General's humble stand-in

A ray of light in the morning sun, through the shadows of Xiao Xiao trees, sprinkled spots of mottled.

Tao Zhuo carried a bucket full of well water and walked towards the kitchen with difficulty.The cobblestone path is a bit slippery in winter, but Mama Liu in the kitchen said that the water is used up urgently, so Tao Zhuo can only choose to take this short path.

Since entering the General's Mansion, Tao Zhuo was sent to do odd jobs in the kitchen for five consecutive days.Tao Zhuo thinks that the general may have forgotten himself, and if he wants to forget, forget it, at least now he doesn't have to worry about food and clothing.

"Oh." The mother Liu who was in charge smacked her mouth dissatisfied when she saw Tao Zhuo holding back her hand, "Let you pick up some water, this bucket can't wait to spill half of it, why can't you do this OK."

Tao Zhuo twisted his fingers, and explained in a low voice, "The road is slippery, and I was afraid of delaying the kitchen water, so I walked in a hurry, and I accidentally spilled it a few times because my feet were unsteady."

"You people from the countryside just don't understand the rules." Mama Liu put her hips on her hips, "If you spill it, you spill it. What excuses are you looking for?"

Chef Zhang, who was cutting vegetables at the side, looked at Tao Zhuo pitifully, and said a few words for him, "Mother Liu, I see that this child is young and weak, so please be merciful and let him go this time. "

As he spoke, he asked Tao Zhuo, "How old are you this year?"

"It's almost full." Tao Zhuo replied softly.

Chef Zhang nodded, and pointed at the dishes in the corner, "There is still enough water, you should wash these first."

Mother Liu wasn't in any trouble, she just said, if you can't do this well, pack up and leave.

Although Tao Zhuo is clumsy at times, he is never lazy and slippery, and he washes every vegetable leaf cleanly.

The hands soaked in cold water for a long time felt numb and tingling, and the fingertips were tender and white, and wrinkled.

"Who is Tao Zhuo?" The shrill voice rang out with a bit of arrogance.

Tao Zhuo looked up, and saw a beautiful woman in a green skirt standing at the kitchen door with her nose covered with one hand.It was Princess Pingnan's personal maid named Caizhu.

Thinking that he had done something wrong again, Tao Zhuo slowly stood up timidly, "I am."

Caizhu glanced at Tao Zhuo impatiently, "Come with me."

After leaving this remote backyard, Tao Zhuo realized how big the General's Mansion is.At a glance, the Chonglou Feige is patchwork, with painted pillars, carved beams, green tiles and green bricks.Going around the promenades and crossing the rockery and wooden bridges, the colorful beads leading the way stopped in about half a stick of incense.

Pushing open the vermilion lacquer door, a faint sandalwood fragrance can be heard instantly.

"Princess, someone brought it here." Changing her previous arrogance, Caizhu said humbly.

"Well, come in."

Princess Pingnan leaned lazily on the soft couch, stroking a snow-white cat in her arms with ten fingers.

"I heard that you served the general in the barracks?" the Princess asked without raising her head.

"Yes."

Taozhuo lowered his head and replied respectfully, but was pushed by Caizhu behind him, and reprimanded him, "Why don't you understand etiquette, kneel down."

Not daring to have the slightest hesitation, Tao Zhuo knelt down on the cold ground.

"I heard that women are not allowed in and out of the military camp, but is it true?" Asked seemingly casually, but the princess's hand stroking the cat's back obviously slowed down.

"Yes." Tao Zhuo nodded, and replied honestly, "Under normal circumstances, women are not allowed to enter or leave, unless they are military prostitutes."

Suddenly there was a catastrophic meow, and it was the cat who was in the arms of the princess and jumped out of the window.Princess Pingnan wiped the blood on the armor, trying to pretend to be calm but couldn't help gnashing her teeth.

"There are still military prostitutes?"

Tao Zhuo was too frightened to speak out.

There was a sound of pattering footsteps, and the princess swayed in front of Taozhuo, the thin armor lightly hooked Taozhuo's chin, and there was still a faint smell of blood on it.

"Let me ask you, which woman does the general like the most? Did he choose only one scumbag to accompany him, or did he have many scumbags around him?"

Princess Pingnan is really beautiful, but the cruelty in her eyes is terrifying.That jealous face distorted her delicate features.

"No." Tao Zhuo opened his eyes wide because of fear, deeply afraid that like that cat, he would have an extra blood mark for no reason.

Swallowing saliva nervously, Tao Zhuo replied in a trembling voice, "There are no women around the general. Those military prostitutes are used to comfort the soldiers. General, I have never touched them."

"Really?" The princess still had distrust in her eyes, but her tone softened a lot.

Tao Zhuo hurriedly replied, "Really. The general has never touched those military prostitutes."

The armor hooked on the chin was finally removed, Tao Zhuo heaved a sigh of relief.

The princess turned around and said in a secret voice, "It's been two years, but I can't bear it, it must be some kind of disease."

Sitting back on the soft couch again, the princess put on a smiling face, "The barracks are tough, and you've done your best to serve the general. Caizhu, reward him with a golden scorpion."

After leaving the Qionghua Pavilion, the cold wind blows through the cold sweat on Tao Zhuo's body.He covered his lips and sneezed, walked to a place where there were no one around, took out the golden key hidden in his bosom and looked it over carefully.

Heart beating wildly, Tao Zhuo saw Jin Zi for the first time.Holding it in the palm of your hand is like a hot potato, you don't know where to hide it when you are nervous.

Although the days of doing odd jobs in the kitchen were hard, Tao Zhuo gradually felt at ease.Moreover, the food in the General's Mansion is really good, and in the blink of an eye it was Dongyue low, and the baby fat on Tao Zhuo's face had rounded up a little, making him look like a doll.

After entering the second watch, the moonlight dyed a miserable white through the window.Tao Zhuo was about to leave after cleaning the kitchen, but Chef Zhang happened to push the door open.

"Don't go yet." Chef Zhang said, "I heard from Fenglou that they want osmanthus jujube and yam soup, and you can deliver it later."

"Oh." Taozhuo habitually nodded in agreement, but forgot one very important thing.

The night was as cool as water, standing in the cold wind, Tao Zhuo looked at the pavilions with a blank face, which one is Tingfenglou?

Fortunately, there were occasional guards on patrol passing by, Tao Zhuo searched all the way, and found Tingfenglou by stumbling, it was almost three o'clock.

Several plum trees in the courtyard are in full bloom, and the air is lingering with a faint fragrance of flowers.There are three big red lacquer characters in Tingfeng Tower, flying like dragons and phoenixes, on the black plaque.

There was a faint light in the room, but there were no maids or servants on watch outside.

Tao Zhuo stepped forward and knocked on the door softly, after a while, he heard a sound, and entered.

The all-too-familiar voice caught off guard, and the tone was still calm and cold.Tao Zhuo shook his hand and almost spilled the bowl of cinnamon jujube and yam soup.

Pushing open the door, warm air rushes towards you.Tao Zhuo hurriedly turned around and closed the door tightly, fearing that the temperature in the room would be swallowed by the cold wind outside.

Gu Ye stood in front of the Ming red sandalwood book case, holding a brown Langhao pen in his hand, lowering his head and concentrating on drawing on the rice paper.