The Feast Part One

Chapter 6: Cross Swords

In the afternoon in summer, the sun was scorching hot. Thankfully right now is evening time, and it is not so hot. Occasionally, a cool gust of wind will blow past, providing a much sought after relief from the heat.

The prince and his servant walked out of the garden, and could see the door of the courtyard. When they crept nearer, they were surprised to see that everything in the courtyard was clean and tidy. There are plants and flowers in the garden, it is not as broken down or shabby as they had thought.

The prince stepped into the courtyard and a table outside. On top of the table is a large bowl that was turned upside down. The bowl should be covering some food. The gentle wind passed by and carried with it a mouth-watering scent.

Duan Tingxuan immediately head towards the table and lift up the bowl. Under the bowl, there was a plate filled with some food. He looked at these foods, and asked his servant, Si Ping, in puzzlement, "This shape. It looks like dumplings. But why is it so big?"

Si Ping smiled and replied, "When your servant returns home, occasionally my mother will cook this dish. This is not the dumplings that you have eaten frequently. This is a vegetable dumpling. See here? This is pan fried and not steamed. As you can see, one side of the dumpling is slightly overburnt."

Duan Tingxuan looked at this hot and steaming vegetable dumpling. It does look very appetising. He did not say another word, and immediately picked up a piece and bite it. In the next moment, the soup and juices of the stuffing inside the dumpling spurted out.

It is so tasty and delicious that he could not help exclaiming, "Oh, this is good!"

"I thought that they could not live in this place. But never did I expect that they were having a good life here, and have such delicious food to eat." In just 2 to 3 mouthfuls, Duan Tingxuan finished the large dumplings, and picked up one more.

Then he smiled and asked Si Ping, "Go to the kitchen and search around, there should be other dishes. Oh, yes, where are the people living here? Where did they go?"

Si Ping immediately grimaced, and whispered, "Lord, you know the Madam's temper. If you let her know that you have eaten her food, she will be furious. May I suggest that if you love this dish, let's grab this plate and we leave this place. Do not let Madam see us."

"So what if she saw me taking the food? What can she do?"

Duan Tingxuan continued to help himself to the dumplings, and eat until his hands were covered with the gravy. He licked his fingers and said, "She live in my house, eat the food from my house, wear the clothes that I paid for, and is my wife. Letting me eat the food that she cooked is making things difficult for her? Stop talking rubbish! Just do as I have told you. If any problems arise, I will back you up."

In such a short span of time, he had already finished 5 large dumplings. There are less than ½ of the dumplings in the bowl.

With this order from his lord, Si Ping had no choice but to make his way to the kitchen. He had just taken two steps when he heard the sound of footsteps. He was so scared that he hid himself behind Duan Tingxuan, and whispered, "Lord, someone is coming."

Duan Tingxuan was annoyed, and immediately kicked Si Ping, "So what if there is someone coming? This is not a tiger. Look at you, you are so timid! You really embarrassed me!"

"No wonder Missy was so sure about it. This cherry dessert is really beautiful. Just now I drank a sip. This taste is even better the sour plum soup you made."

Following the sound of the voices, the figure of Hong Lian and Xiang Yun appeared from within the kitchen. In each of their hand is a white colour bowl, and they were happily chatting and smiling.