A hot pot with vegetables but no meat isn't delicious; it's just loneliness.
Thin slices of meat were piled high on a celadon plate, and a copper pot was lit, its fragrant broth bubbling and boiling inside, making Yu Zhi's mouth water.
While the meat slices were cooking, Wei Pingxi introduced her to the famous "Knife Master Er" from the capital: "This perfectly thin mutton was cut by him. It is said that his knife skills are superb. He can slice twenty-one pieces in ten breaths, each piece is of uniform thickness and looks beautiful."
"Slice twenty-one pieces in ten breaths?" Yu Zhi exclaimed in shock. "That's an incredible speed! And it has to be sliced evenly, quickly and beautifully?"
"I was curious too, so after I learned about Dao Er, I went to visit him. Ostensibly, it was for a competition, but actually..." She smiled gently, "it was to promote the indomitable, perfectionist, and never-say-die spirit that His Majesty the Emperor of our Great Yan Dynasty admires..."
"..."
Putting everything else aside, this was the first time she had ever heard someone describe 'learning from others' in such a glorious and lofty way.
Yu Zhi blinked: "And then?"
“Then, I lost.” Wei Pingxi said calmly, “Losing to him is not shameful. I used a sword, he used a knife. Within ten breaths, I cut nineteen slices, but the last slice was uneven and ruined. He cut twenty slices, each one smooth, neat, and as thin as paper.”
"Why are there twenty pieces? Isn't it supposed to be twenty-one pieces?"
Miss Wei's eyes were full of "You're so naive" in them: "Twenty-one pieces, doesn't that sound impressive? Twenty pieces, it sounds a bit silly, not very appealing."
"..."
I really don't understand you guys. If you're going to talk big, just talk big. Why make up so many excuses for yourself?
Yu Zhi rested her chin on her hand, and warm white steam swirled around her, making her look incredibly appetizing.
She swallowed hard. "You're amazing. Nineteen slices in ten breaths. If it were me, I'd be too clumsy to even cut three slices. No, to cut them that thin, I probably couldn't even do one."
"I was bored out of my mind, and I happened to run into him while I was out in Lingnan Prefecture." Wei Pingxi threw fresh vegetables and various seafood into the pot: "Do you know why he calls himself 'Knife Two'?"
"Why?" Yu Zhi scooped up some vegetables and dipped them in the sauce in the small dish to eat.
"Because he is second to none when it comes to using a knife."
"If you're so talented, why did you become a chef?"
The fourth young lady leaned over and kissed her, licking away the sauce residue from the corner of her lips: "Of course it's because he wants to be the chef with the best knife skills in the world."
"The world of martial arts loses its charm once you've traveled it all. Look, it's only because he's a chef here that we have the chance to eat such beautiful slices of meat."
That makes sense...
Yu Zhi blushed from the kiss and almost bit her tongue in embarrassment.
Eat slowly.
Is it a matter of speed?
The beauty's eyes rippled slightly as she scolded her for her foolishness.
Her mind was in turmoil, yet she maintained an innocent and composed demeanor.
"Try this." The fourth young lady placed some food on her plate. "How is it?"
Her eyes sparkled, and Yu Zhi nodded involuntarily: "Delicious!"
"Then eat more, otherwise you won't be able to handle it."
"..."
There were too many ambiguities in those words, yet the speaker remained completely composed and serious. Yu Zhi felt a pang of embarrassment and couldn't help but glance at the private room out of the corner of her eye.
Although the private room looked nice, it was still a place where people came and went. Besides them, who knew how many other people had been here?
She was completely unwilling to eat, and found the food tasteless.
Wei Pingxi chewed slowly and deliberately. After finishing the slice of meat, she smiled and said, "It's not here. Don't worry."
I knew he had bad intentions in bringing her out!
Knowing that she wouldn't cause any trouble, Yu Zhi finally felt satisfied with her meal.
...
"Have the arrangements been made?"
"It's all arranged, Princess. Don't worry, she'll definitely not enjoy her meal."
...
The door to the private room on the third floor was kicked open, and the leader, a man with slicked-back hair and a powdered face, said: "This place has a great view, I'll take it, you all get out!"
Wei Pingxi held his chopsticks steadily, without raising his eyelids: "Who are you?"
"May I ask who I am? The answer will scare you to death! I am none other than Ha—"
A scalding hot slice of meat flew into his wide-open mouth. The fourth young lady smiled and said, "What are you laughing at? Can't you see we're eating? Go back inside."
The man screamed in pain from the scalding meat, which had just been pulled from the copper pot. It was so hot that his mouth was blistering, his eyes were watering, and his finger was trembling as he pointed at Wei Pingxi. He had come at Wei Pingxi aggressively, but now he was fleeing with his tail between his legs, looking cowardly.
