Chapter 68: Recognizing a Killer as Sister

  This time, Xiao Mei was shocked. She had grown up without parents, learning to kill with her master, living a life of uncertainty, licking blood off her knife every day. Now she owed a lot of debt, but every day she planted flowers and raised ducks, feeling extremely calm in her heart. Although it was just a nominal marriage with her senior brother, when someone called him "Lu Shao", he still felt very happy, thinking that this peaceful life would last forever. But now he said that this life of luxury and comfort was the same as his own situation, Xiao Mei couldn't understand.

  "Sister Mei, you must find my words strange!" Zhao Yan sat up straight and took two peaches from the low table beside him, handing one to Xiao Mei and saying: "Have you heard this phrase before? The most heartless is the imperial family!"

  "Is it really the heartless imperial family?!" Xiao Mei muttered to herself, holding the peach.

  "Yes, born in the imperial family, from the moment I was born, I lived under the shadow of conspiracy and death. You may be only eight years old, but I've already died twice, it's just that heaven has spared me, letting me narrowly escape death to live until today!" Zhao Che said with a mouthful of food, his face full of helplessness.

  "But you're the prince, who dares to kill you?" Xiao Mei said in shock, she thought killing Zhang Kangguo was already a big deal, and didn't expect someone would dare to assassinate the prince.

  "Ha ha, who else could it be? Those brothers of mine, one day they're all affectionate and brotherly, but turn your back and they'll stab you in the back!"

  "You're real brothers, how can you bear to do this!"

  "Think about it, we brothers are now just a few, but in the Golden Hall, there is only one chair, and everyone wants to sit on it. If one dies, there will be one less opponent!" Zhao said with a worried expression, "Being with them, I don't even dare to eat or drink, I have to keep my eyes open when sleeping, and look up at the sky when walking. It's better to be with you guys, more at ease!"

  "No wonder you're so cunning! It turns out that's how it is. You even have to be on guard against your own brothers at all times, and living like this isn't worth anything!"

  "Yes, you were a lonely youth. Although I have many brothers, they all wanted to kill me and be happy about it, just because I wasn't killed by them, they slandered me in front of my father, saying I was a monster, and drove me to this poor and remote place. If it weren't for the protection of my mother's family and Huang Bo, I would have been killed by them who knows how many times?" Zhao Che said with tears in his eyes, "Mei sister, now you are homeless, and I am unable to return home, whose life is better than the other's?"

  "I'm always happy when I come to you, thinking that since you were born into royalty, you must be carefree and joyful. But I had no idea your heart was so sorrowful. Today, you called me 'sister', and from now on, anyone who dares to harm you in front of me will have to answer to me!" Xiao Mei didn't know if it was because she was infected by Zhao Che's emotions, or if she found a kindred spirit, but either way, under the excitement, she made a promise, and for her whole life, she kept this irrational promise.

  "Sister, you're so good to me, even better than my own sister! No, from now on, you are my real sister!" Zhao Chu exclaimed, throwing himself into Xiao Mei's arms and bursting into tears. At this moment, the middle-aged uncle in his mind had disappeared, replaced by an eight-year-old child who was finally experiencing the long-lost warmth of family love.

  "Good little brother, from now on with sister around, no one will dare to bully you again!" Xiao Mei held Zhao Che's face and wiped away his tears, lightly kissing him as she spoke. Zhao Che was taken aback, he seemed to have returned to his previous life's sister, to the childhood self who cried and hid behind his sister's back. "I have a sister now!" Zhao Che stood up, facing the pond and shouting loudly, the echo reverberating, startling the fish that had just taken a bite, and making the ducks playing in the water wish they could fly away as their ancestors.

  "Alright, stop yelling, it's embarrassing for others to hear!" Xiao Mei hastily pulled back Zhao Ye, who was 'having a fit', and smiled.

  "I'm just letting everyone know, I have an awesome sister, who dares to bully me now!" Zhao Yi puffed out his chest and pointed at himself, as if the title of "His Majesty's son" was not as impressive as his newly acknowledged sister.

  "Alright, stop being so smug, you're making a joke of yourself!" Xiao Mei said with a smile, although her words made Zhao Che's face flush with embarrassment, but in his heart he felt pleased, and she pulled him over to say.

  "The fish has bitten the hook, this time it's definitely a big one!" The fishing rod inserted by the pond was waving wildly, and Zhao Ye rushed up to grab the fishing rod and shouted. This fish was indeed not small, and Zhao Ye alone could not pull it ashore. In the end, with Xiao Mei's help, they finally pulled out this more than three-jin big fish.

  "Mei sister, I'll use the few fish I caught today to make two dishes to celebrate!" Zhao Chu said, wiping his sweat and pointing at the bucket of fish.

  "Great, I've heard from Zhao Xin that your dishes are innovative and delicious. I'm looking forward to a treat, but how much do you plan on charging me today?" Xiao Mei said with raised eyebrows and a hint of a smile.

  "Is that so?" Zhao Yan pretended to think for a moment and said, "They say brothers are clear about accounts, but we're sister and brother, so even if I'm treating!" He patted his chest and said generously.

  "Mischievous kid!" Xiao Mei said with a gentle smile, scratching his nose.

  The king liked to cook his own meals, and the little yellow gates that followed him all knew it, so they specially prepared a set of cooking utensils. As soon as he said he wanted to use them, they could immediately start a fire and cook. Today, the king was in the mood again, and they quickly arranged all the items under the shade of the tree according to his instructions and brought out the ingredients he needed.

