Ch 105: Guide to Feeding a Villainous Husband

The first meal made with the dried seafood was to host the caravan.

Their stay in Shengjing wasn’t long, so they naturally wouldn’t miss the chance to taste Qin Xia’s cooking.

They didn’t even order specific dishes, simply letting the kitchen prepare whatever they felt like.

The caravan consisted of about twenty people, seated at three tables, with ten dishes served at each table: two cold dishes, four meat dishes, three vegetable dishes, and one soup.

While chatting with Qin Xia, Wei Xi mentioned that during their trip to the coast to buy goods, they had enjoyed a seafood dumpling soup at a fishing family’s house, and the fresh, savory broth had left a deep impression.

Qin Xia took note of this and decided to recreate the dish for them.

Though dried seafood couldn’t match the flavor of freshly caught seafood, it was still better than nothing.

Once he had mastered the technique, making dumpling soup was actually quite easy. However, the key to good dumpling soup was that the dough pieces should be “as small as the stars,” rather than large and dense.

In fact, when Qin Xia was learning to cook, this dumpling soup had a poetic name: Mantianxing (“Stars Filling the Sky”).

Some might think it pretentious to give such an elegant name to a simple dumpling soup, but to Qin Xia, food was food—there was no distinction between high and low, only between delicious and not.

As for the name, it was merely the icing on the cake.

He put a proper amount of flour in a bowl, lifted a fine-spouted teapot filled with cool boiled water, and slowly poured in circles.

As he poured, he stirred the flour with chopsticks in the same direction.

The water transformed the flour into small dough fragments, which, due to the stirring, formed into “dumplings.”

The amount of water and the speed of stirring determined the final size of the dumplings.

There was no secret—just practice.

A large bowl of finely formed dumplings lay in the bowl.

For the soup base, he used the water from soaking dried clams, then boiled clam meat, added the dumplings, and cracked an egg to swirl into the broth.

Since the ingredients cooked quickly and the clam meat was already salty, all that was needed before serving was a pinch of salt and a sprinkling of scallions.

On a cold and bleak autumn day, a bowl of such hot soup was the perfect remedy.

Once their bellies were warmed, they followed it with a cup of Neifu wine.

Neifu wine was a popular drink in Shengjing, and Heguang Pavilion couldn’t escape the trend, so they had some for sale.

However, Yu Jiuque, having tasted it, commented that it paled in comparison to the real imperial brew.

Qin Xia, having had the rare opportunity to taste the authentic palace wine himself, agreed—it was smooth down the throat and left a lingering fragrance. The imitation simply couldn’t compare to the real thing.

And of course, there had to be side dishes for the wine: roasted dried squid, torn into thin strips that became more flavorful the more you chewed, and rehydrated octopus legs, sliced and briefly blanched, then stir-fried with scallions, garlic, and chili peppers. The seasoning was made with fermented bean paste, oyster sauce, soy sauce, cumin, salt, and sugar.

The result was sweet and spicy octopus legs, reminiscent of the grilled squid found in modern street food stalls.

This feast of dishes delighted the caravan men, who immediately begged Qin Xia to make extra portions for them to take on the road.

And so, the familiar scenario unfolded again.

The caravan had just sold their seafood to Qin Xia, and now Qin Xia was earning silver from them by cooking it, yet both sides were happy and satisfied with the arrangement.

…

Compared to stir-frying, dried seafood is better suited for boiling with meat or making soups.

Heguang Pavilion quickly introduced several porridge and soup dishes, such as oyster and lean pork congee, scallop and vegetable congee, kelp sprout and meatball soup, and scallop tofu soup.

Due to the limited supply of ingredients, the dishes were served in small quantities to allow more people to try them, which in turn indirectly boosted the restaurant’s business.

Customers eagerly lined up to taste these new offerings, and the staff enjoyed their share as well.

In this era, transporting seafood wasn’t easy, and aside from coastal families, most people rarely had the opportunity to taste it.

Qin Xia, however, knew that seafood was uniquely nutritious, and Yu Jiuque, in particular, should have it every now and then.

Tonight, he prepared winter melon and dried shrimp stew for his little husband. Winter melon has a sweet, mild, and cooling flavor, helps reduce swelling, and is also good for digestion, making it ideal for evening meals without causing weight gain.

First, the dried shrimp was stir-fried to release its flavor, then winter melon was added and boiled. The broth turned a milky white, and only a bit of salt and sesame oil were needed for seasoning.

When eaten, the winter melon was tender, the dried shrimp savory, and the combination carried the light, refreshing sweetness brought by the winter melon itself.

