Chapter 57: Xuan Yuan Xi's Face is Thicker than City Walls

  Xuan Yuan Jing Lin saw Xu Ming Jin loved this little dog so much, and said: "Since you like it so much, I'll give it to you."

  Xu Mingjin was overjoyed upon hearing this.

  The two of them teased the puppy for a while, then Xuan Yuan Jing Lin went outside to drink tea, leaving Xu Ming Jin in the inner room to change clothes. Xu Ming Jin quickly tidied herself up and came out to ask Xuan Yuan Jing Lin where they were going to play.

  "Come on, I'll take you to eat something delicious." Xuan Yuan Jinglin pulled up Xu Mingjin and left.

  Two people came to the back door of the temple, Xu Mingjin knew that Xuan Yuan Jinglin was going to take herself out, she was very curious, so she didn't say anything and followed Xuan Yuan Jinglin out of the corner gate.

  The two of them arrived at a mountain forest near Jiaomen, Xuan Yuan Jinglin said: "In a while I will go hunting for some game, we can have some wild flavor."

  Xu Mingjin agreed with pleasure.

  Two people climbed to the middle of the mountain, at this time, a group of lower-ranking officials had already cleared out an empty space. In the center of the empty space, a stove had been buried, and in a large iron pot, water was boiling vigorously, emitting a thick white smoke. Not far from this empty space, there was another empty space with a large round table and two chairs on it. Chun Xing was busy arranging a set of purple sand pots when she saw Xu Mingjin and Xuan Yuan Jinglin, let out a cheer and rushed over.

  Xu Mingjin suddenly realized, no wonder he didn't see Chun Xiang when he woke up, at that time he thought she was hiding somewhere to be lazy. He didn't expect that while he was still sleeping soundly, she had already arrived here and was busy. Xu Mingjin's eyes turned again, and he saw Qiu Yun, who was walking out of the forest with a bamboo basket in her hand, which was full of mushrooms.

  Xu Mingjin hadn't even had time to see what everyone was doing when Xuan Yuan Jinglin said, "You play over here, I'll go hunt some wild game." She grabbed her bow and ran off.

  Xu Mingjin looked at everyone busy and knew she couldn't help, so she saw a patch of wildflowers blooming like clouds next to her and ran over to pick them and play.

  Before long, Xuan Yuan Jinglin returned with a full load.

  Xu Mingjin immediately ran over to see what she had hunted, and Xuan Yuan Jinglin proudly pointed them out to Xu Mingjin: two fat wild chickens, a not-so-small wild rabbit, and even two greyish-brown wild pigeons. Xu Mingjin excitedly said: "Let's make these two chickens into Beggar's Chicken, and the pigeons? Let's stew them with mushrooms, and the rabbit can be made into Braised Rabbit Cubes, how does that sound?"

  Xu Mingjin spoke with great enthusiasm, but Xuan Yuan Jinglin's eyes widened and she said: "Among the dishes you mentioned, except for Dove Soup, I haven't heard of any of them?"

  Xu Mingjin was stunned: "Haven't you heard?"

  Xuanyuan Jinglin nodded firmly.

  "These are all dishes I came up with myself, you've certainly never heard of them." Xu Mingjin lied with a straight face.

  "That's great, you cook for me. I'm in luck today." Xuan Yuan Jinglin smiled and said: "Today is really worth it. It was well worth the trip."

  Xu Ming thought for a moment and felt that those few dishes were not particularly difficult, so she readily agreed. Anyway, she was bored to death and wanted to find something to do.

  She said and did, Xu Mingjin immediately rolled up her sleeves high, ordering the little maid to take the few wild flavors brought back by Xuan Yuan Jinglin to wash them first. She herself came to the temporary case with a gesture.

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin found it amusing, but seeing Xu Mingjin's serious expression, she put away her playful mood and came to Xu Mingjin's side to watch how she acted. She was really curious that Xu Mingjin, a young lady from a wealthy family, could actually cook, and as the princess of a country, had tasted all sorts of delicacies, but herself had never heard of such dishes before. This was too unbelievable.

