The longer you stayed in Dali Temple, the more you realized how vast this world was and how full of wonders it was. People killed people for all kinds of weird reasons!

It was just that although the appearance of these two books had almost allowed Liu Yuan and Lin Fei to determine who was the real murderer, how to catch the murderer with all the witnesses and material evidence was the key!

Judging from the murderer’s previous behavior, it was not irrefutable evidence. She was sure to plead not guilty and would use all kinds of sophistry to excuse herself.

How could one make such a culprit confess? Liu Yuan pondered all the way to the public kitchen, instinctively sniffing the strong aroma in the air, but his mind was elsewhere. Even while cooking, Ah Bing glanced at him a couple of times without him noticing.

Watching Liu Yuan take the evening food, he turned around and sat down in front of Zhang’s empty food table.

The distracted look on his face… Ah Bing turned to Tang Yuan and Wen Mingtang, saying, “Magistrate Liu seems absent-minded. When one piece was missing from the zhàǒu hé, he didn’t say anything. I had to replace it for him!”

Wen Mingtang looked at the absent-minded Liu Yuan and said, “Liu Sicheng was thinking about the case and didn’t pay attention to the food in front of him.”

Although he was a foodie, he was the Si Cheng of Dali Temple after all. Paying attention to the case at hand was his duty and the first thing to consider was the case.

But even though he was thinking about the case, in front of the delicious food, Liu Yuan still paid some attention to the food called zhàǒu hé in front of him.

When he came to the public kitchen just now, he had already seen how this zhàǒu hé was made. Minced meat was sandwiched between two pieces of lotus roots, rolled in the batter, and then fried in oil.

However, before it was brought over, it was fried for another ten seconds, so the round zhàǒu hé on the plate were still steaming.

The zhàǒu hé is sprinkled with a layer of seasoning powder mixed with chili powder and Hu¹ people’s seasonings. There was also a small amount of red sauce on the side. The little girl who was helping to serve rice dumplings in the box said that this sauce was Hu people’s. Liu Yuan dipped his chopsticks into the sauce made from tomatoes. The taste in his mouth was sour and sweet, and he liked the taste very much.

Picking up a zhàǒu hé with chopsticks, Liu Yuan blew a little on the steaming zhàǒu hé and then took a bite. The outer skin of the batter was crispy, revealing the indentation of the filling inside. The two pieces of lotus root were tender and white, and the minced meat in the middle was made of a mixture of fat and lean pork, which tasted salty and fresh. You could see the juice squeeze out when you squeeze it slightly.

At first, the zhàǒu hé seemed fragrant, but after a while, it became easily overwhelming. Master Wen’s special seasoning, with its salty and savory taste accented by the spiciness of Hu people’s cumin, alleviated the greasiness. Liu Yuan finished one zhàǒu hé plain and, when picking up the second one, dipped it into the tangy-sweet tomato sauce on the side.

He was originally worried that the sweet and sour taste would conflict with the salty, slightly spicy, and cumin powder seasoning. But then he realized that his mouth not only didn’t feel the conflict but actually loved the zhàǒu hé dipped in the sweet and sour sauce.

With the addition of the tomato sauce, the zhàǒu hés didn’t feel greasy at all. Liu Yuan couldn’t stop himself from eating one after another, and by the time he picked up the last one with his chopsticks and found it empty, he realized he had finished the zhàǒu hé without even having had a proper meal.

Seeing many empty zhàǒu hé containers like the one he had just finished, Liu Yuan shook his head and glanced at Wen Mingtang, who was packing the zhàǒu hé into the food container to give to Lin Shaoqing. “Is Lin Shaoqing taking them to go again today?”

It was just that… thinking of Lin Shaoqing’s tael for takeout every time, Liu Yuan felt extremely strapped for money. He didn’t know when the public chef would establish a takeout rule. After all, not everyone could be like Lin Shaoqing and give a tael anytime and anywhere without feeling distressed.

After putting the zhàǒu hé in the food box and adding the seasonings and dipping sauces, Wen Mingtang told Zhao You: “Take it back and ask the cook to fry it for ten more seconds. Take it out and eat it while it’s hot. It’s delicious, but it won’t taste good when it’s cold.”

