Chapter 27：

Spring city is everywhere, flowers are flying, cold food is Dongfeng Yuliu oblique.

After two rains, the Cold Food Festival arrived in the Yang Hua flying all over the sky.

In the Yaoguang Hall, Xu Wenchan, dressed in a light yellow dress, was holding the "limited drink" Dongling grass tea during the Cold Food Festival, while drinking and talking about the recent excitement in Chang'an.

"Recently, Zhou Muyan in the Zuoxiangfu's mansion has been unlucky! I heard that when she bought silks and satin in Tianyi Pavilion, she provoked some big people. She admitted her mistakes in public, and was slapped twice. Aha, it's so happy!"

Tao Ti's mouth twitched, "Two slaps...?"

"Yeah, I heard that it was hit with a bow left and right.

"..."

After hesitating for a moment, Tao Ti decided to dispel a rumor.

After she explained the ins and outs of the day, she added, "The next day the prime minister went to the palace to see the queen empress, and called me to the Ganlu Palace, and gave me a lot of gifts. , Said it was an apologize. Well, at least this attitude is pretty good."

Xu Wenchan's eyes rounded, and his fleshy face was full of admiration, "Wow, Ati, you are really great!"

Tao Ti, "Huh???"

"I have been inquiring before, wanting to know who is a hero who dares to fight Zhou Muyan without fear of power. I didn't expect it to be you! You really deserve to be my good friend. This time I really took a sip for me. Sickness!"

"How do you say this? Is there a festival between you?"

"Yes, there is a holiday!"

She responded very simply, took a deep breath, her face was a rare seriousness, "Actually, I know that the ladies in Chang'an don't look down on me. How they arrange me behind them, I know...they. Let me just say it, I’ll recognize it like this. But Zhou Muyan is really hateful this time, she just made fun of me, but she still said bad things about my family! I can’t bear this!"

Xu Wenchan set aside the teacup, and angrily explained Zhou Muyan's grievances with her Beihou Mansion.

The matter is actually very simple. Xu Wenchan's seventh brother is over 20 and has not yet married a wife. Although the Xu family is a military commander for generations, Xu Qige is a young literary and artistic young man with chopsticks, poems and songs. He doesn't like those women in Yunzhou who are careless and have no ink. His biggest dream is to marry a well-knowing, gentle and elegant Chang'an in this life. Talented woman, since then, piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, wine and tea, only envy mandarin ducks but not immortals.

So as soon as Zhenbeihou's family arrived in Chang'an, Mrs. Hou began to talk about Xu Qige's marriage, handing out greetings from each family to each prefecture, and seeing the little lady from house to house.

It happened that in the autumn of that year, the princess Jinrong held a poem meeting, and Zhou Muyan happened to be the first in that poem meeting, and everyone called her a "talent".

As soon as Brother Xu Qi heard that Zhou's Sixth girl was a talented woman, he asked Mrs. Hou to have a look at each other——

"My brother doesn't have to be her, but with the mentality of a try, let my mother see each other, if we succeed, we can't succeed, we are not stalkers. But she is good, behind those The lady laughed at my brother and said that my seventh brother is a wooden bump, a toad who wants to eat swan meat, and a rugged martial artist in the north can be worthy of her?"

Xu Wenchan angrily said, "The problem is that she has never seen my seventh brother at all! It's not that I am boasting. Although my seventh brother is not as elegant as the prince, but he is also handsome! The people of Yunzhou City are I praise my seventh brother as a jade-faced young man, and ask me to say that her Zhou Muyan is not worthy of my seventh brother... Well, because of her broken mouth, my seventh brother’s reputation has been corrupted!"

Tao Ti was stunned to hear, and was silent for a moment, and then asked, "Since your seventh brother is not like that, let your mother-in-law take him to the banquet more often, will the rumors be self-defeating?"

"Being, my seventh brother is not very lively, especially hate those banquet occasions. He used to talk about marriage for thousands of miles, and later after Zhou Muyan, he saw the marriage affairs more indifferently. I am talking about my fate sometimes, and I cannot force my fate at all times... Good fellow, but I almost pushed my mother-in-law out of it several times."

Xu Wenchan shrugged and said, "Now you know why I hate Zhou Muyan so much, right?"

Tao Ti nodded. If anyone dared to arrange her family behind her back, she would definitely be annoyed.

"So, you really took a breath for me this time! But... didn't you really hit Zhou Muyan?"

"I didn't hit her, so I gave her a good grip and never touched her face." Tao Ti looked sincere, lest she would be touched.

"Hey, that's weird. She didn't come to the flower viewing banquet at the Pingguo Palace a few days ago. She is the most enthusiastic about this kind of occasion." Xu Wenchan said with a small mouth, thinking, "Could it be she Did you really have spring ringworm and didn't go out?"

"Spring ringworm?" Tao Ti was surprised.

"I don't know where the news came from. It was said that Zhou Mansion had invited the imperial physician overnight, and the maid saw Zhou Muyan's face flushed and swollen. It was scary!" Xu Wenchan said, "Zhou Mansion said to the outside world. She had spring ringworm, but the ladies felt that she was swollen by those two slaps, so they made such an excuse."

