They originally got up to watch the excitement, but they didn't get to see any excitement, so there was no excitement at all. Now that Kangxi's identity has been exposed, it's not convenient for him to go out, so Kangxi stayed at the post station and many people came to see him.

Mingxiu was a little bored back in her room. Since Kangxi couldn't go out, she decided to go out herself. Mingxiu slammed her hand on the table and made her decision.

Then he took Green Bamboo and Yu Lan and went out, with the guards arranged by Kangxi behind them, protecting Mingxiu and the others.

But that doesn't stop them from shopping.

She didn't get to explore properly yesterday, and with nothing to do today, she strolled along the street looking at the scenery, which all seemed pretty much the same. Her main purpose in coming out was to find something to eat.

Taking a deep breath and smelling the fragrance wafting from this side, Mingxiu excitedly waved and pulled Lüzhu forward.

Not far from where she walked, she smelled the aroma of fried flour and oil, and Mingxiu couldn't help but look ahead.

They looked at the food at the stall with a sense of novelty.

The stall owner was a young man. When he saw Mingxiu and the others walk up, with their thick eyebrows, big eyes, and exquisite clothes, he knew they were no ordinary people. The young man blushed and said somewhat shyly, "I wonder what you ladies would like to eat? We mainly have scallion pancakes, which you can try. Everyone likes them."

Mingxiu's eyes lit up as she looked at the contents of the oil pan in front of her. So this was scallion pancakes!

Nodding, he asked the young man to fry two portions to share among the three of them.

Soon the fried food was ready. Mingxiu wrapped it in oil paper and led them forward to try the scallion pancakes.

She had heard of scallion pancakes before, but had never eaten them. Authentic scallion pancakes are actually made by shaping dough into two figures resembling Qin Hui and his wife, and then deep-frying them. There is no filling inside.

Legend has it that scallion pancakes originated from the story of Yue Fei, who was killed at Fengbo Pavilion in Hangzhou. The people and patriotic soldiers were heartbroken and, in order to vent their anger, a pastry chef kneaded dough into two figures symbolizing Qin Hui and his wife and threw them into a pot of oil to fry. That is how scallion pancakes came to be.

To avoid arousing Qin Hui's suspicion, the character with the wood radical was replaced with one with the fire radical.

Mingxiu took a small bite. It was filled with scallion oil. With a gentle bite, it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The aroma of oil and flour mixed with the fragrance of scallion oil made it exceptionally delicious.

Mingxiu took a big bite of the dough figurine symbolizing Qin Hui. She also hated Qin Hui because he was the one who killed Yue Fei. She gave the rest to Lüzhu and the others to eat.

The dough ball wasn't very big, and it was eaten up quickly.

If you walk any further, you'll see a small soup dumpling.

Mingxiu walked to the front and ordered a basket. Hangzhou-style steamed buns are available everywhere. She had eaten them in other places before, so this was a good opportunity to see if the taste was the same as the ones she had eaten before.

The three of them sat at the table, and soon a basket of xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) was served. Mingxiu looked at the xiaolongbao in the bamboo basket and gently poked it with her chopsticks.

This xiaolongbao is filled with soup.

Mingxiu carefully placed a small steamed bun on the plate and gently poked a hole in it with her chopsticks.

Instantly, a lot of hot air came out.

Seeing the steam rising from the steamer, Mingxiu was just about to warn the other two to be careful of the heat when she saw Lüzhu pick up a small steamed bun and put it in her mouth. Mingxiu didn't have time to stop her and could only see Lüzhu's expression, which turned ferocious the next second.

Mingxiu laughed out loud, somewhat helplessly: "Be careful, the soup inside is freshly made. If you put it directly in your mouth, who else will get burned but you?"

Green Bamboo bared her teeth and fanned her mouth with her hand, but she couldn't bear to spit out the xiaolongbao, so she could only grimace and swallow it down.

Mingxiu was speechless. Yulan quietly patted her chest, thankful that she had eaten a little later, otherwise she would have been the one to burn her mouth.

Looking at these xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), I was immediately filled with respect for them.

When the heat from the cave entrance had mostly dissipated, Mingxiu carefully put her mouth to the entrance and sucked a mouthful of the soup inside.

It has a fresh and fragrant flavor, a thin skin, a fresh filling, and is very juicy. The taste is exceptionally good.

Mingxiu ate two of them with great relish, and then left the rest to them. There was still so much delicious food left for her to eat later.

As Mingxiu walked further ahead, she saw a restaurant, which was her destination for the day.

Zhuangyuanlou

The three of them walked into the restaurant. When the waiter saw them coming in, he quickly went to greet them and led them up the stairs.

The three of them found a private room and sat down. They opened the window and could see the scenery outside.

Looking at the menu in the waiter's hand, Mingxiu didn't think too much and directly ordered a West Lake Vinegar Fish, a Dingsheng Cake, a Sweet Osmanthus Lotus Root, a Longjing Shrimp, and Dongpo Pork.

Green Bamboo stared at Mingxiu in disbelief. They had already eaten quite a bit, and now they were ordering so much—could they really finish it all?

Mingxiu noticed Lüzhu's gaze and gave her a strange look.

You'll find out soon enough, Mingxiu thought to herself, "It's all for your own good."

The waiter quickly went to the back to urge the dishes to arrive, and soon several dishes were served. Looking at the West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce in front of her, Mingxiu picked up her chopsticks and thought for a while. In the end, she decided to reach for the Dingsheng Cake next to her first.

This Dingsheng cake is shaped like a plum blossom, and it's pink and delicate with gradient colors, making it look very cute.

Mingxiu took a small bite; it was sweet and glutinous with a faint plum blossom fragrance, and tasted quite good.

This is mainly because it has a good meaning: "Ding Sheng Gao" means "certain victory" or "certain success."

Then she picked up a piece of sweet lotus root with osmanthus. Mingxiu thought it must be very sweet just by looking at it. She took a small bite and wondered how the lotus root had been processed. It was incredibly soft and glutinous. It was also filled with osmanthus flowers, rice, glutinous rice, and osmanthus sauce, making it very fragrant.

Mingxiu took a bite and then put it down. Although she likes sweets, she is not a big fan of sugar. This osmanthus-flavored lotus root was a bit too sweet for her.

Green Bamboo and the others accepted it well. After Mingxiu tried it, they ate it with relish. Mingxiu put down the sweet osmanthus lotus root and moved on to the next dish.

Looking at the Longjing Shrimp, Mingxiu clicked her tongue and sighed.

This is truly something only wealthy people would eat. This Longjing Shrimp is made with Longjing tea harvested around the Qingming Festival and shrimp. Not to mention that the shrimp itself is expensive, Longjing tea, especially that harvested around the Qingming Festival, is extremely rare and hard to come by.

I took a bite, and the shrimp was white and tender, while the tea leaves were emerald green. The unique flavor of the shrimp, combined with the flavor of the tea leaves, made for a very refreshing and delicious taste.

Mingxiu ate a couple of bites, and after the rice was served, she immediately turned to Dongpo pork.

Dongpo pork is actually braised pork, but their braised pork is a little different from the one Mingxiu made before.