bullyxtreme Chapter 56 My...my beloved daughter!
Chapter 56 My...my beloved daughter!
Chapter 56 My...my beloved daughter!
Li Shimin was taken aback.
Only then did he notice the scent emanating from his daughter.
sweet!
It's so sweet it brings peace of mind, so sweet it reminds me of the feeling of lying in my mother's arms when I was a child.
"What's delicious?"
Li Shimin softened his voice, "It's alright, Father isn't hungry, as long as Sizi doesn't cry."
Little Sizi sniffed and slowly, carefully raised her right arm.
She turned the wide cuffs inside out.
Li Shimin took a closer look.
There were no exquisite pastries as I had imagined, nor any neatly shaped food.
There was only a lump of mud.
Yellow and white "mud" covered the entire inner lining of the sleeve pocket.
The flaky pastry, which should have been layered and crumbly, was now crumbled into powder, mixed with the creamy yellow filling that had oozed out from the center, flattened, and stuck firmly to the fabric.
It looks terrible.
But this wretched-looking thing emitted a fragrance that made the entire hall pale in comparison.
Li Lizhi stood to the side, turning her head away with some reluctance: "Father, these are Portuguese egg tarts made by Su Mu. They are extremely crisp and tender."
Su Mu said this thing couldn't be brought back; it would break at the slightest touch. Si Zi didn't believe him and secretly hid it in her sleeve, intending to surprise you. However, she was startled by Uncle Cheng on the way and tripped and fell—"
Li Shimin looked at the puddle of mud in the sleeve.
He could picture that scene.
This little kid, just to let his father have a taste of something hot, hid the food in his sleeve like a thief, walking cautiously with his arms folded.
As a result, he fell, but didn't cry out in pain; he just cried because things were broken.
Li Shimin felt a lump in his throat, as if a ball of cotton was stuck there.
"Silly girl."
Li Shimin's voice was a little hoarse, and his eyes were slightly red. "If it's broken, it's broken. As long as Sizi has her father in her heart, that's the best thing."
"But...but Father didn't arrive yet—"
Little Sizi was still sobbing, "Brother Su said this is only good when it's fresh out of the oven—now it's all turned into mud."
Li Shimin looked at the mess in the sleeve.
Suddenly, he extended a finger.
Those were fingers accustomed to holding a vermilion pen and reviewing the world, yet now they reached into the sleeve pocket, stained with oil and crumbs, without any disgust.
My fingertips gently scraped across it.
He scraped off a small piece of the paste-like mixture of pastry crumbs and custard filling.
It was a bit cold, and you could even see tiny bits of clothing fibers mixed in.
Li Lizhi exclaimed in surprise, "Father! This—"
Li Shimin waved his hand, stopping his daughter.
He put that finger in his mouth.
At that moment, although the scalding heat and extreme crispness of freshly baked food were gone, the concentrated aroma of milk, eggs, and the unique richness of butter still exploded on the tip of the tongue!
sweet.
So sweet!
This sweetness flowed down my tongue and into my heart.
"Um--"
Li Shimin closed his eyes, savoring the taste. "This is—milk?"
"It's goat's milk! And the testicles! And that yellowish oil!"
When Little Sizi saw that her father had actually eaten, she stopped crying and looked at him expectantly with wide eyes, "Father, is it good?"
Li Shimin opened his eyes and looked at his daughter's big eyes, which were still streaked with tears.
He had never thought that the exquisitely crafted dragon and phoenix dishes in the imperial kitchen were particularly delicious, but the cold crumbs scraped off his sleeve gave him a taste he had never experienced before.
"tasty."
Li Shimin nodded heavily, reached out his large hand, and pulled the little ox into his arms, not caring whether the oil on his sleeve would stain his dragon robe.
"This is the sweetest dessert I have ever eaten in the world."
"Really?"
Little Sizi burst into laughter through her tears, revealing her sparse, gaping teeth. "Next time—next time, Xizi will bring a big metal box to collect it! We'll steal Su Guoguo's metal bucket!"
Li Shimin laughed heartily, the moisture in his eyes dispelled by the sound of his laughter.
"Alright! Next time, we'll bring all of that kid's pots back!"
Outside the palace gates.
Cheng Yaojin was riding his horse, preparing to return home.
But he could never forget that taste.
So delicious!
That was definitely not the smell of cosmetics; it was the genuine aroma of food. And it was something Old Cheng had never smelled before in all his years of traveling around the country.
"Milk-scented—and it can even be broken!"
Cheng Yaojin stroked his stubble-covered chin, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.
"Could it be mud made from milk?"
"Wait a minute, how could the milk be broken?"
The more I thought about it, the craving became; the cravings in my stomach were whetted by that fleeting glimpse of aroma.
Cheng Yaojin reined in his horse and glanced back at the majestic palace walls.
"No, I need to ask around."
He grabbed the steward accompanying him. "Go, tell my old buddies in the palace if they've come across any new gadgets lately. You know, the kind that smells milky, you can put it in your sleeve, and it crumbles into dust if you drop it!"
The butler looked completely bewildered: "Master, there's no such thing as a free lunch!"
"Just ask! Stop with the nonsense!" Cheng Yaojin glared. "If you can't get an answer, you'll be sleeping in the stables tonight!"
The butler shrank back in fright and quickly obeyed the order.
Cheng Yaojin licked his lips, gazing at the imperial city in the night.
"Hey, if it's delicious, even if it's hidden in a crack in the ground, I, Old Cheng, will dig it out for you!"
The autumn night wind was chilly, swirling withered leaves and scraping them against the stone slabs in the backyard of the imperial kitchen.
The lantern hanging in the corner swayed in the wind, its dim light dancing wildly on the mottled wall.
Su Mu squatted by the well, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his firm, muscular arms.
There was a large wooden basin at his feet, from which came a series of rapid "snip-snip" sounds, like countless small scissors colliding with each other.
Li Yuan held a purple clay teapot in his hand, standing far away, his brows furrowed, leaning back, pointing at the pot with a look of disgust.
"Young Su, are you planning to refine Gu today?"
Li Yuan brought the teapot spout to his lips, his eyes fixed on the menacing, dark red creatures in the basin. "These things look like scorpions that have come to life; those two big pincers are terrifying. I—this old man—have seen all sorts of delicacies in my life. Eating insects? No way!"
Su Mu held a stiff-bristled brush in his hand, not even looking up, and was only focused on lifting a large creature that was still thrashing about in the water.
The thing was entirely black and red, its carapace so hard it reflected light, and its two large pincers were about to clamp down on Su Mu's hand.
"This is called crayfish."
With a flick of his wrist, Su Mu's fingers precisely gripped the creature's back shell, leaving its large pincers flailing futilely in the air.
The brush was used to scrub its belly vigorously, and the slightly yellowish belly instantly turned white.
"This is the king of the water, it's just a bit ugly, but it's very proud of itself."
Click!
With a swift movement of the scissors, half of the shrimp's head was cut off, revealing a clump of yellow shrimp roe.
Su Mu flicked his finger, pulled out the black shrimp intestine, and casually tossed it into the waste bin next to him.
"Eek—!"
Two simultaneous gasps came from the courtyard gate.
Li Lizhi had just stepped one foot across the threshold when she saw Su Mu's hand movements and the densely packed creatures crawling in the basin. Her pretty face turned deathly pale, and she took three steps back, lifting her skirt, her back slamming directly against the door frame.
Fang Qingjun was terrified, her face turning pale. She dropped the handkerchief she had just bought and pointed at the potted object, her voice trembling, "What—what is this? Mr. Su, this is the imperial kitchen, not a den of poisonous insects!"
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