Su Wan’ning carefully put away the small jar. After setting a large pot of mung bean soup to simmer, she began preparing the pork belly.
She blanched the meat, then pan-fried it until the skin developed a tiger-stripe pattern. While waiting for the meat to cool, she cleaned and gutted the fish.
Every step was orderly and methodical—fast, but never rushed.
Qingfang was even more satisfied. She turned and went upstairs to report back.
The relay worker also returned with more than half a basket of elm seeds and was assigned the task of mincing the fish into a fine paste.
Su Wan’ning cut the meat and steamed it.
She washed and prepared the vegetables.
The aroma of braised pork with preserved mustard greens soon filled the kitchen. She then heated the wok to fry the fish cakes, scrambled the eggs, and tossed the shredded vegetables.
Four dishes, one soup, and one staple were completed smoothly, almost as if everything were flowing naturally.
The relay worker stood to the side, completely dumbfounded.
“Madam Su, hurry. Let’s bring the dishes upstairs.”
If he had previously looked down on her and intended to use her as a scapegoat, after witnessing her cooking these dishes with his own eyes, not a trace of contempt remained.
It had all turned into admiration—and relief!
Not only had he managed to save his own skin, but he might even be able to get a share of the reward.
“All right.”
Su Wan’ning nodded and placed the small jar onto the tray as well.
The moment the two of them started upstairs, they heard an argument coming from the room.
“It’s so hot! Who wants to eat braised pork? It’s so greasy!”
Su Wan’ning stopped in her tracks.
“You haven’t even tried it. At least…” Qingfang’s voice was filled with helplessness.
“I’m not trying it! Take it away! I want snail rice noodles… The kind that’s explosively spicy! And scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and ice cream! Forget it. You can’t make any of those things anyway! I might as well starve to death!”
The girl’s voice grew sharper and sharper, with tears creeping into it.
Su Wan’ning’s fingers tightened slightly, and her heart rose into her throat.
She knew how to stir-fry river snails, but what exactly were “explosively spicy” rice noodles? And what was tomato ice cream?
She had spent ten years in the Imperial Food Bureau and had never heard of any of these things.
“Don’t worry, Madam Su. Let the noble lady taste the food first.”
The relay worker whispered a word of comfort before knocking on the door.
The room fell silent.
“Come in.” Qingfang opened the door.
Su Wan’ning steadied herself and began arranging the food one dish at a time.
“Tch. Jibei is suffering from famine, yet you’re willing to use this much oil!”
The girl stopped sobbing. As soon as she sat down at the table, she began complaining.
“Everything is either fried or fatty meat. Just looking at it kills my appetite.”
Qingfang picked up some scrambled eggs with elm seeds and placed them in her bowl, trying to persuade her.
“I think these dishes look quite good. Every one of them is beautifully made…”
“What good is being pretty? I’m not eating this garbage! Take it away!”
The girl’s voice suddenly rose.
Their eyes met.
One was stubborn and angry, while the other was filled with helplessness.
The atmosphere in the room became tense.
The relay worker did not even dare breathe too loudly.
But Su Wan’ning had no intention of giving up so easily.
If she were driven out, she would surely fall into another desperate situation tonight.
Absolutely not!
She quickly opened the small jar and spooned some of its contents onto a small plate.
“Miss, why don’t you try this mushroom sauce? It’s savory and fragrant with a slight spiciness. Perhaps it will suit your taste.”
This girl could name so many unusual foods. Ordinary dishes clearly could not satisfy her.
It seemed she could only try the contents of this jar.
If even this failed to catch her interest, then she would have no choice but…
As her thoughts raced, the distinctive fragrance of mushrooms quickly spread throughout the room.
The mushrooms in the dish were not finely minced. Instead, they had been cut into pieces about the size of soybeans. Against the pale moon-white plate, each reddish-brown piece looked especially beautiful, while the meat had been shredded into fine strands.
“Mushrooms? Little mushrooms?”
The girl took a deep breath.
She stopped crying and stopped shouting.
Her almond-shaped eyes were still red, but she stared at the dish without blinking, as though deep in thought.
Qingfang, however, was somewhat displeased.
“Cook Su, putting aside what kind of mushrooms you used, this sauce is salty and hardly nutritious. How can you give something like this to our young lady?”
To put it bluntly, only those lowly commoners would treat this kind of vegetable as something precious!
