Chapter 56: Eating to One's Heart's Content

"Just as I was locked in a bloody battle..."
"Guess who... Wait, you two stop talking! Old Yan, Mr. Cheng, hurry up and guess!"

Reminiscing about the past, Shen Nian gestured wildly with his hands. He first waved his hand solemnly, signaling Wen Xueying and the clerk to keep quiet, and then looked toward Cheng Ruyi and Yan Kuang with a deliberately mysterious expression.

Yan Kuang was clearly not interested in playing along. Thinking that he could not be completely impolite, Cheng Ruyi forced an awkward smile, put on a curious look, and asked, "Ah? Who was it?"

"Naturally, it was Xue Niang!"

A look of deep emotion and pride surfaced in Shen Nian's eyes. He said excitedly, "Xue Niang burst out from behind me! With a single thrust, her spear pierced Hua Changsheng's arm! And then, and then...!"

"Fighting side by side, Her Ladyship and I ultimately beat that scoundrel down the cliff together, ridding the people of a pest!"

With that, Shen Nian shyly covered his chest and said affectionately, "This heroic romance is widely spread across Qizhou. From then on, the common people affectionately called Her Ladyship and me the Twin Heroes of Qizhou..."

"Lord Shen... wait a moment."

Wen Xueying, standing nearby, found it hard to listen any longer and interjected, "At the time, it was clearly you, My Lord, who was being held hostage by Hua Changsheng..."

"Hey! What are you saying..." Shen Nian hurriedly tried to change the subject, but unexpectedly, the clerk picked up the thread and continued—

"Ah, yes, yes, yes! Indeed, Lady Cuiyu arrived just in time to save Your Honor and knocked Hua Changsheng down the precipice!"

Silence. For a moment, the dining hall was dead quiet.

Shen Nian could no longer force a smile, nor did he know how to explain himself. He first glared fiercely at the clerk, then frowned and pursed his lips at Wen Xueying.

"Well... the beginning of Lord Shen and Lady Xue's acquaintance is indeed legendary and can be called a wonderful romance! But..." Cheng Ruyi took the initiative to break the awkward atmosphere. "After talking for so long, I am somewhat curious: who is this 'Hua Changsheng' you keep mentioning?"

Yan Kuang, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up at these words. "If he were still alive, he would be approaching forty by now. Hua Changsheng was originally a fierce general under the command of General Liang. He achieved meritorious service in his youth and once rose to the rank of a fourth-rank Commander. But later, when General Liang fell from power, he was implicated and demoted to a seventh-rank Garrison Captain."

"Perhaps because his ambitions were thwarted, his temperament became violent and arrogant. The Jinyiwei investigated him, and in the end, he was stripped of his official post and driven out of the capital."

"Exactly!"

Shen Nian clapped his hands, nodded, and took over the conversation. "He returned to Qizhou to become a local tyrant... yet his violent and cruel nature remained unchanged, completely unbridled!"

"Lord Shen, stop storytelling for a moment and come give me a hand."

Liang Zhanying held a cloth pad in one hand to support a three-tiered bamboo steamer, while her other hand balanced a plate of unknown meat dishes.

Seeing this, Shen Nian hurriedly went over to take the steamer. Liang Zhanying placed the other dish on the table, and the maids behind her successively brought the rest of the food to the table.

As Liang Zhanying lifted the lid of the steamer, a plume of white steam billowed up instantly. A cage of plump, white steamed buns exuded an alluring fragrance, while the remaining meat and vegetable dishes were all vibrant in color, rich in aroma, and exquisite in taste.

Cheng Ruyi praised them repeatedly in his heart, vowing that he must find an opportunity to ask Liang Zhanying for cooking lessons! That way, perhaps Yan Kuang would not eat with a stern face all the time in the future...

Faced with a table full of delicacies, everyone's appetite soared, except for Yan Kuang, who maintained a placid expression and asked, "What happened later? Why was Hua Changsheng hunted down by government soldiers and Ling Tianyu at the same time? And also..."

Without finishing his sentence, Yan Kuang cast a meaningful glance at Liang Zhanying.

Shen Nian eagerly grabbed a large steamed bun and shoved it into his mouth. With the very first bite, the hot meat filling scalded his mouth, rendering him temporarily speechless. Cheng Ruyi hurriedly fetched a fan to help cool him down.

