“Why aren’t you using your chopsticks, Minister Xie? Is the food not to your taste?”
Seeing Xie Yu lost in thought after sitting down, Ma Bing asked.
Xie Yu’s eyelashes quivered slightly. “No, it’s very good.”
He was distracted, still hearing Tu Yao’s words echoing in his mind:
“Why are you so determined? What exactly are you after?”
Officially speaking, the Xu Maocai case had now been formally transferred to the Ministry of Justice, and from this point onward, it would no longer concern the Kaifeng Prefecture. This should have been a cause for celebration, lightening their burdens.
But…
If it wasn’t for official duty, then it was personal.
This conclusion nearly startled Xie Yu himself, as though it explained all his recent uncharacteristic behavior.
Perhaps he had not been completely unaware himself; it was just that this feeling was unfamiliar and strange, subtly tinged with a delicate sweetness that instinctively drew him in, yet was completely beyond his control.
He had tasted its allure and now found himself somewhat at a loss.
Tu Yao’s seemingly offhand remark was like a sudden hand reaching out from an unexpected direction, forcefully wiping through the foggy mirror’s surface.
Certainly, it didn’t reveal the entire picture, but even the glimpse it provided was enough to be startling.
Even if his initial suspicions were rooted in duty, by now, his motivations had quietly become mixed with personal feelings…
“Minister, now that everything is finally over, please enjoy your meal in peace,” Huo Ping gestured toward the table. “Look, what a wonderful feast! It would be a shame not to eat it while it’s hot!”
Over a hundred rabbits weren’t caught just by them alone, and Ma Bing had given most of them to the constables who had participated in solving the case.
What remained was more than enough for their meal.
Originally, they had planned to simply stew or roast the rabbits, but since some couldn’t tolerate spiciness while others couldn’t live without it, they decided to cook them in two batches:
One pot of diced rabbit in a rich sauce, another in a spicy sauce; the whole roasted rabbits on the spit were similarly divided.
Daru originally didn’t have chili peppers. During the late emperor’s reign, frequent wars with border nations led to increased interactions between their soldiers and civilians, which brought many strange and exotic things into Daru, chili seeds among them.
This plant was extremely pungent, far surpassing the mildness of black pepper. Just a small amount could unlock hidden deliciousness in food. Soon, sharp-eyed merchants recognized its potential and began cultivating it extensively. Within just a few years, it became popular nationwide.
Ma Bing was one of chili’s biggest admirers.
She was especially skilled at making a sweet-and-spicy sauce. By mixing secret spices, plenty of garlic, black pepper, chili powder, and honey, then carefully brushing it onto the meat, she could create roasted meat with a golden, crispy exterior that sealed in the juices while keeping the inside tender, fragrant, and succulent.
Therefore, today’s roasted rabbit looked particularly appealing, its aroma seemingly carrying for miles.
Besides the two varieties of rabbit meat, there were also oily lotus-wrapped fatty chickens steamed in bamboo baskets, bitter melon stir-fried with eggs, snow-white young lotus stems quickly blanched and stir-fried, and a salad made with spinach and cucumber ribbons dressed in rice vinegar, sesame oil, and garlic juice—perfect for cleansing the palate.
Additionally, Yuan Yuan had brought seven or eight types of pastries and several kinds of zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), filling the table and making for a very lavish feast.
There was also a basket of cherries, several fragrant yellow honeydews, a few early-ripening fuzzy peaches with a pinkish hue, some late-ripening apricots with a golden-yellow skin blushed with red, and deep purple mulberries—all stored in clean clay jars suspended by ropes in a well to keep them cool.
After working up a sweat eating, a few bites of ice-cold fruit, sweet and juicy, would be absolutely delightful!
Even though Xie Yu had things on his mind, seeing this feast couldn’t help but whet his appetite. “Thank you for your hard work, Miss Ma.”
A hint of mischief flickered in Ma Bing’s smile. “Previously, you treated me to roasted lamb, so it’s only fair I return the favor! Actually, I think I still came out ahead.”
