Chapter 404: We Must Have Hotpot Today!

Magistrate Tian had long known what kind of man he was.

First, he gently comforted his somewhat annoyed student. “Tianyou, your master is fine.”

Only then did he speak coolly to the newcomer. “Banner Commander Xue, please come in and speak.”

Yan Lao’er nodded to the gatekeeper who had chased after them. The gatekeeper let out a sigh of relief and turned to leave.

He pushed the door open and went inside, unable to resist rolling his eyes at Banner Commander Xue.

Magistrate Tian saw this and shook his head at him with a smile.

Banner Commander Xue entered the room and took a sip of the hot tea Yan Yu handed him, no longer shouting for wine.

He glanced around and chuckled. “We’re all family here. Listen to this, it’ll give you a good laugh.”

“Old Tian, you know that Zheng Daquan, right?”

Magistrate Tian thought back for a moment and said, “Do you mean the house slave who was freed by Prince Ying’s Consort?”

“Yes, him. They said his deed of indenture^[1] was returned, but we all know what that really means. He was just placed outside to make it easier to get things done. I heard that on his way back to the Prefectural City, he ran into bandits. He and everyone with him were killed…” Banner Commander Xue gritted his teeth and said, “He got off easy, dying so quickly!”

The room fell silent. The charcoal in the stove burned brightly, the rising heat rattling the kettle lid with a sizzling hiss. White steam billowed from the spout, blurring everyone’s vision.

Yan Lao’er picked up the boiling kettle and poured some hot water for Banner Commander Xue.

Then, without a word, he walked out of the room.

Yan Yu followed him. Seeing her father pulling out ingredients to clean, she pitched in to help.

The water in the vat was freezing, but Yan Lao’er did not care. He washed the vegetables, rinsed the pot, and sliced the meat.

“We must have hotpot today!” he muttered to himself. “When it’s cold, you have to eat hotpot to warm up. We need wine, too. We definitely can’t do without wine, or the hotpot won’t taste right.”

“Dad, I’ll go get the wine,” Yan Yu said.

Yan Lao’er nodded. “Go on.”

Yan Yu ran out of the Government Office. She did not know which shop to buy from, so she asked the gatekeeper. Finding the shop he recommended, she carried back two jars of what was said to be their best wine.

Yan Lao’er’s soup base was already prepared. Yan Yu returned just in time to carry the pot into the room.

Seeing a child like her carrying the pot in, Banner Commander Xue was momentarily surprised, but he did not pay it much mind.

Yan Yu placed the pot on the stove, turned around, and left the room again.

As she walked out, she heard her uncle ask Banner Commander Xue, “When did that Zheng Daquan die?”

Banner Commander Xue replied, “I only received the news today. He died three days ago.”

Yan Huaiwen murmured in understanding and looked at Magistrate Tian. “At that time, Xiao Er should have been in Guiyuan…”

Banner Commander Xue was baffled.

He thought to himself, What on earth are they talking about? You ask me when that bastard died, I tell you, and then you immediately say your Xiao Er was in Guiyuan…

It made absolutely no sense!

Magistrate Tian, however, understood.

Yan Huaiwen was not referring to Xiao Er, but to the Heir Apparent. The Heir Apparent was in Guiyuan at the time.

The Prince did not act immediately. Instead, he waited until the Heir Apparent left Yongning before making his move.

This was to keep the Heir Apparent clear of any involvement.

The Prince had a young son, born to the current Consort. An old friend had once mentioned in a letter that the Prince’s youngest son was lively and clever, and shared a very close bond with the Heir Apparent…

Magistrate Tian instantly realized that a mere Zheng Daquan would not be enough to appease the Prince’s wrath.

Prince Ying’s Consort…

Yan Yu carried in another two jars of wine and set them down.

Banner Commander Xue blinked and gave her a second look.

Magistrate Tian asked, “Banner Commander Xue, why were you demoted?”

Banner Commander Xue immediately withdrew his gaze and stared at him with wide eyes. “Old Tian, you don’t know why I was demoted?”

“The rumor is that you offended the Prince,” Magistrate Tian said calmly. “But I do not believe it.”

“There are also rumors that you disobeyed military orders… harassed the female relatives of your superiors… falsely claimed military merit… embezzled military pay and rations… and neglected your duties due to drinking…”

Banner Commander Xue’s eyes grew wider and wider with every word Magistrate Tian spoke, until they nearly popped out of his head.

“Which bastard is spreading these lies about me!” Banner Commander Xue’s face flushed red with anger, his neck bulging. “I only spoke a bit too loudly to the Prince, nothing else! Dammit, if I ever find out who’s spewing this nonsense, I’ll beat his backside to a bloody pulp!”

