Su Ruyi touched the red mole with her finger with suspicion, and suddenly lost her balance and fell into an unfamiliar place.
It was an antique-style room, and it was daytime.
In her previous life, Su Ruyi became obsessed with online novels in the last few years of her life. She also recalled countless times the white-bearded old man she always dreamed of when she was a child, only regretting that she had given away the opportunity to someone else.
Now, in this unfamiliar place, what is there that she doesn't understand?
This is her space.
Su Ruyi looked around the room again. It was obvious that this was the boudoir of an ancient young lady, and the bed she was standing on with her shoes on was a canopy bed—it was said that young ladies from noble families who never left their homes spent more than ten years of their lives on this bed.
She quickly got out of bed and patted the shoe prints off the satin mattress.
She walked around the small corridor under the bed and came to the equally exquisitely carved dressing table, her fingers tracing over the various beautiful wooden boxes displayed on it.
I opened one, looked at it, and smelled it. It was a red, oily, paste-like substance, which seemed to be an ancient lip rouge.
She walked to the chaise lounge next to her and lay down gently—it felt as if she were sinking into a cloud.
Several official leather trunks were placed in the boudoir, and a huge wardrobe stood in the corner.
In front of the bed is a desk with the Four Treasures of the Study (writing brush, ink stick, inkstone, and paper) on it.
"So, this is the boudoir of a female official in ancient times," Su Ruyi muttered to herself.
Then, she went outside the door, crossed the corridor, went around a screen painted with pictures of beautiful women, and came into a large hall.
Clearly, this is a reception room.
It still features a set of antique-style, expensive-looking wooden furniture, including a grand master's chair, a round-backed chair, a display shelf, a floor screen, a folding screen, an incense stand, and a flower stand—everything you could need.
There was a calligraphy scroll hanging on the wall, but she didn't recognize what it said.
On the flower stand, there were blooming orchids, which looked to be of very high quality.
On the incense table was a bronze incense burner emitting wisps of smoke, the fragrance of which was faint and subtle.
Everything seemed as if the owner of this place had just left and would be back soon.
She called out, "Is anyone there?"
There was no response.
Su Ruyi wanted to leave the hall, but found that the open door on the other side was impassable, as if there was an invisible barrier.
She returned to her room and suddenly had an idea. She opened each of the cabinets and drawers under the bed and on both sides to examine them carefully.
She gasped – the dazzling gold and splendor instantly filled her vision.
The drawers were filled with jewelry and headwear, neatly categorized. Although she couldn't name the categories, she could tell they were all genuine, high-quality items, including precious stones and jade.
The cabinets on both sides were filled with neatly stacked gold ingots, almost blinding her.
There were also several stacks of gold and silver notes, neatly arranged.
Su Ruyi took out a gold ingot and took a bite, leaving several small, glutinous rice-like tooth marks on it.
Yes, it's true.
However, the wardrobe and the official trunk could not be opened.
It's not locked, so I can't open it.
It seemed as if an invisible force was stopping her.
Su Ruyi thought of something, turned back to the hall, went straight to the table, and opened the food box on it.
really!
There's something delicious inside!
The first layer consists of exquisitely presented Suzhou-style pastries, each bite-sized and very delicate.
It was still warm to the touch.
Su Ruyi swallowed hard and pulled open the second layer.
The platter featured six cold dishes arranged on a plum blossom-shaped plate, with five petals and one serving as the flower's center. The six dishes were: pickled crab, drunken shrimp, braised beef, cold-dressed wood ear mushrooms, chestnut yokan (sweet bean jelly), and pickled vegetables. The portions were small, but the presentation was exquisite.
The third tier is a platter of seven hot dishes, each emitting a steaming aroma, seemingly fresh from the pot. When the platters are arranged, they form the shape of a six-petaled flower.
Of these six hot dishes, only the Dongpo pork knuckle was one that Su Ruyi recognized, but it was a mini version, only about half the size of a palm.
I couldn't name any of the remaining dishes.
As Su Ruyi was confused and swallowing hard, she discovered a plain note at the bottom of the food box.
She pulled it out, and saw that it read: "A person destined for this treasure food box in a future life will have no worries about food in this life! This treasure food box, once taken, will be full the next day. Over the decades, I have carefully selected several delicacies, which will surely satisfy you! Fearing that a person destined for this life may not recognize its true contents, I have specially included a menu—"
Su Ruyi checked them one by one, and the plate of meat slices of two colors should be "Shengpingzhi", which is made by grilling deer tongue and sheep tongue and then mixing it with a secret sauce.
The turtle dish next to it must be "Turtle with Brocade on Every Side," which is turtle cooked with mutton tail fat and duck egg yolk oil as accompaniments, and decorated with a ring of tender white turtle eggs.
Next to it was a plate of steamed fish, which she couldn't recognize. She looked at the menu—"Steamed Shad"! The menu read—"Gourmets love fish, and shad is my favorite!" Her heart pounded. If she remembered correctly, shad went extinct in 1991!
Next to the shad, there seems to be... a frog?
She looked at the menu—"Snow Baby," a dish made by skinning and gutting frogs, coating them in refined bean flour, and then pan-frying them. It was as white as snow and shaped like a baby, quite elegant and my favorite.
Next to the frog was another meat dish. She checked it and it should be "Warm Cold Flower Stuffed Donkey Steamed".
The man wrote: "Dragon meat in the sky, donkey meat on the ground! This dish involves marinating donkey meat in wine and seasonings, then steaming it until it's 80% cooked, and finally soaking it in Dukang wine for three days. Eating it warms all five internal organs!"
The plate in the very center, which served as the flower's centerpiece, contained a vibrant green vegetable dish that Su Ruyi had never seen before.
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