He instructed Song Jiuyuan to summon both of them to the side hall of the courtyard, then placed a small wine jar on the table. “If nothing unexpected happens, you two will be colleagues for life. Drinking this jar of wine will signify a reconciliation. Let’s not cause Her Highness the Princess any more worry about you two becoming enemies.”
Making people drink "reconciliation wine" so early in the morning, as if forcing them to make peace even if it meant forcing them to do something like that, is something only His Highness Prince Zhao would do.
Yesterday's minor argument between Fu Ying and Gao Zhan was just a momentary outburst of temper. In fact, the two have very different temperaments and are not petty. Since Yun Lie spoke up, they both accepted the situation gracefully.
They exchanged a smile, and that was how they let bygones be bygones regarding yesterday's minor grudge.
"To be honest, Your Highness, I can't drink much..." Fu Ying turned around and bowed to Yun Lie apologetically.
Seeing Yun Lie's expressionless face, Fu Ying thought it wouldn't be polite to offend him, so she could only bite the bullet and change her mind, "Then shall we have a little?"
Gao Zhan immediately stepped forward and spontaneously picked up the small wine jar, saying, "Yesterday was a trouble caused by my impulsiveness. Since Miss Fu Qi is not a good drinker, I should take care of the other half of the drinking to make amends."
After saying that, he picked up a wine cup, casually dipped it in, and handed it to Fu Ying.
A full wine jar and a wine cup with only a few drops of wine touched lightly, and all grudges and hatred vanished.
After Gao Zhan tilted his head back and gulped down the jar of wine, Fu Ying smiled and said softly, "Thank you."
She was naturally beautiful with a touch of heroism, and her generous and open smile was like an autumn orchid covered in frost, her radiant beauty dazzling Gao Zhan.
"No, no need to be so polite." Gao Zhan raised the back of his hand and wiped his lips haphazardly, his cheeks glowing.
Yun Lie's questioning gaze lingered between the two for a moment before he waved his hand dismissively, "Go on with your work."
****
Since Yun Lie took the initiative to share many of Luo Cuiwei's chores, she was finally able to sleep a little longer each day, but for some reason, she became more and more tired each day.
Fortunately, apart from being a little sleepy, she didn't feel uncomfortable anywhere.
Yun Lie secretly thought that it must be because she was extremely tired some time ago, and he felt so sorry for her that he wished he could just let her grow into a mushroom on the bed.
Seeing that Luo Cuiwei had been listless and lacking energy lately, Tao Yin asked Song Qiuqi to find someone to hunt some wild pigeons in the mountains so that she could make soup for Luo Cuiwei to help her recover.
When Yun Lie found out, he immediately slipped into the kitchen, forcefully sent Tao Yin away to do other things, and rolled up his sleeves to take over the job.
Half an hour later, Song Jiuyuan and Xiong Xiaoyi arrived at the courtyard one after the other to talk to Yun Lie. They were shocked to hear from Tao Yin that His Highness Prince Zhao had taken over the kitchen and was stewing soup. They were both dumbfounded and rushed to the kitchen to watch.
When Song Jiuyuan and Xiong Xiaoyi pushed open the kitchen door, Yun Lie was preparing to peel a yam with a bold and decisive gesture.
“Your Highness, please allow me to say something,” Song Jiuyuan gasped, looking at the poor yam with great sympathy, “In my opinion, with that cut, that yam would only be as thick as a thumb.”
“Although I am not good at cooking, I can tell,” Xiong Xiaoyi leaned against the door frame, stroking his chin and clicking his tongue, “Your Highness, the way you hold the knife is not the proper way to peel a skin.”
Yun Lie frowned and glared at them, then bluntly told them to "get lost."
That day, Luo Cuiwei didn't get up until 9 AM. After washing up, she went to the kitchen to find something to eat. Tao Yin pointed to the pot of Chinese yam and wild pigeon soup simmering on the small stove and told her that Yun Lie had cooked it for her early that morning.
