Editor: Marcia
Beta reader: Dairytea
Spring Once More chapter 42
(Traditional Chinese cover scanned by Dairytea)
Chapter Forty-two
[3]
Eating the meat of the masked palm civet is suspected to be the source of the
SARS epidemic.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Spring Once More by ayszhang is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Gao-bo ran away.
After speaking with Master Su, I go to have breakfast
with Fu Qingshu. While gracefully munching on a cold zongzi in the small hall, he tells me
about this piece of tragic news. Pei Qixuan is across from him, cutting the
strings of another zongzi. This is the emergency stock that I bought yesterday.
Gao-bo’s son, grandchildren and daughter-in-law have probably run back
to their ancestral home and left the kitchen empty. Neither Zhong-shu, Xiao-Shun nor Xiao-Quan know how to work a spatula, so
all that can be eaten for breakfast are the zongzi. On the other hand, Gao-bo ran a bit differently. He is hiding
out in the rock formations in the inner courtyard. Fu Qingshu says that he spotted
the old man munching on mantou behind some rocks this morning when he went for
a stroll. The butler pleaded with the young marquess not to expose his
whereabouts.
I can’t help but sigh. At such an
old age, even if he doesn’t get heat stroke from being confined among the rocks all day long, he might
just get sucked dry by mosquitoes. But after all, he is the one who beat me
down a well, and that’s attempted murder. As long as I stay here, he is going
to stay in those rocks. I invite Master Su to discuss action plans.
“Why don’t I find an inn? If Gao-bo goes down, then there’s no food for
the rest of you.”
Li’l Marquess comments, “If you
go, we all go, naturally. It’d be bothersome to delegate the servants alone.”
But Master Su frowns. “Your
Highness has been treated unfairly these days in my lowly home. We will ask Xiao-Shun to find the best inn in town.
May I suggest everyone go, and I alone will stay here?”
“That cannot be,” I immediately reject.
“If you’re left alone with Gao-bo in
this manor, you’ll have nobody to speak with. Let’s do as I said. I will go to an inn and take Xiao-Shun with me. Xiao-Quan and Zhong-shu
will stay to serve you and Master Pei.”
Fu Qingshu adds, “Moyu will go
along with Xiao-Shun to the inn, and
I will stay there as well. It would not prove convenient for our investigation
if we had to travel between the two residences.”
What he says makes sense, but I
seriously don’t like the idea of Pei Qixuan and Master Su together in one
house. And just at this moment, Pei Qixuan decides to voice his opinion.
“I shall be wherever the prince
is, for my purpose here is to serve His Highness.”
The way he says “serve” seriously
gives me a fright. You win, okay, Master
Pei.
“There is no need for argument,”
Master Su interrupts. “We should do as I suggested, I alone will stay here.”
The way he says “I alone”
seriously gives me the chills.
While we are still locked in debate, Xiao-Quan, who had been at the
front gate the natural draft,
comes bringing an invitation and reports that a palanquin is at the door.
I take the letter and pass it
directly to Fu Qingshu. The young marquess chuckles after reading it.
“The Huizhou provincial yamen sure has excellent intelligence.”
“What does it
say?” I ask.
He tosses the
invitation on the table. “The chancellor already knows that we are here and has
requested our presence. Whoever is waiting outside is either the advisor or the
chancellor himself. Shall we invite him in or not?”
“Why not?” I
answer. “If he’s already here.”
The chancellor,
Liu Nianci, is a middle-aged man with a goatee. He’s wearing a soap-coloured
cotton robe and looks like the human embodiment of hepatitis B. When he came
in, I thought he was the advisor, but as he kneels down and kowtows, I realize
he is the chancellor himself. Huizhou is a land of abundance, and having a
chancellor as scrawny as this is just downright embarrassing. I guess there’s just
too many internal conflicts for equal shares of the textiles industry’s bribery.
“My sincere
apologies. If only I’d been notified of Your Highness’ and Your Lordship’s
presence earlier,” says Chancellor Liu. “We’ve prepared some food and drink for
you at the yamen. It’s nothing grand,
but I hope you may grant us this opportunity.”
I’d say yes to
food any day, not to mention how genuine his head sounds against the floor. Li’l
Marquess and I accept the invitation, taking along with us our personal
attendants, Moyu and Xiao-Shun.
Judging by the
chancellor’s furniture and décor – round, hand-woven stools, bamboo dishes and
utensils on a black lacquered pear wood table in a pavilion made with green
bamboo – he deserves his jinshi[1]
title that earned him the fourth-rank[2]
chancellor position.
