They were in charge of being beautiful, and she was in charge of taking the hits.

Chapter 342 Gathering People’s Hearts

Chu Qiu laughed, surprised that this was what she was worried about. He thought she would definitely be furious after suffering such injustice.

"What's with that expression? Did she already show despair while I was unconscious? Sigh!"

He let out a long sigh.

Situ Hongyu walked in, still exuding that inexplicable sense of pressure, looking down at her.

"Your Highness, drinking this will make you feel better. How can you people who grew up in the Golden Silk Dragon withstand the bitter cold here!"

"Oh, thank you, General Hongyu."

"You still call me General, and Auntie, what's wrong with that?"

"Oh, thank you, auntie."

As a result, the medicine inside that small porcelain bottle smelled extremely bitter, which is what is meant by "good medicine tastes bitter".

I drank it all in one gulp, and it felt like I'd swallowed a mouthful of thick, sticky Chinese medicine, stuck in my throat, neither going down nor coming up.

But she was too embarrassed to spit it out in front of Situ Hongyu, so she could only swallow it hard.

"I don't like any of the things you brought, so I gave them all to the men below. But the meat you brought should be enough for the soldiers to have a meal tonight."

Wu Ziyan thought that in such cold weather, if they ate roasted lamb skewers, they would cool down in no time.

If we had hot pot ingredients, wouldn't it be wonderful to have hot pot with mutton?

She really shouldn't think like that, especially when she thinks about something she actually wants.

It would appear directly in her pocket, much like Doraemon's pocket.

There's enough hot pot ingredients to cook that much mutton; it would probably fill this entire bed. This absolutely must never be near her again.

Did he think that appearing in the car outside would arouse the suspicion of the soldiers carrying things, thus creating these red bricks?

What kind of packaging is this? I've never seen it before.

After a while, a soldier came in carrying the brick. It was wrapped in oil paper, so it was somewhat acceptable.

"The general didn't know what this was; it wasn't there when we first started moving it."

Wu Ziyan didn't look at it, but just by smelling the faint aroma, she knew it was what she wanted. This was the spicy hot pot base she had been longing for!

"You must have misremembered. This is indeed the broth I bought for cooking mutton, like the spices we usually put in."

"Oh... I must have mixed it up when I was in our class," he said, still scratching his head in confusion as he went out.

Looking at the brick in my hand that's emitting a pungent, spicy smell, I thought, "Whatever, it's not poisonous!"

Wu Ziyan sat up in bed; the betrothal letter written by Sima Lingchuan was on her person.

She took it out of her pocket and handed it to Situ Hongyu with great respect.

She yanked it over, glanced at it, and then tossed it to Chu Qiu.

"This is your own business. You should make it clear that the children of our Situ family are more than qualified to be the principal wife."

“You’ll only be a concubine when you marry him. Oh, by the way, Wu Mingkong hasn’t even agreed yet, so you’ll essentially be a person without a formal title.”

"My son has thought it through very clearly."

“Your Highness, I hope that one day my Chu Qiu will be properly married into the family, not just through a betrothal document and without any ceremony.”

"Yes, aunt."

"Why are you still calling her 'Auntie'?"

"Then? Mother-in-law!"

"Tonight we will cook lamb and slaughter cattle to celebrate your happy occasion."

It's like celebrating the New Year early, since those of us living on the border can't go back to the capital for the holiday.

A hint of melancholy crept into his eyes. Who wouldn't want to stay in the prosperous capital?

"Then I'll get up and cook a hot pot of mutton for the soldiers. It's a dish you can't get in the capital."

Situ Hongyu didn't say anything, walked out of the tent, Wu Ziyan followed him out, and Chu Qiu took the cloak.

The moment she lifted the curtain, he draped the cloak over her.

This scene was witnessed by many soldiers outside, and the strong-willed Chu Qiu was putting a cloak on her.

It seems that the Fourth Prince does indeed have extraordinary abilities.

She turned around, took his hand, and her eyes curved with love.

I thought I'd be stuck with his mother for a long time, but it's over already.

Wu Ziyan didn't know anyone, but Chu Qiu did, so he called over several cooks from the camp who were specifically responsible for cooking.

Wu Ziyan instructed them on how to cook the mutton for dinner, which made sense; it was curious that this pampered prince could actually cook.

The key point is that he spoke with great confidence and expertise, as if he had personally cooked it.

Meanwhile, Chu Qiu, who was listening to Wu Ziyan talk about the process of cooking mutton, also felt curious. Was cooking her hobby?

"The mutton must be sliced ​​very thinly. This is a huge undertaking. A few of us can't do it. You need to call dozens of people with good knife skills. Remember, very thinly!"

