According to the rules for kitchen servants at Dali Temple, delivering meals was not a task for newcomers. Aside from preparing the portion for the prison officers first, the rest had to wait until all the officials had finished eating and the leftovers were cleared away. Only then could the meal deliverer take the remaining food and go.
Wu Yu wanted to take Shen Fenghuo’s place but was scolded by Chen Chu.
He knew Chen Chu was making things difficult for her and could only try to comfort her, “Don’t be afraid, sister. It’s just about taking the food over. The officers there will give it to the prisoners. Just leave it and come back. By then, it’ll almost be time to get off duty.”
Shen Fenghuo nodded, “Mm, I’m not afraid.”
The two of them washed dishes in the kitchen, listening as the sounds from the Dining Hall outside gradually faded away and the sky grew dark.
Once everything was tidied up, Shen Fenghuo picked up the heavy food basket, which contained the leftover pork stewed with Scallion and Fermented Bean and stir-fried River Deer Meat with Coriander. The broth had congealed with oil, and the food had gone completely cold.
The entrance to Dali Temple Prison was hidden in the eastern corner. Walking inside, flames flickered on both walls, casting an eerie glow.
The prison warden in charge was named Chai Zhong. He was around forty years old, with a burly and robust build, triangular eyes, and short stubble, giving him a fierce appearance.
Shen Fenghuo walked forward with the food basket, “Officer, the evening meal is ready. Please have yours first.”
Warden Chai looked her up and down, “New here?”
“Yes, it’s my first day.”
Warden Chai reached into the food basket, took a piece of pork, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed a couple of times, and immediately frowned before spitting it out at his feet.
“How can anyone eat this garbage?”
He looked up at Shen Fenghuo, “Go inside yourself. Someone will meet you there.”
He suddenly grinned and continued, “Go deeper inside, and watch your step. The path is very slippery. Remember, don’t look around, and don’t speak carelessly. The people inside… are not to be trifled with.”
The corridor grew darker the further she went. There weren’t many people locked in the cells on either side, just a few huddled in corners, disheveled and grimy.
Seeing Shen Fenghuo walk past with the food basket, someone laughed, “Why is a lady delivering the food today? The lady is so beautiful, even more beautiful than the dancers in Pingkang Ward.”
They only ate one meal a day, and their eyes, whether fixed on the food or the person, were filled with greed.
Shen Fenghuo quickened her pace, wanting only to finish the delivery and leave as soon as possible.
At the end was a small side room where a prison guard was already waiting. He took the food basket and went to distribute it.
She felt as if she had been granted a reprieve and immediately turned to run back out. As she hurried away, she heard the sound of dragging chains coming from the left corridor.
In the Shackle Room, a prisoner was chained to a torture rack, covered in blood and grime. His hair hung in disarray, covering most of his face, leaving only a dry, cracked mouth wide open.
“Lu Jin, if you have the guts, kill me. Kill me!”
Lu Heng stood before him, holding a whip, “Tell me what you know, and I’ll guarantee you live.”
“Live?”
The prisoner suddenly raised his head, revealing eyes filled with red veins, laughing maniacally, “You’ve kept me locked up for a whole year, Lu Jin. Do you think I still care about living? Pah! The Empress’s lapdog!”
Crack!
A bloody mark immediately appeared on the prisoner’s shoulder.
But he seemed not to feel the pain, instead laughing even more wildly, coughing up bloody foam as he roared.
“Good! Again! Lu Jin, don’t you just want to know why you’ve become like this? Hahaha…”
Lu Heng’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the whip, his eyes dark and sinister.
The prisoner, seeing him struggle against the iron chains, screamed and roared: "He exhausted his life's blood for the Great Tang, yet ended up like the cunning hare killed and the good hound cooked! You killed him, framed him, slaughtered the loyal and virtuous!"
"I followed him for half my life, running errands and serving him. Now that he has died unjustly, why should I fear death?"
He lunged toward the torture rack. "Lu Jin, you are nothing but a blade in the hands of that demonic empress! Today you interrogate me, tomorrow you will follow in his footsteps. You will face retribution!"
