The Empress Dowager is seventy and five, and the cause of this time is actually that people are old and difficult to survive the winter, and then they are infected with some wind and cold, which makes them confused and bedridden.

At present, the elderly are in recurrent condition, with high fever and confusion from time to time, and someone needs to worry about everything from time to time.

Fortunately, the imperial doctors, palace people, and envoys of the Dicui Mountain Palace are sufficient, and the housekeeper Hua Mama is well scheduled, and she is also thoughtful everywhere.

When Li Fengming arrived at the palace, no one really dared to tell her how.

She only needs to go to the old man every day in the morning and dusk to calm down, and when she wants, she will take the hand to feed the decoction. Occasionally, there are too many clan relatives and palace ladies who come to visit the hospital that day, and Mama Hua will also ask her to come forward to help receive and accompany her to greet with tea.

These things are simple, and Li Fengming can do it even if he is perfunctory.

So when she first came, she was really absent-minded. No matter what I do every day, I will wander and rack my brains to find a way to make money.

But the human heart is made of flesh.

Watching the old man suffer from illness and hanging himself in a delirious way, Li Fengming gradually felt some sighs and sympathy.

The Empress Dowager took Li Fengming's hand happily when she was sober several times, and tried her best to express her love and kindness to her great-granddaughter-in-law with a weak smile.

After that, Li Fengming became very concerned and put distracting thoughts behind him for the time being.

By the beginning of February, the weather was faintly warmer, and the elderly's illness had stabilized. Although he was not cured, at least there was no recurrence of high fever, and he gradually regained his deafness and vision, and finally survived the bitter cold of the winter.

Everyone in the palace breathed a sigh of relief.

The good news reached the palace, and the queen specially ordered someone to send some special jewelry and utensils made by the royal Shaofu to express her appreciation to Li Fengming.

Li Fengming, who received the reward, was not very happy, and said to Chun Yudai: "It's not interesting, take it all." ”

Most of these things rewarded by the queen are marked with the seal of "made by Shaofu craftsmen", and they cannot be easily circulated according to the regulations of the Qi country; Jewelry is not printed, but ordinary people can't wear it.

For Li Fengming today, anything that cannot be sold for money is not interesting.

*****

What kind of temperament the former Empress Dowager was, Li Fengming didn't know at all.

But the old lady of the palace, the waiter, and the imperial doctor were all muttering, saying that the old lady had been talking more densely than before since the illness had recovered.

There is also a little more "old and young" and softness, and sometimes even childishness, which often makes people unable to tell whether she is confused or sober.

This kind of transformation is not bad in Li Fengming's view. After all, a "soft and childish and talkative" empress dowager is very easy to get along with.

The Empress Dowager likes Li Fengming very much.

Since her condition has gradually improved, if no one comes to visit her that day, she will either stay in Xiangxue Garden where she lives for a meal, or call her to accompany her to talk with tea after getting up from a nap.

What's even more surprising is that the old man learned that Li Fengming was a princess from a foreign country, not only did he not use the rules of the Qi royal family to restrain her, but also protected her everywhere, as if he recognized her as a playmate.

With such a respectful elder, Li Fengming is of course willing to accompany him.

Because the Empress Dowager had been ill for several months, her appetite was spoiled by the bitter medicine, and she was a little reluctant to eat.

Li Fengming asked a few imperial doctors to ask about the taboos of ingredients, and from time to time asked Chun Yudai and Xin Wei to make some suitable Wei snacks or pastries, so that the old people could change their tastes and taste fresh.

When the old and the young get along, the relationship becomes closer and closer.

*****

In February, the spring sun shines on the soft willows, and the afternoon is good.

The garden pavilion is hung with a brocade curtain to shade the wind, and the stone bench in the pavilion is also padded with warm and soft brocade mats.

In the middle of the stone table in the pavilion, there is a small red clay stove that is gurgling and boiling fruit tea.

Li Fengming opened the food box and took out a delicate and small plate, a lamp, a bottle, and a can.

In the saucer, there are diamond-shaped thick taro blocks with neat knife work, stacked with two layers of flowers. Cooked taro pieces and azure porcelain plates reflect a plain and elegant color, but the taste is always dull when you look at it.

Seeing that the Empress Dowager frowned quietly, Li Fengming explained softly: "The imperial doctor said that eating some potatoes appropriately is good for Grandma. I know that you have a bitter mouth, and when steaming taro, I specially ordered someone to pour the sweet juice boiled with 'rock candy'. ”

The climate in the south of Qi is warm, and the land of Qiling is frost-free all year round, and it is rich in a kind of "cane" that can be used to make sugar. If the craftsman is right, the pulp can produce crystal sugar that resembles frozen ice and has a sweet taste.

"It's not uncommon to freeze rock candy." The Empress Dowager was like a curious child, muttering in her mouth, but her eyes were glued to her non-moving hands.

