Chapter 21: The fat officer of the River Department is being watched
Soon, the three of them took their seats.

Princess Qinghuan sat in the middle, Jiang Shiyuan and Pei Zisu sat on the two sides below, and the maids came in one after another, holding three servings of dishes on the lacquer trays in their hands. Soon the table was full.

Looking at the dishes in front of her, Princess Qinghuan mentioned something.

"Don't you like river food, An Nian? Then you must try the Biluo Shrimp in front of you. If you like it, ask the cook to make it for you with Meishan Mist Tea some other day. I think you will like it even more."

The princess's mansion was luxurious, and even the Meishan fog tea worth one or two thousand gold coins could be used as an ingredient for dishes. Princess Qinghuan could say it, and the cooks could do it, but Jiang Shiyuan felt it was a bit wasteful, so he replied with a smile.

"It's quite novel. Let me try it first."

Seeing her take a little bite with chopsticks and show a hint of surprise on her face, Princess Qinghuan was satisfied and asked quickly.

"How about it?"

“It really tastes good.”

"As long as you like it, try some other dishes. I think you'll like the braised river eel, too."

The cooks in the princess's mansion all knew Jiang Shiyuan's taste, so the dishes in front of her were low in oil and salt, and mainly fresh. Even the braised dishes did not have that much seasoning, so she ate without saying a word.

Seeing how carefully she ate, Pei Zisu felt that the food on the table was much more delicious even without picking up his chopsticks. Princess Qinghuan did not make trouble. She glanced at him and saw that he had not started eating yet, and immediately said something.

"Why, General Pei, there is no wine on the table, so the food is hard to swallow?"

"Princess, you misunderstood. I was just thinking about which dish to eat first."

Princess Qinghuan glanced at his expression, and then said something to the maid serving beside her.

"Go, bring me the Hehuan wine that I treasure. It is most enjoyable to drink it in this kind of occasion. Ah Nian, you are not allowed to refuse today. How about you drink a few cups with me?"

As the name suggests, Hehuan wine is made by soaking Hehuan flowers in wine. This time, the bottle is not the common celadon Ru kiln bottle, but a translucent crystal bottle. There are three matching crystal cups, all made in the shape of banana leaves, which is very interesting.

The wine was full, with the crystal as the base. The originally pink color of the wine made people intoxicated at a glance, and the aroma was rich. Jiang Shiyuan put it under his nose and sniffed it, and said with certainty.

"Princess, this is the new bar from last year."

"It is indeed the wine partner of this princess. I can tell it as soon as I smell it. It was brewed before the twelfth lunar month. It has only been half a year. The taste is not stale and it tastes more refreshing."

Aged wine is good, but the two are not experts in wine tasting. They will get drunk after just a few glasses. Therefore, when they get together, they only drink new wine and have a couple of glasses to cheer themselves up.

"What do you think, General Pei?"

"I am used to drinking strong liquor in the army. The taste of this Hehuan wine is not as good as mine."

Pei Zisu was also a person who spoke his mind directly. Princess Qinghuan raised her eyebrows, looked around, and said jokingly.

"In my entire life, you two are the only ones who dare to speak out. One of you doesn't like me, and the other is not good enough. If outsiders knew about this, they would think that I am afraid of you two."

Jiang Shiyuan half sat on the embroidered cushion, smiled at Princess Qinghuan, and when the words came to her lips, she thought of Pei Zisu who was still there, so she stopped teasing her. Instead, the princess was in high spirits and told the purpose of the visit of Princess Chun and the Crown Prince's Consort today. "If you ask me, it's better for you not to marry. When I first knew that the Wenyuan Marquis's Mansion arranged this marriage for you, I felt it was inappropriate. You seemed to have your own arrangements, so I didn't intervene. Now it seems that the wicked will be punished by their own wickedness. Your second sister will have a hard time under your aunt's control."

“How come you see?”

"Guess why they came to see me today?"

Jiang Shiyuan thought back to her past life. Not long after she got married, she was taken by Princess Chun to visit the Princess's Residence and then went back to Wenyuan Marquis' Residence for dinner. He was a man who was good at networking, but unfortunately, he was not good at it towards her.

"The only person who could make both the Princess and the Crown Prince's wife anxious is none other than the Crown Prince. However, I have never heard of him being unwell at home, so I guess it has something to do with his job."

Princess Qinghuan's eyes lit up and she showed an expression that said, "You are indeed smart."

"Anian's guess is correct. The prince's previous job was ruined by me. Now my aunt has brought the prince's wife to negotiate a peace. From what she said, it seems that she has set her sights on the job at the River Management Bureau. It's a lucrative job, and many powerful families want to get their hands on it, including my aunt."

When Pei Zisu heard the word "Hedao Bureau", the wine glass in his hand paused. This was closely related to the iron ingot case in Luzhou. The Prince Chun's Mansion wanted to intervene at this moment. Did they know something?

So he pretended not to care, but actually he listened carefully.

"River Department? Princess Chun wants the Crown Prince to go south?"

"I guess Concubine Xun is doing something behind the scenes. Prince Chun's mansion is like a sieve, full of holes. My aunt is not favored by my uncle, and the prince is not favored either. However, Song Shiyun, the son of Concubine Xun, has been offered a position as a temple official in the armory. He is quite capable."

The Weiwei Temple in Xijing City was responsible for managing the guards of the palace gates and other gates in the city. It had two offices, the armory office and the palace guard office. My second cousin Wang Kuan also worked in both of them. He had a good background and strong abilities. Within two years of entering the Weiwei Temple, he climbed to the position of Temple Secretary, an eighth-rank official.

But Song Shiyun actually became the temple warden!

That was an official of the sixth rank. Jiang Shiyuan thought that he was the eldest half-brother of Prince Chun's son, and now he was in his prime. With him getting such a position, it was no wonder that Princess Chun had to go around and make plans for the prince.

"What's your plan, Princess?"

Pei Zisu looked over and asked, Princess Qinghuan looked back at him with a look of certainty in her eyes.

"Of course I won't let my aunt succeed. Regardless of what their family did to Ah Nian, the prince himself is a worthless person. I have been at odds with him since he was a child. His character has been spoiled by my aunt and can't stand being beaten. For such a person to join the River Channel Bureau, isn't it obvious that he wants to make a profit there? I'm not stupid, so I went to my father to speak for him."

Princess Qinghuan's words were straightforward and concise, and she belittled the prince Song Shi as worthless. Jiang Shiyuan picked up the Hehuan wine in front of him and drank a glass. At this moment, he felt that he had been blinded by greed in his previous life, and he was eager to marry a man like that.

ridiculous.

Seeing the self-mockery in her eyes, Pei Zisu felt an indescribable pain. He unconsciously clenched the banana leaf crystal cup in his hand, and with a little force, the cup actually cracked.

Princess Qinghuan looked at Pei Zisu in surprise.

"Even if General Pei doesn't like this wine, you don't have to vent your anger on my crystal cup. This is a rare treasure. Father found it for me. There are only four of them, and you broke one of them."

Pei Zisu finally reacted after hearing her words.