Fairy, don't try to mess with my filial piety

As soon as these words were spoken, Wen Yaoer reacted first. She didn't want Chu Wuji to go far away again, so she immediately hugged him tightly like a koala.

Although she didn't say anything, her meaning was clear: she didn't want him to leave.

In order to dispel their concerns, Chu Wuji roughly explained:

"I do plan to go there, but I'm not going to stay there long. I need to go there on an urgent matter. I'm wondering if there's a way to get there and back quickly."

We must go to Jieshi City secretly, without letting the big fox fairy know, and try our best to "kill the enemy again without her knowing."

Princess Jing'an knew his attitude and breathed a sigh of relief:

"Although I don't know the specific reason why you inquired about this matter, but knowing that you are not thinking of just walking away, we feel relieved!

You can ask Si Que about the situation in Jieshi City; she should know more details."

Chapter 96: People on the kitchen counter, force rub Zhang

Chu Wuji chatted with the princess for a while, and then the topic came to an end. He took the little princess to the courtyard to process the ingredients purchased by the servants, basically treating it as a pastime.

He played the leading role throughout the whole process, while Wen Yaoer squatted beside him and watched, occasionally handing him salt, kitchen utensils and the like, so that he also had a sense of participation.

The cats and little foxes sat around and watched. Chu Wuzhi would sometimes throw the internal organs he cleaned out to them to eat.

Wen Yaoer handed Chu Wuji a cup of tea to quench his thirst and asked:

"Brother, what are you planning to do? Yao'er has eaten goose before, so why are you making it so complicated? And you're fiddling with the charcoal fire all the time? I'm feeling hot even though I'm sitting so far away."

After delivering the water, the girl quickly ran away because there was a real heat wave surrounding Chu Wu Ji.

Just now a gust of wind blew towards the cat, carrying hot air with it. Even the dumbest and heaviest orange cat was scalded and jumped high!

Chu Wuji suddenly had an idea and tried to use his palm to generate power and borrow the internal energy to condense heat, and he found that it really worked!

Wherever his Qi was controlled, the high temperature distorted the air and compressed it into a ball.

From an outsider's perspective, Chu Wuzhi seemed to be casting a spell, forming a colorless and tangible "Rasengan" with a strong aura, causing the surrounding fallen leaves to spin.

If you ignore the big goose in his hand, it is definitely a scene of an immortal showing off his power.

Yaoer clapped her hands in amazement. The crisp applause continued and her little hands were red from clapping. I had never heard her say “Brother is so awesome” before. The emotional atmosphere was very strong!

Chu Wuji finally had time to explain:

"I plan to make crispy roast goose this afternoon. As for the taste, it's just fragrant, and definitely not as greasy as the big goose you've eaten before."

Princess Jing'an was also sitting nearby. She had never seen anyone show off their cooking skills with such a grand display, so she asked:

"Yao'er doesn't like meat because it's too greasy. She usually just tries a couple of pieces and then goes straight to the vegetables. I've never heard of a goose that isn't greasy."

"That's a coincidence. I can try it today and find out whether the claim of it not being greasy is true or not."

Although Chu Wuji turned the cooking process into an exercise in controlling his Qi, his focus was still on cooking.

Chu Wuji learned how to make this crispy roast goose during his early travels. He had never seen anyone in Lihuo Country make anything similar.

Difficulty is one, luxury is another.

The core principle of the method is very simple. It uses extremely high-temperature charcoal fire to burn the subcutaneous fat directly. In the end, only a layer of crispy goose skin and goose meat without any fat layer are left.

The difficulty lies in the heat. It must be burned at a high temperature for a short period of time. While burning the subcutaneous fat, the skin cannot be completely burnt black.

The aroma needs to be controlled to the point where it just stays on the crispy skin.

If there is even the slightest mistake in the heat, either the fire is too strong and the goose is cremated, or the fire is not high enough and the goose becomes old and woody.

This is a recipe that is so unpopular that it is bizarre. Most people would not eat it this way because the meat has shrunk due to the high temperature, and there is no sense of satisfaction in eating meat in big mouthfuls.

Only a breath of fragrance remains, and it cannot be greasy even if you want to, because the fat layer is roasted away.

The little princess was standing by, and although she didn't understand any of the details, she still enjoyed watching it as if it were a magic trick.

She asked curiously: "Brother, cooking is so complicated. One recipe requires another method. Don't you find it troublesome? You seem to enjoy it?"

Chu Wuji sometimes feels tedious, he said:

"I was forced to learn cooking before. I would hunt valuable game in the mountains and sell it at market. But the buyers couldn't afford to pay that much at once, and I didn't want to wait around carrying the game, so I'd ask them to trade me for secret recipes or something like that."

