Xu Qinyu listened to the whispers of the people around her, and felt that perhaps it was done intentionally by the charioteer, perhaps to target the prefect. The prefect summoned the fourth brother at this time, which should also be related to the charioteer's matter.

She was a little worried about Governor Zhu.

While I was thinking about something, I heard people around me start to say, "Mrs. Zhu is out."

Xu Qinyu raised her head and glanced into the restaurant, and unexpectedly saw the woman who reminded her of the thief she had encountered at noon walking out. It turned out that she was Madam Zhu.

The woman had a worried look on her face. Seeing a lot of people gathered outside, she came out and said, "Everyone, go away and stop talking, or you'll bring trouble upon yourselves."

Someone shouted, "Madam Zhu, what are you going to do?"

Madam Zhu looked worried, but she still smiled. "It's just to make dinner for you. What's the big deal? Don't think too much. Let's go."

Then the crowd dispersed one after another.

Xu Qinyu didn't leave and stood at the door of the restaurant. Madam Zhu recognized him as the skinny young man who had almost had his wallet stolen while queuing for snacks at the snack shop at noon, so she nodded slightly at Xu Qinyu.

Xu Qinyu also nodded at her.

Xu Qinyu did not delay and immediately returned to the Bafang Inn to see if her fourth brother had returned and to ask about his specific situation.

When we returned to the Bafang Inn, our fourth brother had also returned, still in the same disguise as he had been in the morning. He was standing by the window and when he heard the door open, he turned around and looked back.

Xu Qinyu immediately ran to her fourth brother and told him about how she ran into a thief while buying snacks at noon and was helped by Zhu's wife. Then, when she returned to Zhu's restaurant in the afternoon, she found that two officials from the imperial messenger had come to Zhu's restaurant and wanted to embarrass Zhu. She told her fourth brother about all this, and finally asked, "Fourth brother, did you go to the governor? Is this related to this matter?"

Pei Weixuan said: "It is indeed related to the relationship between the two, but I don't know about Madam Zhu. Madam Zhu from the Zhu Family Restaurant is my aunt's biological sister."

He went to the prefect's mansion, and the prefect told him that after the imperial envoy came, he sent people to the military camp to inquire and ignored other matters. He was concerned about the military pay embezzlement case, so he urged him twice. The imperial envoy's face turned as dark as charcoal, and he ridiculed him, saying that if he had the ability, he should investigate the case of military pay embezzlement himself. After that, he turned around and left. After that, he often verbally bullied the prefect in the prefect's mansion or in front of other officials and soldier guards.

The people in the prefectural government and the soldiers in the barracks were all angry but dared not speak out.

The prefect probably noticed something and knew that Pei Weixuan had come to Raozhou. In addition, the prefect vaguely realized that this nephew might not be a simple person, so he went to find him to ask if he knew about the military pay embezzlement case.

At this time, the prefect did not know that the military pay embezzlement was what King Handong said. He just thought that it had something to do with the imperial attendant. When Pei Weixuan told him that the officials who embezzled the military pay were King Handong's men, and most of the embezzled military pay went into King Handong's pocket, this imperial attendant was also King Handong's man, so naturally he would not really try his best to investigate the military pay embezzlement case.

This matter was investigated by the black-armored guards that Pei Weixuan had planted in the capital. The black-armored guards helped him investigate, and they would report to him any developments in the capital.

After hearing this, the governor was silent for a long time.

In fact, the prefect had suspected that his nephew was up to something before, until he heard from his nephew about the affairs behind the military pay embezzlement case. He then realized that his nephew was probably really up to something and that he was not just an ordinary escort of a small caravan.

But the prefect said nothing, just sighed.

Ever since he learned that the military pay embezzlement was alleged by the King of Handong, he understood that the truth of this case would never come to light, and even if it was uncovered, the person would be the scapegoat.

And the King of Handong is the Queen Mother's younger brother, so it is impossible for the Queen Mother not to know about this.

From the moment the Queen Mother appointed her younger brother as a king of a different surname, to the massive construction of a luxurious palace, to the moment the governor allowed his own younger brother to embezzle the military pay of the soldiers guarding the border, he already knew what situation the Great Sheng Dynasty would end up in.

Even if Pei Weixuan did not tell Governor Zhu, he knew that the new emperor and the queen mother were greedy for pleasure and were building luxurious palaces on a large scale.

