38. Meeting new people in the old street.
◎An unexpected encounter with a mysterious girl◎
Today the sky is clear and the air is crisp. Although there is a chill in the air, the sun is shining brightly, making it the perfect day for drying and brewing wine.
Yan Yunzhao stored a basket of dried osmanthus flowers, thinking of going to the market to buy some yeast to brew osmanthus wine.
The narrow path was bustling with carriages and horses, their wheels rolling over the bluestone bricks. Yan Yunzhao strolled along the side of the street, but was unexpectedly stopped by someone.
This road was not open to traffic, but it was a little-known shortcut. Yan Yunzhao walked with her head down and in a low voice, thinking that the person blocking her way was an official. She was about to politely persuade him to let her pass when she looked up and saw a bright and flamboyant young girl.
"Hey, can you tell me what fun places there are around here?"
The girl wore a simple red dress, but the material was extraordinary, with gold embroidery on the sleeves, something that ordinary people could not afford.
Yan Yunzhao looked up and smiled slightly, "I wonder what you like to do, young lady? Is it listening to music by the railing, drinking wine and composing poems, or sightseeing and enjoying the scenery?"
The girl pursed her red lips, thought for a long time, and then replied, "I don't know."
Presumably, she's a young lady from a wealthy family who's sneaked out for a stroll. Yan Yunzhao thought for a moment and suggested a few less dangerous places: restaurants, teahouses, and music halls—all things a young lady might like. Although the natural scenery of Lixi Town is exceptional, what if this girl were to encounter some ferocious wolves or tigers on the way if she were recommended to go up Cuiliang Mountain?
The girl shook her head vigorously, pouting and saying with dissatisfaction, "Boring, very boring."
"You look kind, so I'll take you wherever you go."
Yan Yunzhao was surprised for a moment, then said frankly, "I'm not going to some fun place, just a wine shop that sells medicinal herbs. You're willing to go there, Miss?"
He thought she would pout and walk away, but the girl's eyes lit up: "You want to brew your own wine?"
Yan Yunzhao nodded, but then the girl warmly grabbed her arm: "Let's go!"
Yan Yunzhao couldn't help but chuckle and didn't try to persuade her any further. She let her wander around the mountains and buy the medicine, then trekked back to Cuiliang's little shop. Along the way, she learned that the girl's name was Qing Le. She looked around curiously and kept asking Yan Yunzhao to be her guide. By the time they returned to the shop, it was much later than Yan Yunzhao had originally estimated.
Jingming and the others went to help out at the Dragon King Temple shop today. Yan Yunzhao, as the host, poured a glass of plum juice for the girl to soothe her throat.
"What is this? I've never drunk it before."
Qing Le held the porcelain bowl in her hand and examined it closely under the sunlight.
Yan Yunzhao packed up the brewing equipment without turning his head: "Oh, that's plum juice I made myself. The plums were small this year, so it might be a little sour."
Qing Le nodded as if she understood, saying it was delicious, and drank one cup after another until she realized she was full after drinking half a bamboo tube in one go.
Yan Yunzhao took a bamboo basket to pick and steam rice, while Qing Le watched from the side.
Why is it necessary to steam white rice before brewing wine?
"Won't the birds eat it if I leave it here? How long do I need to leave it? Oh no! There's a cat here!"
Qing Le kept asking questions like a machine gun, while Yan Yunzhao responded with a smile while busy with her work. Qing Le had a likable personality, so she didn't feel awkward at all.
The cooked rice would need some time to cool down, and Yan Yunzhao had nothing to do at the moment, so he leaned against the window and chatted idly with Qing Le.
"You're not from around here, what are you doing here alone?"
Qing Le was picking up a fluffy ball to play with Rong Rong when she heard this. She paused and blinked her big, bright eyes: "I...I got separated from my family. But I don't want to go back. I heard that the scenery here is beautiful, so I came to take a look."