“Qingfang!”
The girl raised a hand and lightly pressed it down, stopping Qingfang from saying more.
“There’s tai mushrooms, jade mushrooms, pine mushrooms… Am I right? I think there’s something else too, but I can’t identify it! And what kind of meat is this?”
“Miss, you’re amazing. You guessed them all correctly. There are also morel mushrooms and chicken mushrooms. The meat is venison.”
Su Wan’ning answered sincerely.
The girl’s eyes curved into a smile at the compliment. The moment she heard it was venison, she covered her mouth and inhaled sharply.
“Venison? Then wouldn’t this be…”
As she spoke, she could not resist picking up her chopsticks and reaching for a bite.
“Miss! These are mushrooms. Anything like this must be carefully inspected before it enters your mouth! Wait for me to test the food first!”
Qingfang hurriedly stopped her.
But in those few moments, the aroma of the mushroom sauce had grown even richer and more intense.
The girl could no longer resist.
Besides, there was only a jar about the size of a fist. Once it was gone, there would be no more!
She snatched the plate away and turned her body to shield it.
“No need to test it! This is mushroom venison paste! Do you know how rare it is?”
A trace of surprise flashed through Su Wan’ning’s eyes, but she quickly suppressed it.
“Mmm!~ This is the taste!”
The girl had already picked up a small bite.
Large pieces of mushroom bounced between her lips and teeth. Blended with the venison and dogwood pepper, they released an intense, earthy freshness.
Chewy, crisp, tender—
Delicious!
She narrowed her eyes in satisfaction and savored it carefully.
“Only mushroom sauce made with venison deserves to be called mushroom venison paste. It needs to be sealed and fermented for a month, then slowly simmered to bring out the fragrance of every ingredient. This is an ancient method that has already been lost! Huh? This flavor seems a little different from what’s recorded.”
“How did you know the secret recipe for this ancient method?”
Qingfang immediately caught the important point. Her eyes toward Su Wan’ning became scrutinizing.
“Ancient method? I didn’t know that.”
Su Wan’ning was stunned for a moment before giving an embarrassed smile.
“The venison was a reward from one of the palace ladies. As for these mushrooms, they were irregular pieces that would otherwise have been discarded. I couldn’t bear to waste them, so I saved them up and tried several different methods. I didn’t realize it would turn out to resemble an ancient recipe.”
“No wonder. So you were just experimenting. That explains why the flavor is slightly different…”
Qingfang nodded.
It made sense if Su Wan’ning had simply stumbled upon it by accident.
“No! It’s not worse. It’s better!”
The girl excitedly stood up.
“It’s gentler and smoother than the flavor described in the records! Cook Su, are you a genius?”
“You flatter me, Miss. The ingredients available in the Imperial Food Bureau were simply better. We used Du Wu Yu, whose spicy aroma is much milder.”
Su Wan’ning smiled faintly.
In truth, the more important reason was that she had modified the recipe. She had sealed it and let it ferment for a hundred days, so naturally the flavors had blended together much better.
But there was no need to mention that.
She remained completely calm.
The other three people in the room, however, were all experiencing waves of shock in their hearts.
It had merely been discarded ingredients.
She simply could not bear to waste them.
She had only tried a few different methods.
Yet she had managed to recreate a lost ancient secret recipe—and had even made the mushroom venison paste taste better than the original ancient version!
What kind of talent was this?
Qingfang could hardly believe that Su Wan’ning was only eighteen years old.
Bold and decisive, calm and unflustered, fearless and composed.
This young cook had an unlimited future ahead of her!
The girl spoke softly.
“Qingfang, what do you think about having Cook Su prepare a few dishes for our Old Ancestor’s birthday?”
The more she thought about it, the more feasible the idea seemed, and her tone grew increasingly cheerful.
“If Old Ancestor is happy, maybe she’ll let me stay here permanently. And if she happens to be in the mood, perhaps she’ll even cook a few palace dishes for me. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”
“Miss, what a coincidence. Cook Su is also returning to Qingshan County.”
Qingfang wholeheartedly approved of her mistress’s suggestion.
Su Wan’ning, who had been calm just moments ago, froze.
Old Ancestor.
Palace dishes.
Also going to Qingshan County.
The family that had framed her, whipped her to death, and left her without a complete corpse in her previous life…
Could this young lady actually be the daughter of that very family?
:::