"Of course, it's not unusual for you to look at rock candy, but it's the first time I've seen it." Li Fengming smiled and opened the two-fist-sized round-bellied secret color porcelain jar, and used a small silver spoon to dig out some sweet sauce from it and put it in the empty jar.

The sweet sauce is gorgeous in color and has a light fragrance, which caused the Queen Mother to secretly move her index finger.

"I brought this sweet sauce all the way away, and you've never seen it. Mixed with fresh red roses and pickled, aged for two years, the fragrance can enter the soul. ”

Li Fengming smiled at the old man: "But the imperial doctor also said that you can only eat two large spoonfuls a day, and you can't be greedy." ”

"I'm not a child, how can I be greedy?" The Empress Dowager defended herself incorrectly, but she couldn't help but ask again, "Xiao Fengming, is there honey in this bottle?" ”

"Yes. As far as the nectar you are used to drinking, Mama Hua gave it. Li Fengming poured some honey from the jade bottle onto the sweet sauce in the cup.

After mixing well with a silver spoon, she poured the sweet sauce mixed with honey over the diamond-shaped taro chunks. The originally ordinary steamed taro chunks have become an amazing dessert.

This is basically the way of eating in the Wei State, although the old lady is the empress dowager of the Qi State, she has also seen it for the first time. In addition, he was sick for a long time and had a bitter mouth, and was extremely thirsty for sweets, so he was almost hungry to swallow saliva.

After eating three pieces in a row, the old lady squinted her eyes in satisfaction and savored for a moment.

When she took the fruit tea handed by Li Fengming, she suddenly asked: "Xiao Fengming, I heard that on the night of the wedding, you didn't have a round room with Ming Che for some reason?" ”

Who has such a long tongue?! Li Fengming's heart was cold, but his face was just rightly well-behaved.

"Yes. At that time, the border was in an emergency, and his father appointed him to take on the important task of overseer, but he could not be delayed. ”

"You kid knows everything. It's just that I've been wronged. ”

The Empress Dowager muttered a few words lovingly, and then asked, "It's been more than two months in the blink of an eye, do you have any correspondence?" ”

Li Fengming shook his head.

"There is a flying post in Mulan Town, you can borrow it to pass the book to him," said the old lady, "and if we are separated on the night of the wedding, if we do not hear from each other for a long time, the relationship will become weaker and weaker." That's not good. ”

Since she woke up from a serious illness, she has always been so confusing. Sometimes confused like a child, sometimes sober and insightful.

She was obviously worried that Li Fengming and Xiao Mingche would be separated by each other just after they got married, and they would be more separated after a long time, and they would be snubbed by their husbands in the future.

Li Fengming replied with a smile: "I understand that grandma is thinking about me." But Feiyi is used to convey military emergency reports in the end, and it is not easy to ...... in vain."

"Don't be stubborn, listen to grandma," the Empress Dowager interrupted her, "According to the practice of the imperial court, if the families of the front-line soldiers have urgent matters, they can use the flying post to deliver letters. ”

"But I'm in no hurry." Li Fengming was helpless.

On the wedding night, she and Xiao Mingche already had a consensus of "superficial husband and wife". Such a relationship, what kind of letter to write if you have nothing to do?

But in the face of an old man who didn't know whether she was sober or confused, she couldn't say this, so she could only politely refuse: "If you insist on writing a letter, I don't know what to say." ”

The Empress Dowager was stunned, and her eyes inadvertently swept to the plates on the table: "Xiao Fengming, do you still have a lot of this sweet sauce?" ”

Li Fengming didn't know what she wanted to do, so he hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Not much, no more, I only brought a jar when I came." ”

She pointed to the small round belly secret color porcelain jar on the stone table: "If you are divided into such a small jar, you can hold five or six cans at most, and then there will be no more." ”

The Empress Dowager nodded with a smile, and also pointed to the small jar on the stone table: "Then you find the 'Feiyi' to send this jar to the front line and give Ming Che a taste." You write a letter to explain what kind of food you want, and tell him to find the potato and steam it himself. ”

"Huh?" Li Fengming hesitated and bit his lower lip.

"Go and write a letter, and show it to me when it's ready."

The old lady thought about it carefully, not only blocking Li Fengming's way of "cheating and fooling", but also tempting him to take advantage: "If you can ask him to reply to you, grandma will be rewarded!" ”

"Okay," Li Fengming didn't like to spoil the old man too much, so he smiled and teased her, "Then, what does Grandma plan to reward?" ”

"Hmm, what do you want?"

Li Fengming didn't take it seriously with a confused old man, and jokingly stretched out two fingers: "Every time he writes a letter to me, you reward me...... Two ingots of gold? ”

"Okay! Two ingots of gold in a reply. Call someone to testify, and your grandmother will give you a written note. ”

Li Fengming didn't expect the joke to come true, and he was so annoyed on the spot that he couldn't beat his heart and liver-

If she had known that the old lady was serious enough to make a written note, she would have set a high price!

*****

On 13 February, after the main force of the Qi army in the south repelled another attack by the enemy, it changed its defense and retreated to the nearby "Jianchun Town" to rest and recuperate.