These things had already spread to all the state capitals of Dasheng.

The governor originally wanted to investigate the case of embezzlement of military pay. He felt that these soldiers guarding the border should not be treated unfairly under any circumstances.

But now all the imperial guards are the King of Handong's men and are from the palace. What else can he do?

If this matter were to be exposed to all officials and the capital, the empress dowager would just pick a random reason to punish him.

If he were to go down, the next governor might be the King of Handong or the Queen Mother's man. They would dare to embezzle military pay openly and would surely only think about making money. The people in the border towns would suffer then. Originally, the people in the border towns had lived a good life for the past five years because of the eldest prince.

Moreover, it will be more difficult for my nephew to do things in the future.

At this moment, the prefect's heart had unconsciously sided with his nephew.

Later, the prefect said nothing and just asked Pei Weixuan to go back. It seemed that the issue of the army's pay would be left unresolved.

Pei Weixuan also knew the decision made by his uncle and grandfather.

My great uncle really couldn't do anything about this matter. All he could do was to protect himself. Otherwise, if my great uncle passed away, the people living in the border areas would be in trouble.

Pei Weixuan then returned to Bafang Inn.

After he finished speaking, Xu Qinyu understood a little. It seemed that the prefect didn't know about this yet, and the Qinchai had been holding a grudge against the prefect because the prefect had once questioned him. When he learned about the relationship between the Zhu Family Restaurant and the prefect, he wanted to humiliate Madam Zhu in public, which was also a slap in the face of the prefect.

Xu Qinyu said angrily, "This imperial edict is really petty and fussy. Fourth brother, what should we do now? Should we tell the governor? He may have a solution."

Pei Weixuan shook his head, "My uncle and grandfather have no way to stop this."

He could kill these imperial envoys and ministers in the southwest, but this was the worst method and would bring trouble to the governor. As for the case of embezzlement of military pay, he already had another solution, which he could do when the imperial envoys left the southwest.

Xu Qinyu suddenly had an idea, "Fourth brother, how about this? I will go and help Madam Zhu prepare dinner, and then the envoy will definitely not be able to find fault.

She believed that no one could resist eating the food she cooked. As long as the young official ate it to his heart's content, it would explain everything. He would not be ashamed to accuse Zhu's Restaurant of poor cooking skills and take the opportunity to cause trouble.

Pei Weixuan said nothing. He knew that if Yu Niang came forward, her cooking skills would be impeccable.

But even if Yu Niang was just helping out in the kitchen, if the imperial servant got on her mind, it would definitely cause trouble.

It is very likely that Yu Niang's cooking skills were noticed by this imperial envoy, who wanted to bring her back to the capital to serve as a cook for the Queen Mother or the King of Handong.

But he knew in his heart that even if she would be targeted, Yu Niang would not ignore the matter.

So he asked, "Does Yu Niang want to go?"

He will take care of the rest.

Xu Qinyu nodded, "Of course, not to mention the relationship between Madam Zhu and the governor, Madam Zhu helped me at noon, so I should also help Madam Zhu."

She couldn't do such a thing as ignoring someone who had helped her when she could have helped him.

Pei Weixuan said: "Then Yu Niang, please go ahead. I will go with you, but Yu Niang, please wait for a moment."

He returned to his desk and left a note for Manager Zhou, saying that he would be away for a few days and asked Manager Zhou to keep the room for them, as if they were still living here.

After writing the note, Pei Weixuan went to Zhu's Restaurant with Yu Niang.

When we arrived at Zhu's Restaurant, Mrs. Zhu was in the kitchen, having trouble with everyone.

She has loved cooking since she was young and had a childhood sweetheart when she was young, but her fiancé died in an accident before they got married. She never remarried in her life and finally used her own money to open the Zhu Family Restaurant, which has been open for many years. It has been offering affordable prices and large quantities, and its business is still good.

Madam Zhu knew that her cooking skills were not even as good as the chef at Zuixianlou.

Moreover, this imperial envoy did not go to other famous restaurants in Raozhou City, but chose to go to Zhu's Restaurant. Zhu's Restaurant is well-known for its affordable and filling food, and the food tastes good. It is obvious that this imperial envoy is deliberately making things difficult for her. Why should a woman like her be embarrassed? It is obviously aimed at the governor behind her.

