Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Southern Fragrant Pepper Bone

He had never been able to stomach offal.

Liu Ye was startled when he saw this.

As his master’s personal eunuch, he knew his preferences better than anyone. Such foul things were never seen in the palace, yet here they were, right in front of his master.

"Liu Ye, take this and eat it." Just then, Li Yun pushed the plate in Liu Ye’s direction with a look of disgust.

’This stuff is nauseating just to look at.’

Before Liu Ye could say a word, Du Xuan, sitting opposite them, spoke up first.

"Friend! Why aren’t you eating? Let me tell you, you can’t find braised dishes like Boss Ming’s anywhere else. Just give it a try. You have to be lucky to get this stuff; it’s not available every day. Especially these pork intestines! They’re incredibly springy, with a texture completely different from any other meat. Go on, try them! I guarantee you won’t regret having a bite at our Ming’s Restaurant here in Huaided Fang!"

Du Xuan recommended it with great enthusiasm.

Listening from the side, Liu Ye’s mouth began to water. He genuinely believed that Mr. Du across from them loved pork intestines. ’Only someone who loves intestines this much could have such an advanced skill for courting death.’

Xiao Chun spoke up as well. "Sir, our braised dishes don’t have any strange taste. You should give them a try."

Li Yun: "..."

Meeting Mr. Du’s eager eyes, his hand stiffly reached for his chopsticks.

’Of course, I wouldn’t force myself to eat something I never touch just because a stranger recommended it. But this restaurant belongs to Ming Lingyi, and I came today...’

After a moment’s thought, Li Yun picked up a piece with his chopsticks and placed it in his bowl.

"Master, please wait."

As if suddenly remembering something, Liu Ye took a silver needle from his robes and tested the food for poison.

Xiao Chun: "..."

Du Xuan: "..."

The table fell silent for a moment.

Then—

"Hmph!" Seeing this, Xiao Chun couldn’t help but roll her eyes dramatically and storm off in a huff.

Du Xuan also lost all desire for conversation. He lowered his head and focused solely on eating his own food.

’What kind of people were these! Miss Ming is just running an honest business; would she really poison her food? If she did, I, Old Du, would have died a hundred times over by now!’

’Unbelievable!’

Ming Lingyi soon heard Xiao Chun’s complaining in the back kitchen. Her attention, however, wasn’t on Liu Ye testing for poison with a silver needle. From her perspective, ’it would be stranger if he *didn’t* test for poison.’

"Did he really eat the pork intestines?" Ming Lingyi asked, trying to hold back her laughter.

Xiao Chun nodded. "I think so. He already put a piece in his bowl."

Ming Lingyi laughed out loud. The thought that Du Xuan had actually managed to "force" Li Yun to eat pork intestines made her incredibly happy.

’Even though I can’t see it myself, I can just imagine how awful Li Yun’s expression must be right now.’ The thought of him forcing himself to eat something he found so disgusting gave her a secret thrill.

’I bet when he gets back today, he’ll rinse his mouth at least seven or eight times, if not ten.’

’Serves him right!’

’Who asked him to keep coming here and bothering me?’

The more Ming Lingyi thought about it, the more she wanted to laugh. As she prepared the lemongrass ribs, her movements seemed to become even more meticulous.

Lemongrass as a spice has a strong, fresh, lemony aroma. Ming Lingyi started by chopping the root ends of the lemongrass stalks and setting them aside. Next, she took out the pork ribs, which had been marinating for an hour in a mixture of scallion-ginger water, salt, Sichuan peppercorn powder, dogwood fruit, soy sauce, and white sugar. She mixed the chopped lemongrass roots in with the ribs, then used the remaining long stalks of lemongrass to wrap each rib.

A faint, fragrant aroma already filled the back kitchen.

The final step was to deep-fry them.

Ming Lingyi poured oil into an iron wok. The oil didn’t need to be too hot—medium heat was perfect. Then, she added the ribs.

The moment the lemongrass-wrapped ribs hit the wok, a loud SIZZLE erupted. The hot oil forced out the fragrance, starting with the rich, savory scent of searing meat, quickly followed by the fresh aroma of lemongrass. It was a potent, penetrating smell, so domineering that it instantly claimed half the air in the kitchen, which had been previously saturated with the scent of the braised dishes.

This rich aroma, a blend of savory, seared meat and the clean, lemony scent of lemongrass, wafted out from the back kitchen and filled the entire restaurant.

Mr. Du, who had been devouring his favorite braised meat, couldn’t help but look up and sniff the fragrance now filling the air.

"Miss Xiao Chun, what is that smell?" When Du Xuan had arrived, he hadn’t noticed the new wooden plaque Ming Lingyi had hung on the wall for the day.

Now, catching the scent, he realized he might have missed something important.

At the same time, many of the other customers eating in the restaurant also turned to look at Xiao Chun.

Xiao Chun chuckled. "Heh. Our miss has a new dish out today. Everyone, take a look—"

"This dish is called Southern Fragrant Pepper Bone. It’s made with lemongrass and pork ribs. As for the taste, well, I’m sure you can all smell it by now! If any of you would like to order it, you’d better be quick. One order of Southern Fragrant Pepper Bone comes with two ribs, and we probably only have about ten portions available today!"

Xiao Chun had barely finished speaking when Du Xuan’s hand shot up first. "I’ll have one!"

The food at Ming’s Restaurant was always available in limited quantities, a fact the regulars were long used to.

After all, with Miss Ming as the only chef, it was perfectly normal for her to be too busy to make more.

As a result, "fighting" over dishes was practically a daily routine at Ming’s Restaurant.

After Du Xuan’s shout, one diner after another raised their hand to order the "Southern Fragrant Pepper Bone."

Shi Mingyue wasn’t skilled at the fast-talking required for taking orders, so she was helping serve the food instead. Just then, she brought a dish to Li Yun’s table.

When the lemongrass ribs were served, hot oil still clung to their slightly charred surfaces. Tiny bubbles were still forming, making a faint CRACKLING sound.

The sound of the frying meat alone was enough to make one’s stomach rumble with hunger.

Du Xuan’s gaze was also drawn to the plate of lemongrass ribs. The dish Ming Lingyi had prepared looked quite hearty. Unlike other restaurants in the Capital City that would chop their ribs into tiny pieces, the two ribs on this plate were each about the length of an adult’s palm.

No wonder just two ribs cost a hundred wen.

The price seemed steep at first glance, but considering the portion size and quality, a hundred wen felt entirely worth it.

But no matter how tempting it looked, Du Xuan took only one glance before averting his eyes.

’Hmph! I ordered one too!’

’I couldn’t be bothered to speak to that pretentious fop across the table again.’

’The man had just accused Boss Ming of poisoning her food. It was simply unforgivable! There are no such wicked people in our Huaided Fang! And anyone who would think such a terrible thing about Boss Ming couldn’t possibly be a good person!’

Perhaps Du Xuan turned his head away too abruptly, because it made Li Yun glance over from the opposite side of the table.

Li Yun: "..."

’I already thought this damned fatty was an eyesore. What am I supposed to do now that he’s even more insufferable?’