Chapter 19 Chapter 19 Jinhua Cat Loves Fish Dishes…
The Cold Palace is located in the most desolate corner of the entire Daming Palace, far away from the saints and other palaces to reduce interference with the court.
It was a hot summer day, but Duan Zhiwei still felt a little cold walking in the alleys of the palace. The place was overgrown with weeds and few people stepped on it. In the silence, there was only the sound of the wind.
It was so lonely that Duan Zhiwei felt dizzy while walking there. She felt a chill running straight up from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.
So Duan Zhiwei had no choice but to ask Dugu Jie, who seemed calm and composed, "What are we doing here?"
Dugu Jie glanced at her and said, "You'll know when you get there."
The cold palace was remote, and the only entrance and exit was a broken cypress door on the side. There were two guards on duty at the door. They obviously knew Yuan Shenji and just checked the token before letting them in.
A Taoist nun walked out of the cold palace, looked at the three of them with a sinister look, and then walked out.
Duan Zhiwei looked back at the Taoist nun, then turned to ask Yuan Shenji: "Why is there a Taoist nun here?"
Yuan Shenji must have known all the things going on in the palace, so he answered without hesitation, "It was the Taoist nun who preached to the deposed concubine."
Doesn't look like a good guy.
As they walked deeper into the palace, they could no longer hear the sound of the wind, only the footsteps of three people.
The air began to become as stagnant as agar, and a strange smell of blood accompanied by the fragrance of cicadas and silkworms wafted over.
Dugu Jie: “Here I come.”
"What?" Duan Zhiwei was stunned for a moment, and then saw a ball of black mist flying over from a distance.
Yuan Shenji reacted quickly. He pulled her over, drew his sword, and went over to fight with the black fog.
Duan Zhiwei hid in the bushes in panic, only hearing the clanging sound of his sword colliding violently with the monster.
Two strange green spots suddenly appeared in the black fog, which seemed to be eyes. Duan Zhiwei thought of the powerful demon catcher Si Luling and wondered what kind of powerful magic this person would use to catch demons. But when he turned around, the person was gone.
"Where is Dugu Jie? Did he escape from the battlefield?" Duan Zhiwei leaned out from the bushes.
The black mist noticed her, and it flashed past Yuan Shenji and rushed towards Duan Zhiwei. Then it spoke in a human voice as sweet as a girl's: "What a lovely lady, your heart must be very delicious."
Duan Zhiwei quickly waved his hands: "No, no, no, I don't like it. It's not delicious."
Yuan Shenji was injured on the left shoulder by the black mist, and the blood dyed his bright armor red. Seeing that the black mist gave up on him and rushed towards Duan Zhiwei, he gritted his teeth, picked up the cold knife again, and rushed straight towards the black mist.
The cold knife pierced into the black fog, but it was like piercing into the air. The black fog dissipated for a while, then gathered again, forming the shape of a sharp claw, which dealt another heavy blow to Yuan Shenji.
The ball of black mist looked extremely proud, sneered a few times, turned around and pounced on Duan Zhiwei again. She had no choice but to lower her body, close her eyes and hug her head.
After waiting for a while, the pain he had imagined did not occur. Duan Zhiwei quietly opened his eyes, and a ball of white light fell from a distance like a meteor and hit the black fog.
A series of screams came from the black fog, and the edges of the black fog began to loosen slowly, like diluted thick ink gradually becoming thinner. Wisps of black fog floated around like gossamer threads, and then gradually faded away.
In the white light, a snow-white cat appeared in the mist. The cat was as white as snow, with round eyes and a pink nose. It was very beautiful and cute, but looked very fat and had no neck.
"It's the cat demon that stole your pickled fish in the restaurant." Dugu Jie appeared from nowhere and was forced to follow an old woman with white hair.
Duan Zhiwei hurried to help Yuan Shenji up, and was very dissatisfied with his desertion.
Dugu Jie raised his eyebrows and said, "I'm going to catch the culprit this time." He pointed at the old woman behind him who was staring at Duan Zhiwei with a vicious look on her face.
Wang Jieyu, the abandoned concubine in the cold palace, listened to the instigation of a Taoist nun and stole the heart of a young woman on a full-moon night in an attempt to regain her youth and beauty.
"But..." Dugu Jie paused and smiled sarcastically, "I don't know where you learned the art of cat poison from, but it's so weird."
