I Am Truly Not a Treacherous Minister Your Majesty - Chapter 61



Chapter 61: Real Fish?

Tai’an City, Qingxin Building.

Tai’an City has two major restaurants, one for meat and one for vegetarian – Wufuo Zhuang and Qingxin Building. Wufuo Zhuang mainly serves meat dishes, while Qingxin Building mainly serves vegetarian dishes.

Originally, there was only Wufuo Zhuang, without the corresponding Qingxin Building. But as Tai’an City became known for its prosperity, countless chefs who were very good at making vegetarian dishes came here. To increase their reputation and to compete with Wufuo Zhuang at the time, Qingxin Building appeared.

It became a holy place for countless vegetarians. Interestingly, the locations of Wufuo Zhuang and Qingxin Building are very clever, one in the east of the city and one in the west, facing each other as if they were competing.

On the street, an elegant carriage stopped at the entrance of Qingxin Building, and the shopkeeper who had been waiting for a long time hurriedly greeted it.

“Oh, Fifth Prince, you’re here?”

“Yes,” the Fifth Prince got off the carriage and looked around, “I say, the guest I invited hasn’t arrived yet?”

“They’ve been here for a while, waiting for you inside,” the shopkeeper glanced inside and then whispered in the Fifth Prince’s ear, “Fifth Prince, be careful, this guest might not be easy to deal with.”

The Fifth Prince Xia Yun laughed, patted the shopkeeper on the shoulder, and nodded, “Alright, don’t worry. I’m here to chat with that person today, nothing will happen. Is the private room I booked surrounded by anyone?”

“How could we neglect you, Prince? We’ve already cleared it out for you. Today, the entire floor is yours.” The shopkeeper hurriedly smiled.

“Clearing out an entire floor for me is a bit unnecessary,” Xia Yun smiled awkwardly, “I just wanted you to clear out the surrounding rooms so no one would hear our conversation. Here, I brought some money with me, take it first. If it’s not enough, I’ll send someone from the palace to bring more later.”

After saying this, Xia Yun took out a few gold coins engraved with dragon heads from his pocket and placed them in the shopkeeper’s hand.

“Prince, what do you mean by this? It’s our duty to serve you well when you come to our shop. I can’t accept this money.”

“Take it, if you don’t, I won’t feel at ease.” Xia Yun said with a smile, then walked up.

Arriving at the private room, Xia Yun took a deep breath.

His scholarly face brewed for a moment, then a gentle smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. After completing this preparation, he pushed open the door of the private room.

Inside, Qin Ji saw Xia Yun walk into the room, was stunned for a moment, then stood up:

“Greetings, Prince Rongsheng.”

Calling him the Fifth Prince behind his back was to emphasize his rank during the power struggle. But in person, one must use the proper title, after all, he is no longer just a prince.

No matter how much Qin Ji looked down on the royal family, he still had to maintain surface etiquette. In terms of status, Prince Rongsheng was indeed higher than his title, although in terms of actual power, it was not so.

“Duke Anguo, you are too kind.”

Xia Yun smiled, returned the courtesy, and then both sat around the table.

At this moment, Xia Yun’s gaze suddenly stopped on Ling Yan, who was sitting beside Qin Ji.

From any angle, Ling Yan was undoubtedly a rare beauty. Her clean and neat short hair added a unique charm and a touch of boldness—these two styles coexisting was also rare.

At this moment, Ling Yan sat properly beside Qin Ji without saying a word. She was wearing a plain green robe, which had no decorations symbolizing status, but just sitting beside Duke Anguo was enough to prove her favor.

At least from Xia Yun’s perspective, it was so.

“This lady… won’t you introduce her?” Xia Yun certainly knew who she was, but since Qin Ji had already let her sit down and join the table, it was natural to mention her.

Qin Ji nodded: “This is my guard, Ling Yan. Rest assured, she is trustworthy.”

“I’ve long heard of your guard’s great name. I heard she once trained in the palace, taught by several royal masters, truly unprecedented.”

At this point, Xia Yun opened the door of the private room and said something to the attendant outside. A servant came in and stood behind him, while another seemed to go to instruct the kitchen.

“Today, I invited you, Duke Anguo, mainly to welcome you. You have just taken up the position of Zongzheng, managing royal family affairs. Although this position does not have a large scope of authority, it is very knowledgeable. With your ability, I believe you can handle it.”

“Your Highness flatters me. I am just a martial man, barely coping with court affairs, let alone royal family affairs.”

The two exchanged polite compliments, and the door of the private room was opened, bringing in a “fish.”

This fish was made lifelike, drizzled with sizzling orange-red sauce, emitting a tempting aroma. The whole fish looked very plump and delicious.

When entertaining guests, fish was indispensable. However, Qingxin Lou did not serve meat dishes, so this sweet and sour vegetarian fish naturally became the main dish.

Potatoes, tofu, fresh bamboo shoots, and mushrooms were chopped, mixed, and seasoned, shaped into a fish, and cooked, finally drizzled with sweet and sour sauce—this was the folk method. But Qingxin Lou’s top-grade sweet and sour vegetarian fish was more complex. To perfectly replicate the texture and taste of fish meat, they would divide the “fish meat” into countless fine nail-sized pieces, then put them together, forming a texture similar to the “garlic clove meat” of yellow croaker.

“I often eat the vegetarian dishes here at Qingxin Lou,” Xia Yun smiled, picked up his chopsticks, and pointed at the fish that looked, smelled, and tasted great, “Try it, if I didn’t tell you, you might think it’s real fish.”

Qin Ji picked up a piece and put it in his mouth.

It had the texture of fish meat, even with a bit of the unique freshness of fish. The sweet and sour sauce soaked into the fish meat, further deceiving the taste buds, making one think it was real fish.

“Indeed, it’s delicious.”

Qin Ji praised.

“You see, taste can be deceived. The fish is not real fish, but if done right, even if the ingredients have nothing to do with fish, it can make people think it is a fish.”

“Your Excellency, do you think pretending to be a fish and a real fish with the same taste, which is rarer?”

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“Of course, it’s a fake fish. Many can make a good fish, but making something that’s not a fish look like a fish is a difficult task.”

Qin Ji said naturally.

“Yes…” Xia Yun nodded in agreement, “If possible, people would naturally prefer fake fish because it’s hard to make something fake look real. I also like fake fish. Sometimes, fake things can be much more interesting than real ones. As long as it’s done well and not told to the guests, a fake fish is a real fish. What’s the difference?”

Qin Ji’s heart skipped a beat.

Oh no, don’t be so blunt, it scares me.

Who is the fake fish, and who is the real fish? That’s a bold statement.