44 Crystal Sashimi
◎Proposal◎
"Liuguang, you must tell us clearly who you want to marry!" Zhu Ming and Chen Yue stood on the left and right, surrounding Xie Linchuan like door gods, with very serious expressions.
Xie Linchuan rolled his eyes at them and said unhappily, "What are you doing? Are you trying to interrogate the prisoner?"
He stood up, raised his hand and pushed, causing the two men to stagger.
Ignoring their grinning faces, he walked straight to the door, beckoned, and called the waiter over:
"Go see what the Xinghua Restaurant under the Eight-Character Bridge on Xie Street is selling today. Just buy some."
After saying that, he casually threw out a gold ingot.
The boy's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly put the ingot into his pocket, nodding like a pug. Then, he ran away.
Chen Yue came up and asked in confusion, "There's nothing to eat in Chunhe Tower. Why do we have to go out to a small shop to buy food?"
Zhu Ming put his hand on Chen Yue's shoulder and chuckled, "You don't know, Liu Guang has his eye on the cook at the Xinghua Restaurant."
Then he suddenly realized, "Oh, you're not trying to choose a tolerant and kind wife just for her, are you?"
She approached Xie Linchuan with a grin, and asked curiously, "Hey, Liuguang, are you really in love?"
Xie Linchuan turned back and sat down at the big rosewood wooden table, letting his long legs hang casually.
At this point, there is nothing to hide.
Taking the wine poured by Zhu Ming, he raised his head and drank it all in one gulp, smiling brightly, "It's not anyone else, it's her."
The room was deathly silent. Then, there was a clang, and Zhu Ming knocked over the wine glass in his hand.
He exclaimed in surprise: "Liuguang, are you crazy? She is a cook!"
"Not only that, she's been divorced before." Xie Linchuan said lightly, holding the white porcelain wine glass.
This time, even Chen Yue was stunned. He and Zhu Ming exchanged a glance, both speechless for a long while.
After a long time, Zhu Ming took another cup, filled it up, and drank it all in one gulp.
He came back to his senses and murmured, "She's not particularly beautiful. Could she be a demon? What kind of magic potion did she give you?"
Xie Linchuan glanced at him with a hint of coldness: "Brother Zhengze, be careful with your words. She is Jiang Yuan's daughter and my future wife."
Zhu Ming swallowed his saliva and dared not speak nonsense.
At the beginning, when Xie Linchuan collected the remains of the Jiang couple, Chen Yue contributed some effort.
He asked curiously, "Isn't Jiang Yuan's eldest daughter married?"
After the Jiang family was destroyed, they also secretly inquired about the two daughters of the Jiang family.
But since she was already married and her younger sister had gone to her husband's house, it was difficult for them, as outsiders, to investigate further.
Xie Linchuan sneered twice.
Chen Yue's heart moved, and he remembered Xie Linchuan's words about "divorce". He also remembered that he had ordered people to embarrass Lu Fei the day before.
Now he understood the key point and said with a wry smile, "No wonder you wanted to beat Lu Fei up."
Hearing the word "Lu Fei", the frosty look on Xie Linchuan's face became even heavier.
Zhu Ming didn't know the inside story, and didn't care about Lu Fei or Cui Fei. He just said, "Even if she is Jiang Yuan's daughter, she doesn't match your status."
According to the pampered son Zhu Ming, Jiang Yuan was a minor civil servant. Although he was famous, he had no achievements. How could he marry into the Dongping Palace? Besides, he was already dead.
Xie Linchuan raised the corner of his lips and said nonchalantly: "How can there be any mismatch? Everything depends on human effort. If there is a mismatch, we can make it a match."
This is like his usual style.
After hearing this, Zhu Ming and Chen Yue knew that there was no turning back, so they both pressed their lips together and said nothing else.
Chen Yue was a man of delicate thoughts, and having recently married his new wife, he was quite sensitive to matters between men and women.
He pondered for a long time before he said, "Madam Jiang... do you really like her as a person, or is it just because she is Jiang Yuan's daughter?"
Xie Linchuan said nonchalantly, "What difference does it make? I married her because I like her as a person and because she is Jiang Yuan's daughter."
He had already been moved by her, and her identity as Jiang Yuan's daughter was the icing on the cake.
Chen Yue smiled, moved the corners of his lips, but said nothing.
At that moment, a servant knocked on the door and said, "Gentlemen, I have some food from the Xinghua Restaurant. It's rice braised with matsutake mushrooms and ham."
After getting permission, he entered the house holding a black casserole.
As soon as the lid was opened, white steam still hit my face.
In an instant, the fragrance of rice, the salty aroma of ham, the aroma of rapeseed oil, mixed with the unique mellow aroma of matsutake mushrooms, filled the room.