The roars in the Shackle Room still echoed, but Lu Heng's gaze suddenly fell upon the figure at the doorway. He coldly demanded, "Who?"
Before Shen Fenghuo could utter another word, he had appeared before her like a ghost.
His hand clamped around her neck, the force nearly crushing her. The empty food basket in her hand fell to the ground.
Her neck constricted, Shen Fenghuo's face quickly flushed red, a suffocating sensation surging up her throat.
She struggled to open her mouth, "Lord…"
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
Lu Heng's eyes were as cold as knives, scrutinizing her from head to toe.
"A… a kitchen servant… from the Dali Temple."
Shen Fenghuo forced out the words with all her might, the pain in her neck making her vision blur.
Lu Heng loosened his grip.
Shen Fenghuo staggered back two steps, leaning against the wall as she coughed violently, gasping for air in great breaths.
"The Dali Temple has no female kitchen servants."
Lu Heng looked down at her imperiously. "Who sent you? Speak!"
"Lord, don't you remember me?"
Shen Fenghuo caught her breath and looked up at him. "This morning, you ate the pan-fried buns I made…"
Lu Heng's gaze fell upon her hair, where a simple-styled hairpin looked all too familiar.
"That hairpin of yours," he frowned. "Where did it come from?"
"It was part of my dowry, given by my mother."
Lu Heng suddenly realized—this was one she had worn in her hair on their wedding night.
She was the daughter of the Shen family, Shen Fenghuo.
His wife, whom he had only known by name.
Staring at the red marks on her neck, he said with complex, unreadable emotions, "You gave up being the wife of the Assistant Minister to work as a kitchen servant in the Dali Temple?"
Lu Heng turned around. "Come with me."
Shen Fenghuo obediently followed behind Lu Heng.
Lord, he's acting strange again.
Lu Heng walked at a leisurely pace and asked indifferently, "So you claim you became a kitchen servant in the Dali Temple out of concern for this official's health?"
Shen Fenghuo quickly nodded. "Yes… I heard the food at the Dali Temple is coarse, and the Lord works hard on cases."
Lu Heng let out a low, scoffing "heh."
Does she really like him that much?
The two walked all the way to the Dining Hall, where Chen Yang was cleaning the stove. Seeing Shen Fenghuo enter, he said impatiently, "Why are you only coming back now? You've delayed tomorrow's preparations—"
"Is it time to end the shift?"
Chen Yang's words abruptly stopped, his impatience instantly replaced with deference as he hurriedly bowed and nodded. "Yes, yes, Young Minister Lu, the shift has already ended."
"Since the shift has ended, let her go."
Lu Heng's tone was flat. "Follow the rules."
Chen Yang dared not ask further and quickly replied, "Yes."
The two walked side by side out of the Dali Temple gates, the sunset now completely gone.
Shen Fenghuo quickened her pace, wanting to return home, but Lu Heng's voice came from behind her: "Don't move."
She obediently stood still.
Lu Heng walked up to her. "It's dark. Let's go back together."
Shen Fenghuo let out an "Oh."
Mother Lu sat in the warm chamber, the tea broth on the table having been replaced twice. Seeing that the sky had already darkened and A'He still hadn't returned, she sent someone to inquire.
Before they could exchange more than a few words, a servant’s delighted announcement came from outside the courtyard gate: “Old Madam! The young master and the young mistress have returned together!”
Mother Lu rose and hurried toward the entrance, the worry on her face vanishing completely, replaced by a broad smile.
Just as she reached the corridor, she saw Lu Heng walking ahead in his red official robe, with Shen Fenghuo following behind. Though Shen Fenghuo looked somewhat weary, she appeared otherwise unharmed.
“Good, good, it’s wonderful that you’re back, truly wonderful!”
Mother Lu took Shen Fenghuo’s hand and, noticing it was cold, quickly rubbed it between her own. “You must be exhausted from the journey. Go rest in your own courtyard. I won’t disturb you any longer.”
As she spoke, she gently nudged the two of them toward the inner courtyard.
