20demayo Chapter 25 Hot Pot
Chapter 25 Hot Pot
Chapter 25 Hot Pot
Li Shimin and his three companions were welcomed into the courtyard by Lu Jinghe. Gao Yang, Xiao Sizi, and Qingwu saw them through the window and quickly ran out.
"Father, Mother, Eldest Brother, Elder Sister!"
Little Sizi ran fast, but Empress Zhangsun stopped her and held her in her arms.
"What did you eat?" Empress Zhangsun asked with a smile, picking a grain of rice from the corner of Xiao Sizi's mouth.
"The rice is delicious!" Little Sizi replied happily. "The rice cooked in the big pot is so good!"
"Really?" Li Shimin asked curiously, "Jinghe, did you just eat?"
"Yes, I just finished cooking." Lu Jinghe nodded.
"Would you mind if we added a few more sets of bowls and chopsticks?"
"Of course I don't mind. Please have a seat, I'll go prepare lunch."
"I'll go with you." Gao Yang said, trying to run to the kitchen with Lu Jinghe, but Empress Zhangsun grabbed her by the collar.
"Oh dear, Mother!" Gao Yang reluctantly stayed there, somewhat resentful.
"You stay here with us."
3
With that, the group went inside.
Inside the house, Gao Yang gestured for Qing Wu to tidy up the table, and then went to the kitchen to help Lu Jinghe.
She sat next to Chang Le, and the two sisters chatted idly.
Gao Yang was mostly talking, and Chang Le was listening.
She had only just found out that Gao Yang was getting married, but how could it be so soon?
And that man just now, he didn't seem to be a nobleman.
If she hadn't heard today that Xiao Sizi was moving out of the palace, she would never have known that Gao Yang was getting married.
Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun kept this news very secret.
However, since she was already there, as the older sister, she naturally had to help Gao Yang make the selection.
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Inside the living room, Li Shimin and Li Chengqian chatted, Gaoyang and Changle chatted, and Empress Zhangsun coaxed her little brother.
It was a scene of perfect harmony.
Soon, Lu Jinghe walked in carrying a copper pot.
"We arrived last minute and didn't prepare anything, so we had to eat hot pot."
Lu Jinghe placed the copper pot in the center and said, "Don't touch this pot, you'll get burned."
Lu Jinghe pointed to the space standing upright in the middle of the copper pot, where some burning charcoal was placed.
Next, Lu Jinghe brought over a large kettle and poured boiling water into the pot.
There was a partition in the middle of the copper pot. Lu Jinghe planned to put mushroom soup on one side and spicy soup on the other.
After all, some people can't eat spicy food.
Empress Zhangsun, Princess Changle, and Xiao Sizi all suffered from asthma to varying degrees and could not eat spicy food.
Lu Jinghe made another trip, took out the hot pot base he had prepared before, and placed them on both sides.
"Jinghe, how do we eat this?"
Li Shimin took the bowl and chopsticks handed to him by Qingwu and asked curiously.
Surely it's not going to be soup?
It's bright red and looks delicious.
Lu Jinghe said, "You'll find out soon enough, don't worry."
As he spoke, Lu Jinghe returned to the kitchen.
The hot pot is almost ready; it's time to serve the dishes.
Lu Jinghe and Qingwu ran back and forth several times before they finally served all the dishes.
"Come, Jinghe, sit beside me."
Once all the dishes were served, Li Shimin patted the seat next to him.
"OK."
After Lu Jinghe sat down, he said, "This side is for mild flavors, and this side is for spicy flavors."
"Your Majesty, Princess Chang Le, and Little Si Zi, you are not suited to spicy food. Just eat the milder dishes here."
"Alright, we'll eat here." Empress Zhangsun nodded.
"Jinghe, now it's time to tell us how to eat it, right?" Li Chengqian joked. They had been waiting for Lu Jinghe to teach them how to eat.
Although I had a general idea that it should be boiled in a pot, I was still a little unsure.
"Yeah, Jinghe, everything on this table is raw. How are we supposed to eat it? Are we supposed to boil it in a pot? What kind of taste would that have?"
Li Shimin also inquired out of curiosity.
Lu Jinghe smiled, and while explaining, he picked up a slice of beef and dipped it in the spicy broth.
Soon, the meat changed color, and Lu Jinghe put it in the bowl.
"Look, it's ready to eat like this."
As he spoke, Lu Jinghe dipped his food in sesame sauce and began to eat.
"There are seasonings over there; you can mix your own to make whatever flavor you want."
Lu Jinghe pointed to the sauces on the side, and everyone looked over.
"Lu Jing and what do you use?" Gao Yang asked curiously as he leaned closer.
"Mine is very simple: sesame paste, fermented bean curd sauce, and chive blossoms."
"Then I want this one too."
Gao Yang happily went to prepare the seasonings, and the rest of the group followed.
Soon, everyone had prepared their dipping sauces and were ready to eat.
"Mother, I miss the persimmons again and again."
Little Sizi tugged at Empress Zhangsun's clothes and said, "Mother, please."
Empress Zhangsun first looked at Lu Jinghe, and only agreed after Lu Jinghe nodded, "Alright, Sizi, you can eat meat."
"Your Majesty, you are already ill, so you should eat more meat."
Empress Zhangsun nodded, blew on the cooked meat, and did not immediately feed it to Xiao Sizi.
Little Sizi's eyes immediately welled up with tears as she stared blankly at Empress Zhangsun, thinking that her mother was not going to give her any more food.
Once the meat slices had cooled down a bit, Empress Zhangsun coated them with sauce and then placed them near Xiao Sizi's mouth.
"Good! Good!" Little Sizi swallowed it in one gulp, his eyes immediately lighting up.
How can something be so delicious!
Seeing that Xiao Sizi was eating happily, everyone laughed and then started eating as well.
Li Chengqian had just finished cooking a piece of meat and taken a bite when he immediately froze, realizing the taste was off.
Although it's delicious, the taste is absolutely amazing.
But isn't this beef?
"Jinghe—this is beef, isn't it?" Li Shimin asked doubtfully.
He hadn't expected that Lu Jinghe's family had beef. How precious was a cow in the Tang Dynasty?
It is so precious that the law explicitly forbids killing cows for meat.
Only Cheng Yaojin's family had cows dying every few days for various reasons.
"Yes," Lu Jinghe said directly. The law? Was he afraid of that?
Obviously, they are not afraid.
However, the mention of beef did indeed cause everyone to stop eating and stare at him in a daze.
Except for the little rhinoceros.
Seeing that Empress Zhangsun was ignoring her, Xiao Sizi grabbed a handful of meat and put it into the pot herself.
She stared longingly at the meat, and as soon as it changed color, she would immediately pick it up and not allow anyone to take it from her!
"Well, this ox is a bit different from the oxen of the Tang Dynasty; it's not the kind used for farming."
Although Lu Jinghe didn't care, he still had to give him a way out, just like Cheng Yaojin would always come up with an outrageous reason whenever he wanted to eat beef.
"Before coming to Chang'an, I traveled all over the world and once saw a kind of yak with black hair and extremely aggressive behavior in the Western Regions."
"They were about to attack me, so I killed them all."
"As for why this meat is still so fresh after so long, I have my own methods."
Lu Jinghe spoke with righteous indignation, seemingly without a trace of falsehood.
Regardless of the truth, he believed this reason himself.