“Can it be fake?” Zhao You took out the waist badge from his arms and showed it to everyone, especially holding it up to Ji Caimai, and said, “”Did you see? Our Lin Shaoqing¹ wants to eat!”

Ji Caimai couldn’t help but twitch the corners of his mouth when he looked at the proud Zhao You, waved his hand helplessly, and said, “…Forget it, take it away!”

After waiting for so long, they didn’t even get to eat a single skewer of the first batch of shāokǎo.

All they could do was wait for the second set. With Wen Mingtang’s demonstration just now, several people also watched it, so they simply did it themselves and grilled together around the charcoal basin.

They didn’t know if this shāokǎo was delicious, or was it because it was something they grilled themselves, the skewers were just too tasty.

After the skewer in his hand was placed on the plate, Ji Caimai casually picked a skewer of pork belly with alternating layers of fat and lean meat and started eating. The fat’s oil had been seared, making the skin crispy, and the thin layer of fat from the pork belly oozed out along with the lean meat upon biting. The combination of cumin, pepper, and other spices mixed with the roasted pork created an irresistible flavor that made the mouth water and impossible to stop.

It was the first time that he found that the pork belly can be so delicious after being grilled! After eating pork belly, Ji Caimai picked out a bunch of grilled leeks.

Originally, based on Ji’s purchasing experience, these roasted vegetables, such as leeks, potatoes and lotus root slices, must be very dry after being roasted to remove moisture. But they were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, mixed with barbecue spices. The fact that such grilled vegetables could be delicious was a little hard to believe.

So Ji Caimai was curious about what would happen to leeks and other leafy vegetables after they were roasted to remove the moisture.

So, as he opened his mouth and took a bite, after the strands of chives strung together on the skewer entered his mouth, Ji Caimai’s eyes lit up instantly. The leeks, having had their moisture roasted away, were surprisingly not inferior to the ones stir-fried in heavy oil. The roasting process had fully awakened the fragrance of the leeks, giving them a slightly crispy texture compared to ordinary leeks. Mixed with the barbecue spices sprinkled on the leaves, they had a distinct flavor, different from the usual oily stir-fried leeks. It resembled the taste of dry-fried leeks, but it was even more aromatic and unique.

When Ji Caimai came back to his senses, he had already eaten a bunch of leeks.

Ji Caimai was so addicted, that there were more than just leeks and pork belly. When the second plate was finished and the third plate was turned, someone rushed over smelling the smell.

“We have been made to wait long enough; save some for us now!”

Liu Yuan, Bai Zhu, and Wei Fu hurriedly finished sorting out the files, and when they rushed over, they encountered a situation where several people were feasting.

Ah Bing’s face was covered with oil and barbecue spices, and he explained vaguely: “This is called shāokǎo.”

Looking at the large pile of skewers neatly arranged in the iron plate, Liu Yuan and the others couldn’t hold back any longer. They all exclaimed, “Count me in,” and lifted their robes to sit down.

Before coming, Liu Yuan had already mentioned Wen Mingtang to Bai Zhu and Wei Fu, and they even asked her a few words about Zhao Ji’s restaurant.

Knowing that she had left on the day Liu Shi was punished, the elderly Wei Fu nodded and said, “Leave! It’s meaningless to stay.”

The woman who was punished was full of malice towards her, and the man playing stupid and pretending to be stupefied. He was a wimp, and though the daughter was nice, but talking about her was useless because, after all, one was her mother and the other was her father; what else could she do besides helping to say a few words?

If she stayed any longer, it could have created all the more restlessness.

Seeing Liu Yuan and others who were so familiar, Ji Caimai snorted coldly, and said: “You’re welcome!”

To Ji Caimai, Liu Yuan and others’ faces had been practiced early, so they laughed “haha” twice. With a loud voice, he took the barbecue that Wen Mingtang had grilled and handed over.

After the first bite, there was a burst of exclamation and praise.

Wen Mingtang shook her head with a smile, went back to the public kitchen lobby, and brought over the chilled sour plum drink.

