Wen Mingtang glanced at Liu Yuan’s mouth, which was red from the spiciness of the “slightly spicy”Shuizhu Roupian, and then glanced at Lin Fei, who was eating the “normal spicy” Shuizhu Roupian at the table behind him without changing his expression. She couldn’t help but purse her lips and smiled, “Tomorrow’s dish is not Shuizhu Roupian, it will be a non-spicy dish!”

As for what it was, Wen Mingtang shook her head and kept it a secret, saying, “Liu Sicheng will know at lunch tomorrow.”

Looking at the kind-hearted Master Wen, who was a woman of few words, Liu Yuan realized that if she didn’t want to answer, no questions would be able to pry it out of her! He sighed, thinking about Third Miss Yuan in prison, and a wave of frustration hit him. When he returned to his desk with his rice and sat down, he exchanged a glance with Bai Zhu, unable to stop himself from shaking his head.

When the two finished their evening meal and got up to leave, it was already past the evening meal time. Even Ah Bing, Tang Yuan, and Ji Caimai had left first.

The colder the weather, the faster it got dark. The murderer had not been caught, and the city was not peaceful, so it was better to go back early.

For Wen Mingtang, who lived in the Dali Temple accommodation, it really saved the step of going back. Taking advantage of the fact that there was nothing to do at this time, she prepared the dishes to be cooked tomorrow in advance. When she came back after sending the sliced ​​pork slices to the ice cellar, Lin Fei was the only one in the public kitchen who was still eating his evening meal leisurely!

Seeing that the soup in the bowl next to Lin Fei was almost empty, Wen Mingtang went to the counter, scooped out the remaining soup from the soup pot, and sent it over.

“Lin Shaoqing, please eat slowly!” After Wen Mingtang brought over the soup, she was about to turn and leave when she suddenly heard Lin Fei call out to her.

“Master Wen!”

Wen Mingtang turned her head and looked at Lin Fei who suddenly spoke.

Lin Fei, who was about to speak, looked at her hand and paused.

Wen Mingtang followed his gaze, and when she saw the crack on her hand, she said, “It’s not from cooking. It’s cold and dry, and I’ve applied a cream. It’s okay.”

Lin Fei said “hmm”, looked away from her hand, paused, and then said, “I want to ask you about Third Miss Yuan.”

Ask her? Wen Mingtang was a little surprised. Lin Fei glanced at her and said frankly, “You are a woman after all. Many times women always understand women better. What you pay attention to may be different from us men. You may notice things that we didn’t notice.”

Wen Mingtang walked to Lin Fei and sat down.

It was rare that he didn’t follow the etiquette of “not talking while eating”. After drinking two sips of soup, Lin Fei briefly recounted the process of interrogating Third Miss Yuan just now, and then looked up at Wen Mingtang: “Master Wen, if it were you, how would you investigate this case next?”

If it were her? Wen Mingtang thought for a while and said, “I will investigate that Jiang Gongzi!”

Lin Fei said “Hmm” and asked Wen Mingtang, “Why investigate that Jiang Gongzi?”

Wen Mingtang said, “That Third Miss Yuan is stubborn, selfish, and cold-hearted—unable to bear seeing others doing well. She’s certainly not what one would call a good person.” She paused for a moment, then continued, “But if she were truly heartless, why would she go to such lengths to ensure that this marriage landed on herself?”

Marriage between families was meant to strengthen ties between clans. Even if Third Miss Yuan’s illness wasn’t as serious as it seemed, the fact that she exaggerated her condition to appear pitiable and thus secure the engagement—she must have used some tactics.

“She stirred up trouble within the Yuan family out of a sense of injustice, but stealing this marriage—unless it was truly for Young Master Jiang himself—would’ve brought her no other benefit,” Wen Mingtang said thoughtfully. “I believe Third Miss Yuan’s feelings for that Jiang Gongzi are quite unlike her feelings toward anyone else.”

That Third Miss Yuan had been raised in the inner chambers all her life and had rarely encountered men outside her family—most of whom were like Second Young Master Yuan. Compared to them, Jiang Gongzi truly appeared “remarkably outstanding.”

“Third Miss Yuan is selfish and cold by nature. If it had been nothing more than a one-sided affection without any response, why would she hold on to it so stubbornly?” Wen Mingtang mused aloud, “It’s precisely because she cared that she reacted so strongly.”

Lin Fei glanced at the thoughtful young woman, then lowered his gaze and said, “She was raised in the inner chambers—if she came to know those sorts of dangerous men, someone must have acted as the go-between. The Yuan family was merely a pawn in the game, but the one behind it certainly wasn’t from the Yuan family.”

“That Jiang Gongzi,” Wen Mingtang said, “even if he didn’t come forward himself, he did break off the engagement and embarrassed Third Miss Yuan. He did such a thing, but someone with Third Miss Yuan’s personality didn’t feel jealous at all. I don’t think it can be explained by just his outstanding appearance!”

Because of this case, Wen Mingtang saw the portrait of this Jiang Gongzi and felt that he was just so-so. She had also seen him from a distance once during the Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival, and his appearance was just okay. At least, compared to Lin Fei in front of him… Wen Mingtang glanced at Lin Fei who was drinking soup with his head down, and thought: He is far inferior to Lin Shaoqing of their Dali Temple!

But maybe the painter’s painting skills were not good, because he was too far away that day and didn’t look closely? Wen Mingtang thought: If I can take a closer look, maybe I can see his uniqueness?

This idea soon came true.

The next day, after breakfast, seeing that the sun was good, Wen Mingtang, Ah Bing, and Tang Yuan took advantage of the half-hour break between breakfast and lunch to walk to the central square.

After walking a few steps, they saw Zhao You leading a young man in a gorgeous robe walking over from a distance.

Because the three of them had seen Jiang Gongzi from a distance once, they recognized the person from a distance. When the two of them passed by the crowd and left, Tangyuan touched her nose and said, “Maybe we are used to seeing Lin Shaoqing’s demeanor, this Jiang Gongzi doesn’t seem to be as outstanding as said. Instead, he smiles when he sees people, and he looks like a very gentle person!”

Jiang Gongzi didn’t recognize them either, but he smiled when he saw them just now?

After hearing Tangyuan’s evaluation, Ah Bing didn’t agree. He snorted and said, “At first glance, he is very gentle, but after a while, the smile doesn’t change at all, as if he is wearing a mask on his face. Gentle at first glance, creepy at a closer look!”

Of course, whether it was gentle or creepy, they were not the ones who could confront Jiang Gongzi.

After basking in the sun for a while, it was time to go back and make lunch.

On the countertop of the public kitchen, the pork slices were coated with a batter made of potato starch. Wen Mingtang walked to the chopping board and shredded the coriander, carrots, onions, ginger, garlic, and other ingredients that had been prepared long ago. On the other side, Ah Bing and Tangyuan started to heat the oil in a pan. When they felt that the oil temperature was about right, Tangyuan picked up the chopsticks and shook a drop of the batter on the chopsticks into the pan. When she saw the batter floating up, she put the pork slices covered with batter into the pan.

When the pork slices were put into the pan, accompanied by a “sizzling” sound, countless bubbles immediately emerged, tightly wrapping each piece of pork slice in the pan.

With the rustling sound of the frying twist, the bubbles in the pan boiled, it was so lively.

The sound of frying in the pan could be heard even if you were standing outside the public kitchen. After taking a deep sniff of the aroma of the frying twist coming from the public kitchen, Zhao You stepped over the threshold of the public kitchen and walked in.

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