The rabbits were caught together, the ingredients came from the Kaifeng Prefecture kitchen, and she had only added a bit of creativity and effort—basically giving an offering using someone else’s flowers.
She spoke of her small thoughts so candidly, bright and clear like the blue sky overhead, without a trace of gloom, making it impossible for anyone to feel annoyed.
For a moment, Xie Yu felt his personal feelings deepen.
Determined to make a big impression with something small, Ma Bing enthusiastically picked out a rabbit head. With a slight exertion of her fingers, she pried open the previously solid skull, revealing the snowy-white brain inside.
“Come on, Minister, eat it while it’s hot!”
Xie Yu’s slightly stirred emotions instantly cooled. “…”
Could people really eat this?!
Not just him—none of the others present touched the rabbit heads either.
In fact, even when reaching for other dishes and unavoidably passing by the large clay pot, everyone instinctively twisted their arms to give it a wide berth.
Who could have imagined that rabbits, once considered somewhat cute in life, could become so hideous once prepared as rabbit heads!
Look at those protruding front teeth, the broken scalp, and those wide-open, unblinking eye sockets…
It was simply impossible to associate them with the concept of delicious food.
Ma Bing sighed in frustration. “This really is delicious! Don’t doubt me!”
So tender and smooth, it was almost like eating tofu pudding. Add a spoonful of the sweet, spicy, aromatic sauce, and you wouldn’t trade it for an entire pork elbow!
However, everyone looked hesitant.
Finally, Ma Bing had to pull out her trump card:
She quickly devoured a rabbit head, loudly proclaiming its deliciousness while saying with a teasing tone, “Forget it, I bet none of you dare to try.”
Before her words had even finished echoing, several hands reached out from different directions.
After forcing themselves to swallow, they had expected to vomit, but… well, it wasn’t bad at all!
Ma Bing: “Hehe.”
After the meal, everyone looked at the table littered with rabbit skulls and felt that their outlook on life had gained new insights.
Appearances can be deceiving!
Yuan Pei and others volunteered to wash the pots and dishes. Later, after cleaning their hands, they asked Xie Yu, “Minister, will you be returning to the Princess’s residence tonight?”
They had encountered the chief secretary of the Princess’s household during their morning patrol. Although the man hadn’t said anything directly, he had subtly implied that with the Dragon Boat Festival approaching, the Princess and her husband often gazed at the moon, sighing wistfully as they watched other families reunite.
They missed their son, but they wouldn’t say it outright.
Xie Yu instinctively glanced at Ma Bing.
She was playing flower cards with Yuan’s young daughter. It seemed she had said something amusing, causing the girl to giggle nonstop before collapsing into her arms.
Hmm…
Xie Yu’s fingers lightly tapped the table. Suddenly, he felt that Yuan’s young daughter seemed a bit too clingy.
It’s summer already; why get so close? Doesn’t she feel hot?
“Miss Yuan,” Xie Yu suddenly spoke, “it’s getting late. To avoid worrying your parents, we should set off soon.”
Ma Bing looked up at the glaring sun. It had barely been after lunch; how could it already be considered late?
Moreover… Minister Xie, you’ve suddenly become quite talkative!
The abrupt dismissal caught Yuan Yuan off guard, and she tried to resist a little longer.
“Thank you for your concern, Minister, but I’d like to play with Ma Sister a bit longer. We can leave after the sun sets.”
But Xie Yu had already stood up. “The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, and the city will be crowded with people. As Yuan University Scholar and I share a partial teacher-student relationship, I cannot allow any risk to his daughter.”
In his youth, he had studied under Yuan Gao alongside the imperial princes. Although he never formally underwent the teacher-apprenticeship ceremony, a genuine master-disciple relationship existed between them. Strictly speaking, it would be appropriate for Yuan Yuan to address him as “Senior Brother.”
It was perfectly reasonable for a senior brother to care for his junior sister and insist on personally escorting her home.