The moment the maroon drink was poured out, Liu Yuan and others, who were tortured by Master Sun and Master Wang’s soup-like sour plum drink, quickly took it.

After taking a sip, Liu Yuan called out “Okay”.

Thinking about the package of sour plum drinks that he had given to Lin Fei, he was even more annoyed.

Why did you only care about greed and laziness at that time, and didn’t leave a few packets home to cook for yourself?

This sour plum drink not only looked good but also tasted sweet and sour. The sourness of the plum was paired with sweetness, but it was not unusually sweet, and it seemed to have a bit of sweetness of licorice in it.

Wen Mingtang sat beside the charcoal basin, watching the people around her sitting on the ground, eating barbecue with sour plum drink, the smile on her face stretched out: This is called late night snack!

Since she came to this world, she hadn’t experienced such a lively and bustling night scene filled with the aroma of food for a long time.

When she was in the palace, there were quite a few rules for eating and drinking every day. Though Zhao Si was there to support her, even for her it was impossible to come out in the middle of the night to have a barbecue with Wen Mingtan around the charcoal basin.

Holding the meat skewer in her hand and taking a bite, feeling the tender pork meat in her mouth, Wen Mingtang smiled and watched the few people around her chatting while eating.

Just eat but not talk, then was it really a late-night snacking?

As for the topic of conversation… a few Dali Temple officials gathered together, what else can they talk about?

“This water ghost case is really annoying,” Liu Yuan gnawed on the grilled wings on the skewer, spat out a bone, and sighed, “That Madam Yan and He Xiaoniang, a noble girl and a commoner girl, but both are pitiful for having such a family!”

Bai Zhu and Wei Fu, who were handling the case together, felt the same way, nodding repeatedly while holding the skewers.

At the same time, Ji Caimai, who specialized in eating pork belly, asked what happened.

Liu Yuan then told about Madam Yan and He Xiaoniang in the water ghost case that he found.

With a sudden realization, everyone sighed and lamented, “The path for women in this world is not easy.” After devouring a few skewers, Liu Yuan drank his plum drink and suddenly remembered something. He couldn’t help but ask Wen Mingtang, “Master Wen, I actually have a curious question all of a sudden. Of course, if Master Wen doesn’t want to answer, that’s also fine.”

As soon as these words came out, Wei Fu glanced at him and lowered his head to grill skewers for everyone. He watched the girl who hadn’t eaten a few mouthfuls and said: “Then you better stop asking! I think your question is likely to pick people’s pain.”

After working together for several years, Wei Fu was quite familiar with the personalities of his colleagues around him. He glanced at Wen Mingtang and vaguely guessed the question Liu Yuan had in mind.

Wei Fu was not the only one who guessed the question Liu Yuan wanted to ask. Wen Mingtang, who was lowering her head while grilling, raised her head and smiled: “Liu Sicheng are you curious about what trouble my family got into that led me to become the ‘criminal official’ in the eyes of the Royal family?”

The incident that day was so big, and her status as the crime official’s daughter must have aroused the curiosity of these temple officials.

Putting the last large amount of roasted pork belly meat, leeks, potatoes, lotus root, and rice cakes into the iron plate, Wen Mingtang took off the white cloth covering her lips and nose and said: “My grandfather, father and two uncles were convicted and beheaded in the 18th year of Yongyuan. The men of the whole clan were conscripted, women over the age of ten entered the Jiaofang², and those under the age of ten entered the Yeting Court³ of the Palace. I was eight years old at the time. With a same clan elder sister who was one year older than me, we entered the Yeting court together.”

Year 18 of Yongyuan. Surname Wen.

Hearing these two words, the faces of Liu Yuan, Bai Zhu, Wei Fu, Ji Caimai, and others who were eating barbecue changed slightly, and they all stopped their movements and turned to the girl who picked up a skewer of pork belly and looked over.

The girl looked up, took a bite of the pork belly skewers in her hand, and smiled at them with a calm expression.

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Footnote

1. Our ML’s official designtion
2. The imperial music office
3. Lateral Courts in the imperial palace (housing concubines and administrative offices)