After school, Zhu Zhen was riding an ox back to the palace, but the prince caught him and asked him to go to Chunhe Palace for dinner.
Crown Princess Chang even cooked for him herself and cooked a large table of dishes for him, but it looked a little rustic.
"Sixth brother, try my sister-in-law's cooking." Mrs. Chang brought a plate of black rice with a smile on her face, as if it was scorched in the pot.
"What is this?" Lao Liu looked confused.
"This is the fish rice cooked in our hometown!" Mrs. Chang put the plate on the table and said proudly: "Mix the rice and fish together and cook it. The rice will have the fragrance of the fish, the freshness of the fish and the fish.
It's soft, I have learned it from my mother for a long time."
"Oh, it's fish that cooks rice..." Zhu Zhen suddenly thought, I wouldn't be able to tell if you didn't tell me.
‘And it’s not like I learned this craft from my mother, but it looks like it was taught by an old Indian chef!’ His Highness the King of Chu complained crazily in his heart.
The elder sister-in-law, a female general, personally filled a bowl of 'fish rice', then added a piece of battered black and yellow rice crust and said: "The best part is this layer of brown and translucent rice crust, which is crispy and fragrant in the mouth. The sixth brother has a try."
"
"Okay, thank you sister-in-law." Zhu Zhenqiang smiled and took it.
"Try it..." The sister-in-law looked at Lao Liu expectantly. When she saw that he was reluctant to take a spoonful of it to his mouth, she couldn't help but smile and said, "Such a big kid, does he still need to be fed by my sister-in-law?"
"No need..." Lao Liu knew that he couldn't escape, and thought to himself, I have eaten dog leftovers before, how could this be worse?
He resolutely put a spoonful into his mouth.
Damn it, it’s really even worse to eat...
The freshness and softness of the fish meat were not tasted at all, but the earthy smell of the fish and the burnt and bitter taste of the rice crispy rice were tasted.
Fortunately, His Highness the King of Chu has endured hardships and needs to eat, otherwise he would never be able to swallow it.
"How does it taste? Is there any real denominator?" the sister-in-law asked eagerly.
Lao Liu smiled and nodded, giving a thumbs up.
"Haha, it's fine if you like it, sixth brother. Come here for dinner often, and my sister-in-law will cook it for you." Mrs. Chang then said happily: "You two brothers eat first, and I will make soup in the back."
"Hey, good, come here often." Zhu Zhen smiled and watched his sister-in-law leave.
Then the two brothers breathed a sigh of relief together.
"Do you know how big brother has been living recently?" Zhu Biao sighed to Lao Liu.
"My sister-in-law's cooking skills are comparable to those of my mother-in-law." Zhu Zhen said with a sympathetic expression: "You said you can't cook and just don't do it. But she always bursts out of motherly love and insists on cooking me a delicious meal.
, euphemistically called reward."
"Oh, your sister-in-law was not like this before. She has never been in the kitchen for two and a half years since her wedding. Now, for some reason, she suddenly became obsessed with cooking." The prince gave a helpless smile and explained to the sixth child:
"I just asked someone to come back and tell me that you are coming to my house for dinner and be prepared. I didn't expect that she would cook it herself."
"That's also my sister-in-law's great love for me." Lao Liu said very sensibly.
"You eat these dishes." The prince pointed to a few dishes that looked better but not too strong, and whispered: "Ms. Lu is usually in charge of the meals. She should have cooked these dishes."
.”
Zhu Zhen cast a sympathetic look at his elder brother. What kind of life was he living like this? After all, he still ate the food cooked by the cook most of the time.
However, to be polite, he still picked up a chopstick and took a piece of tofu cooked by Concubine Lu. Unexpectedly, when he took it into his mouth, it turned out to be crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, sweet and sour, and delicious.
It's just that the color of the sweet and sour gravy is too dark, and the knife work is abstract, so the presentation is very poor.
"Is it delicious?" The eldest brother smiled happily, and finally felt proud. He whispered again: "The food cooked by Mr. Lu is full of color and aroma, but after your sister-in-law started cooking, only the aroma and taste were left."
"Oh." Zhu Zhen nodded. He somewhat understood why the Lu family would be straightened out in the future when his sister-in-law was gone.
Really good at it.
~~
While eating, the prince told Lao Liu what happened today.
He also praised him and said: "You have helped my father a lot, not only in this court meeting, but also in the future - 'Forbidden without authorization by law', my father has already ordered someone to carve this sentence on the wall of Wuying Hall.
"
"That's what my master said. I'm just a messenger." Zhu Zhen said unscrupulously.
"Mr. Liu studies heaven and man, but this is not his idea." Zhu Biao shook his head slightly. When he was in Wuying Hall, he felt a little strange. When he returned to Wenhua Hall, he asked Song Lian for advice. Mr. Song determined that this was not the case.
Liu Bowen said.
"My eldest brother and Mr. Song look at people with old eyes. I have been looking at each other with new eyes for three days. My teacher has died once. He has made many discoveries and has entered a new realm." Zhu Zhen said eloquently.
"My lord, have you changed your mind?" the prince said thoughtfully.
"Yes, in short, he has changed a lot now." Zhu Zhen nodded vigorously.
"Well, no matter what, after this time, the local government should be able to calm down for ten or eight years." The prince sighed softly: "It's just that my father took the opportunity to divide the power of the provincial government into three divisions. I wonder if he will let it go."
The third division is in a quarrel."
"Definitely." Zhu Zhen said without hesitation: "Three monks don't have water to eat."
"That's what I think too." The prince's expression tightened and he asked, "Does Mr. Liu think that way too?"
"Well, that's right." Zhu Zhen quickly raised the banner and said: "But don't worry too much, brother. My master said that the general trend of the world will break up if it stays together for a long time, and it will unite if it stays divided for a long time. There is nothing to be nervous about. If there is any inconvenience in the future,
Just add another high-ranking official to each province?"
"Add another high-ranking official..." The prince thought seriously for a moment, and Fang Shiran smiled and said: "What a good idea. In this way, the three departments will be relatively independent, and power will not be over-concentrated like the provinces; and there will be a provincial chief to coordinate decision-making.
As for buck-passing, it is a pity that a wise man like Mr. Liu will no longer come out."
"Alas, he is just a talker now." Zhu Zhen said with a bitter smile: "Brother, let him go."
"Okay." Even though the prince said this, he still couldn't help but ask: "What else did your master say? Tell your elder brother also."
"He said..." Zhu Zhen scratched his head and said:
"He said that your father is really a mess when it comes to financial management. Not only did he copy the financial system of the Yuan Dynasty, he also changed it to make it even worse... I have never seen a more primitive financial system than this dynasty."
"Mr. Liu is really insightful." The prince said with deep understanding: "My father's original intention is to reduce the burden on the people and let the prefectures and counties directly distribute the tax grains to the yamen or health posts in need. Such a county's tax grains must be distributed
If you go to more than a dozen places, can your accounts be kept in chaos?
"The reason why the empty seal case broke out is actually largely due to this chaotic financial system."
"That's right. Moreover, the amount of taxes directly controlled by the Ministry of Household Affairs is very small. It is difficult for the court to do anything. It is no wonder that my father was forced to issue treasure banknotes." Zhu Zhen nodded.
"Then does your master have any good ideas?" The prince looked at Zhu Zhen with bright eyes.
