Chapter 103 Personal Training with Qin Tui
After saying goodbye to the Hu family, Qi Chengming decided not to continue watching the spectacle.
He found a small child, squatted down and whispered a few instructions, then took out a fragrant pastry from his purse—a soybean cake. Aunt Fang had been feeding him non-stop all the way here, but most of the pastries Qi Chengming carried with him had been given to Xiao Dezi and Xiao Chengzi. He himself only ate a few bites when he was extremely tired.
Young people are still growing, and they may get hungry anytime, anywhere.
The little boy, smelling the aroma of soybean cakes, was so tempted that his mouth was watering. He nodded reluctantly, clutched the cakes, and squeezed through the crowd. He mustered his courage and ran up to Song Gu, saying something to him.
Song Gu was gazing at the newly built Star Lord Temple with great enthusiasm, his admiring look still lingering, when suddenly his expression froze: "..."
After delivering the message, the child carelessly turned and ran off, clutching the soybean cake, intending to find a place to happily eat it. Only Song Gu remained frozen in place.
The others hadn't yet noticed Song Gu's strange behavior and were still talking to each other on the steps.
Qin Liusong frowned and looked up at the statue of the Star Lord, offering his opinion: "...Your Excellency, doesn't this Star Lord look a bit too mature?"
The statue of the Star Lord was commissioned by Prefect Mu and Prefect Lu. Qin Liusong only offered some ideas, as he lacked specific connections. But now it seems... this statue of the Star Lord depicts a young man wearing a sash, flat shoes, and a wide-sleeved cloak.
He was incredibly ethereal, instantly conjuring up the image of a "celestial being" in one's mind. But—Lu Yu, did you just give up acting altogether? This clearly looks like a new emperor!
He doesn't resemble the prince at all, who still has the skeleton of a young boy.
Qin Liusong narrowed his eyes dangerously and remained silent.
He realized this was a good opportunity to test the waters—to find out how many unusual people would surround the future emperor.
Mu Maoshi nodded slightly, acknowledging that the appearance of the Star Lord statue was quite different from that of the Prince: "The Prefect is probably just being cautious. If it were too similar, that would be troublesome."
The prince has just matured a bit, but Mu Maoshi doesn't think it's a big problem.
"What's wrong?" Wang Shou, ever observant, gently inquired of the frozen-in-place Steward Song. He had just noticed a child suddenly running over to speak. This was odd; among their group, the only one with a child was Wang Shou's own family.
Song Gu's throat bobbed, and he said dryly, "That child came to deliver a message. 'Brother Qi said that you all secretly came here to build the temple, and he can't find anyone anywhere. The whole roasted lamb at home is being prepared, and he's asking when you'll be finished and able to go back for dinner.'"
Mu Maoshi was alright; after all, he was a court official and didn't have a close relationship with the Second Prince. When he heard this, he was at most apologetic: "I, Mu, can keep an eye on things here. You all should go back first."
He originally felt that building a temple didn't require so many people watching over it, but unfortunately there were quite a few people loyal to the Second Prince.
Qin Liusong was startled, his expression blank, and he felt as guilty as if he had been grabbed by the back of the neck: "..."
Oh no, the new emperor has found out.
His—or perhaps a few others'—secret thoughts were exposed. Everyone else had only switched to worshipping some minor star deity because they couldn't afford to worship the prince. Only he and a few others had something to hide; their enthusiasm for building the temple stemmed from their genuine belief that His Highness was—a star deity incarnate!
They're gone, they're gone, they're gone.
The crowd scattered in all directions.
So when Qi Chengming and Granny Liu returned to their courtyard, they saw Lu Yu, Steward Song, Mr. Qin, Commander Mao, Xiao Dezi, Xiao Chengzi, and their cousin Wang Shou's family.
The aroma of roasted whole lamb had already filled the entire courtyard.
Eunuch Zhang, carrying a knife and accompanied by two palace maids and eunuchs, stood before a whole roasted lamb, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, its oil dripping and crackling as it fell into the fire, releasing a fragrant aroma. The lamb was generously rubbed with pepper, salt, chili powder, and other seasonings, the enticing scent causing Qi Chengming to involuntarily swallow hard as soon as he stepped into the main courtyard.
"Uncle!" Zhong'er shouted at the top of his lungs. The little boy rushed over with his head down, warmly welcoming Qi Chengming back. He looked up at Qi Chengming longingly, but because of his upbringing, he couldn't say he wanted to eat before the adults, so he could only swallow hard.
"The smell is so tempting, let's join the family," Wang Shou said with a smile. Such a large whole roasted lamb—even after the masters finish it, the servants would probably still have a chance to eat it all. Having known each other for so long, he wasn't shy with his cousin and brought his people uninvited.
"Alright, alright, cousin, please sit down." Qi Chengming saw that the little boy's mouth was practically watering, so he quickly invited everyone to sit down. "Eunuch Zhang, is the lamb ready?"
"Your Highness, it's done." Zhang You now had the air of a chief eunuch in charge of cooking. He spoke respectfully before picking up his knife and starting to slice the meat from the whole roasted lamb, his movements swift and efficient.
"Everyone, don't worry about any rules or status, just sit down and eat to your heart's content," Qi Chengming said, telling everyone to let Eunuch Zhang slice whichever part they wanted, or they could do it themselves.
Those present were all insiders, and accustomed to being treated to meals by the prince, so they readily agreed, not feeling awkward at all. Lu Yu was somewhat flattered, but being tactful, he quickly blended in and became one of the group.
"I..." Only Chairman Mao, who had been invited along with them, felt uncomfortable.
He sat hunched over in the courtyard, taking up two round stools by himself, his bearded face slightly flushed: "Your Highness, I... I don't need to, do I?"
He wasn't restrained because of his status.
