8 Chapter 8
◎Hand-held pork, chive sauce◎
New camp, in Tana's tent.
"The Sand Fox Tribe?" Tana took the milk tea bowl handed to her by the maid. Her hand trembled, and the full bowl of salty milk tea almost spilled out. Her voice was tinged with worry, "Did the princess encounter spies from the Sand Fox Tribe?"
Li Hengqing didn't shy away from the question and nodded frankly, "Probably."
As summer approached, the tent door was not closed tightly. She caught a glimpse of a few small figures outside the tent with their ears perked up, and deliberately raised her voice.
Tana looked her up and down, took another sip of her milk tea, and then continued, "Thankfully, the princess is safe and sound. I've only heard from my elders that thirty years ago, the Sand Foxes' leader changed, and they unilaterally broke the alliance and retreated to the far north. Further north is a barren land shrouded in snow and wind."
"Everyone is terrified, but the Sand Fox Tribe refuses to budge. There's no talk of a major chaos."
"What other strange things are there?" Li Hengqing keenly caught the deep meaning in Tana's words and asked.
Tana winked at her playfully. "But they're just rumors. Like the several times the black thyme plague nearly broke out, or the reports of a city being built in the north. And the new leader's behavior is peculiar. He was clearly still a child when he took over, yet he seems to possess innate wisdom."
Just like many people who are said to have innate wisdom, she swallowed the words back.
Li Hengqing picked up the milk tea, locked eyes with her for a moment, then leaned over the bowl and took a sip. Grassland milk tea is actually quite different from the sugary eight-treasure porridge we often associate with modern cuisine. It's rich in ingredients and boasts a unique, salty flavor. She hadn't been used to it when she first arrived, but after a few months, she'd become almost like a local.
"Thank you for your advice. Is there any written record about this matter?" She said slowly, pressing the tip of her tongue against her gums to soothe her palpitations.
"I didn't," Tana shook her head, completely innocent. "Perhaps the elderly who experienced it firsthand will remember it, or perhaps there will be records during the shamanic rituals. Sister Khatun, even my eldest brother couldn't speak at that time."
It was as if something was echoing in the distance, but Li Hengqing couldn't quite make it out. She even suspected Tana had seen through the secret beneath this skin. She beckoned for the food to be served.
The rough, large-mouthed pottery bowl contains steaming mutton soup. The long-lasting lamb legs are chopped and simmered with ice. A few simple spices are used to remove the fishy smell and enhance the flavor. The soup is not blanched, but simply skimmed off the foam. The concentrated deliciousness is in the original soup.
There is no loss in transportation, nor loss of flavor due to storage. Ordinary people may pinch their noses and avoid it, but it is a delicacy grown naturally on this land.
The dish was served with a bowl of emerald green chive sauce, its color unchanged. Its unique herbal fragrance perfectly balanced the greasy taste of the pure freshness, making it particularly suitable for the gradually warming early summer. Li Hengqing picked up a thickly sliced lamb shank and wrapped it in the chive sauce. The thick sauce immediately coated the shank, making it mouth-watering.
When you put it in your mouth, the slightly fermented, slightly spicy and fragrant taste instantly captures every taste bud. The unique spicy aroma of the chives and the flavor of the green peppers are perfectly blended, with lingering layers. You can taste the subtle and wonderful granularity retained due to handmade production, which is very compatible with the tender and plump lamb legs. It instantly dispels the depression in your heart and opens your appetite.
Only after swallowing it all did I feel a faint ginger fragrance on the tip of my tongue, which was not unpleasant.
Li Hengqing ate several slices in a row and drank salty milk tea. He then changed the subject and started chatting with Tana about family matters. It can be said that they had a very pleasant conversation.
With her status, there is actually no need for her to work personally, but she is always busy with pioneering and enterprising, and it is impossible not to tire her body. As a result, her appetite has increased a lot compared to her original self, and her body needs to be much healthier.
As for the initial… the maids treating her like a delicate flower, unable to withstand the wind and snow, were not entirely unreasonable. Young ladies in the boudoir didn't have the freedom to see the world, not even the empresses and princesses in the palace, let alone the original owner, who was already looked down upon.
Nan Sheng's current Tai Sui has numerous concubines and children, so many that even the original owner may not be able to remember them all. He is also an expert in imperial tactics and can easily use checks and balances. The intrigues between his in-laws and these children are a delight to him.
The original owner lost her mother when she was only ten years old. She wanted to live a peaceful life away from troubles, but she had to take on the difficult task of marrying a foreign prince, which was pushed back and forth by others. After being pushed back and forth, it finally fell on the original owner who was naturally tongue-tied.
Li Hengqing put down her chopsticks and rubbed the token in her sleeve with her fingers. The cold black iron she felt was not made of ordinary iron. She had a feeling that the past events were inextricably linked, and she had to get to the bottom of this rich legacy once again.
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