Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1186 Epilogue : Tangxi Sword

The eldest princess was in a cheerful mood. She took Xie Yan to visit the gardens and even acted as a tour guide:

"This house was first built during the pre-Song Dynasty. It originally occupied an entire block of land, about 400 acres. It was later confiscated by the government, and by the end of the Song Dynasty it had been abandoned. Daily maintenance costs a lot of money, and both the prefecture and county governments were unwilling to pay."

"After the Ming Dynasty moved its capital to Luoyang, Emperor Taizong demolished about 50 acres and sold them to merchants to build street-side shops. The remaining house was divided into two, renovated, and awarded to the two founding princes."

"The descendants of Prince Zhang forcibly demolished several shops. They also occupied the backyards of several shops, leaving only the front shop for others. Gradually, they expanded this house to 200 acres."

“The gardens have also been renovated.”

"The gardens of the early Song Dynasty were too simple, not as exquisite as those of today. The exquisiteness lies in the two words 'form' and 'suitability'. If it is suitable for a pavilion, then it should be a pavilion; if it is suitable for a terrace, then it should be a terrace. It is okay to deviate from the path and place it in a roundabout way. It is said that the exquisiteness is appropriate, and the form is appropriate. The ingenuity lies in the two words 'cause' and 'borrow', following the height and depth of the situation..."

Xie Yan listened carefully, he really understood.

The Grand Princess was now talking about garden design, and Xie Yan understood it after just one listen. But understanding is one thing, and putting it into practice is another.

Just like those experienced fans, they can talk about everything when watching a game. But if these fans are asked to be coaches and instruct the players on how to play, they will be completely clueless.

"This waterside pavilion was previously called the Lotus Viewing Terrace. I renamed it the Snow Standing Pavilion. Viewing the lotus in the summer is certainly pleasing to the eye, but standing in the snow in the winter is even more interesting."

"The hill in front is man-made. I often read books and play the piano in the pavilion on top. There are maple trees planted around the pavilion, which looks very beautiful in autumn. So the pavilion is called Hanqiu Pavilion."

"This small bridge is called the Locking Moon Bridge. When the moon is at its brightest point in the sky, its reflection can be seen under the bridge hole, as if it were locked by the water..."

Xie Yan's mind was short of words, and only six words kept repeating in his mind: good-looking, nice to listen to, awesome.

After walking for a while, the eldest princess felt a little tired, so she chose a bridge to sit down.

The eldest princess asked: "Besides reading, what else does Liu Lang like to do?"

Xie Yan couldn't say that he loved playing video games, so he just kept hiding his ignorance: "My family is very strict, and my parents only let me study hard. Other than that, I just play chess. I don't know anything about music, horse riding, and gardening. I need my princess sister to teach me in the future."

What a simple young man.

The eldest princess was more and more satisfied: "It's a good thing to concentrate on studying. Those idle things can be learned after a few more times. It's not something to boast about. There are many dandy boys in the powerful families in the capital, but it's hard to find those who can concentrate on their studies."

After chatting for a while, Xie Yan asked, "We've known each other for so many days, but I still don't know the princess's name."

"What do you want to ask?" The eldest princess asked with a smile.

Xie Yan said: "Sister Princess is so beautiful, her name must be beautiful too."

The eldest princess' smile became even brighter: "My name is not beautiful, but fierce. It is the name of a sword."

"Which sword?" Xie Yan was very curious.

The Grand Princess said: "Tangxi is the leader of the nine swords in the world. Have you heard of the other eight swords?"

Xie Yan asked uncertainly: "Gan Jiang and Mo Ye?"

The Grand Princess said: "Those are the last two swords in the ranking. The ones ahead of them are Longquan and Tai'a."

"Sister, this name is both powerful and beautiful." Xie Yan praised sincerely.

"Holding the sword of Tangxi to cut the weeds, holding the sword of Ganjiang to cut the flesh," the eldest princess recited the Nine Laments of Chuci. "These two sentences were originally Qu Yuan's lament that he was not valued, but my father adapted them. When I was born, my father was reorganizing the army and regarded those scoundrels in the army as weeds. With the sword of Tangxi, he could cut all the weeds with a wave of his hand."

Xie Yan said with emotion: "The late emperor was truly a great ruler."

The eldest princess...will be called Zhu Tangxi from now on.

Zhu Tangxi shook her head gently: "It's quite sad not to talk about this. You said you would cook a delicious meal for me today."

Although Xie Yan did not understand Chu Ci, he knew how to cook a few dishes. He immediately stood up and said, "Then let's go to the kitchen."

Zhu Tangxi said: "If it doesn't taste good, I will punish you."

Xie Yan asked: "What is my sister going to punish me for?"

Zhu Tangxi thought seriously: "If your cooking is not delicious, you must do something for me. I haven't figured out what to do yet."

"Don't mention one thing. As long as sister tells me to, I will do a hundred things without frowning." Xie Yan has already gotten into the mood, treating this as a love game, and his tongue is getting more and more fluent.

Zhu Tangxi was indeed very happy to be coaxed: "I'll remember this, don't regret it."

Xie Yan continued to act young: "If I regret it, I'll be a puppy."

Zhu Tangxi laughed happily: "You are a Furong scholar after all, how can you be a puppy? If it gets out, people will think I treat you badly."

Xie Yan patted his chest and said, "It doesn't matter whether I am a puppy or not, but for the sake of my sister's reputation, I will never regret it."

Zhu Tangxi smiled even more brightly, and even her steps became much lighter.

