Transmigrated as the Villain: Punching the Protagonist Group and Stepping on the Domestic Abuser - Chapter 8

The servants successively served the dishes, the aroma wafting over from afar. Soon, the table was filled to the brim with home-cooked dishes that Rong Se used to cook for himself. As each dish was set down, that person would announce the name of the dish according to Rong Se’s instructions.

Liang Shenyu considered himself well-traveled and knowledgeable, but the dish named Earthly Three Fresh was truly something he had never seen before, and the name itself was completely unheard of. There were also several other dishes like Guobaorou and Sweet and Sour Poached Eggs. Not only were their aromas rich and their colors bright, but the other remaining dishes also seemed different from anything he had ever eaten before.

He recalled Rong Se’s dismissive remarks about the food at the imperial banquet, and his expression turned subtle.

The dishes prepared by the imperial chefs in the palace were indeed no better than chaff compared to these.

The Yun brothers looked calm and composed; Yun Chu was well-prepared, while Yun Zhi forced himself to remain at ease.

Blue Oriole had the strongest reaction. She had been brought back to the mansion following the Yun twins by their master. The Yun brothers were older, and neither of them had ever spared any affection in pampering her. Rong Se, however, was different. From their very first meeting, Blue Oriole had keenly sensed that this man was terrifying.

He was just like the kind of brightly colored, brilliantly gorgeous yet highly venomous snakes she used to see in the mountains when she was little.

In a daze, she looked at these unfamiliar dishes and swallowed hard.

Who could possibly resist this?

Even if it were poisonous, she couldn’t hold back!

The four of them harbored their own thoughts, none of them speaking, their gazes occasionally sweeping across the table full of dishes.

It wasn’t until Rong Se walked through the door carrying the final dish of steamed pork ribs with rice flour that the atmosphere shifted. He was dressed in martial robes, looking dashing and upright, his long hair secured with a wooden hairpin since it was too hot while cooking to let it hang loose. He set down the last dish with a calm expression and smiled at Liang Shenyu.

Blue Oriole and the Yun brothers instantly stood up.

Rong Se swept a sideways glance at the young girl, inwardly confirming her identity as Blue Oriole.

“Everyone sit down and eat,” Rong Se said, taking a seat himself.

Yun Chu sat down quickly, while Blue Oriole and Yun Zhi exchanged glances and followed suit.

Only after Rong Se and Liang Shenyu picked up their chopsticks did the three of them dare to eat. In terms of status, apart from Yun Zhi who had entered officialdom, the other two were mere commoners and had no qualifications to sit at this banquet.

Yet since they were Rong Se’s people, Liang Shenyu did not say anything. He tasted a piece of the dish named Earthly Three Fresh, and his expression changed slightly. The outer shell was crispy, the inside tender, the savory sauce rich, and it was oily without being greasy.

Only upon truly tasting it did he understand what it meant to have both color, aroma, and flavor.

It smelled fragrant and tasted delicious, too.

Back when the Marquis’s Mansion was at the height of its glory, he was also a pampered young master born to wealth and status who enjoyed the finest food and clothing. Whatever was good, his father and two older brothers would present to him on a platter, and imperial tributes from vassal states were not lacking. Yet, he had never tasted food quite like this before.

Rong Se had tasted everything himself before serving the dishes, ensuring the flavor was good before bringing them to the table. Seeing Liang Shenyu suddenly pause, he momentarily failed to gauge whether this lord disliked the food.

Hesitating for a moment, he asked, “How is it?”

“Exquisite in both color and taste,” Liang Shenyu stated objectively, his smile carrying a hint of deep meaning and inquiry. “The Prince has wonderful culinary skills. Being far away in the northern borders and ill-informed, the Little Marquis has never seen such dishes before.”

Rong Se thought to himself that you wouldn’t even see these in the capital.

After returning, he had flipped through contemporary recipe books twice, but the records on them were extremely vague. For instance, there was a dish of yellow croaker, described as add into chicken soup to make broth, use a touch of sweet bean sauce. This touch of required someone to personally demonstrate the exact amount, otherwise who would know how much to put in?

However, most of these were ancient recipes, and later generations could only fumble along to make them based on the text. Who would have thought that while Jinjing seemed advanced in craftsmanship, only its food was utterly unpalatable.