  Zhao Zhe washed his hands clean, and Little Huang came up to help him put on an apron. He thought for a moment, deciding on the dish he wanted to make. Suddenly, the largest grass carp in the bucket made a move, grabbing onto the fish head with its mouth and holding it firmly by the gills, lifting it out of the bucket. Before the fish could struggle, Zhao Zhe picked up his cleaver and gave the fish's head a heavy whack on the back, turning the lively fish into a dead one.

  He shifted his feet slightly, flipped the fish onto the chopping board with a reverse motion of his hand, and with swift, repeated movements of the knife in both directions, he scraped off the scales. With a flourish of the knife, he opened up the belly of the fish, removed its innards, then rinsed it several times under clean water to wash away the bloodstains. By this time, Little Huang had already replaced the chopping board with a new one. This time, Zhao Zhan cut from the underside of the fish spine; in just a few breaths' worth of effort, he had already removed all the flesh, leaving behind only a bare skeleton and an enormous fish head on the chopping board.

  "Your little brother's knife skills are so skilled, have you learned martial arts?" Zhao asked, unable to help but ask as he watched the smooth and effortless movements.

  "I don't know any martial arts, I just learned a few simple fist techniques from Master Meng. It's just that I've done it many times and got familiar with it!" Zhao Ye said with a smile, but his hands didn't stop moving. He used the back of the knife to pound the fish meat into a pulp, filtered out the bones with gauze, and put it in a bowl. Then he cracked an egg, added some salt, mixed well, and set it aside for later use.

  Then Zhao Zhe cleaned up the two fish, and let Xiao Huang Men ignite the fire on the stove, put oil in the pot, take one of the carp from the back down to the knife, cut it into thin slices, sprinkle with yellow wine, then mix the remaining egg yolk with starch, hang up the paste, and pat dry flour. At this time, the oil had already boiled, he held the fish and put it in the pot, shaking a few times before putting the fish in the pot.

  "Brother is so agile and nimble, if he learns martial arts, he will definitely become a master!" Xiao Mei exclaimed at Zhao Che's movements.

  "Hehe, I'm too weak to even open a three-stone bow, I'm not cut out for martial arts. With sister around, there's no need to exert myself anyway!" Zhao Yan said as he scooped out the fried fish.

  "I'm afraid you've been living a life of luxury for too long, and are now afraid of hardship and fatigue?" Xiao Mei hummed and said.

  "Sister is really prescient, knowing even this!" Zhao Chu's hands and feet were busy, but he didn't forget to flatter, patting it over, Xiao Mei smiled wryly and shook her head, not saying anything more.

  Zhao Che continued to steam another fish in a bamboo steamer, and then poured the sweet and sour sauce over the deep-fried fish. Since there was no starch in this era, he could only use bean powder as a substitute. He slightly adjusted the shape of the fish and said: "The Golden Lion Fish is done, please try some, sister!" Zhao Che handed her a pair of chopsticks.

  Women generally love sour and sweet flavors, and Xiao Mei is no exception. This exquisitely styled fish was too tempting to resist, so she picked up a small piece and put it in her mouth. "Delicious! I've eaten at all the major restaurants north and south, but I've never had fish as delicious as this!"

  "Of course, my culinary skills are unmatched even by the imperial chefs!" Zhao Yan said with a straight face, but it wasn't entirely an exaggeration. The dishes he created had never been seen before in the Song Dynasty, so naturally, even the imperial chefs couldn't replicate them.

  "Second Master, the water has boiled!" Little Huangmen reminded him on the side.

  "Alright, you take the steamed fish out of the pot, I'll make another soup!" Zhao ordered Xiao Huangmen. He took the chopped fish paste and shaped it into small balls, throwing them into the pot one by one. As soon as the water boiled a few times, he added some fragrant oil and immediately took it out of the pot. All three dishes were now done.

  "Second Master," said a small yellow gatekeeper with two plates, smiling and saying.

  "Cut, old rules, fish head for me, fish tail for you!" Zhao said, dividing each fish into two portions and placing them on the small yellow plate at the door.

  "Thanks, Master!" Little Yellow Gate said with a smile.

  "Do you often share food with Second Master?" Xiao Mei asked Huangmen in confusion.

  "Of course, Second Master always leaves a share for us whenever he eats outside, never eating alone!" Little Huangmen said with a smile, knowing that the prince was fond of this duck herder and didn't dare to speak nonsense.

  "Little brother, so you're intentionally teasing me? Hurry up and return my IOU!" Xiao Mei turned her head and glared at Zhao Che.

  "Hehe, I just wanted to keep sister staying in my house for a few more days, IOU I'll pay you back later!" Zhao Yan made a face and said jokingly.

  Two people sat down at the table, Xiao Huangmen served them bowls and chopsticks and poured wine. Zhao Che let them be themselves, the two of them ate and chatted, Zhao Che told Xiang Mei jokes from his past life with some modifications, Xiang Mei also shared interesting stories she heard in Jianghu, the two people chatted happily and got closer as they talked.

  "Mei sister, what's going on between you and Lu brother? He's been so cold to you these days." After a few cups of wine, Zhao Ze's courage grew, and he started prying into the two people's private affairs.

  Xiao Mei's face turned gloomy as she let out a sigh and took another sip of wine.