Free Web NovelChapter 239: Chapter 239: He’s Going to Throw a Tantrum
"This matter isn’t so difficult to resolve." Li Yun leaned back against his chair, his expression much more relaxed than before. It was hard to say if it was because of what Ming Lingyi had just said. "Do you already have a plan in mind?"
Ming Lingyi replied, "Forging your personal seal, or the seal of any Dayan Dynasty official, is a serious crime. Therefore, I’m preparing to report this directly to the Jingzhao Mansion and ask the government to pass judgment."
"When the time comes, I can send the Black Armor Guards to the Jingzhao Mansion to assist. After all, my personal seal is also involved. Anyone who dares to forge my seal will certainly pay the price," Li Yun said.
Ming Lingyi’s eyes lit up with a smile. ’The whole reason I sought out Li Yun and dragged him into this was to use the men at his command, wasn’t it?’
To the common people, whatever the Black Armor Guards did symbolized the Emperor’s command.
If the Black Armor Guards were to arrest the people from Hongyun Bookstore, it might seem like overkill, but the deterrent effect would be far greater than that of the ordinary Jingzhao Mansion Patrols.
Seeing Li Yun being so cooperative, Ming Lingyi of course couldn’t just do nothing in return.
"You should stay for lunch today. We won’t need the Imperial Kitchen to prepare it. Just come over to my place next door," Ming Lingyi said.
She knew the chefs staying in this private residence of Li Yun’s were also from the Imperial Kitchen.
"You want to cook yourself?"
Ming Lingyi paused. "..." That wasn’t what she meant, but since Li Yun had brought it up, she thought about how Little Bun was with her today. Cooking herself wasn’t a bad idea. So, she nodded.
"Doesn’t that solve the problem? Why go next door? You should have everything you need here. If anything is missing, just have the servants go buy it. This place is perfectly fine. Your place is too crowded anyway, so why take up stove space there?" Li Yun said.
His words actually made some sense.
But on second thought, Ming Lingyi had to admit she was impressed with Li Yun.
"But next door, I have people to help me with the prep work..."
Here, even though the people in the kitchen were all master chefs from the Imperial Kitchen, she wasn’t sure if they’d be easy for her to work with.
But before Ming Lingyi could voice that last thought, Li Yun quickly cut in, "Don’t you have me here?"
Hearing this, Ming Lingyi looked up at Li Yun, clearly skeptical of his words.
Li Yun felt a bit awkward under Ming Lingyi’s stare. "I may not have set foot in a kitchen for years, but back in the day, I also..."
"Oh, please. That was when you were at the border. How many years ago was that? You’re not going to bring up that time you went into the mountains to hunt pheasants, are you?" Ming Lingyi asked, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
But as soon as the words were out, both she and Li Yun looked momentarily lost in a daze.
Li Yun hadn’t been alone when he went into the mountains to hunt pheasants. They had only been married a short time back then.
Before their marriage, Ming Lingyi’s health had been poor, and she was constantly recuperating. The Ming Family hadn’t dared to let her go out much, for fear that something might happen to her.
But Li Yun couldn’t resist Ming Lingyi’s pleading. His young wife had such a small wish; if he didn’t grant it, he would seem far too unkind.
So, Li Yun chose a sunny and pleasant day to take Ming Lingyi into the mountains.
Although they had brought dried rations, Li Yun figured that since they were out, they should eat something hot. After all, Ming Lingyi was an official’s daughter. Even though her whole family had been demoted and sent to the border, she likely hadn’t suffered much. She was used to three hot, fresh meals a day.
In Ming Lingyi’s opinion, the pheasant that day had been truly delicious.
The seasoning was simple, but Li Yun was quite skilled at preparing wild fowl. He had roasted it just right—crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, with a hint of smoky fragrance.
Li Yun had said it was a skill he learned in the army barracks.
In the barracks, if you wanted an extra dish for your meal, you had to rely on your archery and bladesmithing. If you could shoot down some wild fowl during field training, you could have a feast on the spot. Otherwise, you were stuck with the communal pot. It didn’t matter if you were some young master; in the army, everyone was the same.
However, ever since the world had descended into chaos, and then the Lis established their dynasty, Li Yun had never again had the leisure to personally cook a meal.
After so many years, hearing Li Yun offer to help naturally made Ming Lingyi think of the past.
Li Yun was the first to snap out of it. He stood up from his seat. "A skill is something you rarely forget once you’ve learned it. Why don’t you give it a try today, Yuan Niang?"
After saying this, Li Yun called for Liu Ye, who had already returned after taking Li Yan back, and told him to help him get ready.
If he was going into the kitchen, he would need to change into a set of clean, practical clothes.
Seeing that Li Yun was serious, Ming Lingyi knew he was excited about the idea and that trying to dissuade him would be useless. She simply accepted it and headed toward the kitchen first.
The people in the kitchen had likely already heard the news. All the ingredients were properly prepared, just waiting for Ming Lingyi to take charge of the cooking.
Li Yun also changed his clothes and came over quickly. Because of his arrival, the only two people left in the entire kitchen were him and Ming Lingyi.
"What do you need me to do?" Li Yun asked.
Ming Lingyi looked at the ingredients, all of which had been prepped by the Imperial Kitchen’s master chefs. It seemed there was nothing left for a helper to do.
"Huazhao has been really into gourdflower chicken lately, so we’ll make that. When he came to the eatery before, I saw that he liked the honey-glazed pork belly the most, and he also likes plum blossom cakes. We don’t have any plum blossom cakes now, but we have lotus pastries, which are similar. So we’ll make the pork belly and lotus pastries too." Ming Lingyi rattled off three dishes that Li Yan liked. After a moment’s thought, she added, "He’s a growing boy, so he should also drink more bone broth. The older generation always says eating a certain part of an animal strengthens the same part of your body. Mung beans and winter melon are in season, so let’s also make a mung bean and winter melon pork bone soup."
After listening, Li Yun nodded, waiting for Ming Lingyi’s next instructions.
’She’s listed what her precious son likes, so it should be my turn next, right?’
"Let’s just make these few dishes for now. We can just buy the rest from next door," Ming Lingyi said.
Li Yun, who was still waiting for Ming Lingyi to mention something he liked, rubbed his ears in disbelief.
’How could she only make the dishes Li Yan likes and just casually dismiss the rest?’
’Even if you can’t treat everyone equally, you can’t be *this* biased!’
Li Yun looked extremely displeased, his gaze fixed on Ming Lingyi with a great deal of reproach.
He was so undisguised about it that it was hard for Ming Lingyi not to notice.
"Why are you personally making his food, but just brushing off the rest?" Li Yun met Ming Lingyi’s eyes and spoke directly, with no intention of letting it slide.
’I’m not saying I’m as important as that lucky son of hers, but surely I’m not worth less than a single strand of his hair, right? If that’s really the case, I’m going to throw a fit!’
