Chapter 427 Extravagance

Qin Jingheng straightened the wrinkles of his robe, but had no intention of changing clothes. He walked out of the study, and Xu Shenzhi followed closely behind him.

Stepping into the elegantly decorated dining room, Qin Jingheng glanced around and found that there were only six tables in the hall.

Apart from his main seat and the vice seat reserved for Xu Shenzhi, there were only two seats on each side.

There were four people sitting there at this moment, all of them were strangers.

Qin Jingheng took a look and found that these four people...had extraordinary demeanor.

His clothes were made of high-quality material but in a low-key style. He sat there with a relaxed posture, without the awkwardness and fawning that ordinary merchants would show when meeting royal family members, nor the deliberate aloofness and arrogance of celebrities.

When her eyes met Qin Jingheng's gaze, she was calm and composed, unlike an ordinary person. There was even an identical, very faint smile on the corner of her mouth.

There wasn't much awe on display, nor any other obvious emotions, as if they were just attending an ordinary gathering.

Qin Jingheng stopped five or six steps away and did not step forward immediately.

Seeing this, the four men stood up slowly and saluted smoothly, "Greetings, His Royal Highness Prince Zhao."

He was polite but not at all warm.

Qin Jingheng did not respond immediately, but cast an inquiring look at Xu Shenzhi beside him.

Xu Shenzhi immediately took a half step forward and explained in a low voice:

"Your Highness, four gentlemen have come from afar, stating that they wish to discuss a...big deal with Your Highness."

He deliberately paused on the word "big deal".

Qin Jingheng's heart moved slightly, and he had some vague guesses.

He now holds the title of military inspector and has been newly conferred the title of King Zhao, holding certain power.

Compared to his elder sister who enjoys a great reputation in the Northern Army, he is indeed much inferior in this respect and urgently needs to find his own supporters.

But whether you want to build power in the army or pacify the local people, you cannot do without money.

In the past, he never personally got involved in these money transactions and business matters, and left them all to Xu Shenzhi.

However, due to the flood in the sixteen states, the income of many of his businesses in the summer and autumn seasons shrank drastically, and he was worried about the shortage of money.

Could it be that Xu Shenzhi's arrangement this time means he has found a new and reliable way?

If that's the case, then arranging this dinner is worth it.

Qin Jingheng's thoughts raced, his face expressionless as he nodded calmly, "So that's how it is. Please take a seat, everyone."

"Thank you, Your Highness." The four of them thanked him again in unison and sat down calmly.

Soon, maids came in one after another and served the dishes.

Qin Jingheng only took one look and his brows furrowed involuntarily.

What was placed on the table was not the spicy and fragrant flavors commonly seen in the southern region, but several extremely exquisite Fengjing seasonal dishes.

The first dish is warm soup with warm jade soup.

The essence of this soup lies in the ingredients, which are a kind of white eel produced in the warm waters around Fengjing.

Its entire body is like jade, with no scales and few thorns. Because it bathes in the warm currents of hot springs all year round, its meat is exceptionally plump and tender, with a unique hint of freshness.

During the White Dew season, the autumn water gradually cools down, which is the time when fish in warm soup are at their most delicious.

However, if the fish is away from the unique water temperature and quality of the warm soup, it will become stiff and dead within half a day and lose all its flavor.

Take the fattest middle part of the fresh warm jade eel, remove the bones and meat with a silver knife, and cut into fillets as thin as cicada wings.

The soup base is made with matsutake mushrooms, wolfberries and yellow millet, which is simmered slowly over a low heat overnight with spring water, and then filtered to obtain a golden and clear rice soup.

When the dish is served, boiling rice soup is poured into the jade bowl containing raw eel slices, which instantly cooks the slices and makes the eel meat as soft as jade slices.

The taste is extremely smooth and tender, and the soup is mellow and warm. It is a supreme treasure for moisturizing and nourishing the body during the Bailu period.

The second dish is fried Linglong with golden cicada.

If we talk about seasonality, this dish is definitely one to get.

The seasons are slightly relaxed, and the materials are natural.

The so-called golden cicada is not the autumn cicada, but refers specifically to the cicada fungus that breaks out of the ground around the time of Bailu in a specific willow forest along the Ba River in the eastern suburbs of Fengjing.

At this time, the cicada larvae have not yet emerged from their cocoons, but are parasitized by specific fungi, forming rare strains that resemble cicada pupae and have flowers on the top, with a delicious and special flavor.

The picking of cicada flowers must be done within several hours after they break through the soil, otherwise the flowers will shed spores and their value will be greatly reduced.

Baliu cicada flower has always been a tribute because of its best quality.

After picking, they need to be placed in moist wicker baskets and carefully sent to the palace. Any bumps may damage their delicate shape.

The method is not difficult. Select cicada flowers that are complete, plump and full, and marinate them with just fine salt and pepper.

Then coat it with a thin layer of crispy paste made from powdered sugar ground from rock honey and refined flour, and then fry it over low heat with sesame oil until golden brown.

The skin is as crystal clear and crispy as glass, while the cicada flowers inside are tender and juicy.

The third one is a camel hump inlaid with cold green.

The hump is taken from the strongest adult Bactrian camels that were tributed from the Western Regions, and the Hancui is a kind of wild stone ear in the mountains.

It gets its name because it is emerald green all over and grows in the shade of cold and shady cliffs.

It is extremely dangerous to collect and its yield is rare. It has a crisp and tender taste that is far superior to ordinary wood ear mushrooms, and has a cool scent of the pine forest.

Boil the cleaned camel hump until half cooked, cut into thin slices, and fill with the same slices of hanzu, matsutake mushrooms and minced chicken.

Wrap it in lotus leaves and steam it in a steamer with Hanshan pine branches.

The fragrance of lotus leaves and the smoky smell of pine branches permeate into it, perfectly dissolving the greasiness of camel's hump.

The camel hump has a rich and smooth texture that melts in your mouth, while the hancui and matsutake mushrooms provide a crisp and chewy texture.

The fourth dish is the nine-layered osmanthus honey-pickled dates.

The value of this dessert lies in the dates and the honey.

Lingzao comes from the few century-old jujube trees growing by the Huafang Pond, which are said to have been planted by the ancestor emperor himself.

This date is shaped like a chicken egg, with a deep red color close to purple, a small core and thick flesh, and an extremely sweet taste. It is also regarded as auspicious because it is imbued with the spiritual energy of the palace.

During the White Dew season, dates have just turned from red to purple and reached the peak of sweetness.

The honey used is not ordinary nectar, but osmanthus honey brewed by Chinese bees raised by monks in thousand-year-old temples in the southwest.

This bee collects wild golden osmanthus in the mountains, and the honey has a cool and subtle fragrance that complements the rich fruity aroma of the palace dates.

The production of this honey is extremely small, and most of it is specially supplied to the royal family. It is hard to find outside at a great price.

Use a silver hairpin to poke small holes in the freshly picked Lingzao, place it into a whole piece of clear amber peach gum, and then pour in osmanthus honey to slowly soak it.

Seal it in a celadon jar and place it in a cool, dark place in a cellar for seven days.

When you open it, the aroma of honey, dates and osmanthus blends into your nose.

The Lingzao is full of honey and is as crystal clear as jade, while the peach gum is soft, smooth and chewy.

Qin Jingheng took a few bites and raised his eyebrows slightly.

In this southern border area far away from the capital, you can taste the Fengjing flavor that is so fresh, authentic and extremely luxurious.

"Mr. Xu," Qin Jingheng said in a slightly depressed tone, "this is a bit too extravagant."