"Wu Laotou, the Third Prince's meal is ready, will you deliver it or what?"
On weekdays, Zhang Wu is very keen to deliver meals to Xiao Jingao.
Today, he was uncharacteristically standing at the door. The chef couldn't help but ask.
"I have been delivering this meal to the Third Prince for a long time."
Zhang Wu chewed a radish and said:
"From now on, everyone will take turns serving His Highness's meals."
"..."
The cooks looked at each other.
The jailers who gathered at the door of the kitchen, waiting for their meal, all looked miserable.
The third prince is very tall and the embodiment of justice in the eyes of the people.
But in the prison and in the officialdom, he was still the object of everyone's distance.
None of the jailers wanted to have anything to do with him for fear of being implicated.
It was a cold day and the dishes were getting cold very quickly. Seeing that everyone was not moving, Old Feng wiped his hands on his apron and said proactively:
"Brother Wu, let me see you off today."
"Okay, today I will send it with you first. No one is allowed to find excuses in the future. The money is paid in one piece. If there is any difficulty, we will all bear it together."
Without waiting for the guards to say anything more, Zhang Wu and Lao Feng picked up their food boxes and walked towards the prison.
After passing the two security gates and seeing no one around, Old Feng complained in a low voice with a sad look on his face:
"Brother Wu, the cooks in this palace are too arrogant. They don't treat us as human beings."
"What, he bullied you?"
"The bullying was terrible."
Old Feng gritted his teeth and said:
"When this guy first came here, we all got along pretty well. He often used our seasonings, flour, etc., but I turned a blind eye and didn't want to cause any trouble."
"Who would have thought that this guy is so unworthy of a man? He uses so many things from us, but there is not enough salt today. I want to use his salt, but this guy actually got angry for no reason and yelled at us."
"He also broke the salt bowl and the pot that was sprinkled with salt. It's really abominable to waste a pot of rice for nothing!"
The more Old Feng talked, the angrier he became, his eyes widened with anger, and he wished he could tear the imperial cook alive.
Zhang Wu's heart was agitated, but his face was unusually calm and he echoed:
"It's just a bowl of salt. Tomorrow you use the prison account to buy the best refined salt and pay it to him to stop his mouth. We won't owe him anything."
After a pause, the military leader came up with an idea and said:
"If he dares to bully him again in the future, we will not tolerate him. We will ask everyone to ridicule him to see if he can bear it. If he dares to take the initiative to fight, we will endure it in front of him. Then we will find a dark night and call the brothers to trick him.
He grabbed the sack and beat him to death."
"..."
Old Feng was stunned for a moment, his depression disappeared, and he couldn't help but said excitedly:
"Brother Wu, I am completely convinced by you."
"We are all brothers, and we are on our territory, so we cannot tolerate his arrogance."
Zhang Wu smiled and patted Lao Feng on the back, and the two entered the official prison together.
Seeing someone coming to deliver food to Zhang Wu, Xiao Jingyao was startled. He sat at the table as usual, waiting for Zhang Wu to serve him food.
Fourteen dishes, two kinds of soup, silver bowls and silver chopsticks.
Seeing Xiao Jingao moving his chopsticks slowly, Zhang Wu stood aside and asked respectfully:
"Your Highness, are the recent meals delicious?"
"It's pretty good. It's all to my liking."
Xiao Jingao tasted the dishes one by one and was full of praise.
Zhang Wu asked again:
"Is the saltiness of the food just right?"
"The taste is moderate, not salty nor bland. The royal chef in the palace is very good at it."
Xiao Jingao served himself a bowl of soup. After drinking it, he showed a comfortable expression and was quite satisfied with the taste.
Zhang Wu asked no more, you will never wake up a person who is pretending to sleep.
He had no choice but to bow and salute:
"Your Highness, please use it with caution."
Facing Xiao Jingao, he and Lao Feng slowly exited the cell until they were out of each other's sight, then they turned around and left the prison.
Old Feng said sourly:
"With the third prince's praise, this royal chef will probably be promoted two levels after returning to the palace."
"Old Feng, your cooking skills aren't bad either, but you were just a bit unlucky and didn't become the royal chef in the palace."
Zhang Wu comforted them, and when the two returned to the kitchen, the guards had already taken bowls to the prison cell to eat.
As for distributing food to the prisoners in the prison, since Du Tilao came to the prison, Zhang Wu asked Cheng Gou and Yang San to help him deliver it to avoid causing trouble.
Walking into the kitchen, someone glanced into the corner and saw that the coarse salt on the ground had disappeared.
Looking back at the stove, I saw that the chef had swept it back into the bowl.
"Brother Wu, your food."
Old Feng took down a large bucket of steamed white rice from the stove and poured half of the pot of meat and vegetables into the bucket.
Zhang Wu took the wooden bucket. The cold wind was blowing outside, so he simply squatted against the wall, like an old farmer, mixed the rice and vegetables with a wooden shovel, and ate it.