Commander Mao spent most of his time drinking and dining with His Highness outside the palace, but rarely ate casual meals with his confidants at the Prince's residence. Now, counting the people present and looking at the sheep before him, Commander Mao felt uncertain.
Is this...is this enough to eat?
Qi Chengming looked at the enormous sheep and was also puzzled. His voice gradually lowered as he asked, "Isn't this enough to eat?"
He knew that Chairman Mao was strong and had a big appetite, but not to this extent, right?
"What is Lord Mao worried about?" Aunt Fang was leading a line of palace maids carrying other dishes and porridge into the main courtyard when she heard this insecure question. She raised her eyebrows, exuding the aura of a head chef, and smiled knowingly. "Do you think I'd let you go hungry in the Prince's mansion?"
His Highness ordered a whole roasted lamb, so how could the kitchen dare to serve only one dish? Roasted vegetables, roasted potatoes, roasted mushrooms, and roasted leeks were also prepared, especially the leeks, which were at their freshest in the spring.
One dish was stir-fried mutton with bean sprouts, and the other was braised mutton with radish. The soup was mutton broth; if you didn't like salty soup, there was also a sweet honey drink and a tea to aid digestion. Aunt Fang also prepared two kinds of flatbread.
One type is a soft, leavened flatbread filled with crispy fried eggs, diced meat, and chopped vegetables, topped with sauce, and served rolled with roasted lamb. Another type is a lamb pie with a layer of lamb fat spread on it and baked in an oven until crispy on the surface.
The mutton pies were only the size of a person's palm, small enough to eat in a few bites, neither gamey nor greasy. But the leavened flatbread, when unfolded, was as big as a bowl or basin, and when wrapped with vegetables and meat, one was a substantial meal. Even Aunt Fang herself might not be able to finish two leavened flatbreads.
Now, listening to Chairman Mao's words, her face was full of doubt. She simply couldn't believe that the extra supplies prepared weren't enough for everyone.
Qi Chengming reassured the honest and straightforward commander-in-chief to sit and eat: "Lord Mao, please eat quickly. I still have something to ask you later. Oh, if you don't eat soon, the outermost layer of meat will be gone! Leave me some crispy bits on the outside."
Qi Chengming's favorite part of roasting whole lamb is the outermost layer of meat, which is roasted until crispy. He tears it off while it's still hot and eats it with the fragrant seasoning flavor. It's not oily at all and tastes incredibly delicious.
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Zhang dared not neglect his duty and piled a high stack of crispy outer meat onto Qi Chengming's plate—a blatant act of favoritism.
Qi Chengming ate with great relish. He looked at little Zhong'er, who was staring wide-eyed in astonishment, and said with a smile, "Give one to our Zhong'er too. Oh, he can't eat spicy food? Then forget it."
For children who can't eat spicy food, even the slightest bit of pepper on the skin is too spicy for them. It's better to cut the tender meat inside for them to eat.
"Uncle, I can try it!" Zhong'er said stubbornly.
Yang Tianniang, though strong-willed, did not stop her son. She troubled the eunuch to cut a very small piece of meat for Zhong'er, not with a mild spicy seasoning, but only with a little pepper seasoning: "You said you wanted to try it, so you have to finish it even if it's so spicy you cry. You can't waste any meat."
Zhong'er nodded quickly.
The concept of wasting food didn't exist in his little mind yet; how could he not eat meat when there was it?
Then take a bite...
The chubby-faced little boy puffed out his cheeks, his expression unchanged, but his eyes were filled with tears.
7
"Do you know what it tastes like now?" Wang Shou asked with a smile.
Zhong'er was stubborn too, nodding and continuing to chew with tears in his eyes. He didn't shed any tears, but he was sucking in air because of the spiciness. Wang Shou quickly took out a handkerchief from his pocket and covered his eyes to avoid offending everyone's eyes. He smiled apologetically and said, "Zhong'er and I will be back soon."
Qin Liusong, who was sitting next to him, was about to ask what was wrong when Song Gu, who had seen the whole thing, quickly elbowed him.
"Mr. Qin, if you still want to eat, then please don't ask anymore, right?"
Qin Liusong: "..."
Qin Liusong, who had never been so close to his son, suddenly realized.
"By the way, Mr. Qin." Prefect Lu had become familiar with the structure of the county government office during this time and knew that the person in charge was actually Mr. Qin, who was behind the county magistrate. He became curious and asked tactfully, "I see that Mr. Qin has come from afar... Did you not bring your family with you?"
Prefect Mu brought his entire family along, as did Lu Yu himself.
He noticed that this Mr. Qin was neither young nor old, and a confidant of the new emperor, yet he was always alone. What... what was going on in this family? Lu Yu was also quite old, old enough to be addressed as his father, and suddenly he had some thoughts.
"I—" Qin Liusong paused for a moment, "and my family already has a betrothed to someone from many years ago."
That's what they say.
But in this life, he did not pass the imperial examinations and went far away to Liuzhou, where he was embroiled in the struggle for the throne among the princes at a young age. A letter came from his wife's family in his previous life, seemingly intending to return the betrothal gifts and marriage certificate to his family, which was probably no longer possible.
Qin Liusong had mixed feelings, but he did not regret it.
If he were given the chance again, he wouldn't be able to resist the opportunity to follow the new emperor from his time as a prince. But without his scholar status, living as a commoner in a remote prefecture, even if he were serving a prince, how could his father-in-law's upright official family feel comfortable marrying their daughter to him?
Qin Liusong tilted his head back, a complex bitterness flashing across his face, and downed his sweet drink in one gulp, as if drinking alcohol.
Qi Chengming's eyes flickered slightly; he made a note of it for now, but this wasn't the time to ask: "..."
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Author's note: Bonus chapter!
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