Marriage of the Di Daughter
Chapter 144.1: Part 1: Inside Information

< >

Marriage of the Di Daughter Chapter 144 Part 1: Inside Information Beggar’s chicken

It’s bizarre, coming to the duke’s mansion to catch up with the duke mansion’s lunch time, so everyone sat down to have a meal together.

Aside from Ji Heng, who was not smiling like before, everyone else was quite happy.

Kong Liu and Wen Ren Yao, these two people, were the most active. Wen Ren Yao spoke enthusiastically, “Miss Jiang second, try our duke’s craftsmanship, it’s more authentic than the palace’s imperial kitchen. And it’s not conferred, all can be tasted. At the New Year…..”

With a “bang”, the silver chopsticks in Ji Heng’s hand snapped and Wen Ren Yao immediately shut up, becoming extremely quiet.

Old general Ji glanced at Jiang Li and asked, “Girl, your surname is Jiang? I haven’t asked you, which residence’s young lady are you from? Based on your accent, you should be from Yanjing, right?”

Jiang Li replied politely, “Yes. My father is Chief Assistant Jiang, old general should be acquainted with him. I rank second in the family.”

“Jiang Yuan Bai?” Old General Ji’s face changed. He asked, “You are Jiang Yuan Bai’s daughter?”

Jiang Li nodded.

Old general Ji muttered something, his gaze was not as fervent as before when he looked at Jiang Li. Perhaps it was due to a past event with Jiang Yuan Bai, but Jiang Li did not care much about it.

She tasted the small bowl of ham and fresh bamboo shoot soup in front of her, it was extremely delicious. She also tried the jujube yam cake, which was sweet and sour in the mouth. Wen Ren Yao was right, although she was not someone who could eat meals from the imperial kitchen frequently, the food made from the imperial kitchen was not very impressive.

Ji Heng could cook and his craftsmanship was still so good, this subverted Jiang Li’s impression in the past. She thought he was someone who would spend all day scheming and be occupied with captivating people’s souls. Unexpectedly, he still had this cooking smell. Jiang Li felt that she perhaps had never truly known Ji Heng well.

“How?” Kong Liu smiled, “The food is delicious, right?”

Jiang Li nodded, “Very good.”

Ji Heng impatiently threw the chopsticks, seemingly having exhausted all his patience by eating here at a table with so many people. He endured for a while before picking his chopsticks again.

“Does Miss Jiang second know how to cook?” Wen Ren Yao asked Jiang Li abruptly, “I heard some girls have a natural talent for cooking, but I have never come across a single person. Like Jiuyue, she will never go into the kitchen to cook, I’m afraid she will poison the food.”

Situ Jiuyue sneered, “There’s poison in your bowl right now.”

Jiang Li was stunned and said, “I can cook a little.”

“I know that Miss Jiang second is always modest. The so-called “can cook a bit” should mean very capable.” Wen Ren Yao’s eyes brightened.

Kong Liu also looked at Jiang Li feeling it’s too strange for Jiang Li to be able to cook. Kong Liu personally saw this young lady’s shadow during the equestrian archery examination and she was as skilled as any man. Even though she appeared weak, she was in fact ferocious. If she were not Jiang Yuan Bai’s daughter, Kong Liu planned to pull her into the chariot team. How could such a young lady enter the kitchen to make soup? It’s simply a waste of natural resources!

“What is Miss Jiang second best at?” Wen Ren Yao asked.

Jiang Li pondered for a while, “Roast venison and beggar’s bird.”

After she said this, the eyes of all the people in the room landed on Jiang Li, including the sulky Ji Heng, they all looked at her with inquiry.

“This….. This….. The Jiang family can make these?” Wen Ren Yao asked with hesitation.

“Just like someone from the rivers and lakes.” Lu Ji narrowed his eyes, “The second miss always has a free and easy charm.”

“I’ve lived in Mount Qingcheng for eight years, many things are not the same as in Yanjing.” Jiang Li smiled. “The air in the mountain is very heavy. Although it doesn’t snow in winter, it felt colder than in Yanjing. If there’s a hunter hunting deer, he took away the skin and sold the venison cheaply to us. My servant girl and I would collect firewoods from the forest and roast the venison without adding much condiment, just a bit of coarse salt would suffice. The roasted venison will not have a fishy smell, on the contrary, because it was skewered on bamboo sticks, it had the sweet scent of bamboo.”

She spoke neither hurriedly nor slowly, but was able to conjure the image before the people present. Deep in the mountain during winter, a master and her servant girl, two little girls surrounding a warm bonfire, their cheeks red from the warmth of the fire. The venison was placed on a bamboo pole, the roasting made the oil come out, the only flavour deep in the mountain.

“You are not allowed to kill and eat meat in the nunnery, you must have sneaked out, right?” Situ Jiuyue asked.

“Yes.” Jiang Li laughed, “Hide from the people in the nunnery.”

“It’s amazing that you can still laugh.” Situ Jiuyue snorted.

There’s pity in everyone’s eyes as they looked at Jiang Li. On the contrary, it made Jiang Li not know whether to laugh or cry. Actually, she was not the one staying at Mount Qingcheng for eight years, the way to roast venison was learned from Xue Zhao. But in other people’s eyes, it was probably simply enjoying something in spite of one’s suffering, and was still totally satisfying.

“Little girl Jiang, then where does beggar’s bird come from?” Old general Ji was probably a foodie, he did not show a different mood towards Jiang Li’s miserable circumstances. He only asked in detail, “This old man has only heard of beggar’s chicken, never heard of beggar’s bird.”

“Actually, the two are almost the same,” Jiang Li laughed, “after the bird that was hit by the slingshot is cleaned up, no need to pluck the feather and stuff seasonings into the belly, then wrap it with mud and bury it under the pile up ash of the fire. Take it out about six hours later, pat the mud and the feathers will naturally fall off. It will have a beautiful golden color, then brush it with a layer of honey and it can be eaten already.”

Old general Ji patted his thigh, “It’s good! Tomorrow I’ll shoot some birds!”

“Old master, it’s bitterly cold, where are the birds…..” Lu Ji was exasperated.

“Your life is quite rich.” Ji Heng supported his chin with one hand, looking at her with a smile.

At last he no longer looked like he was about to eat someone.

“Yes, Miss Jiang second, your ability to cook is really different from my thoughts.” Wen Ren Yao said. “I thought you would cook in the small kitchen, where others prepared the ingredients, the servants are ready and you only need to just give instructions. Never expect that you have to search for your own ingredients, and eating is also so different from others. It’s interesting when you hear it, different from the usual boudoir ladies!”

< >