Chapter 399: Ouyang Ye Emerges from Seclusion
The sun was setting in the west.
Yun Chu had finally finished pulling all the weeds from the field.
Just then, Ouyang Ye returned carrying a small crucian carp about the size of a palm.
Seeing Yun Chu rising from the field, surprise flickered in Ouyang Ye's eyes: "Why hasn't the Empress Dowager left yet?"
"If the weeds aren't removed, how can the cabbage grow?" Yun Chu brushed the dust off her sleeves. "I noticed earlier that there are no servants in this courtyard. Does Master Ouyang plan to cook the fish soup himself?"
Ouyang Ye stroked his beard: "What, does the Empress Dowager know how to cook soup?"
"I didn't before, but after having children, I learned some things." Yun Chu stepped forward. "Right now, I'm not the Empress Dowager, just a humble woman seeking your help. I beg Master Ouyang to give me this opportunity."
By directly stating her purpose, she actually earned a glimmer of admiration in Ouyang Ye's eyes.
He tossed the small crucian carp onto the table: "Then I'll trouble the Empress Dowager."
During her time in the prince's mansion, Yun Chu occasionally cooked - osmanthus cakes, pumpkin soup, fish soup, chicken broth - none of these were difficult for her.
She gutted the fish, cleaned it thoroughly, pan-fried it in a wok, added water, and simmered it into a milky white broth.
She called out: "Qiutong, go to the village and see if any household has tofu."
While Qiutong went to buy tofu, Yun Chu started cooking rice.
But she wasn't quite sure how... having never cooked rice before, she had no idea how to proceed.
She put in the rice, added water, covered the pot... that should be about right.
When Qiutong returned with the tofu and added it to the fish soup to stew together, the aroma filled the air.
Ouyang Ye was drawn by the fragrance to the kitchen doorway: "I never imagined that the esteemed eldest daughter of the Yun family, Crown Princess, Empress Dowager - someone of such noble status - would know how to cook."
"You flatter me, Master." Yun Chu ladled the fish soup into a bowl and brought it to the table, then took a rice bowl to serve the rice.
But when she lifted the lid, she was stunned.
The rice was clearly undercooked, half-raw in appearance.
"The Empress Dowager used too little water." Ouyang Ye came over and glanced at it. "Cooking rice is like educating students. Too little water, and it comes out half-cooked; too much water, and it becomes porridge. You can't have too much or too little - you must grasp the right measure."
"Yes, one must grasp the right measure." Yun Chu sighed. "But how many people in this world are like me, unable to control this measure? And there are even those who deliberately use the wrong measure to educate students."
Ouyang Ye said nothing more.
He went to the dining table to drink the fish soup.I have to admit, the crucian carp stewed with tofu was truly delicious - he accidentally finished it all.
Yun Chu stepped forward, took the soup bowl away to wash it clean.
Then she put it back in the cupboard.
She walked to the doorway and said: "Master Ouyang, I'll take my leave now."
"Eh, leaving just like that?" Ouyang Ye scratched his white hair. "Won't you say a few more words?"
Yun Chu knew the other party was already moved.
If this were dealing with an enemy, now would be the time to press the advantage.
But she was seeking an ally now, and sincerity was most precious.
She smiled and said: "If Master Ouyang doesn't mind, I'll come again tomorrow."
She turned and left the small courtyard in the twilight, finding an inn to stay at in a nearby city.
The next day, before the sun had even risen, Yun Chu arrived. She saw Ouyang Ye in the courtyard picking chrysanthemum petals, then spreading them out to dry in the courtyard before making them into chrysanthemum tea.There was another person in the courtyard, also an elderly man with white hair, looking about sixty or seventy years old.
From his appearance, he seemed to be Ouyang Ye's eldest son, who had previously served as the prefect of the nearby city and retired due to old age.
"Father, we're truly worried about you living here alone. Please come back with us," the man in his sixties sighed repeatedly. "It's inconvenient to buy things or see a doctor. What's the point of living here?"
"You little rascal! Are you cursing your father to fall ill?"
Ouyang Ye flew into a rage and slapped the back of his son's head.
"Ouch! I'm this old already, and you're still hitting me..."
A nearly ninety-year-old man chased his sixty-something-year-old son around the courtyard.
It wasn't until they noticed Yun Chu entering that the two finally settled down.
Prefect Ouyang was mortified to see an outsider. He coughed and asked, "May I ask who this lady is?"
"This is Her Majesty the Empress Dowager," Ouyang Ye snorted. "Your father plans to move into the palace. Everything will be convenient there. How about that, you little rascal?"
Being called "little rascal" made Prefect Ouyang even more embarrassed, but he had no time to dwell on it now.
"So it's Her Majesty the Empress Dowager." He quickly bowed in salute. "Has Your Majesty come to invite my father to serve as the Emperor's tutor in the palace? You've certainly found the right person. My father can never stay idle... Back when I forcibly shut down his thatched cottage school, he got angry and moved here alone..."
"Who said I was angry!" Ouyang Ye's beard bristled with fury.
Ignoring his old father, Prefect Ouyang continued to Yun Chu, "Ever since the school closed, he's been like a headless fly, bored out of his mind all day. Who would have thought someone his age could still be so energetic? I regret shutting down the school, ah... Your Majesty, look at the vegetables in this garden—planted only to die, replanted after they die, never once growing to maturity... And if I didn't restock the pond with fish every few months, the old man wouldn't be able to catch a single one..."
Yun Chu: "..."
This... was really not what she had imagined.
"Get out, get out!" Ouyang Ye felt he had lost all dignity and kicked his son in the rear. "You're not needed here. Scram!"
"I haven't finished..." Prefect Ouyang went on, "I visit him every three days. Every time we meet, he talks to me about court affairs. No matter how chaotic the situation, my father can analyze it clearly! Don't let his age of eighty-nine fool you—he's no worse than those young folks! Your Majesty has truly found the right person! I'll pack his things right away and escort my father to the palace!"
Living in the palace would be wonderful—he'd have servants attending to his every need, and most importantly, the entire Imperial Hospital would be on standby, so there'd be no need to worry about the old man's health.
Ouyang Ye: "..."
He had intended to maintain some dignity, but this little rascal ruined everything!
He coughed, straightened up, and said pompously, "I need to personally dry these chrysanthemums in the courtyard. I'll enter the capital tomorrow."
"Very well," Yun Chu immediately agreed. "I'll send someone to fetch you tomorrow morning."
As she left, standing in the carriage, she could still see the father and son chasing each other around.
A smile unconsciously spread across her face. She said, "Qiutong, arrange for some hidden guards to secretly protect the Ouyang family."She could not allow the Ouyang clan to become a pawn for Chu Rui to threaten Ouyang Ye, just like Grand Tutor Xu.
The carriage slowly made its way toward the capital, arriving in the city by afternoon.
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