This matter also involves her sister and brother-in-law. She doesn't want to cause trouble for her brother-in-law and let the imperial edict slap her brother-in-law in the face.

Madam Zhu was extremely worried. Her disciple stepped forward and said, "Master, why don't you go and tell the governor? Maybe he has a solution."

Her apprentice is a round-faced girl of fifteen or sixteen named Zhu Zhu. She was an abandoned baby she picked up ten years ago and adopted and raised. Although she is called an apprentice, they are actually mother and daughter, and they also took her last name.

Madam Zhu shook her head, "It's useless even if the governor comes."

She knew what being a royal messenger meant, and she couldn't even offend the governor, so calling her brother-in-law over would only add to her troubles and bring him trouble.

Just as I was worrying, the waiter in front suddenly ran to the backyard and said, "Boss, two young men came to the front living room and said they are looking for you."

"Sir? Are you going to have dinner?" Madam Zhu asked in confusion, "Can you tell them that we won't be receiving guests today?"

The waiter nodded.

He was just sitting in the front living room when he saw two young men, one tall and one short, come in. He immediately said, "Excuse me, gentlemen. The Zhu Family Restaurant is not accepting guests today. Please forgive me."

Because the imperial servant was coming to the restaurant for dinner, everyone in the restaurant was worried. The owner did not plan to receive other diners, for fear that they would accidentally bump into the imperial servant and hurt others. Therefore, a sign was hung outside the restaurant saying that the restaurant was closed for the day. Unexpectedly, two people still came.

But the shorter young man said, "The store owner misunderstood. We are not here for dinner. I have something to ask your boss. Please help pass the message."

The waiter then came over and the chef looked for Madam Zhu.

After listening to this, Madam Zhu got up and went to the front living room. She was slightly surprised to see Xu Qinyu.

She recognized Xu Qinyu as the young man who was almost robbed at noon.

Seeing Xu Qinyu coming, Madam Zhu subconsciously thought that he had brought his family to thank her. Just as she was about to say that there was no need to come specially to thank him, she heard the young master say, "I know that the envoy will have dinner at Zhu's restaurant, and I also know Madam Zhu's concerns. Today, I am grateful for Madam Zhu's reminder. In addition, I happen to be a good cook, so I came to recommend myself to help Madam Zhu prepare dinner for the envoy today."

Madam Zhu was stunned for a moment, "This, this..."

This is a self-recommendation.

But the young man in front of him looked to be no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, and the young man next to him, who had an ordinary appearance but was very tall, looked to be in his early twenties. Both of them were only in their teens or twenties, even though they looked like they had advanced cooking skills.

Is he here to tease her?

It can be seen that the shorter young man had a sincere look on his face and did not seem to be trying to tease her on purpose.

For a moment, Madam Zhu was also a little confused.

Xu Qinyu and Pei Weixuan dressed up because they were afraid of being recognized by outsiders, so it was naturally impossible for them to tell Madam Zhu her true identity.

At her age, it was not credible to say that she was a great cook, but she still wanted to say, "Ms. Zhu, why don't you trust me for once? It's almost time for dinner, and it's time to prepare the ingredients."

Madam Zhu hesitated, but finally she saw that the face of the skinny little young man in front of her was too sincere and didn't look like he was lying.

Besides, when the evening meal is ready, if the young master's cooking doesn't taste good, there are other ingredients in the restaurant and she can cook it herself. It won't affect anything, so after some hesitation, she finally agreed.

Xu Qinyu and Pei Weixuan followed Madam Zhu to the kitchen.

In the back kitchen, Xu Qinyu made a long list of ingredients and asked Madam Zhu to buy them.

Madam Zhu saw such a long list, which included not only a variety of ingredients, but also various spices.

Madam Zhu instructed the chef, her apprentices and other employees in the restaurant to go and buy the ingredients separately, which would save a lot of time.

After less than half an hour, all the ingredients, spices and seasonings that Xu Qinyu ordered arrived.

The highlight of today is roasted suckling pig, which is made from a suckling pig weighing about ten pounds.

No one here has ever eaten suckling pigs. People only eat pork that is fat and fat. Fortunately, there were people in the city who raised pigs. Madam Zhu spent a lot of money to buy this suckling pig, and she had the butcher slaughter it according to the method specified by the young master.

