The Three Spirit Stones

In the northern palace of Shangjing Linhuangfu, the capital of Liao, a phantom passed by like smoke. He stopped in front of a royal storage pavilion, looked at the mottled plaque on it [Yudie Pavilion], then quickly went up to the second floor, opened the window and went in.

This is Cheng Yu. Last month, he traveled from Bian Jing to Yan Jing to look for the Red Lotus Saint, but after searching for more than half a month, he still had no clue.

There were several 17-year-old royal family girls, but none of them met the requirements. In desperation, he returned to Xiongzhou to ask Li Yunze for help.

Li Yunze is an expert on the Liao Kingdom. He suggested that Cheng Yu go to the Shangjing Palace, because every royal family member would be included in the family tree at birth. He only needs to check the royal jade disc to find all the seventeen-year-old Liao noble ladies.

This was indeed a good idea. He bid farewell to Li Yunze and set off for Shangjing.

For several days, he stayed in the Jade Disc Pavilion, carefully checking each family tree line by line. It was not easy to find so many members of the Liao royal family. It was not until the fourth day that he finally found this line of words in a jade disc:

[In the sixth year of Baoning, in Yanjing, Princess Zhigu gave birth to a daughter. On that day, the whole room was filled with fragrance and the sky was filled with red lotus clouds. Emperor Taizu was very pleased and gave her the name Suyuan.]

Seeing this sentence, Cheng Yu was extremely excited!

This Su Yuan is the Red Lotus Saint. I found her, I finally found her. I, A Cai, am saved!

He could no longer suppress the ecstasy in his heart and laughed out loud.

"Who, who's there?"

"come out faster,"

"There are assassins, there are assassins,"

Hearing the laughter, the nearby guards were in a panic. The clattering of armor and the sound of footsteps could be heard all around. Several teams of people were running towards the Yudie Pavilion.

They surrounded the attic with weapons in hand, so tightly that not even a fly could get out. Just as they were about to kick the door and rush into the house, a white shadow flashed from the attic.

In a flash, the shadow disappeared into thin air.

It's haunted in broad daylight!

These guards were all terrified!

……

Cheng Yu thought, it should be easier to find it now that he knew the name.

But things in the world are often unexpected. He searched all over Linhuang Prefecture and found many people with the name Suyuan, but most of them were men. There was only one woman, an old woman in her sixties, and she was just a commoner, not a royal family member.

Isn't she in Shangjing?

Why not go back to Xiongzhou to look for Li Yunze? He has many spies in the Liao Kingdom's Jiyisi. It would be much better to let them look for him than to run around like a headless fly.

After returning to Xiongzhou, Li Yunze told Cheng Yu about his contact in the Yanjing Jiyisi, and gave him a contact method and a token, asking him to go directly to the spy leader named Du Hui for help.

Yanjing City, Dachang Restaurant,

A shopkeeper with a friendly face was joking with the guests.

Cheng Yu walked in, and the waiter immediately came forward to invite him to sit down. He ordered a few side dishes and a pot of wine, and began to drink by himself.

After eating a few bites, he put down his chopsticks, took out a fan from his sleeve, and placed it on the east corner of the table, intentionally or unintentionally.

The shopkeeper's expression changed slightly when he saw it, but he immediately returned to his smiling face.

He walked quickly to Cheng Yu, smiling widely, and asked,

"My dear guest, are the dishes in our restaurant not to your liking?"

"Hmm, it's a bit salty,"

Cheng Yu said, "I like to eat something fresher and lighter."

"Oh, I see."

"We just received a few river knife fish from our kitchen. Why don't you come with me to see if they are suitable?"

"it is good,"

Cheng Yu followed the shopkeeper to the back kitchen, where several chefs were sweating profusely while cooking. There were several river saury in a water tank on the side.

He was a little puzzled. Putting the fan on the table just now was a secret signal to meet Du Hui. Why did the shopkeeper really bring me to the kitchen?

"Old Li,"

"This guest wants to see if these knife fish are fresh. Please pick one for him to see."

"Okay!"

A chef with acne on his face came over, wiped the oil off his hands with a rag, then went to the water tank and caught a lively fish. He grinned and said to Cheng Yu, "Sir, this one is fat and has few bones. Do you think it's suitable?"

"Can,"

After choosing the fish, the shopkeeper took Cheng Yu to the private room on the second floor. After a while, the chef brought in the steamed fish and two dishes of appetizers.

He introduced enthusiastically, "Sir, this is our secret recipe of sour carrot cubes and cucumber cubes. It is an appetizer and a must-order dish for returning customers."

"I'll give you two servings to try. If you like it, come back next time."

"Okay, thank you,"

"You're welcome. As the saying goes: Spring waters are everywhere in the south and north of my house, and I see flocks of gulls coming every day."

Cheng Yu's heart moved, and he continued, "The flower path has never been swept for guests, and the door is now open for you."

This poem is the secret code that Li Yunze told Cheng Yu.

When the chef heard this, he immediately put away the smile on his face, bowed to Cheng Yu and said, "Greetings, Shangguan, I am Du Hui, may I know if Shangguan has a token from Lord Li?"

Cheng Yu bowed in return and took out a token and a letter from his arms.

After Du Hui took the token and confirmed it was correct, he opened the letter and immediately showed respect to Cheng Yu.

"Oh, it turns out to be the famous Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery. I was blind and didn't recognize the great man. Please forgive me, Marquis."

After saying this, he knelt on one knee and bowed again.

Cheng Yu quickly helped him up and said, "Mr. Du, please get up quickly."

Du Hui was originally a Gongcao under Li Yunze. Because he was quick-witted, brave and resourceful, he was sent to Yanjing to serve as the head of the local Jiyisi.

The two sat down again, and Cheng Yu told Du Hui the purpose of his visit. Du Hui pondered for a moment and said, "Given the name and age, this Liao noblewoman should not be difficult to find."

"Don't worry, my Lord. I will issue an order tomorrow and have my men go and find out. I will notify you as soon as I get any news."

Hearing this, Cheng Yu was very happy and poured him a glass of wine. The two began to chat about family matters.

"Does Gongcao usually stay here?"

"Don't be afraid of being laughed at by the Marquis. I usually cook in the kitchen. I really like cooking."

"Oh, few men like to cook."

"Hehehe, I am a nobody, I just like this."

"How can this be called a failure? I used to cook a lot, but now I'm too busy to cook,"

"Ah? No way? The Marquis can actually cook?"

"Yes, my cooking skills are not bad."

"Oh, then I have to ask you for your advice, my Lord. Come, my Lord, please taste this fish."

Du Hui pushed the plate of knife fish forward. Cheng Yu picked up a piece with chopsticks and put it in his mouth to taste it. He said, "Well, it's not bad. It tastes very fresh. It should be coated with fine salt before steaming, right?"

"Oh, the Marquis is really amazing,"

Du Hui gave a thumbs up and praised, "This kind of river fish needs to be salted before steaming. The salt must be fine salt, not coarse salt, otherwise it will taste bitter. And when it is half done, you need to cover it with a lid and take it out. Wait a quarter of an hour and it will be just right when served on the table."

……

With a common hobby, their relationship immediately warmed up and they became familiar with each other in less than half a day.