The dark brown ones are chopped matsutake mushrooms, the bright red ones are ham, and there are yellow carrots and green chopped green onions.
The fried rice grains are distinct and stained a yellowish hue. The colorful side dishes make ordinary rice seem like a rare treasure.
Xie Linchuan said excitedly: "Come and try it. After she marries me, you won't be able to eat these things anymore." After that, he scooped a bowl with a small bowl.
Chen Yue took the bowl of braised rice and smiled without saying anything. Seeing that Zhu Ming was about to say something else, he stepped on him.
…
At the same time, when Jiang Qinglan came to Princess Anguo's mansion, he also brought a pot of matsutake and ham stewed rice.
But today was different. The princess didn't wait for her to eat as usual, but instead set a banquet.
Seeing someone coming, the princess took her hand and sat her down: "In the past, I was the one who tasted your cooking. This time, please try the dishes from my house."
Jiang Qinglan took a closer look and saw fresh fruits such as pomegranates, lychees, mandarin oranges, pears, bayberries, and papayas on the round sandalwood table.
Some are not in season.
Only the Princess's Mansion can gather such fresh fruits of the four seasons.
Besides fruits, carved honey pancakes are even more exquisite. Because fruits are difficult to store, the government has set up a candied fruit bureau, and there are also various candied fruit shops in the market.
The fruits are carved with a knife and then pickled in honey to make candied fruits in order to extend their shelf life.
At this time, there were dozens of carved items on the table, including plum balls, honey winter melon fish, kumquats, green plum lotus leaves, and honey bamboo shoots[1]. The carvings were of flowers of the four seasons, birds, and animals, all of which were exquisitely crafted and lifelike.
Jiang Qinglan was stunned by this, but the eldest princess put a piece of raw fish into her bowl and said, "This is freshly caught snapper. Come and try it."
The fish fillet was tender, white, and sliced as thin as a cicada's wing. Through the fish, the crabapple blossoms in the bowl were clearly visible.
There is also a green sauce in the small dish, which is mustard.
In ancient times, sashimi was also called yu sheng, yu sashimi, sashimi or yu. For a long time, it has been a delicacy of the ancient Chinese people.
Su Shi had conjunctivitis and his doctor told him not to eat raw fish. However, he said, "If I don't eat it, my mouth won't accept it; if I eat it, my eyes won't accept it. What can I do?"[2]
Jiang Qinglan knew all this history, but considering there were no antibiotics here, she had always been averse to raw food and usually didn't allow Tuantuan to eat it.
At this time, the eldest princess picked up some food, and she couldn't refuse, so she dipped it in some mustard and tasted a piece.
The sashimi is fresh with a hint of sweetness, and the meat is delicate and melts in your mouth.
Because there is not even a hint of fishy smell, it makes people feel as if they are not eating meat, but some fruit with a meaty aroma.
It does have a unique flavor, no wonder so many people love fish.
The eldest princess also introduced several authentic Lin'an delicacies, including oven-baked chicken, crystal minced meat, and soup dumplings.
The so-called oven-roasted chicken is made by marinating a chicken in honey and then slowly roasting it over an oven fire.
A maidservant took the initiative to tear it open, and hot steam wrapped in the aroma of fruit wood smoke rose up and went straight into the nose.
The outer skin is golden brown and amber in color, very crispy, while the inside is tender and juicy, oozing with glistening juice, which is very appetizing.
The soup dumplings were quite similar to the modern ones.
The small bone dish was filled with just one steamed bun. The bun, brimming with crab roe broth, was swaying slightly, its texture clearly visible through the thin skin.
Crystal sashimi is even more interesting.
The original meaning of "脍" (minced meat or fish) is finely chopped meat or fish. Confucius said, "Minced meat is never too fine." This means that this dish is ultimately shredded.
"Crystal" describes the finished dish as transparent, like crystal.
It turns out that "crystal minced meat" is pork skin jelly with chicken, ham, carrots and other ingredients added, and then cut into thin strips.
This dish looks crystal clear and tastes soft, smooth and refreshing. It was a very popular cold dish in the palace at that time.
Jiang Qinglan tasted a little of each of the delicacies and thought to himself:
The high-end dishes popular in the palace win by their exquisiteness, but what she and Zhang Yue Niang are good at is more of the common taste.
Coupled with her own selfishness, Xinghua Restaurant cannot take the exquisite and high-end route.
If you want to make more money and stay behind the scenes, opening a franchise store may be a good idea.
While running the Xinghua Restaurant, they also sell Chinese fast food - a business model creative like Mr. Rice.
You can easily make money by taking a cut of it.