  Xu Mingjin didn't have time to pay attention to Xuan Yuan Jinglin's muttering in her heart. At this moment, the two wild chicken little girls had already washed and sent over the dishes. Xu Mingjin asked someone to pick four pieces of green lotus leaves from a small pond at the foot of the nearby mountain. Seeing that all the materials were ready, she started making the called flower chicken. She first applied salt, aniseed, and pepper on the chicken's body, then stuffed the cleaned mushrooms into the wild chicken's belly until it was full. The lotus leaves were wrapped around it, sealed with a layer of yellow mud, and buried under the fire pit. Next was the pigeon soup, which was very simple. The cleaned pigeons were cut into pieces and cooked together with the mushrooms in a small earthenware pot, placed on top of the wild chicken's fire pit to simmer. Only the braised rabbit remained. Xu Mingjin ordered the cook to first cut the rabbit into small pieces, soak them in clear water for half an hour, then take them out and fry them in a pot until they were golden yellow. After that, she put the seasoning in a small wok, stir-fried it briefly, added boiling water, and simmered it.

  After Xu Mingjin finished washing his hands, he instructed the servants to watch and sat down with Xuan Yuan Jinglin at a round table on the empty ground next to them. Just in time, Chun Xiang had already brewed a pot of strong and fragrant Yunwu tea, and the two slowly started drinking together.

  "Seeing you just did it so skillfully, I really can't wait to have a taste." Xuan Yuan Jinglin said.

  Xu Mingjin smiled and sighed, "You've lived in the palace for years, what delicacies haven't you had? Yet it's these common folk snacks that you haven't tried."

  Xuan Yuan Jing Lin thought for a moment, then smiled and said: "Isn't it just as you said!"

  Xu Mingjin looked at Xuan Yuan Jinglin like this, suddenly came up with interest: "If you like it, I'll make some delicious food for you in the future, guaranteed to be something you've never had before."

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin was not particularly enthusiastic about eating, but after hearing Xu Mingjin say so, she suddenly became very interested and exclaimed: "Great, great!"

  The two of them didn't get along, and soon the meal was ready. Xu Ming remembered the buried chicken in the mud, which was about done by now. Leaving Xuan Yuan Jinglin sitting alone, she quickly ran over, ordered someone to put out the fire, and dug up the two chickens from the ground. She took them herself, held them high and slammed them to the ground, splitting the mud in half. The aroma immediately wafted through the air, even Xuan Yuan Jinglin, who was drinking tea not far away, couldn't help but exclaim: "So fragrant!"

  Xu Mingjin smiled slightly and put away the remaining chicken, saying: "Leave that one for tomorrow's meal."

  At this time, the pigeon soup and rabbit block were also stewed. Xu Mingjin was not interested in that, ordered someone to get it, because it was too hot, she put the chicken on a plate and took it to Xuan Yuan Jinglin's place.

  Xuan Yuan Jing Lin stared intently, seeing Xu Ming Jin holding a chicken over, and hurriedly welcomed her. "So fragrant, what's this outer layer wrapped around? Lotus leaf?" Xuan Yuan Jing Lin asked.

  Xu Mingjin nodded, placing the chicken on the table and removing the outer lotus leaves to reveal the bright-colored chicken underneath. Xuan Yuan Jinglin greedily took a sniff of the aroma and said, "I didn't expect that chicken could be cooked so deliciously."

  At this time, the servants had already served the remaining dishes to the table. Since Xu Mingjin had encouraged them to make some other dishes, there were now a lot of them on the table.

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin added a piece of chicken to her chopsticks and ate slowly, smiling: "Although this table of dishes can't compare to the delicacy and beauty of the imperial kitchen, it wins in terms of flavor." As soon as she finished speaking, a lazy voice said: "Sister is really in a good mood, but eating with just two people is too dull. Why don't I come and keep you company?" As he spoke, Xuan Yuan Qiyue emerged from behind the tree and walked slowly closer.

