Chapter 48 (Barbecue (Part 1)...)

The incident in the palace on the night of the 13th was not fully revealed until the 16th.

During this period, the official Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the lunar year, when the state banquet was scheduled, was temporarily cancelled because the old emperor was frightened by his son's sudden rebellion and had a high fever that night.

It was not until the 16th that the old emperor was able to attend court and at the same time began to deal with these matters.

The Third Prince's rebellion was far more serious than the dispute between the Emperor and the former Crown Prince Chang Wang, and the matter was much more serious. However, although the old Emperor was old, suspicious, and cruel, he could not bear to kill his son.

In the end, the third prince was imprisoned in the place where Prince Chang's family had been imprisoned for five years.

But before entering, the Third Prince's wife committed suicide, and before her death she entrusted her orphan to Prince Chang. The Third Prince's other concubines were also dismissed or taken back to their natal families. Only the Third Prince was demoted to a commoner and was settled there.

The old emperor punished his son, but was still angry, so he began to kill those who had corrupted his son.

When a prince wants to gather strength for a rebellion, he naturally needs followers. When the names of those to be beheaded and whose property will be confiscated were posted densely on the walls of the imperial city, the whole atmosphere in Kyoto became much more serious, and the scholars who used to chat and talk about everything became more reserved.

On the 17th, Mrs. Xiao ordered that no one from the Xiao family be allowed to go out, especially Yan Qiushu and the four children.

It wasn't until three days later that a heavy rain came and washed away everything, and Kyoto returned to normal.

But even so, because so many people died, the world was shrouded in a gloom.

However, Mrs. Xiao was in an unusually good mood. Because she was in such a good mood, she took the initiative to suggest going out for a walk.

Spring is here.

It's sunny and warm after the rain, it would be a waste if I don't go for a walk.

Xie Qingyun was delighted to see that Madam Xiao had rarely shown the desire to go out in recent years, and said, "Why don't we go to the farm? There are a lot of livestock there, and we have never been there to eat, so how about having a meal today?"

Mrs. Xiao's eyes and eyebrows were full of smiles, and her lips, which were tightly pursed in the past, were more relaxed than ever before. Hearing this, she nodded directly: "Okay, you go and ask Lao San and Ah Shu to come over, and we will all go."

"Okay, I'll go now." Xie Qingyun was also very happy. Before leaving, she still patted Mrs. Xiao affectionately and comforted her: "Mother, you must cheer up. There is no enemy in this world that cannot be defeated."

"......Hmm!" Madam Xiao's eyes became hot and she glanced towards the imperial city with a hint of coldness in her eyes.

Hearing that they were going out for an outing, Yan Qiushu was also very surprised and nodded in agreement.

She remembered that when they went to the farm, there were chickens, ducks, fish and meat there.

So before leaving, she packed up a lot of things. Since there were so many people, she had to bring more seasonings. In addition to the seasonings, there was also a large rectangular rack.

In this era, everyone gets up early, and after packing for half a day, it is time to set off before the hour of Chen has even passed.

It was only a quarter past the hour when they arrived at the manor outside the capital and were taken in by Manager Yao.

It's early and there's a lot to do.

Yan Qiushu led the four children skillfully and waved her hand like a general leading an army: "Let's go to the kitchen!"

When she gave an order, the children dared not disobey.

Dongdong was even more happy jumping around her, and asked: "Sister Shu, what are we going to eat today?!"

Yan Qiushu smiled and said, "Let's eat barbecue!"

Barbecue?

Dongdong subconsciously thought of the barbecue in the barbecue stove and the barbecue on the table, but why is it called barbecue now?

But they found out when they got to the kitchen.

Yan Qiushu took out a bunch of skewers and said, "Your task is to skewer the meat. The more you skewer, the more you will eat today."

Children: “?”

Other people in the kitchen began to prepare ingredients such as chicken, duck, fish and meat. They got whatever they wanted. In order to show his enthusiasm, Manager Yao even sent someone to kill a sheep and deliver the freshest mutton.

Yan Qiushu was extremely surprised. She only thought of pork, chicken, duck and fish, but she didn't expect that the manor even had mutton.

Manager Yao smiled and said, "It was the eldest young master who said that since we were all going to raise pigs, we should also raise some sheep. However, these sheep are not big."

But it’s enough.

Yan Qiushu was grateful to Xiao Huaiqi for his foresight, which allowed her to eat mutton now, but she didn't dare to listen to how the sheep was slaughtered, so she didn't ask any more questions. She cut the meat and commanded the foodie army to do the work.

