After Shu Yan and Xiao Mo left the Shi Mansion, they each returned to their own offices. Xiao Mo first went to his boss Guangluxun Wang Rong to cancel the leave. When Wang Rong saw him coming back, he scolded: "Good boy, do you still know to come back? As the prefect of the First Agency, you have disappeared for so long for no reason, do you know the consequences? ”

"How can I say that there is no reason, but I am false, and there is a valid reason."

"What is the right reason, say it, otherwise you will not escape punishment today."

"Ding worried."

"Ding, Ding? For whom? Wang Rong was taken aback, because according to the regulations, if a person with an official position dies in his parents, he must go home and keep filial piety for his parents for three years. Xiao Mo has been gone for almost half a year, and the emperor has asked many times, now that he is looking forward to his return, is he going to take another two and a half years of leave?

"My grandfather and grandmother died."

"It's your grandparents?" Wang Rong breathed a sigh of relief.

"Exactly." Xiao Mo said, "The court stipulates that it will take three years to worry about my parents, and my grandparents both died, so it is not too much for me to keep filial piety for them for half a year, right?" If you have to punish me, I'll go to the emperor for comment. ”

Wang Rong also knew that the emperor had been looking forward to Xiao Mo's return for a long time, and he didn't really want to punish him, but now that he heard him give a legitimate reason, he had even more steps to go down. "If that's the case, it's excusable, you go back to the Treasures and Treaties Department now, work hard, make a few dishes for the emperor to eat, and say good things, presumably the emperor won't blame you."

Xiao Mo smiled and agreed to come out, and worked hard to make a few of the emperor's favorite dishes. Sima Yan was originally very angry with Xiao Mo, but as soon as he ate the delicious food made by Xiao Mo, his anger immediately disappeared.

In addition to Shu Yan, Shi Biyu, and Sima Yan, there is another person who is also most looking forward to Xiao Mo's return, and that is the seventeenth princess.

The death of Sima Mo, the little king of Ruyin, did not have much impact on the other members of the royal family except for his mother. The seventeenth princess also heard that her half-brother died, but there are too many brothers and sisters in the Sima family, and there are more brothers and sisters, so the feelings between each other will naturally fade, and the competition of interests between these royal families is often greater than the affection for each other. Of course, there was no direct conflict of interest between the seventeenth princess and this little imperial brother, but they hadn't seen each other much at all, so they didn't have much affection. She still went to the Jade Leaf Pavilion with Zhixin every morning, and returned to her residence after class.

On this day, the two of them returned to their dormitory from the Jade Leaf Pavilion, and after eating, the seventeenth princess went to Zhixin to drink tea. After a while, a palace maid told her that Xiao Mo was back. When she heard this, she immediately stood up and pulled Zhixin away.

Zhixin looked at her and asked strangely, "Why are you going?" ”

"That delicacies order is back, it's Xiao Mo I told you before."

"What about him coming back?"

"Let him cook for us." You haven't tasted his craft yet. ”

Zhixin broke free of her hand and said, "If you want to go, I won't go." ”

"Why?"

"We are women, you are a princess, and although he is pure, he is an official with a serious position outside, unlike the eunuchs who serve in the harem, we go to him in a hurry, is it appropriate?"

"Oh...... You're right, but he doesn't look like a man at all, just like you and me, so I've only been close to him before. ”

"It used to be before, when you were still young after all, and now that you are getting older, you have to learn to be dignified, the so-called 'quiet girl'."

"Hmm." Princess Seventeen returned to her seat and suddenly came to her senses, "Even if I go, he will definitely not have time to pay attention to me." He hasn't been back for months, and not only will my father be there to serve him wholeheartedly, but there must also be a lot of things to deal with in the government office, so how can I go and cause trouble for him again? ”

Finally, on the evening of the second day, the seventeenth princess knew that Zhixin would not go with her to the Food Department to find Xiao Mo, so she asked her, "What do you want to eat, I will ask him to make it for you." ”

Zhixin smiled: "You just go to you, I don't have a relationship with him, why should I ask others." ”

"You don't know this, he's a very cheerful person, especially to me, and responds to all requests. You can just say what you want to eat, and his craftsmanship is very comprehensive, whether it is hot, cold, steamed, stewed, vegetarian, or meaty. ”

"I don't really want to eat anything......"

Before Zhixin's words fell, someone pushed the door in and said, "What hot, cold, steamed, boiled, meat, vegetarian, how can it be so comprehensive?" Isn't it enough for you to eat these dishes? ”

"Xiao Mo!" The seventeenth princess exclaimed with joy. Then she saw Xiao Mo followed by a little eunuch, holding a food box in his hand, so she said even more happily, "You really didn't forget me." ”

Xiao Mo smiled: "You princess is now grown up and has a shelf, knowing that I am back, and you don't want to see me, I can only come to visit you." ”

"Where, you don't know, now there is a bookstore in the harem, a new female doctor has been hired, and I now have to go to the Jade Leaf Pavilion every day to study the Book of Songs, I just came back, and I was about to look for you, so you came."

