Wen Mingtang took a small bowl and poured the light yellow bīng fěn into the bowl with a spoon, then put in hawthorn slices, crushed peanuts, raisins, and cooked glutinous rice dumplings, and finally poured a spoonful of brown sugar syrup on it and handed it over.

Both of them quickly accepted the dishes and sat down at the table. The abundance of ingredients made both of their spoons hesitate for a moment. It was only when they saw Wen Mingtang directly scoop up a spoonful of bīng fěn along with the toppings and put it in her mouth that they followed suit and scooped up the bīng fěn in the same way.

The moment the food entered the mouth, Tangyuan exclaimed “Delicious!”

The light yellow bīng fěn was ice cold but extremely smooth after entering the mouth. There was no need to use your tongue to lick it or bite it with your teeth. It broke apart after a slight sip.

If you don’t sip it, let the bīng fěn doused with brown sugar syrup pass through your mouth and enter your stomach, and an indescribable cold and refreshing feeling mixed with sweetness will come up.

“No wonder Master Wen said this bīng fěn can relieve the heat!” Ah Bing took a mouthful of bīng fěn and scooped up the toppings on it.

The hawthorn was cut into finely chopped pieces, sour and sweet, and the peanuts were ground into a coarse grainy texture. Mixed with the brown sugar syrup, it reminded them of the taste of thenán guā bǐng that day. The raisins were sour and sweet, with a rich fruity aroma. What he liked most was the small cooked glutinous rice balls. They were soft, glutinous, and sweet, and the texture was even richer when mixed with bīng fěn.

The whole bowl of bīng fěn was sweet but not greasy. Ah Bing couldn’t help but nod his head and cheer, saying repeatedly: “Master Wen, in addition to the sour plum drink, can you also make this bīng fěn every day?”

Wen Mingtang smiled, handed over the bīng fěn filled with toppings in his hand, and said, “Go ask Ji Cai to buy it!”

A single sentence reminded Ah Bing, and he quickly stood up, carrying the bīng fěn, and ran out.

How could the gourmet Ji Cai refuse a bowl of bīng fěn? He duly noted the ingredients Wen Mingtang needed and promptly recorded them on the shopping list.

When Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu came back from a trip to the inn and ate bīng fěn, Lin Fei was in Marquis Jingyun’s Mansion eating the lotus seed soup made by Zheng Shi, the wife of Marquis Jingyun, to clear away heat and dispel the heat.

After finishing one bowl, when Zheng Shi was about to serve the second bowl, Lin Fei stopped her and said, “Why did Mother call me back to the house?”

Zheng Shi then said: “Old Lady Zhou from the Huai Shan County Prince’s residence has passed away. Your grandfather will be going there this evening, and the rest of you will accompany him.”

They were all dignitaries in the capital, and they met each other without looking up. Duke Jingguo had a good relationship with the Prince of Huaishan County who died young, so naturally he wanted to go over and have a look now.

Upon hearing this, Lin Fei expressed a slight surprise with an “Oh” and looked at Zheng Shi, asking, “Wasn’t it the old lady’s birthday celebration just yesterday?” He paused for a moment and continued, “And didn’t they invite a theatrical troupe?”

“Yes,” Zheng Shi said, and at this point, she let out a soft sigh and said, “Just yesterday during the day, she was perfectly fine, but in the evening, we heard that she suddenly developed a heart ailment. As you know, heart ailments come suddenly, and even if the doctors rush to the scene, there’s no guarantee they can save the person. Unfortunately, the old lady couldn’t be saved.”

As Zheng Shi spoke, she couldn’t help but lament the impermanence of the world, but she didn’t notice Lin Fei listening to her. At this point, he looked thoughtful.

In the evening, Duke Jingguo took several children of the Lin family to the Huaishan County Prince’s Mansion.

When the old lady celebrated her birthday yesterday, Lin Fei didn’t come, so he didn’t feel too much.

