Fortunate Young Gentleman

In a dark alley in the capital.

The woman in white clapped her hands, looked at the figures lying on the ground at the end of the alley, and said disdainfully: "I'm going to Hongxiu Pavilion, not Lichun Courtyard. You dare to deceive me, you are tired of living!"

A middle-aged woman knelt in front of her, kowtowed continuously, and said in a trembling voice: "Lady, spare me, lady, spare me!"

"Don't let me see it next time!" The woman looked at them, turned around and floated away.

Tang Ning was awakened by the knocking on the door outside in the morning.

It was not knocking, but knocking on the door. The knocking was frequent and dense, which made people annoyed.

Xiao Jue would not knock on the door like this, and Li Tianlan would not knock on the door like this. Su Mei did not go out, and no one in Hongxiu Pavilion knocked on the door like this.

He got dressed and got up, opened the door with sleepy eyes, and saw the imperial guard general named Ling Yun standing in front of the door.

Tang Ning covered his mouth and yawned, and asked, "What's up?"

"The sun is shining on your butt, why don't you get up!" The unique voice of the young man reached Tang Ning's ears.

He looked down and found that Prince Run Zhao Yuan was standing next to Ling Yun, looking at him with a silly smile.

Ling Yun looked at him and said, "His Royal Highness Prince Run wants to thank you in person for saving Concubine Shu. His Majesty ordered me to bring him here."

Tang Ning looked at Prince Run and thought to himself, didn't he thank you last time? He hasn't finished the big bag of snacks yet.

He couldn't stop others from thanking him. Tang Ning went back to the room to wash up. Prince Run followed him and asked, "What is the assorted pot you mentioned last time?"

Speaking of assorted pot, Tang Ning suddenly felt a little hungry. When he was brushing his teeth with a willow branch dipped in green salt, he couldn't help swallowing a mouthful of mouthwash. It was very salty, so he quickly grabbed the teapot on the table and drank it.

There are many types of mixed pots. Fang Xiaopang's favorite was to stew all the dishes together in a clay pot, then add various seasonings, and then serve with a bowl of..., served with a few bowls of fragrant rice. Tang Yaojing also liked to eat this way.

Thinking of this, Tang Ning missed Fang Xiaopang a little, missed Tang Yaojing a little, and was a little hungry.

He slept very late yesterday and got up very late today. It was almost time for lunch. Tang Ning thought for a while, looked at King Run, and said, "Wait a minute."

He went downstairs to the back kitchen. Two cooks were preparing lunch. When they saw him come in, they immediately said, "Hello, sir."

Tang Ning looked around and asked, "Is there a clean clay pot?"

For his lifelong happiness, Xiao Jue would move a lot of good wine every few days to honor the old beggar. Tang Ning would occasionally steam wine for the old beggar here, and he was already very familiar with the two cooks.

A cook brought a clay pot and asked, "Sir, is this okay?"

Tang Ning nodded and said, "Sure."

The cook cleaned the clay pot again and asked, "Sir, do you need our help?"

Tang Ning waved his hand and said, "You guys do your thing, don't worry about me."

When Zhao Yuan saw him start washing vegetables, he knew what he was going to do, and followed him happily, running around.

Ling Yun stood at the door, watching Prince Run running around, handing and washing vegetables, and opened his lips, but closed his mouth again when he saw his happy face.

There were many vegetables in the kitchen, but there were not many seasonal vegetables in this season. Most of them were shipped from other places and were not very fresh, but only Hongxiu Pavilion had a special shipping channel. Outside of Hongxiu Pavilion, most of the powerful families in the capital might not even have these stale vegetables.

The kitchen always had broth, and Tang Ning used it. The broth made the dishes more delicious.

Strictly speaking, what he made was not a mixed pot, but a casserole, but Tang Ning had never seen this method in any restaurant. The imperial palace's imperial meals were mainly exquisite, and I'm afraid no imperial chef would dare to stew so many things and serve them up.

Without natural gas, it relied on firewood, so it would take longer to cook. Tang Ning asked a cook to help him watch and walked out of the kitchen.