“You flatter me,” Rong Se said with bashful modesty, though his eyebrows and eyes carried a smile, clearly harboring a bit of pride.

No chef dislikes hearing others praise their cooking!

Liang Shenyu laughed in spite of himself, picking up a piece of Guobaorou and chewing thoughtfully.

No matter how you looked at this person, he didn’t seem deep or full of schemes; rather, he was genuine.

His train of thought was interrupted by the meat in his mouth.

Sweet, sour, crispy, tender on the inside and crunchy on the outside, this meat was also delicious.

Saying it was a meal meant it was truly just a meal, and they didn’t even drink much wine. Instead, like a whirlwind sweeping away clouds, the group wiped the dishes on the table completely clean.

Rong Se was immensely satisfied.

A clean plate was the highest respect a cook could receive.

After Yun Chu escorted Liang Shenyu out the door, Liang Shenyu stood on the empty night road, plunged into a daze of contemplation before shaking his head and laughing out loud.

He hadn’t found out anything, but he had genuinely eaten his fill.

Wasn’t that a loss either?

A shadow flashed past in the dark, and Liang Shenyu’s gaze suddenly turned cold, instantly dashing toward that spot. Having just returned to the capital, he was inevitably watched by spies from all sides. Within breaths, he caught up to that figure, kicked out, and struck the back of the knee. The person abruptly fell forward onto their knees, and the next moment, Liang Shenyu’s foot pressed down on their spine.

“Whose subordinate are you?” Liang Shenyu’s voice seeped with coldness.

The person shuddered and said in a low voice, “The Marquis had better not ask too many questions.”

Liang Shenyu let out a scoff, the dense darkness in the depths of his eyes blending with a chill like the unmelting snow of a northern winter. “It seems to be the Emperor.”

Being captured alive by him without committing suicide, and even resorting to threats, besides the newly enthroned young emperor, no one else in Jinjing matched this profile.

Since ancient times, if the ruler wants a subject to die, the subject must die.

At that moment, Liang Shenyu smiled uninhibitedly, though that smile carried a fierce and contemptuous arrogance, starkly different from his usual dashing and romantic demeanor. He lowered his head, the corners of his lips curling into a sharp, cold sneer as he slowly reached out his hand.

“It seems he has forgotten what he relied on to sit on the dragon throne.”

His voice was very soft, causing the person being tracked to instantly feel their scalp tingle and hair stand on end. Before they even had time to speak, a crisp snap was heard. Their neck was forcefully twisted, and all breath vanished.

Liang Shenyu unconcernedly withdrew his hand, instead grabbing one of the corpse’s ankles and dragging the body leisurely toward the distance.

On the rooftop not far away, the three crouching figures exchanged glances and once again fell into deep contemplation.

Yun Zhi said earnestly, “Clean execution.”

Blue Oriole followed up with an analysis, “Quite arrogant.”

Yun Chu looked at his younger siblings, remained silent for a moment, and said, “Let us go. It is good that the dirty thing was not left near the Prince’s Mansion.”

With hidden guards surrounding the entire Prince’s Mansion, how could they not know someone was lingering around? It was just that the person was targeting the Marquis of Dingbei, so Yun Chu had remained still all along until the Marquis left the mansion, following quietly behind just to take a look.

He certainly hadn’t expected the Marquis of Dingbei to dare commit murder so openly in Jinjing. Seeing him make a move just now, he had assumed they would have to clean up the mess afterward.

Fortunately, he packed up the corpse himself.

Yun Chu was just about to leap down when he turned and saw his younger siblings unmoving.

“What? Did the two of you grow roots here?”

Blue Oriole blinked and nudged Yun Zhi with her elbow.

Yun Zhi, wearing a deadpan face identical to his brother’s, said calmly, “What is going on with the Prince today?”

“What indeed.”

Yun Chu choked. Contemplating for a moment, he said inscrutably, “It is indescribable.”

How would he know!

Yun Zhi and Blue Oriole exchanged glances, confirming through each other’s eyes that their older brother didn’t know either.

So, they rolled their eyes in unison and leaped down from the rooftop one after the other.

Yun Chu could only sigh in silence.