Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

"You are quite good at steering the ship and are used to acting according to the situation." On a tall building overlooking the street, a group of young men in gorgeous clothes surrounded a young man in a scarlet brocade robe and stopped another thin young man.

The thin young man kept retreating until his back hit the railing and he could no longer retreat. He finally stopped, raised his handsome face, and said, "Minister Cen, Cui just doesn't want to embarrass Your Majesty. Besides, I helped you out. Why are you forcing me?"

Cui Xu's attitude was neither humble nor arrogant, and his tone was helpless, as if he really could not do anything about the person in front of him. But if you look closely, you can find a flash of coldness in his eyes. Seeing how frail he was, Cen Ji showed disdain.

"What a joke! You are not worthy of helping me out. His Majesty has always loved me. Even if you didn't ask, he would have given me the top three title. Who do you think you are? You are just a clinging to the rich and powerful."

The ancestors of the Cen family were just peddlers walking the streets. Later, they got lucky and made a fortune, and were offered a minor official position. Because they were good at flattery, they gradually climbed up. By the time of Cen Ji's father, Cen Ang, he was promoted to the position of carriage attendant in front of the emperor, in charge of the emperor's travels.

Cen Ang was a smart man. Seeing that his daughter was extremely beautiful, he wanted to use her as a ladder for the Cen family to climb up. Therefore, not long after the current emperor ascended the throne, he met the eldest daughter of the Cen family who was disguised as a child applying medicine and bandaging an injured horse in the Imperial Stables. This also started the myth of Concubine Cen being the most favored concubine in the six palaces for more than 20 years.

The Cen family also rose to power overnight. Not only was Cen Ang awarded the title of marquis, his wife Xun was also granted an imperial edict. Even Cen Ji, who had no other qualities except his good looks, was personally appointed by the emperor as a palace attendant, and was always by the emperor's side.

But after all, the Cen family had too shallow a foundation, and the means they used to gain favor were not up to par when carefully considered. Therefore, they were not well received in the wealthy and complicated city of Jiankang. Cen Ji was also a dissolute man who was good at eating, drinking, whoring and gambling, and he could not stand those self-proclaimed and innocent children of noble families.

Cui Xu was born in the Hedong Cui family. Although it was only a branch, the family background was much higher than that of the Cen family. Cui Xu himself was born with unparalleled handsomeness and was well-known for his talent. He was exactly the type that the ladies in Jiankang liked most. Therefore, Cen Ji had always disliked him, especially after his sister Cen Yan recently showed obvious disgust for Cui Xu, he would mock him every time he saw him.

Cui Xu felt a chill in his heart when he saw his arrogant look. He spoke out today for Mei'er. It was okay that Cen Ji was as stupid as a pig and made a fool of himself, but he was a member of the Cen family. If he lost face in front of all the officials, it would definitely affect Mei'er's reputation.

The second reason is that the Cui family is now in decline and is only supported by the appearance of a noble family. He had no intention of pursuing a career in politics, but now he has to take on the responsibility of the eldest son. Although the rank of the Yellow Gate Minister is not high and he is only responsible for conveying the emperor's summons, he is a close attendant of the emperor. For him now, this is already a good result.

"I can't do anything about what Minister Cen thinks. My sister is still waiting downstairs. Can you please make way for her?" Cui Xu didn't want to get entangled with them, so he lowered his posture and asked.

"Hahaha, you are such a wimp. Never mind. I have an appointment tonight so I will let you go. I will settle accounts with you in detail when we enter the palace."

"Minister, be magnanimous. If it were me, I would definitely not tolerate such a villain who flatters and seeks credit."

"That's right. The Cui family boasts that poetry and prose are passed down from generation to generation. I don't see what's so good about the poem he wrote. It's really a world of difference compared to the Minister."

……

A group of lazy noblemen surrounded Cen Ji and left. Their mocking laughter was carried into Cui Xu's ears by the night wind. He tightened his jaw and his eyes were cold.

Here, Lin Xi and the other two were guessing riddles enthusiastically. On the table of the stall, the small wooden signs were stacked high. The stall owner was secretly surprised. He thought that these three young ladies looked very noble and must be the daughters of wealthy families. His riddles were both elegant and vulgar, but most of them were colloquialisms. He thought that these young ladies who were lazy and ignorant would not be able to guess many.

Unexpectedly, the two sisters who shouted the loudest at the beginning were only embarrassed after guessing about ten. Instead, the remaining girl, who had a beautiful face and a calm expression, seemed to be inconspicuous, but she knew everything about astronomy and geography. There was nothing she couldn't guess. As she watched the wooden signs being taken down one by one and more and more people gathered around, he smiled and spoke loudly.

"You are really smart, young lady, but the following riddles will only get harder and harder, so you better be careful."

Lin Xi knew that he wanted to create momentum to attract more people, but she didn't expose him. After all, there were so many vendors selling lanterns on Chang Street. If he didn't know how to market, he would have a hard time standing out. They had already guessed 18 of them. Even if they didn't know the answers to the last two questions, they could still help Lan Zhi and Lan Xue get two. So she just smiled and said, "Young man, just hang up the lanterns. We'll do our best. If you really can't guess, you can only blame yourself for your lack of talent and knowledge. There's nothing to regret."

The people around nodded when they heard her words. This girl looked gorgeous but she was not easily surprised by fame or criticism. This aroused their curiosity. The stall owner said no more and hung up the last two lamps.

"The spring sleep at night is light and heavy, and it flattens the beautiful woman's arm-wrapped gold - hit it and eat it."

Lan Zhi flipped the wooden sign with her slender hands and read out the riddle softly, blushing slightly. The onlookers who were standing closer also revealed some mocking expressions when they heard her words. After all, the poem sounded very vivid and indeed a bit erotic.

"I haven't heard of this. It sounds like it's about people, but why is it about food?" Lan Xue didn't take it seriously. She was used to being carefree and focused on solving the puzzle. She didn't notice the looks of the people around her. When she saw her sister shaking her head, she asked Lin Xi, "Cousin, have you guessed it?"

He Lanting, who was behind the three of them, knew that he had been to many places during his three years of study and happened to have eaten this meal. However, he watched the chess game without saying a word, and it was naturally not good to say much when watching people solve the puzzle. So he followed Lan Xue's gaze and looked at Lin Xi.

"It's no wonder you don't know. Although this food has been around for a long time and we have it in the south as well, people in the north mainly eat it more." Seeing that Lan Xue was curious, Lin Xi explained it to her in detail.

"These two sentences are the second half of the poem. If you add the first half, you can roughly know what it means, 'Slender hands rubbed into jade, fried in green oil to make the inner yellow deep. The spring sleep at night is careless, flattening the beautiful woman's armband gold'. This food is the 'cold food', also called 'sazi' in some places. It is mostly made of wheat flour, rubbed into thin strips of uniform thickness, and then fried in a pan. It is golden in color, crispy and delicious, and looks like a woman's armband, which is quite popular among the people."