Chapter 1485: The Aroma of Fried Oyster Pancake in the Morning Court
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
In the divine dynasty’s palace…
The majestic palace of the divine dynasty occupied a vast area. It was resplendent and magnificent, and right after the palace gate, the ground was paved with jade. Two rows of guards stood outside the gate, emanating powerful auras.
One expert after another flew from outside the palace, landed before the gate, and began walking at a steady pace. Heads of aristocratic families nodded and smiled at each other, while some senior officials of the divine dynasty could be seen barefooted and clad in long loose robes with disheveled hair. They laughed as they walked, greeting each other with cupped fists.
The Divine Emperor of the Xiayi Divine Dynasty was not so strict with etiquette. During the Imperial Concubine’s administration of the dynasty, she emphasized etiquette, which annoyed many experts. Many senior officials even chose to retire at home and did not go out.
Now that the Divine Emperor had returned, these senior officials all came back out.
Inside the palace, eunuchs clad in gowns stood respectfully on either side. With bowed heads and cupped fists, they welcomed the senior officials. Maidservants did not attend the court.
The officials filed in and stood on either side of the palace. On the throne sat… the Divine Emperor who held sway over the world. His aura was extremely mighty as if it was going to suppress everything.
Sitting on the high seat, the Divine Emperor watched indifferently as his subjects entered the palace and stood on either side. Soon, all the officials, lords, and heads of aristocratic families were a.s.sembled.
A eunuch took a golden gong and smashed it hard. The sound it made was deafening, which seemed to possess some mysterious power and kept spreading further and further…
“Are all my beloved subjects here?” the Divine Emperor asked lightly from his high seat.
The officials looked to their left, then to their right… Suddenly, a senior official stepped forward, cupped his fist at the Divine Emperor, and said, “Your Majesty… King Pingyang hasn’t arrived yet.”
…
Inside the restaurant on the top floor of Luo’s skysc.r.a.per…
King Pingyang gulped as he stared at the fried oyster pancake on the table. His nostrils were wide, and his eyes were about to pop out. As a G.o.d King, he had tasted all kinds of dishes, but he had never been so eager to try the fried oyster pancake before him.
Luo Sanniang, Summer, and the others couldn’t wait to try it as well. The aroma had woken up their taste buds, and the fried oyster pancake, which seemed to emit golden light, strangely excited them.
“This dish is called fried oyster pancake…” Bu Fang said, looking at the group of people leaning over the table.
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly. He was very satisfied with their reaction. In the face of delicious food, one should be as hungry as them. He cleared his throat and was about to introduce the dish when they interrupted him. They were lazy to hear him nag and couldn’t wait to try the food.
Bu Fang wasn’t angry. After all, he was the one who cooked the dish, so he knew very well about its temptation.
With a shake of his hand, the Dragon Bone Kitchen Knife immediately appeared, spinning in his palm. The next moment, he made a slash. Knife lights flashed, and the fried oyster pancake was cut into several pieces like a pizza, each with an equal amount of Vermilion Fruit Jam.
Bu Fang reached out a hand. Energy spread over it and turned into a glove. Then, he picked up a piece of fried oyster pancake.
“One for Nethery, one for Lord Dog, one for Summer, one for Foxy…”
He was very serious in distributing their portion. The people here were all acquaintances, but he had cut all the pieces into identical shapes and sizes, so it was very fair.
The crowd took the fried oyster pancake. Holding it and looking at the oil and sauce flowing on it, every one of them couldn’t help taking deep breaths.
Outside the door, the onlookers all craned their necks, staring at the group of people tasting the delicious food in the restaurant with sadness in their hearts. Then, they fixed their eyes on the fried oyster pancake.
“So the aroma came from this pancake? I want to eat it!” someone said.
Everyone was swallowing and couldn’t wait to taste it.
‘Huh?’ Bu Fang looked suspiciously at King Pingyang, who was standing before him. ‘Why is this guy here?’
King Pingyang looked expectantly at the remaining two fried oyster pancakes. “Hey, give me one piece,” he said, staring at Bu Fang with a sincere look in his eyes. He couldn’t wait to eat it. He was very hungry.
The corner of Bu Fang’s mouth twitched. He wanted to reject King Pingyang because he was not familiar with him, but when he considered it again, he relented. After all, King Pingyang’s son, Hu Lu, had helped him many times.
‘For the sake of this fellow’s son, I’ll let him have a good meal.’
So Bu Fang handed the last piece of the fried oyster pancake to King Pingyang.
King Pingyang took it and held it carefully. There was a fat oyster at the edge of the pancake that was almost falling off. He opened his mouth and wanted to swallow the oyster. However, just as he was about to eat it, the sonorous sound of a gold gong came from the direction of the palace.
King Pingyang’s ears moved, and he froze suddenly. The next moment, the expression on his face changed dramatically.
“s.h.i.+t!”
He was so panicked that he sped out of the restaurant like a shooting star and didn’t have the time to finish his fried oyster pancake. However, even when he was moving at high speed, he didn’t forget to protect the pancake in his hand.
Bu Fang glanced expressionlessly at King Pingyang, who was running away wildly, then fixed his eyes on the fried oyster pancake in his hand. He took a deep breath, raised the pancake, opened his mouth, and shoved one of its sides into his mouth. He took a bite of it soundlessly and began to chew immediately.
