Due to the long stew, the fat meat melted almost as soon as you took it into your mouth. The lean meat had already become soft and rotten. The rich and sticky salty aroma of the sauce was slightly sweet. It was not greasy, but more fresh and sweet.

Watching Liu Yuan put the braised pork into his stomach, he couldn’t wait to scoop a spoonful of the thick sauce and pour it on the white rice.

Generally, people’s tongues sometimes intuitively know how to eat. Rice coated with such thick and flavorful sauce can truly enhance the dining experience. Many people enjoy eating rice mixed with braised pork sauce like this. Even Wen Mingtang, who was responsible for serving the dishes, couldn’t help but feel her stomach growl twice, indicating her hunger.

However, as a qualified cook, Wen Mingtang still endured it. Sitting behind the counter, Wen Mingtang couldn’t help but pursed her lips and smiled while watching the people eating at the table.

People said that the greatest compliment to a cook was to eat every last morsel of her food. She obviously received a lot of praise today.

When the evening meal was over, Wen Mingtang scooped up rice, vegetables, and meat and began to eat her share of the evening meal. When the rich and mellow sauce aroma of braised pork was being tasted between her lips and teeth, a double happiness that had not been seen for a long time came.

“Master Wen, it smells so good!” Holding his food container, his eyes lit up when he saw the bowl of braised pork next to Wen Mingtang. However, perhaps thinking of something, he swallowed his saliva and suppressed his craving. Instead, he handed over his food container and urged Wen Mingtang, “Wen Master, hurry up! I can only be out for an hour. If it takes too long, I’m afraid I’ll get scolded when I go back.”

Wen Mingtang looked at Shuangxi who was urging him to get up and put the only food in the casserole. The remaining bit of meat was put into his food box and handed over.

Watching Shuangxi hurriedly take the food box, turn around, and run away. Seeing this kind of behavior, Wen Mingtang couldn’t help but ask again: “What happened to the Pingxi County Prince’s Mansion? Is it even possible for you and the little Prince to come out?”

Shuangxi pointed to his mouth and shook his head, indicating that he couldn’t say anything, and ran out of the door in a hurry.

Seeing Shuangxi disappearing in a hurry, Wen Mingtang didn’t ask any more questions and just continued to sit down and eat.

On the day after finishing the braised pork, they heard the news about Li Yuan.

The first person to find out the news was naturally Liu Yuan, who was the best at asking for information.

“Master Wen!” When he found Wen Mingtang, Wen Mingtang, Ah Bing, and Tangyuan were putting eggs into the large casserole pot used for cooking braised pork.

When Liu Yuan, who originally wanted to say something, saw the big casserole, he instinctively suppressed the news he was about to say, and turned to ask Wen Mingtang: “Master Wen wants to boil eggs? Why boil so many eggs?” 

“Make some snacks and share them with you as snacks after lunch,” Wen Mingtang said.

Because Master Sun’s lunch preparation was really unsatisfactory, everyone inevitably used less food during lunch and became hungry easily.

Ji Caimai sometimes cleaned up the ingredients, fearing that they would spoil after being stored for a long time, so he would ask Wen Mingtang to cook them for everyone to eat as snacks.

Hearing that there were still snacks today, Liu Yuan swallowed subconsciously, moved his eyes away from the casserole that only contained shelled eggs and white water, and said to Wen Mingtang: “That little prince of Pingxi County who hasn’t been here for a long time is here today. Something has happened!”

Upon hearing this, Ah Bing, who was putting eggs, immediately corrected Liu Yuan and said, “Although the little prince didn’t come, he sent his little follower here yesterday. He came and took away the last bit of braised pork!”

When Liu Yuan heard the mention of the braised pork, he felt as if he could taste the sweet and salty sauce flavor again, and muttered: “I originally wanted to say that he took away the last bit of braised pork. It’s really hateful, but looking at what he did this morning, I can forgive him!”

Oh? They don’t know what the little prince did to make Liu Yuan even forgiven for “stealing meat”.

Wen Mingtang couldn’t help but laugh, and was about to speak when she heard Liu Yuan say: “The little prince sneaked out this morning with his little follower named Shuangxi. I heard that he was originally going to come to our Dali Temple public kitchen to have a meal. But what a coincidence, they bumped into King Yu on the way…”

This collision naturally made enemies extremely jealous! They didn’t know who made the move first, or maybe they both didn’t like each other and wanted to take action. In short, the result was that the two of them started fighting in the street.

Upon hearing this, Wen Mingtang recalled the extravagant display she witnessed from Prince Yu during the dragon boat race, and then she thought about Li Yuan, who always sneaked out with Shuangxi. In all honesty, Wen Mingtang felt that if Li Yuan and Shuangxi met King Yu, she wouldn’t be sure who would end up hitting whom!

Could these two people defeat King Yu’s men?

If King Yu had brought his subordinates, they would naturally not be able to defeat them, but for some reason, King Yu didn’t even bring any of his subordinates this morning.

“Early in the morning, King Yu met the little prince of Pingxi when he was passing by Zhengyangfang alone.” At this point, Liu Yuan couldn’t help but gloat and smile, “Although the little prince sneaked out secretly, he also brought a Shuangxi. Although it was of little use, there were still many people. When he saw the disheveled King Yu, he rushed forward with Shuangxi!”

After all, it was rare to encounter King Yu alone. If they missed this opportunity once, no one knew when they could get a second chance!

“This Little Prince of Pingxi really showed the demeanor of those heroes who ‘strike when the time is right’ this morning. He didn’t hold back at all, especially targeting the face, leaving people bruised and swollen. It attracted quite a crowd!” Liu Yuan said, unable to contain his laughter anymore. “Even in the early morning, news of this incident spread from the alleys to various government offices, and even to the court!”

“King Yu probably wants to devour the heart of the Little Prince of Pingxi alive! However, the Prince of Pingxi may lack the abilities of a great leader, but his skill in avoiding trouble and seizing opportunities is unmatched. Upon receiving the news, he didn’t hesitate for a moment, immediately leading his men to seize his son and take him back to the Prince of Pingxi’s residence, where they stayed hidden and didn’t come out. By the time the people from Prince Yu’s residence arrived to rescue him, the father and son from the Prince of Pingxi’s residence were long gone!”

Everyone ran away, and King Yu was naturally furious and had nowhere to vent his anger.

People like King Yu were inherently narrow-minded and stingy. Even if he was beaten secretly by Li Yuan and Shuangxi, he probably wouldn’t be able to swallow the bad breath. Now that he was being beaten in front of so many people, and it was on his face, thinking about how many people saw his bruised nose and face, it was probably even more uncomfortable than killing him!

Wen Mingtang laughed with Liu Yuan for a while, and after a moment of pause, she asked Liu Yuan: “Liu Sicheng, why did King Yu appear alone in Zhengyangfang so early in the morning? Moreover,” the girl said this, her eyes slightly flashed, “Still…looking disheveled?”

(End of this chapter)

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