Of course, no matter what, as a chef invited to help, Wen Mingtang was only a sous chef. Even if he had any questions… that was Lin Fei’s business.

Glancing at Lin Fei, who seemed somewhat out of place in the kitchen filled with a smoky atmosphere, Wen Mingtang lowered her head and focused on cooking.

After cutting the fish into pieces, she marinated it briefly with wine, salt, and ginger for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Then, after coating it with starch, she carefully pinched the tail and body of the fish and fried it in the oil.

While Wen Mingtang was frying squirrel fish, Chef Xing was frying spicy chicken. The aroma of oil and smoke gradually spread.

Although the oil and smoke were very down-to-earth and had nothing to do with elegance, it was really fragrant. Lin Fei, who was sitting outside the kitchen reading a storybook, looked into the kitchen again after smelling the aroma: Chef Xing was holding chopsticks in one hand, stirring the chicken in the oil, but a layer of fine sweat was beading on his forehead. Clearly, no matter how well prepared, cooking with one hand was still quite difficult.

Lin Fei narrowed his eyes, glancing at Wen Mingtang, who was scooping up the fried fish and placing it on a long plate, then starting to prepare the sauce. Compared to Chef Xing’s strained efforts, the girl seemed much more at ease. Between dishes, she lifted her eyelids slightly, glancing at Chef Xing beside her, clearly noticing his difficulty, but not speaking up.

Just as he was watching the two cooking in the kitchen, a servant ran in from outside, wiping the fine sweat from his forehead, and said, “Second Young Master, Madam says the banquet has started. Why haven’t we seen you yet?”

Today wasn’t a day off, and neither the Marquis of Jingyun nor his heir was at home. If Lin Fei had gone to the Dali Temple, Hou Furen wouldn’t have insisted, but he had specifically asked for leave. It was somewhat unreasonable for him to be at home but not at the banquet.

Lin Fei nodded and hummed in agreement, then stood up. Before leaving, he glanced one last time at the two people busy in the kitchen before turning and heading to the banquet with the servant.

After Lin Fei had left through the window, Chef Xing, who was busy in the kitchen, stopped what he was doing and asked Wen Mingtang, who hadn’t even looked up, “Chef Wen, Lin Shàoqīng has left!”

Wen Mingtang, simmering the sweet and sour sauce in the pot, hummed in agreement, focusing intently on the sauce, but said, “Lin Shàoqīng is the host; since he’s in the manor, he naturally has to go to the banquet.”

Was it strange that Lin Fei had been called away?

Master Xing, not even lifting an eyelid, asked, “Master Wen, did Lin Shàoqīng always enjoy watching you cook like this at the Dali Temple’s public kitchen?”

Wen Mingtang, who was simmering the sauce, felt a jolt. Remembering Master Xing’s strange behavior, she paused before replying, “Lin Shàoqīng is usually busy, but when he has free time, he does like to come to the public kitchen to watch us cooks at work, and he especially loves the freshly cooked portion.”

Hearing this, Master Xing chuckled twice, teasingly saying, “I never imagined someone like the Second Young Master would have such a taste!”

Wen Mingtang poured the prepared sauce over the squirrel fish and continued, “We never expected Lin Shàoqīng to be so detached from worldly affairs…” Beneath its glamorous exterior lies a truly down-to-earth nature. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be eating all three meals a day in the public kitchen instead of going to Hongyanlou.

Hearing Wen Mingtang say this, Chef Xing seemed to finally breathe a sigh of relief. While observing Wen Mingtang’s expression, he said, “To be honest, I just thought Lin Shàoqīng came for something else. Being scrutinized like this makes one quite uneasy.”

Wen Mingtang placed the prepared squirrel fish on a plate. After a maid came in and took the fish out, she turned to Chef Xing and smiled. “Lin Shàoqīng just came to see if I, the head chef, could cook small-pot dishes well. Chef Xing, there’s no need to worry too much.”

“That’s true!” Chef Xing nodded before continuing to prepare the spicy chicken he hadn’t finished earlier.

With such a long delay, the taste of the spicy chicken was predictably poor. Wen Mingtang glanced at the indifferent Chef Xing, lowered her eyelids, and continued processing the ribs.

…

When Lin Fei arrived at the table, most of the cold dishes had already been eaten. Hou Furen glanced at the late-arriving Lin Fei, scolded him for “sleeping until this late,” and then said to Madam Lu and the others, “Ah Fei is usually so busy with cases that he often doesn’t even have a day off. Today, he took advantage of the banquet to ask for leave and ended up sleeping until this late…”

Lin Fei didn’t expose Hou Furen’s polite words; he nodded a few times in response, “It won’t happen again,” and then his gaze fell on the dishes brought over by the maid.

On a clean, long platter, a fish dish was served. Unlike the usual “proper” fish dishes, the squirrel fish on this platter playfully raised its head, its flesh blooming like a chrysanthemum. Orange sauce was poured over it from head to tail, with bright green peas and golden pine nuts mixed in. The whole dish looked quite tempting.

Lady Jingyun, who prided herself on attending many banquets in the capital, including palace banquets, had never seen this dish before. Looking at the fish’s playful appearance, she couldn’t help but ask, “What dish is this?”

Lin Fei replied, “Squirrel fish, sweet and sour.”

The preparation of the fish was truly novel, and the bright orange sauce was both eye-catching and festive. Once the “squirrel fish” was placed on the table, everyone instinctively picked up their chopsticks and reached for it.

The fish flesh had blossomed open while the skin remained intact, giving it the appearance of a squirrel with its fur fluffed up. With all the bones removed, a gentle lift of the chopsticks was enough to separate a piece of the fish.

As soon as it entered the mouth, the sauce revealed a delightful balance of sweetness and tanginess that whetted the appetite. Only when the teeth sank into the fish did one realize it had been deep-fried. The crisp, golden crust shattered at the first bite, giving way to exceptionally tender, succulent flesh beneath. Unlike the sweet-and-sour sauce coating the outside, the fish itself carried a delicate, naturally savory freshness.

Although both sweet and sour and salty and savory flavors appeared in the same dish, they didn’t feel jarring at all; instead, the texture was incredibly rich and layered. Each bite offered a delightful contrast of crispy exterior and soft interior, the progressively layered textures making it irresistible to pick up chopsticks again.

While chatting with Madam Lu and the others, Hou Furen glanced at Lin Fei, who was eating slowly but steadily, not at all slow. She hadn’t expected Chef Wen to be so skilled not only in large-scale cooking and home-style dishes but also in banquet cuisine.

The two dishes that had just been served, while lacking the artistic flair of Chef Xing’s cooking, tasted exceptionally good. Looking at Chef Xing today, after glancing at the spicy chicken served alongside the squirrel fish, although the Lu family had praised it, Hou Furen’s discerning palate, coupled with her prior experience with Chef Xing’s cooking and her knowledge of his skill, revealed with just one taste that the spicy chicken was a poor choice; the chicken was clearly overcooked.

What on earth happened? How could someone usually so meticulous and never making a mistake have blundered at today’s banquet?

(End of Chapter)

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