Yan Lao’er came in carrying the washed vegetables and meat, while Yan Yu brought the bowls and chopsticks.

Banner Commander Xue poured himself a bowl of wine and gulped it down in one go.

He grinned and let out a satisfied breath.

“I spent ten years in Crouching Tiger. I’ve killed so many Northern Rong I’ve lost count. My rank as a fifth-grade Chiliarch^[2] was won with my own blade and spear.

Then some wet-behind-the-ears brat comes along, and just because of his family background, he starts as a sixth-grade Centurion^[3].

Fine, he was born lucky and has a good father. I’m not jealous of that.

But he didn’t do a single day of honest work, turning the military camp into a complete mess. Before I could even teach him a lesson, the guy went and got himself killed.”

He poured another full bowl and chugged it down.

Wiping the wine from his mouth, he sneered. “As for harassing female relatives, he did do that, but not to the superiors’ families. He didn’t have the guts for that. But he had no such reservations when it came to the soldiers under him.

“Who could stand that?!

“No real man could tolerate it!

“So when the Northern Rong attacked, we pushed him right out to the front…”

Yan Yu looked at Banner Commander Xue in sheer admiration. Using a borrowed knife to kill, what a brilliant move!

Yan Lao’er picked up the wine jar, filled his bowl again, and even mixed a dipping sauce for him.

Banner Commander Xue drank another half-bowl, leaving just a bit at the bottom.

“When they came to hold us accountable afterward, who else could take the blame but me? No one else could have withstood it. It’s true the Northern Rong killed him, but of all people, he was the one who died. Sigh, I didn’t think too much of it back then. If I’d known, I would have thrown him on the mountain to feed the wolves…

“At the time, the Zheng family helped smooth things over and put the matter to rest. But it was hard on my nephew. For my sake, he had to swallow his pride and endure so much mistreatment in the Prince’s Manor…”

Banner Commander Xue began to blubber.

Yan Yu thought to herself that he must have drunk too fast.

“Let’s cook the meat and vegetables!” Yan Lao’er bustled about, mixing a bowl of dipping sauce for his teacher and another for his elder brother.

Seeing this, Yan Yu wanted one too, and handed over her bowl.

Yan Lao’er mixed a bowl for her as well.

Before long, the meat was cooked.

Banner Commander Xue was an expert at eating meat, picking out only the sliced meat with his chopsticks.

Seeing the meat in the pot rapidly disappearing, Yan Lao’er quickly scooped up a few chopsticks’ worth for his teacher and elder brother.

As for his daughter, he did not need to worry about her.

Yan Yu’s chopsticks moved so fast they left afterimages. She clashed with Banner Commander Xue in the pot without yielding an inch, filling her own bowl to the brim and snatching another half-bowl for her father.

Having eaten some food, Banner Commander Xue’s mind seemed to clear up a bit. He wiped his face and focused on the pot. He discovered that even the green vegetables were delicious; as long as they were dipped in the sauce in his bowl, everything tasted good. So, he began scooping up the vegetables with gusto.

Yan Yu refused to be outdone and kept pace.

Our family believes in a balanced diet, she thought. We don’t just eat meat, we have to eat vegetables too!

Magistrate Tian watched the fierce battle in the pot with a chuckle, eating the meat and vegetables piled high in his own bowl.

He raised his wine cup and looked at Yan Huaiwen.

The two toasted each other from across the table and took a sip.

A sharp, burning sensation surged up.

Their eyes grew slightly warm.

Yan Lao’er suddenly thought of something and looked at Banner Commander Xue. “Brother Xue, which one is your nephew?”

“My nephew? The Heir Apparent, of course!”

“The Heir Apparent is your nephew?” Yan Lao’er asked in surprise.

“What? A cousin’s son is still a nephew!”

Yan Lao’er clicked his tongue. “The two of you don’t look alike at all.”

“That’s because there’s something wrong with your eyes!”

“Something wrong with me?” Yan Lao’er pointed at his own nose and laughed. He held up two fingers and waved them in front of Banner Commander Xue, asking, “How many is this?”

“Three… four!”

“It’s two, two! Who’s the one with bad eyes now!”

Author Note

I don’t know if everyone can follow this~

Prince Ying only moved against the Princess Consort’s servants who were working outside the estate after the Heir Apparent left the Prefectural City.

When Banner Commander Xue got into trouble, the Zheng family (the Princess Consort’s maiden family) actually helped out behind the scenes, so a favor was owed~

The Prince’s outburst isn’t over yet.

There’s also a fourth point. It’s fine if you can’t tell what it is yet, I’ll write about it in next update.

(End of this chapter)