By the time Su Xi-er raised her head to look at Pei Qianhao, he had already begun heading towards the inn’s Heavenly Word[1] wing.
The extent of Beimin’s power could be seen in how even the small inns at the country’s frontier had magnificent decorations. The wings were divided into three ranks, Heavenly Word, Human Word, and Earth Word.
“Miss, what do you want to eat and drink?” A waiter walked to Su Xi-er. When he saw such a beautiful woman, a blush involuntarily crept onto his embarrassed face.
Su Xi-er shook her head. “I’m not hungry. Many thanks.”
The waiter was taken aback for a moment before he tried to persuade her, “That won’t do; a patrician has just informed us to prepare a meal to match your tastes.”
“Patrician? Which patrician?” Bewilderment appeared on Su Xi-er’s face before she realised that it could have only been Pei Qianhao.
“This patrician was slender…., had eyebrows that slanted upwards like a sword, and large bright eyes that were like stars. Miss, I haven’t studied much, and lack the words to describe him. To put it briefly, he and an extraordinary aura that matched with yours.” The more the waiter explained, the more embarrassed he was. I can’t even speak properly with how little I have studied.
“I know who it is already. Your description was pretty good.” Su Xi-er smiled, easing the awkward atmosphere.
The waiter immediately raised his head. “Miss, the patrician rewarded this lowly one an ingot of silver to specially serve your meal. This shop of ours is near to Nanzhao and Beimin, so we have the dishes of both countries!”
Nanzhao’s dishes… Su Xi-er eyes lit up for a moment before they returned to normal. “Do you have a menu? Let me take a look.”
“I do! Miss, please sit over here.” The waiter immediately entertained Su Xi-er while the other waiters who were busy with their work chuckled to themselves. This fellow is too elated just for seeing a beauty.
Su Xi-er flipped the menu open and swept her gaze across Beimin’s column before flipping to Nanzhao. There were various familiar dishes, and even though she hadn’t eaten them, she could practically smell their aroma already.
Her finger landed on the Lotus Root Salad[2] as she thought to herself, This place also has this dish?
The waiter noticed her actions and hastily remarked, “Miss, you really have a good eye. The lotus seeds have just been sent over this morning. Accompanied with some cold juice…”
Su Xi-er interrupted him. “The name sounds really nice. I’ll have one of those. And I guess some steamed cornbread[3] then.”
“Ah? Steamed bread?” The waiter found it a bit unfathomable. Steamed bread is for impoverished people, while Lotus Root Salad is for wealthy people. To have these two dishes on the same table…
“Mhm, get some salted vegetables[4] too. Go on.” Su Xi-er smiled as she passed the menu to the waiter.
The waiter took the menu away. “Please hold on a moment Miss; here is a pot of clear tea. Although the leaves are from last autumn, the taste is not bad.”
He explained while pouring a cup of tea for her.
Su Xi-er picked up the teacup and gave it a sniff. This is…
“Miss, this is Nanzhao’s fragrant tea. It is cheap but fragrant. It’s the best for entertaining customers in teahouses and restaurants. Please enjoy it slowly. This lowly one will go and order your dishes.” The waiter left with a smiling expression. I have entertained a beauty, and even received an ingot of silver. That patrician and this miss are really well-suited for each other just based on their appearances!
Su Xi-er leaned close to the teacup. It’s the familiar smell of fragrant tea. Fragrant tea was Yun Ruofeng’s favourite…
1. It is a way for inns to refer to their highest quality rooms.
2. I’m guessing it’s something similar to this:
Source: https://home.meishichina.com/pai-834037.html
3. There seems to be a few variations to this so I randomly picked one as an example:
Source: https://www.meishij.net/zuofa/zhenghuangyumi.html
4. You can also think of it as pickles.