Meeting Yan Kuang's gaze, Liang Zhanying instantly understood, but she only said calmly to Yan Kuang, "I know what you are worried about. It's fine; everyone present is our own people. They all know my surname is Liang, and they know whose daughter I am."

"Hua Changsheng once served under my father, but he didn't recognize me. I am no longer the young child of back then, nor is he the young General Hua of the past."

Mentioning this, Liang Zhanying closed her eyes slightly, though her hands remained busy distributing tableware as she continued, "Just as Lord Shen said, he was violently cruel..."

Wen Xueying was helping Liang Zhanying place the bowls and chopsticks. Hearing this, she sighed and added, "That Hua Changsheng was extremely lustful, hunting for beauties to take as concubines every few days. Had I not held an official post and had Lord Shen protecting me, he probably would have tried to take me as a concubine back then as well..."

The clerk fetched a jar of wine from the cabinet nearby and placed it on the table. Hearing this, he also said indignantly, "Indeed, indeed... He even kept a gang of ruffians and thugs to practice martial arts and wrestling with him, and even led them onto the streets! Acting as tyrants outside and keeping a house full of wives and concubines at home! Our Lord is the dignified Prefect of Qizhou, approaching thirty and still unmarried; what qualification did that man have to be so arrogant!"

"Oh, get to the main point!" Shen Nian recovered and said, "He committed capital crimes! Even if the King of Heaven himself descended, he had to die!"

At these words, both Wen Xueying and the clerk lowered their gazes, turned their heads aside, and fell silent. Cheng Ruyi felt a surge of curiosity, only to notice that Liang Zhanying merely frowned slightly, looking as though it were difficult to speak.

Shen Nian, however, showed no inhibition and continued angrily, "He murdered his legal wife, concubines, and children! That alone was enough to make him die ten times over!"

Yan Kuang and Cheng Ruyi frowned in unison. After pondering for a moment, Liang Zhanying spoke up once more, "That is not all."

Shocked, Cheng Ruyi asked, "Not all? What more could there be...?"

Cheng Ruyi thought to himself that heartless men had existed since ancient times; when it came to ruthlessness, it was hard to tell who was worse... But they always said that even a fierce tiger would not eat its own cubs—what kind of monster could bring himself to harm even his own children?

"Under the pretext that his legal wife had illicit relations with another man, he tied her up in his own courtyard... and subjected her to death by a thousand cuts."

As Liang Zhanying said this, Cheng Ruyi's heart sank heavily, yet he noticed that the expression on Yan Kuang's face beside him had grown even uglier.

The same pretext, the same ruthless husband's family. Past events surged like a tide into his mind, and Yan Kuang felt a suffocating tightness in his chest. Suddenly, he felt a firm grip on his hand.

Cheng Ruyi was holding his hand and squeezing it hard.

Cheng Ruyi's hand was somewhat cool, yet dry and warm. The moment they touched, it felt like a clear spring pouring into the strings of the heart, gradually calming the churning blood in Yan Kuang's chest.

They heard Liang Zhanying furrow her brow and continue, "Suspecting that his other concubines were also unfaithful to him and that his children were not his own flesh and blood, he threw his young sons into a hunting ground. While forcing them to run for their lives, he personally... shot them dead one by one."

"As for his remaining concubines and daughters, he stripped off all their clothing and abandoned them to the beggars and vagrants outside the city to be abused..."

Even wrapped in a thick cloak, Cheng Ruyi still shuddered.

As if recalling something utterly terrifying, Wen Xueying said with a pained expression, "The vagrants and beggars outside the city were like beasts and wolves. We arrived far too late... Some of those women killed themselves by suicide to escape the humiliation, while others were... His youngest daughter was not even six years old and had never stepped outside the mansion gates a single step, yet in the end, she didn't even leave behind an intact corpse!"

The atmosphere grew sorrowful and heavy for a moment. Only the dishes on the table still earnestly emitted heat, as if hoping everyone would honor them by tasting the food soon.

"Ah... That's why I said, dying ten times, a hundred times wouldn't be enough for him! Even though Xue Niang cutting off one of his arms let him off somewhat lightly, fortunately, he is dead... Why dwell on a dead ghost? What is there to fear about a dead ghost?"

With that, Shen Nian opened the wine jar to pour drinks for everyone, adding, "Bad people, you see, can never be entirely exterminated."

"And people who need saving... can never be completely saved either..."

Murmuring to himself, Shen Nian poured a large bowl of wine for each person. Instantly, the fragrance of wine filled the room, and the atmosphere seemed to warm up considerably.

