Chapter 64 The Art of Grilling Fish

In short, he will not be allowed to see any survivors.

If the mastermind is not found, it means that Sheng Sheng could be harmed again at any time.

To this end, Xie Yunchuan personally led his men through several sleepless nights and finally managed to find some clues.

Na Cuilan was originally from Xiyun County. Six years ago, a dragon was discovered in Xiyun County, and Cuilan followed her family north to escape the famine.

Besides her parents, Cuilan also has a younger sister and grandparents.

The two elderly people were old and frail, and they starved to death during their escape from famine, leaving only the family of four.

Later, she followed the refugees to the capital and made a living by begging in the bustling city. At that time, Cuilan, who was seventeen years old, was spotted by a maid who went out of the palace to buy supplies and was taken into the palace to become a palace maid.

From this perspective, it's actually a good thing.

Cuilan's family fled from their hometown during a famine and could only survive by begging. Cuilan entered the palace as a maid and received three taels of silver a month to supplement the family income. Her parents and younger sister could manage to get by by being frugal, and at least they no longer had to beg.

The problem is that the palace selects maids every two years, choosing one group aged six to eight and another group aged thirteen to fifteen.

After selection, the younger ones were trained from a young age. These palace maids, after years of careful training, would generally become high-ranking palace maids in various palaces later in life. The older ones, on the other hand, would become low-ranking palace maids.

But Cuilan's age didn't match either of the two options, and it wasn't the time to select palace maids, so why did the purchasing nanny bring Cuilan into the palace?

Could it be that he was kind-hearted, took pity on her plight, and wanted to give her a way out?

If it were before, most people would probably have believed it.

After this incident, Xie Yunchuan had a gut feeling that Cuilan must be a pawn used by her master to target Shengsheng.

Who could it be?

Xie Yunchuan burned the letter and instructed Thirteen: "Tell Father about the news from the Duke of Jingguo's mansion. Also, have Chuyi go find Cuilan's parents."

"yes!"

Thirteen accepted the order and left. Xie Yunchuan tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table, making a soft sound. He frowned slightly, his eyes deep and focused, as if he was weighing things over in his mind.

In fact, he already had a vague answer in his mind, but without evidence, it was just a wild guess.

Moreover, if it really is that person, how would he turn the tide?

"elder brother!"

A cheerful call broke the tangled mess of his thoughts from the day, and the pent-up frustration in Xie Yunchuan's chest seemed to dissipate.

Accompanying the melodious, bell-like sound was a strange fragrance.

Xie Yunchuan turned around curiously and saw that the little dumpling was holding a small plate in each hand, with a plate of grilled fish on each plate.

The little dumpling, all smiles, ran up to him with a cheerful and lighthearted air, holding up two small plates, her face full of anticipation and excitement.

"Brother, grilled fish!"

Sheng Sheng had been fishing all afternoon and was starving.

Although the kitchen had been instructed to prepare fish soup, the palace chefs were known for their exquisite cooking. From scaling the fish to sprinkling salt, every step of preparing a fish soup was meticulous.

The cooks at Yuqing Palace were a husband and wife team, Chef Huang and his wife Huang.

Sheng Sheng ran to the small kitchen several times.

The first time, Chef Huang was scaling the fish.

The second time, Chef Huang cleaned the fish's internal organs and rinsed it clean for the second time, preparing to rinse it a third time with clean water.

On the third attempt, Chef Huang finally started simmering the fish soup base, but the fish hadn't been put into the pot yet.

Sheng Sheng's eyes were practically glued to the fish. She had never known that preparing a fish involved so many steps. All she could say was that this fish had received the utmost respect!

But Sheng Sheng was really hungry. After thinking it over, she asked the old cat and the old fish to set up a small grill for her in the backyard, lit a fire, and happily grilled fish on it.

Zijuan and Huangying didn't stop them. After all, they were in Yuqing Palace, with four martial arts experts watching over them, and Xie Yunchuan's men guarding the area from the shadows. Nothing bad would happen.

Later, Xiao Tuanzi enjoyed grilling the food. Apart from Lao Mao and Lao Yu, who used to eat this often in the army, the others took turns going up to experience the fun of grilling food over a fire.

"This was baked by Sheng Sheng himself, brother, please have a taste!"

The little dumpling's eyes crinkle with laughter, as if no troubles in the world could affect her, and she always exudes a warm and healing power.

Xie Yunchuan chuckled and took the two small plates, discovering that they contained meat from the belly of the fish.

Xie Yunchuan felt a warm current flow through his heart. He leaned closer to smell it and found that it had a very rich aroma, which was very different from ordinary grilled fish. Moreover, the two portions on the left and right sides also tasted different.

Ordinary grilled fish is usually seasoned with salt to increase its saltiness, while those with better conditions may use thirteen-spice powder to enhance its aroma.

But this grilled fish, the one on the left smells like sour plum, while the one on the right has the aroma of Sichuan peppercorns.

Xie Yunchuan hadn't felt hungry all day, but now, smelling this, he suddenly felt his stomach was empty.

Sheng Sheng looked at him expectantly, and Xie Yunchuan asked, "It smells so good, what did you add to it, Sheng'er?"

"Hehe, brother, you try it first." Sheng Sheng deliberately created suspense.

"good."

Xie Yunchuan smiled indulgently and first chose the grilled fish on the left that looked like it was coated with some kind of seasoning powder.

The grilled fish had reached the perfect temperature—not scalding, but warm. With one bite, the tender fish melted in his mouth, and Xie Yunchuan tasted the familiar flavor of thirteen spices, as if it had also been dipped in soy sauce.

But there's another feeling that's both strange and familiar—like the spiciness of strong liquor, yet different; this spiciness is more fragrant, stronger, and more refreshing.

Xie Yunchuan was amazed: "What is this? Did you add alcohol to the soy sauce?"

After saying that, Xie Yunchuan shook his head again: "No, but there is no smell of alcohol in it."

"No, wait a minute." Sheng Sheng wagged her finger and laughed, "It's dogwood!"

"Cornelian?"

Cornelian cherry is a red fruit that can be used in medicine. It can warm the spleen and stomach, dispel cold, and relieve abdominal pain caused by spleen and stomach deficiency.

In this era, people generally used it to boil water for drinking and to ward off the cold, but they did not understand its nutritional value.

Of course, Sheng Sheng didn't know any of this; it was all told to her by a little tree shrew who loved spicy food.

Tree shrews are small animals that resemble squirrels. They have a low sensitivity to capsaicin, so chili peppers are also part of their diet.

"Sheng Sheng knew a tree shrew before, and this is what her tree shrew friend told her: dogwood is edible!" Sheng Sheng looked on, eager for praise. "How is it? Sheng Sheng ground the dogwood into powder and sprinkled it on top. Isn't it delicious?"

Xie Yunchuan nodded, not out of affection for his sister, but because he genuinely found the flavor to be very unique and delicious.

He had eaten many delicacies, but none of them tasted as good as this simple grilled fish.

Xie Yunchuan savored it again.