After turning a few corners, there is a big lake not far away, there are still late-blooming lotus flowers in the lake, a delicate warm pavilion, facing water on three sides, Nanning stopped at the door of the warm pavilion, and let Li Xiaoqi enter the warm pavilion.

Su Zicheng was already in the warm pavilion, looking at the late-blooming lotus flowers in the lake with his hands behind his back, a moon-white robe, tied with a mutton fat jade belt, and a long jade body, the so-called jade tree in the wind, is that it? didn't wait for Li Xiaoqi to look more, Su Zicheng turned around when he heard the movement, Li Xiaoqi smiled brightly and looked at Su Zicheng's complexion, his complexion was not so good, and there was a trace of tiredness in his gloom, Li Xiaoqi had a little doubt in his heart, why did he return to this Kaiping Mansion and become tired like this? Isn't this Beiping in the hands of their brothers? The eldest prince Su Ziyi is in charge of internal affairs, and he is in charge of foreign wars, this time back to Kaiping Mansion, it should be easy and rest, according to what she heard, there is no reason for these two brothers to disagree? Alas, it doesn't matter what happens, once it touches the royal family, then it will all be out of common sense!

Without waiting for Su Zicheng to speak, Li Xiaoqi also stood in front of the window, looked at the lotus flowers in the lake with amazement on his face, and praised in a low voice: "It's so rare to see such a lake full of lotus flowers at this time!" Su Zicheng turned his head to look at Li Xiaomi, whose smile was as clear as a lotus after the rain, his tense mood relaxed inexplicably, the corners of his mouth showed a slight smile, he turned his head to look at the lotus, and did not speak. ”

Su Zicheng was stunned by Li Xiaoyi's question, he only watched the lotus, he really didn't know about this lotus, he was stunned for a moment, turned to look at Dongping who was standing beside him, Dongping took half a step forward, lowered his hand and replied: "Back to the fifth master, there is a lotus." ”

"That's good stuff! At this time, the lotus root is all elder, and it is best to dig it out to make glutinous rice lotus root and eat it, and then drizzle some osmanthus nectar. Li Xiaoqi said salivating, the folding fan in Su Zicheng's hand stopped in mid-air, looked directly at Li Xiaoyi, and didn't know what to say for a while, it turned out that she looked at the lotus flower and thought of glutinous rice lotus.

Dongping looked at Su Zicheng, Su Zicheng lifted the folding fan, Dongping simply promised, and was about to go out, Li Xiaoqi stopped him again and ordered: "It is best to use soaked glutinous rice, put sugar osmanthus in it when cooking, come out and slice it while it is hot, and drizzle a little osmanthus nectar." Dongping wrote them down one by one, lowered his hand and retreated, Su Zicheng raised his eyebrows and said, "This is the way to eat in Taiping Mansion." ”

"Did you eat when you went to Taiping Mansion?" Li Xiaoqi seemed to ask casually, and Su Zicheng said 'um': "I heard that it is a seasonal snack in the autumn of the Wu Palace, and the palace relatives like to eat this." Li Xiaoqi looked at Su Zicheng, hesitated for a moment, and swallowed back the words that came to her mouth, the matter of Princess Funing is not what she should ask, in fact, there is no need to ask, poor that real proud daughter of the sky, I don't know where she has been buried at this time, alas, what about being as expensive as a princess? The same sacrifice, the sacrifice of those ambitions.

Su Zicheng pointed with a folding fan, motioned for Li Xiaoqi to sit down, and he was also sitting on the head, Li Xiaoqi took a sip of the pu tea in front of him, as if remembering something, hurriedly put down the cup, stood up and solemnly bowed to the end, straightened up and looked at Su Zicheng and thanked: "Thank you, the Zhuangzi outside the city is excellent, and a mulberry forest behind it is especially rare, it has been settled, the eldest brother They are ready to leave for the Huwei Army early tomorrow morning, Mr. Fan accompanied him, took care of the paperwork, and the eldest brother they were poor in writing." ”

