As the night deepened, the Dali Temple’s officers finished their evening meal, said goodbye to Wen Mingtang and others, and left.

Looking around, most of the plates on the public kitchen table were empty. Even if they were not, there was only a mouthful of rice or a few grains left.

Such plates were of course the greatest affirmation for a cook. Wen Mingtang turned her eyes to the table: halfway through the evening meal, some people had not come to eat yet!

“It’s Lin Shaoqing, Liu Sicheng, and others who haven’t come to eat yet!” Ah Bing trotted in from outside, pointed in the direction of the lobby, and said, “They are interrogating the young lady of the Yuan family!”

Wen Mingtang said “Oh” and asked Ah Bing: “How long do you think the interrogation will take?”

Ah Bing said: “Wei Sicheng didn’t say, he just asked us to eat first!”

Although he didn’t say it, “asking them to eat first” was no different from saying it.

Wen Mingtang turned around to serve the rice and said, “It seems that Miss Yuan is tough to crack!”

…

The hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Ever since Lin Fei said that the hall fell into a strange silence. Until…

“Gurgle!” A “ventriloquism” sounded. Seeing everyone looking at him, Liu Yuan touched his stomach and said awkwardly, “The evening meal is almost over!”

It was originally a normal sentence, but Miss Yuan seemed to be inspired. She sighed and said faintly, “If everything in this world was as simple as eating three meals a day!”

It sounded so helpless as if she had suffered a great injustice!

But Lin Fei didn’t even raise his eyelids and said, “Originally, things in this world are not so troublesome, but with Third Miss Yuan, it has become a lot more troublesome!”

Was this saying that she was a troublemaker? Third Miss Yuan pursed her lips, obviously disagreeing with what he said: “I have been sick since I was born. When I was young, I couldn’t go out to play because of the illness. I could only watch my sisters running and chasing each other outside. At the end of the year, they were eating delicious cakes, but I was taking bitter and hard-to-swallow medicine. We were all born as daughters of the Yuan family, why do I have to suffer this?”

“It’s not my fault!” Third Miss Yuan’s eyes flashed with resentment, “Father was unfaithful, Mother, though bearing me, was too caught up in jealousy to care for me, and Brother was young and mischievous—my illness was all because of them!”

Lin Fei gave a soft “hmm” and glanced at Third Miss Yuan:
“So, because you felt wronged—‘why should you alone have to suffer’—you made sure your innocent sisters lived in hardship as well. Because you hated your father, mother, and brother, you stirred up trouble within the clan. That man in prison, the one running the shipping business—even if he wasn’t particularly talented, those repeated failures were likely your doing too, weren’t they?”

Third Miss Yuan sneered at the words and said leisurely: “He is a good knife! There are many complaints about him in the clan. I coughed twice in front of him and found someone to persuade him. He thought that the tombstone business was too fierce and it was against me. It was really stupid to stop this profitable business!”

When she said the last sentence, Third Miss Yuan’s expression suddenly turned cold: “The other people in the Yuan family are only a little smarter than him, they are all a mob!”

“If not, how could I not even have a marriage?” Third Miss Yuan sneered, “If the Yuan family’s business was not doing well, how could I be rejected and lose face?”

The reason why she could not have this marriage was not because of her health, but because the Yuan family’s business was declining!

“That’s how marriage between two clans works,” Third Miss Yuan said faintly, “It’s all about interests!”

Looking at the gloomy look on Third Miss Yuan’s face, Lin Fei lowered his eyes and said, “You are a woman who lives in the boudoir, and you have to pretend in front of your clansmen. You must not go out often. So how did you get in touch with those murderers?”

Third Miss Yuan sneered and closed her eyes without saying a word.

……

……

Wei Fu’s judgment was correct. It was not until Wen Mingtang and others finished their evening meal that Lin Fei and others came to the public kitchen.

Seeing Liu Yuan’s sighing expression, Ah Bing, who handed him the meal, knew without asking: “After such a long interrogation, it seems that Third Miss Yuan is unwilling to confess!”

