Special Thanks to these patrons for their support!
S T E L L A R C L O U D
[Azurixa] [Celeste S.] [Christine G.-L.]
O R A N G E S T A R
[Fazzienaz] [K.Rom] [Manon] [Smurfinbatik] [Tori D.] [Ziana K.-P.]
Y E L L O W S T A R
[Chlaudette P.] [Gwyneth T.] [Pa.s.serby] [Scorpion Princess] [Xena]
G O L D S T A R
[Ava C.] [Cindy] [Jamie H.] [Lord_Wolve] [Nanashi D. Y.] [Nevy] [Nicole]
R A I N B O W S T A R
[Allie] [BritnaeM] [Debra W] [Kiiayame] [Leticia P.] [Peggy F.]
T H E S U N
[Christigale M.] [Haruka N.] kuroneko_chan] [Lily J.]
[Lulu] [Malinkat] [Mich.e.l.le K.] [onepiece]
Also, many thanks to everyone who bought me coffee (*≧∀≦*)
With this small diversion, any last trace of uneasiness in everyone"s hearts disappeared. n.o.body would make fun of Lin Chengye"s stutter, and n.o.body would mock Nan Xiang for her disfigured face.
Xiao Liulang stepped into the courtyard at this moment, having just been to Grandma Zhou’s small liquor store to get some alcohol.
When Nan Xiang last came, only Gu Jiao was at home, so Xiao Liulang hadn’t met Nan Xiang. But he knew that Nan Xiang and Master Lu were coming, so the liquor was prepared especially for them.
"Liulang is back!" Feng Lin waved at Xiao Liulang.
Lin Chengye hurriedly got up and went over to help Xiao Liulang carry the wine jar.
Feng Lin smiled and introduced, "Liulang, this is Master Lu, and this is Lady Nan Xiang, the wife of Master Lu."
Xiao Liulang: You really don"t treat yourself as an outsider, huh.
Feng Lin continued, "Master Lu and Lady Nan Xiang, this is Xiaoshun"s brother-in-law!"
Master Lu, who had met Xiao Liulang again after a long time, greeted him in a friendly manner.
Nan Xiang, who had seen Xiao Liulang up close for the first time, wore a somewhat strange expression as she kept staring at Xiao Liulang"s face, making Master Lu feel embarra.s.sed.
He tugged at Nan Xiang"s sleeve and whispered, "Why are you staring at him like that?"
Nan Xiang said absentmindedly, "I feel like... I"ve seen him somewhere before."
Master Lu chuckled, "How could you have seen him before? He is Xiaoshun"s brother-in-law, they’re from a county town. You"ve never been to their county before. However, I heard he looks a lot like the late Little Marquis of Zhao. Did you meet the Little Marquis of Zhao when you entered the palace in the past?"
Nan Xiang shook her head, "No, it"s not in the palace..."
Nor was it in the capital of the State of Zhao.
Nan Xiang kept staring at Xiao Liulang, trying hard to remember where she had seen him before.
"Ah! My book! My book is missing! Unruly!"
Little Jing Kong"s wails suddenly came from the study room.
Little Jing Kong was good in many ways, but he wasn"t very organized. He could be heard looking for things all day long.
Xiao Liulang didn"t hear their whispered conversation, but he noticed that Nan Xiang kept staring at him. However, as the host, he didn"t say anything about it.
"Master Lu, Lady Nan Xiang, please excuse me for a moment." He excused himself and went to the study to help Little Jing Kong find his things.
If he didn"t help, the little guy could go crazy and disturb the entire family.
This was their first proper Moon Festival in the capital. Old Chief personally cooked, with Grannie Fang and Yuya’er by his side to a.s.sist him, preparing a table full of their specialties–– spicy lamb and scorpion hot pot, hand-pulled lamb meat, sweet and sour pork fillet, ice sugar braised pork hock, fried stuffed lotus root, cold tossed bean curd skin, crucian carp and tofu soup, vegetarian "three delicacies", steamed big river crabs and several seasonal vegetables.
Of course, they didn"t forget Little Jing Kong"s special vegetarian dishes for the Moon Festival. He also had crabs... dumplings made with flour and tofu skin.
"Let"s eat in the yard and enjoy the moon!" Feng Lin suggested.
Little Jing Kong was the first to agree.
Feng Lin and Lin Chengye went to fetch tables. Since there were many people, they had to combine two tables.
Gu Jiao, who didn"t partic.i.p.ate in the cooking earlier, was currently in the kitchen with Granduncle, making mooncakes. Xiao Liulang was there too.
