Spring comes to the desperate place

This was the second time the Song family came, and just like last time, they were welcomed into the flower hall, where Gu Fengyun and Gu Fengyue were already sitting inside waiting.

When he saw Song Chunlin, Gu Fengyue's eyes lit up. He ran up to him and pulled him to sit down.

Song Chunlin thought it was normal for two children to hold hands, but in the eyes of others, it was not so nice for a boy to hold the hand of a younger boy.

Song Dazhuang, his beloved son, coughed a few times out of anxiety. Song Chunlin turned around to look at his father, tilted his head and blinked, as if asking his father what he was doing?

Song Dazhuang looked at his son's confused expression, sighed silently, and comforted himself, thinking that the child was still young, what could he understand.

Gu Fengyue contentedly pulled Song Chunlin to sit down. He excitedly told him that the chef in his family had successfully made Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.

Song Chunlin immediately became interested: "Really? Where is it?"

Gu Fengyue nodded vigorously: "Of course it's true, I sent someone to get it as soon as I got back that day, but some of the ingredients are not as good as what you used that day, so the taste may not be as good as what you made that day, but I promise it will be delicious!"

Song Chunlin smiled and said, "Okay, then when are we going to eat?"

Everyone around: “…” Why do we start eating right after we sit down?

In the end, of course, they didn't eat right away. Everyone sat together chatting and drinking tea. Gu Fengyun rarely put aside his airs and sat with the Song family in the flower hall for most of the day.

Thanks to the spiritual spring water, Gu Fengyun's health has improved a lot. In the past, he would definitely be tired after sitting like this for half a day, but today he was in good spirits. When he talked until he was thirsty, his caring brother would hand him half a cup of spiritual spring water, and after drinking it, he would feel full of energy again.

At the lunch banquet, the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall was particularly eye-catching. Song Chunlin also recognized the big casserole. Wasn’t this the one he sent over last time?

Gu Fengyue diligently served him the soup, Song Chunlin took a sip, well, it was indeed not as good as his stew. It might be that he used space water when soaking the seafood, so those dry seafood did not have any fishy smell, while the one from the Marquis' Mansion had a barely noticeable fishy smell of the sea. However, it was very good to be able to restore it to this extent.

Gu Fengyun: "Speaking of this Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, I ordered the people in the palace to prepare two servings. Brother Lin, if you don't mind, I plan to present the other serving to His Majesty, so that His Majesty can also taste this delicacy."

Song Chunlin was suddenly called upon. He hadn't swallowed the abalone in his mouth yet. He chewed it mechanically twice and quickly swallowed it. He said to Gu Fengyun, "This dish is meant to be eaten. Or did you want to present this recipe to His Majesty?"

Gu Fengyun: "That's right, but I hope to present the recipe in the name of the Marquis' Mansion. If His Majesty has a reward, I will give it to you in full."

Song Chunlin knew that Gu Fengyun was protecting him. After all, given their family's financial situation, it was almost impossible for them to research and develop such an expensive dish. However, it was different in the name of the Marquis' Mansion. It was not a big deal for such a powerful family to make a few sky-high dishes, so Song Chunlin agreed without thinking.

At the palace dinner that day, Lord Gu served Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. As soon as the lid was opened, the whole hall was filled with the unique aroma of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.

After the palace servants had tasted the dish, it was served in a silver soup bowl and placed in front of the emperor.

The emperor is over fifty years old this year, and his hair has turned white early due to his busy work in state affairs. His appetite is not very good today. The food at the palace banquets is just like that. There are rarely a few dishes he likes. However, as an emperor, he cannot eat too much for fear of being discovered as a weakness.

The dish brought by Gu Fengyun smelled incredibly fragrant. The emperor first took a sip of the soup, then his eyes lit up. He quickly picked up a piece of abalone with chopsticks. The taste was completely different from what the imperial chef had made in the past. It was soft, tender and delicious.

"Hmm, it's delicious. Lord Gu, what is the name of this dish?"

"Your Majesty, this dish is called Buddha Jumps Over the Wall."

"Buddha Jumps Over the Wall?" The emperor didn't quite understand.

"Your Majesty, this dish is sealed with a lotus leaf, and the aroma is sealed inside the jar when it is cooked. When the lid is opened, the fragrance overflows, and even the Buddha was so attracted by the fragrance that he jumped over the high wall to eat it."

There were some Buddhists in this dynasty, but not many. The emperor found this story very vivid. The fragrance just now was so delicious that even he wanted to jump in and eat it, let alone the Buddha.

"Hahahahaha, Lord Gu said it well. It's worthy of being a dish that even Buddha would jump over the wall to eat. It tastes extremely delicious. Not bad, not bad."

Hearing the emperor's praise, everyone in the hall echoed him, but it was unknown how many of them were sincere.

The queen who was sitting next to the emperor also tasted it. At first she thought that the emperor and Gu Fengyun were exaggerating, but after eating it she found that what they said was true.

The emperor looked at the queen with a smile and said, "Well, I was right, wasn't I? This dish not only smells good, but also tastes good."

The Queen smiled and said, "Your Majesty is right. This dish is indeed delicious. I wonder if Lord Gu can give it up and lend this cook to the Imperial Kitchen for a few days. Princess Sixteen doesn't feel like eating or drinking today, so it's a good opportunity to change her taste."

Gu Fengyun: "I'm sorry, madam. The preparation of this dish is complicated. It takes seven or eight days just for the initial preparation. It takes two more days to cook after all the ingredients are ready. It's not that I'm stingy, but I just have the only cook in my house who can be used."

Hearing this, the Queen's face looked a little unhappy. She had never thought that Gu Fengyun would refuse her, nor had she expected that such a dish would take seven or eight days to prepare the ingredients.

Soon, Gu Fengyun took out the recipe he had prepared and handed it over: "Although I cannot lend my cook to Your Majesty, I have written down this recipe with detailed steps. Your Majesty only needs to send someone to follow the recipe, and you can enjoy this delicacy anytime."

When the queen saw the recipe, her expression improved a little and she ordered someone to put the recipe away.

When the emperor saw that his wife was coaxed, he also smiled happily.

"Come here, Lord Gu has made a great contribution by offering the dishes. I will reward... uh, ten ounces of gold, a bushel of pearls, and ten rolls of silk. My dear, I remember you are twenty-four, right?"

Gu Fengyun's heart skipped a beat. Oh no, could this old man be trying to arrange a marriage for me?

So the alert Lord Gu immediately pretended to cough. He had just recovered from his illness and had no idea about marriage. What's more, he already knew that the emperor wanted him to marry a princess, but he didn't want to. What's the difference between marrying a princess and marrying an ancestor?

Seeing that Gu Fengyun was about to cough out his lungs, the emperor remembered that Gu Fengyun had a weak body that would collapse if the wind blew, and he awkwardly gave up the idea of granting him a marriage.

Gu Fengyun escaped the disaster perfectly.