As a lord, I was forced to farm

Chapter 983 Grilled Fish
Jiang Ran was unaware that a big surprise was about to await her at Xisong Ranch.

After moving to Cangwu Palace, life went on as usual.

The only change was that the venue for daily court assemblies was changed to the luxurious and solemn Tian Shu Hall, while the venues for receiving ministers and conducting business were Tian Shu Gate or Wen Yuan Hall.

The newly built capital was always bustling. Finally managing to steal a moment of leisure, Jiang Ran took Fei Xuan to the Imperial Garden for tea.

In May, when flowers are in full bloom, Fei Xuan gently inhaled the spiritual fragrance emanating from the various spiritual flowers, her aura fluctuated, and countless spiritual energies surged into her body.

There were rugged rockeries in the garden, and small phoenix carp swayed their wide and gorgeous tails in the pond. Jiang Ran sat by the pond and fed the fish.

"These fish are quite plump, no wonder Bai Mei is always thinking about them, and even Mo Sheng comes here every now and then for a meal..."

The little phoenix carp are good-looking. When Jiang Ran, Jiang Xiaowen and others come to the Imperial Garden to play, they like to feed them. They are fed seven or eight times a day. The red fish in the pond are fat and plump, each weighing more than ten or twenty pounds. If it weren't for their distinctive gorgeous tails, who would be able to tell that these are little phoenix carp?
Li Fusheng said with a smile, "If Lord Bai Mei and Lord Mo Sheng like it, I will have someone put more small phoenix spirit carp in this pond. If you two wish, you can come to the Imperial Garden for a stroll from time to time."

Given Bai Mei and Mo Sheng's appetites, even if the pond were full of fish, it wouldn't be enough for the two beasts to eat. They would only come occasionally for a treat.

Thinking about it, Jiang Ran herself felt a little hungry.

The little phoenix carp taste really good. She's been feeding them for so long, and they've all become plump and chubby. Now it's their turn to fill her belly.

"I used up too much brainpower at the morning court session, and now I'm hungry." Jiang Ran looked up at Chun Shu, who was waiting to the side, "Chun Shu, go and call Chen Mo. We'll have freshly grilled small phoenix spirit fish in the Imperial Garden today."

"Yes, I will go and call Chef Chen over immediately." Jiang Ran's sudden interest did not surprise Chun Shu. Fearing that His Highness the Prince was truly hungry, she stepped on a flying sword, her body transforming into a cloud of spirit, and flew towards the Imperial Kitchen at an extremely fast speed.

"Chunshu's skill in controlling flying swords is getting more and more amazing." Li Fusheng exclaimed, feeling that it was a blessing for Chunshu and Asheng to be able to work for His Highness the Prince. Just a little bit of His Highness's skill had given these two children, who were originally just orphans, such good fortune.

“I think Chunshu will soon invite Chef Chen over. Ah Sheng, go and catch some fish so His Highness can enjoy the delicious grilled fish sooner.”

Seeing that His Highness the King had nodded, Ah Sheng immediately went to catch fish.

Soon, Chun Shu flew over with Chen Mo.

"Greetings, Your Highness." Chen Mo, carrying seasonings for grilling fish and charcoal for starting a fire, bowed to Jiang Ran.

Chen Mo's culinary skills are improving day by day. Watching him grill fish is a pleasure. With a wave of his hand, a gleaming silver scaler quickly removes the scales from a dozen or so small phoenix carp, revealing their crystal-clear flesh.

A cluster of orange campfires ignited in his palm. Chen Mo had actually obtained some fortuitous opportunities. The flames were also quite remarkable spiritual fire, which piqued Mo Sheng's interest.

The black wolf's handsome body gracefully emerged from the ethereal realm. With a slight hook of its paw, a faint orange spiritual flame was drawn towards it and then swallowed whole.

Chen Mo was initially startled, but upon seeing that it was His Highness the Prince's contracted beast, he calmed down and bowed to Mo Sheng.

Mo Sheng licked his lips, his cold, wolfish eyes narrowing slightly, and commented, "Slightly spicy."

Chen Mo was puzzled and tentatively asked, "Does Lord Mo want the grilled fish with a slightly spicy flavor?" Mo Sheng shook his head without explaining anything, and casually took out a silk bag from his pocket and threw it to Chen Mo.

Chen Mo touched it and knew it contained spirit crystals, at least a thousand of them. For a moment, he didn't know what to do, so he turned his gaze to Jiang Ran, "Your Highness..."

"This is a gift from Mo Sheng to you. Just accept it and don't worry about it." Jiang Ran knew that Mo Sheng was referring to the taste of Chen Mo's flames.

Despite his aloof wolf-like appearance, Mo Sheng is actually quite greedy and loves to eat flames. Whenever he encounters an unfamiliar spiritual fire, he always has to try it.

Mo Sheng consumed Chen Mo's flames, but instead of returning to the spiritual realm, he transformed into a handsome human form and sat down next to Jiang Ran. While meditating and cultivating, his gaze occasionally swept over the roasting food.

Jiang Ran: "..."

Soon, Chen Mo had grilled several fish and placed them in front of Jiang Ran and Mo Sheng respectively.

Jiang Ran took a bite. Chen Mo's cooking skills were excellent, and the ingredients themselves were of high quality, so this bite was naturally quite delicious.

Not content with just grilled fish, Jiang Ran took out a pot of bamboo-flavored monkey wine.

Upon opening the lid, a cool, fragrant aroma wafts from the spout, releasing a captivating and intoxicating scent.

The wine in Jiang Ran's hand is no ordinary bamboo-flavored monkey wine. It is made from the fruit of the Yunze mother mulberry tree and the most refined cold marrow liquid. It is brewed by the monkey leader with the most superb brewing skills, and only half a pot is produced each year.

The mulberry fruit from Yunze's mother mulberry tree is a sacred-level fruit tree. This is something that the country bumpkin monkey trapped on the island has never seen before, so it is naturally very rare. Every time her subordinates go to Water Monkey Island to retrieve wine, the monkey leader treats them as if he has taken half their lives.

After taking a sip of the wine, even Jiang Ran, a cultivator at the Dan Tian realm, felt a surge of spiritual energy. Her meridians seemed to be filled with the clear spiritual power, giving her an indescribable feeling of comfort. "It's been a long time since I've personally visited Water Monkey Island. I heard that the monkey population on that island has expanded considerably."

“It is His Highness’s blessing that this area is blessed.” Li Fusheng always had a way of praising people. “If His Highness had not brought those monkeys into the protected area and traded with them, they would not have been able to get enough food and spirit crystals to improve their strength.”

Jiang Ran smiled; she wasn't that great.

In fact, if those millet wine and velvet wine enthusiasts knew that she had exchanged a few fruits and spirit crystals for wine from them and then resold it elsewhere for a thousand, ten thousand, or even a million times the profit, I wonder what they would think.

"However, I heard that recently some people have been sailing around the vicinity of Water Monkey Island..." Jiang Ran's eyes flickered slightly, revealing a hint of deep understanding.

Li Fusheng frowned and said, "The profits from bamboo-flavored monkey wine are enormous, and I'm afraid no one wouldn't want to know the secret recipe."

After some calculations, it was found that Osaka had been taking wine from the island for several years, which naturally attracted a lot of attention.

This is not only a concern for outsiders, but also for the millions of residents of Dasu, who are not all law-abiding citizens; there are always a few with ulterior motives.

Water Monkey Island is also garrisoned by the Da Su army, and the island is quite far from the mainland, making it rather difficult for others to reach it.

But the potential profits are too great to ignore.