Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Even if Prince Mediocre was not favored by His Majesty, he was still a prince.
In the early morning, many people waited on both sides of the main street to watch the grand wedding.
Duke Anyuan and his family were also invited to attend the wedding, but none of them attended it.
Qiao Ruoshui was waiting at the gate of her courtyard, but none of her family came. She felt sad. It had been almost a month. Why did her parents still not forgive her?
“It must be Qiao Jinniang who sowed discord between Father, Mother and I. They loved me so much before.”
Her mammy echoed, “How can Madam play favoritism like this?! Why doesn’t she think about how difficult your life is in the Prince Mansion?”
Qiao Ruoshui said, “What’s so good about that bitch? She’s just coveting the wealth and power of the Duke Mansion. Father and Mother are really stupid!”
Qiao Jinniang was in a private room of Tasty Pavilion, and in front of her was the Sorrow-Forgetting Soup that Lu Chen had his secret guard buy.
The Guest Welcoming Building and Tasty Pavilion were not far apart, so the soup was still steaming.
Qiao Jinniang took a sip and almost spat it out, “This soup is so sour and bitter. How can it be the Sorrow-Forgetting Soup that everyone raves about how delicious it is?”
Lu Chen also scooped a spoonful of the soup and tasted it. “Sour and bitter? I can’t taste the sourness or bitterness in it. But there seems to be a lot of pepper in the soup. A tael of pepper is even more expensive than gold. No wonder the soup is so expensive.”
Qiao Jinniang said, “They seem to be trying to cover up something with the smell of pepper.”
Qiao Jinniang picked up some mutton in the Sorrow-Forgetting Soup, and when she took a bite, it was so tough that she doubted if her sense of taste had gone awry.
In Myriad Taste, such tough mutton could only be fed to dogs, even beggars at the door didn’t like to eat it.
“If my restaurant’s business is bleak because of my cooking skills, I have nothing to complain about, but I really can’t accept that it’s because of this terrible soup.”
Qiao Jinniang turned her eyes to a small brown fruit in the soup. She picked it up and looked at it carefully. “Huixiang, go call Chef Yang over.”
Chef Yang was a senior chef in Myriad Taste, and he and his whole family followed her to Chang’an.
“Uncle Yang, look at this thing. I don’t think it’s ordinary black cardamom.”
When stewing mutton, adding black cardamom can remove the smell of mutton, but this fruit didn’t look like black cardamom.
Chef Yang came over and took a look, and then asked in surprise, “Boss, where did you get this thing?”
Qiao Jinniang asked, “What’s wrong?”
Chef Yang said, “These are poppy seeds that only the merchants from the Western Regions sell. It’s also called Minanghua Fruit.
“This stuff is more addictive than Five Minerals Powder, the drug that was popular among nobles in the previous dynasty.
“When Datang was founded, Minanghua Fruit used to be very popular. However, the founding emperor had this plant wiped out in the country and forbade people from planting it.
“More than ten years ago, a businessman from the Southwest came to Lin‘an to buy some tea, and he gave the shopkeeper a few Minanghua Fruit to stew soup.
“He told the shopkeeper about the origins of the Minanghua Fruit and that it is now planted among the tribes in the Southwest.
“People in those tribes would put one or two of this fruit into their soup every time they cooked.
“But if you ate too much of it, you would get addicted to it and become weak, sickly, and haggard. And it would be extremely difficult to quit it.”
“Hearing this, the shopkeeper was scared and threw those fruits away. He then specially told us to carefully distinguish the difference between black cardamom and Minanghua Fruit. If they were mixed up, the consequence would be dire.”
“After all, how can such harmful fruit be used in cooking?”
Qiao Jinniang had already suspected there was something fishy about the Guest Welcoming Building in the first place. Initially, she suspected that they used Five Minerals Powder.
However, Five Minerals Powder had already been banned. She didn’t think the shopkeeper of Guest Welcoming Building dared to use it in Chang’an.
But it tured out to be Minanghua Fruit.
Hearing this, Lu Chen said, “I’m going to have the Ministry of Penalty investigate this matter. If it’s really Minanghua Fruit, the Guest Welcoming Building has committed a heinous crime!”
Qiao Jinniang said with worry, “Five Minerals Powder is very harmful to one’s health, and it seems that Minanghua Fruit is even more harmful. I wonder if those addicts can quit it.”
“Theard from Fulu yesterday that she and Lin Mo went to the Guest Welcoming Building at midnight just for the Sorrow-Forgetting Soup. I’m afraid they are already addicted.”
