Chapter 401: Crab Wine Orange

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Here, he dug out a few more oranges happily. Xiaoxiao mixed the chopped shepherd’s purse and crab meat, egg liquid, ginger, and wine evenly and sprinkled some pepper to remove the fishy taste. Then, she placed the mixed ingredients into the fresh orange one by one, covered it with an orange lid, and steamed it.

The father and daughter worked together, and the dishes were served quite quickly. The other places in the General’s Residence were at ease, but in this big kitchen, Xiao Ran had prepared everything that she felt Gu Chang’an could use. The two chefs were quite comfortable with it.

The Emperor came at mealtime. Firstly, as the emperor of a country, he could not leave the palace for too long. The earlier he came, the less he would eat. He was not that stupid. Secondly, there were too many memorandums that had not been approved. He had just finished work!

He was really too diligent. In order to reward himself, he had to eat more later! It had been a long time since he had tasted Gu Chang’an’s cooking.

There were countless dishes in the kitchen. It was obvious that he was in a good mood today. He was in for a treat!

As soon as the first dish was served, the Emperor instinctively wanted to touch his chopsticks, but he was glared at by Xiao Ran.

The contributors who had worked hard for the entire afternoon had yet to be served. Do you dare to start eating?

The Emperor:… You really dare to not care about the etiquette of ruler and officials…

Fortunately, Xiaoxiao and Gu Chang’an were professional and efficient. They came over while the first dish was still steaming.

There was naturally no broken rule in the General’s Residence that women could not sit at the main table. The family and the uninvited Emperor sat neatly. Eunuch De was sent to the tables of the Yun Guards and the General’s Residence’s personal guards.

The Emperor glanced at Xiao Ran. “Dinner?”

Xiao Ran didn’t even look up. She picked up the chopsticks and picked up some food for Xiaoxiao and Gu Chang’an before picking up her wine glass. “Thank you for your hard work.”

The Emperor:… Does it make him look insensible?

Xiaoxiao was still young and was not allowed to drink. She could only use tea as a substitute to clink glasses with everyone. Then, this family banquet officially began.

The steamer with the crabs was placed in the middle of the table. It would take a lot of time and effort to eat this thing. If they started the banquet, it would be cold after peeling the crab dishes. Hence, Xiaoxiao tactfully suggested, “Let’s steam the crabs and eat the dishes at the same time. This way, when we’re halfway through, the crabs will be cooked. We can digest the food while eating.”

Moreover, the hot steam from the steamed crab could also make the other dishes turn cold later. It was killing two birds with one stone. It was perfect. Before the Emperor could understand what it meant to steam crabs and eat vegetables at the same time, he was very puzzled as to why the Xiao Family placed the raw crabs on the table. He saw Rong Yan and Xiao Ran put a small cloth bag into a large porcelain basin under the steamer. The other scooped cold water and poured it in. After pouring it, the steamer returned to its original position.

The Emperor was confused and could not understand what they were doing. At this moment, the steamer began to emit steam.

The Emperor’s eyes widened, and his face was filled with shock that did not match his identity.

Who could tell him what had happened? Why did everyone except him seem to be used to it? Did his exclamation show that he was very ignorant?

The Emperor tried his best to remain calm and wanted to eat some food to calm himself down.

Others might think that the Emperor lived a luxurious life every day, but in fact, because Great Xia had been recovering in the past few years, as the ruler of a country, he advocated thrift and took the lead in eating light food. Even though his mouth had long become tasteless, he was still used to eating the simplest soup first.

As soon as the spoonful of soup entered his mouth, the Emperor raised his eyebrows. “What soup is this?”

Xiao Ran, who also drank the soup first, looked at Gu Chang’an. The latter smiled. “Crab clear soup. The bottom of the soup is boiled by an old hen and crab bones.”

The Emperor quickly finished half a bowl and picked up another small bun.

Xiaoxiao kicked Rong Yan, who then reminded him, “Father, the soup in the soup dumpling is very hot.”

The Emperor hurriedly stopped himself. Only then did he avoid the pain of scalding his mouth. However, it was really delicious. “This is called soup dumpling?”

Rong Yan nodded. “I remember that the Li Family restaurant sold it before. At that time, they called it Ruyi buns.”

So this was it. The Emperor was very satisfied, but he restrained himself and finished one before turning his attention to the orange, whom he had been curious about for a long time.

As the emperor, he had naturally eaten this before. Although it was not as big as the Xiao Family’s oranges and was not something to be eaten as a dish, he was really puzzled at this moment. Gu Chang’an had been an imperial chef, after all. How could he do such a childish thing like having fruits on the table? Noticing his gaze, Xiaoxiao simply divided the oranges on the table one by one and gestured for everyone to open the orange cover.

“Eh? What’s inside?”

Gu Chang’an said, “Crab. This dish is called crab wine orange.”

The Emperor chuckled and said, “Yo, Chef Gu, you’re finally in the mood to study new dishes?” Although it sounded like child’s play, fruits and crabs did not match. Just thinking about it made him feel that the taste was very strange. Gu Chang’an had been abandoned for many years and his skills were rusty, but he still went astray?

Gu Chang’an bowed to him. Children raised by the Gu Family were always well-mannered. Compared to Xiao Ran’s relaxed pose, Gu Chang’an looked more like a subject.

He said, “My Xiaoxiao made this.”

His tone was quite proud!

The Emperor felt that he could understand why he said that this was a child’s play. After all, that girl was still young. It was already impressive that she could make some pickled vegetables. It was still a little ridiculous for her to cook officially.

The Emperor put down his chopsticks, not planning to torture his tongue. However, after hearing Gu Chang’an’s words, the others seemed to be even more impatient. Everyone picked up a small spoon and took a big bite. Then, they looked like they were enjoying themselves.

“Delicious. As expected of my and my husband’s daughter!”

Rong Yan also took two bites and gave Xiaoxiao a thumbs up.

The Emperor was surprised. It was fine with Xiao Ran as she was not picky with food and very protective of her people. It was not strange for her to spout nonsense to coax her daughter. However, Gu Chang’an was so stubborn about cooking that it made him speechless. Why did he lie through his teeth?

Was she the daddy’s girl?

Seeing that everyone else was eating so happily, he couldn’t help but taste it curiously. Why! Why was the sweet fruit so suitable to eat with the crab meat? Also, what were the crispy white cubes here? It was so sweet that it covered all the fishy smell of the crab meat!

Seeing that he was eating happily and no longer looked like he was asking for a beating, Xiao Ran also started to brag.

“It’s delicious, right? This is just something my Xiaoxiao casually made. That Ruyi bun just now was also created by my Xiaoxiao. Look at this again. Have you seen crystal clear dumplings? This is called crystal prawn dumplings. My Xiaoxiao also thought of it.”

Oh, right. Recently, there have been a few new refreshment shops in the Imperial Capital. They’re the ones that sell milk tea. Your Majesty, you’ve heard, right? My Xiaoxiao was the first to make that milk tea. Later on, it was secretly learned by those unscrupulous profiteers. Other than the Li Family’s shop, the rest of the shops in the Capital are all copycats. Even so, they still earned a lot!”

“And, the crabs on the table are steamed.. Does Your Majesty want to personally open the steamer and witness a miracle?”