《The Small Canteen Of Dali Temple》 CH 1 NEXT The clapper knocked three times, and the two monks who had been invited to chant sutras couldn¡¯t resist the sleepiness and went down to rest. In the entire mourning hall, there were only two burly girls burning paper money. One of them yawned, picked up the white silk at hand, stood up, and said, ¡°Get up!¡± The other casually threw a wad of paper money into the brazier and then stood up. The night wind blew, and the paper bundles were blown loudly. The snow-white mourning hall seemed empty and inexplicably permeating. The two girls didn¡¯t even lift their eyelids and walked to the unsealed coffin in the middle. Lifting their feet and stepping on the bench supporting the coffin, the two looked at the person lying in the coffin. The snow-skinned and beautiful girl is lying quietly inside, and under the dim candlelight of the mourning hall, her appearance is even more dazzling and lifelike. ¡°Miss Wen?¡± one of the girls called out. The girl lying in the coffin opened her eyes and sat up. Looking at the person sitting up suddenly in the coffin, the two maids showed no surprise on their faces, and one of them smiled and said, ¡°Young lady Wen has been wronged.¡± The girl gave a soft ¡°hmm¡± and looked up to look around. Seeing this move, the two burly girls couldn¡¯t help but pause: the girl sitting in the coffin raised her eyes, and her eyes shifted. The moving beauty is more lively and fragrant than when she was asleep just now. Such a beauty, no wonder the young master was reluctant to let go. It was no wonder that he was worried and wanted to do everything possible to order someone to deal with her. The two looked at each other, and one of them stretched out his hand to the girl: ¡°Miss Wen, let me help you up!¡± The girl stretched out her hand to her without doubting him. The next moment, there was a ¡°huh¡±, and her face changed suddenly. The white silk wrapped around the girl¡¯s neck, and strangled her back tightly. The candlelight flickered, stretching the shadows of the three people in the mourning hall infinitely above the ground. The two burly girls tightly strangled the girl¡¯s neck, and the girl struggled to resist. The shadow wobbled, from struggling to let go, from a lively beauty to a cold corpse in an instant. Two burly maids probed the girl¡¯s neck for a long time, and after confirming that she was indeed dead, they loosened the cloth and put the girl back into the coffin. The mourning hall was set up, of course, there has to be a dead people, how can a fake dead person be enough? After finishing all this, the two stout girls stepped down from the bench and returned to the brazier. They were no longer casual like before and threw a lot of paper money into the brazier with solemn expressions. ¡°Don¡¯t blame us, if you want to blame it, you can only blame your Wen family for blocking the way of others!¡± A girl chattered. ¡°With such a position, how could it be possible for the young master to have someone else in his heart?¡± ¡°It¡¯s also your fault, the Wen family, for not knowing how to appreciate. If it weren¡¯t for¡­ sigh, it wouldn¡¯t have resulted in being framed, having your home ransacked, and crying out for justice in vain. I can¡¯t believe you, a lady from a respected and prominent family, have fallen to this point!¡± ¡­ She had this dream countless times. From the beginning, she could only repeat the events in front of her over and over again like a marionette, until she was able to control her body when she was on the verge of waking up. With their back to her, she could only see the two girls chattering away, and they didn¡¯t notice that the girl who was strangled to death by them just now suddenly opened her eyes, and sat up quietly. She knew that the dream was coming to an end, and there was not much she could do. The girl thought for a while, stretched out her hand out of the coffin, and shook the paper bundle beside the coffin. Just a moment ago, the two sturdy maidservants, who didn¡¯t even bother to lift their eyelids at the sound of the paper money being burned, were now startled by the shaking sound of the paper money. Instinctively, they turned their heads to look. But seeing the girl who was still lying in the coffin just now, sitting up at some point, grinning and showing her white teeth, and stretching out her hand to them with a smile: ¡°Can you give me a hand?¡± Two screams pierced the sky above the mourning hall. Also¡­ woke Wen Mingtang up from her sleep, she yawned and sat up from the bed. She has had this dream countless times, ever since she crossed over and became the eight-year-old Wen Mingtang. At first, it was only once or twice a year, but as the day of leaving the palace approached, it became more and more frequent. It¡¯s so frequent that she was about to leave the palace today, but she still had this dream all night. Everything was like an early warning. Wen Mingtang got out of bed and took out the stack of letters in his bag as he watched the sky gradually turning pale. On the neatly arranged seven letters, there were six large characters written: ¡°Ming Tang meimei qin qi¡±1. In the lower right corner, there was an engraved seal with the character ¡°Ye¡±. After becoming this Wen Mingtang, she also inherited the scattered memories of the girl before she was eight years old. Before the Wen family was ransacked, the girl had a marriage agreement with the Ye family in Jinling. Of course, due to their young age, the marriage certificate had not yet been established, it was just a verbal promise. Later, the Wen family had an accident, and this verbally promised marriage was no longer counted. The members of the Ye family personally went there before Wen was beheaded, delivered a sumptuous last meal, and let Wen d¨¤r¨¦n 2 write that the marriage agreement would no longer hold any significance. With this commitment in black and white, it marked a definitive boundary between the Ye family and the Wen family. However, the young master from the Ye family, who was betrothed to her through a finger-to-finger pledge, would send letters every year. Although he never mentioned the marriage in the letters, there were traces of their childhood friendship lingering between the lines. The last letter arrived during the New Year season, and it was said that he had heard she would be leaving the palace. He invited her to come and see the scenery of Jiangnan in Jinling. Wen Mingtang looked at the bronze mirror beside her. A small face the size of a palm appeared in the bronze mirror. The thick bangs covered most of the face and also covered most of the girl¡¯s unique color. Wen Mingtang reached out and raised her thick bangs. She frowned, and the beauty in the mirror frowned slightly, her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and the moment she raised her eyes to look in the mirror, she revealed a pair of peach blossom-shaped eyes. There was water in the eyes, with a bit of dampness, between drooping and raising the eyes, the water is shining, these are a pair of extremely charming eyes. Under the eyes was beautiful nose and red lips, matched with the natural snow skin and black hair, the beauty was breathtaking. If such a face was fully displayed in front of people and entered the eyes of the palace, don¡¯t even think about leaving the palace. Wen Mingtang lowered her thick bangs and lowered her eyelids: This is her usual appearance when she appeared in Shangshi Palace. Beautiful appearance, but¡­ There were many beauties like this in the palace, and they were not outstanding. Wen Mingtang didn¡¯t look at herself in the bronze mirror anymore, turned around and carefully packed her luggage. Waited until the moment when the morning drum in the palace sounded. Wen Mingtang then put the three bundles on her back and pushed open the door. Five years! From the sudden death of the last Emperor to the ascension of the new Emperor, she was finally able to leave the palace! Author¡¯s Note: Hello everyone, I have opened a new book^-^. The inspiration of the new book comes from the two supporting characters in the previous book: The story of Dali Temple Shaoqing X gourmet heroine Translator¡¯s note: Hi, starting a new book. Hope you like it. Each chapter is a page turner and the FL is a badass, calm and very shewed FL. CH 2 PREVIOUS NEXT The long queue lined up from Tongming Gate all the way to Yeting. Wen Mingtang stood at the end of the line and yawned lazily. A female officer in a moon-blue short pleated skirt and a bun with her hair in a bun led two maids to pass by, and she saw Wen Mingtang who was yawning at a glance. She stopped, said something to the maid beside her, and walked towards Wen Mingtang. ¡°Woke up late?¡± Hearing the majestic female voice from behind, Wen Mingtang turned around, bowed to the handsome but solemn female officer, and called out, ¡°Zhao Sishan.¡± Zhao Sishan gave a ¡°hmm¡±, looked up and glanced at the long line going out of the palace, and looked at Wen Mingtang: ¡°When it¡¯s your turn to go out of the palace, I¡¯m afraid it will be afternoon or late, can you still go to my Elder Brother¡¯s restaurant for lunch?¡± Wen Mingtang didn¡¯t take it seriously: ¡°Then I won¡¯t go to Brother Zhao¡¯s house for lunch, but an evening meal is fine.¡± Speaking of this, the girl paused, rubbed her nose and smiled again, ¡°Maybe Brother Zhao¡¯s wife seeing that I missed a meal, so she is so sensible, will add a meat dish for me!¡± Zhao Sishan glanced at the smiling Wen Mingtang, and interrupted her thought unceremoniously: ¡°You are thinking beautifully! How can I not know the temperament of my brother and sister-in-law? If you want to add meat dishes, won¡¯t that cut off their flesh directly!¡± Wen Mingtang heard this, and the smile on her face deepened: ¡°That¡¯s all! I have worked in the palace for so many years, and I have some money to find an inn in the city for a few days!¡± Hearing that Wen Mingtang didn¡¯t want to go to her brother¡¯s house, Zhao Sishan snorted and said, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? If you don¡¯t go to my brother¡¯s place for a few days, how will I know the real situation at home?¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t make preparations early when I go out of the palace next year, won¡¯t I be kicked out of the restaurant I bought with my own money?¡± Zhao Sishan entered the palace fifteen years ago. At that time, the previous Emperor was in power, but he was in his forties. At that time, Zhao Sishan herself was just a young woman in her twenties, full of youth and vitality. Even if the Emperor is of advanced age, ordinary families who genuinely care for their daughters would never send them into the palace. After all, daughters from ordinary families who enter the palace become maidservants to serve, unlike the daughters of high-ranking officials and influential figures who become imperial consorts. Even if by some stroke of luck they catch the old emperor¡¯s attention¡­ to be honest, at the emperor¡¯s age, a man of twenty marrying a wife is considered appropriate, and even sixteen or eighteen would be considered a great honor. The Emperor was already old enough to be the father of Zhao Sishan. If it weren¡¯t for the lure of power, which ordinary daughter would want to be noticed by the old emperor? It was not a good job to enter the palace, but Zhao Sishan had to enter the palace at that time. There was no other reason than the poverty in the family. Zhao Sishan¡¯s elder brother was a useless man. Seeing that her brothers and sisters were about to die, Zhao Sishan had no choice but to enter the palace. Compared to her useless elder brother, Zhao Sishan was much more powerful even though she was a woman. She didn¡¯t covet the power of the old Emperor, she just relied on her own ability to find a position as a position in the Shangshi Bureau in the palace. She didn¡¯t allow herself to be treated as a stepping stone but instead made a name for herself. This clearly demonstrates the remarkable capabilities of Zhao Sishan. The nobles in the palace rewarded her generously, Zhao Sishan had money, and she never forgot her elder brother. Of course, the brother will not forget her, after all, the sister who entered the palace was a money bag! In the third year of entering the palace, Zhao Sishan¡¯s elder brother fell in love with the daughter of a shopkeeper surnamed Liu and wanted to marry her. Since he had no money, he begged Zhao Sishan, and Zhao Sishan paid him to marry Liu shi. The happily married couple gave birth to a daughter, but couldn¡¯t afford to support her daughter. So Brother Zhao came to his sister again. Zhao Sishan was appreciated by nobles at that time, so she spent all her belongings and bought a small shop in Chang¡¯an City. Although the location was not good, it was also a house in Chang¡¯an City. Finally, several generations of the Zhao family got rid of the fate of renting a house and had their own place to live. The small shop later became a small restaurant, and the dishes were also taught by Zhao Sishan. ¡°I helped him marry his wife, but he didn¡¯t let me have my own wedding night and took advantage of himself,¡± Zhao Sishan said with a serious expression on her face, her tone stern but almost eliciting laughter. ¡°The place he lives in was bought by me, and he hasn¡¯t paid a single penny of rent. The recipes for his little eatery were also taught by me, and he hasn¡¯t spent a single silver coin on it.¡± At this point, Zhao Sishan couldn¡¯t help but support her forehead and sighed, ¡°My brother, even if I randomly grab a man with closed eyes on the street, he would be more useful than him. Why would Liu Shi be interested in him? It¡¯s just because she sees him as easy to manipulate, and she¡¯s attracted to this golden bag of mine!¡± Upon hearing this, Wen Mingtang couldn¡¯t help but cough lightly and said seriously, ¡°Once Zhao Sishan leaves the palace, you will have to sleep with Liu Shi yourself. After giving your brother the opportunity for so many years, wouldn¡¯t it be a great loss?¡± Zhao Sishan playfully tapped Wen Mingtang¡¯s forehead with her hand and said, ¡°Enough of that! Even if I had a liking for that, if she had an unpleasant face with a bitter melon-like expression, a garlic-shaped nose, and mung bean-like eyes, I wouldn¡¯t be able to bring myself to do it even with my eyes closed. Sleeping with her would be a great loss for me, wouldn¡¯t it? If she looked like you, then maybe I could manage it!¡± As the conversation had taken quite a while, the two palace maids who came with them kept exchanging meaningful glances. Zhao Sishan gave Wen Mingtang a reproachful look and jokingly scolded, ¡°Every time I encounter you, it leads to more idle chatter! Let¡¯s not talk about this woman anymore. Let¡¯s get to the point!¡± Zhao Sishan continued, ¡°Every time these two come asking for money, they put on a fa?ade of honesty and simplicity! But after all these years in the palace, I have never misjudged anyone. Liu Shi is definitely not someone to be trusted. When you leave the palace, go stay with my brother for a couple of days first, get a sense of the situation at my home, and then make your move!¡± After saying these words, Zhao Sishan let out a cold snort. ¡°Now that they have enough money to live comfortably, they think they can burn bridges and betray me?1 Not a chance!¡± Wen Mingtang let out a ¡°hmm¡±. Wen Mingtang nodded again and waved her hand at Zhao Sishan. She said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Zhao Sishan. I¡¯m resourceful. I will definitely go find Zhang Cai Mai and ensure that your arrangements don¡¯t go to waste!¡± In exchange for another remark, Zhao Sishan rolled her eyes again, and then she turned and walked towards the maidservant. The two maidservants looked at Zhao Sishan, who took a step and turned his head three times, and then at Wen Mingtang. One of them couldn¡¯t help but look envious: ¡°Miss Wen is really lucky!¡± It was great luck that the female family members of offending officials who have entered the court can be protected by female officials without avoiding suspicion. This saved her from a lot of trouble. ¡°That¡¯s not Miss Wen¡¯s luck. Miss Wen saved Zhao Sishan¡¯s life!¡± The other shook her head, sighed, and said, ¡°The gratitude for saving a life! Besides, Miss Wen is kind, clever, and it¡¯s not surprising that she has gained the favor of Zhao Sishan.¡± While talking, Zhao Sishan had already returned, glanced at the two maidservants who were talking, and lost her lively look in front of Wen Mingtang, with a serious and dignified expression said, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Then she took the two maidservants and walked forward. Wen Mingtang watched Zhao Sishan leave until she could no longer see her. Then Wen Mingtang looked away and concentrated on lining up. This release lasted until noon, and her stomach made an untimely ¡°grunt¡± sound. Hungry! Wen Mingtang rubbed her belly, took out a palm-sized rice ball from her waist, and was about to eat, but suddenly saw the queue in front of her start to move to the side of the palace wall spontaneously. Wen Mingtang didn¡¯t have time to take a bite of the rice balls, so she could only follow the team to move to the side, and at the same time followed everyone¡¯s eyes to look at the group of people walking in from the Tongming Gate. What she saw was a group of officials. There was a little red in the green bushes, Wen Mingtang¡¯s eyes flickered, and her eyes were attracted to the red-robed official in the middle. Then, her eyes froze. There was no other reason, the man in the middle wearing the red-robe was really good looking. Already fair skin, under the crimson official robes on his body, he was even more white than jade. His eyes were like cold stars, the pupils were black and shiny as if stars were reflected in his eyes. The bridge of his nose was straight and high like famous mountain top, and his lips were like vermilion. The whole person was beautiful, especially against the surrounding group of grey-haired officials in green robes who had reached old age. He stood out as exceptionally beautiful, making the green willows against the palace walls pale in comparison. T/N Yoo Woo our ML is here. And how good is our author in describing him. CH 3 PREVIOUS NEXT The long line fell silent unknowingly, from the time the group entered the Tongming Gate to the moment they entered the Yeting Court. In just a moment, there was no sound in the entire Tongming door, and it seemed that a needle could be heard falling on the ground. After waiting for the people to leave, Wen Mingtang picked up the rice ball she had prepared last night and took a bite. She didn¡¯t know if it was because of the cold, but she always felt a little hard to swallow. Different from the cold rice balls, the team became bustling again, and the murmurs of discussion at the front came to her ears, allowing Wen Mingtang to piece together the identity of the official in scarlet robes. Lin Fei, Tanhua Lang 1 in the 19th year of Pingguan. Zhong Tanhua was only sixteen years old when he passed the Palace exam, and this year he had just turned 20. And now he was an official of the fourth rank, the Shaoqing 2 of Dali Temple 3. It was not too much to say that he was young and promising. But aside from this identity, he had another identity. He was the second grandson of the Duke of Jingguo, with his father holding the title of Marquis of Jingyun, and his mother being the di 4 daughter of the Zheng family from Xingyang. Indeed, the former possessed outstanding abilities, while the latter enjoyed a noble lineage. There was no shortage of ability and background, such a son of gold and jade,5 naturally had nothing to do with them, the maids and palace servants who were waiting in line to leave the palace. The chattering voices dissipated quickly, the beauty was there to just look at, the more important thing was to wait in line to leave the palace. Zhao Sishan predicted well, when it was Wen Mingtang¡¯s turn, it was past noon. Handed over the document approved by Ye Ting and the identity badge in the palace to the examiner, and after checking that it was correct, the palace man pushed the document in front of her, pointed to the lower right corner of the document, and said, ¡°Sign your name, and you can leave.¡± Wen Mingtang picked up a pen and wrote her name in the lower right corner, then turned and walked out of Tongming Gate. What she didn¡¯t know was that when one of the examiners saw the name she wrote with a pen, he didn¡¯t put it aside as before, but couldn¡¯t help picking it up, looked at it carefully, and sighed: ¡°This calligraphy is really good!¡± The document was here, and Wen Mingtang¡¯s past can be seen at a glance. Although she was also a descendant of the family who was convicted, she was only eight years old when she entered Yeting. An eight-year-old girl who works all day long still has time to practice calligraphy? ¡°Her surname is Wen.¡± Although the examiner at the side was surprised for a moment, he soon returned to normal, ¡°Think about the official surnamed Wen who was convicted that year.¡± After being reminded, the person from the Yanxing Palace immediately understood, and couldn¡¯t help feeling: ¡°So that¡¯s the case! It¡¯s not surprising when you say that!¡± This insignificant episode was quickly forgotten by the two palace servants. Wen Mingtang also walked out from Tongming Gate all the way and set foot on Chang¡¯an Avenue outside Tongming Gate. Standing on the blue bricks and stone tiles of Chang¡¯an Avenue, Wen Mingtang looked back at the Tongming Gate she had just walked out of, and couldn¡¯t help stretching out her hands to compare. Looking at the tall palace walls, they are actually not that thick, but how many people were trapped inside. Shaking her head and smiling, Wen Mingtang walked forward. Chang¡¯an Avenue was as prosperous as the original owner¡¯s childhood memories, with shops, restaurants, and taverns lined up, the cries of hawkers and the chatter and laughter of passers-by bring the memories of years. Wen Mingtang was in a daze for a moment, reached out and patted her chest subconsciously, as if to comfort herself, and to comfort the body itself. After she calmed down a little, she lifted her foot and walked forward. Now that she has come out, she will have a lot of time to visit Chang¡¯an Avenue in the future, so there was no need to rush this moment. But she didn¡¯t eat lunch, she only had time to eat a cold rice ball. Right now, she was really hungry. It was just past meal time, and many restaurants stopped cooking. Wen Mingtang had to ask one by one and finally found a wonton stall that was still selling. She bought a bowl of wontons in clear soup for ten coins, and then¡­ after taking the first bite, she frowned. The soup was really clear, poured directly with plain water. The vendors who make wontons are not unaware of this. The plain water was tasteless, and there was no salt, so they simply sprinkle all the salt into the wontons. Salty and bitter wild mustard greens and a little bit of minced meat together made up this bowl of wontons in clear soup, and more than half of what they made was still there. Sure enough¡­the restaurants next to it were sold out for lunch, but there was a reason why it couldn¡¯t be sold. After eating two wild mustard wontons that were bitterly salty, Wen Mingtang took a deep breath when she ate the third mustard wonton with a hair in it, finally put down her chopsticks, got up and left. Eat this wonton again, the poor cold rice ball in her stomach will come out. However, thinking of the brother and sister-in-law that Zhao Sishan was talking about, Wen Mingtang felt that it would be better to be prepared, so she went to the market before going to Zhao Ji Restaurant. When she came out of the market and walked to the door of Zhao Ji restaurant, it was not time to eat on time at dusk. Wen Mingtang walked into Zhao Ji restaurant, there was no one in the hall, only Zhao Sishan¡¯s elder brother Zhao Dalang was cleaning the table. Having previously seen her when he had gone to Zhao Sishan to seek pity and ask for money, there was no need for a formal introduction. Wen Mingtang greeted Zhao Dalang, and said with a smile: ¡°Uncle Zhao, I came out of the palace today.¡± Zhao Dalang gave her a dry laugh, glanced at the direction of the curtain behind him from the corner of his eye, and upon hearing the movement, Liu shi opened the curtain and came out from behind. Wen Mingtang looked at Zhao Sishan¡¯s description of a bitter melon face, bulbous nose, and mung bean eyes with a smile, and called: ¡°Auntie.¡± In the past, Liu shi, who came to the palace to look for Zhao Sishan and who was always polite to Wen Mingtang next to Zhao Sishan, seemed to be a different person at this time. Hearing this, she immediately sneered and said, ¡°Don¡¯t call me Auntie, my brother doesn¡¯t have any niece named Wen. Come in!¡± Seeing her sudden change of attitude, like flipping through a book, Zhao Sishan had already predicted that. Therefore, it was not surprising to Wen Mingtang, who simply smiled and followed Liu Shi inside. Her indifferent behavior was naturally an eyesore in Liu¡¯s eyes. When entering the backyard, the black dog raised in the backyard saw its owner and immediately jumped up enthusiastically. Liu shi raised her foot and kicked the black dog, cursing: ¡°You shameless thing, what kind of autumn wind is coming to the door! Why don¡¯t you leave?¡± The black dog who was kicked for no reason yelped twice in pain, causing Zhao Dalang and Liu¡¯s daughter Zhao Lian to feel distressed: ¡°Mother, what are you doing? Where did Amao provoke you?¡± Wen Mingtang¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change when she heard Liu¡¯s accusations and scolding, but Zhao Lian who ran out of the house saw her and happily called her ¡°Sister Wen¡± and said, ¡°You¡¯re here¡­¡± Before she finished saying hello, Liu shi interrupted her: ¡°What are you doing in a daze? Why don¡¯t you set up a table for dinner?¡± After sending Zhao Lian away, Liu Shi said to Wen Mingtang coldly, ¡°Come in!¡± The front of this Zhao Ji restaurant was the facade, and behind it was the place where Zhao Dalang¡¯s family lives. There were three rooms in the yard at the back, one for sundries, one for Zhao Dalang and his wife Liu, and one for Zhao Lian. Wen Mingtang naturally lived in the same room as Zhao Lian. Although Zhao Lian¡¯s bed was not big, it was not a problem to sleep two girls, Wen Mingtang and Zhao Lian. Wen Mingtang put down the burden and was about to follow Liu shi to eat, but Liu shi said, ¡°Miss Wen walked all the way from Tongming Gate to this place, I¡¯m afraid she¡¯s already sweating all over. Why don¡¯t you wash up first before eating.¡± Although it was not yet summer, Wen Mingtang was indeed sweating after walking for most of the day, so it was just right to wash up. But, was Liu shi so kind? Wen Mingtang smiled, and looked at Liu Shi whose eyes were rolling wildly in front of her, but obediently agreed. Sure enough, when Wen Mingtang washed up before going to eat, the plate of wild mustard greens and braised crucian carp on the dining table were all empty. Liu shi looked at her with a half-smile and said, ¡°Miss Wen has been washing for too long. All the dishes are gone!¡± Zhao Dalang on the side seemed to be deaf, without raising his head, he just picked up the mountain of wild shepherd¡¯s purse and braised crucian carp in the noodle bowl without saying a word, Zhao Lian¡¯s face turned red, and she couldn¡¯t help saying: ¡°Mother¡­¡± Today, the staple food of Zhao¡¯s evening meal was noodles, served with a plate of vegetable dish of wild shepherd¡¯s purse, and a plate of meat dish of braised crucian carp. She had just served the dinner table, and before she had time to serve the rice bowl, Liu shi divided the wild shepherd¡¯s purse and braised crucian carp into three portions, and poured them into the bowls of the three of them without any explanation. She just wanted to say that Wen Mingtang hadn¡¯t eaten yet, but Liu shi gave her a hard look and told her to shut up and just eat. But¡­ how can I eat this? Under Liu shi¡¯s gaze, she barely took a few bites and saw Wen Mingtang come out after washing. Zhao Lian¡¯s face turned even redder, and she couldn¡¯t help but said, ¡°Sister Wen, the one in my bowl hasn¡¯t moved yet¡­¡± Before she finished speaking, she heard a ¡°snap¡±, and the chopsticks in Liu shi¡¯s hand slapped the table, and she said with a sneer, ¡°What did you say, Ah Lian? Your elder sister Wen is from an official family for generations, and she is well-educated and reasonable. How could she go and grab food from other people¡¯s bowls?¡± Compared to the accusations and cursing at the black dog Amao before, this sentence now had more meaning. It meant that she and Zhao Sishan want to rob her shop? But from the beginning to the end, the shop could not be said to belong to the Liu family, not even Zhao Dalang¡¯s. Zhao Sishan¡¯s name was written in the contract of the shop. Wen Mingtang smiled as if she didn¡¯t understand Liu shi¡¯s insinuation about the identity of the offended officials. She just smiled and asked Liu: ¡°Auntie, what else do you have to eat?¡± The shop was in Zhao Sishan¡¯s name after all, even if Liu Shi doesn¡¯t like her, she still had to maintain a certain level of courtesy. So upon hearing this, Liu Shi smiled and said, ¡°There¡¯s still a handful of noodles left. They might have a bit of soot on them, but if Miss Wen doesn¡¯t mind, you can wash them and cook them again.¡± Liu¡¯s behavior made Zhao Lian¡¯s face almost drop in embarrassment. Seeing that Wen Mingtang responded with a smile and entered the kitchen, she finally couldn¡¯t help it and said to Mrs. Liu: ¡°Mother, you are too much. Auntie and Sister Wen¡­¡± ¡°You talk too much!¡± Liu shi glanced at Zhao Lian¡¯s noodle bowl, which had not moved a few chopsticks, and said, ¡°Hurry up and eat the meal, and help clean the table later!¡± Afraid of Liu¡¯s temper, and seeing that her father Zhao Dalang was silent, Zhao Lian didn¡¯t dare to say any more, but just looked at the mountain of wild mustard greens and braised crucian carp in the bowl, and pulled it twice, not wanting to stuff it into her mouth at all. : ¡°The mustard greens are astringent and salty, and the crucian carp is very fishy. I really can¡¯t eat it.¡± Now was time for dinner, but there was a reason why there was not even a single customer in Zhao Ji¡¯s restaurant. Even though there were a few dishes taught by Zhao Sishan, Liu shi and Zhao Dalang were really not cut out for this job. So the customers who come to the restaurant usually come once and then stopped. Although the location of this street was a bit interior, the restaurants on the side of the street were all doing well when it was time for meals. Only Zhao Ji¡¯s restaurant was getting worse since it opened. Unpalatable cooking had become Liu shi¡¯s heart disease. Right now, hearing Zhao Lian dislike the unpalatable food, she thought of her speaking for Wen Mingtang again and again today. The anger in Liu shi¡¯s heart came up all at once, and she slapped the chopsticks on the table, cursing: ¡°If you can¡¯t eat it, don¡¯t eat it! Go away and eat clean noodles with your good sister Wen! ¡° You can¡¯t starve to death without eating a meal! Liu shi intends to teach Zhao Lian a lesson: so that she can understand who was her own and who was an outsider! CH 4 PREVIOUS NEXT Zhao Lian, who was scolded by Liu Shi, put down her chopsticks resentfully, touched the copper coins in her sleeve pocket, and went to the kitchen. She and Sister Wen will go out and buy pancakes to deal with it. The two girls don¡¯t have much appetite, so one pancake was enough for each of them. After Zhao Lian left, Liu Shi glanced at Zhao Dalang who was sulking at the side, ¡°Look! Look!¡± She pointed at Zhao Dalang¡¯s nose, and cursed, ¡°I told you that your sister, who worked as a palace cook, was not to be trusted. Now, haven¡¯t I been proven right?¡± ¡°She won¡¯t be out of the palace until next year! This year, she will ask this surnamed Wen from a criminal official¡¯s family to come to our house for free!¡± Liu raised her hand angrily and slapped Zhao Dalang across the face. Zhao Dalang covered his slapped face, and said in a low voice, ¡°Maybe not! My younger sister said last time that Miss Wen will leave after only a few days.¡± ¡°Will go? Where can she go after being a family member of a criminal officer? Go down to find her relatives?¡± Liu sneered and scolded Zhao Dalang, who was covering his face, ¡°Look at that girl surnamed Wen who has no face, no skin, and a smile. Isn¡¯t she just like your weird sister who cooks in the kitchen? I just insulted her using Ah Mao¡¯s name, but she didn¡¯t even react. With such thick skin, why wouldn¡¯t she just continue living here?¡± It was already unbearable for Liu Shi that Wen was staying here, and what was even more unbearable was: ¡°Your sister who is the cook will leave the palace next year. By then, will I be in charge of Zhao Ji restaurant or her?¡± Zhao Dalang covered his swollen face in silence and said: ¡°But¡­but the title deed of this restaurant belongs to her, and the restaurant is also built by her. She won¡¯t make things too difficult for us. When the time comes, please be a little accommodating toward her¡­¡± ¡°You want me to accommodate her? Dream on!¡± Liu screamed and slapped Zhao Dalang¡¯s face again, pointing at his nose. She scolded, ¡°Let me tell you, Liu Suer doesn¡¯t care about anyone¡¯s feelings. Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t get the land deed and the shop before she leaves the palace, we will divorce!¡± cried Liu. The sentence ¡°divorce¡± made Zhao Dalang¡¯s face pale with fright, and he said with a bitter expression, ¡°But I can¡¯t help it, the land deed¡­¡± ¡°So, listen to me and find a solution!¡± Liu didn¡¯t want to listen to Zhao Dalang¡¯s nonsense and interrupted him. She rolled her eyes and pointed in the direction of the kitchen at the back. She said, ¡°Let¡¯s start with that girl. If anything goes wrong with her, since your sister recommended her, she won¡¯t be able to escape the consequences either. By using this leverage, when your sister leaves the palace, we can either sell her¡­ um, marry her off and get some dowry. When you marry into a family, you follow their rules. Once she becomes someone else¡¯s, won¡¯t this property become ours?¡± Listening to Liu¡¯s plan to plot against his younger sister, Zhao Dalang didn¡¯t even say a word, only bowed his head and hummed. What are you talking about? Liu Shi was very satisfied with the look of letting others make decisions. Back then, she fell in love with Zhao Dalang¡¯s useless appearance, plus a sister who was so powerful that she can give birth to golden eggs. Through Zhao Dalang, wouldn¡¯t it be easier to get his sister¡¯s money than to go out and make money by herself? Just as she was thinking, a scent rushed into her nostrils. Liu was taken aback for a moment, and when she realized that it was coming out of the kitchen, she immediately changed her face and said to Zhao Dalang who was still in a daze: ¡°Look here. Go to the shop, I¡¯ll go and have a look at the back!