On the other hand, Lin Nan, the prince of Marquis Jingyun who came yesterday, couldn’t help but lament: “Yesterday there were red lanterns hung and everything was festive, but now they are full of white flags. It really feels like things are right and people are wrong!”

Lin Fei glanced at his sentimental brother and was about to speak when he heard a voice not far ahead.

“Your Majesty, Ah Fei!”

Lin Fei raised his head and looked at the person who called him “Ah Fei”. The person was dressed in plain clothes. Li Yuan beside him was looking at him with a sneer, gritting his teeth, and said: “Lin Fei, you are a treacherous villain!”

Lin Fei ignored Li Yuan and looked at the man in plain clothes – Li Zhao, the young prince of Huaishan County Prince’s Mansion.

Li Zhao strode over, said hello to Lin Fei, and then walked to the side with Lin Nan to chat.

Li Zhao and Lin Nan were about the same age, and they had a pretty good relationship on ordinary days, so they naturally had a lot of things to talk about.

Lin Fei, who was left, had no friendship with Li Yuan, who was a few years younger. Not only that, Li Yuan also glared at Lin Fei angrily and cursed: “You treacherous villain!”

Lin Fei glanced at him and said lightly: “How am I treacherous?”

Li Yuan thought for a moment and said, “That cook…”

Before Li Yuan could finish speaking, Lin Fei shook his head and interrupted him: “Impossible!”

“Then you are not treacherous?” Li Yuan said angrily, “I asked my cook to make those yóu pō miàn. It turned out that he had never heard of dòujiāng with yóutiáo… Were you deliberately not sending me that cook?”

Lin Fei glanced at him and said, “She’s the cook from my Grand Court’s kitchen, not the cook from the Prince of Pingxi’s residence. If you want to eat it, just have your own household cook make it!”

The problem was that it couldn’t be made! Li Yuan looked at Lin Fei bitterly: “You obviously helped the cook on purpose…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Li Yuan received a cold look from Lin Fei, and he instinctively paused. When he regained his composure and was about to get angry, he suddenly heard Lin Fei ask him, “Did you spend the night at the Prince of Huai Shan’s residence last night?”

Li Yuan, not quite understanding the situation, still instinctively nodded and said, “I wanted to stay the night, so I did. Zhao Ge and I have a good relationship; we used to play together as children. What’s wrong with spending the night? Not only did I stay the night, but I also shared a bed with Zhao Ge!”

Lin Fei said, “Ok.”. He made a sound, looked at the black eyes under his eyes, and asked: “How did you sleep last night?”

“I choose the bed…” Li Yuan muttered subconsciously but still said it back to Lin Fei forcefully, “What does it have to do with you?”

Lin Fei ignored his reply and just continued to ask: “How did Li Zhao sleep last night?”

Li Yuan puffed his mouth and was about to taunt him back, but Lin Fei suddenly said: “Master Wen made the breakfast by herself. Later, I can ask her if she can write a recipe menu.”

Li Yuan was startled when he heard this and immediately understood the meaning of Lin Fei’s words. The angry look on his face eased slightly, he paused, coughed slightly, and said, “Brother Zhao didn’t sleep well either. He tossed and turned and got up twice at night like me.”

Lin Fei responded with a simple “Hmm.”

However, Li Yuan became interested in his sudden question. He glanced at Li Zhao, who was talking happily to Lin Nan. He thought for a moment, approached Lin Fei, and asked in a low voice: “Is Zhao Ge involved in some case?”

Lin Fei glanced at him.

Li Yuan proudly continued, “Anyone you’re interested in, they end up getting involved in a case, right? Wasn’t it the same with me last time? And is Zhao Ge the same too?” He paused here and suddenly said, “You can’t suspect the death of the Old Lady Zhou… It’s impossible! We were all together when we got up in the middle of the night yesterday, and I didn’t sleep well the whole night. I know Zhao Ge is innocent. The old lady passed away from a heart ailment during the night; it has nothing to do with Zhao Ge¹!”

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Footnote

1. A man who is elder to you but in the same generation.