After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Zhu Qingmian... Ningwa said that she heard the amnesiac woman say this name in her sleep that night when she was on night watch.

So for the past few days, she, Doctor Jiang, Tingwa, and others have all been referring to this woman in this way.

Tingwa praised the name, saying it was beautiful, but Miss Zhu herself complained, "It sounds awful... I can't believe this is my real name..." Everyone looked at her in confusion, and she raised her chin, "It just sounds awful~"

Yang Qiniang stepped forward to clean up the chicken bones.

"Will we have lotus leaf chicken again tomorrow?" Ning Nan asked contentedly.

"Hmm." Miss Zhu nodded.

Hearing the other party's immediate and affirmative answer, Ning Nan was immediately relieved.

As long as the food is satisfactory, that's good.

That day in Li Yanting's kitchen, the peddler's handcuffs were removed, and the two flower thieves were handed over to the two constables. Sanzhuang secretly kept him in the kitchen, saying that there was a kind of meat thief in the kitchen of the book-loving seed.

They started boiling water in a pot, and Sanzhuang cooked him a bowl of noodles.

He picked up a piece of meat and put it in his mouth, then immediately frowned.

beef!

Li Yanting actually dared to eat beef at home?!

Ning Nan's heart pounded. He quickly ate his noodles while lying to San Zhuang, who had never eaten beef before, that it was a special kind of mutton... to prevent the simpleton from accidentally bragging about it.

In Daliang, eating draft cattle is a serious crime.

You can't eat an old, dead cow. At most, you can only eat a sick cow. But whether a cow is sick or not is mainly determined by the wealthy and powerful. Ordinary people don't have that power. It's not just about the severity of the crime, but more importantly, they're afraid that eating beef will bring bad luck and retribution in their next life.

Ningnan found a seed of reading and asked a question.

Li Yanting then stammered that he got the beef from the young master of the Han family in Hangezhuang.

The woman lying on the bed refused to eat anything, saying that pork was too dirty, mutton was too gamey, chicken, duck and goose were not tasty, vegetables were unappetizing, and rice was too dry... She would rather starve to death!

Looking at the face that Li Yanting had never seen before, a face as beautiful as a fairy, he had no choice but to run to Hangezhuang and beg for some beef. Only then could the woman finally manage to have a full meal.

"A bit old, but not bad." She nodded her chin at Li Yanting at that moment.

Upon hearing this, Ning Nan was not surprised at all; on the contrary, his eyes lit up.

Cui Cui is too easy to take care of, while Qing Mian's spoiled and demanding temperament is more in line with his stereotype of rich young ladies.

He thought for a while and realized that Miss Zhu disliked and rejected pork.

Pigs raised on farms mostly eat feces, so it's normal to find them unpalatable. However, the only criticism of mutton and chicken is that they don't taste good.

After returning home, he took an old hen, cut its throat to bleed it, boiled water to pluck its feathers, removed its internal organs, marinated it, added bay leaves, wrapped it in fresh lotus leaves, covered it with a thick layer of mud, and roasted it in the fire for two whole hours.

They parted the ashes, used large iron tongs to pry open the earthen-shelled lotus leaf chicken, and pulled it out of the fire.

He shoved them into the inner room and, in front of the pretty maid Cui Cui, knocked on the door.

The moment the soil peeled away and heat and fragrance rose, Cui Cui's bright eyes visibly widened in surprise, and her cheeks tightened, as if she had swallowed.

Steady!

Ning Nan happily unfolded the lotus leaf, tore off a chicken leg, and handed it to Cuicui on the bed: "Try it."

The chicken leg was steaming hot and sizzling with oil.

Zhu Cuiwei's mouth watered.

While handing her the chicken leg, Ning Nan also placed a piece of cloth under Cui Cui's chin to prevent her from getting the blankets dirty, as she found it sloppy.

At first, Cui Cui ate the chicken leg slowly and deliberately, but soon she stopped caring about her image and ate faster and faster, leaving only a bare bone in the end.

"How does it taste?"

"good."

"Would your young lady like it?" Ning Nan's eyes lit up.

Cui Cui's eyes widened, seemingly stumped by the question. After thinking for a moment, she shook her head and said, "She doesn't like to eat meat."

Ning Nan was momentarily dumbfounded.

Aren't we eating beef?

Did he lose his memory or did his tastes change?

Since I'd already taken the plunge, I figured I might as well give it a try. Holding the lotus leaf chicken, I arrived at the Reading Seeds' house with a mix of trepidation and excitement.

He threw the chicken's rear end to Li Xing.

The two chicken feet were given to Yang Qiniang.

Tear off a chicken wing and hand it to Doctor Jiang.

Miss Zhu ate the rest of the lotus leaf chicken in front of everyone, and even licked her fingers afterward.

Li Yanting stared wide-eyed from the side.

Ning Nan held out his hand to him: "Fifty coins for an old hen."

Li Yanting's eyes widened even more.

The scholar had rented out all the land in his family, and the Li clan also gave him a monthly subsidy of six dou of rice. From time to time, sons of landlords would come to buy his calligraphy and paintings as an investment.

The bookworm was very wealthy, so Ning Nan didn't hold back.

Having eaten two old hens in three days, Ning Nan counted the copper coins Li Yanting had just given him in his palm, smiled at Miss Zhu, and said, "Your brother is very generous!"

Miss Zhu, who had been inexplicably given the name "Zhu Qingmian," proudly raised her head: "Needless to say, he's a gift from heaven!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yanting's aggrieved heart immediately brightened, but his smile remained forced: "I'd appreciate it if Brother Ning could make another old hen for my sister tomorrow."

"Your body hasn't recovered yet, so you need to eat more good food." Yang Qiniang said with a smile as she wrung out a towel to wipe the woman's hands. Although there were only chicken feet to eat, Ningwa's cooking skills... wow! They're amazing!

"No problem, no problem."

Ning Nan stuffed the copper coin into his pocket and laughed it off.

After three days, Ms. Zhu's health has recovered well. She can now sit up and should be able to get out of bed in another two days.

Then I can try to get her to write a personal letter, and then I can find out the Zhu family's address from Cuicui, get a travel permit, and then I can go to Jiangning City.

"Did I eat two lotus leaf chickens in the last three days?" Miss Zhu asked Yang Qiniang, raising her eyes.

"you do not say!"

"Then why are there only three chicken legs?" Miss Zhu turned to look at Ning Nan.

In the cramped room, Ning Nan remained calm and composed, without revealing Cui Cui's presence. He scratched his head and said, "I was worried I wouldn't do it well, so I tasted it myself first."

Huh? They're not going to make me pay back two copper coins to Li Yanting, are they?

Miss Zhu tapped her chin: "Oh—"

"Well then, brother, you can give him another hundred coins."

"Huh?"

Li Yanting: ? ? ?

Ning Nan was also taken aback: "Why?"

The woman waved her hand dismissively and said, "You only calculated the cost of the chicken, not the cost of your cooking skills."

Seemingly worried that Li Yanting was too stingy, she said generously, "Brother! I feel like after eating Brother Ning's lotus leaf chicken, I've remembered some things. If I could eat more..."

His large, dark, bright eyes darted around. "About a month. Maybe I'll eat for another month, or eat something else delicious. After this month, maybe my memory will return!"

"When I return home, I will repay my brother one hundred taels of gold..."

Before she could finish speaking, Li Yanting waved his hand to interrupt her, retorting in a nonchalant tone, "Qingmian! Who do you take me for? Did I save your life for money?"

With that, a whole string of coins appeared in Ning Nan's hand with a clang!