¡± She said earlier that this little girl surnamed Wen didn¡¯t treat herself as an outsider in the house. She still has some expensive meat in the kitchen. Did this girl use her meat for food? This was incredible! Liu Shi hurriedly walked towards the kitchen with a face. ¡­ ¡­ Wen Mingtan who followed Liu Shi¡¯s advice that ¡°If it¡¯s washed and cooked again, it can still be eaten,¡± was doing just that when Zhao Lian walked into the kitchen. The bowl of noodles stained with pot ashes was indeed placed on the stove. Looking at the noodles in the bowl that had been deliberately sprinkled with pot ashes, Wen Mingtang didn¡¯t care, and directly scooped a ladle of cold water into the bowl and stirred it. Zhao Lian, who was ordered not to eat by Mrs. Liu, saw Wen Mingtang silently ¡°washing the noodles¡± as soon as she entered the door. Zhao Lian¡¯s face turned red again. Seeing this, she hurriedly stepped forward to pull Wen Mingtang¡¯s hand, and said, ¡°Sister Wen, stop eating. I still have a few copper coins here. Let¡¯s go to the street and buy two pancakes to eat!¡± Wen Mingtang shook his head at her, and asked Zhao Lian with a smile, ¡°Have you ever eaten fried noodles?¡± She knows how to stir-fry vegetables, but can noodles and other boiled things also be fried? ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten.¡± Zhao Lian looked at Wen Mingtang who was ¡°washing the noodles¡±, and honestly shook her head, ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of it either.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯re lucky today.¡± Wen Mingtang winked at her and said, ¡°I¡¯ll let you try fried noodles today.¡± Asking Zhao Lian to look at the ¡°washed noodles¡± in the kitchen, Wen Mingtang went back to the house and brought over ten eggs bought from the market, together with a handful of green vegetables and red onions. Crack two eggs into a bowl, beat them well, remove the roots of the vegetables, and shred the onions. Oil, salt, sauce, sugar, these things are generally present in the kitchen of ordinary people, let alone in the kitchen of restaurants. Everything was ready, Wen Mingtang scooped a spoonful of vegetable oil into the pan, and when the oil became boiling hot, immediately poured in two beaten eggs. The smell of scrambled eggs burst out immediately. Zhao Lian looked at the scrambled eggs and before she could react, she heard the sound of the iron spoon colliding with the iron pan. She put it aside, then poured another spoonful of vegetable oil down, and poured the greens and onions into it. As soon as the onions met the oil, their fragrance was instantly released, and Zhao Lian, who had originally gone to the door upon seeing the onions, couldn¡¯t resist and hurriedly ran back. She has seen those dishes of the Hu1 people, and she knows this one was called onion. Once, when she was visiting the Luoma market with Liu Shi, she saw Hu people eating steamed buns with raw onions. The passerby who saw them eating were very curious about this vegetable. With Liu¡¯s penchant for taking advantage of such situations, she also approached to ask for some. However, the result was disastrous. The spiciness of the raw onion nearly choked both of them. To make matters worse, Liu inadvertently touched her eyes with the hand that had been in contact with the onion, causing her tears to flow incessantly throughout the afternoon. Since then, Zhao Lian detoured away when she saw the onion, but she didn¡¯t expect the aroma of this onion to be so overbearing after being fried. Zhao Lian couldn¡¯t hold it back but felt the saliva coming out of her mouth and tongue uncontrollably, her eyes stared at the pot, reluctant to move away. After stir-frying the vegetables and onions for a while, Wen Mingtang poured the ¡°washed noodles¡± and eggs into the pot together, added sauce, sugar, and salt, and started to stir-fry. Zhao Lian only saw that Wen Mingtang¡¯s cooking method was fast and agile, not at all slower than her cooking method. The already fragrant aroma of the onions, combined with the savory sauce, enticed the appetite and made the rumbling stomachs crave a taste. Zhao Lian sniffed the aroma of fried noodles: she had been in her restaurant for so many years, and it was the first time she smelled such a fragrance. When the fried noodles came out of the pot, Wen Mingtang poured the fried noodles into the two plates that Zhao Lian brought. After pouring the fried noodles, Zhao Lian hurriedly picked up the plate and put chopsticks of fried noodles into her mouth. Seeing this, Wen Mingtang hurriedly shouted: ¡°Be careful!¡± It was a pity that although she spoke quickly, she was still a step behind. Zhao Lian, whose tongue was burned, looked at Wen Mingtang with tears in her eyes, but she couldn¡¯t bear to spit out the fried noodles, but mumbled with the noodles in her mouth, ¡°Okay¡­delicious!¡± It looks like this¡­Wen Mingtang shook his head with a smile, and said to her: ¡°Eat more if it tastes good! Eat slowly, there is enough for both of us!¡± As soon as the voice fell, a sharp voice sounded from outside: ¡°What are you eating slowly? Are you eating my meat?¡± With that sharp voice, Liu rushed into the kitchen with an angry expression on her face. ¡°The meat in the cupboard is for the customers, not for you! Who said you could eat it? Do you really think this place is your own home just because you¡¯re working as a maid? How dare you take the meat?¡± she exclaimed. Oh no! She had spent quite a bit of money on that large plate of prepared pork in the cupboard! She had been looking forward to enjoying the pork as a change of taste. This audacious girl dared to touch her meat! It was truly outrageous! CH 5 Zhao Lian just took a big mouthful of fried noodles, so she had no time to speak, so she had to groan twice. It¡¯s a pity that although Liu Shi and Zhao Lian were mother and daughter, they were still far from the same heart as mother and daughter. Unable to understand Zhao Lian¡¯s ¡°woo woo¡±, Liu Shi pushed Zhao Lian aside and stepped forward to block Wen Mingtang. She put her hands on her hips and sneered at Wen Mingtang, ¡°Who told you that you can use my meat privately?¡± Wen Mingtang smiled, picked up the plate of fried noodles, put it in front of Liu Shi, and pulled it a few times with chopsticks. The aroma of the already fragrant and domineering fried noodles went straight to Liu Shi¡¯s nose. Even though she was angry and distressed about those pieces of meat, her body was still instinctively attracted by the smell of fried noodles, and Liu swallowed her saliva. After drooling a few times, ¡°Mung Bean Big Eyes¡± stared at the fried noodles in front of her without moving away. Wen Mingtang picked up a mouthful of fried noodles with her chopsticks, bringing the noodles even closer to Liu Shi¡¯s mouth. There was barely a gap of a mouth¡¯s width between them. Liu rolled her eyes: What are you doing? Think you can bribe me with a bowl of food? Dreaming¡­ The chopstick with fried noodles feigned a shot, leaned towards Liu¡¯s face, then quickly moved away from her, and was sent into another mouth. Wen Mingtang, who was eating fried noodles with chopsticks, smiled at Liu Shi and said, ¡°Auntie, have you seen it? There is no meat in it!¡± Zhao Lian, who was pulled aside by Liu Shi, also swallowed the fried noodles in her mouth this time, and hurriedly said: ¡°Mother, Sister Wen didn¡¯t use your meat!¡± The bowl of fried noodles was so close to Liu Shi, so she didn¡¯t fail to see that there was no meat in it. After the feint shot, Liu swallowed again, and said with a blue face, ¡°What do you know? The eggs don¡¯t cost money?¡± Zhao Lian said, ¡°Sister Wen brought the eggs herself!¡± After saying that, she pointed at the stove. There were a few eggs in a greased paper bag by the counter. Liu¡¯s gaze paused on those huge eggs, and she sneered again: ¡°The vegetable leaves and onions in there¡­¡± ¡°Sister Wen brought them all herself!¡± Zhao Lian was ashamed. Flushing red, she couldn¡¯t help but glance at Liu Shi complainingly, and muttered, ¡°Mother, you are too much! Sister Wen is here as a guest, why do you want her to bring her own eggs and vegetables?¡± Liu Shi cut her hard. After taking a look and cursing, ¡°Eat inside and out!¡±,1 she glanced at Wen Mingtang with a sneer, turned, and left. After leaving the kitchen door, Liu Shi went to the front without looking back. Zhao Dalang in front had just finished eating noodles and was clearing the table. Liu Shi, who failed to find fault, stepped forward and grabbed Zhao Dalang by the ear, raised him in front of her, and began to curse! ¡°You useless bastard! You can¡¯t even control a girl! Look at that girl surnamed Wen, who cooks noodles in the back and treats this place as her own home!¡± When Liu said this, she was furious. She felt suffocated in her chest, especially thinking of the action of Wen Mingtang smilingly waving the food in front of her before sending it directly into her mouth. She always felt that this girl, Wen Mingtan, showed a smiling face, but she was very sinister inside, deliberately provoking her! ¡°When did I, Liu Su¡¯e, let a little girl ride on my face?¡± Liu felt puzzled as she cursed, she shook her hand and slapped Zhao Dalang again, ¡°You useless bastard¡­¡± Before she had finished scolding him, someone passing by the door peeked inside and suddenly took a deep breath, surprised, and exclaimed, ¡°What kind of dish is your restaurant making? It smells so delicious!¡± Liu Shi turned her head with a bitter face, intending to scold the passerby who interrupted her scolding of Zhao Dalang for no reason. However, when her gaze fell upon the person wearing a dark blue official robe, her disdainful expression immediately turned into one of flattery. She quickly put down Zhao Dalang beside her and approached, saying, ¡°We¡¯re making noodles to eat! What would the official like to have? Please come inside! We¡¯ve been running this old shop for thirteen years!¡± The young official in the dark blue robe appeared to be in his early twenties. He had probably enjoyed a smooth journey thus far. Being young and ambitious, he spoke with less restraint compared to ordinary people. Upon hearing Liu Shi¡¯s words, he furrowed his brows and spoke frankly, ¡°How did this so-called ¡®old shop¡¯ end up like this after thirteen years? It¡¯s already late in the day, the time for dinner. Other restaurants are almost full of customers, yet your place doesn¡¯t have a single guest. How did that happen?¡± The smile on Liu¡¯s face froze immediately, and her face was a little ugly. But seeing his face in a navy blue official robe, she still didn¡¯t get angry, but squeezed a smile and said: ¡°That¡¯s because the restaurant next door is jealous of my business, and deliberately crowds out my house! Those few signature dishes of my restaurant are all dishes taught by the chef in the palace! Can it be worse?¡± The signature dishes of the chef in the palace still have some weight! When the young official heard the words, there was a little surprise on his face: ¡°Really?¡± ¡°It¡¯s true!¡± Liu said and called Zhao Dalang. ¡°His sister is the Si Shan in the palace, surnamed Zhao, you will know when you go out and inquire!¡± The young official looked at the complacent look on Liu¡¯s face, raised his eyebrows, stroked his chin, and said: ¡°Hearing what you said doesn¡¯t seem like a lie! If so, in two days, I will come to your restaurant to taste how delicious the dishes taught by the chef in the palace are!¡± While speaking, he couldn¡¯t help but take another deep breath. After taking a breath, he said intoxicated: ¡°It smells so good!¡± After saying that, he left. Watching the young official who didn¡¯t even reach into his pocket as he turned to leave, Liu Shi rolled her eyes and muttered, ¡°What a waste of my breath! What day is it in a couple of days? These officials are all worthless! Their words are like farting, bah!¡± ¡­¡­ Unaware that he was just being called ¡°worthless¡± by Liu Shi moments ago, Liu Yuan rubbed his nose and returned to Dongfeng Building, the only reputable restaurant on this street rather than a simple eatery. After entering the box, he was still rubbing his nose, smelling the food on the table in front of him, and couldn¡¯t help feeling: ¡°When I came back just now, I passed by a restaurant called Zhao Ji Restaurant, and the food smelled so delicious. It¡¯s really delicious!¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± The other official, Bai Zhu, who was sitting next to him and appeared to be of a similar age, glanced at Liu Yuan upon hearing his words but didn¡¯t believe a word of it. ¡°When it comes to food and drink, there is both a lack of attention and a great deal of attention. It makes sense that good wine doesn¡¯t fear deep alleyways. But how come I¡¯ve never heard any food connoisseurs mention a renowned eatery called Zhao Ji Restaurant in the capital city before?¡± Liu Yuan, who was questioned, didn¡¯t care at all. He smiled and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t believe it either, but the proprietress also said that her restaurant is an old restaurant that has been open for thirteen years!¡± Hearing the word ¡°old restaurant¡±, Bai Zhu smiled even more happily: ¡°That question is even more serious. Big! The thirteen-year-old store opened in a corner. If the taste is really good, it would have been discovered a long time ago. How come I never even heard of it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just this problem! When it was time to eat, all other restaurants on this street were more or less full, but there was no one in her house.¡± Liu Yuan rubbed his chin, shook his head, and said, ¡°The proprietress said yes Others are jealous of her good business and play tricks on her, which is why the business is so deserted.¡± After saying this, there was another burst of laughter. As he stroked his graying beard, an older official in a green robe couldn¡¯t help but click his tongue in disapproval. ¡°To think that such a blatant lie, which even a three-year-old child could see through, was brought up in front of Deputy Liu. The restaurant owner must truly have commendable courage!¡± Whether it was Liu Yuan, Bai Zhu, or the gray-haired Wei Fu, all of them were officials from the Grand Court of Judicial Review, holding the position of Deputy Director. Dali Temple indeed had a total of five deputy directors. Three of them were present here, while as for the other diner who was not one of the three deputy directors¡­ Wei Fu looked at the red-robed official on the main seat and pulled Shangfeng who had been silent all this time, into the topic: ¡°What does Lin Shaoqing think?¡± Lin Fei who was mentioned raised his eyelids, put down the rice bowl that had not touched a few chopsticks, and said: ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten it, so I can¡¯t comment. I will try it in two days. That¡¯s it!¡± CH 6 PREVIOUS NEXT Chang¡¯an City was still bustling at night, and the roadside restaurants and taverns were full of customers. But these¡­ had nothing to do with Zhao Ji Restaurant. A few scattered diners in the lobby were absent-mindedly picking up the vegetables in the bowls. After pulling for a long time, the vegetables didn¡¯t move much, but the small plate of sauerkraut that was given as a gift went down a lot. Zhao Dalang can entertain these few guests by himself. Liu Shi gave Zhao Dalang a blank look, threw the rag back into his hand, and went into the kitchen. And not long after entering, she carried a large bag of things wrapped in oil paper to the backyard. In the backyard, Zhao Lian was grooming the black dog Ah Mao with a brush. Seeing Liu Shi approaching, one person and one dog retreated subconsciously. This action and reaction naturally fell into Liu Shi¡¯s eyes. Liu Shi, who couldn¡¯t do anything to Zhao Lian, immediately glared at the black dog, Mao, and scolded as something shameless. The black dog Amao bowed his head and whined a few times, causing Zhao Lian to feel distressed again, and couldn¡¯t help complaining to Liu Shi: ¡°Mother, what are you doing?¡± Liu Shi opened the oiled paper bag in her arms and took out an egg. She handed it to Zhao Lian, and said, ¡°Go! Change her egg!¡± Zhao Lian looked at the egg in Liu¡¯s hand, which was not much bigger than a quail egg, and was speechless: ¡°Mother, how could you do such a shameless and faceless thing?¡± Zhaolian was not a pampered young lady who had never experienced the hardships of life. She was knowledgeable about buying groceries and cooking and frequently visited the market. From a glance, it was obvious that the egg Liu Shi held, which was only slightly larger than quail eggs, was of low quality and likely something purchased from the market as an extra. It wasn¡¯t worth much money. But the eggs Sister Wen used to make fried noodles were almost the size of a palm, and they were the best in the market. Not to mention, in terms of size alone, two or three of Liu Shi¡¯s eggs were probably as big as one of Sister Wen¡¯s. Zhao Lian felt that Liu Shi would lose all face. She really didn¡¯t know how her mother can always come up with such dirty things? Liu Shi, who was called ¡°faceless and skinless¡± by Zhao Lian, slashed at her fiercely, stretched out her hand and grabbed Zhao Lian¡¯s ear, and did not let go until Zhao Lian cried out in pain. Then she started to scold her ¡°What do you, a little girl, understand? You really have no idea how valuable household management is! How much money do you earn working in a restaurant for a whole month? If I don¡¯t come up with a solution, should I rely on your useless father to figure it out, or should I rely on you, this little girl?¡± ¡°Zhao Lian: ¡°¡­¡± ¡°But even so, we shouldn¡¯t stoop to such actions!¡± Zhaolian exclaimed, her face red with embarrassment. ¡°To even consider swapping someone else¡¯s eggs, how can we face others if this gets out?¡± Liu sneered when she heard the words, rolled her eyes, and said: ¡°Who said that egg is hers? An egg is an egg. Does it have a name written on it?¡± As long as they stubbornly denied it, they could go ahead with the swap. Liu Shi pointed at the quail-sized egg and claimed it belonged to Wen Mingtang. What could that girl possibly do to her in return? After Zhao Lian heard this, she glanced at Liu Shi. She was silent for a moment and then said: ¡°¡­there is really a name.¡± After saying that, she went back to the house and brought out an egg. The palm-sized egg was placed next to Liu¡¯s quail eggs, which was even more eye-catching. Liu Shi looked at the ¡°^-^¡± painted on the egg, which was like slapping her face. Her face was extremely ugly, and she cursed: ¡°I really haven¡¯t seen such a person! You have to make a mark when you buy an egg, lest someone steal her eggs!¡± She didn¡¯t know why this inexplicable mark looked like Wen Mingtang¡¯s smiling face, looking from the egg as if mocking her. Hearing this, Zhao Lian glanced at the quail eggs in Liu Shi¡¯s hand, and said, ¡°Mother, are you so brave to say so? Didn¡¯t you just want to exchange Sister Wen¡¯s eggs?¡± You haven¡¯t seen someone like that before¡­ Aren¡¯t you such a person? Liu Shi gave her a hard look, feeling aggrieved in her heart. Although Zhao Lian was the daughter who crawled out of her stomach, she didn¡¯t know who she resembled with her sincere temperament. Unable to swap the eggs, Liushi looked at Wen Mingtang with an unpleasant expression. Seeing Wen Mingtang crossing her arms and leaning casually against the doorframe, she let out a cold laugh. ¡°Among the neighbors on this street, it has always been me, Liusu¡¯e, taking advantage of others. Today, it seems that this little girl has managed to turn the tables on me for the first time!¡± Just wait and see! Liu Shi gave Wen Mingtang a hard look, then turned and left. ¡­ Early the next morning, after getting up and washing up, Wen Mingtang talked to Zhao Lian and went out. When it was time to eat breakfast, Liu Shi looked behind Zhao Lian with a big pot of watery porridge: ¡°What about the criminal officer named Wen?¡± ¡°Mother, what did you say?¡± Zhao Lian glanced at Liu Shi dissatisfied, and when she saw the pot of porridge she was carrying, she felt a sense of powerlessness. She sighed, sat down, and said, ¡°Sister Wen went out. She doesn¡¯t want to eat your breakfast!¡± When she heard that Wen Mingtang had gone out and refused to eat her breakfast, Liu¡¯s face became even uglier. It¡¯s all green: ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say it earlier, then why did I make this pot of porridge?¡± She made this pot of porridge deliberately to force that shrewd girl surnamed Wen to leave early! Who knew that she didn¡¯t come to eat breakfast at all, what should She do now? Who will eat this big pot of watery porridge? ¡­ Wen Mingtang didn¡¯t know that Liu Shi had come up with such a moth in the early morning, but she just went out of Zhao Ji Restaurant to find a nearby breakfast stall for breakfast. After sitting down, the owner brought out the breakfast. It was not really a special breakfast food. Steamed dumplings were served with a bowl of clear mung bean porridge and a side dish of side dishes. Wen Mingtang saw the side dish at a glance and paused for a moment when her eyes fell on the side dish. The owner who brought the breakfast food and was about to leave saw Wen Mingtang looking at the dish, so he introduced it: ¡°This is sauerkraut, and it is delicious with porridge!¡± The boss pointed to the dish of sauerkraut and introduced, ¡°I made it myself. Yes, the taste is mostly similar to that of the sauerkraut in Zhao Ji restaurant!¡± The couple in Zhao Ji restaurant was so poor at cooking that if they didn¡¯t rely on this dish of sauerkraut, they would have closed the shop early. Nowadays, the old customers who occasionally came to Zhao Ji Restaurant came to eat not due to loyalty, but for this mouthful of pickled sauerkraut. But that couple was very greedy, and they refused to sell sauerkraut alone, and made a rule that they only gave it away and not sell it. It was only when they ordered three big dishes could they get a plate of sauerkraut. This sour, salty, spicy food was really appetizing, but even with such a ¡°signature¡±, it could not halt the gradual decline of the couple¡¯s business. Looking at the sauerkraut made with vinegar and salt brought by the owner, Wen Mingtang raised her eyebrows. She was the one who taught Zhao Sishan how to pickle the sauerkraut, and Zhao Sishan taught it to Zhao Dalang and his wife. Originally it was just an addition, but unexpectedly it was used by the couple. ¡°Although the taste is quite similar, they are ultimately different,¡± the owner said, looking at the small dish of sauerkraut with a sigh. He continued in a low voice, ¡°The couple from Zhao Ji Restaurant guards the recipe for these sauerkraut as if it were their own eyes. Once, a curious customer ventured into the kitchen to see how the sauerkraut were made. It nearly led to the couple reporting him to the authorities, claiming that their signature recipe was worth a fortune. Stealing something so valuable would at least result in a ten or eight-year sentence!¡± Is that so? Wen Mingtang, who was holding up the porridge bowl, paused for a moment, and couldn¡¯t help laughing when she thought of how Liu Shi secretly stuffed a jar under her and Zhao Lian¡¯s bed when it was dawn. She had seen people who were tossing around, but it was really rare to see someone who can do it like Liu Shi! She suffered from her ¡°losing battle¡± yesterday, and it was getting worse today! Wen Mingtang shook her head, Zhao Sishan really saw through people, her brother and sister-in-law were really top-notch! She was going to see Zhang Caimai in a while so that she can find a place to move out quickly. As for Zhao Dalang and Liu Shi¡­ she knew Zhao Sishan would be more willing to take care of it herself. T/N That Liu Shi is some character!!! And I plan to make this pickled cabbage this winter. For last two winters I made Kimchi at home and it was great. Will try making picked Chinese vegetables this winter. CH 7 The place where she made an appointment with Zhang Caimai1 was in a small restaurant on Zhuquefang Street. It can be said that almost half of the powerful and wealthy households in Chang¡¯an City were gathered in Zhuquefang. Someone once joked that walking on the street of Zhuquefang, even if you take a breath, you can get the smell of money and power in the air. The Wen family in her childhood memories used to be a member of the Zhuquefang, but then¡­ nothing. After being convicted, power and money turned into nothing. However, Zhang Caimai did not meet her here to see the rich and powerful. Except for the rich and powerful, the rest of Zhuquefang was the yamen, and more than half of the yamen of the various ministries in Chang¡¯an City were gathered in the area of ??Zhuquefang. Holding the tea, Zhang Caimai said, ¡°Zhao Sishan has entrusted me with this matter since last year. I did find a good place for you before you left the palace.¡± While speaking, Zhang Caimai stretched out his hand and pointed out the window. Facing the tall red-walled yamen, he said, ¡°This was the place I planned for you.¡± Wen Mingtang looked at the big golden characters on the plaque above the red-walled yamen, and read out: ¡°Dali Temple yamen?¡± ¡°No ¡± Zhang Caimai glanced at her, shook his head, and said, ¡°Although they are recruiting a public chef in Dali Temple, the place I chose for you was the Guozijian2 behind Dali Temple.¡± Wen Mingtang said ¡°Oh¡±, indicating that she knew. Anyway, they are all cooks, isn¡¯t it the same in every yamen? Probably seeing Wen Mingtang¡¯s thoughts, Zhang Caimai explained one more sentence: ¡°You don¡¯t know, in all the yamen of Chang¡¯an City, the official chef of this Guozijian is recognized as a fat job!¡± Wen Mingtang nodded in agreement: since ancient times, no matter how hard it is, the idea of ??children is the vast majority of the crowd. Those who can get into the Imperial College were all sons of rich and powerful families, and their spending was naturally generous. Not to mention that some elders in the family were willing to pay rewards to these children. It can be said that as long as the craftsmanship was good, the rewards were probably much more than the wages. ¡°It¡¯s also a coincidence that there was a vacancy in the official kitchen of the Guozijian a few days ago. I have a good relationship with their official kitchen, and I reported you immediately when I got the news.¡± Zhang Caimai said, ¡°Zhao Sishan said that your craftsmanship is better than her and she is one of the best in her field. So I thought that I will assure Ding Caimai that you are a good crafter. After a while, when Ding Caimai comes, you must show him your hand. If Ding Cai approves your dish, you getting this job is probably settled.¡± Wen Mingtang said she understood. While they were talking, Ding Caimai, the official chef of Guozijian, came in. After sitting down, he took the tea poured by Wen Mingtang, and Ding Caimai didn¡¯t talk nonsense, he pointed to the back kitchen and said, ¡°Make a dish to see if the craftsmanship is feasible?¡± Wen Mingtang nodded, this was something Zhang Caimai had already told her beforehand. Just as she was about to turn around and go to the back kitchen, Ding Caimai glanced at Zhang Caimai, who was flirting with him, with a half-smile, and said, ¡°Old Zhang, you don¡¯t have to speculate on my taste preference, I¡¯ll just say it myself. Yes! I like sour and sweet¡­¡± Zhang Caimai heard this, and quickly said to Wen Mingtang: ¡°Then make a sour and sweet cold vegetable dish¡­¡± Before he finished speaking, Ding Caimai said again: ¡°I don¡¯t like vegetarian dishes, I like to eat meat.¡± Hearing this, Zhang Caimai¡¯s face stiffened slightly: ¡°Old Ding!¡± Can meat dishes be delicious if they were made sweet and sour? Ding Caimai didn¡¯t look at Zhang Caimai, and he opened his mouth and said: ¡°Although I like meat, I ran for a trip on this hot day, and I don¡¯t want to eat too much¡­¡± Zhang Caimai¡¯s face became more and more greasy when he heard this. It was ugly, he looked at Ding Caimai, and said straightforwardly: ¡°Old Ding, you have already promised me, why do you have to force others to go through this?¡± Although he was not a cook, he still has to eat. From the perspective of an ordinary person like him, sweet and sour dishes were mostly desserts such as pastries, and only occasionally a few vegetarian dishes can be sweet and sour, which taste like appetizing cold dishes. But Old man Ding ¡°deliberately¡± tripped her up and asked for meat by name. Sweet and sour, but also made into meat dishes, no matter how Zhang Caimai thought about it, the dish will not be so delicious. However, this old man was not finished yet. After clamoring for meat, he can¡¯t get too greasy. But in the requirements he specified, no matter whether it is sweet or meat, the food was easy to become greasy, what should I do? Old man Ding ignored him, rolled his eyelids, and looked at Wen Mingtang: ¡°Miss Wen, can you do it?¡± The girl didn¡¯t respond immediately but pointed to the back kitchen, and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go to the back kitchen to see if the ingredients are available.¡± The owner of this small restaurant was Ding Caimai, so it can be conveniently used for this trial. Ding Caimai nodded, and the girl only took a few breaths to go in. Even before Zhang Caimai had time to question Ding Caimai, she came out again, and nodded to Ding Caimai: ¡°I can do it!¡± People who appreciate straightforwardness also tend to like others who are straightforward. Hearing the girl¡¯s straightforward response, Ding Caimai had a good impression of her. He waved his hand and said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll wait here and try Miss Wen¡¯s skills.¡± Wen Mingtang responded and entered the kitchen. Seeing that Wen Mingtang was no longer here, Zhang Caimai can finally explode. He glanced at Ding Caimai: ¡°Old Ding, you and I have been friends for many years. You promised me, why do you want to make trouble on purpose?¡± He took a sip of tea and said, ¡°Old Zhang, you might as well be as refreshing as a little girl! Look at Miss Wen, she just went into the kitchen without saying anything? Since you rely on craftsmanship to eat, you should see the truth under your hands, What¡¯s the use of talking?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay to enter the kitchen to test your skills, but why are you making things so difficult?¡± Zhang Caimai squinted at him, ¡°As for the request you just made, look at how many cooks there are in the capital city, can it be done?¡± Ding Cai paused while drinking tea, glanced at him, and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t make trouble on purpose! To be honest, all my requests just now were made by our Yu Jijiu3. Even if Miss. Wen passed my level and the level of Master Jiang who is in charge of the public cook, but she will still have to give another test in front of Yu Jijiu to be approved.¡± Seeing the sullen expression on Zhang Caimai¡¯s face dissipate, Ding Caimai smiled and stretched out his hand to pat him on the shoulder: ¡°You and I have been friends for so many years, do you think I look like someone who deliberately finds fault?¡± ¡°Recruiting a chef and being so cryptic about it.¡± Zhang Caimai cast a sideways glance at him, the previous displeasure in his heart dissipated at this moment. He let out a sigh of relief and said, ¡°It¡¯s rare for Yue Rou to ask me for help. If I can¡¯t handle this matter well, how can I face her in the future?¡± Yuerou was Zhao Sishan¡¯s boudoir name, and Ding Caimai suddenly understood: ¡°I just said, why are you so active? It¡¯s not like an ordinary friendship at all. It turns out that Zhao Si is the one you like¡­¡± Before he could finish speaking, he was kicked on the leg. It turned out that Wen Mingtang, who had been busy in the back kitchen for a long time, came out with the dishes. Ding Caimai glanced at Zhang Caimai who had regained his sitting posture, shook his head, and casually glanced at Wen Mingtang who came out with the dishes. The first time he saw the dishes, Ding Caimai was stunned: ¡°This is¡­¡± Although he can¡¯t say that he was a foodie who has tasted all kinds of delicacies, he was also a restaurant owner after all. And he had eaten almost all the common dishes in his daily life. But it was the first time he had seen such a dish in front of him. Wen Mingtang smiled at him and said, ¡°Green plum ribs.¡± CH 8 The plate of ¡°Green Plum Pork Ribs¡± was placed on the table. On top of the braised pork, which had been marinated with green plums, was a thick, amber-colored sauce. Sprinkled on top were scattered white sesame seeds. Against the backdrop of a pure white porcelain plate, from a distance, the sight of it alone was enough to whet one¡¯s appetite with its vibrant colors, enticing aroma, and tempting flavor. After the plate of ¡°Green Plum Pork Ribs¡± was put down, a smell that was different from ordinary braised pork meat rushed to their face, and the aroma went straight to their nose. It seemed that this dish was not only outstanding in the word ¡°color¡±, but even the aroma was overbearing. The table where the two were sitting was close to the entrance of the restaurant, and passers-by could easily smell the aroma of the dishes on their table. As soon as the box of vegetables was put down, two passers-by stopped and looked in. ¡°How does this pork smell so delicious? What kind of dish is it?¡± Without waiting for Ding Caimai to speak, Zhang Caimai said, ¡°I am eating it myself, I am not selling it.¡± The passers-by were immediately disappointed, and muttered a few words, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you selling such delicious dishes?¡± shook their heads and left in disappointment. Ding Caimai, who had only had time to take the chopsticks out of the chopstick holder, glanced at Zhang Caimai: ¡°Old Zhang, why are you so narrow-minded? You are taking revenge on me for what happened just now!¡± At the door of his business, Zhang Caimai said this. What¡¯s the difference between talking like this and chasing off customers? But Zhang Caimai gave him a sideways look, and said, ¡°Miss Wen is going to be arranged to be a public cook, but she won¡¯t stay in this small restaurant of yours to be your chef.