Mrs. Zhu and Ming Xianggui froze. When they turned and saw a squad of Patrol officers, their faces filled with horror.
Ming Lingyi, on the other hand, showed no surprise at all. She had sent Xiao Chun to "visit the prison" and convince the jailed inmate to retract their confession. By her calculations, the people from the Jingzhao Mansion were due to arrive.
Lingyi wasn't worried about Xiao Chun's mission failing. Anyone who could be bought by Little Qian could certainly be bought by more money. Lingyi had pawned nearly all her jewelry, getting thirty taels of silver in return, and had spent the vast majority of it on bribes.
"Men, arrest Ming Xianggui and Mrs. Zhu," the lead Patrol Officer commanded.
In the next instant, Ming Xianggui, Mrs. Zhu, and Ming Fanjiang—who had since been roused by the pain—were all taken into custody.
Ming Xianggui had no idea what was happening and continued to shout that he had been framed.
"Framed? A guy like you? A good-for-nothing mooching off his older brother, with that hopeless case of a son at home? You're drowning in debt, you coveted your brother's restaurant, and you even hired a killer? Ming the Second, if you're innocent, then there's probably not a single guilty person in the dungeons of our Jingzhao Mansion!"
The head of the Patrol squad said this as they were stepping out of the restaurant's main doors.
Yu Da bringing his thugs into the restaurant had already attracted the attention of many people in the East Market. Everyone was curious and eager to watch the drama unfold. Now that government officers had also entered, the crowd of onlookers instantly swelled.
So, when the officers from the Jingzhao Mansion came out, every word they said to Ming Xianggui was heard crystal clear by the surrounding crowd.
So much had happened at the Ming Family Restaurant recently that it was already the talk of the town.
Now, the Patrol officer's words were like a drop of water falling into a hot wok of oil. With a loud SIZZLE, the crowd erupted.
"I knew Ming the Second was no good. This restaurant belonged to the eldest Ming brother in the first place. But when he showed up, he started bossing everyone around as if the place was his."
"Poor Boss Ming. He was such a poor judge of character, getting stabbed in the back by such an ungrateful bastard."
"So what happens to the restaurant now? Since Ming the Second committed murder to inherit it, shouldn't it go to Boss Ming's daughter?"
"Oh, didn't you see? Yu Da from the gambling den already took the property deed. A few days ago, I saw Ming the Second making several trips to the government office—probably to transfer the ownership of the restaurant and the land deeds. If you ask me, it won't be easy for the Ming Family's young lady to get the restaurant back. She's just a young woman. How could she possibly deal with those scoundrels from the gambling den?"
Who could run a major business like a tavern or a gambling den in Shangjing City without powerful connections?
Ming Lingyi was now just an orphan girl with no one to back her up. She wasn't about to bang her head against a wall by trying something so futile.
After the crowd dispersed, Ming Lingyi took Xiao Chun back to the single-courtyard house with a storefront they had just purchased in the West Market.
While passing through the market, Ming Lingyi had Xiao Chun buy some rice, flour, grains, and oil. After buying the house, paying for the confession, and tipping the gambling den's thugs, she couldn't scrape together a single tael of silver.
Fortunately, she could still afford some food. Ming Lingyi also began preparing to open her shop.
It wasn't sustainable to keep spending without any income; they couldn't just live off their savings until everything ran out.
"Miss, please, let me do it." Seeing her mistress enter the kitchen, Xiao Chun couldn't help but trail behind Ming Lingyi like a little shadow. "You can't possibly do this sort of thing."
Her master had raised her like an official's daughter, well-versed in the four arts of zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Her mistress's hands were for playing the zither and practicing calligraphy, not for manual labor.
Ming Lingyi skillfully began mixing flour and water. Seeing that nothing she said would put Xiao Chun at ease, she simply stepped aside. "Fine, you knead the dough."
'Back then, before I entered the palace, whether I was at the border or later following the army step-by-step back to Shangjing, I would always use my free time to cook. I would wait for Li Yun to come home, and we would sit across from each other and share a meal.'
'Those were rare, precious moments of warmth we shared.'
'I cherished them dearly.'
'I just never imagined that the skills I learned so diligently, trying to be a good wife who could take care of Li Yun, would one day become my means of survival.'
'Thinking about it now, perhaps those years I spent by his side weren't a complete waste after all.'
Xiao Chun hadn't believed her mistress could actually cook, but she was soon drawn in by a fragrant aroma wafting through the air.
Ming Lingyi took half a catty of the plump, white sesame seeds she had just bought, picked out the grit and impurities, rinsed them twice in clean water, and drained them. She heated an iron wok until it was hot enough to feel a slight sting on her palm, then turned the heat to low and poured in the seeds. With a bamboo spatula, she stirred in steady, even circles. At first, the seeds rustled like rain, then a pale, steamy smoke began to rise. As the seeds turned from grayish-white to a pale gold and a fine crackling sound erupted from the wok, a warm, sweet, toasty fragrance drifted out like a thin veil.
It was this aroma that made Xiao Chun unable to resist turning her head for a look.
Ming Lingyi continued to toast the seeds for just a few minutes more. They gradually took on the color of beeswax, their surfaces glistening with a crystalline sheen of oil. The roasted aroma suddenly intensified, swirling and filling the entire kitchen.
Ming Lingyi swiftly removed the iron wok from the heat and poured the intensely fragrant seeds onto a bamboo tray, allowing the residual heat to lock the aroma into each slightly swollen kernel.
"Miss, what are you going to do with these toasted sesame seeds?"
In Xiao Chun's opinion, sesame seeds were practically useless. She had no idea why her mistress had bought them. They smelled wonderful now, but they weren't good to eat on their own. A truly pointless ingredient.
Seeing that Xiao Chun had already kneaded the dough until it was smooth, Ming Lingyi couldn't help but marvel internally. 'This plump girl is incredibly strong. In the past, when I had Yu Yi and Yanxia help, it would take them a long time, and they'd both be drenched in sweat.'
"We're going to grind the sesame seeds into a paste," Ming Lingyi said.
She was planning to make sesame paste noodles today, and the paste was a special "eighty-twenty" blend. In addition to eight parts sesame, it included two parts roasted peanuts.
Grinding the sesame seeds and peanuts together created a richer, more complex flavor and a more intense aroma.
A task like grinding was, of course, best left to her strong, plump maid.
Ming Lingyi placed the cooled sesame seeds and a handful of roasted peanuts into a stone mill, then called Xiao Chun over to begin slowly grinding them.
When Ming Lingyi had first mentioned "sesame paste," Xiao Chun thought her mistress was just messing around.
'Is this stuff even edible?'
But her mistress's word was law. Though Xiao Chun was confused, she did as she was told.
At the beginning of the grinding, the "eighty-twenty" paste was coarse. After just three turns of the millstone, however, a rich, oily fragrance began to flow like silk. The aroma from the crushed seeds was so intense it conquered every corner of the room. Under the gentle pressure of the stone, the sesame and peanuts melted into a cascade of golden-brown paste. As the viscous mixture pulled into glossy, silky strands, the room filled with a thick, warm fog, a heady mix of roasted and creamy scents.
Xiao Chun took a deep, intoxicated breath. It was heavenly!
GURGLE.
Xiao Chun blushed with embarrassment. Her stomach had rumbled.