25 Snow Cloud Soup Lotus Root Fish Buns
◎Madam Jiang, a big liar◎
It is a sunny day today and the sky is very bright.
It was still early, and in the southern section of Imperial Street, various breakfast shops and stalls had already started hawking their wares.
"Buy some buns—Wanglou Cave Plum Blossom Buns—"
"Meat pie, meat pie, Grandma Cao's meat pie. Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, big meat pie with thin skin and lots of fillings—"
The street was in chaos and noisy.
However, when they arrived at the Lin'an Prefecture Office, the atmosphere suddenly became solemn.
Two stone lions looked ferocious and majestic, while two tall soldiers stood expressionlessly, guns in hand.
But once you enter the side door - the small courtyard of the Finance Department, you will find yourself in a completely different world.
As Yang Song walked, he bit into the Cao Po Po meat pie in his hand, letting the rich aroma of oil and meat fill his mouth.
When he reached the gate and took out the key to open the door, he found that his hands were not enough.
So he bit the meat pie in his mouth, held the lock with his left hand and the key with his right hand, and there was a "click".
In fact, it’s still early to go on duty.
But he was alone at home, with an empty stove and no food, so it would be better for him to come out earlier so that he could catch the hot Cao Po Po brand meat pies.
Before he even set foot into the yard, the old gatekeeper Tian Er ran out from the side alley: "Mr. Yang——"
"Hey, Mr. Tian..." Yang Song hurriedly took the meat pie away and chewed it hastily.
Before he could wipe his greasy mouth, he asked, "What's the matter?"
Tian Er was holding a small bag in his hand.
There are a few purple hibiscus flowers painted on the plain fine cloth, which looks very elegant.
"At daybreak, a young woman drove a carriage and asked me to give this to you, Young Master Yang."
Yang Song took the bundle, thanked Tian Er, and felt suspicious.
Girl, which girl gave him something?
He has a bit of a bad relationship life. Although he works in the government office, he is still single.
According to the fortune teller, he is a man born with bad luck.
Therefore, his parents passed away shortly after he was born, and a few years ago, his sister, who depended on him for everything, also passed away.
He didn't believe it at first and had already agreed to marry a woman last year, but... well, it wasn't a good thing anyway.
Now, he really believed what the fortune teller said. He knew that he could not get married until he was 25 years old, so he decided to remain a bachelor.
Why would someone send me something out of the blue?
He has been bored recently and has been reading a lot of books about fighting and killing.
At that moment, a terrible thought came to his mind.
Could it be that someone was dissatisfied with the government office and deliberately put gunpowder in it to take revenge?
He looked around the small bag, but it didn't look like it.
I carefully opened it and found a red invitation on top, with beautiful small handwriting saying:
Mr. Yang: On June 13th, the Xindian Xinghua Restaurant will open on Xiejie North Road and under the Bazi Bridge.
Clean the wine pots and cups and wait for the emperor's arrival.
The signature is: Madam Jiang.
Ha, Madam Jiang? Xinghua Restaurant? A slender figure appeared before Yang Song's eyes.
Madam Jiang is really amazing, she opened a restaurant so quickly!
Yang Song was so happy that he didn't even remember that his dental plate fee had been reduced again. He just smiled foolishly.
——
Outside the Prince of Dongping's mansion, Xie Linchuan stepped into the stirrups of his horse in his black boots, about to go on duty.
Xia Yin chased him out:
"My Lord, the old lady said that the eldest princess will come later and specifically wants to see you."
There was only one eldest princess in the Chengping Dynasty, and she was the emperor’s elder sister, Princess Anguo.
The eldest princess and the emperor can be said to have grown up under the care of Old Madam Xie.
Now, decades have passed, and there are fewer and fewer old friends.
Every now and then, the eldest princess would go to the palace to visit Old Madam Xie to reminisce about the past.
Xie Linchuan was on duty at the Lin'an Prefecture Office purely for his father's sake. Now that the princess had arrived, he didn't need to go.
Back at Lingquan Courtyard, he remembered something and called Pinglin over: "Is there still no one in Zhongwa?"
He has been a little irritable recently, and his handsome eyebrows are frowned from time to time, as if there is some wind and thunder accumulating in him.
Pinglin shook his head.
For more than half a month, he sent people to guard Zhongwa every day, but Madam Jiang seemed to have disappeared and never appeared again.
The prince asked him with a smile at first, but gradually, just like this, his brows furrowed and his face darkened.
She had refused to enter the palace, saying it was in Zhongwa and that he could come and buy it anytime. It was Pinglin who conveyed this to the prince.
Now that the person is missing, the blame must be put on him to some extent.
As Pinglin thought about this, he shrunk his neck even further, thinking:
The prince has never valued any woman so much. Is he in love with her?
But he said he wanted to send someone to investigate, but I said it was not necessary.
There was no need to check, but Pinglin had to ask every now and then what the old man was trying to do.
Just as he was about to speak, Xia Yin sent a maid to say:
"The eldest princess has arrived. The old lady invites the prince to come over."
When Xie Linchuan arrived at Qingxin Courtyard, Old Madam Xie was inviting the eldest princess to have some snacks.
Seeing her grandson coming, she smiled and said:
"Come quickly, we have just made the seasonal Xuexia soup, come and try it."
The name Xuexia Soup sounds very elegant.
The "snow" here refers to tofu, and the "xia" refers to lotus petals.
Lin Hong's Shan Jia Qing Gong records: "The interweaving of red and white looks like the rosy clouds after a snowy day, so it is called Xue Xia Tang."
Xie Linchuan took a glance and saw lotus petals spread out in a circle around the white jade porcelain plate. Because they had been blanched in water, the pink color was tinged with a hint of blue and purple.