The cooks also followed his example, squatting by the stove and chatting away.
The imperial cook never ate in prison and left after cooking for Xiao Jingao.
After a while, when Zhang Wu finished eating, he secretly used his internal energy to suck up a small handful of salt from the cracks under his feet, pretending that his chest was itchy, put his hand into his collar and scratched it a few times, and put the salt into his pocket.
.
"The recent meals have been good, and the price is quite high. I will make two more dishes tomorrow to improve the food for the brothers."
Zhang Wu ate the last grain of rice in the bucket, licked the wooden shovel and gave orders.
Old Feng nodded repeatedly and said:
"I'll buy fresh vegetables in the afternoon."
Zhang Wu patted his shoulder and walked out of the kitchen with his hands behind his back.
The whole afternoon, someone stayed in the shabby room in a daze.
It wasn't until it was almost dark that he suddenly woke up from his daze and quickly called Cheng Gou and said:
"Gou'er, go to Zhenfu Division and help me send these two invitations to Uncle Liu and Uncle Zhan, and tell me that it's my birthday tonight and I'll treat you to them at Chunfeng Tower."
After a pause, Zhang Wu added:
"Uncle Six will probably be very busy. You may not be able to find him, but Uncle Zhan must be invited."
Seeing how solemn he was, Cheng Gou straightened his face, put away the invitation and said in a deep voice:
"Brother Wu, don't worry, I will definitely invite Uncle Zhan."
"Okay, we'll wait for you at Chunfeng Tower."
Zhang Wu watched Cheng Gou leave, frowning.
…
It was night, the cold wind was howling, but it still couldn't stop the enthusiasm of the jailers.
Listening to music in Goulan is still at public expense and is rare in several years.
In the past, everyone used to ask kiln ladies to accompany them for drinks, and most of them searched for the ones with good looks and were reluctant to bid for them.
Today, when the Wulao people spoke up, the jailers immediately called two top names to dance for everyone to enjoy.
The tulle danced lightly, and the transparent skin was looming. Even Tang Zhan couldn't take his eyes away. It was a pity that Uncle Six didn't come.
Zhang Wu smiled and joked:
"Uncle Zhan, don't go back tonight. It's cold outside. Let these two top players warm you up."
"You kid..."
Tang Zhan punched Zhang Wu in the chest and pretended to be angry:
"You clearly know that there is a tigress in my uncle's house, and if he is found out, his legs will be broken, and you still come to tease him?"
"It's a small matter, just don't spend the night here."
Zhang Wu came up with a bad idea and said:
"Let's go out and find a hotel to open two rooms. You go and get a room first. I will bring these two top names over later and let them accompany you in the evening. If my aunt asks about it, just tell her that she was with me last night. If she comes again,
When asked how you got the top spot, you said I slept with you."
"……this."
Tang Zhan's heart was pounding.
Brothers!
There is no better brother than you in the world!
Uncle Zhan was full of excitement.
Zhang Wu asked with a smile:
"Uncle Zhan, I'm going to go to the toilet and have a wild time, will you go?"
"Let's go together."
The toilet in Chunfeng Building was in the backyard. When they stepped outside, the sharp contrast between the cold air and the warmth in the building made both of them shiver.
The toilet is not big, and it is empty all around, with only three pits.
Zhang Wu was carrying a lantern and each occupied a pit with Tang Zhan. There was no one around.
"Uncle Zhan, look at this salt."
Zhang Wu's six senses were fully activated, and even the slightest movement within a radius of ten feet could not escape his perception.
"Salt?"
Tang Zhan was startled, knowing that Zhang Wu would not show him ordinary coarse salt, so he immediately looked at it carefully under the light.
"This salt is the wrong color, it's green and black."
After the words fell, Tang Zhan's expression changed and he asked:
"Brother Wu, where did you get this salt?"
"In the prison."
Regarding Xiao Jingao and Zhang Wu, he said nothing.
Tang Zhan breathed a sigh of relief and said:
"There are many spies in the prison, so it's not surprising that it fell into your hands. This salt is mixed with a kind of poison. It is the latest research result of the pharmacists of the Zhenfu Division. It is only for those spies. It can be added to various foods.
Use it according to the dose. If the dose is large, it will appear black and green. Just a handful of salt in your hand can kill ten tigers in one meal."
"What if the dose is small?"
Zhang Wu asked calmly.
Tang Zhan replied:
"The dose is small, the poison is almost colorless and has low toxicity. But if it is taken for a long time, even a top-notch expert will bleed to death in up to half a year."
Zhang Wuqiang endured the turmoil in his heart and asked:
"Is there an antidote to this poison?"
Tang Zhan shook his head.
"No, when developing this poison, the main consideration was how to kill people. This poison is mixed with hundreds of poisons. No matter how toxic it is, no immortal can come down to earth to prepare an antidote."