Luo Cuiwei felt a sweet warmth in her heart, smiled and nodded, walked over, lifted the lid of the bowl to take a look, and then took a small spoon to try a bite.
Tao Yin looked at her tremblingly and asked with concern, "Is it...too salty or too bland?"
This soup was prepared by His Highness Prince Zhao himself for his beloved wife. Tao Yin had never dared to taste it, but judging from her appearance, she felt that there must be something wrong with it.
After swallowing the soup with difficulty, Luo Cuiwei forced a smile, "It's alright, but..."
Before she could finish speaking, she rushed out of the kitchen and, leaning against a pillar under the eaves, vomited violently.
----2018/4/3 2:04:02|53579534----
Chapter 67
It was October 13th. Although the sun was high in the sky at 9:00 AM, there was little warmth. Instead, there was a bit of north wind and frost.
In the side hall of the courtyard, which had been converted into a study, Yun Lie's face was full of pride, yet he was completely unaffected by the weather; it was warm and sunny, and he looked radiant.
Xiong Xiaoyi and Song Jiuyuan were almost blinded by the invisible light emanating from him, and they both lowered their heads and pouted.
All you did was get up early this morning and stew a soup for Her Highness the Princess. Whether it tastes good or not is another matter. Why are you hiding here secretly gloating?
Despite my inner complaints, I still had to get the important business done.
Song Jiuyuan presented a stack of files. "The Fu family of Tongshan has no ties with any faction in the capital, and their background is clean and trustworthy. Besides Fu Ying, the third young master Fu Qian and the second daughter of a collateral branch, Fu Duan, might be suitable. The Kong family of Qinglu is currently still observing, and no one has expressed any intention to retire. As for the Qiu family of Changfan, although they have a good reputation locally, most of their younger generation members seem to be neither outstanding nor mediocre..."
Due to deliberate obstruction, the recruitment order for talents from Linchuan disappeared without a trace in the capital and even in other states of the Central Plains. Now that the establishment of the system is imminent, the selection of officials can only be limited to the six cities of Linchuan, especially the major families in the six cities.
This move has both advantages and disadvantages. While it solves the immediate problem of having no one to rely on, in the long run, it may lead to the powerful families in the six cities becoming too powerful. If they are not careful, these families may join forces and become too big to control in the future.
However, given the current unclear situation in the capital, Linchuan's most urgent task is to quickly improve its administrative structure, restore people's livelihoods, and build up its strength, so as to avoid being unable to protect itself in the event of future turmoil in the capital.
When it came to business, Yun Lie calmed down a bit, took the dossier from Song Jiuyuan, and casually pointed to the tea set on the table, telling the two of them to make themselves at home.
The three had been comrades-in-arms in the Linchuan army for many years, truly sharing life and death experiences. Their bond was the kind of friendship where one could entrust their life and fortune to the other at any time.
Even though Yun Lie is now the ruler of Linchuan, he has to put on a show when there are others around, but his private interactions with them are no different from before.
At this moment, there were only the three of them in the side hall. Xiong Xiaoyi and Song Jiuyuan were not reserved. They each poured tea, talked in hushed tones, and waited for Yun Lie to read through the files before discussing them.
****
"This young master of the Qiu family in Changfan, his new wife's surname is Huang? From Songyuan?" Yun Lie pointed to a line of text on the dossier, then looked up at Song Jiuyuan thoughtfully. "Does she have any connection with Huang Minzhi, the magistrate of Songyuan County?"
"Huang Minzhi is no longer the assistant magistrate of Songyuan County; he was promoted to the garrison commander of Songyuan City at the end of August."
Songyuan is not among the six cities that Yun Lie was granted a fiefdom of, and it is currently still under the direct jurisdiction of the capital. Therefore, Yun Lie was not aware of the promotions of officials in Songyuan before.