The banquet was still held in the Yangjiang Garden.
The garden, which was full of lanterns, was as bright as day. There was no moon in the sky, but the sky was covered with stars, which were reflected in the river, making it look like a dazzling river of stars.
As soon as the banquet started, Princess Xiliang got up and said, “Your Highness, have you prepared your dish for the second problem? Remember, no internal organs, nor skin, flesh or bones are allowed.”
Qiao Jinniang ordered the maids and eunuchs in the East Palace to place a soup and a dish in front of the envoys.
Qiao Jinniang said, “It’s done. These two delicacies can both meet your requirements, no internal organs, bones, flesh or meat. One is called Lucky Strike, and the other is ham and duck soup.”
Princess Xiliang glanced at the soup and said, “The duck meat can’t be used. Although no duck meat can be seen in this bowl of duck soup, it is made with duck meat, so it shouldn’t be considered eligible.”
Qiao Jinniang said, “There’s still another one. Why don’t you show the dish you made to the envoys, Princess?”
Samo’er clapped her hands, and then ministers of Xiliang placed a small cup in front of each guest.
Qiao Jinniang opened the small cup and saw a boiled egg.
Samo’er said, “This is an egg from a duck’s belly that hasn’t hatched. It is steamed at high temperature and seasoned with a special sauce from Xiliang. It’s very delicious and has no skin, meat or bones.”
Zhou Shihui pursed her lips. If she had known this, she should have asked the Queen to have the royal chefs prepare this dish. Tong Yingying was right!
Zhou Sisi pouted angrily. “Cousin Yingying also came up with this answer.”
Fulu frowned and said, “But you just gave us two drakes! How can drakes have eggs in their bellies? Besides, it’s not easy to find a female duck with eggs in her belly. Your answer is problematic!”
Qiao Jinniang played with the egg in her hand and said, “I didn’t expect this dish to be popular in Xiliang. I had thought only some small places in the South would eat this thing.”
Qiao Jinniang slowly peeled the egg and said, “Have you tried this egg, Princess? This egg contains an unhatched duckling.
“Although an egg is not bone or meat, the duckling in this egg has flesh, bones and skin…”
“In Shanyin City, a small city neighboring Lin’an, some people like to eat this. Some would eat the eggs that haven’t hatched, while others would eat the eggs that have been hatched for fifteen to sixteen days.”
Qiao Jinniang continued, “In the eyes of some old people, this egg is comparable to a panacea. They don’t need to use any special sauce of Xiliang but just use ordinary soy sauce to season it.
“Although this dish is extremely delicious, it doesn’t meet the conditions.”
After Qiao Jinniang peeled the steamed duck egg, there was indeed a small duckling inside.
Many of the guests felt disgusted and dared not eat it.
This trick was offered by the advisors of Xiliang, so Princess Xiliang had never tasted the dish. She frowned. “Fine, this dish doesn’t count, but your soup doesn’t count either, so we have a draw on the second problem.”
Qiao Jinniang said, “I won’t admit defeat. The Lucky Strike is made from duck blood. The coagulated duck blood is tender and smooth, and it is fried with cooking wine, onion and ginger to remove the bloody smell. It is a delicious food to nourish the body. All the guests can have a taste.”
Princess Xiliang couldn’t believe that duck blood was edible, so she scooped some of it with a spoon, and when the duck blood entered her mouth, the taste buds on the tip of her tongue were dancing.
How could the barren Xiliang have such a delicacy?
The envoys all praised this dish, and even the envoy of Beimo, who were loggerheads with Datang, couldn’t deny that the food was delicious.
Zhou Shihui pursed her lips. She seemed to have misunderstood Qiao Jinniang. She was not as stupid as she thought.
Zhou Sisi snorted. “I won’t eat this dish. It stinks.”
Duchess Wu hurriedly covered her daughter’s mouth. “How dare you say that?”
Samo’er put down the spoon in her hand and said to Qiao Jinniang, “Okay, even if you win this time, there is still the third problem. I have always heard that your Tang Dynasty advocated both intelligence and martial power.
“The Qiao family that the Crown Princess is from is a family of military generals. I think the Qiao family’s children must be excellent in martial arts. So in this third competition, I’d like to compete with the Qiao family’s women in martial arts!”
Qiao Ruoyi, Qiao Ruofeng and Ruowan looked at each other in astonishment.
Among the girls of the Qiao family, only Qiao Ruoshui learned a little bit of martial arts, but she was dead.
Qiao Ruoyi had only loved reading since she was a child, and in Qiao Ruofeng and Qiao Ruowan’s formative years, the women in Chang’an took gentle and quiet women as models.
Qiao Ruoyun and Qiao Ruoyin, who were married far away, were introverted and didn’t like to fight. So at this moment, no girl of the Qiao family could stand up to compete with Princess Xiliang!
The daughter of a military general stood up and said, “No need to bother the ladies of the Qiao family. I can defeat you!”
Samo’er said, “So the daughters of the Qiao family are too timid and incompetent to come out? Oh, the reputation of the Qiao family’s ancestors is ruined!”
Qiao Jinniang stood up and said, “Samo’er, you are not qualified to mention our Qiao family’s ancestors! Isn’t it just a martial arts competition? I will compete with you, but no one is allowed to use a weapon. Let’s fight with bare hands!”
Samo’er smiled contemptuously. She had specifically investigated it. Qiao Jinniang didn’t even know how to ride before. How could she know martial arts?
Qiao Ruofeng and Qiao Ruowan looked at Qiao Ruoyi and asked, “So Second Sister knows martial arts?”
Qiao Ruoyi shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Fulu also looked at Qiao Jinniang curiously, stood up, walked to her side and asked, “When did you learn martial arts?”
Qiao Jinniang said, “I don’t know martial arts, but isn’t martial arts competition just fighting?”
Lu Chen took Qiao Jinniang’s hand and said, “Stop it. You may get hurt.”
Lu Chen said to the envoys of Xiliang, “How can you be so rude? You provoke our Datang over and over again. Datang doesn’t mind fighting Xiliang to the end.”
In fact, the envoys of Xiliang didn’t want to pick a fight. If Xiliang had a war with Datang again, the land and cities bordering Beimo would definitely be lost.
The war between Datang and Xiliang 20 years ago had made Xiliang lose a lot of land, and it was not yet the time for them to start a war with Datang now.
Datang’s power was growing stronger and stronger, so now was not the time!
Samo’er said, “Your Royal Highness, you are wrong. Since we in Xiliang are willing to dedicate our national treasure, it means we put the pursuit of peace first.
“This time, I just want to see the martial strength of the girls of the Duke Anyuan Mansion that is so famous in the frontier!”
Qiao Jinniang said confidently to Lu Chen, “With bare hands, I may not lose. You can rest assured.”
The worry in Lu Chen’s eyes could not be concealed.
Zheng Xiao was so nervous that she had a pain in her lower abdomen. “Jinniang doesn’t know Kung Fu!”
Duke Anyuan clenched her hand and said, “Don’t be afraid. If the princess dares to hurt Jinniang, I will come out and help Jinniang.”