"Come on, come on, let's fill our stomachs first! The matters of Ginkgo Village and Thin Cloud Sky are still waiting for us to investigate! This trip probably won't be any pleasant errand either..."

"I still have to rely on the help of all you esteemed guests here, and I thank you all in advance!"

With that, Shen Nian raised his large earthenware bowl and said, "I'll go first!"

"Lord Shen has great spirit! Xue Ruqin will accompany you!" Moved by his words, Liang Zhanying picked up her wine bowl and drained it in one go alongside Shen Nian.

"If not for Lord Shen, how could Xueying have entered the official ranks? This subordinate is willing to obey Your Lordship's dispatches at any time!" Wen Xueying was not to be outdone; she downed her bowl of wine in a single gulp.

The clerk also turned his empty wine bowl upside down on the table. As for Yan Kuang and Cheng Ruyi, both of them wore somewhat troubled expressions.

"Old Yan, Mr. Cheng?" Seeing this, Shen Nian smiled and said, "Ah, if you two are in a hurry to leave, it doesn't matter. Let this wine serve as a farewell drink for the two of you."

"No..." Cheng Ruyi smiled awkwardly. "Lord Shen has misunderstood; it's not for that reason..."

"You two needn't stand on ceremony. This was never your duty to begin with, and besides, you've already helped a great deal." Shen Nian said solemnly, "Had it not been for Mr. Cheng's diversion, how could the Medical Officer and I have escaped smoothly?"

It was true that Shen Nian had no intention of trapping them, but it was also true that Cheng Ruyi and Yan Kuang wanted to help. It was just that...

Yan Kuang remained silent, which Cheng Ruyi found curious. Liang Zhanying, however, seemed to recall something and said, "Lord Shen, Clerk... Lord Yan's bowl, I will drink it on his behalf."

Cheng Ruyi thought it strange. He himself didn't dare drink because of... well, what was Yan Kuang's reason? Could it be that the dignified former commander of the Jinyiwei, the feared Jade-Faced Yama, actually...

Could not... drink... alcohol?

Seeing that Liang Zhanying intended to drink in Yan Kuang's place, Shen Nian immediately protested, "No, no! Wine can be drunk for someone else, but can sincerity be substituted?"

Liang Zhanying wanted to say something more in his defense, but Yan Kuang immediately spoke up as if remembering something. "Shen Nian, we still have wounds on our bodies. With such a huge bowl of wine, are you trying to see how fast we die?"

Cheng Ruyi instantly breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly chimed in, "Yes, exactly... My back and waist are still aching."

The others finally realized what was going on. In the end, Cheng Ruyi and Yan Kuang substituted water for wine to return the toast, and everyone began their evening meal, eating with great relish.

The steamed buns were as large as fists, yet possessed thin skins and generous fillings. The meat stuffing was rich without being greasy, releasing endless fragrance with a single bite while the juices dripped down the chopsticks. The Nine-Turn Intestines initially looked like hawthorn rolls—crystal clear, brightly colored, and ruddy; eaten in the mouth, they were savory, sweet, sour, and spicy all at once, letting a hundred flavors burst forth and making the taste buds bloom. The stir-fried baby greens were bright green and crisp, serving as an excellent palate cleanser.

The staples included donkey meat fire-baked pastries. Cheng Ruyi was eating donkey meat for the first time; it tasted tender and savory without getting stuck between the teeth, the savory sauce offset the gameyness, and the crust was crispy, truly making it impossible to stop.

After three rounds of drinks and five courses of food, though everyone's stomachs were full, their minds were still lingering for more.

Cheng Ruyi sincerely praised, "Lady Xue's culinary skills are truly peerless under heaven. If there's a chance in the future, might I ask for some guidance?"

"Naturally, if the opportunity arises," Liang Zhanying replied with a gentle smile. "They say a gentleman keeps his distance from the kitchen, and inner-chamber matters belong to women. Mr. Cheng is a scholar, yet you have an interest in the Dao of cooking?"

Cheng Ruyi subconsciously glanced at Yan Kuang, then said to Liang Zhanying, "Ah, you flatter me, Lady Xue. The people regard food as their heaven, and scholars are human too; we still have to eat after all..."

Yan Kuang also noticed Cheng Ruyi looking at him and sensed a bit of the other's intentions, though unfortunately, no matter how delicious the food was, it tasted like chewed wax in his own mouth.