Tao Ti could only sigh after listening to such a twisting one, the three of them became tigers, and the gossip enthusiasm of the ancients should not be underestimated.

But this week, why did Muyan suddenly get spring ringworm? And it was the second day when they were torn.

Is this a coincidence?

Tao Ti thought about it for a moment, then thought about it, now it's spring, and there are many people allergic to pollen.

It seems that Zhou Muyan is too unlucky! However, she suddenly disfigured the person who valued her face like that, and she was afraid that she was going to jump frantically right now.

Xu Wenchan said cheerfully, "As long as she is unlucky anyway, I will be happy."

"You are not afraid of being heard by others, saying you are cramped?" Tao Ti teased.

"It's not just cramping, I'm afraid I'm vicious? But that's what I think. I just hate her. Even if she is in front of me, I dare to say frankly that I hate her."

Having said that, Xu Wenchan paused and looked at Tao Ti, "Ati, do you... think it's bad for me? If you think it's bad, I, I can change it!"

Tao Ti drank the Dongling grass tea left in the cup and said, "There is a good side to a human heart, and a dark side as well. As long as the dark side can be controlled and the dark side is not harmed, there is nothing to blame. Everyone can become a magnificent saint."

Xu Wenchan blinked her round apricot eyes, and touched her chin with her fingers, "Although I don't understand well, but...you speak so well!"

"Okay, it doesn't matter if you don't understand." Tao Ti slowly stood up, patted her on the shoulder, and smiled, "Let's go, go to the kitchen to make good food?"

As soon as he heard what he was eating, Xu Wenchan immediately got excited, "Okay, I'll help you!"

The Cold Food Festival and Qingming Festival are very close, and then the two festivals gradually merged. In modern times, people spend more on Ching Ming Festival, and few celebrate the Cold Food Festival. However, in the Great Yuan Dynasty, the weight of the Cold Food Festival far exceeded the Ching Ming Festival. On this day, people would go out and play, sweep the tomb, worship their ancestors, drink Dong Ling grass tea, and eat noodles and noodles.

From three days ago, the dining room began to send children to push buns. This is a kind of noodles, which are kneaded into various shapes, including swallows, insects, snakes, little rabbits, and little tigers. They are decorated with red beans, black beans, pepper seeds, red dates, and peanuts, and they are served to the pot. Steam it, take it out and eat it.

Tao Ti tasted it when it was delivered on the first day in the dining room, because it was just steamed out of the pot, it was soft and sweet. But when the buns cool off, the taste will not be so good. But one by one, the buns are lifelike, and they are suitable for display as handicrafts.

"Ati, what are you going to do?"

In the small kitchen, Xu Wenchan looked at the various ingredients in front of him in surprise, such as brown red bean paste, fried white sesame seeds, plump peanuts, red salted egg yolk, marinated dried tofu, pickled vegetables, Fresh bamboo shoots, selected pork legs, rosette sauce... a long table is full of Dangdang.

"Be a youth group." Tao Ti took the boiled wormwood from the stove and began to make wormwood juice.

"Qing Tuan? Isn't that for sacrificial offerings..." Xu Wenchan muttered softly, "It's sweet and greasy, and it's not delicious at all."

"Don't worry, I will make a few more flavors, there will always be something you like." Tao Ti smiled, seeing that she was bored standing aside, so she asked her to help and do something simple and easy.

Xu Wenchan was also not at all embarrassed. She rolled up her sleeves and began to work seriously. After she finished grinding a large plate of peanuts, a layer of sweat appeared on her forehead.

Tao Ti asked, "Do you want to take a break?"

"No need, I'm fat, so I sweat easily, and I'm not tired at all." Xu Wenchan's face was flushed, and the two dimples were deep, "And I found that making food seems quite interesting!"

"Yeah, I feel relaxed and making delicious food is also a very happy thing. Of course, I am happier when I eat!"

"Yes!"

The two snack shoppers smiled at each other, full of understanding.

In modern times, there is a dispute between sweet and salty rice dumplings and sweet and salty bean curd, and naturally there is also a dispute between salty and sweet youth groups. Tao Ti didn't know Pei Yan's taste, so he thought about making some salty and sweet tastes.

She arranged a total of four flavors, pickled vegetable tofu filling, fresh bamboo shoot pork filling, rose bean paste filling, peanut sesame filling, salty and sweet. You can choose from two.

Qingyingying wormwood juice, glutinous rice flour, and lard are put in a basin according to a certain ratio, and the strength is moderate and it becomes a soft dough. After the dough is about the same degree of softness and hardness, it is divided into equal-sized noodles, wrapped with various fillings, and kneaded into swollen, soft blue-green dumplings.

"Ati, will this be a little too much?" Xu Wenchan stretched out his fingers and settled, it was almost a hundred.

"It's okay. This can be kept for three days, and most of them have to be given away. It's not too much." Tao Ti said, asking the palace people to put the wrapped youth group on a plate and steam it.

She and Xu Wenchan went back to the hall and drank a pot of honey jasmine tea. It didn't take long for a palace official to report that it was the Qingtuan steamed.

