Don't be tempted, sir

The woman tore off a piece while it was still hot and motioned for Shen Yining to try it. She took it embarrassedly: "Ah~ It's hot, hot." The woman didn't understand and was looking forward to her eating it. After it cooled for a while, she put it in her mouth and her eyes suddenly became like copper bells: "Delicious!" It was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with no bones in the mouth, and it tasted fresh and sweet. She ran out to let Song Xiaoyuan try it too. The woman looked at her and smiled happily, and continued to busy herself with the dish in her hands.

"Xiaoyuan, try it! It's boneless and sweet!" Song Xiaoyuan, who was busy picking vegetables, opened his mouth and Shen Yining fed him: "Is it delicious? Isn't it delicious!"

Seeing him savoring it carefully, he nodded. Shen Yining's eyes lit up, and Awu beside him said aggrievedly: "Madam, I want to eat it too."

"Okay, wait." He turned and ran into the kitchen again. Without any rules to follow, he grew up lively and unrestrained. He took out another piece of fish cake. Ah Wu smiled happily and took it with his hands: "Thank you, Madam."

The old man carried the cleaned fish back to the kitchen. Song Xiaoyuan, who was picking vegetables by the way, said: "Young Master, you are so lucky!"

Song Xiaoyuan looked at the lively figure at this moment and replied affirmatively: "Yes!"

The two of them were greedy and looked out the kitchen door. Song Xiaoyuan picked and washed the vegetables and brought them to the kitchen by himself. The old woman said something to the old man, and the old man asked with a smile: "Maybe you like spicy food?"

Shen Yining gestured: "Not very good, just a little bit."

Another bowl of fresh fish shreds was put into the freshly cooked soup base in the pot. It was fresh and tender after a while, sprinkled with some chili powder and coriander. Several people worked together to serve the dishes, and along with the hot rice, they sat down. The old man said: "Let's eat! Everyone, please help yourself!"

Ah Wu wanted fish cakes the most. He picked up a piece and said, "This is so delicious! I have traveled all over the country and never had boneless fish."

"Yes! It's really delicious, but I can't feed it to Sister Qizhu to see."

Song Xiaoyuan picked up the leftover fish that had just been put into the soup, mixed with shredded pickled cabbage, which tasted fresh, sour and refreshing, and was very appetizing. He put some in a bowl and handed it to Shen Yining.

Shen Yining raised his hand to take the fish soup, and tasted the sour and refreshing taste: "It tastes good this way, very appetizing."

"Let me try it, too!" Ah Wu tried it and said, "Well, I've never eaten such a delicious dish in all my travels."

"Hahahaha" everyone at the table was amused and laughed heartily.

"Uncle, what kind of dish is this? I have never seen it before."

Shen Yining picked up the emerald green stir-fried dish with white flowers. It was crispy and smooth with a hint of fishy taste.

"She is fickle-minded." Song Xiaoyuan replied.

Shen Yining was puzzled: "What's the name of the dish?"

The old man said: "Yes, the name of the dish is water lily. It grows in the Kunmi River. In the morning when the fog is thick, the white water lily flowers float on the water, as if looking up. When you are boating in the lake, the plants sway with the water, so it is called water lily."

"It must be beautiful! The Kunmi River in the mist, the lake surface is white and full of blooming flowers." Shen Yining was a little yearning, and Song Xiaoyuan glanced sideways with a smile on his face.

After dinner, it was already dark. The three of them said goodbye to the old man and his wife and drove the carriage home. The old woman cleaned the table and found a gold ingot: "This..."

Shen Yining was tired from playing and sat on Song Xiaoyuan's lap, holding his neck and rubbing her head to find a comfortable position. Song Xiaoyuan patted her back gently like holding a baby, untied the embroidered headdress on his head and let his black hair loose: "You must be tired."

"Hmm, interesting!"

"Go to sleep."

The scent of white cedar lingered peacefully, and Shen Yining hugged him tightly: "Xiao Yuan, you smell so good."

Song Xiaoyuan: "....." Never knew I had a smell? The person in his arms breathed evenly.

When they got back to the banquet house and the carriage stopped, Song Xiaoyuan was about to hug her, but Shen Yining jumped up with a start: "Are we there yet?"

