Before Li Ruizhi could speak again, Lin Fei took Liu Yuan out of the Dali Temple prison.

The moment he walked out of the Dali Temple prison, Lin Fei handed the file on the water ghost case back to Liu Yuan and said, “This case will be settled in a few days.”

He took the file and held it in his arms. Liu Yuan couldn’t help but ask Lin Fei: “Since Li Ruizhi poisoned the Duke of Huai’an, it was already a capital crime. If he really killed Yan San and others, why not admit it?”

They say, ‘When a person is about to die, their words are good.’ They had witnessed too many condemned prisoners who, before their execution, confessed all the wrongs they had done. This was certainly not ‘their words are good,’ but whether they confessed or not, it no longer mattered; they were all sentenced to death.

Liu Yuan felt that if Li Ruizhi really did it, he would just admit it. Why deny it?

“If you really admit it, Huang Ying and others have perjured themselves, and they will be implicated.” Lin Fei said, raised his head, looked at the sky above his head, and said, “Secondly… wait a few more days, I think it will happen. There will be results.”

………
………

The temporary intervention of the Household Department¹ did catch some people off guard, but Wen Mingtang felt that this should not be a big deal.

When she got up at the crowing of the rooster on the second day, the ingredients for the morning meal from the Household Department had been delivered. Due to the temporary change, Ji Caimai, who was forced to get up early, also came over early to see the distributed ingredients. Round dumpling skin, with some scattered vegetables and a small portion of pork. The food is quite rich, but the presence of dumpling wrappers somewhat limits the types of food that can be eaten in the morning.

“I just had Chaoshou yesterday, and I went out to eat pot stickers in the evening.” Ji Caimai looked at the pile of dumpling wrappers and said, “Here are the dumpling wrappers…”

“Then we won’t make pot stickers or dumplings. Wen Mingtang understood what Ji Caimai said and said with a smile, “Let’s make something else!”

“The methods of making food were largely similar, once you grasp one, you can handle many. Dumpling wrappers can be used to make a variety of dishes, not just dumplings and potstickers.”

After hearing Wen Mingtang’s words, Ji Caimai immediately became interested in the breakfast that Wen Mingtang was going to prepare. He followed her to the public kitchen with a pot of tea, then found a table to sit down and watched Wen Mingtang prepare the breakfast with great interest.

After the washed glutinous rice was steamed in the pot, Wen Mingtang began to deal with other ingredients.

She selected pork meat, carrots, peas and soaked mushrooms, and then chopped all the ingredients except the peas into cubes.

Continuing, she began working on the dumpling wrappers that had been sent by the Household Department. She rolled out the dumpling wrappers with a rolling pin, then crimped the edges.

After demonstrating, both Tangyuan and Ah Bing followed suit and started rolling them out.

A few people talked while working. When the dumpling wrappers were almost rolled out, the pot of glutinous rice was also steamed.

Wen Mingtang put the dumpling wrappers aside and started making breakfast.

Ji Cai only saw her scoop some lard into the pan. She added a handful of minced scallions and ginger, along with diced pork, and started stir-frying. When the pork changed color, she added diced carrots, peas, and shiitake mushrooms, stir-frying for a few more moments. Then, she poured in the sauces, salt, five-spice powder, and more lard, before finally adding the steamed glutinous rice. After mixing it all, she set it aside.

Ji Cai was watching with great enthusiasm and pointed at the brownish glutinous rice stuffing and said, “This reminds me of the Dragon Boat Festival’s meat zongzi, but your ingredients seem even more diverse.”

With all these ingredients mixed together, it was hard to imagine it would taste bad at all.

Ji Cai watched as the girl scooped a spoonful of the glutinous rice filling and then, like folding a small bag, pinched it closed with her fingers, creating a small snack resembling a little pouch. Especially with that ring of folds, it looked like a miniature lucky bag from a holiday, with the “lucky bag opening” revealing the brownish glutinous rice mixed with diced carrots, peas, and shiitake mushrooms. It was incredibly cute.

“What’s the name of this thing?” Ji Caimai couldn’t help but ask as he watched Wen Mingtang put the wrapped snacks on the steamer.

Small and adorable snacks were not just loved by girls; can’t a man of his age enjoy them too?

“Shaomai.” Wen Mingtang said with a smile, “It’s delicious and filling. The most important thing is that it is completely different from things like chāoshǒu, pot stickers, and dumplings, so Ji Caimai won’t get tired of it easily.”

Speaking of the “emphasis on food,” Wen Mingtang glanced at the new rules posted on the wall, set by the Household Department.

You cannot eat the same food within three days. Violators will be penalized once and will be dismissed after enough time.

“Is the Household Department trying to catch the idle master?” Wen Mingtang asked, looking at the posted rules.

Ji Caimai rubbed his chin and said frankly: “It’s so sudden! Even 80% of the people in the Household Department don’t know what’s going on. I always feel that something is weird.” But… “No matter how strange it is, it has nothing to do with you. With this craft here, there’s no need to worry,” Ji Caimai said.

When the steamed shaomai was done, Ji Caimai took three shaomai and put them on a plate, walked to the food table in the lobby and started eating.

Just out of the pot, the shumai still had steam rising from them. After blowing on them slightly, Ji Cai Mai took a bite. The skin was soft with a slight firmness, and inside, the glutinous rice mixed with diced pork, carrot, peas, shiitake mushrooms, and more. The savory sauce blended with the fragrance of lard added a lot of flavor. The filling was savory, soft, and glutinous, and Ji Cai Mai got addicted after just one bite, nodding repeatedly in approval.

Tangyuan and Ah Bing are no exception, but these glutinous rice dishes were very filling, and they will be a bit full after eating two or three of them. Ji Caimai, Ah Bing, and Tang Yuan also specifically asked Wen Mingtang for two or three to take back and steam them later. It was ready to eat as soon as the pot was hot.

Master Wen’s craftsmanship never disappoints! Liu Yuan, who had received three shaomai, did not sit down in the public kitchen hall. He had eaten a lot of breakfast in the past two days, and most of the seats in the public kitchen hall were occupied.

Because those who had tasted it, whether they were servants or others, all spread the word. This word of mouth quickly spread, and as more people found out about the delicious food made by Master Wen, dissatisfaction with Master Sun and Master Wang grew among them.

Look! They all were the same public chef, but Master Wen’s cooking was so delicious. How did these two people end up like this?

Carrying the shaomai as they walked, the taste of lard enveloping the glutinous rice, diced pork, shiitake mushrooms, and more was not greasy at all. Instead, it was so flavorful that it made the mouth water, and after finishing one, they couldn’t wait to eat another.

After finishing three shumai, they had already arrived at the entrance of Lin Shaoqing’s hall. Liu Yuan let out a satisfied burp and commented, “These shumai are great in every way, but they’re so filling. Eating just a few of them makes you full, which isn’t ideal.”

If his stomach hadn’t allowed him to do so, he could have eaten another four, five, six, seven or eight.

Wiping his mouth, he knocked on the door and entered the house. Lin Fei had just finished eating the shaomai and put the empty plate aside. Seeing him come in, he picked up a storybook from the table and handed it over.

What to do? Liu Yuan was puzzled, but subconsciously stretched out his hand and took the book handed over by Lin Fei.

Upon getting their hands on it, the cover of the book was inscribed with the three characters “Resurrection Pavilion”.

Lin Shaoqing, what was he up to? Liu Yuan wondered. He had already read “Resurrection Pavilion” before!

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Footnote

1. I found a better name for the department. You can read more about it in this wiki page.