A rich aroma of egg spread in his mouth, opening his pores and making him feel comfortable all over. What exploded next was a chewy texture. Yes, a chewy texture…
Because the fried oyster pancake was made with sweet potato powder, it was a little chewy. After biting it off, he didn’t manage to crush it to pieces. Instead, its soft texture wrapped the inside of his mouth while giving off a shocking aroma.
A fat oyster was crushed. Bu Fang seemed to hear a popping sound as the juice in it spilled and filled his mouth.
“This… This is delicious!” Summer froze. She had only taken a bite of the fried oyster pancake, and she immediately felt her whole self was immersed in this simple yet extraordinary deliciousness.
Compared with the complicated delicacies cooked by Earth Divine Chefs, this kind of simple food touched her even more and filled her heart with shock. The extraordinary in the simplicity surprised her.
‘He truly is the Divine Chef who could solve the seal of the ancient HeavenG.o.d’s inheritance. This kind of unusual dish is indeed not something those Earth Divine Chefs can cook.’
Gulp.
Summer took a deep breath and threw her head back, her fair neck glowing brightly. She didn’t conceal her appearance. Her beautiful face, which was somewhat similar to that of Mu Hongzi, was breathtaking. Together with the intoxicated expression, she looked even more attractive.
Perhaps this was why people call a beautiful girl a dish.
Outside the door, the group of diners was already gawking. With delicious food and beautiful girls… Was this restaurant a fairyland? They were all stupefied.
…
In the divine dynasty’s palace…
The Divine Emperor sat on his high seat, glancing indifferently at his subjects down below.
The reason he held an early meeting today was to reestablish the discipline of the court and settle some messy matters. Besides… he needed to arrange things that needed to be arranged before his great trial approached to prevent everything from going awry after that.
Some families with evil intentions needed to be eliminated and those lackeys cultivated by the Imperial Concubine must be wiped out as well. Most importantly… he needed to send experts to search for that strange creature that almost killed him with a sneak attack.
The creature gave the Divine Emperor a very strong sense of crisis. He had a feeling that it would bring a great calamity to the divine dynasty. As his own great trial was approaching, the premonition would not be wrong.
So, he needed to eliminate this crisis before that creature fully grew!
Suddenly, the Divine Emperor stopped talking. He frowned, glanced at the crowd, then asked, “Hasn’t King Pingyang arrived yet?” His voice rumbled like thunder.
‘Does this Hu Pingyang have no more respect for me? When did he become so bold?’ the Divine Emperor thought to himself, his eyes flickering.
Even as his voice rang out, a figure sped over from outside the palace and stood before the door.
“Your Majesty, this old servant is here!” King Pingyang shouted. Then, he stepped into the great hall. He was carefully holding the fried oyster pancake in his hand, fearing that he would drop the oyster. Such a loss would give him heartache and make him unable to breathe.
He walked into the great hall, smiling and nodding at the old friends he had not seen for a long time while heading toward his place. A rich aroma wafted from his hand, lingering in the air…
The officials in the divine dynasty were all stunned, then they twitched their noses subconsciously. When an official sniffed, he made a sound, and when all the officials sniffed, they made a series of sounds.
They felt that this was possibly not right, so everyone glanced at the expressionless Divine Emperor and stopped sniffing so openly. However, they still moved their heads to the side and sniffed.
“It… It smells delicious!” a senior official said, his white beard trembling.
‘What’s that smell? What did Hu Pingyang bring to the morning court meeting?!’ thought one of the kings, swallowing.
Cough… Cough…
Sitting on the throne, the Divine Emperor cleared his throat. That alerted the officials, and they dared not to have too much of other movements.
“Let us continue with the morning court meeting,” the Divine Emperor said, glancing at King Pingyang.
King Pingyang hastily smiled and nodded at the Divine Emperor. His att.i.tude of begging pardon was sincere.
The Divine Emperor was too lazy to pay attention to King Pingyang and began the meeting. He continued to talk.
“That strange creature poses a threat to the divine dynasty. It would be fine if there is only one, but they breed extremely fast. If tens of thousands of them charge at the divine dynasty, it will be a disaster to…”
“Oh…”
The Divine Emperor was halfway through when a groan rang out suddenly. For a moment, the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.
A strange look came over the face of everyone present, and they turned their eyes to where King Pingyang was. There, he was holding the fried oyster pancake and taking a bite of it.
The Divine Emperor was somewhat speechless. However, to maintain the solemness of the morning court meeting, he didn’t say anything. He cleared his throat and went on, “This kind of disaster must be curbed as soon as possible, or else the divine dynasty’s development and future…”
“Oh…” Another groan interrupted the Divine Emperor’s speech.
Everyone’s eyes fixed on King Pingyang again, and they happened to see that he took another bite of the fried oyster pancake, which was giving off hot steam and a delicious aroma.
A fat oyster was quivering as it moved across the air, spilling its juice, while a strong life force, an aroma, and hot steam spread…
The officials in the great hall felt hungry when they saw that, and their stomachs rumbled. Even the Divine Emperor twitched the corner of his mouth and stroked his belly.
“Oh…” King Pingyang sucked the oyster into his mouth. Then, with a hazy look in his eyes, he groaned. He was indulging in the delicious fried oyster pancake and couldn’t help himself.
Suddenly, Hu Pingyang shuddered. He felt a vast pressure spread, almost pus.h.i.+ng him to the ground. He paused, raised his head, looked toward the throne, and saw chaos swirling in the Divine Emperor’s eyes like nine roaring dragons.
With a thump, the Divine Emperor slapped the armrest of his throne.
“Hu Pingyang! Do you really think that I am too old to lift a knife?!”