“In today’s funeral customs in the Jiangnan area, is the high stool next to the coffin a long stool or a short stool?” Wen Mingtang looked at Lin Fei and asked seriously, “I have been watching in Chang’an City these days. The custom in Chang’an City is to place benches. I don’t know the Jiangnan generation…”
“Short benches.” Lin Fei said lightly, “I have been to Jiangnan, and it is slightly different from Chang’an.”
Wen Mingtang suddenly understood after hearing this, “Oh.”
Lin Fei looked at the girl’s thoughtful look, paused for a moment, thought about it, and then said: “Your ex-fiancé is not suitable for you.”
The girl nodded in agreement, her eyes flickering slightly as if she were thinking about something. She then paused for a moment, and said: “I think so.”
Seeing this, Lin Fei added: “I have never been in contact with him, but I think he is sentimental and cowardly, and he seems to have no sense of responsibility.”
Wen Mingtan nodded, paused, rubbed her chin, and said, “More than that, he is quite shameless.”
The dream that had troubled her for a long time, although she had speculated from the letters addressed “To my dear sister Ming Tang” before, had never been confirmed.
At that moment, Lin Fei’s words made her sure of one thing. The “young master” mentioned by the two maids who killed the original owner in the dream was probably Cáizi1 Ye Da.
She closed her eyes and could probably guess what the original owner had experienced.
After many trials and tribulations, she finally left the palace one day, with no relatives to turn to. Then, with each letter being the only thing that kept her in mind, she went to Jiangnan. And there, she met that affectionate yet weak Ye Da.
She didn’t feel any unnecessary emotions in the girl in the dream, and she didn’t have any feelings for Caizi Ye Da.
She could imagine what it would be like for an unaccompanied and helpless girl to go to the south of the Yangtze River and meet the passionate Ye Dacai. The girl in the dream had begun to look good, so it was no surprise that Ye Dacai would not let go of his former fiancée due to his character.
If he liked her and was responsible, that would be one thing, or if he knew he couldn’t marry the girl and voluntarily let her go, that would also be fine.
But he refused to let her go while also attracting the attention of a formidable noblewoman.
Knowing that he had attracted the attention of a noblewoman, he should have let the girl go, yet he refused. He even resorted to a scheme of “faking her death,” a move that would undoubtedly bring trouble. Anyone with a bit of intelligence in the household would not agree to such a risky plan. He wasn’t the absolute authority in the household, so it was no wonder the household members took matters into their own hands.
Seeing Wen Mingtang’s calm look, Lin Fei retracted his gaze from the letter and glanced at the incense burner.
When Wen Mingtang was waiting for him to ask questions about her family’s past, she heard Lin Fei suddenly ask her: “What would a girl who suddenly lost her parents and no one else do?”
Was he asking her? Wen Mingtang was stunned for a moment, recalled the memory of the original owner, and said: “At first, I would secretly hide in bed and cry, but later I only dared to suppress the sadness in my heart. I had no time to think about this anymore because I had to work hard to survive.”
In life, wasn’t that what ordinary people who just want to live do?
Lin Fei frowned, obviously not very satisfied with her answer.
Seeing this, Wen Mingtang thought for a while and then said: “Everyone is different. If Lin Shaoqing wants to ask others, he shouldn’t ask me.”
After hearing this, Lin Fei paused, thoughtfully, and said: “It’s indeed different. Your family suffered a disaster, but hers is different.”2
Who was this she he was referring to? Wen Mingtang looked at Lin Fei curiously, but Lin Fei didn’t say much, just shook his head, turned, and left.
It was the Dragon Boat Festival, yet he lingered in the Dali Temple! Didn’t Lin Shaoqing’s family have anything to say? Unlike her, all alone in this world, Wen Mingtang thought to herself.
As Wen Mingtang thought, Lin Fei was indeed questioned when he returned to Jingyun Hou Mansion.
“Why are you coming back so late?” Jìngyún Hóu Fūrén Zheng Shi had been waiting for someone to arrive. She even made a special trip to Lin Fei’s yard and said, “The family was having dinner, but you were not there.”
“Didn’t I tell someone to come back when you were done?”
Hearing this, Lin Fei said, “There is a case at hand to deal with.”
“A case, a case, do you live only for a case?” Zheng Shi glanced at Lin Fei complainingly, but in the end, she felt sorry for her son and did not wait for Lin Fei to reply and asked, “What about dinner…”
“Dinner has been taken care of,” Lin Fei interjected. Pausing for a moment, he met Mrs. Zheng’s gaze and said solemnly, “Mother, you’re mistaken. Criminals don’t take breaks for holidays. This case on hand is quite troublesome. If not resolved promptly, more lives may be lost.”
Zheng Shi was choked by Lin Fei’s words. Looking at her son’s calm and cold expression, she couldn’t help but raise her forehead. Finally, she had no choice but to sigh and say: “Ah Fei! You are always on the case, you have to start thinking about marriage!”
Hearing this, Lin Fei only glanced at Zheng Shi with a faint glance and said, “Mother, there’s no rush for my brother, and my matters can wait.”
The ball was kicked very fast!
Zheng Shi: “…”
After Lin Fei blocked her sentence, Zheng Shi shook her head helplessly and turned around to go to her eldest son’s yard.
…
The morning meal on the first day after the Dragon Boat Festival was méigān cài bǐng made from the leftover meigan cai3 wasted by Master Sun yesterday.
Wen Mingtang rolled out the dough filled with meigan cai using a rolling pin and then placed it into the cylindrical bǐng oven to bake.
Many people in Dali Temple had seen this cylindrical bǐng oven. The first few public chefs and even Masters Sun and Wang had used this large cylindrical bǐng oven.
However, the baked bǐngs were not very good. When they saw Wen Mingtang baking bǐngs in the large bǐng oven, even Liu Yuan, who had come to get the morning meal the most actively, stopped subconsciously and said to Wen Mingtang: “Master Wen, this bǐng…”
Wen Mingtang glanced at him. It happened that the first batch of méi gāncài bǐng was almost baked. She opened the stove lid and looked at the méi gāncài bǐngs attached to the furnace wall. She took out the méigān cài bǐngs from the oven. The méigān cài bǐng was handed over.
The aroma of roasted méigān cài mixed with wheat and sesame filled the air, and the people waiting in line behind the hook moved their index fingers.
Bǐngs were very common. Not only could they be found everywhere on the streets, but even public chefs had made them several times.
However, this was the first time they had seen such a bǐng stuffed with méi gāncài and other ingredients.
Someone poked his head and looked at Liu Yuan, who was the first to get the bǐng. Even through the oil paper bag, the freshly baked méigān cài bǐng was still very hot to the touch.
The long tongue-shaped méi gāncài bǐng had a paper-thin crust and was sprinkled with a layer of roasted white sesame seeds. Through the paper-thin crust, you could see a layer of méigān cài inside.
Even though it was hot on his hands, Liu Yuan bit into it under the envious gazes of his colleagues.
With a “click” sound, the crispiness of the bǐng crust could be heard from the sound. Under the crispy crust was a filling full of méigān cài. The crust was crispy, but the pickled méigān cài inside was moist and soft. It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It had a salty aroma with a hint of sweetness and a unique taste that made people want it.
Liu Yuan was happily eating the méigān cài bǐng, but Zhao You suddenly rushed in from outside the kitchen at this moment, grabbed him, and hurried out: “Eat while walking! Another person died!”
(End of Chapter)
Footnote
- gifted scholar
- And here I was thinking our ML is starting to show interest in our FL T/N
- Dried fermented mustard greens
This looks quite yummy
Translating one chapter one day at a time 
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