Ch 113: Guide to Feeding a Villainous Husband

The Eastern Palace quickly took the culprits away, and with such a significant incident, it was inevitable that Yu Jiuque would need to make an appearance. He left with the eunuchs from the Directorate of Ceremonial and boarded his sedan to follow along.

Once the grand procession of important figures had left, the remaining people in Heguang Pavilion finally seemed to let out a collective sigh of relief. They couldn’t care less about the mess of broken plates and cups on the floor; all eyes were now fixed on Qin Xia’s face.

Ah Jian couldn’t help but nudge Qiu Chuan with his elbow, his eyes wide as saucers, speaking in a hushed tone, “Our little boss… is he a eunuch from the palace?”

Qiu Chuan raised a finger to his lips in a gesture for silence. “I’ll tell you more later.”

Qiu Chuan and his sister had long been aware of Yu Jiuque’s true identity, but they had kept it secret from the rest of the staff. However, after today’s events, the truth would certainly not stay hidden much longer.

Their whispered conversation didn’t last long before Qin Xia started giving orders to get things back in order. The broken plates had to be cleared away, the stained floor had to be cleaned, and the tables and chairs, slashed and damaged during the brawl, were to be discarded.

Qin Xia waved his hand. “Forget them. Take everything to the backyard and use it for firewood.”

He personally escorted the remaining diners to the door, apologizing to each one.

Surprisingly, there was no displeasure from the patrons—if there had been any, they didn’t dare express it. Instead, each of them bowed to Qin Xia repeatedly, saying, “Please, Boss Qin, no need to see us off.”

In truth, they felt they had gained more than they had lost—after all, they had eaten a good portion of their meal, the bill had been waived, and they had witnessed quite the spectacle.

It was widely known that the imperial eunuch in charge of the Eastern Palace, despite his youth, held a high position and commanded great power. Not only did he oversee the Eastern Palace, but he also had the emperor’s special favor, enabling him to start a family despite being a eunuch. People wondered what kind of remarkable person could have such influence.

Many speculated that Yu Jiuque’s spouse must be extraordinary. Reflecting on the times they had seen Yu Jiuque in Heguang Pavilion, acting courteous and approachable, seemed surreal now.

And then there was Qin Xia—what kind of person could manage to win over someone like Yu Jiuque?

The guests were sent off, and the hall was cleaned up to a passable state. Qin Xia ordered Qiu Chuan and Ah Jian to close the doors and declared the restaurant temporarily closed. He then gathered all the staff together.

“You all witnessed what happened today, and I trust you have a sense of what’s going on. Yes, your little boss does indeed hold a position in the palace, but here in the restaurant, you can just keep addressing me as you always have. No need for any formalities. But one thing is crucial: if anyone asks about today, keep your lips sealed and don’t spill anything.”

The current staff at Heguang Pavilion weren’t fools; they immediately understood what Qin Xia meant. Thinking back to how Yu Jiuque had always treated them kindly, never once showing the stern demeanor he had today with the foreigners, they all calmed down and agreed wholeheartedly.

Due to the discovery of the Sharong spies, Yu Jiuque was kept busy for several days. During the interrogation, it was indeed confirmed that these men were part of a larger plot. When their skin was scalded with hot water, snake tattoos—the sacred emblem of the Sharong people—became visible on their bodies.

The sand snake may be the symbol of the Sharong’s faith, but it wasn’t something everyone bore. Only those directly tied to the royal court of Sharong carried it.

Following this lead, it was soon discovered that several recent incidents involving Hu merchants from the Qiang country in the capital were, in fact, orchestrated by these individuals, causing widespread chaos. The local populace had grown increasingly resentful of the Qiang people, leading to numerous conflicts.

Without needing a reminder from Qin Xia, Yu Jiuque had already connected the dots to the case of the fire at the Huitong Hall. Initially, that case had led investigators to several Qiang merchants, but now it seemed there was likely more to uncover.

When the investigation was fully revealed, even Yu Jiuque broke out in a cold sweat.

Imagine if they had arrested the group of merchants based on the evidence at present, only to later find out that not only were they innocent, and even one of the accused was a member of the Qiang royal family.

The Qiang kingdom was not unified. Some factions favored peace, while others were advocates for war. The war faction always believed that the pro-peace faction was too submissive in their dealings with Dayong. They thought the Qiang cavalry could ride south, defeat Dayong’s forces, seize a few cities, extort some silver and silk, and demand a princess in marriage.

If things had truly escalated in the worst possible way, the two nations would inevitably be at odds, giving the war faction the pretext they needed to cause unrest at the border.

Looking back, it was fortunate that Qin Xia had noticed the discrepancies. The discovery of the tattoos on the Sharong spies left no room for denial, preventing them from dragging the Qiang into the conflict.

When the case was presented to the emperor, he praised Qin Xia’s keen observation and quick thinking.

“Qin Xia is wasted as a mere chef. If he had pursued the civil service exams, he could very well have become a capable official,” the emperor remarked.

Yu Jiuque smiled and replied, “Your Majesty, don’t overpraise him. You should see his handwriting—it’s dreadful. Though he can slice tofu as thin as hair with a kitchen knife, give him a brush, and even carrot sticks would be easier for him to manage. I once asked him why he wasn’t sent to school as a child, and he said he was, but every time he had to write, he’d get a headache, and his family eventually gave up.”

The emperor put down his documents and mused, “In all professions, there are people with exceptional talents. It seems your spouse has found his place at the top of his profession.”

The emperor then mentioned that both Yu Jiuque and his spouse would be rewarded for their service, though the details of the rewards were not discussed further.