The eldest princess was a perceptive person and was quite familiar with Jiang Qinglan. Seeing her eyes wandering, as if in a trance, she smiled and said, "Thinking about your business again?"
Jiang Qinglan smiled and said, "Your Highness, please forgive me. I always like to think about business matters. Making money is secondary. I just find it more interesting to have something to do."
The eldest princess sighed: "You are interesting, but I am very boring."
"Everyone wants a son, but when I was pregnant, I was hoping for a daughter. She could spend her free time with me tending flowers, making tea, and so on. Who knew, all of them turned out to be sons! Hey!"
She took Jiang Qinglan's hand and said softly, "Now, I have no daughter, and you have no mother. Are you willing to be my daughter?"
Jiang Qinglan was shocked and quickly came back to his senses from his business.
Who is she to dare to be the daughter of Princess Anguo?
In this world, there may be hatred without reason, but there is never love without reason.
It is impossible for the eldest princess to like her to this extent after just a few meals.
Jiang Qinglan's eyes were like smoke and dew, full of confusion.
Then, she pulled her hand out and prostrated herself on the ground, "Your Highness, I am deeply grateful for your kindness, but I am also deeply terrified... I hope Your Highness will make it clear."
The eldest princess sighed and helped her up: "You are always so cautious. You said you don't have to kneel."
"Of course I say this because I like you. If you insist on asking for clarification, then I'll be frank. It has something to do with your father, Jiang Yuan. He has an upright character, and I admire him."
Seeing Jiang Qinglan still stunned, she explained, "Don't worry, I've already convinced the government."
"The Emperor actually admires your father very much, but he was exiled to Qiongzhou. In fact, the Emperor had already made up his mind to temper his temper and let him return in a few years."
"But he was so stubborn that he insisted on dying to prove his point. After his death, although the official was furious, he was actually very regretful. Otherwise, why would he stop pursuing the matter after I said that?"
The princess spoke sincerely, but Jiang Qinglan still didn't believe it.
Could it be that the Princess had received instructions from the Emperor to grant her a status? This was a way to appease the righteous and give a hint to the military officials in the court?
In the turbulent court struggles, there is admiration and appreciation, but interests are the most important.
The princess had come into contact with her several times and understood her cautious nature. Seeing that she was worried and obviously overthinking again, she simply said:
"You're a smart kid, but sometimes you think too much and too far ahead."
"Then I won't beat around the bush. Now, I sincerely like you and want you to spend more time with me. In the beginning, it was indeed someone's request."
"Entrusted by someone?" Jiang Qinglan had a bad feeling and his heart was pounding.
Who has the face to ask the precious princess for help?
"I watched Prince Xie of Dongping's mansion grow up. He looks reckless, but his heart is pure. He asked me to give you a status so that you can marry him."
who? !
Jiang Qinglan was struck by lightning. What Prince Xie? What Prince Dongping's Mansion?
She only had some distant and sporadic memories of the words "Prince Xie" and "Prince Dongping's Mansion".
At first, outside the Houchao Gate, she was accompanying Wang Huiniang to prepare vegetarian dishes when a young man with a red scarf on his forehead galloped on horseback and almost bumped into her.
Qian Junjun said, that was Prince Xie.
Outside Jianlong Temple, Qian Junjun, shy and embarrassed, followed the carriage of Prince Dongping's Palace under her name.
When she first set up her stall in Zhongwa, two arrogant young men rode up on horseback, claiming to be servants of the Prince of Dongping's palace and wanting to take her in as a cook.
In addition, during the day, the diners in the restaurant were chatting and saying that Prince Xie of Dongping Palace had won the Cuju game and went to the Purple Palace to ask the emperor to grant him a marriage.
Seeing her bewildered expression, the princess also became suspicious. Didn't Xie Linchuan say they had known each other for a long time?
She explained in detail:
"My nephew is very handsome and a first-class cuju player."
"He is currently working in the Lin'an Prefecture Office. Although he has no official title, he is the only male heir in the Dongping Palace. He will definitely inherit the title in the future."
"If you become her wife, you will enjoy endless wealth and glory for the rest of your life."
Jiang Qinglan finally came back to his senses, frowning deeply, his heart pounding like a drum: "Your Highness, are you talking about... Mr. Yan?"
The princess smiled and said, "Oh, yes. His father was afraid that he would have difficulty moving around in the Lin'an Prefecture Office, so he asked him to change his surname."
Jiang Qinglan's face turned pale immediately.
【Author’s words】
[1] From Wulin Jiushi: A Brief Account of Emperor Gaozong’s Visit to Zhang’s Mansion.
[2] From Dongpo Zhilin: Zizhan Suffers from Red Eyes.
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