When he returned to his room, Li Tianlan was already waiting in his room.

Li Tianlan looked at him and said, "I heard about what happened last night."

Tang Ning looked at Ling Yun standing at the door and King Run who kept swallowing his saliva, and said, "I will explain it to you later."

Li Tianlan nodded, turned his head, and changed the subject, saying, "I just saw a few of your new policy papers, and there is a place that needs to be discussed again."

Tang Ning walked over and asked, "What place?"

He and Li Tianlan often disagreed on some methods and ideas of governing the country. Most of the time, he persuaded her, and of course there were times when Tang Ning was persuaded by her.

Miss Li's title of champion is truly worthy of its reputation. She quotes a lot of references and allusions one after another. Her erudition even surprised Tang Ning. After all, she is not like herself, who remembers everything she has seen. She has accumulated knowledge bit by bit.

Li Tianlan picked up a policy paper and said, "Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. This sentence comes from Laozi's Tao Te Ching. There are many schools of thought in ancient times. The understanding of this sentence is different, but most of them agree that Laozi means that governing a country should be as meticulous as cooking. Oil, salt, sauce and vinegar are indispensable. One more or one less is not acceptable. You should pay attention to both the seasoning and the heat..."

She looked at Tang Ning and continued, "If you cook fish too hard, it will break. If you govern the people too hard, they will disperse. If you know how to cook fish, you will know how to govern the people... Your opinion is indeed unique and makes a lot of sense if you think about it carefully. But it is just your guess. It has not been accepted and recognized by everyone yet, and there may be some mistakes."

Tang Ning shook his head and said, "Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. To understand Lao Tzu's words, we must first understand how the ancients cooked small fish in the era when Lao Tzu lived."

Lao Tzu's words have been controversial since ancient times, and there are different opinions. It was not until the Qing Dynasty that scholars gave an explanation accepted by most people after textual research.

Tang Ning continued, "Small fish means small fish. The ancients cooked small fish without removing scales or intestines. After putting them in the pot, they avoided stirring them frequently, because they were worried that the small fish would be broken... In fact, cooking big fish is the same. Frequent stirring will cause the fish meat to fall apart. Therefore, "Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish" can be extended to mean that cooking small fish should not be disturbed, and governing a big country should not be annoying. Annoyance will make people tired, and disturbance will cause the fish to collapse."

Li Tianlan heard this and did not speak, but fell into thought.

Prince Run Zhao Yuan's eyes were shining, looking at Tang Ning, and asked hurriedly: "Where can I eat small fish? Can I try it?"

Prince Run didn't eat the small fish, Tang Ning told him that the mixed casserole was almost cooked, so he ran downstairs to wait.

Tang Ning closed the door to prevent him from disturbing Li Tianlan.

She has always been very serious about these things. Fortunately, Tang Ning had written a special report on the Tao Te Ching before, and had done in-depth research on this issue. If she wanted, he could talk to her for three days and three nights without rest.

Tang Ning poured her a cup of tea, and then sat quietly aside, waiting for her to figure it out.

Squeak!

A subtle sound reached his ears, and the window of his room was opened, and Su Mei jumped in from outside.

She looked a little tired, with a pair of dark circles under her eyes, and said: "I'll sleep for a while, call me when it's time for dinner."

Li Tianlan turned around and looked at Su Mei.

Su Mei was already lying on the bed when she noticed a figure in the room, and she looked into Li Tianlan's eyes.

There was a knock on the door. Tang Ning had no time to care about King Run now, so he planned to tell him that the assorted casserole was ready and send him away.

He opened the door a crack and saw a face that couldn't be more familiar. He had dreamed of this beautiful face last night.

He closed the door again and shook his head. He must have missed Tang Yaojing so much that he had hallucinations...

Tang Yaojing was clearly in Lingzhou, how could he appear in the capital, in Hongxiu Pavilion, with a sword in his hand...

He reached out and touched the cold sweat on his forehead.

Bang!

The bolt broke with a loud bang due to the huge force coming from outside.