Chapter 490: Four Beauties (1)
While Chu Lian was worrying over He Sanlang, the man in question was currently seated opposite the young Prince Lu Tai with a cool expression. There were already three pieces of men’s accessories laid out on the table to his side.
Lu Tai stared at the Go board with agitation. He was already regretting the move he had just made. Wasn’t he leaping right into He Changdi’s trap? Why didn’t he notice it earlier!?
However, he couldn’t withdraw the move due to his pride.
While Lu Tai was getting frustrated with himself, He Changdi’s long fingers reached into the bowl beside him and picked up a Go stone made of black jade. With a clack, he set it down on the board and sealed the fate of the white stones.
He Changdi glanced at the rigid young prince. When he noticed that the young prince didn’t have any more accessories left on him to bet, he generously said, “Thank you for going easy on me, Prince. Let’s forget about this round.”
This young royal prince of Prince Wei’s estate was also a famed and talented person. Although he was a legitimate son, he wasn’t the heir apparent. The estate would be succeeded by his elder brother in the future. However, he had already been bestowed a separate princehood by the Emperor, showing that he was more favoured by the Emperor in the imperial court than his elder brother.
Unfortunately, Prince Lu Tai had the strange habit of bullying those who played Go with him.
Although he had a rather mischievous personality, he respected those who were skillful at Go.
A game of Go was the best way to befriend him.
He Sanlang had never thought of befriending Lu Tai, but since Lu Tai had come knocking, he wouldn’t let this opportunity go.
Lu Tai stared deeply at the pieces lined up on the board with incredibly bright eyes. He would never have thought that this newly promoted Marquis Anyuan was so skillful at Go.
It had been a long time since he had suffered such a crushing defeat.
“Brother He, let’s start another round!” While speaking, Lu Tai was already placing the black and white stones back into their respective bowls.
His friendly actions were a complete opposite to his haughty teasing a while ago.
His way of addressing He Changdi had also changed from the distant Marquis Anyuan to the more affectionate Brother He…
He Changdi was stunned for a moment, and the edges of his mouth twitched.
Actually, He Changdi hadn’t attained outstanding skills in Go from training hard.
The fact of the matter was that Lu Tai was a terrible Go player, while He Changdi was only a tiny bit above average in Go.
When Lu Tai played Go with others, they didn’t dare to win due to Lu Tai’s status, so they racked their brains trying to give way to him. He Sanlang had won four consecutive rounds, but he had only used an average level of skill.
It was the young prince’s own fault for taking a fancy to the green jade ring on He Changdi’s thumb and demanding it as a bet.
He had gone through great pains to receive a present from his dearest wife and it was a precious treasure to him. How could he possibly lose it to someone else? Thus, he had gone all out when playing.
He Sanlang stood up and bowed towards the young prince, “Prince, I have to go to the Left Military Guards to settle some urgent matters, but I can visit again another time to play Go with you.”
Since He Changdi had spoken so politely, Lu Tai couldn’t possibly decline.
In a spontaneous decision that was out of character for him, he decided to follow He Changdi to the Left Military Guards.
There were many steps to preparing roast duck. As it was only two hours to midday, they would only be able to eat roast duck at dinner.
Chu Lian and Princess Duanjia changed into more lightweight casual dresses. They each brought a handmaid along to Princess Wei’s kitchen to start cooking. There were also two skillful lady chefs assisting them.
There were many different styles of roast duck. Chu Lian had travelled to many cities back in the modern world and she had tried their local styles of roast duck, which all had their own special flavours.
Her favourites were the Nanjing Duck and Peking Duck.
As she hailed from Nanjing, what she first learned was of course the Nanjing style.
The origins of the Nanjing Duck could be traced back to the era of the Ming Dynasty’s first emperor, the Hongwu Emperor. The most common ways of cooking it were by grilling or with a stone oven.
Chu Lian was more practiced at cooking roast duck with a stone oven, so she was going to teach Princess Duanjia this method.
There were many steps they had to prepare before roasting the duck in a charcoal oven. While the steps were pretty complicated, with two chefs aiding them, things were a lot easier for Chu Lian and Princess Duanjia.
The usually haughty Princess Duanjia was now learning conscientiously. She pressed her lips together and tried her best to memorise every single step.
She also asked Chu Lian from time to time if she was doing it right.
When Princess Duanjia asked about the oil coating step for the third time, Chu Lian looked at her with a puzzled expression, “The recipe for roast duck is quite complicated and I only managed to memorise it after doing it many times. Since it’s your first time, it’s normal to forget the steps or make some mistakes. You just need to practise it a few more times, Princess. If you’re worried that you can’t remember the recipe, I can write it down later when we’re finished.”
Princess Duanjia’s features froze in shock for a moment before blooming into a genuine and beautiful smile. She grabbed Chu Lian’s arm and shook it from side to side, “Chu Liu, are you serious? You’re really giving me the recipe?”
Chu Lian didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. Since she was already teaching her exactly how to roast the duck, the recipe was simply trivial in comparison!
“Of course. There are so many steps, how could you remember it all in one try, Princess?”
Princess Duanjia hugged Chu Lian’s arm, her eyes suddenly a little misty, “Chu Liu, you’re the best!”
Although Princess Duanjia had been born into a sheltered life, as the only daughter of Prince Wei, her life was actually extremely lonely due to Prince Wei’s high status.
The other noble ladies in the capital only befriended her because of her status and none of them actually wanted to be true friends.
Chu Lian was the first friend that she had ever opened her heart to.
The lady in question pursed her lips and smiled, shining like a bright jewel, “Princess, you’ve only realised how good I am now?”