Fields of Gold

Zhu Junyang's phoenix eyes flickered as he looked towards Yu Xiaocao. That lass was currently grinning simple mindedly. The thing that made him the most angry was that the little lass was personally helping that fellow Su Ran ladle up a bowl of 'Buddha Jumps Over the Wall' and she even blew on the soup a bit as if she was afraid he would get scalded…

"Ahem ahem!" Zhu Junyang coughed fakely a couple of times. When everyone turned their heads to look at him, including the puzzled Xiaocao, he slightly frowned and pretended to look out of sorts as he sighed lamentfully, "Argh, I don't know if I wasn't used to the crude environment of the northwest, but I wasn't able to eat very well there. Lately I've been feeling under the weather quite often. Not sure if I'll ever get back to full health…"

Old General Zhao and his son were speechless at this.

Everyone who had served in the northwest knew that, from time to time, they would sneak into the enemy side in the middle of the night and steal some cattle and sheep from them. These stolen goods were then used to reward the soldiers with some added meat to their rations. As the commander of the northwest army, Zhu Junyang ate quite a lot of beef and mutton while he was there. In addition, this fellow frequently took his trusted aides along to infiltrate deeply within the prairie and hunt game. They ate and ate until all of them were plump and brawny. Who within the army didn't know that Royal Prince Yang had a set of barbecue condiments on hand that caused any meat that he roasted to taste incredibly delicious and unique?

If he claimed that his body was weak and sad, Old General Zhao would be the first to jump out and state that he was lying! However, when he saw Imperial Prince Xu look over in his direction, he understood a simple point——a certain person was feeling jealous and was now playing pathetic to get attention!

How could Yu Xiaocao not know what tricks this fellow was playing? Obviously he saw her ladling up some Buddha Jumps Over the Wall for Sir Su and became incredibly jealous! In front of all of these people, she also couldn't say much and silently ladled up a bowl for him as well. She glared at him surreptitiously and said, "The reason why 'Buddha Jumps Over the Wall' has become the signature dish at the Medicinal Cuisine House is because it has the ability to replenish a person's yang energy, ease constipation, clear the lungs, and prevent cold energy from settling into a person's body. Thus, you should eat more."

Following that, she served up a bowl of the soup to everyone present. Although Old General Zhao didn't spend much time in the capital, he had also heard of the fame of the Yu's Medicinal Cuisine House, especially the dish, 'Buddha Jumps Over the Wall'. All of the rich and powerful individuals in the capital praised this dish to the skies. Old General Zhao was also considered an old glutton and sent his servants over to reserve a spot at the Medicinal Cuisine House. However, who would have thought that all of the private rooms had been reserved for the next ten days? As for 'Buddha Jumps Over the Wall', there was a three month wait in order to eat this dish...so was it easy to eat something scrumptious anymore?

Luckily, the owner of the Yu's Medicinal Cuisine House was an old friend of the Zhao Family. Today, she had welcomed them back with a feast that included 'Buddha Jumps Over the Wall'. Furthermore, the creator of this dish had cooked it for them today. He needed to savor this food as much as possible!

Old General Zhao first used a spoon to bring up some soup to his mouth. He lightly blew on it before taking a sip. The rich and savory taste of food exploded onto his taste buds. He ate a few more bites in quick succession before he finally remarked in pure satisfaction, "This dish has simply been simmered in a ceramic pot but it has a very complicated and delicate flavor while preserving the unique taste of each ingredient. The food is soft, tender and moist with a dense savory taste. It's rich without being greasy and every ingredient adds its own flavor to the whole. It is incredibly delicious. Very good, very good! It's worth waiting three months to eat this!"

"Grandfather Zhao, if you like it, I'll give you the 'most honorable' membership card to the Medicinal Cuisine House. Members who have this card have supreme authority to eat at the restaurant and don't need to reserve a spot in advance or wait in line. They can eat as much as they wish…" There were only five special membership cards available and they were made out of carved pieces of nephrite and inlaid with pink diamonds. These cards looked very classy and elegant. She had only given out two 'most honorable' membership cards so far. One had been given to the emperor and the other had been given to Imperial Prince Jing's Estate.