The evidence of Third Miss Yuan’s crime was conclusive. According to the laws of Great Rong, if she refused to speak, it was not impossible to use torture! But… not everyone could be made to speak by torture, and this person was obviously one of them!

Moreover, because of her sick body, if the punishment was heavier, something might really happen!

The hard way was not going to work, so they could only use the soft way, but how to use the soft way? Liu Yuan was distressed, and Bai Zhu’s expression was not much better. Obviously, after interrogating Third Miss Yuan, he was also a little exhausted physically and mentally!

Compared to the distress of Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu, Lin Fei was as calm as ever. When he came to the table to receive the evening meal, he would stare at the evening meal in front of him and ask Wen Mingtang: “What is the name of today’s evening meal? It seems to be another Sichuan dish?”

Wen Mingtang nodded and said, “It’s called Shuizhu Roupian!” She put Lin Fei’s boiled pork slices on the table, sprinkled with the chopped chili and minced garlic that had been prepared long ago, and then picked up a spoon beside her and poured a spoonful of boiling hot oil on it.

The hot oil boiled with a “sizzling” sound, and the fragrance of the auxiliary ingredients stimulated by the hot oil immediately spread.

The fragrance was too tempting! Liu Yuan, who was distressed, took a deep breath, put aside his original distress for the time being, and hurried over to take a portion of the evening meal and sat down to eat in front of the table.

After dealing with Third Miss Yuan, Liu Yuan was already hungry and glanced at the dish in his bowl that was covered with a layer of spicy oil.

Even though he knew Master Wen was well aware of everything, the sight of that bright red chili oil still triggered a bodily instinct—his mouth began to water uncontrollably.

The aroma of the various ingredients, brought to life by the hot oil, rushed straight to his nose—it was as if an invisible hand was pulling him closer, urging him toward the bowl.

Liu Yuan swallowed nervously, then raised his chopsticks and dipped them into the bright red chili oil, picking up a thin slice of pork.

The pork slice was still covered with red oil soup and chopped chili and minced garlic on top. The aroma stimulated by the hot oil was sent into his mouth along with the chopped chili and minced garlic on the meat slice. The moment he took a bite, Liu Yuan’s eyes lit up.

The pork slice must have been processed, and it was more tender and smooth than ordinary pork slices, but it was firmer than the fish slices in the pickled fish for lunch. Although it was firm, it was not dry and woody. It had a little toughness when chewed carefully, and it was more chewy than the fish slices. Although they were all meat slices, the texture of the meat slices in each dish was different.

Liu Yuan simply loves the taste of the pork slices with garlic and spicy aroma. A chopstick of pork slices was matched with a big mouthful of rice. The white rice was dipped in red oil sauce, chili, and garlic, which was so delicious that people couldn’t stop eating!

With each bite of pork slices and a mouthful of rice, Liu Yuan continued until he had eaten most of the pork slices on top. Only then did he remember to pick up the vegetables beneath the pork: The phoenix tail leaves carried a refreshing fragrance, like the tail of a phoenix. Even when submerged in the red oil broth, their taste remained crisp and refreshing. The tender tofu skin, with its smooth texture, carried the distinctive aroma of soybeans, blending perfectly with the red oil soup. The combination was truly exquisite!

“It is only now that I realize how incredibly versatile tofu skin is. Whether it’s paired with the sour, spicy, and fragrant broth of sauerkraut fish, or this irresistible red oil sauce, it matches perfectly!” Liu Yuan muttered to himself while lowering his head to scoop more rice. “This dish, called Shuizhu Roupian, really is an amazingly addictive dish to go with rice!”

Unknowingly, the bowl of rice was already empty. Liu Yuan stood up and sighed, “The only way to relieve my worries is Master Wen’s excellent cooking skills!”

This compliment was not in vain. He asked Wen Mingtang for another bowl of rice. When he was about to go back to the food table to continue eating, he saw a lot of sliced ​​pork slices piled on the chopping board behind the public kitchen. The size of those slices was about the same as those in the bowl…

“Are we having Shuizhu Roupian again tomorrow?” Liu Yuan couldn’t help but ask Wen Mingtang.

(End of this chapter)

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