The thought came to her and she couldn’t hold it back.

Wen Mingtang and Ji Caimai walked aside and said, “Ji Caimai…”

Just as she mentioned the words “Ji Caimai,” Ji Caimai interrupted her and said, “I understand what you mean, girl. If we can really get the Yamen’s kitchen to allow payment in silver for takeout, it won’t just earn you more money, but it will also make the Yamen’s purchasing accounts look better. It’s a win-win situation. But this matter has to be settled by the Internal Affairs Department!”

When the words “internal affairs department” were mentioned, Wen Mingtang fell silent. Thinking of the stumbling block that internal affairs had caused her last time, Wen Mingtang felt that this matter might not be so easy to accomplish!

Seeing that the girl fell silent, Ji Caimai’s face was not so ugly. He said to Wen Mingtang: “Master Wen, don’t be too worried! We can ask Mr. Zhao to come forward on this matter. If Mr. Zhao can come forward, there is an 80% certainty that it can be solved.”

The Master Zhao in Ji Caimai’s mouth naturally referred to Zhao Mengzhuo, the guānyuán¹ of Dali Temple. But how could the dignified Minister of Dali Temple care about such a trivial matter?

Seeing that the girl was still frowning and saying nothing, Ji Caimai smiled, pointed at the silver coin she had just received, and said: “Lin Shaoqing is probably the first to support this rule because of Madam Hou. Lin Shaoqing will come forward. We are 80% sure that we can convince Master Zhao.”

Hearing this, Wen Mingtang suddenly realized.

Ji Caimai said: “I’ll just go and tell Lin Shaoqing! Although his face is a bit cold, he is actually a very nice person. Master Wen should understand.”

Wen Mingtang nodded and said, “I understand. Shouldn’t the Shaoqing of Dali Temple treat the most wicked criminals with severity? If he were to be gentle like a spring breeze, wouldn’t it be strange if the criminals didn’t turn around and devour people?”

“Just as I thought, this girl is sensible!” Ji Caimai thought as she looked at the calm expression on the girl’s face. Even though there wasn’t much of an overt reaction, the sparkle in her eyes was about to overflow with vitality. Ji Caimai couldn’t help but sigh with emotion: “She’s truly Wen Xuance’s daughter. Despite being relegated to the side courtyard at such a young age and left to her own devices, she hasn’t turned into a foolish girl! Whatever Wen Xuance has done, it’s undeniable that he’s a clever man! If only such clever individuals always walked the right path, how wonderful would that be!”

…

…

Although he had already eaten the lunch sent by his wife, the fragrance of egg and milk of the thing called “dàn juǎn” in front of him was really too tempting, and even Zhao Mengzhuo, who was not very fond of sweets, couldn’t bear it. He couldn’t help but take two and taste them. After eating, his mouth was full of crumbs, and he nodded and said: No wonder since Master Wen came to this public kitchen, all of the yamen workers, from Lin Fei, the shaoqing of Dali Temple, to other officials, and even the guards, were all in love with the public kitchen!

If he hadn’t been “taken care of” by his wife every day, he might have gone to the public kitchen to solve the food problem.

Of course, this “dàn juǎn” was not specially brought for him to eat. He ate it to help him with work.

“Are you suggesting that I should inform the Internal Affairs Department?” Zhao Mengzhuo stroked his beard and said, “Since it’s not a bad idea to do the same with the kitchens of various government departments, and it can also address the issue of waste, can’t Ji Caimai go to the Internal Affairs Department himself and inform them?”

Facing Zhao Mengzhuo, Lin Fei didn’t beat around the bush either. Upon hearing this, she spoke frankly, “Last time, it was obvious that the rules of the Internal Affairs Department were specifically targeted at her. I’ve looked into it, and it was Prince Yu who intervened because of an incident involving Wen Xuance.”

“If Ji Caimai opens his mouth this time, he is afraid that people from the Internal Affairs Department will find excuses to reject it.” Lin Fei said, “Ji Caimai also knows that it is useless to speak. That’s why he came to me for help.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Mengzhuo raised his eyelids and looked at Lin Fei: “When did you care about such trivial matters? Before, you and I never interfered with such trivial matters.”

Lin Fei said: “My mother likes spicy food. Since the cook in the house returned to her hometown a few years ago, she has been unable to find a suitable cook. The kou shui ji she cooked yesterday was very much to my mother’s taste. If this problem is solved, she will be happy too. I will just take the food back with me.”

There was nothing wrong with this reason. After all, as a child, not only was there nothing wrong with being filial to your parents, but it was actually a reward.

 Zhao Mengzhuo looked at Lin Fei, took another dàn juǎn, weighed it in his hand, as if weighing the weight, and then said: “Let’s think it’s not just this! Because of the assassination on the street, you gave her a soft sword.”

 Lin Fei heard this, nodded, and said calmly: “Wen Xuance made too many enemies back then, and I don’t want her to lose her life for no reason because of the anger of people like King Yu.”

Zhao Mengzhuo looked at him, about to speak, but then Lin Fei paused and said, “Similarly, if she could come out of the palace unscathed under numerous ‘patronages,’ she wouldn’t be a meek and gentle lamb. She gets along well with the likes of Gan Zhiwei, who don’t strictly adhere to rules, so most likely she isn’t someone who would be bound by rules. If she senses danger, she might as well strike first, potentially causing a homicide.”

Zhao Mengzhuo: ” …”

“So, letting her stay safely in the Dali Temple, keeping an eye on her, is the best course of action to prevent her from being bullied and running away. Otherwise, it would be even more troublesome if she commits a major crime in the future,” Lin Fei said.

Zhao Mengzhuo: “…”

This sounded so reasonable that it was difficult to refute it.

After hesitating for a long time, Zhao Mengzhuo finally nodded and said, “It’s OK! It’s just a matter of one sentence!”

As a Dali Temple guānyuán, he didn’t want to see a life-threatening lawsuit that could have been avoided.

Zhao Mengzhuo picked up another dàn juǎn: Although his wife took special care of three meals a day and could not waste her thoughts, he could also take some of these snacks back for his wife and children to try!

After all, Wen Xuance’s daughter’s craftsmanship was really good!

Wen Mingtang didn’t know that it only took a while to eat an dàn juǎn, but the matter was settled between Lin Fei and Zhao Mengzhuo.

At this time, she was handing a packaged dàn juǎn to Shuangxi: “This is a newly made snack dàn juǎn. You can take it back and bring it to the little prince!”

Shuangxi said thanks with an dàn juǎn in his mouth. Licking his face, he looked at the several other dàn juǎns that Wen Mingtang had packed on hand, and asked, “These ones are for…”

“They are for some of my friends from Gan Zhiwei,” Wen Mingtang said.

Gan Zhiwei! Shuangxi shivered at the mention, no longer daring to think about it. He tucked the packed dàn juǎns into his arms. Just before leaving, he couldn’t help but pitifully say, “Some time ago, because of some matters, the mansion already prohibited our young master from wandering around. The last time you, Master Wen, saw us, was a rare occurrence. Who would have thought that we would be encountering unreasonable people like Prince Yu who caused trouble? Now, the mansion is even stricter about letting our young master out. I can’t even wander around freely anymore.”

It seemed Shuangxi wouldn’t be able to change the habit of calling him “young master” anytime soon! However, since nobody in Prince Xiqi’s mansion cared, so she supposed she could ignore it.

“What happened in your mansion?” Wen Mingtang heard this and asked Shuangxi casually, “Why is the little prince not allowed to go out?”

(End of Chapter)

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Footnote

1. Official of government, I am guessing like the top boss Director