Lu Chen said, “It was not easy to quit eating Five Minerals Powder either, but in the end, the addicts all quitted it.
“Fortunately, it has only been half a month since the Guest Welcoming Building launched the Sorrow-Forgetting Soup. Even if the diners are already addicted, it may not be impossible to quit.”
Lu Chen had his guards escort Qiao Jinniang back to the Duke Mansion, and he went to the Ministry of Penalty to lead soldiers to go to the Guest Welcoming Building.
The soldiers surrounded the Guest Welcoming Building and went to the kitchen, where they soon found a few sacks of Minanghua Fruit seeds.
The shopkeeper of the Guest Welcoming Building hurriedly said, “My lords, what’s wrong with this stuff? This is just seasoning, the same as black cardamom.”
The Deputy Minister of Penalty angrily rebuked, “These are clearly poppy seeds that were banned by the founding emperor of our country as recorded in the historical materials. Come, tie up this shopkeeper of the Guest Welcoming Building and bring him back to the Ministry of Penalty for examination!”
Seeing the Guest Welcoming Building surrounded by soldiers, the diners in it all ran away one after another.
However, unable to drink the Sorrow-Forgetting Soup, they became very anxious and irritable.
Some people even made a scene at Prince Mediocre’s wedding banquet.
Although no one from the Duke Anyuan Mansion appeared at the wedding banquet, the whole Zheng family had the cheek to come.
Zheng Bo felt very uncomfortable because he couldn’t eat the dishes from the Guest Welcoming Building at noon.
Even worse was that the Zheng family was arranged to sit at the last table, which were the worst seats.
Therefore, the maids in Prince Mediocre Mansion didn’t serve them with care.
A maid poured the wine for Zheng Bo a little slower, which prompted Zheng Bo to slap her fiercely.
“Are you blind? I’m Concubine Qiao’s cousin! How dare you show the cold-shoulder?”
Although Mrs. Zheng was still annoyed that Qiao Ruoshui wanted to cut herself off from them, she still said to Zheng Bo.
“calm down. Your sister’s life is not easy in the Prince Mansion. Today, Prince Mediocre is marrying his wife, so your sister must be very sad. Don’t disgrace your sister.”
Zheng Bo was very annoyed. Sister? She was just his cousin, not to mention the fact that this cousin looked down on him ever since she was a child.
It was really stuffy to stay at this last table, so Zheng Bo got up to get some fresh air.
On the edge of a rockery, he met Fulu who came out to get some fresh air too.
Looking at Fulu who was in a sassy red riding suit, Zheng Bo couldn’t help smiling lasciviously and came up to her. “Princess.”
Fulu looked at the man in front of her and felt disgusted.
Seeing that Fulu was alone, Zheng Bo flirted, “Princess, in front of the beautiful flowers, under the beautiful moon, I’m so lucky to meet a beauty like you. Why don’t we spend a beautiful night together here…”
Fulu really wanted to eat the Sorrow-Forgetting Soup of the Guest Welcoming Building today.
However, the Guest Welcoming Building was sealed up by the government, so she felt very uncomfortable now. To make things worse, she met Zheng Bo, this disgusting pervert.
In rage, she kicked Zheng Bo hard.
“Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you molest me?!”
Zheng Bo let out a scream like a dying pig, which attracted the crowd over.
Zheng Bo kept wailing. Luckily, there was an imperial doctor at the wedding banquet.
After examining Zheng Bo, the imperial doctor said unabashedly, “Mrs. Zheng, I’m afraid Mr. Zheng’s reproductive organ has lost its function.”
Hearing this, Mrs. Zheng almost fainted.
Junior Duke Rong came over and pulled Fulu behind him. “What’s going on?”
Fulu said, “He molested me.”
“Even if he molested you, you shouldn’t make him a eunuch!”
Fulu said aggrieved, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I couldn’t drink the Sorrow-Forgetting Soup today, so I was very irritable, and he just came to provoke me!”
‘When Qiao Jinniang heard this news, it was already the afternoon of the next day, and Old Madam Zheng came to the Duke Mansion crying and cursing.
“How pitiful your nephew is! Fulu has ruined him. He hasn’t even married yet! Now which woman in Chang’an would be willing to marry him?”
“Now, we don’t mind that Qiao Ruoyi was born by a concubine. Just let Qiao Ruoyi and your nephew get married as soon as possible!”2