¡± After entering this small restaurant by the roadside, she can do a good job as a chef. However, whatever money the restaurant earns, will end up in the hand of the owner, Ding Caimai. When will it be her turn to get some of this profit? It was not Miss Wen¡¯s own restaurant! Furthermore, for a young lady like Miss Wen who has not yet come of age, it was more secure for her to go with the backing of the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty. She won¡¯t be easily tripped up by anyone in secret, and when it came to monthly expenses, dealing with the strict deductions of the imperial kitchen would be more reliable. It will also save her from having to interact with various people from different backgrounds in the streets and alleys. Because Zhang Caimai loved Zhao Sishan, he loved whoever she loves. So he treated Wen Mingtang as a niece and wanted to make sure that she didn¡¯t suffer from Ding Caimai. Looking at Zhang Caimai¡¯s defense, Ding Caimai shook his head, but he was not angry. His small restaurant was just a side business, and he would not offend Zhang Caimai, a colleague, for such a simple reason. Dispelling the idea of ??borrowing Wen Mingtang¡¯s dish to attract customers, Ding Caimai picked up a chopstick of pork meat and ate it. As soon as he took a bite, Ding Caimai regretted it a bit: ¡°Oh, it¡¯s delicious! The pork meat is stewed very well! As soon as I bite into it, the meat is separated from the bone. Such easy separation means it¡¯s not dry at all, and yet it¡¯s not overcooked either. It¡¯s just right! The taste is mainly sweet, supplemented by sour. The taste in the mouth is reduced to only three points, and the most amazing thing is that there is a fruity aroma of green plums when chewed carefully¡­ In this way, the remaining three points of the greasy taste are completely eliminated¡­ Oh! Delicious! It would be great if you could stay and be my cooking chef¡­¡± There were different types of diners, some were dull-headed and just set an example by action, while some were like Ding Caimai who liked to talk while eating. As Ding Caimai ate and savored the dish, his tongue seemed to be doing double duty, both enjoying the flavors and analyzing them. Meanwhile, Zhang Caimai, who had a piece of pork in his mouth, couldn¡¯t help but wonder how Ding Caimai¡¯s tongue managed to achieve such discernment. After savoring the dish, Ding Cai Mai suddenly stood up and ran into the back kitchen. In a short while, he came out carrying two large bowls of rice, and he quickly handed one to Zhang Caimai. They both started eating their rice while enjoying the plate of green plum spare ribs in front of them. It was really a rare sweet and sour meat dish that you won¡¯t get tired of eating in summer. It was a must for lunch. The two of them took a bite, and in the end, they simply poured the soup into the rice, mixed it together, and ate it all. Looking at the big white porcelain bowl with not a single grain of rice left in front of him, Ding Caimai licked his lips, hiccupped, and subconsciously looked at the sun outside. It was actually still early, and when he came he was not hungry. When he was eating, he was planning to evaluate it with just two mouthfuls of food, but who would have known that¡­it is not time for lunch yet, and he was already full of burps. Zhang Caimai on the opposite side was not much better than him. Compared with his open mouth, Zhang Caimai was obviously lacking in speech, so he just raised his chin, pointed to the empty plate and rice bowl, and asked him: ¡°How about this?¡± The complacency in the tone was beyond words. ¡°I said that Yuerou is not the kind of person who brags! She is modest by nature, so if she praises something by five points, it must have at least an eighty percent skill level. So for Miss Wen to have her praise, it as a perfect ten, the culinary skill must be exceptionally impressive.¡± This plate of pork ribs with green plums completely reassured Zhang Caimai. With this skill, who can pick out the thorns? Zhang Caimai felt that the position of the chef of the Guozijian1 public kitchen was most likely secure. Not only Zhang Caimai felt this way, even Ding Caimai also felt the same way. He nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll tell Old Jiang when I go back. I¡¯m afraid even Yu Jijiu2, who has thorns all over his body, can¡¯t find fault with this kind of craftsmanship!¡± Wen Mingtang couldn¡¯t help but smile after speaking. Ding Caimai was even more satisfied when he saw that the girl was quick in doing things and didn¡¯t talk too much nonsense. Before leaving, he couldn¡¯t help asking her again: ¡°The monthly salary of the chef in charge of the kitchen in my small restaurant is also good¡­¡± Before he finished speaking, Zhang Caimai interrupted: ¡°Come on! Old Ding! There are drunken diners making trouble in this small restaurant day and night, and Miss Wen is so pretty and lively, mingling among the drunken diners, Do you think it¡¯s feasible?¡± One sentence made Ding Caimai speechless, and he couldn¡¯t help but resentfully said: ¡°That¡¯s¡­ eh! Forget it, Zhang Caimai, come with me to see Old Jiang!¡± Zhang Caimai nodded and followed Ding. After taking two steps, he turned around and asked Wen Mingtang: ¡°Where is Miss Wen staying now? I will look for you after I finish my work here! If you hurry, I can settle it today!¡± Wen Mingtang said: ¡°I am currently living in Zhao Shi¡¯s brother¡¯s restaurant.¡± Zhang Caimai immediately sneered and said, ¡°That restaurant belongs to Zhao Dalang? It¡¯s clearly Yuerou¡¯s!¡± After saying that, without waiting for Wen Mingtang to respond, Ding Cai Mai simply gave her a brief instruction to ¡°be careful on the way¡± and followed Ding Cai Mai, leaving together. ¡­ With most of the ¡°future¡± set, Wen Mingtang also heaved a sigh of relief, went out and found a casual restaurant, ate a few mouthfuls of lunch, and then returned to Zhao Ji Restaurant. When she returned to Zhao Ji Restaurant, it was lunchtime. Compared with the scattered customers last night, the business of Zhao Ji Restaurant was a little better today. There were about half of the tables in the lobby. There were diners. Before Wen Mingtang could examine the situation closely, she saw Liu Shi lift the curtain and rush out from behind it. Then, in front of all the diners, she started howling, ¡°I kindly took in this orphan with no parents, but I never expected to end up harboring a thief! What sin have I committed?!¡± CH 9 Wen Mingtang, who faced the howling Liu Shi, was taken aback for a moment. Then she asked a table of diners in the corner by the window of the lobby of Zhao Ji Restaurant to look over here. Even though Liu Yuan rubbed his hands excitedly, he put down the new dish called ¡°Egg Fried Noodles¡± and looked here. The aroma that filled the restaurant yesterday had kept him longing all night. He had originally thought that when Lin Shaoqing said, ¡°Try it in a few days,¡± it would take at least a week or so. But little did he know that Lin Shaoqing was not only efficient in handling cases but also sparing in delaying meals. Only one day later, during lunch today, Lin Shaoqing came to invite them to dinner. So, the plate of ¡°egg fried noodles¡± that he had been thinking about all night was placed in front of them one by one. However¡­ today¡¯s ¡°egg fried noodles¡± not only lacked the aroma from yesterday but also appeared as a clumpy mess. It was unappetizing to see the noodles all stuck together in a big lump. The noodles were sticky and lumpy, the fried onions were burnt black, the green vegetables were not so good, and even the fried eggs inside were black and yellow, which was really hard to swallow. Reluctantly took a bite, the bitter salt almost made him spit it out. After eating in various restaurants in Chang¡¯an City for so long, it was the first time for him to eat restaurant dishes that were worse than those prepared by their own chef in Dali Temple. But it was his own superior, Shangfeng who invited him to dinner. Liu Yuan secretly glanced at Shangfeng who was directly opposite. The people who looked like exiled immortals in the past were pulled down to the mortal world, and they were frowning and holding chopsticks to shake the dough like them. Even the ¡°immortal¡± Shangfeng didn¡¯t put down his chopsticks, which subordinate would dare to waste the food invited by Shangfeng? He had already been kicked several times on his feet, and he didn¡¯t need to look to know that those kicks came from Bai Zhu and Wei Fu on both sides. If it weren¡¯t for Liu Yuan¡¯s nonsense, why would they bite the bullet and eat the plate of noodles in front of them? Before Wen Mingtang came in, a table of people was struggling with the lump of noodles in front of them in pain. Seeing that there was a case, oh no, something happened, it eased their pain for the time being, and they all looked this way at the same time. Blocked at the entrance of the restaurant was a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl, standing there, with a pretty and clever look, looking at the proprietress who rushed over and accused her of being a ¡°little thief.¡± There was no trace of fear on her face; instead, there was a subtle hint of something intriguing. She looked at the bluffing proprietress with a smile, blinked her eyes, and asked, ¡°Auntie, what are you talking about? I can¡¯t understand it!¡± This half-smile look reminded Liu again of the drawing ¡°^-^¡± on the egg yesterday. This made her even more aggrieved, and immediately sneered, and shouted: ¡°The signature sauerkraut that has made our restaurant famous, is gone!¡± It seems that Liu Shi reached out and pinched her arm, squeezed out tears, and cried: ¡°Who in the neighborhood doesn¡¯t know that the sauerkraut in my restaurant is a signature? The shopkeeper of the Dongfeng Building wanted to buy it for a hundred taels of silver. I bought my signature secret recipe and I never sold it! The jar of sauerkraut was always been placed in the kitchen, and I haven¡¯t lost it for more than ten years. It took less than a day for you to come, and my jar of sauerkraut is gone! You didn¡¯t steal it, so could it be me who stole it myself?¡± Wen Mingtang wanted to laugh when she heard that, but when she looked at Liu Shi who was howling without tears, she suppressed her laughter and said, ¡°So Ah Auntie wants to say that my hands and feet are not clean and that I stole your sauerkraut worth a hundred taels, right?¡± Hearing this sentence, Liu¡¯s howling stopped for a while. At first, I thought that this girl would have to deny something when she encountered such a thing, but she didn¡¯t expect her to cooperate so much. The slanderous words that she had prepared had nowhere to go in an instant, and she was a little panicked. But this girl had already said what she wanted to say first, Liu had no choice but to stop howling. While secretly looking at her with her mung bean eyes, she said: ¡°You also admit that you stole my one hundred taels worth Sauerkraut! For my sister-in-law¡¯s sake, I don¡¯t care about you, so hurry up and pack it up! I can¡¯t keep anyone with dirty hands and feet here!¡± Liu Shi felt that there was nothing wrong with what she said in front of everyone. It not only ¡°demonstrated¡± her magnanimity, but also ¡°pointed out¡± the identity of this girl ¨C she was brought by my sister-in-law Zhao Sishan, and she was a person with unclean hands and feet. In the future, by taking advantage of this mistake, I will ask her to operate well and make the neighbors ¡°feel¡± that her sister-in-law is also dishonest, coveting this Zhao Ji restaurant. At that time, she and Zhao Dalang will marry Zhao Sishan because she was too old to marry, and no one else can find anything wrong with her. This was a good idea that she thought of all night! Liu thought proudly: Not only does she want to drive people away, but she also wants to let the driven one go away with dirty water all over her body! This wishful thinking was not bad! Unexpectedly, the next moment, Wen Mingtang¡¯s voice sounded. ¡°Since it¡¯s sauerkraut worth a hundred taels, how can you not care about it?¡± The girl said righteously, ¡°Report to the official! You must report to the official!¡± Liu Shi, who was deep in thought, suddenly stiffened, his expression filled with disbelief as he looked at the girl standing still in her place. Was this girl crazy? If you really want to report to the officials, you will be put in prison if you steal something worth a hundred taels. Wasn¡¯t she afraid? While hesitating, Zhao Lian lifted the curtain and ran out from the back, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and said to Liu Shi: ¡°Mom! I found it! The sauerkraut was under my bed! I remembered that I wanted to eat it in the middle of the night, so I moved it into the house on purpose. It has nothing to do with Sister Wen!¡± Zhao Lian looked at Wen Mingtang guiltily as she spoke, and gave her an awkward smile: ¡°I forgot to say, it¡¯s nothing to do with Sister Wen!¡± Didn¡¯t she still know who her mother was? How could the sauerkraut be taken by elder sister Wen? Therefore, seeing Liu¡¯s attack, Zhao Lian hurriedly ran back to her room to search for things, and then, she saw the jar of sauerkraut hidden under the bed, and hurriedly brought out the sauerkraut. Looking at Zhao Lian who came out to smooth things over, Wen Mingtang couldn¡¯t help but shake her head: Zhao Dalang is useless, Liu Shi is domineering, Zhao Lian is good, but Liu Shi can¡¯t be suppressed! What¡¯s more, Liu Shi is her mother no matter what, so being caught in the middle can only smooth things over. But¡­the thing was, this smoothing things over that she was willing to fight, Liu Shi was willing to accept, but some people were not willing. Liu Yuan dropped his chopsticks and walked near several people. Hearing this, he quickly said, ¡°How can it be considered when something worth a hundred taels of silver was stolen?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re planning to report to the authorities,¡± Liu Yuan said as he unfastened the waist token from his waist and waved it in front of everyone, ¡°I am Liu Yuan, the Deputy Chief of the Dali Temple!¡± ¡°Stealing a hundred taels of silver and expecting to walk away unscathed?¡± Liu Yuan thumped his chest and declared, ¡°I am the first one to disagree with that!¡± CH 10 At noon, the streets of Chang¡¯an City were bustling, especially the snack street full of restaurants and pubs. A group of petty officials who just came out of Bingmasi Yamen finished their morning street patrol and came to this snack street not far from Bingmasi Yamen to have their lunch. Because they were frequent visitors to this snack street, they had already figured out the level of cooking in the restaurants on this snack street. Therefore, a group of people stepped into the snack street today and saw that the usually ¡°sparsely crowded¡± Zhao Ji restaurant was crowded with people on today. They were surprised and couldn¡¯t help but come over to watch the excitement. Inside the three-story inner and outer three-story walls where people watched the excitement, the lobby of Zhao Ji Restaurant still only had a few scattered tables of diners. More people were watching the excitement than diners! The lady proprietress of Zhao Ji restaurant, who was known for being a mess and greedy for petty gain, was standing there with a disheveled face, and beside her were three green-robed officials who were dressed in official robes. No one knew which yamen they came from, and they were talking to the lady proprietress. The people around who witnessed the whole process excitedly recounted what happened just now. ¡°The proprietress said that the sauerkraut was gone, and she said that the little girl took it¡­but the proprietress¡¯ daughter suddenly ran out and said that she took it¡­¡± Several people winked at the crowd while talking, with a look of knowing. He continued, ¡°It turned out that the minister of Dali Temple happened to be eating here. Didn¡¯t she want to sue the official? He is the official¡­¡± Hearing the people recount what happened just now, the surrounding people burst into laughter. Thanks to Liu¡¯s ¡°good¡± reputation in daily life, it was not the first time to make a fuss about sauerkraut. Needless to say, everyone can guess. However, Dali Temple officials don¡¯t rely on ¡°guessing¡± when they do things. They went to the backyard and found the evidence. In the early morning when Liu Shi was hiding sauerkraut, she passed through the vegetable field reclaimed in her backyard, leaving behind a large row of footprints. The footprints exactly matched the shoe size of Liu Shi¡¯s big feet. It can be said with certainty what had happened here. More than that, in the house of Liu and Zhao Dalang, Liu Yuan also found sauerkraut juice that had not completely dried up. This proved that Liu and Zhao Dalang had eaten sauerkraut this morning. The jar ¡°gone in the morning¡± claim did not match. Liu Shi looked at Liu Yuan who was running back and forth with a disheveled face, and felt furious in her heart. She couldn¡¯t help being annoyed and said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me eating my own sauerkraut? Can it not be eaten with porridge?¡± If it weren¡¯t for that wretched girl named Wen sneaking out of the house without a word in the morning, would she have ended up making a pot of porridge that tasted like dishwater? That is why she needed to secretly scoop out a couple of spoonfuls of sauerkraut to make the porridge more palatable. It¡¯s just that she didn¡¯t expect that scooping out some sauerkraut would leave behind evidence like the sauerkraut juice. As the official in the green robe before her continued to speak incessantly, repeatedly emphasizing ¡°conclusive evidence,¡± Liu¡¯s temples throbbed with frustration. She was never one with a good temper, especially after marrying Zhao, a man who couldn¡¯t accomplish a fart. She had forgotten how to ¡°tolerate¡± since then. In her daily life, whenever things didn¡¯t go her way, her habit of resorting to physical violence and verbal abuse had unconsciously become ingrained in her character. Seeing that Liu Yuan was still talking non-stop in front of her, at this moment, her instinctive habits overwhelmed her reason, and Liu Shi subconsciously stretched out her hand and pushed towards Liu Yuan, cursing: ¡°I¡¯ll take my own sauerkraut. What kind of stealing? You vulgar thing, shut up¡­¡± The curse was interrupted by the sound of dishes falling to the ground. After pausing for a moment on the fallen Liu Yuan, everyone¡¯s eyes fell on Lin Fei behind him. At first, they had never seen this person with his back to the crowd. They had never imagined that this person who ate at the same table with the three Dali temple officials had such a good-looking face as if he was a god among gods. At present, the seemingly otherworldly immortal figure, holding a pair of chopsticks in his hand, looked down at the plate of ¡°egg fried noodles¡± that had been dropped and scattered all over the floor due to Liu Yuan¡¯s accident. He frowned and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t even taken a bite!¡± The person resembling an immortal spoke with a voice as melodious as striking jade, and even though it was a complaint, it sounded captivating to the ears. It wasn¡¯t until this time that Liu Shi realized that the one she pushed was not Zhao Dalang, who was used to her beating and scolding, but an official. Her face turned pale, and she secretly glanced at Liu Yuan who was being lifted up by someone. Seeing that he was just as surprised and didn¡¯t yell about ¡°it broke¡±, Liu finally breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, she heard Lin Fei, who was eating at the same table. Wanting to make a good sale, she hurriedly said: ¡°Then I will make another serving of ¡®Egg Fried Noodles!¡± With Liu¡¯s temper, has she ever been so aggrieved? Glancing at Wen Mingtang, who folded her arms and looked like she had nothing to do with her, Liu was very annoyed. Since she met this girl yesterday, how many stumbling blocks has she caused? As a result, nothing was done! This girl seemed to be born to overcome her! Right now, the dirty water that was spilled by her returned on her. Liu had no choice but to turn major events into minor ones. This girl surnamed Wen had a very hard life, if she can¡¯t be driven away today, at worst, she will have to figure out a way in the future. Therefore, facing Lin Fei, it was rare for Liu to not toss and act like a monster. Liu Yuan, who was pushed into that room, didn¡¯t care about himself, but couldn¡¯t help muttering: ¡°You planted this sauerkraut¡­¡± Liu Shi had long been impatient with this troublesome Dali Temple official. So when she heard the words, she immediately sneered, and said: ¡°Even if I hid my own sauerkraut, which law can say that I stole it?¡± Liu Yuan was speechless with one sentence: This shrew in the market was a rascal, and he really can¡¯t do anything to her! Seeing that Liu Yuan stopped talking, Liu Shi was happy. But Lin Fei, who was looking down at the ¡°egg fried noodles¡±, spoke. ¡°What is your identity?¡± He looked at Liu Shi and asked, ¡°Do you have a title or rank?¡± His voice was still as sweet as a spring with a stone-like face, and there was no expression of joy or anger on his face. Facing this otherworldly face, Liu shook her head instinctively: ¡°No.¡± As the owner of a restaurant, what does she care about titles and ranks? His name is Liu Yuan,¡± Lin Fei pointed to the assisted Liu Yuan and said, ¡°He is the Deputy Chief of the Dali Temple, holding the seventh-rank official position. I personally heard you referring to him as a vulgar person¡­¡± Liu Yuan immediately realized the situation and quickly knelt down before Lin Fei, saying, ¡°Sir, I have studied literature for more than ten years and finally passed the imperial examinations to enter the official service. Yet, this woman has insulted me as a vulgar thing. I implore you to judge this matter!¡± Seeing this, Wen Mingtang couldn¡¯t help shaking her head. Although the country was considered civilized, it was still a feudal society with a strict hierarchy. Liu Yuan had an official rank, so he was an understandable ¡°gentry official¡± belonging to the ¡°scholar¡± class. And Liu Shi was a commoner, and the commoner insulting the scholar, this was already a crime. What¡¯s more troublesome was that Liu¡¯s unscrupulous sentence just now called Liu Yuan of the gentry class a ¡°vulgar thing¡±. To insult a ¡®scholar¡¯ as a ¡®vulgar person¡¯ is an immense humiliation! Some proud members of the scholarly class even went as far as committing suicide by hitting themselves against a pillar over this matter.¡± Not making trouble mean that they just don¡¯t care about it; it doesn¡¯t mean that they can¡¯t make trouble. Right now, Lin Fei, who was at the top, obviously wanted to stand up for his subordinates. Nodding to Liu Yuan, Lin Fei untied the belt badge from his waist, and threw it at the small officials of the Bingmasi Yamen department who were watching the excitement in the crowd: ¡°Come on the street patrol! Take the women who have offended an official. Pull her out and beat her with twenty sticks, to scare others!¡± Liu Shi was dumbfounded when she heard what he said, and when the street patrolman stepped forward to pull her, she rolled her eyes and tried to pretend to be dizzy. But before Liu Shi completely ¡°fainted¡±, Lin Fei said: ¡°If she faints, hit her again when she wakes up!¡± Liu¡¯s ¡°fainting¡± healed without medicine, and she begged for mercy loudly. The noise of the people watching the excitement outside suddenly became much quieter. Looking at Lin Fei who gave the command, there was more or less disbelief on their faces. It was not that the Lord was wrong! It was just that someone with such a saintly appearance and a face that exudes kindness, judging solely by his outward appearance, anyone would assume that this person was an easygoing and humble individual. But he¡­¡­¡­. The street patrolman stuffed a cloth ball into the mouth of Liu Shi who begged for mercy, and dragged her to the door of the restaurant, and was about to strike with a stick. A ¡°Wait a minute¡± sounded at this moment. Everyone subconsciously looked at Lin Fei who spoke out. Could it be that this fairy gentleman had softened his heart after all? Just as they were thinking like this, they heard Lin Fei say,¡±Don¡¯t be negligent during the execution! The officer must hear the sound of the stick!¡± Everyone who listened to this speech was dumbfounded. After the noisy crowd fell silent for a moment, someone exclaimed: ¡°¡®Immortal Face, Asura Heart¡¯, this was the newly appointed young minister of Dali Temple!¡± CH 11 ¡®Immortal Face, Asura Heart¡¯!1 Wen Mingtang listened to the discussion from the people outside, and thought, this seemed to be the nickname given to the young Shaoqing2 of Dali Temple in front of her by the storyteller in the teahouse outside. This nickname¡­ in all fairness, it was not wrong! Needless to say, the immortal face, anyone with eyes can see what this young minister of Dali Temple looked like. As for this Asura heart¡­ as Shaoqing of Dali Temple, he has to deal with heinous criminals on a daily basis. If he was really soft-hearted, he might have been swallowed up by the criminals long ago. The sound of sticks came, and the sticks pierced into the flesh one sound at a time. Wen Mingtang looked at the screaming Liu Shi in front of her, and couldn¡¯t help shaking her head. Actually, Liu Shi didn¡¯t specifically target Liu Yuan! She used insulting words such as ¡°wretched¡± on a daily basis, but the object of the insult was Zhao Dalang, who lived in a nearby neighborhood and was also a commoner, so no one made a fuss about it. How could Liu Shi, who was used to being domineering and arrogant in the past, have ever been wronged like this? Seeing Zhao Dalang, she started shouting ¡°Help!¡± But Zhao Dalang¡­ Zhao Dalang, who can¡¯t fight back when he was beaten or scolded, was shrinking his head and not daring to look at her. From the beginning to the end, he had never stood up like a man! Whether he was beaten by her or she was beaten, Zhao Dalang¡¯s reaction was exactly the same, a bowl of water was flat! Wen Mingtang looked at Liu Shi who was glaring at Zhao Dalang angrily, and thought, after this incident, Liu Shi and Zhao Dalang are likely to have an ongoing feud and won¡¯t be able to live in peace! When there is no trouble, Liu liked ¡°honest people¡± like Zhao Dalang who were easy to control. But when she was really in trouble, Zhao Dalang¡¯s reaction was so bad, that not to mention Liu Shi, even the people watching can¡¯t help shaking their heads. What was the use of having such a man? Wen Mingtang patted the frightened Zhao Lian, whose face was pale, and after comforting her, motioned her to look at Lin Fei who was staring at the overturned ¡°egg fried noodles¡± under his feet. ¡°Auntie just said that she would make a new bowl for that distinguished person,¡± Wen Mingtang reminded Zhao Lian, ¡°He paid for it but didn¡¯t get anything to eat. If he pursues this matter, Auntie may have to take a few more sticks!¡± Originally she thought that such a person who looked like a banished fairy would be careless, but in fact¡­ how could someone who became the Shaoqing of Dali Temple at a young age be a kind person? Maybe he will really count it! Zhao Lian came back to her senses, realized this, and quickly begged Wen Mingtang: ¡°Sister Wen, can you do it? My mother made the egg-fried noodles like you made yesterday. However, it was really hard to swallow. At this time, we can¡¯t afford to offend the Lord because of this!¡± After twenty sticks, it was estimated that she will have to lie down for half a month, and she didn¡¯t want her mother to suffer more sticks. Wen Mingtang nodded, turned, and went to the backyard. After entering the backyard, Wen Mingtang didn¡¯t go into the kitchen immediately, but walked to the courtyard wall, took two steps back, and skillfully turned over the top of the wall with her strength. Reaching out to take out a pair of shoes from the banyan tree outside the wall, she jumped off the wall again and returned to the yard. Wen Mingtang took the shoes and walked to a vegetable field reclaimed in the backyard, glancing at the clearly visible footprints inside. Wen Mingtang smiled and sent the shoes back to Liu Shi and Zhao Dalang¡¯s house. Today at dawn, when Wen Mingtang noticed Liu Shi sneaking into the house, Wen Mingtang knew that it was for her. So, she kept a hand. Going to Liu Shi¡¯s room, compared to the shallow footprints in the vegetable field, found a pair of shoes that were similar to her footprints, and ¡°deepened¡± those footprints. Therefore, with such conclusive evidence, even if she did not meet those Dali Temple officials, Liu Shi would not be able to deny it. Of course, this ¡°evidence¡± was very obvious, and if someone really wanted to study it carefully, they could have found the flaws. But she was sure that Liu Shi would not have insisted on being ¡°wronged¡± and demanded an in-depth investigation. After all, even if Liu Shi admits to stealing her own things, the law can¡¯t do anything to her. It was not a big deal to stumble her another day! The fact was exactly the same. Liu Shi got the stick because she was used to being arrogant, she didn¡¯t control her mouth and insulted officials as ¡°wretched¡± instead of stealing. After returning the shoes and washing her hands, Wen Mingtang went to the kitchen and made another fried egg noodle. Just now when she saw the lumpy ¡°egg fried noodles¡±, Wen Mingtang knew that Liu Shi secretly learned her cooking. However, no matter the skill or talent, Liu Shi¡¯s cooking remained consistently subpar. It was a disappointing attempt that made one reluctant to even touch it. The fried noodles were not sticky because they were soaked in cold water. Liu Shi probably did not expect that the essence of this dish lay in the step of ¡°washing the noodles¡±. After finishing the egg-fried noodles, Wen Mingtang didn¡¯t go to the front yard immediately, but went to get a greased paper bag from her luggage, and carried them over together. But it was said that after Liu Shi was dragged to the door by the street patrolman of the Bingmasi Yamen, Liu Yuan and others sat down again and stuffed the egg-fried noodles into their mouths with a bitter face. Just as he was eating in pain and suffering, an inexplicable aroma rushed into his nostrils. Liu Yuan, who was stuffed with fried noodles in his mouth, suddenly became excited. Before he could speak, he saw an extra plate of ¡°egg fried noodles¡± in front of his otherworldly Shangfeng.3 The things inside were the same eggs, onions, vegetables, and noodles, but for some reason, the plate of ¡°egg fried noodles¡± was obviously the same as theirs, but they didn¡¯t seem to be the same dish. The noodles on the plate in front of Shangfeng looked smooth and clear, whether it was eggs or onions, the color was just right, even the green vegetables were green and oily, which whetted the appetite. It was the girl who was falsely accused of stealing sauerkraut who brought the ¡°egg fried noodles¡±. She placed a beautifully wrapped oil-paper package on the table and said, ¡°Regarding the earlier incident¡­ it must have startled all of you! This is a homemade sour plum drink mix. Please accept it as a token of my apologies and I hope you won¡¯t be displeased!¡± After saying that, she smiled at a few people, turned, and left. The oil-paper package, which was square in shape, had an additional paper attached to it. The blue background with white words listed the ingredients and dietary restrictions. The thick hemp rope used to tie the package had a beautiful red tassel attached to it. The entire oil-paper package looked beautiful and exquisite. It was definitely something that could be proudly given as a gift. This thing didn¡¯t match this restaurant at first glance, and they knew it was a thank-you gift from the girl. ¡°Is this considered bribery?¡± Liu Yuan asked everyone. Bai Zhu took a deep breath, inhaling the fantastic fragrant aroma of the egg-fried noodles in front of Shangfeng, and said, ¡°Whether it¡¯s considered a bribe or not, if it¡¯s a token of gratitude, Shaoqing should also have a share!¡± When the girl was falsely accused of stealing sauerkraut, Liu Yuan was not the only one who helped, their Shaoqing was helped. Lin Fei, who was mentioned, focused his attention on the plate of egg-fried noodles in front of him. He picked up the chopsticks and paused for a while, then took the chopstick and put it in his mouth. Then¡­ his expression was still calm, and his movements were slow. This reaction¡­ it was hard to tell whether it was delicious or unpalatable. A few people had no choice but to give up and continue eating. Throughout the meal, Liu Yuan and the others ate with a sense of self-sacrificing determination. After struggling to finish the entire ¡°lunch¡± that Shangfeng had invited them to, they finally put down their chopsticks. It was only then that they noticed Shangfeng¡¯s plate was also completely empty, despite his leisurely and unhurried pace of eating. How did Lin Shaoqing who ate so slowly, still one step faster than them? Several people are very puzzled. Was the egg-fried noodles delicious? ¡°It should be delicious.¡± On the way back, Bai Zhu said to Liu Yuan, ¡°If it¡¯s not delicious¡­do you still remember cook Madam Zhou?¡± Madam Zhou? Liu Yuan was stunned for a moment, remembering this person, the expression on his face was a bit indescribable: ¡°The one who was transferred to Guozijian4 by Lin Shaoqing?¡± Bai Zhu nodded: ¡°That¡¯s the one. The Yu Jijiu5 dismissed her.¡± Liu Yuan almost bit his tongue in surprise, ¡°Just because the cooking is not good, alarmed Yu Jijiu?¡± ¡°How is that possible?¡± Bai Zhu shook his head and waved at him, beckoning him to come over, after saying so and so, Liu Yuan suddenly understood. ¡°That¡¯s right, the Guozijian is recruiting new chefs right now, and the skill is second. The key is here¡­¡± Bai Zhu pointed to his face and said in a meaningful tone, ¡°Then the public chef has to personally inspect the chef, if not here, no matter how good your skills are, you won¡¯t be able to enter the official kitchen of the Guozijian!¡± CH 12 At sunset, Zhang Caimai appeared in front of Zhao Ji restaurant with a hale and hearty old man in his fifties. Looking at the crooked sign with the words ¡°No Customers Welcome¡± standing at the entrance of the restaurant, Zhang Caimai was taken aback for a moment, and instinctively raised his eyes to look into the restaurant. But what he saw was a mess inside the restaurant; the leftovers of the dishes and chopsticks after lunch that no one cleaned up were still on the table and no one cared about them. Overturned tables and chairs, broken dishes, and plates could be seen everywhere. This situation¡­ was like there was a fight. Zhang Caimai couldn¡¯t help frowning and was about to enter the door when he saw Wen Mingtang lift the curtain and come out from behind. What a coincidence! Zhang Caimai didn¡¯t bother to enter the door anymore, so he called out to the girl, ¡°Miss Wen!¡± This¡­ could it be the head chef of the kitchen of Guozijian mentioned in the morning? But when the old man saw Wen Mingtang, his heart suddenly turned cold. But everyone came over, so he was patient and asked Zhang Caimai: ¡°The cook with good craftsmanship you mentioned is¡­¡± Zhang Caimai pointed to Wen Mingtang who came over and introduced: ¡°This is Xiao Wen. Sir, Zhao Sishan personally recommended her, and I¡¯m determined to make sure those picky young masters of the Guozijizn can¡¯t make a mistake!