“If it is that good, I want to have some too!” Ping Yang interrupted when she heard this.
“Haha… this is a gift to the Crown Prince from the Queen of the Southern Region.” Fang Zhengzhi shook his head when he saw the anticipation on Ping Yang’s face.
“Humph, don’t you think I know that? But the Queen of the Southern Region is definitely more generous than you.” Ping Yang pouted.
The aroma of the roasted lamb wafted through the air.
Fang Zhengzhi’s description was apt. Even though Shan Yu used many spices, they were not overpowering. In fact, each additional spice only served to make the meat even more tempting.
However, the Crown Prince’s expression was darkening by the second.
He didn’t believe that Shan Yu would have kept the spices she used over a year ago. However, this lamb smelled exactly the same as it was back then.
“Impossible! It must be a scam, it has to be!” Crown Prince Lin Tianrong grit his teeth and looked at Shan Yu and Fang Zhengzhi.
Shan Yu had finished with the roasting.
The crowd swallowed the mouthfuls of saliva that had formed when they smelt that aroma. Some of them felt their stomachs rumbling.
The roasted meats of the Southern Region were a delicacy. Occasionally, there would be merchants from the Southern Region who would come and peddle the roasted meats.
However, none of their culinary skills even came close to Princess Shan Yu.
“I wish I could try a mouthful.”
“Yes, I can already tell that it’s going to be delicious just by looking at it.”
“What I would give just to have a taste of it…”
The crowd seemed to have forgotten about Fang Zhengzhi’s case. Everyone was focused on that delicious lamb in the middle.
The officials were confused when they saw this.
They didn’t know why the Queen of the Southern Region would roast a lamb right now, but they could tell that something was up from the Crown Prince’s expression.
“Could it be that this lamb holds the key?” The officials began to guess in their hearts. However, no one said anything out loud.
At that moment, Shan Yu sheathed her daggers. At the same time, a few Southern Region servants walked forward and placed the leather robe on Shan Yu’s shoulders.
“Your Highness, please!” Princess Shan Yu looked at Crown Prince Lin Tianrong.
“Thank you!” Crown Prince Lin Tianrong nodded as he looked at the lamb. “It looks absolutely delicious! I must enjoy it in my own time! Men, pack this up and send it to my residence…”
“Your Highness, slow down!” Shan Yu interrupted the Crown Prince even before he could finish his orders.
The guards who were just about to step forward remained in their position.
“Haha, does the Queen of the Southern Region have other gifts for me?” Crown Prince Lin Tianrong squinted but smiled.
“No, I just think that as the future leader of our great empire, you don’t seem to know much about good food.” Shan Yu said scornfully.
“What do you mean?” Crown Prince Lin Tianrong’s expression changed. He looked at Emperor Lin Mubai. Seeing as he didn’t react, Lin Tianrong had no choice but to swallow his pride.
The other officials were slightly shocked to hear what she just said. Even though she was the Queen of the Southern Region, it was still a disrespectful thing to say.
However, it was not appropriate for them to say anything.
After all…
This was a conversation between a Crown Prince and the Queen of the Southern Region. They had no place in this conversation.
Shan Yu could see the expressions on the faces of Crown Prince Lin Tianrong and the other officials. However, she wasn’t going to back down.
Over the past year, Shan Yu had no idea if the poisoning was the Crown Prince’s idea or Shan Ling’s idea.
However, when she heard that the Crown Prince wants to bring the lamb back to his residence, she could already guess what happened a year ago.
The Crown Prince used Shan Ling to administer the poison.
Then, he killed Shan Ling and pinned the murder on Fang Zhengzhi.
After confirming this fact, Shan Yu was not going to back down now. As the Queen of the Southern Region, she would not be humiliated this way.
Shan Yu clenched her fists and a ball of fire burst out in her palms.
“I roasted the lamb in front of everyone. Even though it is a gift to you, you want to take it back to the East Palace. Don’t you know how to share?” Shan Yu’s voice was icy and her eyes began to glitter.
“You…” Crown Prince Lin Tianrong’s expression darkened, the smile wiped off his face.
He knew exactly what Shan Yu was getting at.
He knew that he should share such a delicacy, but how could he possibly share this lamb with everyone present?
“Your Highness, did I say anything wrong? The food is right in front of them all, yet, you refuse to share it with them. I am disappointed by your selfishness!” Shan Yu pressed.
“How dare you?! Shan Yu, you may be the Queen of the Southern Region, but…” Crown Prince Lin Tianrong’s gaze was icy.
At that moment, Emperor Lin Mubai moved in his seat. Then, he took a deep breath.
“Mm, that smells good!” Emperor Lin Mubai opened his eyes and looked at the freshly roasted lamb.
The officials fell to their knees.
“Long live the Emperor!”
“Mm, please rise.” Emperor Lin Mubai nodded and turned to look at Eunuch Wei, “Who made this?”
“Your Highness, the Queen of the Southern Region roasted this lamb for the Crown Prince.” Eunuch Wei reported when he heard the Emperor’s question.