Qingluan and several maids followed behind, listening to the conversation between the two throughout the whole process. At this moment, they were all stunned: Xie Liulang was really good at it. The princess was coaxed into smiling all the time! In the past six or seven years, the princess may not have laughed as much as today.

The emotional value is full.

Xie Yan was also secretly proud of himself. He thought, I am actually an expert in love. Why didn't I use my talent in my previous life? I have been a straight man for so many years. What a waste of talent!

Zhu Tangxi smiled all the way and gradually came to the kitchen.

The chefs in the princess's house were mainly from the two capitals and Henan, and she also specially hired two chefs from Guangzhou and Hangzhou.

Guangzhou cuisine at this time is particularly strong, especially with lots of spices. Although some spices are grown locally, many are imported from overseas. Guangzhou is a good port and spices are cheap.

Especially the coolies at Guangzhou docks, who needed heavy oil and salt to replenish their physical strength. Add in plenty of spices, how could it not taste good?

The coolie diet of Guangzhou decades ago is now even loved by some dignitaries. "What ingredients are available today?" Xie Yan asked.

The head chef turned out to be a middle-aged woman. She stepped forward and answered, "Your Highness said that Master Xie would be coming today, so we prepared more ingredients. A sheep and a pig have been slaughtered and cleaned, and there is a chicken and several fish ready to be slaughtered. There are also many fresh fruits and vegetables."

Xie Yan went to look at the various spices again. Most of the common spices in later generations were already in this kitchen.

Seeing dried chili peppers hanging on the wall in the corner, Xie Yan asked, "Does Princess Sister also eat chili peppers?"

The call of "Princess Sister" attracted all the chefs' attention.

Zhu Tangxi felt everyone's gaze, but instead of getting angry, she felt sweet in her heart: "It's a little spicy."

The cook said, "There are three kinds of peppers in Beijing, and this one is the least spicy."

As chili peppers evolved in the Americas, areas with more rainfall had higher spiciness, while areas with less rainfall had lower spiciness.

This is caused by the natural environment.

For plants, producing capsaicin interferes with their ability to retain water, which reduces the number of seeds they produce in dry weather. It also expends some energy making them unable to produce enough wood in their seed coats, making them more vulnerable to insects.

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It is also related to fungi. In an environment with more rainfall, fungi grow more vigorously, and peppers need to produce more capsaicin to resist.

Over time, different varieties were formed.

"The one that hasn't been killed yet, is it a rooster or a hen?" Xie Yan asked.

The cook replied, "It is a capon."

"also."

Xie Yan began to give orders: "Kill the chicken. Wash the pot and light a low fire."

Xie Yan picked out some spices and asked the cooks to clean them.

When the pot is heated over low heat, pour all the spices into the pot and roast them until they are dry. Then pour in the chili peppers and roast them until they are dry and crispy.

Xie Yan picked out the spices that needed to be ground into powder: "Pound these into fine powder."

While the cooks were busy, Xie Yan started to heat the cooking oil.

He put all kinds of spices into a basin, and when the oil temperature gradually rose, he scooped up the hot oil and poured it on the spices.

Chili oil!
A rich aroma wafted into the air. Even the princess took two deep breaths, and the cooks looked surprised.

There are many customers who order Sichuan cuisine for takeout. This food is not likely to go wrong, and even if it tastes bad, it is not that bad, so both the store owners and customers like it.

While Xie Yan was waiting for the meal to be served, he noticed that the most popular dish the chef cooked was Sichuan cuisine.

Xie Yan found that there was only sesame oil here, but no ready-made scallion oil and pepper oil, so he continued to refine these two.

When he heard that the chicken had been killed, he asked the cook to throw it into the pot and cook it, adding a lot of spices to it.

Then ask the chefs to chop green onions, ginger and garlic.

Zhu Tangxi was watching intently, Qingluan came up to her and said, "I didn't expect Xie Liulang to be so good at cooking."

"It's just a minor path after all. A gentleman should stay away from the kitchen." When Zhu Tangxi said this, there was a faint smile on his face, and you could tell at a glance that he was not sincere.

Seeing Xie Yan still busying himself, Zhu Tangxi called the cook over and asked, "Have you seen these things of his before?"

The cook said, "I know how to make scallion oil and pepper oil, but this is the first time I've seen chili oil made with so many spices. You don't even need to taste it, just smelling it will whet your appetite."

Qing Luan said with a smile: "If Mr. Xie did not study, he could become a famous chef instead."

Xie Yan asked, "Does your sister have any ice cubes at home?"

Zhu Tangxi said: "Yes."

Xie Yan ordered the servants to get ice from the ice cellar, and asked the cooks to prepare some cold water: "Sister, let's go out first. The chicken still needs to be cooked for a while."

As soon as they left, the chefs got busy again, as they couldn't just eat this one dish.

After a long wait, the chicken was almost cooked.

Xie Yan came back and poked the chicken with chopsticks, then picked it up and threw it into ice water to make the meat firmer and more tasty.

Probably because it had cooled down, Xie Yan said to the cook, "Tear the chicken into long strips. Only the chicken thighs are needed, and you can eat the rest yourself."

A plate of spicy shredded chicken was quickly prepared.

Xie Yan brought it out very elegantly: "Sister, please enjoy the delicious food."

Zhu Tangxi picked up a piece, raised his sleeve to cover his mouth, and his eyes lit up as soon as he put it in his mouth.

"How does it taste?" Xie Yan asked.

Zhu Tangxi said: "You don't have to be a puppy anymore."

Xie Yan also picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and ate it happily.

Now that the spicy shredded chicken is ready, it’s time to discuss jointly running a cement plant.

(End of this chapter)