¡± Originally, he thought that this matter should be a certainty and that it was just a show. As soon as Zhang Caimai said this, the old man¡¯s face immediately turned cold: ¡°No need!¡± The old man shook his head and said, ¡°She can¡¯t!¡± Zhang Caimai immediately became anxious after hearing this: ¡°Why not? Master Jiang, are you afraid that her skills won¡¯t hold up to the stage? That¡¯s okay, you can take one or two exams¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing to do with skills!¡± The old man shook his head, interrupted Zhang Caimai¡¯s words unceremoniously, and pointed at Wen Mingtang, and said bluntly, ¡°She looks so pretty, the parents of those students may be the first to disagree!¡± As for what¡¯s going on here? The old man didn¡¯t wait for Zhang Caimai to ask, so he started to explain first. ¡°Why did the cook at the front of the dining hall leave?¡± The old man said this, still a little angry in his heart: ¡°The Dali Temple in front of us allocated a cook named Zhou to us. What do you think? Some time ago, a 14-year-old student went back and argued with his family about marrying Madam Zhou! The student¡¯s family was angry at the time and ran to the Guozijian for several days!¡± As the old man reached this point, he still had an expression of lingering fear. ¡°That cook Zhou from earlier was already like this with just a beautiful appearance. This Wen young lady, with such a stunning appearance, even if she cooks exceptionally well, still our Guozijian kitchen would not dare to take her!¡± Zhang Caimai was at a loss for words when he said something, ¡°¡­¡± Wen Mingtang never thought that one day she would be rejected by the head chef because she was not ugly enough. The realization that her appearance had become a barrier was both unexpected and disheartening. The three were relatively silent for a while. At this moment, Zhao Lian lifted the curtain and ran out from behind, blushing almost to the point of bleeding: ¡°Sister Wen, my mother is making trouble again, just now she found a white silk and said¡­ If you don¡¯t leave, she will hang herself¡­ I can¡¯t even take it away from her¡­¡± Zhang Caimai and the old man on the side were dumbfounded. Wen Mingtang also promised Zhao Sishan that he would tell Zhang Caimai what happened in the past two days, so she told him what happened in Zhaoji Restaurant in a few words. He immediately sneered: ¡°She still cries, makes trouble, and hangs herself? Where did she get her face? Yuerou bought it¡­¡± ¡°But Zhao Sishan isn¡¯t here! It¡¯s difficult for an upright official to intervene in family matters, especially when she¡¯s not present, and Zhao Dalang is her own brother. With him around, it does make it troublesome for us to meddle here,¡± the old man said, rubbing his chin, and glanced somewhat guiltily at Wen Mingtang standing nearby. It would be okay if she was refused because of her craftsmanship, but the reason for her rejection was that she was not ugly enough¡­ uh, it was really unreasonable. Right now, seeing that this little lady was about to have no place to stay, Old Man Jiang thought for a while and said, ¡°Actually, I have a ready-made place for her to go!¡± Zhang Caimai didn¡¯t expect Liu Shi would come out like this and immediately chase people away by crying, making trouble, and hanging herself. Right now, it was impossible to slowly help Wen Mingtang find another good place. So after hearing the words, he hurriedly asked Old Man Jiang, ¡°Where to go?¡± Old Man Jiang picked his teeth and pointed in the direction of Zhuquefang: ¡°The Dali Temple yamen in front of Guozijan kitchen is short of chef!¡± Zhang Caimai immediately changed his face when he heard this and refused without thinking: ¡°The Dali Temple yamen chef is not good!¡± Old Man Jiang glanced at him, and said: ¡°When do you think you can have such a job as a public chef in the yamen? Except for the Yamen of Dali Temple, it is really hard to find a public kitchen that is short of people!¡± Zhang Caimai glanced at Wen Mingtang who was on the side, showing hesitation. To be honest, if he had time to find a job slowly, he would definitely not let Wen Mingtang go to the public kitchen of Dali Temple! But right now, this little lady Wen was obviously going nowhere! Although it was not impossible to stay at an inn, Miss Wen was alone, and she will also have to consider living alone in the future. It was really not worthwhile to waste money in an inn for nothing. Glancing at little Wen Mingtang, who was standing there pretty and lively, Old Man Jiang blushed slightly, and touched his nose in embarrassment. Originally, he promised Zhang Caimai to hire her, and he didn¡¯t want to break his promise. But he really didn¡¯t expect this little lady Wen to be born with such a pretty face! This morning, he was called by Yu Jijiu to give some advice. Yu Jijiu made it clear that new cooks and kitchen helpers, regardless of gender, can¡¯t be good-looking, even if the good-looking ones were the best. Jiang Laosou also felt that this request was outrageous, so he muttered on the spot: ¡°What you said, it seems that the public kitchen needs to find an ugly monster!¡± As soon as the words came out, Yu Jijiu slapped the food table at that time, got up, and said: ¡°We must find an ugly one so that it can¡¯t affect the student¡¯s studies! Maybe if the cooks¡¯ and helpers¡¯ appearances are lacking, it can make the students spend less time eating, and study harder, so that they can leave Guozijian early !¡± The Jiang old man was amazed at what he had said. It is worthy of the Dean of the College that he can still think so! But Yu Jijiu said that, even if he took Miss Wen back, she would not be able to pass Yu Jijiu¡¯s test. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell Miss Wen to stay in the public kitchen of the Yamen of Dali Temple for a while, I will help you pay attention these days,¡± Old Man Jiang said. ¡°The young lady will be transferred there.¡± After saying this, seeing that Zhang Caimai was still hesitating, Old Man Jiang said again: ¡°Although the public kitchen of Dali Temple is a bit difficult, it is not without benefits. There is a shortage of people all year round. I heard that the distribution yards for the public cooks and kitchen helpers are all empty. When Wen Shi goes in, she can get a lodging room by herself, which saves the trouble of living with other people. It is a good thing that it is a coincidence. Let¡¯s go!¡± Zhang Caimai fell silent. Taking advantage of this time, Wen Mingtang finally found a chance to interject, and she couldn¡¯t help asking curiously: ¡°Why do you treat the public chef of Dali Temple as the scourge of a scourge?¡± CH 13 Wen Mingtang was puzzled by the way Zhang Caimai shook his head repeatedly when he heard the public chef of Dali Temple. Now she heard old man Jiang say that the cook who went to the public kitchen of Dali Temple can still get a ¡°single room¡±. Such a good condition, including food and lodging, how did it fall to the point where everyone hates it? Wen Mingtang was very puzzled, but seeing that she had just finished asking, Zhang Caimai and Old Man Jiang Laosou who were opposite to each other, looked at each other, and then¡­they both showed indescribable expressions on their faces. This expression¡­Wen Mingtang was even more surprised: What was so wrong? Seeing the girl¡¯s ignorant look, Old Man Jiang turned to Zhang Caimai and asked, ¡°She doesn¡¯t know?¡± It shouldn¡¯t be! This thing, it should be known to everyone in Chang¡¯an City! Zhang Caimai glanced at him sideways and said: ¡°Although she is not from a foreign country, she was locked in the palace. How can she know about this?¡± Old Jiang came back to his senses after saying a word: ¡°No wonder!¡± Why were you so indifferent about entering the public kitchen of Dali Temple! Zhang Caimai, who was talking to Old Jiang, also opened his mouth to explain to Wen Mingtang: ¡°At the end of last year, a piece of evaluation form for personnel changes in various ministries of the capital came out¡­¡± Old Man Jiang followed up and said: ¡°The public chef of this Dali Temple yamen ranks first after changing 12 cooks in half a year¡­¡± From then on, the public kitchen of the Dali Temple yamen became famous for its culinary prowess and became a nightmare for all the chefs in the capital city. The result of changing twelve in half a year was indeed a bit impressive¡­ Even Wen Mingtang couldn¡¯t help but tremble when she heard it. But what made her tremble even more was yet to come. Zhang Caimai paused and then said: ¡°I heard that one of the twelve was a murderer who had been on the run for many years. The Dali Temple officials found out, caught him personally, and beheaded him within a month.¡±1 Wen Mingtang: ¡± ¡­¡± Old Jiang followed up and said, ¡°There are two more who originally went in to be cooks. They have been helping the murderer cook for a long time and even helped kill people. Now they have been exiled to the coal mine to dig coal.¡±2 Wen Mingtang: ¡°¡­¡± Still, there was more; Zhang Caimai said again: ¡°Last year, there was a series of heinous murders targeting chefs in the city of Chang¡¯an. In total, five chefs were killed, and the public kitchen of the Dali Temple accounted for three of them.¡±3 Wen Mingtang fell silent when she heard this. After a long pause, she said quietly, ¡°This place¡­is a bit fierce!¡± Half of the twelve cooks were either exiled or killed¡­ ¡°What about the remaining six?¡± She couldn¡¯t help being curious and asked down. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Zhang Caimai glanced at her and said, ¡°However, in the yamen of various ministries in the capital, the officials of Dali Temple are famous for their affairs! Long-winded and critical, it is really difficult to ¡®serve¡¯!¡± Having said that, Zhang Caimai glanced at old man Jiang, ¡°Master Jiang! How can you let Miss Wen go to such a place?¡± Old man Jiang rubbed his nose and said with a dry smile, ¡°I can¡¯t help it!¡± At these words, he quickly patted his chest and reassured him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know all the public cooks in the capital¡¯s yamen very well! Whenever there is a vacancy, I will be the first to think of Miss Wen. Right now, Miss Wen must first find a place to stay!¡± Zhang Caimai glared at him, then turned to Wen Mingtang: ¡°What does Miss Wen think?¡± Wen Mingtang looked back at the messy Zhao Ji restaurant, and after a little hesitation, she agreed: ¡°This Dali Temple Master Although the staff of the chef has changed¡­ er¡­ more frequently, but I am not the only cook. Maybe after a long stay, I will find that this place is also good!¡± So sensible¡­ Old man Jiang waved his hand, Immediately said: ¡°Then Miss Wen, let me go there today¡­¡± ¡°Can I go there now?¡± Wen Mingtang couldn¡¯t help being surprised when she heard this, ¡°Don¡¯t you need to give an exam?¡± Old man Jiang glanced at Wen Mingtang, shook his head, and said, ¡°The chef of Dali Temple who is in charge of recruiting people is the suspect who has been at large for many years. He has been arrested and beheaded right now, so he probably won¡¯t be able to come to test you. If you really want to ask him to take the school exam¡­it¡¯s better to burn some paper money and give it to him¡­¡±4 Wen Mingtang: ¡°¡­¡± ¡°If it weren¡¯t for that, I wouldn¡¯t have taken the job of recruiting the public chef of Dali Temple!¡± Old Jiang said. As he spoke, he waved his hand, ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll take you there!¡± Wen Mingtang didn¡¯t refuse anymore, turned around, and went back to the room to get her luggage. Zhao Lian blushed and sent her to the door, awkwardly saying: ¡°Sister Wen, I¡¯m sorry¡­ ¡° Wen Mingtang smiled at Zhao Lian, and said: ¡°It¡¯s okay, you don¡¯t have to feel sorry for me.¡± This Zhao Ji restaurant belonged to Zhao Sishan, if you accept this apology, then Zhao Sishan won¡¯t forgive her. Zhao Sishan herself will come to clean up Zhao Dalang and others. She told Zhang Cai exactly what happened during the day when she lived in Zhao Ji Restaurant, and he would definitely tell Zhao Sishan. The deeds were all in the name of Zhao Sishan, if Liu Shi really wanted to mess around¡­then today¡¯s twenty sticks were just the beginning! Zhao Sishan and other female officials killed out of thousands of palace people are hard stubbles. But before leaving, she had to find a place to cushion her stomach and eat evening food. Speaking of evening food, Zhang Caimai felt a little regretful: ¡°The food made by Miss Wen is really delicious. I thought you were going to take the exam for Miss Wen, but I can still learn about Miss Wen¡¯s cooking skills. ¡° Old Man Jiang said with a smile: ¡°Ding Caimai told me about Miss Wen¡¯s cooking skills! However, the Zhao Ji restaurant is like this now, so don¡¯t even think about borrowing the kitchen. The future will be long, and there will always be a chance to eat in the future Miss Wen¡¯s craftsmanship!¡± Even so, Old Man Jiang didn¡¯t take it seriously. He was the head chef of Guozijian, and the dishes were not bad, not to mention the cooking skills of the imperial chef, how can a little lady¡¯s cooking skills be so good? As far as he was concerned, it was important to finish the matter at hand first. Old Jiang took Wen Mingtang and Zhang Caimai to a snack shop selling pot stickers next to Mingdefang to settle their evening meals. ¡°The potstickers here are very good, I found them by accident.¡± Old Jiang took the two of them to the innermost seat and sat down, and said, ¡°It¡¯s stuffed with leeks and pork meat.¡± The proprietress of the snack shop recognized him, a regular customer, responded with a smile, and asked again: ¡°Should we still add eggs?¡± Jiang Laosao nodded and looked at Zhang Caimai and Wen Mingtang: ¡°What about you?¡± The two shook their heads to indicate that they don¡¯t need it. After chatting for a while, three plates of pot stickers were brought out. Zhang Caimai and Wen Mingtang¡¯s ones were okay, they were just ordinary pot stickers, but Old Man Jiang¡¯s had pot stickers with a spoonful of scrambled eggs on top. Wen Mingtang¡¯s eyes fell on the plate of pasta with eggs and he paused slightly. Sensing the girl¡¯s gaze, Old Man Jiang raised his head and looked at her: ¡°Miss Wen also wants to add eggs?¡± Wen Mingtang quickly shook his head, meeting the gaze of Old Man Jiang, and explained, ¡°Actually, what I thought of when you said to add an egg and what the landlady bought, was quite different¡± She originally thought that the so-called egg adding was to make pot stickers with eggs, but she didn¡¯t realize that pot stickers were pot stickers, and eggs were eggs, two separate things. Is that so? Old Man Jiang smiled and said, unperturbed, ¡°Then next time, I can try the dish that Miss Wen was thinking about!¡± After finishing speaking, he lowered his head and started eating. Old man Jiang didn¡¯t bother to take such a small matter to heart. Wen Mingtang didn¡¯t say anymore and lowered her head to eat the pot stickers. The pot stickers that can be praised by Old Man Jiang¡¯s tricky tongue were of course good: the leeks were fragrant, the pork meat was fresh, the taste was just right, and it was really delicious. In the small storefront, diners flocked endlessly, and the proprietress was too busy. Diners will use their feet to show whether it was delicious or not. The facade of Zhao Ji restaurant was more than twice the size of this pot sticker shop, but the customers, were not even a fraction of it.5 After eating the pot stickers, Old Man Jiang burped, took the two of them out of the food shop, and walked towards the Yamen of Dali Temple. CH 14 PREVIOUS NEXT Wen Mingtang followed Old Man Jiang and Zhang Caimai1 with her luggage on his back. On the way there, Old Jiang talked to her about the treatment of the public kitchen in Dali Temple. ¡°The treatment of public chefs in all government departments in the capital is the same. The monthly salary is 500 wen, and the monthly rest is of two days. All the food and lodging are in the yamen.¡± Wen Mingtang was aware that Zhao Sishan won¡¯t be arranging a bad job for her, but she didn¡¯t expect it to be so rewarding. It should be noted that an average family of three would spend no more than eight hundred wen per month on all expenses. With her five hundred wen salary, including meals and accommodations, when calculated, she would have at least half of her salary as surplus every month. Besides, this can be regarded as the position of the yamen. Unless the dynasty changes, the yamen of Dali Temple will not be closed. Hence, there was no need to worry about such things as the owner running away and cheating on wages. It was a good job that was stable and included room and board! Of course, considering that this was the public kitchen of the Yamen of Dali Temple, the word ¡°stable¡± needed to be said separately. A group of people chatted while walking, and it was already late when they reached the Yamen of Dali Temple. After dusk, it was time for the officials of various government departments in Chang¡¯an City to take over their night shifts. However, for offices like the Dali Temple, due to the uncertainty of cases and other factors, it was difficult to determine the exact schedule for night shifts. When Wen Mingtang and others arrived at Dali Temple, the yamen of Dali Temple was brightly lit like daytime. ¡°Guess what case happened again!¡± Old Jiang shook his head, said something casually, and led Wen Mingtang to the canteen of the Yamen. The evening food in the dining hall had been withdrawn. At this time, there are no Dali Temple officials who were eating, only a few kitchen helpers were chatting around a pile of fried melon seeds around the table. Seeing Old Man Jiang suddenly leading a young lady in, the handymen were startled, stood up quickly, and called ¡°Master Jiang¡± unevenly. Although he was the head chef of the Guozijian public kitchen next door, he was also a ¡°temporary in-charge¡± of this kitchen. He was considered a half master of the place, so naturally they can¡¯t be presumptuous. Old Man Jiang smiled and nodded at them, and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Ji Caimai?¡± ¡°He is in the room!¡± a crisp voice of a twelve or thirteen-year-old maid replied. ¡°I¡¯ll go call them right away!¡± When the middle-aged man saw Old Man Jiang, he cupped his fists and gave a salute, calling out: ¡°Master Jiang!¡± Old Jiang nodded toward her and pointed to Wen Mingtang beside him, introducing, ¡°This is the cook that the old man hired for your Dali Temple. She has just come out from the palace, and her culinary skills are excellent. Even the palace¡¯s food supervisor has praised her repeatedly!¡± When Ji Caimai heard that this was the new cook hired by Old Man Jiang, Ji Caimai was taken aback for a moment. And when he looked at her, his eyes fell on Wen Mingtang¡¯s face, and when he looked carefully, his expression suddenly became subtle. Wen Mingtang noticed the change in Ji Caimai¡¯s face and knew that something was wrong. Sure enough, Ji Caimai sneered the next moment, and said: ¡°At that time, the chef Zhou was a close disciple of the main chef of Hongyun! In the end, not only the dishes were mediocre, but troubles were heard. If Lin Shaoqing2 hadn¡¯t taken action to kill it at the source and transfer her away, it was not the Guozijian3 but our Dali Temple¡¯s door that the family could have come to complain!¡± Wen Mingtang couldn¡¯t help but smile wryly after listening to the words. She didn¡¯t expect that Cook Zhou in front would be such a disruptive person. She used to be here at Dali Temple before going to the Guozijian. It was really such a messy situation. With such a ¡°pearl and jade¡±4 in front of her, she was afraid that no one would hire a cook who was about the same age. Those words were indeed somewhat impolite, but Old Jiang, being of advanced age, was not one to be easily offended. Upon hearing that, he immediately laughed and said, ¡°Old Ji! The students in our Imperial Academy are only thirteen or fourteen years old at most. After all, they are still young kids and can¡¯t make important decisions. But as for you officials of the Dali Temple, even the youngest among you is in their twenties. Is there a need for their family to come looking for you? Moreover, your public kitchen at the Dali Temple¡­ tsk tsk!¡± At this point, Elder Jiang shook his head and winked at Ji CaiMai, saying, ¡°When it comes to handling matters, who can compare to you folks at the Dali Temple?¡± The unsaid words were: ¡°Do you have no idea how hard is the post of chef in your Dali Temple?¡± ¡°The position of the cook in the public kitchen has been vacant for nearly half a year. It was not easy to find a replacement for you, so don¡¯t be so picky!¡± Old Man Jiang said, patting Ji CaiMai on the shoulder and pointing at Wen Mingtang. He continued, ¡°If Miss Wen doesn¡¯t meet your satisfaction, then you can change her. Whether you have twelve or thirteen replacements, you still hold the top position. You are a trailblazer that other offices can¡¯t catch up to, no matter how hard they try.¡± Ji Caimai: ¡°¡­¡± Old Man Jiang¡¯s words were really irrefutable. What¡¯s more, there was indeed a lack of staff in the public kitchen of Dali Temple. Therefore, after thinking about it, Ji Caimai finally nodded. Then, without asking what Wen Mingtang was good at, Ji Caimai said: ¡°At present, we have master chefs to cook the kitchen¡¯s lunch and evening meals. But there is no one to cook the morning meals, can Miss Wen do the morning meals?¡± Three meals a day were divided into morning breakfast, lunch, and evening food. Among them, lunch and evening food were ¡°normal food¡± for most cooks, and they can make the most tricks, but morning food was not good. There were only a few kinds of patterns. Always the hardest to get ahead and the easiest to ignore. It is hard to believe that Ji CaiMai, upon speaking, would simply assign someone to the position of breakfast chef. Was this not his intention of making things difficult for Wen Mingtang? Wen Mingtang could not notice these discords, but how could someone like Old Jiang not notice it? He was a little guilty at first, so he arranged the good-looking little lady into a place that everyone avoided, like the public kitchen of Dali Temple. Now, seeing that Ji Caimai gave Wen Mingtang a blow, Old Man Jiang Laoshou hurriedly tried to stop him. He said: ¡°Miss Wen is very good at making green plum ribs. If you arrange for her to sit for lunch or evening meal, you can let her play to her strengths.¡± When Ding Caimai talked to him, he specifically mentioned this. The Little Lady Wen makes very good pork ribs with green plums very well, I think it was her specialty. When a new chef took office, he or she generally first cooks a special dish, so that he or she could quickly gain a foothold. Furthermore, although he mentioned to Zhang Caimai that if there was a vacancy in the yamen kitchen, Miss Wen will be transferred out of the Dali Temple kitchen. But it was really uncertain when there will be a vacancy in the public kitchen. What if she has to wait a year and a half? It was always good to stand firm so as not to be picked on by those ¡°notoriously picky¡± Dali Temple officials. It seemed that Old Jiang¡¯s help actually aroused even more displeasure from Ji CaiMai. He looked at Wen Mingtang with a smirk and said, ¡°Master Jiang¡¯s words are mistaken! Which government office in the capital city allows cooks to choose their specific mealtime positions? When things get busy, don¡¯t they all have to handle all three meals? If Lady Wen is unable to handle breakfast, perhaps she should try her luck at an external restaurant. Some restaurants might actually be looking for chefs who specialize in lunch or dinner!¡± One sentence made Old Jiang speechless. Although Ji Caimai¡¯s words were a bit harsh, they were also true. All the cooks in this public kitchen cooked three meals a day. If Wen Mingtang only cooks lunch or evening meals, it really didn¡¯t make sense. But this breakfast chef¡­it was really hard to shine! Old Man Jiang hesitated for a moment and looked at Wen Mingtang. ¡°Lady Wen, are you capable of handling the breakfast service?¡± Compared with his hesitation, the girl was ready! Smiling at him, she spoke, and said in a crisp voice: ¡°It can be done!¡± This straightforward response made the picky Ji Caimai raise his eyebrows, a little surprised. But thinking of that Cook Zhou from before, his somewhat good face sank again. Indeed, Zhou, when she was a new cook, displayed the same efficiency and diligence. No, or¡­Anyway, he didn¡¯t dare to trust this little lady casually! CH 15 PREVIOUS NEXT Seeing that Wen Mingtang had agreed, Old Man Jiang couldn¡¯t say anything more. His eyes swept over the group of kitchen helpers in front of him, and when he looked at a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy with a somewhat handsome appearance, Old Man Jiang waved to him and said, ¡°Ah Bing, you and¡­¡± Old Jiang swayed his fingers among the group of helpers, and finally selected the girl who ran to call Ji Caimai just now, and said, ¡°You can work with Miss Wen!¡± The cook needs to be accompanied by two helpers at least. When Ah Bing heard the words, he replied, ¡°Yes, Uncle Jiang!¡± Being able to call Old Man Jiang ¡°Uncle Jiang¡±, it can be seen that this young man named Ah Bing and Old Man Jiang knew each other. Probably because he felt that Wen Mingtang had been cheated, old man Jiang specially ordered Ah Bing to help her, so as not to involve two more lazy people who can cause trouble as kitchen helpers. With Ah Bing, a ¡°backgrounder¡±, she can save a lot of trouble. Ji Caimai naturally understood all the ins and outs of the situation, but he did not intervene to stop them. He didn¡¯t intend to trick the new cook on these matters, but he had higher ¡°demands¡± and didn¡¯t want to recruit more messy people. He was in no mood to deal with crooked minds like Cook Zhou before. After ordering Ah Bing and the little girl to be Wen Mingtang¡¯s helpers, Old Man Jiang greeted Ji Caimai, then turned and left. Of course, before leaving, he did not forget to say to Wen Mingtang: ¡°If Miss Wen needs any help, just come to me!¡± Such kind words were of course good to hear, and Wen Mingtang was not a person who does not know etiquette. She nodded her thanked. It was not convenient for Zhang Caimai to intervene from the beginning to the end. Right now, seeing that old man Jiang was leaving, he didn¡¯t want to stay longer, but before leaving, he said to her: ¡°If you need anything, just come to the old place to find me!¡± The old man¡¯s politeness and Zhang Caimai¡¯s words were all sincere. There was still a year before Yuerou leaves the palace, he has to take good care of this ¡°niece¡± that Yuerou entrusted him to take care of. After Old Man Jiang and Zhang Caimai had left, Ji Caimai glanced at her and said, ¡°Then let Miss Wen cook tomorrow¡¯s breakfast?¡± Wen Mingtang agreed. Ji Caimai took out a bunch of keys, turned around and walked out: ¡°Follow me to the warehouse, and pick out the ingredients you will use tomorrow.¡± The warehouse of the public kitchen of Dali Temple was at the back of the dining hall, and a large brass lock was hanging on it. The key to the brass lock was on Ji Caimai¡¯s body, and he was in charge of the distribution of the daily ingredients needed by the public chef. Wen Mingtang followed Ji Caimai into the warehouse with two small attendants, and when she looked up, he saw the neatly packed ingredients in the warehouse. The staple food was placed on the ground in a large wooden barrel, and a note was pasted on the outside of the wooden barrel, indicating what was stored in the wooden barrel. Wen Mingtang glanced at it: rice, millet, flour, red beans, mung beans, etc. The stock was complete and plentiful. Compared with the staple food on the ground, vegetables and meat were placed in the cellar below for easy preservation. Wen Mingtang glanced at the staple food section in the warehouse and was about to go down to the cellar with Ji Caimai to look at the vegetables and meat. But Ji Caimai just stood at the entrance of the cellar, pointing to the dazzling array of vegetables and meat inside, and let her see it. He glanced at it and then said with a smile that was not a smile: ¡°Miss Wen is unlucky, my public kitchen in Dali Temple buys provisions once every ten days, and the vegetables and meat I buy each time are rationed, and the chef will list them. The list is sorted and items are purchased accordingly. The last purchase was two days ago, and there are still eight days before the next purchase¡­¡± Wen Mingtang knew that ¡°making things difficult¡± was coming when she heard Ji Caimai say ¡°it¡¯s unfortunate that Miss Wen came¡±. Sure enough, when Ji Caimai said ¡°There are still eight days before the next purchase¡±, he stopped and then said with a look of embarrassment: ¡°The previous court food was prepared by Master Wang and Master Sun of the public kitchen in turn. The two of them didn¡¯t have any vegetables and meat on the menu for breakfast, so¡­¡± Hearing this, Wen Mingtang understood: ¡°So, I can¡¯t move the vegetables and meat in the cellar for the time being. They are the vegetables and meat ordered by the two masters. I have to wait until the purchase eight days later before I can make a list of vegetables and meat for Ji Cai to buy?¡± Ji Caimai nodded, knowing in her heart that he had indeed given her a problem. Seeing Wen Mingtang¡¯s thoughtful expression, Ji Caimai remembered that this little lady had never complained from the beginning to now. After thinking about it, in the end, he was still a little soft-hearted, so he said: ¡°I¡¯m afraid meat is a bit rare! But vegetables and eggs are delivered from Zhuangzi every morning, but the vegetables and meat will not be known until the next day. Little Lady Wen, do you think this is okay?¡± In all fairness, today¡¯s action was indeed suspected of making things difficult and undermining others. But¡­ it really wasn¡¯t his intention! Officials from Dali Temple rarely come to eat the court food for breakfast, and most of the time no one came. No one came to eat, so he didn¡¯t bother to think more about the breakfast menu! When Master Wang and Master Sun took turns making morning meals, it was either white flour steamed buns or noodles, or some porridge, served with stir-fry of whatever vegetables was available and eggs, to make do with it. Few people were eating in the morning, and all they wanted was a hearty breakfast, and very few people care about the items being served. There were indeed individuals who would genuinely and obediently consume this breakfast. Ji Caimai told Wen Mingtang the truth: ¡°Officials in the public kitchen of Dali Temple don¡¯t eat much food, and only prisoners who are arrested in the prison eat it. Even if it is monotonous, no one will talk.¡± Indeed, it is unlikely for prisoners who have been incarcerated in the Dali Temple Prison to have any specific demands or preferences regarding their meals. Once they were imprisoned, and especially if they had been subjected to punishment, they may be unable to speak or communicate their preferences. As long as they were not served inedible food, that should be sufficient. Therefore, the benefits and drawbacks of being a breakfast chef in the Dali temple prison kitchen were quite evident. The downside was that she didn¡¯t have anything to show off her culinary skills, but the upside was that people who were going to eat that meal were not picky eaters. So she didn¡¯t have to worry about opinions or criticism. She could do whatever she wanted. This was a seat that was very suitable for ¡°goofing off¡± and was easily overlooked. Wen Mingtang smiled at Ji Caimai when she heard the words and said ¡°OK¡±. In this way, Wen Mingtang¡¯s position as the chef of the Dali Temple was tentatively settled. After introducing Wen Mingtang, Ji Caimai turned and left. Seeing Ji Caimai leave, Ah Bing, who was following Wen Mingtang, immediately said, ¡°Master Ji, isn¡¯t he trying to make things difficult for others? There is nothing here. What else can we eat in the morning besides white flour steamed buns, white boiled noodles, and white porridge?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! The morning food is just that, and Master Wang and Master Sun just messed around with it!¡± The twelve or thirteen-year-old girl sighed, worried, and said, ¡°It¡¯s hard to make any new dish! ¡° In fact, there weren¡¯t many options when it came to breakfast items in this dynasty. Wen Mingtang, who surveyed breakfast shops this morning, had a deep understanding of this. However, she wasn¡¯t afraid of these limitations. In the future, there would be countless variations of breakfast options. Even if they only had staple foods for the next few days, she could come up with numerous creative ways to make them interesting and diverse. As she was thinking about it, two men who looked like guards came over and knocked on the door frame outside the warehouse. The three people in the warehouse looked over after hearing the knocking, and saw the two guards asking: ¡°Which one is the new chef?¡± Wen Mingtang stood up and said, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± The two guards glanced at her, as if somewhat surprised, they muttered, ¡°Why is she so young?¡± But after muttering this sentence, before Wen Mingtang could speak, the two explained their intentions: ¡°Tomorrow, there will be a group of prisoners in the prison who need to be transferred to the Department of Punishments. It¡¯s likely to be a hectic morning, and they may not have a chance to eat breakfast at the Department of Punishments. We¡¯ve come to inform you that tomorrow¡¯s breakfast should be prepared as both breakfast and lunch, ensuring it is filling. Don¡¯t bother making gruels; we don¡¯t want any complaints from the prisoners about mistreatment at the Dali Temple Prison due to hunger!¡± CH 16 After the guard finished delivering the message and left, Ah Bing and the little girl looked at each other, and couldn¡¯t help but sigh again. ¡°Now, we can¡¯t even make plain porridge!¡± Ah Bing sighed, ¡°I¡¯m afraid we can only boil noodles with dry steamed buns!¡± There was nothing, and only these staple foods can be used, but there were various requirements that seemed endless, tsk tsk¡­ Master Wen really encountered a problem this time. In contrast to the constant shaking of the head of the two, Wen Mingtang¡¯s reaction was calm. She just smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, let¡¯s see it tomorrow. If the vegetables on the farm come earlier¡­¡± Before he finished speaking, she was interrupted by A Bing and the little girl, only to hear their uneven voices. ¡°It will be too late, Master Wen!¡± As for why it will be too late¡­ ¡°Zhuangzi to deliver vegetables every day quite late, and they are specially prepared for lunch and evening meals.