When Old General Zhao heard this, he shook his head repeatedly. What a joke, only the emperor could be considered 'the most honorable above all'. As for Imperial Prince Jing, he was Imperial Prince Xu's father and Xiaocao's future father-in-law, so it was fine for him to take it. He, on the other hand, didn't have the virtues or connections. How could he dare to get the same treatment as the emperor?

When Yu Xiaocao saw that he was persistent in declining her offer, she didn't force it and said, "In actuality, it doesn't matter whether or not you have this card. I'll inform the manager of the store that when you go and give him your identity, there will naturally be someone who will bring you to your own private room to eat there."

Only then did Old General Zhao nod his head in agreement. Zhao Bufan chuckled, "Can this special private room of yours only be used by your Grandfather Zhao? Can your Uncle Zhao also enjoy the glories of this benefit?"

"Of course you can! However, you need to make sure you discuss things with Grandfather Zhao to avoid going there on the same day." Yu Xiaocao smiled. In actuality, she rarely went to the Medicinal Cuisine House to eat there herself. Thus, the private room that was set aside for her was hers in name only.

The two Zhao Generals looked at each other and expressed their satisfaction. That lass Xiaocao hadn't distanced herself from them just because they moved away from Dongshan Village and hadn't seen each other for a long time. Instead, she remembered them accordingly.

Following that, the rest of the meal went by smoothly and happily for both the guests and hosts. 'Pan-baked pork filet' had a golden color and delicate texture. It was salty and savory. 'Sweet and sour crispy pork' was flaky on the outside and tender on the inside with a tasty sweet and sour flavor. It truly stimulated people's appetites. 'West Lake fish in vinegar gravy' had a tasty sweet and sour flavor while also containing the savory flavor of crab. 'Steamed pork with rice flour' had the sweet scent of glutinous rice permeating into the fatty cuts of meat, making the dish incredibly rich.

The father and son pair from the Zhao Family had similar tastes and both fell in love with the taste of 'braised intestines in brown gravy'. The dish used cleaned pig intestines that were first blanched in boiling water before being deep fried. Following that, more than a dozen condiments were roasted slowly over a low fire to create the sauce. It was sour, sweet, fragrant, spicy, and salty. It truly contained all five flavors. The dish had a red and glossy appearance and the meat was soft and tender. The giant platter of large intestines had pretty much been monopolized by this father and son pair.

Auntie Zhao covered her face helplessly. Fortunately, they were guests at Xiaocao's residence. If they were at anyone else's banquet, the hosts might have thought that she privately treated her husband and father-in-law quite harshly and restrained their food intake. Otherwise, why else would they eat as if they were a bunch of hungry ghosts? However, she still thoughtfully picked out food for these two men. After all, was there any delicious food to be had when they served in the frontiers of the northwest?

After lunch, the group began idly chatting again and couldn't avoid the topic of the upcoming nuptials between Imperial Prince Xu and Xiaocao. The two of them had set their wedding date in the third month of the upcoming year. That day was chosen after Princess Consort Jing had taken the birthdate data from both parties and gone to the head priest of Tianan Temple, which was just outside the capital, to divine some good dates. Although Tianan Temple could not compare to the fame of Huguo Temple or White Horse Temple, it was said that they were the best at divining good dates. Thus, many people who lived far away from the capital would travel long distances to get their dates divined.

The old priest gave Princess Consort Jing three dates. There was the sixth day of the third month, the eighteenth day of the ninth month, and the twelfth day of the last month. Princess Consort Jing didn't even think about it before choosing the first date. How could she not understand her son's feelings? She had never thought that her youngest son could have so much perseverance and patience before, but he had waited for the little lass for around eight to nine years. Her son's thoughts were probably the same as her own. He wanted to bring the little lass back to his home as his wife as soon as possible!

Fortunately, her son had set his sights on her very early and made his claim. Otherwise, with the little lass's fame and fortune in the capital, there were plenty of people who would want to take her as a wife or daughter-in-law. After all, the little lass's abilities and immense fortune were an enticing lure that many people couldn't resist. For example, she had caught the emperor's eye, so if they had a relationship with her, that would be the same as entering the emperor's eye themselves. Thus, they would be able to be on speaking terms with many influential officials…

Zhu Junyang clearly showed that he approved of his lady mother's wise and brilliant decision. Now they had just entered the tenth month, so there was less than half a year from the date of their marriage. The betrothal gifts and other things had long been prepared by him and his father's estate, but he still felt like there wasn't enough. In his eyes, only by sending a large amount of gifts and precious items could he show the world just how much he and Imperial Prince Jing's Estate esteemed and respected the little lass.

