Seeing the terrified expressions on the faces of the crowd that swarmed around, each person voicing their own opinions, Li Ying knew that this matter had to be resolved quickly. If she couldn't figure out who was pulling the strings in the dark soon, her newly thriving business would probably be doomed.
"Little brother, you said your father died of poisoning after eating my roasted chicken tails. A human life is at stake. You can't just make unfounded claims. Do you have any evidence?"
The teenage boy seemed to have anticipated her question. He looked around at the crowd and shouted, "What more evidence do we need? My father only ate your roasted chicken butts, and now he's dead at the foot of the city wall. Are you trying to deny it?"
He pointed backward, and the crowd made way. Sure enough, not far away, under a half - collapsed old city wall, there lay a bald beggar.
Li Ying walked over and felt the man's breath. There was none, and his body was as cold as ice.
The young beggar snorted and asked, "Well? I didn't lie to you, did I?"
Before she could answer, he babbled on, "My father and I depended on each other. You cruel woman, you killed my father. Don't think you can just brush this off! You've got money, so pay me quickly so I can give my father a grand burial!"
Li Ying already thought this whole thing was very strange. Now, hearing the young beggar's eagerness to get money, her suspicions grew. She tightened her grip on her money bag and asked in a deep voice, "You keep insisting that I'm to blame. Since you're talking about an eye for an eye, I deserve an explanation.
"You claim to love your father so much. When he died an innocent death, instead of seeking justice for him, you only want to get money from me and let his death remain a mystery. Is this your so - called filial piety?
"You said your father died of poisoning after eating my roasted chicken tails, but there are so many customers in the capital who have tried them. Why are they all fine? Is it really my skewers that are poisonous?
"Where is the coroner? If you want to convict me, then please ask the coroner to perform an autopsy. Otherwise, I won't just sit back and take this!"
With just a few words, she clearly pointed out all the doubts in this matter. The on - looking crowd couldn't help but start to have their suspicions.
Now, hearing her mention "asking for a coroner", they thought she made sense. Immediately, some busybodies quickly ran towards the government office.
The young beggar was at a loss for a moment. He stood there, looking extremely anxious.
Seeing his reaction, Li Ying was even more certain. She simply squatted down and slowly pulled out a sharp dagger from her boot.
This dagger was given to her by Lu Xunguang for self - defense after he heard that she almost fell into a trap set by Yunlai Xuan. The handle was inlaid with agate and turquoise, and the patterns were exquisitely carved.
Li Ying pressed the dagger against the face of the "dead man". The thin blade gently slid down his cheek. Although it didn't hurt the skin, it was as cold as a snake's tongue, which was quite startling.
"I've heard that when a coroner performs an autopsy, they use a sharp dagger to cut open the body. They start from the neck and go straight down to the abdomen. They take out all the internal organs and examine them carefully. They even cut off any suspicious parts to take a closer look..."
She spoke casually, but her hands didn't stop. Sure enough, when she mentioned "cutting open the body" and "like gutting a fish", the "dead man" who had been lying motionless on the ground couldn't control the twitch of his eyebrows.
He jumped up from the ground as if struck by lightning and took a few hasty steps backward. He exclaimed in horror, "I... I... I'm still alive! Who dares to kill me for an autopsy!"
Li Ying just smiled without saying a word. The on - looking crowd finally realized that this man was deliberately causing trouble. They couldn't help but whisper to each other and look down on the young beggar and his father.
The scoundrel who faked his death to extort money was ashamed. Being mocked by the passers - by, he blushed with anger. Unable to vent his anger, he pushed and shoved the teenage boy and scolded, "Stupid good - for - nothing! You've been wishing your father dead every day!"
The young beggar's thin lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing. He was dragged away by his ear, looking very dejected.
"Boss Li, it was just a misunderstanding. I think these lazy good - for - nothings saw that you've made some money, so they wanted to make a scene and get something for nothing. You don't have to take it to heart!"
The people who had just been watching the commotion around Li Ying now changed their tune. They gathered in twos and threes to comfort her.
Li Ying vaguely felt that something was off, but seeing Granny Sun coming to pick her up with Mianmian, she didn't think about it anymore.
She had been busy establishing herself in the capital for many days and hadn't prepared any new and delicious food for Xiaotuanzi. Now, her delicate daughter stretched out her soft little hands, asking to be hugged. Li Ying felt extremely guilty for neglecting her child.
Mianmian was precocious and a glutton. When Granny Sun fed her, she was so impatient that she wanted to reach out and grab the food herself.
Li Ying found this funny scene of the "early human cub trying to control its limbs" quite amusing. She decided to make some finger food that was easy for Mianmian to hold.
She peeled a fresh winter melon and roasted it over low heat to remove the excess moisture.
She mashed the soft winter melon into a paste and mixed it with the sticky shrimp paste. Then she added an egg white. Without any sugar or salt, relying only on the natural sweetness of the winter melon and shrimp, after steaming, it became a tender pink meat cake.
She cut the cake into small pieces and let Mianmian grab and eat them herself. Seeing Xiaotuanzi smiling happily while eating, Li Ying felt warm and content.
If she added a little sea salt, evenly spread the crushed egg yolk on the surface of the shrimp cake, steamed it for a while to set, and then cut it after it cooled, it would be soft and delicious. Whether it was fried in a pan to get a thin crispy crust and served with sesame and pepper salt as a snack or stewed in a boiling pot, it would taste extremely delicious.
Following the same method, Li Ying also steamed a fish cake. By mixing large pieces of salted duck eggs and century eggs into the meat filling, she made a three - color meat cake. Cutting it into large pieces and skewering it on bamboo sticks for charcoal - grilled snacks to go with wine was also quite novel.
When she was almost done preparing, it was already getting late. After lulling Mianmian to sleep, she set up her stall for the night market. Not long after she put out her bamboo cart, she noticed something was wrong.
There seemed to be far fewer customers tonight than usual.