¡± A Bing said, ¡°Just now what the elder brother said was that a group of prisoners will be sent to the Ministry of Criminal Justice tomorrow morning. Generally, when the prisoners are transferred, the guards will leave as soon as they arrive in the morning, which is around Chenshi1. Therefore, Master Wen will have to send the court food to the prison before Chenshi at the latest to the prisoner here. How can there be time to wait for the vegetables from the Zhuangzi?¡± Therefore, for the vegetables that will be delivered tomorrow, Wen Mingtang won¡¯t be able to use the vegetables and eggs sent from the Zhuangzi until the day after tomorrow. For tomorrow¡¯s meal, all Wen Mingtang could use were these staple foods. If you can¡¯t make porridge, then don¡¯t think about making porridge with mixed beans such as red beans and mung beans. After thinking about it, all she can do was noodles. Sure enough, the next moment, the thoughtful Wen Mingtang said: ¡°In that case, let¡¯s make noodles!¡± Ah Bing and the little girl who listened to the words sighed again in unison. It was really a bad start for Master Wen¡¯s first time on the job, and it was so bumpy! Now that they were going to make noodles, let¡¯s take some flour out. Wen Mingtang asked Ah Bing: ¡°The number of people who eat court food every day is¡­¡± ¡°Miss Wen only needs to count the prisoners in the prison!¡± Ah Bing thought about it and said, ¡°Generally speaking, officials in Dali Temple don¡¯t come to eat court food, and the guards in the prison don¡¯t come here very often.¡± The breakfast counter of the public kitchen of Dali Temple was a cold seat that can¡¯t get anymore colder. Wen Mingtang nodded and asked, ¡°What about you guys?¡± What about the public cook and the yamen¡¯s helpers? Ah Bing smiled and pointed out: ¡°Not far from the yamen is Fangshi. There are many shops for breakfast in the morning, and everyone seldom comes here.¡± Wen Mingtang heard this, thought for a while, and said: ¡± Then I will do more besides the prisoner¡¯s quota¡­ er, five or six more portions will be made.¡± The little girl on the side muttered when she heard the words: ¡°Master Wen is actually preparing enough. All the food that is prepared every day is mostly poured in the trash.¡± Wen Mingtang couldn¡¯t help but touch her forehead after hearing this sentence. It seemed that the court food of the public chef of Dali Temple was really unpopular! As a public chef, you can¡¯t just call someone over and have them come for nothing. You have to be prepared for it. After knowing it well, Wen Mingtang left the warehouse. Looking at the flour and seasonings that Wen Mingtang received, Ji Caimai, who came to lock the door, shook his head slightly. How can you make bricks without straw? Even experienced chefs might not be able to make any tricks in this situation, let alone this girl who was not yet old enough. So what if she came from the imperial dining room in the palace? There were only a few types of morning food dishes. He casually asked what Wen Mingtang was going to do, and after hearing that she was going to make noodles, Ji Caimai nodded, turned around, and left without asking any further questions. The position of the chef was dispensable in the public kitchen of Dali Temple. As long as the new cook stays for half a year or a year without making any trouble, no one will come to find fault with her. So¡­ it can be regarded as an explanation to Master Jiang. The first day Wen Mingtang came to the public kitchen of Dali Temple ended quietly. At night, lying in the dormitory assigned to her by the Yamen of Dali Temple, Wen Mingtang soon fell into a deep sleep. Although the public cook of Dali Temple¡¯s post was avoided by all the cooks in the capital, there were benefits of having fewer people. One person gets one room, which avoided disputes caused by living with another person due to different living habits. ¡­ ¡­ The next day, the sky was still dark, and the entire yamen of Dali Temple was silent, except for the three figures in the public kitchen who were already busy. The first thing Wen Mingtang did was clean and wipe the kitchen stove, and scald the dishes and chopsticks with boiling water. Then she started preparing breakfast. With such a professional start, the little girl and Ah Bing nodded again and again: No matter how skilled Master Wen was, at least the things she makes will be clean; they won¡¯t cause diarrhea after eating. The first step in making noodles was kneading and stretching. ¡°Ah Bing, Tang Yuan, how about you two try it?¡± Wen Mingtang stopped at the step of proofing and said to the two with a smile. Ah Bing¡¯s surname was Jiang, and his first name is Xiao Bing. Just by hearing this surname, you can tell that Ah Bing and Old Man Jiang were indeed related. As for that little girl, her surname was Yuan, and her single name was Xiao. Her father, Yuan Datou, was a driver of the yamen of Dali Temple, and she can occasionally say a few words in front of those adults. Because Yuan Xiao was quite similar to ¡°Yuanxiao¡±2, people in this yamen also called this little girl Tang Yuan. Although Old Man Jiang cheated her a lot, he was quite helpful in choosing her assistant. Both were hardworking and clever. The steps of kneading and stretching noodles were not difficult for Ah Bing and Tangyuan who did odd jobs in the public kitchen. The flour was mixed with water to form a dough, then kneaded into balls and put aside to proof. After the doughs were almost double in size, it was time to start making the noodles. Seeing Wen Mingtang flatten the dough, then pull it apart one by one, and then tear it apart from the middle before putting it into the pan. Both of them were taken aback, and couldn¡¯t help being surprised: ¡°Master Wen, what kind of noodles are you making? How is it different from what Master Wang and Master Sun made?¡± Master Wang and Master Sun mostly roll out the dough and then cut it with a knife. How can it be as troublesome as Master Wen? ¡°This is pulled noodles.¡± Wen Mingtang said, looking at the noodles floating in the pot, she fished it out with a strainer when she saw that it was almost done. Ah Bing and Tangyuan were taken aback when they saw this and turned their backs quickly. Although they were not very old, they had been in this public kitchen of the yamen for two years, so they knew the rules. These masters pay great attention to the ¡°secret recipe¡± when cooking, and they were not allowed to peek. At first, there was an ignorant helper who annoyed Master Wang and Master Sun by asking ¡°Do you want to add oil?¡± and he was driven out of the kitchen of the yamen. ¡°Turn around for what?¡± Wen Mingtang couldn¡¯t help laughing when she saw the actions of the two of them and called them to turn around, she said, ¡°You guys have to learn to cook with me. Otherwise, how can you help me?¡± The two people who spoke at the same time were immediately excited. Master Wen, did this mean that she was willing to teach them? This was a craft. If you can learn how to cook, you will starve to death. It was much better than being a helper who can only do odd jobs. While speaking, Wen Mingtang had already added spices such as salt, sauce, vinegar, peanuts, minced garlic, minced green onion, and chili powder one by one, and finally poured a spoonful of hot oil on it. When the hot oil collides with the pulled noodles and various spices, a large number of oil bubbles popped out immediately. With the sound of ¡°Zi La Zi La¡±, the aromas of oil, spicy, noodle and various spices were aroused all at once. Ah Bing and Tang Yuan on the side gulped immediately, staring at the bowl of ready-made noodles in front of them, and the two couldn¡¯t help exclaiming: ¡°This is too delicious!¡± CH 17 Wen Mingtang smiled and mixed all kinds of seasonings with chopsticks. The fragrance of oil and ingredients soaked their face and body. Just looking at the color, their index fingers were already moving, not to mention that the fragrance was still rushing straight into their nose. Pushing the well-mixed noodles in front of the two of them, both of them stretched out their hands at the same time. Looking at Tang Yuan who was a few years younger than him and still a girl, Ah Bing took a deep breath, and retracted his hands: ¡°You¡­ you can eat first!¡± Tang Yuan looked at Ah Bing, who couldn¡¯t help swallowing, hesitated, and pushed the noodle bowl: ¡°You go first¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to argue about over a bowl of noodles?¡± Wen Mingtang scooped the pulled noodles into another bowl with a strainer and put in various seasonings, and finally poured the hot oil and handed it to Ah Bing, ¡°Eat it while it¡¯s hot!¡± He couldn¡¯t wait to mix the noodles like Wen Mingtang, and couldn¡¯t help himself, quickly stuffed the noodles into his mouth. As soon as the noodles entered his mouth, he couldn¡¯t help but exclaim: ¡°So¡­ delicious!¡± This was too delicious! At least they ate the first chopsticks with elegance and respect. By the time of the second chopstick, Ah Bing and Tangyuan couldn¡¯t bear it anymore, and they started eating noodles without a care who was watching. This noodle was smooth and chewy, mixed with the sauce in the mouth, it was even more refreshing when you slurp it. Such a way of eating is really bold, and Wen Mingtang felt that the noodles in the bowl were even more fragrant for no reason. After eating a bowl of noodles, although they felt that there was still space for some more, looking at the slightly pale sky, Ah Bing and Tangyuan knew that they had to start working. Dozens of bowls of noodles have to be prepared for prisoners in prison, and they are afraid that it will be too late when they are late. Following Wen Mingtang¡¯s example, they rolled the dough and then tore it into strips by hand. Even though they didn¡¯t do it very well at the beginning, they were quite decent in the end. As for the most important seasonings, Wen Mingtang did not hide them from the two of them and told them to remember the amount of each seasoning to be added. After all the seasonings were placed in the noodle bowl, Wen Mingtang used the hot oil. The oil pot was loaded, and together with Ah Bing and Tang Yuan, they walked to the prison of the Yamen of Dali Temple. When they arrived, several guards on duty at night were holding a pancake in each hand, and eating it with eggs and porridge. Looking at the bamboo tubes filled with porridge and the pancakes wrapped in oiled paper, they seemed to have just been bought from the market. Seeing a few people coming, the guards greeted them, and one of them enthusiastically pointed to the pancakes aside and said, ¡°Do you want to eat breakfast? We bought the pancakes in the morning market!¡± Ah Bing shook his head, remembered the smell of noodles that hadn¡¯t dissipated in his mouth, and couldn¡¯t help but say to a few servants: ¡°Brother, Master Wen¡¯s morning food is delicious!¡± ¡°Oh, really?¡± The guards smiled and still ate the cakes in their hands, but they said politely, ¡°What kind of morning food did you make?¡± ¡°Noodles!¡± The little girl Tang Yuan rolled her eyelids and looked at the appearance of several guards. Knowing that they didn¡¯t take them seriously, she helped Wen Mingtang take out the noodle bowls from the wooden cart and lined them up on the high-legged countertops one by one. After a bit of arrangement, she asked a few guards: ¡°Would you like to eat?¡± The officer who was eating breakfast glanced at some of the seasoning and only faintly saw the noodles with chili powder, minced garlic, and minced scallions. He shook his head and said, ¡°That¡¯s not necessary, we bought breakfast!¡± It looked like there were only noodles and seasonings in the bowl, not even any other vegetables or meat. Don¡¯t think the taste will be that good. This reaction was not surprising at all! Tang Yuan and Ah Bing looked at each other, and there was a look of color in their eyes, and they said loudly: ¡°Then we won¡¯t prepare it for the elder brother!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± What was so good about a noodle? A few people didn¡¯t take it seriously, and responded casually with the word ¡°OK¡±. The next moment, the sound of ¡°c¨¬ l¨¡ c¨¬l¨¡¡±, accompanied by the smell of hot spicy oil, and various seasonings instantly hit their noses. The officers who had just finished answering the word ¡°OK¡± stopped their movements and looked at the face over there, only to feel that their face was inexplicably changed because of the oil poured on it. It was too alluring. ¡°What¡­ what kind of noodles is this?¡± A servant couldn¡¯t help but put down the cake in his hand, walked to the high table, and asked curiously, ¡°Why is it different from what you usually see?¡± ¡°This is called You Po Mian.¡± Wen Mingtang said, causing the oil to be poured onto the last bowl of noodles, but before she could explain to the guards, she turned to Ah Bing and Tang Yuan and said, ¡°Send it over! Ask them to mix it well and eat it! When it¡¯s cold, it¡¯s not delicious!¡± Even though the prison was deep, chains were hung outside each cell to prevent outsiders from visiting, but the smell of pouring hot oil cannot be separated by the cell. The inexplicable fragrance poured into the cell, and the prisoners who had committed crimes in the cell couldn¡¯t help getting up and walking to the edge of the cell to look out through the cage. They were used to the unpalatable ¡°pig food¡± morning food, why was this morning food so delicious today? Today, the people who came to deliver the food to the court prison were all younger, and they look like a few children from a distance. When the noodle bowl was passed in through the cage, there was an additional order: ¡°Mix well and eat!¡± Hearing the ¡°mix well and eat¡± voices gradually went away, a guard suddenly patted his stomach and said: ¡°I really want to try this breakfast called You po mian! Why is it so fragrant?¡± Especially after smelling the aroma, chewing the dry pancakes in his hand always felt a little hard to swallow. ¡°I want to try it too!¡± The other two guards echoed in unison, looking at the noodle bowl that had been emptied on the high-legged countertop, they couldn¡¯t help being annoyed, ¡°I knew¡­eh!I just told them not to leave a bowl or two to taste!¡± As soon as the words came out, the guard who spoke first said: ¡°Actually, it doesn¡¯t matter, the young man in the innermost room who is on a hunger strike may not want to eat after the round is over, there will be leftovers. Why not¡­¡± Several guards were thinking about the leftover you po mian, and Wen Mingtang and her party took the last two bowls of noodles to the innermost cell. After squatting down and passing two bowls of noodles in from the lower mouth, Wen Mingtang got up and said, ¡°Mix well and eat!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, before leaving, a violent voice came from the cell. ¡°Don¡¯t eat! Take it away!¡± The voice had the unique timbre of a boy changing his voice, and he seemed to be a boy fifteen or sixteen years old. ¡°Tell Lin Fei! The young master didn¡¯t kill anyone, and he asked how the young master killed people. Is there a damn person who investigates the case like this?¡± The young man¡¯s questioning voice was full of anger. After the boy¡¯s questioning, another voice from the prison rang out: ¡°Master, but you haven¡¯t eaten for a day! Don¡¯t you want to eat this morning¡¯s food? It¡¯s delicious!¡± Wen Mingtang was a little surprised: In the prison of Dali Temple, can the young master take a servant while he is in prison? There was a rustling sound from inside as if the boy was mixing noodles with chopsticks, and then, the sound of noodles was heard. Wen Mingtang, who came back to her senses, shook her head, squatted down again, and stretched out her hand to collect the noodle bow. She will not force you to eat or not, but it will not be a waste! Since the young master who is in jail with his servant doesn¡¯t want to eat it, she can take it away. Just as she reached into the mouth of the cage, a hand hit her hand with a ¡°slap¡±, and then quickly took the bowl of noodles away. Immediately afterward, the voice of the teenager came from inside: ¡°Two people are living in this prison cell, so I have to share two bowls. Why do you take away one bowl?¡± CH 18 Wen Mingtang: ¡°¡­¡± Looking at the empty bowl, hearing the sound of noodles slurping from the prison, Wen Mingtang who came back to her senses smiled, got up, and said: ¡± What the Young Master said is right! The two should share two bowls. It¡¯s just that the rice harvest is not easy, please don¡¯t waste it!¡± After finishing speaking, she took Ah Bing and Tang Yuan away without waiting for a reply from inside. The group of them walked neatly without looking back, so they didn¡¯t see that after they left, a face suddenly appeared at the small food outlet, and the boy lying on the ground confirmed that they had indeed left. After eating, he got up and said to the young man in satin and brocade clothes behind him: ¡°Master, they are leaving!¡± The young man who was standing in front of the noodle bowl with a straight face and looking around hurriedly took the noodle bowl. He got up, then picked up the noodles and stuffed them into his mouth. He kept nodding while eating, and said, ¡°Oh! This is what people eat! What did those meals look like yesterday? Are they for people? It was like pig chaff.¡± Looking at his bowl with only a small half of it left, the boy said with a bitter face: ¡°Yesterday, I ate that meal!¡± The meals cooked in the kitchen of the Dali Temple¡¯s public office were indeed lacking in many aspects. The food was difficult to swallow and it was really hard to understand how they managed to make both meat and vegetarian dishes taste the same. ¡°Then you continue to eat today!¡± The boy¡¯s face was almost buried in the noodle bowl, and he hadn¡¯t eaten for a whole day. How can he remember those eating rules at this time? After devouring his own bowl of noodles, the young boy snatched the remaining half of the noodles from the servant¡¯s bowl and said, ¡°You can have the lunch and dinner meals, but I¡¯ll eat this morning meal!¡± Holding the chopsticks and picking up an empty bowl, the servant, Shuangxi, was on the verge of tears. ¡°Young Master, isn¡¯t this unfair? I already ate from this bowl!¡± ¡°I have eaten it!¡± The padded boy walked slowly to the prison bed with the noodle bowl in his arms, sat down, and said indifferently, ¡°This Young Master doesn¡¯t despise you!¡± The servant, Shuangxi, felt a twinge of dissatisfaction. ¡°¡­¡± Can this be considered being picky? He hadn¡¯t even taken a few bites yet. What¡¯s more frustrating was that those initial mouthfuls had just whetted his appetite, and before he could fully enjoy it, the Young Master had snatched it away! The young man who had just finished a bowl of noodles began to comment at this time, seeing him eating slowly and saying: ¡°Oh! Look at the noodles without meat, vegetables, or eggs. The taste is delicious. It¡¯s okay!¡± Saying ¡°Yes¡±, he hastily stuffed his chopsticks into his mouth, and the young man commented with a mouthful of food, ¡°It seems that there are crushed fried peanuts in these noodles, I still love this! Crispy, salty The sweet taste is mixed with the sauce, and the aroma of chili oil is also added¡­¡± Hearing this, the servant Shuangxi couldn¡¯t help looking at his young master resentfully: How could the young master go so far? Just eat it you don¡¯t have to do a running commentary on it! However, tasting the remaining fragrance in his mouth, Shuangxi felt that the young master¡¯s evaluation was not in vain: this noodle was really delicious! Eh! I wonder what was the name of this dish? After they go out, they can ask the cook to cook this dish! Those cooks were really something! Why didn¡¯t they make such delicious noodles before? After delivering the noodles, it was already dawn when they returned to the public kitchen hall of Dali Temple. On the way back, she even saw officials from Dali Temple coming to the yamen for duty. The sun was rising, and the entire yamen seemed full of vigor. It was just that this vitality¡­dissipated in front of the kitchen of Dali Temple. The public kitchen of Dali Temple was still empty, and there was no one there. After Wen Mingtang brought Ah Bing and Tang Yuan back to the table, facing the empty kitchen hall of Dali Temple, the three of them sat down. In such an empty public kitchen hall of Dali Temple, Ah Bing, and Tang Yuan have met many times on ordinary days. But seeing this public kitchen hall that no one cared about today, for some reason, they felt inexplicably aggrieved and unwilling. They exchanged a glance, and Tang Yuan immediately spoke up, ¡°Master Wen, please don¡¯t be angry! I¡¯ll talk to my father later. Although he¡¯s just a carriage driver, he transports those important individuals daily for their official duties! He often drives the Head Minister of the Dali Temple too. I¡¯ll make sure my father spreads the word and let everyone know that Master Wen¡¯s culinary skills are truly exceptional!¡± Ah Bing nodded and said: ¡°I¡¯ll go back and talk to my second cousin! Call him and ask him to help spread the word!¡± The words that the two uttered one after another made Wen Mingtang couldn¡¯t help laughing, but looking at Ah Bing and Tang Yuan who were fighting for her, Wen Mingtang shook her head and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay! Just take it easy!¡± Really, there was no rush! Instead of dragging people here by selling favors and making people unwilling, it was better to wait, someone will come. Indeed, enjoying food is similar to appreciating fine wine. The aroma of good food, like the fragrance of fine wine, will inevitably attract attention regardless of the surroundings. Several people grabbed a handful of melon seeds and chatted while knocking them. When the hour of Chen was about to pass, the hour of Si was approaching, and the time for the morning meal was about to end, the three of them stood up and began to pack their things. Looking at the unfinished five balls of dough covered under the cloth, Ah Bing couldn¡¯t help but said, ¡°Master Wen, can you let me bring three bowls of You Po Mian back for my family to taste?¡± The noodles were so delicious, it was a pity to waste it! How about asking her to take it home and give the family a taste of these delicious oil-splashed noodles! As soon as the words came out, Tang Yuan on the side immediately said: ¡°Then I will ask for the remaining two bowls to take them home, and my father and I each have a bowl!¡± In this way¡­the extra dough was not a waste! Just as Wen Mingtang was about to agree, she saw a few guards running into the public kitchen, and said out of breath, ¡°We¡¯ve caught up! Master Wen, give us a bowl of that You Po Mian!¡± After the guards said this, they found a seat near the front and sat down, looking towards Wen Mingtang obsessively. Because of their stubbornness in the morning, the enticing aroma of the oil-splashed noodles had been lingering in their minds until now! Originally they thought that the Young Master who was on a hunger strike would not eat or drink like yesterday. But when they went to collect the bowls and chopsticks, what they saw were two clean bowls whose sauce was even cleaned off. Several people looked at each other, and immediately made up their minds to come over and try these oily noodles! After all, what delicious food has the Young Master never eaten? If this young master can lick the bowl so clean, the noodles must be delicious! In addition, the 30 or so bowls collected today were all empty, not even a single strand of noodle were left¡­ They wanted to come over to eat breakfast at that time, but because they had to help deliver the prisoners early in the morning, they took a trip Ministry of Punishments. This is why they came so late! After finally sending off the prisoners, and seeing that there was still time before breakfast time was over in the public kitchen, several people rushed over in a hurry. That was it¡­the oily noodles that they wanted to take back can¡¯t be taken back now! Although Tang Yuan and Ah Bing were a little disappointed, they were more happy! It was a good thing for Master Wen that more people can taste Master Wen¡¯s craftsmanship! With the sound of ¡°stinging¡± oil, the fragrance spread in all directions. Soon all eyes were on Ah Bing and Tang Yuan as they deftly brought the oil-splashed noodles in front of several guards. These few bowls made fresh were naturally better than those made in advance and taken to prison! Sure enough, as soon as the noodles were eaten, she received a lot of compliments from the guards. ¡°Good¡­ delicious!¡± Because he ate too fast, one of the guards almost bit his own tongue, but still couldn¡¯t help looking at Wen Mingtang, and asked, ¡°Master Wen, what are you making as tomorrow¡¯s breakfast? Will it be this You Po Mian?¡± Wen Mingtang said with a smile, ¡°It depends on what ingredients are being sent from the village today!¡± Although the oil-splashed noodles were served as a morning meal today, typically they are prepared more frequently for lunch and dinner, which were considered proper main meals. If it weren¡¯t for the official visit from the guards yesterday, she wouldn¡¯t have used You Po Mian for breakfast today. The guards heard what Wen Mingtang meant, and they smacked the taste in their mouths, feeling a little unsatisfied. To be honest, they can still eat this bowl of oily noodles for several consecutive meals without getting tired, but thinking that they will be able to eat new morning food from Wen Mingtang tomorrow, they can¡¯t help but look forward to it a little more. It would be nice if tomorrow came earlier! CH 19 Soy Milk Fried Stick When it was Wen Mingtang¡¯s turn, she had been eagerly anticipating the fresh produce from the farm all day. However, by the time it was her turn, the fresh vegetables had already been taken, leaving behind only two packets of dried seafood and a small jar of pickled vegetables. One of the packets of dried seafood contained dried seaweed, while the other packet contained dried shrimp. As for the small jar of pickled vegetables, it was said that Master Wang and Master Sun, the other two cooks, specifically made arrangements to set it aside for the breakfast chef. Wen Mingtang returned to the hall of the public kitchen with two packages of seafood and pickled vegetables. Ah Bing and Tangyuan, who were waiting for her in the lobby, couldn¡¯t help feeling depressed when they saw the small jar of pickled cabbage and two packs of seafood that Wen Mingtang had received. Tangyuan said bluntly, ¡°Are Masters Wang and Sun doing this on purpose? With their cooking skills¡­how many times have we had plenty of leftovers for lunch and dinner? Do they really need to take so many vegetables? Isn¡¯t it just a waste?¡± Ah Bing also responded from the side: ¡°That¡¯s right! Master Wang and Master Sun have always been fooling around. When Master Wei was here, they¡­¡± Realizing his slip of the tongue, Ah Bing immediately fell silent and coughed awkwardly before changing the subject. ¡°Anyway, regardless of their cooking skills, they certainly have a lot of hidden motives. Master Wen, you need to be careful around them!¡± Though it had not made a sensation yet, Ah Bing felt that with Master Wen¡¯s craftsmanship, it would be a matter of time before everyone came to the public kitchen to eat morning food. At that time, the two masters Wang and Sun, who were not very good at craftsmanship but had too many eyes, will know about it, and maybe they will come up with some other moths! Wen Mingtang was not surprised by this. Even if it¡¯s just a casual change in duties within the palace, it can still lead to conflicts, not to mention the vacant position of the head chef in the palace kitchen. Although Old Man Jiang from Guozijian1 next door was called to take over as an interim, it was not a long-term solution. Sooner or later, the public canteen of Dali Temple will have its own head chef. With the arrival of a new chef and kitchen staff, there will naturally be people trying to push others out and claim the positions for themselves. Speaking of which¡­ Wen Mingtang looked at Ah Bing who was flirting with Tangyuan, and asked curiously: ¡°Ah Bing, the Master Wei you mentioned just now refers to¡­¡± The faces of A Bing and Tangyuan froze when they were asked about this, and they looked at Wen Mingtang. Seeing that he couldn¡¯t refuse, Ah Bing said: ¡°It¡¯s the former chef, who was found by Depute Minister Lin to be a fugitive and arrested by himself!¡± It turned out that Master Wei was a fugitive who had been on the run for many years! ¡°Master Wei¡¯s cooking skills were indeed better than those of Master Wang and Master Sun, but,¡± Ah Bing said, ¡°he is still incomparable with Master Wen!¡± He began to believe in her cooking skills. After all, she made the impossible thing of making so delicious noodles without vegetables, meat, and eggs. How can this cooking skill be compared to ordinary people? Wen Mingtang smiled and didn¡¯t say anything else. She just opened the jar of pickled cabbage, took a chopstick of pickled cabbage out, and tasted it. ¡°This pickled cabbage is moderately salty and fresh, not bad!¡± Wen Mingtang, who had tasted the pickled cabbage, nodded and praised. Seeing this, Ah Bing and Tang Yuan hurriedly said: ¡°The pickled vegetables on Zhuangzi are really good, and they are good to eat with porridge.¡± But, why did Master Wang and Master Sun specially leave pickles for Master Wen? Do they want Master Wen to cook plain porridge for the morning meal like them? It¡¯s not that they disliked white porridge. In fact, it was good to eat white porridge once in a while! It was just that Master Wang and Master Sun used to make porridge twice in three days, which had long made people get bored of it. Even now, they have not recovered from the boredom! So¡­ It was a bit unbearable to still eat porridge! Complaining about Master Wang and Master Sun¡¯s small actions, Master Wang, who made the evening meal, came to the lobby, and smiled as soon as he entered the door: ¡°Master Wen, Ji Caimai asked you to get the ingredients!¡± After dinner, it was time for the three chefs to receive the ingredients for the next meal. He led Wen Mingtang into the public kitchen¡¯s warehouse, but Master Wang didn¡¯t leave but stood outside the warehouse and exchanged greetings with Ji Caimai. Ah Bing and Tangyuan who followed Wen Mingtang into the storeroom saw this, and couldn¡¯t help but say: ¡°Master Wang is the most cautious, he must have found out somewhere that Master Wen¡¯s oil-splashed noodles for breakfast were delicious, and he was upset. Thinking of tripping up Master Wen!¡± Wen Mingtang glanced at Master Wang who talked nonsense with Ji Caimai and smiled. Looking at the ingredients on the warehouse floor, she thought for a while and took some soybeans, flour, and walked out. Looking at the soybeans that Wen Mingtang was holding in her hand, Master Wang, who was earnestly buttering up Ji Caimai, was distracted and looked at her in time, and then said ¡°enthusiastically¡±: ¡°Master Wen, do you want to make soy milk for the morning meal tomorrow?¡± Wen Mingtang nodded and laughed. she said, ¡°Make some sugar cakes with flour to drink with soy milk!¡± Master Wang also smiled and complimented after hearing the words: ¡°It¡¯s a good morning meal, Master Wen is very skillful!¡± The two talked with each other amicably, but Ah Bing and Tangyuan, who were following Wen Mingtang, felt strange when they heard it. They always felt that the atmosphere of the conversation was a little subtle. Ji Caimai half-closed his eyes, and became ¡°deaf¡± at the right time, until Wen Mingtang spoke first, and said, ¡°So, I¡¯ll go back first! We need to get up early to make morning meals, and so have to go to bed early at night.¡± Ji Caimai heard this, then nodded to her, ¡°Deafness¡± recovered, and said: ¡°Master Wen, go!¡± After some polite greetings, he vividly expressed the feeling of ¡±Night of the Long Knives 2¡°. After Wen Mingtang led Ah Bing and Tangyuan away, Ji Caimai glanced at Master Wang and said, ¡°No matter how much you want to drive someone away, there are boundaries that must not be crossed! If you cross those boundaries and add something that shouldn¡¯t be added to the food, causing problems when it¡¯s consumed, don¡¯t blame me for turning against you!¡± He knew the level of Master Wang and Master Sun well, and they fought openly and covertly for the position of the head chef and did a lot of things to run on the new cook and her helpers. Ji Caimai turned a blind eye but saw everything. If they didn¡¯t make too much trouble, he was OK with them! Today about Zhuangzi¡¯s vegetables, he knew that the two left Wen Mingtang a head of pickled vegetables and two packages of dried seafood that were never used in court food, so he beat them on purpose. Master Wang¡¯s heart jumped when he heard it, and he nodded quickly. After Ji Caimai took the key and left, he snorted coldly and went to see Master Sun. ¡°She took soybeans and flour, and said that she was going to make soybean milk and sugar cakes tomorrow.¡± Master Wang said, looking at Master Sun, and sneered, ¡°This newcomer seems to have some skills!¡± He was full of praise for the You Po Mian and made an appointment to eat breakfast tomorrow. Unexpectedly, this young cook can do a lot of tricks, even soy milk. It seems that the people who came from the imperial dining room of the palace were indeed quite capable! ¡°Ji Caimai told us to fight back, don¡¯t make a big fuss, he might be the first one to let us go if we have a problem!¡± Master Wang paused, and then said, ¡°Sun, look¡­ what should we do?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay!¡± Master Sun smiled when he heard the words, raised his eyebrows meaningfully, and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to make some sweetened beets tomorrow, so it¡¯s not a violation of the rules to pick up the sugar first!¡± Both the soy milk and the sugar cake require sugar. He took the sugar away in advance, and he wanted to see how this ¡°clever woman¡± can ¡°cook without rice again¡± this time! CH 20 The next day, the sky was still dark. Wen Mingtang, Ah Bing, and Tangyuan had already arrived at the public kitchen to prepare the breakfast food. Just like yesterday, after finishing sterilizing the utensils, they waited for Wen Mingtang to wash and soak the yellow soybeans before putting them into the mill to grind soy milk. While arranging the utensils, the corner of their eye caught a glimpse of the seasoning can, and they couldn¡¯t help but exclaim in surprise. ¡°Master Wen, when I left last night, I took a special look at the sugar can. It was obviously still half full, but now there is only a little left in the bottom!¡± Tangyuan picked up the sugar can, handed it to Wen Mingtang, and remembered, ¡°I watched it before I went back to bed yesterday.¡± Tangyuan was a careful girl, and she was very organized. When she was with Wen Mingtang on the first day, she knew that before she went back to sleep, she should check the required ingredients, seasonings, etc., and make a mark. Wen Mingtang was very satisfied with this habit. ¡°It was obviously half full¡­¡± As if afraid that Wen Mingtang and Ah Bing would not believe her, Tangyuan burst into tears, holding the can of sugar and gesticulating, ¡°It was still here when I saw it yesterday, why is there only one left now?