Chapter Forty-Nine: Appetizers and Preparations

That night.

“Kid, do you take me for your servant or something?” Yin Chan and Ming Tian were slowly hauling a bronze box toward their quarters.

“There’s nothing I can do. You know I want to make Imperial Roast Duck, but where am I supposed to find an oven in this era? So I have to trouble you to make one for me. No idea if it’ll even work! Besides…”

Ming Tian puffed out his cheeks in protest. “I’m still an invalid right now. Can’t you lend me a hand?”

“Tch. I can’t be bothered to argue. Move faster, would you?”

Yin Chan didn’t bother responding, looking rather displeased, but he didn’t slack off as he helped carry the bronze box.

The so-called oven Ming Tian mentioned was actually this very bronze box they were carrying. A small opening had been made on the side, just big enough to fit an iron rod through for skewering the duck.

“Are you sure a bronze oven won’t melt when we roast with it?” Ming Tian sounded a little worried—after all, he wasn’t a physicist. How could he know such arcane and useless facts?

“Don’t worry. Ordinary wood fire only reaches about two hundred degrees. Bronze melts at nearly a thousand. As long as you don’t use it for over ten hours nonstop, you’ll be fine.”

As she spoke, Yin Chan lifted her delicate, pale chin, clearly proud of her knowledge—a look that was both clever and rather cute…

Of course, in her previous life, she had been a man.

Ming Tian intended to use Buddha Jumps Over the Wall to entice the Emperor to visit the Imperial Kitchen, but that dish was no simple feat. Even knowing the recipe and possessing a knack for cooking, Ming Tian still found it daunting.

This dish wasn’t some cheat from a food novel, whipped up in an hour or two. It was, without exaggeration, the pinnacle of Chinese culinary art.

An authentic Buddha Jumps Over the Wall required not only an extremely long cooking time but also nearly a hundred ingredients.

Ming Tian had neither the means nor the ability to create a true version, but he could manage a simplified one. Even so, it would take at least four days to cook.

During that time, he needed to present more signature dishes to leave a deeper impression on the Emperor. The Emperor didn’t need to know Ming Tian was the cook; it was enough that the flavors lingered in his mind. This was a crucial step in Ming Tian’s plan.

All of this was in preparation for Buddha Jumps Over the Wall!

Even authentic versions of the dish came in many varieties. Back when Ming Tian worked under his old boss, he’d seen a top chef prepare it in advance for a high-ranking official and had learned a great deal about it.

These were secrets you couldn’t even find online; as the chef had put it, “Even if I tell you, you couldn’t make it.”

It wasn’t just a matter of skill. Buddha Jumps Over the Wall demanded immense financial resources, and it tested a chef’s stamina and willpower to the extreme.

As for those so-called “Buddha Jumps Over the Wall” dishes costing a few thousand in five-star hotels—those were imposters. Just the base stock alone cost over fifty thousand, with the final dish never less than two hundred thousand, and the most extravagant version, the Net Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, could reach 1.2 million.

And that’s not even counting labor.

There were sixteen versions of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. Of these, the four most renowned among the elite were called the Four Delicacies: Net, Ocean View, Buddha’s Delight, and Precious.

Net was the most elaborate and difficult, Precious the simplest and easiest to simplify in cooking.

The version Ming Tian aimed to make was a simplified Precious Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. He was just an ordinary person—no matter how skilled, he wasn’t a miracle worker, and his culinary prowess fell short of creating a flawless Precious Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.

Moreover, in this era, several essential ingredients were missing—most importantly, Jinhua ham hadn’t even been invented yet. So, even with skill, he couldn’t make the real thing.

Finally, the authentic dish took eight days to prepare. Ming Tian lacked the time, the energy, and didn’t want to risk everything on this for the sake of the woman he loved.

Even so, by making good use of the palace’s resources, he was confident his simplified version could reach at least half the flavor of the original.

He needed Zhao Ke’s help because Zhao Ke was in charge of the kitchen staff and their supplies.

That fat oaf Qian Shanduo, no matter how much Ming Tian tried to ingratiate himself, would only allow access to common and rare ingredients—never the precious ones.

With no other choice, Ming Tian had to ask Zhao Ke to sneak out a little extra when recruiting kitchen hands and stocking up.

Additionally, he lacked the know-how to soak and prepare the seafood required for Precious Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, so he needed Zhao Ke’s advice. Right now, those abalone and sea cucumbers were soaking in jars in his room.

Ming Tian planned to deal with Qian Shanduo and the plot to assassinate the Emperor and crown prince at the same time.

The palace was heavily guarded, and not knowing when the Emperor might die or recover, every day’s delay increased Xin Zhu’s danger.

To make the roast duck, Ming Tian had asked Yin Chan to specially craft this bronze oven in the soldiers’ workshop. Once the marinated duck was skewered inside and the brazier below filled with charcoal, he could roast it.

He could only hope the oven would hold up to the sealed charcoal fire, just as Yin Chan had promised.

Here, Ming Tian had to admit his admiration for Yin Chan.

This guy, who’d been an uncle in his previous life, was incredibly handy—he’d gone to the soldiers’ workshop and, in just an hour, forged this out of thin air.

With an ally like this, the plan was solid.

At least, that’s what Ming Tian thought.

“Good grief, I’m exhausted.” By the time they reached the door, Ming Tian’s back ached from carrying the thing, which was heavier than a person. He had no strength left to open the door and could only sit on the threshold to rest.

Yin Chan straightened and cracked her back, sounding a bit annoyed. “Honestly, even as a woman in this life, I’m stronger than you. Don’t tell me you were a girl in your past life?”

“Say whatever you want. I can’t move another inch.” Ming Tian was so tired he felt like a dog, panting until it seemed his lungs might leap from his throat.

In the end, he was enduring all this for the sake of the woman he loved, so he didn’t really mind.

But at that moment, a sudden crash of shattering porcelain and a woman’s sobs came from An Luo’s room.

“Master An Luo, how can you be so heartless? Have I ever wronged you? Why must you abandon me?”

“No… it’s not like that… listen to me…”

This brief exchange made Ming Tian and Yin Chan freeze, exchanging glances before quickly arriving at a wicked understanding. They dropped the oven, tiptoed over to An Luo’s door, and pressed their ears against it…

Eavesdropping!

How could Ming Tian not recognize that woman’s voice? Delicate, frail, as melodious and mournful as a nightingale. Just hearing it would make any man’s knees go weak.

It was Yu Nizi’s voice.

What was this about being wronged or abandoned? An Luo, could it be…? Well done, my friend! When Yin Chan was a lost cause, you changed your target—admirable! Daring to cuckold the Emperor himself—now that’s bold! Truly impressive!

Glancing over, he saw Yin Chan clearly had the same idea—listening in with a gossipy gleam in her eyes.

But what they heard next made Ming Tian’s face turn green.

Heavens, he’d thought such things only happened in legends, but here it was, unfolding before his very ears!

…

PS: The third update of the first day is finally done. I’m utterly exhausted, but it’s the sincere effort needed to ask for your votes, dear readers. Honestly, even after a tiring day, there’s a real sense of accomplishment when I finish. Actually, I think I could even manage four updates… but never mind, I still want to live a few more years. Four-chapter days can wait until I’ve stockpiled more drafts or made it to the front page.

Enough rambling—please vote for me! Except for Saturday, there’ll be three chapters every day this week. If you enjoy the book, please add it to your collection. Thank you!