Chapter 332: Drip Dew Pot
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In the deep courtyard, Mingzhu placed the stuffed lotus roots into the pot, adding water, red sugar, and red dates. Seeing the kitchen maid heating the pot, she couldn’t help but ask, “When will it be ready?” This was one of the only two dishes she knew how to make, but her knowledge was limited to stuffing glutinous rice and sugar into a pot of water to boil; she didn’t know how to cook anything else.
The kitchen maid smiled. “Both the rice and lotus roots need to be soft and cooked through, which will take at least half an hour.” Although Zheng Momo had arranged everything in advance, no one mentioned that the Wangye and Wangfei would want to eat lotus roots with osmanthus honey, so no matter how urgent it was, they couldn’t produce it immediately; it had to be cooked properly.
“So long?” It seemed they couldn’t serve it immediately after Yuwen Chu finished bathing; Mingzhu was very disappointed. Suddenly, she remembered the drip dew pot she had Yuwen Chu find someone to make last time, which was already completed. This time, she brought it along and decided to test if it worked. She had prepared two portions of stuffed lotus roots, one cooked in a traditional clay pot and the other in the drip dew pot invented by Jiang Shanshan.
The kitchen maid was extremely surprised and examined the drip dew pot, calling others over to see. They thought the pot and lid looked fancier and better than ordinary pots, but they didn’t believe it was magical. The kitchen maid asked Mingzhu skeptically, “Wangfei, does this pot really cook food faster than regular pots?”
“Yes, not only does this pot cook meat and vegetables easily, it’s also particularly fragrant, and it doesn’t require much water…” Mingzhu confidently explained, but in reality, she wasn’t sure. She made the pot based on her memory; she didn’t know if Jiang Shanshan added any other tricks to it, so she decided to cook a few batches first to test it out. If there were any issues or if it wasn’t effective, she would need to improve it.
She remembered that when Jiang Shanshan made this pot, it caused quite a stir in the capital for a while, and it was considered prestigious for major mansions and even restaurants to have this pot and use it for cooking. Jiang Shanshan even gave the pot a nice name, calling it the drip dew pot. The meaning was that the lid was connected to the pot, just like a dewdrop about to fall. But people outside didn’t call it that; they called it the Jiang pot.
Later, Jiang Shanshan specifically opened a shop to sell this kind of pot, which was quite expensive, but people in the capital flocked to buy it. Some people complained about the price, but the shop assistants would say, “Our Wangfei isn’t short of a few coins. It’s just for everyone’s convenience. If it weren’t for the high demand from major mansions and the gifts far exceeding the value of the pot every time, we wouldn’t even want to open this shop!”
Although that was the case, the pot was indeed very convenient. Mingzhu hoped that cooking with these pots would quickly produce the osmanthus honey lotus roots. Thinking of Yuwen Chu teaching her how to interact with people and navigate the world today while leisurely walking on the ridge, she couldn’t wait to let him taste her cooking. As the ancients said, one must repay kindness with sincerity; she already belonged to him, so she could only add another dish made with all her heart.
The lotus roots with osmanthus honey were in the pot, and a maid came to deliver a message, “Wangfei, His Highness is inviting you over.”
Mingzhu quickly tidied her clothes and walked out, first rolling up her sleeves and sniffing the aroma, then letting Su Jin smell it. “It didn’t pick up any kitchen smoke, did it?”
Su Jin hurriedly said, “No, no. I only smell a natural fragrance.” The people in the kitchen knew that the Wangfei was going to cook for the Wangye herself, so they must have been busy cleaning up the kitchen, opening windows for ventilation; who would dare stir-fry and cause odors? Are they asking for death?
Mingzhu was dubious, wrinkling her nose in dissatisfaction. “Who said there isn’t? There’s clearly a strong smell of smoke.” Thinking of Yuwen Chu hugging her, who smelled like smoke, she felt uncomfortable all over and wanted to wash and change quickly.
When she reached the steps of the main hall, about to go up, a maid hurriedly said, “His Highness is still soaking in the pool.”
Why would he call her while soaking in the pool? Mingzhu paused, feeling somewhat uneasy, and covered up, “He must have suddenly remembered something important to discuss with me.”
Su Jin and Su Lan suppressed their smiles and said together, “It must be so. Wangfei, go quickly. Don’t keep His Highness waiting too long. We’ll keep an eye on the kitchen and have the food sent over as soon as it’s ready.”
Mingzhu nodded solemnly and turned to walk towards the hidden pool behind the house.
The pool was built extremely large, with unusually deep water. The sky had already darkened, with a few bright stars hanging in the sky. Several pretty lotus lamps were placed around the pool, giving it a dim, misty appearance due to the steam rising from the water. Yuwen Chu was soaking in the pool, and when he heard footsteps, he plunged into the water and swam to her before surfacing, laughing, “Tired from the day? Why not come down and relax?”
His chest was exposed above the water, with a few sparkling water droplets dripping from his mist-soaked hair, tracing down his face, passing his Adam’s apple, leaving a few winding marks on his well-defined chest… Mingzhu’s heart pounded wildly as she watched, swallowing hard and carefully taking off her socks and outer robe, sitting down by the pool, and casually asking, “Your Highness, are you hungry?”
Yuwen Chu looked at her and smiled, “Wangfei knows me well.”
Although it was a very serious tone and attitude, Mingzhu couldn’t help but feel a hint of playfulness. Blushing, she averted her gaze and coughed twice. “The pots in the kitchen aren’t very good, so it’ll probably take another half hour for the osmanthus honey lotus roots.”
“The pots aren’t very good?” Yuwen Chu didn’t quite follow her train of thought at first, feeling somewhat puzzled, but then he understood — she was actually changing the subject. Seeing her distracted gaze, he smiled and deliberately swam over to her side, saying seriously, “To think that the esteemed Ying Wang Mansion can’t afford a decent pot! Pass down my order…”
Mingzhu thought he was going to punish someone and hurriedly said, “It’s not like that, it’s unrelated to them.”
Yuwen Chu rested his arms on the edge of the pool, leaning his head to the side to look at her with a smile. “I meant, pass down my order for them to return to the capital overnight and buy dozens of good pots. Whatever pot Wangfei likes, she shall use. How about that?”
“No need.” Mingzhu felt the steam rising from his body was almost suffocating her and couldn’t help but take a deep breath, her eyes fixed on the twinkling stars in the sky as she rambled, “I mean, under normal circumstances, it takes a large clay pot about half an hour to cook. But if we use the drip dew pot I had Your Highness make, it will be much quicker. That pot doesn’t need much water or oil to cook meat and vegetables quickly and deliciously…”
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