When he was about to reach the city gate, Xiao Mingche Lerma, who was walking at the front, stopped for a while.

He wears a silver mask, which is the totem beast of the royal family surnamed Xiao to "ward off evil spirits".

The fair-skinned and handsome face was densely concealed by a fierce mask, revealing only cold and indifferent amber peach blossom eyes, which looked doubly murderous.

"General Lian, let everyone slow down into the city." He stared ahead, his calm voice a little tired and hoarse.

"Yes!" The general next to him, Lian Zhen, looked back and shouted heroically, "The overseer has an order: slow down into the city, do not disturb the people!" ”

Xiao Mingche turned his head to glance at him, and wondered lightly: "I said 'don't disturb the people'?" ”

"What His Highness said in his heart, I understand." Lian Zhen smiled, her mouth full of white teeth was dazzling by her dark complexion.

Xiao Mingche looked ahead again, and sneered coldly: "Always figure out what you want, it's too doglegs." ”

Lian Zhen was not in a hurry or annoyed, and laughed: "I'm not a dog to anyone." ”

He is twenty years old, only one year older than Xiao Mingche. But he was originally the son of Jiangmen, and at the age of fourteen, he followed his father and brother on the prancing horse battlefield.

The southern border and the Song State have always had a bit of a territorial dispute, and if they disagree, they will fight.

In the past six years, Lian Zhen has experienced many major battles and is a young warrior who has been tempered in blood and fire. This made him develop a bloody arrogance and easily disobey others.

If he doesn't have any real skills, even if the other party is a nobleman, he won't give a good face.

He especially hated the "Overseers" sent by Kyochu.

This is because most Overseers stay in their comfort zone far from the front lines, eating, drinking, and being merry while still shouting and giving orders to the soldiers who are fighting for their lives on the front lines.

In the past, if the Overseer told Lian Zhen to do something, he pretended not to hear it when he was in a good mood, and when he was in a bad mood, he directly offered the word "roll".

But for Xiao Mingche, the king of Huai, Lian Zhen has always been convinced.

Because when Xiao Mingche was sent to "supervise the army on behalf of the Son of Heaven" for the first time four years ago, he did not hesitate to rush to the front with his sword. His hands are steady and his heart is so brave that he doesn't look like a prince of Jin Gui who is on the battlefield for the first time.

The calm and ruthlessness that seemed to not know what life and death was, made Lian Zhen, who was accustomed to seeing a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, shocked and worshipped.

In the past few years, Xiao Mingche has fought more than ten battles in the south, and Lian Zhen and him can be regarded as having a lifelong comradeship, and they are quite close in private.

Of course, most of the time, Lian Zhen is warm and close, while Xiao Mingche treats him coldly.

But he is like this to everyone, and Lian Zhen has long been used to it.

*****

The generals settled down at the official post in Jianchun City.

After Xiao Mingche bathed and changed clothes, he changed into a martial robe, and was about to look for something to eat, when Lian Zhen came with a small jar.

"Your Highness, you have sent a letter from your house, as well as a jar...... Sweet sauce? He brought the jar to his nose and sniffed, frowning.

"Didn't Uncle Jiang always send dried meat and stuff in the past? That's where it's real. ”

Uncle Jiang is the steward of the Huai Palace. Every time Xiao Mingche came to the border, if he stayed for a long time, Uncle Jiang would borrow the flying post to send some freshly made dried meat, and Lian Zhen followed a lot of good food.

Xiao Mingche's face was blank, and he was obviously not interested in the "sweet sauce" thing.

He only took the letter, and said as he opened it: "If you don't eat sweet, just find someone to send it." ”

When he was reading the letter, Lian Zhen opened the jar, took off the wooden spoon wrapped around the jar with fine hemp rope, and scooped some sweet sauce to taste it.

"What kind of sauce is this? It's actually not bad. Dip it in steamed buns and eat it ...... Your Highness, why are you glaring at me coldly? ”

Xiao Mingche clenched the letter paper in his hand, and his expression froze: "I didn't stare at you." "Just looking at that jar of sweet sauce.

He couldn't understand why Li Fengming, that strange woman, would inexplicably send him a jar of sweet sauce?

Also, why is sweet sauce mixed with honey and poured on top of yams?

And why is it that a letter with a recipe in its body has the words "eager to hear back, earnestly" at the end of the page?

Xiao Mingche couldn't figure it out, and his mood became a little irritable.

He squinted his eyes slightly at Lian Zhen, wanting to ask if this strange letter would be fraudulent, but he couldn't open his mouth inexplicably.

Awkwardly, he blurted out as if he was finding fault: "You were hungry in your last life, right?" ”

Lian Zhen held the wooden spoon and pondered for a moment, and suddenly realized: "That's right." The dignified and honest general, standing in the courtyard, holding a jar and scooping sweet sauce one bite after another, is too unparticular. I'll go back to the house and eat. ”

Xiao Mingche stared at his distant back, even more annoyed.