Chapter 399 - Chapter 399: Crab Banquet

Chapter 399: Crab Banquet

Translator: Henyee Translations , Editor: Henyee Translations

After that, he did not say a word to them as if he could not see Xiongnu people.

It wasn’t easy for Chernan to suppress his anger. He was sent to the posthouse.

He was even given two teams of Royal Guards to “guard the safety”. Just as he closed the door, Chernan wanted to flare up.

However, he admitted that he was not a woman. Smashing things was too tasteless, so he kicked the strategist’s waist.

“You piece of trash! You made me lose so much face!”

The plan was set together. Why was it all his fault for not succeeding?

The strategist felt aggrieved, but he did not dare to say it.

The Emperor had deliberately embarrassed Chernan. Xiongnu was really too arrogant. Who gave Chernan the confidence to disregard their vast country when he came from such a small place?

“Third Prince fought a good battle.”

That sentence erased the crime of attacking Xiongnu without permission and stopped some ministers from making a move.

“Let’s go back and rest today. We’ll officially reward you tomorrow morning!”

He turned his gaze to Xiao Ran, who widened her eyes. “Your Majesty, I also feel tired and want to go home to eat and sleep.” She didn’t want to nag the Emperor about what she had already said in the letter again. She would definitely have to ask tomorrow morning. If she had the time to kill time with him, she might as well go home and eat delicious food. Xiaoxiao said that she and her father would go home first to prepare dinner and eat crabs later!

The Emperor was unhappy. He wasn’t close to his son. Rong Yan had grown up, and their father-son relationship had always been in a subtle state because of Noble Consort Ji’s attitude. The Emperor had guided almost all the princes in their studies and cared about almost everyone’s daily life. Only Rong Yan had never been noticed.

Even the most respected person would try his best to avoid awkwardness under the premise that he had a choice. However, when he heard that Xiao Ran was going home, he looked over with a smile.

This smile gave Xiao Ran a bad feeling, and this premonition indeed came true.

Before Xiaoxiao entered the capital, she had already started thinking about seasonal ingredients. After she gave Little Big Brother special treatment in the space, she always felt that she had let her parents down. However, it was difficult to explain if she suddenly took out some uncommon delicacies, so she immediately thought of crabs after she calculated the time.

There were already people eating crabs in Great Xia, but they were only a few home-cooked dishes. She had been itching for this good thing for a long time. Today, she naturally had to make a Golden Autumn Crab Banquet for her family!

Crabs were cold, so ginger and cold-repelling wine were indispensable. Gu Chang’an was more familiar with the General’s Residence, so Xiaoxiao tricked him to tidy up and arrange for the kitchen to prepare. She took over the task of buying crabs and wine herself.

Of course, crabs had to use the hairy crabs produced by the space. They were also covered in yellow fat roe and left a fragrance in their mouths. The wine was the Huadiao that she had brewed herself. She had just rushed back from eating and sleeping in the open. Wine with too high a content was harmful to her body.

By the time Gu Chang’an organized the internal affairs in an orderly manner, the fragrance of wine and crabs had already begun to waft out of the kitchen.

She had exchanged so many hairy crabs from the space in one go. If she just ate them steamed, her hands would hurt from peeling them. Hence, the considerate little Xiaoxiao first picked out a batch that was already steamed and started to peel the shell.

Others might need to borrow eight crabs to peel crabs, but Xiaoxiao directly took the ingredients and tore off a crab leg. In the blink of an eye, the white crab meat and yellow crab roe were filled to the brim, making the guards and maidservants who passed by swallow their saliva.

Xiaoxiao simply peeled a few more steamers of crabs. The number of crabs she “bought” was resistant.

When eating crabs, they had to peel a few themselves to feel the festive mood. Hence, Xiaoxiao left the ones that she wanted to satisfy everyone. She peeled the rest and moved on to the next step.

“If you move so quickly, won’t you make me, your father, useless?

Xiaoxiao followed his advice and gave up the position of the chef while she made the crab meat fillings.

Thinking that there were not many people at home, Gu Chang’an stir-fried a few simple dishes and used the crab meat and crab roe that Xiaoxiao had peeled to make crab roe tofu and crab clear soup. The crab roe tofu was brightly coloured. The white tofu and golden crab roe reflected each other. The tofu was refreshing, tender, and smooth and it melted in his mouth, and the crab roe melted in the soup.

The crab clear soup looked plain and light, but it was so fresh that one could not help but narrow their eyes and praise it.

This dish was very particular. The soup stock was stir-fried with crab bones, a small amount of onion stems, and ginger before simmering until the crab oil in the bones was completely boiled. It locked the crab’s unique fresh fragrance into the soup for backup.

In another pot, there was an old chicken soup simmering with green onions and ginger.

“Remember, you can’t boil this chicken soup. Otherwise, the soup will be turbid. Crab clear soup is meant to be ‘clear’. You have to carefully remove the residue and oiliness.”

In the past, Gu Chang’an was the most impatient to make such fussy dishes because he felt that it was time-consuming, tiring, and flashy. But now, he was enjoying it. He couldn’t wait for every dish to be more complicated, longer, and gorgeous. This way, he could look at his daughter’s sparkling eyes and listen to her delicate exclamations and praises.

After the crab bone soup and old chicken soup were ready, Gu Chang’an boiled them together and mixed them with ginger juice and Huadiao wine to remove the fishy smell and fragrance, adding freshness to the soup. When the fragrance wafted out, he placed the crab meat that he had prepared long ago into the soup and stirred it slowly. Then, he added the starch sauce.

Xiaoxiao watched as the crab meat was instantly wrapped in the soup. As the water vapor surged, the bottom of the soup became thicker. Gu Chang’an poured in crab roe and some crab oil to mix it. Finally, he sprinkled onions to add some greenness.

The rich crab clear soup became more elegant because of this green, making it even harder for Xiaoxiao to suppress the little glutton in her stomach. She blinked at Gu Chang’an pitifully. The latter understood what she meant and immediately scooped a bowl for her.

“Father hasn’t made this soup in a long time and his skills are a little rusty. Xiaoxiao, can you help Father try it?”

Of course, Xiaoxiao wouldn’t refuse. She didn’t mind that the soup was hot either. She took the small bowl and blew on it. She didn’t even wait to take the spoon before she pouted and sipped.

“Wow, it’s so delicious. My tongue is rewarded!

Gu Chang’an had been obsessed with cooking for many years, and his culinary skills were better than Xiaoxiao’s. Although Xiaoxiao had an additional lifetime of memories, she could still learn a lot from him.

Although Gu Chang’an was a man of few words, he doted on his daughter from the bottom of his heart. They had been separated for many years and finally reunited after much difficulty. Moreover, they had not been together much because of the war. Gu Chang’an felt both guilt and heartache towards Xiaoxiao. If possible, he wished he could bring all the good things in the world to Xiaoxiao. Naturally, he would teach her all his culinary skills.

If Xiao Ran was present, she would definitely laugh at him for being like a peacock with its tail open. He used all his skills to show off the flowery moves that he had disdained to use in the past just to get his daughter to exclaim.

Seeing that his daughter was drinking happily, Gu Chang’an was also very busy. He had unknowingly prepared too many dishes.

He and Xiao Ran were used to being diligent and frugal and never wasted anything. It was a little difficult to look at them.

After filling her stomach, Xiaoxiao suggested, “Why don’t we just call Little Big Brother Ah Yan’s Yun Guards and Mother’s personal guards in to make everyone happy?”

The plan worked. Let’s do it..