“Oh? That’s nice of her. This is a truly special gift!” Emperor Lin Mubai nodded and turned to look at Shan Yu.
“However…” Eunuch Wei spoke up hesitantly.
“What’s the matter?” Emperor Lin Mubai asked.
“The Crown Prince wanted to bring this back to his residence. However, the Queen of the Southern Region wanted to share it with everyone else.” Eunuch Wei found a different way to express their opinions.
“Share it with the officials? Good, the Queen of the Southern Region is reasonable!” Emperor Lin Mubai spoke up and interrupted the Crown Prince. He looked at Lin Tianrong, “my son, you must be generous. Please remember what the Queen of the Southern Region said today!”
“… yes, father! I will!” Crown Prince Lin Tianrong wanted to say something but decided against it.
“Okay then, since the Queen of the Southern Region is so willing to share, I will decide on behalf of the Crown Prince! Please give every official a slice!” Emperor Lin Mubai announced.
All of the officials were extremely excited to hear this.
It was almost noon and many of them were quite hungry. Furthermore, the golden lamb in front of them was much too tempting.
However…
Since this was a gift to the Crown Prince, they did not dare to ask for a slice. Furthermore, they had initially thought that something was amiss.
That being said, they let down their guard when they remembered that they were in the capital.
Shan Yu…
Shan Yu couldn’t possibly poison them at the gates of the palace!
At that moment, the officials fell to their knees and thanked the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and Shan Yu.
“Thank you, Your Highness!”
“Thank you, Your Highness!”
“Thank you, Your Highness!”
Then, the officials licked their lips and swallowed their saliva. They were excited to finally be able to try this lamb.
The newly appointed officials, who were the candidates in the court examinations the previous year, were the most excited.
“We finally get to try it!”
“I’ve been waiting for this day for more than a year!”
Those officials salivated as they eyed the lamb on the rack.
At that moment, a few servants in short skirts walked over and began to carve the lamb up.
Crown Prince Lin Tianrong grit his teeth as he watched them carve up the lamb. His expression was dark and solemn.
“I want some too!” Ping Yang replied excitedly.
“To think that you are a Princess?! Can you let others go first? The Emperor already told you that you need to be generous and gracious!” Fang Zhengzhi replied in scorn.
“Humph, did father say that?” Ping Yang was visibly unhappy.
Eunuch Wei was about to take a plate from the servants and hand it to Emperor Lin Mubai when he heard this. He turned to look at Emperor Lin Mubai.
Emperor Lin Mubai nodded, then added, “Mm I did say that! We should let the officials enjoy it first!”
“Thank you, your highness!”
The officials fell to their knees and thanked the Emperor.
Then, the officials stepped forward and began getting their plates from the servants. They examined the slice of lamb on their plates.
“What great skills! She is a culinary genius!”
“Yes, this has all the marks of a great piece of meat. The skin is golden and crispy and the meat is juicy and tender. This is heaven on a plate!”
“Indeed, indeed!”
As officials of the Great Xia, they had the courtesy to resist the temptation for a few moments to praise the food presented to them.
Some of the officials decided to use this opportunity to show off their intellectual and artistic capabilities.
“I heard that Official Li is a renowned food critic. Why don’t you compose a poem for this delicacy?”
“Official Wang, you are too kind. But since you requested for one, I have to oblige!”
“We are excited to hear it!”
The officials were all holding the meat and praising it excitedly.
Once that was done, they began to carve up the meat with their small knives.
The moment they placed it in their mouths…
Their faces flushed.
“Awesome! Absolutely fantastic!”
“The first bite is heavenly!”
“This is a true delicacy! I have been a food critic for many years, but this is the best thing I’ve had in more than 50 years!”
“Thank you, Shan Yu!”
The officials began to sing praises of the meat. Many others began to thank Shan Yu for he generosity.
Even those officials who were a little more cautious began to let down their guard and eat the meat.
The meat melted in their mouths.
Crown Prince Lin Tianrong paled when he saw this. He stared at all the officials.
Ping Yang pouted as she watched the officials enjoy themselves. She licked her lips, visibly tempted.
Yan Xiu was much calmer.
Yan Xiu enjoyed his food as well.
However…
He knew how to carry himself. He maintained an icy expression and red light flickered on his body.
Time passed quickly. More than half of the officials had finished the meat on their plate. The rest were still enjoying the delicacy in their hands.
The crowd licked their lips as they watched the officials enjoy this food. They could tell that it was delicious.
Wen Dabao was equally tempted…
Having starved for so long, he could only watch on as the officials enjoyed this delicacy. As for himself, he was still without food. He was extremely bitter.
However, this bitterness didn’t last long. He spotted his father in the crowd and realized that his father had yet to take a bite of the meat.
“Is he saving it for me?” Wen Dabao rubbed his hands together excitedly as he eyed the meat in Wen Chuan’s hands.
At that very moment…
A loud ‘dong’ jolted him. ‘