Zhao You immediately nodded in agreement and ran away with the food box.

…

Although jìngyún hóu fūrén Zheng Shi liked spicy food, it didn’t mean that she didn’t like other foods. Compared with yesterday’s kou shui ji, this zhàǒu hé had a little less “Sichuan” flavor, but it didn’t stop her from liking it. After tasting it, she immediately asked someone to take the zhàǒu hé to Marquis Jingyun so that Marquis Jingyun could taste it.

Despite his imposing stature, Jingyun Hou had a strong preference for sweet and sour foods, similar to a child’s taste. He felt embarrassed to admit such a preference, so he never mentioned it publicly. However, his wife, fūrén Zheng Shi, was well aware of it.

So when the servants went to collect the plates, Zheng Shi couldn’t help but laugh when she saw the empty plates. She made a special trip to Lin Fei’s courtyard and asked, “Fei, are you planning to take food to go every day from now on?”

Lin Fei set down the pen in his hand and looked up at Zheng Shi. “If Mother likes it, I’ll bring some back every day. Master Wen is currently in charge of both breakfast and dinner. Once the new rules in the kitchen are established, we can bring back food for both meals.”

Zheng Shi heard this, thought for a while, and said: “Just bring some with you! I will ask someone to tell the people in the kitchen that they will cook less for those two meals. It will be inevitable to eat those few dishes all the time. If you’re tired of it, it’s better to change your mouth.”

Lin Fei said “Hmm” and picked up the pen again. Zheng Shi looked down at the drawing in Lin Fei’s hand, only to see that what she drew on the huge piece of white paper was actually her own. She couldn’t understand the “ghost-drawing talisman”, so she couldn’t help but be silent and asked Lin Fei: “Do you need to learn how to catch ghosts when solving crimes in Dali Temple?”

Lin Fei said: “People’s hearts are sinister, and they are no more difficult to catch than evil ghosts.”

Zheng Shi: “…” After a pause, looking at her second son who was concentrating on his work, Zheng Shi said helplessly: “Ah Fei, remember to rest early. There are so many murderers in this world to catch.”

Lin Fei said, ” Okay.” Then he continued to lower his head and focus on drawing the “ghost talisman”.

“A mother knows her son best.” Zheng Shi had long realized that although her son seemed obedient on the surface, he was actually very independent-minded. Once he set his mind on something, he refused to change it.

Zheng Shi sighed helplessly and told him twice more to “rest early” before leaving.

…

…

The next day was a sunny day, and the sun was just right.

“Such a day has the most yang energy!” Liu Yuan, who was holding a “Complete Collection of Talismans” in his hand, turned to Wei Fu and said, “It’s suitable for catching monsters and ghosts!”

Wei Fu looked at the dark blue under Liu Yuan’s eyes and fell silent. He said: “I don’t know if you can catch the monsters, but I know that you may not be able to resist the monsters in this way.”

With this yawning look, one could tell that he hadn’t slept all night. He was afraid that all the time for sleep was spent on studying the “Encyclopedia of Talismans”.

Liu Yuan yawned, didn’t he know that he was not in good spirits right now?

He gritted his teeth and said bitterly: “That monster has read through the “Encyclopedia of Talismans”. If I can’t read her, how can I catch her?”

“She has been reading for so many years, but hasn’t she been caught doing evil in the end?” Wei Fu said. He took away the “Encyclopedia of Talisman” from Liu Yuan’s hand, patting his shoulder and saying, “I don’t know if these talismans work, but I do know that good and evil will eventually be repaid! She hid so well, if it weren’t for the bowl of porridge and a salted duck egg that little girl Tang Yuan brought that day, we might still not know how many people had died!”

After saying that, before Liu Yuan could speak, Wei Fu looked at Lin Fei who came in and said, “Lin Shaoqing is here!”

(End of chapter)

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Footnote

1. In ancient China, the term “Hu” referred to various non-Han ethnic groups living in the northern and western regions of China. These groups included nomadic tribes such as the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Qiang, and Di, among others. The interactions between the Han Chinese and these Hu peoples often involved conflicts, alliances, and cultural exchanges, shaping the history and development of ancient China.