Full of wine and food, tea after three rounds, when the moon is on the willow top, Ling Hu Minzhi said goodbye and left.

Wuji sat on the terrace of the side courtyard of the natural residence, looking at the imperial palace and the towering Tianshu Pagoda in the distance, and was fascinated for a while.

The night breeze rustled through the treetops, and there was silence all around.

Even the heart of the empire did not have the bustle of the metropolis of later generations, at least the night was relatively quiet. The rows of mansions may be bustling with wine and people, but the streets are dead silent, except for the occasional night patrol of centaurs and mastiffs.

The curfew has begun, and without tokens, anyone walking on the street will be interrogated, and if they resist, they will either be shot to death by the centaur knight or torn to pieces by the mastiff's halberd.

Therefore, Ling Hu Minzhi said that the dead gate of the dead door did not dare to come to the inner city lightly, especially did not dare to act on a large scale.

Wuji looked at this death-like city, and there was an indescribable dislike, and the majestic and glorious palace and the towering Tianshu Pagoda were not much different from the Leifeng Pagoda in his eyes, and they should have fallen down a long time ago.

There were soft footsteps behind him, and Wuji thought that it was Jing Xiaoyang or Ni Yulan who came to deliver tea, and said without looking back: "Put it here, you are also tired, rest early, leave me alone." ”

"Your guests have a lot of pity for your subordinates. Shi Yuling put down the teapot and laughed softly.

Wuji was taken aback, quickly stood up, and said apologetically: "It turned out to be Miss Shi, I thought it was Aunt Ni or Yangyang, it was rude." ”

"Nothing. Shi Yuling returned the salute, turned his head to the palace, pondered for a moment, and said softly: "Tomorrow is the New Year, I will rush back to prepare the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, I'm afraid I can't wait for the distinguished guests here." If there is a place where people are not well entertained, please bear with you. ”

Mowgli's heart moved. Shi Yuling has already mentioned the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner twice, and this time he personally came up to serve tea, I'm afraid it is not a casual remark.

"The Shi family's Chinese New Year's Eve dinner...... What's going on?"

Shi Yuling quietly breathed a sigh of relief, relieved. She could see that Mowgli was not very sensitive to human affairs, and when she mentioned it for the first time, Linghu Minzhi already knew her purpose, but Mowgli didn't react at all. In desperation, she had to come to serve tea in person and mention it again.

"The Shi family inherits their cooking skills, and family banquets will be held at four o'clock and eight festivals, which not only unites people's hearts, but also tests the culinary skills of the younger generations of the school......"

Shi Yuling told the situation of the Shi family's dinner, and Wuji knew that this was not a simple banquet, but an internal exam within the family, which was related to everyone's future, and even related to the next generation of family heads.

Shi Yuling was able to open a restaurant in the inner city of Xianyang at a young age, on the one hand, of course, because of her superb cooking skills, on the other hand, because she was beautiful, good at managing her image, and showed people with a cold face, which won the name of the jade-faced ice lion. If you really want to talk about cooking, she is not outstanding in the Shi family.

Even among the younger generation, she is not in the top 10.

However, she has a condition that is the envy of her other siblings: the fate of ice and fire. The same origin of ice and fire is almost a necessary condition for becoming a genius chef, and among the ancestors of the Shi family, almost all of the seniors with the highest cooking skills have the same origin of ice and fire.

It is precisely because of the fate of the same origin of ice and fire that Shi Yuling can have the qualifications to independently operate a restaurant and bear the name of the Shi family.

However, if she does not reach the spiritual realm before the age of twenty, her good fortune will come to an end. Because this indicates that it is impossible for her to fully grasp the power of the same origin of ice and fire within a limited time and take over the inheritance of the Shi family.

She is seventeen years old this year, and she will be eighteen after the New Year, and she has not yet broken through the fierce realm, and she is far away from the spirit realm, and she will not see any hope for at least two or three years.

Wuji finally understood what Shi Yuling meant, but he was a little embarrassed.

If he can help Shi Yuling upgrade and break through the realm, he will not be troublesome, and he will not be afraid of delaying time. But in his current realm, if he wants to apply needles to Shi Yuling, even if he lowers his standards and does not pursue one step, he must also touch Shi Yuling's body.

He still remembered how embarrassed he was when he applied needles to Ying Yiran for the first time in the dungeon of Xiaoyang Kingdom.

"Miss Shi, it's not that I won't help you. Wuji explained very sincerely: "If I personally administer the needle for you, it can indeed speed up your realm ascension, but ...... I was worried that it would damage the girl's reputation, so I ......"

After listening to Wuji's explanation, Shi Yuling was stunned.

She heard Du Yu say that Wuji applied needles to him for two hours, and forcibly raised him from the second order of the fierce realm to the sixth order, which made her heart moved. Her realm is still under the fierce realm, and the improvement is even greater, but ...... If you want to be opposite to Mowgli, it's really a bit difficult to accept.

After all, she is still a yellow flower girl who has not yet left the cabinet.

It's better for Ni Yulan to apply the needle, although it is a little slower, at least it won't be so embarrassing.

Seeing that Shi Yuling was disappointed, Wuji was a little embarrassed. He coughed: "Miss Shi, if it is inconvenient for us to live here, I will leave early tomorrow morning, or, how about I rent your house?"

Shi Yuling was stunned for a moment, woke up from his trance, shook his head again and again, and said with a smile: "Honorable guest, you misunderstood, I am just ashamed of my insatiable greed, and I have no intention of trading with you on this condition." You can live here in peace, don't be inhibited. ”

Mowgli still feels embarrassed. He thought about it and asked Lin Fei to bring a piece of purple jade.

