Chapter 196 Eating Insects?

The palace maids screamed and scrambled to their feet, creating a chaotic scene.

"Oh no, it's pinching me! Is it poisonous? Will I die?"

"Three more people, help me hold it down!"

"Your Majesty, it's run away! It ran that way!"

Jiang Huan stood in the center of the "battlefield," sleeves rolled up, one hand on her hip, the other giving orders with an air of composure, looking just like a female general charging into battle.

"Xiao Zhao, block the door."

Seeing the situation reverse, this battle between humans and crayfish was about to end in utter defeat.

She personally demonstrated how to quickly grab the crayfish's shell and avoid its dangerous pincers.

His movements were swift and skillful, leaving the head eunuch and the group of junior eunuchs standing nearby dumbfounded.

This...this Consort Zhuang is too fierce!

This bug looks terrifying. Those big pincers are so sharp, wouldn't it draw blood if it pinched me?

How come the Empress isn't afraid at all? And she's doing it so well?

Just as chaos erupted, the light at the warehouse entrance dimmed, and a tall, imposing figure appeared in the doorway.

Huo Lin had just finished reviewing the memorials when he heard that Jiang Huan was selecting ingredients in the storeroom, so he thought he would come over to see what good things she had picked out.

Upon entering, he took two steps back, stunned by the sight before him.

The storeroom floor was wet and slippery, with a water basin overturned and several green-shelled insects crawling all over the place. The palace maids and eunuchs chased after them, stumbling and screaming.

Jiang Huan stood amidst the mess, her sleeves rolled up high, revealing her fair arms.

With one hand on her hip and the other holding a bug that was still waving its pincers, her expression was one of pure elation.

[Who...is fighting a war in my treasury?]

Huo Lin was taken aback. His gaze swept over the ugly insects on the ground, then looked at the one in Jiang Huan's hand, and he felt a chill run down his spine.

This thing looks awful, all black, and it even comes equipped with weapons.

[Why did he even climb onto her hand? Is he launching a full-scale attack?!]

Huo Lin was startled by his own imagination and rushed forward to kill the evil big black worm for Jiang Huan.

"emperor?"

Jiang Huan reacted even faster than him, completely unaware of Huo Lin's complicated gaze, and proudly held up the crayfish that was still struggling.

"Look! Something good!"

Huo Lin abruptly stopped his retreating steps, his eyes filled with disdain.

"……nice one?"

This insect might be poisonous, or even have a bewitching effect.

Jiang Huan couldn't resist teasing him when she saw him like this.

You ancient people simply don't understand the charm of the upgraded crayfish!

"In my hometown, this thing is a delicacy when it's cooked, it's so delicious it'll make you cry."

With a mysterious look and suppressing a mischievous smile, she held the crayfish in front of Huo Lin's face: "Come on, give me a loving hug, you two can get to know each other better."

The crayfish bared its fangs and claws, its large pincers snapping and cracking.

Huo Lin, like a bamboo pole bent by the wind, leaned back against the "emotional" hug, his lips twitching slightly.

[Don't come any closer! I still want to hold her! My innocence is at stake!]

[And with a face that looks like it could scare little kids, how could it be a delicacy? I simply don't believe it.]

He barely suppressed the urge to knock the "weapon" out of Jiang Huan's hand: "How...how do you eat this bug?"

"Spicy! Garlic-flavored! Thirteen-spice!"

Jiang Huan blurted out, slapping her chest loudly, "If it doesn't taste good, I'll take your surname."

Huo Lin frowned, looking at the dark crayfish, his eyelids twitching.

"That won't do. I don't want our love to end up as siblings."

[Forget it, when has her cooking ever disappointed me? If she says it's edible, then it's edible!]

Huo Lin was torn between two conflicting emotions. He simply couldn't accept the insect, but looking at Jiang Huan's bright eyes, he couldn't bear to refuse it.

[I'm not going to dwell on it anymore. At worst, I'll just eat a little less.]

He took a deep breath, as if he had made a great decision, and waved to the head eunuch who was still in a daze beside him.

"Didn't you hear what Consort Zhuang said? Clean these up and send them to the small kitchen in Weiyang Palace."

The head eunuch quickly replied, "This servant obeys the decree."

Huo Lin looked at Jiang Huan again, his tone filled with helpless heartache.

"Alright, you've finished picking out your things. Come back with me to change into some clean clothes. Look at you, all soaked. What if you catch a cold?"

When Jiang Huan saw that he had agreed, she immediately beamed with joy.

He tossed the crayfish in his hand into the basin, washed his hands by the sink, and then grabbed Huo Lin's wrist.

The two left in a hurry. As soon as they arrived at Weiyang Palace, Jiang Huan pushed Huo Lin into the study, while she went into the small kitchen to start working.

Before long, a delicious aroma wafted from the kitchen.

Jiang Huan, wearing an apron, personally took charge of cooking.

In the large iron pot, bright red dried chilies and Sichuan peppercorns tumbled in boiling oil, bursting with a numbing and spicy aroma that made the palace maids helping out tear up and cough repeatedly.

"Cough cough... Your Highness, is our little kitchen still usable?" Xiao Zhao covered her nose, tears streaming down her face.

Jiang Huan took a deep breath, her face filled with delight: "It smells wonderful! This is exactly the taste!"

She squinted her eyes in satisfaction and deftly poured the cleaned crayfish into the pot.

As soon as the bluish-black crayfish are dipped into the boiling red oil, they sizzle and pop, their green shells turning red at a visible speed under the influence of the hot oil and spices.

Jiang Huan picked up a large ladle and stir-fried vigorously. The crayfish rolled in the red oil, coated with a rich sauce, stimulating everyone's sense of smell.

She added a special spice packet, then poured in a large bowl of golden minced garlic, and continued to stir-fry.

The aroma of garlic is released by the hot oil, mixed with the spicy and numbing fragrance, making your mouth water.

The aroma, as if it had grown wings, drifted through the small kitchen and into the study.

Huo Lin was reading a book when suddenly an extremely alluring fragrance invaded his senses, instantly catching his attention.

Is this the aroma that ugly bug could produce when it's stir-fried?

Impossible, absolutely impossible.

She must be making something else...

Huo Lin was filled with inner turmoil, but his body was honest; the fragrance was like countless tiny hooks, making him restless.

No, he has to go and check it out.

It was just a glance, not because I was hungry!

Having prepared a way out for himself, Huo Lin stood up and walked towards the small kitchen.

He had just reached the door of the small kitchen when he saw Jiang Huan ladling out a pot of bright red, glistening crayfish, steaming hot.

The visual impact, combined with the pervasive, devilish fragrance, froze Huo Lin in place.

Jiang Huan looked up and saw Huo Lin standing at the door. Her eyes lit up, and she immediately took a small plate of freshly cooked crayfish and presented it to Huo Lin like a treasure.

"You've come at the perfect time! Come and have a taste, it's most fragrant when it's fresh out of the pot."