Chapter 2677 - 2610: Tasting

Gao You returned to the inn angrily, and saw Lou Mian inside the room, slightly frowning, "Why did you come back?"

He actually came back earlier.

Lou Mian had returned earlier and drank two pots of tea. Upon hearing, he briefly reported the morning’s events, summarizing that it wasn’t due to lack of effort, but because Princess Changyu was now married, things were different than before.

Moreover, the Prince Consort was always by her side...

Everything went wrong today. Gao You and Bai Shan drank tea and talked for a long time, but still failed to discern the current political climate of the Great Jin.

Gao You, in his anger, swept all the items off the table to the ground.

Those listening from downstairs immediately sneaked off to report to Honglu Temple: "... They went to visit Lord Zhou and Lord Bai at Chongyuan Courtyard, but the invitations were refused right away. Who would have guessed that they would encounter Princess Mingda and the Prince Consort on a family visit and got blocked."

"The servants couldn’t follow into the main hall, so it’s unclear what was discussed, but the boxes of items brought by Prince Gao were taken out as they were, and they came out angry, even throwing things as soon as they got upstairs."

An official at Honglu Temple coldly snorted and said: "Zhou Man has always been favored by the saint, and Bai Shan, despite his shallow experience, is slippery. With the emperor now targeting Goguryeo, how could these two show Gao You any kindness?"

He asked, "What about the other side?"

"Young Master Lou went to see Princess Changyu, but merely greeted her on the street; Princess Changyu and the Prince Consort ignored him completely, without saying a word."

The official at Honglu Temple was satisfied, nodded, and said: "Very good, keep a close watch on them and their people, after Mid-Autumn Festival they will no longer be under our jurisdiction."

Today is a holiday, but many couldn’t rest, including the emperor and Wei Zhi.

In the unseen corners by Bai Shan and the others, the emperor directly signed military orders, sending them to various generals, deploying forty thousand troops from Jiang, Huai, Ling, and Xie regions, and sixty thousand from Liaodong...

The Ministry of Revenue was the busiest, as troops hadn’t moved yet, they had to arrange military provisions, though the autumn harvest had ended, so the Ministry dispatched officials to Hebei region to secure supplies.

This year both the capital regions and the south suffered some disasters, but the north remained favorable, so extracting from the national treasury provided the early military provisions.

Everyone was extremely busy, almost forgetting that today was the fourteenth, until each household’s servants called them back to the capital, indicating they should return for family reunions.

Wei Zhi was called back as well, since Princess Changyu was to accompany the emperor and empress in the evening; the only chance for a family meal was at noon.

Wei Zhi returned home with affairs on his mind, habitually gloomy and silent; not even Princess Changyu or Wei Yu dared interrupt him, resulting in a somber family meal, after which Wei Yu quickly found an excuse to leave with the princess.

Wei Zhi didn’t care to bid them farewell, wishing they would leave swiftly, as he still had work to attend to. He waved them off.

Madam Wei watched them leave and couldn’t help but turn back and pat Wei Zhi, "Today is a reunion feast, and there’s only one child in the capital, yet you don’t keep them."

Wei Zhi hissed, "I know, I know, but you also have to go to the palace during the banquet, so we might as well consider it a family gathering then, seeing each other later is just the same."

Once outside the Wei Residence, Princess Changyu sighed deeply and patted her chest, "Father-in-law is scarier than Mother Empress."

Wei Yu laughed, "Nonsense, how is father scary?"

He assisted Princess Changyu into the carriage, "Let’s go, to Zhou Residence."

The gatekeeper at Zhou Residence was informed of their visit in advance. Seeing their carriage, he immediately removed the threshold to allow them in.

Princess Changyu got off the carriage, looked around, and asked, "Where’s your master?"

The gatekeeper smiled immediately, "In the back garden, the servants have been notified already."

But the manor was large, and even if the servant ran there, it would take time, causing considerable delay.

Princess Changyu directly said, "No need for them to come. We’ll go ourselves."

After all, they weren’t visiting for the first time.

Finally, both parties met at the corridor past the main courtyard.

Princess Changyu smelled the crab aroma on them and immediately approached Zhou Man, "Have you eaten?"

Manbao smiled, "Not yet, but the crab cages are warming nearby, infusing with aroma."

Princess Changyu, delighted, held hands with Manbao and headed to the garden.

The garden was a riot of colors, with Old Madam Liu and Junior Ms.Qian among others, sitting separately at several tables; the princess and Bai Shan were at one end of the spacious pavilion, separated by a screen. Everyone rose to greet Princess Changyu.

Princess Changyu greeted everyone cheerfully, and upon sitting in the chair, she noticed many people leaving and asked, "Why are they leaving?"

Manbao replied, "They are all full and going for a nap, we’ll eat by ourselves."

The servants brought plates to pick crabs, while Xi Bing led others to extract orange pulp for dips.

The servants preferred mashing fresh orange pulp into a sauce to dip the crabs, which was refreshing and very tasty.

Princess Changyu washed her hands and picked a crab, declined the maid’s assistance, and opened the crab shell herself. Seeing inside filled with roe, she smiled triumphantly, "My luck has always been good."

Mingda could attest to this, "Ever since we were little, Princess Changyu had the best luck when eating crabs in the palace, Father Emperor liked to have my sister open the crab shells the most."

Though crabs served to the emperor were meticulously selected and guaranteed to be good, there were still subtle differences between them.

Manbao, for the first time, learned there was luck in eating crabs and reached for one herself, inspecting it closely before opening it.

Bai Shan said, "Now we can see whose luck is better between you two."

As soon as he spoke, Manbao opened a crab filled with roe.

Princess Changyu was astonished, Mingda’s mouth fell open, Bai Erlang was unperturbed, and even said to Zhou Man, "Pick one for me."

"The one I pick might not be nice, this one is yours."

Bai Shan said, "There are no outsiders here, if you both pick good ones, what’s left for others to eat?"

Everyone turned to the silent Wei Yu.

Wei Yu:...Why me?

Manbao had already given the crab to Bai Erlang, reached for another one, opened it, and it was still full of roe, she smiled and said, "It’s because grandmother chose well, these crabs have been carefully selected."

After all, they were intended to serve the princess, so they couldn’t just pick randomly, they were carefully compared and selected by the kitchen staff.

Manbao scooped a spoonful of roe, dipped it in orange sauce, and ate it, her eyes almost gleaming, delicious, a flavor distinct from those seasoned with ginger, vinegar, and sugar.