46. Exploring secluded places in other lands
◎Recognizing the Lord◎
Yan Yunzhao stayed at the Liu residence for a short time, meticulously preparing for the banquet. He had been busy for more than ten days and had not returned to Zhuochun Tower.
She was peeling a handful of lotus seeds, which she intended to use to demonstrate how to make shrimp and lotus seed porridge to the other cooks. However, because she had something on her mind, she kept making mistakes while sorting the seeds, always putting the peeled lotus seeds into the basket with the shells instead. So she simply put the lotus seeds down and stopped peeling them.
Lou Su had remained silent about what the Azure Dragon Jade Pendant was. If she hadn't asked Ye Qin for some books about the demon realm during her free time recently, she probably would never have known that the jade pendant was made of spiritual essence.
According to the book, the spirit marrow is something that a beast demon condenses with a wisp of its spiritual consciousness. It is considered an important token and is usually given to the person with whom it will spend its life. In this way, the two people can sense each other's location no matter how far apart they are. The spirit marrow of a great demon will develop its own personality and will only serve two masters in its lifetime.
This isn't exactly a secret, so why won't Lou Su tell us about it?
Yan Yunzhao was lost in thought for a while before he came back to his senses under the glaring winter sun and the maid's constant calls.
"Miss, miss?"
The maid waved her slender hands in front of her eyes. Yan Yunzhao was momentarily confused before recalling her instructions. Her gaze fell on the basket of chrysanthemum petals in the maid's arms.
"I've brought the petals you asked me to pick. The peonies and chrysanthemums in the yard are in full bloom, but how can these chrysanthemums be used in cooking?"
The maid placed the basket on the table. The fragrance of chrysanthemums was even stronger under the warm glow of the setting sun. Yan Yunzhao sorted out his chaotic thoughts, glanced at the contents of the basket, and nodded.
"This chrysanthemum fragrance is strong and quite nice, but it's used to smoke fish and remove the fishy smell, so the recipe is rather rare."
"I see." The maid smiled and took the lotus seeds from Yan Yunzhao's hand, picking through them as she spoke. "Miss, I ran into your husband when I went out to shop earlier. I invited him in, but he said it was alright. You haven't been home these past few days, have you? Why don't you go back and visit him today?"
Yan Yunzhao's heart skipped a beat. She realized that the "husband" she was referring to was probably Lou Su. She blushed and felt embarrassed, and waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "Not my husband."
The maid gave her a strange look, as if it were common knowledge: "Oh? Everyone in the neighborhood praises you and your husband for being a perfect match, a harmonious couple, and for managing the shop so well."
This was a difficult question to answer, so Yan Yunzhao gave a vague response. The maid assumed it was just a quarrel between the young couple and glanced at her with a smile, then kindly advised, "Young Master Lou is a handsome and talented man, and is known for his gentle and refined manners. As the saying goes, couples quarrel at the head of the bed and make up at the foot of the bed. Young Master Lou misses you very much, so please don't take it to heart and go talk it out."
The maid's words, spoken without knowing the truth, were so cheesy that Yan Yunzhao's ears turned red and his scalp tingled. He quickly changed the subject: "How did the other chefs do with the tasting?"
"It should be ready in about an hour. I'll go and call them over." The maid smiled and replied to Yan Yunzhao, then lifted the curtain and went out of the room with the freshly selected lotus seeds in her arms.
Yan Yunzhao flipped through the book in front of her, but was somewhat troubled: Lou Su had come looking for her? Why didn't he say anything...?
Lost in thought, a pair of well-defined hands supported her in front of her, and the familiar aroma of tea wafted towards her.
"Why don't you come out for a walk with me to clear your head?"
Yan Yunzhao looked up and saw Lou Su looking at her with a smile.
For some reason, seeing that Lou Su seemed to have nothing to worry about, she simply smiled and said, "Young Master Lou, what brings you to the Liu residence?"
She looked around and saw that the door was ajar, which put her mind at ease.
Lou Su closed the book and sat down next to her: "I'm quite lonely by myself, so I've come to visit you, my wife."
"Always good at talking glib and smooth talk."
"Knowing you're a picky eater, and probably wouldn't like the food at the Liu family's house, I specially went to Panlong Town to buy the food you like."
As Lou Su spoke, she took out a food box from her Thousand Elephant Pouch, opened the lid, and found five or six dishes inside, still warm. Among them were her favorite steamed sea bass, braised beef, and stir-fried mushrooms.
"You understand me best." Yan Yunzhao swallowed hard, then picked up his chopsticks and began to eat heartily without any ceremony.
Seeing that she had finished eating, Lou Su was still worried, so he sent two strands of spiritual energy into her temples: "If there's anything else you want to eat, just let me know. It's a bit chilly at night, remember to cover yourself with a thick blanket..."
"Okay, okay, why are you being so fussy today?" After seeing Lou Su off with a smile, the small house became quiet again.
After dinner, several cooks who were busy preparing the banquet dishes brought their finished dishes for Yan Yunzhao to inspect. The banquet was to be set up for about twenty tables, which she could not manage by herself. Therefore, the Liu family invited her to come so that she could give a general overview and provide guidance on the procedures and recipes for improvement.
Yan Yunzhao was still somewhat full, so he only took a tiny bite of each dish.
"These pear and shrimp crisps taste good, but the heat was a bit too high, and they were fried too dry. Just pay attention to the heat next time."
"Crab roe mushrooms... are too greasy. Blanch the mushrooms in advance and dry them so they don't taste like they've been soaked in water."
These cooks were all experienced chefs hired by the Liu family, so their skills were naturally quite good. Yan Yunzhao's guidance was just the icing on the cake. Finding the food quite delicious, he dismissed everyone and, yawning, lay down on the couch for a short rest.