Yan Yunzhao laughed and said, "After you've had enough fun, you should go home early. Lixi Town is surrounded by mountains, and there are quite a few wild animals in the mountains. Every night, these wild animals come to the street to hunt for food, and they especially like to eat girls who are seventeen or eighteen years old."
Qing Le panicked for a moment, then her expression turned suspicious: "You...you're lying to me, aren't you?"
Seeing Yan Yunzhao smile brightly upon hearing this, Qing Le patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief: "I'm most afraid of the monsters on the mountain, boohoo."
"If you're afraid of monsters, why won't you go home? Is it because your family treats you badly?"
Qing Le shook her head: "No. I want to go out and play, but they won't let me."
"Miss Yan, will you take me in? I can do any kind of work, I can learn!"
As she spoke, Qing Le playfully wrapped her arm around hers. Faced with Qing Le's overly familiar manner, Yan Yunzhao didn't know how to respond, and could only comfort her, "If your family comes looking for me, wouldn't I be considered a human trafficker?"
Qing Le pouted and refused to leave. Yan Yunzhao patted her shoulder and said gently, "We've only known each other for a morning, and you want to follow me? What if I really am some kind of bad person?"
Qing Le held her back, refusing to let it go: "I can tell good people from bad people at a glance. Besides, you're a cook at the Floating Wine Cup Banquet, right? Since you're registered, how could you just disappear into thin air?"
Yan Yunzhao glanced at the folding fan token on the counter and knew that Qing Le must have seen it before she realized that she was the cook at the Qu Shui Liu Shang Banquet. He instructed her, "I'll only take you in for a few days. Don't run around or cause trouble."
Qing Le was overjoyed and agreed.
Yan Yunzhao has been cooking for Jingming and the others lately, so having an extra pair of bowls and chopsticks isn't a big deal. Qingle also helped out as she had asked. While Yan Yunzhao was busy studying the recipe for the winding stream banquet, she diligently washed and prepared the vegetables, though she was a bit clumsy because she was used to being pampered.
Yan Yunzhao already knew what dishes to prepare for the winding stream banquet, and even chose a day to ask Lady Du for her opinion. Everything was ready, but to her surprise, Qing Le rejected all of them.
"At first glance, they all look like desserts. Although many of them are unique, they certainly won't suit the princess's taste."
"Why? I've heard that the princess loves sweets and mostly makes sweet dishes. Paired with refreshing wine, it should taste quite good," Yan Yunzhao asked curiously.
Qing Le shook her head and said, "It's not a matter of taste or novelty, but rather that the princess doesn't like sweets. Those are just rumors."
Yan Yunzhao became interested and asked Qingle to continue.
One year, peach blossoms filled the capital, and a young princess, barely ten years old, went out to enjoy them with her maids and guards. The princess, naturally playful and disliking being followed, shook off the others and went out into the street alone.
The maids and guards panicked. Since the princess's birth mother passed away, leaving only her daughter in the world, the prince had doted on the little princess, treating her with utmost care and affection.
Now that they've lost their heads, how can they save them?
The entourage searched frantically throughout the capital, even alarming the imperial guards. Meanwhile, the young princess went out into the streets, searching the entire city just to taste the red date steamed rice cakes from every household.
The news of the princess sneaking out to eat steamed rice cakes with red dates spread like wildfire, and everyone said that Princess Qing'an really liked sweets.
"Later, the imperial chefs in the palace also began to make sweets every day in an attempt to please the princess. Little did they know that the princess did not appreciate their poor imitations at all."
After Qing Le finished speaking, she rested her chin on her hand and remained silent for a long time, as if recalling some past events.
"But I'm curious, if the princess doesn't like sweets, why did she go and try all the red date steamed rice cakes in the city?"
"This is related to the princess's birth mother. The Princess Consort of Ding was born in the water towns of Jiangnan and was an excellent steamed cake maker. Perhaps she was missing her family."