Recently, the physician checking Yu Jiuque’s pulse had been replaced by an imperial physician, given Yu Jiuque’s prominent status. Even the emperor was concerned that any complications during his pregnancy could throw the court into disarray.

The assigned physician had treated many of the emperor’s concubines and had ample experience, though this was his first time assisting a eunuch with a pregnancy.

Fortunately, Yu Jiuque hadn’t given him any trouble. After overcoming the nausea of early pregnancy, his appetite had grown significantly, which led the physician to repeatedly caution him to eat less at each visit. Other than that, there were no issues.

To avoid having the baby grow too large, which could result in a difficult labor, Yu Jiuque’s rice bowl was now nearly the same size as Qin Xia’s.

After the meal, as usual, the two took a walk around the residence.

Da Fu walked ahead, stretching its neck and looking around.

This was its favorite time of day because both of its owners were there.

It could beg Qin Xia for food and seek attention from Yu Jiuque.

Their residence had a rear garden with paths paved with stones, and though it looked quite nice when lit at night, Qin Xia didn’t dare take Yu Jiuque there. They stuck to the straight, even paths instead.

Da Fu wore a silent gold bell around its neck, and under the moonlight, it occasionally reflected a soft glow.

As they walked, Yu Jiuque suddenly shared some news.

“The emperor intends to let the crown prince leave the palace for a day, to experience the everyday life of the common people. The idea is to prevent him from being too confined within the palace walls, so he understands the struggles of the people. However, once he’s outside, he’ll need to spend the whole day there. Since they don’t dare serve him food from outside vendors, the emperor has suggested that lunch be arranged at Heguang Pavilion. And if they can’t return to the palace in time for dinner, they’ll have it at our residence.”

Qin Xia abruptly turned his head.

“The crown prince is coming to Heguang Pavilion?”

Yu Jiuque nodded.

“The crown prince has been talking about wanting to eat your food for a while now. Actually, it’s not just the crown prince—the emperor also wants to try it.”

He suspected that if Qin Xia weren’t his husband, the emperor would have already issued a decree summoning Qin Xia to the palace to serve as the imperial chef.

“The crown prince is just a child and quite dependent on me. He’s not difficult to please, so you don’t need to worry too much. On that day, just prepare a meal with dishes that kids usually love,” Yu Jiuque reassured him.

Qin Xia sighed in mild exasperation.

“You really have a way of staying calm. You’ve been home for hours and only just now told me.”

Yu Jiuque smiled.

“I was afraid if I told you earlier, you’d be too preoccupied to enjoy your meal.”

Qin Xia shook the hand he was holding.

He wasn’t too concerned about serving the crown prince—it was more the strange feeling of soon meeting the main character from the book he had transmigrated into.

Just imagine: two people who were sworn enemies in the story—one had become his husband, and the other was about to be his guest.

And these two now got along so well.

Qin Xia couldn’t help but praise himself. This book transmigration hadn’t been in vain.

…

The day of the crown prince’s outing soon arrived.

Early in the morning at the Eastern Palace, the crown prince changed into the commoner’s clothing that Yu Jiuque had sourced from outside the palace. Though the material wasn’t as luxurious as what was used in the palace, it was still of high quality for common people.

The challenge was that, despite his young age, the crown prince already carried an air of nobility. Even if he were forced into rough hemp clothing, it would only make him stand out even more.

So, they decided he should be dressed as a wealthy young master—a common sight in Shengjing, hardly drawing any attention.

Yu Jiuque, in turn, changed into his casual attire for a day off, styling his long hair half up and half down, with gold hairpins adorning his bun and jade bracelets hanging from his wrists.

“Forgive me, Your Highness, but once we leave the palace, I’ll need you to address me as ‘Uncle.’”

After all, since they were in disguise, they couldn’t be calling each other “Your Highness.”

It was the first time the crown prince had seen his grand attendant, Yu Jiuque, dressed this way, and he couldn’t help but feel curious.

It wasn’t just the crown prince—those in the Eastern Palace also sneaked glances and marveled at the transformation. The once decisive and formidable Lord Yu now seemed gentle and kind.

“Uncle, where are we going today?” the crown prince asked earnestly.

Yu Jiuque explained one by one.

“According to His Majesty’s plan, I’m to take the crown prince to the fields on the outskirts of the capital, visit a charity clinic in the city, take a stroll through the southern part of the city to see the street scenes, and finally have lunch at Heguang Pavilion.”

The crown prince nodded, as if deep in thought, taking it all quite seriously.