"That's good, I've explained, and that piece of Zhuangzi will be in the name of your brothers and sisters, so that taxes and labor can be exempted, and the future life can be better." Su Zicheng smiled and motioned for Li Xiaoqi to sit down, Li Xiaoqi sat back, and several girls in Tsing Yi quietly put seven or eight snacks and snacks up, Li Xiaoqi looked at them carefully, turned his head to look at Su Zicheng and asked, "Is this Fengle Building the best wine store in Kaiping Mansion?" ”

"Huh? Even if it is. Su Zicheng looked at Li Xiaoyi, there must be something to say after this, Li Xiaoqi looked at the seven or eight appetizing snacks attentively, picked up the chopsticks by himself, stretched them out to the plate before remembering Su Zicheng, and hurriedly smiled and said, "You're welcome, you're welcome, eat." ”

Su Zicheng laughed out loud, and while laughing, he looked at Li Xiaoyi, who was tasting those plates of snacks one by one, and asked, "What's wrong?" What's wrong? ”

"Nothing, I'll see how it tastes."

"How?"

"No, if I open a wine shop in Kaiping Mansion here, business will definitely be good!" Li Xiaoqi put down his chopsticks, looked at Su Zicheng and said seriously, Su Zicheng accepted the folding fan, looked at Li Xiaoqi in surprise and asked, "Are you good at cooking?" ”

"No, no, I will eat, find a few spiritual chefs, I'll just point out on the side." Li Xiaoqi said calmly, Su Zicheng laughed halfway, his expression gradually became serious, looked at Li Xiaoqi and said: "To open a wine shop, you have to invest a lot of money, there are more than 60 big wine shops in Kaiping Mansion, eight of them are government-run, Fengle Lou is one of them, if you want, it is better to pick one to point out one or two, if it is really good, you will get the dividend." ”

"Compared with those 60 or so, how is the business of these eight government-run liquor stores? What is the best liquor store in Kaiping Province? ”

"Let's be in the middle, the best business is Changqing Building in Dongcheng, which is the property of the Cao Guo clan, and now Cao Guo Gong is the eldest brother of Cao Guifei." Su Zicheng said in detail, Li Xiaoqi blinked, it turned out to be the property of the Cao Guogong family, in addition to a noble concubine, there is also a princess daughter-in-law, and the eldest son of the Cao Guogong is married to Su Zicheng's sister-in-law, Princess Yinghui Su Yuru. Li Xiaoqi looked at Su Zicheng, even if he has the capital, it is difficult for this wine shop to open, these sixty or so, except for the eight in the official camp, the rest, I am afraid that every family has a background.

"Okay, pick the worst business." Li Xiaoqi simply agreed, Su Zicheng smiled and nodded the table: "On this Fengle Building, among the wine shops in Kaiping Mansion, the courtyard house of Fengle Building is the most elegant and quiet, here is the first garden for the elderly of an old prince, since it has been opened, the business has not improved greatly, from tomorrow, it will be handed over to you to manage, for a year, if the business has improved, it can be better than the current three achievements, this extra dividend, give you seventy!" Li Xiaoqi looked at Su Zicheng, suddenly laughed, looked at him while smiling and asked, "You opened this Fengle Building?" ”

"It's not! This is an official camp, which I opened when I was in charge of the household department. Su Zicheng was a little embarrassed by Li Xiaoyi's laughter, and this girl dared to talk to him like this, didn't she know that he was a gentleman and she was a minister?

"You like the seclusion and elegance of it? This is a wine shop, come to find a place for fun and liveliness, such a quiet and elegant law, the wine shop business will definitely not be good! Li Xiaoqi said unceremoniously, Su Zicheng exhaled, looked at Li Xiaoqi angrily, Li Xiaoqi stopped talking, watched the girls in Tsing Yi withdraw their snacks, served hot dishes, looked at the hot dishes on the table attentively, motioned to the girl to take a crab stuffed orange and put it in front of her, tasted it, tasted it slowly, nodded and praised: "The taste is very positive, this cook is good." As he spoke, he turned his head to look at Su Zicheng and said, "Eat, you're welcome, eat this crab stuffed orange first, this must be eaten while it's hot." ”