¡± Is it all over?¡± Looking at Tangyuan with a red nose and eyes, Wen Mingtang reached out to hug her, patted her on the shoulder, and comforted her: ¡°It¡¯s okay! Don¡¯t cry! I believe you!¡± Ah Bing also took out his handkerchief and handed it to Tangyuan, saying, ¡°I believe you too. Master Wen said yesterday that he wanted to make soy milk and sugar cakes, and for these two days, she¡¯ll need sugar. I can tell it must be that Master Wang deliberately played a trick to disgust us after hearing about it!¡± Exactly! Even if those two needed sugar for themselves, why didn¡¯t they mention it earlier? Why wait until Tangyuan finished inspecting the sugar can to speak up about it? It seems like they intentionally played a mean trick on Tangyuan and Ah Bing! ¡°Ji Caimai doesn¡¯t live in the yamen, and he usually doesn¡¯t come here until after noon!¡± Tangyuan flattened her mouth and couldn¡¯t help sobbing, ¡°By the time Ji Caimai brings the sugar, lunch will already be over. How could they possibly use the sugar in time for the meal?¡± It seemed even more suspicious now that they mentioned it so late. Tangyuan and Ah Bing were right to be upset about this situation. Ah Bing was really angry at what she said, and said: ¡°No! This is too annoying, I have to go back and tell the second cousin¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay!¡± Wen Mingtang smiled when she heard the words and stretched out her hand to stop Ah Bing who was about to run to complain. She lowered her head to look at the ground soy milk, and suddenly said, ¡°Soy milk is not only delicious when it is sweet, but also delicious when it is salty!¡± Tangyuan, whose nose was red from crying, was taken aback, and opened her mouth instinctively, muttering: ¡°Can soy milk still be made salty?¡± She also ate the soy milk bought outside, all with added sugar, the mouth was sweet. This salty soy milk¡­ Uh, to be honest, she hadn¡¯t heard of it yet. Wen Mingtang smiled and said: ¡°Of course, and the taste is quite good!¡± How¡­is it possible? The tears of Tangyuan stopped, and she just wanted to laugh, but the smile just burst out and then collapsed again: ¡°But the sugar cake¡­¡± ¡°Then we won¡¯t make sugar cakes,¡± Wen Mingtang looked at the ingredient box that she had. There was enough flour, so she said, ¡°We will make y¨®uti¨¢o.¡± Y¨®uti¨¢o? What was that? Both Ah Bing and Tangyuan were at a loss. But soon, the two of them knew what y¨®uti¨¢o were. The slender flour strips were put into the hot oil pan, and countless small bubbles rolled the dough in the oil pan. When they slowly floated up, the skin was slightly yellow, and with the wooden chopsticks in Wen Mingtang¡¯s hand, she constantly fiddled with it and turned it over. The dough fluffed up from the original slender strip, and then gradually became larger, and the skin also changed from light yellow to burnt yellow. ¡°Y¨®uti¨¢o are not difficult to make flour dough recipe. The difficult thing is to pay attention to the heat of frying and toss them constantly.¡± Wen Mingtang said, handing the chopsticks in her hand to Tangyuan, and said, ¡°You come here !¡± Tangyuan was careful and methodical in doing things, which was why she was the most suited for doing this job. The y¨®uti¨¢os in the oil pan were lined up, and with the sound of ¡°prickling, prickling¡±, all the fried y¨®uti¨¢o were picked up by Tangyuan from one side, and Wen Mingtang put in a slender dough stick from the other side. Pick up one by one and put it away, until all the y¨®uti¨¢o were done. In the meantime, Ah Bing¡¯s soy milk was also cooked under Wen Mingtang¡¯s teaching. Scooping up a spoonful, looking at the mellow and jade-like slurry, Ah Bing took a deep breath, and said excitedly, ¡°Master Wen, please see if this is ready?¡± Wen Mingtang came over to take a look, nodded, and praised: ¡°It¡¯s cooked well!¡± After saying that, she took the bowl, scooped a spoonful into the bowl, and then scooped some sugar from the nearly empty sugar bowl, poured it into the bowl and stirred it, and made a simple bowl. He handed the sweet soy milk to Ah Bing, and said, ¡°Try it!¡± Ah Bing picked up the spoon, looked at the soy milk with a mellow bean fragrance in front of him, scooped a spoonful, blew it, and put it into his mouth. The soy milk in his mouth did not have the beany smell of the soy milk that he usually tasted. The rich and silky bean aroma with a slight sweetness swept the whole mouth and nose. Ah Bing couldn¡¯t help but open his eyes wide: this was too delicious! Seeing Ah Bing¡¯s reaction, Wen Mingtang was very satisfied. The preparation of soy milk was simpler than that of y¨®uti¨¢o, but the key lay in the details, especially the clean bean smell. The most important thing to avoid the beany smell was to add cold water and pay attention to the heat of the soy milk when cooking. It needs to be boiled slowly once to produce bubbles, then the heat has to be turned off and wait for the bubbles to dissipate. Then it should be cooked slowly for two or three times. After all, it was just a little troublesome, but it was not difficult to do! Seeing that Ah Bing tasted the soy milk, Tangyuan grabbed a y¨®uti¨¢o that was not too hot to touch and bit down, and then her eyes straightened! The y¨®uti¨¢o were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, and they were torn apart with a slightly wet tenacity in the mouth. Crisp and soft were two completely different textures mixed, the taste was really special, and it was too addictive. Tangyuan bit down one bite at a time, and soon, there was only the bottom of the y¨®uti¨¢o in hand. These fritters looked like a deep-fried twisted bun, but their taste was really rich. Tasty! Tangyuan finished eating the deep-fried dough stick in hand, licked her fingers, and was about to get the second one when Wen Mingtang said: ¡°Let¡¯s save some stomach, there are other ways to eat this deep-fried dough stick.¡± After finishing speaking, Wen Mingtang picked up a y¨®uti¨¢o, cut it into small pieces, and threw it into the bowl, then put in a handful of dried seaweed and dried shrimp, and finally threw in the diced pickled cabbage head, everything was ready After that, Wen Mingtang scooped up a spoonful of soy milk and poured it on. The y¨®uti¨¢o cut into small pieces, seaweed, dried shrimp and other items floated onto the warm jade-colored slurry surface, and Wen Mingtang drizzled a circle of sauce, vinegar, and chili oil on it. Warm jade-like soybean milk mixed with a bowl full of ¡°small ingredients¡± was pushed in front of Tangyuan and Ah Bing. Wen Mingtang looked at the two of them with a smile: ¡°Have you tried salty soy milk?¡± Salty¡­ soy milk? Ah Bing and Tangyan looked at the bowl full of soy milk in front of them, and couldn¡¯t help being stunned. The so-called soy milk in front of them was really beyond their perception. Ah Bing subconsciously looked down at the sweet soy milk he had just drank, and it was the first time he knew that soy milk could do this. This soy milk¡­ The salty smell mixed with the mellow and silky bean fragrance poured into the nose, and the hook made people move their index fingers. Another bowl of salted soy milk was placed in front of the two of them, so as not to push them away like yesterday, Wen Mingtang said with a smile: ¡°Try this salted soy milk, is it delicious?¡± T/N I want Ah Bing and Tangyuan¡¯s job!!!!!! And so here we have the next recipe/ark Fresh Soya Milk and Fried dough stick. I am guessing it is something like churros; but salty. CH 21 Tangyuan had clearly tasted the original texture of the y¨®uti¨¢o after they were taken out and drained of oil. Looking at the bowl of salty soy milk full of ¡°small ingredients¡± in front of her, the spoon of Tangyuan paused, and finally, the first spoonful scooped up the y¨®uti¨¢o soaked in the soy milk. It lacked the crispy outside and soft inside when eaten dry, but the fluffy inside absorbed a lot of soy milk. When you bite into it, the salty soy milk juice gushed out. The taste was more wonderful than before. After taking the first bite, it immediately aroused a sense of delight. The savory soy milk didn¡¯t turn out as strange or peculiar as expected; instead, the combination of saltiness and freshness blended with the rich aroma of the soybeans, creating a delightful and layered taste. The various toppings floating in the soy milk added even more complexity to the flavor, making it more and more addictive with each spoonful. When they came back to their senses, a bowl of soy milk had bottomed out. Looking down at all the soy milk he had scooped up, Tangyuan subconsciously glanced at Ah Bing, who had no soy milk left in his bowl. He smacked his lips and tasted it, Ah Bing said with emotion: ¡°I also like sweet ones, and salty ones too, and I don¡¯t know how to choose for a while!¡± The sweet and salty ones were both delicious, and it seemed to him that it was really hard to tell which one was better. The inmates in the prison were not going to have Ah Bing¡¯s troubles. This bottomed sugar jar can support at most two or three bowls of sweet soy milk, so sweet soya milk wasn¡¯t going to be sent there. What Wen Mingtang sent to the prison was the salted soy milk she made. When pushing the food cart to the prison, the guards came out immediately and asked with a smile, ¡°Master Wen, what are we eating today?¡± Wen Mingtang said, ¡°D¨°uji¨¡ng and Y¨®uti¨¢o!¡± Ah Bing and Tangyuan went to the prison to deliver food. They send them one by one, and occasionally got a thank you and praise from the polite prisoner: ¡°New master, your cooking is very delicious!¡± ¡°The best food I have eaten since entering this prison.¡± Originally, after eating you po mian at breakfast yesterday, they were looking forward to tasty lunch and dinner, but those two meals were the same as before, like pig food. For the young master in the last cell, this feeling was even worse. Yesterday morning, the bowl and a half of you po mian whetted his appetite, and made him ¡°rarely¡± look forward to lunch and dinner, but¡­ oh, that feeling was the same as being in the world, turning around and entering the eighteen layers of Hell again. ¡°When I¡¯m out of here, the first thing I¡¯ll do is get rid of those two cooks in the Dali Temple¡¯s public kitchen who prepare lunch and dinner!¡± the young man said with resentment. ¡°I¡¯d rather tie a spoon to a dog¡¯s tail and let it wag its tail to cook the food; it might prepare better dishes than those two cooks!¡± Yesterday, he managed to be full like this, and he was hungry twice. By the time of today¡¯s morning meal, the boy¡¯s chest was already on his back from hunger. After being locked up for two days, he naturally didn¡¯t care about the status and etiquette of the past. Since the young man smelled the fragrance of morning food, he squatted by the food port and waited for the morning food to be delivered. ¡°Young¡­Master!¡± Not far away, the servant looked at his young master who was squatting in the food hall with a bitter face, and touched his stomach, feeling aggrieved. The young master said that he was lucky enough to eat half a bowl of noodles yesterday, but he shouldn¡¯t even think about it today. The two meals that were brought in belonged to the young master alone! As for him, lunch and evening food were his own. Lunch and evening food¡­ Shuangxi¡¯s face turned green when he thought of the raw rice, the stewed fish with a fishy smell, the unshaven scales on it, and the soft, bitter salty vegetables. What the young master said is right, the stir-fried vegetables with a dog wagging its tail may taste better than those made by these two! Watching you po mian that he was expecting turned into a bowl of soup full of small ingredients, and a long stick-like deep-fried twisted head, the boy frowned: ¡°The fritters are very greasy. Why do you make it?¡± The voice of the cook from outside was still the same as yesterday. ¡°Today¡¯s morning meal, salty D¨°uji¨¡ng, and Y¨®uti¨¢o, please don¡¯t waste it!¡± After saying that, she turned and left. What kind of y¨®uti¨¢o or not y¨®uti¨¢o¡­ Hearing the name, the young man frowned, threw the two fried dough sticks that came with him to the servant Shuangxi, and said, ¡°Here! I will give it to you, let you eat it! ¡° The servant, with mixed feelings of joy and sadness, said, ¡°I don¡¯t really like these fried dough twists either, to be honest¡­¡± ¡°Since you were offered the food, go ahead and eat it!¡± the young man turned back and glared fiercely at the servant, ¡°Don¡¯t waste it!¡± Little Shuangxi: ¡°¡­¡­.¡± ¡°All right then!¡± The servant, seeing the young master¡¯s eyes light up as he scooped up a spoonful of savory soy milk, couldn¡¯t help but swallow hard and reluctantly picked up a y¨®uti¨¢o. With eyes closed and determination, he took a bite, and then¡­ His eyes lit up. Surprisingly, the y¨®uti¨¢o wasn¡¯t as greasy as the usual ones. Not only that, but it also had a unique and distinct flavor, unlike any other! In short, after just one bite, he fell in love with y¨®uti¨¢o. When he was about to take a second bite, the young man snatched the y¨®uti¨¢o from his hand. ¡°Look at you, this fritters should be pretty good too! I¡¯ll try it, huh!¡± After the young man took one bite, Shuangxi never got a chance to taste a second bite. Dry y¨®uti¨¢o and y¨®uti¨¢o soaked in salty soy milk were really two completely different tastes, but both were equally addictive and impossible to resist. The young man enjoyed finishing both portions of breakfast and laid back on the prison bed, contentedly rubbing his stomach as he exclaimed, ¡°The soy milk is cooked perfectly, without a hint of fishy taste! It seems she¡¯s quite skilled, even better than the cook at my home! I used to think soy milk was only meant to be sweet, but who would have thought it could be so delicious when savory! Also, those dried seafood, our chefs can learn a trick or two from her, and know how to add them to the soy milk in the future. And the best part is this y¨®uti¨¢o! I¡¯ve decided I won¡¯t eat those ordinary fried dough twists anymore, except for this one! Oh, Shuangxi, this new kitchen maid has some talent. Maybe after we¡¯re out of here, I¡¯ll bring her to my house¡­¡± After finishing the meal and feeling satisfied, the young man had not finished expressing his thoughts when a clear voice sounded from outside. ¡°Why don¡¯t you think about how to plead guilty first, and then worry about getting the cook away!¡± ¡± Lin Fei!¡± Hearing this voice, the young man immediately sat up from the prison bed, glared angrily at the official in scarlet clothes who came in from the prison door, and cursed, ¡°What nonsense about confessing! Do you even know how to handle a case properly?¡± Asking him to confess right away, is this how a dignified Assistant Minister of the Dali Temple handles a case? ¡°This young master, why would I need to do the killing myself when I have Shuangxi to do it for me!¡± The young man stared at Lin Fei but said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, Shuangxi?¡± With fear and trepidation, Shuangxi looked at Lin Fei, who was staring back at him. He trembled in fright and wore a pained expression, unable to utter a word. How could he respond to the young master¡¯s words? Was he supposed to accept the task of killing someone in front of this Assistant Minister of the Dali Temple? That would be a death sentence! CH 22 Ignoring the young man¡¯s clamor, Lin Fei merely glanced at him with indifference and said, ¡°P¨ªngx¨© J¨´nw¨¢ng1 made a point to discuss our relationship with my z¨³f¨´2. He was afraid that you, Xi¨£o J¨´nw¨¢ng3, would be picky and might go on a hunger strike, unable to hold on. Now, seeing you look well-fed, I will let my z¨³f¨´ know that the food at the Dali Temple suits your taste so that the P¨ªngx¨© J¨´nw¨¢ng can feel at ease.¡± Upon hearing this, the young man became infuriated and retorted, ¡°What a load of nonsense! The food at this Dali Temple for lunch and dinner is barely fit for humans! Only the breakfast is somewhat decent. I only have breakfast here, and how can you say I look well-fed?¡± Shuangxi, who was standing nearby, made a wiping motion toward the young man, trying to hint at him to stop talking. The young man who reacted after realizing it belatedly wiped his mouth and only remembered when he saw the oil stain on his sleeve: Although deep-fried dough sticks from breakfast were delicious, they were a bit of a twist. Wasn¡¯t his face greasy with his current appearance? Thinking of this, the young man who just said, ¡°It was just the breakfast food¡± immediately said angrily: ¡°Did you collude with that cook? She finished delivering some soy milk and y¨®uti¨¢o, and you came over?¡± Lin Fei glanced at him once more but chose to ignore his words, not giving any further attention to the young man¡¯s remarks. Upon seeing Lin Fei¡¯s reaction, the young man interpreted it as confirmation of his suspicions. Filled with anger, he couldn¡¯t hold back and exclaimed, ¡°I knew it! When you first brought me in here, I noticed it! Every woman in this Dali Temple, from top to bottom, is an aged old woman! Except for that kitchen maid who serves breakfast, her voice sounds like that of a delicate and charming young girl. She must be someone you sent¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, Lin Fei interrupted him with a stern look, ¡°Xi¨£o J¨´nw¨¢ng! Your baseless accusations won¡¯t change the truth. Is this the teaching of your P¨ªngx¨© J¨´nw¨¢ng Mansion?¡± The coldness in the voice made the young man tremble suddenly, but when he came back to his senses, he immediately suppressed his trembling calves and said with a stiff neck: ¡°If you want to talk about destroying people¡¯s reputation, it¡¯s my business with that cook, who are you to question me?¡± ¡°A woman¡¯s reputation is important, but a man¡¯s reputation is not important?¡± Lin Fei glanced at him indifferently, and said, ¡°I just came here today to tell you, no matter whether you are on a hunger strike or not, don¡¯t think about getting out until the case is settled!¡± After that, he turned and walked out of the prison door. The guards on the side quickly locked the prison amid the young man¡¯s curses and then looked at Lin Fei cautiously. Lin Shaoqing¡¯s4 sudden visit early this morning shocked them a lot. But since the matter was over, Lin Shaoqing should leave! They might as well go back and eat the unfinished fritters. Indeed, Lin Shaoqing was known for being concise and straightforward, saying what needed to be said and then leaving without looking back. After waiting for a while, the two guards looked at the red official robes standing in front of them in puzzlement, and raised their heads, only to see that Lin Shaoqing, who had few words and few things to do, was standing there and looking at the two of them. Seeing this, the two of them were taken aback: who one can stand the gaze of ¡°immortal face, Shura heart¡±? Looking at the two people who were trembling in fright, Lin Fei¡¯s eyes fell on the faces of the two of them, paused, and said, ¡°Why do you two have the same faces as the one inside?¡± The cursing in the prison separated by a door was interrupted for a moment, and then, an even more furious voice sounded. ¡°What¡¯s the one inside? This young master, don¡¯t I have a name? Lin Fei, tell me clearly!¡± Lin Fei ignored the panic inside, but just looked at the two guards in front of him, obviously waiting for their answer. The two guards looked at each other, and hurriedly said respectfully: ¡°My Lord, it¡¯s probably because we all ate soy milk and y¨®uti¨¢o that were delivered this morning.¡± He knew the soy milk, and Lin Fei asked the two guards: ¡°What are y¨®uti¨¢o?¡± After a description, Lin Fei nodded to them to show that he understood, and then strode out of the cell. ¡­ After delivering the prison food, Wen Mingtang, Ah Bing, and Tangyuan returned to the dining hall. The lobby was still empty and no one cared about it. Sitting at the table, Tangyuan took out the homemade pumpkin seeds and chatted with everyone while eating them. After knocking a handful of melon seeds, Ah Bing looked at the sky, and said to Wen Mingtang: ¡°Master Wen, it¡¯s almost the hour of the morning, why don¡¯t Tangyuan and I take back the soy milk and y¨®uti¨¢o¡­¡± Before the last word came out, an official from Dali Temple appeared in the dining hall with a food box. He seemed to be running all the way because he was running so fast that he even tripped over a few things when he entered the door. ¡°Today¡¯s breakfast, called d¨°uji¨¡ng and y¨®uti¨¢o, two servings please!¡± The official said and walked over quickly while wiping his sweat. When he saw the things on the table, the officer was also taken aback, staring at the y¨®uti¨¢o for a while, and then said: ¡°I really haven¡¯t seen this before, I thought it was a gimmick!¡± Wen Mingtang stood up from behind the counter, and asked the officer, ¡°Would you like the soy milk to be salty or sweet?¡± Although there was only a little left in the sugar jar and it couldn¡¯t be sent to the cell, it was enough to make four or five servings of soy milk at this time, so both sweet and salty ones could be made. As soon as the words came out, the official was taken aback: ¡°Soy milk can be salty?¡± Wen Mingtang nodded, pointed to the small ingredients on the countertop, and said, ¡°Add torn y¨®uti¨¢o, dried seaweed, dried shrimp, and chopped vegetables, and then top it with sauce, vinegar, and chili oil.¡± In just one sentence, it seemed that the appearance of the salty soy milk was directly placed in front of him. The official was taken aback for a moment, swallowed instinctively, and asked, ¡°Is it delicious?¡± The two who answered him were Ah Bing and Tangyuan, who nodded in unison! Of course, it¡¯s delicious, it was too delicious! So¡­ the officer thought for a while, and said, ¡°Then two servings of salty ones, two servings of sweet ones, and each with y¨®uti¨¢o.¡± The cheerful Ah Bing who was nodding and Tangyuan stopped suddenly. When they came back to their senses, the two looked at each other, looked at the four bowls of soy milk and a few y¨®uti¨¢o on the table, and couldn¡¯t help sighing. The idea of ??packing and taking home today¡¯s breakfast was gone again! Wen Mingtang smiled at Ah Bing and Tangyuan, and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, there will always be a chance next time, so let¡¯s clean it up so that the table can be freed!¡± After finishing cleaning the table, she came out of the dining hall with Ah Bing and Tangyuan and met Master Sun who came to make lunch. Looking at Wen Mingtang and the others, Master Sun stood in front of them with a half-smile, and said, ¡°There are more people in the dining hall for lunch than in the morning. I¡¯m going to make some sweet dishes for lunch today. So I took some sugar in advance yesterday. I forgot to mention it, so hope I didn¡¯t make trouble for Master Wen!¡± Wen Mingtang looked at Master Sun, her smile faint, and replied, ¡°Nothing special, but it¡¯s fine!¡± ¡°Nothing special, but it¡¯s fine?¡± After Wen Mingtang¡¯s group left, Sun Shifu looked at their receding figures and sneered, ¡°They talk tough, don¡¯t they? Can they really eat unsweetened soy milk?¡± At this moment, Wang Junshan must have already gone to the prison to inquire about the situation! He wants to see how today¡¯s breakfast will be served with the ¡°nothing special, but it¡¯s fine¡± approach. CH 23 Master Wang, who was ¡°highly expected¡±, had already entered the prison with a jug at this time. Facing the several guards busy inside, Master Wang smiled and greeted them, ¡°Hey, brothers, busy at work?¡± The guards, who was checking the condition of the prisoners in the cell, glanced at him and replied with a grunt, ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Master Wang placed the newly bought wine on the table of the attendant and said with a smile, ¡°I heard that the sugar jar was borrowed by someone called Master Sun this morning, and as a result, the new kitchen cook, Xiao Ya, had no sugar to use. She made soy milk this morning, and there was no sugar for it¡­¡± Before he could finish speaking, the guard interrupted him, saying, ¡°No wonder Master Wen didn¡¯t add sugar to the soy milk and made it taste salty! So, that¡¯s the reason behind it!¡± The other guard clicked his tongue and lamented, ¡°The soy milk was cooked so well, rich and smooth, without any bean smell. When I was eating it earlier, I was thinking it must taste even better with some sugar. Who would have thought that guy named Sun would ruin it!¡± Upon hearing this, Master Wang¡¯s expression stiffened slightly, and he was taken aback. Unable to resist, he asked the attendant, ¡°So, Master Wen served the salty soy milk in the morning?¡± How could one possibly consume salty soy milk? ¡°Yeah!¡± The guard nodded, glanced at Master Wang, and said, ¡°Master Wen¡¯s cooking skills are really good. Master Wang, you and Master Sun need to improve a little bit!¡± This ¡°improve a little bit¡± was a modest statement. Originally, the three meals were equally unpalatable, but they could tolerate it. Now, with the comparison of Master Wen¡¯s cooking skills, the cooking skills of the two masters, Sun and Wang, were almost like pig chaff. They really didn¡¯t know how they did it. Before Master Wang, who was still in a daze, could react, the guard waved away the man: ¡°Let¡¯s go! I have work to do!¡± Master Wang forced a laugh a couple of times and chuckled as he left the prison cell. Once outside the cell, he immediately frowned, ¡°How could one consume salty soy milk? Should I add some salt to it?¡± But that wouldn¡¯t taste good at all. Maybe I should buy some soy milk from outside to try? As the idea crossed his mind, Master Wang felt it was worth a shot. Before heading out, he decided to visit the kitchen of the Ministry of Justice and told Sun, ¡°Sun Ding, your plan has failed! That new maid somehow managed to find a recipe. Without sugar, she made salty soy milk, and the group of attendants couldn¡¯t stop praising it!¡± Upon hearing this, Sun, who was cooking, had a momentary expression of shock on his face. ¡°What?¡± he asked. ¡°She made salty soy milk,¡± Master Wang replied and couldn¡¯t help but ask Sun, ¡°Have you tried it?¡± ¡°How could I eat that stuff?¡± Sun¡¯s hands trembled as he accidentally added a large spoonful of sugar to the dish. He looked at Master Wang, thought for a moment, and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go buy a bowl of soy milk from the street and add some salt to try it?¡± Master Wang nodded and said, ¡°I had the same idea. You wait here.¡± Sun replied with a grunt and looked down at the cooking dish. His hand holding the spoon froze for a moment, and he asked Master Wang, ¡°Did I add sugar just now?¡± Amid their conversation, he had forgotten whether he had added sugar or not. Master Wang¡¯s eyes flickered, and he said, ¡°I don¡¯t think you did.¡± Master Sun said ¡°Oh¡±, and added another spoonful of sugar. Seeing this, Master Wang turned around and walked towards the door of the public kitchen. When he stepped out of the public kitchen, he couldn¡¯t help but sneer, and then quickly left the public kitchen. The noon bell rang, and it was time for lunch. Dali Temple officials and servants dragged their tired feet into the public kitchen of Dali Temple. The dishes on the table were still the same, listless. The culinary skills of Master Wang and Master Sun were as stable as ever! Without the slightest expectation, they ordered today¡¯s lunch and returned to the table, and sat down. A hungry servant took the chopsticks from the chopstick holder on the table and immediately put a piece of food into it, and then let out a whole body of exclamation. Coming to the public kitchen for lunch every day is like going to the execution ground, which made people feel timid and there was not the slightest interest in eating. Every mouthful of lunch tasted so bad that everyone was listless while eating. At this time, someone suddenly heard an exclamation, and the officials and servants who had just put down their bowls and chopsticks and were about to move their chopsticks looked at the person who made the exclamation. But one of the guards spit out the food in his mouth, and kept looking for water to drink while shouting: ¡°What? Can this be eaten? It¡¯s so sweet and horrible!¡± How could he spit out all the pig chaff in the past? Could it be that Master Sun, who has always played steadily, can still play abnormally today? The moment the guard uttered an exclamation, Master Sun¡¯s face turned pale, and he instinctively put a piece of food into his mouth with the chopsticks in his hand, and then spit it out in one gulp, his face pale and ugly. God damn Wang Junshan! He always knew that this old thing was not a good thing. On the one hand, he agreed to target the new cook together with him, and on the other hand, he secretly did not forget to trip him up! But at this time, before he could curse Wang Junshan, the officials and servants of Dali Temple, who dipped their chopsticks in the vegetables and tasted them one after another, showed bitter expressions, spit out the food in their mouths, got up and left the public kitchen. Some of them didn¡¯t forget to sneer when they left and said to him: ¡°I have to talk to Lao Ji about hiring another cook. The dishes you two cook are really hard to swallow!¡± None of them had come to eat breakfast, so they didn¡¯t know that the public kitchen had a new cook. The public chef¡¯s food was really unpalatable, so they had to go back to the lobby of the office hungry and sent someone to buy some food from the small restaurant outside. For those who have never eaten in the public kitchen, you can also directly tell them not to go, after all, the dishes made by the public kitchen today were really hard to swallow. Just throwing away the pen in his hand, Liu Yuan, who was about to get up to go to the public kitchen of Dali Temple for dinner, was stopped by Bai Zhutong and Wei Fu before he could get up: ¡°Liu Yuan, Master Sun, who has always been stable in the public kitchen today, is not performing well today!¡± Unstable? Liu Yuan was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up, and said, ¡°Are you performing supernormally?¡± Bai Zhu slapped him on the back of the head, and said, ¡°What are you thinking? Master Sun¡¯s ability¡­ can be supernormal? It¡¯s abnormal!¡± Where can the pig-bran-like craftsmanship go wrong? This undead craftsmanship had already been the lowest of the low! Bai Zhu said, ¡°This meal is inedible even with eyes closed; it¡¯s so sweet that it would make anyone nauseous! For those who can¡¯t tolerate excessive sweetness, they might need to call a doctor on the spot!¡± Liu Yuan: ¡°¡­¡± At first, he thought that Master Sun¡¯s craftsmanship would not be able to go down anymore as he was already so low. But it turned out that he was wrong. In this way, it was natural to go out to eat. Bai Zhu poked Liu Yuan with his elbow, motioned to the innermost room, and said, ¡°Last time, Lin Shaoqing invited us to lunch, and it¡¯s time for us to return the favor today!¡± Although the lunch at Zhao Ji Restaurant last time¡­well, it seemed that everyone except Lin Shaoqing suffered from it. But since Shangfeng invited them, they naturally wanted to invite him back. ¡°Go and call Lin Shaoqing and ask him if he wants to go out to eat with us¡­¡± Before he finished speaking, he heard a voice. ¡°No need, Your Excellency already had his lunch.¡± Everyone looked at the person who spoke but saw that the one who spoke was the servant Zhao You who had just come out of the inner room. He wiped his oily mouth, hiccupped, and said, ¡°Your Excellency had lunch, go and eat it yourself!¡± T/N: I was laughing myself while translating this chapter. The description of the poor office workers and their canteen food was just perfect. CH 24 It was not surprising that their boss had lunch. After all, Hou Furen1 loved her son dearly, so it was not surprising that she came here to deliver lunch or something. They find it strange how Zhao You has so much grease on his mouth. What did he eat to have that? Liu Yuan and the others were stunned, and when they came back to their senses, they couldn¡¯t help asking curiously: ¡°Zhao You, what did you eat?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s d¨°uji¨¡ng and y¨®uti¨¢o!¡± Zhao You burped after eating, not waiting for others to speak, he said, ¡°I¡¯m going out for some errands, so I¡¯ll leave first!¡± In the blink of an eye, he ran off and disappeared. Liu Yuan and the others looked at each other and couldn¡¯t help but wonder, ¡°We all know what d¨°uji¨¡ng is, but what is this ¡®y¨®uti¨¢o¡¯ he mentioned?¡± It¡¯s a pity that Zhao You had already run far away, and no one could explain the question. After Liu Yuan and the others who went out for lunch had left, the door of the inner room opened, and Lin Fei walked out. He called out to a passing servant and said, ¡°I have something for you to do!¡± ¡­¡­¡­ But Master Wang, who had gone outside to buy soy milk, deliberately bypassed the public kitchen. ¡°Well, you Wang Junshan, how dare you play tricks on me!¡± Master Wang was taken aback and hurriedly dodged with the soy milk in hand, but the stick pointed at the head and hit him violently. While dodging in a hurry, the hot soybean milk spilled out and splashed all over the two of them, and they couldn¡¯t help crying loudly in pain. It was only when the wailing sounded that it was interrupted by a voice from outside. ¡°You two have the nerve to fight?¡± Ji Caimai walked in from the outside with a cold face, holding a bowl of public chef¡¯s food in his hand, and threw it at Master Sun. When Master Sun, who was about to avoid him, saw Ji Caimai¡¯s cold face, he had no choice but to accept the bowl of food that slammed his face. Looking at the inexplicably funny Master Sun who was covered in food, Ji Caimai sneered: ¡°I turn a blind eye to those dirty thoughts on normal days, what¡¯s going on?¡± Usually, he just let them go! As long as they didn¡¯t make a big fuss, he didn¡¯t care. After all, there were intrigues everywhere, even a place as big as the public chef¡¯s palm. If you didn¡¯t even have the skills to deal with the intrigue among several cooks in the public kitchen, then what kind of cook should you be? It was very tiring to have him uphold justice all day long. But today¡¯s encounter was simply¡­ Ji Caimai¡¯s face was extremely ugly, and he stopped Master Wang who was moving his feet and wanted to slip away, and said, ¡°Wang Junshan, where do you think you¡¯re sneaking off to? You knew that Master Wen took some soybeans yesterday to make soy milk. Did you deliberately instigate Sun Dingren to take all the sugar?¡± Wang Master moved his lips and instinctively tried to defend himself, saying, ¡°I just accidentally let it slip to Sun Dingren that Master Wen was going to make soy milk¡­¡± ¡°Still trying to argue?