Princess Jing'an could understand that in some small places, people's activities were scattered, and the market was only held regularly for one or two days a month. If one wanted to buy or sell something, they could only do so during these two days. If they couldn't sell it this time, they would have to wait until next month.

Bartering is the easiest.

"Having a recipe doesn't necessarily mean you enjoy cooking, and liking cooking doesn't necessarily mean you're good at it. I think Wu Ji both enjoys cooking and is good at it~"

Princess Jing'an had seen many noble ladies who couldn't even stew a soup properly, but they still liked to show off their cooking skills. The sisters who came to support them could only praise them out of affection and status.

Fortunately, Princess Jing'an has a high status, so she doesn't have to suffer this kind of loss!

Chu Wuji recalled it again and said:

"My love for cooking was originally due to my mother. She always praised me no matter what I cooked. All my sincere efforts were rewarded with my mother's joy. I just wanted to do better and make her happier."

Wen Yaoer immediately said, "I will definitely praise my brother too!"

While chatting and laughing, Chu Wuzhi lost his concentration for a moment and a big goose was cremated into charcoal. Fortunately, he was prepared for failure and processed a few more big geese so that he could try again.

Princess Jing'an said, "I won't bother you any more, lest it distract Wuji."

As the beautiful princess spoke, she recalled Chu Wuji's words in her mind.

...It is truly a luxury and precious thing that all your sincere efforts can be responded to with joy!

When this sentence is applied to men and women of similar age, it represents the mutual affection, telepathy, and perfect match praised in many love stories.

However, between the closest relatives, elders and younger generations, few people mention it. Most of the time, the younger generations are excited to share what they have done with others, and the elders pretend to be deep without saying a word, and pour cold water on them with excuses such as "be humble and calm". The children's enthusiasm and interest have been extinguished before they even have time to feel proud.

The fact that Chu Wuji and Madam Bai get along so harmoniously and lovingly with each other as mother and son is another kind of true love and affection between them.

Princess Jing'an sighed and felt that Chu Wuji had changed a little.

It’s hard to say what the change is specifically, but it seems that I have become more proactive in contacting the outside world.

If it were before, after Chu Wuzhi asked her for information, he would definitely ask immediately "Is there anything in the palace that I can help you with" to repay the favor, which would be very awkward!

Now I should regard the Prince Jing'an's Mansion as my new home.

*

When the cooking scene in the courtyard was in full swing, Si Que came back from running errands and delivered a message from Queen Wen.

This frequent trip back and forth may seem tiring, but for Si Que, it is actually relaxing. He doesn't have to use his brain at all. It is much easier and more enjoyable than the previous investigation into the matter in Yunhe Town.

As soon as the female guard walked into the courtyard, she was stunned by the sight of Chu Wuzhi rubbing the air ball with his hands.

The young man with wildly dancing white hair used one hand as an eagle claw to control a twisted air mass in the air, and the other hand held an iron rod, on which was forked a pickled goose.

The fallen leaves swirled around him like a tornado, and occasionally a few leaves were caught in the air mass.

In an instant, everything turned to ashes.

What is this doing?!

After she greeted the princess and the little princess, she asked doubtfully:

"Master Chu, what are you doing...?"

Yao'er quickly answered: "Roast goose!"

When did cooking become so exaggerated? Did he go to the immortal realm and use all the skills he learned on cooking?

Si Que complained in her heart, but she did not forget the important matter. She conveyed:

"The Queen Mother said that when Princess Yao'er comes to the palace to play tomorrow, please bring Master Chu with you to reminisce about the past."

Princess Jing'an helped Chu Wuji to respond temporarily:

"That depends on whether Wuji wants to move around. He may need to recuperate in the palace for a few days. I'll ask him about it after he finishes the goose. By the way, he also wants to ask you, Si Que, about the situation in Jieshi City."

Si Que nodded. She had no objection to whatever the host said. She also wanted to watch Chu Wuji's magic tricks.

Chu Wuji has now finished processing the goose. During the cooking process, he unexpectedly learned to further utilize the罡气. I just don’t know if this can be considered the so-called qigong.

He had learned martial arts in an unconventional way and had almost mastered the hunting techniques of wild beasts. Unfortunately, he had never encountered a wild beast that could hunt using qigong, so he could not give him any guidance.

"My Qi control range is a bit short, only about five meters now. I should be able to improve it later. I wonder if I can use Qi to catch the enemy's spells..."

"In the future, I might be able to use my inner energy to cast my fishing rod from a distance, so that the fish can't see me and lower their vigilance..."

"It's bad. There's too much heat accumulated. If I release it now, it will explode. How do I disperse it?!"

Chu Wuji finally threw it high into the sky, and the air mass exploded with incredible power and a dull sound, like the thunder in the dark clouds before a rainstorm.