In the middle of the petals, tofu cubes are piled up like stars surrounding the moon, soft, tender and snow-white, and seem to be about to burst and collapse.
A few light yellow shreds of tender ginger and emerald green onion leaves are spread on it.
Let’s look at the remaining dishes: Lotus Fish Buns, Shanjia Three Crisps, Plum Blossom Soup Pancakes, etc.
Lotus Fish Buns are also a dish made with lotus flowers. They are more elaborate and time-consuming to prepare than Xuexia Soup.
Remove the inner flesh of fresh lotus pods, fill them with prepared fresh mandarin fish paste, and steam them.
Finally, place the steamed lotus pod in the center of the blooming lotus flower, and the so-called lotus pod fish bun is ready.
When serving this dish, some dry ice is often added, so that the lotus is surrounded by white smoke, giving people a refreshing feeling in the summer.
Shanjia Sancui is made by stir-frying tender bamboo shoots, small mushrooms and wolfberry heads. It has a light and fresh taste.
Plum blossom soup cakes are made from flour into plum blossom-shaped cakes, which are then boiled in water with the plum blossoms.
Xie Linchuan greeted his grandmother and the eldest princess, ate a few slices of tender bamboo shoots, and then put down his chopsticks.
A thought popped up in his mind: These dishes look good, but they are the same every summer, and I am a little tired of eating them.
Seeing his calm demeanor, Old Lady Xie didn't beat around the bush:
"The eldest princess came today specifically for your business."
Princess Anguo said:
"I have an old friend who is a talented general. He is proficient in deploying troops, using spears, clubs, swords and knives. He is currently working in the Lin'an Prefecture Office. I have already told him to teach you well."
Xie Linchuan raised his eyebrows and immediately became serious. "Teaching me military strategy in the Lin'an Prefecture Office?"
Seeing his grandmother nod with a smile, he understood something in his heart - this matter needs to be kept low-key.
At that moment, he grinned, stood up and bowed deeply: "Thank you, Grandmother, Princess."
The princess continued, "Tomorrow, go to the government office and look for a servant named Liu Changfeng."
"Last name Liu?" Xie Linchuan was a little surprised.
Most of the people with the surname Liu were former members of the Northern Han Dynasty, so they were all considered lowly people.
Some time ago, Xie Linchuan participated in a Cuju competition, pretending to be a man named Liu Xingliang from Qiyun Society.
And it was precisely because this man's surname was Liu, he had words tattooed on his face, and he often wore a mask that gave Xie Linchuan the opportunity to take advantage of him.
Normally, people of low status couldn't work in the Lin'an Prefecture Office, but this person...
The princess knew what he was thinking, and her expression darkened for a moment.
"If his surname wasn't Liu, with his abilities, he wouldn't be content to be a small yamen runner."
There was a moment of silence in the room, making the cat's meowing outside the window more obvious.
That was Xuetuan, the dog raised by Old Lady Xie. When it saw an insect in the grass, it would try to catch it, and the maids would follow it closely.
Mrs. Xie ignored the cat and laughed:
"Look, you guys are just busy talking and not even eating the food. This is all made by Xia Yin himself."
"That devilish girl, if the princess hadn't come, she wouldn't have cooked even though I wanted to. If you don't eat, she'll be very unhappy."
After saying that, he scooped a big spoonful of Xuexia soup and put it into his mouth happily.
God have mercy on them, the three of them, one is the noble eldest princess, one is the famous old lady Xie, and one is the domineering prince Xie. How could Xia Yin, a mere maid, dare to be angry with them?
She took the blame for nothing, and she didn't dare to refute. She just blushed and smiled.
After hearing what Liu Changfeng said, Xie Linchuan felt a little better. He swept away the three Shan family members like a whirlwind.
Madam Xie chatted with the eldest princess, "By the way, Fu'an—your little niece has been married in Suzhou for a while now. How is she doing?"
Princess Fu'an's biological mother, Concubine Lin, was a close friend of the eldest princess.
Concubine Lin died early, and the eldest princess treated Fu'an as her own son and even raised little Fu'an in the princess's mansion.
A few years ago, Xie Linchuan won the game of Cuju, and Princess Fu'an and Princess Baoqing had a fight over who should give the flowers, which made the emperor dislike them.
The eldest princess then let her leave the palace and live with her so that she could cultivate her character.
Some time ago, she surrendered to the Li family in Suzhou.
Although the Li family is not an important official in the court, they are also the leader of the clean stream.
Most of the scholars in Jiangnan came from Qiushan Academy. Therefore, Princess Fu'an was not considered to be marrying down.
The princess didn't want to talk about Fu'an, so she just said a few perfunctory words. Then, looking at the delicacies on the table, she remembered something:
"I heard that Linchuan knows a girl from Zhongwa. She sells braised skewers in oil, and even Baoqing praises their quality."
That day, Baoqing's mouth was swollen from the spicy food, and he hurried back to the palace. On the way, he met Princess Anguo.
Seeing that Baoqing, a delicate girl, was so greedy, she became interested in the braised skewers.
Madam Xie said:
"Yes, yes. Besides the braised skewers, the sweet cherries made by that girl are also very good. She coats the small cherries with a thin layer of sugar coating, which makes them sweet and crispy."
She said to Xie Linchuan, "Hurry up and ask someone to buy some."
Xie Linchuan was feeling happy, but when he talked about Madam Jiang, a surge of inexplicable anger rose in his heart.
He sneered self-deprecatingly, and spoke with a hint of gnashing teeth:
"This Madam Jiang is most likely a swindler and has already absconded with the money!"
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