Lin Fei was well-known throughout the entire Dali temple, while Li Yuan, having recently been released from the Great Court’s prison, was familiar to the people present, who were in the middle of their evening meal.

These two people suddenly appeared, and the noise in the originally noisy public kitchen hall suddenly became much quieter. With Shang Feng and this little prince of noble birth with a bad temper eating here, it was always a bit awkward.

The chatter that had been happening while eating grew considerably quieter. Liu Yuan picked up a mouthful of shredded green peppers and potatoes, a dish he had enjoyed just a couple of days ago prepared by Master Sun and Master Wang. With this comparison, the plate of slightly salty, fresh, and mildly spicy potato shreds in front of him was simply delightful.

Just as he was sighing, he saw several servants on the opposite side suddenly finish the food in their bowls, get up, and leave.

Liu Yuan was surprised that these guards who were chatting happily just now, suddenly left in the blink of an eye. Then the two of them walked up to him and sat down.

Looking at Shangfeng Lin Fei and Li Yuan sitting in front of him, Liu Yuan said: “…”

After sitting down, Li Yuan picked up the garlic pork ribs with chopsticks, then snorted and said, “It’s pretty good. Better than what my cook makes!”

Lin Fei ate the ribs slowly without making a sound.

Seeing the situation, Liu Yuan thought to himself, “I know this one; he’s the silent type at the dinner table.”

Li Yuan, who didn’t get a response, glared at Lin Fei fiercely, then turned to Liu Yuan, who was worried, and said, “I’m talking to you! Are you doing well?”

Liu Yuan nodded hurriedly, until then suddenly he understood why those few guards had to run away in a hurry.

Observing Liu Yuan, who had previously been lounging, suddenly straightening his posture and appearing extremely anxious while responding to Li Yuan’s question, Wen Mingtang, Ji Caibai, and the others exchanged glances. They couldn’t help but chuckle and think, “Liu Yuan, you didn’t run fast enough!”

The ribs on the counter were all gone, the vegetarian dishes were almost done, and the evening meal time set by the chef was about to pass. Only then did Wen Mingtang start preparing the evening meal for her, Ah Bing, and Tangyuan.

Because it was her first time preparing the evening meal, she really didn’t know how much to cook and how much to keep. So they didn’t eat first like the morning meal but kept some ribs for emergencies.

What if it was not enough?

But it seemed just fine for now.

Wen Mingtang turned around to appease Ah Bing and Tangyuan, who were already a little hungry. She fried the remaining ribs in oil until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Then she added a small handful of chopped garlic into the oil. Fry in the pot until golden brown, take it out, then put the fried ribs and chopped garlic into the pot, turn it over a few times, and serve it out.

After taking it out and putting it on the plate, I heard Li Yuan’s voice: “So this is how the garlic pork ribs are made. It’s not difficult to see!”

Hearing this, Wen Mingtang looked up at him and said, “Cooking is not difficult; it just requires attention!”

Li Yuan scratched the back of his head, looked at her, and snorted coldly.

Wen Mingtang ignored his cold snort: the cold snorts of the little prince of Pingxi were worthless. He listened to them countless times during the meal.

After the evening meal, Wen Mingtang, Ah Bing, and Tangyuan found Zhang Kong’s dining table and sat down to eat.

Lin Fei, Li Yuan, and others who came late to that room had put down their chopsticks at this time, and Li Yuan took out a toothpick and picked his teeth. The ribs were delicious and the meat was tender, but the seams were uncomfortably tight.

While picking his teeth, he talked to Lin Fei: “I told you, Brother Zhao can’t kill anyone. What’s more, that’s his grandmother, who loves Brother Zhao the most. Why would he harm his grandmother?”

Lin Fei said nothing.

Li Yuan, upon observing the situation, thought for a moment and added, “Moreover, Zhao Ge doesn’t have any siblings or relatives competing for the title or anything like that. Their family has always had an excellent reputation. In fact, when they passed through Salt Lake City years ago, they even provided relief to the disaster-stricken people and received the title of ‘Wanmin Umbrella¹.’ Look at all the relatives who make trouble everywhere just to get a free meal, but Zhao Ge’s family is not like that. Even to ordinary, unrelated common folks, they’re so kind. How could they possibly harm Old Lady Zhou? Hey, do you know about the Salt Lake City incident?”

Lin Fei, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up, saying, “The incident with the bandits in Salt Lake City happened twenty-five years ago when their family was passing through the city on their way back to the capital. At that time, Li Zhao was still in diapers!”

“You know quite well!” Li Yuan tossed the toothpick onto the table and crossed his arms, reflecting, “It’s precisely because Zhao Ge’s family is so good that my father and grandfather were worried I’d learn the wrong things, asked me to get closer to him. So, I understand Zhao Ge better than anyone. When he’s riding a horse, if the horse accidentally steps on a rabbit, he would intentionally stop and tend to the rabbit. How could someone like that harm anyone?”

Lin Fei was noncommittal when he heard this, just glanced at him and said: “The little prince can go back after finishing his evening meal, Zhao You!”

Zhao You, who was comfortably rubbing his belly after finishing his meal on the side table, stood up immediately and “invited” Li Yuan out amidst Li Yuan’s curses.

After Li Yuan left, Liu Yuan suddenly said, “Lin Shaoqing, in the incident at Salt Lake City, those bandits were actually Japanese, and they conspired with local officials to harm the people. When the Huaishan County Prince’s family passed through Salt Lake City, they were tragically detained. If it weren’t for a few common folks discovering the situation and reporting it to the nearby military camp, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Fortunately, the military camp sent troops to suppress the bandits, eliminated the local officials who had colluded with the bandits, and resolved the problem with the bandits in Salt Lake City. Later, when the Huaishan County Prince’s family returned to the capital, they must have been deeply moved by the circumstances at the time. They even made a special trip back to Salt Lake City to distribute porridge and aid disaster-stricken people, and that’s when they received the title of ‘Wanmin Umbrella.’ “

The Salt Lake City incident was what Lin Fei specifically asked them to investigate today, so when he heard Li Yuan mention the Salt Lake City incident, Liu Yuan immediately started talking about it after Li Yuan left.

Wen Mingtang, Ah Bing, and Tangyuan, who were eating garlic spareribs, looked here: You are talking about the case, can you do it elsewhere to avoid suspicion?

However, it seemed that neither Lin Fei nor Liu Yuan cared about this.

Lin Fei softly said “Hmm” when he heard this, looked at Liu Yuan, and said: “At that time, several of the Huaishan County Prince’s men died in the bandit incident. Do you know?”

Liu Yuan was startled when he heard this, and subconsciously murmured: “This kind of thing will kill people…”

Before he finished speaking, Lin Fei said: “A couple who just got married and a child died.”

Before Liu Yuan could react, Lin Fei reminded him: “If these three people had not died, their age would be exactly the same as that of the Huaishan County King, the County Princess, and Li Zhao.”

Liu Yuan was stunned by this sentence. His face changed slightly: “That couple and their child…”

“The child did not belong to that couple, but to a young boy named Song at that time.” At this point, Lin Fei paused for a while, and then said, “That young boy named Song is now the steward of the Huaishan County Prince’s Mansion.”

(End of Chapter)

---

Footnote

1. A kind of umbrella that was given to an official by the people with signature on them saying how happy/grateful they were to that official. You can see one here.

T/N Sorry for the delay in posting. Month end means extra workload plus my youngest had his birthday on 3rd. So I will try to make up for the delayed chapters and by this week, finish all the advanced chapters promised.