Chapter Forty-Four: Linfeng Tavern
As Tao Ming looked around, she saw that the first floor was a space for entertaining casual guests. Several tables were already occupied, all by men, who were drinking and playing drinking games, making the place rather noisy. She was about to speak when the Seventh Prince said, “A quiet private room, please.”
The attendant immediately called out, “Certainly, honored guests, this way please!” He then fell half a step behind the prince, leading the way.
Tao Ming found this all quite novel—she hadn’t expected the service here to be so attentive!
Following the Seventh Prince, she made her way up to the third floor, heading down the corridor to the first room on the left. The attendant opened the door, announcing, “The Orchid Room is our quietest suite.”
The Seventh Prince responded with a low hum and stepped inside, Tao Ming following after.
She set Softie down on the floor to let her find Sticky, then removed her veiled hat and took in her surroundings.
The private room was much larger than she’d expected, around thirty square meters. Opposite the door, the wall had a four-panel window, with only one panel open. In the center of the room stood a large round table, easily spacious enough for ten people. To the left, there was a small door in the wall, and on the remaining walls were cabinets, side tables, and chairs. Various plants were arranged throughout the room at different heights, and looking up, Tao Ming noticed several lumps of fluorite embedded in the ceiling, casting a gentle glow.
She thought to herself, This private room is truly high-class and elegant!
The attendant entered behind them, pouring tea as he asked, “What would you like to order?”
The Seventh Prince picked up his teacup and toyed with it. “No rush, my wife will decide.”
Mu Zhi, who had just entered, heard this and deeply suspected he’d gone out with an impostor today, giving Tao Ming several curious glances.
Softie and Sticky, who had been running around the room, exchanged looks at those words, and Softie asked through their secret way of speaking, “What’s a wife?”
“It means someone’s married woman.”
“Where is his wife? I don’t see her.”
...
Tao Ming’s face darkened instantly, and she turned to glare. “Say that again?”
The Seventh Prince glanced meaningfully at the attendant waiting nearby, so Tao Ming swallowed her retort and sat down across from him.
Softie and Sticky quickly sat on either side of Tao Ming, their six eyes fixed intently on the Seventh Prince.
He acted as if nothing was amiss and asked the attendant, “Do you have a menu?”
The attendant, as if by magic, produced a wooden board and handed it over. “Please, take your time.”
The prince took it, glanced over, and passed it to Tao Ming.
She weighed it in her hands. The board was light, about the size of an A4 sheet of paper, several millimeters thick, covered vertically in rows of tiny red seal script the size of a fingertip.
The problem was, Tao Ming could recognize all the characters, but when strung together, what on earth did they mean?
“What is this ‘Poached Mist Feathers’?” Tao Ming pointed to a dish.
Before the attendant could answer, the Seventh Prince replied, “We had it at lunch; Sticky ate quite a bit of it.”
Tao Ming racked her brain but couldn’t recall which dish was this “Poached Mist Feathers.” Sticky looked at Tao Ming, then at the prince, and said, “I don’t know what that is, either.”
The Seventh Prince took the menu again and ordered eight dishes. After the attendant left, he said, “I’ll explain each one to you in a bit.”
Tao Ming stood up and picked up a cup of tea, holding it under her nose to smell. It seemed there were no scallions or ginger simmered in it. She took a sip—it tasted a bit like chrysanthemum tea. She poured two more cups and set them in front of Softie and Sticky.
Mu Zhi, who had been standing silently behind the prince, twitched at the sight of Tao Ming’s actions.
It was only then that Tao Ming noticed Mu Zhi. “Why don’t you sit down?”
The prince answered, “Mu Zhi, have a seat.”
Mu Zhi responded and sat down, leaving a seat between himself and the prince.
Soon, the attendant returned with a tray bearing four dishes. After setting them down, he politely said, “Please enjoy,” and left again.
Tao Ming, Softie, and Sticky looked from the dishes to the prince, all three wearing eager, expectant expressions.
