Because the “immortal” choked to death after eating the roasted leg of lamb, the late emperor had to give up his “seeking immortality” for the time being, and went back to meet the familiar “descendants of Ziwei Palace” he went to study the art of immortality.

Lin Fei deliberately brought up these two incidents, which were several years apart, and pointed out the similarities. Naturally, he was not trying to make fun of the Goguryeo “immortal” who was choked to death.

“Now that the elixir has been stolen, the two of you have received the imperial decree to find the elixir for the envoys. Naturally, you must strictly investigate all the people who may have come into contact with the elixir. Inside and outside the imperial city, whether they are from our country or Goguryeo people, they must be investigated one by one.” Lin Fei paused for a moment after saying this to the two of them, and then said again, “Let’s start with the Goguryeo people!”

The envoy of Goguryeo, after arriving in Dayong, represented the dignity of Goguryeo. Originally, Dayong was not supposed to interfere or inquire about these matters between them.

Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu understood: Now that the Goguryeo people were looking for the elixir, they could take this opportunity to check the envoys openly.

They knew what to do, but they still didn’t understand.

“That arrogant man, what was his name again?” Liu Yuan couldn’t remember the name of the deceased scholar at that moment.

“Sūdān Shēng,” Bai Zhu reminded him.

“Yes, his name is Sūdān Shēng. No matter how talented that scholar was, he had never even entered an official position. What relationship can several Goguryeo envoys have with him?” Liu Yuan was a little puzzled, “One of them had not yet joined the officialdom. He was just a scholar who was going to take kēkǎo¹ then.”

Without mentioning it, let’s just say that he and Bai Zhu were also known as talented scholars when they participated in the kēkǎo.

There were many such talented scholars in every kēkǎo. What was so special about this Sūdān Shēng student?

“I don’t know.” Bai Zhu said, shook his head, paused, and said, “But we can visit the female prostitute named Jin Yanxiu from Goguryeo and ask her about her situation at that time.”

This female prostitute was still staying in the brothel in Chang’an, which was easy to find.

Diving into the case files, the time passed very quickly. Only when the bell of Youshi² rang did a few people remember to eat the evening meal.

Master Wen’s evening meal was naturally very attractive.

Liu Yuan and others put down the files in their hands and walked out of the lobby.

Walking through the central square leading to the public kitchen, before arriving at the public kitchen, a strong aroma of pork meat filled the air.

“It smells so good!” Several nearby yamen guards took several deep breaths of the rich aroma of pork meat in the air. One of them couldn’t help but exclaim, “The smell of braised pork meat is so delicious. It looks like today’s Master Wu made braised pork for the evening meal.”

“How on earth was it made to smell this good?” Another officer chimed in, unable to resist taking a deep sniff of the air again. He sighed, “The ones made at my home, even when we’re gathered around the stove just as they’re coming out of the pot, never smell this fragrant!”

With the guidance of this rich aroma, everyone naturally walked quickly and entered the public kitchen in three steps at a time.

In the public kitchen, the smell of the large casserole of braised pork was so strong that Tangyuan and Ah Bing, who were helping to place bowls and bowls on the counter, swallowed several mouthfuls of saliva.

Compared to the officers, this big casserole of braised pork was right next to them. The smell kept coming to their noses. How could they stop it?

Swallowing uncontrollably, the two of them looked at Wen Mingtang beside them: “Master Wen, can we eat today’s evening meal first?”

They didn’t know how Master Wen, who made such delicious food, could resist the fragrance.

Wen Mingtang looked at the two pairs of big eyes looking towards her, but she spread her hands and made a “helpless” gesture, and then heard a familiar voice outside the public kitchen.

“Yo! Look at what we’ve caught here? The cook sneaking a bite!” Liu Yuan teased as he stepped into the public kitchen.

Before entering the canteen, the smell came over me like a thread. Now that they entered the courtyard, the smell was even more overbearing, making everyone who was already a little hungry have their stomachs growling.

This joke made Ah Bing and Tangyuan make faces, and the two of them admitted frankly: “Who can hold back the braised pork in this casserole?”

They couldn’t help it anymore.

Wen Mingtang pointed at the food table and said to the two of them with a smile: “I will divide the dishes today, you two eat first!” As she said that, she raised her hand and opened the lid of the casserole.

White steam dispersed, and the rich aroma of meat in a savory sauce wafted through the air. The sauce in the pot bubbled slowly, and the braised pork, cut into square pieces, crowded in the clay pot, trembling slightly over the low flame.

Wen Mingtang sprinkled a handful of chopped green onions to add the final “color” to the pot of braised pork and began to serve the dishes to everyone.

Because she took several intoxicating sniffs of the rich soy sauce aroma, Liu Yuan, who was the last to step into the public kitchen, had no time to get to the front of the queue, so he had to wait until the end of the queue.

As he stood in line, inhaling the rich, enticing aroma in the air, Liu Yuan couldn’t help but sigh, “Being able to smell it but not eat it is truly a kind of torment.”

Fortunately, Wen Mingtang was quick to serve the food, and those in front of the line were eager to eat, so no one delayed. The line moved very quickly.

When it was Liu Yuan’s turn, it didn’t take much effort.

Watching the small bowl of braised pork covered with sauce put on the plate, Liu Yuan couldn’t help but joke: “The little pork meat that was missing in the morning meal looks like it was made up with the evening meal!”

With a smile, Wen Mingtang acknowledged and noticed that there was no one left behind Liu Yuan in the queue. He then picked up a nearby food container and started filling it with meat.

Looking at the familiar food box, Liu Yuan winked at Wen Mingtang: “Is it Lin Shaoqing’s again?”

Wen Mingtang nodded, glanced at him, and said, “I heard that Hóu Fūrén likes the food I make very much.”

Due to the favor of Hóu Fūrén, her purse had become quite full.

“Those officials at the Internal Affairs Department really do drag their feet!” Liu Yuan sighed upon hearing this, lamenting, “Zhào Dàrén had already made arrangements, but the subordinates below still haven’t sorted things out!”

Why was it taking so long to do such a small thing? At first glance, someone was stumbling again!

Except for Prince Yu, there was no one else who could cause trouble.

“He is really busy. No wonder Lin Shaoqing wants to re-investigate an old case.” Liu Yuan sat down in front of the food table, picked up his chopsticks, and picked up the braised pork in the bowl.

The braised pork was made from thick and fatty pork and stewed in the clay pot for several hours until it became tender and succulent. With just a light poke from chopsticks, it would easily fall apart. When the pork skin, coated with a layer of rich sauce, was gently pulled, it would stretch like strands, clinging together with a sticky texture.

Looking at the pork meat that was easily torn apart, Liu Yuan couldn’t help but sigh: “It’s really a very labor-intensive dish!”

How could ordinary braised pork meat be so crispy, sticky, and thick?

After loading Lin Fei’s box of braised pork, Wen Mingtang looked up and saw Liu Yuan finish sighing and put a piece of braised pork into his mouth, and immediately a look of pleasure appeared on his face.

(End of chapter)

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Footnote

1. preliminary round of imperial examinations 
2. 5 PM to 7 PM