¡± Ji Caimai couldn¡¯t help but stepped forward and kicked him, ¡°What? Do you want Lin Shaoqing to interrogate you in person?¡± Master Wang and Master Sun, who were about to argue, suddenly changed their faces when they heard the word ¡°Lin Shaoqing¡±: How could¡­ how could Lin Shaoqing be alarmed? ¡°As far as your dirty thoughts are concerned, Lin Shaoqing can see through them with just one glance.¡± Ji Caimai scolded, ¡°It alarmed Lin Shaoqing, do you still want to do it?¡± Master Wang and Master Sun¡¯s faces were pale and gray: they still remember the incident of Zhou¡¯s cook last time¡­ ¡°What kind of lunch and dinner are you making¡­¡± Ji Caimai cursed, and then pointed to their noses and cursed, ¡°From now on, the things sent from Zhuangzi, Master Wen will pick first, and the two of you can pick the rest!¡± Master Wang and Master Sun¡¯s expressions changed slightly, but before they could speak, Ji Caimai turned around and walked away with his hands behind his back. ¡­¡­¡­¡­ Master Wang and Master Sun, who had been beaten a lot, were honest all afternoon. When Wen Mingtang was called to pick vegetables, she couldn¡¯t help being stunned when he saw a piece of green vegetables and a basket full of eggs in the basket. Ji Caimai smiled at the side and said: ¡°Yesterday I asked them to pick first, and I heard that the two of them snatched it faster than anyone else, so I left some unneeded dried seafood for you. You pick first today!¡± Is that so? Wen Mingtang glanced at Ji Caimai in some surprise: ¡°But what happened to the two masters?¡± Wen Mingtang didn¡¯t quite believe that Ji Caimai, who turned a blind eye and closed his eyes, would come to take care of her on purpose. Most likely, there was something wrong with those two. Ji Caimai didn¡¯t shy away from hearing the words and said straightforwardly: ¡°Yesterday, Lin Shaoqing found out about the sugar matter, and he especially found someone to talk to me about it. The way those two people did it was really nasty! From now on, you will be the first to pick the vegetables that come from Zhuangzi!¡± Wen Mingtang understood. It turned out that it was not because of taking care of her, but because he had to give a face to Lin Shaoqing! Shaking her head, she looked down at the vegetables in the basket. While watching, Ji Caimai said ¡°Oh¡± and said, ¡°That¡¯s right! The people in the village just came over and said that Dao Ming¡¯er is going out, so you can just pick according to the two-day supply.¡± Wen Mingtang paused while looking at the vegetables, looked down at the vegetables in the basket that had been counted for two days but did not increase the quantity, hesitated for a moment, and took two things in front of Ji Caimai. A big handful of young spring onions with a few pumpkins. Huh? Just these few things? Ji Caimai raised his eyebrows, couldn¡¯t help but looked at Wen Mingtang, and asked one more question: ¡°Only these, Master Wen?¡± Wen Mingtang nodded, looked up at Ji Caimai, and said with a smile, ¡°Since it¡¯s a two-day portion, let¡¯s save some for lunch and dinner!¡± Seeing that she only picked some pumpkins and left with a bunch of fresh and tender spring onions, which were only used as garnishes and were of no use, Ji Caimai nodded, obviously very satisfied with her sense of humor. When Wen Mingtang returned to the public kitchen with the shallots and pumpkins, Ah Bing and Tangyuan, who had been waiting there, greeted her, looked curiously at the things she had brought, and asked, ¡°Master Wen, what are you doing tomorrow? Will it be pumpkin sprinkled with spring onions?¡± ¡°No.¡± Wen Mingtang shook his head and said, ¡°Spring onions are spring onions, pumpkins are pumpkins, two things. This is for two days!¡± Huh? That was all for two days? The two kitchen helpers were stunned. Wen Mingtang reached out and picked the fresh and tender scallions, and said: ¡°Tomorrow, eat the green onions first, and the vegetables with green leaves will not stay fresh long before making pumpkins.¡± Although they didn¡¯t know what Wen Mingtang was going to make with the pumpkins, they at least had some idea. But how could these green onions be eaten? ¡°Will the spring onion be sprinkled on the pancake or on the noodles?¡± Ah Bing asked in surprise. Wen Mingtang shook her head and said, ¡°None, make noodles with scallion oil!¡± CH 25 C¨­ngy¨®u b¨¤n mi¨¤n? What was that? Both Ah Bing and Tangyuan were at a loss. Wen Mingtang just smiled and said to them, ¡°You will know tomorrow morning.¡± In the early morning of the next day, when the drum sounded to announce the dawn, Wen Mingtang, Ah Bing, and Tangyuan had already taken out the flour and spring onion they received yesterday for inspection. Master Sun and Master Wang were sloppy, and the three of them were afraid that both could play something dirty behind their back. After confirming that there was nothing wrong with the items, Wen Mingtang put the washed spring onion on the countertop, reserved a small handful for garnish, removed the root of the rest of the spring onion, cut them into slices, and began to cook the scallion oil. Ah Bing and Tang Yuan both moved small tables to the side and curiously observed. They really couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of taste the scallion oil would have after being simmered and prepared. Until the spring onions were poured into the hot oil, a strong aroma of scallion oil spread out. This smell¡­ Ah Bing and Tang Yuan stared straight at the scallion oil in the pot when they smelled the smell. How could the oil made with this daily garnish have such an overbearing and thorough fragrance? Wen Mingtang kept rolling the scallions in the pot with her long chopsticks until the scallions gradually turned from green to light burnt brown, and then she fished them out. While making the scallion oil, the worker who was cleaning in front couldn¡¯t help but run over when he smelled the scent, and asked, ¡°What did you do? It smells so good?¡± They had never smelled such a scent before. What was it? Ah Bing and Tangyuan stared at the scallion oil in the pot and said, ¡°Scallion oil!¡± ¡°What is scallion oil?¡± asked the workers. Ah Bing shook his head with Tangyuan, staring at the pot of hot scallion oil without blinking, watching Wen Mingtang pour in the sauce, salt, sugar, vinegar, etc., stirring and cooking until the juice was finally collected, and a pot of scallion oil sauce was ready. Scoop out the scallion sauce and set aside to cool. Wen Mingtang prepared the spring onions for decoration and put the burnt brown scallions aside, and began to prepare the noodles. It didn¡¯t take much effort to boil the scallion oil, because the scallion oil was so fragrant, Ah Bing and Tangyuan just stared at the fragrant scallion oil and couldn¡¯t help swallowing. When they realized that they weren¡¯t doing anything, they hurried up and asked Wen Mingtang: ¡°Master Wen making noodles? Will it be like the noodles made last time?¡± Fine noodles were cut with a knife. Today¡¯s scallion noodles were much simpler than the previous You Po Mian or yesterday¡¯s D¨°uji¨¡ng Y¨®uti¨¢o. Seeing that Wen Mingtang finished the noodles with scallion oil so quickly, A Bing and Tangyuan looked at each other, and couldn¡¯t help asking: ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s all?¡± Wen Mingtang nodded, ¡°Yes¡±, and said, ¡°Okay.¡± As for whether it is delicious, you will know after eating it. Wen Mingtang grabbed a handful of noodles and put them into the pot. The boiling water instantly calmed down, but soon small bubbles started to rise again, and it began boiling once more. Wen Mingtang occasionally stirred the noodles with chopsticks and, after they were about 70-80% cooked, she scooped them up and placed them in a bowl. She poured a spoonful of scallion oil sauce over the noodles, placed a pair of chopsticks with crispy brown scallion segments in the middle, and finally sprinkled some chopped scallions on top. He then served the dish in front of Ah Bing and Tangyuan. Ah Bing and Tangyuan looked at the bowl of noodles in front of them. Obviously, the ingredients were nothing more than ordinary, just flour and green onions, and the cooking was simple, just simple noodles. They don¡¯t know why, such simple ingredients, but what Master Wen made looks so attractive. The sauce seeped down from the top, and the green onion and the fried brown green onion were on two sides, which looked inexplicably beautiful. This simple bowl of noodles was also complete in color and fragrance. As for the taste¡­ After trying the You Po Mian and D¨°uji¨¡ng Y¨®uti¨¢o before, they didn¡¯t need to think about it, it must be delicious. Another bowl of noodles was pushed in front of the two of them. Ah Bing and Tangyuan picked up their chopsticks and were about to eat when Wen Mingtang said: ¡°Mix well and eat!¡± Oh, oh! The two immediately stirred, and when the sauce covered the whole bowl of noodles, they couldn¡¯t wait to put a chopstick into their mouths. The moment the food entered their mouth, the eyes of the two of them straightened. The noodles wrapped in the sauce had a strong fragrance of green onion and noodles, and the texture was smooth and clear. The diced green onion mixed with the fried burnt brown onion bought a fresh taste to the dish. This was also delicious. Ah Bing mumbled as he swallowed the noodles, saying, ¡°I¡¯ve never had a breakfast tastier than this! Oh no, ¡®You Po Mian¡¯ and ¡®D¨°uji¨¡ng Y¨®uti¨¢o¡¯ were delicious too, but this scallion oil mixed noodles are simply heavenly!¡± Tangyuan swallowed the noodles and ¡°woo woo¡± couldn¡¯t help nodding in agreement: Yes! She didn¡¯t know how this little green onion can become so delicious. The cleaners carrying a broom and sweeping the floor outside the public kitchen couldn¡¯t bear it anymore! Just now when the scallion oil was fragrant, the two of them were already standing there and their eyes were straightened by the smoke. At this time, they couldn¡¯t bear the reaction of Ah Bing and Tang Yuan, so they quickly put the broom aside and said, ¡°Give us some c¨­ngy¨®u b¨¤n mi¨¤n!¡± After all, there are only a few dishes meant for breakfast, and with the two masters Sun and Wang as obstacles, can there be any new dishes? After all, it was hard for a clever woman to cook without rice! But¡­ it turned out that they were still wrong. The cleaner who received a bowl of c¨­ngy¨®u b¨¤n mi¨¤n, his eyes lit up as soon as he picked up the noodles with his chopsticks, and then picked up the chopsticks in his hands at a faster speed, and said while eating: ¡°Delicious! I¡¯ve never had such a tasty breakfast before! Whether it¡¯s from a restaurant, diner, or even a fancy establishment, I¡¯ve never had a breakfast this good!¡± After listening to the words, Wen Mingtang smiled, made a bowl for himself, and walked aside to eat slowly. After they finished eating the court food, they were going to send the court food to the prison of Dali Temple. Due to the unavoidable delay on the way to the prison of Dali Temple, and the lumpy noodles, Wen Mingtang deliberately rinsed the noodles in cold water before pouring the scallion oil topping on them. When the trolley was pushing the food delivery cart came to the gate of Dali Temple, the guards who had been waiting for a long time rushed out to greet them, sniffed their noses, and said, ¡°What did you cook today? I smelled the fragrance just now, and it was so delicious!¡± Right now, they were looking forward to the morning food every day. As soon as they ate today¡¯s c¨­ngy¨®u b¨¤n mi¨¤n, they exclaimed ¡°Delicious!¡± Wen Mingtang smiled and took Ah Bing and Tangyuan to the cell to deliver the morning food. Pass the noodle bowl in from the food port under the prison cell, and add a sentence of ¡°mix well and eat!¡±, which meant that the court food had been delivered. Following the instructions one after another, Wen Mingtang squatted down before sending the noodle bowl in until it was delivered to the last room. Before she could speak, her arm was caught by a strong force. ¡°Okay! I finally caught you!¡± It was the young man¡¯s voice, and he yelled inside, ¡°Call Lin Fei here, or I¡¯ll arrest the cook, so she won¡¯t want to leave this prison¡­!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± A painful exclamation sounded from inside, Wen Mingtang withdrew her hand, looked at the red arm, got up, and said: ¡°Mix well and eat!¡± CH 26 As soon as the words fell, the voice of the young man in a panic came out: ¡°Good cook, I knew that you and Lin Fei were in the same group! Do you know who I am? People? You hit me¡­¡± ¡°Was it you whom I hit?¡± The voice of the girl came clear and melodious through the prison door, interrupting his words. ¡°The hand that grabbed my arm was coarse, regardless of the fingers or palm. Your manner of shouting for violence and killing gives away your upbringing as a privileged child from a wealthy family, accustomed to a life of luxury. Such rough hands don¡¯t seem to belong to you. Moreover, when that hand grabbed me just now, I sensed that the fabric of his robe was coarse and rough, like burlap. How could a young master like you possibly wear such clothes?¡± In the prison cell, the young man glanced at Shuangxi, who was grinning with pain in his hands, and his eyes fell on Shuangxi¡¯s clothes. He took a look at the robe and said, ¡°When I¡¯m out, I¡¯ll buy you two clothes! Anyway, you are someone close to me, so I won¡¯t lose face by taking you out!¡± Shuangxi covered her hands and dared not speak. It was just now that the young master asked him to do it. He said that the young master himself is a man, and good men don¡¯t fight with women, so he asked Shuangxi to do it. So, it seemed that in the eyes of his master, he was not a man anymore? But there was no other way, the young master told him to catch her. But he had no choice; the young master commanded him to grab her, so he did. As a result, he ended up getting scolded by the kitchen maid. Indeed, she¡¯s probably just a kitchen maid used to rough work! Her hands look like those of an ordinary young girl, but when she hits, it¡¯s incredibly painful. It hurts even more than being struck by a large palm or a fan. I don¡¯t know how she manages to hit so hard. So, don¡¯t listen to that cook¡¯s voice, she definitely looked like a yaksha. Shuangxi felt aggrieved as he touched his sore hand. After the cook outside said this, she led the people away. Shuangxi looked at his young master with a bitter face, smelling the two bowls of noodles placed in the cell opening, couldn¡¯t help but take a deep breath, swallowed, and said, ¡°Master, this side¡­¡± It was all like this, the young master should not eat the food made by the cook! If you don¡¯t eat it, just give it to him! ¡°Of course, I have to eat these noodles!¡± The young man picked up the two bowls of noodles, walked to the prison bed and sat down, and said viciously, ¡°That kitchen maid is so despicable that only by devouring both these bowls of noodles can I begin to quell the hatred in my heart!¡± Shuangxi: ¡°¡­¡± Was there such a reason? When did the young master not eat both the breakfast portion made by this cook? Today he even found such an excuse! ¡°Hey! This cook is a little bit hateful, but the food cooked here is really delicious, and I don¡¯t know how she does it!¡± The young man lowered his head to eat the noodles, and said as he ate, ¡°But Lin Fei must think that the food sent out like this by his cook, just relying on this little food can make me obediently accept my fate. Staying in this prison, I will still find a way to get out!¡± Shuangxi glanced at the boy who was eating alone and squatted aside to look at him aggrieved. He just swallowed his saliva. Was it possible to get out of this prison as soon as you want? Don¡¯t think too much, young master! ¡­ When they returned to the lobby of the public kitchen after delivering the food, it was the first time they saw someone waiting in the lobby for the food. As soon as Wen Mingtang and others came back, the servant who came to buy soybean milk and fried dough sticks yesterday hurriedly said: ¡°Oh, you are finally here! Is the morning meal noodles today? I see that there are noodles on your table.¡± Wen Mingtang glanced at the desk and said: ¡°It¡¯s c¨­ngy¨®u b¨¤n mi¨¤n!¡± Noodles with scallion oil? The guard was stunned: ¡°Is it delicious?¡± Ah Bing and Tangyuan nodded together: ¡°Delicious!¡± Wasn¡¯t this nonsense? Can Master Wen make anything not delicious? ¡°Then¡­¡± the guard hesitated for a moment, and said, ¡°Give me three bowls!¡± He rubbed his belly with a smile, and said, ¡°One bowl is not enough for me.¡± How big was his appetite? Of course Zhao You knows best. He saw the cook walk to the counter and put the noodles into the pot, pick them up, pour sauce, sprinkle green onion, and fried scallions, and finally put them in his food box, and say: ¡°Mix well and eat.¡± The guard nodded, looked down at the three bowls of extremely simple but delicious c¨­ngy¨®u b¨¤n mi¨¤n in the food box, swallowed, resisted the urge to eat it on the spot, and closed the lid. When he was about to leave, he saw Wen Mingtang¡¯s red arm, and asked casually, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Master¡¯s hand? Was it burnt?¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± Ah Bing and Tangyuan said together. ¡°Wasn¡¯t this thanks to the young master with the boy at the back of the cell?¡± Speaking of this, Tangyuan was still a little annoyed, ¡°When delivering a meal, he ordered his servant to catch Master Wen, yelling that Master Wen was with Lin Shaoqing and that he would not let Master Wen go unless he was released¡­¡± Before she finished speaking, the guard turned around and left with the food box. The guard was tall and burly, with very long legs, and he disappeared out of the door after a few steps. Tangyuan got stuck in the middle of the conversation: It was the guard who asked the question, and he was also the one who ran away before anyone finished speaking. This was too rude! ¡°Forget it!¡± Wen Mingtang said, put the scallion oil that was specially boiled in a bottle and handed it to Ah Bing and Tangyuan, and said to the two, ¡°When making noodles at home, pour two spoonfuls of it, and it will last for a few days.¡± After hearing this sentence, A Bingtong Tangyuan was immediately overjoyed, and hurriedly said, ¡°Thank you, Master Wen!¡± They had planned to take leftover food for the past two days, but couldn¡¯t take it back. What was more, if you take it home, the cold ones were not as delicious as eating them on the spot. So it always made people feel a little bit grudged. Now that they had this bottle of scallion oil, they can take it home and ask their family to taste the delicious morning food made by Master Wen. ¡­ But Zhao You, who was accused of running out of the public kitchen in three steps and two steps, went directly to find Lin Fei with the food box. Lin Shaoqing liked the soy milk fritters yesterday very much. The newly recruited chef seemed to have some skills, and even he himself was thinking about the daily meal. ¡°The cook made c¨­ngy¨®u b¨¤n mi¨¤n today!¡± Zhao You took a deep breath and said, ¡°It looks so simple, but it¡¯s too fragrant!¡± In the meantime, Lin Fei had already taken out a bowl of scallion oil noodles and grabbed a piece of cloth from nearby to carefully wipe the chopsticks. Just as he was about to start eating, Zhao You spoke up, ¡°Young Master Lin, Xi¨£o J¨´nw¨¢ng in the cell has been giving a hard time to that kitchen maid. When I went to buy breakfast this morning, I saw that the kitchen maid¡¯s hands were all red. I heard that she was suddenly grabbed by Xi¨£o J¨´nw¨¢ng¡¯s man while delivering breakfast.¡± As Zhao You spoke, he shook his head and mixed the noodles. After taking a mouthful and exclaiming, ¡°It¡¯s delicious,¡± he couldn¡¯t help but express regret, ¡°With such excellent culinary skills, if that kitchen maid can¡¯t do much breakfast tomorrow due to her hand injury, it would be a pity!¡± Lin Fei on the side ate noodles slowly, without saying a word. Zhao You was not surprised by this either. Lin Shaoqing has always been like this, he can¡¯t eat or sleep without talking! When the court food was finished and Zhao You was about to go down with the food box, he heard Lin Fei say, ¡°Go and call Liu Yuan, I have something to say to Liu Yuan!¡± Zhao You said ¡°Ok.¡± After leaving the room, not long after, Liu Yuan, who had just arrived at Dali Temple and hadn¡¯t had time to sit down, came over. As soon as he entered the door, Lin Fei asked before even saluting: ¡°How is the investigation of the Xi¨£o J¨´nw¨¢ng in the prison going on?¡± CH 27 It turned out to be about the case of the Pingxi Xiao Junwang. Liu Yuan said ¡°Oh¡±, greeted Lin Fei and went back to the lobby. After a while, he came back with a scroll. In addition to this scroll, he also wrote two words in large strokes with a pen ¨C water ghost. There were many cases in Dali Temple. If they were to annotate each case in detail, there would be an endless number of similar ¡°locked-room¡± murder cases alone. Therefore, privately, they gave each case a simple and easy-to-understand name based on its unique characteristics. The case of Pingxi Xiao Junwang was called the water ghost case by them. After the beginning of spring, the nobles in Chang¡¯an City, who had shut themselves indoors during the winter days, will naturally start to go for outings in the mountains and rivers. Searching boats for fishing and recreational activities on the banks of the Weishui River was something favored by many rich and powerful children. Shortly after the beginning of spring, an elderly man was fishing by the banks of the Wei River. When his fishing hook was tugged, he thought he had caught a big fish. He pulled with all his strength, but the hook snapped, and whatever had been caught was pulled closer. To his surprise, it wasn¡¯t a fish at all¡ªit was clearly a person! The old man was terrified by this shocking discovery and immediately rushed to the government office in Chang¡¯an to report the incident to the officials. The one involved in the incident was the son of a wealthy merchant from another region. Originally, the Chang¡¯an government office took over the case directly, so it would not have been reported to Dali Temple. However, this was just the beginning. Not long after, two corpses appeared one after another in the Weishui River, one was the son of a local rich merchant in Chang¡¯an, and the other was the second son of Liu Biejia¡¯s family. So far, three corpses had appeared in the Weishui River. A few days ago, a fourth one appeared. However, unlike the previous three bodies found in the river, this one appeared directly in the bathtub on the boat. The boat was a private vessel belonging to the Yushi Zhongcheng1, Yan San. The body found dead in the bathtub was indeed Yan San himself, Yushi Zhongcheng. At that time, all the servants and maidservants on Yan San¡¯s private boat were absent, except Li Yuan, the prince of Pingxi, who had passed out, with his servant Shuangxi. Seeing the corpses appearing one after another, the identities of the dead people became more and more ¡°amazing¡± each time, and even now a Vice Minister of Imperial Censors died directly. How can the F¨³y¨«n2 Chang¡¯an handle such a case? He immediately transferred it to Dali Temple and let Dali Temple take over. After Dali Temple took over the case, Lin Fei was assigned to lead the investigation. After conducting a thorough inquiry, he promptly informed the F¨³y¨«n of Chang¡¯an about the progress. Furthermore, he ordered the arrest of Prince Li Yuan of Pingxi and his servant, Shuangxi, who had already returned home and brought them to the custody of the prison at Dali Temple. In all fairness, this approach was not bad at all. Yan San died on his private boat, and there was no one on board except Li Yuan and Shuangxi. According to the usual case-handling process, these two people should be immediately detained as the biggest suspects. However, Li Yuan had a special status, if he wanted to leave, how can the F¨³y¨«n of Chang¡¯an stop him? But even though he didn¡¯t dare to offend Li Yuan face to face, the F¨³y¨«n of Chang¡¯an was not foolish enough to let the matter rest at that. As soon as Li Yuan left, he reported to Dali Temple on his back, and Dali Temple stopped him. In fact, the first three corpses on the bright side all appeared in the river, and the last one Yan San was dead in the bathtub. At first glance, it may seem like there¡¯s no direct connection between these incidents. What¡¯s more, the age of the first three deceased was still young, all of them were fifteen or sixteen years old, while Yan San was in his thirties, so he looked even less related to the first three cases. However, the F¨³y¨«n of Chang¡¯an obviously didn¡¯t want to take this hot potato, so he made up a reason to group several cases and sent them to Dali Temple. ¡°Two days before the first corpse appeared, people on the banks of the Weishui River were offering sacrifices to the god of the river,¡± Liu Yuan said. The festival has never been recognized by the court, and many local people in Chang¡¯an don¡¯t know about it. ¡°When they were performing the river god ceremony this year, something went wrong. The person who was carrying the sacrificial offerings and about to place them in the river accidentally fell in and drowned,¡± Liu Yuan said. ¡°Fortunately, there were many people present, and they managed to pull him out of the water together.¡± The gift-giver who was selected to deliver the sacrificial offering into the river was a master of swimming. It is not unusual for such a person to drown. ¡°After they pulled him up, they saw knotted water plants wrapped around the man¡¯s feet. I asked the people who sacrificed to the river god every year, and they said that this year the river god went to visit Lord Dragon and was not at home. Without the river god¡¯s supervision, the water ghost ran out and wanted someone to be a scapegoat.¡± Liu Yuan said, ¡°Several people died in a row. Those who lived by the Weishui River thought it was the water ghost who caused the trouble. I saw that the name was special and easy to remember, so I used it!¡± The reason pushed forward by the F¨³y¨«n of Chang¡¯an was also ¡°attributing the incident to the mischief of water ghosts.¡± Of course, as officials of Dali Temple, they don¡¯t believe that this was some kind of water ghost looking for a substitute for the dead ghost. People kill people, not ghosts. Lin Fei never interrupted Liu Yuan¡¯s words until Liu Yuan finished speaking, and didn¡¯t mention the water ghost. He just asked Liu Yuan: ¡°How is the investigation at Wuzuo¡¯s place?¡± Liu Yuan had a subtle look on his face: ¡°I really can¡¯t imagine that Yan Zhongcheng, with his gentle face on normal days, also¡­ and those fifteen or sixteen-year-old boys, who are only so young, how young they are¡­ tsk tsk!¡± Really, the longer you stay in Dali Temple, the more you can discover the wonderful people and things in this world! Lin Fei¡¯s reaction was still calm when he heard the words, he responded lightly, and said: ¡°What else?¡± Liu Yuan quickly adjusted his emotion and continued: ¡°Besides, no algae in the river was found in the stomachs of the first three deceased. Preliminary judgment, they should not have drowned in the river, but were drowned somewhere else and then thrown into the river.¡± Lin Fei nodded and said to Liu Yuan, ¡°You can extract the medicinal materials contained in the medicinal bath that Yan San was found soaked in, and find someone to go to the medicine shop to ask. Enquire if the first three deceased people or themselves went to buy this kind of medicinal bath kit.¡± Liu Yuan, who was feeling emotional after listening to a sentence, suddenly became excited, and suddenly understood: ¡°Lin Shaoqing means that the three people in front were also drowned in the same medicated bathtub as Yan Zhongcheng?¡± Lin Fei nodded, confirming Liu Yuan¡¯s understanding, ¡°Yes, you¡¯ve grasped the idea correctly. It appears that all four victims were drowned in the same kind of medicinal bathtub, not in the river. We need to investigate further to uncover the motive behind these killings and who is behind it.¡± Lin Fei continued, ¡°The F¨³y¨«n of Chang¡¯an may have been hasty in attributing these deaths to the same cause, but it appears that he might have been right after all.¡± Indeed, Yan San¡¯s death was highly likely to be related to the previous three victims. However, the difference lay in the disposal of the bodies. The bodies of the first three victims were moved to the Wei River, while Yan San¡¯s body was left undiscovered before it could be relocated. As for the reason why Yan San¡¯s body wasn¡¯t moved in time, Lin Fei couldn¡¯t help but think of Li Yuan, who had arrived aggressively with his servant, Shuangxi, after their boat collision. He speculated that this might be the reason behind Yan San¡¯s death and the apparent haste to get rid of him. With this crucial information in mind, Lin Fei and his team would now focus on investigating the connection between Li Yuan and the deaths to determine if he was indeed involved in the heinous crimes. CH 28 Li Yuan, the Prince of Pingxi County, was the only seedling of the entire Pingxi County Prince¡¯s Mansion. Being coaxed all day long, it was inevitable that he was very arrogant. He had never done such things as bullying men and women, but with Li Yuan¡¯s temperament, he would kill them on the spot and reason about things like his boat being hit later. ¡°Li Yuan and his servant passed out not long after boarding the boat. The air must have been poisoned.¡± Lin Fei said, ¡°Since the drug has been used, the person who can drown a person may not necessarily be a tall and burly man. Weaker men and women can do it, so don¡¯t be rigid because of this.¡± Liu Yuan nodded and said ¡°yes¡±, and when he was about to turn his head and leave, he heard Lin Fei say: ¡± How was the sour plum drink pack you got last time?¡± Sour plum drink pack? Liu Yuan was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly realized: ¡°Is Lin Shaoqing asking about the food package that the lady from the Zhaoji restaurant gave me earlier?¡± Lin Fei nodded and glanced at him, saying, ¡°This is what she sent as a token of gratitude.¡± Liu Yuan: ¡°¡­¡± Don¡¯t assume that using that unfriendly face of his would make people unable to discern the meaning behind his words. Send it as gratitude¡­ Wasn¡¯t he and Lin Shaoqing helping with the Zhaoji restaurant that day? In this way, the drink pack used for this gratitude naturally had Lin Shaoqing¡¯s share. But on second thought, it¡¯s the first time he has seen Young Master Lin actively asking for something. Could it be that he really liked the dish called ¡°egg-fried noodles¡± from the last time? The thought of that dish made Liu Yuan¡¯s face turn green. The ¡°egg-fried noodles¡± from last time left a lasting impression on him, and even now, just the thought of such a meal made him feel terrified. He couldn¡¯t believe that Lin Shaoqing had such unique tastes. Why hadn¡¯t he noticed Lin Shaoqing¡¯s distinctive palate before? Or¡­ Was Lin Shaoqing¡¯s noodle dish different from theirs? While he was still thinking wildly, he heard Lin Fei speak again: ¡°Bring some here.¡± Liu Yuan: ¡°¡­Yes.¡± He hadn¡¯t touched the bag of sour plum drink! For people like him, it was too troublesome to cook something by themselves. So although he took it back happily, he didn¡¯t even open it and kept it in the drawer of his desk. After a trip, Liu Yuan simply brought the whole package of sour plum drink to Lin Fei. A lazy person like him can¡¯t move, so instead of letting it go bad, he should just give it to Lin Shaoqing. Lin Fei glanced at it and took it without refusing. ¡­¡­¡­. After twilight, Ji Caimai went to open the door of the public kitchen and warehouse, and Wen Mingtang took Ah Bing and Tangyuan to pick out the ingredients. It was probably because she was too ¡°interested¡± in picking vegetables yesterday. Ji Caimai had a good impression of her, and smiled at her, saying: ¡°You can choose any ingredients in it. When we buy them together in a few days, Master Wen must make a list, so you won¡¯t need to be so tied up like these days.¡± Wen Mingtang said with a busy smile, ¡°No, there are only these dishes for breakfast, it¡¯s useless, thank you, Ji Cai, for taking care of me!¡± Such a way of speaking was even more satisfying. Ji Cai nodded slightly, indicating that she could go in now. Wen Mingtang led Ah Bing and Tangyuan into the warehouse without looking around to choose, as if he had made up his mind early in the morning. She took Ah Bing and Tangyuan to pick out a few ingredients and walked out. Seeing Wen Mingtang and others carrying the ingredients onto the cart, Ji Caimai couldn¡¯t help but take a curious look, and when he saw the ingredients on the cart, his eyes paused. Brown sugar, peanuts, sesame seeds and flour. ¡°Master Wen, are you going to make cakes?¡± After all, he was the purchaser of the Dali Temple public kitchen. Seeing these ingredients, he could tell what dish can be made from it. Wen Mingtang nodded, and said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m going to make a cake.¡± After a pause, before Ji Caimai could speak, she took the initiative to say, ¡°Ji Caimai, do you want to try it? Leave two for Ji Caimai tomorrow?¡± Ji Caimai instinctively wanted to refuse, after all, who hasn¡¯t tasted such things as pancakes? But by accident, he thought of the reaction of those guards when he went to the prison for interrogation yesterday. They were full of praise for the morning meals of the past few days. And they also said that after eating the morning meals of Master Wen and then the lunch and evening meals of Master Wang and Master Sun, it was like going to the 18th hell directly after going to the ninth heaven. This metaphor made Ji Caimai curious. After thinking for a while, he nodded and said, ¡°Sure! You can save two for me, and I¡¯ll come over early tomorrow.¡± Wen Mingtang responded with a smile. ¡­ ¡­ Early the next morning, after cooking the porridge, Wen Mingtang took Ah Bing and Tangyuan and started making cakes. Watching Wen Mingtang take the steamed peeled pumpkin out of the pot, Tangyuan couldn¡¯t help being curious: ¡°Can pumpkin be made into pancakes? I thought it could only be eaten steamed!¡± ¡°It¡¯s certainly possible, not only can it be made, but it¡¯s also delicious!¡± Wen Mingtang said, mixing the pumpkin into the flour, and kneading it while adding water. The dough mixed with pumpkin turned into a light orange color, which was indeed much more appetizing than the white dough we usually see. The next step is to adjust the stuffing. Wen Mingtang prepared two stuffing: sesame stuffing and brown sugar peanut stuffing. In comparison, sesame stuffing was very common, and they had seen many. It was the first time they saw this brown sugar and peanut stuffing, and Ah Bing and Tangyuan couldn¡¯t help being curious. ¡°Is it delicious?¡± Ah Bing asked. Before Wen Mingtang could answer, Tangyuan gave him a blank look, and said, ¡°Do you think Master Wen¡¯s cooking can be not delicious?