When it comes to barbecue, you don’t just go to the store and eat it, it’s about cooperation.

Yan Qiushu did not stipulate who should do what and let them handle it by themselves. She only told them the method. After eating the meat on the iron plate, they should lift the iron plate and put two iron wires on the charcoal fire inside to make it charcoal grilled.

They look similar, but it’s a fresh way to eat them, with a different taste and texture.

The three children were all in high spirits, except Zhou Zhaoheng who was relatively calm, but the smile in his eyes was almost overflowing.

Having seldom done this kind of work, they were somewhat at a loss in the face of it. Even with help, they were still clumsy and took a long time to put their clothes on.

Fortunately, they all did it very seriously.

The most serious one was probably Zhou Zhaoheng. He didn't say anything, just did things silently and made mistakes silently. If he made a mistake, he would look at others and then continue doing it.

Dongdong and Wan'er would pull Yan Qiushu aside to ask her what was the right thing to do.

Yan Qiushu noticed the difference and was about to go over to help Dongdong after she had just helped him deal with a disobedient lotus root slice.

Xiao Pingsong had already walked around Zhou Zhaoheng and said enthusiastically, "Look at me, I put the meat on the table and then skewer it. Isn't it much easier?"

The lumps of meat are not that big, and children's fingers are short and not that flexible, but if they are placed on the table, they can just pass through the gaps on the table smoothly.

Zhou Zhaoheng took a look and obediently followed his method. After successfully finishing a piece of meat, he pursed his lips with joy and smiled silently.

At this time Dong Dong came over and said, "Wow, Ah Heng, you are dressed very well, you have passed through the middle!"

Zhou Zhaoheng smiled with satisfaction and continued to string the next one.

Yan Qiushu looked at him and saw that the skewer was crooked, but at least it was put on. She praised him, "You are also very good. At least you put it on."

As the children skewered more and more meat, Yan Qiushu also lit the stove.

The rectangular box was opened, revealing a pile of hot charcoal inside. If you got a little closer, you could feel the scorching heat hitting your face.

The raw grill takes quite a long time, and by the time it is completely lit, the skewers are all done.

Yan Qiushu had someone carry the grill from the kitchen to the front living room.

Mrs. Xiao and the others also saw that it was time for dinner, so they came back specially. They just happened to see her busy with people. Xiao Huaiqi asked, "From the looks of it, are they going to make a roasted whole lamb?"

Yan Qiushu shook her head and pointed at the trays of grilled skewers with a smile: "It's grilled!"

As she spoke, she placed a handful of meat skewers and several chicken wing skewers on the grill. After laying them out, she took a brush in one hand and brushed a layer of oil on them. She turned them over and saw that the side that was originally facing the charcoal stove had been roasted and changed color.

Xie Qingyun looked at it curiously and asked, "Do you want my help? It looks quite simple."

"Come on." Yan Qiushu moved to the side enthusiastically.

Upon seeing this, Xie Qingyun rolled up her sleeves, came to Yan Qiushu's side, and followed her example by taking a handful of skewers of meat and spreading them on top. Seeing that the fire had not reached here, she anxiously urged people to help her, lest her skewers would not be cooked through.

Mrs. Xiao was also very tempted, but unfortunately she was too old, so she could only pat her son on the back and say, "You can go too, since you'll just be sitting anyway."

Xiao Huaiqi was speechless, but he still obediently let someone push his wheelchair over for help.

The grill that Yan Qiushu customized was very long, mainly because of the large number of people and efficiency issues. Three people could sit on it without being crowded. However, she was at the very edge, with Xie Qingyun on her left and four children staring at the barbecue on her right.

The first round she grilled was lamb skewers and chicken wings. The fire in the middle was high, and the lamb skewers were turned over constantly. After being brushed with oil and sprinkled with various spices, a fragrant aroma filled the air.

So after a while, the mutton fat sizzled and melted, the lean mutton became much tighter, and it was stained with the dark color of the seasoning, and the aroma was fragrant.

Dongdong is always the most inattentive. At this moment, he stared at the skewered meat making a sizzling sound, smelled the rich aroma at the tip of his nose, and swallowed his saliva with a "gulp".

"Puchi!" Wan'er covered her mouth and looked at him with a smile.

Yan Qiushu also laughed. Xiao Pingsong coughed lightly, tilted his head and smiled secretly, afraid of making his brother unhappy.

But Dong Dong was thick-skinned and very calm: "I'm hungry, wuwu, Sister Shu, are you ready?"

Yan Qiushu looked at them one by one and nodded, "Well, it's ready to eat. Auntie, this is yours. Come and taste it and see how it tastes."

