With the message delivered by the goshawk and Zheng Ji's order issued, the former members of the caravan gathered in response.
Many were amazed to learn that Zheng Ji was still alive and that he had passed on the leadership of the caravan to Lu Xunguang.
When the caravan encountered great upheaval in the past, he was just a teenage boy. No one knew how much he had grown and what skills he had acquired.
Since the grand master was not fit for a long journey, he decided to hold the inauguration ceremony of the young master of the Peace Bank in the fishing village. Li Ying was in charge of both the welcome feast for the caravan members and the ceremony.
Thinking that most of the caravan members were heroic figures, Li Ying knew that the dishes for this meal had to be grand and hearty.
She personally selected a top - quality black - haired free - range pig. After removing the ribs, she cut the pork belly into square pieces.
She added scallions, ginger, and yellow rice wine to a pot, blanched the pork to remove the fishy smell, and cooked it until it was tender. After taking it out, she immediately spread soy sauce and honey on the pig skin while it was still hot.
When the sauce was fully absorbed, she heated a little oil in another pot, placed the pork skin side down, and fried it over medium - low heat until tiger - stripe patterns appeared, turning it into a shiny maroon color.
Then she took a sharp knife and sliced the pork belly into even - thickness slices. With each cut, she changed the direction of the meat block, finally creating a long and continuous slice.
This knife - work sounded easy, but only those who had tried it knew how difficult it was.
Li Ying sliced all the meat slowly and methodically. She soaked the slices in a sauce made of soy sauce, oyster sauce, and yellow rice wine to let them absorb the flavor. Meanwhile, she started to prepare the pickled vegetables.
Today, she was going to make Pagoda - Style Braised Pork, which was similar to Braised Pork with Preserved Vegetables but more elaborate in terms of its shape.
After autumn, every household in the village had the habit of drying vegetables. She washed the dried vegetables to remove impurities, stir - fried them slightly, then added sesame oil, pepper powder, sugar, salt, oyster sauce, and five - spice powder, creating the condiments for the braised pork.
She put the marinated meat slices into a special mold, shaped them into a uniform pagoda, filled the gaps with the condiments, inverted it into a pot, and steamed it until the meat juice oozed out. She skimmed off the oil, removed the mold, poured a thick sauce on it, and decorated it with some green vegetables.
This Pagoda - Style Braised Pork was soft, glutinous, and delicious. The fatty part was not greasy, the tiger - skinned part melted in the mouth, and the lean part was tender and fragrant. It was suitable for both rice and wine.
She also prepared a Stewed Elbow with Icy Sugar Glaze, a Braised Lion's Head, Sweet - and - Sour Stewed Spareribs. She cut the squid and pig kidneys into wheat - ear - like patterns and stir - fried a Spicy Double - Flower Dish.
She also arranged seafood such as Garlic - Fried Fish, Braised Shrimps, Fried Crab with Rice Cakes. For cold dishes, there were Pig Skin Jelly, Rolled Pork Shank, Marinated Beef Tendon, Spicy Duck Products, Sliced Boiled Pork Liver, Cold - Mixed Tripe, Cucumber with Whelk Slices, and a large bowl of Spicy Seafood Salad.
There were eight cold and eight hot dishes, plus a basket of Crab Roe Soup Dumplings and a basket of Steamed Pork Dumplings. In the middle of the table, there was a magnificent Roast Whole Lamb and a rich Buddha - Jumps - Over - the - Wall Soup.
Since this matter concerned Lu Xunguang, Li Ying dared not be careless. She was involved in every detail. Although she was very familiar with the steps of each dish, she still felt exhausted.
The caravan members looked fierce, but they were all straightforward. Seeing this delicate young girl work so efficiently, they couldn't help but praise her.
"Girl Ying, how did you learn to cook such delicious food at such a young age!"
"We brothers have been on the road for many years, enduring hardships. The only thing we've missed is a good meal to go with our wine. Since the lady passed away, we haven't tasted such wonderful cooking!"
After a few rounds of drinks, the caravan men were in high spirits as they reunited after a long time. They started to speak without restraint.
Li Ying was shocked. She knew that the "lady" they were talking about was probably Lu Xunguang's biological mother.
She looked at him and saw a trace of sadness on his face.
"Stop talking nonsense. Drink your wine!"
A more quick - witted man quickly handed a cup of turbid wine to the man who had just spoken.
The man was so absorbed in his drinking that he was caught off guard and choked. He said unhappily, "Why did you stop me?"
"Back then, our caravan was so powerful! But because of that damned private - salt case, brothers had to hide. It was so frustrating!"
"Today, since the great leader is back, and Lian Ji and those water bandits from the canal gang have all been captured, the young master has gathered us here. Isn't it to revive the caravan and restore the glory of the Peace Bank?"
The man stepped forward, looked at the grand master sitting on the mahogany chair and Old Zheng, bowed slightly, and then asked directly, "Master Ji, we brothers respected you as a real man back then, so we followed you. We knew you admired the lady but didn't want to take her away from someone else. Even when we stayed at the Peace Bank to serve the grand master, we never complained.
"The lady died under mysterious circumstances. You disbanded the caravan and hid yourself in the mountains, becoming an old man. Now, with just a single order, you've gathered us all here to risk our lives for the young master. Even if we brothers are loyal, we can't be summoned and dismissed so casually, can we?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the dining hall fell silent.
Everyone had the same big question in their minds but was just reluctant to speak up. Now that someone had taken the lead, they no longer hid their doubts and looked at Old Zheng and the grand master with inquiring eyes.
"Yes, you deserve an explanation."
The grand master looked around and spoke slowly and calmly.
"I'm morally flawed. I was blinded by Lian Ji's beauty, abandoned my wife and children, and betrayed my friends to save myself. I made the caravan suffer an unjust accusation and be chased by the court for many years.
"Today, I'll hand over the Peace Bank to A Xun. From now on, there will be no more grand master. You can just tie me up and send me to the official to clear the caravan's name!"
No one had expected the grand master to say such things. They were all stunned and stood there motionless.
The grand master stood up proudly, shook off his cloak, and his eyes showed calmness.
Li Ying was extremely anxious.
She looked at Lu Xunguang and Zheng Ji with eager eyes, but one frowned tightly while the other remained calm. Obviously, neither of them was going to defend the grand master.
Li Ying didn't know the grand master well, but she intuitively felt that the so - called "private - salt case of the canal gang" was not that simple.
At present, the only person who might be able to tell the truth was probably Lian Ji.
After Su Buchi heard her intention, he thought for a moment and then accompanied her to meet the prefect in person.
"Buchi? You're just in time. I have something important to discuss with you."
The prefect seemed to heave a sigh of relief when he saw the two of them.
When he heard that Li Ying wanted to visit Lian Ji in the prison, he immediately sent two yamen runners with them.
Li Ying bowed to thank him. After walking a few steps, she heard a few words from behind.
"After Imperial Commissioner Lin returned to the capital, my transfer order arrived. The emperor was very pleased to hear about the potatoes and pearls and promoted me to the third - rank deputy director of the Court of Imperial Entertainments. I'm to go to the capital immediately."
The prefect was a fourth - rank official. Although he was a local official, he held real power.
The third - rank deputy director of the Court of Imperial Entertainments was only responsible for matters related to banquets, court meetings, and food. Although it was a third - rank official position in the capital, it was actually a sinecure.
The prefect's promotion was actually a demotion. It was likely that Imperial Commissioner Lin had secretly played a part in it.