In the years of famine, I led a comfortable life with my husband

Su Zhizhi was quite surprised after hearing the news. She really didn't expect that the prime minister would be so cautious and would suspect her so quickly. However, it was also within her expectations. After all, Xu Chao had been a veteran for so long, it was normal for him to be more perceptive than ordinary people.

"Okay, I understand." Su Zhizhi nodded solemnly and agreed.

Xie Chengjin realized that his main purpose for coming here had been accomplished, so he prepared to leave. "It's not advisable to stay here for long. I'll leave first. If you have anything to say, just ask someone to bring me a message in advance."

"Okay, then you should leave quickly. It would be bad if someone saw you." Su Zhizhi nodded.

"it is good."

Just like that, Su Zhizhi watched Xie Chengjin leave.

After Xie Chengjin left, Su Zhizhi felt a little uneasy. When she thought about facing Xu Chao and others at the hunting banquet three days later, she suddenly felt a little upset. After all, Xu Chao was not an easy person to deal with.

But unfortunately, Su Zhizhi was just a small cook in the imperial kitchen at that time and had no say at all. She could only obey the orders from her superiors and had no right to refuse.

Three days passed in a flash, and soon the day of the hunting banquet arrived. Su Zhizhi was taken to the hunting banquet without any suspense.

Traveling with her was Chef Su, who had the same surname as Su Zhizhi. Chef Su was of great importance. He had worked in the imperial kitchen for twenty or thirty years and was proficient in hundreds of dishes. He was also the head chef of this hunting banquet. More importantly, Xie Chengjin had asked him to take good care of Su Zhizhi, so he meant a lot to Su Zhizhi.

After arriving at the hunting ground, Su Zhizhi immediately started working with Chef Su. After all, all the civil and military officials who would attend the hunting banquet in the evening were waiting to eat. Thinking of this, Su Zhizhi felt even more stressed.

Su Zhizhi was immersed in her own world and busy cooking, and didn't notice that there was a person behind her. This person was Shen Wenjun who had disappeared for many days.

When Shen Wenjun saw Su Zhizhi's figure, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he couldn't help but want to go up and talk to Su Zhizhi.

"Zhizhi, why are you here too?" Shen Wenjun looked at Su Zhizhi excitedly and asked.

Su Zhizhi was busy checking the stewed meat in the pot at this time, so she nodded perfunctorily to Shen Wenjun and said, "It's okay, it's okay, please move aside and let me check on the stewed soup in the pot. Don't burn yourself."

After saying that, Su Zhizhi turned around to observe how the soup in the pot was cooking.

In the next few times, Shen Wenjun wanted to talk to Su Zhizhi, but unfortunately, Su Zhizhi ignored her every time. After this, Shen Wenjun suddenly felt ignored and felt a little depressed.

This scene happened to be seen by Xu Chao who was standing by. Xu Chao was ecstatic. He had heard of Shen Wenjun's name for a long time and knew that Shen Wenjun was really talented. He had also wanted to win him over for a long time, but he had never found a chance. Now, wasn't this an opportunity sent to him by God?

Thinking of this, Xu Chao walked towards the distraught Shen Wenjun, "What happened to Mr. Shen?"

Shen Wenjun, who was still immersed in his own sorrow, was immediately brought back to his senses by Xu Chao's words. He looked up and saw that it was Prime Minister Xu Chao, and he quickly saluted and said, "Greetings, Your Excellency the Prime Minister."

Xu Chao quickly waved his hands and said, "Master Shen, there's no need to go through all this formality with me. What's wrong with you, Master Xu? Is something on your mind? I noticed you were staring at the girl in the imperial kitchen. Do you know her?"

Xu Chao used Su Zhizhi's information to inquire about Shen Wenjun.

Shen Wenjun was slightly stunned after hearing this, but then he realized what the other party was thinking. He quickly adjusted his mood and said, "No, I don't know that cook either. I was thinking about something, so I stared at that place for a long time. The Prime Minister must have misunderstood."

After Shen Wenjun finished speaking, he bowed to Xu Chao and said, "I remember that the Fifth Prince has something else to ask me, so I'll take my leave now."

After saying that, Shen Wenjun rushed to the side of the fifth prince and sat down obediently, no longer giving Xu Chao any chance to inquire about him.

At noon, the hunting banquet was held as scheduled. Xie Chengjin and Shen Wenjun, who were both teachers, did not participate in the hunting activity because they were civil officials. Instead, they sat aside and drank tea and chatted with other officials, and discussed matters concerning the court and the country.

Seeing that the time was almost right, Xie Chengjin took the initiative to test Xu Chao.

Xie Chengjin picked up a glass, stood up, and toasted Xu Chao, saying, "Prime Minister Xu is truly a man of great talent. I truly admire him. This glass of wine is my toast to Prime Minister Xu."

After saying that, Xie Chengjin toasted Xu Chao with a glass of wine.

With so many eyes watching, Xu Chao felt too embarrassed to refuse and could only drink it. "Master, you are still praising me. Everyone here knows that you are a great writer. What am I in front of you? This glass of wine is my way of returning the favor."

After saying that, Xu Chao toasted Xie Chengjin from a distance and then drank it again.

Xie Chengjin saw that the groundwork had been laid, so he began to take the initiative to set the trap, "I wonder what the Prime Minister's way of being an official is? What are your views on being an official?"

After hearing this, Xu Chao's alarm bells immediately rang and he became extremely alert. He had already found out that Su Zhizhi and Xie Chengjin were a couple, and they might be plotting something behind his back to set him up.

Thinking of this, Xu Chao pretended to be ashamed and waved his hands, saying, "Alas, I don't have any unique insights. I am just loyal to Your Majesty, worthy of the people and myself, and a loyal minister."

Xu Chao was very cunning, and his answer was flawless, making it difficult for Xie Chengjin to find a breakthrough. Xie Chengjin was very unwilling to accept this, as he had finally been able to get so close to Xu Chao but still couldn't find any flaw in him. So he set a few more traps for Xu Chao, but the old fox Xu Chao cleverly avoided the traps set for him and dodged them.

Seeing that he couldn't find a breakthrough for the time being and was afraid of alerting the enemy, Xie Chengjin gave up trying to test Xu Chao after an inner struggle. Then Xie Chengjin sat aside and obediently drank the tea in front of him and ate his snacks.

None of this escaped Shen Wenjun's eyes. Shen Wenjun was as sharp as a shrew. Based on his conclusion, he felt that Xie Chengjin and Su Zhizhi must have some grudge against Xu Chao, but what exactly was this grudge?