Xiao Mo saw that there was a dignified woman in the house, neither like the dress of a palace maid, nor like a princess and concubine, so he asked, "Who is this?" ”

Zhixin listened to their conversation and knew that this person was that Xiao Mo, but after all, the person who came was a young man in an official robe, so she was still a little uncomfortable.

"I'll introduce you to you." The seventeenth princess walked between the two of them and said to Xiao Mo, "This is the female doctor I just mentioned, my teacher, and my sister. He said to Zhixin again, "You must have guessed that this is Zhen Yuling, my friend, Xiao Mo." ”

"This doctor's son-in-law has such a high level of talent, she must be from a famous family, I don't know what to call it?"

"Of course, it's from a famous family. She is the daughter of the stone servant of the Dawang clan, because her name has offended the current queen's secret, it is inconvenient to say it, you just call her Dr. Xin. ”

Although Zhixin was reluctant to get acquainted with a strange man, the seventeenth princess made such a warm introduction, out of courtesy, she had to stand up and give a slight salute. Xiao Mo returned the salute.

Although both of them are young girls, one of them is a court lady who has become a female doctor, and the other is a fake eunuch who has made a delicacy order, so they are not girls' skirt dresses. Both of them have black hair pulled high, and they both have court black curtains on their heads, the difference is that Zhixin is wearing a plain long shirt and a pair of bifid silk shoes under her feet; And Xiao Mo is wearing a straight-lined robe and a pair of upturned clogs on his feet. Although they are not women's gorgeous clothes, it is difficult to hide their natural beauty.

Zhixin only glanced at Xiao Mo inadvertently a few times, then lowered her head, and wondered in her heart: "I can't complain that the seventeenth princess is so close to this Xiao Mo, it turns out that he really doesn't look like a man." Although I heard that he was a clean person, I had also come into contact with some eunuchs in the palace these days, and the appearance of those people could be seen at a glance that they were men. And the only bit of manliness this person has is due to this official robe. Such a handsome face, such delicate skin, such delicate fingers, and a hint of imperceptible softness in the bright eyes...... If you change into women's clothes, even in the beautiful harem, you can dominate the crowd. Fortunately, it was a man, if it was a woman, maybe she would have been invited to the dragon bed by the lustful emperor a long time ago. ”

Xiao Mo looked at Zhixin enough: "'The hands are like soft pancreas, the skin is like clotted fat, the collar is like a grub, the teeth are like a rhinoceros, and the head of the mantis is like a moth...... 'In the "Book of Songs" taught to me by Brother Shu, all the most beautiful words are not enough to describe the beauty of this woman. Just this simple outfit vividly outlines her natural beauty like a hibiscus out of the water. Compared to her excellent appearance, her inner temperament is even more outstanding. Demure and dignified and smart, unsmiling and polite. A hand, a foot, a word, a look, all just right. There is not only the coldness of rejecting people thousands of miles away, but also the cordiality that makes people hate to see each other. She looked at Zhixin from her own female perspective and didn't feel more polite, but Zhixin was uncomfortable with her.

"Hello? How can you stare at people like that? They have all become eunuchs, and they are still so attentive! ”

The seventeenth princess reminded Xiao Mo with her seemingly blamed words, and she coughed deliberately and said: "Everyone has a love for beauty, this girl is extremely beautiful, I can't help but look at it twice, I'm not a man, how can I have any flowers?" ”

"That's true." The seventeenth princess said, "The palace is as beautiful as a cloud, and I really haven't seen Xiao Mo see any woman like this." This shows that Dr. Xin is really not ordinary beauty. ”

The palace maid had already put the food in the food box on the table, and the seventeenth princess invited Xiao Mo to take a seat, and pulled Zhixin, Zhixin refused at first, but the two of them were so enthusiastic, it was not easy to refuse, so they reluctantly sat down.

"We've been chatting and forgotten about the serious things, I've been hungry for a long time." The seventeenth princess has been coveting Xiao Mo's cooking skills for several months, and today she finally got her wish again, she couldn't wait for a long time, and tasted every dish herself. Although the seventeenth princess regards Zhixin and Xiao Mo as teachers, they are princesses after all, and it is already very easy to eat with them, even if there are some overstepping the courtesy, it is normal.

"Dr. Xin, try this, it's delicious, I guarantee you haven't eaten such delicious mutton." The seventeenth princess pointed to the pot of stewed mutton and said to Zhixin.

Xiao Mo pushed the dish closer to Zhixin, "Yes, Dr. Xin, this stewed mutton should be eaten while it is hot, it will not taste good when it is cold." ”

Zhixin put a small spoon into her mouth, chewed it carefully, and really felt that the taste was delicious and extraordinary, and couldn't help but praise: "No wonder the princess is looking forward to your return every day, it turns out that Zhen Yuling's cooking skills are really extraordinary, and only this dish can make people have endless aftertaste." ”