"Prepare some scallions, onions, and cilantro, if you have them."

"Yes, there is, but it's sliced ​​so thinly. The soldiers prefer big chunks of meat; that's much more satisfying!"

"Everyone, listen to me, you won't go wrong."

The kitchen staff looked at each other with suspicion.

But since she is a prince, how could she disobey her orders?

Chu Qiu was also curious as to why it was sliced ​​so thinly. She had never heard of such a novel way of eating it before.

Then she turned to Chu Qiu and said, "Have the other soldiers cut some more long chopsticks, that... long."

The two words she used, with a long pause between them, were meant to describe the length of the chopsticks.

However, most of the meat in this icy, snowy place was already frozen solid.

When they forcibly separated the meat, it fell to the ground like a stone.

Wu Ziyan thought this was even better; if he used a knife to shave it, he could probably shave it even thinner.

These soldiers never imagined that the knives they used for practicing killing would be used on frozen mutton.

However, this process is quite stress-relieving; it's more fun than pricking scarecrows normally.

They saw their knives flashing wildly across the sheep, slicing meat flying into the basin from all directions.

Wu Ziyan felt like she was watching an acrobatic performance from the sidelines.

If this weren't such a serious place as the military, she would have clapped and cheered.

Wu Ziyan's eyes lit up as she watched them slice the mutton, clearly showing her great interest.

How could Chu Qiu allow her gaze to stray from him?

He touched the sword at his waist, but since this sword had killed people, it was really inappropriate to use it to kill sheep.

He asked a soldier who was butchering a sheep for a knife, and his hand moved so fast, it was like he was dancing in the air.

Wu Ziyan realized that this was being shown to her, and she clapped her hands: "What excellent swordsmanship!" This was not only praising Chu Qiu, but also praising everyone.

Hearing Your Highness's praise, even those who were prejudiced against her before would feel relieved now.

People are easily swayed by praise and work even harder.

They seemed to be able to tolerate her, and she had someone bring some potatoes and cabbage. In this cold weather, being able to eat these two dishes was already a great blessing.

Wu Ziyan also made them slice the ingredients. Just preparing the ingredients took an entire afternoon. Normally, he would have been scolded and punished long ago!

Because there were many people, they set up more than a dozen large pots.

Wu Ziyan was a little worried about whether there was enough hot pot base, so if there wasn't enough base, they would make up for it with spices.

She couldn't possibly cook these herself; she just stood by.

He practically yelled at the kitchen staff from afar, "These base ingredients are more fragrant if you stir-fry them. You'd better bring a damp towel or you'll be in tears later."

The experienced chef, who had been cooking for so many years, would never listen to him, believing that he had long since developed an invincible nose and eyes.

But when the pot was put into the fire, the thick smoke that billowed up made everyone around sneeze and cough.

At this moment, a strange fragrance lingered in the camp. Although it was a bit spicy, it smelled delicious.

"Your Highness, how come I didn't know you were purchasing these?"

"Oh, Chu Qiu, just wait to eat when the time comes, why worry about so much?"

Wu Ziyan always had many secrets, but he didn't intend to pry into them. After all, everyone has their own privacy, and he chose to respect that.

Situ Hongyu sneezed from afar and even felt like he couldn't open his eyes. He quickly grabbed the soldier next to him and asked, "What's going on? What are you doing? It's so pungent!"

"The brick-like ingredients that the Fourth Prince ordered us to stir-fry were extremely pungent, yet incredibly appetizing."

As she spoke, she quickly moved the sliced ​​potatoes she was holding toward the pot, and Wu Ziyan saw that the ingredients were almost ready.

"You can add water now, otherwise it will burn and taste bitter."

Watching the base gradually melt, they added a bucket of water, then another bucket, until the water in the pot boiled.

Wu Ziyan then added some strange seasonings.

They searched the crowd again, looking for Situ Hongyu. Since none of the leaders were around, how could they dare to start eating?

The subordinates were also puzzled, as the mutton and potatoes were all raw. How were they supposed to eat that?

"Mother-in-law! We're coming over here quickly."

Actually, their hot pot was quite simple; there was no table, just one bowl and one pair of long chopsticks per person.

Situ Hongyu looked at the bowls of raw mutton, along with cabbage and potatoes, walked over, and frowned.

"Little pumpkin, what are you up to? We're not the kind of people who eat raw meat and drink blood. How are we supposed to eat this raw food?"

"I'm just waiting for my mother-in-law to come over so we can all get together. Let's see what I do then."

I used long chopsticks to pick up a piece of mutton and dipped it in the boiling broth.

It didn't seem to have been cooked for very long; the lamb curls were already fully cooked, which is the advantage of slicing it thinly.

She put it back into a bowl, which contained her own homemade dipping sauce.