"Did the princess find a similar taste later?"
"I don't think so, otherwise they would have already begged His Majesty to promote that cook to the Imperial Chef and bestow him upon the Prince Ding's residence in great honor."
“That makes sense.” Yan Yunzhao nodded thoughtfully.
The two looked out of the shop several times that night, but Jingming and the others did not return. They wondered if they had encountered some trouble. Yan Yunzhao sent a telepathic message to Jingming and received a reply shortly afterward.
"After hearing from Senior Brother Yuan and Senior Brother Liu that Lou Su was out of danger, we rushed to Biyuefang. In our haste, we didn't have time to tell you yet."
"Really? That's good."
Yan Yunzhao was overjoyed and was about to put on a cloak and go out when he recalled the conversation between Immortal Master Jichen and Senior Brother Liujiang a few days ago. He hesitated, unsure of how to face him now.
It's a good thing that the two can now meet openly under different identities, but they don't know how to bring this matter to light.
Yan Yunzhao glanced at the heavy night outside the window, sighed softly, and closed the half-closed door again.
Qing Le kept saying she was hungry, so Yan Yunzhao made two bowls of chicken soup noodles. He thought that Qing Le, who looked like a rich young lady, wouldn't be used to the rough noodles, but she kept saying how delicious they were.
"What delicious noodles! I feel like I can never fully savor the flavor of this broth."
Qing Le scooped up large mouthfuls of noodles, glancing at the simply furnished shop as she chewed, mumbling, "Miss Yan's cooking is quite good, so why does business seem to be slow?"
Yan Yunzhao thought for a moment: "Doing business depends half on ability and half on luck. I guess I'm lacking in luck. But I'm quite happy with my life now."
"A banquet with flowing wine cups on a winding stream would be a good opportunity. Those aristocratic families are just fond of showing off their refined tastes; they'll give a simple dish of noodles an elegant name and then vie to claim it's delicious. Miss Yan, you can definitely do it."
Qing Le's high spirits amused Yan Yunzhao.
"Then I'll take your kind words."
...
Tomorrow is the day of the banquet, and Yan Yunzhao went to his own vegetable garden to harvest some vegetables. They were more tender and plumper than those from other places, so their quality was naturally excellent.
The eighty-eight cooks each prepared their own dishes for the winding stream banquet. It would be unacceptable if the dishes were the same. So Yan Yunzhao prepared a complete set of fresh shrimp, tiger fish, mountain mushrooms, white jade noodles, summer lotus and autumn chrysanthemum for garnishing, various fresh vegetables, and fragrant sauces and seasonings. Everything was available so that she could improvise on the spot.
During the days when Yan Yunzhao went out to shop, he noticed that there seemed to be more guards patrolling the streets in the past two days. He figured that the princess was probably bringing a group of young noblemen to enjoy the scenery and had strengthened the defenses, so he didn't think much of it.
Before he could take two steps, he was unexpectedly stopped.
The head guard, a burly, dark-skinned man, held up a portrait and asked, "Have you seen the woman in the painting?"
Yan Yunzhao glanced at it and shook his head.
The guard showed no sign of leaving, his sharp eagle eyes fixed on her, as if to confirm whether she was lying. After a long while, he finally lowered his hand and let her pass.
"What's going on lately? It seems like they're looking for someone..."
"Shh, don't ask too many questions... let's go, let's go."
Hearing the whispers of the surrounding crowd, Yan Yunzhao remained unmoved and calmly returned to Cuiliang's shop.
Inside the small shop, Qing Le was playing with Rong Rong. When she saw the newcomer, the girl looked up and smiled brightly.
"You're back? I'm starving! Hurry up and cook, I want to eat that... pizza!"
Qing Le rattled off the names of the dishes, and Yan Yunzhao smiled faintly, wrote them down, and said:
"My cooking is no match for that of the imperial chefs. When does the princess plan to stop playing?"
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