Chang’an Small Restaurant Chapter 43 (Part 2)
Translated by Pure
Chapter 43.2 Grand Order Before The Year End
When Pei Fei walked into Shen Indelible, he saw Princess Imperial of fuhui sitting in front of one of the dining tables. On the table was a copper hot pot cooker boiling with steam. Two adjacent tables next to her were filled with meat and vegetables. A maidservant was currently serving her, helping serve a few pieces of cooked meat into her bowl while the proprietress of Shen Indelible was warming her wine.
Pei Fei lamented with a bitter smile and stepped forward to greet her. Since the princess seemed to be on an incognito outing, he addressed her as ‘Lady Six’—Princess Imperial of fuhui was the sixth child.
"As I presumed, Sir Pei, you have come to Deputy Magistrate Lin's place in Chongxian Lane again, so I intentionally came here to wait." Princess Imperial of fuhui said with a smile, and pointed to the seat opposite of her that she had reserved for him.
This was the first time Shen Shaoguang had seen the playboy-esque Pei Lang with his peach-blossom eyes look so helpless.
Pei Fei sat down across from Princess Imperial of fuhui, and Shen Shaoguang thoughtfully set up a pot for him. The mist was thick enough to blur his complexion.
"These meatballs are quite nice, proprietress give Pei Lang a portion as well!"
Thus Shen Shaoguang prepared a portion of Pei Fei.
"This tofu is good, but why is it so porous?"
"This is frozen tofu." Shen Shaoguang answered.
"It's spongy and absorbs the broth well, quite flavorful."
Shen Shaoguang also served a plate to Pei Fei.
"This meatball is actually bilayered..."
"What is this? It's crispy and slightly chewy..."
Shen Shaoguang served the ‘highlighted’ dishes to Pei Fei one by one. After a while, the table in front of Pei Fei could no longer hold any more new plates, so two smaller tables were placed next to him.
Observing the Princess Imperial happily eating and the Proprietress Shen busying in high spirits, Pei Fei allowed the spilt milk to continue to run and started eating with his chopsticks.
Shen Shaoguang secretly supported his actions. Good call, whatever happens later is inevitable; it's best to fill your stomach before it happens.
Unfortunately, before Pei Fei could take a third bite, the Princess Imperial put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth with the silk handkerchief handed by the maid, and waved at Shen Shaoguang. Shen Shaoguang hurriedly stopped forward with A’Yuan, removed all the food on the tables, replaced it with two cups of beverages, and then discreetly hid in the kitchen.
"Sir Pei, you should be aware of what I want, so are you willing?"
Pei Fei felt bitter all over, but while mulling over a proper response, Princess Imperial of fuhui continued, "Just say if you are willing or not. Why bother hiding away and avoiding me like a little girl?"
Pei Fei's face turned red, he stood up, saluted, and said in a deep voice, "This subject is unwilling."
The Princess Imperial looked at him with an inquisitive gaze. Her eyes swept over Pei Fei's handsome face, shoulders, waist, and long legs before faintly sighing, "Then disregard it..."
Pei Fei didn't expect that Princess Imperial of fuhui would give up so easily, so he fell into a stupor.
Princess Imperial of fuhui stood up, and Shen Shaoguang quickly came out of the kitchen to see her off.
"Are you willing to work as a cook in the Princess Imperial's mansion? You don't need to change your status and can leave at any time."
Shen Shaoguang hurriedly curstied and replied, "I am most honored by your favor, but I am used to living in freedom and may not be up to the noble’s standards." Her excuse was sincerely put.
The Princess Imperial looked at Shen Shaoguang and sighed. "Then forget it, it's just seldom do I come across someone so much to my liking." As she said that, she took off a pair of jewel-embedded gold bracelets from her wrists and handed them to Shen Shaoguang.
Shen Shaoguang received it with both hands, "This bestow is too precious."
Princess Imperial of fuhui smiled. "This is for the meal." She said and walked out with her hands behind her back.
Standing at the door, looking at the departing horses ride away, Shen Shaoguang touched the jewels on gold bracelets in her sleeves, and lamented multifariously— She had originally believed Li Bai's exchange of ‘resplendent steed of many hues, a robe of fur worth its weight in gold[1]’ for wine was just an artistic exaggeration, but it may possibly be a true event… The Princess Imperial is so majestic, so open-minded, and so lovable!
Shen Shaoguang turned her head and confronted a pair of peach blossom eyes. Pei Fei’s lips curled into a smile that exuded a mixture of relief and helplessness.
Shen Shaoguang smiled back at him, and then solemnly asked, "Would you like to continue to dine, Sir?"
Miss Shen’s serious expression reminded Pei Fei of Lin Yan; it was extremely irksome.
Thus, Pei Fei turned around and left.
Although Shen Shaoguang was not very familiar with him, she was sure that Pei Fei was not truly angry, so she smiled and walked back to the store.
However, to have gained such a big tip on the last day of the year, Shen Shaoguang took it as a good omen!
Albeit, she was really surprised at Princess Imperial of fuhui unexpected visit today. Although this Princess Imperial was not born from the same mother as the current sovereign, she had quite the prestige in the imperial palace. The Prince Consort[2] she was betrothed was also well chosen. Unfortunately, he was seriously injured during the expedition in Tibet, and was now in a vegetable state.
Several years passed, and the Princess Imperial continued to take good care of her Prince Consort, but this did not interfere with her constant search for a young male companion.
It was said that the Empress Dowager and the Holy Majesty had both tried to advise her, but the Princess Imperial’s reply was: "The Prince Consort had always been loyal to the country, so I will naturally do my best to take good care of him."
As for the matter pertaining to her ‘young male companion’, she explained: "But that doesn’t mean I have to treat myself unfairly..."
The Princess Imperial had always been a pragmatic and obstinate person, so the Empress Dowager and the Emperor gradually stopped persuading her.
Recalling Miss Chu that day and Lady Six’s actions today, and comparing their attitudes and practices regarding love and marriage, Shen Shaoguang could taste and experience two different flavors.
Heh, what’s the point of mulling on this? It’s the new year, the new year!
After sending away the few diners at noon, the store was cleaned, and Shen Shaoguang ordered Yu San, A’Yuan, and A’Chang to close the tavern for the day. It’s time for our year end vacation!
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Footnotes:
[1] ‘resplendent steed of many hues, a robe of fur worth its weight in gold’ (五花马，千金裘) - Quoted from the poem ‘Bring in the Wine (將進酒)’ by our good ol' Li Bai. You can read a good translation of the full thing here- https://eastasiastudent.net/china/classical/li-bai-jiang-jin-jiu/
[2] Prince Consort (驸马) - The Emperor’s son-in-law; A Princess’ husband. They would go by this title in addition to whatever noble or military title they already had before.
Source: https://nyanovels.com/2020/05/07/ancient-chinese-ranks-titles/
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Food:
Frozen Tofu - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tibWFa1hGY
You can try this at home, put it into any soup or even instant ramen base. I recommend this tofu, it’s silk tofu, but a little firmer, so its easy to handle, but still retains that really smooth texture. You can even purchase it on amazon~