Tao Ti got up from the couch, Xu Wenchan also jumped down immediately, and went to see together.

When they arrived in the kitchen, there were several little palace ladies squeezed to the side, curious to see what the steamed buns would look like.

Under everyone's direct gaze, the steamer lid was slowly lifted.

I saw a cloud of white mist blowing over my face, waiting for the mist to dissipate, one by one small turquoise dumplings lying neatly in the steamer. The unique fragrance of wormwood comes out, as if steaming out a pot of vibrant spring and willow, which is intoxicating.

"Wow, it's so beautiful, one by one looks like Jasper."

"It's really beautiful, this color, this taste, it looks delicious..."

Listening to the palace people’s whispering comments, Tao Ti turned to face Linglong and smiled, “Today’s cold food festival, the big guys are also working hard. Later, you will count the number of people and take a few youth groups out and give them to the palace people in our palace. Divide half a piece for each person to try. You can eat one by yourself."

Tao Ti did not conceal her special treatment of Linglong, and the rest of the palace people would not be dissatisfied with this special treatment. After all, Linglong is a close-knit grand palace lady next to the prince, whose rank and qualifications are higher than that of them. Eligible to eat one alone.

Linglong responded, and the maids all showed excited smiles and quickly thanked them for their gratitude.

Tao Ti picked up two copies of the Youth League with four flavors, one for her and one for Xu Wenchan, and the palace people would be responsible for arranging the rest.

Two snack shoppers were holding a plate and eating in the courtyard full of peony flowers. At that time, the spring was splendid, and the fragrance of grass was light and long.

Just as the two were about to eat, there was a sudden noise at the door.

Tao Ti was startled slightly, and Linglong hurriedly bent over and said, "The princess waits a moment, and the slave and maid go out to have a look."

"Well, go ahead." Tao Ti said.

Xu Wenchan had already picked up a youth group and ate it. What did she do with what happened outside? The most important thing is to eat food first!

Open your mouth and bite down. The first thing you touch is the soft and glutinous skin of Qingtuan. When you eat the rose bean paste filling, the fragrance of roses is mixed with the fragrance of wormwood, as if you are in a sea of ​​spring flowers. , The red bean paste is sweet but not greasy, and the aftertaste is endless!

Xu Wenchan squinted his eyes happily and commented, "The skin on the outside is cool, the bean paste filling inside is warm, not greasy at all, and it has a rustling texture, and it flows straight into my mouth. , This is really the best red bean paste cake I have ever eaten!"

Tao Ti smiled, "Try something else."

Xu Wenchan immediately picked up another one. This time it was fresh bamboo shoots and pork stuffed Qingtuan. One bite it down. The freshness of the spring bamboo shoots and the deliciousness of the meat immediately turned into juice and filled her mouth. The skin of the Qingtuan was fragrant and smooth, and the spring bamboo shoots were crispy. It is cool and chewy, and the satisfaction of filling your mouth with meat is natural. Needless to say, the combination of these ingredients gives you a breath of spring.

The two were able to eat, and Linglong had already turned back, with two...children behind him?

Tao Ti knew that little girl, the sixth princess Fei Fei.

As for the slightly older and delicate little boy next to Feifei, Tao Ti guessed that it should be the fifth prince of Concubine Xu's family?

Sure enough, Linglong said softly, "The prince, the fifth prince and the sixth princess are at the door... I'm a little embarrassed to come in."

When Linglong said this, the six princesses' heads drooped lower, and they called out timidly, "Sister-in-law, Wanfu."

The fifth prince looked at Tao Ti several times with a pair of swarthy eyes open. After looking at Tao Ti, he quickly lowered his head, his ears turned red, and said vaguely, "Sister-in-law, good."

Looking at the two shy children in front of him, and seeing that no grandma and **** were following them, Tao Ti suddenly had a guess—

She put down the chopsticks in her hand and asked in a soft voice, "Why are you here, and are you still not coming in at the door?"

The fifth prince, "..." pretended to be stupid.

Six princesses, "..." blushed.

Tao Ti raised her eyebrows, "If you don't say anything, I will ask the little **** to send you back?"

When the fifth prince heard this, he was anxious, and hurriedly pulled the sleeves of the sixth princess.

The sixth princess bit her lip, and raised her head like a muster of courage, her grape-like eyes gleaming, "Sister-in-law, me, me and Brother Wuhuang...want to eat egg yolk cake..."

The fifth prince was stunned, his cheeks flushed, and he whispered, "Xiao Liu, you idiot, why did you just say that!"

Don't you know how to be euphemistic? !

The six princesses curled their lips aggrievedly, "Then don't you say..."

Tao Ti laughed dumbfounded, as he had imagined, the two little cats ran over to eat.

"There is no yolk cake," she said.

For a time, both children were a little disappointed.

"However, you just happened to be here. I just made some youth groups, do you want to stay and taste them?" Tao Ti smiled slightly and pointed to the youth groups on the table.

The fifth prince and the sixth princess looked at the small blue dumplings in the white porcelain plate, and then at Xu Wenchan who couldn't stop eating. The two children suddenly turned into star eyes. Um!"