Watching their retreating figures walking side by side, Mother Lu couldn’t help but smile, her eyes crinkling with delight.
Indeed, it’s best when they’re constantly in each other’s company!
Now that they had more opportunities to spend time together, their feelings were bound to grow gradually with time.
Back in their courtyard, Xiangling had already lit the silver-thread charcoal, filling the room with cozy warmth.
Seeing Lu Heng standing motionless in the courtyard, Shen Fenghuo said softly, “Lord, I’ll go rest now.”
“Wait.”
Lu Heng stopped her just as she was about to step into her room. “What did you make for me to eat during the day?”
Shen Fenghuo replied promptly, “Pan-fried steamed buns, which you sampled earlier today.”
As the Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, his memory shouldn’t be this poor.
Lu Heng raised an eyebrow slightly. “Since they were well-made, why didn’t you prepare them for dinner?”
Shen Fenghuo blinked. “Lord, dinner was prepared by Chen Chu, and besides, I was already off duty.”
“I’m hungry.”
Shen Fenghuo was taken aback. “The dining hall had scallion and fermented bean pork and coriander river deer meat earlier. Didn’t you eat any?”
Leaning against the doorframe, Lu Heng replied matter-of-factly, “No, I didn’t. You make something for me… Aren’t you concerned about my well-being?”
Shen Fenghuo held back her irritation. Forcing a smile, she asked, “What would you like to eat, then?”
“Anything.”
With no other choice, she turned and headed toward the small kitchen in the corner of the courtyard. To her surprise, Lu Heng followed leisurely behind her.
“The young master is being too unreasonable,” Xiangling whispered to the maid beside her, having already prepared warm utensils for Shen Fenghuo. “The young mistress is so exhausted. What harm would it do if he skipped one meal?”
The small kitchen was tidy and well-organized. Shen Fenghuo opened the rice jar, scooped out half a bowl of rice, rinsed it clean, and soaked it in warm water. Then, she sliced some chicken.
She added ginger to boiling water to blanch the chicken, removed it, and shredded the meat along the grain. Next, she scooped out half a bowl of snow vegetable from an earthenware jar, rinsed it twice in water to reduce the saltiness, chopped it finely, and set it aside.
Once the rice had soaked, she added it to a pot, brought it to a boil over high heat, then reduced the flame to let it simmer slowly.
Shen Fenghuo sat nearby, tending to the fire. The plum blossom hairpin at her temple occasionally swayed, and Lu Heng stood watching, making no move to leave.
When the porridge had thickened, she added the shredded chicken and chopped snow vegetable, sprinkled in a spoonful of sesame oil, and a pot of shredded chicken and snow vegetable porridge was ready.
Seeing how deftly she worked, Lu Heng suddenly scoffed. “During the day, you made him pan-fried steamed buns, but when it comes to me, all I get is porridge?”
Shen Fenghuo didn’t understand what he meant. She ladled a bowl and handed it to him. “This snow vegetable is my own pickling, brought from the countryside. If you don’t want it, I’ll eat it myself.”
Lu Heng said nothing, taking the bowl and scooping a spoonful.
The warm porridge slid smoothly down his throat. The rice was rich and fragrant, the shredded chicken tender and not dry, and the snow vegetable crisp and refreshing, cutting through any heaviness.
The aroma of sesame oil was just right. After a few mouthfuls, the chill from his journey dissipated.
Without another word, he lowered his head and drank spoonful after spoonful, finishing the bowl quickly.
"Lord, you just said you wouldn't eat, yet you finished the entire bowl?"
Shen Fenghuo drank a bowl herself, tidying up the dishes. "If you're full, Lord, I'll go back to my room to rest."
She turned to leave, but her wrist was grabbed.
Shen Fenghuo paused and looked back. "What's wrong?"
Lu Heng stared at her. "You're going back to your room alone?"
"Yes."
Shen Fenghuo blinked, following his lead.
"What is it, Lord? Tonight… do you want to sleep with me?"
Author's Note:
A'He: Points deducted, points deducted.
Lu Heng: He gets to eat meat, while I only get porridge?