He didn't have the time or inclination to do that for the others; only a few of them had dipping sauce in their bowls.

"Just cook it like this, then dip it in the sauce in your bowl. You can also eat it plain; the flavor is extremely delicious, spicy but not pungent, and incredibly fresh!"

They also eat chili peppers, but very little, because they are easy to get a sore throat. Everyone picked up their chopsticks, half believing and half doubting.

The soldiers below were also waiting for their superiors to give the order to start the meal. The aroma lingered around their noses, and they were already eagerly anticipating it.

Situ Hongyu picked up several slices of meat with his chopsticks and placed them into the boiling pot.

After a while, she scooped it out, put it back in the bowl, wrapped it up, and put it in her mouth. Her eyes immediately lit up.

I can honestly say I've never tasted anything so delicious before.

"Soldiers, pick up your chopsticks and thank Your Highness!" This was Chu Feng's order, and the soldiers were already eager to eat.

They all stuck their chopsticks into the meat bowl and then into the pot. It was fun and novel to eat, and the meat was almost all-you-can-eat.

"Your Highness, is this kind of food popular in the capital lately?"

“Mother-in-law, as I said, this is a novelty that you can’t even get in the capital. If you like it, eat as much as you like.”

"Hmph, they've been busy all afternoon, so of course I should eat more. I can't let His Highness Little Pumpkin's kindness go to waste!"

Wu Ziyan picked up several slices of meat, cooked them in the broth, and placed them in Chu Qiu's bowl. Chu Qiu ate silently, her eyes shining.

It was more novel than any delicacy he had ever tasted, with progressively increasing layers of flavor.

Seeing that Wu Ziyan wasn't eating much, I assumed the food wasn't to her liking and asked in a low voice, "Does Your Highness not like to eat?"

"No, I was just wondering where we put the processed tripe? It must have tasted pretty good."

"The kitchen is salty, fishy, ​​and smelly, which is difficult to deal with, but as you instructed, it has been washed and cut into strips. It's probably still in the shed over there."

"Oh, then I'll go get that."

"Have someone go and get it."

I don't know which lucky person got to eat it, but just as I was feeling happy, I was called to the kitchen to get some lamb tripe.

While returning the food, we told them to bring us a pot of meat, leaving some for her.

Seeing that Wu Ziyan was only cooking lamb tripe, Situ Hongyu also reached out with his chopsticks.

The texture of meat is different from that of tripe, it's novel and delicious!

"In this situation, how can we not have a drink?"

Qi Zexuan's eyes lit up as he ate, and he wanted another glass of wine.

The best thing to drink is their mare's milk wine; it's just right to warm you up.

Unfortunately, Situ Hongyu, who was standing next to her, overheard these words. She rarely drank alcohol during celebrations in the army.

Unless it's a major holiday, but after thinking about it, today is quite important, so I boldly shouted it out.

"When we went to get the wine, we found that it was still buried in the frozen soil."

The soldiers were eating hotpot and naturally wanted to drink some wine. At that time, they effortlessly retrieved the wine from the frozen soil.

Of course, each person can only drink two small bowls, which is the limit set by Situ Hongyu. Being happy and joyful is of course important.

However, in this sensitive area, they must be extremely cautious at all times.

The wine bowl was handed to Wu Ziyan, who now gets a headache just from the smell of wine.

Situ Hongyu simply touched her bowl to the table, this time not calling her "little pumpkin," but also not saying anything else.

Chu Qiu and the others also drank two bowls as a symbolic gesture. The wine tasted sweet and refreshing, so it must have a low alcohol content.

I don't know what's so good about this wine, they take a sip and don't even flinch.

Wu Ziyan had no choice but to drink the water herself, but that seemed a bit disappointing, so she poured herself another bowl.

He shouted loudly, "All soldiers, you have worked hard to defend the borders of the Wu Dynasty. Thank you all!"

Those below were moved to tears by just those two sentences.

Those in positions of power can get along well with them, personally bringing them clothes and food, and treating them with kindness.

Moreover, they could tell from his words that his gratitude came from the bottom of his heart.

The younger children secretly wiped away tears; after all, who wouldn't miss home after hearing these words?

"This bowl is for all the soldiers. I'll drink it all; the soldiers can drink as they please."

She raised the bowl and drank it all in one gulp. This wine tasted much milder than the one she had drunk during the day.

Even after you taste it, there's a hint of sweetness.

After saying those exciting words, she buried herself in her rice again.

After all, she'd been here for so long and hadn't had a proper meal that was this appetizing.

She hadn't even noticed her bowl until now, and when she came to her senses, the bowl was already covered with meat.

It turned out that Situ Hongyu was secretly serving her food.