Blissful Days After Widowhood - Chapter 448

Gu Yin smiled and gently held the handkerchief to wipe away the sweat from Wu Qingyi’s face.

Wu Qingyi closed his eyes slightly, savoring her attentiveness.

Their joking companions nearby were amused by this scene. Wu Qingyi, with his sweat wiped away, turned to look at them and suggested to Gu Yin, “There’s quite a bit of smoke and dust in the open space. Why don’t you head back to the stand?”

Gu Yin nodded and replied, “You should head back too and change into warmer clothes. Make sure not to catch a cold.” 

They continued walking side by side to the stand before parting.

The men who were playfully teasing fell into silence. They exchanged glances and couldn’t help but smile wryly. Most of them didn’t even have wives, so there was no need for them to attempt to mimic the affection between a general and his wife. It was a self-inflicted jest!

With the day’s outcomes determined, the night turned into a lively bonfire party. From the Emperor to the courtiers, after a day of hunting, the preys weren’t wasted but distributed to each family for enjoyment. Duke Ying’s household already had a substantial amount of prey and Emperor Zhengyuan added to the pile. 

This was Gu Yin’s moment to shine. Unlike others who simply had their servants prepare the prey and roast it over the fire, Gu Yin was particular about how different meats were handled. She had learned the art of preparation from Manager Zhou.

The smaller prey was skewered, the medium-sized prey was prepared teppanyaki-style, and the larger prey was roasted whole over the fire. The parts that couldn’t be consumed were smoked or preserved as bacon.

However, the preparation of the preys produced an abundance of blood, which would typically be discarded. Gu Yin couldn’t bear to waste it, so she decided to make a simple dish with it—blood tofu.

To make blood tofu, she boiled a pot of water and then added the coagulated blood clots. She cooked them over medium heat for a little over fifteen minutes until they were fully cooked, then cooled them in cold water. The end result was blood clots that were no different from the ones sold in the market. After cutting them into pieces, she placed them in a chili soup base and added various wild vegetables to complete the dish.

At first, Mrs. Wang was concerned about Gu Yin getting tired and said that she was just there to have fun and didn’t need to do any work. She suggested that Gu Yin could simply take a bite of the food, but Gu Yin explained that the steps weren’t difficult, and Mrs. Wang eventually agreed. She said she would handle the chili soup base when it was time, and Gu Yin could focus on the barbecue, bacon, and cured meat. So Mrs. Wang and Song Shiliu began working on the blood tofu.

Gu Yin continued to oversee the barbecue and other dishes, while Mrs. Wang and Song Shiliu worked on the blood tofu. In no time, they had a spread of delicious food, including the oily barbecue, blood tofu, and a pot of fragrant vegetable rice. The sight of the food made everyone’s mouths water.

Wu Zhong and Wu’an were the first to sit down at the table, and since they were only dining with family, they didn’t pay much attention to formalities. The father and son were eager to start eating. When Mrs. Wang brought over a dish of blood tofu, she playfully slapped the back of their hands.

“This dish is spicy, and one of you isn’t feeling well, and the other is quite young, so you shouldn’t eat it!” After being reprimanded by his wife, Wu Zhong obediently set down his chopsticks.

However, Wu’an made a reasonable point, saying, “Sister-in-law brought a lot of peppers back home, and you mentioned it’s a rare treat. You even instructed the cook to make some. Back then, both my father and I ate it without any issues.”

As Gu Yin and Wu Qingyi approached, Mrs. Wang’s face briefly showed some awkwardness. She quickly turned and said, “These are all the prey your brother brought back, so you should enjoy them together first. What if someone eats it all?”

Wu Qingyi was about to explain that there was plenty of food from his hunting as well, but Mrs. Wang had already served Wu Zhong and Wu’an a bowl of vegetables. She then escorted them to another place to dine, leaving Wu Qingyi and Gu Yin to eat together.

It was a rare opportunity for the two of them to dine alone, and Wu Qingyi didn’t object. Although they couldn’t finish all the barbecue and the large pot of blood tofu, Gu Yin had the foresight to use them as gifts. She knew that the recipients wouldn’t consider it excessive.

Gu Yin packed some food and sent it to Empress Zhou. After a while, Empress Zhou’s maid personally brought a plate of cherries to Gu Yin, saying with a smile, “Our Empress felt that eating barbecue alone wasn’t enough, and she enjoyed the spicy dish.”