"Miss Shi, since that's the case, then I'm not welcome. Gifts are still exchanged, this piece of purple jade, just as I gave Miss Shi a meeting gift, please Miss Shi don't shirk. Otherwise, I'm embarrassed to live here. ”

Although this piece of purple jade is not small, it is an unprocessed raw jade, with a rough surface, and it is even more black in the night, no different from a black stone. Shi Yuling only thought that it was a native product brought from the Jiuyi tribe, and he didn't care.

For Xianyang, the Jiuyi tribe is the wilderness on the edge of the sky, what good things can there be?

"Well, if I don't take it, you won't be at ease. Shi Yuling smiled: "Then I might as well obey my fate and accept it." Rest down, my honorable guest, I'm going back soon. ”

Wuji nodded: "Miss Shi, please take care of yourself." ”

......

Shi Yuling took a maid in Tsing Yi and a few changes of clothes, got into the carriage, and left the natural residence.

The piece of purple jade sent by Wuji was placed in a bag by her very casually, carried by the maid in Tsing Yi. Ziyu was a little heavy, and the maid in Tsing Yi was very reluctant to carry it, and complained: "It's really a countryman, the girl treats him like this, and he will send a black stone?"

"Jiu'er, don't talk nonsense, this Wuji is a sincere person. In his eyes, this piece of purple jade is not as simple as a stone. ”

"So he's a countryman, and he takes a stone as a treasure. The maid in Tsing Yi smiled. Her name is Shi Jiumei, she is Shi Yuling's maid who grew up together, relatively casual, Shi Yuling has always called her Jiu'er.

While gossiping, the two drove through the quiet long street, and met several patrolling centaur knights or halberders along the way, checked the token, and learned that it was the Shi family's people, no one dared to stop them, and they were politely let go.

Back at the Shi family's old house, it was getting late, but the courtyards were still very lively and brightly lit. Tomorrow is the New Year, the day of the primary election for young children who are preparing to participate in the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, and only those who pass the guò primary election are eligible to participate in the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner. Tonight, quite a few people have already begun to prepare.

Shi Yuling returned to the small courtyard where she lived, her father Shi Zhengqing and mother Ying Ruolan had not slept yet, and were waiting for her. Shi Zhengqing is more than forty years old, he is in the prime of life, and he is one of the pillars of the Shi family.

It is precisely because of his superb cooking skills that he can take Ying Ruolan, who has royal blood.

Although Ying Ruolan's royal blood is already very weak, she is the same generation as the current emperor and queen, and she is a childhood playmate, and she has a very good relationship.

Seeing her daughter come back, Ying Ruolan said pityingly: "Why did you come back so late?"

"There is a distinguished guest today, who has been delayed for some time, and my father and mother have been waiting for a long time. ”

"What kind of distinguished guest, delayed until now?" Ying Ruolan said angrily: "There is a game tomorrow, and you shouldn't take over business tonight." ”

"That's it, how can someone who opens the door to do business be untrustworthy and refuse customers casually. Shi Zhengqing waved his hand and did not smile. "Are you ready for tomorrow's game?"

Shi Yuling smiled: "Father, my daughter has the intention of ice and fire at the beginning of the year, and she has some ideas, and she wants to ask her father for advice." ”

"Do you understand the meaning of ice and fire?" Shi Zhengqing's eyes flashed, and a little joy flashed. "That's good news. ”

"Yes, my daughter met a nobleman, he can help her daughter open up the meridians, if it is smooth, it is still possible to enter the spiritual realm before the age of twenty. ”

"Really?" Shi Zhengqing sighed: "Daughter, I have something to tell you, your cousin Yuqi...... Two days ago, I stepped into the spiritual realm. ”

Shi Yuling was stunned for a moment, and the smile on his face suddenly disappeared without a trace.

Her cousin Shi Yuqi is the seventh son of the eldest uncle Shi Zhenglang, two years older than her, with the qualification of the snowy red deer, and also has the ability of ice and fire, which is slightly inferior to her ice field fire antelope, but his realm is higher than her, and he entered the fierce realm at the age of fifteen.

The cultivation of the same origin of ice and fire was slow, and he originally thought that it would be impossible for him to enter the spirit realm within five years, but he didn't expect him to break through at the last moment. In this way, Shi Yuqi is likely to accept the inheritance of the Shi family before her, and her father may also lose the opportunity to compete for the next imperial chef.

Shi Yuling's heart, which had just warmed up, suddenly became cold. She sat beside Ying Ruolan in despair, and the things in her hands were scattered all over the ground.

With a "bang", the package containing the purple jade fell to the ground and smashed right on Ying Ruolan's horns.

"Oh, what's it, so heavy?" Ying Ruolan hugged her feet and shouted.

"A stone. Shi Yuling said listlessly.

"Stone?" Shi Zhengqing's eyes were sharp, he felt that something was wrong, and before Ying Ruolan kicked it away, he picked up Ziyu, took a look, and suddenly shouted: "Girl, where did this come from?"

Ying Ruolan said angrily: "What are you doing, making a fuss, it's just a stone, don't scare your daughter." ”

"A stone?" Shi Zhengqing hugged Ziyu and couldn't put it down. "Madam, believe it or not, the entire Xianyang City may not be able to find a second such stone. It is this stone that can buy half of my Shi family's property. ”

"Huh?" Ying Ruolan and Shi Yuling's eyes widened in unison.

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