Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2767 Madam Shi 7.0
After the hot, fragrant roast duck soup was served, Xue Mu led his servants and placed a bowl in front of each person.

This duck soup wasn't simply made by boiling duck carcasses; it uses a secret recipe, which was provided by Jin Miaomiao.

Jin Miaomiao checked the soup base and added a few more ingredients to dispel cold before returning.

Shen Cha picked up the bowl, blew on it to cool it down, took a small sip, and, still feeling it was a bit too hot, put it aside.

"What's wrong? Don't you like the taste?" Jin Miaomiao picked up the bowl but immediately put it down again. "It's too hot!"

"Yes, so let it cool down a bit before drinking it. But it smells pretty good today, did you adjust the recipe again?"

"Yes, the previous one was too nourishing. Even with the duck to balance it out, it was still too nourishing, so I adjusted it a little."

"This time it felt pretty good, but..." Shen Cha hadn't finished speaking when she saw Qi Zhifeng burn himself because he was in such a hurry. She was a little amused and said, "I told you to let it sit for a while before drinking, but you wouldn't listen, right?" She beckoned to Merlin, "Bring the ice over!"

Before Merlin's ice cubes could be brought over, Shen Jiu and Xia Jiu were also scalded one after another, each of them panting and spitting out gasps like little puppies.

When Merlin returned with the ice, he couldn't help but sigh upon seeing the scene. Starting with Qi Zhifeng, he gave each of the scalded children an ice cube, telling them not to speak and to keep their mouths shut.

"You always keep ice at home?" Chu Han was surprised. "Is that always the case?"

"Yes, these kids are all too eager to eat and easily get burned. So, whether it's the Duke's mansion or the Marquis's mansion, ice is always prepared for every meal, just in case they get burned and it's not treated in time."

“That’s the right way to do it.” Third Grandfather nodded, looking at Xiao Fengqi. “They were like this when they were young too. Look at Xiao Feng, he’s still so impatient.”

"Um," Qi Zhifeng was about to speak, but then remembered the ice cube in his mouth and hurriedly gestured a couple of times.

"You mean you rushed to drink it because the soup smelled so good, right?"

Qi Zhifeng nodded, looking at Shen Cha with a pitiful expression, as if he wanted comfort and a hug.

Shen Cha waved to him, watching him walk over and sit down beside her like a puppy, and gently patted his head.

Xiao Fengqi rolled her eyes when she saw Qi Zhifeng rub his head against Shen Cha's hand.

"He's such a grown man, why does he still like to act like a spoiled child?" He sighed helplessly and said, "General, don't spoil him, he's become too saccharine."

“This is hardly the point of spoiling them. They got burned, so we should at least comfort them.” Shen Cha gestured with her chin toward Xia Jiu and Shen Jiu and said, “If they need it, that’s fine too.”

Qi Zhifeng looked at Xiao Fengqi with a smug expression. Fortunately, he couldn't speak, otherwise he would have definitely angered Xiao Fengqi to death.

Seeing his smug expression, Xiao Fengqi felt helpless and gestured for the game to be paused. Chu Han and the Third Grandfather watched the whole thing with smiles on their faces, chirping softly as they watched, implying that their children were overly lively despite their age.

“Grand Uncle!” Shen Cha had good hearing and heard almost everything the two of them said. She smiled at Chu Han and said, “Being lively is a good thing. Grand Uncle is very lively too.”

"That's true. It's much better to keep a childlike heart than to be constantly being schemed against."

"You just said that Master Falian's first contact was with Madam Shi? Is it true that they have already cooperated, or..."

"According to our investigation, they had been in contact for a while, but the little prince didn't come in person; it was his subordinates who made the contact. However..." Chu Han touched the bowl of hot water, which was no longer too hot, and took a sip. "It really smells delicious!"

"If you like to drink it, I can give you the recipe for the secret seasoning."

“Great, great! Our chef is very skilled. With this recipe, we can make the most of his skills.”

Jin Miaomiao nodded to Chu Han. She was quite happy that someone liked her recipes.

Shen Cha waited until Chu Han had taken a couple of sips of soup, then stared at him without asking any questions.

Sensing Shen Cha's gaze, Chu Han smiled and said, "They've been in contact, but couldn't cooperate. It's probably because Madam Shi's principles are different from theirs. Although they both do heinous things that destroy families, their bottom lines are different. The Little Prince's men rarely engage in human trafficking, but the Shi family..."

“At least half of his wealth came from this business,” Shen Cha nodded. “That’s why he chose another business genius, the Empress Dowager.”

“That’s right, he probably felt that the Empress Dowager was a safer bet and could go further.”

"Madam Shi," Shen Cha thought for a moment, "was she from the same period as the Empress Dowager?"

"Pretty much. The two of them came around one after the other, but their family businesses didn't overlap much, so they hardly had any contact. Moreover, the Shi family's goal has always been to become a prestigious family like the Wang and Xie families. Once they become that kind of family, they can wash away all their shady past. Of course, they're not the first to do this; many families have done it this way."

"Yes." Shen Cha sighed, picked up the soup bowl and took two sips, then said, "But back then, so many boys and girls went missing at Huayuji, didn't the government do anything? Did they just ignore it?"

"They did investigate, but the people had already been secretly taken to the Western Regions, so they couldn't investigate further. If it weren't for the Tibetans capturing the people, they would still be completely clueless."

"But even if the Tibetans captured them, the Shi family easily cleared themselves of suspicion, right?"

“Yes!” Chu Han nodded. “Just like I said before, it went through a lot of twists and turns and involved a great many relationships. If you didn’t peel back the layers, you wouldn’t have been able to find them at all. These relationships were all cultivated by Madam Shi after she became the heir. Few people in the Shi family know what kind of connections she has, or how she got to know these people. Anyway, that time was a complete failure.”

"Madam Shi," Shen Cha sighed softly, "is a formidable person."

“She may be impressive, but if she does too many unscrupulous things, she will suffer the consequences. That will never change. So,” Chu Han sighed, “she had a very serious illness that couldn’t be cured. She was bedridden for many years and eventually passed away. When she passed away,” he looked at everyone and said, “at the age of forty.”