This realization made Su Xi feel a sudden jolt of alarm, but she immediately dismissed the thought.
Impossible, absolutely impossible.
That person hadn’t even looked directly over here—how could they have noticed?
After reassuring herself, Su Xi let out a soft, relieved sigh.
“That person must be the newly appointed Prefect of Jingzhao,” Su Ting said, gazing at the distant carriage with admiration. “He looks so imposing!”
Su Cheng, now allowed to speak again, nodded in agreement. “That’s right, that lord looks really tall!”
In his mind, imposingness was synonymous with height.
“In the ‘Book of Rites,’ the chapter on ‘Qu Li’ says: ‘In arranging the court and governing the army, in holding office and enforcing laws, without propriety, authority cannot be established,’” Su Ting turned and explained seriously, citing the origin and meaning of the term. “It refers to someone who is thorough and courteous in dealing with others, strict and law-abiding in their actions.”
He gave a detailed explanation.
Su Cheng, however, was utterly confused, his eyes blank as he scratched the back of his head and said dazedly, “But that lord really is tall!”
Su Ting choked on his words and turned to Su Xi. “Elder Sister.”
He meant for Su Xi to settle the matter.
Hearing their conversation, Su Xi couldn’t help but smile.
But as for settling the matter, she could only say that the elder wasn’t wrong, and the younger’s logic wasn’t wrong either.
“There are many interpretations of ‘imposing,’ and both understandings are correct,” Su Xi took a neutral stance, not extending this dilemma further, and naturally changed the subject. “However, for someone to be tall, majestic, and awe-inspiring, they must first have a strong body.”
“So, how about I make you some salt and pepper pork ribs?” Su Xi asked.
Su Ting very much wanted to say that imposingness had even less to do with pork ribs.
But before he could speak,
Su Cheng was already nodding eagerly, agreeing without hesitation.
“Elder Sister, I want to eat! I want to eat!” he said.
Having received one response, Su Xi turned to the other.
Su Ting, his words thus blocked, followed his heart and nodded. “Let’s eat!”
“Then it’s decided,” Su Xi said with satisfaction, gesturing for him to push the cart and outlining the plan. “After we ask about the process for filing a complaint, we’ll go to the meat market first…”
Her voice grew clearer and brighter as she spoke…
Over there.
As soon as Xiao Jinyu boarded the carriage, his expression turned grave.
“Have someone investigate the people standing at the entrance of the prefectural yamen just now,” he said.
“Investigate them?”
Chang’an, who had followed him, didn’t react at first. By the time he did, a dark figure outside the carriage had already accepted the order and departed.
So Changyue was following along, Chang’an thought.
But he hadn’t noticed—were there people in that corner earlier?
Xiao Jinyu had no interest in knowing what he was thinking. He took the tea Chang’an handed him and set it aside, resting his fist against his temple, his brow furrowed as he took a long, deep breath.
As the carriage moved farther and farther away, the scent of sauce and flatbread he had smelled earlier finally began to fade.
But that aroma…
“What happened to that Jianbing Guazi?” Xiao Jinyu asked, remembering the thing he had discarded.
Chang’an hadn’t expected him to ask about it, and his expression shifted slightly.
Xiao Jinyu looked at him.
“Changyue took that Jianbing Guazi and ate it,” Chang’an answered honestly.
Xiao Jinyu’s brow furrowed slightly, as if he hadn’t anticipated such a thing.
It was a long while before Chang’an heard him speak again.
"How was the taste of that Jianbing Guazi?" Xiao Jinyu leaned back slightly, half-reclining against the carriage wall.
The question was clearly directed at him.
Upon hearing this, Chang'an thought to himself, the young master truly understood Chang Fu all too well—knowing he would inevitably bring back two of these for him whenever he saw such things.
So he honestly shared his impressions: "This humble servant found it quite delightful."
"Especially the grilled meat inside, sandwiched with crispy crackers—salty and crunchy. With one bite, you couldn’t taste any saltiness at all, only the aroma."
"And that special sauce—unlike some noodle shops where a mouthful of sauce is overwhelmingly salty, this one had a perfectly balanced sweet and savory flavor, truly exceptional."
"Also, the complimentary pickled radish cubes were very crisp when eaten, with a refreshing taste that cut through the richness perfectly."
By the end, Chang'an nearly made himself hungry just talking about it.
Xiao Jinyu waited for him to finish, then looked at him with a faint, ambiguous smile.
Oh no!
He had momentarily forgotten about the young master’s anorexia issue—and here he was, acting so…
Chang'an looked at him awkwardly.
"So it was that delicious," Xiao Jinyu remarked casually, picking up a book and flipping it open before continuing, "Then tomorrow, go queue up and buy another one."
Chang'an: ?
That’s it?
Over on the other side, Su Xi had no idea that tomorrow’s Jianbing Guazi had already been pre-ordered by someone.
At that moment, Su Xi was wrestling with an entire rack of ribs.
Su Ting had gone to fetch water from the well again. When he returned, he saw Su Xi deftly separating the large rack of ribs in front of her into individual pieces, then chopping them into chunks one by one. The incredibly smooth operation left him somewhat in awe.
"Big sister’s knife skills for dividing ribs are even better than Uncle Zhang’s at the village entrance!" he exclaimed.
Uncle Zhang was the village butcher. In previous years during the New Year, Su Xi’s parents had hired him to handle the meat.
Su Ting had seen him dividing ribs before. The butcher relied mainly on strength, lacking technique, and his movements were nowhere near as… fluid as what he was witnessing now.
Su Xi, who was busy chopping the meat, couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at his words.
She couldn’t very well explain that some modern people enjoyed watching "butchering pigs" videos to relieve stress, and that her rib-dividing skills were honed from managing her online account.
So she decided not to explain and let him think what he wanted.
Su Xi shook her head and continued handling the ribs in her hands.
Making pepper-salt ribs was actually quite a laborious process.
The cleaned ribs first needed to be marinated with scallions, ginger, garlic, and other seasonings to absorb flavor. Then, they were lightly coated in flour and tossed into the oil pot to fry.
Recently, with frying crispy crackers, the oil pot was readily available. The first fry was mainly to set the shape of the ribs—they were fried until about seventy percent cooked, with the surface slightly golden, then removed. The second fry was to achieve a crispy exterior and tender interior. Once the ribs turned golden brown and sizzled loudly in the oil pot, they were taken out.
Of course, for pepper-salt ribs, the most important part was the pepper-salt mixture.
In a separate pan, oil was heated, and coarse salt and Sichuan peppercorns were stir-fried over low heat until fragrant. Then, the fried ribs were tossed into the pan and quickly stir-fried with a swift flipping motion.
Once the ribs were evenly coated with a layer of pepper-salt, the amber-colored ribs took shape. The heat, mingled with the pungent aroma of Sichuan peppercorns and the intertwined scents of scallions and garlic, instantly filled the entire kitchen.
As soon as the aroma wafted out, it immediately attracted two little heads.
Su Cheng came running over on his short legs. The moment he entered the kitchen and smelled the mouthwatering fragrance, he exclaimed loudly, "Big sister, it smells so good, so good!"
Su Ting entered a step behind him, but being taller, he could better see the glistening oil in the pan and the ribs dotted with brown spices.
His focus, however, was on that brown spice.
"Sister, is this what they call Sichuan pepper?"