Now that the restaurant doesn't need to receive diners, even the waiter in the front couldn't help but run to the back to watch. He was very curious about Xu Qinyu, and even more curious about the ingredients. These ingredients were all weird, could they really make delicious food?

Even the chef of Zuixianlou was criticized for being picky. Can this young man, who is only seventeen or eighteen years old, really cook food that will satisfy me?

Everyone still doesn't quite believe it.

In fact, roasted suckling pig requires suckling pig of the fragrant pig breed. Of course, there are no fragrant pigs here, so you can use domesticated piglets.

The piglets have been slaughtered, and Xu Qinyu is about to start preparing the ingredients.

In addition to the ingredients, there are also bricks, charcoal and iron forks.

Xu Qinyu went over and whispered a few words to the fourth brother. Pei Weixuan nodded and started to build a simple roasting pool with bricks and tiles, which would be needed for roasting the suckling pig later.

The suckling pig had only been slaughtered but not yet properly processed. Xu Qinyu split the piglet's inner spine, cut off the excess lard, and removed the front ribs and shoulder blades. She was very skillful in processing the suckling pig, using a kitchen knife deftly. In just ten seconds or so, she removed the inner bones of the suckling pig. This way, the suckling pig was still whole, but it would be more convenient to roast it later.

After splitting the spine, Xu Qinyu cleaned the suckling pig again with clean water.

Madam Zhu and others nearby were stunned when they saw Xu Qinyu's skillful technique. Madam Zhu was even more shocked. She had been a cook for more than twenty years, but she didn't have such good knife skills. At this moment, she had vaguely felt that the young master was not fooling her and should be a really good cook.

But the food they make is a bit weird.

Xu Qinyu continued to process the ingredients. After cleaning the suckling pig, she stood aside and began to prepare the seasoning. The seasoning for the roasted suckling pig is also of top priority. She ground the prepared spices into powder, ground the sesame seeds into sauce, and used chopped green onions and minced garlic, as well as several other seasonings to make a sauce. Finally, she added sugar and Huadiao wine, mixed evenly, and applied it to the abdominal cavity of the suckling pig.

In fact, the seasoning was still a little lacking. Plus, she didn't bring homemade soybean paste and fermented bean curd, so she used soybean paste and fermented bean curd bought in Raozhou City. She could only work harder on the baking process.

The suckling pig coated with seasoning needs to be marinated for half an hour.

The marinated suckling pig needs to be propped up and fixed in the abdominal cavity with wooden strips, and then two iron forks should be pierced horizontally on the suckling pig according to the roasting method to facilitate roasting.

You also need to pour hot water on the piglet's skin to harden the surface skin.

But that’s not enough, you also need to prepare the crispy syrup. Melt the maltose, add Huadiao wine and white vinegar, spread the prepared crispy syrup on the skin of the suckling pig while it’s still hot, hang it up to dry and then start baking.

The barbecue stove at Fourth Brother's place has been set up and the charcoal has started to burn.

Xu Qinyu began to prepare other ingredients.

This roast suckling pig is the highlight of today, so she didn’t plan to make the other dishes too greasy.

The other dishes include shredded chicken and white fungus. This dish is smooth, crispy and refreshing, which can help to relieve the greasy taste of roasted suckling pig.

Add a dish of milk-flavored fish fillet and fried duck.

Madam Zhu also bought some beef yesterday, and Xu Qinyu was going to make tangerine peel beef, which had the aroma of tangerine peel and tasted crispy, soft, spicy, and a little sweet.

It was already early autumn and water chestnuts were ripe. Xu Qinyu even asked someone to buy some water chestnuts and made water chestnut meat cakes.

There is also a dish of stir-fried lotus root slices. The lotus roots at this time of year are just ripe and very tender. They are simply cut into thin slices and stir-fried with only salt added, and they are extremely fresh and sweet.

Another dessert, the milky white jujube treasure, is made with golden red dates and glutinous rice flour. It is soft, sticky and sweet.

I also made a pot of pork belly and chicken soup.

Madam Zhu said that there were about four or five people eating, and what Xu Qinyu prepared was enough.

The dishes she cooked were all ones that Xu Ji in Yuanbao Town had never cooked before.

She has prepared all the ingredients and the soup is already cooking.