"Well, I'll carry you back to the house."

"You are injured, I will go alone."

Shen Yining got out of the car with her hair loose. Song Xiaoyuan walked behind her holding the embroidered headdress on her head. When they met Zhao Jinmo who had just returned from work, Shen Yining walked up to him in Bai ethnic costume and said, "Cousin!"

Zhao Jinmo's eyes lit up: "Cousin! This outfit... looks good!"

"It looks good, right? I bought one for Sister Qizhu, too!"

"It looks good. Did my cousin go out to play with Master Song today?"

"Well, Dianzhou is really fun. Let's go there together when my cousin is done with his work some other day!"

"Okay, cousin..." Zhao Jinmo hesitated, looking at his innocent cousin, then at Song Xiaoyuan who was smiling warmly behind her. Thinking back to the cold-blooded way he swung his sword that day, he felt a chill on his back: "Cousin, please go back to the room and rest early."

"Well, okay!" Shen Yining went back to the house. Song Xiaoyuan, holding an embroidered headdress with her hands behind her back, passed by Zhao Jinmo. She turned to look at him with a smile on her lips. Her cold eyes made Zhao Jinmo dare not look at her any longer.

The warm and comfortable January in Yunnan made everyone forget that the Chinese New Year was only a month away. The Zhao family father and son were cleaning up the mess, and Zhao Chongtai came to report in the morning: "Sir Song, the rebellious officials have been basically arrested, and the new officials such as Yan Zhizhou are on their way to be escorted. We must prepare to set off for Beijing."

Song Xiaoyuan sipped his tea and said, "We will set off after the prefect Yan arrives to take up his post."

"Yes!"

Song Xiaoyuan stood up and was about to go out. Zhao Chongtai saw that he was dressed casually and asked, "Master Song, are you going out?"

"Yeah." He took a few steps and then stopped: "Would you like to come together?"

Zhao Chongtai naturally wanted to appreciate the beauty of Yunnan, so he readily agreed, "Okay, we're about to leave so we can take a look."

Yining also called Zhao Jinmo, and the five of them rode out, passing by the vendors who were setting up stalls in the morning, and rode out of the city at full speed. Although Zhao's father and son didn't understand why they were so hurried, they still rode their horses and followed.

Seeing that they were about to reach Xiaguan, Shen Yining pulled up Song Xiaoyuan's cloak to cover his face and hid in his arms. The Zhao family father and son squinted their eyes at the strong wind: "Wow, the wind is so strong here! Is it going to rain?"

We rode fast and soon arrived at Shangguan. The wind died down again, camellia flowers bloomed and fell, and the lake was shrouded in mist, barely visible.

"Are we there yet?" Zhao Chongtai couldn't see clearly what was in front of him and felt that there was nothing interesting to see. It was not as good as the camellia fields he just passed by.

After dismounting and tying up the horses, the old man was already waiting on the shore: "Everyone is here, I'm afraid there aren't enough boats. I'll borrow two from the villagers."

Song Xiaoyuan bowed and said, "Thank you, old man."

Before the lake surface dispersed, Zhao Jinmo asked, "Cousin, is there a lake in here?"

"Well! Kunmichuan, we are going to watch the dancing water lilies in a while."

"Hmm?" Zhao Jinmo was puzzled. Dancing in the lake?

Yi Ning kept the secret and didn't explain, his smile was quite meaningful. Zhao Chongtai walked back and forth carefully to check it out. The fog always made people feel dangerous, so they always had to investigate it thoroughly before they could feel at ease.

Song Xiaoyuan also kept it a secret: "Mr. Zhao, I'll have to trouble you to protect me later."

When Zhao Chongtai heard this, he felt that this trip was dangerous, and he tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword: "I will protect you all."

Ah Wu's cooperation was frightening: "I will go with Mr. Zhao!"

The old man brought two villagers over: "Sir, these are the fishermen from our village, Ajin and Abao, they will row their boats into the lake together."

"Thank you very much!"

The old man took a photo with Shen Yining and Song Xiaoyuan, while Ajin, Awu and Abao brought the father and son of the Zhao family.

Zhao Chongtai volunteered: "Hey, let me lead the charge! Mr. Song's boat is in the middle, please protect Yining."