On the way out of the palace, Chu Tianling thought that he hadn't eaten out in a long time, so he suggested taking her to eat something special.
The carriage passed through the bustling main street and turned into a quiet alley.
"We've arrived!" Chu Tianling was the first to step out.
Shen Jiaojiao looked around the ordinary little courtyard with curiosity.
From the outside, it looks very ordinary, but once you push open the door, a rich aroma of meat wafts out, making your mouth water.
Chu Tianling took her hand and led her inside skillfully.
"Old Zhang, I'm here!"
An elderly man emerged from the kitchen, beaming, "Oh! A rare guest indeed!"
As he was about to bow in greeting, Chu Tianling strode forward and grabbed his hand: "Old Zhang, there's no need for such formalities. Just treat me as an ordinary guest."
Old Zhang declined, saying, "How can that be? I..."
"Hey, if you keep doing this, I'm not happy! I brought my wife here today especially to taste your delicious food, so you'd better show off your skills."
Old Zhang looked at Shen Jiaojiao behind him, his eyes crinkling with laughter: "Good, good, good, they're all good girls, a perfect match for you!"
Chu Tianling said smugly, "Of course, you're a perfect match for me!"
Shen Jiaojiao stepped forward and bowed to Elder Zhang: "Elder Zhang."
"Hey! Great, eat as much as you want today! Hahaha." Old Zhang laughed heartily.
After exchanging a few words, Old Zhang immediately went to the kitchen to get busy.
Chu Tianling led Shen Jiaojiao to a corner of the room by the window and they sat down.
While distributing the tableware, I told her about Old Zhang's past.
Old Zhang was a royal chef in the palace. After leaving, he opened a private restaurant in this place.
Shen Jiaojiao asked, "He seems to be in good health, so why did he leave the palace?"
There are some chefs in the palace who are older than Old Zhang.
"It is said that Mr. Zhang had a relationship when he was young, but the woman could not be found later, and he lost interest in cooking."
Shen Jiaojiao asked in confusion, "No, then he didn't go looking for anyone after leaving the palace?"
Chu Tianling laughed: "He's gone. Old Zhang is forty years old now. You can tell how many places he's traveled to over the years just by looking at his full head of white hair and his aged face."
After wandering for eighteen years, Old Zhang fainted on the road and was rescued by Chu Tianling, and later settled here.
Soon after, Old Zhang started serving the dishes. Since we had important guests today, he simply went out, closed the door, and hung up a sign saying "No Guests Allowed."
Looking at the two young people, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, Old Zhang couldn't help but recall a distant past, and a name slipped out: "Yinyin."
Shen Jiaojiao pricked up her ears; this was a name she had never heard of before.
"What kind of woman is Yinyin?"
When Mr. Zhang mentioned this name, his eyes became distant, and he recalled that sweet time in his mind.
It had been buried in his heart for so long that he had almost forgotten it. Today, after having a couple of drinks, he got excited and couldn't help but start telling the story.
"That year, I was 18 and I was a great cook."
Mr. Zhang's original name was Zhang Yang. He had a great love for cooking since he was a child and apprenticed under Chef Zhao, the imperial chef.
In his search for unique ingredients, he liked to travel around whenever he had free time. Once, while roasting a wild pheasant in the mountains, he met a beautiful girl.
The girl said her name was Yinyin, and she was greatly impressed after eating Zhang Yang's roast chicken, praising him as the god who controlled roast chicken.
Later, the two met, fell in love, and then one day she suddenly disappeared.
When Mr. Zhang mentioned that he couldn't find her, he recalled those wonderful times, as if Yin Yin's face was still right in front of him.
She cried like a child, wailing, "Waaah, you heartless woman! You tricked me into your hands and then abandoned me! Waaah... leaving me all alone, pitifully thinking of you, you bad woman!"
Shen Jiaojiao almost burst out laughing.
Just a second ago he was saying, "Yinyin is the most beautiful, charming and lovely woman in the world. I will love her for ten thousand years."
His eyes were shining when he said that.
It's too fragmented.
"Yinyin!! Where are you???" Old Zhang shouted.
Shen Jiaojiao was startled.
On the outskirts of the same area, Fu Hang also returned home.
Previously, Fu Hang and Wang Dazhuang had returned to the capital with His Highness the Crown Prince.
Although Wang Dazhuang is in good health, he still needs more rest.
Fu Hang would go home whenever he had time, as he was worried about leaving his mother alone at home.
"Mother! I'm back."
Fu Yinyin came out of the room and saw her eldest son return. She said with concern, "Son, you must be tired from working outside. Sit down quickly, and Mom will cook you something to eat!"
Fu Hang's heart skipped a beat: "Mother, there's no need to do it. Let's go out to eat. His Highness rewarded us with a lot of money this time. I'll take you out for a meal."
Upon hearing that there was delicious food, Fu Yinyin immediately agreed, as she loved food the most: "Okay! Let's go!"
What should we eat?
"Roast chicken would be good too, and pig's trotters would be nice too, hehe..."
The two followed the old road. They could reach the main street by going through an alley. They always took this route and hadn't made a mistake.
For some reason, a dog pooped a lot on the road today, which made Fu Yinyin very unhappy.
"This is bad luck! I'm not taking this route. It's ruined my good mood. Let's take another one!"
I've lived here for two years, and this is the first time I've ever encountered dog poop!
Fu Yinyin kept talking the whole way, but fortunately Fu Hang was already used to it and followed behind without making a sound.
"Hmm? What is this? It smells so good."
Suddenly, Fu Yinyin smelled a fragrance. Her eyes lit up and she ran over to a house, where she knelt down and sniffed the air.
"My God, this smells amazing! It's heavenly!"
Looking up, I saw a wooden sign hanging on the gate: Closed today, open for sale tomorrow.
I never imagined that such an ordinary house would be used to run a private restaurant.
Normally, she would leave once she saw the shop was closing, but today the aroma of meat inside was too strong.
I can't lift my leg at all.
Fu Yinyin peered through the crack in the door but couldn't see anyone inside.
I pressed my ear against the door and could vaguely hear voices.
It seems there are people inside.
Fu Hang was really embarrassed to see his mother looking so pathetic, kneeling at someone's door.
Looking around, thankfully no one was there, so she quickly went over and whispered, "Mom, let's go first. What kind of image do we have lying at people's doorways?"
"Oh, it smells so good! I really want to eat it."
"Let's go quickly, when we get to the restaurant you can order whatever you want!"
"What do you know? I've eaten at every restaurant in the past two years, and none of them are as delicious as this."
Fu Hang really didn't want to go home. His mother's cooking was terrible, otherwise he wouldn't have suggested eating out.
"Mother, let's go somewhere else to eat something today. Now that we know about this place, we can come back tomorrow."
Fu Yinyin agreed verbally, but the man didn't move an inch.
Even though I can't eat it, just smelling it is good enough.
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