Watching her hands flying and the kitchen knife almost leaving a shadow, Madam Zhu and the others stared blankly at the young master preparing each step.

It was the first time I knew that food could be prepared in this way. Moreover, the cooking methods of these foods were completely different from those of Zhu Madam's, and even different from those of other restaurants. Just the way the pig was smeared was something I had never seen before.

The food was ready, and Xu Qinyu carried the suckling pig over and started roasting it.

One also needs to pay attention to the temperature when roasting a suckling pig. She adjusted the temperature of the charcoal and started roasting the suckling pig. There was no need to keep turning it over at the beginning, so she asked her fourth brother to help her watch it.

This roasted suckling pig is roasted horizontally on a well-prepared charcoal stove. With an iron fork to hold the suckling pig in place, it is easy to flip over without using much force.

You also have to pay attention when roasting. You need to use a thicker iron needle to pierce the skin. This will make it easier to remove the moisture inside the suckling pig and make the pig skin more crispy after roasting.

Also, when roasting the suckling pig, you need to be careful to wipe off the grease that seeps out, so that the roasted suckling pig will look good, with a golden skin and uniform color.

With her fourth brother helping her turn the iron fork, Xu Qinyu started to cook other dishes.

After half an hour, the aroma of the roasted suckling pig had filled the entire yard. It smelled of burnt aroma mixed with rich meat aroma. The meat aroma was mixed with other aromas. It was the secret seasoning that permeated the meat aroma, and then the unique meat aroma after being roasted.

Madam Zhu has completely convinced the young master in front of her.

Zhu Zhu even murmured, "Master, it smells so good."

Everyone else was already staring at the roasted suckling pig outside, swallowing hard.

The aroma of the meat filled the entire yard and began to waft outside.

The surrounding merchants and people visiting the market could smell the fragrance.

"What's that smell? It smells so good."

"It smells really good. Which restaurant is making food?"

The shop owners nearby couldn't help but come out to watch, and some even asked, "Whose food is this?"

"Could it be the Zhu Family Restaurant? Shouldn't the Zhu Family Restaurant be hosting a dinner for the Imperial Sergeant today? It could be the Zhu Family Restaurant."

The shopkeeper of another store immediately said, "Impossible. We have lived next door to Zhu's Restaurant for many years. We have eaten there many times. We can smell the food made by Zhu's Restaurant. This is not the taste of Zhu's Restaurant."

"Which one would that be?"

"I don't know, but it tastes really good. My stomach is growling."

"Yes, I really want to try what this food is. I think it would be worth my life if I could eat it once."

In the backyard of Zhu's Restaurant, while Xu Qinyu was cooking other dishes, she still had time to go outside to see how the roasted suckling pig was being cooked.

It takes about an hour to roast the suckling pig, and now we need to continue roasting for another half an hour. The aroma will become stronger and spread farther as time goes by.

After waiting for half an hour, all her dishes were ready, and the pork belly and chicken soup was also cooked.

The aroma of the roast suckling pig has overshadowed the aroma of the other dishes. The rich aroma of the secret meat, with a hint of burnt aroma, can be smelled throughout almost the entire market. The closer you get to Zhu's Restaurant, the more distinct the aroma becomes.

Even the shop owners who previously thought that the aroma was not coming from Zhu's Restaurant were a little hesitant. Could it be that the aroma was really coming from Zhu's Restaurant?

But when did Madam Zhu’s cooking skills become so amazing?

At this moment, they no longer had any intention of guarding the shop. They all stood at the door and looked towards the Zhu Family Restaurant.

In the kitchen of the Zhu family's restaurant, Xu Qinyu looked at Miss Zhu and said with a smile, "Miss Zhu, do you want to taste the food?"

She made extra, so she divided it into two portions, serving one portion later and keeping the rest in the kitchen for their evening snack. Now everyone was staring at the food eagerly.

The roast suckling pig cannot be eaten and must be served whole, otherwise cutting it into pieces will ruin the appearance.

She actually wanted to eat roast suckling pig as well, and planned to go back to Xu Ji and make some roast suckling pig for everyone to taste after the matter was settled.

The skin of this roasted suckling pig is roasted until it is crispy and crunchy when you eat it. It is crispy and fragrant, but the meat is still very tender, and the fat is fatty but not greasy.