His cooking skills were not great, but he could still chop some firewood, start a fire, and fetch water.
Xiao Liulang had never tasted mooncakes before, but he could tell that Gu Jiao was making a kind of stuffed pastries with various fillings, including five nuts, red bean paste, and salted egg yolk with lotus seed paste.
"Can you make some with jujube paste filling?" He suddenly asked.
"I haven"t made it before, but I think I can." Gu Jiao replied, "But it seems we don"t have any jujube at home."
"I"ll go buy some!" Xiao Liulang stood up.
Gu Jiao looked at him strangely. She had never seen him so fond of jujube paste before.
"Alright." Gu Jiao nodded.
Xiao Liulang bought some jujube from the nearby market and, with Gu Jiao"s guidance, washed them, removed the pits, and made them into a paste.
Without an oven, they could only steam the mooncakes. The taste was a bit different from the mooncakes in her previous life, but Gu Jiao put a lot of effort into the molds, creating mooncakes in round shapes, flower patterns, and even cute patterns and characters.
Little Jing Kong saw the cute pig head on his mooncake and got excited, exclaiming happily!
Gu Jiao picked out several sugar-free mooncakes and put them in a food box, "These are for Grandaunt."
Empress Dowager Zhuang was going to celebrate the Moon Festival in the imperial palace and couldn"t leave.
Gu Jiao planned to deliver them to her later.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Liulang took the initiative to handle the task, "I"ll take the mooncakes to Grandaunt.”
Gu Jiao looked at him and said, "Sure."
"JiaoJiao! JiaoJiao! Come over here and see!" Little Jing Kong had discovered something exciting and eagerly pulled Gu Jiao outside.
When Gu Jiao returned to the kitchen, Xiao Liulang had already left with the mooncakes. Except for those sugar-free ones, he also took the ones with jujube paste.
On Zhuque Street, the whole street was filled with a festive atmosphere.
However, one courtyard behind the orange tree seemed unusually quiet and lonely.
Because it was so quiet, the sounds of joy and laughter from other households could be heard clearly.
The windows were wide open.
Princess Xinyang and Yu Jin sat facing each other by the window, with a table full of sumptuous dishes in between them.
Yu Jin opened a plump crab and said with a warm smile, "Since it"s the Moon Festival today, Princess, won"t you have some non-vegetarian food? This crab was sent from the palace. Why not give it a try?"
"It"s for you to eat." Princess Xinyang replied.
Yu Jin let out a sigh.
Laughter and playfulness came from the neighboring households, making their side feel even more desolate and cold.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the quiet courtyard"s gate.
"Who"s there?" Asked a young servant girl who was doing laundry in the yard.
In response, there was another series of knocks on the gate.
"Coming, coming!" The servant girl put down the partially washed clothes and stood up. She wiped her hands on a towel hanging on the clothesline and approached the gate, pulling it open, "Who is it?"
"Huh? Where is the person?"
The servant girl looked left and right, but she couldn"t see anyone. She scratched her head in confusion and said, "I clearly heard someone knocking on the gate."
As she was about to close the gate, she suddenly noticed a food box placed at the doorstep.
"Yi? Who left this?" The servant girl mumbled.
"What"s going on?" Yu Jin, who was now standing in the corridor, asked, observing the servant girl’s peculiar behavior.
The servant girl turned around and said to Yu Jin, "Lady Yu Jin, someone knocked on the door earlier and left this food box here."
Yu Jin was a very cautious person. She approached the food box at the doorstep and looked at it without opening it immediately. Instead, she called for Long Yi to open it, warning him to be careful as there might be hidden weapons inside.
She didn"t know if Long Yi would understand, but then again, there were few hidden weapons in this world that could harm Long Yi.
Long Yi opened the container, and a strong fragrance of jujube paste filled the air.
Yu Jin was taken aback. There were no hidden weapons inside; instead, the container held uniquely shaped pastries.
The princess loved eating pastries with jujube paste fillings, but hardly anyone knew about it.
"What"s going on?" Princess Xinyang walked over with a calm expression.
The servant girl quickly bowed in respect.
Yu Jin handed the food box in Long Yi"s arms to Princess Xinyang and said, "This was left here; I don"t know who put it."
Princess Xinyang picked up a jujube paste mooncake and stared at it for a long time.
The servant girl cautiously asked, "Should we throw it away? What if someone poisoned it?"
Princess Xinyang didn"t say anything about throwing it or not, as though she was completely indifferent. She simply turned and went into the house.
Yu Jin looked at her cold and lonely figure, thought for a moment, and still carried the food box inside.Raz P."s Thoughts
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