"Don't worry, keep eating."
Yu Zhi glanced at the door and saw countless eyes subtly peering into the private room. She whispered, "I'm afraid this meal won't be enjoyable."
"Let them come!"
With a flick of her sleeve, the fourth young lady slammed the two open wooden doors shut.
"Eat quickly, we still have to fight after you finish eating."
--------------------
Author's Note:
Haha, the word 'fighting' here has two meanings!
Chapter 45 True and False Identities
"Don't think I can't tell."
What did you hear?
Faced with her innocent and harmless fairy-like face, Yu Zhi choked, refusing to admit that she had misunderstood.
However, it's also possible that she wasn't thinking the wrong thing, but rather that someone was pretending not to understand.
She ate by holding long chopsticks, subconsciously taking a few extra bites—she didn't want to collapse from exhaustion again.
Is it still inside?
"Yes, I'm eating hot pot. I had nine plates of fresh vegetables, six plates of fresh shrimp and fish balls, six plates of sliced pork, and five kinds of dipping sauces!"
"Who told you to write these down?" The man was speechless for a moment. "Did you check carefully? Is anyone protecting you?"
The honest-looking man shook his head vigorously: "Didn't they say that the Fourth Miss lost the Empress's favor and was banished from the palace? She even offended the Empress Dowager, and now that she's in this state, someone is still protecting her? How audacious must she be!"
He has an honest appearance and speaks succinctly.
"Alright, let's rush in and give her a good thrashing. A beautiful woman like her, instead of getting married and having children, she's trying to be a man and take concubines. Taking concubines is fine, but to openly bring them out is just disgusting."
"She annoys us, so we annoy her back; that's called reciprocity."
"Big brother is right!"
The door was kicked open again with a bang. Wei Pingxi couldn't help but admire the quality of Yan Sifang's door, which hadn't broken even after all. She glanced at it, then dipped the fish ball in sauce and ate it quickly.
Yu Zhi felt unsatisfied after not getting the last fish ball, but when she touched her stomach, she realized she couldn't eat any more.
"Why did you go out without a single maid? Living in the capital is no easy feat. You think you can act like a tyrant without any skills? Dream on. I've got my eye on this private room. Miss, you may move."
Yu Zhi asked in confusion, "Who is he?"
She thought she was speaking softly, but everyone present heard her clearly.
Wei Ping chuckled and said, "Who knows where this Tom, Dick, and Harry came from? They don't even know how to introduce themselves. They'd better have some skills to ask me to move."
"I am—"
A chopstick was thrown rudely at his face.
"Milk what? Do you even have milk?"
"..."
Pfft!
Someone couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Yu Zhi covered her face, unsure of who to blush for.
Fourth Miss, how arrogant!
"How dare you!"
The man in the floral dress rushed forward, but Wei Pingxi kicked him back.
"A good dog doesn't block the way. It seems you're not even a good dog. Living in the capital is not easy. You're just making a fool of yourself without any skills."
She pointed to the turtle in the water tank in front of the private room window, her smile serene and elegant, as if a celestial being had descended to earth.
"You called me a bastard?"
“I’m not that vulgar and blunt.”
She said with a friendly expression, "Tell your master to stop bothering me. If you piss me off, I'll send her a coffin."
"To hell with your master and servants, all of you, attack!"
Wei Pingxi's eyes were cool and clear. He took out a soup ladle from the copper pot, seemingly intending to use it to smash these clueless people to death.
The private room was packed with people, some looking for trouble, others just watching the spectacle.
The scholars were still on their way to defend 'etiquette and morality' when they heard the news. The Fourth Miss did not bring any jade on this trip. Her gold and silver ingots were left at Qinghui Courtyard to take care of the kittens. Yu Zhi saw the Fourth Miss make a move for the first time. She obediently stayed in a corner, occasionally exclaiming in surprise that the Fourth Miss was ruthless.
Putting a spoonful on the top of someone's head, regardless of its lethality, is extremely insulting.
Rumors in the capital say that Miss Wei has lost favor for quite some time now. Since leaving the palace, she has been recuperating at the Grand Tutor's mansion. Despite the uproar outside, no one from the Grand Tutor's mansion has come forward to suppress the rumors.
Little did they know that this minor skirmish was far from warranting the Yan family's intervention.
The Yan family trusted Wei Pingxi and left this small matter to her to handle.
As the saying goes, when a wall falls, everyone pushes it down. Wei Pingxi let the rumors run rampant, just to see how many people in the capital disliked her and wanted to deal with her.