The Empror's Trap-Chapter 58: Ch - Real Fish?

At Clear Heart Tower in Luminara City.

Luminara City had two major restaurants - one meat and one vegetarian - the Starlight Symposium and Clear Heart Tower. The Starlight Symposium specialized in meat dishes, while Clear Heart Tower focused on vegetarian cuisine.

Originally there was only the Starlight Symposium, with no corresponding Clear Heart Tower. But as Luminara City’s prosperity became well-known, countless master chefs skilled in vegetarian cuisine arrived. To build their reputation and challenge the Starlight Symposium, Clear Heart Tower was established.

It became a holy land for vegetarians. Interestingly, the locations of Starlight Symposium and Clear Heart Tower were quite deliberate - one in the east of the city and one in the west, gazing at each other from afar, truly appearing to be in opposition.

On the main street, an elegant carriage stopped at Clear Heart Tower’s entrance, where the manager had been anxiously waiting.

"Ah, your highness, you’ve arrived?"

"Mm," the Fifth Prince alighted from the carriage and looked around. "Tell me, has my invited guest arrived yet?"

"He arrived long ago, waiting inside for you," the manager said, then glanced inside and lowered his voice near the Fifth Prince’s ear. "Your Highness, please be careful - this guest may not be easy to handle."

Prince Yunis was amused. He patted the manager’s shoulder and nodded: "It’s fine, don’t be nervous. I’m just here to chat with him today, nothing will happen. The private room I reserved - who else is nearby?"

"How could we neglect Your Highness? We’ve cleared it out already - this entire floor is yours today," the manager said hurriedly with an ingratiating smile.

"There’s really no need to clear a whole floor for me," Yunis smiled awkwardly. "I just wanted the surrounding rooms emptied so no one would overhear our conversation. Here - I brought some money to cover today’s loss of business during mealtimes because of me. If it’s not enough, I’ll send more from my mansion later."

He pulled out several gold coins stamped with dragon heads from his robe and placed them in the owner’s hand.

"Your Highness, what do you mean? It’s our duty to serve you properly when you visit our establishment - I cannot accept this money."

"Take it. I won’t feel at ease if you don’t."

Yunis smiled and walked upstairs.

Reaching the private room, he took a deep breath.

His scholarly face contemplated briefly, then a gentle smile appeared at the corners of his mouth. After this preparation, he pushed open the door.

Inside, Kenji saw Yunis enter and paused before standing:

"Greeting your highness, Prince Yunis."

They called him Fifth Prince in private to emphasize his ranking during the earlier power struggle. Face to face, they used his proper title - after all, he wasn’t considered a prince anymore.

No matter how much Kenji might look down on the royal family, surface courtesies had to be maintained. In terms of status, Yunis’s title was technically higher than his, though not in actual power.

"Lord Anos is too polite."

Yunis smiled, returned the greeting, and they sat down at the table.

Just then, Yunis’s gaze suddenly fixed on Lina sitting beside Kenji.

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From any angle, Lina was an exceptional beauty. Her clean-cut short hair gave her a unique blend of allure and elegance - a rare combination of styles.

Currently Lina sat properly at Kenji’s side without speaking, wearing a green robe. Though the robe had no status-indicating decorations, just sitting beside the duke was enough to prove her favor.

At least from Yunis’s perspective.

"This lady... won’t you introduce us?" Yunis of course knew who she was, but since Kenji had her seated and joining them, it naturally warranted mention.

Kenji nodded: "This is my guard, Lina. Please be at ease - she can be trusted."

"I’ve long heard of your guard’s reputation. I hear she once trained in the imperial palace, personally taught by several royal masters - truly unprecedented, before or since."

At this point, Yunis opened the door and spoke to his followers outside. One attendant entered to stand behind him, while another seemed to head toward the kitchen.

"I invited Lord Anos here today mainly to welcome you to your position. You’ve just taken the role of Imperial Family Director, managing royal family affairs. Though limited in scope, it’s a position requiring much knowledge. With your abilities, I believe you’ll certainly excel."

"Your Highness flatters me. I’m just a military man - I can barely handle court affairs, let alone family matters."

After they exchanged polite flattery, the door opened and a fish was brought in.

The fish was lifelike, covered in sizzling orange-red sauce that released an enticing aroma. The whole fish looked plump and appetizing.

Fish was essential when hosting guests, but Clear Heart Tower had no meat dishes, so this sweet and sour vegetarian fish was naturally their signature dish.

Minced potato, tofu, bamboo shoots and mushrooms were mixed with seasonings and shaped into a fish for cooking, then covered in sweet and sour sauce - that was the common method. But Clear Heart Tower’s highest grade sweet and sour vegetarian fish was more complex. To perfectly recreate the texture and feel of fish meat, they divided the "flesh" into countless fingernail-sized pieces, then assembled them to create the flaky texture of yellow croaker.

"I often eat the vegetarian dishes here," Yunis smiled, using his chopsticks to point at the visually, aromatically and flavorfully complete fish. "Try it - if I hadn’t told you, you might think it was real fish meat."

Kenji picked up a piece and put it in his mouth.

It had the texture of fish, even that unique fishiness. The sweet and sour sauce soaking into the flesh further deceived the taste buds, making one believe they were eating real fish.

"Indeed delicious."

Kenji praised.

"You see? So taste is something that can be deceived. The fish is not fish, but if done well enough, even if the ingredients have nothing to do with fish, it can make people believe it is fish."

"Your Highness, in your opinion - between something pretending to be a fish and a real fish, with the same taste, which is more precious?"

"The fake fish, of course. Many can prepare a real fish well, but making something that isn’t fish taste just like fish - that’s difficult."

"If possible, people would naturally prefer the fake fish, because achieving such perfect imitation is challenging. I too prefer fake fish. Sometimes, the fake can be far more interesting than the real. If done well enough, without telling the guests, a fake fish becomes a real fish - what difference is there between them?"

Kenji’s heart skipped a beat.

Wait no, don’t be so direct - you’re scaring me.

Who’s the fake fish and who’s the real fish? This is getting into dangerous territory...