Still, everyone felt something was off.
Previously, Xie Yu hadn’t even given Yuan Yuan a second glance. When they met and exchanged greetings, he never mentioned their teacher-student connection, acting as if the girl were nothing more than a wooden statue. So why was he suddenly insisting on accompanying her home now?
Yet, strange as it was, no one could find fault with his reasoning.
Yuan’s maid also said, “Yes, young lady, it’s time for your afternoon nap, or you’ll feel drowsy later.”
Yuan Yuan held Ma Bing’s hand and whispered, “I can sleep with Sister. I’ll take up just a tiny bit of space.” She used her index finger and thumb to indicate a very small distance.
Ma Bing couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright, you’ve been out for a long time already; your parents must be worried! We’ll have plenty of time to play another day.”
Yuan Yuan was somewhat afraid of Xie Yu, and seeing Ma Bing say this too, she could only reluctantly agree.
Before leaving, Ma Bing thought she saw Xie Yu glance at her, but when she looked carefully, it seemed he hadn’t.
Once Xie Yu left, Huo Ping and Yuan Pei also departed, and soon the three Yuan family members were gone too.
The courtyard, which had been lively moments ago, suddenly became quiet.
Looking at the now-empty seats, Ma Bing murmured, “Could he have taken a liking to Yuan Yuan?”
Wang Heng, who had been fanning himself in the shade nearby, suddenly looked at her with a silent smile.
Tsk tsk, young people…
Ma Bing was puzzled by his expression, but when she was about to ask, he closed his eyes again, still wearing that faintly mischievous smile, gently rocking back and forth on his swing chair.
The sunlight was perfect, filtering through the swaying branches, casting dappled light across the ground.
A warm breeze blew through, carrying the fragrance of roses, making the courtyard feel drowsy. Ma Bing, still confused, closed her eyes to rest.
So quiet… the only sounds were the rustling of the wind through the flowers and leaves, the buzzing of bees flapping their wings, and the creaking of Wang Heng’s old rocking chair: “Creak… creak…”
*******
Princess Ningde and Xie Xian were greatly surprised by their son’s sudden return home. They hadn’t expected this boy to respond so readily to their subtle hints. Previously, they might have had to call him several times before he would even acknowledge them, yet now, after just a few gentle reminders, he had obediently come back?
“This is a fragrant pear from the Western Regions, a tribute recently sent by the Emperor. We were just planning to have it delivered to you, so this saves us the trouble.”
Princess Ningde pointed at a pile of yellow and green pears in a crystal bowl.
It wasn’t pear season, but Daru merchants loved experimenting with out-of-season produce, priding themselves on cultivating off-season fruits and vegetables, and these pears were among them.
Xie Yu had freshly bathed and changed into a casual robe embroidered with Suzhou-style patterns in a sky-blue shade. Hearing this, he paused slightly.
Come to think of it, when they had returned to Kaifeng together, she had bought pears outside the city…
Seeing him holding the pears without eating them, his parents exchanged a glance.
Oh, right…
They had intended to gently prod him into speaking, but to their surprise, Xie Yu opened the conversation himself:
“I want to know what exactly happened in Liangzhou between the Tianwu twentieth year and the Taihe first year.”
Before Xu Maocai was taken away, he had taken the opportunity to review related records and documents from the current dynasty, only to unexpectedly discover that many years had been deliberately omitted or briefly glossed over.
Yet he clearly remembered hearing as a child about several prolonged battles on the border that lasted for years, causing heavy casualties. Why were there no records of these events?
This discovery instantly elevated his curiosity from eight to twelve points.
The imperial court must be hiding something.
And considering Xu Maocai’s sudden removal… he wanted to know even more.
No, he had to find out.
Princess Ningde’s smile gradually faded. “Why do you want to know?”
She knew more about such state secrets than even ordinary court officials.
Xie Yu raised his eyes, speaking slowly and clearly, “Because I have developed personal feelings.”
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