SWDnovel Chapter 58: Is there a fire inside the palace?
Chapter 58: Is there a fire inside the palace?
Chapter 58: Is there a fire inside the palace?
Su Mu peeled a whole shrimp, but instead of eating it, he casually dipped it in the thick broth and then handed it to Li Lizhi.
"Want to try some? You'll still have to pay even if you don't eat it."
The shrimp meat was white with a hint of pink, coated in a golden-red broth, exuding a deadly allure.
Li Lizhi looked at the piece of meat, then at Su Mu's smug, half-smiling expression.
With a determined heart, I closed my eyes.
Eat it!
She opened her cherry-like mouth and took a bite of the meat.
The moment her teeth sliced through the shrimp meat, the unprecedentedly chewy texture made her eyes widen in surprise.
Immediately afterwards, the four extreme flavors of numbing, spicy, fresh, and fragrant exploded in your mouth!
The malty aroma of the beer neutralizes the greasiness, the garlic flavor elevates the overall taste, and the subtle sweet aftertaste is a stroke of genius.
Li Lizhi didn't bother to speak or even chew properly, swallowing it whole before swiftly reaching out and grabbing one from the plate.
"Sister Fang! Eat up! This—this really isn't a bug!"
While frantically peeling the shells, Li Lizhi mumbled indistinctly, "There's meat in this big pincer too!"
'
When Fang Qingjun saw that even the eldest princess had fallen for her, why should she remain reserved?
For a time, the only sounds in the backyard of the imperial kitchen were the sounds of sucking, peeling, and sucking fingers.
Royal etiquette and the family traditions of a prime minister are all shattered before this bowl of spicy crayfish noodles.
Several drops of red paint were splattered on Li Lizhi's priceless silk palace dress, but she didn't even glance at them.
Fang Qingjun's mouth turned bright red from eating, and she kept fanning herself with her hand because of the spiciness, but she just couldn't stop.
"Ouch—it's so spicy! Mr. Su, is there any water?"
Fang Qingjun's eyes welled up with tears from the spiciness.
"Drinking water at this time is pointless."
Su Mu pulled out several bottles of chilled Black Jade Intermittent Dew from under the table. "It has to match this."
A sip of ice-cold cola is the ultimate pleasure of experiencing both ice and fire!
The bubbles burst on the tip of the tongue, taking away the spiciness and leaving only a lingering fragrance in the mouth.
The shrimp shells in front of Li Yuan had already piled up into a small mountain.
The old man ate with sweat pouring down his face, his sleeves rolled up to his shoulders, and one foot even resting on a wooden stool—a veritable gourmand from the streets.
"That feels amazing! That's fucking awesome!"
Li Yuan let out a bubbly burp, grabbed an exceptionally large lobster, and waved it at Su Mu. "Su boy, do you have any more of these? Get me ten or eight pounds of them tomorrow! I want to take them back to Da'an Palace and make my unfilial son drool!"
Su Mu wiped his hands, looked at the group of Tang Dynasty's top nobles eating without any regard for their image, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
"Enough for everyone!"
After the drumbeats struck three times, the night grew so thick it seemed impossible to break through.
The large iron pot in the backyard of the imperial kitchen was still emitting white smoke, and the pungent smell carried by the wind made half of the imperial guards on night patrol sneeze.
Wei Zheng was on duty tonight, patrolling the Thousand-Step Corridor with a lantern when his nostrils suddenly twitched.
It smelled burnt and pungent!
He looked up abruptly and saw plumes of white mist rising in the direction of the Imperial Kitchen, appearing particularly murky in the firelight.
"Oh no! There's a fire!"
Wei Zheng's already stern black face turned deathly pale instantly.
The imperial kitchen is a vital part of the palace. If it were to catch fire, it could spread to the inner palace, and the consequences would be unimaginable!
"Someone come here! Bring water! Quickly!"
He lifted the hem of his official robe, disregarding even his demeanor, and strode off in that direction.
The imperial guards behind them dared not slack off either. They scooped up wooden buckets from water vats and ran after them with a splash. The sound of their armor clashing was particularly jarring on the quiet street.