The white cat slowly came over and rubbed against Duan Zhiwei's legs. Duan Zhiwei liked cats very much. He squatted down and held the cat in his arms: "What about this one?"
The cats of Jinhua are said to be a family of great demons entrenched in the Jinhua area of Zhejiang. They hide in deep valleys or Buddhist temples during the day and sit on rooftops at night to absorb the essence of the moon.
The Jinhua cat suddenly spoke to Dugu Jie in human language, sounding very angry, but it was actually the voice of a child: "You old fox, you know I have to show up to repay my kindness, so you always keep Madam Duan by your side!"
Dugu Jie lazily held his folding fan and said, "When a monster receives a favor from a human, it has signed a contract with that human, and must repay the favor."
The Jinhua cat was greedy for the delicious food in Duan Zhiwei's restaurant and couldn't help but steal a lot of it. This was a favor from Duan Zhiwei, and to some extent it was also a contract with her. When Duan Zhiwei was in danger, the cat had to show up to save her as a way of repaying her favor.
This is also the reason why Dugu Jie must bring Duan Zhiwei with him when he goes to the restaurant in person.
The Jinhua cat was very resentful. It stared at him with its round black eyes and waved its pink claws in the air. "You old fox, you really don't want to use any strength at all. Obviously, the other half of your blood is weirdly strong..."
Before he could finish his words, Dugu Jie glanced at it, and it was immediately forced to close its mouth and could only whimper for a long time.
Duan Zhiwei saw that the Jinhua cat was really cute, so he took it into his arms and patted it hard twice, saying, "I knew that such a cute little cat couldn't be an evil monster."
It was just some fish pickle that he stole and ate. The fish pickle was not worth a few copper coins.
Dugu Jie looked at her and said slowly, "Ancient books record that if a person stays with a Jinhua cat for a long time, all his hair will fall out."
Duan Zhiwei handed the cat to him: "I'll give it back to you."
Jinhua Cat: "? That's a rumor, okay? The old guy was suffering from hair loss anyway, what does it have to do with a cat?"
Dugu Jie glanced at the cat, pouted his lips in disdain and took two steps back: "I don't want this cat."
"A letter came from Jinhua two days ago, saying that a young Jinhua cat from the family was lost in Jiujiang County, and asked me to keep an eye on it in Chang'an."
The cat kicked its legs and said, "I'm not going back. I want to stay at Duan's Restaurant and eat delicious food." Its eyes sparkled and it said, "The headless lady from Jiujiang County recommended Duan's Restaurant in Chang'an when she met a demon. I walked for a long time before I found this place."
Duan Zhiwei was horrified: "She recommended my restaurant to all the monsters?"
This is too much.
Dugu Jie looked at Duan Zhiwei seriously this time: "You have made friends with big monsters like Fei Tou Man. I underestimated you."
He straightened his sleeves and said, "In this case, Madam Duan will keep this cat for the time being until the Jinhua family comes to Chang'an."
Duan Zhiwei waved his hand decisively: "I refuse. I don't want to lose my hair."
The Jinhua cat was very dissatisfied: "That's a rumor, it's a rumor. I am a cat that brings good luck and fortune."
"Good luck and fortune?" Hearing this, Duan Zhiwei touched the cat's head lovingly and said, "How can such a cute cat be left on the street? In this case, I will adopt it."
Jinhua Cat looked at her with disdain: "...Isn't that a bit too hypocritical?"
"Then let's make a plate of lotus-flavored fish fillet today." Duan Zhiwei said quickly.
Jinhua Cat: "...I'll go with you."
It was almost noon. Dugu Jie took the old woman who performed the cat poison away. Duan Zhiwei, with the cat on his shoulder, took Yuan Shenji out of the palace.
Fortunately, the restaurant has A Pan and her friends to support it, so the business can still be maintained. Pu Tao liked the fat white cat very much and refused to let go.
On the way back, Duan Zhiwei had already told the Jinhua cat not to speak in front of others, so it was held in Pu Tao's arms, squeezed into a strip of cat, and could only meow twice helplessly.
Pu Tao ran around and pestered Aunt Duan to sew a cat bed for the new cat.
Duan Zhiwei made a dish of lotus flower fish fillet. He picked a fat and fresh fish, removed the breast bones and fish skin, and scraped it into slices. The fish meat was smooth and mellow, and then he added pepper, salt, egg white and sesame oil to marinate it.