"Brother, what kind of skill is this? You can roast a goose and blow up the bad guys!" Wen Yaoer didn't understand and clapped her hands in surprise.

"Mr. Chu, if you had used this move on the arena, you would most likely have won the championship!" Si Que complimented with a look of surprise. This was not entirely commercial exaggeration, but was indeed from the heart.

...If I had known how to use the罡气 at that time, Yun Qingying would have directly unlocked the second stage of the boss and used the spiritual energy to attack me!

Chu Wuji asked curiously, "Si Que, why do you change the way you address me? When we met this morning, you still called me 'Brother Chu'."

"I was in a daze this morning, and my mind hasn't come to its senses. I can't call him 'brother' anymore."

Chu Wuji is now considered a member of the Jing'an Palace. His specific identity and title are difficult to define, but there is nothing wrong with calling him "Young Master".

Si Que then relayed Queen Wen's words, saying that Chu Wuji would never refuse the invitation to enter the palace, and he had to apologize no matter what.

"Okay, I will go to the palace with Yao'er tomorrow, but I can't go there so early in the morning."

"It doesn't matter if it's late. Princess Yao'er sometimes sleeps in and doesn't want to get up." Si Que joked.

"Shh - Sister Que, why did you say this!" The little princess blushed. She wanted to maintain a better image in front of Chu Wuji.

Chu Wuji washed the oil off his hands and talked to Si Que about inquiring about Jieshi City, emphasizing what kind of masters there were there and which famous warriors were among the city lord's retainers.

Si Que happily responded, "We will investigate all the prosperous cities outside. I will find some time to look up some information and give Master Chu a reply tomorrow."

Chu Wuji thanked him gratefully and looked at the plates of roasted geese.

He had marinated five geese in advance, and he planned to pickle only two if he could succeed. He would give one to the princess and her daughter, and take the other back to serve the giant fox fairy.

Thanks to his sudden inspiration, he tried to use罡气 to control the heat, and the "synthesis process" was greatly improved. In the end, only one failed, which was the one that was unfortunately cremated into ashes.

After Chu Wuji prepared the sauce, he gave two crispy geese to Si Que.

"This crispy goose is not greasy and filling. It's perfect for you, Si Que, to enjoy while you're looking up information and intelligence, just like cracking melon seeds. You can even share one with a colleague."

Si Que thought to himself that he dared not share any with his colleagues. If there was an extra one, he would definitely take it back to the Queen.

The female guard rushed back to the palace carrying two food boxes, handed one of them to Queen Wen, and told her about Chu Wuji's amazing cooking skills.

Empress Wen felt itchy and regretful after hearing this. She wished she could leave the palace and return to the prince's residence to let Chu Wuji show it to her again, and by the way, eat the big goose with Princess Jing'an, Yao'er and others.

You can savor stewed soup by yourself, but crispy roast goose, a staple dish served at holiday reunions, is more enjoyable when eaten with a few people while chatting.

What's the big deal about one person gnawing on such a big roast goose?

"Si Que, please bring the intelligence information over and eat with me. I can't eat that much, so you can share yours with your colleagues depending on the situation."

"Understood. I will go retrieve the intelligence information first. Please wait for a moment, Your Majesty."

Chapter 97: Female Cultivators Can Also Be a Means of Transportation

Si Que came to the Cardinal Pavilion where the intelligence files were stored, explained the matter to Pavilion Master Fan, and after getting permission, Si Que put the food box on the table.

Pavilion Master Fan is a middle-aged woman. In her early years, she was known as the "Iron Lady". She came from a military family, led troops, and fought in wars. When she was almost old, she retired and took a position in the capital, which was another form of "retirement". At the same time, she also practiced mysterious skills with the Holy Queen of Lihuo.

The guards dispatched by the Holy Empress Lihuo and the royal family were basically brought out by Pavilion Master Fan, and the same was true for Si Que.

"Why, Si Que is here to bribe this Pavilion Master? What's the hidden secret?"

"No, it's roast goose brought back from Prince Jing'an's Palace. It was originally intended for the Empress, but there were too many, so the Empress ordered it to be sent here to be shared among the Pavilion Master and the colleagues on duty."

As Si Que spoke, he opened the food box. Inside was only a plate of roast goose and some dipping sauces. There was no other secret compartment, so there was no possibility of secretly stuffing gold bars as bribes.

Pavilion Master Fan then nodded and stopped being suspicious.

The Cardinal's Chamber has a common intelligence file floor as well as a secret room where confidential information is kept. Sending things to people here rashly would seem like an inappropriate move.

But since it was just a roast goose and there were no other tricks, Pavilion Master Fan didn't say anything more.

She sniffed the aroma of the roast goose and nodded tentatively in approval. "The spices and the heat have concentrated the aroma, making it quite fragrant. Is this a new dish?"