Each person is given a stick and distributed.

Mrs. Xiao was stunned for a moment when she received a skewer. Even though she had been to the battlefield, she still couldn't understand it for a moment. Just eat it like this? No need for a table?

Especially the second young master's wife Song Mingdai and the third young lady Xiao Huaiyu, these two people are more introverted and more law-abiding.

Yan Qiushu nodded affirmatively to their doubts: "Yes, just eat it directly like this. We can eat it while it is roasting. There is no need to serve it on the table. There is no one else here. It doesn't matter. Just eat it."

After that, she gave a demonstration.

Because they make their own skewers, the meat on them is extra generous. Each skewer is quite big, and the hot grilled skewers are extremely satisfying to eat.

Yan Qiushu was afraid of burning her mouth, so she just tried her best to expose her teeth and bite a piece of meat. With a force, the meat was pulled off. A lot of seasonings were sprinkled on it during grilling, and it had a salty and slightly spicy taste when she put it in her mouth. This alone was surprising, but the real surprise came when she ate it.

The mutton is so tender because it is fresh mutton, killed right away. When you bite it, it feels like juice is flowing between your teeth. The tender meat is accompanied by the flavors of cumin, pepper powder, and pepper and salt fried by Yan Qiushu. You can't taste the mutton smell at all.

Another bite, this time mixed with some mutton fat, this time it was really juicy, but the mutton fat was covered by the seasoning, so I couldn't taste the greasiness at all, only the aroma of meat.

Seeing her like this, and looking at the other children who were all very adaptable, even Xiao Pingsong who had just returned was eating calmly. The others hesitated for a moment and then opened their mouths tentatively.

Once I opened my mouth, I no longer had the mind to care about anything else.

I even felt that this way of eating was quite noble, as if I was at the border, eating meat with the soldiers.

Dongdong was fanning his mouth with one hand while eating. He ate too fast and all the hot mutton went into his mouth, burning his tongue and making it dance in his mouth.

Seeing him like this, Xiao Pingsong offered him a sip of water, and because he couldn't free his hands, he put it to his mouth: "Drinking water, it's burning your tongue."

Dongdong lowered his head and drank it. His mouth became calm. He ate a piece of meat in two or three bites and showed a cute smile to his attentive brother.

Yan Qiushu's lips curled up unconsciously as she watched. She turned her head to look at the little boy beside her, who was also immersed in the food. He was not as impatient as Dongdong, and was not even that enthusiastic at first. But when he ate the meat, his attitude changed.

His nature, which he had tried hard to suppress, was secretly revealed at this moment. He pouted his lips and kept cooling down the mutton skewers. When they were almost done, he took a big bite, not caring that his cheeks were dirty because of the skewer.

As he ate the hot mutton, bite after bite, the light in his eyes seemed to grow brighter and brighter.

Really delicious!

It seemed that he was the one who skewered the meat, because he used too much force one time and the head of the skewer got poked crooked when he was putting the last piece of meat on.

The more delicious the food Zhou Zhaoheng ate, the more amazement appeared in his eyes. He couldn't believe that he could actually make such delicious food!

Of course, this was all thanks to Sister Shu's processing, but he was also particularly satisfied and happy. The anxiety he had been feeling for a long time was relieved a lot.

When she finished her roast lamb, Xie Qingyun shouted happily: "Mine is ready, come and eat!"

Yan Qiushu also quickly took one. The pork was not as tender, but it was chewier. The seasoning Xie Qingyun gave was not as thick as hers, but pork didn't need it, so it still tasted salty and delicious.

She reminded: "Madam, you can grill some pork belly. It tastes so good when grilled!"

"Yeah!" Xie Qingyun was completely interested.

She was not good at cooking, but grilling was very simple. She just needed to control the heat. She felt a sense of accomplishment and was reluctant to stop. She turned around and saw her husband eating with gusto. She smiled even happier: "What else do you want to eat?"

Yan Qiushu thought she was asking her and was about to answer, but when she saw her looking at the man on the other side, she quickly shut up.

Xiao Huaiqi smiled and said, "It's all right. Everything you bake tastes good."

"You just know how to make me happy." Xie Qingyun said in a scolding tone, but she was undeniably happy. She picked a handful of corn. Her husband was in poor health and could not eat anything too heavy, so they just had some vegetarian dishes.

Yan Qiushu shook her head in surprise. She had never thought that she could eat dog food while eating barbecue. She immediately took a big bite of the meat. At this time, Wan'er exclaimed, "Sister Shu, the chicken wings are burnt!"