She thought about it, then took out some pepper from the depths of the cabinet and sprinkled it in.
The fish fillet was now pure white, as delicate as hibiscus petals. The cat rubbed against her legs, meowing anxiously.
Duan Zhiwei picked up a piece of marinated fish fillet and squatted down. The Jinhua cat swallowed it happily in one bite, but was discovered by Pu Tao again, who grabbed it and dragged it out of the kitchen.
Duan Zhiwei used the stir-fry method, gently sliding the fish fillets into the pot, adding an appropriate amount of water, and then putting in some shredded mushrooms and celery and cooking together.
That night, Aunt Duan brought out a large square food table from the storeroom and placed it in the middle of the yard. Everyone sat around the table.
Duan Zhiwei placed a large pot directly in the center of the dining table, opened the lid, and a rich, spicy aroma rushed out.
A pot of lotus-flavored fish fillet, the soup is bright yellow and rich, with shredded mushrooms, celery and sauerkraut at the bottom in bright colors. The tender fish fillet is barely visible in the soup, and the sour and spicy flavor blends with the freshness of the fish.
Duan Zhiwei scooped a bowl of soup and handed it to the Jinhua cat lying at his feet, saying, "It's very hot, be careful when eating."
Pick up a piece of fish fillet, it is very smooth and tender, and spreads on the tip of the tongue the moment it enters the mouth. The sauerkraut is refreshing, the evodia rutaecarpa is spicy, and take a sip of the soup, the rich spicy taste stimulates the taste buds and makes people's appetite.
Aunt Duan said, "This would be better with wine." She turned into the storeroom and took out a pot of Xinfeng wine.
Everyone was a little drunk.
Summer nights are not as hot as during the day, and the breeze blows gently, bringing a slight coolness. Cicadas were chirping in the osmanthus tree in the courtyard, and crickets were singing happily in the grass.
Aunt Duan was already lying on the table, drunk. Ah Pan looked up at the moon, Pu Tao lowered his head and frantically stroked the cat. The scholar Zhen Hui raised a pot of wine and recited passionately: "I sing and the moon lingers, I dance and my shadow is scattered."
Duan Zhiwei drank the last sip of wine and looked up at the starry sky. There were no street lights like in the city here. The stars were very bright every night, like countless dazzling gems inlaid in the deep blue sky. Altair and Vega separated the two sides of the Milky Way.
The Qiqiao Festival is coming soon...
It was already midnight, and in the dark dungeon, the sounds of crying, shouting and the clanking of chains had ceased. The prison boss and the jailers learned that an important person would be visiting tonight, so they didn't dare drink, which made the prison seem even darker and more desolate.
The door opened. The usually arrogant and domineering Lord of the Ministry of Justice now had his back bent more than a freshly cooked shrimp. He led the way in front and kept asking the people behind him to be careful on the steps.
The person behind was not polite either, and enjoyed the flattery very comfortably. In the flickering candlelight, one could vaguely see his eunuch's uniform and feminine face.
The visitor did not say anything. He just slowly took out a small bottle of poison wine from his pocket and gently threw it in front of the old woman. The old woman shuddered and felt her whole body go limp, and she collapsed back to the ground. After a moment, she took the small bottle of poison wine with shaking hands.
On the other side, the lights in the palace were still bright. The little palace maid Hong Shang hurriedly walked to the outside of a hall with a mahogany tray in her hand.
She gently pushed open the vermilion lacquered door. The bedroom was brightly lit. A huge luminous pearl shone brightly like a full moon. A copper and glass incense burner underneath seemed to be emitting the imperially bestowed lingling incense, which resembled light smoke shrouding the moon. Because it was summer, the palace maids had removed the thick Shu brocade floor early, revealing the Hetian white jade underneath. A large block of ice was placed in a basin, and two palace maids were standing on both sides of the ice, fanning gently to bring coolness to the palace.
A stunningly beautiful woman sat in front of the dressing table, carefully combing her thick black hair. Hong Chang knelt down and handed over the things in her hand, saying, "Master, these are lychees that were rushed from Lingnan by express horse. The saint gave them to us first."
The lychees were plump and fleshy, and they looked even more tender and delicious when placed on the golden silk plate.
But the woman frowned and said, "It's so sweet, who would eat this?" and turned her attention back to her hair.
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