As the snow dust got closer and closer, when the flying snow hit her face, Chu Qiao hurriedly used her sleeves to cover her cheeks. With her arms exposed, she could clearly see the people riding on horses in the flying snow. The leader was a bay-red horse with a back.
She knew the man above, it was Chong Ximo whom she tried her best to avoid and didn't want to see.
He was wearing a black and gold court dress, with a gold belt around his waist, his black hair tied up, and a gilt gold crown on top. On horseback, his slender body stood straight and straight. The strong wind blew up his court dress and indigo blue trousers.
In the brocade boots, the whole person looks graceful and graceful, showing innate nobility and unattainableness. In the snow, there is a trace of purity far away from the dust.
When he passed by her, his direct gaze suddenly glanced over, falling through the snow dust on Chu Qiao's face, which was red from the cold. But this gaze only lasted for a moment, and he flew past her eyes.
He gave her a cold look on her face.
Chu Qiao wiped the snow foam on her face and felt even colder.
"Is that Mr. Chong?" someone asked, looking at the retreating figure.
"Yes, the only son who advocates medical supervision is now the deputy envoy of the Imperial Hospital..."
"I heard that his mother is the biological sister of Yang Yu'er, the late emperor's favorite concubine. When the late emperor was here, Mr. Chong was always treated like a relative of the emperor." A chef explained.
"The power of the Chong family is no less than that of a prince, a big shot who cannot be offended." Mao Daqiu added.
Chu Qiao listened while walking. These words should not be false. Yesterday, she met the emperor at the north gate of the palace. The emperor's attitude towards Chong Ximo was extraordinary. I think the Chong family is now very powerful in the dynasty.
I really can't afford to offend.
Chu Qiao raised her eyes and looked at the white snow dust in the distance. Thinking about what the chefs said, she could now understand the reason why Chong Xi broke off the engagement. Even without her uncle's trouble, she would not have been able to marry into the Chong family.
How could the daughter of a Qingzhou spice merchant be worthy of Master Chong?
But...why did he want to marry her in the first place? If he was a sick man, there was a reason...but now he is lively and majestic, which is really difficult for Chu Qiao to understand.
"Is it cold?" Mao Daqiu suddenly came up and asked Chu Qiao in a low voice.
Chu Qiao suddenly came back to her senses, raised her eyes and looked over, and found that Mao Daqiu's hand had stretched out and grabbed her red little hand.
"Not cold!"
Chu Qiao quickly wrapped her arms around her, hid her hands under her armpits, and laughed helplessly.
Mao Daqiu was going to help Chu Qiao warm her hands, but seeing her like this, he could only retract his hands in embarrassment, with an angry look in his eyes, and turned around to follow those people and continue walking forward.
In Mao Daqiu's eyes, Chu Qiao, a little kitchen servant, could not escape from his grasp even if she evaded her. It was only a matter of time before she was possessed.
The livestock farm is in a pasture about ten miles away from the eastern suburbs of the palace. There is a high hillside to the north of the pasture. There are some protective forests on the hillside, which just blocks the howling north wind. When the sun rises, the pasture seems warmer than other places.
many.
After Chu Qiao and others entered the ranch, they didn't feel so cold anymore. The sun shone on them, making them warm.
Chu Qiao took a few deep breaths and touched her ears. It was cold just now, but now she felt hot. She stamped her feet a few times and looked up. She found that there were many wooden windproof stables here, which were said to be used for raising animals.
Yuan, in fact, these cattle and sheep were not raised here. They were transported to the capital from all over the country and raised here before being slaughtered to supply meals to the palace. More than three miles away from here, there was the place where the cattle and sheep were slaughtered.
Several chefs from the imperial kitchen came here, just to check on the condition of the sheep and to remind them about feeding, but it was not of much use.
The wooden windproof stables and some white fences were built to prevent cattle and sheep from escaping. By the fence on the north side, Chu Qiao unexpectedly saw a few horses. One of the bay-red horses was particularly eye-catching. It was not Chong Ximo.
Is he riding? I didn’t expect him to come to the livestock farm too.
There are several small sedans parked on the south side of the livestock garden. Next to the sedans are several palace maids and eunuchs carrying the sedans. They are resting next to the sedans. It seems that this sedan must have come from the palace. I don't know who is coming.
The Animal Feeding Garden is really lively here today.
Chu Qiao has been bored in the palace these past few days. It is rare to be in a place with such a wide view, and her heart is particularly open.
"What's behind the woods to the north?" Chu Qiao asked curiously.
"It's the hunting ground in the imperial capital. The emperor often takes his ministers to hunt there, but that's all in the summer. In winter, when it's cold, we rarely go out." Mao Daqiu turned to look at Chu Qiao, suddenly showing his white teeth.
He laughed and whispered: "In a while, I will take you to the forest for a walk. It is a rare trip."
"No, no need, I'm not interested in the forest."
Chu Qiao waved her hands repeatedly. This bastard wanted to take her to the north alone. He definitely didn't have any good ideas in mind. No matter how curious she was, she wouldn't go.
Mao Daqiu's mouth was still open, revealing a malicious smile. Chu Qiao averted her eyes uneasily, feeling that this guy didn't seem to have any good intentions when he came out this time.
Fortunately, a chef called Mao Daqiu away at this time and came to Chu Qiao's rescue.
Chu Qiao quickly took a step back and walked towards a wooden windproof stable, away from Mao Daqiu.
She stood in front of the fence and saw several curly white sheep walking gracefully on the ground, and bleating at Chu Qiao from time to time.
"You are the distinguished guests from Mongolia, you are quite cute, but it's a pity..."
Chu Qiao sighed, knowing that no matter how cute they were, it would be useless. In a few days, they would all turn into roasted whole lambs.
"What's the difference between these Mongolian sheep and the sheep we raise?" came the voice of a woman next to her. Chu Qiao thought it was a female cook who came with her, so she explained casually.
"There is a kind of grass growing in the grassland, called silkworm. It is a kind of vanilla mixed with the bitter aroma of livestock grass. These sheep grew up eating that grass, so the meat has the special fragrance of silkworm.
The smell is not only that, but also includes thyme and mint. These are common grasses in the grassland, and sheep will also eat them..."
Chu Qiao put her hand into the fence, and a little sheep came over, licked her hand, and looked at her with its neck tilted, looking very cute.
"It's so cute. It is said that there is a kind of herb called asafoetida on the grassland. The smell of asafoetida is strong, but its branches and leaves are fragrant, and the food is endless aftertaste. I wonder if they use their grassland grassland when making roast sheep.
Some herbs and some rare medicinal materials?”
Chu Qiao was thoughtful. Although she was explaining the problem of helping the chef, she was also asking herself, was this the purpose of the old imperial chef asking her to pay attention to grassland spices?
Just when Chu Qiao was deep in thought, a middle-aged woman's voice sounded beside her.
"You know a lot, what's your name?"
This sound shocked Chu Qiao awake. She turned around and found that the person standing next to her was not a female cook, but Xue Wanyue, the director of Shangshi.