The Seventh Prince chuckled and introduced them one by one: “Fermented Pearls in Rice Wine, Mountain Spring Dragon Bird, Steamed Snow Fish, and Poached Mist Feathers.”
All three stared at “Poached Mist Feathers.”
Tao Ming looked closer—wasn’t this just boiled bok choy? Well, not exactly—the “Mist Feathers” had leaves even finer and fluffier than bok choy.
Still, it was just another leafy green! How had they come up with such a poetic name?
Softie pouted, “It’s just vegetables!”
Tao Ming blinked at Sticky. “Why did you eat so many vegetables?” The implication: You’re a carnivore!
Sticky looked aggrieved. “It cleanses the gut.”
Well, fair enough.
Thinking back to her time in Weishui, where everything was boiled, steamed, or roasted, Tao Ming asked, “Your Highness—”
She was cut off by the prince. “Call me husband.”
Husband, my foot!
Tao Ming picked up her teacup as if to throw it. The prince amended, “Or cousin, that works too.”
Tao Ming put the cup down. “Don’t you have stir-fried dishes here?”
The prince was intrigued. “What’s stir-frying?”
“It’s when you pour some rapeseed oil in a wok, heat it up, toss in the veggies, stir them around, add seasoning, and serve when cooked.”
The prince’s curiosity only grew. “What is rapeseed oil?”
Tao Ming was speechless.
As they spoke, the attendant returned with four more dishes and several bowls of rice.
Tao Ming eyed the white rice in her bowl. It looked just like the rice back on Earth. She asked, “What is this?”
The attendant, very professional and unfazed, replied, “Complimentary white rice.”
Tao Ming took a bite—it tasted much the same as regular rice. Remembering the pearl rice she’d eaten before, she asked, “Do you have pearl rice steamed?”
The attendant replied, “Pearl rice is extra, one yellow crystal coin per bowl.”
So expensive!
Tao Ming wanted to ask more, but the prince spoke up, “Another bowl of pearl rice for each of us.”
The attendant acknowledged and turned to go, but Tao Ming called, “Wait!”
He stopped and turned. Tao Ming addressed the prince, “I was just asking, I don’t actually want it.”
The prince turned to the attendant, “One bowl each.”
“Certainly.”
Once the attendant left, the prince smiled, “It’s just a few bowls of rice, hardly worth worrying about.”
Tao Ming looked at her bowl. “It’s wasteful if we can’t finish.”
Softie pushed her own bowl toward Tao Ming. “Mama, I want to eat the green rice.”
What could she do but spoil her own daughter?
Tao Ming finished her own bowl, then Softie’s as well.
Fortunately, nothing else unexpected occurred. Only when Tao Ming took out two pairs of training chopsticks did Mu Zhi’s eyes flicker with curiosity; otherwise, he remained silent.
Looking at the leftovers, Tao Ming asked, “How do you pack up food here?”
“Pack up? What’s that?”
“For example, if I want to eat restaurant food at home, how would it be delivered?”
“You’d have a maid or servant fetch it in a food box.”
That made sense. Tao Ming was left speechless.
She sighed. “Can you and Mu Zhi please turn around for a moment?”
They complied, both turning away.
Tao Ming quickly took out a few disposable containers, packed up the untouched rice and leftovers, and stowed them in her spatial pouch.
“All right, you can turn back now.”
They turned around to find the table nearly bare. The prince was about to speak, but Tao Ming interrupted, “Now that we’ve finished, I still don’t know the name of this establishment.”
The prince, realizing she was deliberately changing the subject, didn’t press further. “There’s a sign at the door.”
“I didn’t catch it before.”
“Lin Feng Pavilion.”
After a meal costing two red crystal coins and six yellow crystal coins, Tao Ming finally realized how expensive pearl rice really was!
The prince checked his pockets and found only purple crystal coins. He turned to Mu Zhi, “Cover it for now—I’ll pay you back when we return.”
Mu Zhi could only sigh inwardly.