Both worlds are like dreams

Mo Ruilin thought for a moment, "I seem to have seen this way of eating in a book. It's a tribe living at the foot of the snowy mountains. Because the weather is cold, they eat this kind of spicy hot pot every winter to keep away the cold, but they are not as particular as you are."

"Of course," Xue Huang said with a smile as she put the meat into the pot, "There are still many smart people in this world."

"It smells so good!" Mo Xingyue also helped to push the vegetables in, "When can we eat it?"

Xue Huang smiled and said, "Thanks to the chef in Fifth Brother's house, he has excellent knife skills and cut each piece of meat as thin as a cicada's wing, so it will be cooked immediately after being put in the pot. Come and try it."

Mo Xingyue quickly picked up a piece of meat, dipped it in the sauce prepared by Xue Huang, and then put it in her mouth to taste it. The next moment, she was so spicy that tears came down. "It's so spicy!"

"If you can't eat spicy food, eat less." Mo Ruilin was angry and laughed, and poured her a glass of water, "Drink some water quickly."

Xue Huang smiled and put a piece of meat into Gu Qinglan's bowl. "Brother Qinglan, are you afraid of spicy food?"

"I'm fine." Gu Qinglan smiled. "Shangyang City is cold in the winter, and there are a lot of spicy dishes. I'm almost used to it."

"This is different," Xue Huang continued to serve him some food. "This is called shabu-shabu. It retains the most original taste of the food. It has a unique flavor when paired with chili and sesame sauce."

Gu Qinglan tasted it and found the thin mutton extremely tender. It was even more delicious after being cooked in the pot. The taste of the sauce was also quite unique. After mixing them together, it gave him an indescribable spicy and spicy feeling. However, it was indeed a bit too spicy. Although he didn't shed tears like Mo Xingyue, a layer of sweat still appeared on his forehead. "It's really unique!"

Murray was better than him, but he was still gasping from the spiciness. "That's true, but it tastes really good!"

Xue Huang poured them some wine, "It has to be paired with the Flowery Snow from Tianxiang Tower to be the most delicious food on earth!"

Mo Xingyue was very surprised when she saw Xue Huang eating the food bite by bite. "Aren't you feeling spicy?"

"I've gotten used to it over the years." Xue Huang said with a smile. "And I didn't dare ask them to put more chili in it because I was afraid you wouldn't be used to it."

Mo Xingyue felt that his tongue was still numb, so he drank several sips of water. Seeing how Xue Huang was eating, he picked up a small piece of meat, chewed it a few times hurriedly, and swallowed it, then quickly drank a few sips of water.

Xue Huang felt at a loss for words when she saw her expression. She stood up, took a spoon, scooped out most of the red oil and chili peppers, and then added some water. "Okay, it's not spicy anymore."

"You are really my good sister!" Mo Xingyue was moved and could eat to her heart's content now.

Mo Ruilin looked disgusted, "Where is your princess's manners?"

"Why should I care about that in front of you?" Mo Xingyue said vaguely. It was already restrictive enough in the palace. Since I got together with Xue Huang, as long as there were no outsiders around, I could do whatever I wanted.

"That's right!" Xue Huang said with a smile. "When eating hot pot, having fun is the most important thing!"

Gu Qinglan smiled but said nothing, just kept picking up food for Xuehuang.

The four of them listened to the rain outside the window, drank the best wine in Tianxianglou, ate the delicacies of the world, and laughed and talked. It seemed as if time had returned to the time they were together three years ago. At that time, they were also in a difficult situation, but as long as Xuehuang was there, they could always find the peace in their hearts. The hustle and bustle of the world was far away at this moment, and their hearts could always find reasons to be strong.

This hotpot meal took us almost two hours to eat, and I was smelling the chili all over.

Mo Ruilin had someone prepare hot water, and then asked someone to take Xue Huang and Mo Xingyue to take a bath, and then stayed in the mansion to rest. He and Gu Qinglan also changed their clothes, and then played chess in the corridor.

However, in the afternoon, Mo Ruilin left in a hurry, saying that His Majesty had summoned him for an urgent matter.

He hurried into the palace, and when he came back the sun was setting.

Wei Yunzhou also came over, obviously having received the news.

Everyone gathered together. Mo Ruilin had a pot of tea served, and then he spoke solemnly, "The dam in Guyan County was destroyed by the heavy rains for several days. Now the water is spreading. If the dam is not rebuilt, the fields and even the people in Guyan County will be in danger of breaching. Father has issued an edict to send me and my third brother to build the dam."

Gu Qinglan asked, "Third Prince?"

"Father understands that my second brother just got married yesterday, and it's not good for him to go to Guyan County when he's just married, so he sent me and my third brother to go with him."

"You look very worried. Is there something else?" Xue Huang asked.

"Father also asked me to investigate a case."

"What case?" Xue Huang asked.

Mo Ruilin did not answer, but Wei Yunzhou said directly: "In the 764th year of Liuyun calendar, the case of the theft of disaster relief silver."

"Disaster relief money?" Xue Huang asked in confusion. "What does that have to do with building a dam?"

"That huge sum of money was originally intended to provide relief to Guyan County," said Mo Ruilin. "But it disappeared on the way to Guyan County without leaving any trace. Two hundred thousand taels of disaster relief silver disappeared overnight, and became an unsolved mystery in the Beiling court for more than ten years."

Xue Huang was a little surprised. Two hundred thousand taels of silver was not a small amount of money.

Gu Qinglan continued, "It is said that the relief money disappeared on the embankment. The troops transporting it said that it was the river god who appeared and swallowed up the huge sum of money."

"How is this possible?" Xue Huang said. "The river god is a deity, how could he be greedy for disaster relief money? This deity is too unmerciful and uncaring to save all living beings."

"But the huge sum of money disappeared without a trace right before everyone's eyes," said Mo Ruilin. "Local people have long heard of the legend of the river god appearing, so after the investigation was fruitless, the case could only be classified as an unsolved case."

Wei Yunzhou said, "This matter is brought up at this time, I'm afraid there are other implications."

"What does Brother Wei mean?" asked Mo Ruilin.

"The people who escorted the disaster relief silver back then were Tan Hongwen and..." Wei Yunzhou paused and looked at Gu Qinglan.

Gu Qinglan replied calmly, "It was my father. He was the Left General under Shen Congfeng, and he and the Right General Tan Hongwen were transporting disaster relief silver together. But when they reached the dam, that incident happened, and this unsolved case became a concern for my father."

"And this Tan Hongwen was the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard and Tan Zheng's father. He was highly regarded by Shen Congfeng back then, and it was Shen Congfeng who requested that he and General Gu escort the disaster relief silver together. But after the disaster relief silver was stolen, he and General Gu were both punished and dismissed from their posts. Not long after, he died of illness." said Mo Ruilin.