside her, Cui Qiao sat in it with low eyebrows, Xu nodded, and the next person led the two into the house.

"The little girl in red clothes and An Ge, invited by the king of Chengjiang, specially came to Zhao Mansion from the spring breeze ten miles to perform and met Mrs. Zhao."

After they had given the proper salute, they sat down on the side, and a maid came up to pour tea. Zige's gaze swept across Cui Qiao's face, and found that her eyes were slightly red, and there were a few red marks on her face, as if she had been punished, and her heart suddenly felt sad.

"The two girls are polite. At the moment, the guests are not seated, so you can wait here and chat with us women who have lived in the deep courtyard for a long time. Xu waved his hand, and someone brought a batch of pastries. Zige glanced at it, and it was all delicate dim sum that was often found in the middle of the moon and a half. There were also many wives of businessmen in the city, who talked to each other, but they were also harmonious.

"Mrs. Zhao laughed, it is a great honor to be able to share a room with you and gossip about homely things." Hongshang said with a smile, although she doesn't talk much on weekdays, she can often talk happily with the distinguished guests in the workshop, all because she is knowledgeable and reasonable, and she advances and retreats in a certain way. Xu Shi also seemed to have a good impression of her, the two chatted happily, Zige responded to a couple of sentences from time to time on the side, but his mind was not here at all. After seeing Cuiqiao's lonely appearance, she has been thinking about it.

"This pastry is very good to my taste, and the chef is really good." Hongshang glanced at Zige and asked knowingly, "I don't know where this recipe came from?" ”

"The girl in the red dress really has a unique taste, and these formulas are the same as those used in the moon and a half center on South Street." When Xu Shi said this, his voice lowered a little, "But I didn't buy it from Yuebanju with a lot of money, but someone else gave it away." ”

"Oh? Madame aroused An Ge's curiosity. Zige replied casually and picked up a piece of Xizi to worship the moon. This pastry is covered with a thin white sugar crust and filled with egg yolk, lotus seeds, a small amount of oil and brown sugar.

"As you all know, the house has been fortunate to receive several distinguished guests from Beijing, and a few days ago another Nanzhao delegation came, and he also stayed in our place." Xu Shi said with a smile, and there was a lot of pride in his voice, "There are Mu Lixuan, the current prince of the Nanzhao Mission, and Mu Yulian, the county lord who is about to marry into the royal family. ”

"I saw the Nanzhao delegation entering the city on the street that day, and the momentum was spectacular!" A woman sitting at the end of the seat showed admiration, "Our prince of Chengjiang brought his own soldiers to greet him, sounded gongs and drums, and everyone watched from the sidelines." That son was really handsome, more beautiful than the girl's family. ”

Zige was slowly sipping tea, and when he heard the words, he could only hold back a smile, so he didn't choke. Thinking of those seductive peach blossom eyes, she pursed her lips and smiled. It is indeed more charming than beautiful.

"Lord Mu has a lot of research on cooking. That day, I invited the county lord to drink tea, and the county lord tasted a bite of the pastry in the house, and then put it down. Xu Shi said eloquently, "I asked her what she didn't like, and she actually said that she was used to eating in Nanzhao, and she felt that it was not in her taste everywhere when she came to Daqi." ”

Yi Lian'er's temper, the tone in which she said this must be extremely straightforward, and Zige couldn't help but laugh. I don't know why, Lian'er was not among the female dependents at this time, and Zige was still looking forward to talking to her again today.

"After all, the county lord is pampered in Nanzhao, and it should be a little uncomfortable......" A concubine beside Xu's side laughed, Xu glanced at her, she lowered her head, and said nothing.

"When I asked, the county lord told me that the recipes for all kinds of food in the palace in the past were actually made by Prince Mu." The whole audience let out a voice of surprise, and Xu Shi said, "I also feel strange in my heart: I don't study the number of books of etiquette and music, but I have a lot of experience in cooking, but I was surprised." ”

"No wonder in recent years, the power of Nanzhao has been declining, and the county lord has to be sent to come to make peace in order to seek refuge in the Qi Dynasty, it turns out that the prince of the world does not cultivate virtue and politics......" Someone speculated out of context, Zige frowned slightly. Although she didn't know why Nanzhao was weak, she felt that Mu Lixuan was not an ordinary person. She just wanted to refute one or two, but Cui Qiao opened her mouth first.

"The dignified son of Nanzhao, how can we women be allowed to talk long and short. Prince Mu just cooks for fun in his spare time, and he is far better than me and other people who run a family in the house. Before she finished speaking, Xu let out a cold snort.

"Housekeeping? When did you know the hard work of running a family? My lord hasn't been to your courtyard for more than a month, and you dare to talk to me about running a house. Xu Shi knew that everyone was watching, so he forced a smile and continued, "Since I knew about this, I later asked Prince Mu for advice at the family banquet. The prince is generous, even if he writes me a few recipes, I ask the chef in the house to do it, and the taste is the same as the middle of the moon. ”

Zige saw that Cuiqiao's eyes were red, and he lowered his head and stopped talking, and his heart was not even better.

"Yuebanju is a gold-lettered signboard in the city, but Prince Mu copied Yuebanju's recipe?" A female dependant asked.

"On the contrary, Prince Mu is extremely smart, and it is not a problem to adjust a few delicacies, but Yue Banju used the prince's recipe." Xu waved his hand, "In the past, the prince lived in Daqi and was quite attached to the customs and customs, so he often came to play. This recipe was obtained by the owner of the restaurant because he was dissatisfied with the taste and had a dispute with the chef when he was dining in the Moon Half House. ”

"Wonderful, wonderful." Everyone tasted the pastries presented during the banquet and praised each other.

After a while, someone came to pass the word, and the male guests were seated in the banquet, and the female guests could go to the front hall with Xu's.

"The two girls will prepare here, and someone will invite you later." Xu Shi bowed slightly to the red dress, "You are also from the music workshop, you two are so generous, gentle and lovely, but look at our Zhao family married into the door, how can you be so charming?" ”

Cui Qiao's face was ugly, but he didn't dare to reply, and Xu's face could not hide the malice. "The dignified King of Chengjiang, how can you hook up at will, and dare to sneak around the prince's apartment. If it weren't for the lord's refusal, I would have banished you from the mansion. ”

Zige was slightly shocked in his heart. Cui Qiao wandered around Gao Zhan's residence, most likely to find out about the Qizhen Mirror, if it wasn't for the completion of Qingluan's life, she wouldn't have to grieve herself to this point.

"Sisters, come with me." The Xu family got up and took the lead to go out first, followed by the concubines.

Cui Qiao also got up, her face was gloomy, Zige stepped forward, stopped her, and whispered, "Sister, you can go back to the room and clean up later." ”

"Ge'er...... You've seen my situation, and it's hard for me to come out again with or without dressing. She whispered.

"I might have a way to help you."

Zige looked at her, and a smile appeared on her face.