The night was a little chilly, but thankfully there was a brazier burning inside, so one could go to bed wearing only a light coat. People tend to get tired easily in winter, and Yan Yunzhao felt sleepy after lying in bed for only a short while. However, he was woken up by the noisy commotion outside as soon as he closed his eyes.
The soundproofing in this room wasn't very good. After listening for a while, Yan Yunzhao roughly figured out that several maids were chatting idly together.
"It's rare for our household to have such a joyous occasion, so we should definitely take this opportunity to show off. Why did we hire such a young head chef? He looks to be only in his early twenties. It's just a publicity stunt. He doesn't know anything like the original Madam Fang. Why don't we invite Young Master Lou from Biyuefang over as well?"
"If you were to ask who the most famous restaurants in town are right now, who wouldn't mention Zhuochunlou? Although Boss Yan is young, his skills are undeniable. If you're not convinced, why don't you go there yourself? Young Master Lou of Biyuefang is just a spoiled brat. What does he know about fine food? I bet you're just hoping he'll come so you can use your seductive charms."
"you!"
The maid was so embarrassed and angry that she was about to lash out when she was stopped by the head maid who rushed over from outside the courtyard: "What kind of behavior is this, making such a racket in the guest's courtyard? I have urgent business to attend to and cannot discipline you. Go find Steward Liu and get a beating yourself."
Urgent?
Yan Yunzhao, though inside the house, heard everything clearly. She changed her position, rolled over on the bed, and listened to the sounds coming from the other side. Sure enough, the hurried footsteps stopped in front of her door.
Knock knock knock—
"Has Miss Yan gone to sleep?"
Coming in at midnight, there must be some mistake in the banquet preparations. Yan Yunzhao sighed softly and got up to invite the old woman outside the door in. Old woman Liang was the head of the kitchen and was always steady in her work, but she couldn't help but look a little flustered at this moment.
“Miss Yan, I’m really sorry to bother you. The ingredients, such as the jujube tree fruit, which were originally intended for brewing bamboo wine, were transported from another place a month in advance. However, there was a problem with the caravan, and the goods have been delayed. The kitchen is in complete chaos. I would appreciate it if Miss Yan could make a decision.”
Bamboo-joint wine is the banquet wine served in Lixi Town to celebrate the success of the imperial examinations. It is an indispensable wine, as it is meant to wish people continuous advancement. They had previously ordered other things from the caravan, but now everything has gone wrong. No wonder Granny Liang is so flustered.
"Although Hovenia dulcis is not grown in Lixi Town, it should not be difficult to find it in other places. Is there no other way to make up for it?"
“The other missing items are not difficult to find, but the round trip to a nearby town that sells Japanese raisin tree fruits takes more than eight days, and there is no time to brew wine. What should we do?”
Granny Liang looked worried. Yan Yunzhao thought for a moment and could only think of two solutions: "I will find a way to buy some jujubes. Or perhaps we can find something else to brew bamboo wine. As long as the bamboo cups remain the same, the auspicious meaning will not change. There is not much time now, so I need to think more about what to use to brew the wine."
Granny Liang sighed and nodded: "If it has to be brewed in just over ten days, it will probably only be fruit wine or rice wine."
"It's alright, I have a way to find the jujube."
Such a large banquet would be rather shabby if served only ordinary fruit wine and rice wine. Yan Yunzhao comforted Granny Liang for a few moments and then made up her mind.
The teleportation array would only take a moment to travel there, and time was of the essence. Yan Yunzhao returned to Zhuochun Tower the next morning to pack his things.
With just a cloth bag and a stack of clothes, Yan Yunzhao set off on her journey. According to Granny Liang, she might be able to buy Japanese raisin tree fruit in Yunjiao Town to the south. She drew a spell and in the blink of an eye, she arrived at the depths of an alley.
Outside the alley, it was bustling with activity. She walked out along the winding, quiet alley and asked at several wineries along the way, but unfortunately, they said that this year's wines had already been sold out earlier.
Yan Yunzhao made hand seals and conserved her magic power to draw several arrays. She traveled all over the major cities in the south of Daqi, but couldn't buy a single one. They kept saying that they had all been sold out long ago, or that the yield was low this year due to natural disasters. After visiting thirteen or fourteen places, she collapsed by the roadside, her magic power exhausted.
There weren't many things in the cloth bag. Just as Yan Yunzhao was about to take out the map to compare which places he hadn't been to yet, his fingertips touched a cool, hard object.
She was taken aback, took the object out and looked at it; wasn't it the Azure Dragon Jade Pendant?
Yan Yunzhao's mind went blank for a moment, wondering why the jade pendant, which had clearly been placed in Zhuochun Tower, had suddenly appeared here.
"Brother Qinglong, you came to find me on your own?"
The jade faintly glowed with a dim gray light, as if in response to her.
Yan Yunzhao channeled a wisp of spiritual consciousness into the jade pendant, and an extremely cold voice said indifferently, "Finally learned how to transmit sound?"
Please, I completely believed you were mute before...
After muttering this to himself, Yan Yunzhao couldn't help but ask, "Brother Qinglong, what's going on?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she was pulled into the jade pendant by a powerful force. After a dizzying moment, the surrounding scenery gradually became clear, and she seemed to have been transported to another dimension.
The bustling city had vanished, replaced by a quiet grove of trees. The sky was bright, but no sunlight shone through; a thick fog enveloped the area, obscuring everything beyond five steps.
Where is this?
"Don't speak, just keep walking."
Ahead? Thick fog filled the area; how could anyone know which way was ahead?
After saying this, Brother Qinglong stopped responding, leaving Yan Yunzhao to explore her surroundings step by step.
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