Su Zicheng exhaled, motioned to the girl to take the orange over, and just took a bite, Li Xiaoqi asked casually while eating the crab: "When you were in charge of the household department?" What year is it? How old were you then? Su Zicheng was eating crabs, looked up at Li Xiaoqi and didn't answer, Dongning swallowed his saliva, stepped forward to Li Xiaoyi's side, and said in a low voice: "Fifth master, don't say anything." Li Xiaoqi suddenly realized, and agreed repeatedly: "You are right! At the moment of food, it is time to bury your head in hard food, and it is too wasteful to talk! ”

Su Zicheng choked on a mouthful of crab in his throat, coughing continuously, Li Xiaoqi looked at him without saying a word, Su Zicheng rinsed his mouth, drank two sips of tea, looked at Li Xiaoqi and said, "You should learn the rules hard." Li Xiaoqi nodded without saying a word, picked what he liked to eat, and ate his own.

Not long, the two of them ate, the girl removed the dishes, served the tea, the two turned to the outside of the eaves to sit under the verandah, the lake is almost level with the eaves corridor, the afterglow of the sunset has been dissipated, in the middle of the lotus leaves, there are lights, the surroundings are quiet and peaceful, Li Xiaoqi leaned back on the back of the chair, did not speak for a long time, which is like a wine shop, whose back garden is almost the same.

"I was fourteen years old when I was in charge of the household department, and my eldest brother said that he wanted to let me know that he knew the firewood, rice, oil and salt of Beiping Kingdom, so he asked me to act as the household department." Su Zicheng continued what he had just said, and Li Xiaoqi turned his head to look at him and said, "Fourteen years old? So small? ”

"It's not small, the eldest brother went out with the army at the age of ten, I was sick when the wind blew when I was a child, the eldest brother said that when I was a child, I took more medicine than food, the year my mother died of a sudden illness, I couldn't get out of bed when I was sick, and then I met the master, I conditioned my body, boiled my muscles and bones, and gradually became stronger, the eldest brother first asked me to act in charge of the household department, and then followed the eldest brother to go to Bac Ninh, and the most difficult years of the expedition to Bac Ninh." Su Zicheng's voice was full of bitterness and pain, Li Xiaoqi turned his head and looked at Su Zicheng with pity, his half-brother, the third prince Su Zixin is ten years old this year, his mother passed away for only a year, the new queen, the young and beautiful Guo was carried into the palace, the young Empress Guo and Su Ziyi were the same age, and they were only nineteen years old when they entered the palace, which is really the same age as a flower, and the royal queen ceremony is complicated and lengthy, that is to say, the body of the first Empress Xiaoci is not cold, and the emperor is busy setting up a new queen, alas, It is said that the emperor and Empress Xianxiaoci have a deep relationship, but it turns out that it is nothing more than that.

"Fortunately, it's all gone." Li Xiaoqi looked at Su Zicheng and said in a low voice, Su Zicheng looked at the light lotus in the lake with a distraction, and sighed heavily for a while, Li Xiaoqi didn't know what to say for a while, his sigh was heavy and not half relaxed, Li Xiaoqi looked at him, thought about it, and said in a low voice: "If I miss my father and mother, I will go to the temple to put incense, every time I go, I think that I must complain well, and cry again, but when I kneel in the temple, I don't want to say a bad thing, and I just pick up good things. I always felt that they could hear me, and if I said all those difficult things, they would be worried and sad, and I would be even more sad at the thought of them being sad, alas! ”

Su Zicheng looked at Li Xiaoqi with a sad face, and was about to speak, Li Xiaoqi sighed again, and then said: "Parents are looking forward to their children's well, the more comfortable and satisfactory they are, in order not to make them sad, I have to live a good life, eat and drink well, and have fun, and not wronged myself." Su Zicheng couldn't cry or laugh when Li Xiaoqi said, he didn't know what to say, this sounds like a joke, but if you think about it carefully, isn't that what parents are talking about?