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin and Xu Mingjin both turned cold.

  Xu Mingjin was speechless, a young prince like him, how could he be so shameless? Just a few hours ago, he had clearly agreed to stay away from Xuan Yuan Jinglin. What's going on now? Xuan Yuan Jinglin's face also looked very bad, the atmosphere at this moment was tense and awkward.

  Xuanyuan Qiji smiled and said: "Elder sister, don't you welcome your younger brother?"

  Xuan Yuan Jing Lin was taken aback, and Ping Xi Wang's power in the court was not to be underestimated. The last time they clashed in the bamboo forest was a mistake on Xuan Yuan Qi Yu's part, which was why she could afford to be so ruthless. However, this time, she really couldn't bring herself to lose face by chasing him away, after all, he would become the future king and was also a narrow-minded person. It was better not to create any grudges.

  Xu Ming Jin noticed Xuan Yuan Jing Lin's dilemma and tactfully said, "Anyway, there are so many dishes, we two can't finish them alone, you're welcome to join us." She ordered Yu Zhu to bring over a chair and place it beside Xuan Yuan Jing Lin, then instructed someone to bring over a set of bowls and chopsticks. This seat was somewhat far from her own.

  This was Xu Ming Jin's private intention. She thought that at least they were cousins, but Xuan Yuan Qi Yu had no relation to her. To avoid suspicion, she could only do things this way.

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin didn't say anything, so Xuan Yuan Qiyue sat down without any courtesy.

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin felt a bit nauseous, but some of the dishes were made by Xu Mingjin herself, and she couldn't bear to disappoint her. So she endured the discomfort brought by Xuan Yuan Qiyue, chatting with Xu Mingjin while slowly eating. To be honest, Xu Mingjin did a great job, and Jinglin found herself wanting more as she ate.

  Xu Mingjin was indeed hungry, and secondly, there were a few dishes she had worked hard to make here, so why not eat them? It would be a waste if someone else ate them instead. So while chatting with Xuan Yuan Jinglin, she also enjoyed her meal immensely.

  The strangest thing was Xuan Yuan Qi Shi, who ate like he hadn't eaten in eight lifetimes, devouring everything in sight. Moreover, he wouldn't touch any other dishes, only eating the three dishes personally made by Xu Ming Jin. He ate more than Xuan Yuan Jing Lin and Xu Ming Jin combined. When Xu Ming Jin saw that there wasn't enough food, she had to grit her teeth and ask Chun Xiang to bring out the reserved "begging chicken".

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin saw it and hurriedly blocked: "No! I want to take this chicken into the palace!"

  Xu Mingjin stopped what he was doing as soon as he heard this, and ordered someone to put the unopened chicken away. He sat down.

  "Isn't it just a chicken? Why are you being so precious about it?" Xuan Yuan Qi Yu teased.

  "This is made by Ming Jin himself, of course it's precious!" Xuan Yuan Jing Lin gave Xuan Yuan Qi a white look.

  After dinner, Xuan Yuan Jinglin sent Xuan Yuan Qiyue away and looked at the sky which was about to darken. She then pulled Xu Mingjin down the mountain and all the way back to the Temple of Protection. Xu Mingjin smiled: "Walking for a while after dinner is quite nice."

  Xuan Yuan Jinglin nodded and ordered someone to send Xu Mingjin back to his own wing room, she herself returned to her own wing room without mentioning it.

  The second day was the day to return to Beijing. Xu Mingjin had finished his breakfast, packed up his things and waited for Xuan Yuan Jinglin to come out so they could set off together. However, when Xuan Yuan Jinglin came out, she had a face that was gnashing her teeth with hatred, as if she wanted to chop someone, which startled Xu Mingjin.