The advisor
turns out to be rather well-fed and extremely hospitable. None of the valets or
waiters that we’ve seen can compare to his service and entertainment.
Hui cuisine is
one of the eight great Chinese cuisines, less spicy than Szechuan cuisine and
less fatty than Cantonese. The key is in the spices, herbs, sauces and the heat
when stir-frying. I’ve been craving for some time, but I’ve only ever heard of
talk about it.
Right off the
bat, we’ve got assorted cold appetizers and then an emerald icefish geng. My rating for the chancellor rises
to a whopping three stars. Then comes the first hot dish which Advisor Chen presents with enthusiasm.
“Prince Tai, you’ve
come to Huizhou before, so you’re familiar with this dish. Young Marquess,
however, has got to try it. This is the signature dish of Hui cuisine. You can’t
say you’ve come to Huizhou without eating it.”
I’m just itching
to try it. The dish is served, and I have to act civilized with Fu Qingshu,
using chopsticks to eat and all that.
Meanwhile, the
advisor explains proudly, “Cooking the masked palm civet isn’t straightforward,
as steaming or stewing leave it with a foul smell. The only method is
red-braising. I present to you, red braised civet.[3] Please
help yourself, Marquess.”
My chopsticks
make a U-turn, picking up instead a block of jelly from the appetizer plate.
Just as Fu Qingshu’s piece of civet is about to make it into his mouth, I jab
my elbow and the meat drops flat on his robe leaving an oily patch.
“Cheers,
everyone!” I call out, holding up my cup. The chancellor and all his invitees
hurry to their feet and drink to my toast. The li’l marquess still hasn’t
gotten over the civet and reaches for it again. Yet again, I stick out an
elbow, and another splat of oil appears on his robe. At last, he has given up
his obsession and shoots me a look. I pretend not to notice, feeling quite
proud of my kindness.
Son, I’ll have you know even modern medicine cannot
guarantee you life if you eat that shit. Here you have to drink traditional
medicine for a fortnight just to cure a cold! I’m just looking out for you, all
right?
An official
feast like this is very particular since its sole objective is to check if the
other party shares your interests. Every dish, every utterance and every toast
has its hidden meaning. Having been to two of these in the capital, I know the
ropes. As the ship gradually floated into the harbour, Chancellor Liu coughed
and the advisor left the table. Fu Qingshu and I remain calm since we expect
him to bring something back, the only question being what it’s wrapped in – a
red envelope or pink dress.
After about a
pot of tea’s time, the chubby official returns, back bowed. Behind him is a cute,
petite girl wrapped in sheer fabrics. My chopsticks hit the plate causing
ripples through my heartstrings. Pink dress! Of excellent quality!
The advisor’s
smile looks like a trumpet horn. “This is the most renowned talent of Guanzhi
House, Miss Chuxian. Her skills on the strings are superb, and her poetry is
exquisite.”
Her starry gaze
flutters about me, and she lowers her head shyly. I swear I’m floating in the
air. Stunning! Absolutely gorgeous!
Advisor Chen leads her in closer and closer, and I feel my heart blossoming bit by bit. She
stops and bows toward me. I smile and nod. Chuxian smiles back and glides over
to sit next to Fu Qingshu.
What the hell! I’m
the prince here! I shoot the chancellor a look, and the advisor leaves again.
When he comes back this time, I feel fire and bile rising from my gut as two
clean, pretty boys flock to me.
Pinky up, Chancellor Liu brushes
his beard and asks me with a bright smile, “Your Seventh Highness, are these
kids to your liking?”
[1]
Jinshi is the title of any person who writes the final round of the national
examination.
[2]
Officials were categorized into nine ranks, the first being the highest and
with two sub-ranks in each rank.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ayszhang:
Hello everyone! It's been a long time, and I'm sorry for the hiatus. Work was really draining me! Not to mention, a cat came into my life, so I had even less time for translating. The good news is that in summer, I have less hours and this means I get more time to translate.
Всем здравствуйте! Я сейчас живу в Астане в Казахстане. Изучаю русский язык) I'd love to meet any readers who are nearby or in town for a visit!
Hello everyone! It's been a long time, and I'm sorry for the hiatus. Work was really draining me! Not to mention, a cat came into my life, so I had even less time for translating. The good news is that in summer, I have less hours and this means I get more time to translate.
Всем здравствуйте! Я сейчас живу в Астане в Казахстане. Изучаю русский язык) I'd love to meet any readers who are nearby or in town for a visit!
Spring Once More by ayszhang is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
No comments:
Post a Comment