However, there was still one matter to attend to. The emperor had recently read a book mentioning a lost Sharong dish called Hunyang Mohu. In Sharong, this dish represented the highest honor, traditionally awarded by the tribe’s leader to the most distinguished warriors.

“With the Sharong delegation coming, it is only fitting that we host them with a state banquet. I wish to revive this ancient dish,” the emperor said, instructing a young eunuch to give Yu Jiuque a book marked with a yellow ribbon. It contained a page describing Hunyang Mohu.

Yu Jiuque skimmed through it and found the dish incredibly complex. It involved stuffing a goose inside a sheep’s stomach, with the goose itself stuffed with various spices. For a more elaborate version, the recipe called for a cow to be stuffed with the sheep, and a chicken to be stuffed inside the goose.

“Although it’s a crude dish by barbarian standards, the complexity of its preparation makes it fit for a royal banquet,” Yu Jiuque remarked, closing the book and understanding the emperor’s intentions.

Sharong was a small country, unable even to preserve its ancestral traditions. If Dayong successfully revived the dish, it would send a clear message of superiority to the Sharong delegation.

The symbolic meaning of Hunyang Mohu was well-known among the Sharong people. A banquet hosted by the Dayong emperor would remind them who was the ruler and who was the vassal.

By assigning this task to Yu Jiuque, it was essentially being handed over to Qin Xia. Contributing a dish to a state banquet was a rare and prestigious honor for any chef.

“This dish has been lost for a long time. I won’t blame him if he can’t recreate it, but if he does succeed, he will be richly rewarded,” the emperor reassured Yu Jiuque.

Feeling reassured, Yu Jiuque took the book home. Upon entering the residence, the servants told him that a eunuch had already come by to deliver imperial gifts.

As he passed through the second gate, Madam Xu came to greet him, supporting him as they walked. She smiled and said, “This time, the rewards are truly rare. In all my years in the palace, I’ve never seen anything quite like them.”

Her words piqued Yu Jiuque’s curiosity.

“What kind of rare items? I haven’t heard the emperor mention anything like this in the palace.”

As they arrived at the main hall, a maid lifted the curtain, and Madam Xu helped Yu Jiuque over the threshold.

“Why don’t you go join the master and take a look for yourself, and you’ll see,” she said.

When Yu Jiuque entered the room, he saw Qin Xia standing before a large table full of gleaming, gold cooking utensils. Judging by his expression, it seemed like the sight of all that glittering gold had completely dazzled him.

“Wow.”

Even Yu Jiuque, upon seeing it, understood why Madam Xu had repeatedly called these items “rare.”

“When did the palace ever have things like this?” Yu Jiuque wondered aloud.

Qin Xia, though he had already looked at the items once, still felt that the golden cookware made the entire room look like it was bathed in a magnificent glow. He casually picked up a solid gold spatula, weighed it in his hand, and sighed, “It’s all solid gold. The emperor is being far too generous.”

Yu Jiuque couldn’t help but laugh.

“The emperor put a lot of thought into this. Since you’re a commoner and a merchant, he can’t bestow titles or ranks upon you. Yet, giving you ordinary gold or fabric wouldn’t match your contributions either.”

He mused over how these gold cooking utensils were probably made by the palace’s Inner Workshop at some point, possibly just to please someone in the palace. There, they made all sorts of odd, extravagant things, most of which ended up collecting dust in storage if they had no one to give them to.

Qin Xia felt he hadn’t done anything particularly special—his discovery of the Hu merchants’ tattoos was purely thanks to his knowledge of the novel’s plot. But uncovering Sharong’s conspiracy and preventing a diplomatic rift between Dayong and Qiang was certainly a merit-worthy act. And as for the reward—well, who could complain about receiving more gold?

“Just luck, really. I never expected such a reward from the emperor.”

He then picked up the gold knife and pondered aloud, “I think we should put this set away for safekeeping. If we end up having a ge’er, we can use this as part of his dowry.”

Madam Xu found this suggestion a bit far-fetched, but to her surprise, Yu Jiuque nodded in agreement.

“Since it’s an imperial gift and made of pure gold, it’s certainly fitting as dowry. With such a dowry, no household would dare mistreat our child.”

Madam Xu couldn’t help but think, “With a dowry like this, who would dare mistreat your child? They’d have to have a death wish!”

After admiring the collection of gold knives, spatulas, and strainers, they finally set the table for dinner.

“Today, the shop received some excellent beef. I set aside a prime cut of tenderloin to make stir-fried beef with green chili peppers.”

Whenever he had good ingredients, Qin Xia always aimed for perfection. To make the beef tender and succulent, he paid attention from the very first step: slicing the beef. It had to be cut across the grain, not along it, marinated with a touch of oil, and then stir-fried quickly over high heat. The dish was simply seasoned with green chili peppers, garlic, salt, rice wine, and oyster sauce.

The beef was slightly spicy, tender, and easy to chew—perfect for whetting the appetite and pairing with rice.

There was also a new dish from Heguang Pavilion that hadn’t been made at home yet—braised pigeon eggs. The eggs were fried until they developed a tiger-skin texture, then braised with bamboo shoots, ham, and mushrooms. The dish had a rich and fragrant flavor, and the pigeon eggs, translucent and smooth, were just the right size to pop into the mouth in one bite. Yu Jiuque ate seven or eight of them in a row, even drizzling some of the sauce over his rice.

By the end of the meal, he felt pleasantly full, something he hadn’t experienced in a while.

However, the autumn night was cool, and it wasn’t suitable to go outside for a walk to aid digestion. So, supporting his lower back, he paced around the room’s brazier to warm up while showing Qin Xia the booklet the emperor had given him, explaining the task.

“‘Hunyang Mohu?’” Qin Xia sounded out the strange name and found himself intrigued.