He had already sent people over to renovate the residence that the emperor had given him. As the future masters of the estate, he and Xiaocao would naturally live in the main residence. He was planning on bringing the little lass over on another day so she could also voice any opinions she had about the renovations. After all, this was the place she was going to live in the future. He needed to do his best to make it cozy, relaxing, and up to her standards!

The two Zhao generals and Chief Steward Su Ran all considered themselves to be on Xiaocao's family side. Thus, they also participated in the discussion about what to add to the betrothal and dowry gifts.

They talked and talked and somehow ended up on the topic of Zhu Junyang's 'Wisdom Jade Pavilion'. Manager Zhang was truly a genius. Even though his master hadn't been back in the capital for more than a year, he still made sure the business at the store was up and roaring the entire time. He did especially well with Xiaocao's idea, which was gambling with raw jadeite and nephrite ores. This had already become a very popular feature at the store.

Although the people living in the southwest were doughty, the environment there was a bit chaotic. Nevertheless, the subordinates under Zhu Junyang weren't pushovers. Shop Manager Zhang especially had gone once to the southwest to find the most famous expert in identifying jade ores. With the help of this person, he daringly bought two jadeite ore mines that had just opened and then came to a business agreement with a few local mine owners. On the first trip, he came back with over twenty carriages full of jadeite raw ores. It was quite difficult considering the lapses in communication in this time period!

As soon as the jadeite ores got to the capital, Shopkeeper Zhang winningly invited Xiaocao over to pick a few. Within the twenty or so carts, Xiaocao picked out a stone that produced a piece of jadeite that was about the size of a basketball and was a pure emerald green color. She happily took that into her hands. In addition, she also picked out a piece of crystal red jade and golden yellow jade.

One had to admit that Manager Zhang had a good eye. After buying two jadeite mines, both of these mines produced raw ores that were quite likely to produce good stones. Out of ten rough ores, there was at least one that had a good piece of jade it. Thus, in twenty carriages, it was quite likely that he'd get around ten pieces of the glass-type or the better quality ice-type jades.

After Manager Zhang asked her to, Xiaocao helped him pick out a few other pieces of jade to become the selling points of the store. The jadeite 'great master' that Manager Zhang had invited over was quite shocked by Xiaocao's abilities. Every single one she picked produced great quality stones. He would never have expected that there would be a hidden expert in the capital of the Great Ming Empire. A young and beautiful young maiden was actually better than him, someone who had worked with jadeite ores for more than a dozen years, at picking the right ores.

Once the delicate and fine jadeite jewelry and decorations came onto the market, the bright colors and lustrous stones combined with the fine craftsmanship instantly attracted a bunch of fans. Although the prices of these new stones were not low, it couldn't stop the capital's noble matrons and maidens from pursuing them.

The clamouring for these new stones especially reached a fever pitch once Princess Consort Jing appeared at a flower banquet wearing an entire set of deep emerald green jadeite jewelry and head ornaments. The dense and concentrated color seemed as if it could drip out at any time. Under the direct light of the sun, the stones appeared a lake blue with a few streaks of teal within. Then, in the blink of an eye, the color seemed to have changed into a bright green. The constantly changing shade made it unpredictable and incredibly beautiful. This set of jadeite jewelry made Princess Consort Jing look even more dignified, noble and elegantly beautiful.

Furthermore, Yu Xiaocao had also invited many of the capital's noble maidens over to her first 'tasting banquet'. At the party, the delicious food was no longer the focus of the young ladies' conversation. Instead, they were all mesmerized by the red jade bracelet that was on Xiaocao's wrist. It was the shade of rosy red that appeared in the sky at sunset, and she also had a set of head ornaments in the exact same color that were carved into delicate flowers. The color glowed brightly and the texture of the stones were lustrous and glossy.