pappabearbooks Chapter 61 Bring some leftovers for Father Emperor
Chapter 61 Bring some leftovers for Father Emperor
Chapter 61 Bring some leftovers for Father Emperor
Late at night.
The lamp oil in the dim lamp in the backyard of the imperial kitchen was almost gone, and the flame flickered intermittently.
The place was a mess, with piles of bright red shrimp shells like small hills, and several empty wine bottles lying haphazardly on the table, all of them completely dry.
Li Yuan was taken away by Wei Zheng and several imperial guards.
The old man was drunk, and as he walked, he kept shouting that he wanted to tear down the glazed tiles of Da'an Palace to build a new house for Su Mu. Wei Zheng's dark face looked desperate in the night.
Little Sizi lay on Li Lizhi's shoulder, her two little hands tightly gripping her older sister's collar, fast asleep.
A little red oil stain still clung to the corner of his mouth, and he smacked his lips every now and then, seemingly still struggling with some giant pincer in his dream.
The courtyard fell silent.
Su Mu kicked away an empty wine bottle at his feet, picked up a rag and wiped the table a couple of times.
"What are you still standing there for?"
Su Mu glanced at Li Lizhi, who was still there, and asked, "Waiting for breakfast?"
Li Lizhi gently pulled her sleeping younger sister up a bit, her eyes fixed intently on the iron pot.
There was still a thick layer of red oil broth at the bottom of the pot, with dozens of shrimp heads that had been pinched off and a few cloves of stewed garlic that had been cooked until soft.
The intensely spicy flavor, though cooled down, became even richer and more mellow, wafting straight into your nose.
"Su Mu".
Li Lizhi swallowed hard, her voice a little weak, "Do you still want the broth from this pot?"
Su Mu paused in his work, raising an eyebrow as he looked at the Tang Dynasty princess.
"Leftover soup, you want some too?"
"This isn't leftovers!"
Li Lizhi blushed, but forced herself to explain, "Lord Wei said that this broth is full of the essence. The shrimp roe has all dissolved in the broth—it would be a waste to throw it away."
Actually, she was thinking of her father, who was still hungry in the Liangyi Palace.
The egg tart was completely crushed into crumbs.
The pancakes had softened into a paste.
Not to mention the food I brought several times before, most of which was appalling, and very few of them were actually edible.
There's no meat left this time; I can't go back empty-handed.
This soup smells so good, Father Emperor shouldn't mind, right?
Su Mu shrugged indifferently, found a clean earthenware pot under the cutting board, and scooped the broth and shrimp heads from the pot into it with a large spoon.
"Take it."
The earthenware jar was placed into Li Lizhi's hands, still warm.
"Don't drink this straight when you get back, it's incredibly salty. Cook some noodles or mix it with rice."
"The lobster noodles were actually quite delicious."
Su Mu yawned, turned around and slumped onto the mortise and tenon recliner. "Take care, and remember to return the jars to me tomorrow."
Li Lizhi looked at the dusty earthenware jar in her arms, then at the back of the figure who had closed his eyes to rest, gritted her teeth, hugged her younger sister, picked up the jar, and turned to disappear into the night.
Liangyi Hall.
The water clock ticked away, its sound exceptionally clear in the empty hall, each tick striking Li Shimin's taut nerves.
"Wang Dequan".
Li Shimin suddenly stopped, his voice somewhat hoarse.
"This servant is here."
Wang Dequan huddled in the corner and quickly bowed.
"Go check if he's back yet."
As soon as he finished speaking, the palace door was pushed open a crack.
Li Lizhi carried the baby Sizi in her arms and the pottery jar in her hand as she tiptoed in.
-
Li Shimin's eyes lit up, and he rushed forward to meet him.
He glanced at his sleeping daughter first, and seeing her rosy cheeks, he felt relieved. His gaze then fell on the earthenware jar.
"This is----"
Li Shimin's nostrils twitched.
A strong, spicy aroma wafted through the earthenware pot lid.
"Father, this is made by Su Mu—spicy crayfish."
Li Lizhi handed the little rhinoceros to the palace maid who came to greet her, and carefully placed the pottery jar on the imperial table. "Your subject brought it back specially for Father to taste."
The gloom in Li Shimin's heart dissipated almost entirely in an instant.
These few heartless people actually have some filial piety!
He rubbed his hands together, sat down on the dragon throne, and without even asking anyone to bring him bowls and chopsticks, reached out and lifted the lid.
"Let me see what this wonderful thing is."
The lid is lifted.
The smile on Li Shimin's face froze instantly.
Inside the jar, a layer of red oil had solidified, and a dark, messy mass of other things were crammed together inside.
It's all heads.
It's all just shells!
You can even see a few broken tendrils, which look particularly grotesque in the red oil.
What about meat?
Undeterred, Li Shimin picked up the silver chopsticks and stirred the contents of the jar.
Splash, splash.
All I could hear were the sounds of hard shells colliding.
Aside from shrimp heads, there was only garlic; not a single whole shrimp tail was found.
"Snapped!"
Li Shimin slammed the silver chopsticks on the table, making the earthenware pot jump.
"What does this mean?"
Li Shimin pointed at the jar of leftovers, his hands trembling with rage, his voice rising eight octaves: "I am the Son of Heaven! The Emperor of the Great Tang! You have all eaten and drunk your fill, the meat is gone, the wine is flowing freely, and you're trying to fool me with this jar of leftover garbage?!"
"What do you take me for? A garbage collector?!"
Li Lizhi was startled and quickly knelt down: "Father, please calm down! This—this is not garbage! Su Mu said that the soup is the essence; although the meat is gone, the flavor is all in the soup—"
"Essence?"
Li Shimin, enraged, laughed coldly. He picked up an empty shrimp head and held it up to his eyes. "This is what you call the essence? This is clearly the scraps that Su Mu left behind! So, I'm the only one in the whole world who doesn't deserve to eat meat, only to drink soup and slurp up the shells?!"
The more he talked, the more aggrieved he felt, and the angrier he became.
The mighty Khan, starving in the middle of the night, longed for a jar of shrimp heads!
"Take it all! Take it all!"
Li Shimin flicked his sleeve, nearly knocking the pottery jar to the ground. "I'd rather starve to death, or jump off this palace, than eat this handout!"
Wang Dequan watched with his heart pounding.
He knew His Majesty all too well.
I'm stubborn but soft-hearted, and more importantly—I'm really hungry!
The smell from that jar was so overpowering that Wang Dequan couldn't help but swallow hard when he opened the lid.
If this is really removed, His Majesty will probably tear the roof off the Liangyi Hall tonight.
"Your Majesty—please calm down, please calm down."
Wang Dequan mustered his courage and approached, his face beaming with smiles: "The Princess is showing her filial piety. Although this thing doesn't look very appealing, it does smell delicious to me. It's the middle of the night, and the Imperial Kitchen is rather cold. Your Majesty's health is of utmost importance."
His eyes darted around, glancing at the jar of chili oil.
"I've heard that there's a folk way of eating noodles called 'oil-splashed noodles.' The broth is bright red and oily. If we could have the Imperial Kitchen prepare a bowl of vegetarian noodles and pour this broth over them—"
Li Shimin stopped cursing.
He stared at the shrimp head, then looked at the bright red broth in the jar.
I was so focused on being angry just now, but now that I've calmed down, the aroma of garlic, wine, and spiciness is seeping into my very being through my breath.
My stomach obligingly growled.
Glug—!
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