Where did you find the cook? Yu Jiji stroked his beard, coughed lightly, and said, “I borrowed it from the government office in front.”

The front government office? The míngshì were stunned: Wasn’t the front of the Imperial College…

“How the public kitchen of the Dali Temple have such a chef?” one of the famous míngshì asked in surprise, “I once went to the Dali Temple when I passed through Chang’an a few years ago. The standard of the chefs in the public kitchen was just so-so, and they couldn’t be compared with those in the restaurants outside!”

“More than incomparable,” another famous míngshì answered, “A friend of mine came to Chang’an at the beginning of the year, and when he came back he told me the interesting stories of the public kitchen of the Dali Temple, saying that the public kitchen of the Dali Temple was avoided by all the chefs in the capital and that the food of the public kitchen of the Dali Temple had become tasteless since the former chef was sent away and beheaded by their own people in the Dali Temple. How it be that in just a few months…”

A famous míngshì nearby nodded his head upon hearing this: “Although it is rare to select a chef with such great skills from the people, it is not impossible. Compared to this, it is more amazing that the chef is willing to work as a chef in the public kitchen of the Dali Temple!”

At this point, someone glanced at Yu Jijiu, who was taking a bite of the drooling chicken with chopsticks, and said, “Brother Shinan, why don’t you try to get him to the Imperial College? Being a public chef in your Imperial College is much better than being in the Dali Temple, where you have to deal with those Dali Temple officials who would arrest you at any time!”

This really hit a sore spot! Yu Jijiu couldn’t help but hold his forehead and sighed, “Hey! Don’t say it! Every time I talk about this, it makes me sad!”

It was really a coincidence, otherwise, Master Wen would have gone to their Imperial College public kitchen! But now it didn’t matter, anyway, the Dali Temple public kitchen was just in front of them, so eating there was just like taking a walk before dinner.

The group was chatting happily, but Wang He was silent for a rare time, as if he was really hungry. He took a look at the pleasing “bamboo boat” and picked up a spoon to scoop a spoonful of rice into his mouth.

The famous míngshì who had come to his table to take a look at it asked Wang He, “How is it? Is it delicious?”

Wang He ate his meal, squinted his eyes, and uttered two words: “Not bad!”

The evaluation of “Not bad” sounds disappointing, but as they were old friends for many years, he knew Wang He well and knew that the evaluation of “Not bad” coming from the mouth of this great míngshì was not ordinary. For him, “Not bad” was a very high evaluation.

So, upon hearing “Not bad”, the old friend’s eyes suddenly lit up, and looking at the remaining “bamboo boat” whose “bamboo window” had not yet been opened, he said to Wang He: “Open the remaining one and take a look!”

Wang He glanced at him sideways, and although he did not respond to him, the next moment, he stretched out his hand and opened the “bamboo window” as he said: in the bamboo boat, white rice grains and red beans were mixed together, and the red and white intertwined, looking extremely pleasing to the eye.

“Excellent!” The míngshì couldn’t help but applaud after taking a look, “Beautiful!”

“Not only does it look good, it smells great too!” Wang He said, taking another spoonful of the Zhútǒng Fàn mixed with red beans and dipping it in the crystal sugar on the small plate next to the bamboo boat and putting it into his mouth. As soon as he took a bite, he squinted his eyes and said repeatedly, “Good! Very good!”

Because it was cooked in a bamboo tube, the fragrance of bamboo had already been mixed with rice grains, red beans, bacon, and other ingredients. The rice grains, which were already fragrant, glutinous, and delicious, were filled with that unique fragrance, which not only did not make people feel sick but made them want to eat more and more.

Seeing Wang He putting spoonful after spoonful of the Zhútǒng Fàn into his mouth, everyone was already salivating and followed Wang He’s example, asking for the rice to be served first so that they taste the rice.

People who liked salty food preferred salty, fresh, and fragrant bacon. Especially the meaty aroma along with the smell of smoked pine branches, made people want to eat one spoonful after another and couldn’t stop.

Those who preferred a sweet taste loved the texture of red bean paste, sticky glutinous rice, and the fragrance of bamboo. Dipped in fine sugar, the layered sweet fragrance made one can’t stop eating.

It was supposed to be the main dish to fill the stomach after eating half of the food, but it made people want to eat more. Yu Jijiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but fortunately, although he was reluctant to give up the Zhútǒng Fàn in the bamboo boat, he was still thinking about the next meal, so everyone stopped eating and continued to taste other dishes.

Wen Mingtang was busy with his people in the kitchen. Because it was a banquet, Wen Mingtang added some decorations compared to the dishes usually prepared in the public kitchen.

After placing the radish flowers carved to look like peonies on the plate, Wen Mingtang nodded and waved her hand to signal the servant beside her to bring the dish over.

By now the main courses were almost ready. For the final dessert, Yu Jijiu picked the mung bean cake with mint leaves and bīngfěn covered with fermented rice balls made by Wen Mingtang. This had been prepared in advance. Wen Mingtang breathed a sigh of relief, temporarily handed over the kitchen to the servants, and prepared to sit down in the pavilion nearby to rest for a while.

But before she walked into the pavilion and sat down, she heard a voice behind her.

“But…but Miss Mingtang?”

The voice sounded unfamiliar, and there was some hesitation in the tone, but he still called out her name accurately.

Wen Mingtang frowned, perhaps it was a habit developed after staying in the Dali Temple for so long. Instinctively, she thought of the people on Mount Li at the moment in her mind, and a name quickly emerged in her mind.

Xun Zhou! The favorite student that Wen Xuance had accepted not long before his death, the one who switched to being Wang He’s disciple.

She turned around and looked at the person who came, and her eyes unconsciously carried a bit of the scrutiny that Lin Fei, Liu Yuan, and others were accustomed to.

Eighteen or nineteen years old, the age is right! He had
a pretty face. Since Xunzhou’s elder sister was chosen by Prince Yu, she must be beautiful. With such a beautiful elder sister, her brother would not be born ugly. The appearance was also right.

The next thing was the sachet hanging around his waist, on the surface of which were embroidered the words “Mo Xiang” written in large seal script. If it was given by a woman, she would not use like a “dignified and solemn” font like the large seal script to embroider the words, so it must have been a sachet bought from an incense shop.

What a coincidence! There was an old brand called Moxiangzhai in the incense shop, which seemed to be very famous among literati and scholars. She had seen Wei Fu and Bai Zhu wearing Moxiangzhai sachets. The head office of Moxiangzhai was located in Shuozhou, and it was the most famous in Shuozhou.

After a quick glance, the young man in front of her with a slightly excited look matched Xun Zhou, so it seemed that he was most likely Xun Zhou.

The excited Xun Zhou was met with Wen Mingtang’s scrutinizing gaze. He was startled and suddenly thought he was facing an official from the Dali Temple. He was about to explain his identity when he heard Wen Mingtang say, “Xun Zhou?”

Xun Zhou, who no longer needed to explain his identity: “…”

After a moment’s silence, he nodded and said “yes”. Although he was happy that the girl in front of him did not hate him for defecting to Wang He, such a scrutinizing look still made him feel uncomfortable.

“Since you can find your way here, I think you have asked about me.” Compared to Xun Zhou’s discomfort, the girl’s reaction was normal. She looked at Xun Zhou in front of her and said calmly, “You should know that I was just released from the palace not long ago and I don’t know anything about my father. So, why did you come to find me?”

(End of this chapter)

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