¡± Wrap the stuffing in the pumpkin dough and press it slightly. Wen Mingtang took a bamboo skewer and pressed it a few times. Looking at the small round cake shaped like a pumpkin, Ah Bing and Tangyuan didn¡¯t even blink their eyes. They didn¡¯t know if the pumpkin pie was delicious, but it was so good-looking that people can¡¯t help but want to taste it and touch it after seeing it. Stuffing and pressing, Wen Mingtang made it very quickly, and Ah Bing and Tangyuan were also quick to learn, and soon turned the big ball of pumpkin dough into pumpkin round cakes that covered the table. The next step was to fry the small, round n¨¢n gu¨¡ b¨«ng until both sides are golden and remove it. To facilitate the distinction, Wen Mingtang especially sprinkled some black sesame seeds on the top of the sesame-filled n¨¢n gu¨¡ b¨«ng for decoration. The first pot of fried n¨¢n gu¨¡ b¨«ng was unsurprisingly shared by Ah Bing and Tangyuan. The two walked aside with the plate, picked it up with chopsticks, and smelled the strong fragrance of pumpkin before they ate it. The word ¡°fragrance¡± in ¡°color and fragrance¡± had already ticked people¡¯s index fingers. Ah Bing blew on it and couldn¡¯t wait to bite it. The outside of the n¨¢n gu¨¡ b¨«ng was crispy, but the inside was soft and sticky. When he bit down lightly, it brought out long strings. The fragrance of pumpkin was mixed with the bitten stuffing. The aroma hit the nose. Compared to the usual sesame stuffing, Ah Bing and Tangyuan chose brown sugar and peanut stuffing. The brown sugar filling in the hot n¨¢n gu¨¡ b¨«ng had turned into burnt brown sugar juice, wrapped in crushed peanuts of different sizes and flowing into the mouth. The aroma of brown sugar mixed perfectly with the rough and gritty feeling of crushed peanuts. Both the aroma and the taste were rich and amazing. Because the brown sugar juice was about to flow out after biting a bite, the two hurriedly stepped forward to suck the brown sugar juice that flowed out, not wanting to waste a mouthful. This was also delicious! The eyes of both of them lit up, and they couldn¡¯t help nodding. They can guarantee that anyone with a sweet tooth will love this n¨¢n gu¨¡ b¨«ng. Wen Mingtang watched with a smile as A Bing and Tangyuan ate n¨¢n gu¨¡ b¨«ng, picked two that looked particularly good and put them aside, and said, ¡°After you finish eating, fry all the n¨¢n gu¨¡ b¨«ng. Leave those two alone for now and put them in the pan again before Ji Caimai comes back.¡± After a few days of being honest, it was time to start building a good relationship with Ji Caimai. CH 29 Ever since Master Wen came, people looked forward to the morning meal every morning. When they heard the sound of carts outside, the guards ran out to watch today¡¯s morning meal. One was the usual glutinous rice porridge, which was soft and glutinous but not sticky. It was obviously not intended to be used as the protagonist of the morning meal. The real star of the morning meal today was something else. The guards just glanced at them and were attracted by the small, round, golden-yellow round cakes shaped like pumpkins. They stretched their necks and couldn¡¯t help asking curiously: ¡°What is this?¡± Tangyuan said in her small crisp voice: ¡°Today¡¯s morning meal, is white porridge and n¨¢n gu¨¡ b¨«ng.¡± Upon hearing this, the attendants immediately understood, and some couldn¡¯t help but nod repeatedly, saying, ¡°The name is indeed very fitting!¡± Looking at these small and delicate pumpkin cakes, what else could we call them if not by this name? ¡°Not only is the name apt, but it tastes even more apt!¡± Ah Bing licked his lips, and said, ¡°It¡¯s really made of pumpkin and dough, it¡¯s so delicious!¡± The guard couldn¡¯t help but be eager to try, and hurriedly urged: ¡°Then move down quickly, by the way, how many of these cakes can one person get?¡± ¡°One person can get three n¨¢n gu¨¡ b¨«ng and a bowl of porridge.¡± ¡°These are stuffed with sesame seeds, and the ones that aren¡¯t, are stuffed with brown sugar and peanuts.¡± The guards were drooling at the words, and hurriedly stepped forward to help enthusiastically, and took the porridge and n¨¢n gu¨¡ b¨«ng in. After the guards had finished picking their share, Wen Mingtang led Ah Bing and Tangyuan to deliver the prison food. Everyone can share a bowl of porridge with three n¨¢n gu¨¡ b¨«ngs. Wen Mingtang and others deliver the food one by one. When they are delivered to the last cell, Ah Bing stands up and says to Wen Mingtang: ¡°Master Wen, let me go!¡± The pair of master and servant locked up in the last cell was really troublesome. They grabbed Master Wen¡¯s hand yesterday, but luckily they didn¡¯t catch any problems. Otherwise, what will happen to the breakfast today? Wen Mingtang shook her head, squatted down, and while looking at the empty food port below her to be wary of a hand that suddenly came out, she passed the porridge and n¨¢n gu¨¡ b¨«ng in through the food port. This time, there was no sudden stretched hand, and she put down the bowl and plate steadily. Wen Mingtang let go of her hand, and before she could withdraw it, a face suddenly popped out of the food port. Wen Mingtang, who was startled by the sudden appearance of his face, let out an exclamation and almost knocked over the plate. Ah Bing and Tang Yuan behind her thought that someone was coming to grab their hands again, so they quickly stretched out their hands and pulled Wen Mingtang back. Amid the hustle and bustle, someone outside stumbled and fell, ending up in an awkward position. After regaining consciousness, Ah Bing and Tangyuan quickly helped Wen Mingtang who had fallen on the ground, and said nervously, ¡°Master Wen, are you okay!¡± Wen Mingtang shook her head, patted her chest instinctively, sighed, and said: ¡°Scared me to death!¡± Just now there was chaos outside, but the inside was surprisingly quiet as if the air was stagnant. At this time, Wen Mingtang exclaimed ¡°I was scared to death¡±, and finally there was a reaction inside. The young man¡¯s voice rang out with a mix of anger and embarrassment, ¡°What do you mean? What do you mean by scaring you? Look at how handsome I am! People who see me always compliment me, how can you be scared to death by me?¡± Wen Mingtang patted her chest. Was this a question of being good-looking or not? Anyone who sees a face suddenly popping out from the well-rounded hole will be frightened, okay? Regarding the young man¡¯s appearance, amidst the chaos, they could only vaguely remember his clear and bright eyes and eyebrows. Presumably, he was indeed good-looking! Besides, seeing that young man shouting so loudly in the prison of Dali Temple, the family background was also very good. Indeed, even if he was truly good-looking, how old was this young man? Compared to someone who exudes both charm and sophistication, there might be a difference in age and life experiences. Wen Mingtang ignored him: No matter how loud the young man was, wasn¡¯t he imprisoned? He couldn¡¯t jump out through the cell door. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Wen Mingtang said to Ah Bing and Tangyuan. Hearing the sound of leaving footsteps outside, the young man inside the prison door bit his lips and remained silent. He couldn¡¯t help but turn his head and ask the boy next to him: ¡°Is your master good-looking?¡± Shuangxi nodded quickly, and said: ¡°Young master is the best, and I can¡¯t find a second one in the entire Great Rong!¡± Although this praise was a little exaggerated, his young master was indeed born well, and it didn¡¯t hurt to praise it. The young man snorted, picked up the bowl and cake on the food plate, went back to the prison bed and sat down, took a look at the round cake shaped like a small pumpkin, and hummed, ¡°You¡¯re quite skillful.¡± After saying that, he took a bite, and then couldn¡¯t help squinting his eyes. After he swallowed the n¨¢n gu¨¡ b¨«ng one mouthful in a row, he hummed: ¡°Breakfast today is also very good!¡± Shuangxi watched the boy eat the pumpkin pie. Swallowing uncontrollably, hearing what the young man said at this time, he couldn¡¯t help asking: ¡°Master, does the cook look like a yaksha?¡± It hurt so much that the cook beat him yesterday! The boy glanced at him, paused while eating the cake, and said vaguely: ¡°It¡¯s okay!¡± What does it mean? Shuangxi couldn¡¯t help being curious, opened his mouth, and wanted to ask again, but the young man handed him a bowl of porridge, and said, ¡°I ate a lot the past two days, so let¡¯s share some of the food with you today!¡± With the bowl of white porridge in front of him, Shuangxi wanted to cry but had no tears. Then he really thanked the young master! ¡­¡­¡­ When Wen Mingtang and her group returned to the public kitchen, compared to the previous two days when no one cared about them, there were already some people waiting in the public kitchen. When they saw them coming back, they hurriedly said, ¡°Master Wen is back! Is it the small round cakes for today¡¯s morning meal?¡± Wen Mingtang nodded and glanced at the people waiting in the public kitchen. Several cleaning attendants were drawn by the fragrance of c¨­ngy¨®u b¨¤n mi¨¤n yesterday, along with the attendant who has been coming daily with a food box to deliver breakfast. The cleaning attendants had their breakfast in the main hall of the public kitchen, while the attendants took their breakfast to go. ¡°Is it still a portion for three people?¡± Wen Mingtang glanced at him and asked. The attendant nodded and replied, ¡°Yes.¡± He had already grabbed a piece of n¨¢n gu¨¡ b¨«ng and started eating it, while exclaiming, ¡°It¡¯s delicious.¡± He also said, ¡°Master Wen, can you give me two more pieces?¡± After the cleaning attendants and attendants left, Ah Bing and Tang Yuan happily said to Wen Mingtang: ¡°Master Wen, as long as they eat our breakfast once, they will come here every day and become ¡®repeat customers¡¯, which shows that Master Wen¡¯s craftsmanship is really good! From this point of view, there will be more and more people eating n¨¢n gu¨¡ b¨«ng in the future.¡± Wen Mingtang smiled at the two of them, looked up at the person who appeared at the door of the public kitchen, and said, ¡°If this one becomes a repeat customer after eating this, the public chef¡¯s troubles will be largely eliminated yesterday.¡± Ji Caimai, who promised to come to eat the morning food, walked in. CH 30 Ji Caimai always arrived at the public kitchen at the exact time. He was only a quarter of an hour late, and the breakfast time had already passed. Indeed, the breakfast on the counter was also almost all taken by those who arrived on time. The first thing he saw was the soft white porridge cooked on the countertop, which was nothing special. Ji Caimai took a glance and landed on the plate next to the porridge. On the plate were three orange-yellow round cakes shaped like pumpkins. Huh? He hadn¡¯t seen this before. Ji Caimai walked over with great interest, Wen Mingtang seemed to have just seen him, and quickly called out ¡°Ji Caimai¡±. Ji Caimai waved his hand, looked down at the small round cake for a moment, and asked, ¡°Is it made of that pumpkin?¡± Wen Mingtang nodded, and said, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s called nan gua bing.¡± Things that use oil are naturally the best when they are just out of the pan. With one bite, Ji Caimai¡¯s eyes narrowed. Wen Mingtang didn¡¯t wait for his comment, but turned back to the countertop, and cleaned up the countertop together with Ah Bing and Tangyuan. When tidying up, Ah Bing couldn¡¯t help but want to take a look at Ji Caimai but suddenly got kicked by Tangyuan. Tangyuan shook her head at him, signaling him not to look. Ji Caimai was someone who wanted to save face and not the type who like to be surrounded by people. If you stare at him, maybe he won¡¯t like it. Sure enough, after eating a nan gua bing, Ji Caimai turned his head and said to Wen Mingtang, ¡°I ate breakfast before coming here, and now I can¡¯t eat anymore. I¡¯ll take these two away! ¡° Seeing that Ji Caimai left without saying a word, Ah Bing couldn¡¯t help frowning. After Ji Caimai left, he hurriedly asked Wen Mingtang: ¡°What does Ji Caimai mean? Did he like our nan gua bing?¡± Tangyuan glanced at him. With a glance, she said, ¡°If he didn¡¯t like it, will he take it away?¡± ¡°Since he liked it, why doesn¡¯t he praise Master Wen?¡± A Bing said puzzled. Who doesn¡¯t praise Master Wen¡¯s cooking? Why Ji Caimai just¡­ ¡°Ji Caimai wants to level a bowl of water, so of course he won¡¯t say anything.¡± Wen Mingtang glanced at him, shook his head, glanced at Tangyuan who kept nodding, and said, ¡°Tangyuan is a clever girl.¡± This little girl named Tangyuan left a deep impression on her from the first time she saw her. If it wasn¡¯t for this, Old Man Jiang and others at that time would not have picked Tangyuan and Ah Bing to help her up. ¡°However, although he doesn¡¯t know what to say if he likes the morning food I made, the ingredients in the future must be very generous.¡± Wen Mingtang said. In the small kitchen of the Dali Temple, there were several conflicts between the cooks and the purchasing staff. She knew she couldn¡¯t resolve all the troubles in just a few days. It would take time and patience to handle everything gradually. ¡­ Wen Mingtang cleaned the public kitchen here and handed it over to the next cook, Master Sun. But Zhao You, who took the breakfast back there, was full of praise for Wen Mingtang¡¯s cooking skills again. ¡°Lin Shaoqing, I didn¡¯t say that! This newly hired Master Wen¡¯s cooking skills are really amazing. I can eat two of them by myself, oh no, it¡¯s for three people!¡± Zhao You said. Biting the sesame-stuffed pumpkin pie in his hand, he said, ¡°It¡¯s the first time I know that there are so many tricks in breakfast. Lin Shaoqing, tell me¡­¡± On the side, Lin Fei continued to eat leisurely, following the etiquette of ¡°not speaking while eating, not talking while sleeping.¡± He didn¡¯t even bother to respond to him with a single word. It wasn¡¯t until Lin Fei finished one portion of the morning food and Zhao You¡¯s two portions of the morning food were finished, he said, ¡°Go and call Liu Yuan here!¡± Zhao You responded and ran to the lobby. Just arrived at Dali Temple, Liu Yuan, who was gnawing on the breakfast of steamed stuffed buns, said ¡°Um¡±, held up the buns in his hand, and said to Zhao You: ¡°Wait a minute, I got up late today, and let me finish eating breakfast!¡± It didn¡¯t hurt to eat a little. Therefore, it has long been the practice of Liu Yuan and others to ¡°bribe¡± him with food and drink. It was still the same today. Unexpectedly, Zhao You, who never refused on normal days, glanced at the buns he handed over, clicked his lips, and shook his head: ¡°No, I¡¯m full.¡± Yo! This one still has time to eat! Liu Yuan was surprised, and couldn¡¯t help asking him: ¡°What did you eat at breakfast? How can you be so full?¡± Zhao You glanced at him and said, ¡°I ate breakfast from the cafeteria¡ªwhite porridge and nan gua bing.¡± He knew white porridge, but what was nan gua bing? Liu Yuan was stunned for a moment and was about to continue asking, but Zhao You, who had not been ¡°bribed¡± by breakfast today, was very strict. Before he could speak, he urged, ¡°Hurry up! Lin Shaoqing can¡¯t wait.¡± Swallowing as he walked, he almost didn¡¯t choke to death. When he got to the door of Lin Fei¡¯s house, Liu Yuan was so choked that he rolled his eyes. Zhao You, who never knew what caring was, of course, ignored his choking panic, pushed him, and pushed him into Lin Fei¡¯s room. Then closed the door unceremoniously, and guarded outside. This guy surnamed Zhao was a stickler! Liu Yuan couldn¡¯t help cursing inwardly, but luckily Shang Feng was considerate, seeing that he was about to choke to death, he handed him a cup of tea. After drinking a cup of tea, the slightly better Liu Yuan spread out the scroll in front of Lin Fei and talked about the case. ¡°Lin Shaoqing¡¯s guess was right. I found the purchasing records of Yan San and the other three at Guhetang in the city. According to the shopkeeper at Guhetang, these medicine pouches were indeed used for medicinal baths,¡± Liu Yuan said, showing the records he had copied from Guhetang¡¯s account book to Lin Fei. ¡°Not many people bought these medicine pouches for the bath, and I was worried that we might need them for reference, so I copied down all the names of the buyers.¡± As Liu Yuan spoke, he winked at Lin Fei and said, ¡°After all, this medicine¡­uh, it¡¯s about saving face. My lord, you understand. Most people don¡¯t want to buy this medicine.¡± Lin Fei raised his head and glanced at him. Upon being given a startled look, Liu Yuan quickly stopped his idle chatter and continued talking about the case. ¡°After all, it¡¯s related to such medicine. I took the initiative to investigate Yan San since it¡¯s crucial. Surprisingly, when I looked into it, I made some discoveries.¡± Lin Fei gave a ¡°hmm¡± and signaled him to continue talking. ¡°According to Yan Shi, she and Yan San would only show respect to each other in front of others to maintain appearances. However, in private, they rarely saw each other for at least ten days or even half a month. They had long been leading separate lives,¡± Liu Yuan said. ¡°As for the reason why they act as strangers¡­¡± He pointed to the purchase record on Guhetang, and said, ¡°According to Yan Shi, this person is a despicable person with a good face!¡± CH 31 Yan San, Yushi Zhongcheng, had always given everyone a good impression before the accident, no matter his appearance or conversation, he was gentle and polite. If it wasn¡¯t for this incident, they couldn¡¯t have known that this person has such a side. ¡°According to Madam Yan, Yan San didn¡¯t show these things before getting married. Marriage, parents¡¯ orders, and matchmaker¡¯s words, she saw his gentle and polite appearance at the time, thinking about how to treat each other like a guest in the future should not be difficult.¡± Liu Yuan said, ¡°Not long after they got married, Yan San revealed his true nature.¡± ¡°The first to suffer was a maidservant who had been with Lady Yan for many years. Lady Yan treated her like a younger sister. This maidservant had been a childhood sweetheart with a young servant in the household. Lady Yan intended to let her marry and start a family after she reached the age of Ji. However, before Lady Yan even went out for a short time, the maidservant got into trouble. She was a strong-willed girl and, in her anger and shame, she collided with a pillar on the spot, resulting in her death once the effects of the intoxication wore off,¡± Liu Yuan recounted. ¡°Lady Yan was enraged by this incident and had a fierce argument with Yan San. It even escalated to the point where they were considering legal separation and reporting it to the authorities.¡± Indeed, divorce was not an option for Lady Yan. Her family felt that they couldn¡¯t afford such a disgrace and forbade Lady Yan from seeking a divorce. As for reporting the matter to the authorities, that would only bring trouble. If Lady Yan reported her own husband, not only would she become a wife with a criminal record, but it would also implicate her family, which was even more unacceptable to them. The situation left Lady Yan in a difficult and trapped position, unable to take any drastic actions without facing severe consequences. ¡°After what happened to this girl, Yan San was a little scared at first, so he went to Lady Yan¡¯s natal house and knelt down to admit his mistake. After all, Lady Yan¡¯s father and brother were also officials. Yan San had just entered the official position at that time. If Lady Yan¡¯s father and brother intervened Yan San¡¯s official career may have come to an end at that time.¡± Liu Yuan couldn¡¯t help shaking his head when he said this, ¡°But Lady Yan¡¯s father and brother felt that it was a matter of face, so they didn¡¯t intervene. With such acquiescence and connivance, Yan San also understood. Since then, he no longer was afraid, and become more and more rampant.¡± The villain will never restrain himself because of the tolerance of the other party, and will only intensify. ¡°Lady Yan couldn¡¯t see it. She once argued with him, but she got slapped by him instead. Since then, the two of them simply just put on a show in front of others, and they each take care of their own affairs.¡± Liu Yuan said, ¡°But in the end, he is an official, because of his reputation, it is not acceptable to go out with those clients to prostitutes in a fair manner, so he will recruit some prostitutes in private. Later on, even the secret prostitutes stopped coming, but people continued to frequent Yan San¡¯s place as usual. Lady Yan admitted that she didn¡¯t dare to interfere in Yan San¡¯s affairs, but she also suspected that those people might not be respectable young women and might have been deceived or coerced through shady means.¡± So far, it is clear what kind of person Yan San was. ¡°Those younger ones, their families refuse to admit that their children could be involved in such activities. They all claim that their children are well-behaved, honest, and quiet, insisting that we must have made a mistake! However, I found many revealing books hidden in the rooms of these so-called ¡®well-behaved children¡¯,¡± Liu Yuan continued. When his eyes met Lin Fei¡¯s, he cleared his throat and said, ¡°These books are all about fights between demons! And not just ordinary demon fights, the illustrations at the beginning were shocking enough, but as I flipped through the pages¡­uh, I must say, I was truly amazed and taken aback by what I saw!¡± What a group of well-behaved, honest, and quiet children! Liu Yuan couldn¡¯t help but sigh. However, now that the connection between these people had been found, things will be easier to handle. ¡°These people are all involved in such matters, and, likely, they have also faced consequences as a result. For example, they might have abducted respectable young women, and their families could seek revenge,¡± Liu Yuan added. Lin Fei gave a ¡°hmm¡± and agreed with Liu Yuan¡¯s guessing direction, and then said to Liu Yuan, ¡°Speak to the jailers and let them prepare. I want to interrogate Li Yuan and his servant Shuangxi.¡± Liu Yuan: ¡°¡­Yes.¡± In fact, from the current point of view, the whole case had nothing to do with Li Yuan and Shuangxi, the hot-tempered Pingxi Xiao Junwang, and he didn¡¯t know why Lin Shaoqing must arrest Li Yuan and Shuangxi. However, if Lin Shaoqing wants to interrogate, let¡¯s do it! No matter how powerful the Prince¡¯s Mansion of Pingxi County is, wouldn¡¯t Lin Shaoqing be unable to stop him if he wanted to arrest someone? ¡­ After a day, he finally saw Lin Fei again. Li Yuan, who was hiccupping on the prison bed, jumped up immediately when he saw him and cursed: ¡°Lin Fei, you have a white face and a dark heart¡­ ¡± Let¡¯s go!¡± Lin Fei waved his hand and said to Zhao You behind him. In response, Zhao You raised his foot and stepped forward, holding Li Yuan and Shuangxi one by one, like chickens, and then followed Lin Fei to the interrogation cell. The guards behind him were amazed at such a crisp and unsloppy movement. As soon as Lin Shaoqing gave an order, he dared to go up to pick up people directly, and he didn¡¯t care if he would offend Xiao Junwang of Pinxi, probably only Officer Zhao was like this! Li Yuan, who was held by Zhao You, reacted after he struggled and cursed: ¡°Let go of me! Believe it or not, I went out and asked someone to beat you with a sack? Let go¡­¡± ¡± Xiao Junwang talk carefully, according to the laws of our country, you will be imprisoned if you beat someone without a reason.¡± Liu Yuan on the side said sarcasticaly remarked, and reminded Li Yuan, ¡°Our prison in Dali Temple is very spacious. Whenever the Xiao Junwang wants to come back, we will welcome you.¡± Li Yuan was so angry that he almost didn¡¯t hold back his anger. But before he could do anything, he was carried into the interrogation cell by Zhao You, and then tied to a stake under Lin Fei¡¯s signal. Even Li Yuan was helpless, and Shuangxi naturally couldn¡¯t escape. The master and the servant were tied to wooden stakes tightly. Ignoring Li Yuan¡¯s cursing, Lin Fei turned his head, looked at Shuangxi, whose face was pale with fright, and asked, ¡°That day, why did you and Li Yuan set foot on Yan San¡¯s private boat?¡± With such cold eyes looking at him, Shuangxi trembled, and without even thinking about it, he surrendered on the spot: ¡°Xiao¡­ we were fishing on the Weishui River with the young master, when Yan San¡¯s private boat suddenly bumped into us. The collision directly shocked the fish that the young master caught. The young master angrily threw the fishing rod on the spot and boarded the boat with the little one¡­¡± ¡°What happened after boarding the boat?¡± Lin Fei asked him, ¡°You two were found lying in the cabin, when did you pass out? Did you bump into anyone after getting on Yan San¡¯s private boat?¡± Shuangxi shook his head and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t see anyone. After the young master and I got on the deck, we went into the cabin and searched around, but found no one, and then the private boat with no one at the helm collided with the boat next to it. The young master and I accidentally hit the bulkhead. We were so dizzy that we passed out.¡± Liu Yuan¡¯s expression changed when he heard this. This Pingxi Xiao Junwang very domineering and arrogant, even though he was captured by the previous people, he refused to say anything. Therefore, during the previous investigation, they had never obtained the testimony of the two men. Because when they were found, both of them were in a coma. Therefore, they had always guessed that they had used drugs, but since they did not find any traces of drugs in the cabin, they guessed that it was drugs scattered in the air. But it wasn¡¯t until today¡¯s interrogation, when Shuangxi opened his mouth, that they knew that the two of them were not fainted by drugs, but knocked unconscious. So¡­ drugs were not used on them? The person who drowned people in the bathtub might be able to directly incapacitate people like frail women, but¡­ if no drugs were used, and people were drowned directly in the bathtub, why did the few people who died show no signs of being forcibly suppressed and pressed into the water? Not only were there no three of them before, even Yan San was not there. This was strange! Hi friends this is the last post till 12th. I am on vacation, see you in August!! CH 32 Compared with Liu Yuan¡¯s slightly changed expression, Lin Fei¡¯s face was the same. He just continued to ask Shuangxi: ¡°What happened afterward? What else occurred?¡± Shuangxi shook his head and said, ¡°Nothing more. When I woke up, I saw the Governor of Chang¡¯an and the others.¡± On the side, Li Yuan seemed to have grown tired of cursing as well. He stopped and let out a cold snort. Lin Fei¡¯s eyes fell on Li Yuan. Even though Li Yuan was used to being arrogant and domineering in his daily life, for some reason, when he was stared at by Lin Fei¡¯s icy eyes, he felt inexplicably uneasy. It was as if those eyes could see through a person¡¯s heart, leaving him with a sense of resistance and awkwardness that he couldn¡¯t quite explain. However, not one to back down easily, Li Yuan tilted his chin up and met Lin Fei¡¯s gaze. ¡°What are you looking at? I¡¯m handsome!¡± Lin Fei didn¡¯t say much. He simply raised his foot and circled around Li Yuan, observing him from different angles. As he completed the second circle and came around behind Li Yuan, he suddenly stopped and extended his finger, pressing it against Li Yuan¡¯s back. Li Yuan, who was screaming, uttered a scream of ¡°ah¡±, and cursed: ¡°Lin Fei, what are you doing, you bastard? Plotting against me? It hurts me to death!¡± The voice from behind was calm and indifferent: ¡°You have hidden wounds! When did it happen?¡± Li Yuan, who was screaming in pain, was stunned for a moment as if he had realized something, but he still refused to give in to Lin Fei, and shouted: ¡°What nonsense are you talking about? Where did I come from? It¡¯s obvious that you plot against me¡­¡± Lin Fei ignored him and turned to look at Shuangxi who was beside him. Shuangxi jolted and without much thought, he said, ¡°On that day when we returned, sh¨£oye1 felt a bit uncomfortable in his back. It might have been due to bumping into the cabin wall, and I also got a stiff neck, so the sh¨£oye¡¯s discomfort was likely the same. After that, he was thrown into the prison cell and couldn¡¯t sleep well, which could have worsened his condition.¡± This surrender was really thorough enough. Li Yuan was so angry that he could not jump on his feet, turned to Shuangxi, and questioned him: ¡°Where¡¯s your backbone? Why don¡¯t you have any backbone at all?¡± Shuangxi¡¯s lips twitched in a mixture of frustration and hesitation. He wanted to speak out but held back: if he had some backbone, he wouldn¡¯t have to watch as the young master took his breakfast every day. Lin Fei turned his head to face the person on the side, regardless of the movements between the master and servant. He said to Zhao You: ¡°Take it off, let me have a look!¡± Zhao You responded and went to pull Li Yuan¡¯s clothes. The servants who had such courage to watch were even more amazed: Only the servants like Zhao dared to take off the clothes under the glaring gaze of the Xi¨£o J¨´nw¨¢ng2. Li Yuan, who was tied to the stake, cursed again, but the tie was too strong, no matter how hard he struggled, it was futile. When the clothes were stripped off and the young man¡¯s back was exposed, there was no sound in the cell, and even the bystanders who hadn¡¯t done anything during the whole process showed astonishment in their eyes. There is no other reason. They originally thought that the back of this noble Xi¨£o J¨´nw¨¢ng must be the same as that of ordinary rich and powerful children, with thin skin and tender flesh. Not to mention scars on his body, there won¡¯t even be a trace of mosquito bites. But when they saw the shocking and crisscrossed scars on the boy¡¯s back, everyone was stunned. Some people wiped their eyes subconsciously, thinking that they had misread it. How could this Xi¨£o J¨´nw¨¢ng have such a back¡­ Who dared to beat him? Shuangxi beside him trembled, his eyes turned red, and he murmured: ¡°Don¡¯t¡­don¡¯t look at it.¡± The crisscrossed scars should be old wounds, the difference was that a bruise on the scar had turned purple. Yes, this was where Lin Fei pressed just now. Right now, this scar was fully exposed in front of people, and the obvious ring shape of the wound cannot be explained by simply saying that it hit the bulkhead. ¡°Someone hit you with a stick.¡± Lin Fei said indifferently and glanced at Shuangxi who was at the side, but saw that Shuangxi¡¯s face was full of shock. This boy was obviously unaware of this matter. Li Yuan stared and said loudly: ¡°No, I hit it myself! Don¡¯t talk nonsense!¡± Of course, no one would believe this. Lin Fei didn¡¯t argue with him either, and only asked Zhao You to help Li Yuan put on his outer clothes again, and sent him back to his original cell. After Li Yuan and Shuangxi were sent back, Liu Yuan couldn¡¯t help but said: ¡°How can the Xi¨£o J¨´nw¨¢ng¡­¡± Lin Fei glanced at him: ¡°Did you notice how that boy called Li Yuan?¡± Liu Yuan listened for a while. Startled, he blurted out subconsciously: ¡°¡­Sh¨£oy¨¦.¡± Liu Yuan didn¡¯t feel that something was right until he realized it belatedly. It was just that Li Yuan was called ¡°y¨¦3¡°, but the servant Shuangxi actually called Li Yuan ¡°Sh¨£oy¨¦¡±. In ordinary households, servants might address their young masters as ¡°g¨­ngz¨«4¡°, and ¡°sh¨¤oy¨¦¡± could also be used, though it was less common. However, in Chang¡¯an, the term ¡°g¨­ngz¨«¡± was more frequently used, and ¡°Sh¨£oy¨¦¡± was seldom employed. But even calling him ¡°g¨­ngz¨«¡± was wrong. Because Li Yuan was not the son of ordinary dignitaries, he was the xi¨£o j¨´nw¨¢ng of the Pingxi J¨´nw¨¢ngf¨³5 and had been sealed by the court. Not to mention he was the only child of the Pingxi J¨´nw¨¢ngf¨³. Even if that weren¡¯t the case, he should still be addressed as ¡°xi¨£o j¨´nw¨¢ng¡± to reflect his noble status. Yet, both Li Yuan and Shuangxi, this master-servant pair, were using ¡°sh¨¤oy¨¦¡±! Even that young servant, Shuangxi, in theory, being the sole heir of the Pingxi J¨´nw¨¢ngf¨³, with such an important status, should have an astute personal servant. However, Shuangxi didn¡¯t seem as sharp-witted as one would expect from someone of his stature. He didn¡¯t appear to be someone handpicked for the J¨´nw¨¢ngf¨³¡¯s service. Why was that? ¡°When Xi¨£o j¨´nw¨¢ng was a little child, he was kidnapped and sold by human traffickers, experiencing a lot of hardship before he was rescued,¡± Lin Fei explained. ¡°Shuangxi was a young child who was also abducted and sold along with him. Both of them endured a lot of abuse. After the Little Prince was rescued, Shuangxi remained by his side.¡± This ¡°sh¨¤oy¨¦¡± address, which was different from others, was probably a habit developed after being abducted. For someone like Li Yuan, it was only natural to be upset about others seeing his scars. So, was that why he reacted so strongly just now? No, that didn¡¯t make sense. He was clearly struck by someone. Why didn¡¯t he speak up about it? Had this young prince noticed something? Or did he know something? Liu Yuan looked at Lin Fei: ¡°Lin Shaoqing, if the king of Xiaojun is willing to speak¡­¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Lin Fei shook his head and advised Liu Yuan, ¡°Don¡¯t waste time prying into his thoughts right now. Once you bring the person before him, he will speak up on his own. There can¡¯t be too many people that Li Yuan would personally protect.¡± Liu Yuan came back to his senses and quickly answered ¡°Yes¡±. With a new direction in the investigation of the ¡°water ghost case,¡± Liu Yuan¡¯s mood improved. As he left the prison and passed by Ji Caimai¡¯s room, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. Looking at the scorching sun overhead, he pondered for a moment before deciding to remind Ji Caimai that it was time to prepare for summer drinks like ¡°sour plum beverage.¡± When he got to the door, he saw that the door was ajar. Ji Caimai was carefully picking up a round cake shaped like a small pumpkin and taking a bite. Liu Yuan was about to speak, but he didn¡¯t expect Ji Caimai¡¯s eating manners to be so refined. Just as he was observing, a mixture of brown caramelized sugar sauce and crushed peanuts oozed out from the round cake. Upon seeing the filling spilling out, Ji Caimai quickly opened his mouth to catch the oozing mixture, not willing to waste any bit of it. As he ate, he couldn¡¯t stop praising the taste with a continuous stream of delighted sounds, his eyes narrowing in contentment. Just looking at it like this made Liu Yuan¡¯s saliva almost flow down. Without even thinking about it, he pushed the door open and walked in: ¡°What did Ji Cai buy? It smells so good?¡±