The atmosphere in the backyard was lively.
Li Yuan, with one foot on a stool and his hands covered in red oil, was struggling with a stubborn shrimp claw.
"This thing has a hard shell, Su boy, bring me a hammer!"
Su Mu was stuffing shrimp balls into his mouth, mumbling, "Teeth are the best hammer, old man, take it easy, don't break your teeth."
"Snap!"
Before Li Yuan could retort, the courtyard gate was kicked open.
The kick was extremely powerful. The two broken wooden doors, which were already on the verge of collapse, were now completely destroyed. Half of the door panel hung on the hinges and creaked and swayed wildly.
"Fire! Firefighting!"
Wei Zheng charged in first, not even carrying a bucket yet, and his shout was so powerful it shook the mountains and rivers.
A dozen or so imperial guards behind him were about to pour water onto the stove with buckets in hand.
"stop!"
Li Yuan slammed the half-eaten shrimp he was holding onto the table, his tiger-like eyes wide and red oil still dripping from his beard. "Who dares to spill my pot!"
The angry shout was so powerful that the imperial guards' legs went weak, and the full buckets of water in their hands almost fell to their feet.
Water splashed everywhere.
Wei Zheng had barely managed to catch his breath when the sight before him choked him back down.
There were no flames soaring into the sky, and no houses collapsing.
There was only a large, steaming black pot and a group of people sitting around the table, completely disregarding their appearance.
Emperor Emeritus Li Yuan, with his large robes and ruddy complexion.
Princess Chang Le, Li Lizhi, had her elegant hair bun askew, and her lips were red and swollen.
Princess Jinyang, Xiao Sizi, buried her entire face in the edge of the table, looking like a little kitten.
Even Fang Qingjun, the daughter of the current prime minister Fang Xuanling, was unceremoniously rolling up her sleeves, holding a black and red, clawing insect in her hand.
Wei Zheng stood there, stunned, coughing repeatedly as the strong, spicy smell choked his nose.
"This—this is—"
He pointed to the mess of red shells on the table, his fingers trembling, his eyes filled with shock and heartache.
"Emperor Emeritus! Princess! You—you actually gathered in the palace to eat such filthy and poisonous insects?!"
Wei Zheng was heartbroken, and the veins on his neck bulged out.
He took two steps forward, pointed at the pot of bright red crayfish, and looked as if he wanted to overturn the pot on the spot.
"This thing resembles a ghost, a most vile and filthy creature! Your Majesty governs the realm with benevolence and filial piety, yet the Retired Emperor, as an elder, has led the way in committing such an absurd act! If this were to spread, what would become of the Tang Dynasty's imperial family's reputation?!"
Li Yuan was stunned by the scolding, then his face turned red with embarrassment and anger.
"Wei Heizi! You're interfering with my late-night snack? Are you some kind of Dragon King? How is this stuff filthy?"
It smells delicious!
"fragrant?"
Wei Zheng, enraged, laughed coldly, pointing at the still-bubbling soup. "This is clearly a spicy and pungent flavor masking its rotten nature! Miss Fang, your father is the Prime Minister, and your family has strict traditions. How could you possibly follow the crowd like this?"
Fang Qingjun was so frightened that she dropped the shrimp meat in her hand back into the bowl. She quickly hid her hands behind her back, lowered her head, and dared not utter a sound.
Li Lizhi was also a little embarrassed. She took out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth, but found that the handkerchief was covered in oil, and the more she wiped, the more greasy it became.
Little Sizi wasn't scared. She looked up from the plate, blinked her big eyes, and held up a freshly peeled shrimp tail.
"Grandpa Wei, you're not allowed to scold Ah Weng and Guo Guo! This isn't a poisonous insect, it's a dancing succulent! It's so cute!"
"Absurd! Utterly absurd!"
Wei Zheng wouldn't listen to reason at all. He was a stubborn man, and seeing these nobles degenerate to such a state for the sake of food and drink, he was truly enraged.
>
shq Dd